Back by Popular Demand

Seeing as we have had a lot to report, and I have remained silent on the sidelines. I feel it is about time I catch up with the Vipers blog. After all, I am the Voice of the Vipers. Well this voice has been awful quiet during the offseason, and for several reasons. We didn't have lot to report for a good majority of it, but lately there has been a lot to report now and I thought I would give some brief commentary on the news.

Story 1: Vipers Hire Clay Moser as Head Coach

This was a long time coming but the Vipers finally announced a new permanent Head Coach since Bob Hoffman's departure for Mercer University. I like Moser's resume, I like his demeanor. I like how he is with the media. I haven't spoken to him much. Obviously he has been spending time preparing for the draft and has been doing a lot of scouting etc. But from the little time I have spent with him, he seems like an energetic guy, ready to get back into coaching, (He has been an advanced scout for several years in the NBA) He also has an obvious sense of humor and is obviously very witty. (Which is great for a radio guy like me because he is always there for a good sound bite). I like the hire.. we will see how things go. It's no secret that I was back and forth in my favorability of Hoffman. I was never critical of him. (although he felt otherwise) But I don't think he understood the pro game as well as he should have. He was a great hire for the expansion team. A familiar face who was liked by sponsors and basketball fans alike. Long term though..we figured out he wasn't the right fit. But you live and you learn. As for Moser, so long as he never throws his headset on the table during a postgame interview, he will be ok with me.

Story 2

Vipers Hire Brian Michael Cooper as Team President-

Before I talk about Cooper. Who I think is a tremendous hire, I wanted to share more info on the Vipers front office and ownership. When the team started majority ownership was elsewhere. Ryan Murphy (former Team President) did a great job getting the ball rolling and getting the franchise down here. However it was obvious fairly quickly that there was an extreme disconnect between the Vipers local owners and the Front Office that was hired by the original majority owners. While I don't think anyone is truly right or wrong in these situations, it was fairly obvious that once Alonzo Cantu took the reigns as majority owner that changes had to be made. Our owners are very hands on, which in this situation is very good. They know how to do things first class, they run the Vipers operation as a mini NBA franchise. But, they need people to fit their mindset of how the franchise should be run. Now they finally have their man to head the operation. It was a long time coming, but did they find a good one.

Brian Michael Cooper's resume is so impressive, all that was missing was a military award like a Purple Heart of a Medal of Honor. This guy has had an amazing education, both in the classroom and in his professional life. He is a lawyer by trade, but knows the sports business like the back of his hand. He has worked on some high profile cases involving sports leagues, he has also been a player agent in the NFL and NBA. This guy knows his stuff. I met him the day of the presser and I was impressed by the fact that he had read the blog and said he enjoyed it. That makes me feel good and also tells me that he does his research. He should be an excellent fit for this Vipers franchise.

Time is ticking down to the home opener and I am excited for the season. I will be blogging more as more news becomes readily available. More in the coming days and weeks.