Studios shine during Sterling situation

Sometimes an immediate reaction misses the point, but that has not been the case for TV types with their response in regard to a recorded telephone call that allegedly features NBA owner Donald Sterling.

In the conversation, the man TMZ identifies as Sterling makes racist remarks to his girlfriend about minorities and her association with them. There's much more in the painfully inane and shallow conversation, but that's the racist gist.

Reaction from on-air studio teams was swift, strong and specific and strong Saturday. As usual, former player Charles Barkley delivered. A day later, Magic Johnson was similarly strong.

For the NBA to take action, it must prove that the voice on the tape is that of Sterling. And, as reports continue about the team owner, it seems like it might be only a matter of time before some sort of league action happens.

Often, situations like this produce better information and more nuanced reporting as a story progresses. We might get more information, but Barkley, Johnson & Co. have set a high standard for nuance and opinion already.

In fact, it's likely that what will happen instead are more shrill voices and more silly debate about the topic as the week begins. Instead of cumulative reporting, we'll probably get a piling on of useless information.

Clearly, the league has to take action if the tape proves credible, but the race might not become whether it does but instead who are the talking heads who want to rage enough to eventually take credit for making the action occur.