The NBA Finally Gets Their $h!t Together
It looks like we are going to have some pro basketball this year. If all goes accordingly, there will be a 66 game regular season. I think we are all going to enjoy this abbreviated schedule. 66 is about the MOST they should be playing. While I am permanently disenchanted with the NBA as a whole, I am excited as a Warrior fan to see what this team can be without Cohan lurking in the background. I might even go to my first Warrior game since 2007. We’ll see……
And now, for a little Retro……….
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September 1st, 1978. It’s a Friday night game and the Phillies are in town. 16,431 showed up to see Carlton and a staple from the 70’s, Jim Barr, go head to head. The game time was 1:40 so they worked fast and economically. Jack Clark hit a tie breaking HR in the 8th off Carlton to put the G’s ahead for a 4-3 victory. Winning *best name of the game* is the Phillies leadoff hitter, Bake McBride. A 37th round draft pick in 1970, McBride went on to have a pretty decent 10 year career–He made $80,000 in 1977–how times have changed……..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I sure didn’t miss these guys one bit. There are still too many games. Too many teams! And owners crying poor…….what a farce! For most of the players……not the stars…..the career is too short.
Now that it appears that they’re going to play, I suppose I’ll be happy enough to see it. On the other hand, if the NBA no longer existed, It wouldn’t bother me a bit…
Wonderful POTD, BTW.
why thank you kind sir. it’s time for a new one though.
Yeah, shake and bake, cool player, fast as hell, big fro too. Philly was pretty tough in those days (didn’t they get to the Series back to back?), I think they had Sarge then too, Maddox known as the secretary of defense in CF. Schmidt usually tore it up at the Stick; I remember a weekend where he hit like 5 bombs.
Pls, furd, hammer the f-ing Irish…should get a big time BCS bowl for Luck’s sendoff. My friend is a big time colts/peyton fan along with Luck, and I told her she could have best of both worlds next year if the Colts go oh fer and draft Luck.
yay nba. They have greatly overestimated their importance in our society. If there was never another nba game played we would continue on just fine. Now, if there were no NFL there would have been anarchy. As for the warriors, I’ll probably watch on TV
“He made $80,000 in 1977–how times have changed……..” Gene Freese, a journeyman third baseman in the 50s and 60s, made 20 grand in his last year ( 1966) . He was no world beater but he played 12 seasons, had over a 100 HRs, .720 OPS- an average big leaguer, I’d say. That’s decent bucks but the difference between what a guy like Freese made and what a worker made wasn’t the huge difference as today. That goes a long way in explaining why we have such a low tolerance for failure in our sports heroes. IMO. Don’t get me wrong, those guys were booed and heckled perhaps even more than today, but they were not perceived as an elite class financially as today. obviously, a guy making 12 million and playing like shit is not getting much sympathy.
That may be true for most fans but what they make now doesn’t really bother me. I mean, it’s easier to hate on Rowand because of what he makes compared to his production. But take a guy like Jamarcus Russell. Did fans hate on him because of his contract or because he was lazy and fat and didn’t put in maximum effort?
I prefer to reserve my vitriol for those who don’t perform regardless of their salaries. The difference is, the big contracts stick around and get boo’d longer than the one-year guys. Johnnie leMaster didn’t get boo’d because of the dough he made.
Well,you weren’t really around when guys made 20 grand- there was huge difference in how they were perceived.
Whatever the issue- injury, getting released. poor performance- the number one comment from Camp Numbskull is about how much money the guys makes . Jamarcus? They hated him for all that multiplied by 100 BECAUSE of the bucks. If you aren’t bothered by what they make, good for you. The owners are raking in record profits and the players are the product.Whatever a guy can get- bravo for him.
Ther’s no comparison whatsover to the 20 grand days. Freese was just a high priced plumber..
It’s not the product, the product was the same then as it is now, mostly. It’s just sold differently.–the YES network probably pulls in a billion dollars a year– just a guess. There are a lot of different ways to see today’s product as opposed to the Freese-days
Of course they were always the product- and a “product” making 20 grand was perceived in a totally different light than one making 5,000,000.Sure there are other differences, but there’s no agument against what I said. Not sure why you’d be making one. Fairly or not, the money players make is a major source of the aminus toward those who don’t perform well, and towards many that do. Even a great player sustaining a career ending injury gets the old ” poor guy, I’m sure the10 million will make it hurt less”…there is not doubt whatsoever that the huges salarires are a
HUGE issue for most fans. We see it this blog all the time. Have a nice day.
We all do it, but there’s no justification for booing a Rowand unless he were perceived to be dogging it- we should gather outside Sabean’s house and boo him.
Before I boogie to dreamland, how about a topic a Stanford kinda guy should be able to agree on: the backlash against Luck is a joke- he was the best college QB last year, he is best this year, and WILL be the number 1 pick next year…
The kid from Baylor is the one who’s stock is rising. Luck hasn’t looked good the last month or so, really since the USC game. You only get a few chances to impress the East coast voters and, in my opinion, he came up small this year. I’m not going to the game today, choosing to watch it on tv instead. Make some tacos and wash it down with some Tecate. Luck could win or lose the Heisman with his performance today….
The Heismann Award is a joke, a popularity contest dominated by east coasters. Anybody remember who won it two years ago? Even last year? If you can, it may have taken a bit. I remember Reggie Bush won it, because he gave it back before they could take it back. It’s turned into a TV show for one evening’s content on ESPN and endless content time on local and national radio shows. Then, the winner usually turns into a bust or nothing special in the NFL. I hope for his sake Luck doesn’t win it, he’ll probably be better off. The kid seems to have all the physical and mental talent to do well in the NFL. Winning or not winning the Heismann won’t change that, or his draft position…
Part of Luck’s talent extends to his legs. And yet, because they’re afraid he’s gonna get hurt, Shaw almost never has him run. You can’t play football scared you’re gonna get hurt. All things considered, I don’t really think Shaw has advanced the program this year, despite their record. If he loses to notre dame, a possibility for sure, he’s gonna be in hot water with the Alums
Can Shaw recruit? He’s probably no Harbaugh……
And Snarkk, I’m assuming cam newton won last year and the year before was the running back who’s dad is in jail (ex NFL wide out)
I know your question was rhetorical, I was just pointing out that it’s not like the winner is a complete unknown.
Snarkk bitch slaps Heismann!
I have Bake McBride’s autograph. I got it when I was a kid, and McBride was playing Single A in the Cal. League. The funny thing is- I thought one of his fellow outfielders was going to be the bigger star. A guy named Bill Brooks. I have no idea whatever happened to Bill Brooks. I assume he never made it to the bigs.
I just looked up Bill Brooks. He made it as high as AA. His last year in pro ball was ’72.
I’m not taking anything away from ‘bama’s defense, but they face some awfully shitty qb’s. Mosley had receivers wide open on both of the last two plays and he air mailed them both times.
I looked him up too:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=brooks003wil
He’ll always be one of my baseball heroes, because he was basically my first baseball hero. He was a speedy outfielder, lead-off hitter. Glad to see he’s still alive. He’s 62 years old now. In my mind, he’s in his young 20s, flying around the bases.
I would love to see Luck take on Alabama but I don’t think it’s gonna happen
Back in the early ’70s, another Cal Leaguer that I thought was a sure thing was George Theodore. I just looked him up. He did make it to the majors. He was a part-time player for the Mets for a couple of seasons.
Ah, George Theodore. The Stork. Gave or received a haircut in the dugout. Most notable — and painful memory: in the 1973 World Series, Willie Mays tragically tossed the ball to FELLOW OUTFIELDER George Theodore to throw into the infield. Very sad.
What’s Bill Brooks been doing for the last 40 years– I am fascinated with that kind of stuff. Does he still tell his Bake McBride stories? Or do his co-workers even know about his baseball career?
One of our local stories along those lines is Steve Grilli, who runs a bar called The Change of Pace. His kid is Jason Grilli, latest of the Pirates, I think, and signed by the Giants but traded for Livan.
“Luck hasn’t looked good the last month or so, really since the USC game.”
Isn’t that when he lost his tight end and best WR? Seems he’s been without a real go to guy since then.
Watching Luck for the first time. Dang, you guys changing my world. I never used to watch much of any sports ‘cept the Jints, and here I am cheering The Cardinal.
I can’t decide if Brent Mussberger is classic and great or a parody of himself.
I bought Greatest Hits by Phil Ochs on Amazon today. Wow. Great to hear. Once talked to him after a concert at Max’s Kansas City, a club in NY.
St: totally agree on the targets he’s lost. But if you’re as good as everyone says you are then you raise the bar and bring your team with you, you don’t succumb to injury excuses…
Ha, I thought Kelly was gonna go Bear Bryant on that qb after he had to call the TO– then the missed FG. Very nice….
Sheeesh, ND shoulda managed at least 3. Poor showing.
Luck has been pretty average tonight but the play calling isn’t helping him one bit– super conservative, boring bullshit.
I like the Sandinista uniforms Stanford’s wearing tonight. La lucha sigue.
Mussberger really seems to favor “The Irish.” He exults over every ND advantage. Be nice to see Luck finish the game with a flourish (and, of course, a convincing win).
Musberger’s coat has to be a joke unless he’s trying trying to look like an old man. Luck has done nothing tonight to earn the Heisman. Richardson was huge today. Give it to him.
Nice pass right there.
Wide open easy pass. Any qb hits that throw. Richardson’s 50+ run earlier today was the shit. Luck has been checking down all game, finally got an easy one there.
uh huh. How many TD passes tonight? Four? Just a routine night. He won’t get the Heisman. But his drop off at the end of the season wasn’t dramatic.
You didn’t watch the entire game, I’m guessing. He was ok. Nothing special. He had that gift 50 yd td at the end that any sane/conscious qb could have hit. Look, I’m a huge STanford fan but I’m not gonna push for the guy just to be a homer.
I watched the Stanford game, I didn’t see the Alabama game. I don’t know how the Heisman votes work. Maybe Luck gets support for his entire career. He certainly didn’t hurt himself with tonight’s performance. The entire college ranking system is messed up, teams and players. I’ll bet the NCAA knows the current system is doomed and they have a bunch of people working full time behind the scenes trying to come up with a new approach.
Nice to see USC banned from bowl play, however, isn’t it? I think Lane Kiffin is capable of the extending the streak he inherited.
Who gets it then? I ain’t following this too close. Yeah, good bad or indifferent, who can forget Gino Toretta? Or Eric Crouch, Chris Weinke, Danny Wuerffel, Charlie Ward, Ty Detmer, Troy Smith, or . . . .
The Heisman, as anyone knows, isn’t about stats or who’s the best player in the country. Luck is probably the best overall/NFL player coming out. But if any of you have actually watched his season, especially the last 6 weeks, you would understand we weren’t watching a Heisman showcase. He’s been very good. He was better last year. Richardson’s 50+ td run today was 100% all him and that was a Heisman run. Luck’s late garbage td tonight was something I could have thrown.
Notre Dame was ranked #22. Cal played far better against Stanford, gave them all they could handle. Cal would probably beat Notre Dame on a neutral site, at very least it would be a pick em. These rankings are an absolute croc….
I totally agree. And why the hell does *the coaches poll* carry any weight at all? They don’t watch all the games. They watch THEIR game while they’re playing it. And they watch tape of their upcoming game. How does that qualify them to give informed opinions about the rest of the country on a week to week basis? Idiotic.
The rankings are a total joke. Arkansas is #3, so LSU creams them. OK ST was #3 before, they lost to an unranked Iowa St. team. Oklahoma was ranked #4 or #5, got biotch slapped at HOME by Texas Tech, have 2 losses now, are STILL ranked n the Top 10 ahead of Oregon. At least Oregon lost to LSU at a neutral site, and at home to USC, a real team. As for the Furd, I swear that Luck is better than that SF QB right now. Better footwork, better escapability. Harbaugh could bring him in for a full preseason and practice and he would step right in and take the Niners to the playoffs for the next decade. He has all the throws. The Colts throw the entire season and they will get the next Peyton Manning for the next 15 years. The guy is a horse. The only reason he’s been a little down (4 TDs tonite?!) lately is he’s lost receivers to injury. If Luck had Keenan Allen to throw to, look out…
The booing of Rowand was 90% on performance. He never ever adjusted to playing here, ever. After watching him roll over on the breaking ball for the umpteenth time, it’s obvious the league had figured him out long ago. Despite 500 ABs and working himself into a morning sweat every day, he was completely incapable of turning that around in his favor and making whatever necessary adjustments on his part to push his numbers back up toward respectability.. According to insiders he went from vet presence to club distraction–all on him. bochy correctly figured he could win a WS without him, and did.
The contract is on Sabes, no question. Why nothing happened for so long is what is open to question. Maybe ownership nixed paying another team to take him, maybe Sabes wanted more out of a deal, whatever. Don’t forget that it wasn’t too long after he and Tejada were released that Nukes was gone too.
I’m convinced R still thinks he knows what he is doing and considers himself an everyday player put in a bad situation here, the classic victim of circumstance. Legend in his own mind.