May 5, 2011

Playoffs Getting Interesting…

By chappy81

It’s been a entertaining NBA playoffs thus far. Teams that we thought were favorites aren’t turning out to be the powerhouses that we originally thought they were. Like I said back on 4/20, there’s a changing of the eras in the NBA. I didn’t think it would be this year, but thought it was on the horizon. More and more it’s looking like this year is the year of change. Another good thing is I don’t think any of these series are rigged so far. Well done Stern, usually we can tell!

Mavs 2, Lakers 0 –  As they say once the home team loses the series really starts. I think someone forgot to tell the Lakers that the series started after game 1. Last night’s Lakers game was disturbing to the fans down here in LA, much to my enjoyment. It’s fitting that this is the first year I was somewhat rooting for them because I didn’t want any of the Eastern Conference teams to win it all. I can’t believe I admitted that, but yes, I was rooting for the Lakers a little. I am enjoying that some Lakers fans said they would win the series in 3 games against this soft Mavs team. Obviously, that can’t happen, but it was an indication of how they overlooked Mavs in general. Maybe the players were listening to the radio shows and got full of themselves or maybe this team is just plain dysfunctional. I won’t call this series done, because the Mavs have a long history of choking in the playoffs when the pressure is at it’s highest. The pressure of closing the Lakers out is going to be big, and close to the pressure of closing the Heat out in the Finals four years ago. That Mavs team was much different though, they have only two players from that finals roster, and were much softer without Chandler. This version of the Mavs feels a lot better, but I won’t believe it until they close out this series. Either way, the winner will lose next round to one of the young guns in the changing of the guards.

Memphis 1, Seattle 1 – Everyone thought the young team that would make an impact out West was going to be the Supersonics when it’s really been the Grizzlies who have shocked the world. I didn’t pick the Grizz to win that first series against the Spurs, especially without Gay in the lineup, but did think they were a good team all the way back in November when I regretted leaving them off my playoff predictions. Both franchises have figured out how to build a contender, and they have one glaring thing in common, size. Size matters in the NBA, just ask Steve Nash. It was always the Lakers biggest advantage for the last three years, and what do teams have to do to knock them off? Get bigger. Memphis did that through free agency and trades (Gasol, Z-Bo). Seattle did the same (Perkins, Ibaka), and now both teams look like they could beat anyone with solid role guys and their stars knowing exactly what is needed of them to be successful. I’m going to say whoever wins this series will be representing the west in the finals. I’m rooting for it to be Memphis, because I still have a hard time rooting for Sam Presti to succeed on any front.

Miami 2, Boston 0 – The team I picked to represent the East is looking about as good as it has all season. I thought that Boston was in trouble before this series started. Wade ALWAYS gives Boston fits, and that’s going back to when Wade was the only player worth anything in Miami. Last year I think he dropped close to 50 one playoff game in Boston to help the Heat avoid getting swept. Now that he has Lebron and Bosh who can also give Boston fits, he no longer has to put up 50 to will his team to a win. What’s even scarier about this Miami team is they look more comfortable playing together than they have all year. The Celtics on the other hand look a lot like the Lakers this postseason. They haven’t really looked good for more than one or two games the whole second season. They know it’s their last shot with their great coach, and might be pressing a little too hard or could just be old. Is it a lame duck coaching situation for Boston and LA that’s getting them down? Are they not playing as hard because they know there’s a new coach on the horizon after this season? Probably not, but I have to throw it out there. I guess this series hasn’t started yet since the home team hasn’t lost, but this video seems to sum up how high people are on the C’s right now…

Chicago 1, Atlanta 1 – Of the teams left in the playoffs, I’ve probably watched these two teams the least. I’m not sure why, but I was never totally sold on Chicago. Derrick Rose’s ankle is what this series hinges on, and personally I think getting the MVP is a jinx. No guard since Jordan has won a title the year they won the MVP. This day in age only big men that win the MVP get championships. Like I said before, I haven’t watched Chicago a lot, but is there anyway their defense is overrated a little? Indiana and Atlanta aren’t exactly offensive juggernauts ranking in the middle of the pack in the NBA, but are putting up over 90 in the playoffs where scoring is usually down against the unbreakable Thibodeau defense. Atlanta is the toughest team for me to figure out. They blow teams out, and get blown out just as much. You’re never really sure what you’re going to get from them. I can’t figure out why they went away from Jeff Teague, who was lighting Chicago up in game 2, but that happened, and they didn’t come close to winning. I actually like a lot of Atlanta’s players, but for some reason just can’t seem to talk myself into rooting for them. Don’t they feel like they are Mavs of the East? Good enough to be in the playoffs every year, but not good enough to go very far…

16 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

May 3, 2011

Elephants and Seals

By chappy81

This is our second installment of Elephants and Seals. And just like last time Chappy will be covering the A’s, and By will be covering the Giants.

San Francisco Giants (13-15) Oakland Athletics (15-14)

Three Up

Oakland A’s – They lost two of three in LA, but came on strong over the weekend to take 3 of 4 from Texas to bring themselves over .500.  Their bats seemed to wake up against what we all kinda knew was some weak starting pitching out in Texas. Kurt Suzuki hit two bombs after having his newly born daughter. Willingham hit a game tying homer, and Matsui hit a walkoff in yesterdays series winning game, so there’s some reason for optimism for the offense. Andrew Bailey is throwing again, and should be back sooner than later as he’s set to face some live hitting this week. That is a big relief because Fuentes is about as scary a ninth inning as you’ll get. He doesn’t throw hard, and puts guys on base giving A’s fans a heart attack every time he’s on the mound. Bailey we need you back! Coco Crisp’s bat is as lively as his hair these days, and when he’s on, he scores lots of runs. Oakland pitchers still lead the league in ERA at 2.76. They are did pretty good in April for their standards, because April is a month they almost always have a losing record in. You don’t win a division in April, but you can be far enough behind to lose it if you aren’t careful. I mean, we could be the Twins with only 9 wins.

San Francisco Giants – 1.  We won the 2010 World Series.  I know that was last season, and that historic event is a thing of the past, but when your beloved team plays as inconsistent as they have been, despite the talent and experience they possess, well then you got to hang your hat on something.  We’re only about 7% into the season, and if they don’t clean up their act by the 20% mark, I’ll throw this trump card away.  Which brings me to my next ”up” ~

2.  We’re only 7% into the season!  It’s still very early and the Giants are much below .500 ball thanks to  taking two out of three in five of the past seven series’.  They’ve been in a lot worse situations, and for them to be even despite not finding themselves is a good sign.

3.  Aaron Rowand is hitting .300 (o.k. .296) and Pablo Sandoval is hitting .313 with five dingers.  These are two players who contributed very little last season.  Aaron Rowand was considered a free agent bust, and Panda was looked at as a fluke.  The Giants are currently 11th in hitting in the N.L. but it’s neither of these two’s fault.  If they keep playing this well offensively, it will almost be like we picked up two solid free agents this year.

Three Down

Oakland A’s – Kevin Kouzmanoff is supposedly on the team more for his defense prowess, yet he’s already made 6 errors on the season. If his bat actually worked, I wouldn’t mind the errors as much, but this is getting ridiculous, and these errors are leading to runs almost every time he kicks an easy grounder. The team as a whole hasn’t been good defensively, but I doubt they will be tied for the lead the league in errors. The offense as a whole is offensive as they’re ranked 27th in the league in runs scored, don’t have a hitter over .300 in the lineup, and swing at way too many pitches early in the count. Pitchers that give up a few runs to us still are in the game in the 7th. Aside from Barton, I’m not sure anyone in the lineup knows how to work a count, unfortunately his working the count has resulted in a high amount of strikeouts. Pitchers are throwing 70 pitch complete games against us. Ok, not really, but you get the point. We have renamed the Oakland Coliseum to the Overstock.com Coliseum or O.co Coliseum. This is in the three down section, because it sounds lame.

1.  We won the 2010 World Series.  I know you’re asking, how can this be an ”up” and a ”down”?  It’s an ”up” from a fans’ perspective, especially someone like me who is grateful he witnessed a World Series championship during his lifetime.  It’s been a ”down” for the actual team.  I tried not to think it, but it’s becoming more and more apparent, the Giants have a World Series hangover.  They’re too busy making music videos with Keenan Cahill that they forgot there’s a season to play.  But then again, this is the reason why we fell in love with these guys, they’re a bunch of goofy clowns and miSFits.

2.  Missing Andres Torres has been a huge downer for the Giants.  He’s a great lead off man, and plays a fantastic center field.  The one thing that’s underrated about Torres is his defense.  Our outfield has been our week spot early on, especially when we threw Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff out there (wtf!) but with Ross back, and Torres on his way, I’ll stop holding my breath on every fly ball.

3.  Pitching and hitting.  If it’s not one, it’s the other.  This is reminiscent of years past with these Giants team.  They’re winning or losing games, 1-0 or 9-8.  Neither side can get it together consistently and act as a cohesive unit.  Like I mentioned earlier, we’re 11th in the N.L. in hitting.  I’m not concerned about average starts from Timmy, Jonathan Sanchez and Matty Cain, but Madison ”Mad Bum” Bumgarner has struggled big time.  Last season he was brilliant in the post season, we’ve only seen one glimpse of that pitcher since.  Could I actually be asking this, but are we missing Barry Zito?  If it’s come to this, then that’s a huge downer.

Next Up

Oakland A’s – Taking on the best team in baseball, Cleveland Indians at home. They found a little groove offensively against Texas, so hopefully that keeps up. I can’t wait for the day when I’m not shocked when they put up 4 runs in a game.

San Francisco Giants got to start doing their best Charlie Sheen impression, winning.  We got the Mets and Rockies next, very winnable series’.

16 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 28, 2011

The Next Weird Al?

By chappy81

Growing up I loved Weird Al Yankovic. He made fun of popular songs in a way we’d never really seen on a commercial level. Sometimes he’d make fun of the artist, or just make an entirely different song up. Either way at 7 or 8 years old he was my favorite comedian/spoof singer. I know I listened to Trigger Happy about 50 times with Mceezy when “Off the Deep End” came out. The albums that followed weren’t nearly as good in my opinion. Maybe he ran out of jokes or maybe I grew up a little and found his comedy unsophisticated, who knows. I’ve been waiting for a long time for someone to come out with some parody songs on the songs that are out today, because let’s face it, this crappy music generation is really easy to make fun of. I thought The Dan Band had a shot to fill that void in my life, but I’m not sure he even knows what he’s going to sing before he gets on the stage, and I need some structure! I ran across the Snakes and the song above hit close to home. Pretty much everyone I talk to that is out of college wishes they were back in college during those simpler times. I couldn’t agree more, and if I could I’d be in college forever. Hopefully the Snakes will become the next comedic music-men I’ve been looking for. Based on the other songs on their site, I’m not completely sold on them. Atleast they came up with one classic, and at the perfect time as Michael Scott has his last episode on the office tonight!

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Comedy

April 28, 2011

Danilo Does What?

By chappy81

I was thoroughly confused when someone sent me a link to this clip above. It was funny, but didn’t make much sense. After checking out the Facebook site it all made sense when I watched Lebron take a sheet!

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Comedy, Sports

April 27, 2011

Warriors End Their Relationship With Smart

By chappy81

The Warriors announced today that they are parting ways with their coach Keith Smart. I wasn’t overly impressed with the job he did coaching, but didn’t feel he did enough to get let go, and wouldn’t have been upset to see him at the bench one more year. It’s probably for the better though. The new owners need to move as far as they possibly can from the old ownership, and so far they haven’t really done much maybe this is a sign of changes to come. I’m pretty realistic about my teams, and I didn’t think the W’s would make the playoffs this year as their roster was constructed at the beginning of the year, which I guess isn’t much of a bold prediction since they rarely do anything. Maybe if everything came together perfectly they would’ve had a shot to make the playoffs, but that didn’t happen, and management decided it was time for their first big change.

Smart did a few things that I questioned during the season, like keeping Biendris out there when he obviously didn’t have anything to contribute. Sure, we didn’t have a lot of options at center, and the team is paying Biens a ridiculous $9M per season, but Smart should’ve seen what we all saw, a player that just didn’t have the heart or desire to be out there more than ten minutes a game. His second mistake in my mind was playing Ellis way too many minutes. Sure he was out best player, but 80% of the time at the end of the game he’d be too tired to make an impact. His elevation wasn’t there because he played about 5 too many minutes, so we’d lose. I loved how Smart was a players coach, but maybe he was a little too much of a players coach. I mean, he let Acie Law talk himself into the lineup regularly. You just can’t let that happen! I wish Smart the best of luck, and hope he finds another home. He was our assistant from 03-09 and our head coach last year, which is actually a pretty long tenure in the Warriors organization.

I have no idea who they will end up with as their coach for next year, but I’m hoping it’s Rick Adelman or at least someone proven. I’d hate to give the job to someone that has no experience again. We are a very young team that needs someone that can keep their attention and respect. Not so sure Smart had that from them. He had their respect, but not so positive about their attention.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 26, 2011

“Check”ing In On My Hockey Picks

By mceezy

Love that wordplay reference to my favorite move in hockey. Two weeks ago I weighed in my expert opinion on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The logical thing would be to wait until tomorrow before revisiting my first round picks, but odds are hockey won’t even cross my mind for the next week at least. So, let’s get to it….

I went 3 for 4 in the West – or Campbell Conference, for the hockey purist. Even more impressive when you consider I picked the 1-4 seeds to advance. That’s really going out on a limb. I had the Canucks in 6, Sharks in 5, and Red Wings in 5. Instead, it was the Canucks in 7, Sharks in 6, and Red Wings in 4. The Orange County Ducks of Anaheim were the only higher seed to get bounced, losing to Nashville in 6.

In the East, I nailed the Capitals in 5. The Flyers took Game 7 instead of the Sabres, like I had so bravely predicted. Montreal will win tomorrow night as scheduled and the Penguins will take three extra games to dispose of Tampa rather than sweeping. I can’t wait to see how tomorrow unfolds so I can make my second round picks! Or can I…?

6 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 25, 2011

Easter Fun

By chappy81

If you quizzed me about religion, there’s about a 99.9% chance I’d fail regardless of which religion you were testing me on. As a kid I was sent to church with other families to see if I was into any particular religion. My parents were not, so those trips to random churchs ended rather quickly when I found that my Sunday’s could actually be spent doing normal kid stuff (not that going to church is bad, I just have plenty of other things I’d rather do as most kids would agree). I have to say, with the world shrinking in the information age, these religious holidays like Easter seem to be shoved down our throats a little without most people even knowing the relevance of the day. Especially holidays that we don’t even get a workday off! Usually there isn’t a correlation between the holiday and the reason for celebrating the religious day, and Easter is no different. I’ve never understood what chocolate, colored eggs, and bunnies have to do with the resurrection. Fortunately for me, I ran across this video today to clear all of it up!

6 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Comedy, Random

April 24, 2011

Sunday NBA Easter Eggs

By mceezy

The second I saw the lineup for today’s NBA playoff games, I could tell I’d be watching a good share of basketball today. I see myself taking a break somewhere centered around the Hawks-Magic game, since that’s the least appealing game to me, but here’s a few quick notes on each game – what I’m expecting to see…

Miami vs. Philadelphia – Philly came out of the gates strong, appearing poised to extend the series at least one more game. As I’m writing this though, the Heat have put down a 22-2 run to move in front and take a 1 point lead into the half. I expect the game to continue this theme until the Heat eventually are on top when the final buzzer sounds.

Boston vs. New York – The Knicks have a lot of new players, and they seem eager to get their first offseason in the Big Apple started. I’d love to see the Knicks rally back from 0-3, but I just don’t see it happening. They know this isn’t their year, so why keep working when you can go on summer vacation? Boston sweeps in Madison Square Garden…. tough return to the postseason for NY fans.

Orlando vs. Atlanta – This series has seven games written all over it. The Magic will probably win today, making it a best of three series. If they don’t, it only means they’ll win the next two to tie the series at 3, and force game seven. IN Orlando. All I’m sayin is…. 7 games.

Lakers vs. Hornets – This is the game where the Lakers make it clear that game one was a fluke – if they haven’t already. Today they’ll go up 3-1, and after they close it out in 5, will get to sit back and watch the Mavericks – Blazers, which suddenly looks destined for seven games as well.

2 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Sports

April 20, 2011

Changing of the Eras in the NBA?

By chappy81

I’ve watched as much as I could of these NBA playoffs so far, and with every lower seed playing the higher seed tough it got me thinking about the state of the NBA. Make no mistake, t’s in a great state right now as every team in the playoffs looks good even some of the lower seeds. In basketball we usually don’t see a ton of surprises, because you don’t surprise any team four times in a series. That’s what basketball has right over all the other sports, they always get the true champion, because no road traveled is easy. That’s not really the case in every other sport. Coming to conclusions like this makes it even tougher as a Warriors fan…

I guess the first question that popped into my head is this one of the last chances for the “older” teams to win a championship? Maybe not this year, but it’s coming. This year we have the traditional favorites that you can’t really bet against like the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs, but how much longer can their reign last? Most of their top-tier stars are well into their 30’s, and these teams are all stumbling a little already in this first round. I’m not saying that I’ve counted these teams out already for this year or next, because that would be ridiculously short sighted. I do find myself having a hard time seeing them continue their dominance beyond this year especially last years finals pairing. The Lakers and Celtics will have some huge questions to answer at the conclusion of the season. Both are going to be praying that their coaches stay, and Phil has already said he believes there will be a long lockout which is a reason he wants to retire. Doc might be thinking the same thing. New coach and new system doesn’t usually equal championships, but you can teach an old dog new tricks every once in awhile. The Spurs are finding it impossible to have their big three healthy and together when it matters for the past few seasons. Maybe the lockout would help them since they wouldn’t have to play nearly as many games, keeping these older guys fresh without a long regular season might be to their advantage, but at the same time I don’t see that making up for slowly eroding skills. The NBA is an era league, that started way back with Bill Russell dominating. More recently, we went from the Bird-Magic era to the current Kobe-Duncan era, so are we heading into a new era? Oh my the possibilities that are coming to light are enticing.

The East is stacked with young superstar talent as we all know. The Bulls, Knicks, and Heat are sure to be battling it out for years to come barring injury of course. Nearly all the superstars on those teams have had previous playoff failures, so in my eyes these teams aren’t as inexperienced as some would have you believe. The West isn’t as clear cut as the East in terms of power, but the Grizzlies are the second youngest team in the league, and have showed promise against the Spurs just like the Thunder did with the Lakers last year as an 8 seed. OKC is the seeming favorite to be the heir apparent to the Western Conference Throne, and I can’t argue with that. A side note on the Sonics, why doesn’t every GM follow the blueprint that they used? Get a superstar, have cap space to spend on the other players, build through the draft, and boom, you have an elite team. The Clippers have a solid core with a superstar that can only get better, oops, I shouldn’t ever put the Clippers in a championship post… Anyways you get the point, and my question is who’s era is it going to belong to?

28 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 20, 2011

Dubbing Up Your 420

By chappy81

Today is the unofficial holiday in the US for weed. In Cali there’s always quite a bit of celebration going on, and especially in cities like SF. I remember one year going to a parade in SF, and many people were dressed up like different types of weed, bongs and hippie stuff. One thing is for sure during this day, there’s no trouble started from these groups celebrating. It might be one of the least threatening holidays there is. This John Holt song came out back in 2001, and was one of my favorite songs in my early college years! For some reason a lot of people think this is Eek-a-mouses song, but it doesn’t sound like him so I’m not sure why that is…

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Music

April 19, 2011

Doin MLB Power Rankings

By chappy81

With two and a half full weeks gone in the MLB season we find ourselves about 10% of the way through the season. It’s time for some waaay too early power rankings! I’ve seen way too many baseball games thanks to the free MLB package preview those first two weeks. Thankfully that’s over, so I don’t find myself watching a Marlins vs. Astros game anymore (which is probably for the better). For some reason I’ve been more focused on baseball more than the opening games this weekend of the NBA playoffs. Anyways, this might be the most accurate power rankings I’ll have all year because I’ve actually seen almost all the teams play. There are some shocking teams already in this young season, and for now this is how the top 16 shakes out!

#1 Colorado Rockies (12-4) – Whoa, I thought they’d be pretty good this year, which is why I picked them to win the NL West, but didn’t see this torrid start coming. Tulo is on pace to hit over 80 homers this year. If he keeps that pace up, they might be able to stay atop these rankings for awhile.

#2 Cleveland Indians (12-4) – Mceezy’s pick to win the World Series. I was very skeptical of this team and his pick, but they’ve got some swagger and confidence early in the year. Also, one guy who always seems to be in the playoffs, Orlando Cabrera is on their team. Wherever he goes, they make the playoffs except when he was on the A’s for half a year and didn’t make it… Grady is back, and that’s only going to help them.

#3 New York Yankees (9-5) – Is there starting pitching ever not a question mark? It doesn’t seem to matter that much when you put up runs like this lineup can. AJ Burnett is off to a good start, so maybe he doesn’t suck after all. Would I move Jeter down in the lineup? Yes!

#4 Texas Rangers (11-5) – They’ve lost two straight series (one to the Yankees), but keep on mashing the ball with or without Hamilton in the lineup. Anytime you are scoring as much as them you have a chance to win in every game. Their starting rotation is a concern, and the bullpen is even more of a concern, we’ll see what happens with that. Hopefully it will spell their doom.

#5 Philadelphia Phillies (10-5) – Not an exciting offense anymore, but you only need to score a few runs with that pitching staff. I might have underestimated how good they are with or without Chase Utley and Jayson Werth. I guess I should’ve probably picked them to win the NL East…  Continue reading

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 18, 2011

What’s Gotten Into Webber?

By mceezy

This isn’t really a post; it’s more of a question. During tonight’s Bulls-Pacers game, I can’t help but feel like C-Webb is going a little over the top tonight with his color commentary. It’s almost like someone put a bug in his ear before the game to step his enthusiasm game up. Either that or Gus Johnson gave him a pep talk before tipoff. Whatever the case, he definitely sounds a couple octaves higher and even sounds like a video game at times. Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s Derrick Rose. He had me more excited tonight for a single player than anyone else in a while. How would he top his 39 points in Game One’s improbable victory? Though he hasn’t really done anything too spectacular tonight, he still managed to put up 34pts, 8reb, 6ast – ho hum. Surely Webber’s just giddy at the sight of this season’s MVP.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 18, 2011

Poker is Offline in the US Again

By chappy81

My name is Brian, and I was a online poker addict for awhile there. Especially during the college years when the poker boom was just taking off. Thankfully the government helped me kick the online habit in 2006 when they ruled to shut down poker sites that used money laundering type violations. Not that I didn’t play at the home games or the occasional trip the the Indian Casinos, but it became a once in awhile kind of thing compared to playing poker while watching a baseball or basketball game. The sites were back up and running within a year or so, and I was never really clear on why. Either way, I was back playing at a reduced rate. Over the past few years my playing has tailed off a lot to almost non-existent for months at a time (probably for the better). Maybe I got over it because of the skill of some of the online players that I was playing with. I just couldn’t handle seeing some of the most ridiculous hands winning more than pocket aces. Those beats always leave a bad taste in your mouth, especially when it happens over and over and over. Plus, I just don’t have as much time to waste as I used to.

This weekend, online poker went on hold once again for US players, but the lawsuit coming up will have a much different effect on the online gambling world. Mainly, we will once and for all have some set laws in place. If the lawmakers decide that poker is not a skill game, which if you play online enough, you will believe there’s more luck than skill, then poker will forever be banished online in the US. If they find it’s a skill game, we end up with a new way to generate some tax revenue. As of now, there’s no concrete way for the government to tax this billion dollar business. That being said, I don’t think the government really cares about the legality of online poker, just whether they can line their pockets with the addiction that many like myself threw themselves at.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 14, 2011

Silver and Black Attack!

By mceezy

No explanation needed…..

4 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Sports

April 13, 2011

Webber And Barkley On The Kings Leaving Sacramento

By mceezy

I know I probably talk about it more than anyone cares to hear, but once the dust settles, I’ll be very sad about all this. As much as the current ownership has alienated myself and fans alike, I can’t forget that past 26 years. Even while turning in 20-win seasons year after year, Sacramento fans packed the house every night and cheered like it was the NBA Finals. Don’t take it from me though. Take it from C-Webb and Sir Charles (from TNT’s Inside the NBA last night)…..

Webber: “I didn’t want to go there (Sacramento). I tried to run away from there. They still accepted me. I can’t imagine what Sacramento would be like without basketball … I hope we do not lose the team. I’ve been talking to people there. I know everyone thinks the team is gone, but I’m doing all I can to keep the team there. I may sound like a fool on national TV, but I’m working to do that. Other people are working to do that … It’s very selfish. I won’t have a basketball home if Sacramento doesn’t have a basketball team. I was talking to (former Sonics star) Gary Payton. He doesn’t have his jersey hanging in any arena. There is no team in Seattle. Selfishly for myself, and for the fans in Sacramento ….

Ernie Johnson: “What are you doing (to further efforts)?”

Webber: “What am I doing? I’m trying to keep the team here. We don’t want to talk about it, but … what else am I supposed to do? I love this team. I still want to have a home in Sacramento. Hopefully it’s not a lost cause. I love Sacramento.”

Barkley: “You know, it’s very frustrating to me because I love the city of Sacramento, and I’ve said before, they had the best fans in the NBA for a long time. I really like the Maloof brothers. I want to make that clear. But I’m very disappointed … because they should have found a way to keep that team in Sacramento … I agree with Chris. Even when the team sucked, they (fans) were great. I mean, they were raising hell every night. I’ve always had great respect for the Maloof brothers. They’ve always been great to me. I’m just disappointed they didn’t try harder to make it work … It’s like they (NBA, owners) screwed Seattle. That place was crazy. But Sacramento … I agree with both of you guys. You all were great when you weren’t very good. It was all the same.That place was loud. I hate the fact they’re leaving Sacramento.”

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sports