I remember a time when Sundays following football season meant more than just another day off school. It meant NBA basketball at its best.

Come noontime on these days, I would often tune in for what would be the first game of either a double or triple header. Back in the day, this usually meant match ups like Michael Jordan’s Bulls against Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks, The Charles Barkley led Phoenix Suns taking on the Orlando Magic and Penny Hardaway, or my personal favorite rivaly, The Indiana Pacers against the Knicks. Watching Reggie Miller torch Spike Lee’s favorite club is a cherished memory of mine.

So we got nearly nine hours of great basketball, all on NBC. Unfortunately, the aforementioned no longer exists. Not because those great players have all retired, but because of the network that now carries nationally televised games.

The NBA chose not to renew their contract with NBC Sports back in 2002, instead making a deal with ABC and ESPN to broadcast games. That meant no more double and triple headers, no more brilliant pre-game vignettes, and no more of that NBA on NBC theme music that every basketball fan will remember as long as they live. To sum it up, the NBA on Sundays became a shell of its former self.

It’s amazing what changing networks can do to the whole aspect of a sport. NBC made even regular season games seem important. They portrayed the drama and suspense that should be a part of the game, making you want to watch every bounce of the ball. The classic moments of the NBA on NBC are countless. They were the moments that inspired kids to spend hours playing ball in their driveways, imagining that they were on sport’s biggest stage making the game winning shot. This, people, was NBA basketball.

Today is a different story. Now we’re lucky to get one decent Sunday game. Not only that, ABC and ESPN’s coverage is downright terrible. Gone is the Jonh Tesh’s “Roundball Rock.” Gone are the well thought out game intros that told the story of what we were about to witness. Gone is the spirit of the NBA.

Instead we get The Pussycat Dolls “singing” and prancing around like whores to open the games. Yes, they are nice to look at, but I’m here to watch basketball, not a burlesque show. I want to hear about the quest for a trophy, or about two bitter rivals going head to head.

And forget kicking back and taking in a whole day of NBA ball. According to NBA Commissioner David Stern, the fans don’t want to watch three games in a row.

What?! Since when? But maybe he’s right. With ABC’s coverage, I can see why fans have lost interest. I guarantee if the NBA were still on NBC, this would not be a problem. And until the league does what’s best for the game, don’t expect any meaningful or exciting coverage of NBA games on Sunday afternoons.