Olympic Basketball Coverage – Opening Post

Greetings from the NBCOlympics Studios where we are finishing up Day 2 of the Mens Basketball Pool Play and about to begin Day 3 of the Womens Pool Play.

I am very excited to be the basketball analyst for this revolutionary project that NBC is rolling out. It has garnered a ton of worldwide publicity and all of our analysts here are amazed at the technology that we are able to be a part of. For us to be able to stream live (in high quality!) to any computer in the world every single basketball game and for us to be able to provide written analysis that time code syncs up with the action that you see at home on your computer is pretty darn amazing.

This is certainly a new world for me. I am a talker, not a typer. As a former coach and now as a basketball analyst on television for Fox Sports Net, I am used to watching and talking and that is it! I can chew gum and walk at the same time,….but barely. For FSN, I am used to doing studio shows or live game analysis where I am watching the game or dissecting video tape and just talking about what I see. In those instances, I am able to watch the game, keep an eye on coaches, read the players reactions on the court and on the bench, get the feel for referees, etc all the while only having to talk. I get a great feel for the game and I can feel confident about my analysis. I don’t have to do anything but talk and the sound guys and the microphone pick up my audio and I am good to go.

In this project, I have to type my comments without spell check and without any time to review syntax, grammar etc while watching the game on a smaller monitor without the aid of a play by play partner or a stat man, etc. Also, throw in the fact that almost every name I type is spelled something close to this” Vasylykinaillious Spirodokatpamchenykosaronova” and it all adds up to making this a little bit different than what I am normally used to. I have to glance at the text box before I send each comment to make sure that I haven’t completely misspelled or typo-ed my way in embarassment. It certainly presents a challenge unlike any I have had before as a commentator.

I am sure that those who have seen me on television probably would suggest that I have a face that is perfect for written commentary, but this is definitely something new for me. My wife Katie is a writer who has written a column for The Chicago Tribune RedEye, her father was a Senior Roving Editor for Reader’s Digest for over 30 years and my best friend is Steve Rushin, famous writer who as a Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated was named National Sportswriter of the Year in 2005. Through Steve I became good friends with many of the great writers in this country. I have come to know and appreciate wordly talents like Alex Wolff of Sports Illustrated, John Walters of NBC Sports, along with greats like Grant Wahl, Jim Caple, Mark Beech and others. Every one of these guys are brilliant writers who are masters of the English language. I ask their forgiveness as I enter into their world for a few weeks in the name of basketball, technology and innovation.