Six things about the NCAA basketball tournament:
(1) College basketball is not the same without Billy Packer. Nobody else was willing to criticize the selection committee, certainly not to its face. Problem with the media is most of us want to be liked. Billy doesn't care. He knows people aren't going to like him. His was the sport's one true independent voice. And now it's gone. And CBS really missed it Sunday night. So did we.
(2) Arizona and Wisconsin should not be in the tournament. San Diego State and St. Mary's should.
(3) Does winning a conference tournament or, if you're an underdog, going deep into the conference tournament help you this week? It can. But I think those of you that expect Mississippi State or Florida State to go cruising through the brackets are misguided.
(4) I hated the Final Four I picked for Monday's newspaper. I don't go in with preconceived notions. I'm like the cliche -- I really do take it a game at a time. And then, when I finish, I want to blow it up and start over. I really tried to pick Villanova to beat Pittsburgh and advance to the Final Four. But couldn't make my fingers hit the proper keys.
(5) Like everybody else, I wish Davidson had received a bid, but the Wildcats didn't come close. They didn't have the credentials. I had hoped they would play Virginia Tech in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. But Duquesne will play at Virginia Tech instead. That game makes as much as much sense as 19-13 Arizona supplanting San Diego State in the big tournament.
(6) This is one of the great times of the year to be a sports fan. There will be drama and surprises, decimated brackets and trusted employees watching games on their computers at work. Nobody has figured out a better way to end a season. Enjoy it.
Billy is a "has been". Maybe those over 60 like him but give me someone fresh. Besides Billy should have known calling the Kansas-UNC game "over" in the first half would come back to haunt him.
Posted by: harold | March 16, 2009 at 09:50 AM
Billy is more than a "has been", you couldn't ask for a bigger, more self important, schmuck. Good riddance to his ilk.
Posted by: Jack LaMotta | March 16, 2009 at 10:00 AM
As always, I love keeping up with your column as much as I do the sports at times. You are the greatest in my book for picks.
Posted by: Judie | March 16, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Billy Packer is a jerk......and also the best color man in the history of college basketball. Clark Kellogg is a hollow substitute. The Final Four won't be the same without Billy.
Posted by: DBM LA | March 17, 2009 at 08:13 PM