Carrier Classic: what you missed on the other side of the lense

I hate it for you if you weren't there, because it was one of the more impressive things I've ever seen. Imagine, if you can, zig-zagging up a steep, metal  flight of stairs to the top level of an aircraft carrier. All you see are trailers and tents. There is no basketball court. In fact, the U.S.S. Carl Vinson was so big that I wandered around for about two minutes before I even found the court. But once I did it stunned me. It was early, about 6:30 a.m., because I was dropping off my computer and Jonathan Jones' computer for the Secret Service to screen.  Green chairs extended back from each edge of the court and two giant screens hung behind each end of it. The only normal thing was the court, but the rest of the set-up, I had never seen anything like it. Here was an athletic setting we're all used to surrounded by ocean, the small island-like city of Coronado and off in the other direction, the San Diego skyline. But all the surrounding stuff looked and felt beneath us, and it wasn't just because the carrier sits so high off the water. Nope, our surroundings were beneath us because for the next 16 hours, where we were was the center of the world...or at least it felt that way.

The court assembled on board the U.S.S. Carl Vinson at about 6:30 a.m.

I wasn't watching ESPN that day, so I don't know what the live look-ins looked like or how extensive the Carrier Classic coverage was prior to the game, but I guarantee you that you missed a lot. So that's what I want to do: fill you in on what you may have missed before, during and after the game, but also revisit a few of the Carrier Classic's best moments.

The Flip Flops

Let's start Friday morning. J.J. and I had to wake up very, very early to turn in every piece of electronic equipment we would use on the carrier except our cell phones. Because President Obama would be on the carrier, the Secret Service went to the lengths you'd expect it to in order to secure the ship for his arrival. This meant leaving my grandparents' house, where we stayed, and driving over to the Naval base on Coronado to pick up our credentials and drop off the electrical equipment. Once we had that, J.J. and I made our way over to the security checkpoint before getting on the ship. You know, metal detectors, dogs. It was similar to an airport, except one thing. A navy soldier yelled at us, "No flip flops." Wasn't me, it was J.J. Can't blame the dude for wanting to get his San Diego on...oh wait, yes we can, because we were told ahead of time not to wear them. Because of that J.J. missed out on helping me find the media tent and dropping off his equipment. He was crushed. 

The Security

We were allowed back on the boat once the Secret Service did whatever they did to our laptops, cameras, etc. We went through a car check where a dog sniffed every inch of my grandparents' interior. There was nothing in the car...thank goodness, Grandma. Then we followed a van to the media parking lot. We watched what we said in the car from then on, just in case it was bugged. Obviously we weren't actually going to say anything we wouldn't want heard, but for a couple of guys who couldn't slip out of a class early without grinning (and almost laughing) on the way out, it was just kind of a fun game. After we parked, we rode a van back to the metal detectors, and this time J.J. was wearing shoes. Success. We were in.

The Hours Before

There was almost too much going on before the game started, but nothing that great. We were all just ready for the game to start. There were huge lines for the merchandise tent, and other attractions on the boat. A group of navy soldiers were playing music on one side of the ship, and on the other end, members of the military were lined up to hang out on the SportsCenter set. Magic Johnson and James Worthy, the two honorary captains for the game, were signing autographs. 

Hail to the Chief

But as it got closer to 4 p.m., we all got more and more excited for President Obama to arrive at the game. At one point all 8,000 of us stood up and expected him to walk out onto the court. The Navy band was playing "Hail to the Chief." It was clearly time. Everyone there was standing, thinking the President was coming, that is until the announer said it was a rehearsal and we should all sit.Carolina Blue writer Evan Markfield captured it perfectly in this tweet. The second time was the charm. After waiting a while, President Obama finally arrived. SIDE NOTE: This was my first experience being that close to a President of the United States. It was awesome. You're standing there thinking to yourself, "this is the most powerful man in the world." I don't care if you're going to vote for him a year from now or not, that was awesome. My guess is that by now, ESPN was rolling. I can't imagine it wouldn't be. But once Obama arrived, we were treated to the first real train-wreck of day: the national anthem.

The National Anthem We All Wish We Never Heard

I don't like bashing a singing of the National Anthem because it's like bashing a prayer, but this was pretty bad. I'm not sure I could put it in words better than Michelle Obama's face does at 0:40 and from about 1:05 to 1:14 in the video. The guy who sang it is the recording artist B. Taylor, who has apparently been called the "new sound of classic motown." I'm not sure who said that about him, but J.J. and I could have done a better job singing that song. No, seriously, we wrote a song in the car on the way to the game. There's a 50 percent chance we'll record it, so stay tuned. I guess the only good thing about B. Taylor's National Anthem is that it so boring that we got this out of it.

 

Mario Lopez Feels Normal Three Times

After the National Anthem, the President spent some time, a lot more time than I expected, speaking before the game. At one point I thought he was going to start campaigning, but he quickly got back on track and worked his way toward the end of the speech. Once President Obama finished talking, he took his seat courtside while the teams warmed up on the court. Other than Obama, nothing was more fascinating before the game than what happened next.  A.C. Slater. Yes, Mario Lopez, in all his EXTRA! EXTRA! glory, was at the carrier game with a mission. The man was going to interview President Obama, or at least he thought so.

Mario Lopez plotting out his strategy for getting that exclusive Obama interview. 

After Obama took his seat, Lopez, as you can see, was locked in on Obama. Before long he walked over to Obama around midcourt but was stopped by a group of Jack Bauers. Can't blame Lopez for trying once, and I can't blame the Secret Service for turning him down. But it didn't stop. Think about it, if your'e Mario Lopez, what do you do next? You find a female and use her, which was what Lopez did a little after his failed first attempt. He found a female naval officer, talked to her, then she decided to lead him over to where the President was. But the Jack Bauers stopped him again. Still, Lopez wasn't about to give up. I mean this is A.C. freakin Slater, the guy doesn't stop. So he devised a plan at halftime to swoop in and go for that interview one more time. At halftime, Lopez and his camera men walked over to halfcourt, and they stayed there. And stayed there. You could say they occupied halfcourt, and occupied it to a level that Alec Baldwin would be proud of. But once again, it didn't work. Lopez and his cameraman were still on the sideline at halfcourt while the referee was trying to start the in-bounds pass at the beginning of the second half. You could hear a few people yell, "Get off the court!" Whether one of them was President Obama, we'll never know. But it wasn't all bad news for Lopez. He got an interview from Brooklyn Decker at halftime, which is always a plus. If you want to watch some of the footage he and Extra put together, you can watch it here.

Lopez may not have gotten his interview with Obama, but he came out all right.

Halftime Note

The halftime shooting contest wasn't incredibly impressive, but the most impressive thing about it was Tyler Hansbrough's shot. He started to develop it toward the end of his collegiate career, but at the Carrier Classic, it looked pretty good. Apparently he's kicked some old habits.

The Postgame Concert We Didn't Understand

When the game ended and we were trying to write, all of us were treated to a concert featuring Five For Fighting and country music artist Billy Currington. I've got to believe there was a good reason for choosing both bands, but I still haven't found it. The only part of Five For Fighting I truly listened to was part of its song, "Freedom Never Cries." Unfortunately, all I heard as we headed to UNC's trailer to interview the team after the game was lead man John Ondrasik singing, "There's a baby on the doorstep" over and over and over. I remember looking at J.J., and him looking back at me, as Ondrasik continued to sing that line. I can't describe that moment, but it was just odd and we both knew it. That was all we heard as we walked along the court to the trailers on the other side of the carrier. "There's a baby on the doorstep...There's a baby on the doorstep." We didn't get it, but we enjoyed repeating that line over and over ourselves on the way to those trailers. The Navy wanted all media members off the carrier by 9 p.m., and I'm starting to think that concert was just incentive for us to write fast.

Maybe Draymond Green Was Right

It's well known that the U.S.S. Carl Vinson was the carrier that took Osama bin Laden's body out to be buried at sea. Michigan State forward Draymond Green was quoted in the week leading up to the Carrier Classic saying, "I hope there is a little red 'X' where they threw him off so i can see it." Well, Draymond, you may be right. Take a look what hidden paint fragment imaging found in that picture of the navy band playing before the game. 

LeBron knows himself, and that's all that matters

There are people in this world who will never forgive LeBron James for leaving Cleveland, even if only for the way he did it.

Don't be one of them.

LeBron made a poor decision to air his decision on T.V., perhaps, but that shouldn't define him at this point.

As for the rest of us? We're just disappointed when it comes to LeBron, and that is understandable. LeBron gave us so much to hope for when he was in Cleveland. The Michael Jordan 2.0 talks weren't that far off. Now, LeBron's game has plateaued. His shooting hasn't improved. He's still getting by on a hefty amount of skill and talent when the rest of us see potential for absolute greatness. It's like a movie that starts out on Emmy-pace, or at least amusing-pace, only to fizzle out after the first half. You know what I'm talking about, Funny People. 

The problem is that all the analysts were right about LeBron and how he'd fit on the Miami Heat, primarily the part about him and Wade clashing. The Heat will probably win the title next year, but LeBron cannot be the same LBJ that he was in Cleveland with Miami. It just won't work, and it's not best for the Heat.

In Cleveland, LeBron didn't have a No. 2 scoring option even close to Chris Bosh's level, let alone Dwayne Wade. He was the nucleus of that team, the best scorer and the best passer. Even when Jordan retired, Scottie Pippen led the Bulls to the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. Think Mo Williams and/or Antawn Jamison could have done that with the Cavaliers?

Between the two, Wade is a better scorer, and it's probably better for the Heat to keep it that way. LeBron can still thrive as a distributor who averages 25 points per game. Wade, on the other hand, will not thrive nearly as much as a No. 2. They're both All-Stars, no matter who handles the bulk of the scoring, but that pinewood derby car is going to go faster if you put the bulk of your weight, or talent in this case with LeBron, in the back seat.

The thing that seems to bother us that LeBron is OK with that.

We've seen him carry a team. We've seen him do things that very few players in the history of the NBA can do. LeBron James is still the best player on the planet. When he's on, he's amazing. Trust me, I've seen it first hand. Heck, we've even seen him be a pretty darn good closer as well, just not in the 2011 NBA Finals.

Let's look at those stats. LeBron averaged 3.0 points per game in six fourth quarters, and up until the sixth game of the series, he had only scored 11 fourth quarter points.

Now let's look at the truth that only LeBron James seems OK with accepting: the Miami Heat don't need big fourth quarters from him every night. They don't even need him to score late most nights. We see this as some great tragedy, as if LeBron were a child who disappoints us by not wanting as much for himself as we want for him.

But LeBron understands something that many of us don't. It's something that's guided him through his decision to go to Miami and it's guided him since. He understands the the Miami Heat, and most importantly, he understands himself. 

There's a great line in The Departed. SIDE NOTE: I know, I know. You're thinking, "Yeah, there's a hundred great lines in The Departed." And you're absolutely right. That movie is pregnant with brilliant writing and acting. But the one I'm thinking of is when Leo's talking to the shrink about being in prison. Vera Farmiga (the shrink) is going through the meeting and checking off her to-do list of inquiry into Leo's life but she can't get anything out of him, because, let's face it, the guy's a pro...or really screwed up...or both. At this point we're figuring that out piece by piece. But she asks Leo about prison, and here's the interaction:

Farmiga: I looked through your file and I see you have a record of assault. What was it like for you in jail? 

Leo: You wanna hear about the showers?

Farmiga: Did something happen to you?

Leo: No. (a beat) You sit there with a mass murderer. A mass murderer. Your heart rate is jacked, your hand...steady. That's one thing I found out about myself in prison. My hand doesn't shake, ever.

This is why we loved Dirk Nowitzki and hated LeBron James in the NBA finals. This is why a grossly overpaid Eli Manning eventually got the money he did after stringing together the best four-game stretch of his career when it mattered most. This is why Dave Roberts will always have a place to stay in Boston.

There are tons of great cops who never had to go through anything like Leo did in The Departed. But few of those cops could keep a steady hand.

Here's the big question we face about LeBron: will it matter to us if his hand still shakes with a few rings on it?

The Podcast -- Soon to come!

I'm working on getting the first podcast up and running, and I'm very excited about it. Hoping to get things rolling in the next couple of days.