# Steve "Snapper" Jones



## loyalty4life (Sep 17, 2002)

Does anyone know where he is or what he's doing now? I think he's done with ESPN - is that correct?

Any info is great. Thanks.


----------



## HOWIE (Dec 30, 2002)

Loyalty4Life said:


> Does anyone know where he is or what he's doing now? I think he's done with ESPN - is that correct?
> 
> Any info is great. Thanks.



Last I heard he was in the witness protection program hiding for a crazy fan from Eugene named Justin. :biggrin:


----------



## loyalty4life (Sep 17, 2002)

Whoa, now... I haven't made a thread about him in a _long_ time... Plus I don't even know where he's at right now. That tells you how things have cooled off over time.

He's still an awesome dude to listen to when it comes to bball, though.


----------



## loyalty4life (Sep 17, 2002)

HOWIE said:


> Last I heard he was in the witness protection program hiding for a *crazy fan from Eugene* named Justin. :biggrin:


Besides, I don't know if CFFE has a good ring to it. I like my current handle better, Mr. Mandel.


----------



## HispanicCausinPanic (Jul 2, 2005)

He still lives here in NE Portland. I see him at the gym all the time. He says his health is good. He is also still doing some TV work. he worked on a game in Utah for NBATV in the first round.


----------



## loyalty4life (Sep 17, 2002)

It's too bad we can't pull a Bill Schonely with him and get him back with the Blazers in a certain role. 

I might be wrong, but is there any bad blood between the Blazers and Steve? Part of me remembers something like that.


----------



## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

no room for him plus he isnt THAT well liked burnt a few bridges


----------



## loyalty4life (Sep 17, 2002)

How did he burn any bridges?


----------



## HOWIE (Dec 30, 2002)

Loyalty4Life said:


> How did he burn any bridges?



ever hear of matches? :biggrin:


----------



## loyalty4life (Sep 17, 2002)

HOWIE said:


> ever hear of matches? :biggrin:


Are the Lakers going down this year?


----------



## chris_in_pdx (Jul 11, 2004)

Utherhimo said:


> no room for him plus he isnt THAT well liked burnt a few bridges


Snapper is a holdover from the old guard of broadcasters who would tell it like it was, instead of being a rah-rah cheerleader for the team like Wheeler and Barrett are. I remember in the mid to late 90s, when the Rose Garden was quiet as a church mouse during games, Schonley would get upset and make comments to the effect that the Blazer team wasn't doing anything to warrant cheering for. Imagine Wheeler saying anything like that, he'd be fired on the spot.


----------



## TheBlueDoggy (Oct 5, 2004)

chris_in_pdx said:


> Snapper is a holdover from the old guard of broadcasters who would tell it like it was, instead of being a rah-rah cheerleader for the team like Wheeler and Barrett are. I remember in the mid to late 90s, when the Rose Garden was quiet as a church mouse during games, Schonley would get upset and make comments to the effect that the Blazer team wasn't doing anything to warrant cheering for. Imagine Wheeler saying anything like that, he'd be fired on the spot.


I agree the guys nowadays are a bit more pro-Blazers-no-matter-what, but I think to say that about Wheels is way off. My biggest annoyance with Wheels is when the Blazers are doing bad, or are getting stomped by a better team, he starts "whining" in a very depressed "it's the end of the world" way about how poorly they are doing. I love the energy and excitement he brings when the Blazers are doing well, but the bi-polar behavior of being down in the dumps about the team when they are getting blown out drives me nuts.

Mike and Mike are the guys who always put on the insanely positive spin (yet I still love them regardless).

Steve Jones, great guy, increasingly became more negative about just about anything, be it the Blazers or whoever he was talking about. He also, much like Walton, said a lot of retarded things. I thought he dropped off the radar due to his health issues.


----------



## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

chris_in_pdx said:


> Snapper is a holdover from the old guard of broadcasters who would tell it like it was, instead of being a rah-rah cheerleader for the team like Wheeler and Barrett are. I remember in the mid to late 90s, when the Rose Garden was quiet as a church mouse during games, Schonley would get upset and make comments to the effect that the Blazer team wasn't doing anything to warrant cheering for. Imagine Wheeler saying anything like that, he'd be fired on the spot.


I miss that mindset. I wonder if the Blazers (or any other professional team) has ever done an analysis of whether it's really profitable to have homers do your broadcast. these guys have no credibility. their rants about reffing are annoying, their interviews with players are bland and cliche, and their profiles about public service are so incredibly milktoast that I always tivo right past them. 

personally, I think you've got a much better television product (and hence ratings) when you have announcers willing to stir the pot instead of just being PR tools. hire real journalists with real integrity and give them complete independence.


----------



## Stevenson (Aug 23, 2003)

Good news on the Snapper front boys: I listen to him almost every day. I have Sirius radio. On NBA radio he has a show on every afternoon called NBA 180 (I think.)same 'ol Snapper. Nice to hear his takes.

BTW, I highly recommend Sirius for this station alone. Great NBA chat all day, not just those bandwagooners Suke and Isaac.


----------



## loyalty4life (Sep 17, 2002)

chris_in_pdx said:


> I remember in the mid to late 90s, when the Rose Garden was quiet as a church mouse during games, Schonley would get upset and make comments to the effect that the Blazer team wasn't doing anything to warrant cheering for. Imagine Wheeler saying anything like that, he'd be fired on the spot.


Wheels wouldn't be fired on the spot if he was critical of the team when it was warranted. He's done it before on the air.

I appreciate Wheels on the radio because he puts his heart and soul into the game and the broadcast as a whole. You know he's a die-hard Blazer fan like the rest of us. That's the kind of person I want as a broadcaster. But, like I mentioned above, he does call it like it is when the Blazers are playing poorly. 

And about his "whining"... I can't imagine any broadcaster still being all cheery and positive when we're losing or playing poorly. If losing affects him deeply (which evidently it does on occasion), you can't blame him for hearing it in his voice.


----------



## Paxil (Jan 1, 2003)

I think Wheels listened to the whining comments and has toned them down a bit from his earlier form. Both he and Rice toned down the complaining about the refs too... and Rice points out when a replay obviously showed the Blazers got a break. Rice still makes his points, he is just more careful about them.

I miss Walton and the Snapper going at it. I can remember one game where they both started a 30 second monolog on camera at the same time... and neither of them would stop. They just talked at the same time over each other. It was funny... yet unprofessional all at the same time.


----------



## Draco (Jun 28, 2003)

Paxil said:


> I miss Walton and the Snapper going at it. I can remember one game where they both started a 30 second monolog on camera at the same time... and neither of them would stop. They just talked at the same time over each other. It was funny... yet unprofessional all at the same time.


Walton and the Snapper are so funny together. The blazers should bring them in to announce a game or two.


----------

