In a New Orleans sports radio world currently ruled by a turncoat “Cajun Cannon” and still overshadowed by the late, great Buddy D., the absence of Gerry Vaillancourt’s voice in the city’s afternoon drive time radio slot is a vacuum begging to be filled. Once upon a time, from early 2004 until late 2006, Gerry V. unleashed his unique blend of New York attitude and southern charm on the New Orleans public via his daily talk show on 1280AM, the former Sports Monster. In that all too brief period, the V-Man garnered a dedicated following, one that hung on his intricate knowledge of basketball and his lunch pail focus on football—whether former Saints coach Jim Haslett preferred players with phenomenal physical ability over those with a high “football I.Q.” was a frequent topic of discussion—and callers were encouraged, nigh commanded, to be prepared. This writer called in to the Gerry V. Show every now and again, and I remember scouring over a page full of notes while waiting on hold, eager to make my point about the topic of the day and continue the discourse.
Discourse was the centerpiece of the Gerry V. Show, and the other local radio shows’ stunning lack of it made his show stand out even more. Gerry V. understands that sports fans want to have their voices heard and not just given a ten-second opportunity to say their team stunk last week.
And if discourse is the Gerry V. Show’s centerpiece then entertainment sits at both heads of its table. During our conversation, the V-Man and I discovered a mutual appreciation for Howard Stern, and the King of All Media’s influence on the Gerry V. Show clicked into place—the sound effects, like a crying baby needling callers when they whined about this or that, or the unmistakable pop of a freshly cracked beer snagged from the Virtual Green Room is no doubt a subtle homage to one of the best background contributors and sound effect men of all time, Fred Norris.
This is the first time in seventeen years that Vaillancourt isn’t hosting a daily talk show, but that doesn’t mean his voice is totally absent from the medium. His day job is following the New Orleans Hornets as the color analyst on the team’s flagship station, KMEZ 106.7FM, and he hosts two weekend shows on WRNO 99.5FM, where he takes calls on everything from sports to politics. It’s a good thing that when the Hornets fled Charlotte for the laid back Big Easy, they brought their three-time Talk Show Host of the Year (as named by the excellent East Coast indie rag Creative Loafing) with them.
With the notion of a new daily show gaining momentum—“It’ll happen soon,” the V-Man told HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE when we talked with him courtside at the New Orleans Arena—we thought it’d be a good idea to let the man release some steam before he gets too busy following what looks to be a great season by the Hornets, so HA talked to Gerry V. about the Hornets’ breakout players, how the team can continue to be successful and bandwagon jumping.
Besides the starting five, what Hornets player will be the biggest factor in the team making a deep run in the playoffs?
James Posey. He plays a couple of positions, plus he can defend, plus he won two rings down in Miami and in Boston. You’ve got a guy on the floor who has taken the biggest shots in the biggest games of his life. You could tell by the way he talked to the other players in the preseason that he’s been on the magical journey—game one, the first day of camp, through the regular season and winning round after round after round to Game 7 of the championship series, which is one of the most demanding journeys a player can ever take. He’s done it twice and has two rings, and as a player he’s a guy you want to go to dinner with and pick his brain.
It really seems like Posey’s outside shots fit in well with what Peja Stojakovic brings to the table.
Yeah, and it gives Byron Scott some different combinations. In the preseason I fell in love with the Julian Wright/James Posey combo coming off the bench—two long, athletic guys. Posey will be a nice factor for this team.
What does the departure of backup point guard Jannero Pargo mean for Chris Paul? We all know Paul wants to play forty-eight minutes every game.
It means Mike James will have to fill that (backup) role, and so far it looks like it’s his role. Paul may play more minutes at first, but the coaching staff needs to monitor his minutes because he’s so incredibly valuable. You need to have a solid backup because of the pace and style the team plays and also because of how they’ve extended themselves defensibly. That backup point guard is valuable, and right now it looks like Mike James will be that guy, and Devin Brown might be the third guard, but he can play big guard too.
What does the Hornets organization need to do—or continue doing—to ensure a long, lasting run in New Orleans?
The toughest thing to do in professional sports is to build and manage a pro roster. They have to keep maintaining and feeding the roster. Whenever there’s a slippage, and they need an improvement, and Jeff Bower’s done a nice job of this, you’ve got to fill that gap. Look at the lesson of the Miami Heat—a couple years ago they win a title but then they’re in the basement. It’s tough to build and manage the roster, you’ve got to replenish, maybe it’s with a rollplayer, but you’ve got to keep the roster invigorated. Lucky for them, their core group is young.
Being a Yankee fan, what do you think about the pinstripes on the new Hornets uniforms?
With that Cajun blue, they look beautiful under the lights. I really got hooked into them in the preseason. We’re a couple games in and I said to Sean Kelley, “Those uniforms really look nice under the lights.” They’re electric blue and they’re real easy to pick out, which will probably be great for Chris Paul. They’re beautiful. I’m sentimental. Anything with pinstripes…
What returning Hornet looks set to make a big jump in quality of play?
I have two. Tyson Chandler and Julian Wright.
As good as Chandler was last year, he’s going to make a big jump?
He’s put on weight, he’s got more muscle, he’s gotten stronger. He’s going to be able to battle the bigs a little better, and he’s running beautifully. I think he’s due, plus he’s added a bit to his offensive game. He’s taken his game a few feet further from the basket to take the jump shot, which will compliment him. The extra weight will help with his rebounding, taking the hits in the post and help him defensively. With Julian Wright, because of his length and quickness, the way he plays will be a great help defensively. His confidence, too. He’s making quicker decisions now and is more decisive. That’s going to help coming off the bench. He’s not hesitating in his game.
We saw a lot of “bandwagon jumping” accusations from the national media last season. Was the Hornets’ on-court success in the middle of last season the reason this city embraced the team so passionately so quickly, or was it simply a bunch of things that came together at once?
I think one reason was the team’s style of play, number two was success. Number three—this area is a great sports area. People in this area appreciate teams because, let’s face it, the people around here are enduring people, they understand what it’s like to face adversity and bounce back, with the storms and everything else. I think they appreciated the fact that the Hornets played an entertaining style, played very hard and that the players were involved in the community. They really went out and touched people. The fact that it was new—you’ve got a legacy of the NFL here for decades, but the NBA was still fairly new—factored in. Once they got a taste of coming into the arena and watching the team, and the entertainment, the passion and the playoffs, the emotional hook set in and that’s the first step. The team took the step and was successful, and as it continues you’ll see the fan now wrap their arm around the product. You’re in a major league sports town now. You’ve got big-time college football and baseball, and the NFL and the NBA. This may be a small media market, but as far as product goes it’s just off the charts. Now what would make it complete is another sports talk show!
Find Gerry V. on KMEZ 106.7FM during every New Orleans Hornets game broadcast and also on Hornets Sportsline every Thursday from 7-8pm. The V-Man’s weekend shows continue on Saturdays from 8-11am and Sundays from 9-11am, both on WRNO 99.5FM.
