Here's todays sports news...

Here's todays sports news...

Here's todays sports news...

" . . . and with the 18th pick, the Golden State Warriors take . . . Marco Belinelli."

Uhhh, come again?

If you still haven't checked out any of the awesome exhibits at the Asian Art Museum, swing by around 5 for Matcha, their monthly mixer with live performances, gallery tours, drinks and more. DJ Tonk, a top Japanese hip-hop producer will be spinning till 9pm. $5 after 5pm, 200 Larkin St., SF. David Lyle's solo show opens today at the Heather Marx gallery. Taking inspiration from vintage photographs found at thrift stores and flea......

Revel in it Bay Area NBA fans: this year the Western Conference playoffs mean something, because for the first time in 13 years, the hometown Warriors are part of the party.

So let's take a quick drive down the lane and see what the Warriors are going to have to deal with as they knife their way to the Finals. (Yeah, we know, but just roll with the sentiment. It's been 13 years and there's an abundance of pent-up enthusiasm to be dissipated.)

-We'll say this about the Warriors-- they got some gumption. After a series of not so great games and the shellacking at the hands of the Spurs, the Warriors went out and beat the mighty Suns. They started off scoring 45 points in the first quarter and then held onto win 124-119. J-Rich scored 36 points, 24 of them on 8 three- point plays. Stephen Jackson had 29 points and Brittle Baron had 21. They......

Here's the daily wrap up of the sports news...

Far be it for us to be the voice of optimism, but, are you ready for this Warrior nation -- the playoffs are doable, this year. Just as others seem to be abandoning ship, we step in to illustrate how miracles can happen.

If not for some unkind scheduling that left the squad trying to keep up with Phoenix on the tail end of a home-and-road back-to-back, a surprisingly frequent scenario that has not been kind to them this year, the Warriors would most likely be sitting at 19-17 right now, two games over .500 this late in the season for the first time since 1993-1994 and in a virtual three-way tie for the seventh and eighth playoff spots. Unfortunately, it's hard to get respect when you haven't even sniffed the playoffs in 12 years.

Okay, here's something that we've always wondered about in football-- why don’t coaches in the final minutes of a football let the other team score to get the ball back instead of letting the other team run down the clock and kick the game-winning field goal? Just look at the Eagles/Giants game. The Eagles were in easy field goal range with about two minutes to go and the Giants out of time outs. So the Eagles just ran the clock out and won the game with a last second field goal, something that was pretty much inevitable. So what if instead of doing what they did, the Giants let Westbrook run it in for a TD with a minute or so left so they could get the ball back? Wouldn’t that make more sense than hoping that some sort of fluke play occurs? If you were a coach, would you rather take your chances hoping that the team that's driving either screws up the field goal, fumbles, or gets backed up due to penalties or would you rather take a chance with your offense scoring again? ...

-Warriors lose to the Suns giving the Suns their 13th straight win. The Warriors missed their first thirteen shots to fall behind early and never recovered. It's the Warriors sixth consecutive road loss....

The Warriors crazy train to fantasyland went a little off the rails last night as they dropped a heartbreaker to the Phoenix Suns, 113-110, snapping their seven-game home winning streak and five-game overall streak. It would have been nice to get the win last night, but the team is playing well and looking strong. They haven't looked this good since, uh, last November.

Suns 113, Warriors 110- And so endeth the Warriors six game winning streak and five game home winning streak. All this to the Suns, a run-n-gun basketball team that we have a feeling have influenced Mully and Nellie more than you'd like to know. High scoring basketball, catch it. The game was close, though, as the Suns won on a last second three pointer from former Santa Clara grad, Steve Nash. Monta Ellis led the way with 31 points for the Warriors....

Dujuan Wagner, Adonal Foyle, and Zarko Cabarkapa are riding the pine in suits tonight. For the opposition Lakers, Kobe won't play, and Phil Jackson, Kwame Brown, and Aaron McKie, and Chris Mihm may not even make the trip. JRich is probable, maybe, hopefully.

Another meaningless preseason game? Nope, it's opening night tonight for the Warriors at the Oracle. Here's everything you need to know, from the Warriors perspective, and from ours....

Let the PR horns boldly announce it from the highest rafters: The second Don Nelson era is off to a flying start.

Y'uh-oh. With the season hanging by a thread, the War-rips were hoping to come out of their recent six-day break with some piss and vinegar, but instead, all they got was a little salty wine. On Wednesday, the War-terloos were worn down and overmatched by the Miami Humidity, losing at home 110-96. Last night, they sleepwalked through their game with the Phoenix Sunburn like it was a preseason scrimmage, losing at Phoenix 112-99 and dropping below .500 for the first time all season. At one point during the Suns game, the War-bricks were 3-18 from the three-point line; they could muster no offensive energy or discipline at all in the second half. It was one of their more lackluster performances of the season. ...

For the Warriors, the future is a Rubik's Cube. Remember that annoying symbol of grade-school geekdom? That's what the War-whirls are facing. To solve the Cube, one must first get an entire face (side) all one color. To progress any further though, one must be willing to break up that initial face in order to correctly position all the Cube's individual tiles for completion. It's tough, because breaking it up seems like a step backward, but with the Cube, as with life, sometimes you have to take a step back to be able to take three steps forward. It takes commitment and vision. ...