Rolling Stone names Charles Barkley one of the best characters on TV
Posted on | Friday, September 30, 2011 | No Comments
One of the great pleasures of modern NBA fandom is having the opportunity to watch TNT's "Inside the NBA" crew spend several hours on TV every Thursday. Whereas every other studio team in sports broadcasting engages in the kind of forced banter that only a focus group could love, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith (and now Shaquille O'Neal, unless he screws everything up) feel fresh, like three friends hanging out watching a basketball game. In an artificial medium, they seem remarkably genuine.
Barkley has always been the biggest draw; he's a larger than life figure whose opinions drive a lot of discussion about the league. He's so popular, in fact, that Rolling Stone recently named him one of the 11 best characters on the small screen. Here's what Matt Taibbi had to say about the Round Mound of Profound:
Sports programming is one of America's great bastions of slavish conformity, ball-washing and non-thought, a place where a star athlete is commended for blindly following, in no particular order, his coach, his owner and the president of the United States. But into this world TNT thrust Charles Bark�ley, who spices up forgettable midseason games with politically incorrect gibes ("You still owe me 40 acres and a mule ? I've been waiting on that a long damn time") and self-deprecating gags (his halftime footrace against 67-year-old referee Dick Bavetta during the 2007 All-Star Game was one of the funniest sports highlights of the new century). Unlike every other sportscaster in the corporate-sponsored TV universe, Barkley doesn't even pretend to care about most of the games, and sometimes he'll even openly bash the product. ("We better not be doing the Bulls this year," he once groused. "Man, they suck! Bunch of high school kids with $70 million contracts.") In the history of gazillionaire athletes, Barkley is alone with Muhammad Ali in having both the gift of speaking his mind and the sense of humor to match. Owing to his Parkinson's disease, we never got to experience the great second career in television commentary that should have belonged to Ali. But we did get Sir Charles, one of the few true things on the air today.
Taibbi's commentary is pretty much right on as it applies to Barkley the personality. He's unafraid of sacrificing various sacred cows, both in the broader culture and basketball itself, and deserves credit for speaking his mind. If more commentators had his lack of filter, we'd all find sports television more tolerable than it often is.
Unfortunately, Taibbi overlooks the fact that Barkley often gets the facts of NBA analysis wrong. While Chuck certainly understands basketball as its played on the court, he misinterprets fundamental statistical issues and sometimes seems to pay attention to few teams outside of the title contenders. Barkley is certainly an entertaining NBA observer, but it's arguable that he deserves the term "expert." He's a lovable character, not quite an authority.
The question, as it pertains to Barkley's job, is whether or not those gaps in knowledge matter. With the rise of advanced statistics and in-depth web analysis, NBA diehards can quite easily find substantive analysis away from the TNT studio. Barkley's role is to appeal to a large numbers of fans as a personality -- he covers general subjects in broad strokes. We just need to identify him as a character and not a regular expert. Taibbi's take on Barkley, then, exists in the correct context.
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Michael Jordan makes more from endorsements now than he did as a player
Aside from that whole lockout thing, it's a terrific time to be an NBA fan. The league is full of great players of different shapes and sizes, from Chris Paul to LeBron James to Dwight Howard. No matter your pleasure, you can find something to enjoy. It's a lot like Baskin-Robbins.
Yet, for all the greatness of the modern NBA, the most widely loved and known basketball player in the world retired more than eight years ago. Michael Jordan still commands a great deal of endorsement dollars -- put his name on a video game, shoe, or T-shirt and you're likely to sell more than you would otherwise.
So it should come as relatively little surprise that Jordan makes lots of money. What's interesting is that he makes more than he did as a player. From Kurt Badenhausen for Forbes (via PBT):
We estimate that Jordan earned $60 million over the past year mainly through his endorsement deals with�Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports and Five Star Fragrances. He also owns five restaurants and a car dealership in North Carolina. His annual earnings are greater than any other sports figure save Tiger Woods who topped our�world's highest-paid athletes this year.
At Jordan's peak during his playing career, he was making $50 million off the court through sponsorships. He also banked $63 million in combined salary during his last two years with the Bulls.
The reasons for this bump in profits go beyond simple concepts like "more companies pay him now" or "he now gets paid more by everyone." Jordan's relationship with Nike has only expanded over time, with his Jordan Brand becoming a major player perhaps topped only by the parent company itself. On top of that, his Hanes ads run regularly, and his role in "NBA 2K11" was a huge success. The man makes money because he moves product.
But why do fans care more about a retired player than someone who still makes All-Star teams every season and ranks among the league's scoring leader? The simplest answer is that Jordan was such a phenomenal athlete that he can't be treated like other retired basketball players; every basketball fan over the age of 20 watched him play at his peak level and remembers his exploits in sparkling detail.
Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll find that fans can reach consensus on Jordan that's impossible with divisive players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. That's not to say that those two are bad endorsers -- they do pretty well with large portions of the public -- but Jordan stands far above all else. He's a cut above all others, the most successful endorser in sport history, if not that of all celebrities ever.
For that reason, it may be that there's nothing to learn from Jordan's post-retirement success as an endorser. He's both a product of a different media era and an athlete so hugely successful that it may be impossible for the NBA to produce anyone like him ever again.
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Arvydas Sabonis reportedly suffers heart attack, rushed to hospital
Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com reports:
Former Portland Trail Blazers center and recent Basketball Hall of fame inductee Arvydas Sabonis suffered a heart attack playing a game of pick-up basketball Tuesday and was rushed to the hospital, according to reports from Delfi Sportas and Simonas Baranauskas of lithuaniabasketball.com.
Adds Baranauskas via Twitter: An update on Sabonis: apparently, there [...]
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Boris Diaw to play in France during the lockout
Posted by Royce Young
It was pretty much a known thing a few weeks ago, but it's official now: Boris Diaw will play in France if the lockout cuts into the regular season, according to Catch and Shoot. Diaw is set to make his first appearance with JSA Bordeuax on Oct. 7. I'm sure the negotiation was real tough as Diaw was dealing with himself, as he's JSA Bordeaux's team president. Diaw's got an NBA out clause and will return to the NBA once play resumes. When he's not fat and out of shape, Diaw's a versatile power forward that can add quality minutes. Last season, he started all 82 games for the Bobcats and had a relatively productive season.
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James, Wade, Bosh to host charity game (AP)
Miami Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are planning to headline a charity game featuring some of the NBA's top players in Miami on Oct. 8. Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Rajon Rondo and John Wall have also committed to play. Details are still being finalized and although no contracts had been signed by late Tuesday, an official announcement about the game and...
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Deron Williams 15 points, 9 assists in win for team in Turkey
FIBA.com reports:
Deron Williams captured a gold medal with Team USA at the Beijing Games and no doubt will want to be with the Americans when they try to defend their title next year in London.
A 27-year-old in the prime of his career, Williams is an NBA superstar and one of the best guards in the [...]
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Timberwolves officially introduce Rick Adelman as new head coach
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed Rick Adelman to be the 10th head coach in franchise history. Adelman ranks eighth all-time in NBA coaching wins with a 945-616 (.605 winning percentage) career record in 20 seasons as a head coach. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
“After a thorough [...]
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Yao Ming joins the fight in attempting to ban shark fin soup
Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, along with billionaire Richard Branson, attended a press conference on Wednesday in Shanghai to raise awareness about a dish you may not have even heard of -- something called "shark fin soup."
Yao is asking his fellow countrymen to stop eating shark fins, and while his words may not make much of a dent in changing a centuries-old Chinese tradition, this is a very good thing. Because the practice of securing shark fins is a terrible, terrible thing.
Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in China, and though the price of a fin can be more than exorbitant, that doesn't stop the massive consumption of the dish. A dish that, frankly, is more show than substance. Shark fin soup is usually culled from a dried fin (dried out gas station beef jerky is closer in tenderness to a rare-cooked cut of filet mignon than it is to the fin) that essentially re-hydrates itself in a broth usually made of chicken stock and fish oil with other spices.
The broth itself, I'm sure, is delicious. It's soup. The shark fin? It's essentially tasteless, a somewhat gelatinous-yet-stringy goo that hardly even resembles shark meat, which can be pretty tasty. Anything could taste good in that broth, and the fin essentially adds nothing to the proceedings. So why do the Chinese keep gobbling it up?
Because it's a status symbol dish that many can afford, or many will save for months to afford. And in a country that has balanced out both empires, Socialism, rampant poverty, affluence, and myriad other economic climates in its time, status and this dish's historical role in that status means a lot. Just calling it "a tradition" is still a little weak.
So why is it wrong for them to consume shark fin?
Because shark fins aren't culled from a whole caught shark, with its various other body parts being sold for food or other uses. The purveyors of this trade catch the shark, age be damned, cut off its fin, and dump it back in the ocean. Without the fin, the shark cannot swim; and it usually slowly bleeds to death as it stinks like a stone in the ocean.
And because of the sheer amount of both regulated and unregulated shark fin fisherman, entire ecosystems are being blown to bits mainly because all manner of food chain-leveling sharks (the fishermen don't discriminate in what type of shark they go after; and the taste apparently doesn't change from shark to shark) are disappearing by the hundred. All for a piece of "meat" that usually rivals the size of a slim cut of flank steak.
The practice is growing. According to Branson, who stood with Yao Wednesday in damning the trade, China's growing affluence is leading to a massive uptick in the consumption of shark fins:
"There's been a massive increase in shark fin soup and the killing of sharks," said Branson, whose Virgin Airlines bans transport of shark fins. "The world is getting wealthier, particularly in China people are getting wealthier, and they can now afford to buy shark fin soup."
"We're trying to get other businesses to ban the transportation of shark fins," he said.
A reported 1.5 million sharks a week are being slaughtered for their fins alone. And the food, the "prize," is tasteless. Do you know what they make mock shark fin soup out of in China? Cellophane noodles. That's your taste approximation -- cellophane noodles.
It's a noble cause, and one you should be aware of. Because the continued practice is going to decimate the ecosystem that feeds so many other billions of people at a reasonable price, with sustainable food. Food with actual nutritional content.
Big move, Yao.
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Reebok to pay $25 million to settle case over toning shoes
Posted on | Thursday, September 29, 2011 | No Comments
Jim Puzzanghera of the Los Angeles Times reports:
Reebok International Ltd. has agreed to pay $25 million in refunds to consumers to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission that the company falsely claimed that its toning shoes and other products strengthened muscles.
“Consumers expected to get a workout, not to get worked over,” David Vladeck, director [...]
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Arvydas Sabonis reportedly suffers heart attack, rushed to hospital
Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com reports:
Former Portland Trail Blazers center and recent Basketball Hall of fame inductee Arvydas Sabonis suffered a heart attack playing a game of pick-up basketball Tuesday and was rushed to the hospital, according to reports from Delfi Sportas and Simonas Baranauskas of lithuaniabasketball.com.
Adds Baranauskas via Twitter: An update on Sabonis: apparently, there [...]
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Video: Blake Griffin interns it up at ?Funny or Die?
Warning: Video contains NSFW language.
Several weeks ago, Blake Griffin hit the newswire for an accomplishment that had nothing to do with dunks. Like many young professionals with no plans for the summer, Griffin decided to take an internship, specifically with the Internet humor website Funny or Die. Sure, most interns don't also make millions of dollars per year, but how else is a kid going to break into the comedy world? Open mic nights are for the weak.
Now, Funny or Die has taken us inside Griffin's time with the company with this spoof of the HBO Sports series "24/7." It's fitfully funny, although probably a little too dependent on stock "interns get treated like human garbage" humor. Still, there are some nice bits, including the part where Griffin learns how to use a phone.
It also must have been a real thrill for the league's most exciting player. That's because, towards the end, Griffin gets to perform with the man who is quite clearly his comedy inspiration, Will Ferrell. If I'd ever gotten a chance to meet Henny Youngman, I don't think I could have held it together as well as BG does here. Take my blog, please!
(Via TBJ)
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Rolling Stone names Charles Barkley one of the best characters on TV
One of the great pleasures of modern NBA fandom is having the opportunity to watch TNT's "Inside the NBA" crew spend several hours on TV every Thursday. Whereas every other studio team in sports broadcasting engages in the kind of forced banter that only a focus group could love, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith (and now Shaquille O'Neal, unless he screws everything up) feel fresh, like three friends hanging out watching a basketball game. In an artificial medium, they seem remarkably genuine.
Barkley has always been the biggest draw; he's a larger than life figure whose opinions drive a lot of discussion about the league. He's so popular, in fact, that Rolling Stone recently named him one of the 11 best characters on the small screen. Here's what Matt Taibbi had to say about the Round Mound of Profound:
Sports programming is one of America's great bastions of slavish conformity, ball-washing and non-thought, a place where a star athlete is commended for blindly following, in no particular order, his coach, his owner and the president of the United States. But into this world TNT thrust Charles Bark�ley, who spices up forgettable midseason games with politically incorrect gibes ("You still owe me 40 acres and a mule ? I've been waiting on that a long damn time") and self-deprecating gags (his halftime footrace against 67-year-old referee Dick Bavetta during the 2007 All-Star Game was one of the funniest sports highlights of the new century). Unlike every other sportscaster in the corporate-sponsored TV universe, Barkley doesn't even pretend to care about most of the games, and sometimes he'll even openly bash the product. ("We better not be doing the Bulls this year," he once groused. "Man, they suck! Bunch of high school kids with $70 million contracts.") In the history of gazillionaire athletes, Barkley is alone with Muhammad Ali in having both the gift of speaking his mind and the sense of humor to match. Owing to his Parkinson's disease, we never got to experience the great second career in television commentary that should have belonged to Ali. But we did get Sir Charles, one of the few true things on the air today.
Taibbi's commentary is pretty much right on as it applies to Barkley the personality. He's unafraid of sacrificing various sacred cows, both in the broader culture and basketball itself, and deserves credit for speaking his mind. If more commentators had his lack of filter, we'd all find sports television more tolerable than it often is.
Unfortunately, Taibbi overlooks the fact that Barkley often gets the facts of NBA analysis wrong. While Chuck certainly understands basketball as its played on the court, he misinterprets fundamental statistical issues and sometimes seems to pay attention to few teams outside of the title contenders. Barkley is certainly an entertaining NBA observer, but it's arguable that he deserves the term "expert." He's a lovable character, not quite an authority.
The question, as it pertains to Barkley's job, is whether or not those gaps in knowledge matter. With the rise of advanced statistics and in-depth web analysis, NBA diehards can quite easily find substantive analysis away from the TNT studio. Barkley's role is to appeal to a large numbers of fans as a personality -- he covers general subjects in broad strokes. We just need to identify him as a character and not a regular expert. Taibbi's take on Barkley, then, exists in the correct context.
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Kobe asked for $15 million from Italian club
Posted by Royce Young
Kobe Bryant was offered a hefty $6.7 million from Italian league team Virtus Bologna, which was the highest offer to any NBA player during the lockout. (That number is under some dispute with another report saying it was for $5 million.)But it wasn't enough. Not what Kobe was looking for. According to Sportando and Bolognabasket.net, Kobe asked for a cool $15 million, before taxes, which would put it around $7.5 million. Which is obviously too much for the Italian team. The original AP report noted that there were extensive negotiations going on. 
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Melo reveals offseason knee, elbow surgeries
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Earl Clark returns from China, will be an unrestricted NBA free agent
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports:
Former Orlando Magic forward Earl Clark will be released from his contract with a Chinese Basketball Association team and will be free to sign with an NBA team as an unrestricted free agent whenever the lockout ends, Clark’s agent said.
Happy Walters, who represents Clark, said the 6-foot-10 forward has [...]
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Melo reveals offseason knee, elbow surgeries
Hakeem Olajuwon Robert Parish Bob Pettit Scottie Pippen Willis Reed
Timberwolves officially introduce Rick Adelman as new head coach
Posted on | Wednesday, September 28, 2011 | No Comments
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed Rick Adelman to be the 10th head coach in franchise history. Adelman ranks eighth all-time in NBA coaching wins with a 945-616 (.605 winning percentage) career record in 20 seasons as a head coach. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
“After a thorough [...]
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Manu Ginobili will decide soon if he will play in Italy
Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News reports:
Manu Ginobili still is mulling a decision on whether to join his former Italian team Virtus Bologna during the lockout.
Ginobili told DiarioShow.com in a story posted at Sportando.com that he will make his decision on whether to join Virtus Bologna by Friday.
?I did not say no to the [...]
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Players not ready to decide on overseas play
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2012 NBA All-Star Game facing December deadline?
Posted by Ben Golliver.
On Friday, the NBA officially postponed the start of its preseason schedule. With that first ugly step now taken, the question becomes how many more similar announcements are coming down the pipeline?The next two major decisions, chronologically, will be the cancellation of the rest of the preseason and the delay of the regular season. Past that, the next major event on the NBA calendar is the league's annual All-Star Game, slated to be held at Orlando's Amway Center in late February.The Orlando Sentinel looked back at the NBA's last work stoppage, during the 1998-1999 season, to pinpoint a possible deadline date for the league's mid-winter classic. 
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Virtus Bologna 'only' option' for Manu Ginobili
Posted by Royce Young
Virtus Bologna may have made a big splash recently with their major offer to Kobe Bryant, but they're also targeting another NBA All-Star. One with a prominant bald spot and a paralyzing step-back jumper. Via an interview with DiarioShow.com via Sportando, Ginobili confirmed that Virtus Bologna is the "only option" if he decides to play overseas during the lockout. "I did not say NO to the proposal. In Bologna I had great time and my wife Marianela loves Italy. There is a possibility that I will join Virtus Bologna during the NBA lockout. I have to give an answer by the end of the month. I had also an offer from Brazil but if I leave San Antonio Spurs during the lockout, I am going to play only with Virtus Bologna. It would be just for few months and then I will be back to Spurs" 
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James, Wade, Bosh to host charity game (AP)
Miami Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are planning to headline a charity game featuring some of the NBA's top players in Miami on Oct. 8. Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Rajon Rondo and John Wall have also committed to play. Details are still being finalized and although no contracts had been signed by late Tuesday, an official announcement about the game and...
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Kyle Korver spent a day as a Wrigley Field groundskeeper
The NBA lockout has forced many NBA players to pursue new forms of employment. For most, that means plying their trade in foreign lands. Others (okay, just one) have decided that professional video game leagues are the future. In this brave new world, millionaires can take on the occupations of our nation's working stiffs.
Bulls shooting specialist Kyle Korver did exactly that during Sunday's game between the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros at Wrigley Field. As evidenced by the photo above (via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune), Korver spent the day helping out around the ballpark, much of which was spent helping out the groundskeepers. Korver also spent at least some time serving dessert to fans in the stands. Pay attention to that last bit, because it's one of the few times you'll see the shot-happy Korver register an assist.
Before you get any ideas, it should be noted that Korver's time as a menial laborer appears to be tied to his charity work with Seer Outfitters, although further details have not come out quite yet. (On top of that, he has a previous relationship with the Cubs.) I'm not sure exactly how Korver's raking of the mound will help kids in need, but if it's for a good cause then who cares. I'll just assume that a prior plan to do something on the set of "Two and a Half Men" fell through after they got wind of Ashton Kutcher's new look. The jokes only make sense if the two of them look alike. It's like how we can't call Chris Bosh "Predator" since he cut his hair.
With any luck, Korver will spend time working at other Chicago landmarks, just hanging out with the folks and helping make their days a little brighter. In two weeks, expect him to play cashier at Hot Doug's and reenact the shooting of John Dillinger outside the Biograph Theater. Because locals just hang out around the tourist attractions, right?
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Pacers try to stay ready during lockout (AP)
The NBA lockout has a different feel for Indiana Pacers players now that the schedule has officially been affected. With the players' union and owners failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, the league has postponed training camps and canceled preseason games scheduled through Saturday, Oct.
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Goodell says he listens to, doesn't advise Stern
Posted on | Tuesday, September 27, 2011 | No Comments
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Jay-Z concerts to open new Nets arena; Nets will be named Brooklyn Nets
Erin Durkin of the New York Daily News reports:
Rap mogul Jay-Z will headline a series of concerts to open Brooklyn’s new Nets arena next fall - and will make it official Monday: The team will be named for his hometown.
The superstar, who owns a small piece of the soon-to-be renamed Brooklyn Nets, will perform at [...]
Earl Monroe Shaquille O Neal Hakeem Olajuwon Robert Parish Bob Pettit
Melo says players are sticking by union chief
Jerry Lucas Karl Malone Moses Malone Pete Maravich Kevin McHale
Video: Sebastian Telfair and the WNBA?s Cappie Pondexter duel. Cappie wins
Apologies for the title of this video, because 28-year-old New York Liberty point guard and four-time WNBA All-Star Cappie Pondexter is most certainly not a girl. No, this is a woman who absolutely took it to journeyman NBA point guard and 2004 lottery pick Sebastian Telfair towards the end of a pickup game during the Impact Basketball run in Las Vegas on Friday.
Here's the video, courtesy Hoop Mix Tape:
The 26-year-old Telfair may have played for five teams (not including the Minnesota Timberwolves twice; but they're only half a team) during an NBA career that has been a struggle, but the guy can certainly hold his own in any pickup game. The guy is a streetball legend.
And Cappie? Apparently the 2007 WNBA Finals MVP can hold her own as well.
Yo face.
(Thanks again to @Hoopmixtape)
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Virtus Bologna 'only' option' for Manu Ginobili
Posted by Royce Young
Virtus Bologna may have made a big splash recently with their major offer to Kobe Bryant, but they're also targeting another NBA All-Star. One with a prominant bald spot and a paralyzing step-back jumper. Via an interview with DiarioShow.com via Sportando, Ginobili confirmed that Virtus Bologna is the "only option" if he decides to play overseas during the lockout. "I did not say NO to the proposal. In Bologna I had great time and my wife Marianela loves Italy. There is a possibility that I will join Virtus Bologna during the NBA lockout. I have to give an answer by the end of the month. I had also an offer from Brazil but if I leave San Antonio Spurs during the lockout, I am going to play only with Virtus Bologna. It would be just for few months and then I will be back to Spurs" Lenny Wilkens James Worthy Kareem Abdul Jabbar Nate Archibald Paul Arizin
Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Josh Childress talks with the animals
At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.
Bobby Jackson: Great day with the children at sutter hospital. I wanted to take one of the kids home with me
Jonas Jerebko: i like the new season w @aplusk im dfntly going to keep watchin #2AndAHalfMen
Josh Childress: So I'm having a debate over here. Do you think when dogs bark they are talking to each other?
Brian Cardinal: "@HoopPlusTheHarm: I feel like if @BrianCardinal had ducks living on his property, he'd consider hunting and eating them."(In a heart beat!!
Dahntay Jones: much respect to @cappa23 she came in the gym today and got busy on the court. Played with and against all NBA guys
You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.
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Warriors hire former Suns executive Rick Welts
Moses Malone Pete Maravich Kevin McHale George Mikan Earl Monroe
Rolling Stone names Charles Barkley one of the best characters on TV
One of the great pleasures of modern NBA fandom is having the opportunity to watch TNT's "Inside the NBA" crew spend several hours on TV every Thursday. Whereas every other studio team in sports broadcasting engages in the kind of forced banter that only a focus group could love, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith (and now Shaquille O'Neal, unless he screws everything up) feel fresh, like three friends hanging out watching a basketball game. In an artificial medium, they seem remarkably genuine.
Barkley has always been the biggest draw; he's a larger than life figure whose opinions drive a lot of discussion about the league. He's so popular, in fact, that Rolling Stone recently named him one of the 11 best characters on the small screen. Here's what Matt Taibbi had to say about the Round Mound of Profound:
Sports programming is one of America's great bastions of slavish conformity, ball-washing and non-thought, a place where a star athlete is commended for blindly following, in no particular order, his coach, his owner and the president of the United States. But into this world TNT thrust Charles Bark�ley, who spices up forgettable midseason games with politically incorrect gibes ("You still owe me 40 acres and a mule ? I've been waiting on that a long damn time") and self-deprecating gags (his halftime footrace against 67-year-old referee Dick Bavetta during the 2007 All-Star Game was one of the funniest sports highlights of the new century). Unlike every other sportscaster in the corporate-sponsored TV universe, Barkley doesn't even pretend to care about most of the games, and sometimes he'll even openly bash the product. ("We better not be doing the Bulls this year," he once groused. "Man, they suck! Bunch of high school kids with $70 million contracts.") In the history of gazillionaire athletes, Barkley is alone with Muhammad Ali in having both the gift of speaking his mind and the sense of humor to match. Owing to his Parkinson's disease, we never got to experience the great second career in television commentary that should have belonged to Ali. But we did get Sir Charles, one of the few true things on the air today.
Taibbi's commentary is pretty much right on as it applies to Barkley the personality. He's unafraid of sacrificing various sacred cows, both in the broader culture and basketball itself, and deserves credit for speaking his mind. If more commentators had his lack of filter, we'd all find sports television more tolerable than it often is.
Unfortunately, Taibbi overlooks the fact that Barkley often gets the facts of NBA analysis wrong. While Chuck certainly understands basketball as its played on the court, he misinterprets fundamental statistical issues and sometimes seems to pay attention to few teams outside of the title contenders. Barkley is certainly an entertaining NBA observer, but it's arguable that he deserves the term "expert." He's a lovable character, not quite an authority.
The question, as it pertains to Barkley's job, is whether or not those gaps in knowledge matter. With the rise of advanced statistics and in-depth web analysis, NBA diehards can quite easily find substantive analysis away from the TNT studio. Barkley's role is to appeal to a large numbers of fans as a personality -- he covers general subjects in broad strokes. We just need to identify him as a character and not a regular expert. Taibbi's take on Barkley, then, exists in the correct context.
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Create-a-Caption: Hamed Haddadi could really use a timeout
Posted on | Monday, September 26, 2011 | No Comments
I bet trying to "set the Guinness World Record for Gatorade drinking" at halftime doesn't seem like such a great idea now, does it, Hamed Haddadi? No. No, it doesn't. Neither does that mustache, but we'll take care of one thing at a time, I suppose. Hit the locker room, please. Right away.
Best caption wins thoughts of endless, arid, cactus-filled deserts, with no flowing water anywhere. Good luck.
In our last adventure: We took a closer look at David Stern. Like, suuuuuper close. Right up in his grill.
Runner-up, STARDESTROYER: It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your deodorant is?
Second runner-up, IndeedProceed: Reporter: "Mr. Stern, what do you have to say about the recent irrefutable proof that the NBA's teams are not only profitable, but are actually obscenely so?"
Voice-over Announcer: "Need a break?"
John Havlicek Elvin Hayes Magic Johnson Sam Jones Michael Jordan