Baseball players will agree with me. I don’t know the particular numbers but I would imagine it’d be a voter count in the landslide area.
As for football and hockey, there might be some agreement too. Football for sure. It is this. Pro Basketball does it right.
Camp opens, they run and prepare like mad, teams jump right into exhibition games and as rosters are quickly adjusted, the NBA marathon begins.
It’s flat out perfect. Has been for years. Since I can remember, I’ve looked so forward to this very special time of the year. My first impressions were of teams like the Chamberlain/West/Goodrich LA Lakers, the Wes Unseld/Elvin Hayes Baltimore Bullets, the Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers and the Bob Love/Chet Walker Chicago Bulls.
Baseball takes too long to get to its season. As a journalist, every year players lament the weeks and weeks of work and games that keep them from their season.
Unlike the national pastime, Pro Football has done some adjusting but still runs those 4-Pre-season games on fans. It’s clearly more expectation than excitement on delivery. Come to think of it, the Vikings might have wanted to stay in the pre-season where they were winning.
Whatever the case, all eyes will be on LeBron and KLove in Cleveland next week. They’ll be watching the Phil and Carmelo show in NYC. There are many story lines. Kobe in LA. Derrick Rose rolls back into Chicago. I’ll be keenly watching Memphis, Washington, D-Casey in Toronto and those amazingly athletic Golden State Warriors. And may I say (sure you can Rod…it’s your read), I’m VERY glad that KLove was shipped east instead of West where we’d have to tangle with him 4-times a season.
Also makes me think about the open “thanks” KLove tossed Minnesota via the media. Did you see it? Here’s a snippet:
“….I'd like to take a moment to thank the fans of Minnesota for six great years. I still remember sitting in Madison Square Garden when I was first drafted in 2008, thinking that if I could go anywhere it would be to the Timberwolves to work with one of my childhood idols, Kevin McHale,” Love wrote. “There are so many people in Minnesota who helped to shape my game and mold me into the player I am today. I'll always be fond of the support I got from the entire Minnesota community — even in tough times — is something I'll remember forever. Seriously, thanks for not burning my jersey….” Via The Players' Tribune
I’m glad the season starts and that’s out of the way. Love’s in Cleveland and our pack in on the run here. For you basketball love birds out there, it’s called proper closure. Kinda’ like a boyfriend-girlfriend and all the right moves are made, even though, it wasn’t always clear that would be the case.
Think about it. Fans are thinking about it all the time. Not the fair-weathered and fickle because they only loop in when times are bad and they can say “I told you so”. No, for the invested and caring fan. They give a rip. They bought #42 jerseys. They held on to that 30/30 Knicks-Wolves ticket hoping one day Love would autograph it.
It also reminds me of a recent email from a BIG fan of Klove:
Danielle from Woodbury: I am a Kevin Love fan and you and so many of the media have been hard on him. WHY? He did a lot for local basketball and this team is in trouble without him.
I wrote back and at the time I was a bit defensive. I told her:
I really haven’t been hard of Love and I’m not sure how you see that. If anything, I was rather tardy and distant in my observations and insight. Listen, Kevin Love is a great player and a player so many fans appreciate and yes, will miss. But he made his mind up some time ago that he wanted out. His body language told people what he was thinking or feeling even when he didn’t comment. Love is where he wants to be and honestly, if a player in this day and age doesn’t want to be where he is, then ship him out. No time for that stuff. It hurts the team and the community home of that Franchise. Yes, some of the media may have been a little sharp with the criticism but it wasn’t here in SimonsSays or on my Emmy award winning TV show GameON! That, unfortunately, has to be expected and Love is a big boy. He can handle it. It does come with the territory….even though it might not be right. And while we’re at it, the Wolves will be just fine. I completely disagree with you; the team IS NOT in trouble without him. Love didn’t get the Wolves to the playoffs while he was here. Let’s just let him go, stop worrying about all this other stuff and understand, the business side of the game had to be done.
So, let the season begin. And as for the off-season drama, I strongly believe that it’s OK to let it go. There’s so much ahead. From Wiggins to Rubio and this band of new ballers to this painting Coach Flip will need 6-months of broad & brush strokes to finish.
Let’s look for each other at the home opener and compare notes! It’s always good to have this time with you each and every week! Enjoy the return of the Wolves in stunning HDTC (High Def @ Target Center) and do as I do, keep that glass half full & your GameON!
Say What? Donuts!?:
The Wolves will actually tip the 2014-15 home opener with a free actually breakfast on October 30th @ Target Center. Members of the Timberwolves staff, along with mascot Crunch will serve coffee and donuts to passersby in the skyway. Be there from 6 - 9 a.m. around the Target Center Skyway
At 600 First Avenue North. Later that night, the Wolves take on the Detroit Pistons for the home opener on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets with no fees are available at www.timberwolves.com/wolvestix. The skyway breakfast is the conclusion of Timberwolves Two Weeks To Tip Off, which features a broad slate of social media giveaways and special promotions held throughout the Twin Cities during the 14 days leading up to the home opener.
Tune in for Twolves!
Timberwolves games will be on radio for the 2014-15 NBA season and all 82 regular season games can be heard on News Radio 830 WCCO-AM, while La Mera Buena 107.5 and La Neta 95.9 will carry 15 games.
This is the Wolves’ fourth season on their flagship station, News Radio 830 WCCO-AM. Alan Horton returns for his eighth season as the Wolves play-by-play announcer. Horton will team up with studio host John Focke to produce 30-minute pre- and post-game shows that will be featured on-air and streamed online at www.wcco.com for every game.
SimonsSays on TV/PODcast:
GameON! and Rod Simons are winners of a 2014 Emmy award for show host! It’s exciting news as GameON! starts its new season and continues to showcase the Timberwolves like no other broadcast show in the region. GameON! is powered by Budweiser and is broadcast in High Definition and can be found on ITunes, on demand via our new GameON! App (free and available for Apple/Android) and online @ www.gameontvmn.com. There is always a Wolves update on my TV show, GameON! Don’t miss an episode of the Emmy winning GameON! @ 10am this Sunday morning on FOX’s My29 and throughout the weekend regionally on MidCo Sports Net.
GameON! offers in-depth interviews with the top players, great food, sports newsmakers and we get you inside your favorite teams (including the Wolves). We’d love for you to “like” us on Facebook @ GameOnTvMN. Drop me a note, Rod@KTWIN.com
GameON! is also seen in North & South Dakota and Western Minnesota on MidCo SportsNet several times a weekend. We reserve the right to use your e-mails here in SimonsSays @ Timberwolves.com. You can now get SimonsSays in new PODcast form with insight/input from fans just like you and exclusive player interviews! Keep an eye out for SimonsSays PODcast @ Timberwolves.com each and every week.
And last but not least, please catch Rod throughout the day on 96.3 KTWIN-FM. Rod keeps you inside the team with This Is Twins Territory & the signature Prep Playbook which can also be found @ www.KTWIN.com.
We talk Wolves. Every day. High’s & lows. We’re there because we are fans, just like you! Keep your GameON! See you soon!