#SetTheVCR: May 16-22, 2022

If you dig jokes and comedy and humour with a U in it; boy is this week’s #SetTheVCR “special.”

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Noah Who Is The National Champion

This trailer for the National Championship is breathtaking.

“So for the glory of old Georgia; let the Bulldog nation rise and believe…believe in the names on the back.” #GoDawgs (Shout out to Ernie Johnson Jr.!)

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182 | Pete Croatto (From Hang Time to Prime Time: The Birth of the Modern-Day NBA)

My Summer Lair Chapter #182: How Did The NBA Evolve From Hang Time To Prime Time?

This will be another NBA episode though not focusing so much on a team or certain players but rather the league itself.

Journalist and writer Pete Croatto has written From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA. This book is delicious I consumed it whole like a python.

There’s a reason why when you go see like a Marvel movie, there’s 10 minutes of credits, right? Because there’s a lot of people who made that movie, yet what we tend to focus on or talk about is Robert Downey Jr or Kevin Fiege, or like a handful of stars in front of the camera. Yet without those 10 minutes of credits the Marvel movie is not possible.

So let’s look back to so we can look ahead: From Hang Time to Prime Time is like the NBA’s high school yearbook. Pete’s book deftly documents the corporate rise of the NBA: a league that wasn’t popular much less cool compared to the NFL and MLB. Hard to believe.

Imagine sitting down and talking to the people in those 10 minutes of Marvel’s movie credits: they made it happen. Who in the NBA should get credit for making magic happen even though most of us only know Michael Jordan?

Through many stories and many experiences and many moments Hang Time focuses on the NBA’s cultural transformation and growth especially in the 70s and 80s though thankfully unlike a yearbook there isn’t that many bad hair photos. I’m not sure how we should classify Commissioner David Stern’s mustache.

Kobe’s sudden death was proceeded by David Stern’s death: both in January 2020. Those two deaths formed fascinating bookends of the NBA that was and the NBA that is. On every tombstone you get that dash between dates but that dash can mean so so much. That tiny dash signifies a life though it fails to convey the whole story.

So let’s start there with those 2 significant bookends: Kobe Bryant and David Stern. Because we know Stern and we know Kobe and we know one of them is Prime Time and the other is Hang Time. Heh you can decide which is which.

Pete Croatto @ WT F

Host & Photography Sammy Younan

Recorded: Tuesday December 29, 2020 at 4pm

Stress free pop culture tastefully harvested for your divine delight. Once a week a carefully curated edition of My Pal Sammy goes directly to your inbox. Sign up for my newsletter so we can have some fun…Hang Time!

182 | Pete Croatto (From Hang Time to Prime Time: The Birth of the Modern-Day NBA)

My Summer Lair Chapter #182: How Did The NBA Evolve From Hang Time To Prime Time?


This will be another NBA episode though not focusing so much on a team or certain players but rather the league itself.

Journalist and writer Pete Croatto has written From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA. This book is delicious I consumed it whole like a python.

There’s a reason why when you go see like a Marvel movie, there’s 10 minutes of credits, right? Because there’s a lot of people who made that movie, yet what we tend to focus on or talk about is Robert Downey Jr or Kevin Fiege, or like a handful of stars in front of the camera. Yet without those 10 minutes of credits the Marvel movie is not possible.

So let’s look back to so we can look ahead: From Hang Time to Prime Time is like the NBA’s high school yearbook. Pete’s book deftly documents the corporate rise of the NBA: a league that wasn’t popular much less cool compared to the NFL and MLB. Hard to believe.

Imagine sitting down and talking to the people in those 10 minutes of Marvel’s movie credits: they made it happen. Who in the NBA should get credit for making magic happen even though most of us only know Michael Jordan?

Through many stories and many experiences and many moments Hang Time focuses on the NBA’s cultural transformation and growth especially in the 70s and 80s though thankfully unlike a yearbook there isn’t that many bad hair photos. I’m not sure how we should classify Commissioner David Stern’s mustache.

Kobe’s sudden death was proceeded by David Stern’s death: both in January 2020. Those two deaths formed fascinating bookends of the NBA that was and the NBA that is. On every tombstone you get that dash between dates but that dash can mean so so much. That tiny dash signifies a life though it fails to convey the whole story.

So let’s start there with those 2 significant bookends: Kobe Bryant and David Stern. Because we know Stern and we know Kobe and we know one of them is Prime Time and the other is Hang Time. Heh you can decide which is which.


182_Pete Croatto_POST.jpg

Pete Croatto @ WT F

Host & Photography by Sammy Younan

Recorded: Tuesday December 29, 2020 at 4pm (EST)

During ESPN’s/Netflix’s broadcast of The Last Dance many people were “offended” by Jordan’s aggressive nature and embarrassingly called him a “bully.”

Which ah…spoke volumes about themselves; those comments had little to do with Jordan. They’re communicating to the world (especially on social media) who they are and…it wasn’t good.

In The Bird Revelation Dave Chappelle spoke about that calling it a brittle spirit. And those are the people you do not want in your life.

Who you want in your life are players and people like Jordan and Jimmy Butler: when people talk about NBA teams and culture: this is exactly what they should be discussing and sharing and encouraging.

Jimmy Butler’s smile when Rachel Nichols points out the Heat are not favoured is fantastic. Yes!!

He and the team are not defined by somebody else’s narrative; it doesn’t matter what somebody with a “brittle-ass spirit” thinks they know about Miami or the players: it only matters what they think and they choose to believe. That’s dope.

I mean why would they accept somebody else’s uninformed narrative about themselves? Just because somebody calls you stupid doesn’t mean you are…stupid. You know?

And really? There’s potential for any team to come out of the East? To win it all? I dunno about that but every East team has a chance to battle. NBA Playoffs start on Monday.

~ Sammy Younan

The Decision: 10 Years Later

On July 8, 2010 ESPN handed LeBron an hour of prime time television. You don’t need a crystal ball to know where this is going…but it helps.

10 years later LeBron James’ Decision has been durably prophetic. He came into Jordan’s NBA house wearing 23 throwing chalk dust into the air and asked to be recognized as a king…in the absence of any significant championship achievements. Umm, yeah not gonna happen.

If an NBA player wants to leave one team for another team that’s great. Free agency has only been around since 1988; this isn’t some ABA afros era CBA clause. Free agency is a modern condition and fans and franchises are used to this turbulent process. And I mean it’s in the name agency means action or intervention, especially such as to produce a particular effect. Athlete empowerment via free agency is good for the NBA and for players and sometimes it’s good for the fans and franchises.

While a cozy narrative The Decision wasn’t athlete empowerment. This was narcissism and selfishness: a Twitter trailer of who we’d all become. Like the way, we justify douchebag Twitter behaviour in the name of justice or a taking moral stance. It’s never been about those things.

As a franchise player from Ohio LeBron could have overhauled the Cavs into a storied franchise on par with the Celtics, Lakers, and the Bulls. He could. He did not. The Last Dance opened and closed with young “hair Jordan” shortly after being drafted—expressing his vision to transform the moribund Bulls into a prime NBA destination. Six championships later Jordan succeeded; he fulfilled his goal and delivered on his destiny.

Michael Jordan did The Work. He could. He did.

Back then LeBron James overestimated his value and his contributions to the NBA and to pop culture. It’s the equivalent of Hanson thinking they’re on par with Prince or Bowie.

Currently, The Decision stands as an ancient media hieroglyph depicting unfulfilled promise; a rejection of potential; arrogance, and ultimately cowardice. It is a systematic failure on par with Apollo 13 (in spite of these failures like those undaunted astronauts LeBron was also able to “go home”).

Look when a president leaves the White House his reputation begins an earnest renovation and ultimately a restoration. He’s slowly classified as “he wasn’t that bad.” A lot of the bad is completely overlooked in favour of emphasizing the good. (W. Bush is currently going through this process and it’s so disturbing: dude started 2 endless wars. 2! There’s not a lot of good to rebut that.)

However no amount of time; no reputation renovation can salvage The Decision’s ongoing fallout. Universal criticism is warranted for LeBron James (and ESPN): past tense and present tense because that’s where we’re at and why we’re forced to acknowledge it 10 years later. We’ve seen what it has become.

The ultimate legacy of The Decision is that it helped LeBron perfect his infomercial executions cleverly deflecting away from his legion of failures on the basketball court. The Decision is LeBron’s version of Jordan’s “getting cut from his high school basketball team” mythology. The failure of that tv special made him better.

LeBron learned how to control his narrative; unable to win he instead learned how to spin. The primary problem with LeBron controlling the narrative is that he cannot (and should not) be trusted. The spectacle should solely be on the court not off the court: after all, it is called a court for a significant reason: you will be judged by how you play.

And leading up to The Decision LeBron James was found wanting; he was considered a failure. He had seven years in Cleveland yet he failed to deliver championships (plural) how could they be considered great years?

This isn’t even about being compared to Michael Jordan rather it is appreciating the one universal standard for all NBA franchise players. That standard is the same for Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, etc. the onus and pressure is completely on them to deliver consistent greatness.

It’s no different than when Brad Pitt or Tom Hanks is signed to a movie…are there other actors in the film: sure. If the film becomes a box office failure is it those other actors’ fault? No, it’s the responsibility of Tom Hanks or Brad Pitt to deliver a box office hit. LeBron James had no hits when he left Cleveland to go to Miami. We’re not handing out cookies for self-esteem encouragement or valuing participation awards. One simple wonderful NBA standard—deliver consistent greatness—and it does not deviate from era to era.

The Decision’s cataclysmic failures include shifting narrative production from the mainstream media to the player.

(In the old days the mainstream media shaped the American agenda. The editors and producers dictated the issues. Having grown up with that—recognizing the valid potential for control—I have to say that’s a far better system than social media where there is no accountability or trust of any kind.)

Anytime somebody parrots the benign talking points “LeBron has never been in a scandal” or “he opened up I Promise a school for at risk kids” they’ve bought into the narrative that he has craftily been able to sell. We’ve deviated from on court success which is what should be driving marketing and fashioning the ultimate player narrative. NBA mythology is based on what you’re done, not who you are.

That’d be like memorializing Curry as a great NBA player because post-Warriors championship he refused to go to the White House as long as Trump is President. That’s not a thing. It’s not even cool.

Because it was so poorly executed; clearly not well thought-out or well-organized The Decision remains a cautionary tale in this era of outspoken athletes and having a platform. Having a platform is good; what is not good is issuing a terrible product no matter the stance.

Mediocrity is not inspiring. You gotta be good if not great at the gig. The best narrative is winning. Winning is timeless.

And so here we are 10 years later.

Photo Credit: The Cleveland Plain Dealer. (And if you can’t read the fine print above, it states, “Gone. 7 years in Cleveland. No rings.”)

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Listen to My Summer Lair @ W • T • F

#CouchWorthy: Blackballed (Who Makes The Game?)

Today Quibi released more full episodes on YouTube including the first episode of Blackballed. Sigh. Set in 2014 Blackballed begins when audio of NBA owner Donald Sterling who was recorded…in his home making racist comments was irresponsibly given to the media. The doc follows the challenges the predominately black NBA players and coach (Doc Rivers!) faced as they formulated a response.

However, as you’ll see in this first episode…it starts off by criticizing Jordan for the whole “Republicans by sneakers!” thing…basically committing the “crime” of not speaking up which is contrasted with LeBron/DWade’s “modern activism.” (Muhammad Ali lost his Championship and years of his prime fighting time…LeBron put up a hoodie for Trayvon Martin. It’s really not the same inspiring athlete activism.)

My issue isn’t what Donald Sterling said/did: there was already plenty of evidence to suggest a pattern. I didn’t need the tapes and his recorded comments which of course were still wrong. My issue is that we comfortably glossed over how the comments were recorded.

Donald Sterling was recorded in his own home without his permission. Yo…we’re ok with that?! Nobody in the media…nobody in the NBA said anything. Really? I’m not comfortable with that at all.

I hope the doc eventually addresses that: because flat out that’s wrong. Why are we glossing this over? The ends do not in any way shape or form justify the means. There’s no way I’m willing to bend on this.

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Jordan Ain’t No Joke Episode 6 (The Last Dance Podcast)

“Entering the 1997-98 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls had won 5 championships in the previous 7 years. But as they sought their second three-peat, the future of the dynasty was in doubt. As preparations began for the 1997-98 season, Jordan and the Bulls granted unprecedented access to a film crew for the entire year.”

As Jordan was preparing to conclude his time with the Bulls: 3 friends in Toronto were about to graduate from University. This is their story as seen through the ESPN/Netflix docu-series The Last Dance.

My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan hangs out with JT and DC to present Jordan Ain’t No Joke.

Jordan Ain’t No Joke Ep 6 covers Episodes I through X of The Last Dance.

Notable Quotable:
“Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together – mass hysteria.” — Dr. Peter Venkman

A Deep Three:
The Miami Heat retired Michael Jordan’s number 23 in April 2003 to honor Jordan’s achievements and contributions in basketball. The Heat are the only NBA team other than the Chicago Bulls to have retired the number 23 jersey.

1:00:
Introductions: The Ice Breaker
Q: We survived the end of the Bulls dynasty only to face the end of the world with Y2K. Do you have any Y2K memories…were you fearful? Was it media hype?

4:46:
Since we’re talking about the The Last Dance as a whole: where would you like to start:
Q: Was Jordan a bully or did we all just soft?

8:02:
Q: Would you say Jordan was a bully with Isiah Thomas and the Olympics?
Isiah Thomas scores a gold medal for being a jerk.

15:45:
Q: Does Horace Grant have the truth or does he just have tears?
The Last Dance soundtrack includes so much crying.

18:42:
Q: Was the Bulls Horace Grant team better or was the Bulls Rodman team better?
The Bulls are like The Beatles…

39:35:
Q: Can you explain what Jordan’s Love of the Game clause in his contact was?
Jordan wanted to crush fools at the Y.

49:50:
Q: The portrayal or the betrayal of Pippen: was Pippen fairly treated by this doc?
People get so furious so fast with Tyrese.

56:20:
Q: Who gets screwed over by The Last Dance more than anybody else?
Every detective story is focused on: “Who Benefits.”

59:00:
Q: What if Jerry Krause wasn’t as bad as we thought. What are your Jerry Krause emotions?
“Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying.”

1:04:17:
Q: Did Jerry Reinsdorf get off too easy in The Last Dance?
Did he take “ownership” for his decisions?

1:19:32:
Q: Do you think that Jordan’s relationships should have been part of The Last Dance or do you think that was all appropriately off limits?
The Kids!

1:24:00:
Q: The ultimate question really is: what you think of the docuseries as a whole?
Storytelling vs the stories we tell.

1:43:49:
Q: Would it have helped to have some sort of a narrative or narrator?
The Last Dance needed The Wonder Years Narrator especially over the game footage.

1:56:30:
Q: Where do we go from here: can we expect more 90s NBA stories or has Jordan said all he’s going to say?
The Last Dance is The Last Word.

JT’s Recommendations
O.J.: Made In America
Stop At Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story

DC’s Recommendations
30 for 30: Lance

Sammy’s Recommendations
Jason Hehir’s Next Project (which is?!)

Closing Jordan Rap Reference
“Hoop dreamin’, hangin up pictures of my idols/Jordan was like Jesus, SLAM was like the Bible/I used to read it twice and cut the pictures out/Had the Jordan free throw dunk tongue stickin’ out…” J Cole: I Got It

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Jordan Ain’t No Joke Episode 5 (The Last Dance Podcast)

“Entering the 1997-98 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls had won 5 championships in the previous 7 years. But as they sought their second three-peat, the future of the dynasty was in doubt. As preparations began for the 1997-98 season, Jordan and the Bulls granted unprecedented access to a film crew for the entire year.”

As Jordan was preparing to conclude his time with the Bulls: 3 friends in Toronto were about to graduate from University. This is their story as seen through the ESPN/Netflix docu-series The Last Dance.

My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan hangs out with JT and DC to present Jordan Ain’t No Joke.

Jordan Ain’t No Joke Ep 5 covers Episodes IX and X of The Last Dance.

Notable Quotable:
“Russell was already stumbling away. That hand on his backside was the equivalent of a maître d’ showing someone to their table.” — Bob Costas

A Deep Three:
According to Jim O’Brien: Chris Mullin was similar to NBA legend Larry Bird because both players lacked speed, had a great outside shot and had the innate ability to put their defender off guard. And ah…both are white players.

1:00:
Introductions: The Ice Breaker
Since this episode covers the final episodes of The Last Dance we’ll focus on endings: Team Tupac or Team Biggie: which of those tragic endings hit you the hardest?

4:45:
Our Suggested Titles for Episode IX
Don’t Mess With Black Jesus!

7:00:
Q: Do you miss those Pacer teams the way you do the Knicks or any other 90s NBA teams?
We never really talk about the Pacers.

13:13:
Q: Unbalanced: way too much in-game play vs modern talking heads?
Unmoored like a lost time traveller (whatever that means…)

15:35:
Q: Who is your favourite white NBA player?
Let’s put Larry Bird aside…

28:58:
Q: Who was Bison Dele?
“On July 6, 2002 Dele and his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, his brother Miles Dabord and skipper Bertrand Saldo set sail. Only Miles Dabord returned to shore.” Oh-Oh.

30:11:
Q: How does Jordan’s Flu Game compare to Pippen’s foibles?
Calling in sick at work? I know a guy who can write a doctor’s note for you…

33:16:
Q: Speaking of foibles: Bryon Russell Makes The List.
Foolishness.

42:50:
Q: Who is the Jordan of Comedy?
I mean…I think we all know.

44:54:
Our Suggested Titles for Episode X
“The Last Dance.”

1:03:28:
Q: What do you have to say about Game 6?
Hard to get through this without tears.

1:18:00:
Q: Do you feel the way this final Bulls run came together: was it destiny or just the necessary push the Bulls’ needed to conclude their dynasty?
Carpe That Diem.

1:20:30:
Q: With a heavy heart…should we talk about that coffee can scene?
I wanna hear Jordan’s version of Oh The Places You’ll Go!

1:27:34:
Q: What are your recommendations?
The Last Dance is over…pop culture is not.

JT’s Recommendations
Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals
Dave Chappelle’s Equanimity & The Bird Revelation (& The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize)
I Can’t Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence

DC’s Recommendations
The Truth:
Discover full Bulls games on YouTube; go beyond The Last Dance.

Sammy’s Recommendations
Jason Hehir documentaries:
The Fab Five (ESPN Films)
The ‘85 Bears (a 30 for 30)

Closing Jordan Rap Reference
“Don’t be mad cause you can’t do what I can/Like when Jordan went up, took that shot and switched hands.” Pete Rock: Don’t Be Mad

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The Terminator’s Last Dance

As I watch The Last Dance I find the parallels between Arnold’s T-800 struggle to be “human” in Terminator 2 (Modern Jordan) vs the deliciously vicious T-1000 (90s Jordan and his baller body count) are fascinating.

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