Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr worked his way down the roster at the team’s championship parade rally last Thursday, making thoughtful comments about everybody from Finals MVP Kevin Durant to bench-warmer Michael J. McAdoo.
Kerr, an old pro at this type of thing after winning the title in 2015 and spending many years as a TV commentator, handed the microphone over to the next speaker and walked back to his seat next to his wife, Margot.
But Kerr quickly realized all was not good.
Margot nudged her husband, and whispered into his ear, “You didn’t mention Steph.”
It was true: Kerr praised McAdoo and seldom-used Kevon Looney, but said nothing about Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP who is recognized as the heart and soul of the Warriors.
Margot didn’t make her husband feel any better, either.
“ ‘You’re the guy who forgot to thank his spouse at the Academy Awards,’ ” Kerr said Margot told him. “She’s right. He’s the person most responsible for what we’ve built, and I didn’t thank him.”
Not like Kerr hasn’t had other things on his mind, most notably his battle with a debilitating back problem that kept him from coaching the Warriors for 11 games during the playoffs, returning for Game 2 of the Finals against the Cavaliers.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Kerr immediately apologized, then joked with Curry.
“I forgot to talk about you,” Kerr reportedly said. “You’re not that important to the team anyway.”
Curry laughed, but Warriors fans on social media did not.
Durant, the MVP of the finals, may be perceived as the Warriors’ No. 1 man nationally, but in the Bay Area, the Mercury News pointed out, is still partial to Curry, who turned the Warriors from dysfunctional to dominant.
Kerr, reached at his home in San Diego, said he understands where the fans are coming from.
“How in the hell could I forget Steph Curry?” Kerr told the Mercury News.
For heaven’s sake, it’s not likely to happen again.
Fake news
From the satirical web site SportsPickle.com:
“Kevin Durant silences all the critics who said he could never help a 73-9 team win a championship.”
Picture this
From Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times:
“With another NBA season coming to an end, Commissioner Adam Silver gets to return to his other job: Holding the pitchfork in American Gothic.”
They said it
From Brad Dickson of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald, not amused by the perpetual road construction in the College World Series’ host city: “Because this is Omaha, there’s a detour between first and second base.”
From comedian Argus Hamilton, on the U.S. soccer team’s 1-1 draw in Mexico City: “There was one awkward moment at the end of the match: Mexico got a free kick, and the United States built a wall.”
Quote of the day
“It made me feel a lot better seeing Brooks shoot 5 under. I would have had to play some pretty spectacular golf to
catch him.”
Justin Thomas, who shot a 3-over 75 and lost by 8 strokes to Brooks Koepka in the U.S. Open