Toolsview all


NBA Finals: ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy caught in the middle

 
By Mel Bracht | Published: June 5, 2009    Comment on this article Leave a comment

Analyst Jeff Van Gundy said he considered bowing out of calling the NBA Finals for ABC because he’s rooting for the Orlando Magic, coached by his brother, Stan Van Gundy, to win the finals.

Multimedia

More Info

"I’m not, like, good at it. I’m just part of a really good team. Mike and Mark totally cover up all my weaknesses.”
 Jeff Van Gundy
Rating his broadcast skills

NewsOK Related Articles

  • Sports Media Notebook
    06/05/2009 NBC hires Dungy, Harrison NBC has hired former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and former All-Pro defensive back Rodney Harrison as analysts for its...

ABC producers told Jeff they wanted him to continue because they were confident he can still do a professional job and they would clearly note his ties to his brother. Analyst Mark Jackson, who joins play-by-play man Mike Breen on ABC’s top broadcast team, told Jeff Van Gundy that he normally isn’t too critical of coaches anyway, so it wouldn’t be much different if he didn’t criticize his brother.

"If they (the Magic) are fortunate to win the championship, I may have my bottle of champagne I pour over myself and Mark and Mike,” Van Gundy said. "I definitely want them to win, no doubt, but during the games, I’m going to try to be as objective as possible.”

However, dousing his broadcast partners with champagne — at least in public — certainly would be going overboard and likely would earn him a network reprimand.

Page 1 of 2

Toolsview all



Related Topics: Basketball, Sports, NBA Finals, NBA Playoffs, Men's Professional Basketball



Leave a Comment

Thank you for joining our conversation on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy. Please help by flagging comments that violate these guidelines. Posts that contain obscene or vulgar language will be immediately flagged and not posted.

If you prefer your thoughts to appear in The Oklahoman, we encourage you to submit a letter to the editor.

Would you like to leave a comment?

Log in or sign up (it's free).

comments powered by Disqus

Ads by Yahoo!

5 Growth Stocks for 2012
Discover Your Best Opportunities For Safe Portfolio Growth.
www.insideinvestingdaily.com
Top Money Market Rates
Browse Top 25 Money Market Rates. Sort by APY,Reviews, Banks.
www.Bankaholic.com

Sports Photo Galleriesview all