Big Al

Like I said before, mark my words. No joke: Suns turn rematch into a laugher By ART GARCIA Star-Telegram Staff Writer PHOENIX -- Depending on who's asking, the significance of what took place Sunday afternoon is either vast or nonexistent. Sounds about right. The Suns came into the latest chapter of the NBA's most exciting rivalry needing to win for their mental welfare, not to mention their Western Conference standing. The Mavericks maintained all along this game matters little down the road. So after the Suns took a shockingly easy 126-104 win at a playoff-frenzied US Airways Center and knotted the regular-season series 2-2, what really changed? "That's all it is, a season series, and we split," Jerry Stackhouse said. "It doesn't have anything to do with much. We still have a pretty comfortable lead. We just have to go out and close out the regular season the way we should, and we'll see what happens. "We know this is a team we could very well face again, but a lot has to happen for that to happen, on our side and their side. So it's been some great games, but unfortunately for us, they won the last couple. I'm sure their confidence is high about matching up with us, but we know we're better than what we showed." Can it be summed up better? Despite having their nine-game winning streak snapped, the Mavs (61-12) hold a six-game lead for the No. 1 playoff seed over Phoenix (55-18) with nine games left. The Suns, though, own two wins over the Mavs sandwiched around a 4-4 stretch in the span of 18 days. Considering the West leaders have three losses since Jan. 27, it's understandable why Steve Nash said his team has regained a level of confidence in recent weeks. "Not just for Dallas, just because we need that [confidence] back," Nash said. "Since the last time we played them, we've been inconsistent and disappointing. We need to start stringing some performances together to help that good feeling." Phoenix did that Sunday by beating the Mavs to the punch. Avery Johnson accused his team of not showing up and not concentrating, all the while complimenting the Suns on executing their game plan. "They deserved to win," the Mavs coach said. Nash orchestrated another superb floor game, working the pick-and-roll to perfection. Open looks were there for everyone, as the small-ball Suns had four players score at least 20 -- Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa and Nash -- and shot 64.8 percent from the floor, the best single-game mark in the NBA this season. "They really had us going both ways," Dirk Nowitzki said. "Everybody was really struggling. To allow 50 points in the paint, we never really found a way to contain their offense." Nowitzki never found his, missing 12 of 18 shots, but the Mavs were down just five (93-88) with 9 1/2 minutes left. Shooting flurries from Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry helped offset Nowitzki's struggles, and it appeared another close finish was in the works, just like the previous three meetings. But it never happened. A 9-1 spurt built on a Barbosa 3-pointer, and six points coming in the paint, pushed the Suns' lead up to 102-89, and the Mavs never threatened again. Compounding the loss, the Mavs didn't escape in the best shape. Already playing without an injured Erick Dampier (sore left shoulder), the Mavs had Nowitzki turn his left ankle for the second time in five days after he landed on Marion's foot in the fourth quarter. Howard needed four stitches to close a gash over his left eye from a Barbosa elbow. The Mavs will move on and, they promised, take something from their worst loss since the 101-79 setback Dec. 11 at Utah. "Obviously, we don't like to lose," Devin Harris said. "We learned a little something about ourselves. We're not invincible." THE DIFFERENCE The main reasons why the Suns scorched the Mavs on Sunday: Hot shots: Whether it was substandard Mavs defense or simply outstanding offense, the Suns shot 64.8 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from 3-point range. Depleted depth: Many consider the Mavs the deepest team in the league, but they didn't show it. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse combined for 94 points; the rest of the team had 10. Dirk struggles: Dirk Nowitzki hit his first two shots of the game, but then shot 4-of-16 the rest of the way, finishing with 21 points. He pulled down just six rebounds and tweaked his left ankle again in the fourth quarter. The Amare effect: In his past two games against the Mavs, Amare Stoudemire has posted 65 points on 26-of-32 shooting and collected 19 rebounds. IN THE KNOW Four-checked The Suns were too hot to handle Sunday, shooting an NBA season-best 64.8 percent. Leandro Barbosa, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Shawn Marion combined for 96 points on 68.6 percent field-goal shooting. A look at Phoenix's big four: Player FG FT Pts Barbosa 10-17 5-6 29 Stoudemire 10-13 4-4 24 Nash 7-11 7-7 23 Marion 8-10 4-4 20 Totals 35-51 20-21 96

Wish they'd have another one. Soon!

You bet!!! That and the companion album JAZZ GIANTS '56!

Goodness, I didn't know these guys made four more albums together. I saw a used CD sometime back of one of their albums. This looks wonderful, and the clips are insanely enticing. This could very well be the first Mosaic I've ever pre-ordered!

I love Pete Turner's photos. But SUGAR absolutely grosses/creeps me out. So much so that when I got the CD, I reversed the booklet so that the pciture facing out is of the woman's face.

Don Sebesky's GIANT BOX!!!! I've been wanting this for years, and finally got it cheap off eBay!!! And yes, it's every bit as good/enjoyable as I'd hoped!!!

That seems to be my memory of that disc as well. Having said that, and now that I'm listening to clips again, I forgot (or never realized) that Billy Mitchell is on here. I really dig Mitchell, so maybe this one's worth hearing again.

Holy shit, I was wrong: that is one menacing mischievious grin if I ever saw one!

That seems to be my memory of that disc as well.

Martin covers for Bud Powell records often seem to allude to Powell's mental state, with all its potential for split or dual behavior. The original cover to Moods is fairly disturbing in this light(bulb). Martin seems to have a taste for the dispossessed ... Did DSM do the cover for Bud's JAZZ GIANT? The one with the man staring out at the sea?

Not on mine nor on Al's... I don't think ... but Webster is correct! It was on Bright Moments's (Evan's) BFT #35. If I'd had this disc way back when I did my BFT, I woulda definitely put it on MY BFT! In any event, here is Jim's original comment from Evan's BFT: And I still disagree with him! Sorry I didn't get to play, Vint. Been so busy that even thinking about listening to a BFT is exhausting!

You mean this might not be a coincidence?

Alright, here's another question about a problem that is getting extremely frustrating: I copy the LP to my hard drive, fix it up, then save it to a CD. I'm listening to the CD and I'm hearing skips. Not skips from the vinyl; skips like a piece of data didn't import properly. I'm thinking I may just need to defrag my hard drive, but has anyone else had this happen? Some LPs I've had to re-do three times now!

That alone is why I list my CDs here first.

Allmusic hasn't forgotten. Seriously.

That was just SICK!!!! Like Jim said, the shot of a lifetime there!

Thanks!!!

I'm sorry, but I've heard from many sources that Jones, great player though he was, was just ----ing nuts and often a pain in the ass to work with. I thought all drummers were like that.

Well, those LPRs only had a limited run to begin with. I don't have SWEETS in front of me, but each LPR indicated how long each one was going to be in print. March '08, so it was supposed to be around another year. This is especially strange considering that many of these have been avaialble well past their "expiration date". Hmmm.... interesting. I forgot about that, but you're right.

Dude, that's the kind of smile that's as much of a warning as it is anything... That's alright. As another infamous Texan once said, "Bring it on!"

That link just took me to my eBay. What's your eBay user name?

Well, those LPRs only had a limited run to begin with. I don't have SWEETS in front of me, but each LPR indicated how long each one was going to be in print.

You know, you can't "learn" to be this much of a badass. You either are are you aren't. Jo Jones was. There was a lengthy interview with him in Modern Drummer about 25 years ago that still boggles my mind. Pure Truth. The man was a freakin' force of nature, simple as that. "Music" was just the vehicle. That, and the cat was so freakin' HAPPY!!! Look at him when plays; his face just radiates JOY!

Aw HECK YEAH!!!!

What other Sweets Verve albums are there that aren't in print?