Just weeks away from tipoff, it isn't just fans who are ecstatic about the return of NBA action; league personnel, Hall of Famers, and current players are all anticipating the rebooted season, according to veteran NBA photographer, Andrew D. Bernstein.
"I'm itching to get back to work," he told Cheddar on Monday. "I haven't taken a picture since March 11th."
In partnership with the Los Angeles Times, Bernstein, a photographer covering the NBA for nearly 40 years, plans to document the return of the season amid the coronavirus pandemic with a spinoff of the Legends of Sport podcast titled, Legends of Sport: Restarting the Clock.
"It'll be a great kind of melding of today and yesterday," Bernstein noted. "We're going to have a mix of participants: coaches, NBA types, legends talking about their memories from years past."
With the coronavirus being the focal point of the return to gameplay, Bernstein is also tasked with detailing the reactions to sweeping calls for change as the NBA greenlights current players to make social justice statements.
"It's a huge story and it's vital that we cover that and the fact that the NBA provides this tremendous platform for players," he said.
As the league plans its return amid the surging number of coronavirus cases in Florida, Bernstein said his only major concern is actually making it to the "Bubble" in Orlando, the nickname for the resorts and Disney facilities that house players and staff and will host the actual games.
"The safety of the players and the participants, all of us staff, is of the utmost importance to the NBA, so I have complete and total trust in that," the photographer stated. "My biggest worry, quite honestly, is just getting there. Going on a commercial flight, which I haven't done since the pandemic started."
Tennis stars Carolina Wozniacki and Kevin Anderson and USTA Chief Revenue Officer Lew Sherr sat down with Cheddar days before the kick-off of the 2018 U.S. Open. Wozniacki expects some serious competition as Serena Williams is back in the mix after giving birth last September.
NBA Hall-of-Famer Clyde Drexler, commissioner of the BIG3 3-on-3 league, sat down with Cheddar and talked about those rumors that Kobe Bryant might join the league, as well as the league's push to bring 3-on-3 ball to Tokyo 2020.
Facebook was forced to remove its data security app, Onavo, from the App Store after Apple updated its data collection guidelines. Meanwhile, the social media giant also voluntarily removed the quiz app, myPersonality, from its platform after the app improperly collected data on more than 4 million users. And we're joined by Mike Francesa, New York sports radio legend, to hear about the launch of his new app, 'Mike's On.'
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Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO, told Cheddar the company has been working on several ventures to capitalize on the Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for states to allow sports betting. The company's first such product rolled out this month.
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NEO U, a new gym in New York, is not just a place to get in shape, it's a studio where fitness professionals can share their workouts with online followers around the world. The co-founder Nate Forster wants trainers and partners like Soul Cycle, Equinox, and Peloton to see the NEO U platform as an opportunity, not competition.
The Denver Nuggets shooting guard has already made it to the real NBA, and now he has his sights curiously set on getting his team to compete in the top tier of NBA2K, the basketball league's esports analog.
Super Bowl champion Reggie Bush says college athletes should be paid and the NFL should do more to protect players, including guaranteed contracts. "We're modern-day gladiators," Bush says about football players. "It's a brutal sport."
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