- As mentioned before, Michele Tafoya (who is returning to sideline duty for NBA games on ABC, possibly supplanting Lisa Salters) will work the Lakers/Heat game at 2:30 on Monday, and then the Jets/Dolphins game on ESPN at 8:30. Apparently, Tafoya arranged for this herself:
As the finishing touches were being put on Michele Tafoya’s two-year contract to serve as a sideline reporter for ABC’s NBA telecasts a few months back, it was jokingly suggested that she might be able to work a Christmas Day doubleheader. … “I said, ‘I don’t think that’s going to work,’ but then I thought about it and thought, ‘Why not?’ “… Tafoya called her bosses back and volunteered to combine her NBA duties with her regular role on the final “Monday Night Football” game of the season. …”The closer it gets, I think, ‘What was I saying when I said I’d do this?’ “
- Expect the ratings to end up anywhere from a 3 to a 5; last year’s Lakers/Heat matchup scored a 4.8 rating with 8+ million viewers, significantly higher than the regular season average. (Lakers/Heat in 2004 scored a 7.2 rating, with 13 million viewers).
- Dan Patrick, Mark Jackson and Michael Wilbon begin their second season together on the studio side; Jackson will join Mike Breen for the first time this season, after being scheduled to work two ESPN games with Breen (Kings/Mavs on Dec 1 and Suns/Heat on Dec 13).
- ABC will use the Skycam and the Freezecam (which debuted last season), and game coverage will feature various puff pieces including “home video of Christmas morning from the home of a Heat player” (10 bucks says it’s Shaq), and exclusive “glimpse[s] of team holiday parties”. Scintillating.
- The press release also mentioned a Kobe Bryant surprise at halftime. The possibilities are endless.
