john deshazier

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Pelicans Social Justice Roundtable on Juneteenth 2020

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Jim Eichenhofer

By now you probably know most of the popular favorable characteristics of the five cities that comprise the NBA’s Southwest Division, such as New Orleans’ well-documented nightlife and social scene, which draws worldwide attention during Mardi Gras each winter. But what are some of the lesser-known parts of the region’s cities that make them great places to live or visit? Our five-person division panel explored that topic this week. The panel was also joined by three writers from other NBA franchises, as well as a handful of Pelicans TV and radio broadcasters, who all partly played the role of “local tourism director” in this week’s feature.

What’s the most underrated aspect of your home NBA city?

The most underrated thing about Dallas is that we are a city for food lovers. We have no shortage of great restaurants and bars. The cuisine is varied and there always seems to be new restaurants in areas that are undergoing a transition. Hopefully that will continue when things get back to normal.

Houston is just one of the friendliest cities in America. Yes I’m biased but other friends who come here say the same thing. We get knocked for our humidity and traffic. But once you settle in, you’re going to have a good time here. The food, the bars, the music options, and the golf. I also love the vibe in and around the Toyota Center especially during the postseason.

The South Bluffs/Riverside Drive. The BBQ, Blues, Beale Street, Graceland, St. Jude Research and Le Bonheur Children’s hospitals and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel are all fascinating places. Most folks hit up some, most or all of them on their way through Memphis. But there’s no better place to catch an amazing sunset or a refreshing jog than along the peaceful, serene stretch of Riverside Drive along the South Bluffs just off the Mississippi River. When I worked at ESPN or elsewhere covering the league and came to Memphis, I always carved an hour or two into my schedule to reset my thoughts and take in this underrated spot.

New Orleans suffers from some of the same misperceptions as the Mardi Gras celebration, because based on what most see on TV, people may be only aware of what takes place downtown and in the French Quarter. For NBA teams that visit the Crescent City, I doubt many venture very far from Canal Street, which is understandable because there are so many amazing restaurants nearby, for example. But if you have rare spare time during the season, or you’re staying here for multiple days during a playoff series – and some of those could be on the horizon – I recommend checking out Lake Pontchartrain, or massive City Park, neither of which are too far from downtown. Both will give you a much different perspective on the city’s natural beauty.

Again, diversity. Most people come to San Antonio thinking the place to be is the Riverwalk, and sure it’s a great place to visit if you’re a tourist. But most of that area is tourists. The city has so much more to offer, especially when it comes to great restaurants. San Antonio is probably one of the more spread out NBA cities. So, you’ve really got to venture outside of the downtown area to get a good feel for the city. Longtime NBA scribe Mike Monroe is a great resource for finding the best places to visit in San Antonio. I live here, and I even hit Mike up from time to time for recommendations. If you were covering a playoff series out here, I’d say on a day off, you should drive out to New Braunfels or San Marcos and hit the Guadalupe, Comal, San Marcos or Frio rivers, where tubing is a way of life. You can rent tubes for super cheap (or hit me up and I’ll let you borrow some of mine), bring a cooler full of cold beer and some tunes and just kick back and relax and float the rivers for hours. Along the way, you’ll meet tons of fun people and there are usually places to grab a bite to eat along the float route. I’m actually sad I haven’t yet floated any of the rivers since the NBA suspended the season.

Believe it or not, it’s actually the weather … for a couple of months each season. If you’re lucky enough to come to Boston during the final two weeks of the regular season (the start of April) or in the playoffs, you’re likely going to see this city in its most ideal state. This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the country, with an overload of character. Experiencing all of that in 75-85 degree, sunny weather, is a good deal.

Everyone knows Orlando for Disney and its theme parks, but there are many sides of the city that most visitors never get to see. There are a number of wildlife parks, lakes and trails all within a short drive of the city center. Orlando is also only a 40-minute drive to some of the best beaches on the East Coast and just over an hour from some of the top Gulf Coast shores the country has to offer. Orlando is also an underrated food city – just ask JJ Redick. Head to downtown Winter Park for a variety of high-end dinner experiences or visit the College Park, Mills 50 and Audubon Park districts for a wide array of dining options. If you’re a partygoer that doesn’t mind being surrounded by a younger demographic, downtown Orlando rarely disappoints Thursday through Sunday.

The NBA season is in the winter. The winter is cold. Minneapolis is especially cold. That’s why we have skyways. What are skyways, you ask? They are basically walkways that connect buildings so you never have to go outside. Chances are if you’re staying in a hotel downtown to watch a Timberwolves game, you won’t even have to go outside to get to the Target Center. It turns out the cold isn’t so bad when you never have to go outside.

New Orleans is a place where you pretty much are accepted for being who you are (as long as you’re not a criminal, but I digress). I don’t really know how it is in other cities – I’m not there, obviously. But people aren’t “overwhelmed” by celebrity (I only have to do autographs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) and they seem to be accepting of the fact that the famous among them also need their space. We hear a ton about how players love to be in “major” cities and the extra financial opportunities that are afforded there, but the fact is fame and fortune will find the location of the person who’s deserving of fame and fortune. Meanwhile, a familial feel can be taken for granted. True, it’s not for everyone. But for those who are attracted to it, who believe they can help create their own big stage, New Orleans is a pretty great place to be.

The most underrated aspect about our city for NBA is that we have some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the league. We just haven’t had the opportunity to grow the fan base on a consistent level over the years for one reason or another. The hardcore fans have always been there. That change has been palpable this season with the atmosphere inside the Smoothie King Center and the vibe around town since we won the NBA draft lottery one year ago. It’s only gonna get better.

The genuine soul of New Orleans. Yes the food is wonderful, the music is amazing and the architecture is gorgeous. I truly believe though you need to experience it all away from the typical tourist traps. Nola is so unique – discovering the city needs to be personal. I love making somewhat individual recommendations for NBA and NFL friends visiting Nola, based on their interests. Cooking classes, streetcar rides, Garden District walking tours or a trip to the Spotted Cat/Maple Leaf Bar/Tipitina’s … there is something for everyone to fall in love with!

How good the people are, how genuine the people in this city are. For those of us who have lived here, we’ve all found out that if you embrace the city, it will give back to you, times a thousand. Everyone who comes to visits our city and walks around – whether it’s the visiting NBA teams, or anyone else – finds that out in a big hurry.

The history of the city. When you go on road trips to a lot of other cities in the NBA, your first thought is not to do something related to history, or to go somewhere to learn about the culture of the city. But when you’re in New Orleans, the culture and the history kind of hits you in the face, in a good way. You don’t have to go to certain places to see a historic aspect of the city; the whole city is historic. It’s something you can feel when you come here and what’s so unique about New Orleans.

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Southwest Division roundtable: Underrated aspect of NBA cities

Pelicans Playback with John DeShazier and Jen Hale - 4/5/20

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Pelicans.com

NEW ORLEANS – Tonight’s “Pelicans Playback” will preview the 5:00 p.m. CT re-air of the Pelicans’ home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers from February 28. Pelicans radio color analyst John DeShazier will join Jennifer Hale in the eighth episode airing tonight at 4:30 p.m. CT. “Pelicans Playback” will include Power Plays presented by Entergy, featuring key plays and analysis from each game, in addition to a Twitter Q&A with fans.

“Pelicans Playback” is a 30-minute pregame show which is streamed live on Pelicans.com, the Pelicans App, and the Pelicans Facebook and Twitter pages. Fans can tune into “Pelicans Playback” prior to select re-aired games from the 2019-20 NBA season on FOX Sports New Orleans.

For more information on “Pelicans Playback”, please visit Pelicans.com.

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John DeShazier to join Pelicans Playback prior to re-airing of Pelicans vs. Cavaliers on Fox Sports New Orleans

I was a fan of the “This Is SportsCenter” commercials from the start.

The self-depreciation of the athletes. The mocking. The writing. The comedic timing. It all reeled me in to the point where I looked forward to the next one, and the next one.

These days, often, I think about the one that arguably is my favorite, because the tone – while comedic – actually fits the present seriousness.

The commercial is this: Fully-uniformed basketball star Dwyane Wade sitting in the editing room next to an editor, attempting to construct a highlight package featuring Wade. The star is describing intricacies he wants to see included in the package, and an anchor opens the door and tells Wade that they’re waiting for the package.

Sheepishly, the anchor subtly suggest to Wade that his “attention to detail” already has caused the highlight to not be included in the previous two shows.

“When it’s ready,” Wade says again, a bit more sternly, as the anchor silently moonwalks away from the door as he shuts it.

Maybe, not as funny in the retelling, but you get the idea: Wade wasn’t going to be rushed.

I’m thinking about that these days, because worldwide, there’s such an anxiety and anticipation permeating the sports world, as we contemplate and theorize and project when the games can begin again.

And when I hear and see the pining, the answer that comes to mind is this: When it’s ready.

The games will commence again when the time is right, and they shouldn’t be played a second before that.

I don’t say that lightly. I miss sports. God, do I miss sports.

I’ve been blessed to be able to make a living covering games my entire adult life, first as a reporter and columnist for three newspapers, now as a writer for the Saints website and radio broadcaster for the Pelicans. The withdrawals are real The withdrawals are real (we'll get a temporary fix Sunday and Monday nights with the re-broadcast of a Cavs-Pelicans game and the Rebirth game on "Monday Night Football").

Events I’ve been paid to cover – Super Bowls, NBA Finals, Final Fours, football national championships, College World Series’, high school championships – are events people would trample me in order to do for free (at least, that’s what they tell me when they’re not suggesting how I can sneak them in undetected).

And the people I personally have seen do legendary things in real time – Jordan’s jumper in Utah, Webber’s timeout call, the fourth of Kobe’s four straight 50-point games during the Hurricane Katrina season, Gleason’s punt block, Porter’s pick-six, Brady’s first Super Bowl win, the Honey Badger at LSU, the list goes on and on – are too numerous to count.

But I know this, too: We’re not ready. And regardless of how impatient we are, we can’t hurdle that indisputable fact.

We’re not yet prepared to assemble in tens, hundreds, thousands. Unfortunately, we collectively haven’t displayed the wisdom not to expose ourselves to COVID-19, nor the wholesale sensitivity not to expose others who are exponentially more vulnerable to the worst of the coronavirus’ symptoms and conclusions.

People knowingly and willfully have collected in masses on beaches, have consciously gathered in churches, and have organized and executed at least one second-line in the midst of the pandemic.

Some NFL players are clustering to work out, even after having been barred from their team facilities as a safety measure.

If any one person in those gatherings was a carrier of the virus but was asymptomatic, he or she possibly unknowingly exposed tens, maybe hundreds, of people who, in turn, left that event and probably went on to expose tens, maybe hundreds, more.

The positive diagnosis’ and the death toll keeps climbing, as we attempt to get everyone to listen to one voice and get on the same page and simultaneously run the same play.

We’re not ready. But that’s not the same as saying we’re not trying or that, hopefully soon, the numbers will start trending in the right, healthy direction.

The work being done and precautions being exercised aren’t in vain; applaud the outpouring of heroics by medical professionals who are risking far more than they probably ever imagined they’d have to risk. It’s the kind of strength we often associate with matters that don’t require half as much fortitude and character.

Catching a pass over the middle, or sinking a game-winning jumper requires stones, but that doesn’t quite measure up to risking your life in order to preserve another life.

It doesn’t measure up to law enforcement attempting to protect us, often from ourselves, during this needed hour. Or Saints returner Deonte Harris – an undrafted rookie who isn’t swimming in cash – ensuring that 10,600 meals will be provided to the less fortunate because he was taught, essentially, to help take care of those who can’t take care of themselves.

All those things are making our lives better in the interim. Those numbers are the ones relevant now, and in the immediate future. They’re the ones worth concentrating on.

We’re not ready. And we shouldn’t proceed with anything until we are.

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Games should not commence until the time is right. Which isn't now.

It’s all radio, nearly all the time this week on the New Orleans Pelicans’ various media platforms. Each day from Monday through Thursday will feature either a radio game rebroadcast on ESPN 100.3 FM, or a member of the radio team featured as a guest on “Pelicans Playback,” hosted by Jennifer Hale.

It will be a “back-to-back” of sorts on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Playback show and TV game replays on Fox Sports New Orleans, with Hale being joined by radio play-by-play man Todd Graffagnini and radio host/analyst Daniel Sallerson, respectively. On Sunday, Pelicans radio analyst John DeShazier will be the guest with Hale. Meanwhile, there will be radio game rebroadcasts Monday and Thursday.

This week’s schedule for Fox Sports New Orleans game rebroadcasts (“Pelicans Playback” guest):

Tuesday 6 and 9 p.m.: Memphis at New Orleans from Jan. 31 (Todd Graffagnini at 5:30)

Wednesday 8 and 11 p.m.: Portland at New Orleans from Feb. 11 (Daniel Sallerson at 7:30)

Sunday 5 and 8 p.m.: Cleveland at New Orleans from Feb. 28 (John DeShazier at 4:30)

This week’s game rebroadcast schedule for ESPN Radio 100.3 FM:

Monday 6 p.m.: New Orleans at Memphis from Jan. 20

Thursday 6 p.m.: San Antonio at New Orleans from Jan. 22

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Pelicans radio team featured on ‘Pelicans Playback’ shows this week

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the television and radio broadcast schedule for the upcoming 2019-20 season. FOX Sports New Orleans will broadcast 72 regular season games as well as the Pelicans’ home preseason contest against the Utah Jazz on October 11.

In addition to FOX Sports New Orleans’ preseason broadcast, two additional preseason games are scheduled to be nationally televised: Oct. 9 at Chicago (ESPN) and Oct. 18 at New York (TNT). The Pelicans’ two remaining preseason games (Oct. 7 at Atlanta; Oct. 13 at San Antonio) will be available for fans to watch via livestream by visiting Pelicans.com/live. Streaming is limited to viewers within a 75-mile radius of the Smoothie King Center, per NBA regional broadcast rules. The livestream will be accompanied by the Pelicans radio broadcast on ESPN New Orleans 100.3 FM.

The ten regular season games not being televised by FOX Sports New Orleans are scheduled to air on national television broadcasts: Oct. 22 at Toronto (TNT), Oct. 31 vs. Denver (ESPN), Nov. 21 at Phoenix (TNT), Nov. 27 vs. Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN), Dec. 3 vs. Dallas (TNT), Jan. 3 at Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN), Jan. 18 vs. Los Angeles Clippers (ABC), Feb. 2 at Houston (ABC), Feb. 4 vs. Milwaukee (TNT), and Feb. 25 at Los Angeles Lakers (TNT).

FOX Sports New Orleans will begin their coverage of Pelicans basketball on Friday, Oct. 25 with the home-opener against the Dallas Mavericks at the Smoothie King Center. The local television broadcast schedule features 36 home and 36 away contests.

“We are proud of our partnership with FOX Sports New Orleans and we are excited to bring a broadcast to our fans that will be entertaining, creative and unique,” said Pelicans President Dennis Lauscha. “We look forward to rolling out our enhanced broadcast elements for the first time in the home preseason game on Oct. 11th, and continuing throughout the regular season beginning with the home-opener on Oct. 25th.”

“We are proud to showcase the Pelicans and deliver comprehensive coverage to our viewers all season long,” said FOX Sports New Orleans Sr. Vice President/General Manager Steve Simpson. “We have a fantastic team both in front of and behind the camera and look forward to a great season ahead.”

Joel Meyers returns for his eighth season as the team’s play-by-play announcer, Antonio Daniels enters his first season as color analyst, and Jennifer Hale begins her eighth season as sideline reporter. Meyers, a two-time Emmy award-winning play-by-play announcer, brings more than 25 years of broadcast experience to the organization. Daniels, who played 14 seasons in the NBA including 61 games with the New Orleans Hornets in 2008-09, joins the broadcast team after serving as a studio analyst for FOX Sports Oklahoma and FOX Sports Southwest during the last four seasons. In addition to her Pelicans duties, Hale, an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist, is now in her ninth season as a sideline reporter for the NFL on FOX.

Pelicans coverage on FOX Sports New Orleans will include Pelicans Live pregame and postgame shows in addition to other Pelicans programming and will be available statewide on cable and satellite providers Cox, DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse, and Charter.  Pelicans Insider will also return to FOX Sports New Orleans for the 2019-20 season. A weekly program on FOX Sports New Orleans, Pelicans Insider features game highlights, player and coach profiles and behind-the-scenes footage.

2019-20 Pelicans cable and satellite providers and channels:

Download the Pelicans Mobile App to enjoy exclusive content 365 days a year, including stats, breaking news, analysis and products.

Additionally, all Pelicans games televised on FOX Sports New Orleans will be streamed on FOX Sports GO.  FOX Sports GO is currently available on mobile and tablet devices, including iOS and Android as well as foxsportsgo.com. FOX Sports GO is also available on connected devices including, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku Players and Roku TV, and Xbox One. Fans can download the app for free from the iTunes App Store,  Google Play,  Amazon App Store, Roku App Store, XBOX One App Store and Windows App Store.

FOX Sports New Orleans offers a robust lineup of local sports programming, including LSU coaches’ shows, Big 12, ACC and Big East Conference collegiate events, Texas Rangers baseball and Dallas Stars hockey. FOX Sports New Orleans is available to over 1.4 million cable and satellite TV homes throughout the Pelicans territory.

ESPN New Orleans 100.3 FM, the Pelicans radio flagship station, will broadcast all 82 regular season games during the 2019-20 season. Entering its first season as the club’s flagship radio station, ESPN New Orleans 100.3 FM will also feature pregame and postgame shows with Pelicans Studio Host Daniel Sallerson.

Todd Graffagnini begins his first season as the play-by-play announcer for the Pelicans, while John DeShazier begins his eighth season with the club as color analyst. Daniel Sallerson will also serve as an alternate color analyst alongside Graffagnini throughout the season.

ESPN New Orleans 100.3 FM will air Pelicans Weekly on Thursday nights at 6:00 p.m. CT. The thirty-minute show hosted by Todd Graffagnini will feature exclusive interviews with Pelicans coaches, executives, and players, as well as guests from around the league.

Below is a list of the 2019-20 Pelicans radio affiliates.

Tune-in to the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast presented by SeatGeek, a podcast devoted to Pelicans coverage. New shows are posted Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Pelicans.com, iTunes, Pelicans App, Google Play, and TuneIn. Additionally, fans can tune into any of the Pelicans’ radio affiliate networks across the Gulf South for must listen radio for every Pelicans fan. Fans looking for their nearest radio affiliate are encouraged to visit https://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/broadcasting for more information.

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New Orleans Pelicans announce 2019-20 broadcast schedule

Today's Black and Blue Report presented by SeatGeek is hosted by Daniel Sallerson as he welcomes Jim Eichenhofer for a Pelicans-Celtics preview along with John DeShazier to recap the Saints win in Tampa Bay.

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Black and Blue Report presented by SeatGeek: December 10, 2018

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