Posted by Ben Golliver. http://audio.1080thefan.com/a/47387941/ben-golliver-blazersedge-com-and-cbs-sports.htm Fri, 21 Oct 2011 Ben Golliver joins the show to discuss the latest in the NBA Lockout and Paul Allen's latest involvement in the talks for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The NBA lockout gained its first true villain when Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett allegedly helped hijack labor talks a week or so ago. (NBA commissioner David Stern and NBPA executive director Billy Hunter have been reviled for so long that they don't count as villains any more.) Garnett, the story went, interjected into the discussions to stamp his foot down and launch into one of his patented intimidation acts, sending a message to both the league's owners and his own union leadership that he was there to draw a line in the sand. Garnett caught hell for this story, of course, because he's a bully on the court, he's stubborn, he's a little bit off his rocker, he was called uninformed as to the state of earlier negotiations and, most importantly, he's rich beyond his wildest dreams, having netted career NBA earnings of more than $200 million. But everything said about Garnett goes double, triple, or one hundred fold, for Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen. And, wouldn't you know it, Allen emerged on Thursday as the latest villain of the ongoing NBA lockout charade. Hunter said in a news conference that Allen was tasked with telling the players union that the owners would refuse to negotiate if the players would not agree to a 50/50 revenue split. Hunter said he responded by asking whether they could table that issue to return to a discussion of system issues, and Allen only responded with silence. Shortly thereafter, talks broke down. Allen is Garnett on steroids. You want stubborn? Allen rode his pipe dream of running a cable company all the way to the ground, losing billions of dollars and eventually declaring bankruptcy. You want off his rocker? He's currently being sued by his own ex-military bodyguards amidst allegations of illegal activity, his helicopter recently crashed during an excursion to Antarctica and, oh yeah, he's gone through two general managers and a vice president of basketball operations since the 2010 NBA Draft. He passes his time, including on Thursday morning, exchanging tweets about what rock song the Seattle Seahawks, his NFL franchise, should play at practice. Carroll plays along, of course, because he, like every Allen employee, knows his job depends on it. You want "uninformed" on the state of the negotiations? Allen deputized team president Larry Miller to attend Board of Governors meetings and labor negotiations on his behalf. He put exactly the same amount of blood, sweat and tears into the possibility of a labor agreement as Garnett: none. You want emotional? Allen recently wrote an autiobiography that included many unflattering stories about, and a recounting of decades-old grudges towards, his Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, one of the world's greatest philanthropists. The book led to a falling out between the two men, who had been friends since high school, with Allen admitting during a television interview that Gates had stopped talking to him. And, of course, there's the money issue. All you need to know about that is that Allen has a private island for sale, owns multiple yachts (one of which cost $200 million to make, nearly as much money as Garnett has earned during his NBA career), and has a helipad on the roof of the Rose Garden, Portland's home arena. Forbes pegged his net worth at $13.2 billion on a recent list of the 400 richest Americans, a figure that made him worth more than the next two richest NBA owners on the list, combined. Why, you might be asking, would the owners pick Allen, of all people, to deliver the hard-line message to the union that ultimately led to the disintegration of talks and all sorts of harsh accusations on Thursday? Because he's so rich that he's immune to the criticism, as capable of buying silence and peace of mind for himself as anyone on the planet. A man who has been cleanly divorced from the common man for decades. A man who claims to have lost a billion dollars on the Blazers in his two decades of ownership and therefore couldn't care less about the fallout that results from a nuclear explosion in the middle of labor talks. Allen refused to take questions from the media after firing GM Kevin Pritchard on the night of the 2010 NBA Draft and again refused questions when he abruptly fired GM Rich Cho in May. He doesn't care about accountability and he definitely doesn't care about the notion of a "fair deal for both sides." All he cares about, in the end, is pursuing his own self-interest to the max. Allen answers to no one, ever. If he can toss aside a childhood friend, business partner and colleague like Bill Gates, why are we or the NBPA surprised in the slightest that he is only willing to negotiate on his terms? Everything is take it or leave it with him. Allen in the ultimate pit bull. Next to him, Garnett looks like a poodle. Did either man personally derail these lockout talks, which have seemed headed for disaster for months now? No. But if you were looking for an NBA villain, you got one on Thursday. http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/32841752
He would have a change in opinion had Brandon Roy stayed healthy. He would have been one of the "haves" in the NBA world of "haves and have nots".
http://www.750thegame.com/pages/lan...Vader-of-the-loc=1&blockID=558778&feedID=9711 October 21, 2011, 11:43 am Ben Golliver of CBS Sports and Blazers Edge joins Brian Berger to talk about the NBA lockout and the recent involvment from Blazers owner Paul Allen. Ben Golliver told the Sports Insider that "It totally shocked me that he (Paul Allen) was the bearer of bad news." The labor negotiations have hit a major speed bump this week as extensive meetings with a professional mediator have failed and owners have remained firm on their positions. Golliver is optimistic a 50 game season is still and option; Brian thinks an even smaller schedule is more likely. Follow Berger for the most up to date information on the labor talks and listen to this interview only on 750 AM the Game.
It isn't the owners the fans follow, it is the players, and the players have been acting like spoiled jackasses for years. Well, most of them have. And which line do players repeat the most often? It's. A. Business. So players have been on their heels for the duration of the lockout and deservedly so. It's only now that players seem to care about public opinion about "the fans". Ha, they don't give two craps about us and neither do the owners. Give the owners credit, though, at least they're not dumb enough to try and gain public sympathy. Someone should let the players know that no pity party is ever going to be held for them, ever. And if the players really care about the thousands of arena workers, why don't they help those workers organize? Oh that's right, because that might eventually cut into their own slice of the pie. In other words, all of their talk isn't fooling the fans. Fans know that players are self absorbed jerks, but accept that as part of the package. That doesn't mean, though, that fans should lift one finger to help them earn their millions, because that isn't happening. Here is a list of things the public can enjoy until players wake up. World Series College Football College Basketball Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas New Years Start of the new TV season Several AAA video games, such as MW3 No, I don't think the public is really going to miss the NBA if the season is canceled.
He has nothing to worry about as long he can cut Brandon Roy and decline to pick yip Oden's qualifying offer. Roy is set to make $15 mil per season until 2015. Ouch!! They have a solid core in Felton, Matthews, Batum and Aldridge. They can save them selves $25 mill per season if they shed Roy and Oden. They can use that money to add other pieces.
They sent Allen b/c he's not a hawk owner. He's more or less fine with the system as it is in place. He's enjoyed it's competitive advantage for 20 years.
See kids, this is what happens when you dont go to college or dropout. You act like an a$$ in meetings (Garnett), or you sit like a r****ded mute (Allen). Newsflash guys, nobody cares about rich people problems because most if not all of us have never had them. If you cant buy that extra yacht or extra bmw, I dont care. Somebody wake me up in December when this game of Chicken is over.
If that were true, then the world would have way less jerks in it, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Canzano: Paul Allen's silence - on the Blazers and NBA lockout - deafening for all th By John Canzano, The Oregonian Sooooo... NBA commissioner David Stern dispatched his chief lieutenant, Adam Silver, on Friday to make sure that everyone knows Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen didn't say a single word in Thursday's negotiating session over the league's lockout. Allen was present, but didn't speak, Silver said. Union representative Billy Hunter confirmed he addressed Allen and asked the Blazers bossman if he was ready to talk, especially because Hunter was told Allen was there to deliver a message. Said Hunter: "Paul didn't respond. He was just in the room." To recap: Everyone agrees Allen was present. Everyone agrees he said nothing. And so we have our first official point of undisputed agreement in 114 days of insidious bickering between the league and its players. Allen was wallpaper. And man, how long can this lockout last with all this agreement going on? Peculiar development, though, as the NBA sought out The Oregonian on Friday, and scrambled to arrange an interview with Silver to make sure everyone knew the billionaire was silent. Again, no one disputed this fact. Still, the NBA went into damage control and planted its message on the doorsteps of the very fans who know Allen's heavy-handed billionaire schtick best. Also, Blazers president Larry Miller offered that the team is not for sale. Do these cats know what they're trying to sell? Blazers fans have watched Allen carefully during the past 23 years. He's squashed coaches and steamrolled general managers. He's run up a $108 million payroll trying to buy a championship. And lately, he's done it mostly without saying a word. He canned general manager Rich Cho at the end of last season. Rather, Allen dispatched Miller to do the dirty work. Miller hollowed out Cho with, "The chemistry just isn't there," as the president showed Cho the door. Before that, it was Kevin Pritchard, fired on draft day 2010. After Pritchard was blown up, Allen had his driver bring the car around back so he could slip out of the practice facility and avoid the media. Pritchard said last summer, "I still haven't been told why I was let go." Allen didn't say a word on Thursday? Of course not. He doesn't take the microphone at the Rose Garden to address his loyal season-ticket holders. He's not comfortable with public speaking, we're told. Private, either, I guess. Scottie Pippen once called Allen to ask how he could stay involved with the organization after retiring. Pippen said: "Paul didn't even call me back." Allen grants rare interviews, sure. But lately they've mostly been with the Blazers team broadcasters who are directed by executives where to steer the conversation. Allen refused to engage with Hunter? Does he engage with anyone? This is an owner who doesn't participate unless he's holding every bit of leverage. He threw the Rose Garden into bankruptcy despite terms he'd negotiated. Allen even bluffed the bondholders with claims that he'd sell the team if they didn't give him better terms. I walked with Allen as he left the building at the end of what might have been that final season. He looked up at the rafters, pretending to be wispy. And next season, Allen sat baseline, eating a dish of ice cream and looking bored. Allen is always just in the room, isn't he? So forgive me for feeling hopeful when I heard Allen might be positioning the Blazers for a sale. A fun owner for fans? Maybe, when he was spending and buying up dreams, you believed he was a fan, too. But in the end, you realize he's got deep pockets, but no clue. Yes, I'd like better leadership from the guy who owns the team. I'd love to hear his grand plan. I'd love to know if he's with the hardliners or positioning the team for a sale someday. Or even still, hoping to buy a title if he could get close. I don't dislike Allen. He's become a cartoon character, though. I don't think this NBA franchise can win a championship with Allen calling the shots. And when I see Allen walking the hallways at the arena, I don't see a guy with passion for his hobby anymore. I'd love to listen and believe as Allen explained to us all how in love he is with the NBA and the Blazers. How dedicated he is. How he wants badly, still, to win a title. If Allen wants to say so, we're all ears. I know. I know. Allen didn't say a word. He showed up at an owners meeting, and then ended up in a negotiating session with the players association. He said nothing. He was just "in the room." Something had to be done, and so here were Silver and Miller, offering that the presence of the league's richest owner at a negotiating session was pure coincidence. His presence didn't mean a thing? He was just in the room? Being there doesn't mean Allen is thinking of selling the Blazers? Forgive me, but I wish it did. John Canzano: 503-294-5065; JohnCanzano@aol.com twitter.com/johncanzanobft Catch him on the radio on "The Bald-Faced Truth," 3-6 p.m. weekdays on KXTG (750). http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/or...sf/2011/10/canzano_paul_allens_silence_-.html
