Hubie Brown, who celebrated his 90th birthday on September 25th, says, “I don’t think I’m 90 years old.” What are you going to do today? I’m 90 years old and I come downstairs and take out my manila pad and have a list of everything I’m going to do today. Then, in the evening, I make a list of which games to watch. Then, during the game, I’m going to identify what interests me. It’s always been the love of the game for me. ”
On Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden, where he walked the sidelines as head coach of the New York Knicks 37 years ago, Brown sat next to his play-by-play partner Dave Pash and did what he has done every year. Since 2004 he has been on ESPN/ABC: Through his staccato expressions he has been educating NBA viewers and reminding us all of the importance of painted areas.
Brown coached Kareem and Oscar, coached against Kobe and LeBron, and is currently calling a game featuring Giannis and Wembane Yama. Brown, who won ABA championships as an assistant at William & Mary and Duke, an assistant with the Bucs, and coach of the Kentucky Colonels, began his broadcast career in the 1981-82 season, teaming with Al Albert on USA Network. is. He was fired as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks.
Although he did return to coaching along the way (five years with the Knicks from 1982 to 1987 and three years with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002 to 2005), Brown was essentially the soundtrack of the NBA for five decades. Met. (When the Knicks fired Brown in 1987, he became a full-time analyst at CBS, then moved to TNT in 1990 when CBS lost its NBA rights.) He is the embodiment of adaptation. The NBA changes and morphs and tournaments are added during the season, but Brown will forever love the game and never scold the current players like a schoolboy. He also corrected some of his worst tendencies as the years went on. With age comes wisdom (hopefully).
Brown’s broadcasting philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: “Never underestimate her IQ for the viewers.”
“I made sure to watch the last two games of both teams before we went on TV,” Brown said. “The reason for that is because I want to be up to date on injuries and new starting groups and then see how they make their substitutions. Additionally, I want to see how they perform at the end of the game against pressure and out-of-bounds play. We want to gauge how people will react in five minutes. Not only are we a national broadcaster, we’re going to 215 countries and that’s a lot of pressure. So we’re always up to date. We need to stay on track and talk about what we think could happen, and when it happens, explain why it happened. The people in the truck are with us, We must provide the necessary photos to support what we are saying.
“I don’t want to go on a TV broadcast unprepared for where this team is, where the injuries are, what the issues are. We try to speak to our audience exactly the same way we speak to our audience. We owe it to you to understand why this is happening. And when something happens, we I want to prove that, because I have never underestimated the IQ of my audience.”
Hubie Brown is my 2023 sports media person of the year because he embodies the idea of no professional limitations. I watched him and Pash call the Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas, and Brown still educates on possessions. He was convincing and detailed why Khris Middleton and Jalen Brunson are effective scorers inside the 3-point area. In the fourth quarter, when we were literally talking about the Knicks beating the Bucks for points in the paint, Brunson added a layup with a deft move to add to his total.
Is Brown the same announcer he was 40 years ago? Of course not. But he’s also more than just a gimmick. he is sitting in his chair.
“I continue to learn something from Hubie every game,” Pash said. “Specifically regarding the Bucks vs. Knicks, in pregame warm-up discussions and early on the broadcast, Hubie emphasized the Knicks’ physical strength and how important it was to their eventual victory over Milwaukee.” continued to point out points in the paint differential, fast break points and other hustle stats, showing how that physicality and drive plays to New York’s advantage. He realized how important his role was because of his position, offensive rebounding tips to capitalize on plays, deflections on defense, and the Knicks were playing without Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims. It also includes the little things that Hubie notices and breaks down to help viewers understand not just the “what” of the broadcast, but the “why.” This is helpful to me as a play-by-play announcer. Because you can start to see those things as well and incorporate them into your game calls.
“During commercial breaks, he does two things that are obviously unknown to the audience. First, he regularly asks me if he has enough time to call a match; I ask how things are going and if we’re working together. Hubie is a great teammate. We spend a fair amount of time together off-air, usually having dinner the night before a game. He treats me like a member of the family, and that comes through in his communication on game day. The second thing Hubie does is point out important stats that are worth noting in the box score. This is helpful for me as his broadcast partner because it gives me a sense of what’s important to him and where to guide him or re-emphasize later in the broadcast.”
Brown said in a previous interview that if he had a motto in life, it would be this. You are always half a step from the street. It came from his father, Charlie, who worked as a foreman at a federal shipyard in Kearney, New Jersey. After all these years and all the success, I asked him if that motto still drives him.
“I always say it’s imprinted in your brain,” Brown said. “Kearney Shipyards built the destroyers and battleships that went to Europe. My father was a foreman and his crew would take those ships and unload them at various bases up and down the East Coast. Because those ships were going to Europe during World War II. About two years after the war ended, the shipyards closed. So my father was unemployed. He moved to New Jersey. I went to work for my mother’s sister’s husband at the Singer Sewing Machine Factory in Elizabeth, State. He was a machinist. He could fix anything.
“Then the Kearny shipyard reopened. He had already been alive for 19 years. He went back and closed the shipyard five or six months later. The work was hard. This man with incredible pride walked the streets for eight months but couldn’t find a job. He became a janitor at my high school, St. Mary’s High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. When I was in seventh grade, he said to me, “Principal, I want you to remember this for the rest of your life.” No matter how good your life is, you’re half a step away from the street. Just remember that. ”
That philosophy also influenced Brown’s health. He stopped watching full West Coast games a few years ago. Because he finished the game too late and he was cheating on his sleep time. He played tennis for many years and also took up swimming in his later years.
“As I swam, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to do eight laps now,’ and thought about the themes I had to work on each lap,” Brown said. “Then I got out of the pool and I had a pad on there to write all these things down. I was good at playing tennis, but now I have a lower back problem between my third and fourth vertebrae. , and because it doesn’t heal right away, I can’t play tennis. Tennis was great because I learned how to compete and play with people who were much better than me. But swimming is about stamina. Not only is it good for your health in many other ways, but it also helps you avoid fooling your doctor.”
“Aside from the physical challenges of being 90 years old, this guy hasn’t slowed down,” said Ken Dennis, who coaches NBA games for ESPN/ABC and has worked with Brown for 15 years. “He gets on a plane a day early, gets to the hotel, eats dinner early, and goes back to his room to watch TNT and the players who are playing that night. He makes up boards and notes for the game. To be honest, in the years I’ve known him, I haven’t noticed much change other than him walking a little slower. Ask me how. He’ll say, “Now be honest!” He loves feedback.
“He asks about our people as well. My crew became his crew. Probably the most fun thing for me is all the coaches, players, fans, etc. who watch him. He’s on the court. While he was preparing while sitting at a table on the side, players who were warming up on the floor would come over to say hello, wish him well, and even ask for his opinion on their play. There is. I can see the respect and respect.”
Brown has played about 15 games each season on ESPN/ABC for the past four years, which he says is perfect for him. His enthusiasm and work ethic are such that, provided his health can be maintained, there is no reason why he could not continue this work for several years.
“We’re basically playing two games a month, and it’s been going really well,” Brown said. “It keeps me alive, energized, and up to date with what’s going on. For me, the schedule is perfect. I keep getting extensions year after year without my agent pestering me for extensions. I can’t thank the people at ABC and ESPN enough for giving me that. (lol)”
As we wrap up 2023, here are some quick recommendations for 2023.
• Documentary: “Goliath,” a three-part documentary series about Wilt Chamberlain from Showtime Sports. “The Billion Dollar Goal” is Paramount+’s exploration of the evolution of U.S. soccer as told through the late Grant Wall and other notable soccer voices. Netflix’s “Bill Russell: Legend” tells the story of the Hall of Fame center’s many trials.
even deeper
New Grant Wuerl tribute, CBS Bills vs. Chiefs ending, Shohei Ohtani’s impact on TV with Dodgers
Authors: The Right Call: What Sports Teach U About Work and Life by Sally Jenkins; The Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk by Billy Walters and Armen Keteyan. “Warrior: My Path to Becoming Brave” by Lisa Guerrero. In the spirit of cheap plugs, I’d also like to mention the book I guest edited this year, The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2023.
Story: This article by Michael Wilson might be my favorite newspaper article of 2023. Because this article shows how little we know about our neighbors.
Viewership: Keep in mind, the NFL always features the most-watched games of the year. But outside of the NFL, there were notable events such as Colorado’s double-overtime victory in the Colorado vs. Colorado State game that kicked off at 10 p.m. ET and drew 9.3 million viewers. There were some worthy numbers. But considering how ingrained it has become in popular sports culture, the No. 1 most-watched game for me was LSU’s win over Iowa in the women’s college basketball title game, which drew 9.9 million viewers. . The game was the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record, reaching a peak audience of 12.6 million viewers. According to Sports Media Watch, the previous all-time record is believed to be her 8.1 million viewers for the 1992 national semifinals between Virginia and Stanford, which was broadcast on CBS.
(Photo of Hubie Brown, March 2022: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)