FREDSTROM'S SUNS/LAKERS PREDICTION

The Fredstrom will make this short and sweet...Suns by 5 Thursday night!

Here's why:

1. Planet Orange will be one fired up biosphere! Gotta love that home court advantage.

2. Yes, the Fredstrom knows that the Lakers are the best team in basketball but the Big Cactus will be fueled up for this one.

3. The Fredstrom likes Matt Barnes on Kobe instead of Raja.

4. The Suns are going on 3 days rest. Lakers-2. That's good for the Suns old legs.

5. Suns are at home...Lakers score 10 less pts. per game on the road.

6. The Lakers are good but they have played 6 home games and only 2 on the road so far. Suns-5.

7. Considering the Suns have missed LB for 3 games, Nash for 1, Shaq for 1, and Barnes for 2, they have managed pretty well this year.

8. And most importantly, The Fredstrom hates the Lakers.

Here's a sneak peek of Thursday night!  What are your predictions?

Suns: Good Record Despite the Sloppy Style

The Fredstrom is being spurred on to keep up with the Suns. Much like the San Antonio Spurs the Fredstrom is finding himself behind, not out with an ankle injury, but out with the cold and his non-stop busy lifestyle! By the way, have you all written your Get Well letters to the Spurs? "Hey Tony! You don't have to play that grabbing defense on that guy! He's just trying to help you to the locker room!"

If you checked the comments from the last post the Fredstrom predicted the Suns to be .500 after 12-14 games.  Obviously the Fredstrom was off a bit, their record looks good but their playmaking is quite the opposite.  It's incredible to think that the Suns have the 2nd highest scoring offense in the league and give the ball away 34 times per game! Okay it's actually 17 per and they only force 12. Think about the other team starting the game off with 5 straight possessions, not good.  The Suns average margin of victory is just over 4pts. per game, think of the margin if they had just 5 less turnovers a game? 9-10 points?

Bad news is that the Suns still aren't playing great defense (27th in the league).  Is this still a learning period?  Tomorrow night's game against the Rockets should be a good early test of what the Suns are really made of.

Good news: Barbosa is heating up, LB took the Suns on his wobbling shoulders and won that game for them against the Grizz. Boris played with an intensity and a focus that Planet Orange has been begging for.  Can the Suns get all cylinders running at the same time and cut down on the turnovers?  If so the Suns look like they could be among the league's elite, if not, welcome to Planet Mediocre- Home of the Early Playoff Exit and marking the close of the Suns' small window: (

The Fredstrom guesses that a congratulations is in order for the Arizona Cardinals for their "big" win Monday night.  The 49ers aren't that good, that game shouldn't have been that close, the Cards shouldn't have had 17 penalties in the final 20 minutes, but that's what happened.  Is this the Cardinals shaking their losing past?  Can you believe in this year's Cardinals?  Are they a true contender?  The Fredstrom would've been convinced had they whipped the Niners back to their century of origin, but they didn't.  Until the Cards handle their bidness the Fredstrom won't be a believer.  Is Kurt Warner MVP bound?  The Fredstrom is close to believing that one.

The blog has added ESPN power rankings and stand NBA/NFL standings.  Check in to see new polls, links, etc.  AND GET YOUR COMMENT ON!

The Fredstrom is Happy Again!

Yes it was the first game of the regular season, and yes Womanu was hurt and didn't play, BUT the Suns went into San Antonio and gave the Spurs the business!  Duncan and Parker had nearly perfect games and Planet Spuranus still came up short.  The Suns defense wasn't that great (again) but The Fredstrom spoke with Coach Porter and he says that he will make these adjustments: 1)Going under the screen instead of following Parker around it allowing him to further dissect the Suns "D" drawing fouls, etc. 2) Letting Tim Duncan shoot outside instead of taking it to the rack again drawing weak fouls, 3)Making someone else shoot the ball Duncan and Parker combined for 45 shots making 26 of them, etc.

The Suns on the other hand hit Coach Mtn. Man in the beard with a balanced attack. Five players scored in double figures and the Suns bench outscored the Spurs bench 42-24. The Suns looked good, they out-rebounded the Spurs (just barely), were able to get some big stops, were able to run and hit some big shots down the stretch, and most importantly were able to run an effective pick and roll completely rendering the Spurs helpless. By the way Pop, Hack-a-Shaq is Whack!  It may be within the rules but if The Fredstrom were a Spurs fan he would be pretty upset that he paid good money to watch his team fouling continuously turning what could be a fun game into a free throw shooting exhibition. 

Tonight the Suns face another tough Western Conference team-The Hornets. The Fredstrom looks forward to the Suns home opener hoping to see another big victory, with BIG "D" and FAST "O". Prediction: Suns 107 Hornets 104.

The Fredstrom Isn't Happy!

Not to take anything away from the Cardinals, but the fact that they are scoring more points than the Suns is driving the Fredstrom nuts!

72 total points against the Denver Nuggets-a team that is reminiscent of the Suns defense of past years!  13 pts in a quarter?  The Fredstrom knows that this is preseason, he knows that Amare and Leandro didn't play, and yes the game was outside, but there didn't appear to be any dust devils or monsoons? However, Shaq did say it was colder than a bleeper bleeper!

This year is going be very different if the Suns are going to play old school New York Knicks or Detroit Pistons circa The Bad Boy days basketball.  If the Fredstrom wanted to see 70pt. games he would go see the Phoenix Mercury.  Coach Terry Porter said that the Suns can run but only when they get a rebound, not taking it out of the hoop after a made basket?  Why can't the Suns run and just play better defense with an increased focus on rebounding?  

Don't subject the Suns fans to this sloppy, slow, boring type of basketball...Please!  Coach Porter also wants the Suns to be patient on offense?  Well that has led the Suns to two things: Launching up last second shots trying to avoid shot clock violations and a lousy 31% field goal percentage!  The Fredstrom recommends that the Suns take the first available open shot- not this :27 secs or less offense!

Congrats to the Arizona Cardinals for a big win over the Cowboys!  That game reminded the Fredstrom a D-Backs' 9th inning where the closer comes in and gives the lead away with four straight walks.  You sit there and think how much worse can it get?  Being offsides by 40+ yards?  Just enough of a penalty to give the Cowboys those extra five yards allowing the ball to sneak over the crossbar!  It was classic Cardinals football.  Luckily the defense was able to take the game into their own hands, allowing 3 and out, breaking Tony Simpson's finger, then blocking a punt and rolling into the end zone. Amazing game... Hey T-O... looks like you were the 3rd best receiver on Sunday, but you did a good job yelling at your teammates on the sideline.   The Fredstrom wonders how long it will take before T-O has a media meltdown?

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!