TV jumps in the fast lane
Just when I thought interviewing an NBA coach during precious, precious time between the third and fourth quarters of an NBA finals game was pushing invasive media coverage to the brink, it may have been topped on Saturday.
I flipped to the NASCAR nationwide race in the midst of an interview with driver Greg Biffle - as he circled the track.
Thankfully, as I momentarily discovered, the interview - done by the announcers in the booth through the communication system in Biffle's helmet - was done before the green flag dropped to actually begin the race. Nonetheless, interviewing a driver in his car?!? What's next, linking the mic in Tom Brady's helmet to the booth until the play clock tics under 25?
I didn't see much of the rest of the Nationwide race. Maybe that was the peak of the over-the-top ESPN coverage. Or maybe that was just the beginning of the afternoon's interaction with the drivers. What would it take to surprise us now? Drivers talking to their crew while traveling 190 mph is one thing, giving an interview is another.
The Biffle interview was just the beginning of the pre-race frenzy. The ESPN announcers quickly transitioned to a communication problem-marred one-question interview with Biffle's crew chief seconds before the race began. Then a member of a pit crew, who was apparently prepped for this role, diagramed the pits at New Hampshire Motor Speedway correspondent-style.
Don't get me wrong, inside information during a sporting event absolutely fascinates me. But 90 percent of the time, that inside info isn't going to come from an interview. Phil Jackson was about the only coach with insightful things to say during the between-quarter interviews in the NBA finals. The quality of the answers in any interview depend on the interview subject's state of mind. Not surprisingly, most have a few things on their mind during, for example, a game that could win or lose them an NBA title. Contractual obligations to do these interviews probably don't thrill anybody on the other side of the microphone.
The best in-game quotes, by far, come unprompted - when players and coaches are wearing microphones and all but act like they normally would during a game. The hidden-camera halftime speeches during the NBA finals were far more interesting to me than the between-quarter interviews.
I'm just worried about what they'll come up with next. Any guesses? Leave a comment or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com.