TNT studio analysts downplay Thunder’s 12-2 start
Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA-best 12-2 record, the Thunder didn’t receive much praise from TNT’s studio crew during the Thunder-Celtics broadcast Monday night.
Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith all said they thought the Los Angeles Lakers would defeat the Thunder in a playoff series, and Barkley thought the Lakers would win it in five games.
Barkley on the best teams in the Western Conference: “The Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets are the two best teams I have seen in the West.”
O’Neal on the Thunder being 12-2: “They’ve had an easy schedule.”
Game analyst Chris Webber on how Thunder sixth man James Harden has embraced his role with the team: “The best teams that I played against had role players that were superstars. They took their role seriously and they knew the importance of their role to the team. (Harden) has embraced his role (as sixth man) and has made sure that the bench is better for that.”
Game analysis Mike Fratello on Thunder head coach Scott Brooks: “He really knows his players and he knows which guys to let grow and develop and which ones he can get on a little bit harder. He wants players to grow and experience this learning process and by the way, they’re winning a lot of games in this process.”
Fratello on the unselfishness of Thunder forward Kevin Durant: “He is a very unselfish player. He has the God-given ability to score the basketball whenever he wants to; he understands the team aspect of the game and is a willing passer.”
ESPN’s “College GameDay” talks with Austin Box’s family
Austin Box
ESPN’s “College GameDay” features a report on late OU linebacker Austin Box and how his death affected his family and the team. Box, 22, died in May from a lethal mix of prescription pain killers. Reporter Tom Rinaldi talked with Box’s family. The report will air about 10:10 a.m. Saturday.
From the time he was in seventh grade, Austin’s father, Craig, wrote his son a letter before every game he played — from middle school through the last game he played — the Fiesta Bowl win over Connecticut just in January. This season, Craig has been reading those letters again as Austin’s memory carries on, by his team and his family.
Quotes from the “College GameDay” segment:
Craig Box on the letters: “I wanted him to have something. To let him know his daddy was watching him; his daddy cared about him; his daddy loved him; that he was special; that he was gonna be special.”
Mother Gail Box: “He dealt with his back and the pain in his arm. But Austin never complained. He felt like he had been given so many gifts, that to complain would just be unheard of.”
Sister Whitney Box on a different OU defensive player wearing No. 12 in each game: “I can watch the No. 12, and root for whoever’s wearing it, and really want that player to maybe do better than all the other defensive players. But just really honor Austin in whatever they do. And they all have, each one of them. Whenever they’ve worn that jersey, they’ve honored Austin.”
ABC analysts discuss NBA Finals
ESPN/ABC announcers Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Dr. Jack Ramsay discussed the NBA Finals in a conference call Friday. Here are a few excerpts:
Q: Jack Ramsay, how do you perceive the rest of the country perceives the Heat outside of Miami? I know you called their games for a long time. I’m not sure if you still live in the area. But I want to get a sense from you how you think the rest of the nation sees them compared to how they are seen locally.
Dr. Jack Ramsay: I think the rest of the country is growing to appreciate and in some quarters root for this team. They started off on the wrong foot and just aroused derision everywhere they went in the league. But they are so good. They are so dedicated. When you see, as Mike Breen said, their key players, LeBron James and D‑Wade, diving on the floor for loose balls, coming from the weak side and making incredible shot blocks, you have to acknowledge that. I think it’s happened for the Heat. They have become not America’s team but they’re now likable, and everybody loves a winner, and this team has been proved that it can be a winner.
Q: For Mark and Mike, you’ve gotten to see quite a lot of the Mavs lately. What has impressed you most about the way they’ve been playing, the way they’ve been winning?
Mark Jackson: I think the most impressive thing is how they have incredible poise. They’ve stayed calm in the face of tough runs. They totally believe in their system and in each other, and they find ways to win ballgames. I think ultimately when you’re talking about great basketball teams, you’re talking about teams that in spite of not playing their best, taking their game to another level and finding a way to win, and that’s been the most impressive thing for me about this Mavericks team.
Dr. Jack Ramsay: I’d like to add, Jason Kidd has been incredible. This guy, 38 years old, still runs the show on offense and is a surprisingly good defender. Did a great job against Kobe Bryant in the LA series in significant spots of games, and he doesn’t have the quick feet any longer, but he has great hands and great anticipation. The Mavs make a premium on defensive deflections of passes. In Game 4 against OKC, they had 19 deflections in that game. And these are all. Kidd had his share of those. Marion, Nowitzki even, everybody who plays is conscious of that. Kidd is still running the show there. He distributes the ball. He gets the ball to a player who needs a shot, needs to make a field goal. He’ll throw cross‑court to Terry giving up a shot of his own so Terry can get a free look from three-point land. This is a surprisingly tough team with veteran poise, as Mark said. That’s a key characteristic for them. And Tyson Chandler we haven’t mentioned is the defensive focus there and actually the spokesman of the team. He gets everybody going. He calls people out when they’re not getting their jobs done, and he defends the basket area.
Q. Mark Cuban has for a long time been one of the major faces of the franchise, and I’m wondering if you can compare the Mark Cuban of ’06 to the Mark Cuban of today?
Mike Breen: This might sound silly, but maybe as an owner you learn from experience, as well. And although I think a lot of this has to do with being superstitious; he was quiet early, they started winning, so he figured, all right, let me keep my mouth shut and not say a word. I just think right from the start, he’s brought so much passion, and willing to do everything and anything to make the players give them the proper tools, whether it’s a great locker room, a great plane, a good coach, spending money on free agents, give their whole team the proper tools to win. He’s been all about that right from the start. Obviously he gets emotional from the fans. I think he’s been able to control that a little bit better, and maybe he was tired of getting fined and losing money for shooting off his mouth sometimes. But to me he’s always been ‑‑ all he wants to do is win, and he wants to give the fans a great product. You know, so much of the publicity about him has always been the fines and the controversial comments, but I think most NBA fans would love to have their team have an owner like Mark Cuban.
Dr. Jack Ramsay: I think some of it has to do with his confidence in Rick Carlisle. He has, and should have, a high appreciation for Carlisle’s talents as a coach and the way that Carlisle uses his personnel and controls the tempo of games and just monitors it, and in a very low‑key fashion. It’s wonderful to watch. I talked with Mark after they had qualified for the championship round, and I mentioned to him, “I thought Rick did a terrific job.” He said, “Rick has out‑coached everyone he’s faced in the Playoffs so far.” He said, “That’s no surprise to me.” So there’s a confidence in the coach that maybe was not there with his previous coaches.
Mini-cheerleaders featured on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”
Just like athletes, cheerleaders are getting starter at a younger age these days. A segment of the next edition “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Tuesday, explores the world of mini-cheerleading.
Here’s the synopsis as supplied by HBO:
Mini-Cheerleaders. Competitive cheerleading is a grueling physical sport, testing the limits of even the most dedicated athletes. So imagine pre-pubescent girls, ages 5 to 8, tumbling, dancing, stunting and flying through the air on the national stage in true competitive fashion. Just like the big girls, they don lipstick, glitter and miniskirts, too. Leading up to the United States finals, Real Sports correspondent Andrea Kremer explores the lesser-known world of mini-cheerleading.
Other stories include profiles of Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins and two-time Paralympic track champ Marlon Shirley, and a look at the New Jersey-based health organization P.A.S.T. (Pain Alternatives, Solutions & Treatments) that provides pro-bono treatment to former athletes.
TNT’s Charles Barkley says Jeff Green trade was good for Celtics
Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and David Aldridge were among the TNT analysts who discussed the Celtics-Thunder trade during the network’s pregame coverage Thursday night. The Thunder sent forward Jeff Green and center Nedad Krstic to the Thunder for center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robison.
Barkley: “I was very surprised but it’s a good trade for the Celtics considering they weren’t going to be able to re-sign (Perkins). They only need Perkins against the Lakers if they get to the finals. They are going to have a tougher time getting through Chicago (Bulls) and Miami (Heat). Perkins wouldn’t have been a big factor in (a Miami) series. They got the best deal they could out of their circumstances.”
Smith on the Celtics losing the mystique of being a tough team: “(Perkins) doesn’t help you get to a championship but he helps you win it. What the Boston Celtics had over everyone else was the mystique of toughness … They don’t have that anymore. That’s what the cache was that they were a great defensive team and you couldn’t get layups or get to the basket. They have just traded that (mystique) in and said, ‘We are a new team.’ To me, that is the difference and I don’t know if that’s great if you’re trying to win a championship.”
Barkley on the Thunder getting tougher at the trade deadline: “I love the toughness that (the Thunder) have now. I love the fact that they’ll be able to hit some guys in the head when they come down the lane. (Russell) Westbrook and (Kevin) Durant are going to score. Those guys will score in church, but they never get rebounds. Now they have some rebounding (ability) and some defensive toughness. This (trade) makes them a contender.”
Aldridge on the trade: “If you go back in time, (the Kendrick Perkins) trade is like Larry Nance going to Cleveland or Dennis Johnson going to Boston. Those ‘cement’ trades that make a good team a great team. I think Kendrick Perkins does that for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were already good and they could’ve won a playoff series. What (Perkins) gives them in terms of defensive presence, toughness and championship experience; I think Oklahoma City is going to remember this day as the day they took a step up to be a true contender in the NBA.”
Aikman considered baseball career before enrolling at OU
Troy Aikman
Before he decided to play football at the University of Oklahoma in 1984, Troy Aikman almost decided to play baseball instead. A three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, Aikman told Bryant Gumbel in a segment airing on the next edition of HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” that the New York Mets made a pitch for him to play baseball. The program premieres at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Aikman will team with Joe Buck to call Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6 on Fox.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
AIKMAN: “I got a call from the New York Mets and they said, ‘We need to know what it’s gonna take to get you to forgo college.’”
GUMBEL: “Did you pitch?”
AIKMAN: “I was a pitcher and a shortstop. And so when they said what’s it gonna take.’ I said, ‘I don’t know, $200,000.’ They said, ‘$200,000? Darryl Strawberry is not even making that much money.’
And I said, ‘Well if you want me, that’s what it’s gonna take.’ And they said, ‘You have a nice football career at Oklahoma.’ “
NFL Network ranks Jerry Rice as greatest NFL player ever
Jerry Rice poses next to Hall of Fame bust.
The final top 10 greatest players of all-time were unveiled Thursday night on “NFL Network’s The Top 100: NFL’s Greatest Players.”
And the No. 1 player? It’s former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice, the all-time leading receiver. Runner-up was Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown, followed by New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton.
Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders, a former Oklahoma State star, was the highest rated Oklahoma star at No. 17. Jim Thorpe ranked No. 37, followed by former OU stars Troy Aikman at No. 80 and Lee Roy Selmon at No. 98.
Rice and Brown were also presenters during the Top 10 episode, with Rice presenting 49ers teammate Montana, and Brown presenting fellow running back Payton.
Here is the list with presenters in parenthesis.
1. Jerry Rice (Jon Gruden)
2. Jim Brown (Burt Reynolds)
3. Lawrence Taylor (Bill Parcells)
4. Joe Montana (Jerry Rice)
5. Walter Payton (Jim Brown)
6. Johnny Unitas (Frank Deford)
7. Reggie White (Mike Holmgren)
8. Peyton Manning (Ray Lewis)
9. Don Hutson (Peter King)
10. Dick Butkus (Howard Mudd)
11. Ronnie Lott (Marcus Allen)
12. Anthony Munoz (Bob Trumpy)
13. Joe Greene (Dennis Miller)
14. Sammy Baugh (Bill Belichick)
15. Deacon Jones (Jennifer Allen)
16. Otto Graham (Don Shula)
17. Barry Sanders (Wynton Marsalis)
18. Ray Lewis (Marvin Lewis)
19. Bronko Nagurski (Jim Dent)
20. Brett Favre (Steve Mariucci)
21. Tom Brady (Derek Jeter)
22. Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams)
23. John Elway (Marty Schottenheimer)
24. John Hannah (Joe Klecko)
25. Dan Marino (Alex Rodriguez)
26. Bob Lilly (Dan Reeves)
27. Merlin Olsen (Jerry Kramer)
28. Emmitt Smith (Moose Johnston)
29. Jack Lambert (Chuck Klosterman)
30. Night Train Lane (Jerry Glanville)
31. Bruce Smith (Luke Russert)
32. Jim Parker (Raymond Berry)
33. Sid Luckman (Marv Levy)
34. Deion Sanders (Michael Irvin)
35. Chuck Bednarik (Ray Didinger)
36. Raymond Berry (Frank Deford)
37. Jim Thorpe (Sally Jenkins)
38. Lance Alworth (Jerry Jones)
39. Gino Marchetti (Ernie Accorsi)
40. O.J. Simpson (Chuck Klosterman)
41. Rod Woodson (Boomer Esiason)
42. John Mackey (Ernie Accorsi)
43. Alan Page (Steve Rushin)
44. Mel Blount (Bob Trumpy)
45. Tony Gonzalez (Trent Green)
46. Roger Staubach (Chuck Klosterman)
47. Ray Nitschke (Jerry Kramer)
48. Red Grange (Steve Hirdt)
49. Mike Haynes (Matt Millen)
50. Terry Bradshaw (Dennis Miller)
51. Bart Starr (Bill Curry)
52. Eric Dickerson (Marcus Allen)
53. Willie Lanier (Floyd Little)
54. Forrest Gregg (Deacon Jones)
55. Earl Campbell (Jerome Bettis)
56. Gene Upshaw (Phil Villapiano)
57. Mike Singletary (Joe Theismann)
58. Steve Van Buren (Ray Didinger)
59. Mike Ditka (Roger Staubach)
60. Jack Ham (Dennis Miller)
61. LaDainian Tomlinson (Reggie Bush)
62. Randy White (Mark May)
63. Jim Otto (Bill Bergey)
64. Herb Adderly (Mel Renfro)
65. Randy Moss (Brian Billick)
66. Willie Brown (Mercury Morris)
67. Kellen Winslow (Joe Gibbs)
68. Mike Webster (Joe Greene)
69. Bobby Bell (Michael MacCambridge)
70. Marshall Faulk (Kurt Warner)
71. Paul Warfield (Mercury Morris)
72. Jonathan Ogden (Michael Strahan)
73. Ozzie Newsome (Bob Trumpy)
74. Marion Motley (Mike Brown)
75. Darrell Green (Carl Lewis)
76. Art Shell (Ron Wolf)
77. Tony Dorsett (Roger Staubach)
78. Bruce Matthews (Warren Moon)
79. Emlen Tunnell (Michael MacCambridge)
80. Troy Aikman (Drew Brees)
81. Steve Young (Mike Holmgren)
82. Ted Hendricks (Howie Long)
83. Norm Van Brocklin (Sonny Jurgensen)
84. Joe Schmidt (Jerry Glanville)
85. Marcus Allen (Matt Millen)
86. Willie Davis (Bobby Mitchell)
87. Crazylegs Hirsch (Michael MacCambridge)
88. Ed Reed (Hines Ward)
89. Ernie Nevers (Steve Hirdt)
90. Kurt Warner (Nick Bakay)
91. Fran Tarkenton (Sen. Amy Klobuchar)
92. Michael Irvin (Troy Aikman)
93. Sam Huff (Sonny Jurgensen)
94. Lenny Moore (Bobby Mitchell)
95. Larry Allen (John Randle)
96. Mel Hein (Steve Hirdt)
97. Derrick Brooks (Jon Gruden)
98. Lee Roy Selmon (Ron Wolf)
99. Michael Strahan (Jon Runyan)
100. Joe Namath (Spike Lee)
Adrian Peterson appears on “The Dan Patrick Show”
Adrian Peterson
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, a former OU star, appeared Wednesday morning on “The Dan Patrick Television Show,” 8-11 a.m. on DirecTV’s 101 Network and simulcast on KEBC-AM 1340. Here are some excerpts:
On whether or not he is better than Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson:
“Yes. What does he do better than me? I don’t think anything. Not faster, not stronger, anything. That’s just the mentality that I have. I have ultimate respect for that guy, he’s a heck of a player. So my mentality doesn’t change and it’s all love and I wish everyone the best and to succeed, but ultimately I play the game to be the best and I’m going to work my tail off to accomplish that goal.”
On how he will hold the ball differently this year:
“Yeah, a lot tighter.”
On his fumbling problems in the past:
“Doing research on myself, watching film,” Peterson said. “I find that a majority of my issues are when I’m getting tackled and fighting for extra yards … swinging that ball, giving guys a chance to punch at it.”
On whether or not he expects to be in the Super Bowl this year:
“Oh yes, without a shadow of doubt. That’s the expectation of me and of this team and that’s our goal. We will be accomplishing it. To make it even better, it’s in Dallas. Dallas, Texas, right where I’m from. It’s going to be good to go back and win it at home.”
On the last time he got nervous before a game:
“You know to be honest with you, when I’m out there that first snap, you have the little jitter bugs going but after that first snap it goes away. So that’s pretty much [how] nervous that I get.”
Herbstreit, Corso agree on Big 12 pick: OU, Nebraska will play for championship
Kirk Herbstreit
ESPN “College GameDay” analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso often disagree on their predictions on the popular show, but they both are predicting that Oklahoma and Nebraska will meet in the Big 12 football championship game.
And Herbstreit thinks the winner of that game will play for the BCS championship.
Corso, in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, said he thought OU would face Nebraska for the championship after going undefeated through the regular season. “They are loaded,” Corso said. “Landry Jones is going to be a Heisman candidate.”
In a conference call Thursday afternoon, Herbstreit agreed with his broadcast partner.
“I definitely like Oklahoma to win the South. I think Landry Jones is going to have a great year. I think it’s pivotal if you think about their schedule. Four of those first five games, if you exclude Utah State, will be challenging. You have Florida State, Air Force, at Cincinnati and then Texas in Dallas. If they are able to get through those five games, then take their bye week, this team should be unbeaten going into the Big 12 championship game. I don’t see another team on paper that can play with them. They go to A&M with Jerrod Johnson, who can score points. I think those first five are going to tell you everything you want to know about Oklahoma.
“And I think Nebraska is the real deal. I think we want to find out who emerges to be their quarterback. A lot of people nationally think their defense can’t be as good without (Ndamukong) Suh. I beg to differ. I think this defense is still going to be dominant. I think they have an outstanding secondary. Right now, Bo Pelini and his brother Carl are kind of on the cutting edge on the way they are utilizing seven defensive backs, then six and five. They are kind of using safeties as slash linebackers, kind of a hybrid guy. It creates a ton of confusion for an offensive line as we witnessed against Texas. Suh got most of the attention from that, but if you went back and watched the film, it had as much to do with confusion of Colt McCoy and not being able to get rid of the football, which allowed Suh and company to get to him. And they do that by mixing up their looks in the secondary with five, six and seven defensive backs constantly evolving and moving.
“I think Nebraska is real, and I think Oklahoma is real. I think they will eventually end up meeting in the Big 12 championship game. One day I think Nebraska is going to win that game, the next day I think Oklahoma is going to win that game. I will say this, whoever wins that game will go on to play in the national championship.”
Herbstreit said he the Big 12 will be hurt when it drops its conference championship game in 2011.
“Very different from the SEC, I think a lot of times it really matters who the matchup is and how much buzz is created in that region for the game. I have enjoyed watching those games. I have enjoyed calling them and being a small part of it. I think it hurts the conference because it’s fun to be able to play in a prime-time game on the last Saturday, for everybody to kind of watch your two best teams compete against each other. So I think you lose that. I’ve heard a lot of talk from (commissioner) Dan Beebe and others that they may be they are going to move some of the regular-season games around and still try to take advantage of that window late in the year. Maybe they can still be out there and be recognized late in the year. I think that’s important when you’re trying to sway votes and be part of the BCS standings.”
ESPN launches NASCAR coverage with Brickyard 400
ESPN launches its coverage of the final 17 races of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with a live, flag-to-flag telecast of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at noon Sunday. The green flag is scheduled for 12:19 p.m.
Of the 17 races, 14 will air on ESPN and three on ABC.
Five former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions will be part of ESPN’s coverage team at the Brickyard, including analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 champion, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid in the booth. Two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.
NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will feature analysis by 1989 champion driver Rusty Wallace and three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham, with host Allen Bestwick and analyst Brad Daugherty.
ESPN will use 76 high definition cameras in the telecast, including Track Cam, a camera running on a cable over pit road and the frontstretch that can move at more than 80 mph. ESPN also will record the radio transmissions of all 43 teams in the race and will provide additional access and discovery for viewers by replaying conversations between drivers and crews.
Short takes
— ESPN will air the St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs game for its 7 p.m. Sunday game. Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine will be the announcers.
— KOKH-25’s 3 p.m. Saturday game has been switched from New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers to Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies. Dick Stockton and Tim McCarver are the annoucers for the game, which will got to 24 percent of the nation.
— CBS will kick off its 10th consecutive season of SEC football with Florida at Georgia at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
— The NFL Network begins its training camp coverage with a report on the Dallas Cowboys on “NFL Total Access” at 6 p.m. Friday.
