Larry Brown Sports

Postgame interviews can be quite entertaining — just ask Kevin Garnett — but rarely do they generate not one, but TWO headline-worthy stories. After leading the Hornets to a Game 4 victory over the Lakers on Easter Sunday, Chris Paul spoke with Cheryl Miller and not only did he say he’d treat his mother like the enemy on the court, but he also dropped a “pause.” Check it out:

And if you don’t understand the whole “pause” reference, read this.

Thanks to Ben Golliver at CBS Sports for the video.

Those of you who are unfamiliar with the slang definition of the word “pause” may be more familiar with the term “no homo.”  Both essentially mean the same thing and are used when making a reference that could be construed as sexual in nature.  The latter is used more in a hip hop setting while the former is a bit more common in everyday conversation and in the media.

Dwight Howard, who is no stranger to goofing off during interviews, made the reference when talking about Andrew Bynum after the Magic’s loss to the Lakers on Monday night.  It reminded us a lot of Gus Johnson’s “pause” when Spike like said he “likes Dick” a few years ago, which pretty much introduced LBS to the term.  Check out the Dwight Howard “pause” video, courtesy of Cosby Sweaters.

HG at You Been Blinded put me on to this incredibly funny video. It’s something All Hip Hop was all over last week, but it’s just now making it’s way to me. I apologize for the tardiness. Anywhoo, you really only need to see the first 30 seconds to enjoy it. I’ll explain the different dimensions of the hilarity later.

So on obvious levels, Spike Lee straight up says he “likes Dick,” when talking about Dan Dickau. But HG explains to me another dimension for what makes this so funny. If you notice, after Spike’s slip, Gus Johnson calmly slides in a “pause.” As I’ve come to learn, such use of the word “pause” is another way of saying that the reference was not homosexual — not that there’s anything wrong with that. So there you have Spike Lee saying he likes Dick, and a professional broadcaster working in a hip hop type reference all in the same setting. As they note on All Hip Hop, one of the most professional uses of the word pause you can find.