TNT Luncheon Wrap-Up
Kenny and Charles talkin’ smack.
By Khalid Salaam
Yesterday (Oct 29th) I attended the NBA on TNT Media Luncheon which is basically a chance for us media folks to sit down with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and the behind the scenes people who put it all together. It was located here in NY at the Time Warner Center, which for some reason or another I had never even been to in any context. It was obviously a nice building but I was initially taken aback by the security measures in place at the building. To get upstairs to the conference where the luncheon was taking place at, I had to go to three separate security access only doors. Meaning I walked up to the door, told the security guard where I was going and then they had to buzz me in. It seemed a bit much and had me wondering if there are other things taking place in the building besides “media stuff.”
So I get to the conference room (with an amazing view or Central Park btw) grabbed a salad and a tuna sandwich and made the rounds with the other media members. There were writers there from the NY Times, NY Post, ESPN all the usual suspects. Everyone was sorta quiet and standoffish. Maybe I was too, I don’t know. I did speak to the guy sitting to my left so that’s something. After about 10 minutes. Turner Sports PR Head Jeff Pomeroy and Turner Sports President David Levy came in and spoke to us, making the necessary small talk until Charles and Kenny arrived. Once they did the 1st thing discussed by Kenny Smith is the Kobe situation, saying among other things that “Kobe broke NBA etiquette rules” and that its crazy to him that the Lakers could lose both Shaq and Kobe in a 4 year stretch. Saying that “ these are the two biggest guys to leave a team in a short period in the history of the NBA.”
Charles agrees with him and promises to go all in regarding Kobe on tonight’s show, then goes into a tangent about how the Cavs are gonna suck this year. I ask him why and continue by saying it may have been a fluke for them to make the Finals but they will surely make the playoffs. We go on like this for about 2 minutes, which is cool for me since I kinda like debating (a tool which will come in handy when I run for a Senate seat one day. What you think I’m bullsh*ttin? Not really) sometimes. So Barkley bets me that the Cavs won’t make the postseason, so I take the bet. He asks what I wanna put up and I almost said 10 large but if Lebron were to get hurt I’d be in trouble so we decided on dinner. Granted Barkley is a gambler so that may have just been a natural reaction for him but I was serious. It’s in the spring so we both may forget so hopefully the readers out there will remind me. Or him.
We then all discuss our Finals picks and playoff surprises. Charles says he likes the Nets in the East and then says, “watch out, my Atlanta Hawks will make the playoffs!”
Weird I know.
The Ref/Donaghy scandal dominated much of the conversation with both Kenny and Charles saying they liked David Stern’s response and that as long as it’s just one guy and not widespread that’s it won’t hurt the League.
They disagreed with how to deal with the ref’s going to casino’s though. CB’s point was that you can’t control what people do in the off-season or in their private time. If refs want to gamble on blackjack or a slot machine then that’s fine. “It’s too big of a leap to go from that to betting on NBA games. I don’t think NBA referees are that stupid,” he said.
Kenny was totally against it though. “For this year at least, I don’t think the refs should be allowed to go to casino’s. You have to do this for perception reasons and in order to save the League the games can’t look fixed” he said.
They discussed the Kobe/Lakers situation again (they both blame Kobe) of course and the Celtics (Kenny likes them in the East but feels as though that PG play is their Achilles heel). They also spent a lot of time talking about NBA ratings demise that took place in last years Finals and that they are pissed that a few people’s choices can dictate so much.
“Look I’ve never known anyone who has a Nielsen’s box. The ratings people are full of shit,” CB says. “It depends on who you are as far as taste. If you ask me and Kenny and the brother over there (meaning me) then Sanford and Son would have been the number 1 show ever. It just depends.”
The conversation closed with talks of international play. Kenny is all for it, saying that there would have to be several teams overseas to make it work and that NBA teams could go at a two-week time to cut down on travel. Charles replies that logistically it would be too difficult and would affect the actual game due to player’s fatigue.
These sorts of events can be a bore but both Kenny and Charles bring a lot to the table intellectually and style-wise so it ended up being a pretty worthwhile event.
34 Responses to “TNT Luncheon Wrap-Up”
Oct.30 at 12:03 pm
white hot eboy says:
Khalid, that sounded like a great afternoon. And it’s good to see that Kenny and Charles stay true to form off the air, as well.
Oct.30 at 12:16 pm
Rasheedionics says:
I never knew anyone who has a Nielsen’s box either… Does anyone out there has one or know someone who does?
Oct.30 at 12:21 pm
Jared says:
my boy used to have one…he said it was wack
Oct.30 at 12:22 pm
Hisham says:
Cool stuff. To be petty though, Achilles’ weak spot was his heel, not his hill.
Oct.30 at 12:30 pm
Tarzan's Jane says:
CB is the bomb and on point most of the time. Don’t worry Chuck, no one will rub in the fact you thought the Mavs were going to crush the Warriors in the post season. Most everyone agreed with you, except a select few. Haha!
Oct.30 at 12:30 pm
Tarzan's Jane says:
CB is the bomb and on point most of the time. Don’t worry Chuck, no one will rub in the fact you thought the Mavs were going to crush the Warriors in the post season. Most everyone agreed with you, except a select few. Haha!
Oct.30 at 12:30 pm
Tarzan's Jane says:
I hate it when I click that damn button once and it posts twice.
Oct.30 at 12:39 pm
Jared says:
All that baseball turn EJ into a girl?
Oct.30 at 12:39 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Yeah, jeez, I can’t think of any exits larger than Kobe and Shaq within four years—EXCEPT FOR MAYBE WHEN MICHAEL JORDAN, SCOTTIE PIPPEN AND DENNIS RODMAN ALL LEFT THE BULLS IN THE SAME DAMN OFFSEASON. Kenny Smith drives me insane sometimes.
Oct.30 at 12:40 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Jared: And apparently it turned Kenny Smith into Magic Johnson.
Oct.30 at 12:41 pm
Hisham says:
thanks for pointing that out, Russ.
Oct.30 at 12:45 pm
white hot eboy says:
Russ just made my blood boil and visions of that fat coc*sucker, Krause, just passed through my mind the same way Eminem dealt with Kim in her self-titled song.
Oct.30 at 12:47 pm
Hisham says:
Jane are you Tarzan Cooper’s girlfriend?
Oct.30 at 1:48 pm
Co Co says:
When you run for that Senate seat, you’ll have my vote Khalid.
Oct.30 at 1:49 pm
SMK says:
Barkley thinks the Hawks will make the playoffs and the Cavs won’t? Is LeBron being traded to Atlanta or something?
Oct.30 at 1:50 pm
Tariq says:
Russ, I think Kenny was talking about two players being traded in their prime like that. They got Odom and some tube socks for Shaq at his best (they didn’t even have the foresight to keep Caron Butler). And now they shop Kobe around. I realize that Kobe is not what you would call a balanced individual, but when you have arguably one of the top 10 players of all time on your roster, and said player is 28, you trade everything, including Bynum and your pancreas,in order to make a commitment to win now. That’s the only course of action that makes sense. to me.The Lakers should be the West Coast version of the Celtics.
Oct.30 at 1:58 pm
Tariq says:
Also, tuna sandwiches are quite delightful.
Oct.30 at 1:59 pm
Tarzan Cooper says:
chuck, GET OUT OF MY BRAIN. i already said the cavs wouldnt make it. i said the hawks might make it. chuck is a lil bit more sure about it than i am.
Oct.30 at 2:00 pm
Bryce says:
That was a bad bet Khalid…the east is much stronger this year with an up and coming hawks team, big improvements by the magic and bobcats, and of course the Cs. If by a miracle of God bron can get them in, they will lose in the first round just like they would have if the wiz were healthy last year…They had a bye into the conference finals and barely made it to the ship even though they got a superhuman performance by LBJ against a decrepit pistons team. And I think the bullets losing strickland, howard and webber a couple years apart is a much greater tragedy
Oct.30 at 2:05 pm
Tariq says:
Why do I get the feeling that Bryce is a Wizards fan? Get down to Tyson’s Corner much??
Oct.30 at 2:05 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
The Bullets traded Rasheed and Googs, too. Of course none of them had won sh*t yet.
Oct.30 at 2:12 pm
Bryce says:
and ben wallace, and chris whitney, and calbert cheney, and tracy murray…oh mr.pollin
Oct.30 at 2:33 pm
jbn74sb says:
1. In addition to the aforementioned Jordan and Pippen, lets not forget Kareem (albeit geriatric at the point) and Magic leaving the Lakers. I also imagine that Bird and McHale left the Celtics within that time frame, as well as West, Baylor, and Chamberlin from the Lakers.
2. We had a Nielsen ratings thing when I was about 12. From what I remember, you just wrote down what you watched. I imagine now that big brother just keeps track of it.
3. More importantly, if you watch live TV in 2007, you’re an idiot. Turn your phone off, start the game an hour late, skip the commercials, and miss nothing when you have take an eboy. Er, dump.
Oct.30 at 2:52 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
C’mon Bryce, do you really think the Cavs are gonna miss the playoffs? And i’m not so sure they would have lost to a healthy Wiz team last yr. Arenas is dope but really weak on the defensive side. The Wiz are a terrible defensive team and the Cavs/Bron would have found a way to beat them.
Oct.30 at 2:53 pm
Myles Brown says:
More game winning travels?
Oct.30 at 3:04 pm
Nadav says:
TMAC and Vince leaving T-Dot
Oct.30 at 3:11 pm
Bryce says:
ahhh you make me sick Khalid….whatever gil lacks caron makes up for it and then some…antonio daniels was the healthiest/best player on the wizards in the first round ANTONIO DANIELS! I hope the cavs meet up with a healthy wizard team for the third straight year. We were looking for sweet revenge last season, caron was on mission lock down lebron. And of course we all forget Jamison and stevenson who are both capable defenders in the own right. Terrible!? hyperbole hyperbole hyperbole
Oct.30 at 3:33 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Uh, no i didn’t forget Jamison. I included him in my thought process. Look either the Wiz get better defensively or they still continue to lose in the postseason. I got people in the DC “urea” and even they admit it. At some point you gotta get stops.
Oct.30 at 5:17 pm
Tarzan Cooper says:
i still dont understand how the refs didnt see lebron’s travels on GAME WINNING PLAYS! it was so blatantly obvious. sheed was right.
Oct.30 at 5:37 pm
Bryce says:
Sure, our defense takes games off blah blah…I’m just confused about why you are giving the cavs credit when our entire team was injured for that first round series and we will kept every game close
Oct.30 at 6:09 pm
Ken says:
I actually think that “Sanford and Son” was in fact the greatest show of all time.
Oct.30 at 10:46 pm
Ben Osborne says:
I think Khalid’s getting dinner from CB come spring time.
Oct.31 at 9:50 pm
O says:
Hey Kha, when you have your dinner with Sir Charles get me a pair of the CB-34 Sir Charles. Those joints are CLASSIC!
Nov.1 at 2:59 pm
John E. Sanford says:
Sanford & Son was and still is da sh*t!!!!