The Joys of Living in Arizona

Let's see, today is Monday, May 17th. It's a week before Memorial Day and the temperature in Phoenix today is supposed to reach 110 degrees, smashing the record of 105 set two years ago. Can someone say global warming? What's really scary is if it's 110 already, how hot is it going to get in June and July? 110 is pretty unbearable. 115 is just plain miserable. Higher than that? I don't like to think about it. The hottest I've ever experienced was 121 at Lake Havasu City. It was like walking around in an oven, my nose hairs were singeing and my eyes couldn't stop watering. I can't imagine anything hotter than that, but I just may get to experience it this summer. Lord help us!!

The Phoenix Suns are currently looking for a new head coach. The Shaq experiment was pretty much an unmitigated disaster. The team was the projected number one seed in the West at the time of the trade, and they sputtered thereafter to the number six seed. They were actually playing not all that badly at the time the playoffs started. And the morons on sports talk radio were rejoicing that the Suns' first opponent was the Spurs. Yes, the same San Antonio Spurs that were the defending champs and that the Suns had yet to get past in the playoffs. What in the world were these idiots happy about? Well, be careful what you wish for. The Spurs won the first three games of the series and disposed of the Suns in five games. Shaq did OK, but Amare Stoudemire was not what he had been in the past, and Steve Nash was awful (I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself). The Suns played no defense (now there's a shock), and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli pretty much owned them all series. It was ugly. Stubborn coach Mike D'Antoni refused to use the bench or coach defensively, and now Stubborn Mike will be enjoying himself in New York with the worst team in the league and the toughest fans and most brutal media. Have a great time, Coach. Take advantage of being in the Big Apple because you might not be there for long.

The Suns, meanwhile, are in turmoil. Owner Robert Sarver and GM Steve Kerr are interviewing head coaching candidates, while obviously mulling over whether to rebuild, or try one more time with a Steve Nash-led team. I, for one, have no clue what happened to Nash this year, and I have some concerns about whether he is through. I mean, this guy won back to back MVP awards, and seemed to be a different person this year. Amare Stoudemire is a great talent, but he needs a supporting cast. And they all need to be playing defense. Tune in next season to this ongoing soap opera.

And if you want a real soap opera, travel down the freeway 120 miles to Tucson for the latest installment of the Lute Olson debacle. One of my earlier posts talked about Lute Olson's University of Arizona Wildcats, and how Lute built a powerhouse college basketball program in the desert. Now, he's trying to save his sinking ship. Unfortunately, assistant coaches are leaving (even the beloved Josh Pastner, probably the most popular Wildcat since the aforementioned Steve Kerr), recruits are trying to get out of their commitments, and star players (Jerryd Bayless, Chase Budinger) are leaving early for the pros. I shudder at the prospect of what's in store for the upcoming season.

Thank goodness for the Diamondbacks, who still own the best record in baseball. Coming off a 5-1 homestand over the Rockies and Detroit Tigers, the D'backs are 5 and a half games ahead of the Dodgers and show no indication of slowing down. Go Snakes! Who cares about roundball anyway?

And notice, I haven't even mentioned that the next President of the United States might be one of our Senators. I don't even want to think about it. You people in the other 49 have no clue what you're getting yourself into.