Time has entered August 1981, and the United States has begun to enter midsummer.
The MLB strike continues, with games canceled from June until now.
However, in August, both labor and management seemed to be showing signs of loosening up.
The investigation and trial of Hinckley, the assassin who assassinated President Ronald Reagan in March, are still ongoing, and his lawyers are trying to define him as a mentally ill person without the capacity to act responsibly.
The hardcore punk band JFA (Jodie Foster's Army), formed 19 days after the Reagan assassination, is touring the underground music scene in the Midwest to spread distaste for Ronald Reagan.
At the same time, on August 1st, the American MTV television station was officially launched, and the first music video "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles was broadcast in the New York area.
Music, film and television are being combined as never before and are beginning to have a subversive impact on the cultural industry.
But television and sports, which have a closer relationship, seem to be still exploring the direction and path of cooperation.
The 1981 NBA Finals achieved the lowest ratings for the next two decades.
Four of the six games were delayed, scheduled after the evening news.
The only two live broadcasts, in order to cooperate with CBS TV's live broadcast strategy, were conducted consecutively on Saturday and Sunday, playing back-to-back finals.
Even after having two young talents in Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the NBA is still facing a financial crisis, a ratings crisis and a reputation crisis.
They need change, they need to seize historical opportunities, and they need more players with healthy, positive and talented images to join them.
It's just that the NBA's owners and top management don't know exactly where the league will go in the future, and where are the people who can save the NBA.
On the afternoon of August 1, Gan Guoyang came to the backyard court of The Begining restaurant to train with Thurmond as usual.
In the restaurant, workers are removing the "THE BEGINING" sign at the door, taking down the posters and player portraits hanging in the store and packing them into boxes.
San Francisco is the capital of restaurants. Restaurants with different tastes and styles open here every day, and correspondingly, restaurants close.
The economic recession that started in 1979 is hitting every street and every restaurant in the Bay Area. The Beginning, which Nate Thurmond has been running since the 1970s, has not been able to escape this fatal wave.
On the court, Gan Guoyang's back-up skills have become more and more proficient. He can dribble from the basket to the basket very smoothly, dribble, exert force, turn around, and then find a space to shoot.
Faced with Thurmond's height, weight and wingspan, Gan Guoyang had to give full play to his youthful and flexible characteristics, and add his own understanding on the basis of absorbing Thurmond's back-up teaching content.
Compared with Thurmond's back-to-back steps, which are solid and heavy, Gan Guoyang, who is wearing Avia860, is more agile. His back-to-back steps have a sense of vibrancy, and his movements to the front, back, left, and right are larger and appear erratic.
This made Thurmond, who had bad knees, feel a little bit difficult, but 20 years of experience was not in vain, and Gan Guoyang still found it difficult to score on him.
"One step, two steps, back, then to the right, then to the left, I'm going to turn around and break inside, be careful..."
Gan Guoyang muttered something, but in fact his steps were completely opposite to what he said. He was causing trouble for Thurmond.
As he spoke, he turned around and lunged inward. As a result, he suddenly retreated, took a long step outward, ran to the 15-foot position, and took a jump shot facing the basket.
Thurmond didn't follow up, the ball passed through the net and hit!
"Yeah! The ball went in!"
After scoring the goal, Gan Guoyang clenched his fists to celebrate his score against Thurmond.
And Thurmond was panting with his hands on his hips, cursing in his heart, and also cursing in his mouth: "Who FXXking said last time that he was going to die on the inside, and you died on the inside like this?"
Gan Guoyang smiled and said: "You can't be stubborn when playing basketball. You have to be tough but also flexible, right? Big Nate?"
Thurmond rubbed his knees. He couldn't keep fighting like this. This kid's strength was improving so fast that he felt like he couldn't keep up.
Feeling Gan Guoyang's flexibility and vitality, Thurmond knew that this was the young man who represented the new generation and the future direction of basketball.
At this time, a worker came over and told Thurmond that the door had been dismantled and everything was packed and loaded into the truck. If he wanted to set off.
Thurmond nodded, gave the worker an address, started the car, and left the restaurant, which became empty.
Looking at the place where he once devoted his efforts, Thurmond sighed. It won't be long before a new restaurant will be settled here, renovated and opened for business.
"Nate, where are you going to go in the future?" Gan Guoyang asked.
"Of course I stayed in San Francisco. I hated the Ohio winters. The Warriors gave me a job as a community liaison, and I went to Oakland a lot."
"Then can I still play ball with you?"
"There is a vast world outside. There are many masters in San Francisco and Oakland. Schools and streets are where you can really show off your talents. Of course, it's no problem to find me. If you want to watch NBA games, I can get them for you. Tickets.”
After just one week of getting along, Thurmond was very fond of this energetic and energetic young man - and of course the Chinese food he brought.
Gan Guoyang nodded, and when the two parted, Gan Guoyang expressed his worries to Thurmond:
"Your restaurants have closed down. I think our restaurants will not be too far away from closing down. Business is getting harder and harder to do."
"My Begining is closed, partly because of the economic situation, and partly because I have other ideas and want to take a rest. I will open a restaurant in the future. As for you, your father's cooking skills are quite good, but the Tenderloin area The place is not suitable for middle-class consumption. You must either change the place or change the idea. In short, just like you make a long-range shot, you must be flexible, right?"
Thurmond's words gave Gan Guoyang some inspiration.
Returning to Gan's Restaurant in the evening, everyone had dinner together, and the atmosphere at the table was a bit solemn.
Gan Bingguang told everyone that the restaurant's income in July was still unable to make ends meet. Although the income from takeaways has increased, dine-in dining has become increasingly rare.
After including rent and various expenses, it is still a loss, and there is no sign of improvement next month.
"Recently, we have been contacting buyers to sell the shop. When we find a suitable buyer, we will leave here. Youwei, I will introduce you to a new job when the time comes, and you don't have to worry about where to live. It's just a grievance You and Guoyang are together."
Gan Bingguang's dream of opening a high-end Chinese restaurant seems to be shattered, which makes him look a little older.
Gan Youwei said he had no regrets. Moreover, with his skills, he would not have to worry about food shortages in San Francisco.
And Gan Guoyang thought, is there really nothing we can do?
After dinner, Gan Guohui found Gan Guoyang and said, "Cousin, we are going to the training camp the day after tomorrow. Do we want to play Cancer again?"
Gan Guoyang said: "Why don't we wait until we come back from the training camp before fighting? We will definitely have improved even more by then. It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge in ten years."
Gan Guohui said: "I'm afraid that when we come back from summer camp, the restaurants will be gone."
"Then what do you mean..."
"I mean, let's play the game at the stadium in the Tenderloin District this time, use the name of our Gan's Restaurant, and promote our restaurant. What do you think?"
"Propaganda...how to do publicity."
“For advertising, we also put the restaurant’s sign on our jerseys, and we also give out coupons when watching games.”
"Is this idea feasible? You might as well ask Chen Xing to let his father waive the rent of the restaurant."
"You've tried it, don't think about it. Just treat it like a dead horse. My grandfather put a lot of effort into this store and it was his lifelong ideal. I don't want to see the store close down like this, I have to give it a try." .Besides, don’t you want to have another fight with Cancer?”
Thinking of his unwillingness after losing to Cancer last time, Gan Guoyang wanted to avenge his shame in his dreams.
Besides, he also wanted to test the results of this week's training to see how it would work in actual combat.
"Okay, let Chen Xing arrange it, the sooner the better."
"No problem! By the way, where have you been this afternoon? Are you looking for a girlfriend?"
"It's decided to find a ghost girlfriend. Let's meet tomorrow morning to discuss tactics."
"Tell me, should we give our team a name?"
"Let's think about it together tomorrow."
"How about they call it Cancer and we call it Chemotherapy?"
"...Let's discuss it together then, don't make random names."
