Michael Grady’s Pure
Announcer and media personality Michael Grady
Do you know about Michael Grady? He joined the Timberwolves broadcast team a couple years ago and improved the quality I’d comfortably say three fold which is in an unbelievable achievement in the broadcast world. I’m sure there are other ingredients in the recipe, but the man comes ready to do TV everyday. I steal that compliment from my guy Bill DeVille from the Current. He would always compliment Mark Wheat to me by saying “that guy walks in everyday ready to do a radio show”. And it’s a real ass compliment. Some people come in shaky, they come in half-hearted. I don’t care if we are playing the Charlotte Hornets at midnight in Liverpool, Michael Grady is ready to deliver. So before I actually start my whole connection to the man. . .thank you Michael. You have made my basketball fandom so much more enjoyable.
One thing Grady says when someone sinks a clean shot is simply “pure”. I don’t think it’s Grady’s most well-known tagline but it’s the one that sticks with me. Seeing Anthony Edwards go up almost unexpectedly for a long two and the ball just jumps into the basket like it’s a California King the ball’s been waiting to dive into all day and then Grady just says “pure”. It is part of the rhythm of the broadcast, of the game and now of my life. This image of purity to me feels aligned not with cleanliness or holiness but with clarity, with focus, with intention. As I walk through my life I struggle to stay focused on the pure things. I struggle to not fall for the distractions that pull me off my path. These distractions might be petty schoolyard gossip bullshit that I’ve always been too old for, reading far down on the Instagram feed only to feel less productive, attending to my own distracted mind instead of engaging with my kids. None of these actions feel great at the time, I am drawn to them for someone reason, but I am repulsed by them because they are not pure. Michael Grady is now part of the soundtrack of the good moments in my life, the moments where my actions are aligning with my intentions.
McPherson is up early to do his morning exercises and pack S.’s lunch before the rest of the family wakes up. Pure
Sean has scheduled the music for Jazz88 out to next Thursday and he’s now finally reviewing the charts to see what other stations are playing. From the logo, pure
McPherson is making time to clean his desk and set up the scene for the day before he makes his list. Pure
McPherson has again elected to turn on Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins on TV while primarily cycling between headlines on New York Times and scrolling Instagram. It Rims Out
McPherson addresses the hardest things on his list right out the gate and doesn’t leave them until after all the things he’s excited about. That’s pure Jim
As the Timberwolves season approaches I am legitimately giddy to spend eight months hanging out with the broadcast crew and already dreading the headache that it will be to get the games here at home thanks to the cluster that is Bally’s. I also want to give a shoutout to my co-worker Jedidiah Jones who handles the in-arena announcing for the Wolves. Though he recently stepped away from his full-time position at Jazz88 he’s still in the mix for special programs et cetera.
Right now I’m going to grab a shower and head in to work to share some new music with the morning show host and the program director. Pure