Starting over is Pacers' only viable choice

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[Sotto Voce]

I still think the clock is ticking for the Pacers to remain in Indianapolis. If the Steve Ballmer-led consortium manages to buy the Sonics and keep them in Seattle, Oklahoma City will be on the hunt for another team. If the Sonics do leave for OKC, I can see Seattle responding to the loss a few seasons down the road by offering carte blanche to any team willing to come to the Pacific Northwest.

In either of those situations, I think the Pacers would gladly give up on playing here and relocate, most likely taking a new name and relegating "Pacers" to the dustbin of history.

[Nonsense]

No way dude. We've heard the old "Pacers are leaving before", but they aren't. The Simons deserve a lot of praise, because they could make money elsewhere, but they're already rich, their headquarters is here, and they support the city. Plus, the Pacers are one of the leagues oldest teams, and despite the problems, are LOVED in Indiana. People in IN like hard work, good basketball, and good people. The Pacers don't have any of that now...but just wait. I think the team has learned their lesson about how little patience we have for thugs. It will take a few years, but they'll clean it up and we'll have our old Pacer's back. Although...I'm one of many that would love to have Reggie invovled at some level. That guy IS the Pacers for my generation!

[boiler up]

trade everyting for picks in the 2011 draft so we can draft the "baby boilers" from purdue

[CitizenBlue]

As a Pacers fan from the beginning of the franchise, I can most confidently say that our Pacers are here to stay. The storied ABA days of 3 Pacers' championships still are clear in my heart and mind. We loved cheering our team against those old Kentucky Colonels and the Virginia Squires and the NY Nets and others. Our guys included Freddy Lewis, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, Bob Netolicky, Billy Keller, Coach Leonard and so many others all the way through to Reggie, Jalen, the Davis men and the Dunkin' Dutchman and our 1st NBA championship matchup...whew, what a legacy!

We've had wonderful teams and great times as fans and we'll have them again. Every franchise has its down periods and we're enduring ours now.

Yes, I'm a true Pacers fan and I'll be a Pacers fan forever. OUR Colts were not always great. BUT the Baltimore Colts fans have provided a blueprint for how to get rid of a beloved team by not supporting it when they're not winning so much. WE are NOT Baltimore.

GO INDIANA PACERS!!!

[Marty Katz]

First,lets take a look at ONE positive "item" to look forward to-the PACERS will AT LEAST have a TOP 9 draft pick! The problem is the bottom 8 teams BELOW the PACERS are doing EVERYTHING they can to REMAIN BELOW the PACERS in the standings!!! Bob,what I want to know-in maybe your NEXT PACER column-is HOW(thru trade,cuts,andwaiving players)the PACERS should get rid of O'NEAL,TINSLEY,WILLIAMS and the majority of the team. I understand your call to "get rid" of these guys but HOW do we do this?? Play that "ESPN TRADE MACHINE" game for us and play the GM OF THE PACERS...because next to OUT and OUT WAIVING these guys,I dont see ANY team giving us ANY PLAYER-OR DRAFT PICK for ANY of these guys!!!!!!!!!! No GM would be that stupid,espeicially after MEMPHIS got RIPPED for giving up GASOL for sooooo little in return!

[Nice try]

This article seems like a statement of the obvious, doesn't it??? Did you have something to do this weekend, so you through this together over the last 15 minutes?
The previous poster has some valid points. What value are these loser thug players that you've discussed in this article?? We don't want them and neither does anyone else.
The Pacers organization is in a tough spot.

[special ed]

Don't "play the GM of the Pacers" game, Bob. Anyone who has read your columns knows you do enough of that! And it doesn't matter if the Pacers play to get a lottery pick- the things are ping pong balls so you could have the worst record and still end up with a horrible pick. Ever heard a Sam Bowie?
They missed on Eddie Gill and Jamison Brewer and picked Tinman over Anthony Johnson. And they traded to get Al Harrington back. And that Jonny Bender contract still stinks.
Get guys who give the effort. It's still an entertaining game if the players bring the effort.

[sativa friend]

They need a fresh start as the Kentucky Colonels! Send em to Louisville you bunch of Hoosier losers!Bird would be closer to French lick and south of the Ohio is where winners are bred!

[sativa friend]

State the obvious? Like how in the world could dst pass muster in Indiana with only a 29% support? Sounds like minority republicn politics to me! Only one guy likes it around here and he owns a golf course! He is part of the rich elitist in this fascist republican stronghold of Indiana where we damn the poor and step on people to our scamper to the top!I will vote for Borak if he fixes my clock!

Nice try wrote:

This article seems like a statement of the obvious, doesn't it??? Did you have something to do this weekend, so you through this together over the last 15 minutes?
The previous poster has some valid points. What value are these loser thug players that you've discussed in this article?? We don't want them and neither does anyone else.
The Pacers organization is in a tough spot.

[flipper]

Kravitz is now, and has always been, a buffoon. "Blow it up, ship them out, start over." Gads, as much as I hated the Star back when it was solely a right wing mouthpiece, I hate it even more now for being the completely useless employer of Bob Kravitz. Ick, arrgh, ick. Gannet, Kravitz - such a joke. More news please, less nonsense. Idiots.

[purpose poipus]

flipper wrote:

Kravitz is now, and has always been, a buffoon. "Blow it up, ship them out, start over." Gads, as much as I hated the Star back when it was solely a right wing mouthpiece, I hate it even more now for being the completely useless employer of Bob Kravitz. Ick, arrgh, ick. Gannet, Kravitz - such a joke. More news please, less nonsense. Idiots.

Dear Mr Idiots,

If the Star is such a mess, why are you wasting your time reading it and then commenting on your decision to AGAIN waste your time year after year.

Forget the Star. YOU need to look at your life and make some decisions so that you stop being the joke you are now.

[rlprofessional]

Blame Larry Bird...

He brought all the blue eye boys in town and now look. Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy !!!!

Now you know why Boston did not what him running anything. That Jackson guys looks pretty good in Golden State.

Blame your Indiana State hero !!

[noiufanshere]

boiler up wrote:

trade everyting for picks in the 2011 draft so we can draft the "baby boilers" from purdue

I like that idea. I might actually buy a ticket then. Right now, who cares, except Kravitz.

[Go IU]

I agree with Bob.... get rid of the losers and bad behavior! Most fans will still support a losing team if they're good guys working hard - sadly, we have too many of the others right now. We're going no where right now, why not start over???? What have we got to lose???? I miss my old Pacer teams.

[Randy]

This Pacers organization is like a business that has the wrong product at the wrong time and keeps losing tons of money. What does a business do? They re-organize and and develope a different product. The Simons need to get rid of their current product and bring in a new product or cut their losses and fade into the sunset. It doesn't take a MBA to understand this Mr Simon.

[Rage]

You're spot on, Bob. The Simons have demonstrated enough loyalty to Walsh over his last 20+ years of the franchise's management. It's clear, too, that Donnie has continued to have the final say on who to sign, both players and in the front office, more notably Larry Bird. It is time for wrecking ball-type change. And, the buck ultimately stops at Walsh.

[Keith Haemmerle]

I don't often agree with Bob, I probably called him a moron 3 years ago when he started his "blow it up" chant. At this point, he appears to have been right, maybe by default. When Reggie retired he hinted this team had deep problems. All I know is the Pacers are back where they were before Kellog played here...

[Keith Haemmerle]

Sotto Voce wrote:

I still think the clock is ticking for the Pacers to remain in Indianapolis. If the Steve Ballmer-led consortium manages to buy the Sonics and keep them in Seattle, Oklahoma City will be on the hunt for another team. If the Sonics do leave for OKC, I can see Seattle responding to the loss a few seasons down the road by offering carte blanche to any team willing to come to the Pacific Northwest.
In either of those situations, I think the Pacers would gladly give up on playing here and relocate, most likely taking a new name and relegating "Pacers" to the dustbin of history.

ummm...no, now drink your water and go to bed...

[boilergeo]

Go IU wrote:

I agree with Bob.... get rid of the losers and bad behavior! Most fans will still support a losing team if they're good guys working hard - sadly, we have too many of the others right now. We're going no where right now, why not start over???? What have we got to lose???? I miss my old Pacer teams.

On the other hand, what if we had a bunch of thugs and the Pacers had Boston's win-loss record? The answer: you couldn't get a ticket to Conseco Fieldhouse. I've lived in central Indiana my entire life (48 years) and we're a bunch of fair weather fans. Pacers, Colts, Purdue, high school basketball teams...you name it. They win, we go. They lose, we don't go. That's the attendance answer. The Pacers need to blow it up, start over, and build a winning franchise again.

[Mike Benson]

I am not usually a big "Kravitz" fan, however he hit it on the head with the Pacers gotta clean house article. I know Simon doesn't take advice from newspaper writers but he should this time. CLEAN HOUSE and get the Pacer organization to the respectable status is was once known for. As an elementary teacher I can't even use them as an example to my students when talking about good character values. Mr. Simon please get the Pacers back to being a positive role model for the community.