Amare Stoudemire

At least he'll be a Sun next season Sometimes, the best deals are the ones the Suns don't make. Coming to his senses, or acquiring some, just in time, Phoenix owner Robert Sarver decided not to give away Amare Stoudemire after all. After just three days of pounding by the press over All-Star weekend, Sarver, who was calling other owners personally, asking for prospects, draft picks and expiring contracts, realized it was better to fire overmatched coach Terry Porter instead. Voila!

As it always is with a Mike Brown practice, there remained plenty of issues to go over before the Lakers meet Denver in Game 2 Tuesday at Staples Center. The Lakers expect Denver to speed up the tempo. They anticipate point guard Ty Lawson will play more aggressively. The Lakers believe Andrew Bynum will face even more relentless double teams. But Coach Mike Brown didn't highlight New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire suffering a left-hand injury Monday after punching the glass case of a fire extinguisher apparently out of frustration over New York's 2-0 first-round deficit to Miami.

As it always is with a Mike Brown practice, there remained plenty of issues to go over before the Lakers meet Denver in Game 2 Tuesday at Staples Center. The Lakers expect Denver to speed up the tempo. They anticipate point guard Ty Lawson will play more aggressively. The Lakers believe Andrew Bynum will face even more relentless double teams. But Coach Mike Brown didn't highlight New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire suffering a left-hand injury Monday after punching the glass case of a fire extinguisher apparently out of frustration over New York's 2-0 first-round deficit to Miami.

Lakers tonight AT NEW YORK When: 5 PDT. Where: Madison Square Garden. On the air: TV: Channel 9, ESPN; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 15-11, Knicks 11-15. Update: Point guard Jeremy Lin has averaged 25.3 points and 8.3 assists in three games as a starter for the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony is out until next week because of a strained groin. Amare Stoudemire is away from the team until next week because of the death of his brother. —Mike Bresnahan

". . . Are the Knicks set up better now to become an NBA champion than LeBron and them?" —Mike Lupica New York Daily News March 10, 2011 I don't think we're in Fantasyland anymore, Toto. It will obviously take a while for Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony . . . like until the end of time. Not that their inability to run Coach Mike D'Antoni's offense should remain an issue since you can measure the rest of his stay with an egg timer . . . not that he'll mind, having fought this deal.

Reporting from Phoenix -- Amare Stoudemire eased his 6-foot-10, 249-pound frame into a chair, the look of style with a pair of black-rim eye glasses on and the look of a combatant wearing an adhesive bandage above the bridge of his nose, covering a cut. Stoudemire had come under criticism because of his uneven play for the Phoenix Suns in the first two games of the Western Conference finals, because of his poor rebounding and because of his comments...

There's too much recent history between the teams for anything else to have happened, a clean and friendly series looking less likely after the events on Tuesday. The Suns quietly assembled for practice at Staples Center at 10 a.m., but then Amare Stoudemire began to talk. And talk. He told reporters that Lamar Odom had a "lucky game" in the opener of the Western Conference finals, an obvious shot at the sixth man who broke through a monthlong playoff slump with 19 points and 19 rebounds in the Lakers' 128-107 victory Monday night.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES Utah's Jerry Sloan , on his surprise resignation: "I entered every day thinking today's my last day. I know that sounds corny, but I'm a corny guy. " ROLE MODEL FROM ANOTHER PLANET New York's Amare Stoudemire , on inspiring kids in an "NBA Cares" ad: "They look for us to be that positive life form.... " MOST YEARS, ANYWAY Dallas owner Mark Cuban , on Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert's agony: "In 60 days, all of a sudden, your fans are talking about [whether]

Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points and Steve Nash had 18 points and 10 assists before sitting out the fourth quarter while the Phoenix reserves completed a 123-101 rout of the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night that gave the Suns home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Suns made 14 of 24 three-pointers, 11 of 17 in the first three quarters. The Suns can finish no worse than No. 4 in the West and would be No. 3 if they win at Utah on Wednesday. Denver, which finished its regular season, would get the No. 4 spot and a first-round home-court edge if Phoenix beats the Jazz.

Lakers tonight AT NEW YORK When: 5 PDT. Where: Madison Square Garden. On the air: TV: Channel 9, ESPN; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 15-11, Knicks 11-15. Update: Point guard Jeremy Lin has averaged 25.3 points and 8.3 assists in three games as a starter for the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony is out until next week because of a strained groin. Amare Stoudemire is away from the team until next week because of the death of his brother. —Mike Bresnahan

Funny thing about Pau Gasol . He's won two championships, been on four All-Star teams and entrenched himself as the second-best player on the Lakers. But opponents still like to rip him. Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins called him "soft" a few weeks ago, and New York center-forward Amare Stoudemire followed up on it while making a promotional appearance at a shoe store. Photos: Lakers vs. Jazz "He's still soft," Stoudemire said in amateur video shot during an informal Q&A session.

Not that we're the target audience Hamish Bowles , renowned fashion writer, in a Vogue article on Amare Stoudemire : "Although I have lived in Manhattan since 1992 … I have remained in blissful oblivion of all matters sportif. … Until very recently I had absolutely no idea what the Super Bowl was, although it conjured up images of something perfectly lovely from Steuben. " At least for one season New Jersey GM Billy King , to HoopsWorld, on acquiring 2012 free agent Deron Williams : "It helps because other people will see what we're doing.

". . . Are the Knicks set up better now to become an NBA champion than LeBron and them?" —Mike Lupica New York Daily News March 10, 2011 I don't think we're in Fantasyland anymore, Toto. It will obviously take a while for Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony . . . like until the end of time. Not that their inability to run Coach Mike D'Antoni's offense should remain an issue since you can measure the rest of his stay with an egg timer . . . not that he'll mind, having fought this deal.

LOSING IT TNT's Kevin McHale , on a dunk by Orlando's Vince Carter , aka Half-Man, Half-Amazing: "That dunk was three-quarters man and only a quarter amazing. " YEAH, HE'S STAYING New Orleans' Chris Paul , tweeting after 12,479 saw the Hornets go 7-0 in a home win over the Clippers: "Good win for us again 2nite...gr8 not to have to play the 4th...crowds have been good but can be A LOT better, plz N.O. come out 4 us...7-0!" NON-DENIAL DENIAL Boston's Kevin Garnett , on charges by Chicago's Joakim Noah that he's "ugly," "mean" and a dirty player: "Everybody has an opinion and obviously, he had one. I'm not entertaining nor addressing nobodies.

New team leader New York's Amare Stoudemire , telling teammates how they did it in Phoenix: "We don't have that sense of urgency. It's almost as if it doesn't matter. That's something I'm not used to. I try to instill the fact that we have to play with sense of urgency. " Knick tradition Pete Vecsey of the New York Post, on canceling a game against Orlando after debris containing asbestos fell in Madison Square Garden: "... After the success of Asbestos Night vs. the Magic, the Knicks have designated Dec. 15 vs. Boston as Mold Night and Dec. 17 [vs. Miami]

Mike Bresnahan covers the Lakers for The Times and ties up loose ends on the day of his self-designated "game of the week." The Lakers play Friday night at Phoenix. It's too bad the Phoenix Suns traded Amare Stoudemire and gutted their team. I've always enjoyed that city and I'll miss the chance at going there for the playoffs, seeing the ageless Steve Nash in action, getting the free ice cream they hand out in the media room at halftime, which actually leads to races among certain reporters (I'm not even kidding)

Today the Dallas Mavericks, tomorrow the world. In a league where Greek gods' bodies come standard, Amare Stoudemire stood out from the day he arrived, 6 feet 10 inches and 233 pounds with a chiseled frame that tapered from wide shoulders to a 32-inch waist. He had a vertical leap of 38 inches. He was 19 years old, though, and had some things to learn. "He couldn't shoot," says his coach with the Phoenix Suns, Mike D'Antoni. "Couldn't play defense. Other than that, he was pretty good."