George Maloof, American Hero

Kings owner George Maloof was on Grant Napear's radio show on KHTK Friday afternoon to deliver a firm defense of his team's position.

Here are the highlights:

George Maloof is an American hero.

He thinks about his community first.

He believes that we should hire cops and firefighters and put that pesky arena thingy on the back burner.

He is says he's perfectly fine with a nice paint job on the old arena.

He says the team stands ready and able to spend money on players.

He doesn't understand why people consider him a villain.

It was such an impossibly lame, self-serving example of double-speak that you could barely believe he was able to get through the interview without uttering an evil giggle.  Through it all,  Mr. Napear barely managed to challenge a single assertion.

Like why the Kings allowed the NBA to negotiate for them over the past year without an inkling of what was being negotiated.

Like why Gavin and Joe have been effectively silenced after years of being the faces of the franchise.

Like why, if the Kings want to stay in Sacramento, they won't sign some kind of agreement to stay in the city for at least the next three years.

Like why any Kings fan should believe the Maloof family has the financial ability to compete in the world of professional sports.

Like pushing George to offer one example of how the Kings have spent any money in the past five years to spruce up the current arena.

Like why we should think that the Maloofs have any business acumen at all after the deterioration of both the Palms Casino and the Kings over the past 10 years.

Like why a team that was so committed to staying in Sacramento had all but packed the moving vans last year to head for Anaheim.

Then again, I suppose there is no need to question George Maloof about any of those things.

After all, he is an American hero.

Grant Napear officially declares he's a shill for Maloofs

Thank you Grant Napear.

Yup, in a none-too-shocking admission, KHTK's resident sports blowhard finally admitted it on Monday.

He's a shill for the Maloofs.

A mouthpiece.  A plant.  An accomplice. The Panderer-in-Chief.

Now he didn't have to use those exact words, but it was clear when he proudly proclaimed on his radio show that there's no reason for him to badmouth the Maloofs since the Maloofs have been very good for Grant Napear (yes, he used the dreaded third person).

This is all fine and dandy, except Mr. Napear has always slyly implied that he's an even-handed player in the entire arena debacle.

Look, I wouldn't blast my boss if he was writing my checks either, but I would make it clear almost every time the subject came up by stating these simple words:

I am not a fair arbiter in this situation since I am employed by the owners of the Kings, but I would be happy to give you my opinion.

That almost never happened.

Instead, for years, he has berated caller after caller who dared to hold the Maloofs in a less-than-flattering light.

He must have a bulging hernia for all the water he's carried.

And now, when everyone in the sports world can see that the Maloof behavior has risen to the level of Weasel Defcon I, there is no way he should be even attempting to maneuver his flighty bosses into a more favorable position.

The NBA thinks the Maloofs have lost their minds.

The city of Sacramento thinks they're dishonest liars.

The Sacramento fans have had it with the years of insufferable negotiation stances.

But Grant "The Shill" Napear believes we should all just back off, play nice, and give all the sides the benefit of the doubt.

This is so transparently the message of P.R. outfit hired by the Kings that is is truly laughable.

Yes, the Maloofs have finally shown their true colors.

And finally, so has Grant Napear.

The Secret Transcript of personal call between C-Webb and Grant Napear

By now, you've probably heard about the infamous encounter between Chris Webber and Grant Napear on Grant's radio show on Friday.  If you didn't, here's a quick recap: 

C-Webb babbled on for three minutes about how he has made it his one-man mission to save the Kings and was offended that someone would question his motives, all the while never answering Napear's question about an obvious misstatement made during TNT's Thursday night' broadcast against the Thunder.  He then hung up.

Easily the most entertaining moment in the history of Grant Napear simply because:

A.)  Grant barely spoke.
B.)  Webber showed himself to be a total ass.

But did anyone know that Napear allegedly made a personal call to Webber off the air just minutes after his show ended.

Thanks to an inside source at the radio station, we have the alleged transcript of that call.

Grant: Yo, Chris...

Webber:  Who's this?

Grant: It's me.  Grant.

Webber: Shit.

Grant: Don't hang up.

Webber: I game you the damn interview.  What else do you want?

Grant: I just wanted--

Webber: To apologize?

Grant: No.

Webber: I'm C-Webb, you know.

Grant: I know.

Webber:  Don't freakin' question me.  Tell me your sorry.

Grant: But I just wanted--

Webber: I love Sacramento.  I once for a couple of minutes thought about living there after I finished playing.  Thanks to me, people know where your damn-ass city even is.

Grant: Well that's not exactly true.

Webber:  Damn straight it is.  Why are you calling me?  I have to go to a wardrobe check. 

Grant:  Look, I guess I might be a little sorry you felt--

Webber:  That's right. Start sucking up, Grant.  Like when you talk to Gavin and Joe.  Never heard you ask them a tough question.

Grant:  That's insulting.

Webber: Oh yeah, I forgot, you do berate your dumb-ass callers.  Getting all New Yawk on them.  Why does anybody listen to you?

Grant:  I happen to be the top-rated radio sports host in Sacramento.

Webber: You're the only radio sports host in Sacramento.

(long pause)

Grant: I like you Chris.

Webber: Call me Mr. Webber.

Grant: What?

Webber:  You got wax in your ears?

Grant:  This isn't fair.  I was only asking you a simple question and then you--

Webber: You tell those broke-ass owners they should be bowing down and thanking me.

Grant: Thanking you? 

Webber: When I talk, people listen. I'm C-Webb.  C-Webb carries a lot of juice.  C-Webb rules the roost.

Grant: Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?

Webber:  What third person, ass?  It's just me and you.  It's just C-Webb and you.  No third person. 

(long pause)

Grant: I'm done.

Webber:  Don't be angry, Grant.

Grant: This is unbelievable.

Webber: Tell the people of Sacramento I love them.

Grant: Go to hell.

(dial tone)

Agitated and unhinged, Joe Maloof is a man in true denial mode

If there's one thing we've discovered through this entire relocation saga, it's this:  Both the fans and the Maloofs have been put through a meat grinder.

We've seen over the past months how the fans have reacted -- with creativity, enthusiasm and verve.

But we hadn't seen the toll on the Maloofs until Monday.  Specifically, until Monday afternoon when Sacramento Kings owner Joe Maloof was interviewed on KHTK's Grant Napear show.

It was disturbing, to say the least.

Maloof was clearly agitated and out-of-breath.  Maybe even severely sleep deprived.  You could almost feel his sweat coming through the radio. He seemed defensive, annoyed and downright frayed.  An image of Gary Busey comes to mind. He said all the right things, but the subtext was palpable.  He was a man done wrong.

Joe Maloof denied his family was in financial trouble.  He denied the league forced him to stay in Sacramento.   In fact, he denied the return to Sacramento was anything but  his family's idea.

Yes, this was a man in real denial.

And I didn't believe a word of it.

He sounded especially unhinged when talking about a seat snafu in the final game of the season when Lakers fans were seated in the customary Maloof seats.  Joe huffed and puffed, sputtered and disavowed any knowledge of the incident.

His voice rose and fell as he tried to put his thoughts together.  He vowed to spend money on free agents and compete, but it wasn't clear where all this new money was coming from.

By the time the interview was over, I could imagine Joe collapsing on the floor in a puddle.

In the end, it doesn't much matter what brought the team back to Sacramento.  They are here and the city gets one last shot.

But whether Joe Maloof can last another year without puncturing a blood vessel in his brain is another story.

Hey Grant Napear, get a clue and stop sucking up to the Maloofs

Grant Napear spent Tuesday afternoon ranting and raving about how the Sacramento Bee had so maligned the poor little Maloof boys over the past decade that now they were taking their balls and leaving town.

Any opposing viewpoint was shouted down with the lunacy of a fifth-grader throwing a tantrum.

Give me a break.

Napear is a shill.  Plain and simple.  He is not an honest broker.  He is not a journalist.  Accepting his word on the Kings' situation is akin to accepting Bernie Madoff's word on a hot investment.

He is paid by the Kings.  He is their employee.  If he bad mouthes his bosses, he gets the boot.  If he sucks up, he gets a pat on his little red head and gets to play TV boy for another year.

The Bee's coverage had no effect on the decision making of the Maloofs.

Full disclosure:  I worked at the Bee for almost 20 years in the sports department, but I'm not a Bee apologist.  In fact, anyone who worked with me will tell you that I had plenty of complaints about the way the newspaper was run.  I'm good at complaining.  Some say I'm an expert.  (note to my former executive editor and managing editor:  It's called creativity and innovation.  You promote it, you don't quash it.  You guys were so far behind the curve, you couldn't even see the curve.)

But to say the arena cause was beaten down by the Bee is just plain stupid.

The Bee columnists have been strong proponents of a new arena.  Ailene Voisin and Marcos Breton have written tirelessly in support of a new building.

When the Kings were riding high, the Bee was a publicity machine for the team, pumping out special sections, posters and signs to hold up at the arena.

Yes, the newspaper has done a few stories that didn't show the Maloofs in a very flattering light, most recently a piece that quoted numerous sources in regards to the brothers' penchant for outlandish negotiating.

But sorry, folks, it's called reporting.  The Maloofs don't get a free ride.

And, besides, there's plenty of blame for this failure all around.

I personally believe an awful economy and a growing distaste for increased government spending are the two biggest reasons a new arena deal hasn't gotten done.

In addition, I believe the fixation on a downtown location was misguided.   Natomas was fine.  All the infrastructure is already there.  The cost of building a new arena in the current location would have been far cheaper and a whole lot easier to get done.  Keeping the Kings -- not revitalizing the railyards -- should have been the focus.  A downtown arena was an intricate pipe dream with far too many moving pieces.

But let's face it, there just isn't that much free private money in this town.   We don't have any spare billionaires ready to parachute in as an angel investor.

So now the Kings are most likely gone.

And we get back to the bombastic blowhard known as Grant Napear.

Stop the act, Grant.  Yes, we know the Maloofs give plenty to charity.  We know they are really nice guys.  But we don't need your phony objective views when you're clearly on the payroll.

Furthermore, we don't need your doomsday prophecies.

"If we lose the Kings," he proclaimed with searing intensity.  "You'll never see an NBA team here for the rest of your lifetime."

As if that was a punishment from God for our sins.

It's probably true.  But what does that mean?

We'll still lead our lives.  We'll still struggle to keep our jobs.  We'll still proudly raise our families. And we'll still enjoy our free time -- maybe in different ways.

Napear is a boob.  A flame-throwing flunky without an ounce of nuance.

If he moves to Anaheim, we may never see another one like him for the rest of our lifetimes.

We can only hope.




P.S. Invite me on for a debate, Grant.   Maybe I'll be able to make a point in between your tireless rants.

Grant Napear sucks up to the Maloofs again -- and it ain't pretty

KHTK broadcaster Grant Napear spent Wednesday's radio show blowing unicorn dust up the asses of Joe and Gavin Maloof.

Nothing new there, but this was truly pathetic.

Challenged by frustrated fans about the team's cost-cutting and inability to secure high-priced talent, Napear could have finally broken free from the company line and ripped the team's ownership.

Instead, he told his listeners that they should be patient because the Maloofs are waiting to see the new collective bargaining agreement before they begin to spend money.

This is a crock.

Look, if the Maloofs want to nickel and dime and put an inferior product on the floor, it's their business. But don't expect the fans to be patient.

And don't expect them to buy tickets, no matter how many promotional deals they might offer.

Right now, there is no way I expect this team to be here next year.

A deal for a new arena is stone-cold dead. Arco is a morgue. The coach is lost. And the team lacks talent, energy and any charisma.

Why would any business owner keep the team in town?

But Mr. Napear is fine with this. Deal with it, he tells fans. Wait to make your decision until after the new CBA is signed.

One caller asked Grant to name a team that has pinched pennies more than the Kings. Lots of them, he intoned. And then named the Utah Jazz.

Oh yeah, the Jazz. The team with the 7th highest payroll in the league. The team that had no problem trading for Al Jefferson, a player who is owed $13 million, $14 million and $15 million over the next three seasons.

Sounds like a perfect analogy to me.

Look, if the Maloofs want to fill seats and generate enthusiasm for a new arena, they have to SPEND MONEY NOW. That's the only way you sell product. Not by cheesy seat deals. Sure, spending money now hurts the bottom line, but it builds good will, gets fans back in the seats, and turns around the momentum.

Unless, of course, you are not interested in any of those things.

Which looks very much the case right now.

Mr. Napear needs to stop bowing to the Maloofs. He needs to stop bailing the buckets of water out of their sinking ship and start laying down the truth.

I'm not holding my breath.