NBA greatness
No, this is not about the great time had during some competitive, albeit antiseptic, playoff games Tuesday night.
No, this is not about LeBron James, who went 23-17-16, or Dame Time Damian Lillard's 34 points as Lillard's eighth-seeded Blazers toppled the Lakers in Game 1. Or the magnitude of the eighth-seeded Magic getting Game 1 over Milwaukee.
No, this is not about the size or importance of what the TV numbers for the postseason will show for the bubbled NBA playoffs.
Heck, this is not about the eye-popping numbers Luka Doni, who made his postseason debut with 42 points Monday night.
This is a tip of the 5-at-10 visor to the unequaled studio greatness of Charles Barkley. Not sure if you can win an Emmy on one broadcast, but Chuck made every effort last night in between NBA games.
He silenced Shaq by not saying a word, then when talking about the best centers he off the cuff dropped "Kareem would've killed you; he would've skyhooked your big (bleep) to death."
He said if the Blazers win Game 1, they would win the best-of-seven in four games, and after the game was over they returned to the TNT set and Barkley was sweeping the studio.He called out Skip Bayless - the Fox commentator who is the sports world's most useless gasbag - after Bayless bagged on Lillard, who has been the best player on the planet since the restart.
When analyzing the Lakers shortcomings, Chuck noted that Kentavious Caldwell Pope "had one more point than me tonight" on nine field goal attempts in 29 minutes.
He went on and on - despite the trepidation from Kenny Smith and Shaq - that James Harden is the best 1-on-1 player in NBA history.
I don't agree about the sweep - I do think the Lakers are in for way more than they bargained for as a top-seed in an opening series - and I loath the way Harden plays the game.
But I do believe that Barkley is on the short list of TV sports personalities that earn the highest possible compliment.
They are the guys who you tune in to hear. Sure around these parts we watch sports. A lot of sports.
And we listen to whomever the leagues and the network hand the mic to. It's part of the process. Not sure anyone has ever said, "Man, I can't wait to hear what Mike Breen or Jim Nantz has to say." Or even as good Mike Tirico is or Jon Gruden was, again, I'm not sure who clicked on Notre Dame football or a MNF broadcast for their commentary.
Sure, there are a lot of guys that make you hit mute or try to find a different game. Looking at you Gus Johnson, and you Dickie V, and you well you get the idea.
Barkley is a guy you find ways to listen to. He's that guy in a sports bar - back, you know, when we went to sports bars - that everyone gravitates to.
I make it a point to watch TNT's studio show, and those guys have great chemistry. But if Chuck went to ESPN's NBA show, I'd watch that one.
And I'm not sure any other TV sports personality with the possible exception of Tony Romo carries that much value in that industry.
Story of baseball
It's a great day for baseball, gang.
We're talking nationally about baseball, and it's not about the Reds or the Marlins going into quarantine or some Indians bullpen pitcher breaking Corona protocol.
That's a great thing, and all of that chatter is about Fernando Tatis Jr., who is right there among the best young players in baseball with Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto.
Tatis' numbers are outrageous: he's at .310 with 11 homers, 28 RBIs, 23 runs and six steals through 100 at-bats in this reboot; in 434 career at-bats, he's at .316 with 33 homers and 22 steals. At his pace right now - most full-time big-leaguers get at least 600 ABs - Tatis is on a historic arc that would be .310 with 66 homers, 168 RBIs and 36 steals.
Yeah that's pretty good.
But still, because baseball is a game that is governed by unwritten rules that were crafted by guys who are long-since dead and in a time when baseball was the national pastime, rivaled only by heavyweight boxing and horse racing.
It also was a time when we wore ties to games and fedoras to work. Nevermind that we didn't allow, you know, Black people to play the game.
The unwritten rules are garbage, plain and simple. Consider the two dust-ups that Tatis has caused the last two nights.
On Monday, he missed a take sign and hit a 3-0 meatball for a grand slam up seven runs and everyone had kittens. Seriously. The other team had their delicate sensibilities wrecked and threw at the next hitter, an act that got the Rangers pitcher and manager suspended.
Heck, Tatis felt the urge or was forced to apologize. Dear Buckets.
Then on Tuesday, with his team up 6-0 and Rangers pitcher Ian Gibaut not paying attention, Tatis stole third base.
And cue the Brian McCann Militia. "Play the game the right way" they bemoan, which is, at best, slang for "Do not have fun and dumb down your talent so that others are not offended."
And at worst, these unwritten rules certainly could be translated that" play the game the right way" could mean "play the game the WHITE way" since so many of the offenders of the 'unwritten rules' are Hispanic or Black players.
Regardless it certainly robs a great deal of joy and emotion and, simply put, fun from a game that is in very short supply of all three of those.
The outrage over the 3-0 homer - Tatis said after he missed the take sign his coaches gave - is ridiculous, but if you are thinking, "Stealing a base up 6 is like Spurrier running it up," well I have two more counter points.
First, as Spurrier always said, you don't want us to score, stop us.
Second, yes, Tatis stole third in an effort to pad a 6-0 lead. He eventually did not score. But the Rangers outscored the Padres 4-0 the rest of the way, and the Padres had to hold on for a 6-4 win.
And an extra run - no matter when it came - would have made that cushion a little more comfortable, no?
Another morning, another excellent interview
The new ESPN morning show with Zubin, Keyshawn and J-Will continues to impress.
This morning UNC football coach Mack Brown continued the run of great and informative guests.
Brown detailed a lot of the steps UNC is taking against Corona, from playing with either a cloth mask on or a double face shield and individual water bottles for everyone and socially distancing on the sidelines.
It was eye-opening. Truly.
Brown's interview included a view that reiterated Saban's stance that spring is almost untenable with the questions, and more importantly his stance that he and his program remind players daily that if they are uncomfortable playing because of the virus, they can opt out and stay on scholarship.
Side note: I could not have been more wrong on the Brown rehiring at UNC. I thought it was going to be a disaster, but he sounded sharp as a tack and smooth as a snake oil salesman. Plus, Brown has a top-five recruiting class. At UNC. In football.
And before Brown left the air, he mentioned another round of the need for a college football commissioner.
A-BLEEPIN'-Men, Coach.
This and that
- The Braves lost - Tuesday's game and outfielder Nick Markakis, who was placed on the Corona list. That move - the latest in a bad run of Braves bad luck - caused the team to call up super-prospect Cristian Pache. The time is now kid. The club needs you, your speed and your bat.
- This is an interesting story about an upcoming documentary about nudity in motion pictures and how the #MeToo movement has changed that in so many ways.
- You know the rules. Here's TFP sports editor and high school sports guru Stephen Hargis on Baylor and McCallie being among the D-II AAA state-title favorites.
- You know the rules. Here's TFP college football guru David Paschall on Jeremy Pruitt praising his staff and Alabama OC Steve Sarkisian's goals for his backfield. And as an added bonus, here's DP on another kind of futbol as Finley will allow limited crowds for the Chattanooga FC. Man, Paschall doing work.
- Speaking of college football, here's a CBS poll that ranks the 76 college football programs that are still planning on playing.
Today's questions
Which way Wednesday starts this way:
Which sports TV personality is the best, Barkley, Romo or another?
Which is the best NBA one-on-one scorer, James Harden, MJ, Kobe Bryant or Kareem?
Which is the most famous scene with nudity in motion picture history, the interrogation in Basic Instinct, Phoebe Cates getting out of the pool in Fast Times or Rose posing for Jack in Titantic?
If absolutely forced to - because there is no other way it's going to happen otherwise - which of these would I use first, an emoji, hair product or a Luke Bryan CD?
As for today, Aug. 19, it's Bill Clinton's birthday. He's (in)turning 74 today. Too soon?
Also on this day 70 years ago, ABC started Saturday morning kids shows and cartoons. Wow, do I miss the specialty and coolness of Saturday morning cartoons.
Now with cartoon-dedicated channels and stream options that can get us Phineas and Ferb whenever we want, the appointment viewing of the old-school great Saturday morning cartoons are gone, never to be returned.
Rushmore of Saturday morning cartoons. Go and remember the mailbag.