The Warriors' Chase Center groundbreaking was a hot topic on the afternoon TV talk shows yesterday, with ESPN's Bomani Jones calling the ceremony, which included circus-style performers and dancing excavators, "one of the richest things that I think you'll ever see." Jones said, "They're not even opening the darn thing. They just getting started.” ESPN’s Dan Le Batard: “I don't see ground being broken. I see guys on trampolines. … That is Cirque du Soleil” ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 1/18). ESPN's Bob Ley said to the net's Ramona Shelburne, "I'll ask you in all sincerity: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?" Shelburne noted Warriors co-Owner Joe Lacob "had said, ‘We’re going to have some amazing tractors here today.’ I thought it was a line. I thought it was one of those things that Joe Lacob says, because he’s 'light years' ahead of everybody on everything else. It was real. They dropped the curtain and there was a choreographed Cirque du Soleil performance with tractors and construction workers. I thought it was hilarious because usually these things are two hours of politicians being silly” (“OTL,” ESPN, 1/18). ESPN’s LZ Granderson said he “loved every moment of it.” The groundbreaking was the "equivalent of what they’ve done on a basketball court: They entertained us.” ESPN's Michelle Beadle used one word to describe the ceremony -- "hallucinogens" ("SportsNation," ESPN2, 1/18). ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan: "That felt like Village People meets Cirque du Soleil”
SIGN OF TEAM'S EXCESS? ESPN's Amin Elhassan said the ceremony "makes me hate them so much." Elhassan: "This is what I'm thinking: They've got so much money." ESPN’s Marcellus Wiley said, “It beats the chicken dinner, typical ribbon-cutting ceremony -- shears, old lady in pearls, dudes in bad suits. We get that, but what the hell was that?" Warriors F Kevin Durant was the only player at the event, and Wiley noted no one else was there "because they knew what they were going to see, Cirque de Soleil meets construction” ("SportsNation," ESPN2, 1/18).
THE GOLD STANDARD: The Warriors have yet to completely rule out a name change when they move to their new S.F. arena in '19, though team President & COO Rick Welts earlier this month said it is likely to stay the same. The L.A. Times' Bill Plaschke said, "They’re going to want to woo the ticketholders in San Francisco." Plaschke: "Ticket prices are going to go up. It’s a longer drive from Oakland. This whole thing we loved about Oracle -- the whole Golden State aura -- that’s all about for change.” The Dallas Morning News' Tim Cowlishaw: “The should keep the name ‘Golden State.’ They can move to San Francisco, and they need to make more use of the iconic city look with the bridge. It’s greatest logo ever” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 1/18).
