Post-Game 6 Quick Hits

(1)  The fact that the final final was in Miami probably has a lot to do with this, but I was disappointed in the post-game coverage.  Maybe I didn't listen long enough.  Please advise, Nation.

I like Norm H and Sean Bass a lot.  Norm's Cowboy post-game a must-hear no matter who his co-host is that particular season.  But when the game was over I told Mrs. Plainsman that I had to leave to get by the channel to see what The Little One was slinging.  I thought I would hear something like I heard when Mike R joined Diamond Talk after the defeat of the Yankees in the ALCS.

But Norm -- man, he brought me down, he just didn't seem into it at all.  The callers also brought things to a halt.  Sean was more animated, but the whole thing just wasn't jelling and I turned it off after about 45 minutes.  I thought we might hear some -- possibly alcohol-fueled?  nah -- celebratory Mike or Donovan or Gordon or George.  Something, anything to mark the uniqueness of the moment and bring the scene to the P1.  Followill?

Sure, they were there at the game, they wanted to go to the pressers and the locker room.  OK, I'd be doing the same.  Didn't do much for the the P1 who had to get up and go to a Monday job, though. 

As I say, the Miami locale meant that these guys probably didn't have a convenient radio home to go to.  But surely that could have been planned around.  I thought sure I'd at least hear NBA Bob's sonorous tones commenting expertly on what happened and sharing his excitement.  NBA Craig had to broadcast in a few hours, so his absence was understandable.

This morning I've been hearing what sounds like a "take that wich you" and "woooo" promo which may actually been what I was looking for.  Did the gang get up broadcasting later at night? 

PS:  As I'm listening to the Museres, I'm hearing sound of our heroes on the scene fromt he night before.  I assume that made it on the air in the wee hours?  OK -- guess I just wasn't able to hang in long enough.  Still think they should have had something for us for that first hour after the game. 

(2) Who designed those gawdawful caps?  Frankenstein?  Head-Injury Mike? 

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OPEN THREAD: Ticket Mavs Coverage

I'd especially like people to comment on BaD and Norm, since I don't get to hear either much at all lately.

The Musers are good as usual, Craig being one of the more knowledgeable NBA guys on the station.

But the real revelation, to me, has been The Hardline.  The show as a whole has been excellent for the past few months, but I think they're outdoing themselves during the playoffs.  Mike has been interested, engaged, vocal.  I heard Corby do an analysis the other day that bordered on erudition.  (I've gotta go get his Hacksaw Hamilton interview podcast.  Anyone got a quick link?)

I've also enjoyed "Just the Tip" (naughty handle, but clever).  Donovan seems to excite very different feelings among the Confessor Nation, but I like him a lot, and I especially like him when he's talking sports.  The mix of hosts has been good.   Haven't been up to hear any of the post-game, so thoughts on that also encouraged.

I get a kick out of the Ticket ads that portray the Little One as having negotiated for exclusive rights just to talk about the Mavericks.  A sly dig at themselves for having no worthwhile broadcast rights (the Nation seems almost unanimously to wish the Stars broadcasts would go elsewhere).

So:  Your Plainsman gives The Ticket high marks, both during the showgrams and pre/post game.  You?

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The Musers and Hardline Bury . . . Actually, Avoid the Lede

This entry won't be entirely fair. I think both shows missed a big point today, but it's not their job to anticipate what I think the point is about any given topic. So I concede, in advance, that this critique will be somewhat arbitrary.

Both shows devoted a segment to the NBA's suspension of Gilbert Arenas for pulling a gun in the Washington Bullets' locker room. One of his teammates did the same. On the Musers, Devin Harris (I think) was quoted as estimating that around 70% of the NBA players have guns (unclear whether they regularly carried them). The Musers noted that this did not seem to be a big problem in other sports.

Both shows asked the question, "why are all these NBA guys carrying guns?" Both shows kinda half-heartedly wondered whether it was for protection (the Hardline rejected this more vigorously than did the Musers), and there were a couple of suggestions that players wanted to "keep it real." But they professed to be, for the most part, baffled. 

Really? I would have thought that the answer virtually screams itself: they carry guns because the thug-life inner-city hoops street gang culture – and, I'm guessing, actual street gang influence -- has infiltrated the NBA.  Starts in high school basketball, graduates to college, and on to the NBA.   So I thought both shows missed a chance to say something interesting about the NBA.

I myself don't have any evidence of actual gang influence on NBA players. But there's a reason Arenas was indefinitely suspended, and that is that David Stern is terrified that the league has acquired the reputation as the pro sports adjunct to what is, in effect, organized crime.  Player posses loaded with suspicious characters; players bristling with firearms; Paul Pierce and Derrick Rose flashing gang signs.  

Surprised the Musers and Hardline seemed so perplexed about where the NBA gun culture comes from.