And Kareem gets blocked on two points, but still scores.

Well, there came two podcast episodes I can't listen to . . . . (yet.)

Returning home from an evening somewhat involved with a-mystery-to-be-named-later, I found two new podcast episodes touted on the Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota Facebook feed. It seems that Kareem Abdul Jabbar is making the rounds pretty thoroughly on the run-up to his new novel Mycroft Holmes, along with his co-author, Anna Waterhouse.

In a rare, near-simultaneous, same-topic podcast release, both The Baker Street Babes and I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere came out with interviews about the book, inviting head-to-head comparisons of the style of the two podcasts and a real jackpot for the basketball fans of the Sherlockian world (or those who just love the movie Airplane! so very, very much).

But maybe they were just a little too good in promoting their episodes.

The Babes said, "give a listen and see why Sherlockians are hailing it as one of the best pastiches in recent memory."

And I went, "That good, huh? Amazon one-click pre-order, here I come!" (And with a pre-order price that's 45% off, it was an easy choice to make.)

Once that was done, however, I realized that I couldn't listen to either podcast yet, as I want to take in the novel in a fairly untainted frame of mind. Both interviews seemed better left until after the book was read, for as spoiler-free as the authors and interviewers might care to make it, one doesn't want to be constantly thinking of Kareem while wandering London with Mycroft Holmes. You might start expecting the lamplighters of the city to start skyhooking fireballs at the lamposts to get the job done. (And, yes, I pulled his trademark shot's name off Wikipedia. Don't start speaking in NBA and expect me to come up with a proper retort.)

The thought of the extremely-fat Mycroft strolling down the street with the extremely-tall Kareem, however, is a picture worth painting at least mentally, if someone hasn't already. I look forward to seeing what that combo can do on the printed page next week, when the book shows up.