Last week the world mourned the death of actor George Wendt, who starred as Norm in the popular television sitcom Cheers.
There were many cameos on the show, including Boston Celtics great Kevin McHale. In the episode, McHale serves as a new bartender. He is immediately challenged by Woody, who is played by Woody Harrelson. Writers made a play on Harrelson being from Hanover, Ind., which is nearby Larry Bird's hometown of French Lick.
In the episode, Harrelson calls French Lick the "dufus capital of the world' while hoping Bird isn't the new bartender. McHale then fires back by saying with a series of jokes about Hanover.
ICE CUBE EXPLAINS HOW ICONIC NBA SONG ALMOST NEVER HAPPENED
It is hard to walk into an NBA locker room, gym, playground or anywhere basketball is played without hearing a reference to the song.
In 1992, Ice Cube released the track "It Was A Good Day" off The Predator album. While it was meant as a show of a good day in Southern California, it quickly became a basketball anthem because of a few lyrics.
Get me on the court and I'm trouble, last week (bleeped) around and got a triple double
Freakin' brothers all day, like MJ. I can't believe, today was a good day
It's ironic. I had the brew, she had the chronic. The Lakers beat the Supersonics
"I just wanted to talk about what a good day was in my small world at the time," Ice Cube told Back In The Day Hoops On SI. "It was just your favorite teams winning. If you're out there playing, having a good game, just one of those days where everything goes right. That was really the gist of it. I did a lot of hardcore records up until I did `It Was A Good Day.' I felt like I was just talking about the bad days. Let me talk about when I'm having a good day because that's true, too. If I'm a reality rapper, I should rap about everything that's going on."
More than 30 years later, the song still has relevance. Ice Cube did a karaoke rendition with superstar LeBron James in 2017. Not bad for a track that was met with resistance when it was written.
"It was real controversial with my crew because they felt like it wasn't an Ice Cube record," said Ice Cube, who now runs the Big3 Basketball League that features former NBA players. "It was too happy. If I'm having a good day, why shouldn't I be able to rap about it?"
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