I love Inside the NBA

From last night's postgame... Kenny Smith trying to copy Kobe and jump over a moving car. This is hilarious.

Frank Caliendo on Inside the NBA

I'm not sure when exactly this was aired, but it's comedian/impersonator Frank Caliendo when he appeared on Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.

It's worth a listen if only for the amazing impersonations of Sir Charles and Bill Walton. Good stuff.

I Love TNT

I know this has basically been said ad nauseum, but it bears repeating... the NBA on TNT is awesome. It really it far, far superior to the NBA coverage on ESPN, or any sports coverage anywhere. Everything about the presentation is fantastic. The announcers themselves, the music, the postgame crew, even Craig Sager!

On Monday, they had Shaq in studio. I have to admit, I love the Big Aristotle. I know some don't like him that much, but I've always found him to be hilarious. Tonight, from what I watched of the studio guys (mostly postgame) he didn't add a ton, but it was still funny.

But that wasn't the only good thing. The nightcap (aside from being a great game) had Marv Albert and Steve Kerr announcing, simply the best announcing duo in the NBA. They are great. Working the sidelines was Craig Sager, who had some good stuff tonight. Here are a just a few quotes heard from just the end of the Spurs/Suns and the postgame show.

Craig Sager: "Robert Horry has made a lot of big shots over the course of his career, and some might call this a cheap shot."
Steve Nash: "Oh, good one."

(let me also mention I find Nash to be one of the most entertaining guys in the Association)

Craig Sager: "You looked like you got right up from the ground ready to fight."
Steve Nash: "Yeah I've been working on my guns."

Charles Barkley: "I can't believe he's making these passes left-handed and behind his back."
Ernie Johnson: "Yeah he's only been doing that the last 5 or 6 years."

Just everything about the NBA coverage on TNT is outstanding. The game coverage is far superior to ESPN's, and the pre/postgame crew just unspeakably good. They're constantly hilarious, but they can also be serious and talk about the games. It's a great mix.

To end I'll remember a moment from like last week, when (for some reason or another which they probably mentioned by I think I missed), Kenny Smith was not there for one of the shows. Of course, Charles doesn't miss this opportunity, and starts saying stuff like, "I am so glad you guys fired Kenny."

I am so glad for the NBA on TNT.

The Charles Barkley vs. Dick Bavetta Wrapup

(Some video for this can be found here, or lots of other goodies at Awful Announcing).

First, lots of quotes related to the event:

"You know, you got two guys that parted the Red Sea with Moses out there, so they calling a lot of fouls." - Charles Barkley

"He's in shape for a 67 year-old. He ain't in shape for a 25 year-old... I can outrun Dick Bavetta right now." - Charles Barkley

"First of all, if I talk to a 67 year-old person they ain't gonna be able to hear me." - Charles Barkley

"I can't believe that someone that's 67 years old has the audacity to trash talk." - Charles Barkley

"Answer me one question... which hamstring are you going to grab at when you fall behind and have to pull up?" - Ernie Johnson

"First of all, a guy that's 67 can't run 100 yards." - Charles Barkley

"This is how little respect I got for Dick Bavetta." [takes bite out of donut] - Charles Barkley

"First of all, I received no official notification from my agent, David Aldridge is handling all of my public speaking engagements. I'm staying humble, focused, and if this is horse race, what comes to mind is War Admiral and Seabiscuit. Charles is War Admiral, undefeated. And I'm this little Seabiscuit... I run funny, do crazy things... he is obviously the favorite. Humble and focused, that's all I have to saty at this point." - Dick Bavetta

"Ain't no such thing as a spry 67." - Charles Barkley

"I'm the one that has something to lose. If I beat this old geezer, y'all are gonna say I should have beaten him. It's like fighting with an ugly person... you should never fight with an ugly person because they got nothing to lose." - Charles Barkley

"I'm going to beat him like a drum." - Charles Barkley

"The fact that he's walking out tells me a lot." - Kenny Smith

"We're gonna give 2 blackjack hands to charity." - Charles Barkley

And finally, here's the video, thanks to Awful Announcing.



And be sure to check out Awful Announcing, who live-blogged it and was great at covering it throughout.

Hopefully they do it again next year!

One final Charles Barkley vs. Dick Bavetta Video

Seriously folks, I can't recommend this highly enough. Maybe it'll be a big letdown and the race and the events surrounding it won't be that funny, but I find that generally anything on TNT that Barkley touches turns to gold... he's absolutely hilarious, and Dick Bavetta seems to have a great sense of humor as well. I think this is going to be hilarious. So here is one final video for you to enjoy, which just sort of ties everything together.

"Hey I can outrun Dick Bavetta right now." - Charles Barkley

The Dick Bavetta vs. Charles Barkley Saga

For quotes and video, go to the Charles Barkley vs. Dick Bavetta Wrapup.

Awful Announcing has been all over this from the beginning, but I thought it'd be good to get some of the videos from this in one place. If you haven't heard anything about this... well, just watch the videos and that will explain it.

Charles Barkley challenges Dick Bavetta:



Dick Bavetta accepts Charles Barkley's challenge:



And finally, Kevin Garnett weighs in on the matter:



All I can say is I really, really hope this does take place over the All-Star Break, because it would be awesome. Maybe the best comment on all of this did not come from Charles Barkley but from Ernie Johnson, who asked Barkley:

"Answer me one question... which hamstring are you going to grab at when you fall behind and have to pull up?"