Saying the words “Jim McIlvaine” to a Sonic fan more than twelve years of age is tantamount to saying “Dick Cheney” in front of a democrat – them’s fightin’ words, bud.Ah, McIlvaine: So hated by so many for so little. So little performance, that is. His $5 million a year contract sounds like peanuts now, but it was that contract which contributed to the downfall of an entire roster, ushering in more than a decade of organizational ineptitude (thanks, guys!), that only now appears to be clearing up.
But that is, thank goodness, the past. What does the present hold for the man who made an entire region so angry?
Broadcasting, for one. McIlvaine is the color commentator for Marquette’s men’s basketball team, and also writes a blog (“Chronicles from the bizarre world of Jim McIlvaine”)for the ESPN affiliate in Milwaukee. He even weighed in on the Sonics’ situation in one blog entry (and, thankfully, he doesn’t take Clay Bennett’s side).
Photography, for another. The former center has done work for Popular Hotrodding and GM High-Tech Performance, and even wrote a piece for go-fast.org.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, McIlvaine hosts a summer camp for children called Camp Anokijig, located about an hour north of Milwaukee. Oh, and he had a bit part in the movie, “Shallow Hal.” Yes, I know, I missed it, too.
So, there you go. Jim McIlvaine: broadcaster, photographer, writer, actor, summer camp president. I guess it shows that you can make alot of your life even when things get tough. Of course, it helps when you make $5 million a year for half a decade, but still.
Before I go, here’s a quote from McIlvaine I found especially enjoyable (taken from marquettehoops.com).
MarquetteHoops.com: Is there any college player out there right now that reminds you a lot of yourself?
Jim McIlvaine: Not really, they're all better than me.
Can’t say the man isn’t honest.
What a total bust he was..man..one of the biggest stiffs of all time ! McIlvaine should be kissing Wally Walker's ass forever..
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, you can't really blame the guy.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't his fault that he was offered a deal way above his worth.
I think anyone would take the money if a team was stupid enough to offer that much money to an unproven player.
As like for everything else pre-Bennett, blame Wally.
He is the ultimate poster child for why tall guys should play hoops and lefties should learn how to pitch, cause there are sucker GMs everywhere.
ReplyDeleteJust think of what could have been if Wally had paid Kemp instead had kept the nucleus of that Finals team together for couple of more seasons. Ahh..hindsight is so painful sometimes.
My cousin is editor of GM High-Tech Performance, and he randomly mentioned once that a Nets player was on their staff. Somehow, I just knew it was Jim Mac. I wanted to be spiteful toward the guy, but my cousin said he was a great guy. I couldn't hate him as much.
ReplyDeleteI noticed you took down the post about Ray Allen ripping the Sonics. Did Clay Bennett threaten to sue or tar and feather ya!
ReplyDeleteNo - it's just blogger acting up. Either that, or Jim McIlvaine figuerd out a way to hack into our site and delete all posts after his story, so that his picture would always be at the top of the page.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing it's blogger, though.
it could have been my cache too. It popped correctly after I hit the refresh button.
ReplyDelete