I think that is safe to assume that at least 95% of us think that Billy Packer is an idiot who doesn't know what he is talking about, especially when it comes to officiating. We can all belly ache about it or we can get a grassroots effort going to get him off of the air. The internet can obviously be a powerful tool for this effort. There are countless political examples of its effectiveness from both sides of the aisle.
There are a few things that we can do:
1. The easiest is to sign on online petition. Here's the link. However, I don't know what action is associated with it.
http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/Billy_Packer/
2. Secondly, we can all send an email directly to CBS. Click on "Feedback" at the bottom of the CBS Sportsline page. Here's the direct link:
http://www.sportsline.com/help/contactus/usersspeak
The petition letter at ipetitions.com is a good form letter. Here is a copy of the letter that I am sending. Feel free to us it.
As a sports fan and referee, I have had to suffer too long and listen to Billy Packer commentate the biggest college basketball games of the year. As a referee, I enjoy watching the best officials officiate at the highest level of competition. As a referee I understand that they do not get all of the calls correct. However, I do think that they get a lot more right than Mr. Packer gives them credit for. When replays show that either Mr. Packers initial observation was incorrect or that it wasnt as obvious as he once thought, he rarely gives the officials credit. Ive even heard commentate that an official has called a foul, when they have actually called that the ball went out-of-bounds. After either playing or commentating for virtually all of his life, one would think that he would know that an open hand would indicate an out-of-bounds and a fist would indicate a foul. I could go on.
This weekend I will note all of his obvious mistakes (if his games are on in my area). Next week, I will give you more specific examples. I would not be surprised if there arent about 20 mistakes from the 2 games that he commentates.
3. After listening to his idiotic remarks this weekend, let's make a list (with TiVo, we can get the exact quotes, time, play, who made the call, etc.) and send another round of emails. Or if you already have a list handy, send it on. Let's hope their servers can handle it.