Fade to Orange

Alison and her hubby are such Suns fans, that Alison planned a special surprise Suns cake and Suns-themed groom's gift for their wedding.

Before, during and after the Suns/Portland Game on Friday, December 10, the Suns will host their 3^rd annual Suns Tweetup, presented by Discount Tire.

Now, I (Alison Bailin Batz – Suns Fan and Social Media Freak) had the opportunity of attending the first of these special events last year – and WOW. Talk about bang for your buck. At mine, the Suns hosted a pre-game party for us, offered discounts all night, welcomed us on the jumbotron and even set up a private, intimate session with Amaré Stoudamire, Alvin Gentry and – as a surprise guest – Jared Dudley.

It was insanely cool. Oh, and I should also mention we got us some free t-shirts and about 10 folks at the Tweetup went home with Suns memorabilia and other prizes.

So, I have to give my personal approval to our Planet Orange family on this upcoming event, and I even want to share some additional details, straight from the Suns:

• The special night will feature many exclusive activities, including early entry into US Airways Center to watch the Suns’ warm up, discounted pregame “Twitter Tailgate” concessions, an exclusive #SunsTweetup t-shirt and group seating with fellow tweeps.
• Select “tweets” sent by @PhoenixSuns followers during the night will also be displayed on the big-screen in-arena, as well as on the live game broadcast on FSN Arizona.
• Fans will also have a chance to win prizes for the best photos tweeted out throughout the night.
• Following the game, the Suns’ tweeps will enjoy a post game performance by the DancingDads and a private question-and-answer session with Suns forward Jared Dudley, one of eight Suns players who utilize Twitter to connect with their fans.

So, I bet you all have two questions…

1. Do I really have to be a Twitter expert to take part?
2. How much will this cost me?

First, while you win all sorts of great gear and prizes for being a part of their social media world, it isn’t a deal breaker. In fact, I took my hubby to the first Tweetup, and he doesn’t even have Facebook – he had the night of his life!

And now onto price – and the news is all good! The Suns are offering discounted Suns Tweetup packages with lower-level seating in Club Annexus for $71, and in the upper level for $31. For more information or to purchase tickets online, Twitter fans can visit Suns.com/tweetup. 

Alison Bailin Batz is a Senior Account Executive at HMA Public Relations and is known as a social media guru and Suns-fanatic. She is also a member of the Public Relations Society of America where she volunteers with its media breakfast and monthly luncheon programs and is a member of its professional development cluster. Alison participates on the board of governors for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Rocky Mountain Chapter (NATAS) and helps plan the local Emmy Awards.

Voice of the Suns’ Al McCoy will appear at the House of Broadcasting Television and Radio Museum in Scottsdale on Oct. 30 to sign his book, The Real McCoy.

Al will be at the HOBI Museum, 7150 E. Fifth Ave., on the second floor above Silver Land, from 1-3 p.m.

The book chronicles his life and features dozens of stories about his hall-of-fame career.

One of the things you can learn about Al by reading the book is that he grew up in Iowa.  His high school basketball coach was a guy named Chuck Lovin.

What you won’t find in the book is that Chuck Lovin is my great-uncle Charlie.  How that didn’t make it through the final edit, I’ll never know.

For more info you can check out www.houseofbroadcasting.com.  The HOBI Museum is a cool place, dedicated to educating the public and preserving and celebrating the history, personalities and paraphernalia of radio and television in Arizona.

Scott Hanson is president of HMA Public Relations where he has been since 1986, after working as a TV sportscaster for years.  You can still find Scott on TV every now and then, whether it’s for the Valley’s PBS station, one of the network affiliates or one of the cable stations. From baseball to foosball, this guy knows sports!

Following the Phoenix Suns victory over the Golden State Warriors last night, the team made what should be the final cuts before the start of the season next week when they cut center Dwayne Jones and guard Zabian Dowdell.

Jones averaged 2.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 3 preseason appearances and Dowdell averaged 5.4 points and 1.6 assists in 5 appearances.

The moves bring the roster down to 14 players total and likely means guard Matt Janning and center Garret Siler will make the season roster, though they likely will watch most of the games in street clothes on the bench or be shipped to the D-League to continue to develop.

There is still the slight chance that Eric Dampier could decide to accept the Suns offer which may put Siler’s spot in jeopardy, or some other player of potential value could be cut from another team this week that the Suns might prefer over Siler or Janning, though it sounds like the Suns see potential in these two and I believe they will remain with the team in some capacity.

Atkins has played 11 seasons in the NBA. (Jeff Vinnick/NBAE/Getty Images)

The Phoenix Suns have waived guard Chucky Atkins, the Suns announced today via press release. Atkins played in 3 preseason games for the Suns this month, averaging 1.0 point and 1.7 assists in 11 minutes. He was one of three guards vying for a spot on the Suns regular season roster as backup to Nash and Dragic.

Atkins has played 11 seasons in the NBA, mostly as a backup point guard, for teams 8 different teams including the Pistons, Magic, Lakers and Nuggets.

With Atkins gone, the Suns appear to be looking for youth in their final guard spot, as Matt Janning and Zabian Dowdell continue to battle to make the roster.

The Suns roster now stands at 16 players and will release 2-3 more players before the start of the regular season on October 26th.

Tomorrow night the Suns continue their preseason play taking on the Utah Jazz at home.

This just in from the Fade to Orange news desk, Eric Dampier is in Phoenix today to meet with the Suns front office to discuss the possibility of the free agent signing with the Suns.

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reported earlier today that Dampier is considering the Phoenix Suns along with the Bulls, Rockets and Raptors as options to sign with for the 2010-2011 season.

The Suns are in need of another true center to back up Robin Lopez and Dampier has the experience and ability to be a great back up center. Dampier, 35, is 6-foot-11, 265-pounds and played last season with the Mavericks, averaging 6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks before being traded to Charlotte for Tyson Chandler. He would be the defensive shot blocker and rebounder that the Suns desperately need right now.

The Suns are only able to offer their biennial exception of about $2.08 million and while it could just be smoke, it does sound like Dampier has some genuine interest in playing for the Suns. “Phoenix is a really good team,” said Dan Fegan, Dampier’s agent. “He had a great year last year. The Suns lost a big man and need another big man. It’s a great team and a great place to live.”

While I do ultimately think this would be a smart move for the Suns, especially given Lopez being prone to injury, part of me can’t help but think of the last time the Suns acquired a very large big man, the not so great “Shaqtus”, and we all know how that turned out.

Let us know what you think in the comments on this possible signing.

Today was Media Day for the Phoenix Suns and that means the start of the season is just around the corner! Tomorrow the Suns head out for La Jolla, California to start training camp and 8 short days from now the Suns play their first preseason game.

The vibe from the team was one of optimism and confidence. They appear set to further improve their defense and focus on rebounding and pushing the tempo.

Alvin Gentry talks at Media Day

“As long as you have good character guys, chemistry seems to come together,” Gentry said. “We’ve got two great leaders in Steve (Nash) and Grant Hill. When your leaders are high-character guys, everybody seems to fall into place.”

Let’s hope the group is able to bond and form some of that chemistry early on this preseason, with 8 of 17 players new to the Suns roster this season it will be integral to their success early in the season.

Growing up in Phoenix I feel I got to enjoy one of the best experiences of any sports fan, for most of my early years I got to watch the Phoenix Suns play and listen to Al McCoy call the game. He is no doubt one of the best play by play men ever to call a game. His experience and knowledge, combined with his great McCoyisms gave the game a whole different look.

Some of his more memorable McCoyisms include:
- Shazzam!
- Whammo time!
- Swish-a-roo for two
- Zing go the strings

And my personal favorite, that I still call out to this day when I drain a 3 pointer over some unlucky defender, “What a shot, Whataburger!”

Unfortunately it appears that Al might be on his way to retiring. It was announced last week that Al McCoy would not join the Suns broadcast team for select East Coast roadtrips. In his 40 year career calling games for the Phoenix Suns, Al has only missed 1 game, Suns at the Bulls on December 31st, 2005 due to illness, now he will voluntarily miss several games this season.

While I do feel that Al McCoy has definitely earned some time off after 40+ amazing years with the Suns, I fear that this may be the start of him slowly bowing out of the game, and that will be a sad day for Phoenix Suns fans and basketball fans everywhere. Let’s just hope that this is a very, very slow bow.

What are your favorite McCoyisms? Let us know in the comments.