IF THE SHOE FITS
Media mavens finally lace into Smith over clownish antics
THE FACT THAT HE works for James (Guitar Jimmy) Dolan has engendered media sympathy for Mike Woodson. Yet it’s nothing compared to the love he gets for dealing with the gift that keeps on giving — Mr. J.R. Smith. Following Thursday’s win over Miami in the Gulag, it was no mystery who shot, er, benched J.R. It was Woodson, who was likely taking bows in front of his bathroom mirror Friday morning.
And why not. In a predictable display of overreacting, the word “genius” was echoing throughout the Valley of the Stupid and other media precincts. Woodson finally showed Smith — the Twitter master, the man with a fetish for sneakers and shoelaces — that when it comes to the Knicks, he’s the ultimate boss — when Dolan lets him.
What took Woodson so long to nail Smith to the bench? Why didn’t he revoke Smith’s free pass long ago?
Those questions were rarely answered or asked.
Why was Smith’s shoelace caper the final straw?
Was it more embarrassing to Dolan, Woodson, and Steve Mills? Even more embarrassing than Smith, or some other Knicklehead, vaporlocking down the stretch and costing the Knicks a game?
Something had to give. Smith was a liability on the court who made a dysfunctional organization even more so. He’s been doing that ever since he arrived here. Nonetheless those who cover the Knicks mostly portray Smith as cool and lovable, a guy who delivered truth inside an organization with no use for it. As a faceman for an organization hindered by its own paranoia, he used to have rebellious moments that were appreciated.
After Smith cashed in on his Sixth Man of the Year award last season, getting rewarded with a lucrative new contract, the Love Train stalled. There was no loving poetry in Stephen A. Smith’s voice, after interviewing Woodson last week on ESPN-98.7. SAS called Smith “an incredibly nice guy,” before proceeding to turn on him, taking issue with anyone bold enough to believe David Stern’s $50,000 fine of Smith was excessive.
“There must be order,” SAS demanded. “The NBA has to think about its business partners and advertisers.”
Translation: Smith wasn’t just making the Knicks look like a clown organization, he was defying the NBA, making it look toothless.
Despite what Charles Barkley says, TNT is in bed with the NBA. Stern could not fine the network for turning Smith into the star of a game he never played in, a game with a TV rating 86% higher than the comparable telecast (Knicks-Pacers) TNT aired last January.
From coast to coast, with LeBron James in the Gulag, Smith was the story, in all his lace-pulling splendor. Replays. Commentary. Dolan’s face on camera. Close-ups of Smith sitting on the bench. Marv Albert making fun of the whole situation.
And Steve Kerr (we think he was actually serious) crediting the genius, er, Woodson for telling Smith: “Your career is fleeting. This is a brief moment in your life. You have to take advantage of it.”
Considering Smith has $18 million coming to him, he likely thinks he already has. Sorry, but all this serious talk about Smith, a man whose clownish qualities were once celebrated, had a farcical quality. So, it was fitting that Shaquille O’Neal, who gets paid the most for saying the least, made incredible sense inside TNT’s bunker.
“... J.R. Smith is an unmanageable character that’s not putting in the work,” O’Neal said. “I played with Dennis Rodman — a character — but he went out and did work. J.R. isn’t.” Whose fault is that?
BROADCAST BLUES
After another fit of media outrage from those on the outside dying to get inside the baseball Hall of Fame voting, the same tired arguments were resurrected. They include demands for baseball broadcasters to be welcomed into the ranks of voters. Their designated poster boy is Vin Scully. The idea of allowing broadcasters to vote is moronic. Don’t rely on our brilliant analysis, take it from Michael Kay, the TV voice of the Yankees on Al-Yankzeera who was a beat writer for seven seasons, three short of the required 10 to vote.
“Michael Kay should not be allowed to vote because he works for the Yankees (through its financial stake in YES),” Kay said on ESPN-98.7. “The same holds true for Gary Cohen on SNY.”
Many baseball voices are paid by the teams they chronicle, not by the outlet carrying the game. While most of these cats — especially Scully — are totally independent thinkers, their perceived allegiance to the team they work for would leave the HOF vote open to even more questions.
THE TALKING DEAD
Here’s a terrific idea: After championship games, all media (except the one owning the rights to the event) should have to wait until the players have a cooling-off period before conducting interviews.
This unconscious idea, made in a conscious state of mind, is courtesy of ESPN-98.7’s Ryan Ruocco. His “inspiration” was the scene following Florida State’s BCS title win over Auburn, which was carried by ESPN Monday night.
“I am uncomfortable as a viewer seeing 30 members of the media surround a player who has just won a championship,” Ruocco said on 98.7. “I’m uncomfortable how these players can’t find their teammates who they have just done battle with.”
Please, most of these players can’t run fast enough to find a camera to express themselves. And, with this particular game ending after midnight, all these outlets had tight deadlines to deal with. Getting quick access was essential.
Earth to Ruocco: ESPN is not the only outlet on the planet, though it may seem that way.
BEST OF TIMES AND WORST OF TIMES
Tale of two Jerry Reese interviews: With Kay and Don LaGreca, the Giants GM was asked how much he knows about football and his team. With Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa, Reese was told how much the pontiff knows about the Giants and football.