There seem to be more rumors than usual coming out of Warriorsland. When your team is 12 and 375 you need something to keep the fans entertained, right? I’m going to keep this brief, so here are the highlights
Rumor number three is the only one that would really mean anything if it happened. The trades would be just more La-Z-Boy reshuffling on the Hindenberg. Frankly, I’m shocked that there are any Warriors left on the team from two years ago. Speaking of which, Cap’n Jack’s back tonight at The Oracle with the Bobcats where he’s having a great season so far on a team making a playoff run. Trading away talented players, getting nothing in return while traded player thrives elsewhere - as DT would say, if you don’t like that, then you don’t like Warriors Basketball.
M. Meschery
PS - Writing about Warriors dysfunction can get old real quick, but watching this “Rumors” video with a young Mike Meezy never gets old.
When I met my wife she lived in San Francisco and I lived in Oakland. The girlfriend I had before her lived in London. I remember thinking at the time, “Damn, I don’t want another long distance relationship.” So, when Melina Jones sings “Here we are, a whole ocean apart” in the new Do D.A.T. track “The Bridge” I feel exactly what she’s talking about. I think most of us in The Bay know this all too well. We all have that friend on one side of the bridge or the other who just ain’t coming to visit you….ever. I remember this other time when I was working with Oakland teenagers and we took a trip to The Mission. We might as well have been taking a field trip to Pandora. Seriously, Mission hipsters were like 9 feet tall and blue to these kids.
Anyway, it was at that same youth program, The Bay Unity Music Project - a music enrichment program for high school students in Oakland - where I first met Do D.A.T. who was a young, up and coming emcee who would volunteer on occasion and provide lyrics workshops. Nearly five years later, Do D.A.T. is helping to run that program, as committed to the community as ever, and his music has evolved to what you see here - the intelligent type of hip hop that can survive in a post-hip hop world.
Anyway, there have been Bridge-related hip hop battles going back to K.R.S. and MC Shan, but this is the first bridge-related hip hop love joint that I know of - more of a love song for the whole Bay Area than anything. For all those Bay-themed mixtapes that will be made in the future, this might have to be the closing track, because despite the fact that The East Bay and The City can seem so different - from the hipsters to the hip hop - the rest of the world perceives us as one place so might as well join forces and be Bay against the world, right? Right. Finally, one of my favorite things about this video is that even though The Bay Bridge is the central metaphor for the song, Do D.A.T. finally takes BART across The Bay to connect with Melina Jones. Yes, The Bridge is indeed over.
M. Meschery
PS - My wife and I now live in Oakland. Take that Frisco!
When I first caught wind of this, I was sort of pissed off. I mean seriously. Come on college kids. Think of your own damn concept. But no. You take the name. The PaperBeard™ idea. Certain graphical elements. And yeah. Did I get an e-mail? Nope. A “Hey, we’ve got this really rad bearded point guard and we want to borrow your concept for a few months? Is that cool?” Not so much.
Not cool, Kansas State. Not cool.
On the other hand, I’m not all that perturbed really. Jacob Pullen, the bearded point guard in question, clearly has ignited fan interest in a team that just knocked off highly ranked rival Texas last week, before dropping one to Oklahoma State. They’re eleventh in the country. Their best player has signature facial hair. And half of the home crowd has on a PaperBeard™ during the game. I can’t really hate on that. As much as I would have liked for FTB to be consulted before the hijacking, there’s so much that’s right about this that I’m more inclined to get on the Pullen bandwagon. I mean seriously, how can I not look at the scene and want to pull for them? How many people can turn on the TV and see a prominent college baller rocking an Abe Lincoln beard on his way to 19 points a game with the student section wearing PaperBeard™ and t-shirt ideas stolen from them?
Well, three of us at least.
In fact, I’ll probably start following and covering their games every once in a while. They play Baylor tonight. Not sure where that finds a home on my 800 channels of hoops but I’ll poke around. They sit third in the big 12, where often annoyingly sanctimonious Kansas teams always rule with an iron fist. I’ll do some more scouting on Pullen, but the short is that he’s an explosive six footer originally from Illinois. Maybe I’ll even call the PR department over there in Manhattan Kansas and see if I can get an interview request through. Or a couple of press passes and a Fun Saver fare on Southwest.
After all, they do owe us something.
Turman
Props to the bloggers at (irony alert) Larry Brown Sports for connecting the dots for me.
Just finished watching The Warriors get their twelfth W of the season in their MLK Day matinee game against The Chicago Del Negros. This also was Kids Day sponsored in part by the good people over at Golden State of Mind. So, based on the effort on the floor, I’m thinking we need more kids at games. As Ol’ Dirty Bastard said, “Keep it good kids. Cause you know I love you.” (Is there a law against quoting ODB on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? If not, probably should be. My apologies.)
Back in November, DT and I were thinking that today might be a good day to stage a boycott of The Warriors as a way of sending a message to their craptastic front office - you know, in the spirit of civil disobedience and all. However, as the injuries started to pile up, that started to seem like not such a good idea after all. Even if people went to the game and protested our ineffectual management by not buying concessions and merchandise, it would make a statement, but still probably couldn’t avoid bumming the players out. It’s not their fault that they have the luck of The Griswold’s on vacation and the most inept management in sports. Not like I feel sorry for Cohan and Rowell in the slightest (No, I don’t believe that Haitians are cursed because they made a pact with the devil, but Chris Cohan, uh, not so sure), but the team needs nothing but good vibes now. Even Don Nelson looks like a wounded puppy - albeit a hungover wounded puppy. Anyway, we’ll wait until the Dubs are healthy again to protest - maybe Cesar Chavez Day?
So, some observations of today’s game:
1. We had three D-Leaguers playing. The Warriors are single-handedly giving basketball players in places like Bakersfield, Reno and Sioux Falls a sense of hope. Hope that they can make the NBA, get in the rotation and then get injured, collecting a pay check with a view from the bench. Beats hanging out in Erie, Pennsylvania, right?
2. Defense and rebounding won the game. What a concept! D-Leaguers couldn’t shoot a lick, but came through on the glass. Stay focused on the boards D-Leaguers - we like.
3. Unless you thought that all of a sudden we started prioritizing defense, I need only mention that Monta Ellis took 39 shots and still Maggette scored 32 and Curry 26. Uh, that means we were trying to score…a lot.
4. And finally, I realized that Monta Ellis shoots a higher percentage with his trick, behind-the-back-from-the-tunnel shot than Biedrins has from the free throw line. This is disturbing. Maybe we can convince The League to let Monta take that shot each time Biedrins gets fouled in the act of shooting. C’mon Stern, fans would love it. It’s a win-win for everyone.
M. Meschery
PS - my wife will be seated on the floor at The Fakers v. Orlando game tonight. I told her she has my blessing to cheer for ex-Warriors (except Derrick Fisher) and Dwight Howard’s biceps. If I see her on TNT jumping up and down and high-fiving Andy Garcia after a Kobe dunk, trust me, there will be consequences.
Today would have been Dr. King’s 81st birthday. This excerpt, from the speech “Silence is Betrayal,” speaks volumes as to his currency in memorium. But, rather than obscure his message with prose of my own, I would rather let a preacher preach. Listen.
However, emulating his oratory tradition I will say this. Today, perform the chores and duties of daily life today with vigor and conscience. Perform them with virtue. Perform them with purpose. And perform them with a voice that is audible to the moral compass that is within us all. It is still time.
In honor and memory,
Turman
A complete transcript of the speech is available for those who want to read. You should. Read More »
It has been reported by multiple sources that legendary soul singer Teddy Pendergrass died today. He also possessed one of the all-time great beards. Rather than extensively recount his career, I would rather just leave you as he might: with a song. In this clip from a 1975 episode of Soul Train, he appears as the lead singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, singing the exceedingly timely “Wake Up Everybody.”
Big day for The Beard. First, he drops a celeb-studded video tour of New York. Then he suits up for a road game in Memphis and goes absolutely berserk in the first half, nearly recording a triple-double by halftime. So what happens? An “emergency” requires the evacuation of the entire arena (fans, players, media, and all) in the third quarter. Really? Really.
A water-main break. Mandatory evacuation. With the Clippers up 12. Announced via Jumbotron while Baron is at the line shooting two. I guess the scouting report on Boom was that the way to cool him off was to send him out into a freezing parking lot to sit on the team bus for a half an hour, while the custodians slowly turn the spigot to the “off” position. Okay. Right.
Game resumes. Cold Clippers go on to lose by two. I’m not sure when the last time a hot player was shut down in the fourth by the janitorial staff, but Baron still finished his day with 27, 12, 12, and 5 steals. And two videos. Frankly, I’m not sure what, of all of this, was the most remarkable. As for the vids, watch ‘em back to back. You tell me.
I’ve got some hate. Hate toward whistles. Specifically, this kind. The kind that slam the brakes on an interesting basketball game and turn it into a contest of who can ram themselves into someone most effectively while simulating a shooting motion. It is the worst thing about this sport. Honestly, when your best offensive option turns into throwing the ball over the backboard in a vainglorious attempt to draw a foul, there is a bigger problem.
Watchability.
This was supposed to be a big-deal game. Warriors versus the Cleveland Labrons and the Labronettes. Only game against them at home. Instead, I could have been watching a free-throw contest between the Skyline High junior varsity and Mistah FAB versus Akron JC plus Kid Cudi. And I would have found greater entertainment value from the latter.
Memo to the league: if a game has two teams combine to shoot 70 free throws, the whistle is the star. This is not a good thing. Can I have those three hours back please? Because that’s too much time to waste on a non-overtime, regular-season game that whistles dominate. For no reason. Seriously. I just want basketball.
Turman
PS. Side note. Town biz. Why’d Mistah FAB catch sideline vapors of off LeBron? Fabby. You’re from Tha Town! You’re supposed to be talking bad to him if you’re in the front row, not jocking yourself because he knows who you are. For real. Especially if you said you were going to get in his head. Bron played you, player!
Ever since The 2002 Lakers-Kings series, I’ve always had a soft spot for The Kings. As they say, “my enemy’s enemy is my friend,” so I love Kings Fans for having the same visceral loathing of The Lakers that I do, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to be wearing a Doug Christie Throwback Jersey any time soon. I guess this makes them “frienemies.” Not in the sense that we’re friends on the surface and enemies at heart, but more the opposite. And that was the vibe at Oracle Arena on Friday night. Turman and I were at the game with my father, a former Warrior, who despite his name and number hanging high in The Oracle, was quite the vocal Sacramento Kings fan - a bit repugnant given the environs, but honestly, can you really blame him? The Kings have an exciting young squad with a lot of promise. I think any Warriors fan might be lying if they told you they wouldn’t trade a good many current Warriors for Kings players. Sacrilege, I know, but think about it for a second… okay, I know that the idea of Spencer Haws and his 7 foot, climate change-denying ass isn’t very Bay-friendly, but tell me you wouldn’t like a rebounder who can shoot from distance?
The good news for The Warriors is that on Friday night they actually played like the veteran team they were… relative to Sacramento. They didn’t lose their composure despite the halftime deficit and the (sigh) loss of another big man to injury (Randolph) . They made smart halftime adjustments. They played as a team with committed defense the entire fourth quarter, and they made big shots down the stretch. That’s what veteran teams do, and what The Warriors really haven’t shown all season. Maybe it took an even younger team with more upside to bring out their inner-Kobe instinct.
Despite my fondness for The Kings, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of satisfaction as the blotches of purple in the stands faded behind the rocking Oracle crowd in The Fourth. It’s nice to see that despite our lack of cow bells or a clever mascot, we still have the best fans in The NBA. But I also know that, although our teams might be rivals on a game-by-game basis, we are allies in the larger cosmic war - in that “battle as allegory,” Bhagavad Gita-kind-of way. We are at war with the epically entitled teams of The League - The Lakers, Celtics, The Texas Teams and any other franchise that The NBA Gods have deemed “too big to fail.” It’s Main Street versus Wall Street, or at least, Lambda Lambda Lambda versus Alpha Beta. If The Kings can somehow sneak into an 8th spot, you bet I’ll be be representing Sactown - just check out the win over Denver last night, here. How can you not like Reke? This win is some karmic payback for our Jan. 5th loss to The Nuggets - thank you my NorCal Brethren. Still doesn’t mean you’ll ever catch me in a Doug Christie jersey.
