TNT has parted ways with analyst Chris Webber with the postseason quickly approaching, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports. Webber has been with the network since 2008. Webber had been paired with play-to-play man Marv Albert and it’s unclear who will take Webber’s place.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Approximately 75 percent of NBA players have been vaccinated for the coronavirus, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Commissioner Adam Silver continues to urge front-office executives to convince players who haven’t been vaccinated to take that step before the postseason. Teams heading into the playoffs are concerned that they could lose a key player under the league’s health and safety protocols.
- Team rosters for the inaugural season in the Africa Basketball League have been unveiled, Alessandro Maggi of Sportando notes. Former NBA player Ben Uzoh is on Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers roster. There are also also nine players with G League experience and 21 players with NCAA Division I experience in the 12-team league.
- The Basketball Hall of Fame inductions will be held on September 10-11, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press tweets. The star-studded Class of 2020 will be inducted this weekend and the Class of 2o21 will be unveiled on Sunday.
Odd timing.
Not really. This has been long coming. TNT has been looking to replace him for a while. He has been criticized for his analytical prowess and his inability to connect with the audience.
For Webber leaving, that is. I get it’s a contract issue, but you’d think he’d at least complete the season.
U know the tv powers gotta flex their muscles
There are plenty of analysts out there who are far better than Webber.
But there are also many who are far worse. Everyone at ESPN for example.
Chris Webber made my ears bleed. And so does Reggie Miller.
Honestly a lot of the local guys on LP are preferable to the national guys.
Even Breen-JVG-Jackson has become stale to me. And the ESPN crew is just terrible.
I actually think Grant Hill is one of the better guys out there. Hope he replaces Webber at TNT.
Quite an improvement. Now to get Shaq out too!
LP means: a Long Play record warped with the hole off-center, or, Local (____)?
Listened to the Knicks, with Frazier going on & on about Breen getting an induction of some kind, and I’m thinking… When is his due date. Probably illegal o discuss in NY.
LOL
The star-studded class of 2020, which finally includes Rudy Tomjanovich.
Time out?
If 75% of the league has been vaccinated, they can stop testing and wearing masks. That’s science talking, not me. Don’t be a science denier.
That would happen at 100%. These guys are professional athletes, there is no excuse for any of them not to be vaccinated. Any player who refuses to get the vaccine should not be allowed to participate in the postseason.
Players can and should have the right to decide what goes into their bodies for as long as the American public does.
They just run the risk of testing positive and missing two weeks, which for the playoffs is a large risk.
I think that there is legal precedent for employers to have some control. EG drug testing ss a prerequisite for work, including in the NBA.
No one in America is forced to do anything but die and pay taxes. But there can be voluntary requirements to association. No smoking restaurants are an example.
The part of civil disobedience that seems to be getting forgotten is the ‘jail’ part. You can do anything you believe in if you believe seriously enough to go to jail or be denied admission for it. Choices have societal consequences.
Agreed. And COVID is new territory. But generally these prohibitions you mention are regarding forbidding something (no smoking, no drug use, etc). I think the requirement of a vaccination to participate in A, B, or C would be slightly new territory. But it probably will happen with this, seeing how things are trending.
That is the rising issue, having to show (what passes for) proof of vaccination to get admittance to something. I think in theory any show/service provider can require that. Some people will be more willing to forge! Not sure we are not keeping good track of vacs. I had to give up my DL to the pharmacy, I hope for my benefit as an official “vaccinee”.
So because they are professional athletes they should be forced to take an experimental vaccine? That makes no sense