Mike Looks Back

Bally Sports South’s Kelly Crull caught up with former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Fratello about coaching Dominique Wilkins.

Mike Looks Back

What a moving celebration of Kobe’s and Gianna’s lives. In the spirit of having gratitude for the good times, here’s a fond memory of a lighthearted moment I shared with Kobe.

Mike Looks Back

WEB-Mike Looks Back-Kareem-8APR2014

Mike Looks Back

Came across this New York Times Q&A with sportswriter Vincent Mallozzi from when I first joined YES.

How did you get the nickname The Czar of the Telestrator? 

That came from my first-ever broadcast with Marv on NBC. We had been working on some stuff in the weeks before we went on the air, and I guess Marv appreciated the way I was able to handle the Telestrator, so that’s how he introduced me to the national television audience that first day. I had no idea it was coming

Who was the greatest player you ever coached?

Dominique Wilkins. He was a great competitor who had such a zeal for the game of basketball. He was a phenomenal dunker who loved it most when one of those great dunks really got our fans going. Before Dominique got to Atlanta, we had sold about 3,300 season tickets and averaged about 5,800 fans per game. By the time I left seven years later, the Hawks had 13,000 season tickets sold and average attendance was 15,000 per game…. Keep Reading!

Mike Looks Back

So proud of my good friend Rollie Massimino, who was recently inducted to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. I was one of Rollie’s assistant coaches at Villanova University from 1975-1978. VUhoops.com contributor Ed Donohue took a look at where we 1975-76 Villanova Wildcats wound up.

A. Rollie Massimino, Head Coach (3rd season): Under Massimino, the Wildcats compiled a record of 357-241 (.596) over 19 seasons. During his tenure, Villanova abandoned its independent status by joining the newly-formed Eastern Eight Conference in 1975. In 1980, the ‘Cats moved into Big East Conference. In the NCAA Tournament, Massimino had a 20-10 record (.667). He led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament eleven times, winning the Championship in 1985. His teams reached the Final Eight five times in an eleven-year span: 1978, 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1988. Rollie was inducted into the Big Five Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013… Read more!