I wanted to take a moment and say thanks to the HBO representative who helped us get guests and made sure we had what we needed. She was extremely kind and treated us just like we were any other station. She was a bit confused when we told her that most of us weren't really part of the media, and we would see confused look several times over the next two days.
I'm just going to list the people we spoke to. For the most part, they were very gracious, and for our part, we did our best tonot embarrass ourselves or the station.
- Bert Sugar: One of boxing's true characters, Bert is hard to describe. He seems to know a little bit about everything, and always has a one-liner at the ready. For the life of me, I do not understand why no one has put him in his own sitcom.
- Danny Gans: Apparently, this man has a very successful show in one of the casinos. He's some sort of impressionist who also sings. I can't speak to the quality of the show, but during our interview he used the bands Creed and Train to show his relevance to the younger audience. He also put down Macy Gray twice for not being able to sell out a recent tour stop. We're still not sure why.
- Jin Mosley: Sugar Shane Mosley's wife and apparent 'power behind the throne'. A very attractive young lady who was sporting a diamond ring that was reminiscent of a Kobe Bryant apology.
- Harold Lederman: HBO Boxing Commentator and Unofficial Ringside Judge. A very animated man for his age, but his habit of slumping in his chair concerned us. while an on-air death would be dramatic radio, it probably would have closed the door on future trips.
- Winky Wright: While we did not interview Mosley's challenger, our producer Mike Turley slipped into his alter-ego Big T to have some words with him. Big T is a white guy trying way to hard to be black, and isn't too current with the lingo. So it's not that much of a stretch for him. The highlight if the interview was Winky correcting Big T on the appropriate ways of using the word 'boy' in reference to the African-American.
- Jim Lampley: HBO's main commentator. Jim put forward the idea during our talk that even as the sports media has expanded, the sports covered by that media is becoming more limited to the 'major' ones.
- Joe Goosen: Sugar Shane's trainer: Known for his habit of choosing his own outfit instead of matching his fighter's entourage, we gave him a P1WAC shirt, on the off chance he wear it to the ring.
- Larry Merchant: HBO Special analyst. While his interview was nothing special, I'm fairly certain he was wearing a Members Only jacket. When I was younger I was convinced that one had to be in some secret society to either purchase or wear one of those jackets.
- Emanuel Steward: The third member of HBO's broadcast team and a famous trainer. Emanuel gave some great boxing history, but it was his tendency to grab the microphone and keep it that was memorable. While noone wanted to simply yank the mic away from him, it took a bit of doing to make him let go.
So that was our Thursday and Friday night recap. I'd like to tell you that we spent our time after we went off the air in the throes of Las Vegas decadence, but I can't. After the 24 hour road trip, and three hours of the show, we just couldn't go on. There was a plan that involved an old friend...
But you'll have to come back to find out what. Don't worry, I'll get to the part about the brothel soon enough.
Take Care,
Mike G.
No comments:
Post a Comment