Ernie Johnson
Appearances
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I don't know how I sound or how I look. You sound good. You sound good to us audio-wise. Okay, good. Then I might just take these bad boys out. There we go. It works for us.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
Yeah, but how do I look? Dan, that's the most important thing, right?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
uh since i didn't actually witness what went on in there i can only take the big fella at his word and he said he just had to uh as he said go number one
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
Yeah, there were some clenched muscles involved in that run, in my opinion. And I think we've all been there, but rarely in the middle of a show.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
Never, never mad at that. That's what makes the show, Dan. You know what I would liken it to is when you watch Russell Westbrook play. You know, you get the whole package. You're going to get some great moments. You're going to get some like, oh, why did he do that? So, yeah, and it's kind of like Chuck in a nutshell, too. It's like that goes with the entire package.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
So, no, I don't get mad at that stuff. That's what keeps the show fresh. That's what keeps the show unpredictable and lively and freewheeling. So, no, I got no issue with that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
You know, that's a great question. It's 35 years for me. So I would think it's... And again, this is going to sound like, oh, I'm putting myself in the category of so-and-so. To me, it's like Carson a little bit. It's like people want to make sure they watch it. And...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
and uh yeah i think i think that would kind of be it i don't really liken it to any of the shows that have been around a long time i don't liken it to a to a mash or a seinfeld or anything like that because it's it's just a different animal um but it's um i would say something like that someone any kind of a show where you say well i got to make sure that i'm watching that tonight
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
No, that's... Chuck is the one who jumped all over, and he's got a point. Come on. This has been the best series of the first round so far. An overtime game and a two- or three-point game. So we couldn't wait for this game to be coming on. What it does indicate to you is that Charles has not really looked ahead at the schedule. He kind of lives day by day.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
So when he saw the promo for Thursday, he was like, hold on just a second. That game's on NBA TV. So, look, this goes –
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
this goes back a ways too because you know back when chuck started with us he used to crush the movies that were coming on tnt after our show and and and then the the folks upstairs said hey you tell chuck to to stop criticizing our programming so then the next night it's like here's the movie coming up next on tnt says i've been told if i don't think if i think a movie sucks i shouldn't say anything so i won't say anything
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
So I'm kind of used to Chuck going there.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I probably have some really slow-witted answers for you.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
It's an hour drive home and then I'm usually sleeping within 15 minutes.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
No earlier than 10 and leave for the studio no earlier than noon.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I have more tired points early on because once the Eastern Conference Finals get here, as we got this year, you do a show, day off, that kind of thing. So these are the days. I feel it a little bit today because this is five days in a row until 2 o'clock in the morning, so there you go. What can you tell us about the job that people don't know?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I have a routine. There are certain things I feel like I need to do, and it's overkill, but unless I do all those things, I don't feel comfortable.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
98, 99.6. I mean, yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
Because I aim for 99.7. So I'm not there yet.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
No, you know, it is. It's just a it's when you do something the same way year after year after year after year, I've thought in past years, I said, you know, this year I'm not going to keep a file on this or I'm not going to update this every day. And I tried it for like a day and a half. And I was like, this feels very strange. I got to go back to the way I've always done things.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
So no, that's it's preparation takes away any, and I don't want to say nervousness, I'm not nervousness, it's not nerves anymore like when you first start out, but it's just like any apprehension that you have, It just takes it away because, you know, you're prepared for anything.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
So if somebody breaks a backboard and they say, hey, you got to talk for 45 minutes, you go, OK, you sure it's not an hour?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
Well, it's been tough, and it hits you at different points. I think originally when it was floated out there, the talk became stronger that, hey, TNT might lose the NBA. You're kind of saying, oh, no, that's not going to happen. We've been together way too long.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
but then as it became a reality it was it's a jolt and it's sad and you think about all the years you've been around there and and and the relationship we've had with the nba and to think that's going to end um that's tough and so like opening night was was hard we were in boston And I just kind of stood out there as we were getting ready to do this live show.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
And I was like, this is the last time we're going to do this on TNT. It's been a year like that where it's like, oh, this is our last all-star. Oh, I better go to Kenny's party. It's his last all-star party. So it's been difficult. We've been, you know, tried to...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
keep everybody up you know keep you know because it's been tough not just us i mean it's the whole crew it's everybody it's everybody we did a show the other night from the front lawn where where ted you know got the company started and i saw faces i hadn't seen in a while who came back just to be part of the show because we're a family and um And so it has that kind of an impact on you.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
No, that became like this narrative. Like, Ernie's not going to go anywhere. He won't do anything. No, my feeling has always been, look, I... There's been an Ernie Johnson at Turner since the early 70s when my dad was doing Braves games on TBS. And then I've been there for 35 years, so we're kind of associated with TBS TNT.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
So it'll always be my place, but you'd have to be a knucklehead not to see, okay, where is this going to go? And this is before, here comes a plan that says, hey, you can continue the show. It's just going to air somewhere else. So, no, you would consider all that. But, yeah, there was, it made me laugh when, you know, folks, well, Ernie's staying at TNT. He's, no, I mean... Look, it's business.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
It's business that cost us the NBA on TNT. It's business that dictates, you know, kind of where you find yourself afterwards. But I'm gratified that we've hit on something here where we can stay together. We can do the show. It's not going to air on TNT, but we're going to have the same crew, same production folks. So basically, it's just going to be it's us again. It's just airing somewhere else.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I mean, I think in certain instances it has. And, you know, I saw that Steve Kerr said it reminded him of 1997 as he was, you know, he's coaching in this Golden State Houston series. But I think everything always gets amped up this time of year. But, yeah, there have been some moments.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
You know, Jamal Murray the other day picks up Norman Powell, and then, you know, obviously you're going to go back at somebody like that. But the degree of physicality, it depends on where you come from, I guess, because, you know, if Kurt Rambis got hit by Kevin McHale, today, that'd be like a flagrant foul 16. Imprisonment. Immediate imprisonment.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
It'd be like, hey, nice knowing you. You had a good career. We'll see you again some other time. But so it's not as – but I think like in the Houston series, it's just been physical because every possession, it seems, somebody's getting on somebody or somebody's on the floor. But I love it. Yeah, that's what playoff hoops is about.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I don't know if it affects how many buzzer beaters you see. I mean, if both teams are hitting threes all night long, it may come down to who hits the last three.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
No, I'd have to look and, you know, I could sit down and look at all the box scores and see. But, I mean, so the Denver Clippers series has been tight the whole way through, okay, an overtime game and a two- or three-point game. The others, like a 1-8, you know, the Memphis OKC, yeah, OK, sometimes you get a 1-8 that's a dog.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
And, you know, maybe Memphis turns that around and says, hey, this is not a dog series. We are going to play well tonight and we're going to get back in it. But I don't know if you blame, you can blame a lot of stuff on the three-pointer. I don't know if you can blame close games on the three.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I would say, and I'm not saying I see this coming, but in the next round, Indiana-Cleveland, don't sleep on the Pacers. Woo!
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
Oh, I have heard it. And I do like the cream colored uniforms. I think that's a good look. But like when I was growing up in Milwaukee, I never said, hey, school's out. I got to get back to my home in the cream city. No, I don't know. No, that's not part of my Milwaukee lexicon.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
The cream city, you mean?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I prefer to call it the mean streets of Milwaukee so that folks think that I had a hard scrabble the first eight years of my life. No one thinks that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
Yeah. Thank you so much. I don't know about Giannis, but you know what? He has been very loyal to that city, and if— But a man has limits, so if they get knocked out in the first round here by Indiana, which I told you don't sleep on Indiana, I could see him wanting to test the waters somewhere else. The team that is better than the Celtics is blank. Is maybe OKC. Can I put the qualifier in there?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
If you're a coward.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
But, man, I know they're young, but, man, they are so deep and they have so many pieces that you need. Look, you talk about beating the Celtics four times. Yeah, that's going to be tough. You beat OKC four times, and you're showing me something.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
See, that's difficult for me to say because we do have the Eastern Conference finals. So I expect Boston to be one of the locales for our final road show on TNT. I would think that... I would think that that's coming down to Boston and don't sleep on the Pacers and work Cleveland or Indiana. Do you expect Houston to get out of the first round? I do not. I like that team.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
I like what they got going on. And I think, you know, Sam Amick with The Athletic wrote a great article earlier this year where he talked about Ime Udoka. and his philosophy, and he's kind of trying to turn this Houston team into like a modern day bad boys. You know, we don't take any stuff off anybody and and we are tough and they are. But I think that they don't shoot the ball well enough.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
And I think and again, here's the thing. Look at Jimmy Butler can't play. And I don't know what the MRI is going to show, but if Jimmy Butler can't play for Golden State, then I think Houston wins that series. So you've got to allow me a qualifier every now and then, and don't call me a coward for saying that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
coward but i displayed cowardice i like that ernie always good seeing you thank you for making the time and thank you for the epic work for damn near 40 years no thank you guys i always enjoy listening to you always hey and always great talking to you dan much respect man likewise much
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Start Spreadin' The News (feat. Ernie Johnson)
My pleasure. Thank you guys for having me on. Great stuff.