Suns Start Wednesday-NBA Preview

The Suns play their first home preseason game this Wednesday and it has the Fredstrom thinking. Where will the Suns finish in the West? Here's the Fredstrom's power rankings for the top 8 seeds in the Western Conference.

#1 New Orleans Hornets- Chris Paul keeps getting better and better. David West will again have an all-star season and watch out for James Posey. He has been on two of the last 3 championship teams. He will help spread the floor along with Peja allowing Paul, West, and Chandler to dissect the inside. They will be a force!

#2 L.A. Lakers- Two words: Kobe Factor. Two keys to the Lakers improving:  Phil Jackson shaving the goat-tee and they will get Bynum back. Even though Gasol is tissue-soft, he still poses match up problems for other Western Conference contenders. The X factor for the Lakers will be the consistency of the Euros. Will they show up strong or will they fall, flop, and cry their way to Phil's bench?

#3 Utah Jazz- Deron Williams is a stud. Carlos Boozer also poses match up problems for many. Utah's biggest strength is the Sloan Factor. Jerry Sloan has a system that gets his guys to work and work hard, especially on the defensive end. If Okur can play anything like he did two years ago Utah will secure the 3 spot in the West.

#4 Phoenix Suns- The Suns may be old but they have made some positive moves this summer. A new coach with a defensive past... a back up point guard, signing Mike Barnes a scrappy defensive player and not having to work in the Big Saguaro mid-season should make the Suns a better team than last year. Remember D'Antoni running the Suns 7 into the ground? The Fredstrom has to believe that Terry Porter won't do the same allowing the Suns to have more legs for the home stretch and more importantly the playoffs.

#5 Houston Rockets- Picking up Ron Artest this summer can only make them better. If Yao and T-Mac can stay healthy look for the Rockets to lay some exhaust on the West.

#6 San Antonio Spurs- Speaking of coaches facial hair, have you seen Pops beard? The Fredstrom has never seen a baby with such a huge beard! Someone find that baby a Quattro! Experience, Experience, Experience... however Manu's ankle complications will hurt the Spurs. Timmy is a year older but is still effective and Tony Longoria will still be a Suns killer. Look for the Spurs to play possum once again until their rodeo trip is over, then they will turn it on. The Fredstrom thinks the Spurs early exit in last year's playoffs was a preview of their decline. Unfortunately it might have been the Suns preview as well.

#7 Dallas Mavericks- The Mavs will make the playoffs because they have talent. Jason Kidd, Dirk, Howard (what happened to that guy?) and Terry should be able to make the 7 spot in the West...and not any higher. Last year we saw adding Jason Kidd doesn't equate to winning in the playoffs.

#8 Portland Trailblazers- Greg Oden seems to be cursed and may only play 75% of this season, but the Blazers have some really nice and youthful pieces in place. The Fredstrom can't put an unstable, back-biting Nuggets or a Brandless Clippers, or a B. Diddyless Warriors, the Sacramento Queens, or an inexperienced Thunder ahead of the Blazers.

It looks like our D-Backs finished 2nd in the West, and definitely won't win the World Series! They didn't win a 100 or more games or even break the 90's, so it looks like the polls were mostly wrong. Don't they get anything for that huge number of strike outs?

  

Looks like the Cubs may have to wait another 100years...wow that was bad! 

The Cardinals beat up on an undefeated Bills team to improve to 3-2, but the Cowboys are coming!  Do the Cards have a chance?

New polls posted today including where the Suns will finish in the West.

When Do the Suns Start?

Not a good weekend to be an Arizona sports fan.

D-Backs finally get some runs but it's too little way late! When they win (rarely) the Dodgers match, when they lose, the Dodgers again match. The D-Backs are 8-10 in September averaging 3.1 runs per game. Their batting .249 for the year, 2nd worst in the NL. The bullpen's ERA for the month-6.24.  During the last 10 games the D-Back starters have a 1.45 ERA.

The Sun Devils get the assist in their loss against Georgia. Turning the ball over, just not playing competitively, where's the passion? That UNLV game really hurt! The Fredstrom doesn't expect the Devils to win that game, but just don't play so sloppy! MAKE A TACKLE PLEASE! The picture above shows how other teams fly and the Devils apparently swim?
Cardinals decide to punt being down 7 with 2:39 left in the 4th quarter; relying on their defense to get the ball back. On the road you have to go for it on 4th and 4. Let's hope the Cardinals can steal one against Brett AARP next week in New York. It's hard to not get greedy and want to win every game, but the Cards need to play up to their potential.  

What else is going on?  Chime in.

The Fredstrom is Back!

Okay blog fans, it has been awhile! Since the Fredstrom last blogged the Olympics have come to an end with the good ole United States on top in the medal count. Your votes were correct as the Redeem Team took the GOLD. But did you vote the D-Backs winning the West? Our little D-Backs have strapped their fans in for a roller coaster pennant race. The Dodgers lost 8 in a row and remain right on the D-Backs heels. The Fredstrom still sees the D-Backs blowing it down the stretch with either the Joe Torre's or the Dark-Horse Rockies taking the West...the Juiceman says so!

The NFL starts Thursday...it would be fun if Arizona had a team that the Fredstrom could blog about! The Fredstrom's favorite headline so far would be Chad Johnson legally changing his last name to "Ocho Cinco" so that he could put this phrase on the back of his jersey!
College football started as well...hopefully the Squirrel can come out of his "fantasy" hole to come play in the Fredstrom's blog. The Fredstrom went to his first college football game last Saturday night: ASU vs. NAU...great first half...not much action after that...ASU better hope that Rudy doesn't go down or you can put a fork in them! GO DEVILS!Give the Fredstrom your comments on the D-Backs, NFL or College Football!

The Fredstrom's Got Gadgets!

Well blog fans, the Fredstrom has been searching for ways to make the blog more interactive and updated.  First it was pictures, then YouTube videos embedded, then the polls, and now-GADGETS!  Gadgets are small interactive windows that you can use/watch/play without leaving the blog. Wanting to know the D-backs miniscule lead in the NL West? Wanna current medal count of the Chinese Dog and Pony show? Wanna see the Chuck Norris fact of the day?  Just go to the blog and there they are either in the right margin or all the way to the bottom...no more searching mlb.com or looking for the current medal count....GO TO THE BLOG!  More to come! Suggestions? Comments?

Steve Nash and Baron Davis: Step-Brothers Spoof

The Fredstrom has searched high and low for the comedy of the summer only to find out that his good friend Steve Nash has already filmed it.  See this hilarious 2 min. trailer of Steve and Baron's upcoming blockbuster.

The outfits, the dance off, and the tandem biking earn this sweet little gem 10 Picasso's!

The Fredstrom Posting Politics?

The following article was sent to the Fredstrom via email from eeeelicious.  Interesting...

The Squirrel reports that Letterman was not the creator of this article, therefore Mr. Late Show is gone! Apparently the Fredstrom needs a research team to test the validity of his posts! Viva la Squirrel!
"As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been,
but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems
to hit the mark.

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll
data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source,
right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?
F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.
K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.
L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't
have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end
up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and
they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood
and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The
media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They
offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by
'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to
allow a murderer like O. J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill
his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the
bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country.
There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist
attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'"

Sometimes it's good to get a fresh perspective...

Well? What did you think? Comment below...

The D-Backs are Dunn!

With or without Adam Dunn the D-Backs are in serious trouble.  Both Muchacho sucio and the Fredstrom think the D-Backs are not going to hold off the Dodgers and will fall out of the playoff picture. Adding a .233 hitter isn't going to do much, especially when you can't protect him in the line up. The D-Backs are hitting .251 as a team (26th in MLB, Dodgers are 21st). Not only that the Dodgers are 1st in ERA(3.65) with the D-backs 11th(3.97).  Did the Fredstrom mention that Manny is batting .459, has 4 homers and 11 RBI's for the Dodgers in just 9 games?

Do you think Dunn will make a difference? Don't forget to vote on the World Series winner.