August 23, 2020

 

Okay.  I think I have hit the proverbial wall here in the bubble.  Every day is like the next.  The monotony has begun to settle in and this is starting to feel more like a job than an adventure.  The bubble novelty vanished and I need to dig deep and bring it back.  I still have about five weeks before I can escape and I cannot afford to let myself become bitter and grumpy because of the circumstance that I agreed to get in.  My guess that I am working every day along with long hours and little time for recreation is why I need an attitude adjustment.  This will be my third day in a row working two games each day and I have to do the same thing again tomorrow.  Having time away from work is important and I don’t have that luxury at the moment.  I need to remind myself of the alternative that so many in the world are experiencing currently and get my shit together. 

 

Philly made a quick exit by getting swept by the Celtics.  Soon thereafter the coach of the Sixers was canned.  It’s unfortunate the coach has to be the fall guy for a team that was strapped with injuries and had high paid players phone it in at times.  Such is the life of a coach in professional basketball.  In my opinion, personnel changes involving the players are warranted not the coaching staff.  The only good thing to come from this game is the field has been narrowed from sixteen teams to fifteen.  And, this was another carefree ESPN telecast.  It was smooth, easy, relaxed, and fun on headsets.

 

I better clarify some things here.  I hope you don’t get the impression that my TNT games are complete mayhem and out of control.  Much to the contrary. Both networks provide high quality production and I enjoy working with both production teams, or any production team that I have the honor of working with.  My point is the crew that I was assigned with ESPN has been together for so long they knew each others shots and moves and calls.  They were like an old married couple that finished each other’s sentences.  They were all too familiar with one another which transpired into a team that completely gelled.  Please don’t misconstrue that I am taking anything away from my TNT crews by any means…

 

Another team was eliminated in the nightcap.  Toronto completed their first ever sweep in their history in the NBA playoffs.  Brooklyn, another team depleted with injuries, was allowed to exit the bubble leaving fourteen squads competing for the championship.  The Raptors did suffer a big injury of their own when Kyle Lowry sprained his ankle.  His return is questionable.  They need him.  That dude is endless energy and he sets the pace for his whole team.  Serge Ibaka, the guy that turned me on to music from the Congo, killed it off the bench.  He scored nineteen with a bunch of rebounds and blocked shots.  Toronto has two former University of Arizona players that I used to shoot while broadcasting their games, Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis Jefferson.  It’s a shame they only got in once the game was well in hand.  I would have liked to have seen them play when it mattered.

And extended version of a previous interview I did with David Kelly from KVOA in Tucson was released today.  It deals not only with my life in the bubble but how COVID has affected the life of me and my wife and the business we own.