I miss Billy Packer. Packer was the best color analyst in basketball and maybe the best in sports. He knew the game. He was great at anticipating, and he was willing to criticize and praise.
The best color analysts I'm aware of both work in the NFL -- Cris Collinsworth and Troy Aikman.
They dress better than Billy did.
Packer was not a performer. He was like a guy watching a game at home with his friends, if he has friends. He didn't talk about having lunch with his good buddy the coach or his good buddy the athletic director or his good buddy the father of a player. He didn't put the people he talked about on a pedestal or try to curry their favor.
His successor, Clark Kellogg, is all right. But Kellogg loves his phrases. He'll come up with a phrase, usually related to food, and apply it to the sport. He crams them into the telecast. A listener or co-worker or relative will tell him how good the phrase is and you get the impression Kellogg introduces himself by offering his hand and saying, "Squeeze the orange."
Packer didn't offer clever sayings. He never got in the way. He just said what needed to be said.
Billy Packer knew EVERYTHING. He's a jerk.
Posted by: Fat Boy | April 01, 2011 at 10:45 AM
Billy was okay and sometimes very interesting but Clark Kellogg is much worse than nobody at all. He is monotonous, mumbly, and detracts from the game. He is like the sound of a car engine that turns over but won't start. It would significantly improve CBS coverage if Jim Nance removed his shoe and stuck his sock in Kellogg's mouth. I always keep a finger at the ready on the mute button when Kellogg is a part of the telecast.
Posted by: Ed | April 02, 2011 at 12:18 AM