Click here for the show.
More interested in being a "Witness" than ever before.
Showing posts with label LA Clippers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LA Clippers. Show all posts
NER: Check yourself
Click here for the show.
New Era Radio: Iced Out
On the latest episode of NER...Marcas' new weight loss plan includes buying Stanley Cup Finals tickets. Cacique has no problems with this year's NBA draft lottery results and why are people angry with Diddy now?
Click here for the latest show.
New Era Radio: to Live In Die In LA
The fellas get into it over how to put a Band Aide on the Lakers and Clippers seasons. Pasqual wants to go toe to toe with Manny Pacquaio over his opinion over gay marriage Also, Larry Brown from www.larrybrownsports.com stops on by to help us figure out this whole debacle called the L.A. sports scene including what the hell is wrong Fat Albert and the Angels.
Episode 32: Change The Channel
The guys are joined by the one and only Clipper Darrell who talks about (what else?) the Clippers and his relationship with the franchise as well as Shaq's career and who is the NBA's all-time greatest. Also...an introduction to plum brandy. Is Steve Spurrier using Jim Tressel's downfall to make a point? And which movies deserve to have a sequel.
Lakers, Clippers To Block Kings Move To Anaheim?
According to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, they do:
The move to Anaheim will be opposed by the Lakers and Clippers, who see it as an encroachment on their territory. But sources close to the Maloofs say they're willing to pay the two L.A. teams whatever it takes to relocate. That would be in addition to the league's relocation fee of $30 million.Neither the Lakers nor the Clippers have given any indication on how much it will take for them to allow the Kings to settle into Orange County. Whatever the initial number is, you can expect the always avaricious Donald Sterling to bump that number up. Even so, the Maloofs already have an offer to help with paying the added costs thanks to billionaire Henry Samueli, who owns both the Anaheim Ducks and the Honda Center where the Kings propose to play.
If Samueli believes this show of generosity will help him get a piece of the club, he'll have to rethink that. The Maloofs have said that they have no intention of selling the club, even a portion of it.
Fans in Sacramento have done their best to show support for the club in hopes of keeping them in the Capital City, but most news outlets (and even the mayor) are resigned to the idea that they are losing the team. Ownership still has until April 18th to make a final decision and it must still be approved by the NBA Board of Governors. Plus, there's still that pesky little detail of a lockout and how it would affect any franchise moves.
(H/T ProBasketballTalk)
Monday's Birthday Shout-Out: Clipper Darrell's Greatest Love
It's only fitting that on Valentine's Day, our birthday shout goes to a guy who has displayed unconditional love through circumstances thick and thin - mostly thin.
Anyone who has ever been to a Los Angeles Clippers game knows that no one is a bigger fan than Clipper Darrell. Sprinting through the stands dressed in a blue and red three-piece suit leading cheers, Darrell Bailey has been a fixture at Clipper games for years. He even went so far as to spend $12,000 to give his BMW a custom Clipper paint job.
As a man who says he and the Clips are going to "ride and die" together, he once turned down an offer from Mark Cuban to move to Dallas and become the Mavericks' number one fan. (Darrell says he's never been to the state of Texas.) Although with recent news that he wasn't going to renew his season tickets because of recent mistreatment by the franchise, you wonder if this relationship isn't on the rocks.
But the Clipper Darrell love story goes beyond L.A.'s "other" team. Darrell is a huge fan of NBA basketball as he showed while breaking down the playoffs in 2009...
Anyone who has ever been to a Los Angeles Clippers game knows that no one is a bigger fan than Clipper Darrell. Sprinting through the stands dressed in a blue and red three-piece suit leading cheers, Darrell Bailey has been a fixture at Clipper games for years. He even went so far as to spend $12,000 to give his BMW a custom Clipper paint job.
As a man who says he and the Clips are going to "ride and die" together, he once turned down an offer from Mark Cuban to move to Dallas and become the Mavericks' number one fan. (Darrell says he's never been to the state of Texas.) Although with recent news that he wasn't going to renew his season tickets because of recent mistreatment by the franchise, you wonder if this relationship isn't on the rocks.
But the Clipper Darrell love story goes beyond L.A.'s "other" team. Darrell is a huge fan of NBA basketball as he showed while breaking down the playoffs in 2009...
So happy birthday to you, Clipper Darrell. The best present would be the Clips getting their act together and giving him his seats back. But I'm sure he'd settle for Blake Griffin winning the dunk contest this weekend, right?
LeBron James Is A (Ratings) MVP
 |
| There have been a lot more witnesses in Miami this year |
There's also another thing he's good at - pulling in ratings.
According to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal, the Miami Heat have seen the biggest ratings jump from last year, becoming the team with the third-highest ratings in the - a 118% increase. Love him or hate him, it seems that you've gotta watch him.
Not only did LeBron take his talents to South Beach, but he apparently took took a lot of eyeballs with him as well. The Cleveland Cavaliers have suffered the biggest drop in ratings, taking a 53% hit. As bad as that is for the Cavs, the good news is that the Cleveland Indians aren't likely to steal a whole lot of viewers.
Ourand's report also shows that having an eye-popping breakout star isn't necessarily a key to ratings success. While Blake Griffin might be one of the most exciting one-man shows running in the NBA, the L.A. Clippers aren't seeing it translate into viewers. The Clips are the second-lowest rated team in the league (the Lakers, by comparison, have the fourth-highest ratings and top overall viewership).
Even in a town where peanut vendors are known for their showmanship, you'd think that Griffin's feats of posterization would be good enough to create some sort of spike in ratings. Then again, the Clippers can't even keep their biggest fans happy, it's probably too much to ask of them to start reaching out to potential new customers.
Clippers Lose Their Biggest Fan
On Wednesday, Darrell Bailey, better known as Clipper Darrell, tweeted that after 10 seasons as a season ticket holder, the team had sold his seat to someone else without informing him.
Understandably, the man recognized as the world's biggest Clipper fan felt alienated by the franchise that he supported with his heart and soul - even while everyone else in the sports world mocked them endlessly.
After all, this is a man that spent $12,000 to customize his BMW in the team's red, white and blue colors. After attending 386 consecutive home games at one point, Darrell had become quite the celebrity in Los Angeles and around the NBA.
But it appears that will be no more. On Friday, Clipper Darrell handed in his fan's resignation letter. Via Twitter:
When you don't have many friends, you'd think you would go out of your way to take care of the ones you do have. But then again, when Donald Sterling is in the equation, there's no telling what will happen.
Fans recognize and appreciate die-hard fans, especially ones that support perennial losers. It would be great to see fans in L.A. rise up to make sure Clipper Darrell is back at Staples Center next season. And if the Clips have any sense of loyalty, they'd go out of their way to help.
More Proof That Donald Sterling Has No Business As An NBA Owner
That belief has once again been reaffirmed by the team's owner, Donald Sterling. Thanks to legal filings obtained by ESPN.com, we know for certain what we all suspected to be true for a long time - Clipper GMs are hamstrung by Sterling's
According to former head coach/general manager Mike Dunleavy, "there were several players I wanted to sign and we didn’t because Sterling refused to spend the money. The Clippers' biggest concern was making a profit."
Former general manager and resident Nipsey Russell lookalike Elgin Baylor complained that Sterling was unwilling to adequately pay black players, adding that they "lost a lot of good talent, including Danny Manning, Charles Smith, Michael Cage, Ron Harper, Dominique Wilkins, [Corey] Maggette and others."
Not willing to pay black players?!? It only cements Sterling's reputation as a racist. That might have worked in that hare-brained "whites only" basketball league, but if you try that in the NBA, you're going to have a tough time winning. (Note to Blake Griffin: try going the "cablinasian" route at contract time)
 |
| Hey Elton...you might wanna put a shirt on. |
What's that you say? The Clippers are having a tough time winning in the NBA. Oh...carry on then.
Sadly (amusingly?) that's not the strangest thing to come out of the filings. I'm not really sure what to say about it, so I'll let you decide for yourself.
"...players Sam Cassell, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette complained to me that DONALD STERLING would bring women into the locker room after games, while the players were showering, and make comments such as, 'Look at those beautiful black bodies.' I brought this to Sterling’s attention, but he continued to bring women into the locker room."
Um...wow. Creepy doesn't even begin to describe it.
Nonetheless, Sterling continues to make money hand over fist presiding over the NBA's worst franchise while the league outbids people who are actually willing to compete. Go figure.
That's Why You're The Clippers
I've often said that in the NBA there are three ways of doing things: the right way, the wrong way and the Clipper Way. That belief was once again reinforced by Monday's story on Yahoo Sports in which Marc J. Spears reports that Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been routinely heckling point guard Baron Davis from his courtside seats.
Let me say that again. Sterling has been heckling Baron Davis...his own player!
Sterling has been the gold standard when it comes to bad ownership, which in some ways should probably be admired. After all, it takes hard work and dedication to create The Worst Franchise In Sports History. And while it certainly doesn't compare to charges of racism and discrimination, publicly hazing your own players is one of the ultimate sins of an owner...especially one that has historically had problems attracting top free agent talent. Even more so when the player in question is actually the one major free agent acquisition you have been able to reel in.
I guess Blake Griffin really will look good as a Laker in four years.
Let me say that again. Sterling has been heckling Baron Davis...his own player!
Sterling has been the gold standard when it comes to bad ownership, which in some ways should probably be admired. After all, it takes hard work and dedication to create The Worst Franchise In Sports History. And while it certainly doesn't compare to charges of racism and discrimination, publicly hazing your own players is one of the ultimate sins of an owner...especially one that has historically had problems attracting top free agent talent. Even more so when the player in question is actually the one major free agent acquisition you have been able to reel in.
I guess Blake Griffin really will look good as a Laker in four years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)