The Glen and Kevin Show!!!
by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 9, 2008 6:00 AM CST
17 comments
I've never been a fan of sequels. They're so hard to do. I'm more of an originals type of guy. I first tuned into the G&K show way back in 2005 when it was spun off from Flip & Friends. The above scene was taken from the original episode. It features Kevin going on and on about things like accountability and the necessity of players playing hard, loving the game, and simply being basketball players rather than point guards and centers.
In part two sidekick Dwayne Casey was scrapped in favor of an obscure Flip & Friends irregular Randy Wittman. He was introduced to the audience in much the same way Dwayne was in the original: the need for accountability, the necessity of playing hard, and so on and so forth. Perhaps it was simply a case of writers block, but the series' audience didn't seem to be all that enthused with a new version of the same old same old, sooooooo....
This season, we are now faced with yet another episode of Glen & Kevin introducing a new actor into...well, being that the script hasn't really changed, Glen has simply inserted Kevin into the role of the guy that will bring accountability, playing hard, players loving the game, and all of that jazz. Lucky him.
Before we continue, let's take a trip back in time to some of the famous lines from the Glen & Kevin show:
"Through this trade, we've become a much more athletic team," Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said in a statement. "With Ricky Davis, we've added one of the more talented shooting guards in the NBA -- both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Plus, with Davis and Trenton Hassell together on the court, we'll have a great defensive presence at the 2-3 positions."
Randy has proven himself to be an outstanding NBA coach and we feel he will be an excellent addition to Dwane's staff," McHale said. "He has a great knowledge of the game and a tireless work ethic."
'We believe that Randy Wittman will provide out team with a different voice to get us jump-started and going in the right direction,' said McHale. 'Randy is a known quantity who has a great amount of experience in the NBA. He's been an assistant coach, a player and a head coach in the league.'
"We were at a point as a team where we were just treading water," McHale said. "The ups and downs, we just couldn't find any consistency."
"We have to try to put together a product on the floor that's a lot more competitive and a lot more pleasing to watch," McHale said. "I mean there were times out there where I thought we were very hard to watch. You'd be watching the game and I'd be like, 'Ugh. That's bad."'
"I don't want to walk away with the team in this state," said McHale, who said this year's team resembled the "dysfunctional" squad he inherited when he was named vice president in 1995.
- ESPN
"Randy has a commanding presence in our locker room and we believe he is the best man to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves," vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said. "We have the utmost confidence in Randy as a leader and have no doubt that he will return the organization to the prominence we had a couple of seasons ago."
From the moment McHale named Wittman to succeed Casey, he made it clear that he wanted Wittman around for the long term. Despite the failures last season, McHale likes Wittman's "commanding presence in our locker room" and no-nonsense attitude.
"He's the type of coach that is going to demand an effort," McHale said. "He's going to push the players and yet he's flexible enough that they'll enjoy playing for him."
- ESPN
Problems started in January when McHale fired coach Dwane Casey with the Timberwolves at 20-20. Wittman took over in a move that McHale hoped would jumpstart the lethargic team, but the Wolves went 12-30 with the taskmaster at the helm.
"I don't think it ever became an experiment," McHale said. "It became a disaster, but I don't think it became an experiment. It didn't work well."
So here we are with a brand new episode that is shaping up exactly like the two that came before it. Glen and Kevin have run out of actors that are willing to step into the role of the accountability-bringer so they have simply written Kevin into the lowly part of coach.
Stepping outside of the nonsense for the rest of the post, yesterday's joke of a press conference was even more insulting to fans than the one where Glen & Kev told the world that the coach of a lottery-bound .500 ball club was the reason for all of the "dysfunction". These two clowns actually had the nerve to trot out the same old lines that were used against Flip and Dwayne to justify yet another coaching move for their broken franchise as if fans couldn't remember all the way back to last month:
Randy Wittman's coaching job is safe, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said. "If I worried about the short term, and I looked at the economy and all my companies, if I based things on that, then I'd fire all my presidents because they had a bad month," Taylor said. "I've been through ups and downs. You've got to be patient. I think Randy has prepared (the players) well. We've just got to get them some confidence. They're still young."
That was on November 20th. On December 8th Papa Glen was telling his fans that his business acumen was part of the decision making process in deciding to fire Randy Wittman. This sort of two-faced approach is par for the course with Glen and Kev. It was last year at this time that the Iron Ranger was telling fans that he couldn't wait to see what a shot blocker like Theo Ratliff would do next to Big Al Jefferson. Upon Theo finally being able to play, he was bought out and sent packing. So much for the shot blocker experiment. But remember folks, there's a blueprint.
And so goes Glen & Kev's relationship with their fans. When times are tough both will get up on the podium and go on and on about accountability and playing hard; Glen will trot out his capitalist class nonsense about being a businessman and Kevin will tell everyone within earshot that they do indeed have a plan that is being followed. And they expect you to buy it. They expected you to buy it after they fired Flip. They expected you to buy it after bringing on Mike James and Ricky Davis. They expected you to buy it when they fired Casey. And they expect all 1707 of you to buy it once again with Witt on the receiving end.
One of the most notable things about yesterday's presser was how Glen & Kev talked about their relationship; as if it were a beautiful thing built around an unspoken trust in one another. What they didn't talk about was their responsibility to the dwindling number of fans who have heard this song and dance before. "I'm a results type of guy," Glen said in response to a question about what he told the players when he informed them of the coaching change. Really?
The most insulting part of the all-around insulting display of boobery at Target Center yesterday was the insistence that this team wasn't meeting the sorts of goals that it set out at the beginning of the year. What sorts of goals are we talking about? Well, certain "steps" weren't being taken, said Papa Glen. What steps, you ask? "They're not all measured in wins and losses," says PG. Well, what are they measured in? We just want to see improvement, say Glen & Kev. How do you measure that improvement? By meeting the goals we set, say the dynamic duo. And the circle is complete. Maybe some lines from episode two can shed some light on this mess:
"We started the season with certain goals and expectation that have not been met."
Ah, of course. And so begins yet another season exactly like the ones before it. The only hope for Wolves fans is that the Iron Ranger has now been placed in the one and only position that guarantees expulsion from the Country Club: coach; and that the Glen & Kev Whomever show will henceforth be produced by someone not named Jim, Rob, or Fred.
1 recs |
17 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Great Stuff S n P
I guess, also, I was right that Randy Wittman would be fired before Reggie Theus. (What shocked me, I suppose, is that PJ Carleismo, although I shouldn’t be shocked with that, Eddie Jordan and Sam Mitchell all got the axe before Witt. Maybe that’s what really spurred this on.)
Sadly, though, until the Iron Ranger is gone (I Love that name btw), the Wolves are stuck in purgatory. Too bad too, the Wolves garnered a ton of good will with KG, and they’re blowing it with all their stupidity.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on
by pookeyguru on Dec 9, 2008 7:19 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Okay,
No doubt, Kevin and Glen are responsible for putting this team in a bad way and the fact that Kevin still has a job is in many measure a travesty, but, dude, turn off Barriero for a second. The Country club line is getting old, even if there is a grain of truth to it.
McHale got demoted. He doesn’t have more power than he used to. Glen fired him, but he is also trying to save some face while remaining somewhat loyal to McHale by giving him one last chance to straighten out the mess he himself made. Does McHale deserve that chance? Arguably not, but, he has gotten it anyway.
Either way, Mchale is gone after this year. He will not continue to coach because doesn’t want to. His position as GM is over and his role in assembling the roster is done finished regardless what Dan B. at KFAN says. I know your opinions go beyond Dan B. and you’re a hell of a lot smarter than he, but drop the copuntry club or come up with something else, please.
About the only thing to be outraged about is McHale having an opportunity to redeem himself, because he probably doesn’t deserve it. But, he also might not get anymore out of a talentless roster than Wittman did. In that case he doesn’t save his dignity and he becomes the object of ridicule and heckling for 4 more months and everyone can have a grand old time acting like the typical drunken Viking fan screaming for the head of Childress.
But, I think the more likely scenario is that he does improve the ballclub and most fans will want him to come back as coach next year, but he makes a graceful exit to the broadcast booth and Jim Peterson gets kicked upstairs to work alongside Hoiberg.
by Andy B on Dec 9, 2008 9:31 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
IF Jim Pete...
takes over GMing duties I’m done as a wolves fan for life regardless of whether they finally fire Mchale or not.
by roundhouse on Dec 9, 2008 1:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Um, isn't JPete working next to Hoiberg a textbook example of the country club?
I think you just proved SnP’s point.
This organization is flawed from the top down, but they were too insular to recognize it and were too busy patting themselves on the back. That is the definition of the CC, and adding JPete, a fine announcer who’s most important qualification would be assistant coach of the Lynx would just be ridiculous. Let’s hire all our buddies who aren’t qualified and not even look outside the organization for good candidates! That’s what they’ve been doing for the past 13 years and that’s why people like SnP (and me) believe that the CC analogy is still as much in force today as it was yesterday.
Getting McHale to coach was fine in the interim. Glen to McHale: Prove these guys have talent, or doubly prove you’re a complete failure. Glen also gets to save money b/c he doesn’t have to hire someone else. That’s not too stupid given the state of the team and the state of the economy. Fact of the matter is that these are McHale’s guys and Witt was his coach, and Taylor is slowly acknowledging it’s McHale’s fault.
SnP shouldn’t drop the CC bit until a GM from outside the organization is hired and he’s given real power. The thought of Stack, Hoiberg or Babcock (god forbid — if this happens Glen should be institutionalized) running this team next year is insulting to fans and should be insulting to Glen’s intelligence now. If Taylor can’t figure it out after 13 years, then he never will.
by Sterno on Dec 9, 2008 9:43 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
It was a joke
Kind of….
Its not that there is not truth to the line about the Country Club, its that the line is Dan Barreiro’s at KFAN. Dan makes is money and draws an audience of sports fans by going negative. Nothing wrong with that and hes good at it. But if your a long time listener who is trying to filter good information from the bs go negative marketing, the lines about the Country Club get old, just as his lines about Morneau and the baby jesus Mauer get old and his negativity about the Vikings beating the lowly Lions.
Dan B. is paid to be negative. He found his niche. What you have to know is that he’ll do the same thing with the next regime. He hated KG when he was here, but now tha KG is gone he needs a new villain. Once McHale is gone who will fill his spot. The Country Club will always exist for Dan B because it keeps his ratings up.
by Andy B on Dec 9, 2008 9:49 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I've always viewed the "country club"...
…as more of a representation of the class/political/uber-capitalist bent of how this particular front office operates not as a Barriero leftover. I don’t know of another phrase that captures the culture over there as well as the CC. I’d be open to suggestions as it does get kind of tiring to have to fall back upon over and over again. I’ve been trying to segue into some sort of TARP fund/Hank Paulson analogy but I haven’t come up with the right bailout-related phrase yet.
Andy B, I do think you raise a very interesting point in that Dan B and Reusssseeeee are the only major sports personalities in town that don’t think McHale has been purged from the front office forever. It may be a pretty decent barometer for the old and new school view of looking at the team.
This move is a golden parachute. It’s a bailout for the guy who everybody knows should have been fired ten times over and who has fired two coaches for his own failures.
I just saw that you posted another comment and I agree with you about the negativity angle. I’ve noticed it here in the last few days and I’m trying to figure out a positive way forward. I’ve been trying to do it with Love and the draft is always on the horizon but…well, I do agree that Dan B and Reussseeeee need the negative to make their characters work. I don’t want that to happen here at Hoopus.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 9, 2008 9:52 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah,
Its hard to find anything to be optimistic about, in regard to the Wolves right now. Its not easy to turn the team aroudn either. THere are a million directions to go and a million landmines set along any path Taylor opts for.
People can throw names around from the outside and I agree that we need some outside influence. But, when Jack McCloskey came to the Wolves he was thought of much more highly than Pritchard, Dumars or anyone else people name right now. People say, throw money out there and bring someone with some talent and experience in here to blow everything up and build somehting new. Well, it sometimes works like an athlete getting the big contract, as it did with McCloskey. Suddenly, after signing a big contract, your not motivated anymore.
Taylor and any other person in charge of operations, has to make decisions based upon gut feelings and trust. Its easier to trust people who you have some past history with and also people who you feel you have something in common with. Any orgaization can be described as a country club or a good old boys network, because that is how community is built through networks and relationships. Some communities run better than others and sometimes communties need new immigrants bring in new vitality. Right now, the Wolves need some new fresh ideas and Taylor needs some time to figure out who he is going to bring in. I really think he will make some sort of hire from outside the organization, but it might not necessarily be a brand new GM to blow up everything and start completely over.
Unless, McHale really fails as a coach.
by Andy B on Dec 9, 2008 10:11 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
There's a fair chance that an outside GM won't be great
It certainly isn’t a job with a high success rate. As it has been pointed out many times, luck has as much or more to do with it than actual skill. See portland.
Having true superstars also matters. Would the Cleveland FO be employed if they hadn’t won the Lebron lottery? The Mo Williams deal looks like a winner but before that they had some pretty horrendous personnel moves (see Szerbiac, Wally, and Wallace, Ben), but with LeBron you still always have a chance for a deep playoff run. Would Riley still be making decisions if he didn’t have Wade fall to him? Paxon remains on the hot seat, but lucking into Rose has bought him some time (there’s a case of BOTH luck AND a superstar). Until the Wolves have a superstar, I’m not sure that all the great GMing in the world will really make a difference. Here’s hoping for a high lottery pick and some actual talent in next year’s draft.
The key point is, however, that this FO has been shown to be consistently inept at putting a winning ballclub together. On paper, things like trading Mayo for Love, Miller and more cap flexibility may make sense, but they don’t work out (or haven’t yet). In this case, I think change HAS to come from outside the organization.
I recognize that the failure rate of GMs is pretty darn high. You can argue that only fans of a handful of teams are really excited about their near/medium-term prospects right now, and even fewer if you eliminate those who are thinking “Hey, we’re going to have a lot of cap space in 2010 when there’s a lot of great free agents!”
The only way to generate excitement around this team is to do these two things: a) get a better product on the floor (which is now McHale’s job, and presumably it’s going to have to be done with the players they have now) and b) bring in someone who has clear authority and says “we’re going to do it my way”. Hopefully it’s someone from a consistently successful organization, i.e., the Lakers, Utah, SA, Detroit, or someone who’s shown an ability to evaluate young domestic/overseas talent, such as the Portland or Toronto organizations.
by Sterno on Dec 9, 2008 11:02 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Excellent points everyone...
….and here’s the rub with NBA GM’ing: it’s 1/2 luck. You have to be lucky enough to have a guy land in your lap and you have to be competent enough to keep him and surround him accordingly. I myself am officially ending my negativity against the Wolves era and moving on to the positives with the club, the importance of up tempo small ball and how they can improve. I’ve said my piece about the change and…well, it’s as good a point as any to move forward.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 9, 2008 11:11 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
GMing may be half luck,
but there are also moves that officially qualify a GM as “bad at his job.” To my mind the two best examples of this where McHale is concerned are Ricky Davis and Mike James. I remember the Toronto reaction when James signed with the Wolves: virtually everyone thought “good riddance.” Nothing against James, he’s a nice guy, but he’s clearly not the answer at the point. It seemed like only McHale, among people who had followed James a bit, didn’t realize this.
I’m saying this because I think the biggest positive here is that McHale is out of that position, and that there seems to be no real way for him to move back into it. He was clearly quite bad at it. GM may be a crapshoot, but just getting McHale out of there for good makes me hopeful that this isn’t just a repeat of the same old show. Here’s hoping they get a young up-and-comer from a competent organization, like Sterno says. Or – why not? – someone from abroad? There are plenty of really successful European GMs. Won’t happen with this organization, they seem so much more closed to the outside than others, but it might be nice to see.
by plinytheelder on Dec 9, 2008 11:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
One problem with choosing either a newbie to run the show or a European GM, intriguing as the idea is, is that the Wolves really probably need new blood in every aspect of the organization, from scouting/personnel to capologists to player development/coaching. Hell, they even need new marketers. So from that perspective, choosing someone with a bit of a track record and, probably, enough ties around the game could be beneficial.
Of course, the trick is, who might that be? I dunno. I was actually going to throw Kiki Vandeghwe’s name out there, but he recently signed a longterm deal with the Nets FO (missed that one). But someone like that. Someone with enough bad stuff on the resume that he’d be available (like Kiki) but who had enough stuff go right that he’d be intriguing (like Kiki). And ideally you hope the guy’s learned from his mistakes. Somebody mentioned Paxson. If he gets canned maybe you look at him. I dunno.
Or maybe you say “what do we got to lose” and hire Bill Simmons. I don’t think he’d be as good at the job as he thinks he would be, but at least you’d instantly increase your number of fans exponentially.
by jianfu on Dec 9, 2008 2:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
This "lucking" you speak of in...
regards to Rose and Lebron. Weird how their hometown teams magically won the 1st pick in the draft those years. The Bulls had less than a 1% chance. They also happen to be a flagship NBA franchise that has been floundering ever since MJ left. Draw your own conclusions from that, I know I have.
by roundhouse on Dec 9, 2008 2:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
great stuff
there are a lot of interesting assets on the wolves that really could be used to put together a decent team a couple years from now. those assets just don’t play well as a unit, so it’s key that the next gm knows how to put a team that can win out there. i forget who suggested that looking into a winning organization from a mid-market franchise and fishing for someone who would jump at a gm job, but that seems like a great idea. there needs to be some aggressive moves made and some solid drafting done, but the situation here just got a whole lot brighter. i look forward to seeing you guys put it all together soon. good luck.
heart of a champion, will of the warrior.
by cap'n hack on Dec 9, 2008 11:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Flush the Toilet
Taylor needs to flush the crap of the front office down the toilet. From GM to the Assistant GMs to the Coaches, hell even the Scout. Quit hiring the best friends or friends of friends and actually build a respectable front office that is serious about basketball and wanting to be better than just guys collecting paychecks.
With a potential 6 picks going into the draft (assuming they dont trade most of them away to get Eddie Curry or Blount back….cause the wolves would do something like that), they need to focus hard on scouting. From scouting the US to dirt lots in Zimbabwe, the Pups need to figure out how to handle the glut of picks.
by DueceDropper on Dec 9, 2008 12:36 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
the wolves need to get rid of everything...
except Crunch, the dance team, and maybe Gomes & AL. Yes, this includes the owner as well.
by roundhouse on Dec 9, 2008 2:06 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
No mascot is better than Crunch
Too bad video games don’t allow playable mascots ala NBA Jam (He’s on Fire!)
by DueceDropper on Dec 9, 2008 2:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
We Can only Hope that the Wolves
Come out off the Firing with some Firepower and Pull out the W tonight.
by Tony_O on Dec 9, 2008 3:31 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
