We begin Odds & Ends this week with something that many have brought up to not only myself,but others as well is why the Golden State Warriors don’t show games here in the Valley and elsewhere.

Sure,the first response is because the Sacramento Kings exist and have priority,but why not show both teams in the area like MLB shows the A’s and the Giants?

For starters,the teams don’t even air their games on the same channel. The Kings are shown on CSN California and the Warriors are on CSN Bay Area. I don’t think it would hurt anyone if both teams were on locally. I understand the Kings would be against something like this because they want to protect the size of their fanbase and don’t want a competing division rival showing their games in their market,but I disagree. What will make the Kings’ fanbase thrive and keep their interest is if the team is winning games,which is not the case as of press time. Think back to their glory days when they were winning Pacific Division titles and making deep playoff runs, they had a vast fan base that stretched out beyond Sacramento, you had fans in Reno and the North State and even towards Fresno. Hell,even a few Bay Area people were bleeding purple,but I’d say that was because the Warriors were terrible back then. That spirit can happen again if the team gets it together and starts winning games and develops a winning culture,which to me,is the most lacking thing with this franchise.

It’s clear to me now more than ever that there are Warriors fans in this area,whether they’re transplants from the Bay Area or they became fans last year all of a sudden,there’s a big fan contingent for the team here whether any of us Kings fans like it or not and I don’t think it’s all too fair for those fans to have to shell out $200 for NBA League Pass to see their team play.

Could the Philadelphia 76ers be any more of a trainwreck of a franchise? I think Yes!

Not only did NBA commissioner Adam Silver have to bring in Jerry Colangelo to come babysit because the franchise is absolutely doing everything to not win any games. Their latest personnel move cements that theory when they gave coach Brett Brown a contract extention of two years. Brown has won just 38 games as the 76ers head coach and lost 151 games. The 76ers are 1-24 as of press time.

Elsewhere this kind of futility would warrant a pink slip, but not in Philadelphia. I’m guessing it’s because this is the course the team wants to stay and since Brown is the guy at the helm of that sinking ship,he’s getting rewarded for it. Now,keep in mind,I hate seeing coaches getting fired as much as the next person,but when you’ve got a league where George Karl has less job security than Brett Brown, something’s gotta give.

Now that the Giants have added Jeff Samardzija to their starting rotation, fans are wondering where they’ll turn next.
Division rival Arizona has turned up the heat on the offseason by winning the Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller and the Cubs have signed Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist (who turned down a bigger offer from the Giants to sign with Chicago),so it’s anyone’s guess as to who they’ll go after and even if they go after someone.

There’s a gaping hole in left field and a guy like Alex Gordon or Justin Upton could easily fill it. Gordon,31,hit 13 home runs and had a .271 batting average in 2015 on his way to helping the Royals win their first World Series in 30 years. Upton,28,hit 26 home runs and had a .251 average with San Diego last season. Yoenis Cespedes is also on the market. Cespedes,30,hit 35 total home runs with both Detroit and the New York Mets and was instrumental in helping the Mets reach the World Series for the first time since 2000.Personally,I’ll take either one of these guys so long as we have somebody who can produce quality at-bats and play a good outfield.

The Giants could also use some middle relief with the retirement of Jeremy Affeldt and the loss of Yusmeiro Petit to the Nationals. There is a guy they know who can be of help with that who is available. He has two Cy Youngs and has been a long reliever in the past and is nicknamed “The Freak”. Anyone?

Anyways,I hope the Giants make some sort of move and I hope they do it soon,otherwise fans are going to wonder how in the world this team as they stand right now is going to make it back to the World Series.

That’s about all I have for this week’s edition, until next time!