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“Air Allnite here and I have to tell all you dimwit Linndale basketball fans the truth. The truth is you’re going to see your basketball team exposed. You’re going to Carolina. Your best player is out sick. Rod Guyton hasn’t shown himself to be the scorer you were told he was. Kyle Knowles hasn’t been consistent. Ramon Sanz Garcaa is going to have to step up and be the player you’ve been waiting for, but the problem with that is if he were that guy you wouldn’t have needed to go out and bring in Hearn. Your season is going to come down to what kind of production you get from your bench, and which of your starters step up. Make no mistake Linndale fans, I’m telling you that tonight’s game is the season."

"You have 4 games left. You’re not beating San Dominica or Philly Dribble. You have to beat Carolina and Fondy. You don’t have a choice. You need to have your coach figure out how to steal 2 wins. He does not have that in him. That leaves you at 2-2 over the final four games of the season. You want a shot at the playoffs? You’re gonna have to go 3-1, and even then you might need help. I’m calling my shots. 209 misses the playoffs by finishing 2-2. Philly Dribble finishes 2-2. Carolina goes 3-1. Carolina and Philly go on to the playoffs. Lion Rebels finish 2-2 and hold on to the playoffs. Want to know why I’m picking Philly to get in? It’s simple. Linndale, you aren’t beating Philly. You aren’t beating Carolina. You can’t beat San Dominica. I said you had to 3 and 1 to make it. You’re going 1-3, and a healthy Hearn is not going to make a difference at all. Face it; I’m all right, all night."

"Who’s going to save you? Petriukstis? His regular season high is 13. Daniil Kamp? The disappearing man is your hope? Good luck with that. Trenton Tovar? Who is he going to stop defensively, and is his shot going to fall? Highly doubtful. Your season is in the hands of a newly acquired small forward whose name you can’t pronounce that you will likely play at power forward because he’s your best choice. Unless you happen to think Harrison Mann is going to all of a sudden be that guy. I will never understand why this town accepts mediocrity, but you do, and here we are. Time to face facts people. You’re being played. You’re not going to the playoffs. You’re just not good enough. But I do like to end on the positive, so here’s some positive news for you. Are you ready? You’ve got the best team in relegation games. You have that going for you."

"On second thought, who are we kidding? You’ll probably screw that up too! I'm Air Allnite, and that is the state of Linndale basketball. Don't hate me because I'm always right.”

Charles:
We welcome you to the Warrior’s Den, for 4/16/2023. It is the early morning. Just a few hours after the Warriors lost to the Carolina Rebels 86 to 80. So what happened last night. Well the Warriors have been able to flip the switch late in the 2nd half of games and pull out wins in game situations that the Warriors were pretty much dead or they’ve just pulled away and annihilated their opponents. Last night this wasn’t the case. Of course after the loss there were questions for Coach Stephenson

Reporter:
Coach, didn’t come away with the win after a late comeback in the 2nd half. The last few games you guys were able to pull it off. What was the difference in this game.

Coach Stephenson:
When you win, every thing is perfect, everyone wants to know your secrets. When you lose. Of course its what went wrong and who do you blame. Hmm, this one you have to put on me. There are times when maybe you overthink. That was the case here. Monday, Gordo is gonna be in my office just ready to let me have it and it’s gonna start like this: Coach I’m afraid you’ve been thinking … A dangerous pass time I know.

Nah, did a little bit too much thinking on this game and I got caught. Credit to Coach Merollin. She’s probably gonna get some flowers Monday from Blaine. But she came out with an usual approach and it paid off. We didn’t help ourselves with our shot selection, but I didn’t help by being too single focused on one aspect of the game and missed another.

Charles:
We’re gonna break from it there since the next question that got asked is the question that I want to get into first to start things off. And the question is how has the Carolina Rebels managed to figure out the San Dominica Warriors enough to score 2 wins against them.

Well the first thing is I would say its going into panic session to say that the Rebels have figured out the Warriors though I will admit if I’m a Warriors fan there are two coaches on the Big 8 that scare me to see on the opposing sidelines: Daisy Merolin and Pio Reina. And the reason I say this is that of the Big 5 coaches of the Big 8, the other two being Blaine of the Lion Rebels and Phil Wing of the Philly Dribble along with our own Coach Stephenson. Merolin and Reina both think along the same manner that Stephenson does. They both are very analytical, see the game like a chessboard and poke around looking for the weak spot on the board and attack it. Those three like to bait you into doing something and taking advantage of it. Now Blaine and Wing are more I know what players I have I know what players you have and they unleash their players to go and do that hoodoo that they do so well. And its paid off but Merolin and Reina are both capable of quote making Stephenson overthink.

Now for this game, the Warriors went away from their normal push the pace style to an outside Motion offense style while the Rebels went with the Princeton Offense, the result was a very slow game. Still curious to see how it goes with these two in a high tempo matchup.

739-277-4677. This is the Warrior’s Den. We have Stan on the line, Stan

Questioner:
Hey Charlie, love your show. I believe if the Warriors had a bit more time they could have pulled it off. But my question is should Coach go with Alidori at the point over Blanchet since Blanchet seems to be such a liability?

Charles:
Now Etienne Blanchet, no one can deny has incredible court vision and has shown that he is one of the best dime droppers in the league. That said he is lacking as a scorer and is not a shutdown defender like Alidori or Granja. The problem is first neither Alidori nor Granja can drop dimes better or equal than Blanchet and that is the important thing that Coach Stephenson wants from his point position. Second Alidori I have said it before is a better two than a one. Ali Baba is better at dropping dimes when he is in a scoring position. You want Ali somewhere in the wing where you have to worry about him potentially draining a perimeter shot or making a good dish. While Granja can certainly do his thing from the one, the gap that it leaves in the 3 spot just isn’t. While the Point Forward works with Tercero off the bench. It’s not a solution long term So no, for now its Blanchet at the point for now.

Again 739-277-4677. This is the Warrior’s Den.

First Time, Long Time:
(muffled voice) Hola Chuck! First time caller, long time listener. Love the show and obviously the Warriors. Just out of curiosity, what's the game plan tonight for your demolition of the Lion Rebels? Seems like it should be a walk-over win for us, but I just really want to know how you plan on taking them out this time? Over the years, you've only lost to them twice in nine games, including my favorite win where they looked like the only team out there and we crushed them by 20. Like I said, long time fan, never been a fan of either Rebels team. Personally, they're trash. I'll hang up and listen.

Last edited by Baine at 4/18/2023 12:53:36 PM

Charles:
Thanks, always glad to welcome a new caller to the flock. Now usually after seeing what I saw vs Carolina I would say I’d be shocked if the Warriors went anything other than up-tempo. Especially given how Armstead is no longer a spring chicken and Kuykendall has never impressed me with his ability to stay on the court in grueling pace matchups. Now I don’t say that so quickly for this game because of what and how the Lions slowed down the Warriors with that match up – outside box zone of theirs. Still the only team to hold the Warriors under 80 while the Dubs are going full go.

Now would that lightning strike twice is real question. I’d say no. Personally offensively, I think it doesn’t matter what the Warriors do they should have the advantage, but I can see that being in the back of Coach Stephenson’s mind especially following the match against Carolina.

The real question is what will the Warriors do defensively especially since the Lions tend to go with a three guard small line up with the 6’4” Stinger Singh at the three position. The Lions offense tends to like bees move all around, attacking from the perimeter and the three-point line. However, the Lions usually go big with their second unit particularly with Waters. Now their 3-2 zone slowed the Lions guards forcing Armstead and Kuykendall to take shots in bad positions on the interior and it was especially horrible for Hollins who will likely have to endure another 48 minutes of hell. However 3-2 zone could come haunt the Warriors if the Lions decide to run their offense through Armstead, who while aging is still a good player that can give any team fits. But no one is going to know until 7:00 in Daylis Arena when the ball tips off.

739-277-4677. This is the Warrior’s Den with Charles Sanborn


Last edited by Coach Stephenson at 4/18/2023 6:41:31 PM

Marshall Richards: “I’m here with coach Pio Reina, and coach, what went wrong and what has to improve?”

PR: “Well, the four first quarter fouls on Kamp were not optimal, nor was the slow start on offense. We’re battling on the boards right now, but the defense is keeping us in the game. We have to start knocking down some shots and tighten up defensively without fouling or it’s going to be a long night. We’re going to have to lean more on Art Reese more than we would like, but we’ll see. Kamp has got to be smarter than he was in the first quarter, but we’ll come out ready for the second quarter. There’s a lot of ball left to play in this game.”

MR: “Thanks, coach. Good luck the rest of the way."

Last edited by Speedtraps at 4/18/2023 10:02:40 PM

Marshall Richards: “Well coach---”

PR: “It’s no secret we miss Floyd out there. Then to go on and lose Mann for the second quarter and possibly the game? That’s problematic. Now we’re playing undersized. We’ve got to find a way to take and make more threes, but we also have to ratchet things up defensively and cause turnovers out there. We have to step the pace up. Ramon Sanz Garcaa is doing his part on the boards. Serkan Sokmen is carrying us offensively. We need the rest of the guys to go into attack mode. I expect that Carolina might be a bit worried in that Kyle Knowles and Rod Guyton have been very quiet so far. They both hit threes toward the end of the second quarter, so we’re confident they’ll come out firing and hitting in the second half. Sorry to cut you off there Marshall, but I gotta get to the locker room where my guys are waiting. “

MR: “That was coach Pio Reina in a hurry to go talk to his team. A rough and tumble first half sees Carolina up 41-38 at the half. Back to Happy Ourer in studio.”

HO: “Pio’s point on the three point shooting is a solid one, as Linndale is 4 of 8 from the outside while Carolina is 0 for 7. Pio’s squad will definitely need more of those to go in, especially if they have to play without Mann in the second half. Any thoughts, Air?”

AA: “I already said what I thought. I told you this team was a fraud and so was the coach. You’re not winning this game. The disappearing Daniil Kamp has lived up to his name so far. Where are you going to find those points on offense? I’ll believe in Guyton when he gives me a reason to, and not a second before. Kyle Knowles has been ominously quiet. He’s the guy I’d watch. Then again, he’s not going for 40 in the second half, so I think Carolina has this game won.”

HO: “Really? It’s only a 3 point lead for Carolina.”

AA: “It’s Pio Reina against Daisy Merollin. In this matchup, 3 points is almost a 30 point lead for Daisy. I said it before and I’ll keep saying it. Linndale needs a basketball coach. Pio Reina is not the guy. He stinks. He’s absolutely terrible.”

HO: “On that note, we’ll be back for the second half after these messages.”

Marshall Richards: “Happy, I’m here with Rod Guyton, Kyle Knowles, and Ramon Sanz Garcaa as Linndale walks off the court in Carolina as victors in a 95-90 win. Rod, I think this was what my colleague Air Allnite was waiting for from you.”

RG: “We don’t care what he was waiting for. We don’t care what he says. We won this game as a team. This was a team win!”

MR: “Kyle, you and Rod came up big when it mattered most.”

KK: “It was just our turn to come through for the guys. We don’t get this win without everyone playing together tonight.”

MR: “Big man, you crushed it with 24 rebounds tonight, but I want to know where that 3-ball came from!”

RSG: “You guys see the shooting contests after practice, but you guys don’t think anything about it. You shoot with guys like Kyle, Rod, and Shooter and you’ll get better, too. They made me confident I could do it.”

KK: “We don’t win this game without Serkan Sokmen coming up absolutely huge for us. Everybody played their part. This was a team win!”

RG: “We didn’t have our resident beast. We lost Harrison in the second quarter. Kamp had foul trouble and still managed to stay in the game and fight. This team stayed together, played together and we got it done. I love it when a plan comes together. Our plan was to just stick together and stay close, because we knew it was gonna take everybody and we’d find a way.”

RSG: “Floyd, we got you! Get better. We got you! That’s what’s up!”

MR: “Happy, back to you and Air in studio. I’m going to see if I can get a word with Pio Reina and Serkan Sokmen. A fabulous win for the guys. The final Linndale 95, Caroling 90!”

Last edited by Speedtraps at 4/20/2023 9:37:40 AM

Day 19 (Tuesday 18 April 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Fondy Cardinals 102 - 209’s MostWanted 115
Philly Dribble 117 - Flamin' Flamingos 100
San Dominica Warriors 70 - Lion Rebels 99
Linndale 95 - Carolina Rebels 90
The Beer Bellys 117 - Tasty Tardsicles 108
Miami Cleo 107 - Hustlas 96
The White Walkers 99 - STG on MCU 71
Cincinnati Slammers 65 - Żubr Białystok 106

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 117 : Philly Dribble, The Beer Bellys
Rebounds : 65 : Tasty Tardsicles
Assists : 34 : Philly Dribble
Steals : 10 : The White Walkers
Block Shots : 12 : Hustlas

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 46 : A. Vicys (The White Walkers)
Rebounds : 29 : J. Delaire (Flamin' Flamingos)
Assists : 10 : C. Wui Kwong (Tasty Tardsicles), G. Denković (Hustlas)
Steals : 3 : V. Štiberc (The White Walkers), D. Freire (The White Walkers)
Block Shots : 7 : S. Klin (Hustlas)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : A. Vicys (The White Walkers) (46 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 46
Shooting Guard : A. Ziółkowski (209’s MostWanted) (42 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 43
Small Forward : Y. Georgoulis (The Beer Bellys) (23 Points, 7 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 27
Power Forward : M. Anwander (Fondy Cardinals) (27 Points, 11 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35
Center : J. Delaire (Flamin' Flamingos) (8 Points, 29 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35

MVP of the evening
A. Vicys (The White Walkers) (46 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 46

The bad performance of the evening
M. Spaulding (Tasty Tardsicles) (0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)J. Röbern (STG on MCU) (0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)A. Mentis (The White Walkers) (0 Points, 1 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -2

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : S. Hollins (Lion Rebels) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : M. Woesler (Philly Dribble), P. Huddleston (Philly Dribble), A. Nikitinas (Tasty Tardsicles), Y. Semiramis (The Beer Bellys), U. Barbarossa (Cincinnati Slammers) : 5 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : A. Gallucci (Miami Cleo), C. Wui Kwong (Tasty Tardsicles), K. Brown (Lion Rebels), N. Hidasi (Żubr Białystok), R. Ainsworth (Cincinnati Slammers) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : A. Ziółkowski (209’s MostWanted) : 8 Three points

The best performer : P. Fasselli (Philly Dribble), T. Armstead (Lion Rebels) : Rating : 19.0

The worst performer : A. Mentis (The White Walkers) : Rating : 3.0

“Happy Ourer here with my colleagues Marshall Richards and Air Allnite at the biggest home game of the season for your Linndale basketball team, and it just happens to also be the last regular season home game of the season! A win tonight goes a long way towards securing a playoff spot. The math is simple; a win tonight puts Linndale 2 games up on Philly Dribble with 2 left to play. Linndale has San Dominica and the Fondy Cardinals left on tap, and in an interesting twist, Philly Dribble will have the same two opponents. Barring upsets in the last 2 games for each team, this game is for the playoffs. This is the game Linndale has to win; unfortunately, they’ll have to do it without the heart and soul of their turnaround, Floyd Hearn. Marshall, do you have any insight to offer on tonight’s game?”

“Happy, I’ve got to tell you the crowd is absolutely going to be a big part of this. Linndale is going to need the crowd to deliver that home court advantage big time. Make no mistake about it: Linndale feels like this is the win or go home moment for the season. They feel like they can win this game. They believe they will find a way to win this game. They know they have to win this game. They also understand having to do it without Floyd Hearn increases the degree of difficulty exponentially. To that end, they are treating as all hands on deck, and I understand that up until the last minute possible that the GM is feverishly trying to add a player to the team in hopes of giving the team an extra boost. I’ve spoken to officials around the league and most expect the team to either bring in another big man or bring in a true point guard. I have to tell you, while both make sense for differing reasons, the one thing that both Pio and the GM value above most is versatility. If they can, they’re going to get someone who can play multiple positions. I’ll remind you that if they were able to bring in a 6 foot 10 inch point guard who could play small forward or power forward, it would be a look that is familiar to long time Linndale fans.”

“Marshall, that’s a good point, and those teams were consistently in the playoffs and also a tough out. Air, what have you got on tonight’s game?”

“Well Happy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Actually, I don’t; who are we kidding here? If the team is even able to bring someone in at the last second, it won’t be enough. They aren't deep enough, they aren’t tough enough, and they aren’t good enough to beat Philly Dribble AND San Dominica. Make no mistake about it, they have to win both games to think about a playoff spot. Winning this game guarantees nothing. The only guarantee I have for you is that Pio Reina will outsmart himself again and keep this team from getting the win they need. Pio is not the coach you need, and if he loses this game, he may not be the coach you have. Lose this game and I’d fire him immediately. Actually, I would have never hired him; he’s awful!”

“Folks, Marshall and I will be back courtside from the I-77 Speedway and our colleague Air Allnite will do his best Debbie Downer impersonation when we return after these commercial messages!”

Last edited by Speedtraps at 4/23/2023 4:01:09 PM

Air Allnite: “and the fact that there’s no viable replacement for Hearn combined with the lack of depth overall and the lack of a first rate, bona fide true point guard means this team is done. I don’t know why I have to keep sayi---”

Marshall Richards: “I’m sorry to interrupt Air, but we have breaking news. I’ve just received word from the team’s PR Manager Alejandro Jayo and confirmed via league offices that Linndale has acquired 6 foot 10 inch point guard Eliyahu Hadad and he will be in the lineup for tonight’s pivotal matchup. He just arrived mere moments ago.”

AA: “Marshall, I guess it’s my turn to tee you up. What’s the scouting report say? What should we expect from the new guy?”

MR: “Defensively, he’s not the defender he was in the post, but he’s still solid. He’s still a very good perimeter defender. The handles and driving ability are still top notch. The rebounding is still very good. He’s got a good jumper, but lacks range. He can score inside, make free throws and is good passer. The only place you won’t play him is at center, unless you run a small ball lineup. Air, he fixes everything you hate about the team if Floyd Hearn is healthy.”

AA: “No he doesn’t Marshall, unless he can coach. So, an aging veteran on the downside of his career is expected to save the day. That didn’t work out so well last season, did it?”

Happy Ourer: “And folks, you thought that Debbie Downer act of his was just an act, didn’t you?”
AA: (angrily) “Happy---”

MR: “Folks we have to go to break and on the other side, we’ll see if we can grab a word with coach Pio Reina. Back after the break!”