Shooting around

I'm not normally one for these shows where a bunch of ex-jocks sit around and see who can sound more hip and streetwise than the others, but I decided to give ESPN's new Kia NBA Shootaround show a shot based solely on the fact that the commercials for this show were quite possibly the most hilarious of the decade (I refer specifically, of course, to the one with the mimes).

Okay, I'll admit I don't have anything real intelligent to say yet. But my first reaction to the show has to do with the set: you've got 4 guys sitting around a desk that doesn't have enough curvature in it, so they all have to talk to each other at awkward angles. Plus the thing is too darned small, too, so these guys are sitting a little too close to each other for my comfort level. What if somebody wants to swing an elbow?

(Speaking of swinging elbows, Karl Malone thinks he could do a better than some of the guys in this show, though he doesn't name names. Now, I haven't seen any job listings posted, but I'm pretty sure that 4th-grade English is a requirement. Hmm. Then again, maybe not.)

The banter is actually pretty good, though. The bald black guy is pretty funny. I was never a big fan of the whole TNT Charles Barkley-Kenny Smith thing, anyway, although I seem to be in the minority on that count.

So the Shootaround doesn't look bad. But you can also be sure that it will feature of lots of Very Special Made-For-ESPN story segments, e.g.: "Does Kobe love Shaq? Does Shaq love Kobe? Did I mention just how mad Shaq is?"