Ain't no mountain that high

For whatever reason I tuned in to a little bit of the NBA playoffs yesterday, but I couldn't get past the pre-game show. Not to pick on basketball -- all sports do it -- but sitting through those introductory montages (setting the scene, if you will) is beyond nauseating.

Of course they imported James Earl Jones to narrate, lending gravitas (to a first round playoff game, ya right). It's not even Game 7, yet these events are treated as if nothing is more important.

Baseball is especially culpable here. Whether it's ESPN or FOX, their telecast intros are typically so maudlin you'd think they were discussing the Holocaust. Let's lose the hero treatment, stat.

To quote my old sports editor, SKA: "Just play the fucking game."

And another thing ...

What's with this trend among basketball players to scream in anguish every time they score a basket? You'd think they just dug out of prison. Kevin Garnett -- by most accounts, a good guy and a helluva player -- is most culpable. Cancel the drama.