Category: Phoenix Suns Blog

Dan Barry of the New York Times reports:

Last month, in a Midtown office adorned with sports memorabilia, two longtime friends met for a private talk. David Stern, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association, sipped his morning coffee, expecting to be asked for career advice. Across from him sat Rick Welts, the president and chief executive of the Phoenix Suns, who had come to New York not to discuss careers, but to say, finally, I am gay.

In many work environments, this would qualify as a so-what moment. But until now, Mr. Welts, 58, who has spent 40 years in sports, rising from ball boy to N.B.A. executive to team president, had not felt comfortable enough in his chosen field to be open about his sexuality. His eyes welling at times, he also said that he planned to go public.

By this point, Mr. Welts had already traveled to Seattle to share his news with another friend, Bill Russell, one of the greatest basketball players ever and the recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He had also met with Val Ackerman, the founding president of the Women’s National Basketball Association, in New York, and would soon be lunching in Phoenix with Steve Nash, the point guard and leader of the Suns and twice the N.B.A.’s most valuable player…

Growing up in Seattle, he was the industrious kid who landed a coveted job with the SuperSonics basketball team, first as a ball boy, then as an assistant trainer. By the time he went to the University of Washington, he had enough good-will clout to have Lenny Wilkens, then the coach of the Sonics, visit his fraternity for a chat.

But for all the fraternal respect this earned him, Mr. Welts felt isolated. What little he knew of gay culture was stereotypical, and unappealing, he recalled. “In my mind, it was effeminate: a way that I would not define as masculine.”

His growing responsibilities with the Sonics allowed him to miss class dances and other awkward obligations, but even alone, he felt out of place. Late one night, he walked two miles to slip a long confessional letter under the door of a young minister at his family’s church, but the well-intentioned minister could not help him. So he resigned himself to adapt, in private.

The AP reports:

Grant Hill has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s board of governors, the first active player to earn a position.

The Phoenix Suns’ forward was elected to a three-year term, the Hall of Fame announced Tuesday. Hill will serve as one of 22 members of the board, chaired by Jerry Colangelo.

Hall of Fame broadcaster Gary Bender, who has spent nearly two decades as the voice of Phoenix Suns local home game telecasts, will make 2010-11 his final season behind the microphone and retire from broadcasting.

Bender, whose first broadcasting opportunity came at a 1,000-watt radio station in Hutchinson, Kan., in 1964, will see his illustrious career come full circle as he returns to his Midwest roots to serve as a consultant to the Kansas University Alumni Association and the school’s Endowment Association.  In his new role, Bender will advise both organizations on communications, programs, and events, and also serve as keynote speaker at awards programs.

“Gary defines the word ‘professional’ in the broadcasting industry,” said Suns President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Welts.  “His class, talent and character have combined to give Suns fans 18 years of great memories and unforgettable moments lived through his words.  He is part of our family, and the team and all Suns fans say ‘thank you’ for a job incredibly well done.”

Over more than five decades in the industry, Bender’s voice has provided the track for some of sports’ most indelible moments.  As the longtime voice of the Final Four on CBS, Bender called two of the most famous finishes in the history of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  He was courtside in 1982 for Michael Jordan’s game-winner that lifted North Carolina over Georgetown in the title game, and in 1983 for North Carolina State’s improbable championship-clinching win over Houston on Lorenzo Charles’ dunk as time expired.  And it was Bender who described the heart-wrenching race of speed skater Dan Jansen at the 1988 Winter Olympics on the day of his sister’s passing.

One of the most recognizable voices in sports broadcasting, Bender’s radio and television career spans 27 sports, three major networks, and some of the most storied franchises and institutions in sports.  He has served as the voice of the University of Kansas, the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, and Phoenix Cardinals.  Bender’s time with CBS, ABC and Turner Sports saw him broadcast not only the Olympic Games and Final Four, but also the Masters Golf Tournament, Sunday Night Football, and national NBA and Major League Baseball telecasts.

A 1962 graduate of Wichita State, Bender earned a master’s in television/film from the University of Kansas.  He was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Phi Delta Theta Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Bender joined the Suns family in 1993 for what he expected to be a brief stint; now in his 18th season handling play-by-play duties, he has broadcast more than 700 Suns games.  The Suns will honor Bender during the club’s April 11 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center.

Bender is the author of Call of the Game: What Really Happens in the Broadcast Booth, and is currently working on a second book about his life in sports.

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports:

The Suns won’t say they are giving up on the now, but they made changes Sunday that looked just as much about the future.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry inserted center Marcin Gortat and swingman Jared Dudley into the starting lineup, putting Gortat into the spot of Robin Lopez, who had been groomed as a future franchise center, and Dudley in place of guard Vince Carter, who likely won’t be with the Suns next season.

Gortat, 27, has received minutes and produced the numbers as if he were a starter and embraces the idea of a bigger role in the future. Sunday was his first start as a Suns center after receiving one previous start at power forward alongside Lopez.

“There’s a lot of room for me to improve,” said Gortat, who returned after having a broken nose reset Saturday. “I believe that watching our situation right now with the team, it sounds crazy ,but maybe one day I could be the leader of this team and be one of the main leaders of this team and be the guy who’s going to be the big boost in this team.

“I ain’t scared of doing it. I’m pretty confident. I know I’m going to work hard in the summer to improve my game, especially post game with my back to the basket. I’m going to be ready.”

Phoenix Suns forward Channing Frye today underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center that revealed a dislocated right shoulder.  Frye is expected to miss two-to-three weeks pending ongoing evaluation from Suns orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Carter.

Frye sustained the injury with 6:28 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Suns’ Sunday game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

In his second season with the Suns, Frye is averaging a career-high tying 12.3 points and a career-high 6.6 rebounds in 61 games in 2010-11, one of only two Suns who has appeared in every game this season (Dudley).  The University of Arizona product has made more three-pointers than any NBA player since the beginning of the 2009-10 season (304), and made back-to-back game-winning jumpers Feb. 27 at Indiana and Feb. 28 at New Jersey on the Suns’ just-completed six-game road trip.