Sucks to be a stanford fan right now. Lopez and Fropez are goin' pro, Monty's heading to the east bay, and now trent's off to LSU.

Who takes the Cardinal job?

Dunlap? Lavin? Tony Bennett? The St Mary's dude?

in the midst of the KG to Boston talk, this gem of a stat was unearthed, without humor, by ESPN.com:

Most Loyal of Ballers - active players who have spent the most consecutive seasons with one NBA team:



Kevin Garnett Timberwolves 12*

Kobe Bryant Lakers 11

Tim Duncan Spurs 10

Adonal Foyle Warriors 10

* 927 career games with Wolves

um...does one of these kids not look like the others? ADONAL FOYLE?

something tells me that adonal is not "loyal", per se. i think perhaps "umarketable", or maybe "not very good at basketball" is the operative phrase.

don't get me wrong - i love adonal. very bright, friendly, funny, good guy. and what a career at colgate!

but as far as that pro basketball stuff goes? like, being a good player and all?

not so much...

calling adonal foyle "loyal" for staying with the warriors for 10 years is like commending horatio sanz for staying at SNL for so long and not joining the royal shakespeare company.

i'll never forget the feeling i used to get when shooter would stride into the game from the bully. his protruding beer belly leading his purposeful, rapid strut onto the mound. a stern, angry expression on his face, obscured by his facial hair. the arm rocking back and forth as he gazed in for the sign. shooter was pure drama - a character right out of central casting. bring in the people's reliever. the beer guzzling, good-natured man of the people with the 90 mph heater and balls of granite. i loved rod beck for being a regular guy, a guy who appreciated how ridiculously lucky he was to play a kid's game for a living - and who never forgot that the fans matter.

my buddy once told me of the time he and his friends drank some brews with shooter out of the back of his RV in iowa. i've always been jealous.

he was a positive force for the game of baseball, and he'll be missed. ostler's article in today's SF chron does him justice. worth a read...

listening to KNBR 680 right now, the bay area's sports talk station, and randomly gregg jefferies is a guest host on the afternoon show.

gregg jefferies.

brings back memories of the moment i secured the first of my many gregg jefferies rookie cards back in '89 (Donruss Rated Rookie). anybody with me on this? he was going to be legendary - the next mattingly, the next carew, the next boggs.

a gregg jefferies rookie card was a wonka golden ticket crossed with christie brinkley's phone number crossed with a $1 million check in your name. you were rich. you were important. you were COOL. second only to my worn VHS tape of the 1981 NFC championship game (montana to clark) and a mini pool table gathering rust in our garage, this gregg jefferies card was my most prized possession. sure i had the coveted eric davis '85 rookie, the famed canseco donruss '86, the mcgwire USA card (but everybody had that one), and the subtle yet powerful entire '83 topps set with the sandberg, ripken, and gwynn rookies...but gregg jefferies. this was hip, this was cutting edge, this was...that word again...COOL. everybody knew eric davis...but only us erudite, in-the-know, cognoscienti knew of the mets superstar gracing the tidewater tides with his future hall of fame presence. san mateo's own gregg jefferies. the can't miss prospect. and I HAD HIS ROOKIE CARD! in fact, i had 3 binder sheets full. mom, who needs a college fund...i have a binder full of gregg jefferies rookie cards. relax, you won't need to work a day again in your life. i'll take care of you like charles barkley takes care of his mom.

glad to hear that gregg jefferies is still around. good times, good times.

now as for my rob deer rookie...

warning: long-winded analysis. please stop reading now if you could give less of a crap about the warriors at this point.

i will preface this by saying that, yes, i still believe. even though that phrase has jumped the shark.

i'm full of mixed emotions, which was a subpar rolling stones song circa the steel wheels tour timeframe...but i digress.

i viewed games 3 and 4 like i view 2 free throws at the end of the game when you're down 2 points. it's nice to make the first one, but if you miss the 2nd, the first one really doesn't mean much. that's not to say that game 3, and all the spoils we enjoyed (including arguably the greatest playoff dunk this side of john starks), means nothing...but game 4 was just as important, and the warriors clearly didn't show up to play. we just didn't have the sense of urgency we needed, and all the talk of the fabulous warrior fans (and we are fabulous) was a bit overdone, as when the team really needed the fans...when we were down 6 with 2 minutes left...the fans were deflated and unable to summon the energy the team so desperately lacked. but still, i do think we have a shot. i might be wrong, but i think we can do it. and i think we will do it. but game 4 was really painful to watch.

what happened to the warriors?

in my opinion, a few simple, correctable things.

1. live by the three doesn't mean you have to die by the three

as eric clapton once said, "it's in the way that you use it". yes, it's been said over and over and over again...nellie has these guys runnin and gunnin and shootin threes! they're nutty and zany! what a bunch of craaaazy shmoes! yadayadayada. well, i love the style we play. i love the hang loose, fly by the seat of your pants, just-have-fun-with-it like dusty in the Three Amigos mentality...but you need to have a semblance of order to it all. and we have had that, until game 4. if we get a trey via a drive and kick, or a swing pass from one side to the other, i'm fine with it, make or miss. but if we are stagnant on offense, and j-rich or al or baron just steps back and shoots a high-arcing fade-away 3, with nobody else touching the ball, nobody on defense needing to do a damn thing, and no flow whatsoever in our offensive set, that's just bad basketball. the few times that we drove to the basket and kicked out, or challenged the jazz, good things happened...even if we missed the shot. at least it keeps them honest. i'm even ok with a 3 off the break every now and then. forgive my simple-minded analysis here, but if we are to assume that the average NBA player makes 50% of his shots, then for every 20 shots he takes, he will score 20 points (10-20 fgs, 2 pts per fg). so if that same player takes 20 3-pointers, he only needs to make 7 to score as many points (7-21, or 33%, generating 21 pts). thus, the rule of thumb is if you shoot greater than 33% (it's turned into 35% over the years, which is around the league average) from 3-pt land, you're doing ok (just like if you shoot better than 50% from the field overall you're having a good game). the warriors were unconscious from behind the arc against the mavs, and in game 3 v. utah (47%). game 4 was back to reality (30%). i like the 3...it changes the game. but we need to use it wisely, and we need to get everybody involved in the offense. as a running team, usually everybody IS involved. but when the jazz cut off our break, we need to share the ball in the halfcourt. arguably, the warriors need to shoot an even higher % from 3 than the accepted 33-35% (around 40% ideally), because we take so many of them, are limited on the offensive boards, and because the jazz are so efficient at the other end. but, if you're shooting 20% from behind the arc, and you just don't have the stroke that night, DRIVE TO THE BASKET. get fouled. and that brings us to #2...

2. free throws

i don't expect us to make 100%...but i do expect NBA players who make more money in one week than i do in one year to be able to make 75-80% of their free throws. we made 61% in game 4 (21-34), and how key would 6 more points have been down the stretch (27-34 = 80%) when the game was still winnable... no excuse. make your free throws. especially you, baron. you want to be mr. all star, prove it. the jazz make theirs (86% in gm 4).

3. stephen jackson

i love stephen, but he drives my nuts. but i still love him MORE than he drives me nuts - without him we're not here. he brings energy, swagger, skills, experience, and toughness. he has a sense of humor and he's a glue guy in the locker room...he's like a cartoon character, loving to mix it up and chat up everybody and anybody. but he can kill our offense when he tries to do too much and ends up turning the ball over by driving aimlessly into traffic, and his inability to just play and not jaw at the refs after EVERY POSSESSION is hurting us. i want stephen to play with maturity...he has shown the ability to do that in the past (and has won a ring). he needs to let the offense come to him, and when things don't go his way, he needs to get back on d and suck it up. i still love you, jack. please don't hurt me.

4. monta

this has been the most painful part of the playoffs for me. and it came to a head in game 4. sure, monta made a few shots. he showed flashes of energy. but this is not the real monta. after having the pleasure of watching this guy play all year, he is 1/10th as effective in the playoffs as he's been during the regular season. monta is a finisher...a tremendous finisher...and he has missed layups and putbacks throughout the playoffs. uncharacteristic. he also is missing his midrange (15-17 ft) pull-up jumper, which is usually lights out. but more than anything, he looks young, unsure, and timid. when monta plays loose, he is phenomenal. this guy won the most improved player in the NBA...that's no small feat. he beat out deron williams and a bunch of other great players. we NEED him. we can't rely on a magical baron davis 40 pt night every game...and baron looks beat up and tired. during the warriors' late season run, baron took nights off and monta stepped up. he's a huge part of this team. we need him now. i predict that if monta scores under 20 tonight, we lose. no matter what. if he hits 20 or more, we win. that's my bold call of the night. i felt strongly during the dallas series that we needed more from j-rich to win, and we got it. i think j-rich is a key here as well, but more than anything it's monta's time to step up.

all that said, we've got a shot. thank god baron isn't suspended for the game. that cheap shot was inexcusable. nothing can justify it, and it showed a lack of maturity. i'm less concerned by j-rich's foul on okur. the game was over, and okur is charging in to dunk it in our face, on our home court. and sure jerry sloan is pissed about it and complaining from the sidelines, but you know that jerry sloan (a notoriously hard-nosed player) would be the first guy to commit that foul when he was playing. okur, if you don't want to get fouled hard, don't showboat with a stupid dunk when the game's over. one thing the warriors do have is pride...we're not going to let somebody show us up on our home court. that's like trying to steal something from somebody, then complaining when they kick you in the nuts. granted, j-rich's foul was excessive. but i still don't find that as upsetting as baron's cheap shot on fischer.

well, no matter what, it's been an incredible run. i do believe that we can pull this one out. and if we do, game 6 is definitely a winnable one back at the oracle. then we take our chances in game 7. nellie's right - it's all in how you look at it. winning 3 in a row is tough, but winning one game three times is doable.

let's start it off tonight.

win or lose, i'm proud of our guys. go warriors.

i'll preface this with the fact that i've been a diehard warriors fan since i could walk (circa 1980 - the days of world b. free and joe barely cares). last week, my dad and i - season ticket holders for years - were lucky enough to be there for game 6. while i'd like to go all bill simmons sports guyish and write an exhaustive minute-by-minute diary of our experiences at the game, i'll spare everyone the minutiae. but i thought this moment was worth sharing...

after the game, my dad and i lingered in our seats for a while...just basking in it. i had been a nervous wreck all game, even up to the point where we were up 25 with 2 minutes left. i was still not sure we had it. then the reassuring sight of josh powell entering the game emerged, and i knew it was ours...and the emotion just enveloped me. i didn't cry...but i was damn near close. i was weeping internally. it was just amazing. so many times i've been in that arena, watching a crappy team that i still loved so much play uninspired basketball. so many times i've left that arena bummed out, wondering how it was possible for a team to be so bad EVERY SINGLE YEAR. so many times i've watched the warriors overblown pregame introductions, with a roided out thunder doing backflips and strutting like he's starting at the 4 spot, the lights out, rock music pumping, warriors highlights (for lack of a better term) on the jumbotron, a spotlight on mike dunleavy, and thinking to myself "are you kidding me with this? how about you winsome games, THEN you can have a pregame extravaganza like this". my dad and i would always laugh at the pomp and circumstance of this ridiculous pregame ritual. but last night, as the lights came down and the music pumped and the warriors highlights flashed across the jumbotron, my dad and i looked at each other and smiled. yes. now they deserve this. finally.

and they won.

so after the game we hung out in our seats for a while as a few of the players came back out on the floor to celebrate and thank the fans. pietrus crowd surfed and pounded his chest in a french way. barnes strutted with a warriors flag. adonal pontificated about darfur. jackson shot somebody. harrington started to celebrate but nelson took him out after 40 seconds.

dad and i made our way up the aisle to the club lounge area. for those of you who haven't been there, it's basically a bar in the middle of the arena with tables, food, drinks, etc. it's limited to people sitting in the luxury boxes and the lower lever near the court. the rare occasions i've been there i've liked it, as you can usually count on a good athlete sighting or 2. i saw tony gonzalez in there once, other times i've spotted barry zito, roger craig, ronnie lott, and other guys of that ilk.

we still just want to stick around and soak it in...so we sit down near the corner of the bar and catch our breath. we're talking about who we match up with better: utah or houston, but we've both lost our voices so it's pointless. we sound like two broken lawnmowers that won't start. plus the place is packed, so it's relatively loud. i'm exhausted emotionally...just spent. my dad has a goofy smile on his face, under his freshly purchased warriors playoff hat. i lean back, still not able to process that we just actually won a playoff series, when i see a familiar looking guy walking towards us. nobody has noticed him yet, even though he's in plain sight of the crowd. the slew of drunk, happy fans...celebrating, high-fiving...are not seeing the floor. they're not watching. but i am.

the guy, carrying his sleepy daughter, walks right by my table, and i give him a nod and say "way to go, mully." chris mullin looks me in the eye, smiles and says "thanks bud" as he keeps walking. a few people hear the exchange, and then you hear "mully!" everywhere. the place erupts in applause, as mully waves and walks out the door, en route from his luxury box to the locker room i'm sure.

so much i wanted to say to him. like "mully, you're my favorite player ever. i even use your bobblehead doll as the doorstop of our bedroom, and my wife lets me do it". but i refrain. thank god.

about five minutes later, 2 more dudes in suits walk my way. again, nobody else seems to notice.

i shout "way to go mitch, way to go rod". mitch ritchmond and rod higgins walk by. both smile. mitch gives me a "alright", and rod gives me a wave. i met both those guys once when i was in high school. there was a warriors basketball camp held at my school, and i was a counselor. i remember shaking rod's hand back then, and having the chance to play one point of one-on-one with mitch. the excitement and giddiness i had when i was a 15-year old, meeting my heroes...that feeling came back last night as they walked by. i sometimes like to think i'm a grown man now, not susceptible to the simple feelings of awe and wonder that consume teenagers. i guess i'm not quite there yet. and that's fine by me.

thanks for listening.