Black and Blue's Billy Donovan Press Conference Live Diary
What follows is my play by play account for the introduction of Billy Donovan by the Orlando Magic. My apologies to the Florida Gators on losing out to him, and the virginities of the ladies that Otis Smith slept with in celebration last night:
10:57am: Just 3 Minutes left until we see the Magic's coach for the next 5 years. I hear he is some kid from Florida named 'Billy'.
11:05am: Oh this is exactly what I was waiting for! -More Lebron highlights! Kidding of course, but what a fantastic game. I'm glad I stayed up for the 80th overtime, because that was a really fun game. Also fun to see Flip "Sleepy Dwarf" Saunders give his concession speech.
Donovan still has not come out yet, so it's time for Yahoo! Sports to change their homepage to all question marks again.
11:07am: Billy appears! I feel like a girl screaming during the height of Beatlemania. Otis Smith stands next to him grinning like a guy who just banged the head cheerleader.
11:09am: Otis with probably the worst intro I've heard in a while. Hearing him, it's crazy to think he actually talked Donovan into this gig. He closes with, "I'm going to hand this thing off...like a quarterback." Wow.
11:10am: Billy speaks! He can speak! This is truly exciting. He has this quick delivery that makes him sound like a 1930s-era mobster. Billy mentions that the easy way would have been to stay at Florida, but he likes the challenge. He says that this opportunity was the perfect one, and that the Magic have a lot of exciting things coming up with free agency and the draft. The DRAFT? Sounds like someone has their eyes on the first round!
11:15am: Billy opens it to the floor for questions. His hair looks like Max Headroom, which I have fond memories of. Billy’s first question says that he wouldn’t have left Florida for any other opportunity (eat it Memphis). He says that he told Florida that the only thing that would make him leave would be an NBA gig.
11:20am: Whoa, Billy name dropping. He says he recruited Dwight Howard, JJ Redick, knows Arizas dad, etc. Interjecting a bit of humor by saying none of them came to Florida. Donovan then reveals that Otis approached him on the phone, then Bob Vander Weide came to help persuade him. They successfully convinced him. Next, GOOD QUESTION: What is the first thing he is going to do to change the team? He says speak to the players, then talk to the team about the draft and free agency. There is the draft mention again! I’d be surprised if we just stayed in the second round because he sounds pumped.
11:25am: Billy mentions that he feels bad for the recruits he convinced to go to Florida. If I were him I would have just looked at the camera and said “Gotcha!”, but he has more class than me I think. Then again, as I said before he sounds like a mobster, so maybe this is all part of his master plan to rob banks and kiss dames.
11:30am: Someone asks how tough the decision was. Donovan says that Otis was key to the decision because of his initial phone call. Most people wonder if he is listening to a different Otis Smith or whether Otis has taken up hypnosis. Next comes yet another Rick Pitino question, with Donovan saying Rick recommended it. Orlando nation instantly becomes Rick Pitino fans. Billy then says he is close with the Van Gundys, which will no doubt start a flurry of speculation of whether they can be hired too. Donovan says he is bringing Larry Schyatt from Florida with him, which sounds like it is good news.
11:35am: Haha! Donovan jokingly takes a question about the lack of college coach success personally, saying, “Is that a shot at my game?! My ego is shattered” in his gangster voice. Everyone giggles, but check to make sure he isn’t concealing a tommy gun. Billy says that his biggest need right now is a perimeter scorer. He says that Dwight, Jameer, Ariza, Darko have huge upside. You can almost hear Hedo Turkoglu’s knees clacking together as he shivers with fear.
11:40am: Someone asks about Donovan’s ability to get players to play for the Magic and Donovan turns into a human recruiting highlight reel. Talks about the city, the team…you can tell that he was a car salesman in a previous life. Someone prefaces a question by “In a league that is consistently recycling head coaches…” and you can see Donovan’s face go “Uh oh…I totally didn’t think of that.” Too late, my friend!
11:45am: Otis and Donovan come out and make it a point that Donovan wasn’t brought in purely to help an arena deal. This is great because everyone is treating the arena deal like it’s a done deal.
11:50am: Billy Donovan giving props to Brian Hill and then saying that he wants to hit the ground running and get further in the playoffs than the Magic did last year. He also talks about changing the team’s complexion and it becomes apparent that the makeup of this team is going to change
And there you have it. A pretty standard press conference, but some interesting things were learned:
-The first is that somehow Otis convinced Donovan the position was interesting on the phone, most likely through aid of an interpreter.
-The next is that Donovan seems excited to do a lot to shake up the team through free agency and the draft. This seemed to sound like Hedo should start packing now.
-And finally the four names that came up from Donovan as being the ‘exciting young pieces’ in Howard, Jameer, Ariza and Darko. Sounds like we know who is safe here.
-Most importantly, the connection between Donovan and 1930’s era mobsters, which will be a constant source of humor from me. I kept waiting for him to end his sentences with “See?” as in “We’re gonna win, see? Win real good, see?”
Bright, exciting future for the Magic and Orlando. I can’t wait to see how it develops.
11:05am: Oh this is exactly what I was waiting for! -More Lebron highlights! Kidding of course, but what a fantastic game. I'm glad I stayed up for the 80th overtime, because that was a really fun game. Also fun to see Flip "Sleepy Dwarf" Saunders give his concession speech.
Donovan still has not come out yet, so it's time for Yahoo! Sports to change their homepage to all question marks again.
11:07am: Billy appears! I feel like a girl screaming during the height of Beatlemania. Otis Smith stands next to him grinning like a guy who just banged the head cheerleader.
11:09am: Otis with probably the worst intro I've heard in a while. Hearing him, it's crazy to think he actually talked Donovan into this gig. He closes with, "I'm going to hand this thing off...like a quarterback." Wow.
11:10am: Billy speaks! He can speak! This is truly exciting. He has this quick delivery that makes him sound like a 1930s-era mobster. Billy mentions that the easy way would have been to stay at Florida, but he likes the challenge. He says that this opportunity was the perfect one, and that the Magic have a lot of exciting things coming up with free agency and the draft. The DRAFT? Sounds like someone has their eyes on the first round!
11:15am: Billy opens it to the floor for questions. His hair looks like Max Headroom, which I have fond memories of. Billy’s first question says that he wouldn’t have left Florida for any other opportunity (eat it Memphis). He says that he told Florida that the only thing that would make him leave would be an NBA gig.
11:20am: Whoa, Billy name dropping. He says he recruited Dwight Howard, JJ Redick, knows Arizas dad, etc. Interjecting a bit of humor by saying none of them came to Florida. Donovan then reveals that Otis approached him on the phone, then Bob Vander Weide came to help persuade him. They successfully convinced him. Next, GOOD QUESTION: What is the first thing he is going to do to change the team? He says speak to the players, then talk to the team about the draft and free agency. There is the draft mention again! I’d be surprised if we just stayed in the second round because he sounds pumped.
11:25am: Billy mentions that he feels bad for the recruits he convinced to go to Florida. If I were him I would have just looked at the camera and said “Gotcha!”, but he has more class than me I think. Then again, as I said before he sounds like a mobster, so maybe this is all part of his master plan to rob banks and kiss dames.
11:30am: Someone asks how tough the decision was. Donovan says that Otis was key to the decision because of his initial phone call. Most people wonder if he is listening to a different Otis Smith or whether Otis has taken up hypnosis. Next comes yet another Rick Pitino question, with Donovan saying Rick recommended it. Orlando nation instantly becomes Rick Pitino fans. Billy then says he is close with the Van Gundys, which will no doubt start a flurry of speculation of whether they can be hired too. Donovan says he is bringing Larry Schyatt from Florida with him, which sounds like it is good news.
11:35am: Haha! Donovan jokingly takes a question about the lack of college coach success personally, saying, “Is that a shot at my game?! My ego is shattered” in his gangster voice. Everyone giggles, but check to make sure he isn’t concealing a tommy gun. Billy says that his biggest need right now is a perimeter scorer. He says that Dwight, Jameer, Ariza, Darko have huge upside. You can almost hear Hedo Turkoglu’s knees clacking together as he shivers with fear.
11:40am: Someone asks about Donovan’s ability to get players to play for the Magic and Donovan turns into a human recruiting highlight reel. Talks about the city, the team…you can tell that he was a car salesman in a previous life. Someone prefaces a question by “In a league that is consistently recycling head coaches…” and you can see Donovan’s face go “Uh oh…I totally didn’t think of that.” Too late, my friend!
11:45am: Otis and Donovan come out and make it a point that Donovan wasn’t brought in purely to help an arena deal. This is great because everyone is treating the arena deal like it’s a done deal.
11:50am: Billy Donovan giving props to Brian Hill and then saying that he wants to hit the ground running and get further in the playoffs than the Magic did last year. He also talks about changing the team’s complexion and it becomes apparent that the makeup of this team is going to change
And there you have it. A pretty standard press conference, but some interesting things were learned:
-The first is that somehow Otis convinced Donovan the position was interesting on the phone, most likely through aid of an interpreter.
-The next is that Donovan seems excited to do a lot to shake up the team through free agency and the draft. This seemed to sound like Hedo should start packing now.
-And finally the four names that came up from Donovan as being the ‘exciting young pieces’ in Howard, Jameer, Ariza and Darko. Sounds like we know who is safe here.
-Most importantly, the connection between Donovan and 1930’s era mobsters, which will be a constant source of humor from me. I kept waiting for him to end his sentences with “See?” as in “We’re gonna win, see? Win real good, see?”
Bright, exciting future for the Magic and Orlando. I can’t wait to see how it develops.
3 comments:
Great blog! I like the gangster references.
Thanks for the news conference summary! I wasn't able to view it so this was very helpful.
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