GldnSt8Warrior

It's a Movement!

2010-03-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is but something is in the air. My old school rellies BS "Bored Stiff" are dropping Bombs once again and my homie D from FTB has started a Bona-Fied Movment. First off I should appoligize cause it's been awhile since I posted. This year I decided to attend the All-Star game in Dallas rather than buy season tickets.

Anyway enough with the explanation's the real story is the Warrior's are for sale as everyone knows. Also that Larry Ellison of Oracle fame is the most vocal prospective buyer. What everyone should know though is our blogger comrades at Fear The Beard have come up with a grand idea in this "open letter to Larry Ellison; or, my grand delusion to own a piece of the Warriors.". Give it a read and get out there and Tweet it Facebook it etc. I think this is an excellent idea and is not far fetched either. I think my hiatus speaks for itself. We all need somthing to beleive in again.

"All a man needs in this life is someone to love. If you can't give him that, give him something to hope for. If you can't give him that... give him something to do. "

ITS A MOVEMENT! http://www.fearthebeard.org/?p=3743

The trade that keeps on giving......vs IND

2009-01-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Ok so the Lakers game never happend. I was there it was a loss and no blog post. You know I really like Sunday games though. Maybe it was just the warm weather or more likley the fact that we won. Either way it was a nice cap to the weekend on Sunday night when we played the Pacers. My wife and I showed up a little after tip off. By design because we both agreed the extra 10 minutes was better spent getting coffee. The world was ours, it's Sunday you should have no schedule. The arena was not to packed as far as sheer crowd goes. It was however packed with lots of Dunleavy hate. Truth be told that was one of my guilty pleasures in going to this game. I looked forward to joining in a BOooo here and there. It didn't just stop there though the Dunleavy hatred made me glad I didn't bring my Daughter.

The game was exciting and down right scary at times. We had 3 injuries starting Azbuike who was able to return. Then Turiaf rolled his ankle but walked it off and sat a little. Then late in the game Marco Belinelli had to be helped back to the locker room with a sprained ankle. Speaking of Marco, him and Granger almost went to blows over some ruff playing. The talk of the night was JC "Jamal Crawford" who hit the go ahead 3 to win the game. The Pacers who had more then enough time to put up the 3 attempt put it in Dunleavy's hands. We all know how that story ended. To bad Danny Granger didn't get to shoot it. He went loc with 42 Pts 7 Rebs, 3 Assists. But again JC showed us his glory with 32 Pts 5 Rebs, 5 Assists. Warriors get that much needed win and especially at home. Until next time Go Warriors!

Cotton Candy....vs TOR

2008-12-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

As the Warriors went from the Bay to LA and then back to the Bay I was swamped at work. This meant Monday's game against the Raptors was really not on my radar. It was not until the day of that my wife and I realized we had a game and could not find a baby sitter. Like always my loving and beautiful wife said to invite a friend and she will stay home. Problem is none of the usual suspects could make it. With a lack of bench players I went with the undrafted rookie my Daughter. I have been kicking around the idea of bringing her and I was waiting for an opportunity just like this to do it. I brought her to that celebrity preseason game thing but not to a real regular season game yet. Good thing about a game like this is I didn't mind leaving early. She is not even 4 yet so I couldn't expect her to sit for the entire game. She did good though and made it all the way to the half. She probably could of made it longer. But it was already past her bedtime and she was starting to get hyphy.

So like I said I left at the half and I didn't get to watch a lot of what I was there for . So no real good game cometary here sorry. The best story I have was about Cotton Candy. We had eaten dinner before the game and I also snuck in a juice box and a snack for her as well. Food and drink wide we are content as can be. She doesn't bat an eyelash at the Chorros or any other vendor for that matter. Then the Cotton Candy guy comes up our row. At first she really was not to interested in it. Then the guy behind us calls over the Cotton Candy guy and buys 3 of them for him and his 2 kids. She asked and I told her we already ate dinner and I had no cash on me. For the next few minutes she was turned around in her seat salivating and begging me.

It was in the middle of the first quarter and I was irritated but we went on a mission. I had to find an ATM to get some cash because they didn't have any Cotton Candy at the stands that take cards. So I paid like $6 to get a $20 to but a $5 Cotton Candy. I never let her know it but in my mind I was thinking "Why did that guy have to buy those cotton candies". Anyway with our Cotton Candy and a Lemonade we made it back to our seats and enjoyed another quarter of play. When we left as I carried her across the bridge to BART's parking lot she looked me in the eyes and said "thank you for taking me daddy I love you so much". Now I have been through some tough times in life. Both my parents were drug addicts and I lost my father when I was 8. Needless to say I can handle emotion but that right there my friend. That had me almost in tears. Hard to explain feelings like that. God Bless her soul and GO WARRIORS!

Ohh yea we WON!

P.S One of the prettier staff members of GldnSt8Warrior.com lent out the official GldnSt8Warrior.com camera then lost it. So still no pictures or video. Maybe next game.

Christmas Miracle....vs BOS

2008-12-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

Twas the day after Christmas, Against the Celtics at the Oracle, The Warriors won and it was quite a spectacle. Bad Holiday parodies aside this game was truly a spectacle. Not just for the fact that we pulled off a Christmas miracle and beat the Champs. But because of the energy in that arena. I have to say this was hands down the best game of the season thus far. The entire place was going Mighty Dumbo Dorfian Dummy.

Crazy thing is we initially tried to sell our tickets. Reason being is Celtics tickets normally sell for 2 or 3 times the price. I put them up for 3 times the price but found no takers. Looking back I am glad they didn't sell. We were excited to go to the game. We didn't expect a win, But we both were looking forward to seeing the Celtics play. Even if it meant them stomping on our boys. Most of the night that was the case a matter of a fact. Right from the jump you could see how better the Celtics are then us in both defending and scoring. They did however look tired and a little worn. They played the night before in LA against the Lakers. Ending the Celtics 19 game winning streak. I thought that would of fired them up a bit. Perhaps it did mentally but it didnt show up physically. Another big deciding factor was some sloppy 4th quarter turn overs the Celtics made. Also some key late game calls going our way. We did also have Jackson back and it was the old Gun Slinging Jackson. Not the new turn over machine Jackson. He looked like his old self shooting well and bringing a big spark. Also Marco has continued to do well with his extended minutes. Wonder if Nelson will still use him as much once Maggate, Crawford and Ellis are healthy? Speaking of Ellis it was nice to see him rejoin the team after that 30 game suspension. When they showed him on the screen the place went nuts. Still tons of love, we all can't wait to get him back.

The only bad news from this game was I didn't have my camera. We lent it to my Wife's parents for the weekend. No worries though a picture or a video would not properly capture the vibe that night. People really started to believe again that night, If only for a game. It had a vibe that I have not felt since Baron left. I don't know what the future holds. But like I said before that was the best game so far this season. We all know the playoffs are not going to happen. Lets just hope we can finish out the season with some intensity. Then hold our chins high with the best record we can.

Do you believe in Magic?.....vs ORL

2008-12-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

As a cold front hits the Bay Area the Warriors continue their ice cold shooting percentages. The night started off right with Jackson addressing the crowd wishing them a happy holidays and such. It was fitting as this was the last home game till after Christmas. I personally went into this game expecting a 20 plus point blowout. But before the game I read that Howard and Pietrus were going to be out. So I changed my prediction to a 5-10 point loss instead.

Anyway my Wife and I made the way to our seats and got ready to see some sloppy Warriors basketball. Then not long after Jack wished us all a safe and Merry X-Mas some Douche Nozzle starts spewing anti Jack propaganda. Well maybe not propaganda exactly as our Captain Jack has been looking like he spent to much time in Davy Jones' Locker. But still, First off hating on him is not gonna help him get out of a slump. Second off my seats are in Club 200 and if you think he can hear you then you must be more then drunk. So yea I had to listen to Douche Nozzle for 3 quarters. Yes I said 3 quarters, cause yo boy V-Dazzalistic and his Breezy Weezie was moving on up once again. The up shot to having lots of fair weather fans is they tend to leave early. That and the cold weather I think has people starting to sing exodus a few minutes into the fourth. I have to say though I rather see the Warriors start winning then me continue to sneak down to lower level. Maybe once this cold front leaves and we get back to normal CA winters of 50 or 60 degrees. Then the Warriors might warm it back up and get some wins. To bad the block is still hot though....

Snot Rockets....vs Houston

2008-12-13T20:02:00.000-08:00

For those of you who read Coughing up Nuggets last year you are already familiar with this type of game. For those of you who didn't, basically if you try and make it to every Warriors home game inevitably you will have to be sick at one. Last year it was the Nuggets this year it was the Rockets. Now before I make my self sound like a super-fan 99 over here. I did in fact miss my first home game this season. It was the Bucks game on Wednesday. For that one I was in a NyQuil induced coma status sick state. Anyway by the time Friday came around I was feeling a little better and made my way to the Roarcle with tissues in tow. I got to the game a little late due to traffic and my post medicine head lolly gagging. The place was packed as is normal for a Friday game especially aganist T-Mac and Yao's Rockets. Not like it mattered much in the end but Houston was without Artest due to injury. Speaking of injury we had Maggette out still with that Hamstring. Also Turiaf and Wright were sidelined with the same funk that had me missing work.

We never could really get out of the hole the entire night. At one point we took a one point lead. But for the most part the Rockets maintained a 10 to 20 point lead all night. The up side of a blowout is fans tend to leave early. This worked out good for me as I was able to move down to the lower level and upgrade my seats. Funny thing happened once I got down low though. I started streaming Live video on Twitter towards the end of the game. Then Franco the Hype man comes and sits next to me. He had his mic and everything so I got a little nervous but turns out his friend was few seats over. He ended up jumping in on the live video and gave a shout out to my wife who couldn't make the game. It was pretty funny but in the end the Warriors lost 119 to 108. Good thing it didn't go into over time to. I was almost out of tissues from sneezing and the runny nose. Anyway let me tell you I can't wait for Ellis to get back. I don't necessarily think it will turn around our season much. But at least it will be a more entertaining 25 win season. GO WARRIORS!

Can't beat the Heat....vs MIA

2008-12-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well Warriors fans we lost another making it 7 in a row now. For the record I have yet to miss a home game, not even a preseason one. I only wish I could share my consistency with the team. Because they are not showing up in crunch time. I don't know if you caught any of the 5 road games but it was the same story. The only thing consistent about us is our ability to not close it out. Anyway this was an interesting night. Normally my wife and or one of my close friends uses the other season ticket I have. This night however my wife was not feeling good and none of the usual suspects could make it. So I put the call out on the GldnSt8Warrior Facebook group and within minutes had several responses. The first one to respond got the seat and turns out it was a a guy I used to shoot hoops with. By the way thanks again for that Beer!

The Game itself was exciting and I did enjoy seeing Wade play. It also further underlined my belief that Marion needs a Nash type to keep his value up. As for the Warriors Crawford went loc! It was his home debut and he showed and proved. Jackson had seen better nights and was noneffective. No sign of Morrow as Nelly opted to not play him. Maggette, Biedrens and Wright all had good nights though. Speaking of good nights I got a major upgrade on my seats. I did the old move down after the half maneuver but can you blame me? Sitting close makes the game so much more intense. At the end of the night it came down to one shot though. The ball was in the right persons hands for that shot to Jamal Crawford. But despite having an amazing night he couldn't sink the game winner at the buzzer in OT. Truth be told it shouldn't even of came to that though. We had a chance to close it out in the 4th and pissed it away. Also we had a 4 point lead we blew on a turned over in bound pass. Sloppy play again leads to another Warrior loss. Oh well kay sera sera, what can you do? GO WARRIORS RIGHT?

Morrow Blazing Trails.... vs Portland

2008-11-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

Again I have failed you the faithful reader. When I started this blog I said I would post an article for every home game I attended. So what happened with the Detroit game right? It was a loss and obviously nothing I felt compelled to put to ink or pixels if you will. Anyway lets get on to the real story, last nights game against Portland. One big question people I talked with and myself had was. Would Morrow get the start? Unless you hate sports and don't see or hear any sports news you should be aware of "The Undrafted Rookie Anthony Morrow".

I had seen a little of him in the past at warm ups and very limited minutes. My first true introduction was via Fear The Beard and their recent venture into live blogging. I was in SF with my family during the Warriors vs Clippers game in LA on Sunday. So I ended up following it on FTB via my phone. Big up FTB folks great work. Anyway so Morrow was "Money" to quote Skeets in his power Rankings. He went off for a rookie and career high of 37. But again would Nelly give him the nod again? Logic would dictate yes but we are talking about Nelly here. Except for this year he has always dogged out Rookies and been known to switch things up even when it doesn't make sense.

Nelly got it right though Morrow got the nod and once again put his best foot forward. I think he is the real deal. Now looking at the line for Morrow went 8-12, 25 Pts 4 Rebs, with 1 Assist. Again just like Sunday great numbers especially from a scoring stand point. But what those numbers don't show is how he handled himself on the court. Especially the shots he didn't take. He looked like a cool calm collected veteran out there. He was very selective on his shots. Unlike some other Warrior who shall remain nameless. Look at the box score if you want to know lol.

Anyway Morrow looked great, he was confident and made great decisions on when to shoot and when to pass. I think Marco just got knocked down from Crowd pleasing side show to Trade sweetener. Don't be suprised if you see him moved with Harrington when that drama unfolds. Anyway it was another great night out. Went with friends to this game so I ended up having a few beers. The crowd as always was hyped especially for Morrow this time though. It got a little close at the end with some sloppy turn overs. I nearly lost it on that flubbed in bound pass from Jackson. That is twice now I have seen that happen this season already. But at the end of the night we got the Win and more importantly Morrow showed everyone in the Roarcle to not stop believing. GO WARRIOS!

Adventures in Babysitting...VS MEM and MIN

2008-11-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

Just like the economy my spark to write is also dropping. Unfortunately unlike the the DOW my writing stock does not have far to fall before it reaches bottom. It's no more post per game as you can see. GldnSt8Warrior.com has declined to the "ahh screw it I will post when I feel like it" phase. Anyway enough explaining on with the blogging.

So Memphis on Friday night. Should be a win, plus I am out with my beautiful wife woo woo it's on right? Nope it's off! A horrible game that two words sum up perfectly. HOT GARBAGE! The saving grace is the wife and I hit the Mexicali Rose afterward for some food and drinks. I know that is the Win spot but I needed a Margarita to drown my sorrows in. Moving forward that is all I shall remember of that night. Fun times at Mexicali Rose.

Tuesday's game against the Wolves was an improvement Basketball wise. But even with a win in OT it was a lot tougher then it should of been. Especially considering the then 1 and 5 record and lackluster lineup of the Timber Wolves. Don't get me wrong Al Jefferson is one of my favorite players right now. Also Randy Foye despite showing any value has been on my Fantasy team since he entered the league. Just to mention a few Wolves. Fact is there lineup is meh at best. As for the Warrior's I keep hearing from people that "They are doing good considering no Maggette". Yea perhaps but some of these losses could of been easily avoided by one simple thing FREE THROWS! It's just unacceptable for an entire team of NBA players to have such horrible free throw percentages. Do they not feel the pressure? I know damn well when I am at the park trying to get a spot on a team. I am gonna concentrate 100% and make sure that ball goes in the hoop. Anyway it was an exciting game and the crowd was into it. They did a nice ceremony for Veterans day. Bad news about the game was I listened to OT while driving home. No the title of this post was not pertaining to the heavy minutes our young trees saw. We had grandma and grandpa babysitting for us. Normally it's not a problem and it wasn't they didn't call us or anything. We just decided we should head home. Well my wife decided, I was reluctant. I love Basketball but My Love comes first.

FREE THROWS FTW!

Mac Nuggets dipped in Sour n Sweet sauce....VS DEN

2008-11-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

This victory was sticky sweet like candy. A little sour at first perhaps, but with a little help from B-Wright we got it right. Anyway my Wife and I made our way to the game around 7pm. I had been busy at work so I didn't have a chance to check line ups etc. I assumed Billups was going to be playing but on arrival we found out he wasn't. Also come to find out Maggette was not playing due to that strained hammy in preseason acting up. So the game gets going and the first quarter was horrible. Warriors got taken to school. I think it was like 19 to 37 or something after the first just pure garbage. A little into the second quarter though Nelly benched Harrington and brought in Wright. We then made a nice comeback and got it within one by the half. At half time the Goof troop sorry I mean SWA or whatever they are called passed out Bam Bams to damn near the entire house. It was annoying but proved to be effective in getting the crowd hyped. Seriously the second half felt like a playoff game. The crowd was intense and the bam bams was a bamming.

We did fall behind for a minute in the third quarter and funny thing is Nelson then decides to bring in Marco. The crowd went Stewie Katooie for him as normal. I don't know what it is but it seems like everyone loves the cat. Being Italian myself I know what he has to deal with. It's hard on a brother to have so many crazy fans cheering for you. OK smarmy aside though I have to give it to the Dub's they played hard defense pulled themselves back from the depths of garbage town and finished strong. Lets just hope we can exact the revenge on Memphis this Friday. GO WARRIORS!

Opening night from Chicago to Oakland....vs NOR

2008-10-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

The journey to this game started back on Sunday the 26th when I landed in Ohare Airport in Chicago. At the time I had put my tickets up for sale for an outrageous price on the Warriors Ticket Exchange. The reason was I found out a few weeks prior I would have to be away on Business in Chicago. My flight back would have me landing at SFO around 7pm. Initially I was scheduled to be in meetings up until Wednesday morning. But with some creative rescheduling and a hardcore pace I managed to have everything wrapped up by Tuesday night. I made it to the Airport early Wednesday morning and got on Standby for an earlier flight. Then jumped on the net and canceled my sale on the tickets. Lucky for me no one bit on my triple the face value offering. So I ended up getting a flight and after catching BART home I arrived at my house at 6:10pm. It only takes me about a half hour if that to be at the Oracle. So I made it with plenty of time before Tip Off. Traveled a long way to get there but as always it was a great night out.

So on my way back to the Bay Area I had read about the Nelson extension news and the Harrington trade request. I was happy for Nelson as I do like his no coaching coach style of coaching. It lends itself to some exciting ball but it does not equal wins all the time. Anyway so Nelly should now break the record for wins good for him. Smoke those cigars and drink those Mohitos and let the players play. I was however disappointed in the Harrington news. He requested a trade last year to so its nothing new but I have always had higher hopes for him and the Warriors. I think he has potential but he has never stepped it up past mediocre. Be it his or his coaches fault I don't know. Enough on the big news though how was the game right?

So being opening night we all got a crappy yellow shirt with just that on it "Opening Night". Also every seat had a "Go Warriors" poster with a schedule on the back. Note the heavy advertising on both items. I love free stuff though so I can't complain. What I do want to complain about though is that between the last preseason game and now they decided to buy some new laser lights. Thing is they mounted them directly in my field of vision from my nose bleed seats and the scoreboard. Speaking of scoreboards I kid you not it was not working for 3 full quarters. Yes CP3 took an early first quarter break but if you followed the score board he never came back in. Nothing was working except the actual game score on the main screens above center court. As for the game itself it was exciting and I have to say I was surprised it was as close as it was. I figured they would walk all over us given our current roster and dark cloud from upper management lingering over us. Not to say I wasn't disappointed in the sad defensive match ups that kept being exploited by West and others. Also Nelly needs to loosen up and let some of the rookies see some minutes. Wright deserves to play and Randolph looks very promising and could use the floor time if we want him to develop. It's not like the main squad is seasoned vets anyway. But like I said before I was pleasantly surprised with the teams performance. Just like the bad beats of yesteryear had the team made their free throws they would have won. To be that close on a top notch western team with our rag tag bunch was good showing. The only question is can we step it up and win more then 25 games this year? As a fan I sure hope so, but as Warriors fans already know the bad years are far more common then the good ones.

Stole their Thunder...vs Oklahoma City

2008-10-12T03:43:00.000-07:00

Twas a few weeks before the season opener and all through the Oracle, Wasn't an Ellis a stirring not even in street clothes. Seriously though I kept looking hoping to at least see him in a Blazer looking all Chabarkabary. Turns out he got suspended due to Mopedgate and it's also going to cost him around 3 mil in salary. Anyway the crowd was light and not really energetic tonight. What can you expect considering the recent turn of events and the fact it is a preseason game though. Marco went off and also did a great job moving the ball and setting up plays. So did DeMarcus Nelson he is going to be interesting to watch out of the possible PG's. The Rookie Randolph did OK. He looked a little clumsy at times but is very fast for a big guy. Speaking of clumsy Hendrix was a controlled chaos. He pulled down 13 boards but I think 4 of them were from layups he missed. Gotta give it up, he did show some hustle and potential though. What really kept me smiling all night though was every time the announcer said "Thunder calls time out.". I just kept picturing Thunder doing a hand stand with a clipboard running the team. Anyway we pulled off a win as we should of considering the opponent. The future of this season looks to be exciting but also an exercise in futility.

No No in N.O

2008-10-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you may of stopped believing awhile ago but that has not kept me off the court and glued to W's news. Unfortuanetly I don't have any of the good kind to report. The Warriors just lost their first preseason game to the Hornets in N.O. The first preseason home game is against the Oklahoma City Thunder. As usual Marco lead in scoring only to become a freakish side show for blowouts during the regular season. Anyway here is the boxscore:

So long and thanks for all the Fish thunder?

2008-10-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Shortly after the Sonics "R.I.P" got renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder rumors started circulating about what the Warriors would do or say about it. Thunder has been the Mascot for 12 years now. I Personally am not a huge fan of him. Like I said in the past I would rather see a more Indian type Warrior mascot as was originally intended. Either way it sounds like Thunder won't be around for long. Here is some quotes from Warriors team president Robert Rowell:

“We’re clearly going to do something to accommodate Oklahoma City and not have our mascot named Thunder,”

“For the sake of not making things confusing, we’re going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy.”

“The other thing we were thinking is maybe we trade him to Oklahoma City for a mascot to be named later or something like that,”

He had this to say about Thunder in regards to the Warriors upcoming trip to Asia:

“He might get lost in the crowd over in China, There are 1.3 billion people there.”

I don't think anything is going to happen this year though. To close to the season to get anything going. Maybe we won't see Thunder anymore this year but don't expect a replacement on opening night.

MopedGate a Blessing and a Curse.

2008-09-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

I said it before and I will say it again. It's a blessing and a curse "Big Curse" that Monta got injured. Never mind his lying about it, that's for another discussion. But Marcus Williams will now get to start and I think that is the blessing. If Ellis was going to be the primary ball mover get ready for lots of turn overs. Anyway these words from Williams helped solidify my belief that Moped Gate was both a blessing and a curse.

"That whole situation was a gift and a curse. When you're playing behind J-Kidd, you learn all you can, but you don't get to play. So I think now, this may be an opportunity to showcase my talents, showcase what I can do and what I learned. I'm looking at it like it's my one chance." ~Marcus Williams

Rack me....

Beating a dead Horse..

2008-09-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Multiple league sources have confirmed that, leading up to the opt-out deadline, Davis and Warriors chief Chris Mullin reached a tenative agreement–Davis would “opt-in” on his $17.8M for this season, then land a three-year, $39M extension ($13M per). All money included, that would’ve given Baron $56.8M over four seasons, through the 2011-12 season. That was the deal. Both sides signed off, tenatively.

Clean out your locker the season is about to start...

2008-09-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

My family and I just got home from a trip to San Diego and waiting in the mail was a Fed Ex missed package slip. My mind raced at first thinking to myself I didn't order anything right, what could it be? Am I the first in some copy cat Unabomber assault on nobody's rather then PHD's? Or maybe oh yea that's right it could be my season tickets. My mood instantly turned from apprehensive to joyous. Last year they came packaged inside a backpack. A cheap backpack that the zipper has since broke on though mind you. Maybe we would get a replacement backpack my wife and I joked.

When the package was finaly dropped off it was an odd shaped box. Nothing like the package from last year. After ripping the package open I saw the Mini Locker. I personally thought it was cool but my wife thought it was kind of lame. She really was hoping for that replacement backpack I guess. Other then that the contents are pretty much the same as last year. The ticket look has changed though. They went with a sleek Mac look this year. Also included besides the tickets and lanyards was another season ticket holder pin. Every year I think the same thing though. Why don't they give me two of everything for having two seats. Makes me want to buy them separate and have one in my wife's name or something. Anyway it's almost that time of year again not much longer. First preseason game is on Oct 8th at the Roarcle. I know we lost our leader and that scar will never heal. The Warriors under Baron was the best Basketball years I have known so far. But I am excited to see this young team play. Well get ready folks things are going to start picking up on this blog. What Hyphy and Catfish induced hijinks will this year hold?

You got Joakimed!

2008-09-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

Since it's hater Tuesday over at Fear The Beard figured I could slide a little hate on a one Joakim Noah. Now don't get me wrong he could be one cool cat and I am not one to hate I congratulate. But this hater story has some roots and to appreciate it I gotta elaborate it. OK enough with the rhyming sorry about that. Anyway Mr Noah's name has came up plenty of times in my circle. He is one of those players you watch and kind of like at times. But then other times you are like this guy is garbage and seems like a douche. A lot like Matt Barnes seemed at first. But Barnes turned out to come off as a cool fella no hating on Barnes on this day.

Anyway so we clown on Noah from time to time. But what really set it off is when one friend drafted him in a Fantasy league. We clowned him for a few weeks and I ended up giving him this Basketball card I had laying around in the clowning process. So it died out and has been a few months since Yo-Come had been mentioned right. Then out of nowhere he emails me with what looked like a work related email. Only to open it and find out I had been Yo-Come'd! I about died laughing when I opened it. Not only did he reuse that card in a funny way he came up with a new NBA style Rick Roll. It's like getting Rick Rolled but 10 times worse.

P.S It sounds funnier when you pronounce it Yo-Come....

Ellis out for 3 months with Ankle Injury.

2008-08-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

As if things were not already looking questionable next season today news dropped that Ellis underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a ligament. He sprained his ankle and tore a deltoid ligament while working out at his home in Jackson, Miss. Based on the time table he should only miss a month or so of the regular season. However he will miss training camp and all the preseason games. With several new faces that will be playing a huge role on the team training camp and preseason give an excellent opportunity to gel. Especially since Ellis was supposed to be taking over the Point with Baron gone. Well you know what they say when it rains it pours. At least we will now get to see Watson and Williams get some starts. Perhaps the floor time will help them develop more and one will emerge as our starting point? Don't get me wrong I love Ellis but I just didn't see him running the floor like a true PG. Anyway rest up Monte we need you healthy if we want to have a chance at that 8th spot.

360 ways to simulate...

2008-07-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

I have been hard at work compiling data and crunching numbers trying to get some accurate assessments of our team to be next year. Well not really I just spent a few hours updating team rosters on NBA 2K8. Then I played and simulated a bunch of games. To bad the Warriors could not shoot 100% on their Free Throws and dominate like I do on the 360. So it's not a real comparison but damn if I am not starting to like our new team. In the last few weeks we made a few more moves that I think concludes our off season. Marcus Williams was a great pick up for an even greater price. Obviously Maggette is going to help scoring. Sure we might of payed to much but I think it was a knee jerk reaction to the Boom debacle. I think Turiaf is going to help out a lot also. Hearing what his former team had to say when he left paints a good picture. He is the kind of guy you want on your team. From what I have seen of him on the court to he is a good competitor.

Sure we lost Pietrus who I am pretty sure I was the only person in the Bay who liked him. But we kept Azubuike and that was something I thought was not going to happen. With us talking to Maurice Evans I thought Azubuike was headed to play with Baron and the Clips. However I am very glad they decided to match their offer though. If anything just to keep a great player off of a rivals team. It's sad we have so many good wing players though. So Azubuike will not play as much as he would of down south. We also lost Barnes to the Sun's and only from a personal stand point I hate to see him go. He was a true character, when I first saw him I thought to myself "who is this clown with the Cesar and all that ink". Maybe I was just jealous that he had the Jodeci format way more down then me. Either way his story became our story. We watched as this no name player went from no play time to prime time on national TV. We also shared in his pain as he lost his Mother. He will be missed and I wish him the best.

The two unknown variables my Xbox simulations didn't include though. Will Beidrins be on the team and is Randolph going to be a factor? First off Biedrins might be doing like several other NBA players and heading to play in Europe. Its rumored that a Russian team has been talking to him. Also we have used up most of our cap room so any offer the Warriors put on the table can easily be surpassed by a Euro team. Not to mention our Dollar is getting weaker and weaker but we will leave that for a financial / political blog. I hope we can work a deal though because Biedrins is one hell of a big man. He is fast and has great hands. As for Randolph our first round draft pick he has been ripping it up in Vegas. So the question is will he be another Belinelli and dominate in the summer league only to flop when it counts? Not sure it will matter since Nelson probably won't play him much anyway. One thing is for sure though this Warrior fan is starting to hear the war drums. I can't say that I am happy especially since Baron is gone. But I am at least starting to look forward to what next season has to offer with this young team. Regardless of what happens its Always a great night out at Oracle!

Warriors Re-Sign Kelenna Azubuike

2008-07-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Golden State Warriors have matched the contract offer submitted to restricted free agent guard Kelenna Azubuike by the Los Angeles Clippers, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin. The Warriors had seven (7) days from receipt of the contract – Friday, July 18 - to match the offer from Los Angeles. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

"We are pleased to have Kelenna back in the fold," said Mullin. "He's a young and talented player who has continued to improve during his two seasons with our team. His versatility, athleticism and ability to shoot the 3-pointer certainly fit our style of play. Additionally, we think he will continue to improve and expand his game."

Warriors Re-Sign Monta Ellis To Multi-Year Contract

2008-07-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

The Golden State Warriors have re-signed free agent guard Monta Ellis to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have Monta under contract for the next several years," said Mullin. "He has been one of the top young players in the NBA for the last two years and enjoyed a tremendous season last year. The growth that he has demonstrated at such a young age is incredible and we look forward to him playing a big part in our future success."

From LA to the Bay..

2008-07-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Well it's getting hot in the Bay and I wouldn't say its due to our recent transaction's. It has hit triple digits and set heat records all across the Bay Area. The smoke continues to make our once beautiful horizon look like our cousins down south. But this is a Warriors blog so enough with the Weather. The big news is Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf have reportetly gone from LA to the Bay like my boy Joe Dub. Also it looks like our old friend Pietrus is shipping off to Orlando.

I think if you look at it in regards to loosing Pietrus and picking up Maggette we just upgraded. But Maggette is no Baron replacement. A J-Rich maybe but I still would take JR. For 5 years at 50mil we got a good player though. Hell we payed more then that for Dunleavy. Then comes Turiaf at 17mil over 4 years I think we got a steal on that one. He is a big body that we seriously lack. Also he brings emotion and spark. Not to mention we need a beard replacement. Obviously no Boom replacement but again a nice addition. The question still lingers though who will replace Baron? I don't think anyone will fill those shoes. I just am thankful to of lived and experienced it. I wish Baron the best of luck but deep down I was happy to see Brand and Maggette leave the Clips. Anyway we might of made some decent moves but we are still playing catch up on a serious franchise hindering loss. I love Monta but I can't see him running the floor for us. He is a better pure scorer and a dangerous option at 2G. We need a ball mover if we are going to make a showing next year. Problem is there is not many options out there and with each move we made we have less and less to spend. In a sea of negative views I am trying to maintain hope.

Harry Potter to play for the Dubs?

2008-07-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

There is a rumor circulating that The Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors are working on a deal that could move Kirk Hinrich to the Bay. Given the circumstances this could be very plausible. The Bulls now have an abundance of guards and we now need one really bad. Honestly I would be ok with this move. Sure Hinrich is no B-Diddy but he is a decent PG with some upsides. He had a horrible year last year but so did most players on the Bulls. I think it had more to do with management then his ability. The year before that he was putting up some decent numbers. Hinrich has always been a viable option for me in Fantasy Basketball. If you can't get one of the top tier PG's he is always a late round pick that does decent. If he is on his game he can average in the mid to high teens PPG and get you 6-7 assists per game. Not to mention he is a good defender as well. As far as his contract goes I think he has 4 years left and the Lions share of it was paid up front. Not exactly sure but I think the remainder is like 8 or 9 mil a year? Not to bad for a decent PG in the league. Given what is available I think this might be a good move for us. It is a downgrade from Baron at the PG slot. But we don't have many options and I rather see Monta stay at the 2 guard spot as I think that better suits his abilities.

So long and thanks for all the Fish......

2008-07-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

The writing was on the wall but I guess it didn't feel real yet. Though it won't be officially announced till July 9th per the NBA free agent moratorium. Baron Davis has reached a verbal agreement with the LA clippers rumored to be 65mil over 5 years. If you do the math this was a decrease in salary. But instead of getting 17.8mil next year and a uncertain future. Davis now gets 13mil each year for the next 5 years. It's obvious to see this deal was a logical business decision for Baron. Not to mention he is now back in his hometown and close to his movie production company he started. If he was going to take control of his destiny now was the time. His history speaks for itself having played on average about 75% of season in his NBA career thus far. So coming off his first ever injury free season it was time to make it a contract year.

Regardless though of how many times I justify this move in my mind I still can't help but feel mad as a fan. Yea sure we now have lots of cap room but you and I both know we probably won't use it. It's going to be rebuild time and we will see all these rookies get heavy minutes. I am optimistic perhaps we will see Monta and the gang emerge with a solid record despite loosing Baron. But the fact of the matter is it's nice to have a star on your team. They are the one's who pack the seats. They are the ones who sell the Jerseys. Speaking of Jerseys every time one of our players leaves, if I have their Jersey I then move it into my playable category. I don't like playing ball in the Jerseys I wear to games cause I tend to trash on them pretty fast. Well now it looks like my Baron throwback will be seeing some court time on the black top.

Baron opts out...Say it aint so Boom?

2008-06-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

Wow this came as a shocker to me. I just got home from a Softball game and over the AP comes news that Baron Davis opts out of his contract. I knew he had till midnight to decide and honestly I didn't see it happening. Baron is a phenomenal point guard and should be considered top tier. The 17.8 mil he was promised may not be top tier for NBA salaries but it is a hefty contract even by NBA standards. I figured given his injury prone track record any team would be reluctant to sign for more then that. He did have his first injury free season and averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds. I guess I got to comfortable though cause Boom went ahead and did it. I am not mad at him it's a part of doing business. It's just hard as a Warriors fan to know your star might not be returning next year. Sure we have some raw talent that is going to be exciting to watch. But without Captin iDizzle it just wont be the same.

Well lets hope negotiations go well and Baron can stay in the Bay. It is really hard to continuously watch your favorite players leave your favorite team. I guess that's just what comes with being a fan of a team. The ups and downs, players come and players go. But you grit your teeth and continue to support your team. It just seems for us Warriors fans its more downs then up's. Ohh well grand-momma always said "the poorest people are sometimes spiritually the most wealthy".

Can Randolph B-Wright?

2008-06-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

So the Draft was last night and the Warriors picked up Anthony Randolph in the first round 14th overall. I thought we might be getting Brandon Rush till Indiana scooped him up right before us. I don't know as of right now my verdict is still out. Not to say Randolph is a bad player. All the video I have watched he has looked good in. He looks fast, is a lefty, He is tall and is lanky. Thing is I could use that same sentence to describe Brandan Wright. That is my main hang up with this pick. It seems like we have a lot of tall and skinny 4's and 5's. B-Wright is 6'10 and 210 pounds. Randolph is 6'10 and 197 pounds "dayumm". These skinny guys can run all day so If they can shoot an outside shot it fits right into our style of play. But we need to have at least one guy who can bang in the post for certain match ups. Not even for offensive purposes more so defense than anything. To bad Brook Lopez didn't slide 4 more picks. NJ got a hell of a deal with him at 10th overall. Hell maybe we should of grabbed his brother at 14?

More Baron Rumors!

2008-06-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Baron trade rumors are flying again. With the draft tomorrow and Baron's ability to opt out also a few days away the air filled with smoke. Literally the entire Bay Area is covered in smoke from the some odd hundred fires around the state. Anyway the latest rumors put Baron in Motor City. I have to say all these Baron leaving rumors have me low. But this one possibly had Sheed coming to the Golden State. I have liked Rasheed Wallace since his Portland days and think he would fit Nelly ball perfect. Billups and Harington also got mentioned in this rumor as well. Ideally I would keep Baron and pick up Sheed as well. You can keep your Chauncey Mr. Dumars! But I don't think the Pistons are hearing a Harrington for Wallace trade. Our 14th overall pick is not worth a whole lot. But we do have this 10 Mil trade exception to work with also. As for Baron though from the lip service his agent Todd Ramasar gave it sounds like he wont opt out. As far trades go lets hope Mullin does not decide to trade a Franchise player 2 years in a row. I know Mullin was trying to get KG for us who got traded a few days later. But if we had Richardson last season we could of finished a lot better I think. You can't predict how things are going to work out though. Lets hope we can make a move that doesn't cost us much. Brand anyone?

Boom Dizzle in NYC?

2008-05-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

Honestly I don't see this happening. But a lot of people I talk to keep bringing it up. So I guess its a good topic to usher in some off season posts. So lets talk about the reasons for the speculation. Barons representation has said it put out feelers with other teams. Then you have Mike D'Antoni taking over for Isiah in NY. From his previous moves you know his first order of Business is to get rid of Marbury. This of course would have them looking for a star caliber PG. Hence the speculation.

But from what I read D'Antoni has his eyes on his old favorite sun's players Diaw and Barbosa. Of course you can't always get your way so other options might happen. I just don't see the Knicks offering more then the 17.8 mil a year for Baron. He is a franchise player but I think if D'Antoni can't get his first option they might go for a younger less risky option. Baron had this to say about the subject on his blog.

"I want to be in the Bay! I think it's a great area and the people are great but most importantly I have really good teammates and coaches. And that's what it's about... winning. The rest of the stuff I'll leave up to the front office and my agent."

Not to say Baron won't flex his option though. Who knows if he can get more elsewhere he might walk. I would hate to see that happen but thats the ups and downs of being a fan. I have even heard a lot of people talking about possibly trading Baron. Obviously the team would benefit more from a trade then him just using his option and walking. But again even in that scenario I would hate to see Baron go. He is the face of this new Warrior team and I don't see anyone on the team who could replace that. Yes Monta is developing into a rising star and we should do what we have to keep him. But he could not run the floor like Baron does its just not his game style. Anyway let me know what you think and leave some comments. I look forward to an exciting off season and an even more exciting next year.

Bye bye baby.....vs SEA

2008-04-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well I am a day late and a dollar short on this post. I don't think anyone who has been following would blame me either. This was yet another disappointment that became regular at the end of this season. Overall I would not say I am disappointed with the season though. We had a great record and played some of the most exciting games I have ever seen live in my life. Not to mention the fact having season tickets gave me a reason to blog. Something I have wanted to try for awhile now. I had many sites on various topics in the past. But nothing that required using the English language on such a steady basis. It has been a great experience and as it stands now looks like something that I will be doing next season as well.

Anyway back to this night in particular. It was the last game of the season and we have no chance at the playoffs. We have nothing to lose right? Yea maybe we had a game to lose. The swag from Fan Appreciation night was not in abundance. I at least received a free shirt on the very first game of the season. They did however offer up 50% off certain items in the Team Store. All of the items being stuff you would never purchase. My wife accompanied me on this night. We had a good time though despite the loss to one of the worst teams in the NBA. I don't know I am bitter but like I alluded to earlier it was the journey not the destination that matters. Well I still have some more unfinished business to take care of. A postmortem podcast maybe? Keep an eye out though a redesign will be coming for sure. This will be followed by a second blog I am starting.

Clip Walking.....vs LAC

2008-04-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday night games are a blur. I had to go back and read my Twits just to remember going to this game. Seriously though this given Saturday was grand. Had some friends over for a all day slow n low BBQ. Played a little Rock Band in the evening and then was off to the game. Can't ask for more on a Saturday good company, good food and a good game to end it all.

The game was very exciting and even close at times. That was sad considering its the dang Clips. They are some underachievers though you have to watch out cause they do have talent. As we are all watching this exciting Dubs game though hundreds of people myself included are constantly pressing refresh to see the score on the Nuggets game. Once Denver lost the crowd literally started yelling "Denver Lost!" as if to let the Warriors on the floor know. All in all great game but don't ask me the fine details I enjoyed myself a little to much. Thank god for Sunday's to recover. GO WARRIORS!

GldnSt8Warrior PodCast Episode 3

2008-04-12T00:53:00.000-07:00

Here it is episode 3 the big game post mortem. Sorry the guest hosts sound bad. I am still trying to find the ideal settings.

Finally got approved on iTunes. But it's still not coming up in the search. With iTunes open follow the link below to subscribe. Write reviews!

EDIT: Showing up under searches on iTunes now. Lots of Keywords work but you can just type "Golden State Warrior" or "GldnSt8Warrior".

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=278016213

As always you can just listen here as well.

Chewed up and Coughed out like a Nugget...vs DEN

2008-04-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

I am going to keep this one short and sweet for several reasons. Mainly I am sick of thinking and talking about this game. Also We just finished recording a new Podcast so I will let that speak for itself. Anyway it was a 5pm game so I had to leave a little early. Luckily this was not a major issue and I was able to make it in time for tip off. Lots of fans trickled in during the first and second quarter. The first quarter was great. The second not so much. We went almost 7 minutes without a field goal. We retook the lead but could not hold it long. Anyway tough loss our boys didn't show up. The crowd definitely showed up that was for sure though.

Royal win vs SAC

2008-04-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well its crunch time and every game counts. Gone are the days of contiplating if I should sell a ticket for the game tonight. Now its be there early with bells and whistles on. The Popeye's Cat Fish Poor Boy with a side of Red Beans and Rice did a fan right before the game. What did me wrong though was the drunk guy in my seat. Perhaps this is Karma for my drunken escapade a few weeks back. Anyway some guy made himself at home in my seat and was chatting with the people in the row behind us. With 2 open seats next to him I decided not to be a jerk and run the guy out. A mistake that came back to haunt me. So I sit down next to him and get ready to twitter the game. Turns out he knows the five or so people directly behind us. So for the first half this guy was turned around chatting with his friends. He was biligerant drunk to shouting such classic phrases as "PEANUTS!" and everyones favorite "SUPAH MAN DAT HOE" at the top of his lungs. I lucked out though at half time he and his friends took off to be never seen again. Don't get me wrong though. Sure it was annoying and made it hard to pay attention to the game. But it's this and other types of happenings that make these posts semi interesting.

As for the game I was surprised not to see Artest playing. If you listen to the podcasts you would know I think he is the only thing Sacramento has going for them heh. So I was happy to see he was not suited up. In all seriousness though Kevin Martin is one hell of a player and the Kings have a decent team. I knew it was not going to be a cakewalk especially how Sacramento has been playing lately. The entire game I was also glued to my phone checking the score on the Denver and LA game. Unfortunately Denver ran away with it and won also. The Warriors never took a giant lead like Denver did but man was it a good game to watch. Some great steals and fast breaks in the first half. Then in the second half a lot of the reserve players lit it up. Mikel Pietrus was a monster in the 4th with two huge blocks and a nice dunk. Well Thursday is going to be huge when we play Denver. It will pretty much make or break playoff hopes for one of these teams. Stay tuned for a game write up and then on Friday night we will be recording a podcast. I have 3 guests scheduled to record so it should be interesting. GO WARRIORS!

GldnSt8Warrior PodCast Episode 2

2008-04-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

This is truley a garage production. I am literally in a garage, not really though. Well more of a room. But its low budget you get the point. It's getting better though anyone agree? Anyway enjoy!

Download here or subscribe on iTunes.

It's your Birthday.....vs DAL

2008-03-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

What a big win this one was. On Saturday night we got bumped from the 8th spot by Denver on the road. This put Denver in 8th and Dallas was still in 7th. So Sunday comes and we have Dallas at home. This Win put us all in a 3 way tie. Denver and Dallas having a better record against us however are still ahead despite identical records. The crowd was hyped and considerably large for a Sunday night. I saw something I never thought I would see at Oracle. A full fledged Wave! All night section 222 was trying to start one. It wasn't until the second half when things started really looking up for us that it took off. I kid you not it circled club 200 a good 3 times and then worked it's way down to the lower club level.

Also semi news worthy it was Thunder's birthday. They had several other mascots including my personal home town favorite Lou Seal. They did a little drum show and had a half time boxing match between the various mascots. While on this subject who likes Thunder seriously? I would much rather have the old school Indian Warrior. I mean that's what the name stands for and there is nothing degrading about it in my opinion. Perhaps I am just not PC enough to grasp the entirety of the issue. Anyway the game was great. But with this difficult schedule ahead of us we will need to step it up. No more slow starts or it could equal a loss. It's going to be close and very exciting this little run for the Post Season. Speaking of that I think the NBA needs to redraw the lines. There is no reason a team with our record should be fighting to get into the playoffs.

Trail Wasted....vs POR

2008-03-28T20:53:00.001-07:00

First off lets all take a moment to thank the good lord for designated drivers. I traded dinner for a drunken debacle and it was well worth the price. I guess its probably best I tend to drive 90% of the time. Because in the words of Transition "I don't drink but when I do". Back to the game though. So we arrive on time and I buy a tall Sud on the way to the seats. Thinking this would be my one and only expensive drink I planned to sip slowly.

The Warriors had other plans however. Apparently the guys in marketing have noticed the trend in shitty starts equals higher beer sales. The guys looked horrid in the first half. Biedrens digressed like 2 years in the course of the first 12 minutes. So I visited the sauce stand a few times and was probably being the fan I normally hate. I was talking loud and most likely very foolishly. Ohh well we all have to play the part of door knob every now and then. In this drunken blur I just found myself cheering and clapping. Then before long I see the elusive Marco on the floor. It was great the crowd was cheering him to take a shot at every chance. Thats when you know you won a game. Marco Belinelli has become sort of a circus attraction at the oracle.

So we pull off a nice 16 point win over the Blazers. It was time for me to make good on my dinner payment. We hit the MexiCali Rose around 10:45pm. I have to say I love that spot for a nice sit down Warrior win party. The food is molten hot but man is it good. The pricing is decent as well got out of there 2 people for $21. That little night cap though sealed the deal on a Friday at work in pain. I am not getting any younger let me tell you. Time to play some Ball this weekend to counter the self inflicted punishment.

P.S I hope to get another PodCast out in the next week. With playoffs coming should be lots to talk about. Going to try and incorporate some more Bay Area sports fans in it as well.

GldnSt8Warrior PodCast Episode 1

2008-03-27T01:23:00.000-07:00

Here it is the first PodCast. Forgive my horrible editing skills and enjoy or laugh or do both GO WARRIORS!

Download here or subscribe on iTunes.

A Grizzly Fan Fest......vs MEM

2008-03-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a two for one post. Saturday we played Memphis so I will touch on that home game. Then on Sunday we had the Warriors Fan Fest. First off I would like to draw your attention to the right hand side of the screen. You will notice a new section titled "Follow Me Live on Twitter". If your not familiar with Twitter basically I will be live blogging from every home game. You can also just follow me live at any time game or not. Wild concept check it out it will be interesting.

Ok so Saturday night game playing a post Gasol Memphis team. Theoretically this should be a lock for the DUB'S. But this is always the type of games we some how get beat as well. Air France saw another start and you know what I like it. I know he still needs to work on those turn overs but he plays with intensity and puts emphasis on defense. I enjoy watching a guy work hard on both ends of the court. Everyone was looking nice for the most part. It was sloppy passing though that kept Memphis in it. Miller and Gay both put on a nice show and kept it interesting. Warrick also put up some decent numbers and played hard.

I said it before and I will say it again though. Being a Warriors fan is bad for your heart. We let the Griz get close to many times. Thats the fun though of watching Warriors ball. It all comes down to the 4th quarter and how hard we want it. Speaking of the 4th it got a little interesting during this one. I was doing the Twitter thing and sent off what I thought was the winning score. Turns out the ref's called some weird foul with .03 seconds left. It was kind of meaning less to as we had already won. It just went to pad Captain Jacks stats. We won and had over a 100 to so that meant free Big Mac's for everyone who attended the game.

Ok so Sunday fan fest at the Oracle. My lovely wife and darling daughter joined me for this day of fun. We got there shortly after doors opened at 1pm. Free parking so no need to walk the bridge from BART. It looked like several hundred people based on the parking lot. Not nearly as packed as I thought it would be. Once inside we got some free Popcorn and drinks then made our way out to the festivities.

They had a nice sized kids area. You could play 360 with the players and some little games, pictures ect. On the main floor they had lines waiting to go shoot around with players as well. After a little bit of me walking around Twittering, my wife being a stalkerazzi and my daughter grubbing on Pop corn we lined up to shoot around.

When I lined up it was Croshere or Barnes you be shooting around with. But then Barnes left and Kosta took his spot. In line Assist Coach Keith Smart was walking by chatting with fans. I used that opportunity to ask him about Nelly's plans and his possibility of taking over. He said Nelly is coming back for sure next year and that he expects to take over in the next 2 to 3 years. Exclusive you heard it here first.

Anyway so it's my turn to hit the floor. Turns out it's a little more structured then just a shoot around. You break into teams and first team to make 8 baskets wins a prize. They tell this to us out in center court with Croshere and Kosta huddled in with us and some other shooting coaches. My palms started sweating and I was nervous let me tell you. Looking up at the score board from underneath it is somthing I cannot describe. So we break off in our respective teams and I sink shot after shot. Well two to be precise and I missed one. It was jumpers from left and right side of the free throw lines and you grab your own boards. We ended up winning and we all got a Warriors deck of cards and to take pictures with Croshere and Kosta.

After that we hit the kids area for a bit so my daughter could have some fun. She got to run around and get some Balloon animals etc. My wife then lead us to the Cheerleaders. I swear it was not my suggestion at all she said we should. So we got all the Warriors girls autographs on a poster and headed for some grub. Nice to finally get a free meal at the Oracle. They had Hot Dogs, Pizza, Nachos and Soda.

With my daughter starting to get tired we figured it be time to wrap it up soon. We didn't stay for the main event. I guess the Warriors were going to take the floor and answer questions etc. Also we didn't get any autographs either. Jackson and Ellis had been signing but the lines were insanely long. At the end of the day we had a blast. It was nice to get out as a family and enjoy something my wife and I both like. My wife is becoming a huge fan and only time will tell how the little one turns out. My daughter knows several Warrior players names already and she is only 3. I am sure that's a sign of a Warriors fan in the making.

P.S Keep an eye on the Twit feeds for live at the game blogging.

Sonic Fatigue....vs SEA

2008-03-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Well its been awhile since I put finger to keyboard on this blog and for that I am sorry. My only excuse is fatigue. Going into this I knew it would be difficult to attend as many home games as I possibly could and post about them. Couple that with a family and holding down a job and its a lot of commitment. I have and will continue to give it my best though it's a labor of love. So lets see the game I am going to attempt to write about was almost 2 and a half weeks ago. Maybe it's just best if I say we won and it was fun. Looking over my memory card I must not of wanted to remember much about the game anyway. I only took 3 pictures and each one is of random game shots. But no one comes here simply for game recaps right?

So lets spice it up with a funny little story about a Smart little girl and her Jackson Jersey that he autographed for her. So a few days after that Sonics game Jackson was signing at a Lucky's near Richmond. So I took off work a little early and went down to get his signature. I figured I would get my daughter's Jersey signed so she could have a nice keep sake. The line was insane I would say 300 people easy and it was hot that day. It was real rushed but Jackson took time to chat for a second and gave me a pound. So I bring home her Autographed Jersey and she is all excited as am I of course. Fast forward to a few days later the Jersey has been hanging up in her room not to much fan fair since. So she is not listening to Mommy and Daddy and Daddy tells her she is going to have to go on a time out. She then goes into her room and mumbles something about being mad at me. I notice as she is stomping in she grabs the Jackson jersey off her chair and throws is on the ground. Now mind you she is only 3 years old. I didn't know if I should crack up or cry for what I have in store with this kid when she is a teenager. I just found it crazy she knew how to get at daddy and she is so young. We have since reconciled though and she is back to being a huge Warrior fan.

Losing is like a Rose...vs ATL

2008-02-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

Well you can thank Peggle and PackRat for this one being so late. Not like there was a whole lot to say about the game itself anyway. We lost to Hotlanta's Hawk's. Looking at the Hawk's record it should of been a win. But if you look at their players you notice a good number of them are decent names in Fantasy hoops. Anyway this game was a let down for me I really expected it to be more exciting and for the Dubs to win. What can you except with Captin Jack and the Latvian Lurch out? Thats two starters short and with Webber on the court we need all the help we can get. Despite the bitterness over the loss I did have a good time. Some old friends picked up tickets and joined us. After the game we hit one of my friends favorite spots in Oakland the Mexicali Rose. It was my first time eating there and I would highley recommend it. It was packed since it was a Friday night. It is seat yourself though so we bum rushed a booth and service was quick. The food was excellent but molten lava hot. I still have burns on the top of my mouth to show for that night. That is my fault though I had a few beers in me and did not head the warning of everyone at my table. At the end of the night the game was like a Thistle and the Mexicali joint was a Rose.

/Remind me to never ever work a metaphor into a sports blog post again.

When Irish Eye's are Crying...vs BOS

2008-02-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

Wow what can I say about this game. This was one of the best Basketball games I have been to in my life. I won't say it was better then the playoff game I went to last year but it was damn close. It was not a Nationally televised game but still a lot of eyes were on the outcome of this game. After all the Boston Celtics are the best team in Basketball right now. Not to mention they had KG, Allen and Pierce all suited and starting. We however were short one Captain Jack due to an injury from the night before in Utah. No doubt about it this was to be a hard fought victory if we could even pull it off. The first two minutes had been horrible it looked like we were going to be skunked. By the half though it was a close game again and damn exciting. Baron shook off the slump he has been in lately and looked like himself at the season start. Monta was just amazing from his speed to his no fear attitude and never give up on he play work ethic. Pietrus got the start in place of Captain Jack and I seriously thought it was due to us wanting to trade him. He has been seeing so much play time latley my only rational for it was we had been shopping him. But the trade deadline has came and gone so it either didn't work out or Nelly honestly wants to increase his role. I think he was shopping him personally.

Anyway back to this record breaking game. Yes thats right we broke the attendance record for a game in California yet again. It seems like this is the third or fourth game I have been to that we set an attendance record at. I have no clue where and how they are fitting more people in. In the standing room section you could see it was packed. The place was insane just jam packed with fans. Surprisingly a lot of Celtic fans as well. I am sure a lot of them have been die hards for years now. But I also bet with the recent good fortune of Bostons Baseball and Football teams you got a lot of Bandwagon Bostonian wanna be's. To each his own though. This is Dub country and there ain't no Country for old Celts round here. Anyway the yelling back and forth was passionate among the fans as it was a nail biter all the way down to the end. In the end Baron "Boom Dizzle" Davis ended up winning it for us right at the buzzer. With .3 seconds left he put up a 20 foot jumper to break the deadlock and send us fans home with a smile. Not much more to say other then "WOW I love this game".

Run N Gun....vs PHX

2008-02-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

This was a great game plain and simple. But what a difference in attendance from Mondays against the Wizards to this one. On Monday night my wife and I moved up like 10 rows cause no one was there. Then on Wednesday I needed to kick people out of my seat. It was not just the Shaq hype either as any basketball fan knows. Both Phoenix and Golden State are easily top 5 most fun to watch teams in the NBA. I would even say they are top 2 respectively but I am biased. In my heart I was hoping to see Shaq suited up. He did not play though but was with his team. Shaq had talked a lot to Jackson, Baron and even Brandon Wright. Speaking of not suiting up I was a little happy to see Webber was not suited up. Don't get me wrong I am really optimistic. I really hope he ends up working out. But in the last 3 home games his play was sluggish and he was missing easy layups. I think he has had a mental effect on others to. I am sure though as they practice and get to know each other better things will start grooving. They better because I got my playoff packet in the mail today.

Anyway this was a hard fought close game. We held the lead for a majority of the minutes but it was anyone's game. ESPN was in the house for this one. It's nice to see the Dub's get more and more National Television time. One thing is for sure the West houses some of the most exciting and best teams in the NBA. Well time to take a break and watch the All Star weekend. Yea they snubbed Boom Dizzle but I cannot hate on All Star weekend. I am looking forward to Moon winning the Dunk contest. After the break starts the run lets go Warriors! PLAYOFFS!

Ellis gets retired.. vs WAS

2008-02-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

What a strange turn of events this night turned out to be. Let me start with how I ended up at this game in the first place. It was Monday and I had a busy day at work. By the time Noon rolled around I pretty much figured I needed a night off. It was the Wizards without Agent 0 or Butler also. I figured this was an easy win and didn't want to see those god awful Gold Wizards Jerseys anyway. Talked with my buddy and he agreed lets pass and watch it on TV. So I put our tickets up for sale on the Warriors ticket exchange. The way it works is if they do not sell before 2 hours till the game then they expire and are still valid. So 5:30pm rolls around and I get an email saying they did not sell. I am home now and feeling a lot less lethargic now. Looking at the ticket I notice this is game 25. That made me start thinking back to what games I had missed so far. Out of the 25 games well 27 if you count pre season I had missed 3 so far. Why extend it to 4 I thought. I then call up my friend and he still did not feel like going. My wife ended up joining me and Grammy and Pop Pop got stuck with babysitting duty again. We figured since I did not originally plan on going anyway that we could leave early and give the grandparents a break without feeling like we wasted the tickets.

So we make our way to the game and it's pretty dead. Lot's of open seats everywhere in good old club 200. We decide to upgrade our seats and plop down as close as we can get. Everything is going good the Wizards dont have the ugly jerseys on. Everyone is reminiscing on the old Jamison days. In first few minutes of the game though you start to notice a trend. Every single shot the Wizards put up is going in and damn near the exact opposite is happening to us. Compound that with the fact the refs seem to think every move we make is a foul and the Wizards are really Angels. It was insanely lopsided in the calls seriously. I am not talking with foolish pride here either. Anyway I started to put two and two together. The last time we played this shitty was against Chicago. Then I was wearing my Ellis jersey. I normally wear a Jackson or Davis jersey and the Jackson jersey has never seen a loss. At the Chicago game I told my friend I notice when I wear the Ellis they always lose. Anyway so halftime comes we are down by 23 and my wife starts talking about leaving. In my mind I am thinking "This Jersey has to leave the building in order for the dubs to win". So I agree and head on out. We listen to the game on the way home and we start to make some strides. By the time I arrived on my couch and turned the game on we were only down by 4 points. I then took off my Ellis Jersey and sat down. What came next was clutch of all clutchness Jackson set a new points record for himself and got us a hard won win. I know it's crazy and probably meaningless. But the Ellis Jersey is being retired from games and the Jackson is not getting washed till playoffs!

We from Tuff Town vs SAC

2008-02-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

It was a Saturday game against a West Coast rival the Sacramento Kings. The Kings finally had all their starters healthy again too so this was not going to be easy. It was also an interesting dynamic in the audience as well. Sacramento is about an hour and some change from Oakland so we always get lots of Kings fans showing up. Webber of course being a franchise star to them he had fans on both sides cheering for him. Speaking of Webber 2nd start now and still not seeing much. I am not going to make my mind up just yet. I like seeing more tools on the team. But some of the tools we already have IE Wright and POB should be getting developed. This is another debate back to the game at hand. It was close at times to close. We kept letting them get back in and even over take us at times. It was exciting sure but I hate when we just slide by. My heart cant take a whole season of this especially with all the Hyphy juice I drank at the beginning of the season.

It came down to a big shot from Monta on an inbound pass. That set the buffer we needed to insure the win. Speaking of Monta I thought he was from Jackson, MS. Talking with another fan I come to find out he is really from Tuff Town. Apparently Stephan Jackson is also from Tuff Town. In fact the entire Warrior team is really from Tuff Town. The Kings found out the hard way where the Warriors come from. That's right fellas we are from Tuff Town now have a great ride back to Sacramento.

StillMatic? vs CHI

2008-02-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

The night much like the game itself I had good expectations for but it just didn't happen the way I hoped. I was originally planning to leave early so we could grab a little Popeye's before the game and still be there in time for the announcement of the starters. One thing lead to another though and I was running late. We still stopped at Popeye's knowing we would be rushed eating. Long story short I highly recommend not throwing back Chicken, Jalapeño Peppers and a Strawberry soda and then sprinting across the overpass from BART. I however was willing to put my body on the line to get you the exclusive video of Webber's return. With stomach ache and all I quickly made my way to my seat in time to catch the last thirty seconds of warm ups "Mission Complete". On arrival it was plain to see the same curiosity was on everyone's minds. The other season ticket holders that I have come to know all instantly started the Webber talk. The consensus was pretty much the same everyone has high hopes but also hold many reservations. I was really interested to see how the crowd would react. I figured it would be a mixture and from the video you can tell it was.

Right from the jump though you could tell this was not going to be easy. The Bulls just scored on us at will and we could not get anything to go in. Webber missed a few layups but hit some jumpers and ended up with decent numbers for the minutes played. Harrington however did not take lightly to losing his starting spot and came off the bench on fire. One fan said he thinks we could have won had we started Harrington instead of Webber. Who knows for sure but one thing is clear we got outplayed plain and simple. I won't say Webber was the cause of it. Only time will tell how this story pans out though. On the celebrity's sightings we had some normals and one out of left field. Dontrelle Willis and C.C. Sabathia were having one last night out before reporting to spring training. The other star took me for a loop though. How often do you see one of your favorite rappers at a game? I thought it was funny they had been playing a lot of Nas during warm ups and at time outs. Then they showed him up on the screen and I put two and two together. It was funny watching all the people try and get pictures and such. After awhile they had to get security to stand behind his seat. The best thing though was seeing Nas cheering for the Warriors. He even stood up and clapped on some of those nasty dunks from Ellis and Pietrus. At the end of the night I had a good time. It was exciting and close at times but we could not get what should of been an easy win over a injured Bulls team.

Welcome Back vs CHA

2008-02-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

What another excellent home game this was. It was the return of Jason Richardson whom we all miss and wish was still a Warrior. It was pretty obvious trading him was to reduce salary. It was just unfortunate how it was handled. I remember reading JR had no idea this was coming. My speculation was it was to try and make salary room to get us in on the Garnett lotto. Brandon Wright is a decent player with a lot of potential but I just don't think that trade was what it is on the surface. Anyway I am sure this has already been discussed ten times over on numerous occasions. Back to this fine Friday night home game against the Bobcats. I picked up some extra tickets for my wife and my buddies girlfriend. With the other couple driving my wife and I decided to kick off our shoes and throwback some suds. We even brought a few for the parking lot before the game. The BART police did not like that idea much though as they asked us to kindly pour them out. I really thought we would be able to finish them when she volunteered the information to us that they allow it for Raiders game simply because they are outnumbered. I tried to plead the case that why should we suffer because the Warriors fans lack sufficient numbers compared to Raiders fans. She was not hearing it though and again asked we pour our beers out. Despite the BART police officers lack of fear in our Warrior numbers this game was packed. The place was filled and it was full of Richardson jerseys. I even joined in on the chance to proudly wear some JR throwback gear. He was met with applause and even cheered for as he scored and shot free throws. It was nice to see the love I am sure he understands that us fans wish he never left.

The game itself was perfect to have a buzz at too. We took a lead and never stopped pounding them. At one point I think we had been up by like 32 points. Marco, Brandon, POB all the pine riders saw some serious minutes in this blowout. Webber was in the house too in his street clothes though. Perhaps we will get to see him against the Bulls. While I am on the topic of Webber I would like to say I am optimistic. Yes the first time around in 93 he stirred up some serious waves. But I think times and people have changed and he does have something to offer. Right now as it stands we are doing damn good so he can either help or hinder that. I am hoping he will help but I understand those who are worried he will hinder only time will tell. Anyway another great win and I am looking forward to the 9 more home games we got in February.

Air ball Pizza vs NJN

2008-01-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

What an exciting year it has been. These games have been some of the best I have ever watched. New Jersey proved to be no different. It was action packed and anyone's game. The Nets have a great team watching Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson is pure fun. You could tell Baron knew it was a battle of the guards tonight. Some great dribbling and passing from both guards. Not to mention amazing layups and dunks from Carter, Ellis and others. The crowd was loving it and there was a surprisingly good amount of drunks for a Thursday game. One guy who was obviously very drunk and very hungry stood for at least 20 minutes without sitting yelling various chants. He started off with the normal drunk warriors fan chants "MVP", "GO WARRIORS" etc. After seeing the Jam squad pass out Pizza to a few lucky people though he switched his tune. He then began chanting "PIZZA! PIZZA!" for a good 10 minutes solid. Lots of people tried to derail his train of thought by shouting toppings for pizza or other food types. It did nothing he had his mind set and kept chanting PIZZA! It got annoying fast but after a bit he stumbled off to get more beer only to never be seen again.

That's when it got really strange Marco Belinelli came off the bench pretty early in the game with the score very close. Now if you fallow the Warriors you will know the only time Marco normally sees minutes is when we are up by 20 plus points or down by 20 plus. I am thinking to myself what does Nelly have up his sleeve. As soon as Marco hits the floor and the Nets have the Ball he instantly mugs Josh Boone. The Nets then inbound again and boom Marco mugs Boone this time putting in them in the bonus and sending Boone to the line. It's then when Boone shoots an Air ball on his first Free throw that I realize what Nelly is doing. The old Hack-A-Shaq on poor Josh Boone. The Arena instantly erupts into "AIR BALL!" chants. They rinse and repeat this on Boone several more times and even Buke got in on the foul the action when Marco sat. But Marco was the main hit man with a solid 5 fouls on him back to back. Is he our new goon squad captain? It ended up paying off as we got another Win at home. One more interesting thing to note. On the screen during a time out they showed people in the audience who looked like some of the presidential hopefuls currently trying to win your vote in the primaries. It would first show a picture of the candidate then someone who looked like him or her from the audience. They showed McCain first and he got booed something fierce. Hilary was next with a mixed reaction from the crowd. Some Boos and a good amount of cheers as well. Then came Obama who I would say was the clear winner. He got the crowd going like as if Jackson just bombed a crucial 3 pointer to take the lead. An interesting look at a certain demographic here in the Bay Area I thought. Personally I would of cheered loudest for Ron Paul had they of showed him. They left out several people who are still in it though so I can't complain. Anyway great game oh and a Poor Boy Catfish Sandwich and side from Popeyes beats Arena Catfish hands down. Price and taste yes even taste you heard me right.

I Have a Dream vs MIN

2008-01-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

First off I would like to take a moment to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was one of the most influential and charismatic men of the 20th century. With that said this was the Warriors only day game that landed on a week day and unfortunately my place of work did not have the day off. I knew several weeks in advance this was the case however and used a vacation day to get it off. I like to do this during the baseball season to. I call it taking a Ferris Bueller day off. The Weather did not lend itself to that mid summer day cold Beer and a Brat type of feeling though. It was cold and rainy, utterly miserable or as some would say beautiful. Got to the game just in time for tip off. It was a slow morning and the rain on the way slowed us down. The game itself was exciting and at times it was also very frustrating. We constantly struggled and many times found our selfs chasing the lead. The half time show was interesting they had a Artist who paints while performing to music. In several minutes he painted a stunning picture of Dr. Martin Luther King all the while dancing to the music. It was a good vibe in the air celebrating and honoring the man on this day. sadly at the end the Warriors came up short by one point. It all came down to one shot at the buzzer. But in all honesty we should of had that game won well before that. To sum it all up with one shot would not do it justice.

I however found my salvage in the fact that it was 4:00pm the game just let out and Doug's is finally open. Normally when I pass by this place it's me rushing to get inside the game. Then by the time I come out it's already closed. But today I was out early and I figured I would drown my sorrow over the loss with some food. Many of you might of seen this place it is directly under the bridge that goes from BART to the Colosseum / Arena. My first thought when I saw the menu was "wow it's pricey". They had full racks of ribs for $24 and Tri Tip sandwiches for $10.50. I went with a classic combo burger, fries and a drink. The burger was good, it is what you expect from a good little hole in the wall. The fries can be summed up as "Salt sticks". They are the nice corrugated old school type of fry but with twice the salt. Overall though I would recommend the meal as it's cheaper then inside the Arena and better quality. I can't speak on any of the BBQ items on the menu though I will have to try those another day. As always your man on the field for Warriors home games giving you the inside scoop....

Let's go shopping! vs MEM

2008-01-12T00:20:00.000-08:00

What a great night out. It's Friday my wife is with me we got Popeye's before the game. It was pretty much given this should be a win. On the way to the game my wife asked who was on this team. I named the starter and she knew none of them. I then assured her she would see a win tonight. I think most would agree it was not a far fetched prediction either. With 10 wins and 26 losses Memphis fans are singing some blues. The game itself was good we took an early lead and never let it go.

My wife had the shopping bug though she kept asking about hitting the team store. She originally wanted to get a sweatshirt that she had seen a few weeks back. Turns out they did not have anymore in stock though. She ended up finding some shirts she liked though. I was looking at the new hardwood classic jackets they had. Never actually thinking about buying one. I wanted one but even with the season ticket holder 10% discount that's kinda expensive. Anyway she talked me into getting it and I have to say she did not need to try hard. The fact she even said she liked it and I should get it was all the justification I needed. My penny pinching ways went out the door real fast with wife approval. This is it for my Merch budget this year though. No more California Dogs and a Dr. Pepper for $13.00. Its gonna need to be Popeye's poor boys and the water fountain from now on.

P.S Big shout out to my homey Finnicus out of Norway. Glad to know GldnSt8Warriors.blogspot.com is big in Europe keep sending in the fan mail.

How was the sandwich? vs SAS

2008-01-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Wow what a night this was. Hands down the best game of the season and one of my new favorite stories as well. Let me start with a little history. In negotiating my season tickets I tried milking every little thing I could from my poor sales rep. One of the thing's he promised me was to get down on the court before a game and watch the players warm up. Now for those lucky to be on the Club level this is a given if you show up at 6pm when they open the doors. But for us Club 200 folk i.e nose bleed non corporate real fans we don't get to see the players close up unless it's at home in HD. Anyway it was time to cash in on one of my purchase promises. So he meets us and gives us Club level coupons. These basically give us Access to the main bar on the Club level. Been there and done that many times in the past so nothing to new exciting. Made me miss those ticket hook ups that ran dry though. So he brings us down on the floor, front row Nike to the maple. A bunch of kids already had taken all the seating on the Warriors side so we sat closer to San Antonio. I started snapping pictures left and right watching everyone and their various warm up techniques. This was a lot different warm up then you see if you arrive a half hour or so before the game. It seemed to be a more specialized warm up rather then the old shoot around. Guys are working with coaches on certain things etc.

So here I am snapping pictures of Spurs and Warriors. Every now and then a ball comes over my way and I get to toss it to one of the coaches. Never got to bounce pass to Robert Horry or anything. But it was cool none the less. Then as I was snapping pictures of the Warriors I hear out of my right ear "So how was the sandwich?". I look up and in amazement Brent Barry is asking me this. First thing I thought was what the hell is he talking about. Mind you I have no Sandwich in my hand and had not eaten anything inside the Arena. So I answer him back with a "Huh...What Sandwich?". He then responds with "Didn't I see you a few hours ago in SF getting a sandwich?". Realizing now he has mistaken me for someone else I respond back telling him no it was not me. That's when it got real funny and he said "Damn to bad I was hoping it was you. Because the guy's girlfriend was hot". He then went back about his business warming up. So that's my Brent Barry story. The thing I find the most interesting about it is how random it was. Normally when you have a story involving a famous person it's you approaching them. This cracked me up cause here I am minding my own business and I get to hear Brent Barry talking about some guy's hot girl friend. Anyway that was a blast we stayed on the floor for a almost an hour just watching and chatting it up with the sales guy.

Then comes arguably the best game so far this season. Duncan was rumored to be not playing and he never showed his face when I was down on the floor. He did end up playing and although it was bad for the Warriors for fantasy reasons I was happy. I think it also made our win that much more sweet. Knowing San Antonio had their best players suited and we still pulled off a Win made it that much more meaningful. Sure the Spurs played the night before in LA but this is the champs we are talking about. The entire game felt like a playoff game. It was intense and the crowd was into every possession. Overtime scared me because both our big men had 5 fouls. So one or two wrong moves could of cost us the game. We buckled down though and finished strong. Jackson finally came to life and Baron my god he is amazing. Those MVP chants are starting to have some serious meaning now. Well great game great story to tell what more can you ask for. It sure is a great time out!

Playing hookie vs NOR

2008-01-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

Well missed my second home game this one was not really by choice though. Well I guess it was choice as I could of went but circumstances just didn't work out. On the bright side the game was in HD but I won't get ahead of myself. The news kept saying Friday there was going to be a massive storm. So the question kept coming up of how we are going to get to the game. Both me and my friend didn't want to drive if it was storming and BART was not really sounded attractive either. So as it rolls closer to leaving time we both are beating around the bush obviously wanting the other to drive. No plan really emerged so my buddy opted out and said he was staying home. If neither of us was going to go I suggested trying out the ticket exchange on the warriors site to see how that works. With my friend officially out I made some phone calls and everyone seemed to feel the same. I don't blame anyone it was nasty outside really nasty or as some would say it was beautiful out.

Anyway I went ahead and put our seats up on the ticket exchange with a few clicks from the mouse. It seemed like a cool idea and the interface was easy to use etc. However I started reading more after I put the tickets up and it turns out you don't receive cash if the tickets sell. What they do is give you the money in the form of a credit that can only be used towards next year season tickets or playoff game tickets. Not the end of the world as I was hoping and praying to be able to get season tickets anyway. So if they make it that's just a little less money me and my friend have to come out of pocket. I really wish we could of used that cash towards regular season games or even in the team store etc. So now knowing this I am kinda hoping our tickets don't sell. Apparently if they do not sell 2 hour prior to the game they are still valid for our use and they go off the ticket exchange. So now I am hoping they don't see cause dammit I wanna see Chris Paul and these red hot Hornets. I figure screw it I will go solo if I have to. Well they ended up selling right at the last minute. Honestly I think the Warriors organization might just buy em up so they have tickets to sell to walk ups. So I ended up watching the game at home. It was nice cause first off the food was a lot cheaper and second damn it looks nice in HD. That still does not replace the fun of being there though and I wish I went. oh well lets beat some Spur ass on Monday. I might be getting down on the court for that game stay tuned.

Coughing up Nuggets vs DEN

2007-12-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry this one is a little late I have been feeling like crap lately fighting a cold. This was probably one of the most miserable games I ever been to. Not because we lost though. Yes that sucked but it was close and an exciting game. No the reason it was miserable was due to my cold. I feel sorry for the people in front of me cause as much as I tried I am sure something broke free from one of those sneezes. I was coughing and sneezing all night and used a gang of napkins to keep my nose from running away. My wife joined me on this outing so that was nice to have some comfort from a loved one. Anyway I managed to put some food down and it was my first time trying the California dog. It's basically a jumbo dog with pico de galo and nacho cheese. I have to say it was worth the extra few bucks as it was pretty tasty. In other news Little Bow Wow was in the house. I was unable to snap a picture of him though. He was sitting next to Nuggets bench so even with max zoom you cant see much of anything from my seats. Good game though man AI went off. We kept it close the entire night but just could not overtake them. That's OK cause we just went into their house and and showed them a thing or two. Lets go Road Warriors!

Twas the night after x-mas vs MIN

2007-12-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

Twas the night after Christmas and the Warriors continue to be chili pepper hot. The game itself was great. It was relatively close the entire night. Yet enough of a lead to keep a warriors fan in a good mood. Monta Ellis had the best game of his NBA career thus far. Baron god bless his soul continues to play long minutes and perform like no other in the NBA. He is a complete player from offense to defense. Those chants of MVP from the drunk club 200 fans might not just be a pipe dream if this keeps up. It was also nice to see my awesome trade acquisition of a fantasy player Al Jeferson in action. I was secretly cheering for him in my mind. But only him naturally the Warriors win comes first and fore most. Fantasy numbers can take a hit for the sake of the real team.

But you come for the stories not the game recap right? So it’s the night after Christmas and what did yours truly get? What does every season ticket holder in club 200 need? Well besides actual Club level tickets of course. Binoculars! My wife and daughter heard my prayer. No more squinting to see if Belinelli is suited up or whom Jim Barnett is talking to. This could usher in a new era of articles as well. Like how many times does Mikael Pietrus change his shoes during a game ect. Anyway back to the story at hand. Ever since finding out CC Sabathia has season tickets and seeing Dontrelle Willis etc. I started keeping an eye out to see who uses CC’s seats. On this cold December night it was none other then Oakland Raiders Daunte Culpepper. With my new found super vision though I saw what I thought was the funniest thing of the night. Daunte has the normal long rope chain right but his his medallion get this. I kid you not is a big bling blangy jewel encrusted chili pepper. Now with his name some of you might say this makes perfect sense. But for some reason I just started cracking up when I saw a shiny huge chili pepper hanging from his neck. Sorry the Camera I bring to the games only has 2X zoom. So I could not get any good original photos of the pepper. I did however find one when I got home enjoy.

Absinthe for everyone!

2007-12-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

St. George Spirits Absinthe review.

With the Warriors on the road what is a fan to do? We line up and wait for a type of alcohol that has been banned for 95 years is what we do. Well I didn’t exactly wait in line but don’t let me get ahead of myself at least not yet anyway. Lets start with a little history on this infamous spirit. It is basically a Brandy with several herbs added for flavor. Some of the herbs have been blamed for causing delerious effects. It became famous in popular culture during the late 19th and early 20th century when Parisian artists and writers linked romantic associations with the drink. The drink then became vilified and blamed for many of societies woes. Hey they are trying to do that same thing with Video games right now. But let’s not get off topic here. It was then banned in many countries around the world. No evidence has ever found it to be any more dangerous or psychoactive than ordinary alcohol though. A modern absinthe revival began in the 1990s, as countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale. In the United States it has been legal to ship bottles from Europe but no stores sold or distillers brewed any Absinthe with Wormwood. The herb containing the chemical thujone believed to have psychoactive properties. Research shows the Alchohal will have more negative effects on you then any of the herbs in it. In 2007 the first legally available absinthe was approved for sale in the United States.

The internets have been a blaze with stories of Absinthe ever since. This is what sparked my interest in it. Normally I am not a big drinker and when I do it’s normally just a few beers nothing special. Anyway with all the lore and such I got interested and started doing my own research. I came across St. George Spirits who said they would be producing real Absinthe and releasing it for sale in December. I think they are the first to produce and sell it in the United States since it was banned 95 years ago. Anyway as the weeks went by I saw more and more fan faire about St George Spirits and their Absinthe they planned to sell on December 21st. They chose this day because 74 years ago, the 21st Amendment was ratified and Prohibition ended. I originally planned to take the day off work and attempt to get a bottle. But as the day got closer some major projects came up at work that prohibited me from taking the day off. I was incredibly lucky to have a friend who works literally a mile or so from Hanger 1 a.k.a St. George Spirits distillery. So like the song goes with a little help from our friends I was able to obtain a bottle of this rare and popular spirit.

One of my favorite quotes about the drink was from Oscar Wilde who said.

"After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, which is the most horrible thing in the world."

So with that said I offer you my 3 shot review. I will have a glass and write a sentence or two about each one. So without any further a due lets start this Hunter S Thompson-esque study in toxicology.

Glass 1:
After opening the bottle and smelling it’s muse like aroma I opted to go with a Nyquil cup. This would allow me to be scientific about it. Anyway I took the first shot and needless to say it burned. The taste is pleasant it reminds me of my youth and my run in with Indian Air Gum. I honestly feel a buzz after a 30ml shot. I don’t know if 3 is even possible for me. I don’t drink hard liquor and this stuff is definitely hard. Wish me luck on the next two

Glass 2:
This is not how it was supposed to be. That 30ml was rough and it was due to my own fault. I decided to put a sugar cube in this one. Bad mistake! When I shot the Absinthe the sugar cube got lodged in my throat. I gagged for a second and started dry heaving. One thing I learned from glass two is leave the sugar cubes out. The drink by itself has a rich taste and does not need any sweetener. As for hulicinating and going on a murderous killing spree nothing yet. I do however feel like going to bed soon.

Glass 3:
The humanity! This one was a lot smoother without the sugar cube. I do feel a nice buzz now and my chest has never been warmer. I do have to say the flavor does grow on you. It can be best described as a black licorice taste. Now normally I don’t like black licorice much but as a hard alcohol it seems fitting. Well still no murderous episodes or little green fairies flying around. It does pack a punch and the build up to the event was fun. I think it’s time for me to retire now. Tomorrow the W’s play New Jersey and I plan to see things as they are. Meaning another win for the road Warriors. Here come old flattop He come grooving up slowly He got joo-joo eyeball Jump Jump!

Support local think global!

Link to story on NBC
Link to St. George Spirits

Friday Night feeling all right vs LAL

2007-12-16T19:02:00.001-08:00

This article is a day late not because I was busy or anything. It is a day late because that’s how long I needed to recover. No seriously though this was a great game probably the best all season for several different reasons. First off it’s a Friday game and being the Lakers I had some company joining me. My friend from work is a big Lakers and Dodgers fan. I know it’s nice we hire people with disabilities like that. Anyway we made it into a group night out our wife’s and some other friends and family joined us. The party started early at my house with some Beer and Rock Band. After we all got some pre eight-dollar beers in us, except for the designated drivers of course. We then made our way to the Roarcle and was it loud that night. Apparently we broke even our last year playoff record for attendance. From what I heard on the radio they claimed it was the most people to watch a basketball game in the state of California. Now I thought we sold out last year but apparently we found a way to cram more people in. There was a good amount of Laker fans and everything for the most part was very civil. I did see two arrests being made but who knows what the cause was. Our group showed everyone we could co exist.

We missed out on the free shirts because we decided to have some more beer in the parking lot. Everyone had a nice picture of Barnes dunking on Dirk from last year’s playoffs with the words “We’re Back” printed on it. Anyway It was a good thing we got our fill of Beer before the game because good luck waiting in those lines. The few with us who did go for food and drinks ended up missing a quarter. I probably should have just risked it myself cause honestly I can’t recall a hell of a lot of the first 3 quarters anyway. All I know is we managed to keep it close like we have been doing lately and then strike in the last few minutes. The video I have for this game and some of the others really does not do the audio justice. After you leave a good Warriors game like this one you feel like you been to a concert. It gets insanely loud in there and the entire crowd stands for the last few minutes. Definitely one of the most exciting teams to watch of any major sport I would say. Like I said this was one of the best games though a close down to the wire win. Baron Davis proves time and time again that he is one of the elite point guards of the NBA. The entire Warriors staff from starters to our beloved Garbage men brings excitement. Ohh by the way the new chant after we win is “Let’s get pancakes!”. Despite what critics say it is a healthy meal right before bed. Go Warriors!

No Duncan, Dizzle? vs SAS

2007-12-12T21:14:00.001-08:00

What better way to spend a Tuesday night then at a Warriors game? The night started off right when my cohort in action stepped up to the plate and was able to drive. You know what that means pound a beer for the road! That Hyphy needs a chaser anyway. On the way in they said Duncan was suited up. That one man could make or break our chances at winning greatly. Yet I was still optimistic, as we have beaten some top tier teams lately and have been playing well. Once we made our way to our seats and heard the starting lineups though everything changed. What was this no Duncan? Still this is the incumbent champs and their bench is as good if not better then some other NBA starters. Within the first few minutes you heard several conversation’s saying, “Who the hell is this Bonner guy”. Bonner earned himself 4 quick offensive rebounds off one fumbled play. He went on to have a great night stat wise. I guess those hustle boards got him fired up. By half time things started looking real good. That’s when I made a decision to throw my cholesterol count caution to the wind. My friend knowing my weakness turns to me and said “I will buy you catfish if you go get it for us”. Now I love food but there is one thing that just makes food taste better and that’s when it is free. I think Henry Hill even said that same thing in Good Fella’s. Anyway I love the old you buy I fly so I was off to get us some Catfish. I have to admit when I reviewed the Catfish a few weeks back it tasted a lot better. This night it was a little off. But still free Catfish I cant complain.

I was not the only one enjoying myself though the Warriors had a good night to. They maintained that lead and finished off the Spurs. All the while I grinned like the catfish I ate and clapped my deep fried oily hands off. Another night another Win it’s a great time to be a warrior fan. Once the night was over though all that salt caught up with me. So I would like to thank La Raza liquor on Seminary for that celebratory Pineapple Crush. Go Warriors!

Is it getting hot or is it just me? vs MIA

2007-12-08T17:40:00.002-08:00

The wins just keep getting better it seems like. The climate among sports journalists is making a Warriors fan feel the future is so bright we should all wear shades. Before I go to far though let me explain why there is no post for Wednesday night’s Bucks game. I was feeling under the weather and missed my first home game. Lets hope that is the only time I miss a game for the rest of the year. Maybe I will miss one due to needing Kidney dialyses from the Hyphy intake as well though.

Anyway this started off as a great night. A long with my normal partner in crime an old friend joined me. This was his first Basketball game since the 80’s so we had to do it right. We got there nice and early so as to have enough time to tailgate a little before we went in. The other time related variable I had in mind was the free Hardwood Classic T-Shirt for the first 5000 fans. First things first though we finished all the beer. After that we made a nice pace and crept inside to find yes they still had some shirts left. With a shirt in tow we instantly drew our attention to the new throwback Jerseys at the merch shop. We were not alone the place was packed everyone was buying and with just cause I think they look great. I dare say I almost like them better then “The City” ones. After all they represent our last and only title in California. Perhaps this could mean something? Lets not get to far ahead of ourselves though. Anyway needless to say my Jersey addiction got the best of me and I bought yet another jersey. I am going to have to start playing ball 4 or 5 times a week to use all these Jerseys.

The game itself was a great roller coaster ride. It was not until the 4th quarter that we actually took a lead. The entire game we trailed by 10 points consistently. We would have a nice run and get close only to be sent back down to that 10-point buffer zone. In the back of my mind I was OK with it though. I know our boys can swing a 10-point deficit in a matter of seconds. As long as we kept it within 10 we could make something happen. That is exactly what we did to. I think it was around 6 minutes left when we saw our very first lead. The crowd was intense as always the entire night but when we took the lead it got downright crazy. It reminded me of playoffs last year. Random people I did not know were giving me high fives and it was just a great feeling. With around 4 minutes left captain Jack and Barnes started waving the crowd up. After that the entire Arena stood for the rest of the game. The energy was insane the noise level was monstrous. I swear we have an effect on the team. When the crowd gets into it the team goes into a trance like state and become gods among men. In all honesty though we played our ass off yes but I think Pat Riley had his head in his ass. He had Shaq riding pine the entire 4th quarter. I don’t know what game he was watching. Because when Shaq was in Miami was scoring on us at will and shutting us down on defense. Anyway I am thankful for Riley’s strategy it seemed to pay off well for us. Man this is turning out to be an exciting year.

Shoulda, Coulda, EASTWOODA! vs ORL

2007-12-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Hyphy number???? My liver dislikes me for multiple reasons now. Anyway we could of won that but wow what a game though. With all those up’s and down’s. Let this be a lesson to other teams in the NBA never count the Warriors out until it’s over. Yea sure we didn’t finish it when we should of in the 4th. But to be consistently down by more then 10 points and consistently get right back in the game that says something for itself. I knew going to this game it was not going to be easy. The Magic have one of the best records in the NBA. I think it was 15 and 4 going into tonight. They also have a solid team to with stars like Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. Speaking of Howard what did he eat growing up? That guy is a beast his shoulders should require their own area code. He was unstoppable on boards but we did manage to keep his scoring under wraps. I think Al and Beidriens remembered a thing or two from playing Yao last Thursday. Anyway it was a good game I drove on in like I always do on work nights. Parked in the good old free Parking lot known as BART. The crowd was alive and pretty packed considering it was a Monday night. Like I said though we had a chance to finish them when we took the lead late in the forth quarter. God bless Monta’s soul but what the hell was that 3 pointer with 8 seconds left. He should of drove and tried to draw the foul. I know I know he missed most of his free throws that night but still. I think we would have been a lot better off shooting free throws for a possible win then a low percentage 3 pointer. Worst-case scenario we go into over time and that’s what happened anyway when he missed the 3. Once Baron fouled out and we went into over time it was over for us. It should of ended in the 4th I am sorry. But all in all it was another great night out. Our boys are playing well and we are beating top teams and giving others a run for their money. Go Warriors!

I leave you with the shot that could of won us the game

The bigger they are the harder they fall vs HOU

2007-12-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry this one is a little late. I had my work Christmas party on Friday and I will not lie Mass Effect and Rock Band have been taking up a lot of my spare time. Anyway my cohort in season ticket holderdom was back from his hiatus. As we normally do on a weeknight we opted to drive. For those of you who drive as always I highly recommend BART parking lot. Both BART police and real police heavily patrol it. So your car should be relatively safe and it appears to be fully legal. I have used it for a while now and have never seen myself or anyone else get a ticket. Viva la fee parking!

I went to this game to see a win. I know it sounds cocky but the way we have been playing lately I honestly expected a win from our guys. I told my friend on the way to the game “We just take down Western Conference power houses now, That’s just how we roll”. We started off with a lead and never really let it go. Big Al was doing an amazing job of fronting Yao and Davis again continues be one of the best all around PG’s in the business. The defense was intense we held T-Mac and Yao combine to under 20 points. The fans continue to get more intense as well with each win. When Baron is shooting free throws shouts of MVP are starting erupt in club 200 now. I think it might be a bit early for those chants. But make no mistake my voice box and hands know very well why they call it the Roarcle Arena. We got a winning record now lets keep up the good work guys it’s going to be a long season.

P.S What ever happend to Hudson? Rumor is he got some garbage time against Huston.

Better of brung your track shoes. vs PHX

2007-11-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

They don’t lie it was truly a great night out. You knew this was going to be an exciting game win or lose. Phoenix is a pure offense team much like us and as much as I hate to admit it they are much better at it then us. Our guys just got off a road trip and the Sun’s were on an 8 game win streak. Either way with two offensive teams you know it was going to be good. My friend who also got a season ticket decided to take the night off and watch from home. This worked out good though because my wife was able to go. Big thanks to Grammy and Pop Pop for babysitting by the way. The game started off great. Jackson got a roaring standing ovation for his first home game back. The starting line up looked very interesting and I was happy to see Big Al back in it. Al was looking great in the first 12 minutes grabbing quick passes making some quick moves and dunking. Jackson was shooting from outside with ease and by the end of the first we scored 45 points to their 37. No doubt this was going to be a triple digit game by the looks of things. The second half just got better Ellis went off and was in the Matrix for real sorry Marion. He scored 15 points in a row with an answer back from Phoenix. At the end of the night we finished with a 15-point lead and I and my wife had damn near lost our voices.

Jackson got player of the game with 32 points and that leads me into the second half of this post. During preseason my friend and I said first game Jackson scores 30 + points were going to buy his Jersey. I had wanted a Jackson jersey for a while now. I even went as far as to convert my old Murphy jersey into a sudo one. Anyway I liked my friend’s thinking and was fully in agreement. When I picked up his ticket he even jokingly said “I can’t go tonight cause I can’t afford to buy a Jersey right now”. He was right Jackson had over 30 points and I was more then happy to pick up a Jersey. My wife and I also thought it would be good to pick one up for our daughter as well. She see’s me leaving the house in one all the time when I go to play or to a game etc. She recently asked if she could get a basketball shirt as she calls them in her cute 2-½ year old voice. We got a Jackson home jersey for her and I got an away Jersey. Only reason we did not get us matching one’s is they only had the toddler ones in home and I already have 2 other home jersey of that same style. So we both can wear our home jersey’s to match. Well we got another win Jackson sold some jersey’s and again it was a great night out. What more can you ask for? How about another win on Thursday? GO WARRIORS!

Like Minded People in The Town...

2007-11-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

The Warriors are on the road for five games so we won’t have a home game to report for a while. This is a great time to catch up on stories from earlier in the season that did not make it into my normal write up’s. This story goes back to last year maybe even the year before that when we picked up Baron. Either way it was after a game and I crossing the bridge back towards BART. Normally you will see merch vendors pushing their wares but one shirt caught my eye. It was “The Town” shirt many of you might have already seen. It’s just like the iconic “The City” shirt but instead of the Golden Gate it has the Cranes of the Oakland docks and say’s “The Town”. That night though it was crowded on the bridge and for whatever reason I just kept walking. Once on the road though the shirts came up in conversation. Another friend of mine said the same thing that he saw them and thought the shirt was slick but didn’t stop for one reason or another as well. From that day on we both joked about how we should of got the shirts because we never seen them for sale again. Fast forward to the present same scenario walking across the bridge what is that I see? That’s right “recreate recreate” I get a second chance and needless to say I hit your boy up. Got my Jones right and finally copped that shirt I dug so many moons ago.

The shirt saga ended there but the story goes on. I chopped it up with him a little and got some info etc. I felt good about my original purchase it was priced well and I like the product. After checking out their site though I now feel really good about supporting this local company. They have some very unique and creative shirts with a very good vibe to them. I like how they incorporate the Like Minded community into the site with the “Yours” section that shows photos of people wearing the product. I highly recommend this company and their apparel the quality is high and the people are good. Hit em up and tell them GldnSt8Warriors sent you.

www.LikeMindedPeople.us

RE! SPECT! WALK! vs LAC

2007-11-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

Defense a lesson learned from the dawn of time. We finally got our first Win and no longer are the only team in the NBA without one. It was the first regular season Friday game and I treated it just like a Friday should be treated. Before I even entered the Arena I was on beer number three. The Warriors took an early lead and never really lost it. So being a good fan I got an early buzz and never really lost it. Everyone was looking good even P.O.B got in on the action. I have been continuously impressed with Big Al he is showing so much improvement. Baron started off slow but by the end of the game had racked up some really good numbers. Biedrins also really had a great night with 23 points and 18 rebounds. With 7 out of 10 of the players in double digits offense was not a problem. Defense was surprisingly good as well considering our previous lack there of. We were forcing the Clippers to make ill-advised low percentage shots. Looks like we might of reviewed the Pistons game tapes and finally took note.

Anyway it was nice to finally get a win. I been blogging these home games since October and the last win was against Zalgiris Kaunas. Well let’s just hope with Captain Action Jackson back now we can get a lot more of those. The crowd truly loved it I have to say it was a good feeling. Ohh as for the Hyphy I tried something new I saved it for a Victory drink. Perhaps that’s the key to success?

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish! vs DET

2007-11-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

We said so long to that win is right and the highlight of the night was the fried Catfish. This should of been an easy win. The Pistons just had a 4 game road trip and one of those games was the freaking night before. Also with Billups and McDyess not playing we should have a chance right? I mean we finally looked like an NBA team when we played Dallas on the 8th. Anyway I was expecting a win and when the Warriors had a 21-point lead I thought a win is what I was going to see. The Pistons however had another idea. They switched to a zone defense and we looked like we had no clue what the hell we were doing. I must admit free throws looked a lot better but 34 three point attempts come on now what is that about. Anyway needless to say we lost yet again.

But this blog is not just about the Warriors its about the season ticket holder experience. With that said the Catfish was decent. It’s got a bit of a shake and bake taste going. But if you throw some hot sauce on them mugs and grab yourself some peppers It makes for a good meal to drown your sorrows. As for the Warriors, party time is over put the Nyquil and Thizz down fellas, let’s get Hyphy!

We Believe? vs DAL

2007-11-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Yes we still do despite that loss. After the game was over I felt just like the Hyphy can from the trip to the game. Empty and Discarded. It was a good game though. Hands down our best of the season thus far. Everyone looked hungry and the crowd was into the game. Nowitski could not touch the ball without the Arena immediatly going into a deep pitched boo that shook the earth. With every steal, rebound and point the crowd cheered with a vibe only a Bay Area sports fan would be familar with.

We love our teams and just like this game and many before them no loss will make us stop believing. Keep it moving fellas Jack is almost back and your starting to look like an NBA team. Ohh and practice them damn Free Throws!

Dude, Where's My Seat? vs CLE

2007-11-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

The night started off good enough a Cheese Quesadilla from Los Pinos and then a Hyphy for the road. I opted to drive again due to it being a work night. With a quick trip down Seminary and a turn into BART for the season ticket holder free parking and I was there. The conversation was optimistic everyone expected this to be our first win. Lets be honest King James is one of the best players in the league hands down but Cleveland as a team is mediocre. With that said I was ready to see a win not a blowout but a win for certain. Sure our boys looked a little lost in the previous games and our free throw curse followed us from last season. But tonight was to be different. Tonight was the chance to win!

Upon arriving in good ol Club 200 I was happy to see the swag wagon was still flowing. That’s right more free stuff we love that. Even though in the back of my head I am thinking is this what we got rid of J-Rich for? We made salary room to pick up “Rubber Band Man” B Wright and use the money on Club 200 and free swag? I know I know the money earned during the playoffs is most likely what is paying for all this but I am still bitter about JR. Anyway we got another free shirt and a Club 200 necklace. All happy from the free swag and juiced from the Hyphy I made my way to my seat. To my surprise though my seat was taken by some couple in their mid 20’s. This happens a lot and I am a pretty laid back guy. As long as there is open seats near mine I am not going to make anyone move. So I found a seat behind them no worries I want to see the game.

The game was exciting Ellis was lights out and Big Al had a nice night to. As always iDizzle put up some great numbers. I have to say I am loving Baron for my fantasy league stat wise. But I would not mind seeing a drop in my fantasy team if it meant Warrior wins. But back to that couple that stole my seat for a minute. The game was exciting no doubt I was out of my seat several times. But this girl got drunk as hell and would not sit down. She proclaimed herself the warriors biggest fan then several minutes later kept cheering for Ellis saying “Go Baron nice shot” and “Woo Boom Diesel”. Yes that’s right Diesel not Dizzle but Diesel. That is all fun and good though I am not mad at her. What really made me think the couple was not worthy of my seats though was when this girl started flirting with the dudes next to her right in front of her man. It gets worse though just wait. So she is over the top flirting and he gets all pissed and heads off solo. Seriously the minute he leaves she is busting out her camera and hugging this guy next to her taking picture’s with him talking with him etc. The guys sitting next to me even commented about it that’s how bad it looked. Once her boyfriend came back they started talking back and forth and he starts crying god it was a scene. The moral of the story is if someone is in your seat make him or her move. If not for their sake at least for your own. I would not wish sitting behind that couple on my worst enemy.

Despite the unfortunate turn of events that I described the game was good. We trailed close the entire first half and went into half time tied up. We managed to keep a lead for a good amount of the second half but just like the Warriors have continuously done in the past we cannot finish. We have a good team even without J-Rich and when Jackson comes back we will only get better. It’s little things though that we really need to work like free throws! They are free right? Not to mention a little more defense and a few extra passes. Well Mavericks on Thursday lets hope that is our first Win. It’s going to be hard without Jacks but the world will be watching and this will be our moment to show them its for real GO WARRIORS!

Opening Night / Club 200 Review Revisted vs UTA

2007-11-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

It’s nights like this that I am glad Hyphy won instead of Mickey’s. The last few games I have taken BART so pounding a beer before the ride would have been no problem. However Opening night was on a Tuesday so I opted out of the booze train. Anyway with Hyphy in tow I made my way to the Arena.

Some of you might remember my Club 200 review from a few weeks back. Well it’s opening night and Club 200 was in full effect. First off the place was packed and I even got there an hour early. My plan was to arrive early so I could do another full review of Club 200. However with the crowd I found it difficult to snap good pictures without including dozens of random people in the shots. So if you’re looking for photos please see my original Club 200 review as it has a more detailed photo gallery.

With that said let me focus on what has changed since the last review. All those empty areas have now been filled. The Kid zone, Sports Bar and Lounge area are all teaming with life now. The Kid Zone is now filled with games and activities. They have a coloring area with seating for the younger kids and a carnival style basketball game. Also they have a big projection screen with NBA 2K8 running on a PS3. I also saw Pinball and another arcade style game.

The Lounge and Sports Bar had been filled in very nicely as well. The Sports bar had a DJ spinning some tunes and several HD screens and of course a full bar. The Lounge area also had some PS3’s running NBA 2K8 for people to enjoy. Some other new things I noticed were Banners of all the starters and some other new random signage. All in all I think Club 200 turned out to be a pleasant surprise. They didn’t have to do anything but they did and any added value is better then nothing. I can’t say I look forward to it but on those blowout nights when all hope is lost I can see myself drinking my sorrows away and playing some PS3 in the new Club 200.

As for the game itself well Utah smoked us. We did not have Jackson and he is no doubt huge part of our team. Would that of made the difference? I like to think so but then again I am biased. We lost however and we looked like crap at times. The night started off good as every fan received a T-Shirt saying “Where Amazing Happens“. Also on every seat in the house there was a picture of iDizzle dunking all over AK47 from the playoffs last year. So it started off great everyone was pumped the introduction was good etc. But it went downhill from there.

First lets touch on some positives. Baron was amazing he played hard defense, moved the ball well and scored with ease. He is never a question mark as long as he is healthy. Monta Ellis had a decent night. He was fearless as usual driving with speed few in the NBA can match. I see big things for him if he continues his progression. I was happy to see Harrington looking a little more alert and hustling. I think he might be laying off the Nyquil. Good job Big Al stop sipping on that sizzurp. Air France Pietrus also had a good night playing solid defense and shooting outside the arch. Azibuke was looking good early in the game as well.

No matter how hard we tried though we just could not break their lead. It seems like we would go on a little run and get the lead into single digits only to be shut down again. I think some of the combos Nellie was running could have been better. At times he was running a squad without any real basketball knowledge it seemed. They where forcing ill advised shots and not moving the ball enough etc. Speaking of that what the hell happened to Troy Hudson? I liked the guy in preseason and thought he might add some depth to help Baron. But after seeing his performance against Utah I am a little disappointed to say the least. He was forcing bad shots left and right when he had open options all over the place. At least twice I saw Beidrens literally waving his hands to signal he was open. Yet Hudson would put up a jumper or drive into traffic. I am sorry but if two or three guys are collapsing on you that mean’s one of your teammates is open somewhere so find that person and get the ball to them. Matt Barnes had an awful night to and went scoreless until the forth quarter. He looked like he was trying hard but it just was not there for him. Lets hope the new deal and captain status does not shake up his game. I was hoping Belinelli would have more of an impact on the game. I think had Hudson of moved the ball around more when the B team was on the floor Bel could have had more points.

All in all it was a good night out the crowd was fairly hyped and being at a game is better then being in the office. Big shout out to the Golden State of Mind crew they showed up in force. As for the Warriors I watched them lose to the Lakers last opening night and look what they did last year. So let’s not get to down just yet Utah is a tuff team but so are we GO WARRIORS!

Best kept secret at Oracle Arena

2007-10-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like sitting lower section at a Warriors game. Hearing Baron as he calls out plays and seeing the actual size of some of these guys. Not to mention the sheer intensity of each play and the fact that the players actually hear what you yell out. The list goes on it is definitely a treat that is for sure. It gets better though awhile back a friend of mine turned me on to what I like to call the Oracle Arena’s best kept secret.

At first glance you would think this little nook was off limits. It is the cheerleader’s entrance and exit area. In fact you might catch them practicing while you visit this little jewel. Anyway so it's easy to over look this path and opt for one of the many food and liquor establishments you passed on the way to your seat. They say curiosity killed the cat but don't be fooled it also led to riches behind your wildest dreams. Or maybe just a beer and a hot dog depending on whom you ask. Either way you will be rewarded trust me.

As you make your way up this little runway you will see many security guards. Just act cool and don’t worry they may scare off other would be explorers but not you right? In this hallway you will see the cheerleaders warming up. To your left you will find the pearl in this oyster "Golden State Greats". Ironically I think a gal named pearl works there to. Anyway these lovely ladies got exactly what you need beer and hot dogs! What is that in the distance? Yes it is a clean and unfrequented bathroom. Never again will you wait to use the bathroom with this knowledge.

So there you have it a low traffic area to buy food, liquor and use the bathroom. Not to mention you get to walk courtside and catch a close up glimpse of the Warrior girls to. You won’t find some of the more exotic foods at this stand but I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. So next time your fortunate enough to be seated in the lower section I highly recommend you visit Golden State Greats and tell Pearl GldnSt8Warriors.Blogspot.com sent you.

Warriors VS Zalgiris Kaunas

2007-10-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Another game another Hyphy the fans have spoken. Yet again I would like to thank BART for my transportation to and from the game. I went into this game wanting to see the W's dominate and that's what I got. But let's not get ahead of myself here. The day before as you all probably know the Clippers made our boys look a little soft. They just were not hungry and the clips looked starving. Maybe it has something to do with us bumping them out of that 8th seed?

Anyway the game against these kids from Lithuania started off interesting. I was a little taken back from there sequence glimmer get ups not that there is anything wrong with that. At one point I literally felt sorry for Zalgiris Kaunas. You could tell they wanted it bad but the refs kept blowing the whistle. With good reason mind you it was not like the calls had been unwarranted. A lot of rules are different in the NBA like Goal tending for reference. In their league it is perfectly legal to knock it out if its bouncing around the basket.

I have to give respect to the Lithuanian people who showed up. They had a huge flag draped over up in Club 200 and sounded nice and loud. Speaking of that I have been disappointed in the noise level at the two preseason games. I will leave that for another article though its only preseason i cant get to worried we got soft yet.

By half time it was evident we had this game in the bag. Jackson was looking great and so was B Diddy. I think we also got a good idea from that game who is going to get cut. They got 18 on the roster right now only 15 can stay. We got a solid team if we can stay healthy. Our veterans "Bill Walsh voice" areee ammaaaazzzing and our new talent is looking promising.

Club 200 Review!

2007-10-15T12:40:00.001-07:00

****DISCLAIMER****

Club 200 is not yet finished and won’t be officially open until Oct 30th for the season opener against the Utah Jazz.

"see pics below article"

With that said I had high hopes for Club 200. The sales guys have been touting it as almost better then the lower club areas. Will club 200 live up to the hype? I don’t think it’s going to hold a candle to the floor level beer and hot dog stand where the cheerleaders warm up. But it is looking promising.

When you arrive at Club 200 via escalator you will be greeted by the snazzy new floor mats. Can I get one of these for my house? Several new signs have been added and the walls and supports have been painted a new fresh color scheme.

The Kids section is clearly not finished yet but the paint and wall props are in place. Didn’t find out to much more on what they plan to add. I imagine some sort of interactive games or something to keep the kids busy.

The food booths have new signs and new items on the menu. I am looking forward to trying the Red Snapper but that will be for another night. The same classic upper level Beer and Hot Dogs can be found all over. Just a hint of the good food from lower level made its way up top.

Last comes the new Sports Bar and Lounge area. Both look promising especially on those nights like last when it’s a blowout and everyone looks like crap. The Sports bar is supposed to be reminiscent of the one on the lower level. It will sport a full bar and several areas to sit and watch sports on the many HDTV’s in the bar. The Lounge area is a little different. The person I had spoken with said it will have a PS3 area that you could sit and play games. Of course WiFi is available so you could bust out the notebook and lounge etc.

All in all it’s looking good. At first I was a little disappointed mainly due to the hype I was hearing and how unfinished it was. I think once it is complete it will turn out to be a very nice addition. In the end you can’t complain the organization mad e a lot more money with the playoffs last year and they put some of it back into the facility. I commend them for that as it would have been just as easy if not easier to pocket those funds.

Stay tuned for opening night review of Club 200!

Warriors Rookie Season Ticket Holder Event.

2007-10-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

Big Basket Ball day here. It started with my Fantasy draft this morning followed by the Warriors Season Ticket Holder Rookie training in the afternoon. By the way the tallies are in on the poll we had to see what would become the Official drink of GldnSt8Warriors.Blogspot.com and it looks like Hyphy won by a landslide. As per my promise I will drink a Hyphy prior to every home game this season. So with BART as my ride and Hyphy my fuel I was off to get trained on how to be a rookie season ticket holder.

The event was held in the Colosseum not the Arena. Upon entering, each Season Ticket Holder was given a free T-Shirt saying "Season Ticket Holder" on it. After being guided up the stairs by strategically placed Warriors girls I made my way to the main area of the event. It was packed and full of chaos. I felt lost as to what to do next. I caught site of what appeared to be free food and drinks. I then quickly made my way to the front of the free for all of popcorn and chips.

With Salts and carbs safely in tow I headed towards the drinks. The whole time Warriors girls are moving throughout the crowd trying to feverishly sell raffle tickets. With my fill of free snacks and Pepsi out of the way i decided to position myself better to see the speaker. After going over the Season Ticket Holder information they brought out Biedrins. He talked a little bit about the excitement of the post season and what they will try and bring this season.

Once Beidrins was done talking they started to announce the raffle ticket winners. Did I win? Come on now do I buy raffle tickets? Nope my eye is on the free swag. With my ear to the concrete I got a kite saying Nate Thurman and Al Attles would be signing. With that news I made my way to a line that started forming. What good timing! Once I got my Autographs I heard the usher tell Nate 10 more minutes then they have to stop. There was still a good amount of people left in the line too so who knows if everyone got one. After that it was just basically hanging out trying to blow time before the pre season Clippers game started at 6pm. All in all a fun little shin dig I would of thought the raffle would of been free to everyone in attendance. But the free Attles and Thurmond signing was well worth it.

STAY TUNED FOR EXCLUSIVE FIRST HAND REVIEW OF CLUB 200 COMING TOMORROW!!

Warriors vs Lakers Recap

2007-10-10T09:13:00.001-07:00

Wow it’s going to be an exciting season that is for sure. That first quarter was intense can anyone say “He put some English on that one”. B Diddy aka Boom Dizzle aka iDizzle was amazing. As long as he stays healthy we stay very dangerous. The other starters looked good as well. Harrington was hustling and looked to be in good shape. Jackson as always looked confident and solid. Biedrins had his normal great hands. I love when we drive and they fall on the rock for the double team only to leave Biedrins open for the quick pass and in. The big surprise of the starters was Azubuike. He gained the start due to Monta’s injury on Friday. Now I know everyone was probably sick from all the JR comparison’s he drew from the commentators. But the fact of the matter is he played his ass off plain and simple. He was rebounding he was scoring and he was playing hard defense. Yes it’s preseason but he was still matched up against Kobe in that first quarter. Now given Kobe looked nothing like the Kobe we are used to. Either way though Azubuike is a player to watch and he looks to be in great shape. I hope to see that same flare during the regular season.

Then the rookies and new acquisitions hit the floor mixed in with some old faces. Nelly picked Barnes to lead them for most of the plays at the Point Forward spot. Barnes was struggling and didn’t manage to score in 20 minutes of play. Hudson looked good and it's nice to have a veteran guard to pick up some slack. My verdict is still out on Belinelli though. I know the commentators think he is going to be better then Rick Barry. Behind the hype though I still didn’t see enough to say wow he is going to be a super star. I think he has the talent his shot is effortless even from behind the arch. I liked his ball control to you can tell he can move the ball. We will have to wait and see though if he can make the switch from Euro to the League. My hope is he will be one more weapon in our deadly arsenal. Good ol Air France Mickael Pietrus saw some minutes. As always he was struggling a little with his offense. I think he continues to get better and his key role is really his athleticism and his defense. Croshere is going to be a piece in the puzzle that we had been missing last year. I don’t see him playing a lot of minutes but there will be certain circumstances when he will fit perfectly in our strategy. It’s nice to have a big man who can shoot behind the Arch. I was also very happy with O’Bryant he was grabbing boards left and right. I think he might have a place on this team. As for Pat Burke and Tierre Brown well I don’t know if they will stay with us with the season starts.

As for the players who did not see any play time. Ellis I am sure everyone is aware of his reason for not playing. He is young lets hope that neck sprain can be brushed off like Jackson did Baron’s collar in the playoffs. Brandon Wright I had high hopes for but honestly he needs to bulk up and grow some. 6’9 and 200 pounds is crazy Belinelli weighs 10 pounds less then him and he is like 5 inches smaller. I think he can grow into a good ball player though. As for Kosta “#19” Perovic well he is big but will he be around in the regular season though? Lasme and Powell?

LET”S GO WARRIORS!!!!

Monta Ellis update.

2007-10-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching The Warriors Round Table they had Mitch Richmond on and he said Ellis will not be playing tonight but he is doing fine. I hope to see him on Sunday in Oakland.

NBA 2K8 Review

2007-10-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

First off it must be noted that I have always been a live fan. But long gone are day's when my Genesis would run till the after hours only a video game or crack fiend would be familiar with. These last few generations of hardware have also ushered in a new regime in the video game sports world enter 2K sports. Hands down 2K’s basketball offering has been better then Live since 2K6. Live has burned me over and over again yet every year I purchase it. Only to find yes 2K’s version is better.

Ok enough of my internal struggles to hold on to a game and company once loved. NBA 2K8 is an "Bill Walton voice" Amaaaziing video game specimen! Every year they have continued to improve it. This year I would say the most major improvements is its difficulty and the player’s movement. Now when I say difficulty I mean it in a very good way. Last year it was just too easy to drive and haphazardly pass with relative ease. This year it is more simulation and less arcade. To me this is a step in the right direction if I want Arcade style I will pickup one of the Street titles. I like my coffee strong and my simulations real thank you.

As for the player movement wow I really like it. From the way a player moves to get around a pick to the way weight transfers and the body reacts to a fast paced turn. The physics and the graphical presentation have improved a good deal from last year. The crowd and bench area is looking a lot more real as well. I was also happy with the audio. It’s nice to see the Warriors historic run to the playoffs and the huge Bay Area culture have made its way into the commentators vocabulary. They’re something so right yet so wrong about hearing Harlan say “Hyphy!”

All in all NBA 2K8 is a keeper. It’s a solid simulation basketball game with some good quality extra features. At its core it delivers as a good basketball game and its Association mode offers a wealth of depth for any franchise fanatic like myself. The new Sprite Slam Dunk contest is interesting as well making for a fun mini game. Very similar to the Live version of the slam-dunk contest. As always the online mode is vastly superior to anything else I ever seen before. With the Online League interface that not only keeps track of stats it also allows for team management. It’s no contest when you weigh in those factors. This Mickeys is for you 2K you did it again….

Check out Boom Dizzle in action:

Marco Belinelli Training Camp 2007

2007-10-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

This guy could be the additional scoring power we needed. With him coming off the bench we just got a lot more dangerous. It sounds like Nelly has confidence in him but we will just have to wait and see for sure. Out of the rookies we picked up I think he has the most potential.

I will be attending the rookie training event on Sunday. Stay tuned for original photo's, video's and articles.

One on One with Stephan Jackson.

2007-10-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

It's sounds like Ellis should be ok. We will see how serious this injury was come the 9th when they play the Lakers for a Preseason game in Honolulu. What a scare that was though.

For now let's take a look at a recent interview with Stephan Jackson in this GldnSt8Warriors One on One segment.

Fed Ex from Oakland...

2007-10-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

I was on lunch talking with my wife getting ready to head back to the office. Then a Fed Ex truck pulled up out front and knowing it might be my season tickets I sprung to the door. After quickly signing for the package no sooner was i ripping it open. Inside I found a Backpack with the Warriors logo on it. Inside that was a plastic bag again with the Warriors logo on it containing several forms, Envelopes, the season tickets and a Pin.

Fan for life!

2007-10-04T22:20:00.001-07:00

I love Basketball and play on average about 3 times a week . I also love the Warriors as you can see.