Dolich
Commentary

Andy
Unfair!
11-19-18 - Andy
VIP privileges and credit cards are canceled.

11-19-18 - Andy
Income takes a nosedive.
Andy Dolich -- 2015
Andy Dolich
 
Big Four Sports Leagues Announce Creation of SERF

By Andy Dolich

New York  commissioners of the Big Four Sports Leagues, NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL have agreed to fund the creation of SERF (Sports Executive Rehabilitation F acility), which will open its doors on Labor Day, 2019.

The facility will be located either in the Napa Valley, near the home of the Golden State Warriors, who can do no wrong in any aspect of their entire operation, or Bay Village, Ohio where the Cleveland Browns have created more turnover, drama and angst than an Army barracks full of basic training shaveheads with insomnia.
 
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in speaking for fellow commissioners Rob Manfred (MLB), Adam Silver (NBA) and Gary Bettman (NHL) stated that many of the issues facing players may also be negatively affecting team executives from a career stability and personal development standpoint.

" We believe that in the NFL CTE might have morphed into a psychological malady which we are calling Constant Threats to Executives. I know I've spent many restless nights hoping that my private aviation perk and pension forever would not be held as the Sword of Dallascles over my head.  I don't want to develop a Jones about this. Some of these executives who have been cut loose are actually good people."

The leagues have retained the highly respected global sports executive search firm Corn, Spenser, Muggles, Dodgers & Sure, led by founder/CEO Vitae Curricula, to create programmatic elements helping these challenged executives to stay employable, productive, creative and away from sharp objects.
 
Curricula, reached at company headquarters in Surprise, AZ had this to say. "Those who are on our list have nothing but blue sky in front of them. Those that aren't should immediately seek the turnaround assistance that SERF offers.

In our discussions with the leagues, team ownership and their currently employed executives, we will be offering a number of different self-help sessions, workshops, and role-playing scenarios at SERF." (See Course List below.)
*   Why didn't I see it coming?
*  What is HR and what do they have to do with anything?
*  Handing in your key card, cell phone and credit card with dignity.
LOL ( Loss of Logo). How to purchase business cards with only your name, phone number, and
    email at Office Depot.
*  There is no Crying in Termination.
*  What the hell do I tell my family and friends?
*  Sports executive recruiters and their similarities to drug cartels.
Rehabbing your addiction to VIP parking, company cars, flying upfront, league meetings,
     restaurant reservations, big ass offices, free swag, All-Star and league finals tickets, latest tech
     hardware and other perks of the position.
*  " We are moving in another direction," means it's going there without you!
*  How to deal with the growing family threat to your job. Theirs, not yours. The trend of familial
    ownership is nepotistic DNA over your GPA. Sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, in-law's kids,
    owners' third spouse's nitwit offspring.
*  I had no idea my calls were being monitored.
*  How do I know which owner's advisor wants my scalp?
*  How to deal with ownership FTR (Failure to Reply)?
*  How do I react to those who weren't real friends but only wanted invites to the VIP suite
     during the playoffs?
How to evade Murder by the Metricists or Assassination by Analyticists. I had no idea what exit
     velocity meant until now.
*  How to navigate M.I.T. Sloane without understanding blockchain technology.
*  B-School or Sports Management Masters; where did you go wrong?
*  What about my equity? What equity? What pension?
The media reports have it all wrong. Who do I talk to?
Where do I go for college tuition loans? I have three teenagers in high school.
*  My attorney said this is a winnable case on age discrimination. What do I do now?

The first incoming class will be highly selective. Those interested in finding out more information about SERF and its full suite of services can visit the website at SERFtheweb.com or call Toll Free to 800-911-8686.

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:
Commentary
Felicia
11-19-18 - Felicia
Assemblyman Rob Bonta, 18th Assembly District, ( center), with military veterans. 
Photo by Felicia D. Purcell

Warriors win over Nets, minus Curry and Green, on the 10th anniversary of 
Filipino Heritage Night


11-19-18 - Felicia
Nicholas Clemente from the LGBTQ Center
and  Felicia D. Purcell
  
 

 
Durant, Cook and Thompson finish in 
double-digits in 
116-100 win
over Nets

By Felicia D. Purcell


The Warriors were dealt a blow last week when they lost their leader, two-time MVP and team caption, Stephen Curry and former Defense Player of the Year Draymond Green. Green sustained a toe injury Monday versus Memphis and Curry a moderate groin injury on Thursday versus Milwaukee. The Bucs would go on to hand the Warriors their second loss of the season and their first at Oracle. MRI results for Curry are due shortly while Draymond Green returned to the court after missing two games versus the Clippers on Monday.

That still left Golden State with two All-Stars in Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant heading into Saturday's game and the Brooklyn Nets learned firsthand...No Steph, No Draymond, No problem.

On the 10th anniversary of Filipino Heritage Night and their 299th consecutive sellout the Warriors have now won eight straight over the Nets with their 116-100 victory, sweeping their series with the Nets in four-straight seasons.

It also marked the second time this season that the Warriors finished with three 20-point scorers in the same contest with Kevin Durant (28), Quinn Cook (27) and Klay Thompson (24).

The night honored Filipino culture, which is rich and the fan support loyal in the Bay Area. The Warriors held video montages featuring the Warriors own hype man, Franco Finn, who is of Filipino descent and who introduced the fans to former Bay Area MMA fighter and pro boxer Ana 'The Hurricane' Julaton, the first woman to win WBO and IBA Super Bantamweight titles.

A halftime performance was held by Akbayan SJSU, an organization aimed at increasing knowledge about the Filipino culture and sharing the beauty of the heritage.

11-19-18 - Felicia
The Akbayan SJSU dance troupe performed at halftime.  Photo by Felicia D. Purcell

11-19-18 - Felicia
Assemblyman Rob Bonta (center), 18th Assembly District, with military veterans.
Photo by Felicia D. Purcell

After the performance, as part of the Warriors' Leaders in the Community Platform and in honor of Filipino Heritage Night, Assemblyman Rob Bonta recognized community members Ray Cordoba, (Vietnam Vet); Jerry Lasola, Command Sgt. Major (Iraq Vet); Rudy Goltiao, (Vietnam Vet); Phil Delacruz, (Vietnam Vet) of the American Legion Post 510; 1st Lt. Magdalena Leones, named after the first Filipina to have earned the Silver Start for heroism by the Army during WWII. Leonas was a super spy, guerrilla, nurse, and POW and died in 2016 in Richmond at the age of 96.

" To be able to be recognized by our Golden State Warriors and celebrate our culture, our heritage, our history and our contributions and to honor these gentleman and our Filipino veterans is important," said Assemblyman Rob Bonta, the first Filipino to be elected to the 18 th  Assembly District, serving the central East Bay of San Francisco.

If you would like to support the veterans and the American Legion Post 510, visit their website at www.alp510sos.org.
*          *          *          *          *
Felicia D. Purcell's writing experience spans nearly 20 years and includes human interest stories and sports. Her work has been published in community newspapers and on various websites.

A proud Oakland native, born and raised, her first sports memories are sitting with her father and watching men fall on top of each other.

For the past 10 years she has operated her own sports blog called Sports in the Bay, producing video and writing content for social media: Facebook, Instagram (sportsinthebay) and Twitter (sportsinthebay_)

A former sports editor for a now defunct community newspaper called The Globe, Felicia has had the wonderful opportunity to cover the reigning NBA Champion Golden State Warriors where she's built a solid working relationship with the staff and players, dating back to her internship days with the team. The opportunity has provided her the ability to give her 1300+ followers a up-close and personal feel, along with fresh content with
a side of entertainment.

Felicia also covers all Bay Area sports and is also a freelance writer for The Athletic, Dunk Shoot Magazine in Japan and the Martinez News Gazette; writing features, general interest and game stories.

In the future she would like to become fluent in Spanish, like her late father, who taught the language for over 25 years and work with young women who are serious about entering the field and be an advocate for elders.

She is looking forward to bringing a fresh and new style of writing to The Ultimate Sports Guide.

Pete
Outlaw's Outtakes

11-19-18 - Warriors - Darren Yamashita
In happier times...
Photo by Darren Yamashita
11-19-18 - Warriors - Ed Jay
Needed for a late season rescue?
Photo by Ed Jay

Putting things in perspective
by Outlaw

When Kevin Durant breached team etiquette by calling out Draymond Green between the end of regulation and overtime last week in the Warriors' loss to the Clippers, for what was no more than a "poor basketball decision" (at least in Kevin's eyes, not Draymond's) nobody watching thought twice, probably because: a) we couldn't read his lips--which were angrily uttering the four-letter invective that is probably evoked hundreds of times in an NBA game, and b) more to the point, we were not the recipient of that fusillade. Pass me the mother------- ball.

But the impulse-control-challenged, hot-headed, emotional leader of the team was the recipient. Mad at Kevin for not hustling down court on the last play to receive a pass for what could have been a game-winning shot--and even more mad at himself for unsuccessfully trying to dribble through a triple-team as the clock ran out--Draymond predictably and indignantly fired back with his own insulting volley of vulgarity, featuring the "b" word repeatedly, escalating it to the point of crossing the line--or so we are told. And to make things worse, he brought up the proverbial 800-lb. gorilla, namely, KD's tenure on the team, no doubt fueled by a constant drumbeat of, "Will he leave after this year?" coming from the legions of scribes, pundits, insiders and cyber-knuckleheads.

Thus was set in motion the endless excrement of comments coming from fans who know nothing of the inner workings of this unique and historic team. And you know what they say about opinions; everyone has one. The problem, however, lays in the aftermath. In this case, not a full-blown cover-up--we may never know what was said in the locker room and/or on the plane that night--but a classic block-and-parry, with a possible misstep mixed in, on the part of management. That was the consequence in the form of a $120,000 suspension meted out to Green but not Durant, thereby sending what appears to be a message to the players, the team and the fans that maybe one guy should be excused, but not the other guy. Draymond will not forget this slight.

When Kevin went down in March of 2017, the Warriors went 13-0 without him. But when Steph went down last spring the team had a losing record without him. And now Steph and Draymond are out, hopefully to return before too many games get frittered away. The offense is lost without Curry, and the defense is shambles without Dray. Think about the dozens of games the last five years that were won down the stretch because of that combination. Now KD has reverted to "OKC ball"-- the ball is not moving. They cannot get Steph back soon enough. Everything flows through him, and without him the Dubs are an average team. Without him and Draymond, well, I don't even want to speculate. Veterans past their prime (Sean and Andre), young guys learning on the job (Cook, Looney, Jones), and journeymen over-achieving (Jonas Jerenko) will not get it done. It's a good thing DeMarcus Cousins is in the wings; they will probably need him.

The "Texas Triangle" roadie became the Texas Massacre. An ass-whupping at the hands of the Houston Rockets followed by an awful loss to the lowly Mavericks, and another to the Spurs, and now the team is reeling. Down? Yes. Out? Are you kidding? The team that won it all in 2015, won 73 games in 2016, came back from down 3-1 to KD's Thunder, and (I will not go there!) should have won those finals, destroyed the league in 2017 and taught the Rockets a lesson in class and composure last year en route to a sweep of LeBron's Cavs? And these guys are done?  Please put the pipe down and get away from the ledge.

Perhaps it's time we all started worrying about stuff that matters. Like whole towns destroyed, thousands homeless, hundreds missing, hate crimes and hate speech, voter suppression and a political environment that makes 1984 pale by comparison.

Yeah, sports are supposed to be fun, entertainment, a distraction, a conversation piece, and it's so much more compelling, inviting and even uplifting when your team always wins. By the way, there was one Bay area team that did win yesterday; how 'bout those Raiders?

*          *          *

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

Howard
Incoming

The Dliemma of the 49er Faithful 

I consider myself a 49er faithful, although, as with everything else in my life, perhaps not the way other people mean it,

Still, it's always been ---

"Sorry, this is Sunday -- I do have to watch the 49ers."

And now it's:

"Sorry, this is Sunday, do I have to watch the 49ers?"

Because you just don't want to watch people you're inclined to like when they will suffer, get injured, and feel embarrassed and inadequate.

NOT giving up, not waiting for the Bandwagon. Still watching and hoping they can live up to what they are demanding of themselves.

Same thing everyone who favors any team feels and thinks about them during hard times.
But I do like that Red & Gold combination.

And a little DVR-ing to speed thru the especially painful moments is just what you would do for a friend not embarrass your friend by watching humiliation.

Gotta go -- "It's Sunday and I have to watch the 49ers

-- Howard Pearlstein
    "My 9ers, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
    (With apologies to Carl Schurz, 1829 - 1906)
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.
For more information, visit https://www.bzecheers.com/rumpopo

Pops - Original
Pops Back Label