#SetTheVCR: April 2020 Recap & Review

Sammy Younan

Girth Radio Presents…

In a year that was unlike any TV year we’ve had: For a month that started with April Fools’ this month was not fooling around and delivered much TV goodness.

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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

#SetTheVCR: July 19-25, 2020

Sammy Younan

Girth Radio Presents…

In a quirky sort of fate, my TV recommendations this week include a Phone Booth and a Kissing Booth. I’m not sure what that says about me but it says something about the tv offerings this week!

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#SetTheVCR: May 24-30, 2020

Sammy Younan

Girth Radio Presents…

A new week and a new streaming service. I know. I’m tired too. Still for the old streaming services I’ve got lots of tv recommendations.

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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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#SetTheVCR: May 17-23, 2020

Sammy Younan

Girth Radio Presents…

We have new shows and old sarcasm! Aren’t you glad you came? We are. Welcome to #SetTheVCR.

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Jordan Ain’t No Joke Episode 4 (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 4 covers Episodes VII and VIII of The Last Dance.

Notable Quotable:
“I had no problem with “The Glove.”” — Michael Jordan

A Deep Three:
For the 1996 NBA Finals…Bulls vs Sonics NBC intro-ed the series and Game 1 to highlights set to…the Terminator Theme song. NBA on NBC is just GOAT level. Wow Just Wow.

1:00
Introductions: The Ice Breaker
Jordan famously left the NBA to play baseball becoming another iconic two sport athlete: so are you Team Bo Knows or Team Neon Deion?

4:05
Our suggested titles for Episode VII
“Way to go Craig.”

9:45
Q: How do you find the documentary’s balance between the personal and the basketball? Like are you missing Jordan’s wife and kids?
She’s an ex-wife…for a reason.

18:13
Q: Do you wish we saw more of Phil Jackson as the Bulls coach?
Phil needs a Last Dance…but like in 11 parts.

24:00
Q: Would you wanna be Jordan’s teammate or face Jordan? Which beating do you want to take?
“Beatings…nothing more than beatings.”

30:35
Q: Was Jordan’s Dad getting murdered connected to his gambling?
Maybe the media was always this bad…at their job…

39:00
Q: Was Jordan suspended for 18 months…True or False?
May as well believe a National Enquirer headline about an Elvis sighting.

48:44
Q: What do those “break” tears mean for Michael Jordan?
Crying Jordan is the new and improved Crying Game.

1:02:24
Q: What are you expecting to see in Episodes Episode IX and X?
The Man; The Myth; The Legend…

1:06:51
Q: Does Pippen’s Bad Light Moments dim the brightness of his NBA career?
Do you love Pippen less because of his flaws or more because of his flaws?

Recommendations
Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover

2 More Tim Grover Recommendations
This SI profile & this GQ profile.

Closing Jordan Rap Reference
“Jay’s status appears to be at an all-time high/Perfect time to say goodbye/When I come back like Jordan/Wearin’ the 4-5/It ain’t to play games witchu/It’s to aim at you.” Jay-Z: Encore

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#SetTheVCR: May 3-9, 2020

Sammy Younan

Girth Radio Presents…

It’s early May. While this year we were unable to celebrate Free Comic Book (single tear!) as nerds and good humans we can still celebrate Star Wars Day. I guess people who dig Star Trek still observe this day by going out for Chinese food?

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The Last Dance Meets The Untouchables

In the first episode of Jordan Ain’t No Joke (a Last Dance podcast) I mentioned sports writer Roland Lazenby who tweeted the following this morning:

Oh man. THAT is what I’ve been trying to say or express I just didn’t know how to do it.

Dude went off today on Twitter…all kinds of rich and insightful NBA gems. Here’s another one:

We do this for movies: we adjust Star Wars’ box office from 1970s dollars to today’s money factoring in inflation etc.

And it’s not fair to just say Jordan would score 40 points per game in today’s era; it’s cheap like talk. Like we were alive when the NBA introduced the 3 point shot (1979…Larry Bird’s NBA debut actually.). From 1979 to 2020 we’ve seen how that shot has evolved because the NBA game has evolved.

It’s interesting. That’s something we haven’t discussed on the Jordan Ain’t No Joke podcast (yet…) how the game has “evolved” since Jordan and because of Jordan. And again with The Last Dance there’s a lack of context.

The game is not the same..the rules are not the same, the way it’s reffed is not the same. This is an NBA documentary but the NBA is not a static entity. Different NBA eras are not defined solely by players but how the game is played and the rules of the game.

If you’ve a chance read him on Twitter today. His coffee is strong.

This is another one I dug:

Oh Yes. He’s right. These aren’t tweets they’re grenades. It’s the baseball bat scene from Untouchables.

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Photo provided by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

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