Amaré Stoudemire and the Suns face the Spurs in San Antonio on Thursday night (7:30 p.m., TNT). (NBAE Photos)

One could focus on the negative aspects of life on the road - hotel rooms, room service etc, which believe me all get very old after a while. However, being on the road enables the team to go out to dinner together and really (for lack of a better word) "hang out" as one big group.

There are very few distractions on the road a part from the occasional fan or college buddy that now lives in whatever city we are visiting. This current road trip for the Suns will be a great one for us not just solely due to what happens in the win-loss column, but for the simple fact that this trip is the last long one of the season and it will give the group a chance to really fine tunes things prior to our playoff run.

Having said that, after a long trip I am sure all the guys would agree that there is nothing better than coming home to your family, your own bed and home cooking.

So far so good. The team started our trip with a nice win against a Memphis team that has no postseason hopes. These teams, however, can be very dangerous towards the end of the year. From my experience it seems as though teams that are simply counting down their days before summer vacation would enjoy nothing more than to knock off a potential NBA champ or to dash a teams chances of clinching a higher seed.

With nothing left to play for the roll of the "spoiler" becomes very much apart of the non-playoff team. Not to mention the fact that those teams usually resort to playing their young guys whom throughout the regular season did not get much run. These guys are hungry to prove they belong in the NBA and are looking to secure a job for the following year.

The Suns have a great test ahead of them in the San Antonio Spurs. This game could well be a preview for a match up down the road in the playoffs. With the Spurs having won three championships in the last eight years they have something the Suns want badly.

The Spurs may have the experience needed during the playoffs and the Suns having just fallen short of their goal the last couple of years. This will be a great battle and should prove whether there is a changing of the guard at the top of the Western Conference.

Look forward to seeing everyone again after a successful trip.

Cheers!

Getting a little help from a friend before a recent home game. (NBAE Photos)

Thankfully, all but Boris is back (no pun intended, hopefully Boris' back will be 100% very soon) for what will be our final stretch before the playoffs.

The team came back from All-star Weekend for the most part feeling rested and refreshed – of course for our three All-stars and the coaching staff the break would have felt pretty tiring and short.

I spent the break in Cabo San Lucas with my wife, Jennifer. We were able to leave our two boys at home with their Grandparents, so it was a great relaxing time for Jennifer. There were a number of other NBA players in Cabo, so we were unable to completely get away from the game. It is obviously becoming a favorite travel destination during All-Star break.

Since the break we let a win against Philadelphia narrowly escape us. That win would have set a record for having swept an opposing conference on the road, something that has never been done.

The record would have been nice, but hopefully at the end of the season there is a much greater prize awaiting us. The Philly game came at the end of a week long road trip out east which seemed to go on forever. During the trip we visited Minnesota, Indiana, Atlanta and Philly and at this time of year you sure realize how great the Phoenix weather is.

Many of us spent most of the trip hitting up various malls (indoors of course) and movie theaters Here are a couple of movie revues for those interested:

Number 23 starring Jim Carrey gets two thumbs way down. Stick to comedy Jim. Little Miss Sunshine was a very enjoyable, lighthearted film that had most of us laughing out loud.

Well, that takes care of the prior two weeks. Now we are down for our final six weeks of the regular season and our playoff push.

Cheers

I think that this is possibly the first time that I have returned from a long trip without dropping a game. It is great to see the team coming together after a less than anticipated start. Guys are really starting to
click and play well together. Of course we did have some miraculous performances on the road topped by Steve's 42 point night in New Jersey.

Not to be out done both Shaun and Amare came through with some great games and some really tough "D" to help shut down the opponents offense. For many players around the league I think that it is special to return to teams that we had once played for. Of course you want to return and get a win most importantly. I am no different and enjoyed heading back to Miami where I had played several years ago. I enjoyed seeing several familiar faces around the Heat organization again and catching up with an ex-team mate of mine, Brian Grant.

BG was kind enough to take us fishing on our day off. I jumped at the chance to be out on the water again. Expectations were high as BG had talked up a pretty good game especially as far as fishing stories are concerned. After the first hour out on water with not so much as a single bite we began to give it to Brian, however things soon turned to chaos on the boat as guys reeled in some pretty impressive fish, these included a king fish, a mahi mahi and a sailfish. Just so this does not become one of those little fish stories that become big exaggerated fish stories I will include a photo. (Click here to view a photo gallery of our fishing trip.)

One of the low points of this trip (perhaps the only one) was the new James Bond film, perhaps it was the hype and the high expectations I had surrounding the film but it did not live up to them for me or the other guys that went to see it. The first ten minutes were so action packed that the slow pace for the rest of the film was a let down. I also expected a few more of the gadgets that Bonds films have become known for.

Amazingly enough we are now back on the plane after a close game against the Warriors and heading off to Sacramento. Tomorrows game is going to be a big one with our win steak on the line. It would be something very special to be apart of the Suns team that can tie the franchise record with a win against the Kings. They are not a team to be taken lightly and we know that they'll want an improved perrformance from their loss in Phoenix.

With Christmas around the corner I hope you are not like me and have done your shopping, if you haven't guess I'll be seeing you brave the crowds at the malls doing their last minute shop.

Cheers

There was definitely a solemn mood after the loss knowing that this was our second loss to the NBA's hottest team.

Of course Jalen and I had to bare the burden of a double defeat after watching our college teams, Michigan and Cal, respectively, also go down in college football.

Sunday was spent in San Francisco, where a little over half the team went to the 49er game.
Although I had been to many football games prior to this one, I had not had the luxury of being down on the field prior to the game. It was certainly something special to be able to watch the players warm up and go through their various routines before the game from up close. Let's just say that the camera does not do these guys justice- there are some big fellas out there, hitting each other so hard that I could only try to compare it to watching a couple of Volkswagens hitting each other. The game was also pretty special since at half time they retired Jerry Rice's jersey. What a remarkable athlete, whose many records I am sure will stand for some time.

Later on that day we tried to see the latest James Bond film. Unfortunately, it was sold out and we were forced into seeing the only other film showing at the time, Babel- none of us gave it the "thumbs up". I would not recommend the film to anyone unless you have little else to do for two and a half hours and want to feel depressed for the remainder of the day.

Perhaps some of the unflattering comments about Babel are due to the let down of not being able to see Bond.  Sunday was a great day and we were all able to get the loss in Utah out of our system and focus on getting a much needed win in Golden State.

Although the game versus Golden State was perhaps not the prettiest of games for us, it was a game of runs and thankfully we were able to battle back from a large deficit in the second quarter to win on a clutch three ball by Steve. Nice to have him back! (no pun intended) What a difference a couple of days and a win can make.

Happy thanksgiving to you all and we'll see you at the Hornets game.

Both results were not exactly what the team was looking for, however, it enabled a few more guys to get some minutes.

The trip to San Diego was a quick one, but it allowed for a great dinner at Jenny and Sid Craig's house. As one can probably imagine, the Craigs really pulled out all the stops and put on a magnificent dinner party for us all.

I think that most of the guys were enamored with Sid's car collection, which consisted of some incredible vintage cars whose previous owners were everything from ex-presidents to the notorious mob boss, Al Capone. Nights like this are important since it allows for the owners to really get a feel for who the guys are on the team, and, I also think, just as important for the players to get to know the people that are responsible for signing their pay checks.

Thankfully the team is now home in Phoenix for a week gearing up for back-to-back games against the LA teams, a tough way to open the season. It does not get any easier with games against the Lakers, Dallas, San Antonio and the Clippers (twice) all in the first week, or so of the regular season.

The next week will give the guys a chance to really get in sync with one another and also get in the game shape needed to run the way coach wants.

I know we are all excited about the start of the regular season. We also realize that we have a way to go and a few things to improve upon before embarking on our title run.

For me, Friday was spent with family who I was not sure were still going to recognize me ( thankfully they did), unpacking two weeks worth of laundry, trying as best and quick as I can to adjust to the time change, and now packing again for a quick one day trip to Vegas, baby!

All up, our trip to Europe was a successful one, the team was able to get in some quality practices and games, along with gelling with each other both on and off the court. It was great to see glimpses of what this team is capable of doing especially when we get out and run.

I think I speak for the group when I say that I am sure glad to be back States side. It will be nice to not live out of a suitcase for a while, I also think that I'll stay away from pasta for a couple of days having probably overdosed on the various pasta dishes and caprese in Italy. I guess if you have to overdose on something, authentic Italian cuisine isn't a bad choice.

For now its off to Vegas for a rematch with a familiar foe, and keeping in mind you got to "know when to fold-'em, know when to hold-'em, know when to walk away , know when to run".

Two days ago the team had its first preseason game against Virtus Roma. It was a challenging game for us but it was great to finally play against someone else and not just beat up on each other in practice. I think the team looked good for our first outing of the season especially since Roma has been playing together for two months. Having said that I think we all know that there is a long way to go and lot more work needed before we are
playing at the level needed for our ultimate goal.

The next day was a day off. Most of us spent the day seeing some of the remarkable sights around Rome. It was really mind blowing to experience sites such as the Coliseum that have been standing for thousands of years.

Incredible to think that with their somewhat primitive methods the early Romans could construct something of such magnitude and that it would still be standing to this day. You could not help but relive scenes from the
movie "Gladiator" as you would picture the epic battles that had once taken
place there. In its full glory the building, which had taken twenty
thousand slaves seven years to construct, held seventy thousands screaming
fans.

We also had an opportunity to do a tour of the gardens of the Vatican,
as well as St Peters Basilica. Another awe-inspiring building, that few
words can do justice to describe.

We then battled the hordes of people mingling around Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps.

Of course, I have not even touched on the Italian cuisine- wow! There have certainly been no shortage of great meals and of course the occasional glass of red.

All in all, Rome is an incredible city and I know that all the guys really
appreciated the opportunity to take in some of it.

We had a final practice in Rome today after taking our team photo outside of the Coliseum, before departing for Germany. As Coach reminded us that the sight-seeing and tour is over and it's time to get down to business. This starts with back-to-back games against the Sixers and then the winner of the
game between Maccabi and CSKA Moscow.

Today's practice involved a lot of running, a point that Coach is really trying to get across to us. Since we
have the talent to run, many teams should find it tough to keep up with us.

Cheers, Sean

Most of the team has been in town now for the past couple of weeks and getting used to playing with one another. So on the basketball side, things are starting to take shape. I knew prior to coming here that this was a run and gun team, so being in great shape would be a priority. Let's just say that keeping up with Steve-O, Matrix, LB and the rest of the guys is no easy task. Having said that, I should let you know that my feet are currently in a bucket of ice.

The team is preparing for a not so quick jaunt over the Atlantic for preseason. In my previous experiences, these team trips turn out to be a
great team bonding time. The topic of "The DaVinci Code" came up at
practice today, and Eric Piatkowski and myself, as well as a few others, I am sure, are looking forward to seeing a few of the historical landmarks mentioned in the book. A great time should be had by everyone perhaps excluding the trainers and equipment staff that are ultimately responsible for lugging gear half way across the world and back. I am also looking forward to some fierce games over there as we know from the past summer that international basketball should not be taken lightly.

Thus far, the transition to Phoenix has been a good one. I have been able
to experience 90 degree heat while most of the country is bracing itself for winter's worst, and some great restaurants; Chelsea's Kitchen, Stingray, Kazimierz and Grazie to name a few.
All in all, I am thrilled to be a part of an organization which has some very exciting times ahead of it.
I am really looking forward to the season as it looks as though it will be filled with plenty of highlights and fun, ultimately, a rewarding one for us all - fans included.
Cheers