O’Donnell: Moving night for Charles Barkley and crew from TNT to ESPN/ABC
THE END OF THE KNICKS-PACERS EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS means the end of “Inside the NBA” on TNT.
That's the signature wraparound program starring Charles Barkley, anchor Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.
To call the show iconic isn't a stretch. Nor is to call it the best sports studio show in the history of American TV.
It has entertained. It has enlightened. It has made viewers stay up well past midnight, Central time, on a regular basis simply because it consistently mined so many of the greatest high-risk, higher jinks out of live, organic television.
If late-night pioneer Steve Allen, Snoop Dogg and “Sanford and Son” were ever mixed with Nikola Jokic and Steph Curry highlights, the resulting attitude would be “Inside the NBA.”
THE CURRENT QUARTET HAS BEEN TOGETHER since 2011, when O'Neal joined. He stabilized a chair that had been filled by a shootaround including Magic Johnson, Reggie Miller and Chris Webber.
Johnson was first on set in 1990, one year after the show's debut. Smith, the ambiently assertive point guard, was next in 1998. Barkley — the absolute fulcrum — made his comedic bow in 2000.
Nineteen Sports Emmy Awards later, whoops, there it is.
THE 2025 NBA FINALS BEGIN Thursday night on ABC at Oklahoma City.
That network Disney holding will be one of the beneficiaries of the transition “Inside the NBA” will make next season.
With all four principals in tow, ABC/ESPN will air the show — and hopefully not Listerine it down to a Stephen A. Smith bob-and-jabber level.
THAT SUBLICENSING AGREEMENT — between TNT owner Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney — is more testament to the enduring appeal of “Inside” and its singular energy.
It's real end will come some day.
In the meantime, it is to be schmock-schmock! NBA savored, as Allen might say on the original Tonight Show.
STREET-BEATIN':
Is Jed Hoyer ever going to have more leverage than now in his quest for a contract extension from Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts? Most ominous for the new Addison Street Adorables is the return to health of the Brewers pitching staff. The teams have 10 games remaining — three in June at Wrigley, three in July at Milwaukee and a final four under the ivy in August. …
A Father's Day panel discussion featuring Bears QB dads present and past Carl Williams, Pablo Fields and Dave Trubisky could shut down all entranceways to Halas Hall. Especially for future quarterbacks, who may get only more aggressively creative in finagling to duck the quicksand of Lake Forest. …
Bill Belichick and staff are waging a heavenly blue campaign to get Michael Jordan at North Carolina's opener vs. TCU Sept. 1. The Saturday nighter will air on ESPN. Way back in September 1985, Jordan took a break from a Bulls training camp at Beloit College to flip the coin before a Beloit-Cornell (Iowa) game. (There may have been 2,300 in the stands.) …
Whether or not they beat Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers should have to tithe to Joel Quenneville. “Coach Q” turned the franchise around before his unfortunate separation in October 2021. Game 1 of the Oilers-FLA 2024 championship redux is Wednesday night (TNT; Kenny Albert, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher). …
ESPN-AM (1000)'s signal is now broadcasting from a shared antenna in Joliet. The station moved its stick from a site in Downers Grove that was revered by radio historians and a great enhancer during WCFL's classic Top 40 days. Since the Craig Karmazin/Good Karma sports talker is a nonstarter in Nielsen Audios, the impact of the downscale can't be measured. …
Scott Tolzien has switched his headset as quarterbacks coach from the Cowboys to New Orleans. New Saints HC Kellen Moore considers the Fremd High alum ('06) a prize catch. Tolzien upped his sidelines stock with a resolute five-season run on the staff of Mike McCarthy in Dallas. …
“High Strike” Larry Rivelli of North Barrington is telling all that he's targeting his lawn mower Nobals for the $1M Breeders Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar in the fall. The 6-year-old gelding set a track record for 5½ furlongs on the grass at Churchill Downs last weekend; Nobals also won the Turf Sprint two years ago at Santa Anita. …
And Dan Young, once athletic director at Hersey High, recently had a beaming grandfather moment: Rey Young hit her first grand slam in a Bartlett-Hanover Park Little League game. (She's 9 years old, did it against the boys and had to slow not to beat the third runner across home plate.)
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.