Tonight, they’ll have a chance to see just how good they really are when they play the defending NBA Champions. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently 6-1, and they are on a mission to repeat.

“When you’re playing the world champs, it’s always a great measuring stick,” said Nash, according to ESPN.com. “Now we go to LA and see how good we are.”

The Phoenix Suns will try to keep Kobe Bryant in check when they face off against the Lakers in L.A. tonight.

Accurate shooting, a high-flying offense and good defense have helped get the Suns off to one of their best starts since the 1980-81 season. After beating the New Orleans Hornets by 20 points last night, All-Star guard Chris Paul had this to say:

“They’re like the Phoenix Suns of my rookie year and my second year in the league. I give them a lot of credit. They did a great job of putting those pieces back together.”

We’ll see how those pieces can measure up against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers tonight.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

High-Flying Suns Ready For The Champions

However, with A-Rod publicly commenting for the first time since the July 7 doomsday filing, we couldn’t resist the urge to take another swipe at our least favorite New York Yankee.

People.com ran an article from which we derived these, the top 5 dumb things the All-Star said (via filed documents) about his split from almost-ex Cynthia Rodriguez:

1. He admits that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Um, ya think? Deep thoughts, people, these are deep thoughts.

2. Because Florida is a no-fault state, he whines that C-Rod’s allegations of his extramarital affairs is “immaterial and irrelevant.” Hey, not for bloggers.

3. He argues that their divorce settlement should be determined by their prenup. Just kidding, this isn’t a Dumb Thing. In fact, it’s pretty spot on. Sorry, Cindy.

4. Per People: According to his attorneys, Alan Kluger and Jason Marks, “husband requests that both parties are designated as ‘co-residential’ parents, realizing that the children are likely to spend more time with wife given the realities of husband’s professional life.” We are positive that his baseball duties are the ONLY reason he thinks mom should keep an eye on them most of the time. Why, we can’t even think of another reason.

5. He acknowledges that he should pay child support. See Dumb Thing #1.

Post from: EveryJoe

Top 5 Dumb Things A-Rod Said in Response to His Impending Divorce

• Ryan from College Fast Break tells us how he enjoys the summer without college basketball.
• David from Every Morning Quarterback discusses how summer vacation is over … at least for NFL players.
• Jodie at Gossip on Sports chats about how Dwyane Wade almost ruined her day at the beach. Hey, that’s me!
• Cherie from Dejuiced talks about her summer fun as baseball leads up to pre-season football and then college football.
• Lyndsey at Girls Dig Sports tell us about her good times at the Gus Macker national 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
• Sandy at Green Posse talks about the British Open which begins on July 17th. She also discusses the ultimate sports fun this summer – the Beijing Olympics on Light The Torch.
• Tony at Inside the Ballpark talks about the Midsummer Classic and his experience at the All-Star break festivities back in 2005.
• Michael from Jab & Grapple loves WWE’s SummerSlam and reminisces back to the first SummerSlam back in 1988.
• Jeanne at Hockey Beat tells us ways to enjoy hockey during the summertime.
• Stephen at Hoops Fantasy discusses the fun of NBA Summer League. He also talks about the Home Run Derby over at Knuckle Curve.
• Jyle loves about kicking around a soccer ball at The Footie and wearing your favorite pair of sneakers at Sneaks ‘N Gear.
• Kori at The Fantasy Kickoff talks about preparing for your fantasy draft in the summertime.

What are you doing for fun this summer? Visit one of the b5 sports blogs and let us know about your sports summer fun.

Photo credit: istockphoto

Post from: EveryJoe

Summer Fun Around the b5media Sports Channel

Here are five reasons why the AL came up with a victory yet again:

 1. Ichiro Suzuki’s pre-game F-Bombs. Move over, Bobby Knight. The Seattle Mariners‘ perpetual All-Star has a nifty peptalk ritual for his AL teammates every year.

2. Florida Marlins second baseman and probable never-again All-Star Dan Uggla set—wait for it, this one’s nice and corny—an Ugg-ly record by committing 3 errors in the game.

3. The NL probably isn’t quite accustomed to the ‘tude in New York. (That’s OK, neither were we last week). More AL teams play in Yankee Stadium and are aware of the exceedingly obnoxious Yankees fans who even booed other AL players challenging atmosphere for an opposing team.

4. Boston Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew rocked, nabbing the MVP in his All-Star debut with a two-run HR during his first at-bat. It probably helped that as a member of the Red Sox, he didn’t get verklempt over the sappy pre-game Yankee lovefest. (We’re guessing Jonathan Papelbon, whose Mariano Rivera remarks made him—along with his pregnant wife—a jeer target, didn’t either).  

5. Yogi Berra was in da house. Yeah, even Sox fans can’t resist his wit. Boo to Joe Buck for giving him the heave-ho in the booth. Yogi was just getting started!

Post from: EveryJoe

5 Reasons the AL Won the All-Star Game

Yesterday the league sponsored a free Bon Jovi concert in Central Park. (Digression: We once saw Bon Jovi at a Miami party but totally blew off ’cause we didn’t want to go all fangirl on him).

People.com reports that 3 Doors Down will provide music to swing by (but not, we presume, swing music) tomorrow night for the does-it-or-doesn’t-it-wreck-your-swing Home Run Derby. On Tuesday, Sheryl Crow will kick things off with the national anthem (take that, Lance and Kate!) and that Josh Groban will sing God Bless America—sorry, Kate Smith—during the seventh-inning stretch.

No word as to whether or not any squirrel-hatted Yankees fans will be there for your viewing pleasure, but it’s worth taking a peek around if you’re in the stands.

Post from: EveryJoe

All-Star Celeb Line-Up for MLB All-Star Events

Post from: EveryJoe

Who Knew NBA All-Stars Could Dance, Too?