Training camp. Whether you're fans of the Chicago Cubs, the Arizona Cardinals, the Boston Bruins, or even the Golden State Warriors, it is a time of hope. A time to believe. A time to go all in with the Karma chips and think the unthinkable. A time to take a flyer on 125-1 odds that the hometown squad can rise up and revel in the glory of a championship.

Last week, the Warriors opened training camp for the 2006-2007 NBA season with much fanfare and dare we say, hope. The Warriors open practice on Monday was well received by the fans, but did little to dampen the media skepticism. For those burned by too many years of woeful results and overarching marketing, this year may seem like more of the same (especially with a roster that doesn't look that much different from last year's 34-48 squad), but if you can't suspend disbelief in favor of some unbridled (and possibly unsubstantiated) optimism during training camp, then why bother caring about the team at all.

OK, we're willing to believe, at least for now. Annointing Mike Dunleavy as the next, uh Billy Owens, may be a bit sketchy, and we're sure that Amare Stoudamire is licking his chops thinking about matching up against the Warriors new starting center, Troy Murphy, but at least new/old coach Don Nelson is doing something. At least you can see the wheels turning. One of the problems with former coach Mike Montgomery was his lack of creativity and vision with regard to personnel. Nelson has vision up the butt, but as Marc Foley's teenage, uh, proteges will tell you, that's not always a good thing.

With Pietrus in the lineup full-time (at least until his first injury of the season), the Warriors may have a fighting chance this year. Photo from ESPN.com.