NBA.com: Van Gundy, Gentry named Coaches of the Month

www.nba.com

The Orlando Magic’s Stan Van Gundy and the Phoenix Suns’ Alvin Gentry today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in October and November.

If you haven’t already seen my tweets about this, here’s a link to my interview with ValleyoftheSuns.com about the NBA and social media. Check it out!

When Suns head coach @AlvinGentry first started tweeting, he credited his daughter for getting him to join Twitter.

So who better to go to for the second part of ValleyoftheSuns’ in-depth look at social media and the NBA than Alexis Gentry herself?

OK, so the head coach has only sent out a happy Fourth of July tweet since the draft lottery, but he provided some insightful commentary on the Suns’ season last year and promises to do so again this season.

Alexis answered a couple of my questions via e-mail about how her dad got on Twitter, what grade she’d give him as a tweeter and what she’s doing with her entertainment Web site, Trashwire.com.

Read the rest at ValleyoftheSuns.com http://valleyofthesuns.com/2009/09/15/talking-twitter-with-the-coachs-daughter/

I took a lot of camera phone pics while I was in Phoenix this past week, but here’s just a few of the better ones.

Even if you’re not a Suns fan, this is a must-see! The guys make great points about the film, but the “cameos” make this video extra awesome.

Occasionally, it dawns on me that a lot of people I know aren’t on Twitter and haven’t seen my frequent (and some might say incessant) updates from the last week. As a result, I’m writing this blog as a continuation of my first “Basketball Diaries” post–which has nothing to do with Jim Carroll, Leonardo DiCaprio, or heroin–to detail the action, intrigue and adventure during my most recent trip out to the desert to spend some time with the Phoenix Suns….

Read the rest of this entry at TRASHWIRE.COM

Last night was my dad’s first game as Head Coach of the Phoenix Suns. Apparently, it was one of the most exciting games of the season. I say “apparently” because I don’t have NBA League Pass and couldn’t watch the game in its entirety. I did follow live updates on the Suns Twitter, and caught the highlights on Sports Center last night. One of the craziest moments was this one…

That’s right. That’s Zach Randolph of the Clippers punching Lou Amundson of the Suns in the face. Amundson was just fine and proved it with a sick dunk that had the guys on the bench out of their seats.

I’ve seen quite a few basketball fights in my day, including one that left my dad with a broken wrist, but this one was extra exciting. I just kept thinking, “I wish I had flown back from Phoenix on Wednesday instead of Monday!”

In the end, the Suns emerged victorious, winning 140-100, the largest margin of victory after a coaching change in NBA history!

Congrats to the Suns and to my dad, Alvin Gentry, on the win!

Maybe I should think twice about not getting that NBA League Pass.

Here are two videos I took last night at the NBA All-Star festivities.

The first is Dwight Howard’s awesome third round dunk in the Slam Dunk Contest.

The second is a clip of T.I. performing at the Player’s Assoc. party later that same night.