Chip Shots: Are You Followin’ Me?

February 19, 2022 at 3:47 a.m.
Chip Shots: Are You Followin’ Me?
Chip Shots: Are You Followin’ Me?

By Chip Davenport-

In the same spirit as the Manning brothers’ Monday Night Football (MNF) alternate telecast, the NBA All-Star Game will have an alternate broadcast featuring the usual Inside The NBA hosts, Ernie Johnson, Chuck Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. Draymond Green will join the crew to watch the game and just talk about it as they go.

I paid more attention to Peyton’s and Eli’s MNF conversations with numerous special guests in the worlds of sports and entertainment. The action was incidental, and the siblings provided great insight on the action at perfect points in time.

I expect the NBA All Star alternate broadcast to have the same approach. The game’s outcome has no reward, and defense is optional in the game showcased each February. However, I recommend watching it to get a look at how this group behaves while they watch the games until it’s time to appear at halftime, and at their longer postgame segment.

The Inside The NBA crew is funny behind the scenes, and they bring their frank and funny views to the studio during their postgame segments when, for example, Johnson introduces a game’s highlights. I love hearing Barkley say something like, “Why we watchin’ this? It’s turrible (sic).”

I’ll also enjoy hearing the panel speak with brutal honesty about good and bad plays, and to see if action on the court will stop them in their tracks for a two- or three-minute debate the way it does in their final recap segment.

The Inside The NBA crew launched their weekend of telecasts Thursday night with a live crowd in Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the energy on the stage and in the crowd is a good early sign.

My kids toured the hall in early April 2017, and we had a great time. I had the biggest kick out of their surprise when they discovered most of the artists whose outfits and instruments on display were physically smaller than they imagined.

James Brown and U2’s Bono were/are 5’6”, and Paul McCartney and John Lennon, the Beatles super-song-writing duo were considered tall at 5’10”.

I reminded my son and daughter with the question, “Aside from a 6’9” guy who plays the cello in your school’s orchestra (in 2017), how tall are most of the kids in band and choir? Who do you think becomes a rack star, the left tackle on the football team?”

Well, Meat Loaf could answer “yes” to such a question, but he’s a rare exception.

I like to reflect when I’m wrong regarding my takes and predictions. I certainly missed on my prediction of how competitive the Super Bowl would be. It was a fun game to watch, but the part I was correct about was Aaron Donald’s ability to get to Joe Burrow, and its effect on the game’s outcome.

For those of you who believe the misnomer “NFL ratings are taking a dive,” note the game’s rating were 8% higher than previous year whose contest featured Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

I’ll circle back to Meat Loaf. God rest his rockin’ soul.

I can’t recall such an outpour of an entertainer’s passing, especially on social media. Admittedly, much more of the attention his passing received was on Facebook.

By the way, readers, is there a nickname given to Facebook since we older people post the most on it?

Am I being presumptuous addressing you as “readers” instead of… um… “reader”? I ask because I’ve heard a handful of people say to me, “I read your column last Saturday, so tell your editor you probably had two column readers this week instead of only one.”

Anyway, we folks old enough to remember the big guy with an even bigger voice post to Facebook the most. Meat Loaf’s debut vinyl album, Bat Out Of Hell, was released in 1977. Reading volumes of posts about memories specifically related to the album - produced by quirky musical genius Todd Rundgren and arranged by Jim Steinman - gives legs to my oft-said statement, “Music is how I mark time.” I guess a few other folks feel the same.

The Super Bowl halftime show also had much greater buzz in social media posts, again more than I can recall in recent years.

Halftime shows tend to be hit-or-miss, but last week’s halftime entertainment brought out the nostalgia among Gen X-ers approaching or at middle who couldn’t say enough about how much they enjoyed ‘90s rap. I enjoyed some posts with attire-themed gatherings. Well played.

I was glad to the return to levity in this year’s Super Bowl ads. The ad I enjoyed the most featured Larry David in a FTX crypto currency commercial, but not just because Larry David was being the best version of himself through the ages. I was impressed with the bravery of FTX. Their angle to sell their product based on a celebrity’s skepticism instead of extoling its virtues was brilliant.

It’s a great week for Warsaw Tiger sports enthusiasts.

The third annual We Are Tigers dinner and athletic auction is Thursday at The Heritage Room in Winona Lake. Bidding on some items will begin online this week before the Thursday’s event. There will also be the first Warsaw Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony Thursday. One state championship team and 10 individual state champions will comprise the first class of honorees.

In the same spirit as the Manning brothers’ Monday Night Football (MNF) alternate telecast, the NBA All-Star Game will have an alternate broadcast featuring the usual Inside The NBA hosts, Ernie Johnson, Chuck Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. Draymond Green will join the crew to watch the game and just talk about it as they go.

I paid more attention to Peyton’s and Eli’s MNF conversations with numerous special guests in the worlds of sports and entertainment. The action was incidental, and the siblings provided great insight on the action at perfect points in time.

I expect the NBA All Star alternate broadcast to have the same approach. The game’s outcome has no reward, and defense is optional in the game showcased each February. However, I recommend watching it to get a look at how this group behaves while they watch the games until it’s time to appear at halftime, and at their longer postgame segment.

The Inside The NBA crew is funny behind the scenes, and they bring their frank and funny views to the studio during their postgame segments when, for example, Johnson introduces a game’s highlights. I love hearing Barkley say something like, “Why we watchin’ this? It’s turrible (sic).”

I’ll also enjoy hearing the panel speak with brutal honesty about good and bad plays, and to see if action on the court will stop them in their tracks for a two- or three-minute debate the way it does in their final recap segment.

The Inside The NBA crew launched their weekend of telecasts Thursday night with a live crowd in Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the energy on the stage and in the crowd is a good early sign.

My kids toured the hall in early April 2017, and we had a great time. I had the biggest kick out of their surprise when they discovered most of the artists whose outfits and instruments on display were physically smaller than they imagined.

James Brown and U2’s Bono were/are 5’6”, and Paul McCartney and John Lennon, the Beatles super-song-writing duo were considered tall at 5’10”.

I reminded my son and daughter with the question, “Aside from a 6’9” guy who plays the cello in your school’s orchestra (in 2017), how tall are most of the kids in band and choir? Who do you think becomes a rack star, the left tackle on the football team?”

Well, Meat Loaf could answer “yes” to such a question, but he’s a rare exception.

I like to reflect when I’m wrong regarding my takes and predictions. I certainly missed on my prediction of how competitive the Super Bowl would be. It was a fun game to watch, but the part I was correct about was Aaron Donald’s ability to get to Joe Burrow, and its effect on the game’s outcome.

For those of you who believe the misnomer “NFL ratings are taking a dive,” note the game’s rating were 8% higher than previous year whose contest featured Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

I’ll circle back to Meat Loaf. God rest his rockin’ soul.

I can’t recall such an outpour of an entertainer’s passing, especially on social media. Admittedly, much more of the attention his passing received was on Facebook.

By the way, readers, is there a nickname given to Facebook since we older people post the most on it?

Am I being presumptuous addressing you as “readers” instead of… um… “reader”? I ask because I’ve heard a handful of people say to me, “I read your column last Saturday, so tell your editor you probably had two column readers this week instead of only one.”

Anyway, we folks old enough to remember the big guy with an even bigger voice post to Facebook the most. Meat Loaf’s debut vinyl album, Bat Out Of Hell, was released in 1977. Reading volumes of posts about memories specifically related to the album - produced by quirky musical genius Todd Rundgren and arranged by Jim Steinman - gives legs to my oft-said statement, “Music is how I mark time.” I guess a few other folks feel the same.

The Super Bowl halftime show also had much greater buzz in social media posts, again more than I can recall in recent years.

Halftime shows tend to be hit-or-miss, but last week’s halftime entertainment brought out the nostalgia among Gen X-ers approaching or at middle who couldn’t say enough about how much they enjoyed ‘90s rap. I enjoyed some posts with attire-themed gatherings. Well played.

I was glad to the return to levity in this year’s Super Bowl ads. The ad I enjoyed the most featured Larry David in a FTX crypto currency commercial, but not just because Larry David was being the best version of himself through the ages. I was impressed with the bravery of FTX. Their angle to sell their product based on a celebrity’s skepticism instead of extoling its virtues was brilliant.

It’s a great week for Warsaw Tiger sports enthusiasts.

The third annual We Are Tigers dinner and athletic auction is Thursday at The Heritage Room in Winona Lake. Bidding on some items will begin online this week before the Thursday’s event. There will also be the first Warsaw Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony Thursday. One state championship team and 10 individual state champions will comprise the first class of honorees.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Public Occurrences 11.20.24
County Jail Booking The following person was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail:

Warsaw Comes Back From 16 Down To Win In Overtme
Down 14 points after a quarter of play, it looked as if the Warsaw girls basketball team was in for a long night. But that was not the case, as the Lady Tigers rallied in the second and made a game of it. What looked to be a one-way contest turned into a thriller, with Warsaw finishing off the comeback with a 73-71 win in overtime.

Busy Weekend For 35 Warsaw Distance Runners
Cross Country fans were treated to a packed three-day weekend, with several major post-season events occurring across several states.

Commissioners Give Approval For Several Grant Applications From Departments
At their meeting Tuesday, the Kosciusko County Commissioners gave permission for the highway and sheriff’s departments to apply for various grants, and OK’d two county ARPA grants.

K21 Health Foundation Awards Grant To Kosciusko County Senior Services For Activity Center
K21 Health Foundation (K21) announced a $20,000 grant to Kosciusko County Senior Services to support the organization's Senior Activity Center.