The most breathtaking NYC court, and one of the best anywhere, is
on the roof of The Associated Press building on West 33rd Street.
It’s 17 stories up, with lights, a scoreboard, and clear views of the
Hudson and Jersey. Two feet past the sideline, on the other side of
the chain link fence, is a sheer drop to the pavement below. I’ve had
the luxury of playing here for the past four years, since the AP is
my day job. (What, you thought we were getting rich off this Bounce
thing? It’s for the love, baby!)
Last week my man Bobbito came by on my lunch break. I won two games of 21,
raining 3s all day, and then Bob and I renewed our 1-on-1 rivalry. Bob took an L, 15-10.
For the record, in our 11-year friendship, Bob the International Superstar
has never defeated me mano-a-mano. That’s N-E-V-E-R. Bob did shake
my socks off on one sweet move. He usually gets me once or twice a
game, and I’m cool with that. Because a W is a W is a W . . .
My shirt reads “Undefeated Vs. Bobbito*.” The asterisk is for 1 on 1 battles, as Bob has led squads that have waxed teams I’ve been on.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:44 am
ali says:
hey jesse,
the court is fantastic. it has a magical atmosphere. i remember you took me up there a few years back when i stopped by the office. and bob is still on a doughnut against you? i couldn’t believe it when i heard the fat boys broke up, but this is just as eye opening!!!
May 1st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
ali!
i’m not on my donut against jess. i gets my buckets! i just ain’t never got a W. i’m okay with that. i always tell him that he’s 6′5″, i’m 5′10″. that’s a 7″ differential. if i was playing someone 5′3″, other than mugsy bogues, i’m thinking i should win most or all of the time, too!
May 1st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Saku 39 says:
Is it open to the public? It looks awesome.
May 1st, 2008 at 2:39 pm
jesse says:
court is invitation only.
Bob may act like he’s cool with his donut, but after our last game he said, and I quote, “do you know how much this bothers me?”
May 1st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Saku 39 says:
Thanks, I thought so. Just wanted to ask.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:39 pm
ali says:
hey bob,
patrick was one of the all-time greats but will be forever hounded by never getting that nba ring. same with barkley. in my mind, it doesn’t make them any less.
so, we’ll just put you in that dominique, karl malone, ewing, barkley category until you take care of jesse. when you take the crown from the king, hit me up so i can catch the first thing smokin’ to make the parade.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
40 cal says:
whoaaaaaaa! that is one nice court every thought about throwing a Bounce Magazine all star game there feat the best 20 players in the city? That court is very very nice, hope i get to see it someday.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
jess–
i was just padding your ego so you could feel good and finish our upcoming june issue #15 in time! haha! honestly, i bothers me for a hot second, but 5 minutes later i’m totally over it. you deserve to beat me. you play better D, and in your older age you’ve developed long range. plus you can still dunk. it’ll be a long time before you take an L against me, but it will, jesse, happen. at some point. it took the knicks a while to get back to the nba finals, but they did it. same with the red sox, cubs, etc. i’ll get my W! in the meantime i’ll keep enjoying bopping you with the freak disco you game still does not possess. in your own words, ‘my game was poughkeepsie until i met bob . . .” bounce issue #7 i think? check the technique
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:32 am
Jesse Washington says:
Bob, My Brother, My Dribbling Friend:
You’re right. It is inevitable. You’re too good a shooter for it not to happen. Until then, though … Poughkeepsie Gets Busy!
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 am
g says:
looks reminiscent of the court that nutso and shepherd played on in above the rim,except nutso cant fall off the roof this time with all the fences! lol!
yo Jess,im saying though,can we get a good utah or 21 invite sometime? i’ll gladly take a sick day or an executive lunch break for that one!! lol!!