Hey fellas, Just wondering if there were any other season ticket holders out there that attended the brunch today? It was a pretty nice presentation. Balloons and flowers were everywhere. As Bob Fitzgerald said, it looked like a prom. My girlfriend and I sat at a table and met some people that had been STH's for many years and had some fun stories. For those of you that are interested, here's a brief recap of what went down: Check in, find a seat at a table, then go get some grub. The food was pretty good. My favorite was the California croissant French toast with warm blueberry compote! Followed closely by the bacon... mmmmmmmm..... bacon. Fitz was the MC and came up to welcome everyone. He thanked everyone for their loyalty and complemented us on being the best fans in the NBA (duh!) Then they introduced the players. ALL of the players showed up. The lights were turned off and the spotlights came on, just like gametime intros. They brought them out one by one and let them walk down a long red carpet. After all players were brought out, they were encouraged to roam through the crowd. Uncle Cliffy came by our table and my girlfriend and I got to shake his hand. The players then took random seats at the tables with the STH's. They had a 10 minute video presentation showing the Warriors, and what they do for the community. They showed the Read to Achieve program in action, and giving out Christmas gifts to families. They also showed some of the players and 60 second interviews, which were pretty funny. Murphy said he was from Sparta, NJ. which is 45 mins. east of NY. When asked how the weather was, he said, "Beautiful. Sunny and about 70 degrees every day." Then he paused, got this funny grin, and said, "Naw, it's terrible!" After the video, Fitz introduced Robert Rowell (as Bobby) and he spoke briefly about making this a winning franchise. Then Monty was introduced and he talked about them not giving up on the team or the season. He says for the last half of the season the goal is to win more games than they lose. He knows they can't win every game, and also acknowledges they should be winning more games than they have. He feels the next step is for them to be able to close games. Be able to win when their best player has a bad night, be able to win when someone is injured. Be able to win on a back-to-back, or after a trip. He says it's a big step, and they will be able to take it soon. He was impressed with how the Warriors played against the Lakers. JRich was next to speak. He started his speach by saying "This is going to be short, because I'm shy." He just talked about how excited he was for the team and the future. One thing I noticed is that when he was talking about the future, he mentioned himself, Murph, Mikael, and Speedy. He left out Dungleavy The players were allowed to go. All in all, a nice morning. We were then released to go home and watch some football. HIGHLIGHT OF THE MORNING: As my girlfriend and I made our way out of there, we passed by a dark corner where some guys were turning off their cameras and saying "Thanks for your time." Then Mickael stood up and turned towards us. I quickly grabbed his jersey from my bag (I brought all of my jerseys: Murph, JRich, and Pietrus just in case) and the sharpie. I asked him if he had a moment for an autograph and he said, "Sure. No problem." with his French accent. Then he signed the jersey and I shook his hand (Said Thanks!!) Then we rode the elevator with him. I must say, he was the best dressed there. Nice suit. bling-bling! Sheesh, didn't I say this would be a "brief recap"???? What happened??
Nice recap, how many people were there? Thats funny Richardson left out Dunleavy..does anyone actually like this guy besides Mullin and the 2 stooges(Jim & Bob)..We all know Muss hated him and Cliff has been bitching him out and giving him the mug..
Well Dunleavy has to deliver now because we are very thin on talent and a player of his supposed caliber is supposed to do that by now. If he can't do it for this team while receiving all the hype in the TV/Radio promos like "Dunleavy and the Warriors", maybe it's time to explore finding an alternative for him. It should be Murphy and the Warriors or Jrich and the Warriors or Speedy and the Warriors before Dun Dun. He gets all the credit for s he didn't do like being a team leader. I remember I stood with Muss on the guy because he of all people knows what he had and I'm definitely with Cliff Robinson on the plays where Dun was just left exposed and he was making excuses as to how it wasn't his fault. Dunleavy has to listen to the team Captain because there's a reason why he was made a team captain in the first place (unlike Jrich who got it because he's our best player and Fisher -- becuase of his six rings as a role player), he knows what he's talking about. We've got too many liabilites on the floor, but two of the three (Murphy/Jrich) at least produce for the team in either rebounds, scoring, or getting the other team over the foul limit. Anyway, Wild Child, I truly respect the fact you are a season ticket holder because I could never pay money for the type of stuff the W's management and ownership pull. Was Cohan even there by the way? You'd think he's personally come out of his cave and thank you all rather than having his goon, Rob Rowell and TV's dumb and dumber do that. The highlight of the Cavs game, was that the announcer's lost the sound, so you didn't have to hear the tired color commentating. C'mon Warriors please win sometime this decade. Sigh....
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bay_Area_Fan:</div><div class="quote_post">How did you restrain yourself from choking Derek Fisher?</div> Given the opportunity to choke one of the Warriors, it would have been Calbert... <div class="quote_poster">Quoting UltimateWarrior:</div><div class="quote_post">Nice recap, how many people were there?</div> Thanks. I'd say there were roughly 50 tables holding 10 people each, so ~500 <div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Was Cohan even there by the way?</div> He wasn't. Nor was Mullin. I forgot to tell you guys that Mullin is in Europe right now scouting more talent. Fitz teased Andris about the food in Latvia, and then Monty teased him about the room service at the "one hotel" they have. They made note that we are the most culturaly diverse team in the league right now (most international players, I count 4: Mickael, Zarko, Luis and Andris) and the NBA is going global. We all know that there are talents from other countries (Yao, Dirk, Manu, etc.) but I thought it was really progressive thinking that Mullin would be across the pond NOW looking for players. All the trade talk posts and scouting report posts on here are for current NBA players or homegrown talent. I find it interesting that he's looking for Dirk's long lost twin over there
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bay_Area_Fan:</div><div class="quote_post">How did you restrain yourself from choking Derek Fisher?</div> LOL.... Thanx for sharing Wild Child. I always wonder how these things go over there, but its thesame as here in Europe when you attend a football game (sorry...i mean soccer) in the business lounge. Nice story about Mickael Pietrus signing your jersey, next year april I'll come over and come and watch some games at the Arena....hopefully I'll be lucky!
more notes(via person who attended): <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I just got back from the Season Ticket Holder brunch held this morning. There was a good amount of people there and it was a well planned and executed event. What was most interesting for me was to hear the new goals and views of the coaching staff, the players, and front office. Bob Fitzgerald moderated the event and did a pretty good job IMO. I'll try to give a synopsis of the speakers: Montgomery: Defense in the second half of season is going to be more of a focus. Montgomery said we are going to be more physical in the paint by not allowing easy lay-ups (fouling) or penetration. Earlier in the year offense was focused on, because of the dismal start of the first six games. He said the attutude of his players is still good considering we've only won 12 games. He said the most difficult and lenghty step for a team is to learn the skills and tactics from just staying in games to winning games. The players are now familiar with the system being employed by Monty and his staff. He knows that this a results orientated business and he knows he has to produce. He said to be patient and that him and the front office are trying to rebulid the team in the right way. Rowell: Expressed his thanks to fans. Said he has a great staff and they are exploring every avenue to improve the team. He awknowledged the frustration of this year for the everyone. Committed to bulid a winner. Richardson: Said that him and Troy resigned here because they know that the bay area would explode if they turned GS into a winner. He said the are close to turning the corner. Again, be patient. Andris Biedrins: He shined in this event. Fitz called him up. Saying that as an 18 year old he's had to deal with incredible change. It then turned into an Abbott & Costello act. Biedrins has a good sense of humor. He pushed Fitz away from the podium before he finished introducing him. Has gained about 20lbs and is a now 7ft tall. I'm hoping he'll develop into an AK47 type player at the center position. He stills needs to put on more weight. Mullin: Did not attend this event. He is in some eastern Europian country scouting. Fitz said Mullin is been scouting for about a month over there. Other key facts & thoughts: Everyone the players, coaching staff, and front office confirm this team is not a playoff team this year. It is acknowledged that this team is a work in progress, but close to turning the corner. The Warriors have the most international players in the league. Zarko, Pietrus, Flores, Biedrins, Najara, and Foyle. Am I missing anyone? Look for international trend to continue in upcoming drafts. Latvian food sucks, I guess. I sat next to Cliff. His back is still not good. In fact, he left a little early because the chairs caused him pain. Look for him to be out a couple of more games. Fitz said this is the best coaching staff he been around since the 12 years he's been broadcasting W's basketball. Monty had a good sense of realism with this team. He seems like straight shooter. The sense your left with is that this team is realistically probably 2 years away from making the playoffs. Again, please note this not a direct quote. But the subtext of his words. A great time out, </div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Wild Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Given the opportunity to choke one of the Warriors, it would have been Calbert... </div> I would prefer to slap Calbert Cheaney upside his head, but thats just me. Question: Was Cheaney chewing gum??? I swear I've never seen him not chewing gum!
Hey, I also attened. I won't rehash what others have said, Wild Child hit everything right on the head. Map 1986's last paragraph is also right on target. My son and I sat next to Rod Higgins for the whole event. We talked for at least an hour. At the beginning you could tell he was well coached on what to say and how to say it. After about 15 minutes of him saying all the politicly correct things I finally asked him to "lighten up' and i told him I did not work for the CIA. He laughed and then we started talking like just two guys having coffee. He is a class act guy. He treated my son real good. They didn't want to turn this brunch into a autograph session, so it was hard to get autograph's for the kid. Towards the end of the event Rod asked my kid who his favorite players were. He said J-Rich and Speedy. Rod got up, grabed both of them, and had them sign my kids stuff. That was pretty damn cool! Now I am a Higgins fan for life. Couple of things Higgins said that may be interesting: His favorite place to play is Staples Center. Because they have the cleanest floor in the whole league. He said "there is no other place like Staples, listen to the players shoes squeak on the floor on TV, loudest in the leauge. You actually think you can run faster and jump higher on floors like that". He confirmed what I thought about Monty. The players and management get a kick out of whatching Monty scream and yell up and down the sidelines during the game. "Don't get me wrong, we love the guy. But if we ever do make the play-offs we think he will go into cardiac arrest (laughing)". One of the things he said I thought was odd. Well maybe not odd, I guess I just didn't expect it. He and Mully have great respect for Nellie. I'm not talking about just regular respect, I mean these guys LOVE him! I'll try and qoute this the best I can, Rod said, "Many decisions Mully and I have made or need to make we ask ourselves each time. 'What would Nellie do?' We make a lot of our decisions asking that question" Little strange. I tried to get a few jabs in about Dunlevy. When Dun walked by us Iturned to Rod and I said, "I bet if I brushed up against him he would fall right on the ground". I do not think Rod found this funny. O well. My son saved me though. When Rod asked my son if he wanted Dun's autograph my son said, "Ummmm, nah..."
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JrHonda160:</div><div class="quote_post"> I tried to get a few jabs in about Dunlevy. When Dun walked by us Iturned to Rod and I said, "I bet if I brushed up against him he would fall right on the ground". I do not think Rod found this funny. O well. My son saved me though. When Rod asked my son if he wanted Dun's autograph my son said, "Ummmm, nah..."</div> OMG, that is classic, Honda. Your boy sounds like my kind of fan. One that never settles for less or for mediocrity Sorry I don't mean to come off like a hater, but Dun just isn't fitting in now that Jamison is gone. He's got the offensive skills, but he won't ever have a chance to showcase them with his current "role player" mentality and with Murphy and Jrich on this team. I think the team will be 2x better if we had a small forward that can play defense and nail shots from the corner. I'm thinking Kyle Korver or Jumaine Jones. Those are my candidates. Those guys can rail in 3's and are pretty explosive when give the opportunity. And if we ever draft a star small forward then they would make good bench compliments because they can play defense. (Korver may be slow, but he's pretty decent on defense when the matchup is suitable. He averages at least a steal every game and a block every other game) Anyway, I would have found it hilarious because Dun is really soft for an nba player and typical of the Duke acting school. I think Rod was trying to keep a serious face because not would it only humilate Dunleavy before an audience if he laughed, but he wanted to make sure Dunleavy could keep his confidence so he could be successful with Warriors. If I was in Dunleavy's shoes and the fans absolutely didn't want me there, I would try to find another team to be successful on. Of course I would know that the Warriors wouldn't be my team because of the lack of talent to feed. Dunleavy is a glue guy and a glue guy not worthy of starting because he's not really a leader like Shane Battier is, nor is he the kind of guy that can set the tone. None of our small forwards can finish this year, so even if Dunleavy started, we have no backup who can handle pressure to close out games like Shane Battier does for Memphis. I'm sorry I respect Battier that much because he is the only role player that does remarkable things on offense when they need him to step up and he always brings the defense and hustle. He reminds me of Brian Cardinal only better defender and a tad more athletic (but not much).
