Inside The NBA Can Be Annoying

Don't get me wrong. I love Sir Charles. He's funny and opinionated and says whatever is on his mind -- and, most importantly, he endeavors to completely lampoon the marketing and advertising attempts of the very companies that pay his salary. Yet, sometimes he can be a pain in the ass. Sometimes he'll hem and haw and carry on and allow absolutlely no forward progress in the show at all. Kenny and Ernie are surprisingly patient with him, as he fritters on about something of no consequence. But then he'll say something much more insightful than the other two and completely redeem himself. And he can clearly laugh at himself. But...I don't know, lately the show has seemed forced, particularly the final joke at the end, with them all laughing much more than is necessary. The ones who seem to make the show are the pranksters in the back, messing with a ten year old version of photoshop, sticking Kenny's and Magic's and Charles's heads on people. Maybe they've read too much of their own press. If they aren't careful they could Jump The Shark. For those of you who don't know, Jump The Shark is a hideously over-used pop culture expression for an episode of Happy Days in which the fonz Jumped A Shark while water skiing. The problem is they have no competition: ESPN's half-time show, by comparison, as ABC's, is pure torture. Talking heads going on about nothing at all for no reason at all with no passion at all, except for Stephen A. Smith, who makes Sir Charles occasional, or frequent, annoyances moot.

And while I'm not on the subject at all, nowhere near it in fact: how about Dominique Wilkins in the commercial with the big shoe? I am impressed. I came from the world of television, and have sat in on many a casting session, and I can tell you, based on that commercial, Dominique can act. The spot is one of many in the Fred Willard campaign: at NBA headquarters, where famous NBA players do stupid things in an effort at branding, a style used many times for years now, most successfully by ESPN, in which Q esque scientist types, in an effort at improvement, have bad ideas, and make many mistakes. In this one, they get the shoe size of Peja Stojakovic mixed up. They see the number 47 and make a size 47 shoe for him. Only a 47 shoe in Europe translates as a 14 in the United States. Oops. Well, Dominique looks at the shoe, takes a beat, and says, "Okay..." Perfect timing and delivery. An Emmy winning comedian couldn't have delivered it better. I like Dominique. If Burt Reynolds can make a "comeback" why not Dominique. That's what I say.

Chicago's on now. Gotta go...