Broadcasting legend Ernie Johnson joins The Draymond Green Show for an exclusive look behind the scenes of Inside the NBA. He shares untold stories about working with Shaq, Chuck, and Kenny, the show’s wildest moments, and the preparation that goes into making it all happen. Plus, Ernie opens up about his unexpected Wu-Tang Clan collaboration, his journey in sports media, and the future of NBA coverage. A must-watch for basketball fans!
Timeline
2:30 - Intro
5:20 - Ernie’s collab with Wu-Tang Clan
7:30 - NBA2K
11:00 - Ernie’s broadcasting journey
20:30 - Players being hesitant to be “the face of the league”
32:00 - LeBron’s 50k milestone
45:00 - Keeping Inside the NBA”on the rails
53:00 - Draymond appearing on Inside the NBA
57:00 - Heated moments on the show
1:07:00 - Are March Madness or the NBA playoffs more intense
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
What's up, everybody, Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show
with my brother b D.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
What's hidening? What's uping, bro?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
What's going on? I feel I feel great, brother, I
feel great. I'll be honest with y'all this next guest
we have. I don't know how we pulled this off, wow,
but in him being one of the best human beings
to work in sports, wow, the absolute best.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
He has had an impact.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
On my career in media, He's had an impact on
BD's career in media, and quite honestly, your favorite sports
stars and when I sports media stars he's had an
impact on and even if they haven't worked with him directly,
he's had an impact on because he's shaped he's helped
(01:03):
shape media being a part of the game the way
it is in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
And we are honored to have this next guest.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
He is a six time Sports Emmy Award winner, host,
one Sports Emmy winner inside the NBA, a National Sports
Caster of the Year, twenty twenty three Sports Broadcasting Hall
of Fame inductee, and quite honestly, someone that I think
(01:32):
is going to actually end up in the Nasmith Hall
of Fame because of the impact that he's had on
the game, and I am honored.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I gotta just sprinkle some ism on top of that.
You be talking about the Maestro and media, the host
with the most the Nidos stat for brands, the orchestrator
of entertainment where sports media entertainment connects. He is the
godfather of knowing how to get it done, run the show,
(02:06):
the man, the legend, Ernie er.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Man.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
How can I possibly live bit? I can possibly live
up to that introduction?
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Fellaws.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
It is so good to be with you all today.
Thanks for thanks for asking.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Absolutely as a honor. We appreciate you coming on the show.
This has been one that I've been looking forward to
for the longest. And I know as soon as Charles,
our producer, mentioned your name, but he.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Was like, what Ernie on the show? Let me go.
We are excited by the way, Ernie. I recently saw
a video for the Final Chamber the Wu Tang Forever Tour.
The trailer, How did Wu Tang recruit you and get
you narrating that video? That is amazing and that was.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Totally out of the blue ray It was Uh, my
my agent Bobby Height with the career sports and Entertainment
c s E in Atlanta. He's he's the guy who
comes to me with all requests, speaking engagements, et cetera,
et cetera. So I get this email about ten days
ago and he lays this out. He said, Huts and
(03:22):
Klam would like you to voice the this announcement of
their of their tour. And I'm like, this is this
really coming to me? And I'm looking at this script
and I was saying, listee, can I picture myself saying
(03:43):
old dirty bastard? And I'm like, sure, if this is
what they want, I'll be happy to do it.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
And so it just happened. I went into the studio
when we.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Were we were there to work on a Thursday night
and I said, I just need to record something here
and knocked it out, sent it on and then about
three days later on my timeline, here it comes.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
It was.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
It was pretty it was pretty amazing, you know, But
I guess, you know, where is the calls and asks?
Then I'm gonna who am I to say?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So h So there you go. That's kind of how
that all came about.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Doing those those different things like that that you've had
the opportunity to do, like what are some of the
cooler ones, like you know this Wu Tang, but what
are some of the cooler things that you've come across desk?
Not necessarily sports, but it's kind of sports adjacent because
and sports has kind of led you to these platforms
and doing these different things.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
What's some of the need was that you've done well?
I mean one of the.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Things is, you know, I've been doing the NBA two
K for years and years with Kenny and Shack, which
which after a while then you you come to under stand.
But that's how like a lot of the younger viewers,
that's how they know you. You know, It's not it's
not that they look at you and say, oh yeah,
it's they hear my voice. And so like I can
(05:12):
be in the in the checkout line at the grocery
store and say something back to the cashier and a
kid behind me says, you're the two K guy.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I said, yeah, I'm one.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Of the two K guys. That's so it's been fun
to do that and to see how that all works.
It's kind of a drain on your brain by the
end of the day, you know, because you've just been
sitting there for hours and just a lot of times
saying the same thing in different ways and and then
when they put you in the MOCAP suit and it's
(05:48):
you know, the whole bit. So that's been a lot
of fun to do because of my longevity in this business.
I mean I've been a turner for thirty five years.
I actually the thing that I enjoy the most is
telling my family's story. I mean that's I speak to
(06:09):
corporations all the time about the things outside of basketball,
the things in my life that matter, the things that
I've learned by going through adversity, et cetera. And I
really enjoyed that so much, just being able to share
to prove the folks, look, yeah, NBA on TNT, that's
(06:35):
what I do, but it's not who I am. And
so I relish the opportunities to be able to talk
to folks about getting through cancer, adoption, special needs kids,
you name it. And so I kind of weave a
story that way with a series of photographs. And I
love those mornings, those those days where I can where
(06:57):
I can share that.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
So those are the things.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Aside from doing the NBA on T N T, those
are the things to me that uh, you know, those
are the things that matter.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Those are real life that resonates with two and and
and definitely resonates Uh, you know with me and Jay
basketball in his life, but our life is bigger.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Than basketball, right and who we are?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Uh, this platform always gives us a great opportunity, you
know to do such and you guys have done a
great job.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
Brings a response. It's like if you if you pass
that up, then you're then you're not doing your job
because because just by virtue of what t n T
and the NBA on t n T has meant in
my career, that visibility tells the CEO somewhere, can we
(07:51):
get that guy to talk to our group. You know,
It's like and if you if you passed that up,
then you are you're missing a boat. Mm hm that
was percent man.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
It's sharing, it's sharing the platform, right, it's sharing the
platform being responsible. I mean just in your journey in TNT,
I would say as a viewer watching, you would think like, oh,
you know, it's free flowing, like they can do whatever
they want. Just one I want to know your.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
Baseball guy, right, how did you get does not want
from birth?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
That's for sure?
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Yeah, when you're but to continue, Yeah, I'm okay, so
I grew up a baseball guy. But but your point
is like when did the transition, Like what made you like?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
What was that jump?
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Okay, So here's the deal. So my dad plays for
the Milwaukee Braves back in the fifties. He's on those
he's on those teams with Henry Aaron and Eddie Matthews
and Warren Spawn and Luber Debt. He's a relief picture
and he's as he as he likes to put it,
(09:04):
or liked to put it, and was.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know, I was.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I was middle relief, not good enough to start, not
good enough to fit, and he's I was a middle
reliever before they were cool.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
And so.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
You know, he got a World Series winging with Milwaukee
when they beat the Yankees at fifty seven, and and
you know, I was only you know, I was born
at fifty six, so I don't remember. I've just seen
videos of him pitching and that kind of thing. But
but his career then became. He became a broadcaster and
was doing play by play for the Braves for thirty
(09:40):
years when they moved to Atlanta. So that was in
my blood. So that's what I wanted to be. I
want to be a big league ballplayer like my dad,
and and that's all I played. You know, I played
that growing up. I played a little bit of hoop,
nothing above JV. I was on the bomb squad up
thirty down, thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I was in and if you passed it to me,
you are getting it back. I was just a shacket.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
And at that point too, you know, I was the
guy who led the layup line because I was the
smallest guy on the team. So I'm like, I'm six
to two now. I mean, and people still because I
stand next to Shack, they think I'm like five to two.
But but that was that was my basketball career. I
was a baseball guy.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
And I actually.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Walked on at the University of Georgia. So I walked
on as a freshman and was told to walk off
as a sophomore one year, one year wearing the red
and black man. But you know what, that freshman year unforgettable.
(10:51):
And look, I'm not going to get into a conversation like, oh,
just hey, there's just three players you're talking. No, look,
you got have gone to the highest level. You know
what all this is about. For folks who have never
been part of that. I consider myself so blessed to
have that one year of being a college ballplayer in
(11:13):
the SEC and hanging out with teammates, guys who were
older than I was, more mature than I was, who
taught me a bunch who kind of took me under
their wing and were kind of like, we got this
freshman who doesn't know anything. Let's kind of, you know,
look after him and take care of him. And I
wasn't a great player. I was a backup first baseman,
(11:34):
you know, on that one year I went to for eighteen.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
That's not funny.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
So I.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
With one career RBI f one career RBI which came
at the University of Tennessee on a Thursday afternoon in April.
Temperature was about sixty seven degrees. Remember, took a fast
ball the other way, knocked in a RUNO looked like
(12:06):
it was going to be the game winning run in
a game that would give us the division in the SEC,
give us the SEC East. And so I go back
to take my position out there first, and I'm saying, man,
I'm going to be all over the red and black
the student newspaper for knocking in the run that gave
us the division title. And this is this was a
(12:27):
team Tennessee had Rick Honey cut the long time pitching
comes Conridge Holloway, who was a great quarterback for Tennessee
and had like a nine million game hitting streak. So
this is a good Tennessee team. But I could just
see it. I could just see the headline in the
red and black. And then our shortstop made an air
(12:49):
on it but should have been a game ending double
play ball, and a couple hitters later, a guy hit
a grand Slam and beat us.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
So there it went. So my my heroic one career
went for nothing.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
And but again the experience everything that baseball, everything that
sports teaches you about being a good teammate, you learn
all that stuff in one year there. I will never
forget it. But so so that's the long story on baseball.
And then you know, I'm at Georgia and I got
(13:22):
great journalism school, my dad being a broadcaster. I'd never
really thought about doing it, and I just decided to
give it a try one day. And then I discovered
that man, they're letting you into the games for free.
You're getting to hang out and get to go to
any game you want to go to And so I
started working at the campus radio station, then worked at
(13:44):
a rock station in the in Athens, and then finally
somebody hired me for TV a year after I graduated,
and I was doing the news and making Georgia, which
was which was an experience. And and but every step
along the way, I don't care what profession you're in,
every step along the way provides you with such a
(14:07):
learning ground. And there were things that happened in making Georgia.
Then I'll never forget that still play into what I
do now.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And so.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
It just goes that way. It's okay, so the baseball
career is over, what are you going to do? And
and so it was making Georgia to Spartanburg, South Carolina
to Atlanta, you know, as a news reporter. And the
thing that's crazy, And that's what I tell kids all
the time in journalism schools. Things will happen that you
(14:36):
don't see coming that will change the entire trajectory of
your career. And for me, that was that you know,
I'm in Atlanta, I'm your general assignment news reporter. I'm
the guys like on the night beat Ernie Johnson Channel two,
Action News and we get a new news director one
day whose first day on the job, I'm just filling
(14:56):
in for a sports guy who's on vacation. I'm doing
a live I've shot at Atlanta Stadium before a Braves game.
And I come into work the next day and his
secretary comes in and says, Raven would like to see you.
Raven Matthew is the new news director. And I'm thinking
Jesus guy's cleaning house. He and wasting any time. New
boss to come in and say, okay, you know, get
(15:18):
a box and get your stuff. He's you ever thought
about doing sports? And I love sports, you know, And
he said, I'm going to make you the new weekend
sports aiker. And that changed everything, changed everything about my
life and about my career. And so I do that
for seven years weekends for seven years at ws BE
in Atlanta, and then here comes Turner comes knocking in
(15:42):
nineteen eighty nine. Hey wow, we'd love to.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Have you over here.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
And you know, I think geographically that helped, because you know,
we're in Atlanta. Those guys are all watching the Atlanta
stations all the time and they're like, hey, we got
a guy right here in town. Who's I think we
could use Thirty five years later you're talking to y'all amazing. Yeah, yeah,
you never know. You just never know what what the
(16:09):
next day is.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Going to bring. That's incredible. That's incredible story to watch
your career.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
You've been on TV since I can remember, and you're
saying you took the turn the job in nineteen eighty nine.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I think I've told you this before. I was born
in ninety, so actually that.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I'm constantly looking for reminders about the old there's a
very well played one right there. I let you know, Ernie,
we all know you Sharper's attack, but.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
So you know we had My birthday was yesterday and
a friend of mine bought a great bottle of wine
to dinner last night, and he's like, well, it's eighty nine,
though it's not ninety. He's born in eighty nine, so
he got a bunch of eighty nine ones. He's like,
it's eighty nine, it's not ninety, but eighty nine is
a better year.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Anyway. I was like, it's cool, Danny, I was eighty nine.
It's all right. It's probably a really good ball right there.
As he knows all about this one I'm feeling it
right now.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
From that, let's get into some NBA news. A major
topic today facing the NBA. Lebron and Channing Fry discussed
why players are reluctant to take the face of the
league role. After thirty five years of covering the NBA
(17:48):
on TNT, what is your perspective of why players will
resist being the face of the league.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Well, you know, we we're talking this on the air
the other night too about can can somebody dictate who
the face of the of the league is? Or is
that something you grab, you want and you seize it.
Sometimes you can't help but be the face of the league.
Sometimes that's all talent driven, but I think it does
(18:22):
go hand in hand with reputation, how you carry yourself.
And these days, obviously nothing goes unchecked from one day
to the next, so you might you might have the
talent to be the face of the league or the
(18:44):
guy that everybody thinks of when they think, oh NBA,
Oh I think Lebron James, or NBA I think Michael
you know, back then, that kind of thing. But I
think there is some validity to that that they would say, look,
I don't want that pressure. I don't want every every
step I take to be scrutinized, and so yeah, there's
(19:07):
something to that. But I also I also think that
for some maybe.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
I want that. I want to be that guy. I
want you know, I want to carry the flag for
the league. Uh.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
And with that comes the responsibility to do right. Okay,
we'll be in the headlines for the wrong things. That
all goes That all goes with it, because you you
annoint somebody as the face of the NBA, then what
happens when they slip up and do X or y? Yeah,
(19:40):
you know the face anymore? Again, It's one of those
nebulous things. And I and I think we're always in
such a hurry these days to quantify everything that everything
needs to be the best. This as he's got to
be the goat, she's got to be the goat. How
can he be the goat if she's a goat? You know,
camp can we just not appreciate.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah? Yeah, a better?
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Um?
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yeah, you know, there's just this rush.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
And I think part of that is is isn't the
media thing and whether it's sports talk or whether it's
pods or whether whatever it is. But if I'm a
sports talk shore you got four hours to fill. Well,
we're going to spend an hour talking about who's the
somebody just won a game last night with a three
pointer at the buzzer. Is he the greatest fluck shooter
(20:28):
of all time?
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Well? How can he be? And we want to argue
for come on, just appreciate the moment, appreciate if we
can do that.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
But apparently that's that's not the way things are done anymore.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
That is indeed true. I think you're spot on with
everything you said.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Do you see someone that you say, I think that's
who it's going to be, because there's been this interesting
landscape Boek like, for I just feel like for the
last seven years, everyone has been trying to move.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
On from Brown, and you know, for the last.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Four years, everybody's been trying to move on from Steph,
thinking like, oh we got it now, like this young
guy's coming, that young guy's coming, and it's like every
year it's reverting right back.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
To those those guys Branhan, Steph and everything they're doing.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
When you look around the landscape, is there someone that
you see that it's like, no, I think it's going
to be that person.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
I mean, you look at the young guys in the league.
You look at the teams that are doing well. You
look at the opportunity for what do you call it
pr or high more visibility. Then you say, well, hey,
how about Luca in LA for years? Yeah, he becomes
the face of the NBA. Hey, here's Shake Gildes Alexander
(21:53):
leading the league in score with a team that has
the best record. Could he be the guy? Webamo, this
freak be the guy? You know that We've never seen
anybody that size do the things he does. Could he
be that guy? So there are a bunch of candidates
out there. But the thing to remember is this isn't
(22:13):
an election, all right, This is not this is not like, okay,
everybody have you know I've been a voter for years
on these on the regular season awards. Not like you're
going to add a category that says face of the league,
give us you know, this is who is going to
buy their play and by their character and by their leaders,
(22:37):
by their persauna and there, yeah, exactly be the Who's
that guy? And it's not like you apply for it.
It's just like, well he's the face, you know what,
We can see it and so so that's I think
that's the way. That's the way it is. But please,
let's not. Let's not put this up for a vote. Now,
you know that's not the way that.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
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Speaker 1 (24:20):
Man.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Last night, Bron reached fifty thousand points regular season and postseason.
You obviously saw Bron come into the league from high
school and obviously become one of the greatest players, if
not the greatest player we've ever seen play this game.
Is there some moment with Bron that stands out? We
do more than others and watching his man?
Speaker 4 (24:42):
What is it twenty two years now, twenty one, twenty
two years, forty years old, that night in Detroit or
the night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Because as
a playoff night, and we got the show on the
road us to what twenty five street and twenty nine
out of thirty lay down the stretch And the thing
that you know, and here's the great thing about the
(25:03):
job that I have is being able to sit around
and Watchroo with the guys. I watch, you know, you know,
Kenny and Shack and Chuck and you know, Magic's been
in there for a time before that. But when you
watch a performance like that and then you glance over
at these dudes and they're all like, then, you know
(25:26):
you've seem something special.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And so I think I think that was the night.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
That I'll never forget. I mean, that's it's amazing. And again,
those are one of those nights that defied description. And
on another front, obviously the fact that Space Jam and
New Legacy in.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
That in that film, uh.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
Obvious and so and so you know, I'm still looking
and still I'm still guys disappointed that the Best Supporting
Actor nomination for real did not. Yeah, I'm figuring it's
probably like when they had the NBA's fifty Greatest and
(26:17):
I was working with Reggie Theis at the time, and
Reggie said I was number fifty one, So I feel
like that year at the Oscars there was probably seven
nominees for Best Supporting I was eight.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
That excellent job. You know, that excellent job. We need
Moore you on the big screen.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
You know. You know what the.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Greatest thrill about being about doing that was we went
to a theater to see it and took the grandkids
and didn't really tell them what was going on, and
then all of a sudden, I pop up and they're
like poppy. So that was that was worth every second.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Last calendar year, a little before the season started, we
obviously learned the fate of TNT Sports and the landscape
of what the lands, the media landscape will be.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
In the NBA.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Absolutely thrilled that inside the NBA won't won't be going away,
as TNT Sports will continue to produce it independently. The
new addition will be that ESPN will feature the show
at high profile NBA events next season, such as the
NBA Finals, which is also a different thing for you guys.
How excited are you to finally get a chance to
(27:39):
cover the NBA Finals next season after all of these years.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
That's that's going to be a very cool part of
this thing. Because there's always a feeling at the end
of our playoff run. And I've been fortunate, you know,
I'm always part of that trophy presentation with you know,
to the Eastern Western Conference champions and it's and then
you and then all of a sudden you go back
(28:06):
and do the postgame show and then it's over, and
we've done all the gone fishing pictures and it's done.
I mean it's it's Jeff flat done, and it's and
and then you go back and you watch the finals
and and you're like, wow, it would be great to
be there for that. So to to to be part
(28:27):
of that next year, uh, is really cool. You know,
we look forward to that very much. But the but
the biggest thing about this won't change. Look, it's not easy.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
You know.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
This NBA on TNT brand has been around since before
you were born, Dray uh, you know, and and it
was you know, we've had games on TBS or TNT
for better than forty years. And so there there have
been these these these moments this year that give you
(29:04):
calls for reflection. I mean, I remember being in Boston
for Opening Night and standing there and saying, Wow, this
is this is really the last year of the NBA
on TNT, and I felt the same thing at All
Star Weekend. That was our last All Star game. Our
first was two thousand and three in Atlanta and looked
like Michael and his last All Star games the MVP
(29:26):
and and there was foul light and Kobe hit free
throws and Kevin Garnett was the MVP and and man,
it's a blink. All of a sudden, we're sitting there
in San Francisco and saying, this is the last one.
It's the last one of these All Star games that
we're gonna do. So that part's been difficult, and I'm
glad that we're able to salvage the show even though
(29:46):
it's not going to be on TNT. And as many
times as I've tried to explain to folks how this works,
it's I was like, huh, what what are you talking about?
You're going to keep doing the show, but it's not
going to be on TNA. Well where's it going to be.
Well when you tune into some of these nights on
ABC or ESPN, the pregame show is going to be us.
We're gonna still be doing in Atlanta. We're just not
going to be saying the NBA on T n T.
(30:08):
You know, I'll see how many. I don't know what
the over under it will be for me on times
that I speak, but but yeah, to to stay together
with those guys, to stay together with our production crew,
that's really important. Yeah, you know, it's the I guess,
the business of basketball. You know, these things, and sometimes
(30:29):
it happens. You know, we've been I've been part of
you know, we had the NFL for a while, then
we lost it. You know, I did the PGA Championship forever,
and then we you know, when the rights were up,
we didn't get and you know the RERADI show. It happens,
and we've been through it. But I'm just glad that
that that core, not just the guys on the air,
(30:51):
but that whole production crew. We'll still you know, we'll
just do it. We'll just we'll just see it in
a different place.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Funny story, I've had the opportune and they obviously to
work with Ernie on inside the NBA, and my first
time working with the group, I get this rundown of
everything that's going on, and this is during the time
where everything's on zoom, you know, and So the production
meeting is all these things on zoom.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
And so I log into the zoom. I'm a new guy.
I'm not going to be laid for a meeting. I
log into the zoom. I log in looking for Shack,
looking for Chuck, looking looking for Kenny.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
The only person I see from the show is Ernie
outside of the production crew's Ernie, and I'm like, I
sit there. Ernie goes, Dray, mind, what the hell are
you doing here? I'm going to mister production media, get
out of here?
Speaker 1 (31:45):
How long off?
Speaker 2 (31:47):
And I said all of that to say, Ernie, can
you explain to people a day we go live at?
Say and I say we when I'm on the show,
say we start at six thirty six o'clock, will say
we go live at six o'clock, seven o'clock. Can you
explain to people what your day is like when you
(32:10):
arrive at the at Studio Jay on campus and then
what you're doing preparing for a day, Because I don't
think people really truly understand everything that you do. Like
they see you obviously be the point guard and orchestrate,
they don't know everything you explaining the day to us
(32:31):
of a seven o'clock start time that's not ending until
one thirty in the morning. Can you explain the day
of Ernie Johnson to myself and the fans who love
the show?
Speaker 4 (32:42):
The spoilers answer may may bore some folks. They may say, hey,
you know, clip that piece of that Draymond and BD
podcast where Ernie's talking about his preparation because I need
that for like a sleep meditation tonight. But here's the deal.
It's like it's it's like on those game days. Yeah,
(33:02):
so you say the pregame shows out at seven o'clock,
I'm in there. I'm in there between ten and eleven
in the morning because I've also got to do the
steam Room podcast with Charles, which is available wherever you
get your podcasts. And I think, in a way, I'm
like you guys. I mean, you think about, in the
(33:24):
course of an NBA season or in the course of
your basketball careers, you can become a creature of habit.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
You can become Look, this is my game.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Day ritual, this is my game before you know, day
before day off ritual. And I had the exact same thing.
So there are certain things that I know I need
to do. And the thing to remember about it is
that my preparation for that night show has been going
on all week. I keep a daily log of every
(33:57):
game played in the league from beginning to end. So
every game that's been played, I could, hey, here it is. Look,
so this is let's see. Let's see. Now I'm just
open enough. So that's so, there's February. This is February.
So and it's all kind of in my own shorthand
(34:19):
for what I for, what I can for what I
can understand. So I mean, I can look at last night.
I could look at last night's Golden State game as
I go through the box scores every night, and so
Buddy Heal had it was one nineteen. Well, the Charlotte
game was one nineteen one oh one, made Golden State
(34:41):
thirty three and twenty eight. It was the hornets seventh
straight loss. Buddy Heeld had twenty two, Curry twenty one
and Tennissist Pajemski nineteen, Drey had sixteen, twelve and seven,
Butler had thirteen. They never trailed and led by nineteen
thirty five and nine for Miles Bridges on the other side.
But it's those details on it every game that is played,
(35:03):
because then I can anytime. Then when I see teams
playing again, I can refer back to that day. Okay,
here's what happened in that game. So that's one of
the things I do on a daily basis, and then
keeping these these files on every team. So here's tomorrow night,
because Golden State and Brooklyn are playing tomorrow night. That's
(35:23):
one of six games on the schedule. Neither of them
play tonight, so I can I can get through. I've
got this as the wow as the Golden State Brooklyn breakdown,
and I see I update those those team profiles every day.
So with the Warriors. So your last post was the
(35:46):
twenty three Western Conference Semis knocked out in the play
in in twenty four twenty two champs over Boston four
too your home. Your record on the road is seventeen
and fifteen, six and one since the break with Jimmy Butler,
you're twenty two and four. When you lead at the half,
you're seven and one. When you allow under one hundred,
(36:06):
you're one and eleven when you score under one hundred,
and I don't know, and it's overkill, fellas, but you
and you go into every show realizing ninety five percent
of the stuff you got never going to make there,
but on the but on the off chance that there
is something in here that's that's relevant, then you've got it.
(36:27):
And you just feel like you're into the game and
you know exactly what's what's going on. So that goes
on all week, and so really just the finishing touches
are put on on a game day, you know, I'll
read articles from around the league, you know, I'll look
at the production format that Tim Kiley has put in. Okay,
let's see what we need to and then really just
(36:48):
do just doing facts and that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
And so that's it.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
So the preparation never ends. It's look, doing the show's
the easy part. The work is all a prep yeah,
and so, and so that's why, like I mean last night,
I didn't work last night, but I worked here in
my office at home because I'm flipping around from game
to game and from nine to thirty until one thirty,
(37:15):
I'm doing this stuff.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
But that's it. And it's not like I show up
on Thursday and say, hey, what happened in the league
this week?
Speaker 4 (37:21):
You know, that's it's like it's just an ongoing process.
But it's what makes me comfortable. It may it's not
for everybody. There are a million guys out here doing
what I do, and they have their own ways of
doing it. But for me, that's what makes me comfortable.
And what I discovered long ago is when you're comfortable
(37:42):
and when you're prepared, you don't get rattled. Right, So
somebody can break a backboard and throw it back to
the studio for twenty minutes while they're fixing.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Shoot, I can fill for two hours what you need.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
I love that you know the preparation, everything going into it.
And then like he said, the show is easy, right
once you get to the show is easy. But like
I went one, how fun is it? And how easy
is it to.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Keep those dudes on? Garrael, Kenny Sack shut?
Speaker 2 (38:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
In there with me, you know what it is. And
every show is somewhere between a walk on the beach
and a train wreck.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
And the time, you don't know which it's going to
be until you get the younger and and and you
don't because because part of the deal is, look, we
all have lives. We all have some days are good
and some days are a little rocky. And so somebody
you may be bringing that to the chair when you
sit down. You had a bad day, Shack, you had
a bad day, and he doesn't know, doesn't feel like
(38:51):
taking anything, and you can tell right from the car
that's gonna happen. So really it's just kind of a
feeling out process, and it's like, Okay, how's this gonna
Is the energy good in here? Geez, he's Shack's on
fire tonight. This is going to be a long or chucky,
subdued I don't know Auburn law, you know. So so
(39:13):
you you're constantly kind of reading the room and then
kind of figuring out which direction you want to go.
And it's like it's like, I'm people call me so
many different things in that role.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
You know.
Speaker 4 (39:25):
It's hey, he's the ring master. Hey he's the point guard,
he's the traffic cop. I'm actually that traffic cop who's
not very good at his job because instead of end
of trying to wave people through the intersection with no
fender benders, I'm like waving Kenny this way because I
know Shack is going to broadside.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
And so and so. In that way, I'm a little, uh,
a little bit of a rogue traffic cop. But that's
that's how that's how it goes. Man. And if folks
at home or and.
Speaker 4 (40:00):
You're saying, I have no idea what is going to
happen next on this show, join the club man, because
I got no idea either. And again, you guys have
both seen it. You know the show can go a
million different directions, and sometimes you just let it go,
and sometimes you need to try to rain the guys
(40:21):
in and maybey okay good because you know Chuck has
a bad habit of repeating himself. You know, he'll make it,
he'll make a point and then repeat it three more
times before and like the other night he was doing,
I said, look, man, you're just making laps on this thing,
and we stop and move on, okay, And so sometimes
(40:43):
I guess I just need to let him know that
I know you've just said that four times. You know
I'm not going to let you say it five times.
But yeah, that's that's the way it goes. It's just
it's all feel, it's like and and Tim Kyley gets
a lot of credit for that too, the producer, because
you know, we'll get in my years sometimes say let's
move on, or he'll say let it go.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
This is good.
Speaker 4 (41:04):
You know, like like we can continue to if it's
a really good discussion. So but yeah, it's all feel
it's like, okay, this is trying to run its course, phone,
let's change let's change direction and do something else.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
I've had so much fun on the show.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
You know, it's unlike anything that I've ever done, and
I'm not sure in media that you can ever do
anything else that's like no, like it's it's I'm not
sure how you can recreate it, Like I'm not sure,
like I don't think it can be recreated. But it's
so free flowing. But yet and still it's not just
(41:49):
like Haywire though. It's not just like anything goes like
it's very much so like, hey, we want to talk
about these things, and then if it goes somewhere else, great,
But for me to have the opportunity to be on
that show with you guys and just watch and learn and.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
To watch you guys help me.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
You know, when I'm sitting there and can't really get
a word in and you're like, Drake, mind what about this?
You know, or you know, early when I first started,
you know, we're on the break and Chuck's asking me like, hey,
so what are your thoughts on NIL? And I tell
them my thoughts on NIL. We come back from the break,
starts talking and Chuck goes, you know, Draymond has some
(42:29):
thoughts on and like.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
Just throw me alive and I go on it.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
And just to like have that experience and really my
first experience in media and like really doing TV. I
feel like it's set me up so well for the future,
just being able to work next to stars to greats,
and I just want to say thank you for helping
me move into that field, but just making it so
easy for me to just go up there and speak
(42:56):
and try to build my brand in that space. I
just want to say thank you because I couldn't ask
for a better experience.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
Right's the first thing, Right, What's the first thing I
said to you after your first show with us? I said, Man,
are you in a great spot? Because I don't know
how much longer you're going to play. But when it's done,
you can write your ticket because everybody's going to launch you.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
It is.
Speaker 4 (43:20):
It's true, man, And there's look some guys.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Half it.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
You know, we knew right away.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
Kenny had it. You know, Kenny was you know, Kenny
just had this way about him. This great like street Wise,
you know, you can't throw me off my game in
any way.
Speaker 4 (43:40):
You asked me anything out and he was great, and
we said, oh man, when he's done, he's got to
be part of the show. And that's always been the
key to any to any player who's tried to venture
out and branch out, and a lot of times their
agents are like, I'm going to try to get my
guy on.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
TV because I think, you know, this is the avenue.
Speaker 4 (44:01):
And there are some guys who you would see them
interviewed post game or see their personality on the floor
and say, he might be really good on TV, but
there's about that red light going on. There's something there's
something about that red light going on, and suddenly the
topic of conversation is this guy's is this guy's buddy?
Speaker 1 (44:23):
What am I going to say? Am I going to
be honest?
Speaker 4 (44:25):
Or am I going to say what my buddy wants
me to say or to say about his team? And
there can be that oh, I don't know if I
want to go there. To our guys credit, they have
never shied away despite what you despite what players in
the league might say, and b D the same way
you know I say I talk about this, you know,
with when Dray was on the show a few years
ago for the first time. But it's the same way
(44:47):
with you when you're on the air with us, we're
like gets he's.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Just being him.
Speaker 4 (44:53):
He's not like all got to be TV I now,
you know. It's just like what you guys had me
on the show, And this is what I am. And
that's all you can ask for is somebody to be
authentic and genuine and be themselves and not hold back.
And for a guy like Chuck, who was the most
quotable guy in the world on every topic when he
(45:14):
was a player, who was always sought out for his opinion,
he never shied away from that. And that's what may
and that's what makes it work so And it also
goes back when you talk about the free flowing conversation.
It goes back to the fact that these guys are
not in the production meeting because people we don't want
the show laid out, so they're thinking about, well, what
(45:35):
am I going to say about that? What am I
going to say about the Bucks, What am I going
to say about the Clippers? What am I going to
say about Kawhi it's gonna come up, and what do
you think right there? Not with not with a bunch
of of oh, I'm trying to remember what I said,
and not with a rehearsed kind of But we've seen
enough shows that are so over that are so rehearsed
(45:58):
the opinions and the things that are happening are happening.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Like boom boom boom.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
Yeah, Like okay, now you're supposed to talk to I'm
supposed to talk to Hans, but now we're supposed to
get to commercial with us. It's like, geez, who knows
how it's going to go, you know, with all this
stuff flying back and forth. And that's what I think
that's why it resonates. I think that's that gives you
more of that feel like you're sitting in the living
room with your with your fellas watching nobody's asking for
(46:28):
permission to talk, you know, nobody's You don't go to
commercial break and say when we come back, you say this,
and then you say this, and I'll laugh and you
say this. No, we're just letting it fly and then
eventually we got to get back to the game, and
then we'll pick it up when the game's over. So
that's that's how it works.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Opinions sometimes can get heat it. You know, you're talking
about basketball, which off for guys on that dage long
you go through life, you start to show us seven o'clock,
it could be twelve fifteen's been there for four and
a half hours. Well you've been there for thirteen and
a half hours, but everyone else has been there for
like call it five five and a half hours. You
(47:07):
get a little grawl, you get a little tired u
pee and start to clash. Have there ever been moments
on a set where you felt like, man, this could
this could really lean the other way, like and like
go somewhere.
Speaker 1 (47:19):
We really don't want it to go amongst.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
The guys, no be And a lot of times the
talk from people who watch and they've asked me this thing.
You're afraid that Shaq and Charles are really gonna you know,
throw hands some night, And I said, no, no, no,
they look these guys are tight. Their moms were tight.
You know there is their families were tight. No, but
(47:44):
they but here's the deal. They realized that every everybody
on that show comes at the game from a different angle,
and so they are gonna be you know, you know,
Shaq is going to give you the big Man got
to give you thirty and fifteen. You know, that's just
it's a solution to everything, you know, and knowing the
(48:05):
Charles and Jenny will point.
Speaker 1 (48:06):
Out, look, you were Shack, you're Shack.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
Okay, you can do that, but not everybody is you
doesn't matter, you know, And so I think because of that,
you can have these differences of opinion, and a lot
of times that comes down to, like, you know, Shack
saying the coaching doesn't matter. You know, here's a guy
who's played with some of the greatest coaches of all time,
but he's saying he'd you know, And then you get
(48:33):
a Chuck and the man you must have been enjoyed
a coach and then they say you're going to be
some furniture movement. I mean, but no, I don't think
I don't think that that's ever been an issue of thinking, oh, yeah,
these guys are really these guys are really mad at
each other. I mean, look, there was one time, in particular,
(48:54):
the clip has gone viral about a billion times of
the you know, the night that Charles took all of
Shack's time on a sponsored only you know, I finally
get finding you know, they were twenty five seconds okay,
Shack then, you know, because Charles had answered, and then
(49:14):
I was about to throw it to Shack, and then
Charles took it back because he had something else to
add for the fourth time.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
And then when I get it back to Shack, No, no,
I know.
Speaker 4 (49:26):
He wants to talk me thing all the time about
him supposed to you know, I was supposed to be
one to two to three, not one to two and
back to one, which which that's when he which when
he said, it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard of.
And I couldn't stop and so but what you didn't
realize he was it was it was so many Shack
(49:50):
was Shaq was running fuck.
Speaker 1 (49:55):
P D B D.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
This was during the playoffs, and he came minute, he
came in the next night. He was he was quiet,
He wouldn't talk.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
He was in the show stars and he's just sitting
here like this, straight ahead and I'm having to beg
him to talk. You know, come on, hey, big fella,
come on, this good matchup. You know they don't want
to fall down three to one in the series. No,
they don't.
Speaker 7 (50:26):
He's still he is still hot, and so really that's
that's one of the That's one of the few times
I've ever seen any kind of a carryover from one
show to the next where somebody where somebody they got
got their feelings hurt a little bit and was not
going to take part.
Speaker 4 (50:43):
In And I remember, I remember that pregame show ended
and Shock immediately got up and went to the green
room and Kenny and Chuck and I looked at the other.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
Somebody said, work with a big fellow in this arena.
Speaker 3 (51:08):
Oh man, that seems like a great, great fun And
then I wanted to, you know, share a moment uh
in the career that she did something uh on basketball related.
Speaker 1 (51:20):
I remember we made burritos.
Speaker 3 (51:22):
Uh, we did the uh indie race where everybody kept
calling me a getaway driver. And Charlotte, what are some
of those moments that you enjoy, you know from the
show that you guys do you know off campus or activities.
Speaker 1 (51:39):
What are one of those moments That was one?
Speaker 4 (51:42):
The one in Charlotte was really fun because we went
to the drag went to the drag strip up there
and and got to have those. And I'm still picked
off because I had because I had Candas Parker beat
and then something happened to our car. But uh, but
we we had those We had that big race at
Georgia Tech. All of this based on Kenny running to
(52:05):
the board all the time, you know, and and by
the way, he never he never challenges Draymond on that
race to the board when when dra comes visits us,
because they get just to the board in about two
and a half steps. And but so that led to
this big We're gonna have one hundred meter dash at
Georgia Tech. And it's me and Weber, Chuck, Shaq and Kenny.
(52:31):
Again this also probably available online somewhere, but it was,
you know, everybody's wolfing, everybody's saying why they're gonna win.
Speaker 1 (52:40):
And it was such a bogus start me, I'm the
idiot who says I'm just I'm waiting on the gun.
Speaker 4 (52:49):
And I was the only guy on the gun start
that hundred meters. So I immediately sat up and I say,
fall start, fall start name.
Speaker 1 (52:57):
Nobody listening to me. They're going and.
Speaker 4 (53:02):
Chuck, I mean, I know I would have beaten Chuck
because he hasn't finished it yet. And and Shaq pulls
a Hammy or with about forty yards to go and
he's actually winning and is coasting to the finish line
and then Weber passes him right at the line and
(53:22):
breaks the tongue and that was the hole you got
to run through the tape. But it was it was again,
it was one of those things where it was like
who who thinks this up?
Speaker 1 (53:32):
You know who? And who pulls it off?
Speaker 4 (53:35):
And because we were using this is years ago before
drones even became that big a thing, and we're looking
around and these things are buzzing around, they're shooting this
with drones. They're dead, and it was. It was tremendous.
I just those are the things that those are the
things that set us apart. I think those are the
things that's like, we'll do anything and some of it
(53:55):
will be great and some of it might not be
funny at all and might not work, but man, we're
going to shoot our shot and we'll see. So I think, yeah,
I think that that historical dash that was certainly one
of them. We spoke about it. You've had a long career.
Is there one thing out there doesn't have to be
(54:18):
a sports or anything.
Speaker 2 (54:19):
Is there one thing out there that you look at it,
you say, I still, I haven't done that, but I
want to do that thing before I'm done.
Speaker 4 (54:26):
You know what I have been able to condition myself, Draymond,
to appreciate what I have been able to do and
not what I haven't been able to do. So no,
I've never given that a thought. I'd never say, boy,
this has been great, but I really want to do this.
I have what I call it get to job, not
(54:49):
a got to job. We've all seen folks at the
traffic light who are driving to got two jobs. I'm
doing this because I've got to go to this. I
got to get to job, to go down there and
hang out with these four, with these three guys, and
have been able to do that for thirty five years.
So I've always been been focused on what I get
(55:12):
to do, and never a regret, and never a boy, Michael,
my career could be complete if I could just do this.
Speaker 1 (55:19):
That's not the way it works for me. You go
from March Madness to the NBA playoffs.
Speaker 3 (55:25):
I would like to know which one is more intense,
which one is more interesting for you?
Speaker 4 (55:33):
The prep for March Madness is so much more than
for the NBA. Look, I got this NBA thing down,
you know, on a nightly basis, doing the things that
I have to do and I know to get ready.
But every college basketball season, it's like, hey, how many
teams might make the tournament? And that's kind of where
(55:56):
I start, you know, It's like I'll start really paying
attention in December and just before they start getting into
conference schedules and that kind of thing. And since we've
been doing that for thirteen years, thirteen fourteen years, now
I have a like this database on my computer where
I've got profiles on probably two hundred and something teams.
Speaker 1 (56:18):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (56:19):
So right, just because over just because over the years,
that's how many you know, starting with that first year,
it's like I got one hundred teams here that might
make the tournament, you know, depending on all these conference tournaments.
And then it just increases and then every year you're
updating this. Okay, now it's this guy's eighteenth year as
the head coach, and their March Madness history is this,
(56:40):
and here are their top guys. And now you add
to that equation. Okay, got to take it to the
next level. Where else has this guy been? Okay, So
we transferred this year from here, but the previous two
years he was here and before that here, and now
he's playing in his eighth year in college, so that's fall.
So that's all added to the preparation there. So that's
where again the amount of preparation for the compared to
(57:05):
the length of the event. You're doing all this because
in two three weeks it's all going to be over.
Speaker 2 (57:12):
It.
Speaker 4 (57:12):
It's not like an eighty two game season. It's like
this thing is going to start in mid March and
be over in early April. Yeah, why there is this
much work getting into it? So there's still something about
that tournament BD. To answer your question, that is something
no other sport heads that I've seen. There's just that hole,
that whole vibe around the tournament, which you know, you
(57:35):
don't have to be a sportsman to have a bracket, right,
you just you know that's it's one of the great
uniting things in our country. It is March madness. It
gets everybody together.
Speaker 1 (57:48):
It gets people.
Speaker 4 (57:49):
I don't even know if there are water coolers anymore,
but if you have a water cooler in your office,
that's where you would gather to talk about. Wow, you
really think South Dakota State can beat so and say
you know that, and so it would bring people together,
even for a short time, for some common ground. And
and again and the one and done nature of that,
(58:10):
you know, leads to these you know, these iconic buzzer
beating moments that that live forever. And that's what Yeah,
So that's what's really really special about that. So yeah,
and the fact that I you know, get to go
to New York with Kenny and Chuck and and Clark
kellog up there again, that's that's it's so much fun.
Speaker 1 (58:30):
And but those days you guys.
Speaker 4 (58:32):
Have been in the NBA studio, you talk about, you know,
getting in there and walking out at two o'clock in
the morning. Yeah, I mean you're talking about games noon
to one, noon to one. Those first two days are
so crazy. You're sitting around and and it's like, Okay,
I'm doing a CBS halftime show that I'm going to
bring TNT on the air, and we're doing a true
(58:53):
TV halftime and all these are happening like boom boom boom. Okay,
this true true TV halftime is which game?
Speaker 1 (58:59):
Good?
Speaker 4 (58:59):
Okay, I've seen eight seconds of that. But luckily Clark
has a good handle on it, so we'll go to him.
So it's that kind of a thing. It's non stop
and the hours are long. But as I've always told
Kenny and Chuck, when those days start getting long and
we're kind of getting a little bit bleary eyed, Look
if your boss told you at your job, hey, all
(59:21):
I want you to do for the next four days
is watch the tournament.
Speaker 1 (59:24):
You probably sign up for that. And that's how we're doing.
And a heartbeat. I watched. I love the tournament, so
I get it. Marchin on differently before we get out
of here. We love to make a good list.
Speaker 2 (59:39):
Could you do your top five inside the NBA moments
that you've in your thirty five years.
Speaker 4 (59:47):
Yeah, let's see. Some of them will be, uh, this
is tough to do, but some of them will be
like just clowning on the guys and that kind of thing.
Probably the Champions Club ranks up there where we locked
Charles out of the studio for halftime because he didn't
ever ring.
Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
Only champions could get in.
Speaker 4 (01:00:11):
I think I think the Kenny Kenny against Charles diaper
changing contest where we melted when we melted a little butterfinger,
uh microwave and put it inside the diaper and Charles
nearly fainted. Let's see retiring Kenny's jersey. Retiring it was
(01:00:40):
so funny.
Speaker 1 (01:00:41):
On the clothes line. I would say he was so
upset about that, he was I'm getting out of here.
Speaker 4 (01:00:56):
I remember, Yeah, I would think Shack, whether he's falling
or being pushed into Christmas trees or the night the
night that he actually got his foot wrapped around the
cable and pulled the monitor out of.
Speaker 1 (01:01:09):
The set that goats up there.
Speaker 4 (01:01:12):
But here's here's the deal, and I'll bring it back
to I'll be real. The show I'll never forget is
the one we did in La after Kobe died because
they canceled the game. But we went out there and
did the show mid court, nobody in the nobody in
the arena, and just talk about him. And for like Shack,
(01:01:36):
it was the first time he had a chance to
talk about Kobe. You know, we bring Jerry west On
and he's balling, you know.
Speaker 2 (01:01:43):
It was.
Speaker 4 (01:01:44):
It was the most powerful show I've ever been a
part of. And it was just so real and so raw,
and it was and it just I think it was
just a demonstration of the fact that yeah, we can
have some really ridiculous times on our show, and we
(01:02:04):
can make your laugh and you can go to work
the next day and talk about you see what those
clowns did. But also they'll say, man, did you see
did you see that tribute to Kobe last night? And
that was you know, probably that's the thing. If I
had to look at it right now and say, the
thing I will never forget about that show is that night.
Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
That's incredible. I don't know how. I don't know how
we can go past that. Such a great note to
end on.
Speaker 2 (01:02:29):
I think, you know, when we look around the basketball landscape,
obviously all of us are big Kobe fans.
Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
You know, we all miss him, and so to end
on that is incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
But more importantly, Ernie, we can't thank you enough for
coming on the show, sharing your stories, your backstory going
all the way back to childhood, but more importantly just
sharing your energy and your life on this show. Obviously
we're all big fans of you, as we said earlier,
for us, both of us, to have the opportunity to
(01:03:03):
work next to you and catch some of them assist
you be throwing out.
Speaker 1 (01:03:09):
One of.
Speaker 2 (01:03:10):
My TV career, Man, tell me about it. So I
just want to say thank you for really coming on.
I've been a complete honor and just hearing these stories,
it's been a special one for me.
Speaker 4 (01:03:22):
I appreciate you, fellows, thank you so much for having
me on. And I am no, hey, it's a it's
a get to your job.
Speaker 1 (01:03:28):
Man. I'm glad I could share some of.
Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
It with you.
Speaker 1 (01:03:31):
Yes, really appreciate you. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:03:34):
Ejmch Love. We can't wait for the next book too.
I scripted the first one. Amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:03:41):
I can't wait. I can't wait and wait for the
next one. Yeah, I got a few. I got a
few of them up here, man, I got one for us.
Speaker 3 (01:03:48):
Uh n right book, Yeah, I know, I got you
got bars and he got bars right. He was sitting
the bars at the at the legends.
Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
Bruh.
Speaker 3 (01:04:00):
That was man, the way he was doing the INSS
asked car we need a whole Silsan's book.
Speaker 1 (01:04:06):
Well, Ernie Bars b d you and me. I would
love to do that, you know it. I would count
me in. I'll get to work. I got you as
I feel like I broke it. That all right, already
start weekend J Executive producer.
Speaker 4 (01:04:34):
All right, thank you, all right, thank you thank you
so much, Big Dome, the Ghost, good luckdown the stretch man.
Speaker 1 (01:04:41):
Thank you really appreciate it. I'll see you soon. Yeah,
you got it.
Speaker 4 (01:04:44):
And it's been hey great being your teammates, both of you.
Thank you, thank you on and uh, that's been a
great thing about that show man. I'm getting to meet
folks like you. Appreciate your time. Man likewise, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:04:57):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (01:04:57):
Sona to be a part of it, all right, Arnie
the volume
Speaker 3 (01:05:07):
Mm hmm
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
What's up, everybody, Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show
with my brother b D.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
What's hidening? What's uping, bro?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
What's going on? I feel I feel great, brother, I
feel great. I'll be honest with y'all this next guest
we have. I don't know how we pulled this off, wow,
but in him being one of the best human beings
to work in sports, wow, the absolute best.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
He has had an impact.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
On my career in media, He's had an impact on
BD's career in media, and quite honestly, your favorite sports
stars and when I sports media stars he's had an
impact on and even if they haven't worked with him directly,
he's had an impact on because he's shaped he's helped
(01:03):
shape media being a part of the game the way
it is in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
And we are honored to have this next guest.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
He is a six time Sports Emmy Award winner, host,
one Sports Emmy winner inside the NBA, a National Sports
Caster of the Year, twenty twenty three Sports Broadcasting Hall
of Fame inductee, and quite honestly, someone that I think
(01:32):
is going to actually end up in the Nasmith Hall
of Fame because of the impact that he's had on
the game, and I am honored.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I gotta just sprinkle some ism on top of that.
You be talking about the Maestro and media, the host
with the most the Nidos stat for brands, the orchestrator
of entertainment where sports media entertainment connects. He is the
godfather of knowing how to get it done, run the show,
(02:06):
the man, the legend, Ernie er.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Man.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
How can I possibly live bit? I can possibly live
up to that introduction?
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Fellaws.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
It is so good to be with you all today.
Thanks for thanks for asking.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Absolutely as a honor. We appreciate you coming on the show.
This has been one that I've been looking forward to
for the longest. And I know as soon as Charles,
our producer, mentioned your name, but he.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Was like, what Ernie on the show? Let me go.
We are excited by the way, Ernie. I recently saw
a video for the Final Chamber the Wu Tang Forever Tour.
The trailer, How did Wu Tang recruit you and get
you narrating that video? That is amazing and that was.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Totally out of the blue ray It was Uh, my
my agent Bobby Height with the career sports and Entertainment
c s E in Atlanta. He's he's the guy who
comes to me with all requests, speaking engagements, et cetera,
et cetera. So I get this email about ten days
ago and he lays this out. He said, Huts and
(03:22):
Klam would like you to voice the this announcement of
their of their tour. And I'm like, this is this
really coming to me? And I'm looking at this script
and I was saying, listee, can I picture myself saying
(03:43):
old dirty bastard? And I'm like, sure, if this is
what they want, I'll be happy to do it.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
And so it just happened. I went into the studio
when we.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Were we were there to work on a Thursday night
and I said, I just need to record something here
and knocked it out, sent it on and then about
three days later on my timeline, here it comes.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
It was.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
It was pretty it was pretty amazing, you know, But
I guess, you know, where is the calls and asks?
Then I'm gonna who am I to say?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So h So there you go. That's kind of how
that all came about.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Doing those those different things like that that you've had
the opportunity to do, like what are some of the
cooler ones, like you know this Wu Tang, but what
are some of the cooler things that you've come across desk?
Not necessarily sports, but it's kind of sports adjacent because
and sports has kind of led you to these platforms
and doing these different things.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
What's some of the need was that you've done well?
I mean one of the.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Things is, you know, I've been doing the NBA two
K for years and years with Kenny and Shack, which
which after a while then you you come to under stand.
But that's how like a lot of the younger viewers,
that's how they know you. You know, It's not it's
not that they look at you and say, oh yeah,
it's they hear my voice. And so like I can
(05:12):
be in the in the checkout line at the grocery
store and say something back to the cashier and a
kid behind me says, you're the two K guy.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I said, yeah, I'm one.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Of the two K guys. That's so it's been fun
to do that and to see how that all works.
It's kind of a drain on your brain by the
end of the day, you know, because you've just been
sitting there for hours and just a lot of times
saying the same thing in different ways and and then
when they put you in the MOCAP suit and it's
(05:48):
you know, the whole bit. So that's been a lot
of fun to do because of my longevity in this business.
I mean I've been a turner for thirty five years.
I actually the thing that I enjoy the most is
telling my family's story. I mean that's I speak to
(06:09):
corporations all the time about the things outside of basketball,
the things in my life that matter, the things that
I've learned by going through adversity, et cetera. And I
really enjoyed that so much, just being able to share
to prove the folks, look, yeah, NBA on TNT, that's
(06:35):
what I do, but it's not who I am. And
so I relish the opportunities to be able to talk
to folks about getting through cancer, adoption, special needs kids,
you name it. And so I kind of weave a
story that way with a series of photographs. And I
love those mornings, those those days where I can where
(06:57):
I can share that.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
So those are the things.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Aside from doing the NBA on T N T, those
are the things to me that uh, you know, those
are the things that matter.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Those are real life that resonates with two and and
and definitely resonates Uh, you know with me and Jay
basketball in his life, but our life is bigger.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Than basketball, right and who we are?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Uh, this platform always gives us a great opportunity, you
know to do such and you guys have done a
great job.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
Brings a response. It's like if you if you pass
that up, then you're then you're not doing your job
because because just by virtue of what t n T
and the NBA on t n T has meant in
my career, that visibility tells the CEO somewhere, can we
(07:51):
get that guy to talk to our group. You know,
It's like and if you if you passed that up,
then you are you're missing a boat. Mm hm that
was percent man.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
It's sharing, it's sharing the platform, right, it's sharing the
platform being responsible. I mean just in your journey in TNT,
I would say as a viewer watching, you would think like, oh,
you know, it's free flowing, like they can do whatever
they want. Just one I want to know your.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
Baseball guy, right, how did you get does not want
from birth?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
That's for sure?
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Yeah, when you're but to continue, Yeah, I'm okay, so
I grew up a baseball guy. But but your point
is like when did the transition, Like what made you like?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
What was that jump?
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Okay, So here's the deal. So my dad plays for
the Milwaukee Braves back in the fifties. He's on those
he's on those teams with Henry Aaron and Eddie Matthews
and Warren Spawn and Luber Debt. He's a relief picture
and he's as he as he likes to put it,
(09:04):
or liked to put it, and was.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know, I was.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I was middle relief, not good enough to start, not
good enough to fit, and he's I was a middle
reliever before they were cool.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
And so.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
You know, he got a World Series winging with Milwaukee
when they beat the Yankees at fifty seven, and and
you know, I was only you know, I was born
at fifty six, so I don't remember. I've just seen
videos of him pitching and that kind of thing. But
but his career then became. He became a broadcaster and
was doing play by play for the Braves for thirty
(09:40):
years when they moved to Atlanta. So that was in
my blood. So that's what I wanted to be. I
want to be a big league ballplayer like my dad,
and and that's all I played. You know, I played
that growing up. I played a little bit of hoop,
nothing above JV. I was on the bomb squad up
thirty down, thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I was in and if you passed it to me,
you are getting it back. I was just a shacket.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
And at that point too, you know, I was the
guy who led the layup line because I was the
smallest guy on the team. So I'm like, I'm six
to two now. I mean, and people still because I
stand next to Shack, they think I'm like five to two.
But but that was that was my basketball career. I
was a baseball guy.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
And I actually.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Walked on at the University of Georgia. So I walked
on as a freshman and was told to walk off
as a sophomore one year, one year wearing the red
and black man. But you know what, that freshman year unforgettable.
(10:51):
And look, I'm not going to get into a conversation like, oh,
just hey, there's just three players you're talking. No, look,
you got have gone to the highest level. You know
what all this is about. For folks who have never
been part of that. I consider myself so blessed to
have that one year of being a college ballplayer in
(11:13):
the SEC and hanging out with teammates, guys who were
older than I was, more mature than I was, who
taught me a bunch who kind of took me under
their wing and were kind of like, we got this
freshman who doesn't know anything. Let's kind of, you know,
look after him and take care of him. And I
wasn't a great player. I was a backup first baseman,
(11:34):
you know, on that one year I went to for eighteen.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
That's not funny.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
So I.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
With one career RBI f one career RBI which came
at the University of Tennessee on a Thursday afternoon in April.
Temperature was about sixty seven degrees. Remember, took a fast
ball the other way, knocked in a RUNO looked like
(12:06):
it was going to be the game winning run in
a game that would give us the division in the SEC,
give us the SEC East. And so I go back
to take my position out there first, and I'm saying, man,
I'm going to be all over the red and black
the student newspaper for knocking in the run that gave
us the division title. And this is this was a
(12:27):
team Tennessee had Rick Honey cut the long time pitching
comes Conridge Holloway, who was a great quarterback for Tennessee
and had like a nine million game hitting streak. So
this is a good Tennessee team. But I could just
see it. I could just see the headline in the
red and black. And then our shortstop made an air
(12:49):
on it but should have been a game ending double
play ball, and a couple hitters later, a guy hit
a grand Slam and beat us.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
So there it went. So my my heroic one career
went for nothing.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
And but again the experience everything that baseball, everything that
sports teaches you about being a good teammate, you learn
all that stuff in one year there. I will never
forget it. But so so that's the long story on baseball.
And then you know, I'm at Georgia and I got
(13:22):
great journalism school, my dad being a broadcaster. I'd never
really thought about doing it, and I just decided to
give it a try one day. And then I discovered
that man, they're letting you into the games for free.
You're getting to hang out and get to go to
any game you want to go to And so I
started working at the campus radio station, then worked at
(13:44):
a rock station in the in Athens, and then finally
somebody hired me for TV a year after I graduated,
and I was doing the news and making Georgia, which
was which was an experience. And and but every step
along the way, I don't care what profession you're in,
every step along the way provides you with such a
(14:07):
learning ground. And there were things that happened in making Georgia.
Then I'll never forget that still play into what I
do now.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And so.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
It just goes that way. It's okay, so the baseball
career is over, what are you going to do? And
and so it was making Georgia to Spartanburg, South Carolina
to Atlanta, you know, as a news reporter. And the
thing that's crazy, And that's what I tell kids all
the time in journalism schools. Things will happen that you
(14:36):
don't see coming that will change the entire trajectory of
your career. And for me, that was that you know,
I'm in Atlanta, I'm your general assignment news reporter. I'm
the guys like on the night beat Ernie Johnson Channel two,
Action News and we get a new news director one
day whose first day on the job, I'm just filling
(14:56):
in for a sports guy who's on vacation. I'm doing
a live I've shot at Atlanta Stadium before a Braves game.
And I come into work the next day and his
secretary comes in and says, Raven would like to see you.
Raven Matthew is the new news director. And I'm thinking
Jesus guy's cleaning house. He and wasting any time. New
boss to come in and say, okay, you know, get
(15:18):
a box and get your stuff. He's you ever thought
about doing sports? And I love sports, you know, And
he said, I'm going to make you the new weekend
sports aiker. And that changed everything, changed everything about my
life and about my career. And so I do that
for seven years weekends for seven years at ws BE
in Atlanta, and then here comes Turner comes knocking in
(15:42):
nineteen eighty nine. Hey wow, we'd love to.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Have you over here.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
And you know, I think geographically that helped, because you know,
we're in Atlanta. Those guys are all watching the Atlanta
stations all the time and they're like, hey, we got
a guy right here in town. Who's I think we
could use Thirty five years later you're talking to y'all amazing. Yeah, yeah,
you never know. You just never know what what the
(16:09):
next day is.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Going to bring. That's incredible. That's incredible story to watch
your career.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
You've been on TV since I can remember, and you're
saying you took the turn the job in nineteen eighty nine.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I think I've told you this before. I was born
in ninety, so actually that.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I'm constantly looking for reminders about the old there's a
very well played one right there. I let you know, Ernie,
we all know you Sharper's attack, but.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
So you know we had My birthday was yesterday and
a friend of mine bought a great bottle of wine
to dinner last night, and he's like, well, it's eighty nine,
though it's not ninety. He's born in eighty nine, so
he got a bunch of eighty nine ones. He's like,
it's eighty nine, it's not ninety, but eighty nine is
a better year.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Anyway. I was like, it's cool, Danny, I was eighty nine.
It's all right. It's probably a really good ball right there.
As he knows all about this one I'm feeling it
right now.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
From that, let's get into some NBA news. A major
topic today facing the NBA. Lebron and Channing Fry discussed
why players are reluctant to take the face of the
league role. After thirty five years of covering the NBA
(17:48):
on TNT, what is your perspective of why players will
resist being the face of the league.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Well, you know, we we're talking this on the air
the other night too about can can somebody dictate who
the face of the of the league is? Or is
that something you grab, you want and you seize it.
Sometimes you can't help but be the face of the league.
Sometimes that's all talent driven, but I think it does
(18:22):
go hand in hand with reputation, how you carry yourself.
And these days, obviously nothing goes unchecked from one day
to the next, so you might you might have the
talent to be the face of the league or the
(18:44):
guy that everybody thinks of when they think, oh NBA,
Oh I think Lebron James, or NBA I think Michael
you know, back then, that kind of thing. But I
think there is some validity to that that they would say, look,
I don't want that pressure. I don't want every every
step I take to be scrutinized, and so yeah, there's
(19:07):
something to that. But I also I also think that
for some maybe.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
I want that. I want to be that guy. I
want you know, I want to carry the flag for
the league. Uh.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
And with that comes the responsibility to do right. Okay,
we'll be in the headlines for the wrong things. That
all goes That all goes with it, because you you
annoint somebody as the face of the NBA, then what
happens when they slip up and do X or y? Yeah,
(19:40):
you know the face anymore? Again, It's one of those
nebulous things. And I and I think we're always in
such a hurry these days to quantify everything that everything
needs to be the best. This as he's got to
be the goat, she's got to be the goat. How
can he be the goat if she's a goat? You know,
camp can we just not appreciate.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah? Yeah, a better?
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Um?
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yeah, you know, there's just this rush.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
And I think part of that is is isn't the
media thing and whether it's sports talk or whether it's
pods or whether whatever it is. But if I'm a
sports talk shore you got four hours to fill. Well,
we're going to spend an hour talking about who's the
somebody just won a game last night with a three
pointer at the buzzer. Is he the greatest fluck shooter
(20:28):
of all time?
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Well? How can he be? And we want to argue
for come on, just appreciate the moment, appreciate if we
can do that.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
But apparently that's that's not the way things are done anymore.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
That is indeed true. I think you're spot on with
everything you said.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Do you see someone that you say, I think that's
who it's going to be, because there's been this interesting
landscape Boek like, for I just feel like for the
last seven years, everyone has been trying to move.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
On from Brown, and you know, for the last.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Four years, everybody's been trying to move on from Steph,
thinking like, oh we got it now, like this young
guy's coming, that young guy's coming, and it's like every
year it's reverting right back.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
To those those guys Branhan, Steph and everything they're doing.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
When you look around the landscape, is there someone that
you see that it's like, no, I think it's going
to be that person.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
I mean, you look at the young guys in the league.
You look at the teams that are doing well. You
look at the opportunity for what do you call it
pr or high more visibility. Then you say, well, hey,
how about Luca in LA for years? Yeah, he becomes
the face of the NBA. Hey, here's Shake Gildes Alexander
(21:53):
leading the league in score with a team that has
the best record. Could he be the guy? Webamo, this
freak be the guy? You know that We've never seen
anybody that size do the things he does. Could he
be that guy? So there are a bunch of candidates
out there. But the thing to remember is this isn't
(22:13):
an election, all right, This is not this is not like, okay,
everybody have you know I've been a voter for years
on these on the regular season awards. Not like you're
going to add a category that says face of the league,
give us you know, this is who is going to
buy their play and by their character and by their leaders,
(22:37):
by their persauna and there, yeah, exactly be the Who's
that guy? And it's not like you apply for it.
It's just like, well he's the face, you know what,
We can see it and so so that's I think
that's the way. That's the way it is. But please,
let's not. Let's not put this up for a vote. Now,
you know that's not the way that.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Who's scoring big in the NBA this season?
Speaker 5 (23:00):
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Speaker 1 (24:20):
Man.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Last night, Bron reached fifty thousand points regular season and postseason.
You obviously saw Bron come into the league from high
school and obviously become one of the greatest players, if
not the greatest player we've ever seen play this game.
Is there some moment with Bron that stands out? We
do more than others and watching his man?
Speaker 4 (24:42):
What is it twenty two years now, twenty one, twenty
two years, forty years old, that night in Detroit or
the night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Because as
a playoff night, and we got the show on the
road us to what twenty five street and twenty nine
out of thirty lay down the stretch And the thing
that you know, and here's the great thing about the
(25:03):
job that I have is being able to sit around
and Watchroo with the guys. I watch, you know, you know,
Kenny and Shack and Chuck and you know, Magic's been
in there for a time before that. But when you
watch a performance like that and then you glance over
at these dudes and they're all like, then, you know
(25:26):
you've seem something special.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And so I think I think that was the night.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
That I'll never forget. I mean, that's it's amazing. And again,
those are one of those nights that defied description. And
on another front, obviously the fact that Space Jam and
New Legacy in.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
That in that film, uh.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
Obvious and so and so you know, I'm still looking
and still I'm still guys disappointed that the Best Supporting
Actor nomination for real did not. Yeah, I'm figuring it's
probably like when they had the NBA's fifty Greatest and
(26:17):
I was working with Reggie Theis at the time, and
Reggie said I was number fifty one, So I feel
like that year at the Oscars there was probably seven
nominees for Best Supporting I was eight.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
That excellent job. You know, that excellent job. We need
Moore you on the big screen.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
You know. You know what the.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Greatest thrill about being about doing that was we went
to a theater to see it and took the grandkids
and didn't really tell them what was going on, and
then all of a sudden, I pop up and they're
like poppy. So that was that was worth every second.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Last calendar year, a little before the season started, we
obviously learned the fate of TNT Sports and the landscape
of what the lands, the media landscape will be.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
In the NBA.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Absolutely thrilled that inside the NBA won't won't be going away,
as TNT Sports will continue to produce it independently. The
new addition will be that ESPN will feature the show
at high profile NBA events next season, such as the
NBA Finals, which is also a different thing for you guys.
How excited are you to finally get a chance to
(27:39):
cover the NBA Finals next season after all of these years.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
That's that's going to be a very cool part of
this thing. Because there's always a feeling at the end
of our playoff run. And I've been fortunate, you know,
I'm always part of that trophy presentation with you know,
to the Eastern Western Conference champions and it's and then
you and then all of a sudden you go back
(28:06):
and do the postgame show and then it's over, and
we've done all the gone fishing pictures and it's done.
I mean it's it's Jeff flat done, and it's and
and then you go back and you watch the finals
and and you're like, wow, it would be great to
be there for that. So to to to be part
(28:27):
of that next year, uh, is really cool. You know,
we look forward to that very much. But the but
the biggest thing about this won't change. Look, it's not easy.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
You know.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
This NBA on TNT brand has been around since before
you were born, Dray uh, you know, and and it
was you know, we've had games on TBS or TNT
for better than forty years. And so there there have
been these these these moments this year that give you
(29:04):
calls for reflection. I mean, I remember being in Boston
for Opening Night and standing there and saying, Wow, this
is this is really the last year of the NBA
on TNT, and I felt the same thing at All
Star Weekend. That was our last All Star game. Our
first was two thousand and three in Atlanta and looked
like Michael and his last All Star games the MVP
(29:26):
and and there was foul light and Kobe hit free
throws and Kevin Garnett was the MVP and and man,
it's a blink. All of a sudden, we're sitting there
in San Francisco and saying, this is the last one.
It's the last one of these All Star games that
we're gonna do. So that part's been difficult, and I'm
glad that we're able to salvage the show even though
(29:46):
it's not going to be on TNT. And as many
times as I've tried to explain to folks how this works,
it's I was like, huh, what what are you talking about?
You're going to keep doing the show, but it's not
going to be on TNA. Well where's it going to be.
Well when you tune into some of these nights on
ABC or ESPN, the pregame show is going to be us.
We're gonna still be doing in Atlanta. We're just not
going to be saying the NBA on T n T.
(30:08):
You know, I'll see how many. I don't know what
the over under it will be for me on times
that I speak, but but yeah, to to stay together
with those guys, to stay together with our production crew,
that's really important. Yeah, you know, it's the I guess,
the business of basketball. You know, these things, and sometimes
(30:29):
it happens. You know, we've been I've been part of
you know, we had the NFL for a while, then
we lost it. You know, I did the PGA Championship forever,
and then we you know, when the rights were up,
we didn't get and you know the RERADI show. It happens,
and we've been through it. But I'm just glad that
that that core, not just the guys on the air,
(30:51):
but that whole production crew. We'll still you know, we'll
just do it. We'll just we'll just see it in
a different place.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Funny story, I've had the opportune and they obviously to
work with Ernie on inside the NBA, and my first
time working with the group, I get this rundown of
everything that's going on, and this is during the time
where everything's on zoom, you know, and So the production
meeting is all these things on zoom.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
And so I log into the zoom. I'm a new guy.
I'm not going to be laid for a meeting. I
log into the zoom. I log in looking for Shack,
looking for Chuck, looking looking for Kenny.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
The only person I see from the show is Ernie
outside of the production crew's Ernie, and I'm like, I
sit there. Ernie goes, Dray, mind, what the hell are
you doing here? I'm going to mister production media, get
out of here?
Speaker 1 (31:45):
How long off?
Speaker 2 (31:47):
And I said all of that to say, Ernie, can
you explain to people a day we go live at?
Say and I say we when I'm on the show,
say we start at six thirty six o'clock, will say
we go live at six o'clock, seven o'clock. Can you
explain to people what your day is like when you
(32:10):
arrive at the at Studio Jay on campus and then
what you're doing preparing for a day, Because I don't
think people really truly understand everything that you do. Like
they see you obviously be the point guard and orchestrate,
they don't know everything you explaining the day to us
(32:31):
of a seven o'clock start time that's not ending until
one thirty in the morning. Can you explain the day
of Ernie Johnson to myself and the fans who love
the show?
Speaker 4 (32:42):
The spoilers answer may may bore some folks. They may say, hey,
you know, clip that piece of that Draymond and BD
podcast where Ernie's talking about his preparation because I need
that for like a sleep meditation tonight. But here's the deal.
It's like it's it's like on those game days. Yeah,
(33:02):
so you say the pregame shows out at seven o'clock,
I'm in there. I'm in there between ten and eleven
in the morning because I've also got to do the
steam Room podcast with Charles, which is available wherever you
get your podcasts. And I think, in a way, I'm
like you guys. I mean, you think about, in the
(33:24):
course of an NBA season or in the course of
your basketball careers, you can become a creature of habit.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
You can become Look, this is my game.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Day ritual, this is my game before you know, day
before day off ritual. And I had the exact same thing.
So there are certain things that I know I need
to do. And the thing to remember about it is
that my preparation for that night show has been going
on all week. I keep a daily log of every
(33:57):
game played in the league from beginning to end. So
every game that's been played, I could, hey, here it is. Look,
so this is let's see. Let's see. Now I'm just
open enough. So that's so, there's February. This is February.
So and it's all kind of in my own shorthand
(34:19):
for what I for, what I can for what I
can understand. So I mean, I can look at last night.
I could look at last night's Golden State game as
I go through the box scores every night, and so
Buddy Heal had it was one nineteen. Well, the Charlotte
game was one nineteen one oh one, made Golden State
(34:41):
thirty three and twenty eight. It was the hornets seventh
straight loss. Buddy Heeld had twenty two, Curry twenty one
and Tennissist Pajemski nineteen, Drey had sixteen, twelve and seven,
Butler had thirteen. They never trailed and led by nineteen
thirty five and nine for Miles Bridges on the other side.
But it's those details on it every game that is played,
(35:03):
because then I can anytime. Then when I see teams
playing again, I can refer back to that day. Okay,
here's what happened in that game. So that's one of
the things I do on a daily basis, and then
keeping these these files on every team. So here's tomorrow night,
because Golden State and Brooklyn are playing tomorrow night. That's
(35:23):
one of six games on the schedule. Neither of them
play tonight, so I can I can get through. I've
got this as the wow as the Golden State Brooklyn breakdown,
and I see I update those those team profiles every day.
So with the Warriors. So your last post was the
(35:46):
twenty three Western Conference Semis knocked out in the play
in in twenty four twenty two champs over Boston four
too your home. Your record on the road is seventeen
and fifteen, six and one since the break with Jimmy Butler,
you're twenty two and four. When you lead at the half,
you're seven and one. When you allow under one hundred,
(36:06):
you're one and eleven when you score under one hundred,
and I don't know, and it's overkill, fellas, but you
and you go into every show realizing ninety five percent
of the stuff you got never going to make there,
but on the but on the off chance that there
is something in here that's that's relevant, then you've got it.
(36:27):
And you just feel like you're into the game and
you know exactly what's what's going on. So that goes
on all week, and so really just the finishing touches
are put on on a game day, you know, I'll
read articles from around the league, you know, I'll look
at the production format that Tim Kiley has put in. Okay,
let's see what we need to and then really just
(36:48):
do just doing facts and that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
And so that's it.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
So the preparation never ends. It's look, doing the show's
the easy part. The work is all a prep yeah,
and so, and so that's why, like I mean last night,
I didn't work last night, but I worked here in
my office at home because I'm flipping around from game
to game and from nine to thirty until one thirty,
(37:15):
I'm doing this stuff.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
But that's it. And it's not like I show up
on Thursday and say, hey, what happened in the league
this week?
Speaker 4 (37:21):
You know, that's it's like it's just an ongoing process.
But it's what makes me comfortable. It may it's not
for everybody. There are a million guys out here doing
what I do, and they have their own ways of
doing it. But for me, that's what makes me comfortable.
And what I discovered long ago is when you're comfortable
(37:42):
and when you're prepared, you don't get rattled. Right, So
somebody can break a backboard and throw it back to
the studio for twenty minutes while they're fixing.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Shoot, I can fill for two hours what you need.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
I love that you know the preparation, everything going into it.
And then like he said, the show is easy, right
once you get to the show is easy. But like
I went one, how fun is it? And how easy
is it to.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Keep those dudes on? Garrael, Kenny Sack shut?
Speaker 2 (38:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
In there with me, you know what it is. And
every show is somewhere between a walk on the beach
and a train wreck.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
And the time, you don't know which it's going to
be until you get the younger and and and you
don't because because part of the deal is, look, we
all have lives. We all have some days are good
and some days are a little rocky. And so somebody
you may be bringing that to the chair when you
sit down. You had a bad day, Shack, you had
a bad day, and he doesn't know, doesn't feel like
(38:51):
taking anything, and you can tell right from the car
that's gonna happen. So really it's just kind of a
feeling out process, and it's like, Okay, how's this gonna
Is the energy good in here? Geez, he's Shack's on
fire tonight. This is going to be a long or chucky,
subdued I don't know Auburn law, you know. So so
(39:13):
you you're constantly kind of reading the room and then
kind of figuring out which direction you want to go.
And it's like it's like, I'm people call me so
many different things in that role.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
You know.
Speaker 4 (39:25):
It's hey, he's the ring master. Hey he's the point guard,
he's the traffic cop. I'm actually that traffic cop who's
not very good at his job because instead of end
of trying to wave people through the intersection with no
fender benders, I'm like waving Kenny this way because I
know Shack is going to broadside.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
And so and so. In that way, I'm a little, uh,
a little bit of a rogue traffic cop. But that's
that's how that's how it goes. Man. And if folks
at home or and.
Speaker 4 (40:00):
You're saying, I have no idea what is going to
happen next on this show, join the club man, because
I got no idea either. And again, you guys have
both seen it. You know the show can go a
million different directions, and sometimes you just let it go,
and sometimes you need to try to rain the guys
(40:21):
in and maybey okay good because you know Chuck has
a bad habit of repeating himself. You know, he'll make it,
he'll make a point and then repeat it three more
times before and like the other night he was doing,
I said, look, man, you're just making laps on this thing,
and we stop and move on, okay, And so sometimes
(40:43):
I guess I just need to let him know that
I know you've just said that four times. You know
I'm not going to let you say it five times.
But yeah, that's that's the way it goes. It's just
it's all feel, it's like and and Tim Kyley gets
a lot of credit for that too, the producer, because
you know, we'll get in my years sometimes say let's
move on, or he'll say let it go.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
This is good.
Speaker 4 (41:04):
You know, like like we can continue to if it's
a really good discussion. So but yeah, it's all feel
it's like, okay, this is trying to run its course, phone,
let's change let's change direction and do something else.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
I've had so much fun on the show.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
You know, it's unlike anything that I've ever done, and
I'm not sure in media that you can ever do
anything else that's like no, like it's it's I'm not
sure how you can recreate it, Like I'm not sure,
like I don't think it can be recreated. But it's
so free flowing. But yet and still it's not just
(41:49):
like Haywire though. It's not just like anything goes like
it's very much so like, hey, we want to talk
about these things, and then if it goes somewhere else, great,
But for me to have the opportunity to be on
that show with you guys and just watch and learn and.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
To watch you guys help me.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
You know, when I'm sitting there and can't really get
a word in and you're like, Drake, mind what about this?
You know, or you know, early when I first started,
you know, we're on the break and Chuck's asking me like, hey,
so what are your thoughts on NIL? And I tell
them my thoughts on NIL. We come back from the break,
starts talking and Chuck goes, you know, Draymond has some
(42:29):
thoughts on and like.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
Just throw me alive and I go on it.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
And just to like have that experience and really my
first experience in media and like really doing TV. I
feel like it's set me up so well for the future,
just being able to work next to stars to greats,
and I just want to say thank you for helping
me move into that field, but just making it so
easy for me to just go up there and speak
(42:56):
and try to build my brand in that space. I
just want to say thank you because I couldn't ask
for a better experience.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
Right's the first thing, Right, What's the first thing I
said to you after your first show with us? I said, Man,
are you in a great spot? Because I don't know
how much longer you're going to play. But when it's done,
you can write your ticket because everybody's going to launch you.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
It is.
Speaker 4 (43:20):
It's true, man, And there's look some guys.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Half it.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
You know, we knew right away.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
Kenny had it. You know, Kenny was you know, Kenny
just had this way about him. This great like street Wise,
you know, you can't throw me off my game in
any way.
Speaker 4 (43:40):
You asked me anything out and he was great, and
we said, oh man, when he's done, he's got to
be part of the show. And that's always been the
key to any to any player who's tried to venture
out and branch out, and a lot of times their
agents are like, I'm going to try to get my
guy on.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
TV because I think, you know, this is the avenue.
Speaker 4 (44:01):
And there are some guys who you would see them
interviewed post game or see their personality on the floor
and say, he might be really good on TV, but
there's about that red light going on. There's something there's
something about that red light going on, and suddenly the
topic of conversation is this guy's is this guy's buddy?
Speaker 1 (44:23):
What am I going to say? Am I going to
be honest?
Speaker 4 (44:25):
Or am I going to say what my buddy wants
me to say or to say about his team? And
there can be that oh, I don't know if I
want to go there. To our guys credit, they have
never shied away despite what you despite what players in
the league might say, and b D the same way
you know I say I talk about this, you know,
with when Dray was on the show a few years
ago for the first time. But it's the same way
(44:47):
with you when you're on the air with us, we're
like gets he's.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Just being him.
Speaker 4 (44:53):
He's not like all got to be TV I now,
you know. It's just like what you guys had me
on the show, And this is what I am. And
that's all you can ask for is somebody to be
authentic and genuine and be themselves and not hold back.
And for a guy like Chuck, who was the most
quotable guy in the world on every topic when he
(45:14):
was a player, who was always sought out for his opinion,
he never shied away from that. And that's what may
and that's what makes it work so And it also
goes back when you talk about the free flowing conversation.
It goes back to the fact that these guys are
not in the production meeting because people we don't want
the show laid out, so they're thinking about, well, what
(45:35):
am I going to say about that? What am I
going to say about the Bucks, What am I going
to say about the Clippers? What am I going to
say about Kawhi it's gonna come up, and what do
you think right there? Not with not with a bunch
of of oh, I'm trying to remember what I said,
and not with a rehearsed kind of But we've seen
enough shows that are so over that are so rehearsed
(45:58):
the opinions and the things that are happening are happening.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Like boom boom boom.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
Yeah, Like okay, now you're supposed to talk to I'm
supposed to talk to Hans, but now we're supposed to
get to commercial with us. It's like, geez, who knows
how it's going to go, you know, with all this
stuff flying back and forth. And that's what I think
that's why it resonates. I think that's that gives you
more of that feel like you're sitting in the living
room with your with your fellas watching nobody's asking for
(46:28):
permission to talk, you know, nobody's You don't go to
commercial break and say when we come back, you say this,
and then you say this, and I'll laugh and you
say this. No, we're just letting it fly and then
eventually we got to get back to the game, and
then we'll pick it up when the game's over. So
that's that's how it works.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Opinions sometimes can get heat it. You know, you're talking
about basketball, which off for guys on that dage long
you go through life, you start to show us seven o'clock,
it could be twelve fifteen's been there for four and
a half hours. Well you've been there for thirteen and
a half hours, but everyone else has been there for
like call it five five and a half hours. You
(47:07):
get a little grawl, you get a little tired u
pee and start to clash. Have there ever been moments
on a set where you felt like, man, this could
this could really lean the other way, like and like
go somewhere.
Speaker 1 (47:19):
We really don't want it to go amongst.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
The guys, no be And a lot of times the
talk from people who watch and they've asked me this thing.
You're afraid that Shaq and Charles are really gonna you know,
throw hands some night, And I said, no, no, no,
they look these guys are tight. Their moms were tight.
You know there is their families were tight. No, but
(47:44):
they but here's the deal. They realized that every everybody
on that show comes at the game from a different angle,
and so they are gonna be you know, you know,
Shaq is going to give you the big Man got
to give you thirty and fifteen. You know, that's just
it's a solution to everything, you know, and knowing the
(48:05):
Charles and Jenny will point.
Speaker 1 (48:06):
Out, look, you were Shack, you're Shack.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
Okay, you can do that, but not everybody is you
doesn't matter, you know, And so I think because of that,
you can have these differences of opinion, and a lot
of times that comes down to, like, you know, Shack
saying the coaching doesn't matter. You know, here's a guy
who's played with some of the greatest coaches of all time,
but he's saying he'd you know, And then you get
(48:33):
a Chuck and the man you must have been enjoyed
a coach and then they say you're going to be
some furniture movement. I mean, but no, I don't think
I don't think that that's ever been an issue of thinking, oh, yeah,
these guys are really these guys are really mad at
each other. I mean, look, there was one time, in particular,
(48:54):
the clip has gone viral about a billion times of
the you know, the night that Charles took all of
Shack's time on a sponsored only you know, I finally
get finding you know, they were twenty five seconds okay,
Shack then, you know, because Charles had answered, and then
(49:14):
I was about to throw it to Shack, and then
Charles took it back because he had something else to
add for the fourth time.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
And then when I get it back to Shack, No, no,
I know.
Speaker 4 (49:26):
He wants to talk me thing all the time about
him supposed to you know, I was supposed to be
one to two to three, not one to two and
back to one, which which that's when he which when
he said, it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard of.
And I couldn't stop and so but what you didn't
realize he was it was it was so many Shack
(49:50):
was Shaq was running fuck.
Speaker 1 (49:55):
P D B D.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
This was during the playoffs, and he came minute, he
came in the next night. He was he was quiet,
He wouldn't talk.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
He was in the show stars and he's just sitting
here like this, straight ahead and I'm having to beg
him to talk. You know, come on, hey, big fella,
come on, this good matchup. You know they don't want
to fall down three to one in the series. No,
they don't.
Speaker 7 (50:26):
He's still he is still hot, and so really that's
that's one of the That's one of the few times
I've ever seen any kind of a carryover from one
show to the next where somebody where somebody they got
got their feelings hurt a little bit and was not
going to take part.
Speaker 4 (50:43):
In And I remember, I remember that pregame show ended
and Shock immediately got up and went to the green
room and Kenny and Chuck and I looked at the other.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
Somebody said, work with a big fellow in this arena.
Speaker 3 (51:08):
Oh man, that seems like a great, great fun And
then I wanted to, you know, share a moment uh
in the career that she did something uh on basketball related.
Speaker 1 (51:20):
I remember we made burritos.
Speaker 3 (51:22):
Uh, we did the uh indie race where everybody kept
calling me a getaway driver. And Charlotte, what are some
of those moments that you enjoy, you know from the
show that you guys do you know off campus or activities.
Speaker 1 (51:39):
What are one of those moments That was one?
Speaker 4 (51:42):
The one in Charlotte was really fun because we went
to the drag went to the drag strip up there
and and got to have those. And I'm still picked
off because I had because I had Candas Parker beat
and then something happened to our car. But uh, but
we we had those We had that big race at
Georgia Tech. All of this based on Kenny running to
(52:05):
the board all the time, you know, and and by
the way, he never he never challenges Draymond on that
race to the board when when dra comes visits us,
because they get just to the board in about two
and a half steps. And but so that led to
this big We're gonna have one hundred meter dash at
Georgia Tech. And it's me and Weber, Chuck, Shaq and Kenny.
(52:31):
Again this also probably available online somewhere, but it was,
you know, everybody's wolfing, everybody's saying why they're gonna win.
Speaker 1 (52:40):
And it was such a bogus start me, I'm the
idiot who says I'm just I'm waiting on the gun.
Speaker 4 (52:49):
And I was the only guy on the gun start
that hundred meters. So I immediately sat up and I say,
fall start, fall start name.
Speaker 1 (52:57):
Nobody listening to me. They're going and.
Speaker 4 (53:02):
Chuck, I mean, I know I would have beaten Chuck
because he hasn't finished it yet. And and Shaq pulls
a Hammy or with about forty yards to go and
he's actually winning and is coasting to the finish line
and then Weber passes him right at the line and
(53:22):
breaks the tongue and that was the hole you got
to run through the tape. But it was it was again,
it was one of those things where it was like
who who thinks this up?
Speaker 1 (53:32):
You know who? And who pulls it off?
Speaker 4 (53:35):
And because we were using this is years ago before
drones even became that big a thing, and we're looking
around and these things are buzzing around, they're shooting this
with drones. They're dead, and it was. It was tremendous.
I just those are the things that those are the
things that set us apart. I think those are the
things that's like, we'll do anything and some of it
(53:55):
will be great and some of it might not be
funny at all and might not work, but man, we're
going to shoot our shot and we'll see. So I think, yeah,
I think that that historical dash that was certainly one
of them. We spoke about it. You've had a long career.
Is there one thing out there doesn't have to be
(54:18):
a sports or anything.
Speaker 2 (54:19):
Is there one thing out there that you look at it,
you say, I still, I haven't done that, but I
want to do that thing before I'm done.
Speaker 4 (54:26):
You know what I have been able to condition myself, Draymond,
to appreciate what I have been able to do and
not what I haven't been able to do. So no,
I've never given that a thought. I'd never say, boy,
this has been great, but I really want to do this.
I have what I call it get to job, not
(54:49):
a got to job. We've all seen folks at the
traffic light who are driving to got two jobs. I'm
doing this because I've got to go to this. I
got to get to job, to go down there and
hang out with these four, with these three guys, and
have been able to do that for thirty five years.
So I've always been been focused on what I get
(55:12):
to do, and never a regret, and never a boy, Michael,
my career could be complete if I could just do this.
Speaker 1 (55:19):
That's not the way it works for me. You go
from March Madness to the NBA playoffs.
Speaker 3 (55:25):
I would like to know which one is more intense,
which one is more interesting for you?
Speaker 4 (55:33):
The prep for March Madness is so much more than
for the NBA. Look, I got this NBA thing down,
you know, on a nightly basis, doing the things that
I have to do and I know to get ready.
But every college basketball season, it's like, hey, how many
teams might make the tournament? And that's kind of where
(55:56):
I start, you know, It's like I'll start really paying
attention in December and just before they start getting into
conference schedules and that kind of thing. And since we've
been doing that for thirteen years, thirteen fourteen years, now
I have a like this database on my computer where
I've got profiles on probably two hundred and something teams.
Speaker 1 (56:18):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (56:19):
So right, just because over just because over the years,
that's how many you know, starting with that first year,
it's like I got one hundred teams here that might
make the tournament, you know, depending on all these conference tournaments.
And then it just increases and then every year you're
updating this. Okay, now it's this guy's eighteenth year as
the head coach, and their March Madness history is this,
(56:40):
and here are their top guys. And now you add
to that equation. Okay, got to take it to the
next level. Where else has this guy been? Okay, So
we transferred this year from here, but the previous two
years he was here and before that here, and now
he's playing in his eighth year in college, so that's fall.
So that's all added to the preparation there. So that's
where again the amount of preparation for the compared to
(57:05):
the length of the event. You're doing all this because
in two three weeks it's all going to be over.
Speaker 2 (57:12):
It.
Speaker 4 (57:12):
It's not like an eighty two game season. It's like
this thing is going to start in mid March and
be over in early April. Yeah, why there is this
much work getting into it? So there's still something about
that tournament BD. To answer your question, that is something
no other sport heads that I've seen. There's just that hole,
that whole vibe around the tournament, which you know, you
(57:35):
don't have to be a sportsman to have a bracket, right,
you just you know that's it's one of the great
uniting things in our country. It is March madness. It
gets everybody together.
Speaker 1 (57:48):
It gets people.
Speaker 4 (57:49):
I don't even know if there are water coolers anymore,
but if you have a water cooler in your office,
that's where you would gather to talk about. Wow, you
really think South Dakota State can beat so and say
you know that, and so it would bring people together,
even for a short time, for some common ground. And
and again and the one and done nature of that,
(58:10):
you know, leads to these you know, these iconic buzzer
beating moments that that live forever. And that's what Yeah,
So that's what's really really special about that. So yeah,
and the fact that I you know, get to go
to New York with Kenny and Chuck and and Clark
kellog up there again, that's that's it's so much fun.
Speaker 1 (58:30):
And but those days you guys.
Speaker 4 (58:32):
Have been in the NBA studio, you talk about, you know,
getting in there and walking out at two o'clock in
the morning. Yeah, I mean you're talking about games noon
to one, noon to one. Those first two days are
so crazy. You're sitting around and and it's like, Okay,
I'm doing a CBS halftime show that I'm going to
bring TNT on the air, and we're doing a true
(58:53):
TV halftime and all these are happening like boom boom boom. Okay,
this true true TV halftime is which game?
Speaker 1 (58:59):
Good?
Speaker 4 (58:59):
Okay, I've seen eight seconds of that. But luckily Clark
has a good handle on it, so we'll go to him.
So it's that kind of a thing. It's non stop
and the hours are long. But as I've always told
Kenny and Chuck, when those days start getting long and
we're kind of getting a little bit bleary eyed, Look
if your boss told you at your job, hey, all
(59:21):
I want you to do for the next four days
is watch the tournament.
Speaker 1 (59:24):
You probably sign up for that. And that's how we're doing.
And a heartbeat. I watched. I love the tournament, so
I get it. Marchin on differently before we get out
of here. We love to make a good list.
Speaker 2 (59:39):
Could you do your top five inside the NBA moments
that you've in your thirty five years.
Speaker 4 (59:47):
Yeah, let's see. Some of them will be, uh, this
is tough to do, but some of them will be
like just clowning on the guys and that kind of thing.
Probably the Champions Club ranks up there where we locked
Charles out of the studio for halftime because he didn't
ever ring.
Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
Only champions could get in.
Speaker 4 (01:00:11):
I think I think the Kenny Kenny against Charles diaper
changing contest where we melted when we melted a little butterfinger,
uh microwave and put it inside the diaper and Charles
nearly fainted. Let's see retiring Kenny's jersey. Retiring it was
(01:00:40):
so funny.
Speaker 1 (01:00:41):
On the clothes line. I would say he was so
upset about that, he was I'm getting out of here.
Speaker 4 (01:00:56):
I remember, Yeah, I would think Shack, whether he's falling
or being pushed into Christmas trees or the night the
night that he actually got his foot wrapped around the
cable and pulled the monitor out of.
Speaker 1 (01:01:09):
The set that goats up there.
Speaker 4 (01:01:12):
But here's here's the deal, and I'll bring it back
to I'll be real. The show I'll never forget is
the one we did in La after Kobe died because
they canceled the game. But we went out there and
did the show mid court, nobody in the nobody in
the arena, and just talk about him. And for like Shack,
(01:01:36):
it was the first time he had a chance to
talk about Kobe. You know, we bring Jerry west On
and he's balling, you know.
Speaker 2 (01:01:43):
It was.
Speaker 4 (01:01:44):
It was the most powerful show I've ever been a
part of. And it was just so real and so raw,
and it was and it just I think it was
just a demonstration of the fact that yeah, we can
have some really ridiculous times on our show, and we
(01:02:04):
can make your laugh and you can go to work
the next day and talk about you see what those
clowns did. But also they'll say, man, did you see
did you see that tribute to Kobe last night? And
that was you know, probably that's the thing. If I
had to look at it right now and say, the
thing I will never forget about that show is that night.
Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
That's incredible. I don't know how. I don't know how
we can go past that. Such a great note to
end on.
Speaker 2 (01:02:29):
I think, you know, when we look around the basketball landscape,
obviously all of us are big Kobe fans.
Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
You know, we all miss him, and so to end
on that is incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
But more importantly, Ernie, we can't thank you enough for
coming on the show, sharing your stories, your backstory going
all the way back to childhood, but more importantly just
sharing your energy and your life on this show. Obviously
we're all big fans of you, as we said earlier,
for us, both of us, to have the opportunity to
(01:03:03):
work next to you and catch some of them assist
you be throwing out.
Speaker 1 (01:03:09):
One of.
Speaker 2 (01:03:10):
My TV career, Man, tell me about it. So I
just want to say thank you for really coming on.
I've been a complete honor and just hearing these stories,
it's been a special one for me.
Speaker 4 (01:03:22):
I appreciate you, fellows, thank you so much for having
me on. And I am no, hey, it's a it's
a get to your job.
Speaker 1 (01:03:28):
Man. I'm glad I could share some of.
Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
It with you.
Speaker 1 (01:03:31):
Yes, really appreciate you. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:03:34):
Ejmch Love. We can't wait for the next book too.
I scripted the first one. Amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:03:41):
I can't wait. I can't wait and wait for the
next one. Yeah, I got a few. I got a
few of them up here, man, I got one for us.
Speaker 3 (01:03:48):
Uh n right book, Yeah, I know, I got you
got bars and he got bars right. He was sitting
the bars at the at the legends.
Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
Bruh.
Speaker 3 (01:04:00):
That was man, the way he was doing the INSS
asked car we need a whole Silsan's book.
Speaker 1 (01:04:06):
Well, Ernie Bars b d you and me. I would
love to do that, you know it. I would count
me in. I'll get to work. I got you as
I feel like I broke it. That all right, already
start weekend J Executive producer.
Speaker 4 (01:04:34):
All right, thank you, all right, thank you thank you
so much, Big Dome, the Ghost, good luckdown the stretch man.
Speaker 1 (01:04:41):
Thank you really appreciate it. I'll see you soon. Yeah,
you got it.
Speaker 4 (01:04:44):
And it's been hey great being your teammates, both of you.
Thank you, thank you on and uh, that's been a
great thing about that show man. I'm getting to meet
folks like you. Appreciate your time. Man likewise, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:04:57):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (01:04:57):
Sona to be a part of it, all right, Arnie
the volume
Speaker 3 (01:05:07):
Mm hmm
Host
Draymond Green
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