OK, so the NBA Finals didn't turn out exactly the way local TV viewers were hoping. But the simple fact that they're over is, if not cause for celebration, at least cause for relief.
Among the reasons are:- No more "Show Me the Title."
- No more "On 2 the Title."
- No more "Courting the Title."
- No more "Jazz Fever."
(Hey, they were all OK while they lasted, but after a while they all seemed to blend together.)
- No more of Justin Farmer and Ch. 4 trying to play late-night catch-up with their competitors at channels 2 and 5.
- No more false camaraderie among the various local sportscasters and the Jazz players their stations hired as "analysts."
- No more anchors and/or reporters who know little or nothing about sports pontificating on the finer points of the game.
- No more discussions of hoops strategy with noted basketball expert Orrin Hatch.
- No more national sportscasters being treated by celebrities and/or gurus by the local media.
- No more "da-da-da-da" commercials on KSL. (You know, the ones that were mildly clever the first couple of times but became like Chinese water torture as the playoffs wore on.)
- No more of the same inane and/or outright insulting stupid beer commercials played over and over again.
- No longer slaves to our televisions on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays (not to mention all the other days in between), we can actually go on and live our lives.
BIG NUMBERS: Game 6 between the Bulls and the Jazz was the most-watched NBA game in history. An average of 35,891,000 people tuned in, and NBC estimates that 72 million people watched all or part of the game.
(Game 5, by the way, averaged 30,589,000 viewers, making it the No. 3 on the all-time NBA viewership list, trailing only Game 6 of the Finals and Game 7 of this year's Eastern Conference finals.)
Overall, the 1998 Finals are also the highest-rated in history (averaging an 18.7 rating). That beats out the 17.9 average achieved during the 1993 series between Chicago and Phoenix.
So much for the theory that having the small-market Jazz would hurt the ratings.
SO LONG, PAL: What with the end of the NBA playoffs, it won't be long until KSL's Craig Bolerjack is off to CBS. We'll have to try to struggle along without him - and without him calling everyone he interviewed during the playoffs "pal."
This unfortunate habit did lead to one unforgettable exchange. NBC sportscaster Bill Walton - who Bolerjack, of course, addressed as "pal" - kept calling Bolerjack "Greg" on Sunday afternoon.
My, what close pals they must really be.
HOW'S THAT AGAIN? Speaking of priceless moments, how about last Thursday's edition of KUTV-Ch. 2's "On 2 the Title," during which Rick Majerus had a bit of trouble himself.
The analyst/Ute coach inadvertently referred to San Antonio's NBA franchise as the "Sperms" instead of the Spurs. He and Ch. 2 sportscaster Dave Fox got the giggles so bad they basically just giggled their way off the air.
Ah, the joys of live television.
ARE `WE' FINISHED? Now that the playoffs are over, will we have to wait until next year's post-season before local TV sportscasters, anchors and reporters begin referring to the Jazz as "we" and "us" again?
And was it just my imagination or did "we" and "us" become a great deal more like "they" and "them" after Jazz losses?