Sunday, May 18, 2008

Pre-game and in-game stuff is over the top

I saw where David Stern is saying enough's enough with all the pre-game, timeout, and halftime "entertainment." He's talked about this before. While I'm sure all of that stuff -- the fireworks, the loud music (as teams are bringing the ball up the floor!), the videos on the scoreboard -- is geared toward the casual fan who may or may not be that interested in basketball, I've gotta say that it's way over the top. It's simply too much. The pre-game intros alone are exhausting (and, in many arenas, silly). Just check this out. Or this.

And that's not to mention all of the "official timeouts" during the game. A timeout is really like a mini-meeting of the coaches and players. With the coaches "miked up" for TV, we're only hearing them emphasize a few quick points. What you won't hear is many of the X's and O's (which is by design to limit the opportunity for the opponent to gain a competitive advantage).

The best timeouts, by the way, are the ones where players take some ownership, giving feedback on what they're seeing out on the floor. Of the coaches I've worked with, Chuck Dalyt was the best at soliciting feedback from his players during timeouts.