Reacting To TNT's Arena Mistake

who cares that they got it wrong? As long as Sacramento really has a shot at an arena, which they do, that’s all that matters. I will get angry when I hear that they’re leaving, and only then.

Fans are apparantly outragged, and Webber is a volatile person according to Jim Crendal.

Moving on now.

…and honestly both Chris and Grant completely blew everything out of proportion. Even after CWebb handled that call the way he did I still find it hard to get pissed at him due to him giving us national attention and rooting for us to keep the Kings.

That should never have been the focus of the call, what Grant should have done was focus on the win and the way the Kings played and given CWebb an update on how the arena process was going, end of story. Now you got all these idiots hating on Webber when he’s clearly the only analyst on TNT that gives Sacramento any love.

No apology is needed from TNT or from Reggie or Cheryl, who gives a shit if they got their facts mixed up. The only thing that matters is that we get our new arena and focus on getting to the playoffs.

Priorities people, sheesh!

It would have been nice if Grant and Webb could have worked it out on air, but whatever. I agree that when you consider the big picture, and that it was maybe 2 minutes of the telecast, it didn’t really matter.

I will say this though, Sacramento is at its best when it’s backs are against the wall. More casual fans watched Thursday nights game than any other game this season. I like the perception that this team is on the brink of leaving. I think that is what get’s people who wouldn’t normally be involved, involved.

I think that game in general was a step in the right direction. The team played well. The crowd was awesome. And it was KJ, Sacramento’s mayor, against this big media types of TNT. Shaq said during the halftime show that OKC was going to win. Reggie said KJ was putting a ‘political spin’ on the parking vote. Even the hometown boy Cwebb talked about how scared he was.

KJ can use this. The classic ‘no one believes in us’ thing. He can go to these other council members with some ammo now. Everyone is saying where already gone. That type of stuff.

I like a little anger. A lot of Kings fans are mad now. Channel that into work, and the council meeting on the 14th could be something special.

I know it has no impact on the deal getting done, but I think it was a very poor mistake and not one I’ll just “forget about”.

It was our lone appearance on national tv, and while the important things happened (the team won, and you guys who went killed it with you fan adoration) having three (the two Millers and Webber) folks in the broadcast team get it do utterly wrong, and to even accuse KJ of “spinning” it… It was our lone national TV appearance. The lone chance to fully get our message out there. Most of it did get out, but TNT bungling the facts was very sad and not so easily forgettable.

Now the Webber thing… Honestly, this is coming from a Grant disliker/Webber lover, and while Grant coulda done without his normal “I’m better than you” tone, I don’t think his question was out of bounds, and I think Webbers explosion was just off base.

Just my opinion. I don’t think it’ll have a perminant effect on the arena push, and that is what’s important, as Ziller said. But it isn’t just something I’ll shrug off.

As he said basically the same thing in the discussion during the game and in the postgame threads.

If I could offer a somewhat different opinion, I think this minor public relations snafu is very possibly a net positive for Sacramento if you take the long view.

All it does is make the mythology stronger, make the climb that the ESC process has been seem all the more steep and treacherous, and frankly, it has been quite a climb just to get to this point. I think there needs to be recognition that there has already been a huge amount of hard work put in by the community, HereWeStay/ThinkBig, Kings fans, the mayor, the league, the city council and the dozens and dozens of supporters in Northern California and all over the country who have tirelessly fought for well over a year now to keep our Sacramento Kings in Sacramento. Their hard work is the true testament to the spirit of this community, and it shows that when we fight for what we believe in, we can do great and difficult things, no matter what the naysayers and the uninformed say.

The battle is not over yet, and while I feel we are winning, Carmichael Dave is right when he says that until the first shovel goes in the ground, we need to keep up the fight, write letters and/or call our council representatives, and do everything we can to make sure this dream (which can seem so difficult and elusive at times) becomes reality.

And when we finally come to that mountaintop, we can look down over Jordan and say, “Now — let’s go get us an NBA championship.”

Anyone who just quickly glanced about coverage of the “fail” vote could have easily misconstrued this information as “Sacramento failed to keep the Kings”.

I was pissed at first, but its not his fault. He could have said more about the situation when he tried to clear themselves up, or when the mayor corrected them, or been more informed about the whole situation, yea.. but its still not his fault, I still love Chris Webber, I would love him more if he donated some money towards the arena. Wishful thinking.

But in fact there was exactly 1 story for ESPN duh duh duh duh duh duh to cover about Sac. 1. They didn’t devote any time to getting the facts. Epic fail.

He should of said he made a mistake to grant and it would of been cool….but no being the chump chris is he thinks he is beyond saying i made a mistake.the whole thing sucks and tnt and weber etc.should tell sacramento we messed up.they won’t so f—k em.now lets go and beat the suns tonight!!!!GO KINGS!!

In terms of the priorities here in Sacramento, the misstatements by TNT are no big deal. There is business to be taken care of here in town. It would have been nice if C-Webb were a little better informed so the TNT crew could have included our situation in some of their commentary during the game in a more favorable vein. But, in the end, it is our fight, not C-Webb’s nor TNT’s.

But here is the thing; you said:

but if you were an NBA fan watching the telecast with no knowledge of the actual situation here, you would likely have walked away believing that it was a done deal: the Kings were leaving Sacramento.

That’s the thing. Those NBA fans include people sitting at home watching the game on television all across the country; it also includes players, coaches, GM’s, NBA executives, etc., listening to this, believing the Sacramento Kings are leaving, that Sacramento has lost its fight to keep them here.

I don’t think any one of us has a crystal ball of how this is all going to play out in the days, weeks, and months ahead. We sure couldn’t have predicted what happened last season. Very few of us could have predicted we would still have a team here today.

There is a political mine field out there, where some of this could be played out. Other cities are vying to bring a team to their town. I would have liked TNT coverage to show that the fans of Sacramento were not only showing a force at the arena Thursday night, but are taking steps to keep the team here. I fear their commentary will leave a lot of people around the league scratching their heads about the current events in Sacramento. I fear other towns might see as an opening to get our team.

I would have much preferred a front of a community working to Get It Done, than one of a community trying to keep up a good front to a losing cause. Momentum is a palpable force when it occurs in a game. It can influence the outcome of a game. We are in a game right now, down to the fourth quarter.

I worry that it will matter

However, one thing that is lost on this is how our LOCAL media chose to report the story, which is likely how TNT collected their information. Nearly ever story I read stated that the arena vote “failed”.

Granted, it only took maybe 30 seconds of additional reading to clarify the meaning of “fail” in this context, but I recall many posters here being initially confused with the reports. It would have been nice if our local rags had found a more creative headline for the story that was less misleading/ambiguous. Something like “City Council Votes in Favor of Current Arena Development Process”.

The Red Headed Rantser will blow anything out of proportion and beat it worse than a dead horse. I will side with CWebb before I will side with Peaches. CWebb has done more for Sac Town then Peaches could ever do.

CWebb ef’d up along with the cru at TNT. So… so nothing. They did make a weak correction during the 2nd half, so be it. All I know is days later Sacramento is still being talked about, the corrections have be noted all over… we are still in the news.

I am taking some positives out of the mess…

However, of all the people on the TNT crew he should have known the facts prior to saying anything about the vote by the council. And I did not like his comment about a miracle needed for the Kings to remain in Sacramento. He should present a more positive attitude. The TNT reporters, even though they were former NBA players, should have known what they were talking about prior to opening their mouths. Also the after game TNT program really ticked me off listening to Shaq say the only reason the Kings won was because they were fired up playing on national TV. Kenny Smith wasn’t any better. The whole thing was just turrible. The phone call, just forget about it. It was also turrible.

Where are the Maloofs in all this? Are they not even bothered, letting the city and the mayor fight just as we are doing with the new arena? Get off the sidelines and get in the game, Joe and Gavin!

This is still going on?!?

I hate Grant Peachier

WEBBER WANTED TO BE POSITIVE. That’s why he got so angry. He got a phone call from The Napear show asking him to come on, he assumed it was going to be talking about how great the game was, how well the team played, how great it was to have Webber back in the building, how great the atmosphere was, and Napear just tried to shanghai him with a gotcha.

Webber got pissed for the same reason why Ziller is upset.