Filed under: Bulls | Tags: broadcast, Bulls, Derrick Rose, Johnny Kerr, Michael Jordan, Suns, Vinny Del Negro
I wanted to do a little tribute this time around for the Bulls. Like I said before I had the chance to watch some preseason basketball the other day and witness our star rookie, Derrick Rose, in action. I also got to see our new head coach and former NBA player, Vinny Del Negro, call out plays for the first time. Those were changes I expected to witness when I watched this game. What I had forgotten about was that the Bulls changed their broadcasting lineup for this season.
Since 1974, Johnny “Red” Kerr had broadcast for the Bulls. And due to the rigors of traveling with the Bulls for their 82-game schedule, the 72 year old decided to only work pre-game and half-time shows for the home games. Therefore, as I watched the game it was like I was listening to another language without Red calling the games. Kerr was the very first coach of the Chicago Bulls as well as the Phoenix Suns shortly after. I have so much respect for the man.
He broadcasted each game with true passion for the Bulls. He didn’t try and flaunt a sexy deep voice, he simply rocked his Chicago accent, had the Bulls’ backs through thick and thin and told the greatest stories to keep me interested during the horrible years after Jordan retired. I already miss hearing him call the games, but happy I’ll get to see him in some capacity. This blogs for you Red.
Filed under: Bulls | Tags: Ben Wallace, Bulls, championship, Derrick Rose, Larry Hughes, Michael Beasley, Michael Jordan, NBA Draft, playoffs
- http://www.nba.com/media/act_derrick_rose.jpg
Last season, many experts picked the Bulls to represent the East in the championship. For whatever reason, not only did they not make the championship, they didn’t even make the playoffs. Their coach got fired, our big free-agent bust, Ben Wallace, got traded for somebody else’s scraps and at 33-49, the Bulls didn’t seem to have enough ping-pong balls for the lottery to acquire an all-star in the draft. There were only 2 prizes to be had in the draft, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, and the Bulls only had a 1.9% chance of winning the draft lottery. Imagine if that happened!?
