The TK Challenge
by JSML on Nov 20, 2009 12:01 AM PST
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I got to thinking last night... TK talks a good game, but has he actually ever been right about any big Warriors personnel moves? Ever?
He postures as the one in the know. And from the outside, it seems like he should know. First, it's his job! He works on it 50 hours a week. Second, he has used the phrase "confirmed by inside sources" or "word from the player's inner circle" about a million times. Third he writes about a million words a week confirming his own "knowingness".
So with all that, I ask, did the all mighty TK tell us about any of the following block busters before they happened:
1) Dunmurphy trade
2) Baron trade
3) Jason Richardson trade
4) Baron opting out
5) Harrington - Nelson blow up and trade
6) Jackson asking to be traded
I think that covers the biggest happenings the last 3 years and I don't recall TK harping on any of these before they happened.
TK or anyone else, please do correct me in the comments if I am wrong.
TK is one of the most entertaining and hard working reporters around and our sports scene would be less without him. Keep up the uh... good work!
This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!
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Pointless
When a person is paid per word, they will go to any lengths to make their story read by the public. Not to completely discount TK, but he has discredited himself over the years. There have been numerous articles that could have been printed into a variable National NBA Enquirer. His “sources” might be players, or members within the organization, or voices in his head that remind him that he needs to get paid by reporting about a team that might hopefully win 30 games this year. How do you get paid that way? Create BS that people believe and blog about! This just in, the Dubs are bringing up Samosa Masala from the C league!
Anthony Randoph for Most Improved Player
This is why he is horrible
In every sense of the word, then they wonder why people dont want to pay to read that garbage. Why? Ill read a blogger online with 10x more knowledge.
He thinks being a good reporter means be as negative as possible and complain, constantly. He is bitter in his own life, and wants to make sure everyone else is too.
e thinks being a good reporter means be as negative as possible and complain, constantly. He is bitter in his own life, and wants to make sure everyone else is too.
I don’t think he’s a negative person. His work is just a reflection of the sports teams he’s covering. It just so happens that the Warriors and Raiders are awful.
That being said, he does have a way of stirring the pot vigorously. A lot of people have a problem with that, including myself, because it’s poor journalism. However, he’s not a journalist (as I mentioned below). He’s a hard working blogger with a media pass.
Confident Marco Belinelli supporter
by Doctor Kajita on Nov 20, 2009 8:58 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
so you agree with me?
Your post was on the fence =p
I’m not agreeing or disagreeing, I’m just saying I don’t think he himself is a negative person because his writing is negative.
Confident Marco Belinelli supporter
by Doctor Kajita on Nov 20, 2009 11:18 AM PST up reply actions
i try to read TK as less as possible
while he can say that he is just a reporter IMO he is responsible for about 10-20% of Warriors drama
Cohan could sell W’s -Nelson could leave -W’s could win championship but TK still would find reasons why it’s the worst thing what could happen
31 Y 6.5 ft 250 lbs 0 IQ
Fire Nellie! Fire Cohan! Fire Gregory! Fire David Stern! No need for explanations, just fire em all!
by Missing Barry
i try to read TK as less as possible
I use to do this but realized that I’m smart enough to come up with my own conclusion on whether what he’s saying has merit or not. The thing that bothers me most about him is his constant public self-assurances that what he’s writing is legitimate. Look, if you have confidence in your writing, you don’t need to write this disclaimer. But, this is where his weakness is as a writer. He’s a hard working blogger with a media pass, not a journalist.
Also, he’s always putting down the “homers,” which I think he has a point sometimes, but he’s doing what Bob Fitzgerald does with his callers. Totally condescending and inappropriate. These are the people that make your work relevant so don’t shut them down. There’s a polite way to disagree with people.
Confident Marco Belinelli supporter
by Doctor Kajita on Nov 20, 2009 8:56 AM PST up reply actions
i just unsubscribed from this twitter...
i like marcus thompson a lot more. he tweets during games and it seems like his insight is more based on his interaction with the actual players and not just from some “anonymous” sources….
Funny how when he writes in his blog he is hard hitting whether right or not. Then you see him on Chronicle live and he tones it all down and is Kawakami lite. He obviously likes hiding behind his computer and does not make such bomastic statements in public view on TV. Plus he knows Greg Papa will call him on his lies. Also note that his crap is on his blog not in the SJ Mercury. The newspaper needs to maintain journalistic integirty so they will not let him print his BS and make him keep it blog only.
by crab dribble cocktail on Nov 20, 2009 9:14 AM PST reply actions
You a guys are full of it
TK is one of the best sports writers in bay area. He does stir the pot and if you don’t like him having an opinion then you should just stop reading him. If you want a robot to report what happens day to day with Warriors, Raiders, A’s, Giants, etc then that’s your prerogative but you want someone to use some common sense and sting some idea together then TK does a great job at that.
All that said I like Marcus Thompson a lot better as beat writer for the Warriors, but he doesn’t produce the same volume on information and speculation as Kawakami. I think it’s great to read both. Even Ratto has some interesting insights from time to time on the Warriors. But what irks me guys like Oysler and Innan who chime in on the Warriors from time to time without much insight into the team’s daily interactions.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
The thing that you guys need to realize is that “inside sources” almost always refer to agents, not actual team sources. Sports agents exist solely to stir the pot and get rumors swirling about their clients, so you really have to take everything they say with a huge rock of salt.
Sittin in my scraper watchin Oakland goin wild, ta-dow!
You are saying 2 different things
Just because you talk rebeliously doesnt mean you’re making since, it just makes you a bad reporter.
Why?
Because rule #1 of reporting is be credible. If you’re not, you got nothing.
Tim Kawakami is NOT credible. He has shown you this time after time after time. If you like him, good for you, just understand he is not very good at his job at all.
And yet no one has called him on it. hmmm...
Warriors, Stupidest franchise in the league.
I told Randolph that Bill Russell would tell him to keep that ball in play and start the break.
RANDOLPH: "I know. But sometimes, you gotta let ‘em know."
(MT)
What does that have to do with anything?
by Reverend_Randy on Nov 20, 2009 4:27 PM PST up reply actions
The entire topic?
I cant help you, if you dont understand that
I was referring specifically to kenntoe’s comment. I don’t see how it is relevant.
I agree that Kawakami isn’t credible.
by Reverend_Randy on Nov 21, 2009 12:23 AM PST up reply actions
it bears pointing out that while a lot of us in the bay area can see through the bs that kawakami makes up in his blog the same can’t be said for national writers. every time i see kawakami linked to our quoted in a yahoo sports article i cringe. even if local warriors fans can see through him that doesn’t mean everyone else does. and then the real damage begins to take its toll on the warriors. when nationally people begin to think that monta wants out simply because his agent is in town (never mind that jeff fried is promoting the andre ward fight at oracle).
by so ill so d0pe on Nov 20, 2009 10:41 AM PST reply actions
wait a sec
MT2 was also reporting the Monta’s agent being in town and potentially meeting with the team. Yet, Kawakami is the only one getting heat. Now I agree that TK is completely speculating on Monta, but if you add his reports in with MT2’s quotes you can see that Monta is still pissed at the Warriors over the moped/contract issue. It’s completely logical that the agent would me with the warriors because he’s already in town. Add to it Monta’s recent issues with Nellie and you’ve got a decent case to speculate that Monta wants out. Again, I don’t see were TK is wrong to speculate that his agent might bring up asking to be traded.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
Cause that's not his job
His job is to report not start rumors.
Rookie: "Why did you bench me?"
Nellie: "You're a rookie"
Wrong
His job is to give his OPINION. He’s a COLUMNIST NOT a reporter. MT2, Janny Hu, etc are reporters. Ratto, TK, Jenkins, Ostler, are columnists. There’s a big obvious difference between the two. Sure any reporting they can do will help bolster their opinions, and TK does a fair amount by reporting from games and press conf. But they don’t have to be factual. They’re job is to give their opinion whether based in fact or not.
And blogs are even less formal than a column or piece of reporting… The fact that people waste so much energy try ing to complain the TK’s blog is full of speculation and other informal information is amazing to me.
Agents meet with management all the time, or at least they are supposed to. Given the uncertainty around the team, the coach, the front office, etc, etc, it makes perfect sense that the GM would meet with the agent of the team’s best player. Jumping from that to “ELLIS WANTS OUT” is pretty weak.
Sittin in my scraper watchin Oakland goin wild, ta-dow!
true
Accept, he citing an entire history with Monta. If this was just one of those agents/owners meetings with not prior history than I’m with you. TK reported on the history… and people can choose to blow it off as rumor mongering but if you place it all together you’ve got a story. That’s what reporting is.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
then
you can say all investigative report is “bad reporting” until all the fact play out in front of you. get a clue.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or a scandal. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report.
Far from what TK does……
saying someone is potentially meeting vs. Come Thursday the ground will be shaking and Monta will be traded are two completly different things. By the way is your first name Tim?
by crab dribble cocktail on Nov 20, 2009 5:20 PM PST up reply actions
The problem I have with TK
Is that he makes his blog entries about him a bit too much.
And that’s it.
No, he didn’t predict those trades exactly, but in almost all of them he was one of the people breaking the inside information about the problems that lead to them.
I would say he has a very good track record when it comes to reporting the dynamics inside the organization.
by Ronaldinho on Nov 20, 2009 1:34 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Totally agree.. REC
He’s not a freaking psychic but he does offer some insight via talking to agents, players, team insiders, league insiders, etc.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
Mcmuffin? You actually believe schtick? Well my sources say your both #!$
by crab dribble cocktail on Nov 20, 2009 5:21 PM PST up reply actions
lol
name those sources…
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
I guess I'm in the minority because..
I love Kawakami and he is definitely my fav. beat writer out of the Marcus Thompson, Matt Steinzmetz, Adam Laruidsen, and Geoff Leoper conglomerate. Is he harsh? Yes. Does he sugar coat disasters like Fitz? No. He is a realist that brings a spotlight to this sad excuse for a sports franchise. He is like a New York sports reporter in the Bay. Tough, harsh, and calls for action instead of apathy.
by JimBarnett2KevinGarnett on Nov 20, 2009 6:27 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
agreed
Not sure way I’m getting heat for supporting a solid beat writer.
A Sonics fan without a team... but after 6 seasons now of GS Warriors season tickets have convinced me to adopt the boys from Oakland.
There are a certain percentage of fans who react negatively to any bad news reported about their team
They want to believe, and the way to believe is to attack the messenger.
TK – and other writers who want report on behind-the-scenes stuff – have a tough job. They have to filter through competing agendas when nobody wants (with good reason) to go on the record. Do you not report? Do you wait until someone will go on the record? Or do you report anonymously-sources accusations?
TK makes it easy on some of the haters by engaging with them a bit much. He seems to enjoy taking jabs at the die-hard fans, which I don’t think serves him well, but I think anybody who writes online understands the temptation.
I live in LA and so get less Warriors news than most of you guys. But I have to say that the unfolding dynamics of the team – Jackson’s unhappiness, Harrington’s unhappiness, the factors that led to the Richardson trade, etc – have not been a surprise to me when they happened. And one of reasons they didn’t surprise me is that TK – and others – have done a good job reporting the underlying tensions on the team.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Monta, since TK is reporting that things have changed since he posted his article about the meeting with Monta’s agents and team management. But if Monta ends up getting traded under duress, TK’s reporting will ahve been vindicated. If he doesn’t, whether he’s vindicated or not will depend on whether the team takes steps to mollify him or makes other changes to adjust to his needs.
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