Saturday, November 17, 2018

In Midst of Warriors' Durant-Green Dust-Up, NBC Sports Bay Area's Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett Said Nada; Papa and St. Jean Too; 'Irresponsible' Says Chronicle's Jenkins; I Agree and More

Image result for Bob Fitzgerald Warriors NBC Sports Bay Area
Jim Barnett (l) and Bob Fitzgerald
IN Today's SF Chronicle, Sporting Green columnist Bruce Jenkins, noted it was "irresponsible" that NBC Sports Bay Area's Warriors' broadcasters Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett made no mention of the team's Kevin Durant and Draymond Green dust up.

I would go even farther: I'd call it unprofessional and an insult to the Bay Area fans of the Warriors who don't expect such blatant cover up and masking of facts.

This is not Kansas; this is the Bay Area and the fandom here is quite intelligent and knows when they're being fed BS and blather --in this case they were provided NEITHER, nothing, not one mention. And that's a travesty. A complete farce.

Worse, during the Thursday night pregame show on NBCSBA, neither studio host, Greg Papa, nor Garry St. Jean made any mention of the Durant-Green imbroglio --fortunately, as Jenkins wrote, many people don't watch the show because they don't have time. They're not missing anything.

I HEARD through the grapevine that Papa was blistered by unforgiving e-mails and phone calls after Thursday's broadcast.

Frankly, it is inconceivable that Papa and crew didn't even acknowledge what the whole sporting world, not just the NBA arena, was going back and forth with which pretty much tells you all you need to know about boorish Papa's kid-glove treatment of the team he covers.

Image result for Greg Papa Garry St. Jean NBC Sports Warriors
Greg Papa (l), Garry St. Jean and Kelenna Azubuike
Fitzgerald is another story. He's a smarmy, overbearing, ass-kisser and he is not taken seriously around these parts; in fact, Fitzgerald is paid by the Warriors it should be pointed out but even at that, something about the on-court incident needed to be said. It was not.

That's just downright insane and an insult to the intelligence of Bay Area sports fans but am I surprised anymore? Sadly, no.

19 comments:

  1. Papa and Fitzgerald, I can't stand either one of them, and Papa has been wrong on so many things it's hard to count them, such as the day after the KD/Draymond confrontation, Papa said no big deal, it's all family, and so on. He was wrong, this is a big deal and I don't see both players on the team next year. Papa also guaranteed that Mack would sign and start the 1st regular season game for the Raiders, wrong again, as arrogant and overly confident as he is, he gets a lot wrong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I respect Papa's opinion on things, but at times he can be wrong. I don't like how on his radio show sometimes that when Bonta mentions his thoughts on things, that Papa at times discredits him or tells him that he's overreacting or that he's being a fan or that he's wrong.

      Bonta is a smart guy, and yeah, he can be a fan at times, and maybe he can overreact some, but Bonta knows what he's talking about, and I think he has more of a pulse on how the fans feel on certain issues in Bay Area sports, than Papa does. Not to say Papa is racist or anything like that, but I remember when he used to be on Jon Lund, he never told him he was wrong or discredited his sports knowledge or opinions. I'd rather listen to Bonta host a show than Jon Lund.

      Also, I don't know if you've noticed this as well, but when Papa and Bonta get into a deep discussion on a Bay Area sports topic, when Papa gives his opinions he then follows it up with a "I don't know". It's almost like why bring it up when you don't know? LOL. Maybe he doesn't want to be wrong. haha.

      But yes, don't get me wrong, I like Greg Papa, and he has a wealth of knowledge, but he can be wrong at times. Part of it might be because he has a reputation to uphold.

      Delete
    2. 5:08 PM - I agree with you, I'll take Bonta over moron Lund anytime, and Papa treats him like he's an idiot simply for having a different view or opinion, and then he's quickly dismissed as if he's a child, just more Papa arrogance.

      Delete
    3. Bonta should never have been put on the show. Amateur takes, no edge, and he sounds perpetually congested. Blow your nose please. Papa is becoming less and less a factor in everything.

      Delete
    4. 6:37 AM- Bonta can hold his own with Greg Papa and the show is still a successful show. Even though Papa had a good thing with Lund and they had a successful show together, at the same time, they joked around all the time. At least Bonta helps keep the show focused on the sports topics that him and Papa plan to talk about for that day.

      With that being said, 95.7 probably should've paired Bonta with Guru. They both bring energy to their shows, and their passion for sports is there. Greg Papa is more measured, and he doesn't really get too high or too low on Bay Area sports topics. Part of that could be because he's probably seen and heard everything covering pro sports for over 30 yrs. The same could be said for Steinmetz too as he covered the Warriors for years.

      It's just refreshing to hear younger broadcasters who have that passion for sports, but still know what they're talking about in Bonta and Guru. Plus, they are both up-and-coming broadcasters on 95.7.

      Papa is good, but it would be nice if someone stood up to him every now and then. Bonta tries to hold his own, but this is pretty much his first full-time sports talk radio gig and I'm sure he wouldn't want to ruin the opportunity he currently has (hosting a weekday afternoon show with Greg Papa), if he ever stood up to Greg Papa.

      I think if they put Steinmetz with Papa, that might not work well as Steinmetz at times can be like Papa where he can talk down to his co-hosts and gets mad or belittle your point if you don't agree with him. Ratto actually keeps a guy like Steinmetz in line though. It's funny how different Steinmetz acts when Ratto is co-hosting with him. Not sure if I would want Ratto to be on any of these shows everyday though, as his act kind of gets tired fast, even though it's funny how awkward he can make conversations.

      But yes, Bonta co-hosting with Papa is working out so far, even though I think pairing Bonta with Guru would be a little better.

      Delete
  2. Hopefully, Papa will continue to get fired at the various entities that employ him, and vanish from the airwaves, never to be seen or heard from again. Ditto Fitzgerald.


    ReplyDelete
  3. how is it that fitzgerald is employed? hard to believe that the warriors and knbr cannot find anyone better. knbr's lineup is putrid, top to bottom, and fitzgerald sits comfortably at the bottom. sports talk radio does not necessarily attract the best and brightest but in the bay area it is particularly weak.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My guess is that ALL were asked not to discuss the matter. And like good little soldiers, they did what they were told to do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bravo! Fitzgerald is a snotty, snarky SOB who isn't liked by most of his peers and others around the NBA. He only likes you if you can do something for him. It doesn't matter what business you're in. It just so happens that he's in a visible position and he'll get more attention than someone who collects garbage. Solid post. On point.

    ReplyDelete
  6. guaranteed to get a laugh out of Durant/Green...tell them that Bruce Jenkins is called ''Ol' B.J.'' by a reader.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think Fitz probably can't talk about certain issues on telecasts, even though in the Atlanta game, him and Barnett kind of hinted at the KD-Draymond situation when they were mentioning the kind of week it's been for the Warriors. Watching the telecast, you kind of knew what they were talking about.

    I remember back when Kobe was going through his situation back in 2003 with the rape case, and I think the Lakers were playing the Warriors in L.A. a day or two after he had to go to Colorado for one of his trials. Fitz and Barnett didn't even mention Kobe's case that night at all, not even once. They didn't talk about what Kobe's rape case situation would've meant for the Lakers at that time.

    But yeah, I'm guessing maybe Fitz and Barnett might've been told not to talk about the KD-Draymond situation, even though I agree, it would've been nice if they would've at least mentioned it. It was a major issue with the team this week, and everyone here in the Bay Area has been talking about it. This situation had/has the potential to prematurely end this Warriors current run, but it looks like the Warriors will hopefully eventually persevere from this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Warriors return to San Francisco in 2019-2020, but already are beginning to act like their reconnecting baseball neighbors (and only blocks away this time, not opposite sides of town like 1962-71). I guess Lacob & Lockstep are close enough to be PR CEO clones.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The words loathsome and detestable are some of the words that come to mind when I think of Bob Fitzgerald.
    I am reminded of these character flaws each time I tune into his radio program and hear him berate or chastise his callers.
    No one in America is surprised by this man's silence.
    What would do you expect from a feeble minded man?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I used to feel sorry for Greg Papa because Fitz stole his Warriors' broadcasting job. No more. Papa's a smarmy shithead, and so is Rudy. They both need to go.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 9:44 AM, totally agree....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fitzgerald has to be one of the most annoying people on bay area radio. He's a smarmy, condescending jerk, and it's hard for me to figure out why he still has a job. Sports radio around these parts should be a lot better. I stopped listening to it over a year ago on a regular basis because of the hosts. I just can't take it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think that Bob Fitzgerald knew a lot more then he was telling the next day on his Radio show with Rod Brooks, Rod tried to prod Bob, but Bob didn't want to get in trouble with his main company (the Warriors) Yes I find this bad reporting by Bob. He sat on A story that he obviously knew more about to save his ass...

    ReplyDelete