Apr 13, 2020 3 min read

One of the benefits of working at home because of the coronavirus pandemic is that for the first time in 40 years at the Observer-Reporter, I finally have daylight hours.

One of the benefits of that situation is that I get to watch television at night when my shift is done. It’s been an eye-opening experience.

While watching NBA TV, I managed to see LeBron James play during the first week of my incarceration.

For three different teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, and, of course, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Still, he convinced me again that he is the best player in NBA history.

Why?

Because he can play, and dominate, all five positions. No one, other than Magic Johnson, came close to that.

Another highlight was seeing Shaquille O’Neal play on three different teams: the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. Bet you forgot about him playing for those teams. He was a shell of himself in those final three years.

Easily, the best part of NBA TV was a show called Hardwood Classics, in which a pop-up cloud came on and showed interesting tidbits about the players appearing in these games played 20 or 30 years ago.

The best pop-up I’ve seen asked this trivia question: What three NBA players have been a part of 1,000 wins over their career?

I’ll tell you at the end of this column.

Another thrill was watching a fuzzy replay of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.

Everyone remembers Bill Mazeroski’s dramatic series-clinching, walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the New York Yankees that produced the 10-9 victory.

Just as amazing was the three-run blast hit by Hal Smith in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave the Pirates a 9-7 lead and set up Mazeroski’s heroics.

Two crazy stories about this game: The first was that until 2009, it was believed that no copy of the game existed. In those days, games were shot on kinescope, then taped over by other games. This copy, however, was found 11 years ago in a house owned by the late Bing Crosby, who at one time was a minority owner of the Pirates.

The incredible statistic about Game 7 was that it’s the only game in World Series history not to have a batter strike out.

Another nugget: Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince never saw Mazeroski’s epic home run because he was dispatched to the locker room for interviews. So who was the first player through the door? Yep, Mazeroski, World Series hero. Prince asked him a quick question or two, then reached out for his arm and moved him along to make room for the next player.

Prince freely admitted it was not his best moment.

Oh, almost forgot. The three NBA players who have been part of 1,000 victories in their career are Robert Parish, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan. Duncan is the only player in NBA history to win 1,000 games with the same team, San Antonio.

Michael Jordan? He played in only 1,074 games.

Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com.