The Front Office Thread

[nuraman00]

You might have missed this from last year, but clintonite33 and dma85 (from the ESPN forums) have been friends with Greg Miller for a little over a year. They met Greg Miller via Twitter.

He's invited them to several games, courtside.

Here's an article dma85 wrote on it, with a pic of all of them at the game.

I'm not sure how often dma85 has been invited since then, but clintonite33 has been invited several times. Or the guys from one of the radio stations (I forgot which) invite him (probably not courtside).

++++++++++++++++

ALLEN: How I got to sit courtside at the Jazz game in the owner's seats

 

[HammerDown]

Wow, can't imagine how exciting that must have been for them. Greg Miller sounds like a downright decent guy. Does he do this sort of thing often?

 

[nuraman00]

Wow, can't imagine how exciting that must have been for them. Greg Miller sounds like a downright decent guy. Does he do this sort of thing often?

No.

From what Clintonite33 told me, Greg was tired of all of the negative media about the Jazz, around the summer/fall of 2011. Clintonite33 was one of the more objective Tweeters, so he stood out.

(Side note - Clintonite33 didn't like the Kanter pick when it was made, and did also spend summer of 2011 tweeting / writing articles on how bad Kanter looked in summer league play, and exhibition play overseas. And he did catch flak from others for bashing Kanter's play before he had played a NBA game.

But he must have said other things that were more fair/balanced overall, and must have made an impression on Greg Miller that way.)

I'm not sure what dma85 had tweeted about with Greg, if at all, before they met that day. I'll ask her if she thinks she knows what it could have been to make her stand out, and if she's been to games with Greg Miller since then. She might not have said anything to Greg Miller before, but perhaps he noticed her from her articles, much the same way he seemed to read different media about the Jazz to see what the pulse about them was, among writers/bloggers/Tweeters.


I do think Clintonite33 and Greg have been to 2-4 more games since the initial one last year. At least two others from what I recall him telling me, when he was going.

 

[Sackataters]

Some fans have all the luck. My father in law just attended a wedding with Karl Malone. All I have is direct tv and a view of the pine trees...and a lonely forum or two. Speaking of which, the ESPN one is radiator springs. Everyone is completely ambivalent...hard not to be lately, but a home stretch is on the horizon.

 

[HammerDown]

Karl Malone was here in Temecula at the construction site of a restaurant he was partners in. My buddy called me to come down there. The Mailman was easy to spot. Just wow.

 

[nuraman00]

Some fans have all the luck. My father in law just attended a wedding with Karl Malone. All I have is direct tv and a view of the pine trees...and a lonely forum or two. Speaking of which, the ESPN one is radiator springs. Everyone is completely ambivalent...hard not to be lately, but a home stretch is on the horizon.

I actually enjoy road games a little more, because I know they can win at home. They do every year.

But if they play decent on the road, then that's more encouraging.

 

[MHSL82]

Some fans have all the luck. My father in law just attended a wedding with Karl Malone. All I have is direct tv and a view of the pine trees...and a lonely forum or two. Speaking of which, the ESPN one is radiator springs. Everyone is completely ambivalent...hard not to be lately, but a home stretch is on the horizon.

What does this mean? I tried to figure it out from context of the rest of the post, but am not sure. Thanks.

 

[nuraman00]

What does this mean? I tried to figure it out from context of the rest of the post, but am not sure. Thanks.

Ghost town.

This isn't even the first time he's used that reference, he used it on ESPN a few times last summer. As a robot, YOU should know!

Here's an alternate answer:

Is there a real town named radiator springs

 

[nuraman00]

Karl Malone was here in Temecula at the construction site of a restaurant he was partners in. My buddy called me to come down there. The Mailman was easy to spot. Just wow.

Nice story.

Thanks for sharing, Lakers32.

 

[nuraman00]

Reposing Sackataters's post of how he met Sloan, from another site.

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Nuraman!! Off the top of my head, I wouldn't even know how to go into the archive with this new venue. It is funny though. My father-in-law is in town today (he lives in Utah). We were talking Jazz basketball. I've been a Jazz man since 1998. The one pillar that has always been there is Jerry Sloan. When John retired, yeah that was tough. Seeing Karl wear the gold jersey, that was bad. But, for me, it doesn't even come close to that day last winter when I heard that Jerry was retiring. I literally went kind of numb. It was one of those "when the music died" moments (American Pie).


As far as THE handshake, it really was a heart-racing moment for me. I was in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. My father-in-law purchased a couple lower bowl tickets for the Lakers game (birthday present). Well, we actually came from behind and beat the Lakers in the ESA. The confetti was flying everywhere. It was so awesome - being that close to the action. So, I had to see one more game before I made the trip back home. They were playing the Bucks - cheaper tickets - so I took my wife and 2 kids. We arrived really early to see the players shoot-around. We went down to the tunnel area and the kids got a few autographs - Bell, Memo, Evans, Big Al. Then, THE legend came walking down the tunnel to do a quick pre-game interview. He looked up at us and said, I'll be right back - just give me a moment. Well, most of the kids that had been eagerly waiting for players kind of lost interest - who is that old man? Not me though, I was frozen like a deer in headlights. Sure enough, he came back - signed my son's ballcap and a couple tickets. I tried several times to say "thank you Jerry", but the voice wouldn't come - SPEECHLESS, breathy air. But, finally, I got my pulse down to about 160 and thanked him. I asked if I could shake his hand and he said "sure". The old lady standing guard at the bottom of the stairs let my by real quick and I got to shake his hand. It only lasted a few seconds and then he was off to tend to his team. But, my wife could see it in my eyes when I walked up the stairs - like a kid on Xmas morning.


So, that was a great day. I don't idolize people, but Jerry Sloan is a living legend in my eyes. I admire his work ethic, his humble approach. He is like an old juniper tree up on a ridge, unwaivering and unmovable - timeless. It will be very interesting to watch the Jazz play (when the lockout ends). Hopefully, we'll see a little Sloan in Coach Corbin - at least some curse words and a few T's. Sorry for the wordy post! Go Jazz.



October 1 2011, 8:09 PM

 

[MHSL82]

Ghost town.

This isn't even the first time he's used that reference, he used it on ESPN a few times last summer. As a robot, YOU should know!

Here's an alternate answer:

Is there a real town named radiator springs

You're the robot computer. I'm the tranquilized comedian. I'd be funny if it weren't for being unable to move (show, speak, or type humor). Instead what comes out is not serious but yet not funny.

I thought it might have meant ghost town, but it could also mean something to do with trolls, bandwagoners, or something else. In other words, I was basically clueless despite having the inkling on what it meant.

 

[nuraman00]

You're the robot computer. I'm the tranquilized comedian. I'd be funny if it weren't for being unable to move (show, speak, or type humor). Instead what comes out is not serious but yet not funny.

I thought it might have meant ghost town, but it could also mean something to do with trolls, bandwagoners, or something else. In other words, I was basically clueless despite having the inkling on what it meant.

Yeah, hopefully he clarifies the next time he posts.

 

[MHSL82]

Reposing Sackataters's post of how he met Sloan, from another site.

++++++++++++++++++++

When John retired, yeah that was tough. Seeing Karl wear the gold jersey, that was bad. But, for me, it doesn't even come close to that day last winter when I heard that Jerry was retiring. I literally went kind of numb. It was one of those "when the music died" moments (American Pie)...Sorry for the wordy post! Go Jazz.

I won't pretend to be as big of a Jerry fan as you are because when people pretend to be as much of Steve Martin/Alex Smith/Jeremy Lin fan as I am, it annoys me unless I believe them. But, I too felt a bit numb when I heard it because it was a stable thing in life. Death, taxes, and Jerry Sloan were about the only things you could count on being there. Honestly, I think we all wish taxes or death was the one removed. However, Stockton was the biggest sadness of them all for me - the way he said he was done. The reporter asked him when he was sitting at his locker and he said something to the effect of "I think I'm done." I would seriously owe someone a lot if they found that on YouTube or video. I'm not an emotional guy, but I felt physically sad when I heard that because of the way he said it. I'm not talking about the press conference.

 

[nuraman00]

I won't pretend to be as big of a Jerry fan as you are because when people pretend to be as much of Steve Martin/Alex Smith/Jeremy Lin fan as I am, it annoys me unless I believe them. But, I too felt a bit numb when I heard it because it was a stable thing in life. Death, taxes, and Jerry Sloan were about the only things you could count on being there. Honestly, I think we all wish taxes or death was the one removed. However, Stockton was the biggest sadness of them all for me - the way he said he was done. The reporter asked him when he was sitting at his locker and he said something to the effect of "I think I'm done." I would seriously owe someone a lot if they found that on YouTube or video. I'm not an emotional guy, but I felt physically sad when I heard that because of the way he said it. I'm not talking about the press conference.

I remember that.

It would be unlikely to be on YouTube, that was just getting started then.

 

[Sackataters]

Ghost town.

This isn't even the first time he's used that reference, he used it on ESPN a few times last summer. As a robot, YOU should know!

Here's an alternate answer:

Is there a real town named radiator springs

You guys are funny. Yeah, a ghost town..from the movie Cars. One of my kids' movies that I guess I must have liked. We do a lot of back road driving trips and I often think of Radiator Springs. Small, run down places where the locals look you up and down with dubious suspicion.

 

[Sackataters]

Speaking of Greg Miller, I wish he would channel some of his dads charisma. He seems like a complacent owner. He sits there and is not animated. I wouldn't want him to be Cuban like, but bark once in awhile to show the players who cuts the checks.

 

[Sackataters]

And, if you were owner, what would be the first thing to do to this team?

 

[MHSL82]

Sackataters, are you excited with Chip Kelly staying at Oregon or were they set up to succeed without him, too? Or both? I don't know much about Oregon football other than they were good and have been good for awhile. They also give Stanford trouble, which is good for my USC Trojans (need every help we can get) and potentially one day could help the Utes (they could also hurt the Utes, too).

 

[MHSL82]

Speaking of Greg Miller, I wish he would channel some of his dads charisma. He seems like a complacent owner. He sits there and is not animated. I wouldn't want him to be Cuban like, but bark once in awhile to show the players who cuts the checks.

The only thing publicly that I've seen about Greg Miller was his spat with Malone. I don't think those two would work well together to say the least.

 

[Sackataters]

I won't pretend to be as big of a Jerry fan as you are because when people pretend to be as much of Steve Martin/Alex Smith/Jeremy Lin fan as I am, it annoys me unless I believe them. But, I too felt a bit numb when I heard it because it was a stable thing in life. Death, taxes, and Jerry Sloan were about the only things you could count on being there. Honestly, I think we all wish taxes or death was the one removed. However, Stockton was the biggest sadness of them all for me - the way he said he was done. The reporter asked him when he was sitting at his locker and he said something to the effect of "I think I'm done." I would seriously owe someone a lot if they found that on YouTube or video. I'm not an emotional guy, but I felt physically sad when I heard that because of the way he said it. I'm not talking about the press conference.

Check out this video on YouTube: the announcement is at the end.

John Stockton's last post-game press conference and retirement announcement - YouTube