And in other news....

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 27, 2008 1:59 PM MDT in Suns News

Live from the Big Mouth Beat....

You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all and there you have the facts of life with Shaq:

"We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."

"I don't give a (expletive) what Riley's disappointed in. Sue me."

I know you Shaq lovers will tell me that this is just Shaq being Shaq and besides, he's right.

But just imagine if Amare ran his mouth like this. Or if Kurt Thomas took a jab at having to play interior D behind Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa or OMG! if Shawn Marion said something bad about his time at the Suns. We would freak the F#%k out.

So don't let Shaq off the hook on this one. It was uncalled for, unprofessional and an unwarranted cheap shot at some less then star caliber players.

Yes, that's right. Ricky Davis is not a star and even he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment from a "leader" in the league.

Oh, and Big Thanks to the Bobcats for making last night's loss just a little easier to take.

[Update by TexSUN]: Speaking of The Big Mouth, how about this bit from that same article?:

On the MVP race: "I'm probably going to have to go with Kobester (Kobe Bryant). He's an assassin with LeBron (James) coming right after."

OK, Amare: Until Shaq thinks you're the MVP, you're not the MVP. Got it? Good. Glad we cleared that up.

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Shaq

He's right. What can you do? Of course it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but he's right.

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by Nobs on Mar 27, 2008 2:03 PM MDT 0 recs

There's right and there's right

Have you ever been in a job interview and asked about your past job? Do you bad mouth the boss and your former co-workers?

No. No matter how much you could or they deserve it you don't. And you know why? Because if you are willing to bad mouth those guys you used to work with how can you be trusted to not do the same once you leave your current situation.

It was an immature and uncalled for comment.

Oh - and he's right btw about Kobe or LeBron being the MVP. Amare's a big step closer but no one seriously thinks he's had an MVP year. Just that he has MVP potential.

Phx - where grrrrr happens

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 27, 2008 2:26 PM MDT up 0 recs

As I said

It wasn't the nicest thing to say. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. But, then again, there's nothing wrong about what he said. Because we don't know what really happened back in Miami.

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by Nobs on Mar 27, 2008 2:39 PM MDT up 0 recs

MVP

That was actually a swipe at Amare for his self-promoting (which admittedly did at least get fans thinking of him as the Suns MVP, which may have been part of the point to begin with). But if his mentor Shaq doesn't consider him in the discussion, then he shouldn't be too upset that the national media doesn't have him there either.

by TexSUN on Mar 27, 2008 2:41 PM MDT up 0 recs

Amare

See, I don't think Amare was saying he should be this year's MVP. He was just saying he should be mentioned along w/ other top players. Which he should.

About five players have emerged as MVP candidates for this NBA season. Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady top most lists.

Suns forward Amaré Stoudemire won't say whether he thinks he deserves consideration.

"That's up to you guys," he told reporters after Monday's spirited practice.

But it is clear Stoudemire seeks greater recognition for his ascension to greater heights.

"I don't know what it is," Stoudemire said. "I hear everybody's name mentioned as far as the top players in the league. My name is never up there. It definitely hurts because I put in the work and the time and the effort to be an elite player. But my thing is just to keep improving. Whether they notice it or not, my teammates notice it, my coaching staff notices it, and we're winning ballgames."

I will take a little self-aggrandizement over dogging your former team mates any day. Amare getting more recognition helps the team. Its good if other players are focused and afraid of Amare. That helps the Suns on the court and his getting noticed and recognized helps the Suns off the court also. Shaq doesn't need to rip poor little Chris Quinn to make a point about how much he likes being in Phx.

Ripping guys like Quinn and Ricky Davis is the purview of bloggers!

I am sure you agree :)

Phx - where grrrrr happens

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 27, 2008 2:57 PM MDT up 0 recs

on shaq

phoenix stan, you know i like shaq, a lot even, but you nailed it on the head. It was really a poor decision to say those things about those other 2 players. Yes, there might be details that we don't know about, but I prefer the K.G. approach, leave it alone.

On Amare, it's like the Marion nightmare about recognition all over again. I like Amare, I like Marion, but I think both of them have a lot of growing up to do. Sadly, I don't think that sort of growing up will occur. I hope I'm wrong. Amare was a big part of why we lost to the celtics, not nash, not something else, it was Amare. I think against most teams Amare can score at will, and it's fun to watch and have him. But, against the stronger teams, especially r.wallace, Amare gets his ass handed to him a little bit...

Nothing in this Verse can stop us!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 27, 2008 10:37 PM MDT up 0 recs

Yeah

KG was such a stud about it.

When he said, "I have no business with the Minnesota Timberwolves" that was so money.

And then the media totally backed him.

jasonsuns1, you are so, so right.

by ZonaFlash on Mar 28, 2008 12:03 AM MDT up 0 recs

KG says: "Who are the Timberwolves?"

It reminds me of a favorite friend's response. IN his little programming world he's a bit famous, so it works for him (but not for me)... I edited it a little to make it less vulgar. The guy is way vulgar.

"True genius and creativity is always despised by the mundanes of the world. When people tell their friends, "That Zed is such an @$$hole." Their friends, reply:

"I know. What a prick."

When I tell my friends that my enemies are @$$holes they reply,

"Who?"

My enemies are nobodies, cursed to live in my shadow as nothing more than worthless scoundrels scraping by from day to day off my scraps of fame."

Why can't Shaq simply say, "Miami? Miami, who? I have a nice house there."

by ZonaFlash on Mar 28, 2008 12:11 AM MDT up 0 recs

OK, you've got a point

What Amare did was not even in the same ball park as bagging on former teammates such as "poor little Chris Quinn". Just like murder is a much more serious offense than robbery. But that doesn't mean we want people to be robbers, right?

by TexSUN on Mar 27, 2008 10:47 PM MDT up 0 recs

Yeah, this is unneeded BS

Everyone deserves the blame for Miami.

They should just remember their title together and leave it at that.

Still, how many players you know get contract for $100M and voluntarily give back $20MM.

You can say Shaq didn't deserve the money and he knew it. You can say he had enough millions.

But still. I never seen KG return any money.

by ZonaFlash on Mar 27, 2008 4:21 PM MDT 0 recs

mmmmmmmmmm, hater-aid

Who hurt you Stan? Who?

by SoCalSun on Mar 27, 2008 5:40 PM MDT 0 recs

Help me out here...

are you saying that b/c Shaq has been wearing Orange and Purple for all of 6 weeks that we should ignore anything he says or is your point that what he said wasn't that bad...

Phx - where grrrrr happens

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 27, 2008 8:12 PM MDT up 0 recs

I admit it

I root for laundry.

If Kobe puts on the the Suns Jersey, all of his sins will be washed away.

by ZonaFlash on Mar 27, 2008 8:39 PM MDT up 0 recs

Mountains and Molehills

Stan, a direct answer to your question: I don't "root for laundry", and I wouldn't give someone a free pass on behavior just because they wear the purple and orange. I'm saying I don't think it's all that big a deal. In today's tabloid-style sports world, this nonsense is getting a lot of play, but it really has nothing to do with basketball. On a side note, I've been a fan of Shaq since he came into the league, so I really didn't need to re-think my opinion of him once he put on a Suns uni, and I sure hope the Kobester never plays for the Suns, 'cause that's one player I'll never root for.

Yes, I'll take KG's high-road no comment approach over Shaq's burn the bridges on the way out of town tactics, and yes, Chris Quinn is just an NBA nobody trying to make it, and doesn't deserve to be thrown under the bus by Shaq. On the other hand, as you noted a couple of post down, sometimes what you get with Shaq is his size 23s stuffed in his mouth. He's a lot like Barkley in that respect...

by SoCalSun on Mar 28, 2008 10:09 AM MDT up 0 recs

No doubt

this is much more molehill then mountain.

It was a nice topic for discussion on a non-game day...Its certainly not something I am going to lose sleep over.

Now, can Shaq defend the pick and roll? Can he cover Gasol, Okur, Boozer, West or Chandler? That's what keeps me awake at night.

Well, that and the baby crying anyway.

Phx - where grrrrr happens

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 28, 2008 10:14 AM MDT up 0 recs

well said

I agree, the shaq comments sure don't bother me or change my opinion of him, I think there's different types of fans

Fans who idolize athletes no matter what, then fans who simply enjoy the game, but realize some to many of the athletes are disfunctional as people,

bottom line, the suns have been a soft team since barkley left, I like the toughness and even a little meanness shaq has been showing,

Nothing in this Verse can stop us!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 28, 2008 11:30 PM MDT up 0 recs

there's funny and there's funny mean

Shaq's comments were funny mean,

One thing though I think should be mentioned, If I was one of these 32-36 yr old nba players, and I had already made 40+ million dollars, and I had a strong desire to continue playing for 1-3 more years. I'd not rely on playing with a team that had good medical strategies to improve performance. I'd go after it myself. I'd ask any player in the league who'd had success, or any athlete in any sport with results like Hill, who helped them and what did they do.

also I'd own a lot of electronics...wait...I already do...more though :-)....a long long time ago....in the dark ages....when there was no wireless Internet...how did we survive?

Nothing in this Verse can stop us!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 27, 2008 10:54 PM MDT 0 recs

Sad this is news - Update

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0327sunsnotes0328.html

We got games to win, and this stupid sideshow pissing match is complete non-news. What a distraction.

If Kerr really called Riley, then it sounds like Kerr takes the thing pretty seriously and that it will stop.

I appreciate Kerr being proactive and putting a stop to it, if he has.

Still arguing
Miami coach Pat Riley kept his feud with Shaquille O'Neal going Thursday, even though it was a dead issue at Suns practice. O'Neal had the last word Wednesday, clarifying what Riley had interpreted as slams on Heat players and staff.

...

Riley said Suns General Manager Steve Kerr called to say he was embarrassed, but Riley later said that he embellished Kerr's private remarks. Kerr declined to comment.

by ZonaFlash on Mar 28, 2008 12:26 AM MDT 0 recs

Even so....

Erick Dampier is still the worst center in the league. In other words, Shaq's comments (filtered through the media - we really don't know what was said and the context in which it was said) seemed to me to be more a knock on Riley and how he has let that franchise fall apart than a criticism of Quinn and Davis.

This would be comparable to Ro Blackman or Derek Harper knocking the CBA scrubs they had to play with in their latter years in Dallas as a swipe at Donald Carter for allowing the franchise to slip so badly. Sure, Ro would not have made those type of comments, since he was the ultimate company man, but he would have been justified in doing so.

If you look at it that way, Phoenix Stan, then Shaq's comments ARE warranted, because Riley HAS mismanaged that team into a laughingstock.

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Mar 28, 2008 6:00 AM MDT 0 recs

Sure

but all Shaq needed to do was talk about how happy he was here and how great the situation is here and how much he loves playing w/ Steve, Amare and Grant here.

Just talking about how great it is here without having to bag on the other team does say something about the situation in Miami w/o being a jerk about it.

And still, you are right about what's happened to the Heat but even then - why bring Quinn and Davis into it?

If he had to say something then just say he was disappointed in some of the moves they made or that they didn't resign Posey or Copono or whatever it is he thinks they should have done instead.

I just think its pretty low class to bag on those other guys.

And even if he was just kind of joking, not thinking and it slipped out. He could have said later that he was sorry that he brought them into and that all he trying to do was make a point about liking it here. But he didn't even do that after the fact.

But that's Shaq. Sometimes he's funny and sometimes he's got size 23's in his mouth.

Phx - where grrrrr happens

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 28, 2008 8:17 AM MDT up 0 recs

Job Interview?

I don't know that the job interview metaphor works, Stan. First, Shaq has the job. Second, not many of us have a job where we speak to the media regularly about our last job. I think the context you provide distorts the context within which Shaq made the comments i.e. he works in entertainment in front of millions and has a ridiculous amount of job security.

That said: It was a crappy thing to say. Not to Riley: screw him and his "15 strong." I'm a Van Gundy fan. But that was a crappy way to treat Chris Quinn who, considering his talent level, has played pretty well this year.

The real irony here is that Shaq was part of the movement that got rid of Van Gundy, because he wanted a real coach, by which I guess he meant a coach who is past his prime and a mediocre to bad GM.

Ha. Ha.

by rosewood on Mar 28, 2008 10:25 AM MDT 0 recs

Not the perfect metaphor

but my point was - and this is the same in sales when you bash your competition in front of a potential client - that when you dog others it reflects poorly on you. And in this case it also reflected poorly on the Suns to a lesser degree.

It always a better approach to try and stick to the positives any time you are communicating. It reflects much better on you and those you represent.

Unless of course you are a blogger in which case its free reign to bash away! And thank God for that.

Phx - where molehills happen

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 28, 2008 10:35 AM MDT up 0 recs

I made an account just to make this post...

I'm a Laker fan [awaits boo's]. We've gotten to know Shaq's media persona. He glorifies his teammates, glorifies his situation, glorifies his team and he's only motivated when he motivates himself. He did it with Penny, Kobe, Phil, Riley, Wade, and now he's doing it with your boys.

He likes to stab people in the back. Shaq likes to be the bully. He likes feuds. Shaq is pretty much a media whore.

by caborn on Mar 28, 2008 6:04 PM MDT 0 recs

can't argue there

even if you are a Lakers fan...

Phx - where molehills happen

by Phoenix Stan on Mar 28, 2008 8:14 PM MDT up 0 recs

yep

starting to see that also...man...laker fan huh, you must be pretty happy, bynum, gasol, kobe what a recipe for the next 5-6 years or more.

Nothing in this Verse can stop us!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 28, 2008 11:34 PM MDT up 0 recs

Hehe

I think the worst thing about it is the bandwaggoners (sp?) and the bandwaggoners who call you a bandwaggoner...if that makes any sense. :D

We're sucking right now though...two straight losses against sub-500 teams (Memphis and Charlotte)...Darko ripping your team up...that's hard to take.

I think your guys' future depends a lot on the Hawks pick, no? I pray Eric Gordon doesn't fall onto your lap...it's over.

by caborn on Mar 28, 2008 11:43 PM MDT up 0 recs