2003 HOF Induction ceremonies

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The current class of the Hall of Fame was inducted tonight in a live 
broadcast watched by six people on NBAtv.  The event was a bit longer than 
expected, unless you've heard Bill Walton speak in recent years.

The event was held in the new Hall, not the old auditorium, so there was a 
lot less room for the fans to see it in person.  Also, Marv Albert tried to 
be funny, and for the most part, failed as usual.  Can someone tell me if 
Mike Fratello is getting commission for every joke Marv tells at his expense?

Since this is a Celtics-based  (and biased) report, let's get to it.  On 
first glance, I saw that Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy, and KC Jones were among 
the attendees, in addition, obviously, to Walton and inductee Robert 
Parish.  Several inductees mentioned the Celtics team, players, and Red as 
major influences, which was nice.

Given the inevitable "homer" nature of the location, it was nice to see 
fans behaving when Jerry West introduced the late Chick Hearn, and giving 
him fulsome applause, as they did for all the candidates.

Seeing Hearn go in as the first broadcaster made me wonder why Johnny Most 
wasn't in there.  He should be, as someone who had as much of an impact on 
the game as any broadcaster, Hearn included.
Maybe I'll look up the nomination procedure and see if I can cast his name 
in for next year's ceremony.

A couple of people--noticeably Meadowlark Lemon, made a point about the 
days before big money, sneaker and soft drink contracts--a subtle shot at 
those seeking to elevate LeBron James before the kid has a chance to show 
he knows what to do with the basketball at a professional level.

Big Bill Walton introduced Robert Parish by describing, in flowery prose, 
the Chief's entire life up until about a week prior to the induction 
ceremony.  I finally found someone more fond of hyperbole than Tommy Heionsohn.

Parish spoke quietly, with some humor, recognizing the influence of his 
parents, high school coach, and teammates.  He remarked that he was so 
excited at being traded out of a bad situation at Golden State, that he 
didn't work out at all that summer.  Twelve days before training camp, he 
started working out, a situation that he reported did not suit Celtics 
coach Bill Fitch.  :>)

The program was interesting from an historical point of view, showing what 
the early days of the NBA were like, and how much it has changed even in 
our lifetimes.  On the negative side, the decision to broadcast exclusively 
on NBAtv was a poor one, in my view.  I saw the move as another way to try 
to force cable companies to carry the channel.  More likely, it will drive 
customers to satellite, as it did me; or encourage people to tape the show 
and make copies for their friends to see.

Incidentally, I did tape the program.

Prior to the live broadcast, NBAtv showed previous inductions, the shows 
were heavily edited for time.  I knew this especially as Larry Bird's 
presentation of Magic Johnson was almost edited out totally.  I have the 
original on tape.  I missed Larry humorously recounting his saying "Suffer, 
baby!" as he saw a dejected Magic leaving the arena after a loss to Boston.

I don't know why they edited the programs--it's not like they have a whole 
lot else to show this time of year.  The station is a little cheap, 
though--prior to the actual ceremonies, they showed clips of the inductees, 
which I realized had been cribbed from the taped presentation of the 
induction ceremony!  C'mon guys, it's not like you have to pay for extra 
stock footage!  In addition, they insist on running that silly banner 
across the bottom of the screen telling us we were watching the show that 
was on the screen--apparently assuming viewers are too brain-dead to 
remember the name of the program.

But it was nice to see the older players, and Red looked a lot better than 
I've seen him all year.  He seems to be out of the "funk" he seemed to be 
in following the passing of his wife and brother.

And that's the view from the doghouse, high above the supper dish.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the <http://www.celticsbeagle.net/>Celtics Beagle Website