There have been quite a few good stand-up comedy bits on sports over the years, and Gary Gulman’s upcoming HBO special The Great Depresh (premiering Saturday at 10 p.m.) has another one. Gulman has appeared on every big late-night show, was twice a finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, and has done three Comedy Central specials, but The Great Depresh (presented by Judd Apatow and directed by Michael Bonfiglio) marks his first HBO special. Here’s a clip from it featuring Gulman talking about playing basketball when he was growing up:
“It’s the only sport where if somebody so much as slaps you on the wrist, they stop the game. Stop the game, separate everyone, and let you make two easy shots while everyone else is forced to watch quietly, as if to say ‘Think about what you did.’ …And I was automatic from the free-throw line, because free-throw shooting is a direct function of childhood loneliness.”
The whole extended riff is great, and it’s a funny way to think about basketball and how strange the idea of free throws is if you think about it for a bit.
The Great Depresh premieres on HBO at 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.