When Is Enough, Enough?

This article was originally posted on Fanbase.

When I think of the 2009 season for the Warriors, it brings back terrible memories. It reminds me of the year 1994. Let me create the parallel for you.

In 1993, the Warriors traded the rights of their first round draft pick Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway (and some future draft picks) to the Orlando Magic for the rights to Chris Webber. For the Warriors, who were more "little engine that could" than truly good basketball team, this was a match made in heaven. Chris Webber gave the Warriors a post presence that they hadn't seen since the days of Nate Thurmond. But he was also athletic and could run, fitting into Don Nelson's uptempo style.

Even though those Warriors lost in the first round of the playoffs, 1994 looked bright. All-star point guard Tim Hardaway was coming back from injury and the team would be at full blast. But Webber and Nelson couldn't get along. Supposedly, Webber didn't like playing center. He didn't like Nelson's backhanded criticisms. And he didn't like the Bay Area because he feared earthquakes. For a guy who called himself "The Big Bad Wolf", he sure came off as a pansy. But that's what happens when you're completely catered to since you were in the 8th grade.

Nelson was the adult here. He could've changed up his style to accomodate his new meal ticket. But something just didn't vibe between the two guys. The Warriors even traded for center Rony Seikaly so that Webber wouldn't have to play the five spot. It's too bad they had to trade Billy Owens, one of Webber's best friends on the team, to get him. The miscommunication here was very transparent. Webber was traded to Washington and soon thereafter, Nelson was gone too. You've heard about the curse of the Bambino? Ok, I won't go that far.

It would take the Warriors thirteen years to get back to the playoffs after the Webber/Nellie debacle. Thanks to a shrewd move by Chris Mullin to steal Baron Davis away from the New Orleans Hornets, the Warriors were back in business. In 2007, the Warriors became the NBA's most fascinating team to watch and upset the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Mavs were the number one seed in all of the playoffs, but behind Davis, the Warriors were the story. Who was also apart of the Oakland revival? Well, none other than Don Nelson. Mullin's other shrewd move was to talk Nelson out of retirement to replace Mike Montgomery as head coach.

In 2008, the team won 48 games and just barely missed the playoffs. I believe 48 wins is the highest number of wins for a team to ever miss the playoffs. Though Jason Richardson was traded before the season for rookie power forward Brandan Wright, the rest of the group was still there. Monta Ellis came into his own and Andris Biedrins was continuing to improve. All they had to do was resign Davis, and the group would be ready to run again and they'd be able to add another young piece to the mix.

But the Warriors couldn't resign Davis. Though Chris Mullin was the man technically making the moves, the word on the street was that team president Robert Rowell was the man behind not resigning Davis. He thought that Davis was asking for too much money and for too many years. Nellie was also seemingly behind some of the personel moves and Chris Mullin was being pushed aside. There's your thanks for giving your old coach the keys to the car Mully. All of a sudden, everything that was so good was about to turn terribly bad.

Monta Ellis didn't help the matters by ruining his ankle playing pick up basketball and then lying about it. And all of a sudden, the Warriors were throwing money at broken down players when the one player they deemed broken down was the guy who lead them to their resurgence. Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand said no. Plan F, Corey Maggette said yes.

How can a franchise who made all the right moves just two years prior become the laughing stock of basketball again? Well, they can do so by not learning from their own mistakes. They created the blueprint for all franchises to see how not to deal with your superstar athletes. They showed that when you give your head coach too much power, he can start tinkering with things based on who he likes personally and who he gets along with to make his job easier.

Nellie's had help in destroying their franchise twice now. Even if they have exciting young players like Ellis and Anthony Randolph, the management isn't right. The object should be to win as many games as possible, while also getting the younger guys to step in when you need replacements.

I've been here before. It wasn't fun the first time. And it's even more annoying going through it again. When is enough, enough?

Webber photo from Wikicommons
Nelson photo from miles5226

Who Is The Most Disappointing Bay Area Athlete Ever?

This was originally posted on Fanbase.

Ever since Barry Zito's recent failure of a start against the LA Dodgers, I started to think about Bay Area athletes who have brought the most disappointment.

With that horrid contract that pays him $18.5 million this year and one that ranks him 12th in all of baseball as far as total value, Barry Zito is a very disappointing player. In his two years as a Giants' pitcher, he has twenty one wins and thirty losses. The last time he had a sub 3.80 ERA was 2003.

I started to think about other disappointing Bay Area athletes.

I can think of three who played for the Golden State Warriors immediately.

Chris Webber was the golden child for one season, feuded with coach Don Nelson (does this sound familiar?), and then forced a trade. The golden child was gone. He was one of the most talented power forwards in the history of the NBA, had a very good career, but did it in another jersey.

Latrell Sprewell went from fan favorite to one of the most hated players in the history of Bay Area sports in all of six years. I guess that's what happens when you choke your coach. But at least Spree became an All-Pro with the team. He brought his lunch pail to work nearly every day, but it just didn't end very well.

Joe Smith was the number one draft pick in the same draft that also featured Kevin Garnett. Smith was actually a really good rookie, but by his second year, forgot what it was like to play defense, stopped rebounding and decided to become a jump shooter. By his third year, he was gone.

With the 49ers, one player immediately came to mind. Alex Smith was the first pick in the entire 2005 draft. It was a pick that Mike Nolan and the 49ers' brass couldn't whiff on. They didn't only swing and miss. They swung and missed so hard that they dug themselves into a hole. But Smith was a rookie. He hadn't played a down in the NFL and everything we expected about him was based on a college career and everything the 49ers were selling us about him.

I didn't think there was a player who I could despise as much on the field as much as I despised Chris Webber on the basketball court. He and Don Nelson were just as equally to blame for their selfishness, and they both destroyed what was an up and coming franchise.

Barry Zito hasn't done that. He was brought in because the Giants were trying to save face. They didn't want to be known as Barry Bonds' team anymore. They wanted to find a new identity. So a lot of this isn't even really Zito's fault. But what is his fault is that he's now one of the worst starting pitchers in the National League.

Who is most disappointing? Because of what it meant to me as a high school basketball fan, I'll still go with C-Webb. He was going to be one of the greatest athletes in the history of the Bay Area. Zito never had that responsibility. He just has to take the ball every five days and give the Giants a chance to win. But he didn't help destroy an entire franchise. That responsibility goes to Webber.

How I Almost Walked Into Jennifer Azzi (And More Important Facts About Her Great Career)

This was originally written at Fanbase.

One thing that I miss about reading newspapers and specifically, The San Jose Mercury News, is the local coverage of some college sports like women's basketball. Back in the mid to late 80s, I loved reading about the Stanford women's basketball team just as much as I loved reading about the men's team. For every Todd Lichti and Adam Keefe, there was a Val Whiting and Jennifer Azzi.

What I loved about Azzi is that she didn't need to score in order to help her team win. In fact, as the point guard, she directed her offense like a quarterback. What also stood out about Azzi is that she was such a great clutch player, due in part to the great condition she was in. She was able to play hard every minute.

In 1990, Azzi lead her team to the NCAA Championship. The Cardinal beat Auburn and during the same year, Azzi won the Naismith Award as the college player of the year.

In 1994, she was a part of the gold medal winning US women's basketball team at the Goodwill Games and also helped Team USA win the big one in 1996 at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

That win in 1996 helped jump start women's professional leagues in the US.

In 1996, she joined the San Jose Lasers which was in the ABL, a women's league that started the year before the WNBA. Behind Azzi, the Lasers would lose in the semifinals of the playoffs in the two years of the league's existence. The league started a third year but didn't complete it.

It was during Azzi's one of Azzi's seasons with the Lasers that I nearly walked into her on campus while I was attending San Jose State University.

I was a Radio/TV Journalism major at SJSU, with dreams of becoming a baseball and basketball play by play announcer. The Lasers not only played their games on campus at the San Jose Event Center, but they also practiced there.

I had a dream one night that I was doing the play by play of a Lasers' game and Azzi hit the game winning shot. The very next day while walking on campus, I nearly walked right into Azzi who had just finished practice. Was it a sign?

Well, no. Even though I worked at KNBR, which is one of California's top sports radio stations, my dreams died when I learned how radio worked and how little I enjoyed the business. The Lasers also wouldn't be in San Jose for much longer.

Azzi was drafted by the Detroit Shock in the first round (5th pick) of the 1999 WNBA draft and then was traded to the Utah Starzz. She retired from pro basketball in 2004.

If I have a favorite women's basketball player, it's Azzi. Even though I don't follow the Cardinal at all anymore, I'll always remember watching Azzi highlights and her championship season of 1990. And I'll also always remember the day when I nearly bumped into her on campus the day after I dreamed that I was calling her winning shot.

Photo from Jennifer Azzi's press kit