NBA Draft
-One last shout out to Cinderella, as George Mason got to the Final Four knocking off a team with 4 first round picks & 1 second round pick
-Dick Vitale's Annual Collegian vs. European Rant is getting tired, just like his schtick. I don't disagree with him sometimes in regards to specific picks, but the generalizations (us vs. them) have to go. Dick, watch the Oympics lately? We get beat. I want to see Dick defend the Nowitzki-Traylor deal. Dick needs to face paint an American flag, just in case anyone misses his point.
I do enjoy how Dick winds down through the night, culminating last night in Dick openly bailing on the broadcast. This is how I think it goes at the Vitale house on draft night:
7:15 Dick jugs 8 Red Bulls
7:30 to 10:00 Dick spikes the systolic with his 5 spots
10:15 Mrs. Vitale pries the remote from his hands
So, Dick, college basketball's biggest promoter, by checking out early, you're saying what for the guys drafted in the second round?
Oh, and what room in Dick's house are they shooting from? Is that the dream sequence set from Twin Peaks? They should have the little guy from Carnivale (same guy in Twin Peaks) waltz through every shot. He came with the set, baybeee!
Ever seen an ESPN Classic game with early Dick broadcasting? You would think he came to work with stomach cramps he's so subdued compared to today.
If you're counting, I just typed Dick nine times. Makes for better blogging.
-Speaking of schtick, Stephen A. Smith's got to go. The hardest job in sports broadcasting has to be casting the funny third wheel. Smith's bombastic outrage act is straight out of sports radio. Worse, he's a sportswriter with, by my count, zero credibility to pull the act. I think if Smith stays with the outrage, he ought to work in some rhymes with it and shoot for the NBA's version of Jessie Jackson. Either way, Charles Barkely's job is safe as the funniest broadcaster ever.
-At the end of the first round, why did everything turn into a fighting analogy for Jay Bilas? Did he need help getting to his car?
-How about J.J. Reddick turning the tables on the Carolina homer Stu Scott during their Q&A? How long was J.J. waiting for that one? 4 years? That's my guess.
-Saer Sene, Seattle Supersonics. I guess you can never have enough 7 foot projects. I guess. Maybe they need someone to go on double dates with Robert Swift. I think I saw Kevin Bacon in his highlight video.
-Thabo Sefolosha, Chicago Bulls. Shouldn't cops use his name for field sobriety tests instead of the reverse alphabet? I like this idea. The NBA's always looking for branding opportunities. How about the Nikoloz Tskitishvili Field Sobriety Test. Maybe J.J. and 1/2 the Jailblazers walk the next time they get pulled over.
Jailblazer, "That bust Russian center for Denver."
Highway Patrol, "That's close enough. Drive safely sir."
-Isiah Thomas. So much will be said here, it's really too easy. I do have one question I haven't heard yet. Is there anyone in the room with him? Anyone? Is it just Isiah and a phone? Or is there nothing but yes men standing around him?
