I admit that at first I was surprised when Jack Armstrong was announced as a co-host of a Radio Show on Fan 590. I just never thought about Jack doing that. But after I thought about it for a minute, the idea made sense to me. Jack Armstrong himself had not even considered the idea. In fact Jack told me that he sent some suggestions to Nelson Millman the Program Director of the Fan 590 on who he felt may be good choices to replace Chuck. Jack would get a call asking him if he was interested in the job from Nelson Millman.
Jack Armstrong “I was floored by the idea. It is not something I had ever considered for myself.”
Jack would talk it over with family and friends. His wife had said to him that this was a real opportunity for him and he should think about doing it. Jack has been on the Fan 590 in many roles over his time in Toronto. He has been a guest on many of the programs and is a Co-Host on the show Hoops with Eric Smith and Paul Jones. However, Jack despite his 10 years in the media still thinks of himself as an ex-basketball coach to a degree. This offer was a bit of a wake up call to the fact that Jack now had over a decade of media experience.
” I still do think of myself as an ex-coach to some degree. I still have a lot of friends who work as coaches. The odd time they will even ask when I am coming back to do that. But I am now starting my 11th year doing my work with Raptors. This idea of doing a radio show was something I had never even thought of doing.”
But when Jack would seek out the thoughts of friends and family they all encouraged him that he would be great at this and he should take it. In talking with his wife she suggested that this was a real chance to work in such a large media market like Toronto in this way.
” Toronto is a Top 5 media market in North America. Other folks in the media would all be thrilled to have a job offer such as this. Everyone I spoke with all said they felt I would be great at this and I should take it.”
Jack decided to go for it. He talked about when he first did his first game at Skydome with Chuck. He was nervous and excited and was doing something brand new. In this new venture he has a lot of those same feelings.
“ I am nervous and excited about this new challenge for me. I remember the first game I ever did for the Raptors with Chuck on the Radio. It was an exhibition game vs Boston. It was the first time for both Chuck and myself calling the NBA. We had some challenges and it was rough at first. This is something new as well and will have it’s own challenges.”
After taking a step back and thinking about it Jack was ready to give this new chance for him a shot. Jack is ready to talk about all sports. Jack is a big fan of other sports outside of basketball which is his first love sports wise. It will be a busy time for Jack as he prepares. Next week he will be in Toronto getting to know his new partner Doug Mclean. Doug is a hockey guy and a former coach and management person for various teams in the NHL. I asked Jack if he knew Doug at all prior to this.
” No I didn’t, We have been exchanging e-mails and getting to know each other. Next week I will be spending time with both him and Nelson Millman as we prepare and get ready for the show.”
I asked Jack about if he had talked with Chuck Swirsky about this idea of doing the Radio show that Chuck had done for many years on the Fan 590.
” Chuck was very encouraging to me about it. He talked with me about a variety of things as far as the work that goes into the preparation and scheduling and all the aspects of it. “
The show has been called the “Game Plan” and is set to hit the airwaves on August 18th on the Fan 590. Jack does not know the exact format for the show just yet. But he says it should follow the format of the other shows on the station. Having both guests and taking calls from the listeners. I can say based on my small relationship that I have formed with Jack that I think he will do great. Jack has become a very big hit with Raptor Fans based on his knowledge, skill and fun approach he brings to his work with the Raptors. He will still be doing that on Raptors TV, TSN and on the Hoops Show on Fan 590. But this is a chance for all sports fans to get to know Jack Armstrong and I think that they will find as Raptor Fans already know that Jack is a great person and has a good mind for all sports. In my conversations with Jack I have always found him to be knowledgable about everything that is going on in sports and not just basketball. Still we do love to hear about basketball here so Jack did spend a little extra time to talk some basketball issues.
Jack on Raps and NBA
I have expressed my concerns for the fact the Raptors have 3 players that will be taking part in the Olympics starting August 10th. Jack does not share my concerns about it. He in fact thinks the opposite.
” If you are Sam Mitchell, you hope that everyone gets a chance to play a lot and play well. They will have time to rest and be ready for the NBA season. I think sometimes in sports today people tend to think you need to treat these guys with kid gloves. But truth is an injury can happen just as easy playing for a gold medal as it could playing at a local YMCA. Hopefully Jose and Chris can gain experience and confidence from it and take that with them into the season. Same goes for Roko Ukic.”
He went on to say that anytime you can play against high level players it will only help to improve a players game. I can’t argue any of that. Maybe I just worry to much about things. But Jack said you really can’t control these things, if an injury is going to happen, it will happen just as easy in a local pick-up game as it could playing for a medal in China.
There has been much made of all this European aspect as far as NBA players going and who may go. Jack made an interesting comparison. He talked about the old ABA and said when you look at the level of talent that was in that league even if a few big stars were to cross the Atlantic Ocean, the NBA would still move forward. The reasons being the huge amount of television dollars the league generates. However Jack thinks that the talk of Lebron James and others going to Europe is just about agents doing what they do. It is about being able to max out the value for the players they are working for.
Jack also agreed that this is an issue that is tied to economics and those economics can change. Today the Euro is stronger but who can say where it will be two years from now. It is not say that the NBA should not pay attention to this and be concerned. But if you look at the players that have left to this point they are all nice players but as Jack said to me none of them are All-Stars and are basically role players in the NBA.
I also asked Jack about the other end of this issue. Young high school players passing on the NCAA for taking a paycheck in Europe. Brandon Jennings who has signed to play pro ball in Italy could be a test case for if this could become a trend. Jack thinks that it will take a special kind of young man to be able to make this kind of jump. There will be a lot for a young man to deal with and there will be high expectations on the part of the pro teams. The idea of going up against men and being a professional in a different culture and language in many cases. It will take a special type of kid to be able to handle that according to Jack. In the end Jack is not happy with the way the system is set up at the moment. The idea of just one year of college required to enter the draft does not work in his view. It is not good for the NCAA and it’s fans. A tweak that may allow high school players to enter the draft but if they choose school being held out till they have 2 years in the NCAA could be an answer down the line. This is something Jack suggested could work. If Brandon Jennings is successful it might be something the NBA will consider sooner as opposed to later.
The big news yesterday was the release of the Raptors Schedule. I asked Jack for his thoughts about it. Jack recalled something Larry Bird had said about the schedule. Bird suggested that in the end all teams have their back to backs and long road trips but at the end of it all you play 82 games and will be judged on that. Jack feels that the Raptors will have a great challenge up until December 31st as most have said. In the end he agrees with Bird that over the 82 games you will figure out what the Raptors are all about.
Best Wishes From Dino Blogger
I wish Jack all the best. He has been so kind with his time for this blog. It really has been a great chance for myself to have someone of his level be kind enough to visit so often. I have no doubt he will make a success out of this as he has in his work with the Raptors. Jack works very hard at everything he does and he makes it seem so easy and natural. I remember in a prior interview he talked about being from N.Y.C and his love of talking about all sports. Now he will be getting paid to do it on the Fan 590 Monday to Friday from 2-4pm. Not bad for a “Joe bag of donuts guy” from Brooklyn. It has been a great summer for Jack and I am personally very happy for him.
Update: 12:30 pm Aug 8th
Here is some thoughts from Eric Smith on Jack and his new show on the Fan 590:
Eric Smith -”Jack was a colleague who became a mentor and an even better friend. I’m thrilled for him. I have no doubt that he’ll do an outstanding job and that sports fans – not just Raptors fans – around the GTA will enjoy tuning in to his show every day. Jack is already one of the most popular broadcasters in this city and this country and this show will only enhance his profile and appeal.”
Tags: Brandon Jennings, Chris Bosh, Eric Smith, Fan 590, Jack Armstrong, Jose Calderon, NBA, NCAA, Raptors, Roko Ukic
