Hawks Circling in Atlanta

---

It is not often I go to an NBA game in a place other than the Bay Area. I have been to NBA games, mostly Warrior games in places like Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Boston, and now Atlanta. Why? I am not sure.



For one, the Hawks last won an NBA Championship back in 1958 when they played in St. Louis. They even had the famous Celtic coach, Red Auerbach as their coach at one time. The moved to Atlanta in 1968. They own the second longest championship drought, only after the lowly Sacramento Kings.



Ted Turner bought the team in 1977, mostly for programming on his new cable TV channels. He also bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team for additional programming. Their biggest star through the 80s was Dominque Wilkins and their coach, the erstwhile Hubie Brown. And the Braves big star was Dale Murphy.



It seems the team is in a continuing rebuilding mode, with the current stars being Trae Young and John Collins. The coach is the well respected Mike Budenholzer.



The kicker here is that my hometown Golden State Warriors are in town to play the Hawks. But my Warriors are fielding a team minus their three injured superstars, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green. So, it will be an opportunity to perhaps see some of the stars of the future, maybe not. Some critics call them a "D League" team!



However, you will never guess the real reason we are spending so much time in downtown Atlanta. My old buddy, Ken Bob, and his wife are following the Miss Universe contest in downtown Atlanta. While I could care less, they apparently are all in on the pageant! But I guess the scenery will be good.



But I am never one to back off from an interesting and different experience. I once saw the Mrs. America contestants in Vegas some years back. Just give me and Ken Bob plenty of cold beer and we can sit almost anywhere!

---