Hear it here!
Raise your hand if you want to hear about the most embarrassing moment in my broadcasting career. That’s what I thought. All hands went up. It’s not surprising. People love knowing about how things didn’t work out how they were supposed to. It’s easy to talk about the good stuff. But folks like the other side and I’m often asked about it. So here goes.
It was game 5 of the 1986 NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics had a commanding 3-1 lead in the best of seven series for the championship. The team they were dominating wasn’t supposed to be there, but the Houston Rockets shocked the LA Lakers in the Western finals and the much anticipated third straight LA-Boston final was not to be. Game 5 was in Houston on a Friday night.
It was do or die for the Rockets, who faced a must win situation, and boasted a strong front line centered around the Twin Towers of Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the most underrated big men of all time, and Ralph Sampson, the 7-foot 4-inch, agile power forward who could do many things very well.
The big moment came near the end of the first half with the game just about even.
At one end of the court I witnessed Celtics reserve guard Jerry Sichting, at 6’ 1” grabbing on to Ralph Sampson who was trying to swat him away as you would a fly getting into your space.
Sichting was making contact with the 7’4” big man but no foul was called. There should have been one. So, Sichting the pest was grabbing and holding to his delight. Then, when the teams went the other way, a brawl broke out, with Sampson throwing a punch in Sichting’s direction that never came close to landing. But Ralph Sampson was thrown out of the game for throwing a punch. My comment on the CBS broadcast was that Sampson should not have been ejected since he was reacting to the treatment he was getting at the other end of the floor. It was an impulsive reaction by yours truly and I wasn’t letting go. I felt strongly about my view.
Halftime arrived soon after, and in the restroom, I looked toward by statistician and right hand man Marty Aronoff, a great supporter of mine, and said, “Marty, I’m correct about my opinion, right?”. Marty just stared straight ahead and said nothing. When I returned to the broadcast table and put my headset back on, I heard our host Brent Musburger say, “Well, I’ve got to go against my man Dick Stockton and backup the decision to eject Sampson from the game”.
Uh, oh, I could sense a little trouble. Little did I realize how much. My embarrassing moment was headed into a three-day nightmare.
The Rockets proceeded to trounce the Celtics, to stay alive and force a 6th game in two days back in Boston. At the post-game party, NBA Commissioner David Stern, a good friend, was anything but, as he vehemently asked me what I was thinking about when I took the stand I did. By now I realized that anytime a player throws a punch it means automatic ejection from the game. I was wrong with what I said, but it wasn’t over.
Talk shows in Boston ripped me for my comments. That’s right, Boston, where I began my basketball career announcing Celtics games, and by the way, had once called a famous home run for the Red Sox in the World Series. The newspaper columns on Saturday, the day of travel, were brutal. At practice late that afternoon at Boston Garden, Celtics head coach KC Jones at his news conference welcomed the media by saying “good to see all you ladies and gentlemen, and you Dick as well”. He had a slight smile on his face. But he had to get his jab in as well.
A local radio talk show host printed 4,000 cardboard signs that said, CBS- Cry Baby Stockton, that would be issued to the first 4,000 fans at the Garden the next day.
At our production meeting that night, our executive producer, Ted Shaker, asked me if I wanted police protection when I walked onto the floor on my way to the broadcast table.
I refused the offer but knew things might get a bit dicey when I showed up. I was thinking how dumb it was to even suggest that a star enemy player shouldn’t be thrown out knowing I might be returning to Boston for a Game 6. Apparently, I never gave that any thought.
When I came onto the Boston Garden court, I saw the fans with the placards and decided to go over to many of them and offer to sign my autograph on them and thankfully the fans appreciated that. It kind of took some of the edge off the unpleasant situation.
I have never had a rooting interest in any game in any sport I broadcast for a network.
It was easy to be objective since to me, announcing any game takes a great deal of concentration to get the calls and the game situation right.
But I wouldn’t have minded if Ralph Sampson would play well regardless of the outcome.
So what happened? The Celtics routed the Rockets to win yet another NBA championship, but Sampson had one of the worst games of his career, scoring only 12 points and making only 4 baskets in 12 attempts.
So it was finally over. Throughout my five decade career I had my share of mistakes. We all make them. No announcer has ever had a perfect broadcast.
But little did I ever think that one comment in a basketball game would carry over for three days, making it the most embarrassing I ever experienced.
Rockets Twin Towers
Sampson throws a punch
Marty my sidekick
Brent as Host
Another title for the Green