Would you rather go to dinner with Chris Berman or Kobe Bryant?

I ask because I’ve come to realize that when ESPN came along in the ‘80s, it changed out sports culture in more ways than one.
It made stars of sportscasters. Anyone who’s ever watched Berman would love to get a nickname from him. I’d probably greet him with “backbackbackback” or  “he …could .. go .. all …the way” or even “rumblin, stumblin …”

Fun guy. Big guy. Larger than life personality.

Now, what would you say to Kobe?

“Uh, hey Kobe, great season, except for Game 7 … you ever get over what happened in Colorado? How ticked are you at Shaq?”
OK, so maybe would be interesting, but I contend that sportscasters like Berman and Dan Patrick transcend sports.

And what’s been on my mind lately isn’t Kobe vs. Lebron, it’s Rick Reilly vs. Dan Patrick.

I have no idea why Reilly left Sports Illustrated, or why Patrick left ESPN. Anyone with info on that, please share it.
But each landed in each other’s spots as if it were two teams in a trade. Reilly is now at ESPN, Patrick now at Sports Illustrated.
Personally, I miss the Life of Reilly on the back page of my Sports Illustrated. It was the highlight of my weekly SI read, and now I’m buying ESPN the Magazine to get my fix.
Patrick, though, is great mornings on 1500 AM and his Just My Type writing is pretty entertaining in Sports Illustrated. Give me his radio show over Colin Cowherd, self-absorbed shock jock in the same time frame on 1420, any day of the week. (I still listen to 1420, just not his show).
The question(s) today: Are sportscasters bigger than sports stars?

Who would you pick — Reilly or Patrick?

When the NBA playoffs ended last week it crushed me. Not because I particularly care about either team, but it signaled the start of the dead season for sports.
No football, basketball or even hockey. Basically, just baseball.
It’s no surprise that nearly as soon as the basketball season ended the talk radio stations, and my fellow fantasy leaguers, started buzzing about the upcoming season.
Smack talk is shifting into gear, plans are being made for the fantasy draft day party.
It’s so easy nowadays to do an online league, but trust me, if you can get all your friends into one room for a live draft, nothing will beat it during the season. It will fuel more interest, more trades and more smack.
So it’s the dead season.

How do you pass the time? Who’s this year’s darkhorse to win the Super Bowl? Is Larry Johnson worth a top five pick? How about Stephen Jackson?
Help!

This year’s NBA playoffs have brought one of the funniest sports commercials I’ve seen in a while.

It’s when Dwayne Wade baits Charles Barkley into talking about why Philadelphia hasn’t made a statue of him yet. Barkley’s “You tryin’ to be funeh?’ line is classic.

Check it out at Charles Barkley and his statue

It still doesn’t top my all-time favorite “Chicks Dig the Long Ball” commercial Chicks Dig The Long Ball that features former Atlanta Braves Cy Young award winners Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, but it’s right up there with Miller Lite’s “Tastes Great, Less Filling” classics.
Anyone else got some memorable — funny — sports commercials to share?

X X X

I get a lot of flack from friends on the Mainland who aren’t able to enjoy the outdoors year-round like we can here, particularly because I’ve become a workout hermit of sorts lately.
Instead of hitting the beach or hiking trails I’ve recently been turning to the illiptical machines, stairmasters and treadmills for hours at a time.
The allure is the TVs on the newest equipment. Since I started this recent diet binge — or maybe I should call it attempted lifestyle change — I’m timing my workouts to watch the NBA playoffs.

I’ll be sweating out today’s Hawks-Celtics Game 7 for a lot more reason than just hoping Kevin Garnett finallly gets his ring.
The 40 games in 40 nights or whatever they call it has been a godsend for me. Great games, great young talent to watch.
This is my first extended look at Chris Paul and New Orleans. The way he sees the floor and changes gears is incredible. With Paul, Tony Parker and Deron Williams the new wave of superstar point guards has taken over, just as Dwight Howard has become the most dominant, athletic big man in the game today.

Anyone think Lebron James and the overlooked Cavs can sneak back into the finals?