by Brett Edwards
In today's L.A. Times, there's a quote from Phil Jackson calling out Mark Cuban for "pumping up the volume, intimidating referees, and has announcers as hired cheerleaders." Now don't get me wrong, this is one of the best things about Phil, the fact that he's not afraid to get into it with other teams and say things that aren't a total cliche.
In this case though, he should look at his own team before criticizing another. I know when he is talking about "announcers as cheerleaders" that he is most likely referring to the PA announcer inside the arena telling the fans to make some noise, or chanting DE-FENSE into the mic, or whatever. While Lawrence Tanter never does those things at the Staples Center, there are similar things that take place. I have heard him excitedly exclaim, "Foul!!" when the Lakers are fouled near the end of a close game. Often there is a recording played that says "Laker fans! Make some noy-eze!"
It makes no difference if it comes from the live person on the mic or a recording, the point is that this goes on in the Lakers' arena, just like it does in every other NBA city. As for his comments about Cuban's antics specifically, well, he's pretty much right on with those.
The Lakers are NOT as bad as places like Dallas, Miami, Cleveland, etc. They may pipe in crowd noises and have pre-recorded sound bites, they still aren't as obnoxious and homer-like as the others.
Posted by: Craig Kwasniewski | December 18, 2005 at 10:42 PM