Bonzi and Comets' Coverage
Bonzi Wells played his last game as a member of the Houston Rockets Sunday night in Sacramento versus the Kings. Though the Rockets played in Seattle Monday night versus the Supersonics, Wells was not with the team because he felt he was "a distraction to the team". In case you haven't read or heard, Wells sent a text message to Rockets' Team Trainer and Vice President of Basketball Operations Keith Jones informing Jones of his decision to not be with the team. Wells didn't contact Jeff Van Gundy -- he contacted Keith Jones which not only says a lot about the relationship between Bonzi and Keith but, more importantly, the lack of a relationship between Bonzi and Jeff Van Gundy.
Wells' last game as a Rockets player was versus the Kings which is ironic because, during last summer's NBA offseason, Wells turned down a five-year, $33.2 M contract from Sacramento to re-sign with the Kings. Apparently, Wells believed he would receive a better contract offer from a better team or he simply overestimated his worth on the NBA's free agent market. Wells a two-year contract with the Rockets; however, only the first year (worth $2.4 M) was guaranteed. The second year was at his option which everyone expected Bonzi to exercise and test the free agent market this summer. Despite his past productive seasons in the league, this season will truly impact any new contract offers Wells receives from other NBA teams. (Can you say "veteran minimum", Bonzi? I knew you could.)
Seriously, I hope Bonzi's decision to not play versus Seattle is based on a basketball decision and no personal demons or family problems in his life. However, I firmly expect the Rockets to release Bonzi later today.
Now, onto the coverage of the Houston Comets. The WNBA held its annual draft last Wednesday, April 4, in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Comets selected three college seniors in the Draft: guards Ashley Shields (from Southwest Tennessee Community College) and Dee Davis (Vanderbilt) and forward / post Kristen Newlin (Stanford). Kristen Newlin's father is Mike Newlin who played with the Houston Rockets from 1971 to 1979. Since I was not in Houston last week, I did not see the local sports news to see their coverage of the Comets' draft choices. However, it appears I was the only media person to interview Shields and Davis.
The Houston Chronicle had an article mentioning the Comets three draft choices inside an article about Houston's Lindsey Harding (from Cy Fair High School and Duke University) being chosen the overall number one pick and the Draft and, subsequently, being traded to the Minnesota Lynx. The article contained quotes from Harding but no quotes from the Comets draft choices. I'm not tooting my own horn for being the only Houston media outlet to interviewing Shields and Davis because I want to see the Comets receive as much coverage as possible; and, though I'm proud of the work of The Houston Roundball Review, the HRR pales in comparison to the outreach of bigger Houston media such as the Houston Chronicle and television stations.
The momentum and excitement generated from the sale of the Comets to Hilton Koch in January and the announcement of Karleen Thompson as head coach and general manager on Valentine's Day has waned; but, as the Comets' 2007 WNBA season approaches, hopefully, fan interest and media coverage will increase. Van Chancellor was a huge part of the Comets' organization; however, he is no longer part of the organization. Coach Chancellor was a big hit with the Houston media; but, the new Comets' regime needs to begin developing a good working relationship with the media and vice versa. I do not want the Comets to become the proverbial question of "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, does it make a sound?" The Comets and their fans should receive better treatment than that.
I'd hate to receive a text message saying the Comets were no longer in Houston.
Wells' last game as a Rockets player was versus the Kings which is ironic because, during last summer's NBA offseason, Wells turned down a five-year, $33.2 M contract from Sacramento to re-sign with the Kings. Apparently, Wells believed he would receive a better contract offer from a better team or he simply overestimated his worth on the NBA's free agent market. Wells a two-year contract with the Rockets; however, only the first year (worth $2.4 M) was guaranteed. The second year was at his option which everyone expected Bonzi to exercise and test the free agent market this summer. Despite his past productive seasons in the league, this season will truly impact any new contract offers Wells receives from other NBA teams. (Can you say "veteran minimum", Bonzi? I knew you could.)
Seriously, I hope Bonzi's decision to not play versus Seattle is based on a basketball decision and no personal demons or family problems in his life. However, I firmly expect the Rockets to release Bonzi later today.
Now, onto the coverage of the Houston Comets. The WNBA held its annual draft last Wednesday, April 4, in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Comets selected three college seniors in the Draft: guards Ashley Shields (from Southwest Tennessee Community College) and Dee Davis (Vanderbilt) and forward / post Kristen Newlin (Stanford). Kristen Newlin's father is Mike Newlin who played with the Houston Rockets from 1971 to 1979. Since I was not in Houston last week, I did not see the local sports news to see their coverage of the Comets' draft choices. However, it appears I was the only media person to interview Shields and Davis.
The Houston Chronicle had an article mentioning the Comets three draft choices inside an article about Houston's Lindsey Harding (from Cy Fair High School and Duke University) being chosen the overall number one pick and the Draft and, subsequently, being traded to the Minnesota Lynx. The article contained quotes from Harding but no quotes from the Comets draft choices. I'm not tooting my own horn for being the only Houston media outlet to interviewing Shields and Davis because I want to see the Comets receive as much coverage as possible; and, though I'm proud of the work of The Houston Roundball Review, the HRR pales in comparison to the outreach of bigger Houston media such as the Houston Chronicle and television stations.
The momentum and excitement generated from the sale of the Comets to Hilton Koch in January and the announcement of Karleen Thompson as head coach and general manager on Valentine's Day has waned; but, as the Comets' 2007 WNBA season approaches, hopefully, fan interest and media coverage will increase. Van Chancellor was a huge part of the Comets' organization; however, he is no longer part of the organization. Coach Chancellor was a big hit with the Houston media; but, the new Comets' regime needs to begin developing a good working relationship with the media and vice versa. I do not want the Comets to become the proverbial question of "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, does it make a sound?" The Comets and their fans should receive better treatment than that.
I'd hate to receive a text message saying the Comets were no longer in Houston.
posted by Kris Gardner @ 11:11 AM
1 Comments:
At April 10, 2007 12:18 PM,
Tammy said…
Good point, Kris.
The Comets new ownership might not have the biggetst coffers in the league, but they could get themselves in front of the local media and make some progress. They need to do whatever they can to get the press to at least report on them, good or bad, just spell the name right so people will know the team is still in town.
Training camp starts in weeks, and who knows that? Only the WNBA faithful that get their news from various sources, such as the HRR. It would be nice if women's professional basketball was not treated like an afterthought by the media in Houston.
Of course, a lot of that has to do with the team. If they get a quality product on the floor, and create some excitement this summer, I believe fans will remember that the Comets play in Houston, TX.
Let's get this thing started.
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