Pete Pranica

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The National Sports Media Association (NSMA) today announced that Memphis Grizzlies television play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica of FOX Sports Southeast was voted the 2017 Tennessee State Sportscaster of the Year, his first NSMA State Sportscaster of the Year award.

Pranica will be honored alongside NSMA Hall of Fame inductees Thomas Boswell, Woody Durham, Bryant Gumbel and Dick Weiss, 2017 National Sportscaster of the Year Kevin Harlan, 2017 National Sportswriter of the Year Adrian Wojnarowski and members in each state (plus the District of Columbia) selected as Sportscasters and Sportswriters of the Year during the 59th annual NSMA Awards Weekend, June 23-25, 2018 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Coincidentally, Pranica and Harlan both began their play-by-play careers as high school students at WGBP-FM, a 10-watt student station at what was then Premontre High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin (currently Notre Dame Academy).

Currently in his 14th season with the Grizzlies, Pranica is a six-time finalist for Tennessee State Sportscaster of the Year and has been involved in three Emmy-winning productions: two as a commentator for NBC at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and one with the Grizzlies.

Now calling his 25th season of NBA action, Pranica began his career in the NBA in 1990 by calling select radio games for the Detroit Pistons and in 1998 joined the Portland Trail Blazers, first serving as their radio host and television sideline reporter before taking on television play-by-play duties alongside the late Steve “Snapper” Jones in 1999. Since coming to Memphis in 2004, Pranica has also provided the call for a variety of events including C-USA and SEC basketball, the Southern Heritage Classic football game, SEC and ACC soccer, Memphis Tigers basketball and Memphis Redbirds (AAA) baseball. He also is a member of the NBA’s Officiating Advisory Council.

There were 39 first-time winners of the state awards. Pranica is one of three NBA team play-by-play announcers to win a state award, joining fellow first-time winners Marc Zumoff (Philadelphia 76ers) and Eric Reid (Miami Heat). He is just the second Memphis winner of the Sportscaster of the Year award, joining George Mooney of WMPS in 1959, the first year of the award.

About the National Sports Media Association:

The National Sports Media Association & Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which seeks to develop educational opportunities for those who are interested in pursuing a career in sports media, through networking, interning, mentoring and scholarship programs.

The NSMA also honors, preserves and celebrates the diverse legacy of sports media in the United States.

For sponsorship and membership information, contact Dave Goren at:

For more information on NSMA, go to: nationalsportsmedia.org

pete-pranica-voted-2017-tennessee-sportscaster-of-the-year-by-the-national-sports-media-association

Pete Pranica voted 2017 Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association

On the basketball  court, the Grizzlies’ middle pick and roll with Marc Gasol and Mike Conley is  the epitome of power, speed and precision. Gasol sets the solid screen, Conley  darts around it and ends up with two high-percentage offensive options: his  deadly floater in the lane or a slick dish to Gasol for a layup.

In another milieu,  far removed from hoops and backboards, the US Air Force has its own version of  power, speed and precision in their demonstration flight team, the fabled  Thunderbirds.

I had the rare  opportunity to mount up with one of the Thunderbirds earlier this month and  carve the sky above Tennessee and Mississippi. Because everyone asks, no I  didn’t black out, nor did I experience air sickness. What I did experience,  however, was one of the greatest team efforts going.

The Thunderbirds  were formed in 1953, just six short years after the birth of the Air Force as a  separate armed service. Originally designated as the 3600th Air  Demonstration Unit and based at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, the group  adopted the name Thunderbirds as an acknowledgement of the strong Native  American cultural influence in the region.

Starting with the  F-84G Thunderjet, the Thunderbirds have maintained – with the notable exception  of the T-38 training jet as a concession to the 1970s oil crisis – a commitment  to fly the Air Force’s top of the line aircraft.

In 1982, the  Thunderbirds transitioned out of the relatively tame T-38 into the F-16  produced by General Dynamics (today Lockheed-Martin). With stubby delta wings,  a rakishly swept vertical stabilizer, somewhat flattened needle nose and  distinctive bubble canopy, the F-16 oozes a Ferrari-like appeal. But this  beautiful aircraft is also one of the most capable airborne strike platforms in  the world.

And on a sunny  Thursday afternoon in September, I’m staring at a 1/48 scale model of an F-16  decked out in red, white and blue on a desk in a spare office of the CTI  building on the fringe of the Millington Regional Jetport.

Since I was a boy,  I have loved aviation and spaceflight. I would badger my mother into taking me  to the House of Hobbies in Green Bay to buy aircraft models that I assembled at  the makeshift workbench my father had made for me.

I’m going to fly  in one of them. For real.

The Thunderbirds,  also known as the Air Force’s “Ambassadors in Blue” perform in close to 70 air  shows each year. Their goal is to identify the airmen (and women) of the future  and to retain those already in uniform while also demonstrating the precision,  pride and professionalism of the best the Air Force has to offer.

Those words are  not just marketing copy. Staff Sergeant Madeline Conley who would later explain  to me the finer points of egressing an F-16 via ejection (“Don’t worry,” she  says to me. “We’ve never had a media flier eject and you won’t be the first.”) was  inspired to join the Air Force following a Thunderbirds performance.

For a media member  to fly with the Thunderbirds, you have to be vetted by the Air Force, be measured  to be sure that you can fit into the cramped confines of an F-16 cockpit and be  ready, willing and able to tell your audience about the whole experience. And  please have your personal physician vouch for your fitness to fly in a  high-performance aircraft -- flying upside down and/or pulling G-forces that  will flatten you in your seat.

First off, there  are briefings. I meet first with Captain Sara Harper, a Georgia native and  Auburn alumna who is the current Public Affairs Officer for the Thunderbirds.  She professionally and methodically walks me through the Thunderbirds history as  well as the unit’s facts and figures. There are six show pilots (Thunderbirds 1  through 6) plus an operations officer (Thunderbird 7) and an advance pilot/show  narrator (Thunderbird 8). The flight surgeon, executive officer and maintenance  office are Thunderbirds 9, 10 and 11. Captain Harper is Thunderbird 12. Beyond  the officer compliment, there are some 120 enlisted airmen who support the  Thunderbirds with everything from maintenance support to photos of performances.  This is a team effort of the highest order.

I’ve already met advance  pilot and show narrator Major Scott Petz (Thunderbird 8), who greeted me with a  wry smile and the words, “The key to air power is flexibility.” This was an Air  Force euphemism that the rest of the Thunderbirds had been held up by issues  with a refueling tanker and so our planned Thursday afternoon hop is going to  be postponed until Saturday morning.

Thunderbird 8  retires to a different office, leaving Thunderbird 12 to figure out a  contingency plan since I’m already there. In short order, it is decided that I  will meet with Flight Surgeon Christopher Scheibler to get a grasp on the  physiological demands of the flight and with Staff Sergeant Conley to be  briefed on safety equipment aboard the F-16.

When it comes to  flying high-performance aircraft, there are two big issues that get everyone’s  attention: motion sickness and high G-forces. Motion sickness, I am told, is  hard to predict. Some people who have never been airsick before will have their  stomach doing pirouettes during a Thunderbirds flight while others will have no  problem retaining that morning’s nourishment. I’ve flown back seat in a Navy  trainer while corkscrewing all over the sky without issue, so I’m hopeful all  will be well.

The best way, I am  told, to mitigate the possibility of motion sickness is to hydrate thoroughly  before the flight – as in days before the flight – and to have some food (hold  the grease and/or spice) in the stomach. So I mentally make note of the Thunderbird  9’s suggestion of bagel, banana and peanut butter. “You need to have food on  board up there,” he stresses. “You will burn calories up there because it’s a  workout.”

It’s a workout  because dealing with all the sharp directional changes at high speeds creates  significant G-forces. As you read this, you’re at 1 G, or the normal force of  gravity. Go into a steeply banked turn at more than 500 miles per hour and  you’re going to feel the weight of the world (or so it seems) on you.

While you can’t  predict how your body will react to all the twisting, turning, climbing,  rolling and diving, you can at least do something about the G-forces. The human  body, Thunderbird 9 informs me, “can deal with a force of about 4 G for short  periods of time.” But since the Thunderbirds often pull more than that load,  “we use a G-suit which offers about another 1.5 G-force of resistance to those  high G-forces. So you’re good to almost 6 Gs.”

That’s good news,  except the maximum G load that an F-16 can sustain is 9 G, well beyond the  body’s normal ability to tolerate, even in a G-suit. And of course, the  Thunderbirds have a 9 G maneuver in their playbook. Without added measures,  those 9 Gs will pull the blood from your brain and send it to your feet on the  express train, leaving you with tunnel vision, black and white vision or just  plain blacked out.

Thunderbird 9  explains the proper breathing technique when embarking on a high-G maneuver.  Take the deepest breath you can and every three seconds thereafter, do what’s  called an “air exchange” in which you make a guttural “kh” sound, opening your  epiglottis in the back of your throat and then pulling in more breath. And  while you’re doing that, make sure you’re squeezing your thigh, core and butt  muscles to assist the G-suit in ensuring blood doesn’t go somewhere you don’t  want it to.

If you don’t, the GoPro Hero camera mounted in the cockpit will document you  blacking out, and that’s a bad look.

Then, it’s over to  Staff Sergeant Conley for an explanation of how to stay alive in the event that  you have to pull that yellow and black ejection handle. Everything is covered  in meticulous detail. Your mind is racing on parallel tracks: no media flier  has ever had to eject, so do you really need to know all this? Of course,  there’s a first time for everything and I do pride myself on preparation. It’s  a lot to take in, even for someone like me who is versed in aviation matters. Staff  Sergeant Conley coolly reassures me that even though the possibility of an  ejection is slight, “your parachute will open because I packed it.”

Since the  equipment has been delayed, I can’t get fitted for my helmet, flight suit and G-suit.  And so I go home armed with knowledge of how to deal with high-performance  flight and a promise of a 10 am flight in two days.

When Saturday  morning dawns, there’s a low overcast and rain spatters the windshield as my  wife and I drive toward Millington. I don’t know what weather parameters are  for the Thunderbirds, but even if I did know them, worrying about whether or  not the flight will go wouldn’t be helpful.

I’m well-hydrated  and have enough food in my stomach to stand me in good stead (I hope) for the  planned one-hour flight. A curious mix of apprehension and excitement brews as  we approach the air field. Flying like this is something I’ve always wanted to  do, but it’s certainly nothing like flying a Cessna 172. The unknown is out  there for me and I resolve myself to being open to the moment and enjoying the  experience fully.

Once back in the  CTI offices, I check in with Staff Sergeant Conley who now has all my gear –  olive green flight coverall, boots, a shiny red Thunderbirds helmet with air  mask and g-suit. There are zippers and snaps everywhere. The G-suit is an air  bladder that runs from your diaphragm area down to your calves. The suit is  connected to the airplane and the suit senses the onset of G-forces and will  inflate bladders on the calves, thighs and abdomen to assist you in keeping  blood in its God-given location, thus keeping you conscious.

I practice  latching and unlatching the various straps and harnesses, but unfamiliarity  with the equipment, the early morning hour and lack of caffeine (its  dehydrating effects aren’t what I need this morning) makes the snaps and clasps  seem heavy and clumsy in my hands. After finally getting my game together, I  walk to the office next door to meet my pilot for this hop, Thunderbird 8,  Major Scott Petz – the same team member who informed me of Thursday’s snafu.

As it turns out,  Major Petz knows former Grizz Mike Miller and so we make small talk about  Mitchell, South Dakota and the Corn Palace. Major Petz’s call sign is “Cheetah”  and he asks me what I want to be called on the radio. Rather than trying to be  clever, we settle on the obvious call sign.

Thunderbird 8  spreads out a chart of the nearby air space and sets up an iPad with a series  of cockpit photos to familiarize me with various switches and handles. The most  important of which is the handle that arms the ejection system. On the ground  it is in “safe” mode, but once we spool up the engine, we need to arm the  ejection system. Thunderbird 8 will be sitting maybe six feet in front of me,  so he can’t reach back to my cockpit area to help me. I’m not going to let him  down, so my attention is rapt.

Once we go through  the cockpit checks, Thunderbird 8 explains the flight profile. If you’ve seen  photos of the Thunderbirds, you know that there are four jets that typically  fly in formation (Thunderbirds 1-4) plus two solo pilots (Thunderbirds 5 and 6)  that often merge their flight profiles to work in tandem. It’s those two solo  pilots that pull off the extra-credit maneuvers like knife-edge passes in which  the plane is flying with its wings perpendicular to the ground, or rolls and  loops trailing smoke to enhance the visual.

The plan for this  hop is to fly the Thunderbirds 5 / 6 profile. “We’re going to do this as a  building block process,” Thunderbird 8 explains. We will start with the  high-performance takeoff, which is what you call going vertical (or “ballistic”  ala Top Gun) after lifting off the  runway. After that, it will be a series of maneuvers increasing in intensity.  The point is that if I’m not enjoying being tossed around at high speeds or  spinning 15,000 feet in the air, Thunderbird 8 will go into what he calls  “Southwest mode” – straight and level flight. As Thunderbird 8 details the  flight profile, he pulls the F-16 model from its stand and mimics the  anticipated maneuvers.

He asks me if I  have questions and frankly, I'm out of questions. I just want to go fly.

Behind every  Thunderbirds plane and pilot stand a ground crew to take care of all the minute  details. They are all dressed in crisp blues, impeccably groomed and wearing  hearing protection as Thunderbird 8 and I pull up next to the coolest airplane  I will likely ever fly in.

The pilots get a  lot of the credit and all the love from the fans. They’re the ones making  school and hospital visits, they’re the ones signing autographs, but if not for  the dedicated ground crew and support staff, these F-16s aren’t going anywhere.

The Air Force goes  out of its way to make the media fliers feel welcomed, even to the point of  stenciling my name on the cockpit canopy. Rather than me being a nuisance and  just another task the crew has to complete as part of the busy air show  schedule, the men and women in blue seem to be genuinely eager and happy to see  me planeside. They line up and each and every one looks me in the eyes and  shakes my hand, wishing me a good flight.

I ascend the  ladder to the back seat of the F-16. The photographer, Senior Airman Rachel  Maxwell tells me where to place my hands and feet for the “hero shot” that  mimics the Top Gun promotional photo  of Tom Cruise. Once that bit of ceremony is completed it’s time to strap into  the cockpit. Once I am all buttoned up, I have the distinct sense that I’m not  a passenger in this plane, but that I am wearing it – the quarters are that tight.

Thunderbird 8  leans in from the backseat ladder and makes sure I’m comfortable and familiar  with what I need to know. “All right Grizz,” he calls out in a loud voice so as  to be heard over the noise on the ramp, “are you ready for this?”

“Yes, sir” I say.  And with that, Thunderbird 8 climbs down the backseat ladder and prepares to  enter the front seat. Meanwhile, I’m alone in my thoughts. I focus on breathing  properly. I note that I have a water bottle in my right leg pocket. Two bright  white air sickness bags, held in place by elastic bands across the tops of my  thighs stare up at me. I rehearse how to flip my air mask off in case I need to  get sick or get a drink of water.

Thunderbird 8’s  call of “Hey, Grizz” breaks my train of thought. “Keep clear of the canopy and  the sill. Canopy coming down.” “All right, Cheetah,” I say. “I’m clear back  here.”

With that, we are  shut off from the rest of the world. It’s time to go fly.

There is a low  cloud deck over Millington and regulations require that Thunderbird maneuvers with  civilians aboard be conducted at altitudes above 5,000 feet, so the plan is to  head south to the Oxford, Mississippi area and do our program where the skies  are a bit clearer, both of clouds and of air traffic.

As we begin our  takeoff roll, the “this is really cool” factor kicks in. I’m flying in one of  the hottest airplanes on the planet. We hit 170 miles per hour and lift off the  runway. Once we clear the end, Thunderbird 8 pulls into a vertical climb. My  eyes are open, but gravity is trying to shut them as we punch a hole in the  clouds. I’m being pushed back into my seat and I can feel the bladders of the G-suit  start to fill with air. Not bad. Not bad at all.

We get to 15,000  feet in no time flat and it’s time to head to clear skies and do what Thunderbirds  do.

Once we get to our  designated area, we step through the entire Thunderbird solo program. We roll  around the horizontal axis of the plane in four quick segments, then eight. We  loop around, trailing smoke. We fly the knife-edge pass with Thunderbird 8  stomping on the right rudder pedal to keep the nose flying along with horizon  line, wings perpendicular to the ground.

Inverted flight is  interesting. I thought my straps were all fastened nice and tight, almost to  the point of cutting off circulation. Then we go inverted and I discover to my  mild surprise that the straps could have been just a bit tighter.

After each  maneuver, Thunderbird 8 calls out: “Hey Grizz, howya doing back there? You okay  buddy?”

I am fine. It’s a ride that is giving my body a workout, but there’s no way I’m  tapping out of this experience. I’m breathing heavily, just trying to make sure  oxygenated blood is everywhere it should be.

“You’re doin’  great, Grizz,” Thunderbird 8 chirps. “I can’t break you.” I don’t know how  other media fliers do, whether they can fly the entire profile or not before  they ask for “Southwest mode.” I don’t care. I’m doing just fine and I’m going  to fly the whole profile and not get sick. Mind over matter.

But the big piece  is coming up. The 9-G turn which is the max load the F-16 can sustain. I ask  Thunderbird 8 for a moment to regroup and get myself ready for the moment.

“Hey Cheetah, I’m  good now. Let’s do this.”

That’s my cue to  pull in as much of the 100% oxygen I’m breathing and to squeeze everything I  can. Thunderbird 8 goes to max power and whips us around. It feels like a house  has fallen on top of me. I am in a good position with my head up and spine  straight. I do my breath exchanges and after a few seconds, we ease of out the  maneuver.

“Grizz, look at  the display man. Nine point-one Gs! Awesome man. You’re crushing this!”

I look at the  green display in front of me and sure enough, there’s “9.1” on the screen. Mission  accomplished.

We spend the rest  of the flight back to Millington talking about dog fighting tactics and  Thunderbird 8 shows me how to engage a Russian MIG. The Thunderbirds are not  simply show pilots who can fly fancy. Most of them, Thunderbird 8 included,  have a hundred or more hours of combat experience in an F-16. In fact,  Thunderbird 8 used to fly as an aggressor pilot to help train Air Force pilots  in Russian MIG tactics.

After some dancing  around courtesy of air traffic control, we line up for final approach. “The  F-16 is an easy plane to land,” Thunderbird 8 quips. “It’s just not easy to  land it well, which I want to do in front of all these people.”

We settle onto the  runway, the air brakes deploy and we slow to taxi speed. My stomach is a bit  sour, but nowhere near the sickness point. “I did it,” I say to Thunderbird 8.  “I did the whole profile, pulled 9 Gs and didn’t get sick.”

“Don't shortchange  yourself Grizz,” he replies. “It was 9.1 Gs.”

Once we pull into  our parking spot, I struggle a bit to lift my leg over the sill. Eventually I  do and Thunderbird 8 and I share a handshake and congratulations. He calls the  ground crew around us and introduces me as the voice of the Memphis Grizzlies  and tells them how well I did up there. He presents me with a photograph of the  team in flight and it is signed by all the officers. I am genuinely moved by  this and I speak to the group.

“I just wanted you  to know that, being involved in a team sport, I know teamwork when I see it and  you are an awesome team. Thank you for your dedication and your patriotism. It  is not unrecognized. God bless you all.”

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Pete's Perspective: Thunderbirds are Go!

Santa Barbara, CA - The Memphis Grizzlies closed out their last practice of the 2015 training camp on the campus of UC-Santa Barbara Saturday morning and prepared to board their charter flight back to Memphis.

Overall, head coach Dave Joerger was pleased, saying, “By and large, I would give them a 92 or 93 out of a hundred this week.”

He was reticent to single out players for exceptionally high performance, admitting, “it’s always easy to pick the new guys. I thought Brandan Wright had a good camp. JaMychal Green has been really good the last three days. I thought Tony Allen gave a lot of juice to the gym. I think that’s really good. We need that stuff.”

Joerger also noted, “Courtney Lee has been very aggressive, which we need offensively. He had a real good summer and it looks like it’s paying off right now.”

There’s a pre-season game looming on Tuesday against Houston at FedExForum, but Joerger isn’t focused on that, instead taking a longer view of the process.

“I’m going to try and ignore the game on Tuesday. We need to get better on Monday, try to get them better on Tuesday. We’re trying to build this thing slowly, not skip steps, staying in the fundamentals.

“We’re going over stuff over and over – for a reason, not just for the new guys. No, we’ve got guys that need that refreshing and I think I’d be remiss as a coach if I skipped steps.”

The first steps have been taken. Time to head back to Memphis.

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Pete’s Perspective: Final day of Training Camp

Santa Barbara, CA - When you look at the 2015-16 edition of the Memphis Grizzlies, there are the mortal locks: Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley will be in the All Star conversation, Tony Allen will be in the mix for First Team All Defense accolades, the Grizzlies will be among the league leaders in paint scoring and defensive efficiency.

Then there are the X factors: Can Matt Barnes provide some “three and D” on the wing? Can Courtney Lee shoot a consistent 40% from the arc? Will Vince Carter give the Grizzlies the deep threat they’ve coveted for years? Will the Grizzlies remain healthy?

One X factor that is flying just below the radar is the play of JaMychal Green as a backup to Zach Randolph.

Undrafted coming out of Alabama in 2012, Green was part of San Antonio’s summer league roster in 2012 and was brought to camp, only to be waived. Green shuttled between the Spurs and their D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros (now Spurs) that season and again during the 2014-15 season with a quick Clippers stop and a 2013-14 season in France.

Last season, the Spurs signed Green to a 10-day contract in January, but didn’t sign him to a second, allowing the Grizzlies to acquire him. The Grizzlies signed the D-League All Star to a pair of 10-day contracts and then a multi-year deal in March.

With Jon Leuer off to Phoenix, the backup power forward position looks to be Green’s to win. “He’s probably our most athletic guy,” said Dave Joerger earlier this week. Assistant coach Elston Turner added, “He can run, defend pick and rolls and jump as high as anybody on the team.” Among other upsides, Turner noted “his attitude – extremely coachable.”

Green made an impression at the Orlando Summer league, dropping ten points in just 5:31 of court time against Charlotte. His summer campaign was cut short by a stomach virus. Now, completely healthy he says, “I know I have to come in and play with the same intensity. I played well in summer league and I just need to do the same thing in training camp.”

“He’s a utility guy,” says Joerger. “Make a shot now and then, get an offensive rebound now and then, make an energy play. Those kind of things over the course of a season can help.”

The soft-spoken Green has a high motor and good work ethic and understands that he now has a chance to be a contributor on a team with title aspirations.

Green knows exactly what the coaching staff wants from him: “I gotta go out there and hustle, make the hustle plays, dive on the floor, rebound, block shots, knock down open shots when I have them.”

He’s not a prototypical stretch four in that he doesn’t shoot the three ball and in some cases may play some small forward. That said, he does have decent range out to fifteen feet or so. While relatively slender (listed as 227 pounds on a 6-9 frame), he’s capable physically of battling for rebounds underneath and protecting the rim.

Every great team has role players and Green could fill a very big role as an energy and hustle guy, adding length and athleticism to the Grizzlies while giving them more options with their lineups.

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Pete’s Perspective: Training Camp, Day 4

Santa Barbara, CA - I remember exactly where I was when I found out that the Grizzlies had traded for Matt Barnes.

I was on the seventh fairway at Stonebridge Golf Club with my next-door neighbor (and former PGA Tour pro) John Melnick. John and his wife are big Grizzlies fans, often sitting with my wife at home games and hosting her in their living room when the Grizzlies are on the road.

“Hey John,” I called out as soon as I got the text. “You’re not going to believe this, but we just got Matt Barnes.”

“Matt Barnes? The guy who played for the Clippers?” John replied.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t really know how to feel or what to think. My first memory of Matt Barnes is the night he dropped 30 points on the Grizzlies while with the Golden State Warriors. More recently, all Griz fans know that Barnes was a regular pain in the butt to Memphis as a member of the (Boo! Hiss!) Clippers.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks to a promotional event that I hosted at the Memphis Zoo with Mike Conley. After some small talk about things like titanium plates being inserted into one’s face, the conversation turned to Matt Barnes.

“What can you tell me about Matt Barnes?” I asked.

“Well, he and I have the same stylist,” Conley replied. “He’s actually a pretty good guy.”

“The kind of guy you love to have as a teammate, but hate to play against?”

That makes Matt Barnes the current captain of the All Bill Laimbeer Team – guys that you absolutely hate as an opponent because they get under your skin, talking smack non-stop and playing with a physical edge that rides the line between rough and dirty. But, if this guy is on your team? You absolutely love him because he’s going to have everyone’s back and will do whatever it takes to win.

I spoke with Barnes Wednesday morning after practice and he was upbeat about his new situation, odd though it may seem, transitioning between rivals. “This is a good group of guys. Playing them so much while I was a Clipper, I really picked up on what this team is about and how they played and it’s really my style.”

The acquisition of Barnes gives the Grizzlies an added dimension of athleticism on the wings. He can defend his small forward position very well and isn’t afraid to play against bigger forwards when the Grizzlies go small. He also has a decent three-point stroke. In fact, he made more triples last season than Courtney Lee.

“Everyone’s focus is on winning,” Barnes told me. “That makes me excited. All I want to do is win. To be on a winning team, everyone has to sacrifice a little bit and this team does that.”

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Pete’s Perspective on Matt Barnes

Santa Barbara, CA – The Memphis Grizzlies went through a spirited workout lasting more than two and a half hours at the Robertson Gymnasium on the campus of UC-Santa Barbara Tuesday afternoon.

Dave Joerger, in comments after the practice, was pleased with the workout. Noting that the coaching staff was “trying to work the two new guys (Matt Barnes and Brandon Wright) in,” Joerger enthused about the added athleticism and high basketball IQ Barnes and Wright bring to the Grizzlies roster. He was also very complimentary of Courtney Lee’s offseason conditioning work.

Even though the Grizzlies have substantial roster continuity from previous seasons, there are still things to be learned. “I want to see how different guys complement other guys and see how they play together,” said Joerger. The added athleticism on the wing (Barnes) and in the paint (Wright) will give Joerger a plethora of options and he’s faced with the enviable (I think) task of fitting together all these talented pieces.

I asked Mike Conley about his leadership role and the challenge of keeping everyone happy. “I’m all about the team,” he told me. Like Joerger, Conley was excited to see Barnes and Wright in blue and white practice jerseys. I mentioned to Conley Joerger’s comments the previous day in which he indicated that he wanted Conley to be even more aggressive offensively. “Yeah,” Conley said as a wry smile creased his face. “He’s told me that.” Mike Conley, no matter the setting, is one of the nicest and most accommodating person you’ll ever meet. But Dave Joerger wants him to be a bit more selfish. Why? Because he’s an elite level point guard and can score the ball in addition to setting up his teammates.

The bottom line is that this Grizzlies team is deeper and more talented than even last season’s bunch. That’s good, but it also presents a challenge for Joerger and his staff with respect to rotations and combinations. But it's a long season and the Grizzlies coaching staff is awfully smart. I’m betting they figure it out.

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Pete's Perspective: 2015 Grizzlies Training Camp - Day 1

The Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) have announced that the Memphis Grizzlies have been nominated for a franchise-best eight categories for the 29th Annual Midsouth Emmy® Awards.

Grizzlies’ Director of Broadcast Marketing &amp; Original Programming Pat Stage has been nominated for a career-best six Emmys and has once again been nominated for best Commercial Campaign for the Grizzlies’, “Greater Memphis Commercials.” Stage has also been nominated for five other categories including: Best Editor/Program for “Grizzlies Films Editing Composite,” best Promo Spot/Sports for “Greater Memphis Trailer,” best Sports Program/Feature for “Marc Gasol-The Return,” and best Writer/Short Form for “Greater Memphis Promo.” In addition, Stage was also nominated for best Editor/Short Form for his in-arena, commercials and broadcast teases. These honors mark 22 career nominations. Stage claimed three Emmys in last year’s award ceremony for best Editor/Program, best Writer/Program and best Editor/Short Form.

Grizzlies Senior Videographer &amp; Editor Nick Modisett has also been nominated for best Photographer/Program for his photography composite. This honor marks his third career Emmy® nomination and second as a member of the Grizzlies’ broadcasting staff.

Grizzlies Director of Broadcast Production Scott Zachry, SportSouth’s Randy Stephens, Rohan Backfisch and Tom Huet were also nominated for best Sporting Event/Game for their work on the broadcast of Memphis’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs on April 21, 2014. The game was called by Grizzlies’ play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica, television analyst Brevin Knight and sideline reporter Rob Fischer. The Grizzlies previously won an Emmy® for this category in the 2011-12 Season.  These honors mark the Memphis Grizzlies’ 29th nomination overall.

In addition to his Emmy nomination for best Sporting Event/Game, Pranica has also been nominated for State Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA). This honor is Pranica’s third career nomination in this category. The NSSA consists of over 800 leading sportscasters and sportswriters throughout the country.

“We are honored to be recognized by our peers,” said Vice President of Marketing Communication &amp; Broadcast John Pugliese. “Our broadcast productions and team, including original programming and Grizzlies TV, have been consistent with our commitment to providing world-class entertainment. We look forward to growing and continuing to provide the most in-depth and entertaining coverage for all of Grizz Nation to enjoy.”

The Nashville/Midsouth Region, founded in 1984, encompasses the States of North Carolina (except Asheville) and Tennessee, and the television market of Huntsville, Alabama. In addition to granting the Midsouth Regional Emmy® Awards, the chapter awards scholarships, honors quarter-century industry veterans with the Silver Circle, conducts Regional Student Television Awards of Excellence for high schools, has a free, nationwide Job Bank, provides member discounts, and participates in judging Emmy entries at the regional and national levels.

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Memphis Grizzlies nominated in eight categories in 29th annual Midsouth Regional Emmy® Awards

In mid-November when the Grizzlies took on the Detroit Pistons at FedExForum, Pete Pranica completed a personal milestone by broadcasting his 1,000th NBA game. A consummate professional and beloved personality around Memphis, Pranica has been a staple in Grizzlies radio and TV spanning back to the 2004-05 season, FedExForum’s inaugural year. Bridging two playoff runs from 2003-06 and 2010-present, Pranica has called many of the franchise’s most memorable moments through the years. The Memphis Grizzlies would like to congratulate Pete on this tremendous accomplishment.

What does it mean for you personally to call your 1,000th NBA game?

What are some of your greatest Grizzlies memories?

What do you think is unique about the Grizzlies’ integration with the Memphis community?

What kind of impact did Don Poier have on your broadcasting career?

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Pete Pranica’s 1,000th game

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