It’s been a minute since I did a DUBS post, but last night’s loss to the L.A. Fakers hurt me soul. It feels as if from jump (ball), the refs, league, ESPN/TNT/every sports analyst in the country (except Jim Barnett and Bob Fitzgerald) wants us to lose. If you missed it, we lost in overtime due to a TERRIBLE call by the officials when Monta Ellis was dragged to the floor by Derek Fishface of the Fakers.

GSOM had this to say about it:

Overtime – The call that ruined everything

5 minutes was all that was in the way to victory. Special K (Buike’s nickname and I’m sticking to it) was HUGE! Lunging towards the basket on the first play creating a foul gave the Warriors the first lead. Monta contributed as he picked up his play nailing an open shot and creating another steal.

As our hearts pounded in excitement and fear, Kobe once again assisted to Fisher for a 3 pointer. Clock winding down this is how it ended:

58 Seconds Left: Warriors with a 1 point lead.

43 Seconds Left: Fakers distribute the ball as they nail a 3 pointer to take the lead by 2.

30 Seconds Left: Monta drives to the basket and as the ball rims out Special K puts it in to tie the game. WHAT A PLAY!

9 Seconds Left: Fakers run the clock down as Odom grabs a pass in the paint for an easy layup. Fakers by 2.

4 Seconds Left: Inbound pass set in Faker territory. This is it. The last play of the game. Nellie’s timeout prepped the team to tie it or shoot a 3 for the win. As the whistle blew and the players wrestled for position … the unthinkable happened. Fisher fell to the ground grabbing Monta with him, and the ref Delaney, blew the whistle calling an offensive foul.

Game over.

Kobe and Baron ended the night with 30 points and 7 assists each. Jackson scored 29 but it wasn’t enough. Incredible game … but horrendous ending.

I am SO tired of the Bay catching the shaft, but at this point I almost feel used to it. The LEAST the refs could have done was call a double foul. What SHOULD have happened was a foul on Fisher and Monta going to the line for free throws. To have the opportunity to win 2 in a row against the LakeShow taken out of our hands by the referees is to me, a metaphor for the lives that progressive, working-class Bay Areans live in Amerika. Even when we try to play by the rules to get ahead and make our quality of life better, outside forces come in and don’t even allow us to compete.

I realize fully that folks from the Yay can sometimes be stereotyped as thinking that their sh*t don’t stink, but (here I go…) from the Bay’s attempts to legalize same-sex marriage and going “green,” to commercial radio killing the homegrown Hip-Hop scene’s Hyphy movement, this country just doesn’t seem to be ready for the future the Bay Area is striving towards. We are collectively more creative, diverse, open-minded, liberal and unique than the vast majority of what is known as Amerika.

The loss to the fakers last night may have come down to one bad call, but throughout the game Baron was smashed as he drove the lane and whsitles were silent, while if someone is to even breathe near Kobe Bryant, it sounds like a fight breaking out during recess at an elementary school playground. Yadadaidig?

Our team, for the first time in 12 years seems to represent the area in which they play. Long gone are the days of drafting Todd Fuller and Andrew Declerq. The day we dealt Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy to acquire Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington was the day the “Golden State Warriors,” became the OAKLAND WARRIORS. And with that, came the HATRED. We are seen as a team of misfits (Baron: 2nd in the league in Technical Fouls), miscreants (Jack) and out-of-control-youthful play (Monta aka 1 man fastbreak). Add that to journeyman Matt Barnes, D-League phenom Azubuike and a Coach (Nellie) who lets his players PLAY, and you get a team that doesn’t command much respect from a league that has heralded the Spurs’ “fundamental-style-of-play,” for the last decade (BOOORING).

The last time I felt this way was prolly when I played for the JV squad as a sophomore in High School (ECHS Gauchos, blud!). I was the literally the only player on the team, not of Black/African heritage. (Primarily from the bench =P), I watched in disgust as referees HATED on our team from jump (ball) when we played at Prep/Private schools where the teams/players were wealthy and/or white. When I left the team the following season to play in the Japanese-Amerikan church leagues (where I averaged a double-double – yee.), my old teammates let me know that they were getting hated on EVEN MORE, because of the absence of my pale face and un-menacing Asian physique on their sidelines. =T *SIGH*

“I don’t need a ton of melanin in my skin, to see my country’s covered up some devilish sh*t. Sh*t.”

GO WARRIORS.
Haters: please keep hatin’! It just makes our shine, that much brighter come playoff time (sorry Dirk, but it aint happening ths year – Cry me a river Mark Cuban).

Peace and blessings to the beautiful people.
C+