the final buzzer
February 20th, 2007Steve, James and I go back a long ways. We started watching, playing and talking about basketball together almost 20 years ago. We were crazy NBA fans in high school. When the Jazz played, we’d dress up in player jerseys and hang posters to cheer on our team. On TV. We studied the intricacies of the Stockton-Malone pick and roll, booed the Detroit Bad Boys, and watched Jordan and Pippen score at will against anyone. Then, we went out to the hoop in the driveway and tried to master Iceman George Gervin’s finger roll. Kareem’s sky hook.
And we’d talk about it. All the time. We’d make lists of the all-NBA ugly team. The funny player name team. We’d question why Cadillac Anderson, Hot Rod Williams, and Antoine Carr didn’t play together – preferably for the Pistons or the Pacers.
Of course, high school doesn’t last forever, and we ended up in 3 different states with families of our own. When Cam told me The Podcast Network was looking for show hosts, I saw the perfect opportunity to get the guys back together to talk hoops again. The show was a blast at the beginning. We’d spend all week trading emails about what should be on the agenda, and extra hours studying stats and records. The show opened some amazing doors for us. Steve got a writing gig for hoopsworld.com. We all got to go to the Rocky Mountain Revue, and talked to guys like Andre Kirilenko, Josh Childress and Marvin Williams – a man child who just wanted to get a copy of the new Harry Potter book.
The best part was 3 guys got to talk about hoops together, just like old times.
The whole time though, there was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. This past week, leading up to the All-Star weekend, I think I figured it out.
In a nutshell, today’s NBA isn’t the one we idolized in high school. I don’t remember ever hearing Jordan or Wilkins say they were just in it for the paycheck when they each won 2 dunk contests, the way Tyrus Thomas did this week. When the premier talents of the NBA competed on all-star Saturday, I don’t remember Bird or Price leisurely going through their events like I saw LeBron, and Kobe in the skills challenge this year. I saw only a couple of dunks this year that I hadn’t seen invented by the guys on the judging table. 20 years of technology, training and conditioning later, and guys still can’t beat the 3 point shooting of Hodges and Price. By the time Sunday evening rolled around, I realized that I’d missed the all-star game. The thing is, I didn’t really miss it at all. I’m more excited that the NCAA tournament selection is 20 days away – March Madness packs as much excitement in a week as the NBA manages in an 84 game season.
So that’s why we haven’t been podcasting regularly this year. Our hearts just aren’t in it anymore. We started the show because it was fun, and now that the novelty has worn off, it’s not. Maybe it’s us, and we’re just a bunch of old farts and the game has passed us by. Whatever it is, we’re not the guys to host the show any more.
I’d like to thank Cam and TPN for making this all possible for us. I told Cam I’d help him find new hosts for the show, because I really think it has potential. At our peak, we were one of the top 10 sports podcasts in iTunes, and even today, when we aren’t doing much posting, the NBA Show is consistently in the top 10 downloads on The Podcast Network.
Cam wants someone who already has some podcasting experience under their belt though. If you’re already doing a basketball podcast, and would like the exposure that TPN can provide you, send me an email at nbashow@gmail.com. I’ll check out your show and pass any promising ones on to Cam.
For the last time, we’re ooooouuuuuutttt.
