Dolich
Curry - 5-23-16
Steph Curry is keenly aware of The Town
10-29-18 - Warriors
Previous owner Chris Cohan had one highlight season
10-29-18 - Joe Lacob
Joe Lacob's stewardship has been remarkable

Andy Dolich -- 2015
Andy Dolich
 
Golden State Warriors -- The Long Goodbye

By Andy Dolich

Steph Curry recently said "We would love to give Oracle and Oakland one last ride. There's so much history baked into it."

The Warriors' organization appreciates the passion that will play out this season at Oracle Arena. The highlights will be incredibly high, hopefully ending in a Three-Peat, Championship Parade and a tearful Ta-Ta to The Town.

For all the Hometown Hoops Highs over the past 46 years, there were a number of turnovers. Here are my Not Top Ten moments in Oakland.

Top of the Bottom
1.  Chris Cohan's 16 years as the Golden State Warriors owner, other than the We Believe season of 2007.
2.  Record in 1997-98 (19-63) --  The single-worst team record in Golden State history. It was the Year of the Choke. Latrell Sprewell attacked c oach P.J. Carlesimo on Dec. 1, 1997. Spree was suspended for a full year.
3.  In 1996 the Warriors' general manager David Twardzik drafted Todd Fuller of North Carolina State with the 11th overall pick. He passed on Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal.
4.  On Nov. 17, 1994 the Washington Bullets traded forward Tom Gugliotta, a 1996 1st round draft pick (Todd Fuller), a 1998 1st round draft pick (Vince Carter) and a 2000 1st round draft pick (Chris Mihm) to the Golden State Warriors for forward Chris Webber.
5.  Changing the team's name from San Francisco Warriors to Golden State Warriors in 1971.
6.  Drafting Chris Washburn with the 3rd overall pick in the 1986 draft. Ironically, Virginia Tech's Dell Curry was the 15th pick by the Jazz. Two years later Steph Curry dribbled into the world in Akron, Ohio.
7.  In 1966-67 Rick Barry sits out the season based on the legal wrangling between the ABA and NBA. He heads to the ABA's Oakland Oaks in 1968, the Washington Caps in 1969 and the New York Nets in 1970-71. On Oct. 6, 1972 he returns to the Warriors in Oakland.
8.  Heading into the 1980 NBA draft, the Celtics held the number one overall pick. In a pre-draft trade, Celtics president Red Auerbach dealt the top pick and an additional first-round pick to the Warriors for Robert Parish and the Warriors' first-round pick, the third overall. With that pick, the Celtics chose Kevin McHale The Warriors then selected Joe Barry Carroll. Ouch!
9.  Owner Chris Cohan was booed off the court while holding his small son's hand at the NBA All-Star game in Oakland on Feb. 13, 2000. Cohan was at center court for the ceremonial handoff to the following year's host city. The representative of Washington, D.C. happened to be a Wizard named Michael Jordan.
10.  Joe Lacob booed off the court at Oracle on Mar. 19, 2012 on Chris Mullin night. It was the last time Lacob will ever be booed.

Dish-Honorable Mention
*  Monta Ellis' moped accident which had him being suspended for 30 games during the 2008-09 season
*  Warriors come close to a deal to move the team to San Jose in 1995 and play in SAP Center
*  The Vince Carter trade with Toronto for Antawn Jamison
*  Don Nelson leaves the Warriors in 1995 to become head coach of the New York Knicks
*  In 1995 drafting Joe Smith instead of Kevin Garnett, Jerry Stackhouse or Rasheed Wallace
*  Mookie Blaylock getting busted for pot in Canada
*  Paying Troy Murphy $58 million dollars over 6 years in Nov. of 2004
*  Paying Corey Maggette $50 million over five years in July of 2008
*  The Warriors giving up the name of their 'Thunder' mascot when Oklahoma City came into the league in 2008
 
Andy Dolich has over five decades of leadership in the sports industry, including executive positions in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, pro soccer and lacrosse. Presently Dolich is COO of the Fan Controlled Football League (FCFL) and teaches sports business at Stanford's School of Continuing Studies. Dolich is also co-author of the new book:
Elman
Outlaw's Outtakes

10-29-18 - Pete
A New York City billboard suggests a tantalizing possibility for Big Apple fans
10-29-18 - Warriors - Darren Yamashita
  KD and Draymond can take over a game in a heartbeat. Photo by Darren Yamashita

From 2000-2005 I wrote a column for the late great Oakland Athletics Fan Coalition (OAFC) entitled Elman Swings , a play on the fact that I'm a musician. Some of you may remember the OAFC, an East Bay organization that at its peak had several thousand members devoted to keeping the A's in Oakland and guess what? They've succeeded. Perhaps one or two of you might remember my articles (more like rants) about baseball and society. So when the Ultimate Sports Guide asked me to compose regular screeds for this weekly blast called Outlaw's Outtakes, how could I say "No?" ('Outlaw' is their nickname for me.)
--Pete Elman

Flipping the switch:
Just another Friday in the Big Apple
 
Friday night was yet another (ho-hum) boring, predictable episode in the ongoing drama which is the Golden State Warriors post-2014. A cursory look at the box score does not begin to describe what happened in Madison Square Garden. With an awful, giant poster of Kevin Durant and budding superstar Kristaps Porzingis-- resembling a bad entry in a fourth grade art contest--pasted on a wall two blocks from the Garden as a backdrop, the Dubs strolled into a town that is beyond desperate for a return to the glory days of Willis Reed, Clyde Frazier and Patrick Ewing and did what they do about 20 times a year; they played down to the level--in this case a very low level--of the competition.

I swear sometimes it looks like the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals when the Warriors play an inexperienced team that has no chance.

But on this evening the young Knicks played with their hair on fire, defending, rebounding and bombing in threes like there was no tomorrow. And the Warriors played along, not defending anybody, throwing the ball away and missing wide open threes, especially Klay Thompson, who has yet to wake up from a long summer slumber. My friend Tom showed up with the Dubs trailing, 78-69, sans an ejected DeMarcus Cousins, who, incredibly, had gotten tossed -- in his street clothes -- for continuing a pre-game beef with Knick center Enos Kantor. At one point the camera panned over to Steve Kerr, who turned to Ron Adams with a few choice words about his unfocused and apparently disinterested squad.

But, as so often happens, just like that the switch flipped.

Kevin Durant, apparently motivated by either the prospect of coming to the Big Apple next year--a debatable move at best--or revenge for his hideously rendered likeness on that midtown wall--simply went off, lighting it up for a career-high 25 points in the fourth period, on his way to a ridiculously efficient 41, going a measly 17 for 24 from the field. Take that, Gotham City.

Okay, KD was other-worldly, a graceful, uncoverable scoring machine, an assassin. But a closer look at the game film--and the box score--reveals something else--a force that frequently flies under the radar, often obscured by the pyrotechnics of the twin MVPs and Klay when he's on. Yes, that would be none other than the NBA's most wanted man, public enemy Number One -- Draymond Green -- who has something to prove after getting slighted for the Defensive Player of the Year award last season.
 
With the Warriors trailing 84-81 heading into the final quarter, Draymond re-entered the game. At 10:28 he delivered a gorgeous assist to Durant; at 8:41 he tied the game at 91 with a smooth driving layup; 19 seconds later he out muscled two Knicks for a rebound and started a fast break that resulted in a Durant bucket; at the 6:30 mark he charged the lane after a missed shot, grabbed an offensive board and put the ball back in the hoop, giving the Dubs a four point lead. With 5:38 left he stole Tim Hardaway's lunch money; and at the 4:34 mark he drained a 26-footer to give the Dubs a 13 point lead. The nail in the coffin? A confidence-building assist to young Alfonzo McKinnie for a trey. And the champs outscored the woeful Knicks, 47-16, in the final period, en route to a 128-100 win. Wow!
 
Just in case we forget, there is one player on this magnificent team for the ages who, just when one of these frustrating games is unfolding and you want to throw your beer at the TV, will take care of business. His line: 17 points, 7 of 8 from the field, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and eight back-breaking plays at crunch time. It helps to have the kid from Saginaw who grew up worshiping Magic Johnson on your team. Flipping the switch seems to be part of this team's DNA. Don't look now, Warrior worriers, but when new acquisition Jonas Jerebko, in 19 minutes, has a +34 (!) maybe it's time to take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the ride...

Pops
3-6-17 - Pops

Michael King (left), with an associate from USF (center), and Karla Granadino-King, are pictured at the Olympic Club in San Francisco,  proudly sharing with the world their  Pops Premium Rumpopo. A King family secret, Pops Premium Rumpopo is a  delicious rum cream liqueur recipe brewed in the family tradition.  The award winning recipe is a Belizean family favorite and now available at all Total Wine & More stores in California and Bay Area retailers.
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Pops - Original
Pops Back Label