Boban is a pleasure
As a player, Mavericks center Boban Marjanovic is completely unremarkable. He has played five seasons for five different teams, and has never averaged more than 14 minutes per game. Consider the fact that he’s 7’4 “, and he’s just like one of the dozens of players who fill out NBA rosters.
And yet, he is a favorite of everywhere he goes. During his rookie season in San Antonio, one Spurs fan got Boban’s face cut off in his head. In Philadelphia, fans certainly followed the bromance between Marjanovic and Tobias Harris (Bobi and Tobi, as they were known).
Being a role player like Marjanovic, however, means it’s hard to break through on a national stage, though. He will never light up the scoreboard or hit a winning shot. But the guys on TNTs Within the NBA were kind enough to pass on part of Wednesday night’s Mavericks-Clippers halftime show marking Marjanovic’s contributions. (He had 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half, ending the game with 13 and nine in just 10 minutes on the court.) After Dallas called up the Clips, 127-1144, it was Boban – not Luka Doncic or Kristaps Porzingis — who put on the headset to talk to Charles, Shaq, Kenny, and Ernie. He had never been interviewed by those guys before, and he was so excited to finally get the chance.
“It’s my first time here and I’m nervous, and I’m scared because my headphones don’t fit on my ears and my head,” he said to begin the interview. “If I break it, I buy a new one.”
The interview was five minutes long, and it does not really work to pick just one clip and say, “This is the reason you should love Boban.” Sneak a few minutes out of your day and look at the whole thing. His infectious enthusiasm, keen sense of humor and humility were reflected throughout the segment. He did not fall back we-played-hard-type of clichés. He balanced serious answers with comedy. It was just the kind of interview that a player’s fans want to see. It took a man who is literally bigger than life and humanized him.
If I had to absolutely pick one highlight from the interview, it was Boban’s interaction with Shaq at the end. In the semifinals, Shaq Boban gave a new nickname: “You Rang?” (It’s a reference to the catching grass of the hot butler Lurch op The Addams family.) Before Shaq Boban left, he wanted to give him his best Lurch impression.
How can you not love that man? In a competition full of strong personalities, he is just as fun as anyone.
Did he really do that?
Well, we may have seen the latest of Thom Brennaman on our television screens.
Brennaman, nationally known as an NFL broadcaster for Fox, was caught on a hot mic using an anti-LGBTQ slur during Wednesday’s first game of the Reds doubleheader. Unfortunately, he still called it the second game of the night. Even more violently, he interrupted his own apology to name a house run by Nick Castellanos … that went into the stadium’s *** JUDGMENT FREE ZONE ***.
Truly surreal.
Here is Brennaman’s complete – and completely unsatisfactory – apology (in his full transcript) Announce songs if you prefer to read it) before handing things over to studio host Jim Day to call the rest of the game.
Brennaman has been suspended by the Reds indefinitely.
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How can you not love this boy?
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