Phoenix Suns Blog [Category - Aaron Nelson]

Phoenix or Bust

Thu, 20 Sep 07 20:41:00 UT

The last and final day may have been the craziest, most chaotic day I’ve had in a long time! Upon waking up at around 8 a.m., packing up my room, and checking out, I headed up to a quick breakfast with the rookies (Alando and D.J.). LB was already down and we were just waiting on Steve.

Leandro Barbosa and Aaron Nelson.
(Aaron Nelson/Suns Photos)

Read the Aaron Nelson Blog: Part Two

We had a bus departing at 10 a.m. for the grand opening of Yao Ming’s health club – California Fitness Yao Ming (sister company to 24 Hour Fitnress). As we walked out to the bus, Steve and LB signed autographs for several fans, some who drove over 1,500 miles just to get an autograph. A couple of the grils began crying because they were so excited to get the autographs – You might have thought it was the Beatles!

We arrived at a square downtown in which the introduction of the club would take place. We all met Jackie Chan and proceeded to an area with an outdoor stage and some chairs. About 100 media and supporters were present, while the nearby streets and shops were lined with thousands of fans trying to get a picture or autograph of some of the stars. Yao arrived and the opening ensued. As we were being escorted up to the club (video footage coming soon), the 10 or so security guards we had were no match for the rabid fans. People were pushing and fighting to get close to the players, some just to touch them. Security was hurling people out of the way without hesitation. I was just waiting to be one of the unlucky individuals to take a beating. I stayed close to Steve and Leandro, although I’m still not sure if that was a good or bad idea. I also had to push some people away from LB as they were getting out of control. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. OUT OF CONTROL!

Following good-byes with Yao, agent Bill Duffy, and BDA Sports’ Bill Sanders, we got back on our bus and headed to the airport. After waiting a little while, we boarded Bing’s plane and took off for Russia. The flight lasted about 5 ½ hours, but this time no one got off the plane. Everyone stayed where they were and slept. Steve and Baron Davis slept on the couches in the back of the plane and I took the same floor space I had on the way to China. Everyone else was passed out in their seats. After less than an hour of refueling, we headed off to Seattle – about a 6 ½ hour flight. We all continued to sleep until the last 4 minutes in which everyone started to wake up. We landed in Seattle and said our good-byes to Baron Davis, Amir Johnson and Paul Davis.

As I finish this blog, we are about 45 minutes from Phoenix. The only ones left are Steve, LB, Alando, D.J., Chuck Hayes, Bing, Jody, our flight attendant and our two pilots. Both to and from China, our flight attendant took very good care of all of us, trying to make sure we were always comfortable and well fed.

I hate to use the cliché, but this has been a whirlwind trip! It was an incredible experience for such a short time. Steve and Yao did something incredible for the underprivileged children in China with help from many of their NBA and Chinese friends, as well as their agencies. Bing Hu played a big part in the event and was generous enough to fly us over on his private plane so we would not have to make the trip commercially. They told us that the money from the event will help build about70 schools in China so that young children can now have the education that may have passed them by. You should all know the compassion and love Steve and Yao have for such a great cause. The players were grateful to be a part of such an event. Leandro is now looking at doing an event with Steve, similar to this one, to be held in Brazil. You don’t always get a chance to see what these players do to give back to the community, but I have been able to see first hand.

We are getting close to our descent into Phoenix and I cannot wait to see my wife and son! I hope to see many of you reading this at some Suns games as we make another run for the championship. Training camp starts in about two weeks and our first exhibition game is in about three weeks!

Go Suns!!! – and Steelers!

Photo Gallery

A Great Experience and Spectacular Event

Wed, 19 Sep 07 21:42:00 UT

Our second day in Beijing consisted of breakfast at 8 a.m. followed by a 9:15 a.m. sightseeing tour of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We had a tour guide talk to us about all of the history. It was a great experience and everyone enjoyed the tour despite the continual rainfall.

Steve Nash poses for a picture with Jackie Chan at a charity game in China.
(Aaron Nelson/Suns Photos)

Read the Aaron Nelson Blog: Part One

A visit to the Great Wall was scheduled but had to be cancelled due to poor weather and a long ride (two hours each way). The tour lasted a couple of hours and we then returned to the hotel to grab lunch and get ready for practice.

We left for practice at 2 p.m. Our workouts were held at an academy for the Chinese National Teams (all sports). It would be similar to the USOC Training Centers in the US, but their athletes will come to live in the dorms (some at a very young age) to prepare themselves to win an Olympic medal. Practice lasted about two hours and consisted of stretching/warm-up, shooting drills, some offense strategies, and finally a one-on-one game among several of the players (video footage to come). Baron Davis and Steve had a great battle, with Carmelo jumping in at the end.

We arrived back at the hotel around 4:30 and had a 6 p.m. bus to the Yao/Nash Charity Gala. The Gala consisted of dinner (local cuisine), a variety of entertainment, a live auction, and introduction of the players from both teams. The event raised a couple million dollars (US) and with the actual game the next night, raised just about $3 million.

Several Chinese stars were in attendance, although no one I recognized beyond the players. It was really funny to see several of our players nodding off toward the end of the event, including myself. It wasn’t because of boredom, but rather a combination of things that left us somewhat sleep deprived.

Following the Gala, we all went back to the hotel and went to bed. No nightlife on this night because everyone finally hit the wall with the time change, no naps, and a late night the night prior.

The next morning, we had an 8 a.m. breakfast in which I met Steve and LB. We had a bus leaving at 9 a.m. for a joint shoot around/practice with the Chinese National Team. The practice lasted about an hour and we headed back to the hotel to shower and leave for a noon team lunch at one of the nicest restaurants in China called LAN. LAN is a $52 million dollar establishment with about 50,000 square feet. It consisted of various rooms with different themes. LAN was designed by a famous French designer, although I can’t recall his name. Lunch consisted of a 10-course meal and although I didn’t partake in every course, I was stuffed!

After lunch, we had about an hour and a half to get ready before our 5:30 p.m. bus to the game. You may have heard, but traffic in China is beyond ridiculous. I have seen LA, Houston, and New York traffic, but nothing like this! Even city buses were so crammed, it looked as though individuals barely had enough room to breathe. It took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach the venue. The game was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. but obviously started much later since we arrived there at 7:15pm. I got everyone taped and off they went for the start of the game. Movie star Jackie Chan threw up the honorary jump ball. The game consisted of two 10-minute quarters between the two teams followed by a quarter in which Steve played for the Chinese team and one of their players, Sun, played for our team. The last quarter consisted of mixed squads from both teams. Needless to say, there was no real winner. The Nash All-Stars trailed by three points at the end of the two quarters, but we never played a regular second half.

Following the game, we jumped back on the bus which took us to a private post party hosted by the NBA for everyone from the event. That turned things into another long night, but we all had fun!

One more day and it is off to the USA!

Aaron Nelson Blog: Part Three | Photo Gallery

Beijing or Bust

Tue, 18 Sep 07 22:43:00 UT

I must begin with an apology for a summer-long neglect of blogging, but I am going to fall back on the excuse of being too busy. My wife and I welcomed the birth of our first child—a son we named Andrew. Believe me, an incredible experience that puts a whole new perspective on life.

Steve Nash, Bing Hu (center) and Leandro Barbosa on a flight to China.
(Aaron Nelson/Suns Photos)

Shortly after his birth, I left for a week for summer league in Las Vegas. I made a couple of trips back and forth from Vegas to Phoenix to do some work with Grant Hill. After summer league, I was home for about a week and then traveled to Vancouver for a few days for Steve Nash’s Charity Event. It was at that point that I promised my wife I would be home for the next couple of months prior to leaving for the Sun’s training camp in October. She and I both knew better. I ended up going to Las Vegas for another week to work with the USA Select Team—a team of younger NBA players assembled to scrimmage against the USA National Team in preparation for the FIBA qualifying tournament. I had planned to do a blog about that whole experience (which was great), but I put it on the back burner and never got around to it. All of this brings me to the final (so I hope) trip of the summer prior to camp on October 1st, a trip to Beijing, China for the Steve Nash/Yao Ming Charity game. So, as I thank my wife and son for being so understanding, I will attempt to give everyone some idea of how this trip unfolds.

September 11th, 2007
6 a.m. - Alarm goes off but actually get an extra hour of sleep (usually get up at 5 a.m.). I proceed to eat breakfast, shower, and wait for my son to wake up so I can spend an hour with him and my wife before the car comes to pick me up and takes me to Scottsdale Airpark.
7:45 a.m. - Car arrives, I kiss my wife and son good-bye and I realize how much traveling makes me miss them.
9 a.m. - Arrive at Scottsdale Airpark to board our private plane (Falcon 900) owned by Bing Hu. Bing is a good friend of Steve Nash and actually flew my staff and I up to Steve’s charity game in Vancouver on the same plane. Bing is Chinese and will help us around Beijing, which will make things a lot easier. The Nash/Yao Charity game was an idea spawned between Bing and Steve to help the poor children in China. Steve approached Yao after a game between the Suns and Rockets and the whole event was quickly put together.
9:45 a.m. - Flight departs and we head to Las Vegas to pick up some auction items for the charity event. On the flight is Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, Alando Tucker, DJ Strawberry, Bing Hu, Jody Evans (assistant within BDA Sports), our flight attendant, and myself.
11 a.m. - Load auction items and depart Las Vegas for Seattle to pick up the rest of the players.
1:30 p.m. - Land in Seattle and pick up Baron Davis, Chuck Hayes, Amir Johnson, and Paul Davis. Carmello Anthony will meet us in Beijing.

Now the time becomes a little foggy and we pass through many time zones. We make stops in Anchorage, Alaska and Petropavlosk-Kamcatsig, Russia to refuel. Steve and Leandro stay sleeping on the plane during our Russian refueling stop while the rest of us get out to stretch our legs on the tarmac. Once we have the plane serviced, we fly across the Okhotsk Sea to China. We land in Beijing around 6:30 p.m. local time the following day(Beijing is 15 hours ahead of Phoenix time).

We have a bus pick us up and take us to our hotel - The Regent Beijing. It is an awesome hotel, but the service was somewhat suspect. It began by them not having a key ready for my room which was the last thing I wanted to hear after traveling for ¾ of a day! We all went to a press conference in the hotel in which Steve and Yao were introduced to a room full of media. The rest of the players were also in attendance and received and answered questions for about an hour. After the press meeting, I was able to get into my room with my bags, but still had to wait for them to bring me my key. Eventually, I was all set and the boys and I headed off to a night of karaoke (very popular in China). Steve and Baron had the microphone most of the night which was beyond entertaining. I hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time!

Aaron Nelson Blog: Part Two | Photo Gallery

Reflecting Back and Looking Ahead

Wed, 25 Apr 07 15:31:00 UT

I don't know about everyone else, but this season has flown by very quickly! We are already two games and two wins into the 2007 NBA Playoffs and potentially only a couple of months away from a NBA championship. Now is a good time to reflect on some of the key moments of the season.

Amaré Stoudemire was the only Suns' player to play in all 82 regular season games in 2006-07.
(NBAE Photos)

September began with informal workouts, including extra workout sessions with our Sports Medicine staff trying to keep up with Nash(Camelback, parking garage, etc.).

We travel with the team, staff, family, owners, administration, and NBA personnel to Italy and Germany for a very memorable training camp.

I found out after coming home from a preseason road game that my wife is pregnant with our first child. Several weeks later I found out we’re having a boy!

The regular season started out slow, but ended up with 61 wins(3^rd best in Suns history), including win streaks of 17 and 15 games!

Ben Roethlisberger came to a shootaround and participated in the entire workout(including the film session). Steeler Nation, baby!

Jerome Bettis attends the Suns/Pistons game and come back to the training room for a visit. Did I say Steeler Nation baby?!

Cal Ripken Jr. made a tour through the locker room before a game. Not part of Steeler Nation, but not a bad athlete to put in with a couple of Super Bowl Champs!

Amaré plays in all 82 games after 2 knee surgeries last season—unbelievable accomplishment.

We end up with the 2^nd best record in the NBA!

Leandro Barbosa wins 6^th Man of the Year! I still think he should have received all of the votes!

Those were only a few of the highlights of another great season. Of course there have been ups and downs, but we seem to be hitting our stride again at the right time.

Now, we need to look ahead. We have 2 wins under our belts and need 14 more to win a NBA Championship.

First, we need to win this series as we travel to LA for games 3 and 4. Los Angeles can be a hostile territory during the playoffs as family and friends can attest from last years playoffs against the Lakers and the Clippers.

As long as we keep building momentum and playing hard, great things will probably follow. We have a group of guys that are starving for a shot at the title, but everyone knows that the West is a difficult conference.

All of us (players, coaches, and staff) have friends working or playing for the other playoff teams, so there are calls, texts, and emails almost daily between everyone. The anxious anticipation builds daily as we get closer to meeting those individuals in a playoff series.

Friendships can become tense, but that is the nature of the game. I will assure all Suns fans that our team is ready to dig in deep and make a run to what we all want to see—the championship trophy hoisted high above our heads!

Just Over Half Way

Thu, 08 Feb 07 16:03:00 UT

We are finally over the half way mark and things continue to look good. Sure, we have incurred our share of "bumps and bruises" lately, but nothing that isn't manageable.

Aaron "Scruffy" Nelson helps out Amaré Stoudemire during the Suns' 17-game winning streak.
(Barry Gossage/NBAE Photos)

Personally, I made it through a couple of streaks, the first in which I wore the same sport coat for 10 consecutive wins (that can get a little funky) and the second in which I nearly scratched my face off by growing a beard that lasted 11 straight games and almost 3 weeks.

Of the 10 of us that decided not to shave until we lost, Steve Nash was the first to shave, followed quickly by Raja Bell and Pat Burke. That left Sean Marks, Boris Diaw, Jumaine Jones, Erik Phillips, Mike Elliott, Jay Gaspar, and me to carry out the original plans.

Unfortunately for the streak and fortunately for my face, the streak came to an end in Minnesota. The head athletic trainer for the Timberwolves, Gregg Farnam, is a really good friend of mine and decided to put three razors with the names Aaron, Mike, and Erik taped to each one, along with a can of shaving cream in our training room before the end of the game. In return, we all left our “whiskers” on the sink in the bathroom for him to clean up!

There are only three more games left before the All-Star Break. It is crazy to think that we can have 40+ wins heading into the break.

We play in Seattle on Wednesday and then the team is off to different locations to try to relax before the big “end of the season push.” I will be heading to Las Vegas as the third athletic trainer for the festivities.

The way it works for us is on a rotational basis for each conference (East and West). I am the third athletic trainer because Phoenix is the closest NBA city to Las Vegas. I have about five more years before I would represent the Western Conference as the athletic trainer unless the All-Star game comes to Phoenix before then — I would be the host athletic trainer.

I am really looking forward to the experience. This will be my first All-Star game and it will be with our coaching staff (well-deserved) and Amaré Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, and Steve (also well-deserved). It should be a lot of fun, but not much rest.

We come back on Sunday night after the game, only to turn around and leave again on Monday for L.A. to play the Clippers. We then come home for one game, then leave the next day for our last East Coast/Midwest trip (4 games/6 ½ days).

I will post another blog to fill everyone in on the All-Star events. It will then be time to gear up for the playoffs and a run toward the championship! Keep cheering!

Big Ben in the House!

Thu, 11 Jan 07 18:46:00 UT

I figured that now would be a good time to post another blog. On Wednesday, we had a special guest appearance to our shootaround by Super Bowl Champ Ben Roethlisberger. For those of you who are solely NBA (Phoenix Suns) fans, Ben is the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For those that don't know me, I am a huge Steelers fan (since I was 4 years old). My high school football jersey wore #88 in respect for Lynn Swann (my favorite receiver growing up). I am always being pummeled with abuse about my love for the Steelers by both the players and the coaching staff. Last season was great for me because I could daily inflict all of them with torture about how good the Steelers were—all the way to their Super Bowl win. Coach D’Antoni (a Browns fan), even had to wear a Steelers hat during a practice and for post-practice interviews after the beating his team took from the hands of the Steelers.

Now, on to the original story.

Last year, there was a charity event at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge called Celebrity Fight Night. Steve Nash was one of the celebrities to be in attendance. A couple of days before the event, Steve said that Ben Roethlisberger was going to be there. The Steelers had just won the Super Bowl, so he knew that would excite me.

This entire story will show just what kind of guy Steve Nash is if you weren’t sold on how nice and down to earth he really is.

Steve asked me if I wanted him to take a jersey to get autographed. It just so happened that prior to the start of the NFL season, I had an authentic #7 Roethlisberger jersey made by our associates at Reebok via NFL Onfield Apparel. It had/has extra sentimental meaning because I was wearing it when I proposed to my then girlfriend/now wife at our fantasy football draft. (I selected her with my first pick in front of many unknowing family and friends). It would be the perfect jersey to have signed. So, Steve took the jersey to the event and carried it around with him the entire night. He searched for Ben’s table and asked him if he would mind signing the jersey. Come to find out, Ben is a huge basketball fan and a fan of Steve Nash. Steve offered to sign one of his own jerseys (as a swap). Ben signed the jersey “Aaron—Congratulations on your engagement! We won it for you! Ben Roethlisberger #7.” It doesn’t get much better then that! Ben and Steve exchanged phone numbers and that was that.

Fast forward to this week.

Ben called Steve on Monday to see if he was going to the BCS game Monday night. Steve told him no, but asked if he wanted to come to our shootaround on Tuesday morning. He obviously said yes, but it was still unknown by all of us. Tuesday morning I got a call from Steve asking if Coach was in the arena yet. I arrive early and hadn’t seen him. Steve asked if I had a different number for him because he really needed to talk to him. Steve and I are good friends and I thought it was strange that he wouldn’t say why he needed to talk to him, but Coach D’Antoni’s approval for Ben to come to shootaround was the reason and Steve wanted to keep it as a secret from me.

We shoot at 9:45am on home game days and about 9:00am, Steve came walking in with Big Ben. Several of us were in the training room and I couldn’t believe it. I have been around many NBA stars and other celebrities and it doesn’t even phase me. But, when the starting quarterback for your lifelong favorite football team comes around, it can be flat out exciting. I was speechless for a few minutes while several of the players and coaches laughed at me. The crazy thing about all of it, everyone else was about as excited as I was (asking for autographs and pictures). Maybe it was because they all felt they already knew him in some way because of my daily taunts during the NFL season about Ben and all of the Steelers.

Coach allowed Ben to go through the entire shootaround. We got him some Suns gear and shoes and he did everything from the film sessions to the shooting drills with the guards. He is a big quarterback (6’5” 245lbs) and held his own during the shooting, making most of his shots.

After practice he came back up to the locker room for pictures and more autographs. He even signed a basketball for my wife and me. My wife and her family are all huge Steelers fans as well, so they were equally excited. Ben finally got the autographed jersey Steve had promised him, then Steve drove Ben and two of his friends back to their hotel in north Scottsdale. They couldn’t stay for the game because they had a plane to catch a few hours later. Maybe he will make another visit in the playoffs! Who knows?!

Go Steelers! And Suns!!

Can I buy a vowel? Exciting, Exhilarating, Exhaustive

Fri, 15 Dec 06 22:07:00 UT

It's been a long time since I've chimed in, but it's also been a long time since we lost a game. I won't discuss much about the streak, but I will recap some of this past 5 game/7 day road trip that not only kept the streak alive, but obviously had us going 5-0 for the trip!

We had an earlier practice followed by a bus to the airport to start our trip. The 4 ½ hour flight to Newark was fairly uneventful. We had a few extra people as some of our owners and some of our players’ families made the trip. The game versus New Jersey was almost indescribable outside of the fact that it felt like I had just gone through a 12 round title fight and I wasn’t even playing. I had to reduce a dislocated finger late in the game which may sound somewhat exciting, but it was minute compared to the big picture. To be able to sit courtside and watch two teams with two of the best point guards of all time battle it out was amazing. Thankfully, we got the win because who knows what that would have done to the psyche of our team.

We traveled to Boston the next night, and as we anticipated, we were a little flat. We were able to come on late to secure a victory. I also got to see and say hello to Danny Ainge who became a good friend to me while he was in Phoenix. I should add that on back to backs on the road, we will have a breakfast meeting in the morning. The meeting replaces the typically shootaround at the arena. We will have breakfast as a team in a large ballroom. After everyone gets close to finishing their food, the coaches will begin discussing the game with the use of a white board and a DVD player. After the talk, the players will do a “walk through” where a free throw lane has been outlined in “trainers” tape. Breakfast meetings are great, especially when you don’t get to bed until 3am or 4am in the morning.

When we go on these longer road trips, we have a lot of extra luggage. My staff and I will help load and unload the bags in all cities, unless we have a luggage truck. On all of the longer trips, we have a luggage truck which our equipment manager, Jay Gaspar, will accompany to the hotel. Once the bus gets to the hotel, I will go in and hand out the keys to the coaches, players, and support staff so I can make sure we have all the keys we need and to make any changes to rooms I may need to make. Shortly thereafter, the luggage truck will show up and my staff(Mike Elliott, Eric Phillips, Jay Gaspar, and myself) will unload the truck and help separate and tag the bags so the bellmen have an easier time getting the bags to the rooms. All of this can make for a long night!

After Boston, we traveled to Charlotte. We actually had a day off to go to the mall, catch a movie, or find something to help us chill out. Sean Marks, Eric Piatkowski(Pike), Erik Phillips and I went to see Casino Royale. We then later met up with a few of the other guys to hang out for awhile. One great thing about our team is that you will see most of the guys hanging out together. Whether it is dinner, a movie, or walking around the mall, most of the guys will hang out together.

Charlotte—our third win of the trip!
Off to Orlando, another breakfast meeting, and a match-up in which many thought would be our toughest game. The guys, although coming off of a back to back, were very motivated to win. And we did!

Finally, the trip to Miami. This could normally be scary because Miami has infamous South Beach and can be harmful to any team. It has all kinds of fun and entertaining things to do, but it also usually happens pretty late. Several of us stayed in Coconut Grove in an area right across the street from our hotel. Some shopped, some saw a movie, and some enjoyed various eating establishments. We practiced on the day before the game which was mainly a lot of shooting. Once again, our team stepped up and got our 5th win of the trip and extended our streak to 12. The most important thing for me personally is that we came home relatively healthy. Traveling (frequent flying, long bus rides, various hotel beds) can take its toll on the body let alone the actual game itself.

It is still early in the season, but I will tell you, there is a lot more fun to come! I don’t need to tell you that this team is exciting, but I will reiterate that this team is pretty close. That says a lot for chemistry—a main ingredient in winning a championship!

What the season could bring...

Mon, 30 Oct 06 15:54:00 UT

It seems that everyone is equally excited for the start of the season, the players, the coaching staff, the sports medicine staff, the organization, and the greatest fans in the NBA (Suns fans, of course)!

I had to take time off from blogging during the preseason as it seems like a season within itself. Obviously, I am excluding the beginning of preseason with our trip to Europe which is a unique situation to the normal NBA preseason rigor. The preseason becomes a little long and players tend to lose interest in the games, although it is better than scrimmaging each other every day.

I will reiterate that we have a great group of guys which will hopefully equate to a great team and eventually an NBA title. We have had our share of bumps and bruises throughout the preseason, but as we head into the season opener against the Lakers tomorrow, we seem to be overall healthy. Again, I must say how lucky I am to have a great staff around me. Mike (Elliott) and Erik (Phillips) help make my job a lot easier, while our team doctors, Dr. Carter and Dr. Phelps, help me maintain sanity by having several conversations with me each week in regards to the well-being of our team. We all share in the daily receiving of information from those who have the cure all for our guy’s ailments. I really believe that there are individuals who think our staff just sits around and looks at our players hoping only time will heal their injury. On the contrary, we all discuss almost daily new modalities, nutrition, psychological advancements, and just ways to stay ahead in the world of sports medicine. Some individuals are never ending in there quest to push their product, but my staff and I do evaluate the information and try to decide what to do with it. It is a challenge when you are dealing with players worth millions of dollars, so we make sure anything we do use or try is supported by research. For all of the Sun’s fans who have a question about what we actually do to treat our injured players, I can only tell you to believe me when I say that we take pride in giving our players great care.

Now, back to the thought of winning a championship. I am fortunate enough to be around these guys several hours a day almost every day of the season. We all spend a lot of time together and I can reassure you that chemistry is a vital part of winning at any level. These guys possess the chemistry it takes, and hopefully with a few breaks here and there(not the boney kind), we will have our shot. Our coaches do an unbelievable job of preparing the team for both practice and games. Case in point, the Sunday NFL games are shut off in the training room prior to practice so the coaches can review game tape with certain players. I guess that is a sacrifice worth making as long as we win!

Hopefully I can bring more exciting news in the seasonal blog, and hopefully it is the good, fun kind. Just remember, our guys do feed off of a rowdy crowd, so anyone reading this who comes to any of the games, get those around you screaming and yelling (no profanity please) because it will help drive this team. We all get to do our part!!

From Gladiator, to Pope, to my Heritage...WOW!!!

Tue, 10 Oct 06 15:11:00 UT

I'm not sure where I left off, but it has been awhile since I blogged. I apologize, although I'm sure you may be seeing some repetitive narrative. I would like to start by thanking the people responding with comments. I have returned some, but I haven't had a chance to see them all.

Treviso and Venice where awesome, so how do you beat that? You travel to Rome! Rome may have become my favorite city in the world, but I have to keep Phoenix, Chicago, and Manning right there with it. Rome was like New York shopping with ancient ruins and history around every corner. Almost everyone on the trip(players, coaches, staff, and family) got to tour almost all of the main attractions, but I will tell you what I did. Our first main tour was walking about 20 miles throughout the city to see all of the big sites. We started at the Spanish Steps (O.K.), proceeded to the Trevi Fountain (pretty cool), then the Pantheon (really cool), and finally to a guided tour of the Coliseum (awesome). If you haven’t seen the movie Gladiator, go rent it. I found out a lot of interesting facts that made the tour well worth the extra 10 Euros/person. To think of the fighting and the animal vs. slave events that were held were something that you just think happens in movies. We actually got to see an animal cage that has been kept throughout time. I could go on and on about some of the facts, but I will just some it up with the word AMAZING! After a nice Italian meal at a nearby establishment, we checked out the Rome night life. Several of us, including an Italian guide and a couple of NBA personnel went to a wine bar and proceeded to a night club to check out the scene. As soon as the techno started banging, most of us headed back to the hotel.

The next day consisted of some minor shopping and a game against the team from Rome. The atmosphere was incredible, with the fans barraging us with local chants and waves. We won the game, attended a post game reception with both teams and the commissioner, David Stern. Saturday was a day off, so a tour of the Vatican was set up. We were some of the fortunate individuals who actually got to walk around the Pope’s gardens and see all of the amazing displays of architecture, flowers, and trees. We ended the tour at St. Peter’s Basilica. Absolutely amazing!! My wife and I took so many pictures and video, we could put together a disc with hours of memories. After exiting into the main square at the Vatican, my wife and I left the group and walked around Vatican City before having lunch and grabbing a taxi back to the hotel.

Sunday morning came quick. We had practice in Rome that was preceded by a team photo in front of the Coliseum. After practice, we bussed to the airport, boarded our charter and headed off to Germany. After landing and getting all of the teams’ bags to the proper rooms, several of us (players and staff) took a bus into Cologne to an American bar to watch Sunday football. The first group of games start at 7:00pm here, followed by the second group starting around 10:15pm. The majority of the 76ers players showed up for the 10:15pm games, mainly because the Philly vs. Dallas game was showing. I stayed up until 3:15am watching the Steelers game, but eventually got kicked off the internet and more importantly my Slingbox.

We practiced again at the arena in Cologne which holds about 22,000 and is actually a nice arena(similar to the ones in US). For the fans reading this, Amare practiced the last two days, plus this morning’s shootaround and is looking really good. He plans on playing tonight and has shown some of the Amare that we all remember. Pike(Eric Piatkowski) sprained his ankle and will not play tonight and probably not tomorrow, but we hope to have him back soon. Outside of general tiredness and fatigue associated with traveling and time changes, our team is healthy!

I end this blog mainly for those with a German heritage, including the people of Manning, Iowa. Manning is a German town and celebrates it’s heritage yearly. We are staying in a small town outside of Cologne named Kadettenstrabe. The hotel is a site to see. It’s a cross between a castle and villa. The reason I say villa, because history says that a man built this place as a villa for his wife. It obviously has been remodeled into a hotel, but man is it beautiful! Back to the heritage portion of the blog. The town we are in is a very small town which reminds me much of my hometown of Manning. There are several small shops lining the town, with a brick road that goes down the middle. The brick road down Main Street is something that Manning has maintained. My wife and I ate at an authentic German restaurant and the food was great. We had to ask for the only English menu, because all of the menus were entirely in German. Now that’s authentic! The design of the establishment was similar to the Haus barn that was brought to Manning and restored. The design/architecture is very similar between here and Manning, so for those who have been to Manning and seen the town, but have not been to Germany, it is pretty close.

We are playing our first of two games in Cologne tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers. The winner of our game plays the winner of the other two teams tomorrow night in the late game. We have a 1:30am bag pull following tomorrow night’s game, followed by an early bus departure to the airport. Once we board our charter, we are looking at another 16 hours or so of flying and refueling, along with the stop to clear customs. We are all looking forward to returning to Phoenix to see our family and friends. We do turnaround however and leave a day after we get back for an exhibition game in Las Vegas against the Lakers. The whirlwind tour continues!!!!

Monday - Are you ready for some football (I mean basketball)?

Tue, 03 Oct 06 16:05:00 UT

I missed writing yesterday due to a full day of basketball, a trip to Venice, and staying up until 2:30am to watch football. Practices have been going very well. I am obviously bias, but I think this could be the year for the Suns.

There is some tough competition throughout the league, but I like the fact that we have gotten a little deeper and the team is bonding. Of course bonding is a lot easier when your having training camp in another country.

After practice yesterday, several of us got on a bus which took us to an area right outside of Venice. At that point, we boarded 3 water taxis who took us into the city. After reaching San Marcos Square, we walked around taking in all of the sights, absorbing the great atmosphere. After having dinner with our team doctors, we got back in the water taxis and headed back to Treviso. Once back to the hotel, several of us headed downstairs to the NBA Office where the IT guy had hooked my computer up to a projector and speaker and we proceeded to scroll through Direct TV via my Slingbox. As more people began to trickle in, we flipped around, catching the end of Gonzo’s last game as a Dback and some of the local Phoenix news. Watching Sunday football was awesome!!

This morning, several of us headed into downtown Treviso to check out the city. I guess it is custom that almost everything is closed on Sunday and half of Monday, so there were no shops open, only cafes and restaurants. We did run into Mike and Laurel D’Antoni who were being followed around by a TV crew. The locals were coming up to Mike, which just proved to us that he is still a local hero. After a few hours, we headed back to the hotel to tape and treat the guys for our afternoon practice.

Several of the guys(Steve, Raja, LB, Pat, Kurt, Sean Marks, and Amare) took a bus into Milan yesterday to take in a soccer match. From what I understand, it was a long drive for a boring game. Too bad, they missed out on a night in Venice. Despite the long drive, the guys had a good practice tonight, ended by Nash leading the squad up and down the steps of the arena for some extra conditioning while chanting loudly for the rest of us in attendance.

The day ended by a dinner in downtown Treviso at da Pina. The food was unbelievable! So far this has been quite an experience. From the practices, to the sights, to the food, this has been a fantastic experience. Now I am debating if I am going to set my alarm for 3:00am to get up for Monday night football. Decisions. Decisions.

It's Official: Day 1 Arrives!

Sat, 30 Sep 06 16:01:00 UT

It finally arrived--the first official day of training camp 2006! I pulled into the arena a little before 6:00am with my mind not sleepy, but spinning. This is my last chance to make sure we have everything before we leave.

I also needed to make sure we were all set for the players/staff physicals that would start at 9:00am. My staff and I went around to each of our doctor’s rooms to make sure they were set, made a quick stop at Starbuck’s upstairs, then returned to the training room to get ready to greet the arriving physicians.

So, the question most of you want to know. How is the general health of the team? Overall, we are pretty healthy. Obviously I can’t discuss specifics, but we enter camp with everyone able to participate. Amaré had a great week of workouts this past week and is excited to get back to his old form. We have added four new players in Marcus Banks, Sean Marks, Eric Piatkowski, and Jumaine Jones. All four of them add to an already great group of guys. We honestly have a very close and fun team. As a fan, I think everyone will thoroughly enjoy this season. Steve Nash may be in the best shape I have ever seen him. As an example, after a morning of lifting and playing 5-on-5, my staff and I went with him to hike Camelback. Four of us started ahead of Steve and were probably just about ¼ of the way up when he came running past us—not breathing hard at all. Boris and Leandro got to play in the World Games, so they also are in good condition.

Back to the trip. After loading 3 buses and a luggage truck with about 200 bags/boxes/cases, we had our traveling party of roughly 80 people screened by security and bused off to our charter flight. I am currently writing this 1 ½ hours into the flight about 35,000 feet in the air. The mood is great. You can feel the energy and excitement even though we have about 13 hours to go. Once we land, we will clear customs, bus to the hotel, eat lunch, then bus to our first practice. The practice will only be about an hour of non-taped instructional work just to start getting the guys use to the 9 hour time difference. Sunday will kick off our first official “hard” practice.

We are all looking forward to not only seeing the beautiful country of Italy, but also to start preparing for an awesome season, hopefully accompanied by a championship. Let the exciting times begin!!

Are We There Yet??

Thu, 28 Sep 06 21:39:00 UT

Well, as one of the several authors of the training camp "blogs", I should start by telling you a little about myself. I am currently entering my 14th season with the Suns, 7th as the head athletic trainer.

My first year, back in 1993, I was fortunate enough to be a recent Iowa State University graduate heading to Germany with the team for the McDonald’s Open (part of our preseason). That was the season following a trip to the NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls where I got to work the entire playoffs. I came to Phoenix as a naïve young man from Manning, Iowa (very small rural town in the SW part of the state) and attended Iowa State University after following my sister Stacy and her future husband (boyfriend at the time) to my now alma mater. That boyfriend turned husband happened to be former Phoenix Suns guard Jeff Hornacek.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will try to give a little insight to what actually goes on this time of the year—with the addition of adding the foreign country component. The past couple of weeks have been terribly hectic. From packing up the proper medical supplies (tape, modalities, OTC’s, etc.) to arranging blood work, stress tests, and any other diagnostic tests that we need for our 14 players, it has been somewhat of a stressful time. Sitting in numerous meetings and having numerous conversations with almost every department, I think we are close to being ready to leave. Tomorrow we have physicals for the team at the arena, followed by media day, and then our long awaited departure. I can’t begin to tell you how lucky I am to have such great medical support. From my direct staff (Mike Elliott and Erik Phillips), to our team doctors (Dr. Tom Carter and Dr. Craig Phelps), to our partners at NASM (Mike Clark and Tyler Wallace), and our umbrella of incredible medical support staff, our physicals are nearly flawless.

The past week and a half, I have spent most of the time outside of work at the mall and Best Buy either by myself or with my new bride, Jessica. This hasn’t just been a couple of trips, but an everyday occurrence. I am looking for personal items for the trip, but also movies to bring along so that I can supply ample material to everyone going on the long jaunt to Italy. I already have a fairly significant library of DVDs (over 500) so we should be alright. I am fortunate enough to bring my wife for the entire trip. She teaches school at Ryan Elementary in Chandler which is a year round district. It just so happens that her fall break starts tomorrow and ends when we get back from Germany—lucky for her!!

The hardest thing to do is to leave my close friends, family and two dogs for two weeks. With the aid of a Slingbox, I will be able to watch my Steelers, Cyclones, and local (Phoenix) TV on my computer and follow my high school football team who is currently ranked #4 in the state. Modern technology is awesome. The only thing that hasn’t been invented to my knowledge is a transporter to get our team to Italy in a minute or two rather than fly for 14 hours.

Are we there yet?