CD: Don’t Like Lavar Coverage? It’s Your Fault

Over the weekend Lavar Ball, with he and the rest of his Balls in freezing Lithuania, got loose talking about Lakers coach Luke Walton. In a situation absolutely NO ONE (sarcasm) could’ve predicted, somehow the Big Ball has gotten in the way of the team…..creating situations, making coaches and players answer uncomfortable conversations, etc.

In other words, exactly what pretty much anyone with a brain thought would happen.

Ball said Walton had lost the team. Then Walton and the Little Ball and everyone else had to talk about what the Big Ball said, and talking heads and think pieces galore happened.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was none too pleased, and according to Sam Amico there are whispers that teams will be encouraged to yank credentials to those who give the Big Ball air/print time.

LOL.

I am not a fan of Lavar Ball. I am a fan of him raising his three sons, being active in their lives, and having their back. I am sure there are many people out there who didn’t have a Dad growing up that would love to have someone in their corner like that. My problem has always been: Lavar is in LAVAR’s corner, he is helping his kids second. The fact that he yanked the one Ball (Gelo, Melo, I forget) who apparently has the least talent in the family OUT of UCLA is telling. The fact that he has literally exiled his sons to Lithuania would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad.

The most amusing thing to me out of all of this is seeing fans, viewers, and listeners complaining about all the Ball Coverage. Yes, I capitalized both Ball and Coverage. It has become its own thing. Every time I see a host on KHTK talk about The Balls, I see on the text line:

“Hey stupid face, stop talking about The Balls”.

I see the phones light up, with people calling to say

“Hey, stop talking about The Balls”.

Whenever KHTK posts a story about The Balls, further contributing to Ball Coverage, I see the comments go crazy, with most saying

“HEY NO ONE CARES”!

No dummy, YOU care. You care enough to talk about it. You care enough to text and post about it. Its not complicated:

Media outlets get paid on advertising. Advertisers love audience activation.

Lavar talks

We talk/write

You call/click

I just looked at the analytics from our Facebook page. The Ball Coverage is by far the most consistent clicker. Look at any “Top Stories From 2017” list. Lavar Ball is at or near the top.

There is a certain responsibility from a media outlet to operate between journalism and tabloid journalism. I could put a blog up with a picture of a dead body and would probably get a ton of views. But that would be inappropriate and damage the credibility of both me and the station.

I often get asked why we don’t cover a lot of high school sports. Why? Because no one cares about high school sports, unless your kid is playing. How do I know? I’ve watched the numbers for years. I’ve brought it up on the air for years.

When I say “no one”, that’s obviously an exaggeration. If you took offense, maybe YOU care. And maybe your friend cares. Maybe you know 10 people that care. But they don’t care enough. Its not nearly enough.

Lavar Ball is more popular than high school sports coverage. And it’s your fault. 

Lavar Ball’s son plays for a flagship team in the NBA. I, as a Kings fan, love that they drafted THEM, because THEY will be a headache that the Lakers don’t need. But when I hear someone whining about all the Ball Coverage, I snicker to myself.

You don’t have to read. You don’t have to listen. You don’t have to comment.

If you have read this far, YOU are the problem. Anyone commenting in the Facebook section after I post this? YOU are the problem.

You profess to hate the Ball Coverage, but YOU are the one lining their pockets, and a few media outlets are benefiting along the way.

Don’t like it? Don’t click it.

Its that simple.

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