Jason’s Richardson’s influence isn’t limited to just the hardwood. Just ask the grateful residents of Saginaw, Mich.

J-Rich has been busy this offseason with a multitude of community projects aimed at giving back to his hometown. Between a food drive for needy Saginaw families, a golf classic benefitting the United Way and his motivational Man-Up forums, it’s of little wonder the Michigan State is finally getting some notoriety for his philanthropic endeavors.

As part of GQ’s “Better Men Better World Search,” here’s your chance to vote for J-Rich as “The Best Man.” After August 5, CLICK HERE to cast a ballot for the Suns’ starting shooting guard, who is aiming to become one of five finalists eligible for the top prize through fan voting. The contest honors men who are all about “the betterment of society through charitable work, volunteerism, and community involvement.”

CLICK HERE to see photos from the Michigan State alum’s busy stopover in Saginaw earlier this month, which includes exclusive images from his food drive, the Jason Richardson Golf Classic and his Man-Up Forum, with a special appearance from actor Chris Tucker.

No stranger to philanthropic efforts, Steve Nash is nominated in the celebrity category of VH1’s “Do Something Awards,” a TV special honoring young people’s commitment to social change that airs July 19. Here’s your chance to vote for the All-Star point guard who, according to DoSomething.VH1.com, “leads the assist for low-income and at-risk kids to access to high-quality early learning in the US, and provides critical needs health services to children in Paraguay. Hosted the Showdown in Chinatown, a charity Soccer Game in New York City and gave away autographed shoes in support of Educare Arizona.”

For the last 14 years, DoSomething.org has honored the nation’s best world-changers, ages 25 and under. One non-celebrity grand prize winner which will receive a $100,000 grant for his or her cause during the live VH1 broadcast of the ceremony this Monday.

To vote for Steve, CLICK HERE.

Even during the busy postseason, Suns guard Steve Nash still finds ways to make time for a good cause. Today, the NBA and State Farm announced the launch of the first-ever NBA Cares Charity Challenge, in which NBA stars will compete via the league’s Facebook fan page to help raise money for the charity of their choice.

Now through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 9, fans can view videos featuring Nash, as well as fellow All-Stars Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol and Dwyane Wade, each of whom is working with an affiliated charitable organization. After watching these videos, fans will be able to vote for one of the player’s videos on the NBA’s Facebook fan page and the player that collects the most fan support will win $10,000 for their selected charity. The other three charities will receive a $5,000 donation.

Nash will compete for Educare while Anthony for the Special Olympics, Gasol for UNICEF and Wade for Project Medishare. Click here to vote now!

Alright, Suns fans, here’s another chance for you to add to Steve Nash’s trophy case. Voting is now open for AZCentral.com’s “2010 Readers’ Choice” Awards, and, understandibly so, the All-Star point guard is among those nominated for the Valley’s “Best Sports Figure” category.

Let’s break down some of the competition…

Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb: A bum shoulder has kept the 2006 Cy Young award winner off the mound officially since early last year.

Former Diamondbacks All-Star Luis Gonzalez: Had that World Series-winning single nine years ago. Retired from the game last year.

Former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner: Another recent retiree. Different sport.

Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald: Scored a career-best 13 touchdowns last year, but his total yards accumulated were the third lowest of his career.

Coyotes forward Shane Doan: Did help get the Coyotes into the playoffs for the first time since 2002, but the team captain’s 17 goals this season was his lowest output in 10 years.

Suns point guard Steve Nash: Leads the league in assists (11 apg) for the fourth time in the last six seasons… started yet another NBA All-Star Game this past February…. on pace to break his own franchise record in free throw percentage (93%)…  on pace to shoot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from behind the arc and 90 percent from the free throw line for an NBA-record fourth time… tallied two 20-assist games this season… puts out those quirky viral videos…

Anyway, much like any democratic voting process, you’re of course free to vote for whoever you want.  CLICK HERE to cast your pick. The “Best Sports Figure” list is located under the “People & Places” category. Voting ends April 28.

Following Friday morning’s shootaround, it was business as usual for the Suns’ Amar’e Stoudemire.

And by “business as usual,” I mean the All-Star forward was yet again fielding questions about all those trade rumors even a day after the NBA’s trading deadline passed. Of course, this time they were all in the past tense.

“Trades are a part of the game,” Stoudemire said. “Trades happen every year to franchise players. It’s nothing personal at all. It’s business. Whatever situation I was presented with, I was going to accept that role and attack it with full aggressiveness.

“It’s definitely over with in terms of the trade talk. Now we can focus on our main goal as a team and see if we can accomplish that.”
 
STAT admitted he will wait until the offseason to decide his future in Phoenix and also talked about dining with Managing Partner Robert Sarver and President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr Thursday night.

“It was more me wanting to talk to them about the situation and what we are trying to do in terms of the goals of the team,” Stoudemire said. “We had a great dinner and a great conversation. I feel confident about the situation.

“It was strictly a positive conversation. I just got a few things off my chest, but overall it was great for all of us to sit down and talk about everything and go from there.”

Business aside, the power forward said now he can go back to concentrating on the game – the same thing he was doing as his name swirled amidst all those recent trade rumors.

“I was focusing on basketball regardless,” Stoudemire smiled. “From my teammates’ standpoint, now they know nothing is going to happen, and we can totally focus as a unit to figure out what we can do to make this playoff push.”

While Steve Nash and Co. were busy turning the tables on that 18-game TNT losing streak, Brian Ray Siefken and Krysta Manzanarez were pretty much like all the other Suns fans who were tuned into the January 28 game vs. the Mavericks.

The difference? The couple was also welcoming a new bundle of joy into the world at the same time.

Meet Phoenix Brice Manzanarez-Siefken, who officially checked in at 6 lbs., 4oz. at a Colorado hospital during the closing seconds of the game.

“I was watching the Suns play on TNT in the delivery room, while my second baby boy was being born,” Brian said. “After such a hard fight for the Suns and my girlfriend, I was rewarded twice. I had a beautiful new baby boy and a Suns victory over Dirk and the Mavs!

“With 11 seconds left in the game my son was introduced to us. As time expired, the nurses asked us if we had a name. We properly named him ‘Phoenix.’ Thanks for the win, guys!”

Reportedly, nobody had a problem with the game airing in the delivery room. Of course, Brian did make one concession.

“I did have to mute the TV, though,” he said. “I was back and forth between the Suns and my girlfriend giving birth, but she was definitely OK with me watching the game during the delivery. It was stressful – especially because the Suns started off the game so slow.”

Now that’s a fan! 

“Some call it crazy,” Brian added. “I call it commitment to my team.”

Check out the February issue of Fast Company magazine for writer Chuck Salter’s article on Steve Nash’s non-basketball business interests, which include a little bit of everything these days.

When he’s not attacking the lane or draining threes on a gamenight, look for the two-time NBA MVP everywhere — from his movie and TV cameos to social media networking and, of course, his rapidly expanding filmmaking ventures.

Before you go thinking that No. 13 is doing it all to build up his portfolio (although I can think of a lot potential employers who would jump at the chance to hire this particular 35-year-old go-getter), Nash admits that the added personal exposure can only benefit his charity foundation.

“I didn’t want the attention for a long time,” Nash said after today’s practice, “but I realized that if I wanted a foundation that could grow, I needed to realize my goals through different ventures. And those added a lot of value.”

To read the entire article in Fast Company, CLICK HERE.

To watch some of Nash’s short films, CLICK HERE.

To learn more about Nash’s foundation, CLICK HERE.

The Suns’ starting lineup changes in Monday’s getaway game in Memphis weren’t enough to salvage the 0-4 road trip, but that doesn’t mean the team is “one and done” when it comes to juggling the roster spots.

According to Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry, expect Leandro Barbosa and Robin Lopez to get the starting nod over Jason Richardson and Channing Frye again, respectively, Wednesday at home vs. the visiting Nets. Lopez racked up a career-high 19 points in 29 minutes vs. the Grizzlies in his first start of the season – his third straight double-digit scoring performance, while LB went 6-of-16 from the field en route to 14 points in 24 minutes. This season, the shooting guard is averaging just under two points a night less than his career numbers.

“We’re trying to get LB going,” said Gentry after Tuesday’s practice.” It wasn’t anything J-Rich had done. We thought that would get Leandro going, and Jason would give us a push off the bench. We just have to take a look at that and see what we can get done.

“LB has been an integral part of this team since I got here. He’s been a guy who’s been able to change games. And when he’s started, he’s had a lot of success. Look back at his record as a starter, and it’s pretty impressive. We’ve tried everything, so we decided to take a look at (lineup changes).

Gentry added that the changes are “not anything that’s permanent” and it will be on a “game-by-game basis” going forward.

“We’re not married to this for the rest of the season,” the head coach said. “It’s something that can change in a week. If we don’t feel like we’re getting it done, Jason can be right there, starting again.    

 “I always put myself in a player’s shoes before I talk to them. If I was Jason and my coach said that, I would be disappointed and (upset). I would never hold that against them. One of the things that make him a really good player is that he’s a competitor, and he wants to be starting. He hasn’t really done anything not to. It’s just a situation where maybe we can get LB going in this capacity. I’m sure Jason is disappointed, and I totally understand that.”

Entering Wednesday’s game with a 24-18 record after dropping four straight, it’s easy to assume heads are permanently hanging low in the Suns locker room – something that the head coach says is definitely not the case.

“I’m sure the guys are a little bit down,” Gentry said. “We had a great opportunity in Indiana and Atlanta. It hurts, but not to the extent where we’re going to feel sorry for ourselves. We’re a happy team. We have fun when we play. We can’t have long faces. It doesn’t benefit anybody.

“At the end of the day, we’re still six games over .500, and we’re still right in the race. Our goal is to make the playoffs, and we’re still in a position to do that.”

Before this Saturday’s 5 p.m. road game in Charlotte, head over to Turf Paradise for the annual running of the Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile – a stakes race named in honor of the late Suns Ring of Honor coaching great who was an avid horse-racing fan and a frequent patron of the racetrack.

Even though the team will be out of town for the feature race, the franchise will be well-represented by friends and family who’ll help pay homage to the 20-year coaching legend who compiled a 341-208 record in the Valley.

“Whenever you think about Cotton, you think about this organization and the impact he had on it,” said Steve Nash, whose parents attended last year’s festivities. “He’s a real important part of our history here. He was a great character of the game and was somebody everyone enjoyed and misses dearly.”

Assistant coach and fellow Ring of Honor great Dan Majerle fondly remembers his former head coach and the man who famously spoke up for him after he was selected by Phoenix in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft.

“I was very lucky to be drafted by this organization and to play under a guy like Cotton,” explained Thunder Dan earlier this week. “He put a lot of trust in me as a rookie player and threw me on the court. He let me make mistakes, but as long as I played hard, he lived and died by what I did out there. To be successful, a lot has to do with who you play for, and I was lucky enough to fall into a perfect situation to have Cotton coach me.”

The day’s racing card tips off at 12:30 p.m., with the Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile tentatively scheduled for 3:30 p.m.  Turf Paradise is located at 1501 W. Bell Road in Phoenix.

For more info on the race, CLICK HERE. 

To read more about Cotton’s impact on the Suns and the NBA, CLICK HERE.

See this image? After the one-game jaunt to Portland for Thursday's contest, Suns road trips will seem like a distant memory... at least until after the December 25 game.

For a team that obviously loves playing at home, the Suns have certainly spent enough time away from there this season.

Expect that trend to change… well, after yet one more road trip, anyway.

Just 15 hours after extending their NBA-best home record to 9-0 with a win over the Spurs Tuesday, Phoenix left for Portland as a precursor to this weekend’s start of a four-game homestand.

A .500 team on the road this season, Thursday’s match-up vs. the Blazers is a nationally televised game on TNT – a network that hasn’t exactly been kind to the Suns with 16 straight primetime losses. Of course, the Suns’ last victory on TNT came against Portland – in March 2008.

According to Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry, a last-second switch to a “hometown” broadcaster may help turn the tide. It certainly can’t hurt.

“We have Gary Bender announcing the game tomorrow night, so he’ll be our good luck charm,” said Gentry about the FS Arizona mainstay going national. “Marv Albert lost his voice or something, so Gary will do the game with Reggie Miller. He’s our hometown guy. Fox Sports Arizona we like… with TNT we struggle. Over the last couple of years, we’ve won 62 games, 54 games , 61 games in a season … we’re on there a ton and every game we lost had been on TNT (laughs). We’ll line up and see what Gary can do for us.”

The Suns have had the Blazer’s number, as of late, winning 11 of the last 13 against them. Those two losses to Portland did come in succession to close out last year’s season series.

“Portland’s been struggling off and on this year, but they are very capable at home,” Grant Hill said. “As long as they have Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge out there, they are a very talented team. So we have to come ready to go.

“We haven’t won a road game in awhile, so it’d be nice to go get one against a good team. We’ve been playing well at home and after this game, we’ll be home for awhile.  We have a great opportunity tomorrow night.”

Following Thursday’s game (and their return charter to Phoenix), the  team can officially unpack thanks to the start of their longest homestand thus far this season – a four-gamer featuring the Wizards, Cavaliers, Thunder and Clippers.

“We haven’t played too many here,” point guard Steve Nash said, “but what we have played we’ve won. We’ve beaten some good teams, and we’re getting some confidence at home. The crowd is getting into it, so it’s turning into a great environment.

“It’s tough on our families to be away so much. Luckily, our record is pretty good, considering, but it’ll be nice to be home for a little normalcy in our lives. Although we play on Christmas Day, we’ll take it, especially after being on the road so much. It’ll be great to be home for awhile.”