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You know I was a shy guy and people didn't know that and still don't know it today. I'm sure basketball brought my shyness out because of the fact that you have to do interviews, and that people are always talking to you in terms of the fans and everything.

Most athletes are media shy. They keep to themselves and to their training. I'm not saying it is absolutely necessary for them to come out and face the cameras with confidence, but if they do, it will only help them. They will find themselves closer to their fans and will also get their word across more effectively.

Everyone always wants to say I'm shy. I don't think so, but there's a disconnect with my fans. I want my fans to see me - that's what they never do.

A lot of reporters don't have conversations - they just fire off questions. I'm going to listen to what you're saying. If you start giving me a pat answer, I'm going to challenge you. That's where my sports background helps, because athletes do it all the time. So you have to stop them... and sometimes they're going to yell back at you. So what?

Most people have to talk so they won't hear.

What I've learned is that people have a desire to talk after the first line of reporters go away, and they are no longer speaking out of shock.

At town meetings, you can see the shy folks, the ones who have trouble sounding off in public, leaning against the back wall or bending over their knitting. On talk radio, those people are invisible, but they're there. It's a mistake to think that the blowhards who call in speak for the nation.

Some people are just quiet - they don't need to be talking all the time and aren't extroverted, but they're not necessarily afraid to talk. I'm not really a shy person.

Announcers don't do enough of the cat-and-mouse strategy and all the work that goes into it. You watch a broadcast and guys get the pitches wrong.