LeBron but also Bronny

While sitting at press row on Wednesday night inside the Pacer arena I realized my first time watching LeBron James at press row in the Pacers arena back in 2005 wasn't with LeBron James actually in the Pacers' arena. It was at about this time that I also realized Bronny James was checking into the game, the first quarter of the game.

This meant Bronny was paired with LeBron James – his, FATHER – for the the first time since a four minute stint back in, I don't know, I looked it up and couldn't find it, for the first time since earlier this year.

The first time I saw LeBron at the Pacer arena was this time of year but 21 years ago, on a press row TV tuned to TNT. LeBron was up in Chicago playing the Bulls as a member of the Cavaliers, I was at press row in an emptying Pacer arena following a Heat/Pacers contest, that was the day Mitch Hedberg died, or at least the day we found out:

LeBron James is here for all of now (he plays again Friday) and he was there for all of that, me whelping something for SI.com, second-year LeBron flickering on the standard-def screen as actual Shaquille O'Neal battled with actual Scot Pollard, actualized Dale Davis. Reggie Miller the active basketball player chased around by Shandon Anderson. Wang Zhizhi was there, on the Heat bench, he was Charles Barkley's first should-he-say-that joke as TV analyst a quarter-century ago.

On Wednesday I wondered what sportswriters in Indianapolis musta thought watching Gordie Howe skate around the same rink as his sons. Then I drove home to look up if Gordie and his sons ever played together for that long, if Indianapolis had a hockey team in that league at that time, whatever that league was, and this is where I learned the name "Peter Pocklington." I've decided not to follow up.