At the end of last night’s Real Sports HBO episode, host Bryant Gumbel shared a characterization of NBA commissioner David Stern that he knew would make some people “cringe.” He suggested that Stern’s actions and words during a recent media tour are typical of a “commissioner who has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern plantation overseer, treating NBA men as if they were his boys.”

NBC Sports blogger Kurt Helin writes this morning that “some players are saying very much this same thing when the microphones are off.” Larry Brown meanwhile compares this latest Gumbel brouhaha to some remarks the former Today Show host made five years ago about another commissioner, the NFL’s Paul Tagliabue.

Helin and Brown give hat tips to Paul Pabst of “The Dan Patrick Show.” This morning, Patrick opined extensively on the Gumbel opinion piece and wants to get the broadcaster on his show, hopefully tomorrow, to expand further. (For the record, Patrick and Brown both disagree with Gumbel’s slavery-days take.)

Previously on FishbowlLA:
The NBA Lockout: Where ‘Straordinario’ Might Still Happen