The Golden State Warriors were seen as just another bad team as recently as a few years ago. They missed the playoffs year after year, 12 to be exact. I'd watch them, but mostly as background noise. There were a few seasons where they showed promise, just to fizzle out once again. The head coach position was a revolving door after Don Nelson left.
And then the 2006-2007 season arrived. Don Nelson returned. Chris Mullin came in as GM. Baron Davis was obtained the season before, and he showed flashes of brilliance even though he was injury-plagued. They had Jason Richardson, who was always fun to watch as well as being a fan favorite. Monta Ellis and Andres Biedrich were emerging as young stars. And then, halfway through the season, they traded away Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu, and Mike Dunleavy for "bad boy" Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. (I was only bummed about Dunleavy leaving because of his sexy arms, but I understood the reasoning).
That trade transformed the team. After a losing streak that prompted Nelson to declare that the team sucked (in so many words), they caught fire. They beat Portland in the final game of the season to sneak into the final playoff spot.
I was just happy that they were decent again. What they did in the first round against Dallas was nothing short of amazing. The "We Believe" shirts, the flat-out beatdown... it was amazing. They fell flat against Utah, but it was okay. It gave Bay Area fans hope. And, as a certain presidential candidate has said, there's nothing false about hope.
Needless to say, the 07-08 season was full of hope, even after Richardson was traded away. It was dashed, though, when they started out 0-6. That was mainly because Jackson was suspended for the first seven games of the season. Once he returned, though, things improved greatly. (There were also grumblings when he was named one of the team captains, but he's behaved himself). They beat almost everybody at least once, except for Detroit and Utah. Baron Davis played every game, and Monta Ellis... is it possible to win the Most Improved Player award two years in a row? He's the best player nobody knows about- he's quick and has a sweet move to the hoop. And, uh, he's kinda cute in that dorky kind of way. (See, queen, I told you I'd hold back on the fangirling :p).
Sadly, they ran out of gas at the end. Denver emerged and took the final spot. Once the Warriors lost to Denver at home, I knew it was over. I screamed and cussed and declared that they were dead to me, but I got over it. Their final record was 47-35, which would've placed them fourth (I think) in the east, but left them out of this absolutely batshit insane western conference. Once they were mathematically eliminated, I turned my attention to baseball, and, at the moment, hockey.
Some have said that this will be the last time we see this team in this formation again. I hope not. They're really fun to watch, and I'm starting to learn more about basketball by doing so. It would be nice, though, if they stopped being so 3-point happy.
And I still want a "We Believe" t-shirt.
ETA:
Showing posts with label barry obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barry obama. Show all posts
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
A Public Service Announcement
Before we get down to business, a random digression (which is pretty much my life - a series of random digressions where nothing ever actually gets accomplished - so expect all posts by moi to start this way):
Ms. Lauren's earlier post waxing poetic about the joys of watching Penn State football players get arrested while Joe Pa eats his prunes on the sidelines reminded me of my favorite spring football nugget from this past weekend (the big weekend for the intrasquad scrimmages, in case you were living under a rock or don't have NFL Network and missed out on the joys of Dave Wannstache doing color commentary during P-I-T-T LET'S GO PITT's Blue/Gold game - BTW, it was the most efficient Pitt has played since he took over for Walt Harris three years ago, so I think this MIGHT be a key to a winning season for the Panthers):
Final score of the K-State Wildcats scrimmage: 3-0
Yes, 3-0.
For comparision, Pitt's was 60-25. The Not-Much-Fighting-Last-Season Irish had a 47-46 thriller. LSU beat Ohio State - uh, nevermind, the 2nd string - 38-10. The list goes on. Point is, most spring games garner shitloads of points.
K-State put up 3 total points. And they came in the final quarter. Has there ever been a scoreless OT spring game? We need Stat Boy on this one.
Now, I don't know much about K-State football. I honestly didn't even know Kansas State existed until Bob Huggins showed up there in 2006 (coincidentally, neither did he). I only started following K-State football by default - visiting K-State blogs daily to read about/internet stalk/swoon over Michael Beasley, you end up finding some other weird shit. But I know enough to say that there is no way that I can be convinced that a 3-0 final displays their defensive prowess. If they gave up 30 ppg last season, unless they had a helluva defensive recruiting class (not likely - most of their newcomers are JuCo transfers and farmers), there's a good chance their defense hasn't improved much. And I know enough to understand that in football, you gotta score points. Particularly when half your schedule involves teams in Texas and Nebraska. So unless K-State has some new defensive tactics that the Big 12 just ain't ready for...they're in for a long, long year in the Little Apple. I'd say you have basketball season to look forward to, but Jake Pullen advised Lil' Mike to go to the NBA.
Anyways, that being said, tomorrow is the big exciting Primary election day in the great state of PA, where both Maggie and I hail from. Despite not actually living in PA, I'm too lazy to change my residency to Maryland, so I'm included in this fun. And if you live in PA, or are just as lazy as me, you need to be in on it too. As P-Diddy once said...VOTE OR DIE! I can go on about the seriousness of voting, particularly in this presidential election, but if the last 8 years of presidency haven't informed you of this, then maybe you shouldn't be living. I kid. Sorta.
We here at Real Bitches are decidedly biased towards our main man Barry. Oh yes, we're smart girls, so we were caught up in his fine policies and ideals before the hype of his speeches and debates swept the rest of his supporters up. Plus we don't believe in voting for people just because they also have vaginas (which, at this point with Miss Clinton, is questionable). But honestly, what makes Obamarama so appealing?
He's a killer on the basketball court! If you missed HBO's "Real Sports" segment, shame on you. Go On-Demand or YouTube it instantly. Barry played a mean game of pickup ball, dropping some sweet dimes down low, a couple smooth outside jumpers, and the game winning lay-in. His game is Jason Kidd-esque - don't count on him to hit a shot outside always, but he can do plenty else. He claims to have a sick drive to the left. I want to see my man hit Rucker Park this summer on (hopefully) his campaign tour, then we'll see if the trash-talking really holds.
I'm not the type to force a candidate on you if you're still undecided...but really, every great team needs a great point guard (see my last post about CP3 and the Hornets), and I don't know who else I'd want throwing an assist to me. Ponder that before you enter the election booth tomorrow.
Ms. Lauren's earlier post waxing poetic about the joys of watching Penn State football players get arrested while Joe Pa eats his prunes on the sidelines reminded me of my favorite spring football nugget from this past weekend (the big weekend for the intrasquad scrimmages, in case you were living under a rock or don't have NFL Network and missed out on the joys of Dave Wannstache doing color commentary during P-I-T-T LET'S GO PITT's Blue/Gold game - BTW, it was the most efficient Pitt has played since he took over for Walt Harris three years ago, so I think this MIGHT be a key to a winning season for the Panthers):
Final score of the K-State Wildcats scrimmage: 3-0
Yes, 3-0.
For comparision, Pitt's was 60-25. The Not-Much-Fighting-Last-Season Irish had a 47-46 thriller. LSU beat Ohio State - uh, nevermind, the 2nd string - 38-10. The list goes on. Point is, most spring games garner shitloads of points.
K-State put up 3 total points. And they came in the final quarter. Has there ever been a scoreless OT spring game? We need Stat Boy on this one.
Now, I don't know much about K-State football. I honestly didn't even know Kansas State existed until Bob Huggins showed up there in 2006 (coincidentally, neither did he). I only started following K-State football by default - visiting K-State blogs daily to read about/internet stalk/swoon over Michael Beasley, you end up finding some other weird shit. But I know enough to say that there is no way that I can be convinced that a 3-0 final displays their defensive prowess. If they gave up 30 ppg last season, unless they had a helluva defensive recruiting class (not likely - most of their newcomers are JuCo transfers and farmers), there's a good chance their defense hasn't improved much. And I know enough to understand that in football, you gotta score points. Particularly when half your schedule involves teams in Texas and Nebraska. So unless K-State has some new defensive tactics that the Big 12 just ain't ready for...they're in for a long, long year in the Little Apple. I'd say you have basketball season to look forward to, but Jake Pullen advised Lil' Mike to go to the NBA.
Anyways, that being said, tomorrow is the big exciting Primary election day in the great state of PA, where both Maggie and I hail from. Despite not actually living in PA, I'm too lazy to change my residency to Maryland, so I'm included in this fun. And if you live in PA, or are just as lazy as me, you need to be in on it too. As P-Diddy once said...VOTE OR DIE! I can go on about the seriousness of voting, particularly in this presidential election, but if the last 8 years of presidency haven't informed you of this, then maybe you shouldn't be living. I kid. Sorta.
We here at Real Bitches are decidedly biased towards our main man Barry. Oh yes, we're smart girls, so we were caught up in his fine policies and ideals before the hype of his speeches and debates swept the rest of his supporters up. Plus we don't believe in voting for people just because they also have vaginas (which, at this point with Miss Clinton, is questionable). But honestly, what makes Obamarama so appealing?
He's a killer on the basketball court! If you missed HBO's "Real Sports" segment, shame on you. Go On-Demand or YouTube it instantly. Barry played a mean game of pickup ball, dropping some sweet dimes down low, a couple smooth outside jumpers, and the game winning lay-in. His game is Jason Kidd-esque - don't count on him to hit a shot outside always, but he can do plenty else. He claims to have a sick drive to the left. I want to see my man hit Rucker Park this summer on (hopefully) his campaign tour, then we'll see if the trash-talking really holds.
I'm not the type to force a candidate on you if you're still undecided...but really, every great team needs a great point guard (see my last post about CP3 and the Hornets), and I don't know who else I'd want throwing an assist to me. Ponder that before you enter the election booth tomorrow.
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