IF John Sterling weren’t so comically ridiculous, he’d be insulting.
Saturday, early in the Yanks-Braves radiocast, Sterling scolded the local media for what he considered to be exaggerated stories about Chuck Knoblauch’s throwing problems. Of course, said the all- knowing and pompous Sterling, such stories “help sell newspapers and [talk] shows.”
An inning later, Knoblauch made another throwing error.
Meanwhile, the last guy who should be accusing anyone of embellishing anything in the name of commerce is John Sterling.
It is he who consistently provides forced, exaggerated and flat-out inaccurate signature home run calls in order to popularize the call to the extent that he could sell it on John Sterling-signature T-shirts. Or at least try.
Sterling’s highly-affected, self-serving approach to play-by-play is the audio equivalent of Rickey Henderson not running out balls hit deep to the outfield, a case of showboating over substance. And Sterling continues to break records among play-by- players of all sports for the overuse of three words: “I,” “me” and “my.”
That Sterling would accuse anyone of trying to sell anything in the name of excessive self-interest is a high form of low comedy.
Incidentally, Saturday’s game-ending play – Shane Spencer’s fly ball to deep left with the bases loaded – was given the, “It is high! … It is far! … It is …” treatment by Sterling, who was then forced to acknowledge that left fielder Trenidad Hubbard appeared to have it all the way. You’d think by now he would have learned.
JEFF Van Gundy’s weekend portrayal of the public and media’s take on the Patrick Ewing dilemma as an either/or – either Ewing plays or Ewing sits – seems disingenuous and gives very little credit to intelligent basketball fans, those who know it’s not an either/or issue.
The issue isn’t whether Ewing should play. Of course he should play. He should play a lot.
The issue is, and has always been, how he should play.
Ewing, as evidenced in almost every Knick playoff game this season, hurt the Knicks because, as the longtime and highly predictable first option on offense, he minimizes the talent of the four other Knicks on the floor.
When Ewing summons for and receives the ball, the Knicks have been conditioned to stop moving. They know they’re not likely get it back unless they circle out to 3-point territory and Ewing can’t get off a shot. It’s painful to watch, doubly so when the Knicks hold a five-on-five talent advantage.
Had Ewing been encouraged to alter his game, had his Knick coaches over 15 years, including Van Gundy, encouraged him to throw more one-touch passes, look for the cutter, set more screens, start a break once in a while after grabbing a rebound – it would’ve been far better for the Knicks, the eyes, the game of basketball and Ewing.
But Van Gundy has chosen to frame the issue as a “whether Ewing should play or whether he should sit” debate. And, of course, Van Gundy proudly and defiantly has a message for all: Ewing should play! And anyone who thinks otherwise is a dope!
But that’s not the issue, it never was, and it’s difficult to believe that Van Gundy doesn’t know that.
THE desensitization process continues.
Fox Sports on Friday ran radio ads for Saturday’s Yanks-Braves telecast that began with a distraught mother crying for help after her son had fallen into a well. At first, this sounded like a public service announcement for the Red Cross.
But as the ad played out, a rescuer is lowered into the well, only to balk at saving the kid’s life because the kid’s wearing a Braves T-shirt and the man’s a Yankee fan.
At a time when fans wearing the hats and shirts of visiting teams are routinely assaulted by the drunken creeps who inhabit ballparks, this ad was disturbing, yet par for a marketing course that targets young wiseguys as sports’ most prized customers.
IF DEVILS such as Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora played for the Rangers, they’d be big. New York City Big. GAG Line big.
This line’s sixth-sense artistry, especially as it approaches the goal crease – they’re not blast-from-the-slot cavemen – is what the NHL and ESPN/ABC should be selling instead of the usual thuds and suds.
THIS year’s NBA playoffs have been loaded with bizarre boxscores, not the least of which was the one produced by Friday’s Lakers-Trail Blazers Game 6.
The Lakers made only 13 of 27 free throws (48 percent; Shaquille O’Neal was 3-for-10), yet were 12 of 19 on 3-point shots (63 percent). In fact, while the Lakers made 63 percent of their 3-point tries, they were only 39 percent, 22-of-56, on two-point attempts.
LOOKALIKES: Reader Phil Thomas submits Pacer Reggie Miller and Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez.
Did ESPN really expect good feedback after Roy Firestone and Digger Phelps were selected to, er, interrogate Bobby Knight? Or was this a case of ESPN falling in love with the idea of landing Knight for an attention and ratings-grabbing interview, regardless of who asked the questions in ESPN’s name?
Mets radio man Gary Cohen, Saturday, after noting that Tampa Bay’s Fred McGriff, the night before, had become only the 34th major leaguer to do so, also told a sad truth: The way things are going, “400 home runs will soon be routine.”
BOBBY Murcer’s nose for news is underwhelming. Yesterday, during Yanks-Braves on Channel 5, he said that he caught some of the hassle between John Rocker and a Sports Illustrated’s Jeff Pearlman while he was on his way out of the Braves’ clubhouse before the game.
Murcer then enlightened his audience as to what he’d been told had happened.
Hmm. Seems to us that rather than depart the Braves’ clubhouse in the midst of a tempest, he might’ve chosen to have stuck around at that point so he could deliver an eye- and ear-witness account on Channel 5.
This was reminiscent of last season, when Murcer told listeners that he wasn’t familiar enough with the issues involved in the umpires’ union vs. MLB dispute to address the matter. Oh, OK.