Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. This
Speaker 1: week's edition of Tom's Talks is a conversation with one
Speaker 1: of Philadelphia's own NBC Sports Philadelphia TV announcer, Mark zoom Off.
Speaker 1: Mark has called the Sixers games on television since nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety four, and he's been a part of the broadcast
Speaker 1: dating back to the last time the Sixers won the
Speaker 1: NBA Championship in nineteen eighty three. We talk about, among
Speaker 1: other topics, broadcasting games offsite, his award winning career, and
Speaker 1: the Sixers chances in the restart to the NBA season.
Speaker 1: Here's Mark Zoomof. Welcome once again, everybody to an edition
Speaker 1: of Tom's Talks. And today we're joined by award winning
Speaker 1: television broadcaster Mark zoom Off from NBC Sports Philadelphia. So
Speaker 1: it's Tom's Talks meets Zoos News. Hello, zus already are
Speaker 1: making me laugh as you normally do. All right, so
Speaker 1: you guys are doing remote broadcasting. You did the three
Speaker 1: scrimmages with the Sixers in the bubble in Orlando, and
Speaker 1: now the games start. How's the remote broadcasting been working?
Speaker 1: And I'm sure you kind of in terms of those scrimmages,
Speaker 1: like the dry run, if you even though you were
Speaker 1: on the air, how's that been going with the remote broadcasts.
Speaker 1: So even as I answer, I'm curious as to what
Speaker 1: you think because I know you've been doing the same thing.
Speaker 1: But you're right, the scrimmages were good to sort of
Speaker 1: grease the wheels and get us used to the facility,
Speaker 1: the protocols. Entering the building, you have to go through
Speaker 1: security or temperature checked, you go unto the elevator, you
Speaker 1: go all the way up to the top to the
Speaker 1: hockey press boxes, and then literally we are all situated
Speaker 1: individually in an individual hockey press box. So there's a
Speaker 1: work area, there are a couple of thirty two inch screens,
Speaker 1: there's lights that are already there, there's a camera that's
Speaker 1: already there. So the reason they're doing is because the
Speaker 1: infrastructure is already in place. In terms of the mechanics,
Speaker 1: I'd really be curious as to what you have to
Speaker 1: say because you're calling the game a lot differently because
Speaker 1: you're not there. You're waiting a beat to either identify
Speaker 1: a player, to make a call, who's the foul, on
Speaker 1: what's the violation that kind of thing. So, but I
Speaker 1: think once you get used to that, and I think
Speaker 1: it's easier for me Tom that it is for you,
Speaker 1: because I have the pictures to tell the story. So
Speaker 1: if I can follow up with a comment that's maybe
Speaker 1: delayed a little bit because I'm not quite sure what's
Speaker 1: going on, it's a little more permissible. With you. There's
Speaker 1: always that immediacy and that pressure. Do you feel that
Speaker 1: a little bit? And it's been Honestly, I didn't know
Speaker 1: how it was going to go. And I know you've
Speaker 1: done remote broadcasting because we actually did the same tournament
Speaker 1: all the way back in two thousand and two. I
Speaker 1: believe that Feeble World Championships from Indianapolis. But anyway, I
Speaker 1: didn't know how it was going to be. Until we
Speaker 1: actually started doing it. I felt like we could do it.
Speaker 1: We've all seen a million games on TV and basically
Speaker 1: that's what we're describing. One thing that strikes me is
Speaker 1: I always want to say and the crowd quiets, so
Speaker 1: it's very quiet, and I have to stop because you know,
Speaker 1: obviously it's been very quiet. But it's been really it's
Speaker 1: been solid. I mean, the NBA has done a tremendous jobs,
Speaker 1: and again for radio to have the audio come in,
Speaker 1: which has been good. And there's been times like they
Speaker 1: have a PA announcer, which I love because it you know,
Speaker 1: it brings like authenticity, and then it also pays off
Speaker 1: of the call because information. As I'm saying Tobias Harris,
Speaker 1: he's saying Tobias Herds too. You know. Then like by
Speaker 1: way of example, the second game, the six Ers play
Speaker 1: the Spurs, and that's a Sixers home game, so it's
Speaker 1: going to be their imaging and I think they're gonna
Speaker 1: have Matt Cord with a public address announcement for the
Speaker 1: starting lineups. That part is great, and I think it's
Speaker 1: been great for our fans. Have you found that. I'll
Speaker 1: tell you what, Speaking of fans, that's the one thing
Speaker 1: that I do miss because you're playing off the fans.
Speaker 1: I know, for us, it's an important element. Somebody makes
Speaker 1: a big hoop and our director goes wild with our
Speaker 1: crowd and they're very colorful and very much into it.
Speaker 1: And of course from an audio standpoint, it just kind
Speaker 1: of supports the whole thing. I mean, that's why they
Speaker 1: call it spectator sports. I think the NBA has done
Speaker 1: a really good job with their virtual fans, and I
Speaker 1: know the sixer is going to have some sort of
Speaker 1: a contest where whereby fans can become one of those
Speaker 1: virtual fans. So listen. It is what it is, whether
Speaker 1: we're doing games off a monitor like we used too
Speaker 1: when we were fourteen years old and we were aspiring
Speaker 1: play by play announcers, or the fact that we have
Speaker 1: no fans and we have to have virtual fans instead.
Speaker 1: It's just really good to have NBA basketball and I'm
Speaker 1: really looking forward to Saturday. One last thing about the fans,
Speaker 1: but I want to get back to that fourteen year
Speaker 1: old in a moment. Is I find that fascinating about
Speaker 1: how you began to achieve your dream. But you know,
Speaker 1: and you love being in the arena and the fans
Speaker 1: and where we sit in the center, you know, and
Speaker 1: you used to sit on the court and you do
Speaker 1: a lot on the road. You feel that pulsate through you.
Speaker 1: That's something As a broadcaster, I know you're gonna be
Speaker 1: able to meet the moment, but that's what gives you.
Speaker 1: You the electricity, and you the energy that's really special,
Speaker 1: and for now that's not the case. But do you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, like over the years, I mean,
Speaker 1: you feel you can cut it with an ife, almost
Speaker 1: the energy in the building. Well, and think of the
Speaker 1: players as well, how they feed off the fans Joel
Speaker 1: and Beat in particular Alan Iverson has used to back
Speaker 1: in the day or two thousand and one when they
Speaker 1: went to the finals. It's a it's an imperative, important component.
Speaker 1: Not only do the fans have to be there, but
Speaker 1: their supportive advertisers paying the ticket prices, doing whatever it
Speaker 1: is that they do. So listen for fans watching now
Speaker 1: you are sorely missed and we can't wait for the
Speaker 1: day we can get your back in the building. So
Speaker 1: you're part of a broadcast crew and have been for years,
Speaker 1: and I know your partners have changed a little bit,
Speaker 1: but now with Allah and Serena all of you on
Speaker 1: the air, but JR. Quill and now Mike Kerman and
Speaker 1: Josh Schrager and Sean Alexiac overseas. I mean, and you
Speaker 1: guys have won so many awards. Your shelves are probably
Speaker 1: full of mid Atlantic Emmys. But it's television like tapestry,
Speaker 1: Like I get to see your monitor, I watch the
Speaker 1: games because oftentimes, like Jr. Will the producer will give
Speaker 1: me a monitor to be able to watch the games
Speaker 1: even on the road, And I'm just amazed, Like it's
Speaker 1: almost like a film. Whereas, let's say it's Martin Luther
Speaker 1: King day and I try to bring I open. It's
Speaker 1: just my voice oftentimes and sometimes a sound bite, but
Speaker 1: I get the importance and the import of the day.
Speaker 1: Whereas your opening and they've showed at the NBA broadcast
Speaker 1: meetings where it's best practices, it's unbelievable. Speak to that
Speaker 1: a little bit. Well, first, you're very kind to say
Speaker 1: all of that. And basically, Thomas, I look at you.
Speaker 1: You have to be everything. You have to convey the mood,
Speaker 1: if it's happy, if it's sad, if it's exciting, it's
Speaker 1: not exciting. Is the coach angry? Are you angry? Whereas
Speaker 1: with us, I'm just a cog in a wheel. I guess,
Speaker 1: an important cog to that standpoint, but a cog in
Speaker 1: the wheel nonetheless, So I'm kind of the ringmaster or
Speaker 1: the host, if you will, And then it's my job
Speaker 1: to facilitate everyone. So bring I'll add an Abbey in
Speaker 1: for a comment, Bring Serena Winters into for a comment,
Speaker 1: go to our replay, go to a special effect, do
Speaker 1: whatever it is that the producer needs to be done.
Speaker 1: There's a constant give and take with the director. I
Speaker 1: might be telling a story and he's got to show
Speaker 1: the pictures, or he shows a picture and I have
Speaker 1: to tell the story. I mean, you know you've done
Speaker 1: your share of TV to get all that, and I
Speaker 1: appreciate your opportunity to bring my insight to the fans.
Speaker 1: But I think the thing that is good with our
Speaker 1: group is we all leave our egos outside and we
Speaker 1: try to bring a real team spirit to it. So
Speaker 1: while I might have a very high profile position and
Speaker 1: I'm no more important than a guy like Josh Schreger
Speaker 1: you mentioned him, our associate producer, who when Joel Embiid
Speaker 1: does something great and post numbers that are unprecedented, he's
Speaker 1: there with the research and brings it out and that's
Speaker 1: his time to shine. So it's just a team effort.
Speaker 1: I appreciate everything you have to say, but you know,
Speaker 1: I'm blessed to be able to work with the people
Speaker 1: that I work with. Speaking of numbers and preparation and research,
Speaker 1: you do as much as anybody, and you've really like
Speaker 1: Grett Brown talks about his pregame routine and for home gaming,
Speaker 1: gets to the center and he works in the building
Speaker 1: all the way up until game time, from give or
Speaker 1: take nine or ten am, and you really put him
Speaker 1: the time and you get to the building early. Talk
Speaker 1: about that preparation and as you say, you might only
Speaker 1: use ten or fifteen percent of it, but it's voluminous
Speaker 1: and it makes you comfortable, it makes you prepared, and
Speaker 1: it brings you to your television broadcast with the best
Speaker 1: preparation possible. Well, I'm going to bout some insight to
Speaker 1: the fans and say this. You are encyclopedic. So when
Speaker 1: we're in the bus, or we're at the arena or
Speaker 1: just out the dinner or something like that, your recall
Speaker 1: of stories and facts and all of these things is
Speaker 1: just unbelievable. I don't have that luxury, so I literally
Speaker 1: have to bone up before every game and get all
Speaker 1: that stuff and marry it to my frontal lobe and
Speaker 1: hope that it stays there. But listen, it's all about preparation.
Speaker 1: If you go on the air and you're not prepared,
Speaker 1: if you don't understand the stakes or the good players
Speaker 1: or the xs and o's or the personalities. Then you're
Speaker 1: not only doing a disservice to the fan, but it's
Speaker 1: like performing out of costume. You just don't fit with
Speaker 1: the show. So that's something that I was always taught
Speaker 1: by mentors the late grade. Gen Hard it was the
Speaker 1: voice of the Flyers. He would carry around back in
Speaker 1: the day like a three inch thick notebook with past
Speaker 1: games and things that he could look up and that
Speaker 1: sort of thing. And when I listened to him and
Speaker 1: his ability to recall that stuff and the texture it
Speaker 1: added to the broadcast, it just, you know, became my
Speaker 1: thing as well. Let's go back. I believe it's say
Speaker 1: the spring of nineteen ninety four, the Sixers have just
Speaker 1: signed Scott Williams, who had been with the Chicago Bulls
Speaker 1: for three championships. He's a six ten center. They signed
Speaker 1: him as a free agent. At that press conference helped
Speaker 1: me on if I'm not from wrong here, yeah, I
Speaker 1: know where you're going. Then owner Harold Katz signs up
Speaker 1: to next to you and informs you that you are
Speaker 1: going to be the TV voice of your hometown team,
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia seventy Sixers. What was that like? So you
Speaker 1: just gave me chills recalling that moment. I just want
Speaker 1: to say to anybody who is watching, if there is
Speaker 1: any way then you could somehow make a dream come true,
Speaker 1: no matter how far fetched it is, go for it.
Speaker 1: And even if it doesn't happen exactly the way you plan,
Speaker 1: at least you gave it an effort, and you tried.
Speaker 1: The fact that I was in a nine year old kid,
Speaker 1: ten year old kid turning this sound down of the
Speaker 1: TV doing games into the tape recorder, and now doing
Speaker 1: the games. This whole thing has been an out of
Speaker 1: body experience. So when I decide that I'm not doing
Speaker 1: it anymore and somebody taps you on the shoulder and says,
Speaker 1: you know, you're just did seventy six ers basketball and
Speaker 1: TV for the last however many years, I won't believe them.
Speaker 1: It's It's been that kind of experience for me. So
Speaker 1: I'm just grateful and really happy when I wake up
Speaker 1: in the morning that when I look at the ceiling,
Speaker 1: I say to beside, you know what, you're going to
Speaker 1: go do a basketball game. And and that's a privilege
Speaker 1: and an honor and very special to be able to
Speaker 1: say that. Appropriate you look at the ceiling, because now
Speaker 1: you're right by the ceiling at the very top of
Speaker 1: the of the center. What so you practice, as you say,
Speaker 1: you probably maybe even on a real to reel. And
Speaker 1: I think back on it, and I used to take
Speaker 1: a tape recorder to games where I was. You know,
Speaker 1: I had like a TV pas because I used to
Speaker 1: be a television news guy. But I used to simulate
Speaker 1: the broadcast, but i'd be in the arena. But you
Speaker 1: did it at home, off the TV and developed, you know,
Speaker 1: the early underpinnings, if you will, of your style. Tell
Speaker 1: me more about that. So now you're leading me into
Speaker 1: a story that I know you've heard no less than
Speaker 1: five thousand times, but I'll tell it any way to
Speaker 1: those who may not have heard it. That's exactly what
Speaker 1: I did. I would turn the sound down of the
Speaker 1: TV and do games into a tape re quarter. And
Speaker 1: back in the day, it wasn't like it is now
Speaker 1: where you could turn on any one of a number
Speaker 1: of sports channels and find an event somewhere, even if
Speaker 1: it's a replay. So I would come home from say
Speaker 1: middle school or high school, and I had this desire
Speaker 1: to broadcast a game. So I would take the TV
Speaker 1: and put it on Channel eight. And back in the
Speaker 1: day we didn't have cable. We had over the air channels,
Speaker 1: and there was no Channel eight in Philadelphia. It was
Speaker 1: just static that sounded like a crowd. So I would
Speaker 1: regulate the crowd, and I would sit next to the
Speaker 1: speaker and I would literally make up a game in
Speaker 1: my head. Here he goes Greedo Chamberlain, chamber on hook
Speaker 1: shot good, and I would crank up the sound and
Speaker 1: the static would be exactly like a crowd. So, in fact,
Speaker 1: I've told that story a lot now because various writers
Speaker 1: have interviewed me and they say, what's it going to
Speaker 1: be like to do a game without a crowd? So
Speaker 1: here's the funny thing, and I say this about players
Speaker 1: all the time, that when you watch players in the NBA,
Speaker 1: while they've had formal training and AAU and college and
Speaker 1: high school and coaches and camps and everything else, a
Speaker 1: lot of what they do at its very core is
Speaker 1: stuff that they develop while they are playing in the
Speaker 1: parks in the playground. So it's kind of it's kind
Speaker 1: of the same thing for me. A lot of times,
Speaker 1: I'll listen to myself and I'll remind myself of that
Speaker 1: fourteen year old from back in the day. That's cool
Speaker 1: now that may or may not have been a union violation.
Speaker 1: You're running your own board back then when you're a
Speaker 1: fourteen now. But that's true about a person's background because
Speaker 1: I often think of you know, Aaron McKee was a
Speaker 1: great finisher right around the basket, and maybe that was
Speaker 1: as he played in playgrounds in North Philadelphia or whatever,
Speaker 1: like Sean Bradley grew up in Castledale, Utah. I don't
Speaker 1: know that he backed down a lot of people at
Speaker 1: seven six or whatever, you know, in the early ages
Speaker 1: and stages of his career, and that maybe shaped him
Speaker 1: as a pro. I'll give you one more thing while
Speaker 1: we're at it, World be Free. Always tell us a
Speaker 1: story about playing with the older kids, and that's why
Speaker 1: he had such a high arc on his jump shot.
Speaker 1: We'll continue our conversation in a moment. In this time
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Speaker 1: visit novacare dot com. Now back to my chat with
Speaker 1: Mark Zumov. So, one of the things I think your
Speaker 1: listeners and the listeners of our podcast here ll get
Speaker 1: a kick out of is you got when your career
Speaker 1: was starting and you went to Temple And I'd like
Speaker 1: to delve into that in a moment, But first, you
Speaker 1: guys were part of the Prism and Sports Channel crew
Speaker 1: at what we call Room ten. It was in this
Speaker 1: spectrum and there's so many of you that are still
Speaker 1: friends today, John Slovakia, I mentioned j R. Quilla, Sean
Speaker 1: Alexei Ac, Larry Rosen was, don't know Paul Jalovich was
Speaker 1: in that room. But all of that it was a
Speaker 1: little room. No, I mean the Deck Uron is probably
Speaker 1: just as big on that event level of the spectrum.
Speaker 1: And how almost all of you have excelled and are
Speaker 1: still in the business a special deal that dates all
Speaker 1: the way back twenty five thirty years ago. Tell me
Speaker 1: more about that Room ten is we've often joked that
Speaker 1: it should be a series on TV. It should be
Speaker 1: a sitcom. Because there was a small room at the spectrum.
Speaker 1: We were an adjunct to the events then, so we
Speaker 1: did between periods, We did halftime, pregame, postgame, that sort
Speaker 1: of thing. We did features and provided other information for
Speaker 1: the old Prism TV, the four Runners, NBC Sports Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: they had a commodation of movies and of course the
Speaker 1: hometown sports. And we worked in an environment that while
Speaker 1: we were covering major market teams and broadcasting to a
Speaker 1: major market, it was no different Tom than you know,
Speaker 1: you working in one of the Panhandle cities that you
Speaker 1: worked in when you were coming from one. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: my point to you is, I don't know if it
Speaker 1: was Pensacola, what was it. It was Panama City. It
Speaker 1: was Panama City. Okay, all right, but but but my
Speaker 1: point to you is we had small market conditions where
Speaker 1: equipment didn't work, and we got paid very little and
Speaker 1: that sort of thing. But being thrown together in this
Speaker 1: little room, I think kind of bonded us and gave
Speaker 1: us a really good work ethic. So John slovakians a
Speaker 1: vice president of NBC Sports Regional Networks, and Sear Lexiyak,
Speaker 1: who was also my intern, is now my boss, Jeff
Speaker 1: Hallickman is the producer for Philly's Baseball, and the list
Speaker 1: goes on. So we're really proud of it. It's nice
Speaker 1: to bring it up, and I'm it dredged up some
Speaker 1: good memories being able to just talk about it well
Speaker 1: and the late Tony Irving. You guys did a lot
Speaker 1: of work together, and you know the speak of those cameras.
Speaker 1: You might drive up to Boston to interview Larry Bird
Speaker 1: at Hill Senate College and on the way back go
Speaker 1: to the garden and go into the locker room of
Speaker 1: the Lakers. I mean today, certainly there would be some
Speaker 1: for planning. You could accomplish some interviews, but not like
Speaker 1: back then where you're going, you know, interview Larry Bird
Speaker 1: in the afternoon and the next day see or that
Speaker 1: nice see Magic Johnson? Those are that those were your
Speaker 1: salad days. That was a pretty good appetizer. You're absolutely right.
Speaker 1: The accessibility was a lot different, and I understand why
Speaker 1: they're not as accessible now because the Internet, because there
Speaker 1: are so many different media outlets. There are legitimate ones,
Speaker 1: there are pretenders, there are people who are clamoring for
Speaker 1: their time, and because of that, they need people to
Speaker 1: I don't want to say shield them, but certainly sift
Speaker 1: through the legitimate requests and the ones that aren't so legitimate.
Speaker 1: But yeah, back then it was great. And Tony was
Speaker 1: an African American God Rest his soul from North Philly,
Speaker 1: and he taught me the game. And I have to
Speaker 1: admit that because I was with him interacting with other
Speaker 1: African Americans, he helped to open that door. So we
Speaker 1: would settle up to Magic Johnson and he would talk
Speaker 1: the talk, and then the next thing you know, Magic
Speaker 1: Johnson is telling us about the Robert Hall suit that
Speaker 1: he wore from the time he was twelve until the
Speaker 1: time he was sixteen. So you know, I have a
Speaker 1: lot of gratitude for Tony for showing me those ropes,
Speaker 1: and yeah, they were great times. That taught me the game,
Speaker 1: and that I think has what enabled me to cover
Speaker 1: the game as I do now. Tony had a swagger.
Speaker 1: He wasn't ready to go in there and ask somebody where.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I might be like two polite or whatever, but
Speaker 1: I want to get the Temple and you're a proud
Speaker 1: Owl alum and Temple University and we just lost Luke
Speaker 1: Lein a year or two ago. But and we've been there.
Speaker 1: You got the Luke Clein Award where you got into
Speaker 1: the Temple Hall of Fame for that, as well as
Speaker 1: some of the people we've already spoke of Sean and whatnot.
Speaker 1: And I've gone there, and when you see some of
Speaker 1: the people that went to school there, I mean, right
Speaker 1: here in Philadelphia. What an incredible training ground to get
Speaker 1: experience in a market this size at a school like that,
Speaker 1: the Luke Clin School of Journalism Communications, What a neat
Speaker 1: thing that is. I think it's easy to say that.
Speaker 1: I would say this when you look at some of
Speaker 1: the other schools as well, Syracuse, Ball State, Indiana University,
Speaker 1: those other schools that have supplied a lot of people
Speaker 1: in our business. It's probably a combination of great faculty,
Speaker 1: great facilities, great curriculum, and if you have one or
Speaker 1: two notable graduates, like you look back at Syracuse and
Speaker 1: you have Marv Albert, or you have Marty Glickman I
Speaker 1: believe was at Fordham, and then you know Mike Breen
Speaker 1: went there. So I think that what happens is it
Speaker 1: kind of feeds upon itself. I'm not sure what comes first,
Speaker 1: the chicken or the egg, but the fact that you
Speaker 1: have one or two notable graduates, I think is an attraction,
Speaker 1: along with the fact that Temple just does a great
Speaker 1: job training and graduating prospective broadcasters. And speaking of prospective broadcasters,
Speaker 1: college students, young people in the business. You've taken to
Speaker 1: mentoring and actually helped evolve that into a business. You've
Speaker 1: helped dozens and dozens of young broadcasters. Mark tell us
Speaker 1: more about that. Yes, I don't do it anymore as
Speaker 1: a business. I stopped it a couple of years ago,
Speaker 1: but it's something that I really enjoy. I often refer
Speaker 1: to the late physicist Richard Feynman who had a saying
Speaker 1: that I've allowed to become one of my credos, and
Speaker 1: that is when one teaches to learn. So when I
Speaker 1: can take an aspiring broadcaster under my wing, it helps
Speaker 1: me to either learn new things because they can teach me,
Speaker 1: or it reinforces things that I may have taken for granted.
Speaker 1: So it's very gratifying. I enjoy it. My door is
Speaker 1: always open and anybody who can find me and find
Speaker 1: my website and find my address is welcome to get
Speaker 1: in touch with me. The Sixers staff has grown so
Speaker 1: much over the years as has many of the staffs
Speaker 1: around the NBA with basketball operations and player development. But
Speaker 1: when you first started, John Lucas was the coach, and
Speaker 1: this happened when I was there too. But so your
Speaker 1: first year, five six Ers go out west and oftentimes
Speaker 1: you would go right to the practice facility and if
Speaker 1: this is how it unfolded or if it isn't, helped
Speaker 1: me out. But you guys are like in Portland, and
Speaker 1: John Lucas has yourself out there. Your director at the
Speaker 1: time on the TV side was franked even sent this.
Speaker 1: He had called point boots and big buckle and you
Speaker 1: were rebounding for the Sixers. That doesn't happen anymore. So, Luke,
Speaker 1: I guess in that respect was family and was bent
Speaker 1: on innovating. But I'll give you a couple of other
Speaker 1: quick stories. One in particular that I remember, and this
Speaker 1: was highly unusual and today it would be totally forbidden,
Speaker 1: was that I would go to shootarounds the morning of
Speaker 1: a game. You know, for those who are uninitiated, a
Speaker 1: formal or an informal practice last about forty five minutes,
Speaker 1: and this would be at the spectrum and before they
Speaker 1: would go out and go through the other team's plays.
Speaker 1: They would gather inside the locker room to review video
Speaker 1: of that night's opponent. So one night I was in
Speaker 1: the locker room and I was or oneing. I was
Speaker 1: in the locker room talking to some players, and Luke
Speaker 1: came in getting ready to start this film session. And
Speaker 1: I started to leave, and Luke pointed to me and said,
Speaker 1: zoom off, you stay. And I proceeded to sit there
Speaker 1: with the players viewing video, and you know, I didn't
Speaker 1: know what to do. I felt like just kind of
Speaker 1: crawling out of my skin or faking my own death
Speaker 1: because I'm looking at the players and they're looking at me,
Speaker 1: and it's like I was such an interloper and it
Speaker 1: felt so inappropriate. But you know, this is kind of
Speaker 1: what Luke was about. He was about family and having
Speaker 1: no secrets if you were in the inner circle, that
Speaker 1: kind of thing. So listen were those were interesting times?
Speaker 1: And Mac, I know you had the second of Luke's
Speaker 1: two years in Philly, and I think if you and
Speaker 1: I put our heads together and wrote a book, we'd
Speaker 1: have to change the names, and then we would need
Speaker 1: the witness Protection program. All right, So the season's about
Speaker 1: the resume. There are eight what they're calling seating games,
Speaker 1: the first of which Saturday this coming weekend against Indiana.
Speaker 1: What do you think are the Sixers chances? Do you
Speaker 1: think they'll move up? You'll think they'll play Miami, Like,
Speaker 1: what do you deal? What do you think is going
Speaker 1: to happen in the next couple of weeks. So one
Speaker 1: thing the Sixers have in their favor is the fact
Speaker 1: that they have the second easiest schedule behind New Orleans,
Speaker 1: so that would help. I think that the next eight
Speaker 1: games are more about Brett Brown making sure he gets
Speaker 1: guys in playoff type shape, flush out this new starting
Speaker 1: lineup with shake Milton, ensure his rotations, see what he
Speaker 1: has going on at the wing position, because right now
Speaker 1: that's rather crowded, and make sure that his team is
Speaker 1: ready for that next level of basketball. Yes, they will
Speaker 1: certainly try to win, They're hardwired to do that. But
Speaker 1: is there any prize at the end of that rainbow?
Speaker 1: Is their home court advantage? I think the one thing
Speaker 1: they may want to try to avoid is the fact
Speaker 1: that if you do move up, let's say you're five
Speaker 1: or four. Now you're in the Milwaukee bracket, and assuming
Speaker 1: they beat the eight team, which is a fad, a
Speaker 1: complete You're facing them in the second round as opposed
Speaker 1: to the conference finals. So you know, is there a situation, say,
Speaker 1: where you know you're down eight with two minutes to go,
Speaker 1: do you arrest Joel Embiid for those two minutes or
Speaker 1: do you send them in there trying to trying to
Speaker 1: win the game. You know, you might be faced with
Speaker 1: those kinds of decisions, but I really think that that's
Speaker 1: the mandate for this team and the coaches and the
Speaker 1: players look ahead to the playoffs and be the best
Speaker 1: you can be by the time they roll around. Well,
Speaker 1: you're the best Zo will be. Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: enjoying the broadcast and the rest of the season, and
Speaker 1: thank you for your time today. Mac, You're the best
Speaker 1: of what you do. Thank you thanks for listening to
Speaker 1: Tom's talks with me Tom McGinnis on the seventy six
Speaker 1: ers podcast network. Check for new episodes every weekend.