Battier to ESPN

[DUKIECB]

Well it looks like ESPN took another step towards completing their all Duke broadcast team. Reports are Shane will join the network after the NBA finals win or lose.

Link to Sporting News article (http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2014-06-02/shane-battier-retire-college-basketball-analyst-espn-heat-nba-finals)

[flyingdutchdevil]

Well it looks like ESPN took another step towards completing their all Duke broadcast team. Reports are Shane will join the network after the NBA finals win or lose.

Link to Sporting News article (http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2014-06-02/shane-battier-retire-college-basketball-analyst-espn-heat-nba-finals)

Wow. Color me shocked and happy. I know that Battier loves college ball, but I expected him to stay in the NBA, especially given how his intelligence can easily translate to coaching in the NBA.

I wonder if Battier is going to make a career in college ball or if this is just a break from the superficiality of the NBA.

[Duvall]

Wow. Color me shocked and happy. I know that Battier loves college ball, but I expected him to stay in the NBA, especially given how his intelligence can easily translate to coaching in the NBA.

I wonder if Battier is going to make a career in college ball or if this is just a break from the superficiality of the NBA.

Superficiality?

I suspect it has more to do with ESPN having a greater need for college analysts than pro analysts.

[hurleyfor3]

But I thought espn hated us.

Cue every other bulletin board making "I wonder whether he'll flop as an announcer too" jokes. First person to link to one gets a mod pitchfork!

[Billy Dat]

I have seen Shane say in several articles that he really has no interest or attachment to the players in the NBA. It always seemed like a really nice way to say that, off the court, he wasn't much interested in them, and they weren't much interested in him.

Without knowing the guy aside from his quotes in articles and interviews, I must say that I was surprised when he did that NBA Draft media gig last year. He has been portrayed as such an intellectual with wonky tendencies that I never saw him being interested in a media career with its requisite travel, days away from home and family and show biz underpinings. He's always been into advanced stats, so maybe that's the role he'll play - the ex-jock who has a mind for analytics and can translate that stuff for the layman.

Either way, I guess we can let those "Vote for Shane" predictions rest for at least a little while. Maybe this substantiates that, above all, he wants to stay close to the game without the grind and angst associated with coaching. That aspect is easy to believe.

[sagegrouse]

Wow. Color me shocked and happy. I know that Battier loves college ball, but I expected him to stay in the NBA, especially given how his intelligence can easily translate to coaching in the NBA.

I wonder if Battier is going to make a career in college ball or if this is just a break from the superficiality of the NBA.

Would you rather be an ESPN studio analyst or a brand-new assistant coach in either the NBA or college? In either case it is probably five to ten years to becoming the head man somewhere. Also recognize that most NBA teams have five or six coaches (it seems like ten or more, although guys like Patrick Ewing take up a lot of space on the bench). And in college -- oh wonders! -- you get to recruit 16YOs.

I would have been astounded if the best-spoken man in professional sports became a coach. Seriously, when Battier was a rookie with Memphis, the team handed him the mike on opening night and let him introduce the Grizzlies' players. And when academic adviser Chris Kennedy first met Shane as a freshman, he went home and told his wife, "I just met a future president of the United States." When Battier was traded to Houston, he went to the Rockets' offices and personally thanked each staff member for his or her contributions to the team.

OTOH, I expect Shane will coach via having a camp.

Duke players in sports media who never coached:
Spanarkel
Gminski
JWill
Alaa
Grant Hill
Plus more... although omitting Kenny Dennard, who founded a public relations firm.

Duke guys in NBA management
Billy King
Danny
And others...

Kindly, Sage

[flyingdutchdevil]

Would you rather be an ESPN studio analyst or a brand-new assistant coach in either the NBA or college? In either case it is probably five to ten years to becoming the head man somewhere. Also recognize that most NBA teams have five or six coaches (it seems like ten or more, although guys like Patrick Ewing take up a lot of space on the bench). And in college -- oh wonders! -- you get to recruit 16YOs.

I would have been astounded if the best-spoken man in professional sports became a coach.

Seriously, though, I expect Shane will coach via having a camp.

Duke players in sports media who never coached:
Spanarkel
Gminski
JWill
Alaa
Grant Hill
Plus more... although omitting Kenny Dennard, who founded a public relations firm.

Duke guys in NBA management
Billy King
Danny
And others...

Kindly, Sage

I wouldn't want to be an ESPN college bball announcer. I think that job is reserved for coaches who never worked out, great college players who never worked out in the pros, and lawyers looking for another profession ;) Half kidding aside, Battier is highly respected in the highest form of basketball - the NBA. I'm a little surprised that he wouldn't want to stay there.

And I agree that recruiting 16 year olds doesn't sound that enticing either. That's why I think an Assistant Coaching job or a front office job makes the most sense for a smart, highly calculating, motivated, likable, retired player. Jason Kidd and Battier are very similar people, although I would say that Kidd had more talent and Battier more smarts. But I believe Kidd made the right move in going to the bench than being an analyst. (and no, I'm not suggesting that Battier can get a head coaching job right away. Kidd is the exception. But a lot of smart ex-players moved to the bench as assistant coaches).

That said, I'm clearly not opposed to hearing Battier once a week (if not more).

[Mike Corey]

Cue every other bulletin board making "I wonder whether he'll flop as an announcer too" jokes. First person to link to one gets a mod pitchfork!

Happened last year (https://twitter.com/JCTretter/status/350396093307162624) when he interviewed NBA draftees.

[NashvilleDevil]

How quickly will someone on this board question Shane's loyalty to Duke when he does not proclaim them the best team in the country or he picks UNC to beat Duke?

[weezie]

Will this hamper his path to The White House?

[NovaScotian]

generally, i feel the quality of NBA broadcasts are already good, and it's the college ones that need help. he'll be a welcome voice.


Will this hamper his path to The White House?

the only politicians i can think of with experience broadcasting sports are sarah palin and ronald reagan, so.... i guess that's a toss-up.

[Billy Dat]

the only politicians i can think of with experience broadcasting sports are sarah palin and ronald reagan, so.... i guess that's a toss-up.

Glen Rice gave her rave reviews when she covered the Great Alaska Shootout:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2037743/Glen-Rice-Sarah-Palin-sweetheart-respectful-says-NBA-star.html

[jipops]

How quickly will someone on this board question Shane's loyalty to Duke when he does not proclaim them the best team in the country or he picks UNC to beat Duke?

I was thinking the same thing. He'll be Bilas Jr. Darn these Duke guys and their objectiveness!!!

[CameronBlue]

How quickly will someone on this board question Shane's loyalty to Duke when he does not proclaim them the best team in the country or he picks UNC to beat Duke?

Wait, are YOU implying that Duke's not the best team in the country? How dare you attempt to disguise your OWN disloyalty by diverting our attention to Shane! (With the rabidly paranoid you usually don't have to work that hard.)

[OldPhiKap]

How quickly will someone on this board question Shane's loyalty to Duke when he does not proclaim them the best team in the country or he picks UNC to beat Duke?


I was thinking the same thing. He'll be Bilas Jr. Darn these Duke guys and their objectiveness!!!

Heavens forbid, Battier also suggests that Phog Allen Fieldhouse has an atmosphere on par with Cameron.

[ice-9]

But I thought espn hated us.

Cue every other bulletin board making "I wonder whether he'll flop as an announcer too" jokes. First person to link to one gets a mod pitchfork!

Mike Corey might have beat me to it, but here's one anyway. :)

http://thebiglead.com/2014/06/02/shane-battier-will-be-espn-college-basketball-analyst-next-season-after-retiring-from-the-heat/

First comment of the article:


ohheelyeah • 13 hours ago
he can host a segment called "Flop of the Night"

/ratings!

[greybeard]

Saw Battier on PTI last week. Wonderful rapport and interaction with Wilbon. Wilbon often gets shut out on those game show panels he chairs and, when he gets his chance, often talks too long. Battier would make Wilbon better. So what else is new. Battier is remarkably good at saying a lot with few words, knows have to impart insights of value to the listening public without coming off as an "expert" (how refreshing) and has the charm and wit to enhance any conversation, especially one presented on the air. He might be able to get such a gig on terms that do not require working on a full time basis. Sage has the package to make it happen, if anyone could. One can dream.

[cato]

Battier is remarkably good at saying a lot with few words

So . . . is that something you value?

[greybeard]

So . . . is that something you value?

In the immortal words of Professors Strunk and White, Elements of Style: “Make definite statements. Eliminate useless words.” Stated otherwise, there is no need to "make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell." Professor William Strunk, Jr. What serves when penned, also serves oration. Battier is snap on. That IS a good thing, if one is intent that his audience be served well.

[Reilly]

In the immortal words of Professors Strunk and White, Elements of Style: “Make definite statements. Eliminate useless words.” Stated otherwise, there is no need to "make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell." Professor William Strunk, Jr. What serves when penned, also serves oration. Battier is snap on. That IS a good thing, if one is intent that his audience be served well.

That means "yes."

[OldPhiKap]

Whose your Daddy, Battier?
Strunk and White, perhaps?
Elements of Style be damned!

Shane's prose cannot be contained;
his style is unique;
he does not care that a Haiku is supposed to be seven, five, seven because he writes his own rules, fool.


{bows}

[greybeard]

Whose your Daddy, Battier?
Strunk and White, perhaps?
Elements of Style be damned!

Shane's prose cannot be contained;
his style is unique;
he does not care that a Haiku is supposed to be seven, five, seven because he writes his own rules, fool.


{bows}

Really. Think yourself Lebron and myself Mr. Stephenson. You do catch my meaning, or do you need to hear from close.

[hurleyfor3]

Whose your Daddy, Battier?
Strunk and White, perhaps?
Elements of Style be damned!

I thought a haiku
was five followed by seven
with five at the end

[greybeard]

That means "yes."

Terrific!

[OldPhiKap]

I thought a haiku
was five followed by seven
with five at the end

I am left-handed
Inversion is in my blood
Numbers baffle me.

Called out by Hurley
English prof would weep real tears
Poly sci major.

Go to Hell Tar Heels
Go to Hell Tar Heels
If that is not within the confines of a haiku, who needs them.


(plus, I'm Irish -- Limericks are my natural form, but all roads lead invariably to Nantucket).

[Reilly]

... Limericks are my natural form, but all roads lead invariably to Nantucket ...

At Yankee stadium, I saw a guy with a t-shirt that said "I'm the man from Nantucket."

It's the only time I've ever seen anybody wear such a shirt, so I think he really was.

[OldPhiKap]

I wonder if Shane will get to call any ACC games. I will be bummed if we are stuck with Len Elmore and the Big 10 gets Shane. Or will he be a studio guy?

[Troublemaker]

He has been portrayed as such an intellectual with wonky tendencies that I never saw him being interested in a media career with its requisite travel, days away from home and family and show biz underpinings. He's always been into advanced stats, so maybe that's the role he'll play - the ex-jock who has a mind for analytics and can translate that stuff for the layman.

Either way, I guess we can let those "Vote for Shane" predictions rest for at least a little while. Maybe this substantiates that, above all, he wants to stay close to the game without the grind and angst associated with coaching. That aspect is easy to believe.


Wow. Color me shocked and happy. I know that Battier loves college ball, but I expected him to stay in the NBA, especially given how his intelligence can easily translate to coaching in the NBA.


Would you rather be an ESPN studio analyst or a brand-new assistant coach in either the NBA or college? In either case it is probably five to ten years to becoming the head man somewhere.

I would have been astounded if the best-spoken man in professional sports became a coach. Seriously, when Battier was a rookie with Memphis, the team handed him the mike on opening night and let him introduce the Grizzlies' players. And when academic adviser Chris Kennedy first met Shane as a freshman, he went home and told his wife, "I just met a future president of the United States."


Saw Battier on PTI last week. Wonderful rapport and interaction with Wilbon. Wilbon often gets shut out on those game show panels he chairs and, when he gets his chance, often talks too long. Battier would make Wilbon better.


I wonder if Shane will get to call any ACC games. I will be bummed if we are stuck with Len Elmore and the Big 10 gets Shane. Or will he be a studio guy?

This strikes me as a transitional role for Shane in a transitional phase of his life. If he's going to eventually coach, I don't think he would want to go straight from the NBA grind as player to the grind of being a college or NBA assistant, for example. Retire from the NBA grind and then spend a couple years in a cushy pundit gig at ESPN -- nice salary, fewer hours worked, much less travel than when he was playing, more time with the family. I think we'll find out what Shane really wants to do for the rest of his career in a few years, not right now. He may not even know what he wants at this point. If he turns 40 yrs old and is still just an ESPN pundit, I'll be a little bit surprised and probably slightly disappointed as well, while still rooting for him to be the best ESPN pundit he can be.

[MCFinARL]

I am left-handed
Inversion is in my blood
Numbers baffle me.

Called out by Hurley
English prof would weep real tears
Poly sci major.

Go to Hell Tar Heels
Go to Hell Tar Heels
If that is not within the confines of a haiku, who needs them.


(plus, I'm Irish -- Limericks are my natural form, but all roads lead invariably to Nantucket).

I think you meant

Go to Hell Tar Heels
Go to Hell quickly Tar Heels
Go to hell Tar Heels

But your version has its own kind of integrity....

[flyingdutchdevil]

I think you meant

Go to Hell Tar Heels
Go to Hell quickly Tar Heels
Go to hell Tar Heels

But your version has its own kind of integrity....

Let's play a quick game. Name the three UNC players through these haikus?

I like Krispy Kreme
Could not stay fit in the league
No second contract

Roy Williams hates me
Shouted at me in practice
Dad blames coach a lot

Did not go to class
Read like a ten year old boy
My degree is worthless



And to give UNC a little credit:

Got a DUI
So I went back to college
Won the whole tourney

[OldPhiKap]

O, foul heel of tar;
Get thee to Hades forthwith!
Verily, I pray.

Integrity gone,
Cling to that which Helms gave you!
Each to his own fraud.

Pride precedes the fall.
"The Carolina Way?" Hah!
Shame shame shame shame shame.

[snowdenscold]

So . . . is that something you value?


In the immortal words of Professors Strunk and White, Elements of Style: “Make definite statements. Eliminate useless words.” Stated otherwise, there is no need to "make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell." Professor William Strunk, Jr. What serves when penned, also serves oration. Battier is snap on. That IS a good thing, if one is intent that his audience be served well.

For what it's worth, I skip most of your posts, greybeard, since they are incredibly long, and I only have so many cycles to devote to browsing DBR threads throughout the day.

I guess it's a take on that old philosophical question: if you make a great point, but it's too long for anybody to bother reading it, is it still a great point?

[MCFinARL]

Let's play a quick game. Name the three UNC players through these haikus?

I like Krispy Kreme
Could not stay fit in the league
No second contract

Roy Williams hates me
Shouted at me in practice
Dad blames coach a lot

Did not go to class
Read like a ten year old boy
My degree is worthless



And to give UNC a little credit:

Got a DUI
So I went back to college
Won the whole tourney

Okay, so #1 Sean May, #2 Larry Drew II, #4 Ty Lawson, #3 Everybody? ;)

[flyingdutchdevil]

Okay, so #1 Sean May, #2 Larry Drew II, #4 Ty Lawson, #3 Everybody? ;)

Hahahaha. #1 is right, #4 is right, and #3 is definitely right. For #2, I was thinking of McCants, but it could easily be LDII as well.

I love me some Kerlina...

[hurleyfor3]

Once in Singapore
Riding on a subway train
My eyes caught this sign:

Please offer this seat
to somebody else who needs
it more than you do

It was spaced that way
Someone pays attention there
(Make sure you don't spit)

[DU82]

Heavens forbid, Battier also suggests that Phog Allen Fieldhouse has an atmosphere on par with Cameron.

Perhaps not Allen, but definitely the San Antonio arena's atmosphere (literally)...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2088102-air-conditioning-mess-at-san-antonios-att-center-spoils-game-1-of-nba-finals

“It reminded me of my Duke days,” said the Heat’s Shane Battier, “because that’s exactly how Cameron Indoor Stadium felt, and that was a huge home-court advantage for us when we were at Duke. So I felt all right.”

[Henderson]

“It reminded me of my Duke days,” said the Heat’s Shane Battier, “because that’s exactly how Cameron Indoor Stadium felt, and that was a huge home-court advantage for us when we were at Duke. So I felt all right.”

Shane spoke in correct English ("So I felt alright"), and the writer wrote it down as "all right." I tell you, the internet is destroying journalism through democratization and the lack of sound editors.

And my, don't I feel old and cranky for commenting...

P.S. Yes, I know Shane might have meant "all right" but that seems a stretch given the context.

[-jk]

Shane spoke in correct English ("So I felt alright"), and the writer wrote it down as "all right." I tell you, the internet is destroying journalism through democratization and the lack of sound editors.

And my, don't I feel old and cranky for commenting...

P.S. Yes, I know Shane might have meant "all right" but that seems a stretch given the context.

Huh? Would this be "anti-prescriptive (http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/srutledg/answer2.html)"? Care to weigh in, Throaty?

-jk

[OldPhiKap]

Huh? Would this be "anti-prescriptive (http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/srutledg/answer2.html)"? Care to weigh in, Throaty?

-jk

4158

[Reilly]

Shane spoke in correct English ("So I felt alright"), and the writer wrote it down as "all right." I tell you, the internet is destroying journalism through democratization and the lack of sound editors.

And my, don't I feel old and cranky for commenting...

P.S. Yes, I know Shane might have meant "all right" but that seems a stretch given the context.

Shane was simply speaking in code to let us know how much more he loves us.

Yes, he did feel "alright" in that NBA arena. It's only in Cameron, however, that he feels the chi.