Cameo Appearance.

You know those times, when you put on a jacket or a pair of jeans and you find $10 in the pocket? Well I didn't feel like I found free money, but I completely forgot I was "interviewed" while waiting for my mom at the Raptors game last month. Court Surfing was on the scene at the ACC asking the people about LBJ. Find me if you can.

Chemistry: The Missing Ingredient.

Chemistry is not something that's forged overnight. If you look at the best basketball show on TV, Inside the NBA on TNT, Ernie, Chuck & Kenny work masterfully off one another. The jokes, banter and commentary are all spot on, and down right entertaining. They also aren't scared to ask the questions, or give the real talk, that's necessary for great television.

As I posted previously, I'm pretty excited about the fact there is a true basketball show on Canadian television, (Court Surfing), and the fact that it's hosted by three black men, is pretty groundbreaking. Have to give props to The Score, without question, they've revamped their game a bit and continue to be the Canadian leader in sports, (if you want to view boring, staid, vanilla hoops commentary with questionable insight, watch TSN). As I missed the opening show, I tuned in last night to check it out, and of course watch some games. So here's my take, Court Surfing: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good:
I like the 106 & Park/Much On Demand feel for the show, with the set, they have a DJ, and a live audience which is great, they also check out what's happening online. The sports desk isn't fully covered, so I can see what kicks the hosts are rocking. Of course it goes without saying they flip through NBA games, so you're not stuck watching OKC vs. Indiana. The segments are great, The 24 Second Shot Clock where the hosts go head to head on certain topics and have 24 seconds to state their piece, The CrossOver where they did a piece on Lebron James and the new LBJ 6 kicks, was cool as well.

The Bad:
The only guys who should be getting face time on Court Surfing are Sherman Hamilton, Mark Strong and Will Strickland. The Court Surfing bloggers are all over this show, but they really shouldn't be getting any PT. DJ and Randy aren't ready for this shine yet, listen, I am a blogger, I can write, that doesn't mean I turn into George Stroumboulopoulos when you put a camera in front of me.

Sherm and Strong need to work on their rapport, both are good in their own individual right, but they aren't really connecting. With Strong sometimes less is more, there doesn't need to be a joke or one liner out of everything, especially when it's not always funny, and Sherm falls into it as well, and he's supposed to be the straight man.

The Ugly:
They played the new Lebron 6 commercial straight off of the web, it looked like a 1981 porno on VHS. Couldn't someone have just called Wieden & Kennedy, or Nike Canada to get the TV spot? Also, the Top 5 dunks weren't that hot quality either, I'm not watching in HD, but the difference was noticeable.

I'm a hardcore hoops fan and I dissect media, I'm just not super engaged with all of the stuff beyond the game surfing... yet. It's not automatic like Stockton and Malone, or Sid & Tim on The Score Tonight or Inside the NBA. Maybe I'm being overly harsh, as it's only show #2, but it takes time to build that chemistry.

The Evolution Will Be Televised: Court Surfing on The Score.

I live in Canada, and I'm very proud to say that. However, if you live here, and your favourite sport is basketball, you've just been demoted to about 4th or 5th on the sports totem pole. So growing up, (pre-Raptors, pre-digital TV and pre-internet), you were relegated to just boxscores in the paper, or maybe a highlight on the evening news if something crazy happened. While the sports networks have all improved their hoops coverage, none have done so better than The Score. When watching, it's evident they're fans of the sport, and you can feel their passion, as opposed to their degree of skill reading from a teleprompter.

Now, The Score has taken one of their basketball programs and gone 2.0 on it. Court Surfing, which relaunches next Tuesday @ 7:30 pm EST, will be a weekly 2 1/2 hour dose of interactive basketball opulence. Not only covering the NBA throughout the season, but the culture of basketball and all things that surround it. Envision The Best Damn Sports Show meets, Pardon The Interruption meets, BET 106 & Park meets, NBA on TNT. Court Surfing's new hosts are Mark Strong (NBA XL), Sherman Hamilton (Raptors TV), and Will Strickland (all-around basketball aficionado), who have hoops in their DNA, and the ability to enlighten and entertain, (and post you up if need be).

If I sound excited, it's because I am, we haven't had our own show like this before, and it would appear that hoops has it's new home. But you'll be able to judge for yourself, check out the promo below, or better yet tune in next Tuesday night.

Collaborations.

I remember the first time I saw this commercial, I was in complete and utter awe.

Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Mchale, Mark Aguirre, Bernard King, and Larry Bird, rapping? Arguably poorly, but it was a nod to hip-hop back in the day, and an attempt to be cool at the same time. It also galvanized the shoe game in my mind, all of these great players wearing the same shoe, I figured it must have some something special, if they're all wearing it. Of course I bought a pair, only to find out that it was like playing ball in a pair of cement boots, but that's another story...

But here in these 30 seconds, this was one of the first times I really saw players, the best at the time, doing something together, (All-Star Game doesn't count), but going beyond the lines of the court. At the time it was like the greatest thing to me since Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder recording "Ebony and Ivory".

It's the collaboration, the spirit of working together in a joint intellectual effort, that made it dope. With that being said, we've joined forces with Canada's best sports network, The Score, and one of the best shows on the tube and the Internet Branded, (sorry Cabbie), for a little information exchange.

Check it out.

Mad shout outs to Sharpie and Schneider at Branded.