FanPost

New wrinkles for TNT broadcast

When I read about the new wrinkles for the TNT broadcast, I thought, "BAD idea!"  But after watching, my take was, "Mixed bag."  

I'd guessed that TNT's micing of players and coaches would produce some huge embarrassment and be pulled after one game.  But that expectation was based on the mics being "live."  In reality, TNT is just letting viewers hear little edited soundbites, which are kind of fun.  I particularly liked the Roy clips--first when he tried to put on Oden about something Shaq had told him, then when he got excited about James Jones' outside shooting.

As for the rest of it--the mics & camera in the locker room and the in-game coach's interview segment--I vote thumbs down.  The coach should be able to talk to his players freely in the locker room--including yelling at them and pointing to weaknesses in the opposition.  So putting mics and cameras in there is going to interfere with a coach's ability to do his job.

Similiarly, the in-game coach's interviews seemed intrusive to me.  I don't like the dugout interviews they've started doing in baseball; you always feel this is something the manager is putting up with and that it's taking him away from what he needs to be doing and thinking about in mid-game.  But for basketball, it's worse.  Basketball is much faster-paced than baseball, and I think every minute--even the time between quarters when the coach's interviews were conducted--is precious.  Nate didn't even bother to say "Later" when his interview was completed!

So again, I liked getting to hear the occasional edited soundbites.  I always see players laughing on the bench and wonder what the joke was.  If it's G-rated, why not let the audience in on it every once in awhile--where's the harm?  But the rest of the new TNT wrinkles seem intrusive to me.  I don't like the feeling that t.v. is interferring with the game anymore than it already is (what with the t.v. timeouts, etc.).

What do you guys think?