Okay, now seems like a great time to gripe about one of my pet peeves: letting media coverage get in the way of player safety.

Do you remember Roy Williams being upset in the regionals when his Tar Heels were slipping on the NCAA floor decals? One of his guys could have sprained an ankle or twisted a knee because of that decal.

During the NBA Finals opener Thursday night, I watched a few players hitting the deck under the basket and for at least the 100th time wondered why the photographers are so close to the action.

For example, twice in the third quarter Rajon Rondo drove toward the basket and was fouled. Both times he stayed on his feet, but needed a little more room to slow down. He ended up stumbling over the cameramen's legs. Neither time was he hurt, but how many near-misses like that can you have before the league takes notice?

I recall Shaq breaking a video camera by ploughing through the media guys while diving for a loose ball. I sure wouldn't have wanted to be the one on the receiving end.

And I nearly was once. But more on that in a minute.

I once worked at a small-town newspaper and spent some time shooting local sporting events, including basketball. For college and NBA games, there is a line drawn on the floor to let the media know how close they can get. At some places, the line is painted on the floor. Others just have masking tape.

Last night during the game, I looked to see where that line was, but I couldn't because the guys were sitting on it with their legs extended out in front of them. These people were 2 feet and 3 feet beyond the line! That's just ridiculous!

Now, having been on the sidelines (especially when I covered the NFL's Carolina Panthers), I know WHY the guys keep edging forward. You are fighting for space just like guys on the free throw line. And just like how players keep jumping in a little sooner and a little sooner on the shot, the photogs slide further forward to get the best position for a photo.

But, let's say the Celtics moved the line back some before the next game. The photogs would still be fighting for space -- and erasing the line like a baseball player scratching out the back line of the batter's box -- but they would be 4 or 5 feet further away at the start.

And, the media has no excuse whatsoever for needing to be so close, except for the video guy who tries his best to hide next to the goal support.
Have you seen the size of the lens on any one of their cameras??? They are longer than Andrew Bynum's shoes!
They can get closeup shots of the far end of the court, so I don't buy any complaints they might raise.

As for my previous allusion of danger:

Back around 1998 or 1999, I was kneeling on the sideline of a Panthers game against the Falcons.
I was using my zoom to try to get a closeup of the running back on a swing play to the right.

I suddenly realized that the reason it was so hard to get the focus right was because the HB was coming straight at me at a high rate of speed. Okay, no big deal. He's gonna turn the corner.

So, I give a little peek to the right and see two Panthers players taking an angle to cut him off.
I just so happened to be standing at the intersection of where these three players would meet.

I stood up quickly, and just before MLB Michael Barrow and one of the safeties crunched the HB, I jumped backward out of the way.

Kneeling next to me had been a rather rotund fellow with a much more expensive camera than I was using. He saw what was about to happen, too, but couldn't move his bulk in time.

All three players hit together and ricocheted directly into this poor man, who did a complete roll backwards. As I was thinking to myself "weebles wobble but they don't fall down," I noticed pieces of black plastic zooming past my head. I closed my eyes and turned away as chunks of the cameraman's very expensive lens went flying by.

At least that day, the players were wearing protective gear. Rajon didn't have any Thursday night.