Suns Burn Hornets, 109-100
by Wil Cantrell on Feb 1, 2010 10:38 PM MST
in Phoenix Suns: Game Coverage
Email
PrintWhat is it about back to back road victories that makes me feel like a giddy little school girl? And this 3-game winning streak the Phoenix Suns are on. The first since November. Giddy is the only way I can describe my emotion right now.
Of course we're talking about the Phoenix Suns here, so tonight, in the midst of a 109-100 victory over the New Orleans Hornets, there was some typical Suns play or lack thereof:
- Losing a 20 point lead (in the 4th quarter)
- Committing 15 turnovers ( 7 in the first quarter alone)
- Allowing the opposing squad's guards to go crazy: Darrin Collison 16/14/4, and most notably, Marcus Thornton, 25 points (15 in the 4th quarter)
- J-Rich 1-6 from the field (he did pick up 8 boards though)
But there were also some surprises:
- Amare Stoudemire played another strong game with 25 and 12 (maybe he was stressed out in PHX)
- Grant Hill not only had something left in the tank, he was flat out clutch
- Channing Frye went for 20 and 6 off the bench. He was 3-8 from beyond the arc, but at least 2 of his buckets could have been 3's if it wasn't for his enormous feet.
- Robin Lopez went for 18 and 6 in 26 minutes and didn't look too winded at all
- Steve Nash put up 18 points, 12 assists and 2 steals-with an abdominal strain
At the outset, things were looking shaky for the Suns. They began the game with 3 straight turnovers. But they quickly put themselves back together and finished the quarter shooting 63% while the two teams traded leads 16 times. Amare scored 9 and looked extra motivated, perhaps even spazzy at times, while Robin Lopez and Steve Nash played a smooth two man game that produced 8 Lopez points.
in the second, Channing Frye and Jared Dudley began the quarter with two straight 3's. Frye eventually kicked in another 3 and 4 more points to help the Suns gain an 8 point advantage. The Suns went on a 13-0 run and eventually outscored the Hornets 29-15 in the second to lead at the half 59-46.
In the third, the Suns lead swelled to 20 as both Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire picked up double doubles before the end of the quarter. Robin Lopez dropped in 10 points and the Suns ended the third up 85-70.
Can you guess what happened to that 15 point lead?
In the 4th, Marcus Thornton went crazy and the Hornets reeled off 7 straight points to close the gap to 10. After two buckets by Frye and one from Nash, the Hornets went to work, running off 8 straight, keyed by Collison and Thornton. With a minute left, the Suns were up 100-98. Then Grant Hill took over.
First Hill hit a 15 footer off a Nash assist and drew a David West foul. Hill converted to make it a 103-98 game. After an improbably Marcus Thornton miss, the Suns had little going on the next posession when Hill found himself with the ball in his hands and the shot clock running down. But you see Grant Hill drinks Sprite, and he can still flat out BALL. He knocked down an 18 foot J in front of Peja Stojakovic. DAGGER IN THE HEART, Peja. As I said in the preview, it was time for some payback tonight.
Numbers
- The Suns shot 51% from the field, the Hornets 45%
- The Suns were 6-21 from three-point range, the Hornets 6-18
- The Suns out rebounded the Hornets 44-38
- The Suns had 7 blocks, the Hornets 1.
- The Suns bench outscored the Hornets 32-16
- Goran Dragic did not score a point, but managed 5 assists in 15 minutes. I'm not worried about Dragon, he's still playing aggressively. he's not going to drop 32 every night
- Jared Dudley had another solid game with 12 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 5 rebounds, while going 2-4 from beyond the arc (Anyone have a reason why he shouldn't be in the 3-pt competition All-Star Weekend? You know he'd love it.)
In Closing
This was a great all around win for the Suns. Yes every W is great at this point, but while I admittedly left this team for dead a few games back, I cannot help but sense a confidence brewing remniscent of our November/December Suns. Tonight they kept their poise amid a cold shooting 4th quarter as the Hornets caught fire and gained momentum. Thornton and Collison are excellent young players that possess amazing confidence for their age. So, I don't want to hear anything about the absence of CP3. The Hornets are a good squad and the Suns came out victorious. 3 straight, people, enjoy the moment.
The Suns conclude their road trip at Denver, 2/3, and Sacramento, 2/5.
Random Factoid (didn't know where to put this):
Amare Stoudemire has scored in double figures the past 18 games. He has only two single digit scoring efforts this season.
Quotable
Steve Nash:
"In all three games, we showed grit...that's what we talked a lot about early in the season - the grittiness and depth we needed to win games. It's plain to see in the three games we won. More than anything, it's tiring. It proves you have to go earn it every night."
Grant Hill
"We're a little more desperate...we're fighting for our lives. We're starting to figure out what we need to do at both ends to be successful. Defensively is where we're starting to take a step."
Coro: Suns Hold On to Beat Hornets
65 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Amare was stressed out by the trade rumours
“Stoudemire admitted the swirling trade rumors have affected his play. “I feel like the confidence in me is not quite there with them for them to want to shop me around so much,” he said."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/chris_mannix/02/01/rankings2/index.html
Stoudemire must be a great guy (we have been noticing that he clearly supports his teammates), but I think he doesn’t have a lot of self-awareness. He doesn’t seem to understand the difference between himself and James, or Bryant, or Garnett. And he acts as though the lack of an extension is because of his play rather than because he wants too much damned money.
Seth, I'm trying to find the exact Yahoo Sports article but here's what I can find so far
“Stoudemire, 27, has expressed a belief that he is a maximum-contract player. He likely is expecting the Suns to make an offer that would not approach the three-year, $57 million extension that Lakers forward-center Pau Gasol, 29, recently signed.”
Ok, so I know this probably isn’t going to be a popular opinion, and a little uncharacteristic of me as well. Most of us agree that although Amare is (usually) a MAX contract caliber player on offense, he has a ways to go before he can be considered one on defense or in regards to rebounding.
However, the latest news is that Amare just wants the same contract that LA is paying Pau Gasol as their #2 guy…$18, $19, & $19 million over a three year extension, respectively.
Now I know that this isn’t very far off from that MAX contract he’s been so adamant about receiving, but it does raise a point. How many of us would actually take Gasol over Amare?….Honestly.
http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=981506&start=480
Even if we overpay him, 3-years is a much better deal for us than 5 years, as he won’t drag down the team as Jermaine ’O Neal did if he breaks down.
And he would still be good for a trade at 29 years of age…
That’s sounds cold. No more GM thinking for little old me acckk
"he is likely expecting the suns to make an offer that would NOT approach the three-year $57 million"
Amar’e doesn’t want the same money Gasol gets he’s using it as a basis, he wants 5 years at $20 million a year is what i’ve read. Plus what LA can afford to pay their number 2 is a lot more than every team other than the Knicks can afford to pay.
The problem here is
LA is overpaying Gasol, which doesn’t help the case with Amare.
by underxthebridge on Feb 2, 2010 9:42 AM MST up reply actions
Yahoo Sports in Dec quoted Amare saying he is using Gasol's 3-year as a benchmark
That was during the time when his agent was meeting Suns management for the first time.
That’s why everyone picked that up at the other blogs and forums, except this one.
Amare has not asked for a 5-year max deal this season.
Amare is also playing better than Gasol in minutes and points and both are recovering from injuries this season.
well
I’ve talked to Amare since then asked him specifically about this so…there’s that
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
and I've yet to see
the actual quote where Amare says he wants a three-year deal….it simply isn’t the case.
Maybe he comes around and agrees to a three-year deal after all the dust has settled. I hope so. But right now the Suns HAVE to be exploring these options and they HAVE to make sure Amare knows that or else he has all the leverage in the negotiation.
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
amare your killing me!
Amare with yet another impressive performance on the boards and god im gonna hate watching him do that consistently at another team.
The problem is when he plays like tonight or even last nyt it makes me think “pay the man” but then next week we could see a weeks worth of 1 or 2 rebound efforts. maybe the benching in the clutches the other nyt against dallas really has effected amare.
Id like to make reference to something very important in the above article:
“Allowing the opposing squad’s guards to go crazy: Darrin Collison 16/14/4, and most notably, Marcus Thornton, 25 points (15 in the 4th quarter)”
Id like to add to that quote that those 2 players are PG’s, but its a pick your poison cuz nash clearly cant guard anyone for shit as every week opposing pg’s seems to have field days, but then so does nash, 18 and 12. You think every team we play against doesnt hate the fact there guards get towled up by nash every game?
Jrich 6 points, 1-6 shooting. “sigh”. 8 boards is great, i luv that cuz he cant get it done on the offensive end hes busting his ass on boards, but seriously we cant really have our SG shooting such a poor % all the time.
Be interesting to see how the next few games go for amare, especially against denver, if he can put up solid numbers on boards over next few games, myt have kerr thinking twice bout trading him
He played crap 'cos he thought the team did not need him nor want to make the play-offs
because the Suns were shopping him publicly. He averaged 20-10 for a long stretch before the trade rumours went public and there was a cold distance between him and the management.
I really want the Suns to make the play-offs. One last run that ends at least with an exciting 7-game series against a contender in the West. Let’s go out blazing hot like what Suns is meant to be.
That’s all I’m asking.
That's a romantic notion that I myself have pondered many times
But then the harsh reality of cold, cruel pragmatism sets in.
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
by rsavaj on Feb 2, 2010 12:07 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
Pragmatism also says we can't tank to hit the lottery as we have no pick this season
Remind me again which genius traded or sold our pick. I want to strangle him.
That has to be the most stupid thing a team’s management can do in the NBA…
Denver
I just wondered who thinks the Suns will beat the Nuggets. I do. After beating the Mavericks, Rockets and Hornets, I find it quite reasonable to expect this victory. I don’t respect the Nuggets that much; I have the impression of a team that plays more defense than the Suns but nevertheless is soft. I call them the Nougats.
Denver
The Suns can play with anyone in the league. If they want to win they will. Simple as that.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
Nuggets
Their Suns-killer (JR Smith) is in the doghouse. We might be able to take advantage of that. Also, This game is a clear opportunity for Amare to show every one that he can dominate the punk Kenyon Martin. I am also looking forward to seeing Dragic a little on Chauncy Billups.
On another subject, this outburst by Thornton only serves to prove that we need more defense from the shooting guard position. We can’t keep letting the opposing shooting guard light us up.
Finally, did you guys enjoy Andre Miller put 52 on Jason Kidd the other day? JKidd’s defense left him years ago.
April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?
you seriously
should consider not taking every little bit of information as gospel…sometimes it’s ok just to sit back and let things wash over you and not take everything so literally
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Feb 2, 2010 10:00 AM MST up reply actions
He has that reputation everywhere he has been
from Skyline HS here in Dallas to Cincinati to the Nets and Nuggets. It is not exactly a secret.
April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?
Is J Rich injured?
Did he drive to the basket or did he just shoot jumpers?
OMG, this is the second coming of Matt Barnes. I love his hustle but not his streaky shooting…
Rich
Not injured, just highly emotional….When the shot isn’t falling he is extra hard on himself. You know how that goes….It’s all in his mind.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
new Stoudemire > old Stoudemire
I think this season’s Amare Stoudemire is more helpful to his team than the original version. He rebounds more and defends at least slightly better.
+1
I’ll be sad to see him leave. I would kind of actually rather pay the luxury tax this season (which we will, either way…but not try and swap Stoudemire for a couple expirings and a second round pick), pay Amare, and use Richardson as a trade chip for next season with his expiring.
The dude is special. He’s a Phoenix Sun at heart. He wants to be here (at least I think he does), but for the right price. He’s a perfect fit for the team. If we’re going to rebuild and try and change the image, go ahead and trade him. But if Kerr and Sarver are set in utilizing this running way while boning up a bit on defense, I say we roll the dice and keep him.
I don’t want to say the way he’s been playing so far has been because he realizes he needs to play better (“contractyearitis”, which Boris employed), but if he’s genuinely committed to changing his game to include more agression towards rebounds and defense (which he has been, over the past 2 games), I say we pay the man what he wants. If we’re going to stay in our current offensive minded scheme (and let’s face it, as long as Nash is here, we are), he’s worth the max contract.
At least that’s my opinion.
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 2, 2010 12:04 AM MST up reply actions
Perhaps he could be persuaded to make the compromise of signing a one-year extension at his current salary, giving him another season to prove he deserves mo’ money.
3-year is fairer, one year only says I dun see you in Sun's future
Exhibit A: Knicks players
3 years
I would give him three years. I just don’t want 5 and 100 mil.
April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?
Amare's asking for 3 years this season - not 5 years' as his critics claim
I don’t think he;s worth 5 years and 100 mil too.
whata I like to see:
- pts allowed in last few games: 94 vs bobcats in regulation, 106 vs dallas with excellent effort in 4th, 100 vs houston in regulation and 100 against hornets… just keep it up
- outrebounding opponents in last 3 games, especially houston was nice to see
- amare picking up and if the right deal doesn’t come, let’s keep him… what do you think, would he really get max contract with a contender? not likely as those teams either have max contract players or will have after they sign one of the superstars… he might get max contract with lottery team so if that is ok with him, let him go… 15-16mio I would give him, not more…
Amare might be persuaded to take less if Suns are committed to bringing in good players
If he’s convinced that the 2-year Nash contract means the management will do what it can to build around Nash and him for a championship run, he will probably take less.
Face it. He does care about his team mates.
he does, that is what I like about him
seeing him cheer in that 4th quarter over dallas was so nice… but he has this other side, let’s hope it will not prevail…
I would hate to see Amar'e go
Aside from his awesome offensive skills, I really like the dude. He player really well tonight. And how about Grant Hill! clutch as ever. Great W!
"Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it"
Another tough “W” last nite! Man, this team tests my blood pressure but as long as it ends like that I’ll take it!
Some observations:
>I’m loving RoLo right about now! His aggressiveness & confidence seems to grow every game and I think he’s making STAT better by having a true C beside him.
>We really need a SG! JRich has to be our worst player when u look @ the $$$-to-production ratio! I like the fact he’s active on the boards but his on-ball “d” isn’t great and his shot is spotty @ best! He & Nash has to be one of the worst defensive backcourts in the NBA (at least Nash makes up for it on the offensive end)!
>STAT must be motivated by his Dallas benching because he seems to be playing w/ some fire ever since (he says it was the distractions from the trade rumors, but I don’t think so). I’ve always been a fan of his (offensive) game but when he shows some flashes on defense (especially getting weakside blocks) and on the boards it’s hard for me to picture him in another uni!
>Grant Hill. I love how clutch he was last night! IMO, we’ll need that because teams aren’t going to let Nash get loose down the stretch on a nightly basis; forcing someone else to create for themselves. If the “young” old man can keep that up this team will make some noise going forward.
>The Bench Mob’s been playing great and I’m glad AG is showing confidence in them nightly. JD, Frye, & GD having been ballin’ and we seem to go as they do-when they play well it usually means a win…
I need a ring, DAMMIT!!
hmmm I wonder how I feel about
Amare this morning?
Should we give him the max deal he wants or trade him so we at least get “something” which is better than “nothing” which we get when he opts out?
That’s an interesting topic for discussion, isn’t it?
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
Yep. Two straight strong games-give him what he wants
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
yes
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Feb 2, 2010 11:28 AM MST up reply actions
Will - Amare is auditioning for other teams with his new found play
Or he has gotten over the trade rumours as Dudley suggested in the last game’s interview.
Take your pick…
Why is getting nothing bad?
The whole “get something” causes a team to NEVER have cap space, and is a bogus argument.
Everyone, repeat after me:
a LOT of Cap space is a good thing.
Go look at this spreadsheet I created: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tKclQktDfyiViXOePtJkldg&output=html (I took the data from HoopsHype here: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/phoenix.htm)
There are three columns: with Amar’e, without Amar’e, without Amar’e, Hill, Frye (all three player options), and there are three cap numbers: $55, $57 and $60 million. Cap space is in bold.
Without Amare, Frye and Hill, we’d have $42.5 million in committed salary. A cap of $55 mil and we’d be $12.45 mill under the cap. Yes, that is right $12,455,000. That buys us, heck, it might buy Joe Johnson back!
A cap of $57 million and we have a near max $14.5 mil. Chris Bosh might enjoy playing with Nash :)
It seems to me that we should not panic, keep Amar’e, and if he leaves, hope Frye at least does as well (I’d love to keep Hill) and double down and go after Bosh or, if that fails, Boozer / another bigman star.
Just remember this spreadsheet next time someone says “we need to get something for Amar’e”, remember: cap space == that “something”.
NB for those who aren’t the Salary cap nut I am, the salary cap FAQ here is invaluable: http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm This states “The roster charge is equal to the rookie minimum salary for each player below 12. The roster charge only applies during the offseason.” Basically. it stops teams having zero players, and spending all the cap on two players, and then signing minimum contract players.
That is why the “cap hold” in the spreadsheet.
NB II Amundson could be got after signing a FA, as his contract would be a minimum contract. We could also waive Griffin, and save $300,000 and still sign him later, but that isn’t the meat of my point.
Good stuff...but
You best case assumes a $55m salary cap when many people think it will be around $50m but of course no one knows yet…
More importantly, in your scenario that everyone opts out (Hill and Frye and Amare) the team only has 8 players under contract with the requirement to sign 5 more and only $12m to do it. There is no way that’s enough money to get a guy like Bosh.
At best we could resign Frye and Lou and then get a mid-level guy.
There’s a lot of teams that have screwed up by working too hard to get cap space and then they end up having to over pay for guys that don’t fit. Look at Miller in Portland after they didn’t land Milsap or Hedo and look at what Detroit ended up using all that cap space on – over paying for Gordon and Charlie Vill
I am all for having flexibility and am VERY wary of taking on any long term contracts – even Iggy – but a deal that lands a young talent still on a rookie contract and a replacement 1st round pick is far better than just letting Amare walk b/c you end up with roughly the same amount of space under the cap and you’ve got a couple of those slots filled with better players but you’ve not made any long term commitments if a guy on a rookie deal doesn’t work out.
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
I'm tired of hearing about Amare
We are what seems to be on the verge of coming out of the crisis and you people are still stuck on trading. I really wonder about pheonix fans some times.
TO THE NBA - " Yeah, you have created a rift within me ; Now there have been ; several complications ; that have left me feeling nothing ; I might say, you were ; wrong to take it from me ; Left me feeling nothing " - Disturbed, "Numb"
Dude
You got 15 more days to deal with it. Then you’ll have to deal with hearing about a possible extension. Then you’ll have to hear about a trade after the season….
Then it will be another player.
You may want to tune out for awhile, cause this is reality.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
+1
Amare still is what he is and people are still going to talk. Nothing has changed because he has played a few good games lately.
You can't just ignore it
So if you are Kerr, do you just forget about it? 90% of this board thinks he/she can do better than Kerr. Lighten up.
April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?
90% of this board could do better than Kerr...
All they would have to do is keep their 1st round picks
The NBA is by far the easiest league to be a GM in...
You have less players on your team, less players to scout, no real ginormous farm systems like baseball… players are essentially what they are coming out of college. Of course there are still busts and boom players but it happens with much less frequency that in football or baseball where a good majority of your players are guys who were pretty obscure even late into their collegiate careers.
I disagree! Look at how many top picks turn out to be no more than journeymen. The NBA is littered with top 10 picks that are no more than rotation players. Not every great college player or high school phenom can blossom in the league…
I need a ring, DAMMIT!!
MLB GMs have to scouts hundreds and hundred more players and from smaller schools to fill their massive farm systems.
NFL GMs have to fill 53 man rosters + 5 practice squad players + 20 some more before training camp cuts.
You or I could look at the top 50 players in this draft as reported by nbadraft.net and make solid picks. In the NFL or MLB you have to do so much more research to fill out your rosters because of the larger numbers.
Other pro leagues do carry larger rosters but it also give the NBA less room for error. Carrying 12-15 players on a roster doesn’t give you a lot of wiggle room to take chances on players who may not look the part but has that “something” that may grow after some seasoning. If you look at the NFL, for instance, players like Romo or Miles Austin weren’t even drafted but turned out to be Pro Bowlers. They have amuch larger player pool to choose from and have the luxury of being able to gamble alot more than NBA GMs.
I need a ring, DAMMIT!!
The jury is obviously still out on Kerr...
Alot of it will depend on how he handles the Amare situation and how certain players develop.
A lot of the blame should go to Sarver as well.
and D'Antoni
who signed Banks to that awful contract and extended Diaw too soon and who made it very clear that he didn’t want to deal with any rookies while he was trying to “win it all” with a veteran team including vet bench players like Pike and Jalen Rose and Jumaine Jones
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Feb 2, 2010 10:03 AM MST up reply actions
I really thought we should have played Rose and Jones more though
Pike….wtf were we thinking?
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
And Sean Marks let us not forget
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Feb 2, 2010 11:30 AM MST up reply actions
Kerr did
not make the horrendous Kurt Thomas deal that cost the Suns 2 1st round picks, Kerr did not trade Rondo for cap space. Kerr did not trade Lou Deng.
Kerr has actually kept his 1st round picks. Another misconception by Suns fans. I think Kerr has actually been doing a decent job for an inexperienced GM.
I have to admit
I was not sold on Lopez and both Kerr and Lopez have proved me wrong. Dragic while inconsistent, shows solid potential, Clark the jury is still out. So not bad at all.
I'm not sure about Dragic and Clark until i see them playing more games without vets
watching over them.
Lopez is a keeper for sure. He’s improving and the West is getting smaller these days.
what wrong with letting amare walk?
Ill tell you whats wrong with letting amare walk and having cap space.
We will not be able to sign another big start thru free agency this year because stars do not wnana come to phoenix.
There is no money to be had in phoenix besides the initial contract money unlike in the major popular cities where theres plenty of sponsorship money aswell.
Plus phoenix isnt really looked upon as one of the better states and places to go in america, thats not my opinion but to alot of people it is sadly.
So theres no way bosh or wade or ne of the stars up for free agency are coming to suns so when you got players who are above avg standard who are happy to stay there it isnt the worst decision to keep them around
which star did not want to come to Phoenix?
April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Friend Us On Facebook
SBNation.com Recent Stories
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Video: Boston works in a half-court football snap after winning the tip
- Judging the choices for the Eastern Conference All-Star team reserves
- Judging the choices for the Western Conference All-Star team reserves
- Jeremy Lin draws inspiration from Tim Tebow
- Stephen Jackson is already tired of Milwaukee
Follow us on Twitter
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
