How I learned to cover sports on TV...and other stuff

All things considered, I'd rather be in Boston tonight for the Pacers and Celtics, just like the old days. But times have changed. Glad I have a big screen TV.

Early in my career, I would never think to cover a game on TV. It was anathema to my being, an affront to journalism and the credo that demands us to be the ears and eyes of those who aren’t as fortunate to be in the building.

Then the pandemic came, and the few games that were actually being played, those were almost uniformly covered on TV. (We covered the Indy pandemic Final Four in person, sort of, which still qualifies as one of the greatest organization feats in the history of, um, organizational feats.) Suddenly, we were stuck in front of our TV’s, talking to athletes on zooms; it should come as no surprise I never figured out how to unmute myself. It was a miserable time. People died. The rest of us lived diminished lives.

Anyway…tonight, I’ll cover Game 1 of the Pacers-Celtics Eastern Conference Final by doing something that has become sadly familiar: I’ll watch on TV. I’ll take notes. I’ll write a few paragraphs. The next morning, I’ll listen to the post-game interviews on YouTube and write up my column. That’s how the sausage is made. That’s why, when I remember to do it, I use the dateline “MY COUCH, Ind.” (Sometimes, like Sunday’s win over the Knicks, I flat-out forgot.) But I don’t want to give you the misperception that I’m at Madison Square Garden. I’m not.

Which is a bummer.

But…$$$$$$$.