Packer vs Vitale Round 2

[26 Year Gap]

Since the other thread changed direction I will make the following observation based on watching the selection show & ESPN afterwards. Packer started talking about the 4th bracket opponents and matchups [which had not been revealed at that point] when Jim Nantz was talking about the 3rd bracket. Then Packer went off on the committee for there being 4 MVC teams and 4 ACC teams & no Cincy. [In my estimation, he should be complaining about Seton Hall over Cincy].

Even though Vitale is obnoxious and needs a major lesson on the virtues of the AP arrow, if I had to choose which one stays and which one goes, Packer should start packing. Vitale even picked UConn to beat the Dookies so at least he can be SOMEWHAT impartial.

[Nevadaref]

Vitale is over excitable, but lovable and genuinely cares for the kids.
Packer is there to tell everyone how much he thinks he knows. He is all ego. Never does a game that he does pass without a reference to something from 40 or 50 years ago. If we wanted the history of the NCAA, we'd buy the book that Joe Crowley just wrote on the first 100 years of the organization. He is a relic, a has-been, and a dinosaur.
I almost fell out of my chair when he told the NCAA selection committee chair, Mr. Littlepage, that they needed to look at five and ten year trends! Is he aware that this is college basketball and the players are turned over much faster than that. For the best players it's one or two years and gone.
Mr. Littlepage responded nicely by telling Packer that conference or team history is not important. It is about the performance in the current year.
I guess Packer wants everyone to rest on their laurels like he does.

In the end, I'll take Dickie V any day. I can't stand five minutes of Packer.

[TriggerMN]

Agreed. When Packer started talking about the 4th bracket even before it had been announced, I wanted to smack him.

Then he says that the results from the last 5-10 years should be taken into account, because major conferences put in more teams into the Sweet 16 during that period. What does that have to do with THIS year? Teams are judged on a case by case basis, not by conference affiliation.

[bebanovich]

Coach K sucks.

OK. He really doesn't and I'm just kidding. Vitale and Packer both get on my nerves but Vitale is more likable. That goes a long way in my book. It seems like Packer talks too much because he loves himself and to hear himself talk and Vitale talks too much (and too loudly) because he loves life. It can get annoying in either case but Vitale is like a lovable uncle who just won't leave the dinner party. It's hard to hate him but you cringe when you invite him again.

[jbduke]

This is actually the day of the year when I think that Vitale is at his best (which I think is actually quite good), and I don't mean because it's ACC Finals day. Vitale's studio analysis on Selection Sunday is outstanding. It's the one hour a year where he forgets that his job is to whore for ESPN, so he stops cheerleading, and starts doing sharp, cold analysis based on his vast knowledge and understanding of the game. It's just a shame that he does such a good job of camouflaging these abilities the rest of the year.

Packer, on the other hand, was his usual insufferable self. Instead of really hammering Littlepage pointedly over what I think most found the two most objectionable aspects of the bracket--Tennessee as a #2 and Air Force's inclusion over the likes of Cincinnati and Missouri State, et al--he focused exclusively, and very broadly, on major conferences not getting enough invites, without making specific cases for anybody. Typical Mr. Ca$h.

[Raymond]

Billy Packer, and to some extent Jim Nantz, was an embarassment. It all really boils down to this: Major Conferences get better TV ratings and this year's tilt towards mid-Majors will hurt CBS financially.

[Dan_ref]

Originally posted by BadNewsRef
Billy Packer, and to some extent Jim Nantz, was an embarassment. It all really boils down to this: Major Conferences get better TV ratings and this year's tilt towards mid-Majors will hurt CBS financially.

I'm not sure I agree, especially if some of them win a couple of games. Cinderella team and all that stuff. And if none of them make it out of the first round? Who cares, yesterday's news.

I really enjoyed the film they aired just prior to the selections. Great stuff. I thought having Nance & Packer add commentary was stupid, I turned it off part way through.

[26 Year Gap]

Originally posted by Dan_ref

I'm not sure I agree, especially if some of them win a couple of games. Cinderella team and all that stuff. And if none of them make it out of the first round? Who cares, yesterday's news.

I really enjoyed the film they aired just prior to the selections. Great stuff. I thought having Nance & Packer add commentary was stupid, I turned it off part way through.

If that custodian were a true fan, he would have turned off the gym lights after the game. I mean, Packer is usually in the dark anyway, right?