Hypeman

Oh my goodness, ladies and gentletypes, it is that time. NBA basketball kicks off in one week, and to get us in the mode, this is NBA preview week at the clinch. We're going to talk so much talk, and walk so much walk, and ultimately look like fools. And, for the first time, the we in that last sentence is not royal. We're going to hear from a few guests, and get their equally asinine predictions, and we'll probably have some other fun as well. Drop by, won't you? Unless you hate the hoop (really? Is that even possible?). In that case, I'll see you in a week.

UPDATE: Wow, I just watched all those linked videos in their entirety. I had that video when I was a kid, and I wore it out. I still knew the words to all those songs, even the Patti LaBelle. Yeah. It's good to know that even in the early 90's, the NBA suffered from a very serious identity crisis. How many people who liked Glenn Frey were buying NBA highlight tapes? Glenn Frey looks like this. Sure, he dresses like Craig Sager, but that's where the relationship to basketball and it's fans end. At one point, the tape transitions about as jarringly as you would imagine from Wreckx-N-Effect (yes, that's the correct spelling) to Steely Dan, and 11 year-old me hated that Reelin' in the Years business.

Anyway, if you've got a few minutes to kill, and if you thought 1993 was the peak of the NBA's golden age, then these videos are for you. Or, if you like to laugh about the early 90's. Or, alternately, if you love Heavy D and Biggie Smalls together, or Bell Biv Devoe in their prime, or a rarely heard Eric B and Rakim track about basketball. Also: the smooth licks of Steely Dan, and the Magic/Bird lovefest montage to end all Magic/Bird lovefest montages.

Enjoy.