it was time (some time ago)
http://www.miamiherald.com/626/story/603901.html
great news, until he gets hired by ESPN and then we have to listen to him all winter.
Thats awesome. Time for a change. Now lets get Gus Johnson in for Jim Nantz.
Quote from: nyg on July 14, 2008, 07:40:08 AM
Thats awesome. Time for a change. Now lets get Gus Johnson in for Jim Nantz.
HAH HA!!!!!
IMO, the problem wasn't Packer 1 x week and in March. The problem was and always has been Vitale 7 x weeks Nov thru Feb. Packer while crustly and old at least brought you some hoops insight.
Packer had become a symbol of all that was wrong with college hoops. From his sycophantic devotion to the ACC to his dissing of mid-majors, to his occasional misogynistic or racial remarks. It was time for him to go. Now, if we could just get Len Elmore to stop talking about the kids from Pitt and their NY connections.
Quote from: tower912 on July 14, 2008, 09:04:48 AM
Packer had become a symbol of all that was wrong with college hoops. From his sycophantic devotion to the ACC to his dissing of mid-majors, to his occasional misogynistic or racial remarks. It was time for him to go. Now, if we could just get Len Elmore to stop talking about the kids from Pitt and their NY connections.
Actually, I would like to avoid Len Elmore altogether. The guy is ill-prepared for games and is a bandwagon announcer.
If Packer joins Vitale on ESPN, they might as well call it the ACC Network.
His insight? The guy constantly sounded like an old fool yelling at kids for riding their skateboards to close to his lawn.
Good riddance.
Quote from: DamonKeysContactLens on July 14, 2008, 08:25:02 AM
IMO, the problem wasn't Packer 1 x week and in March. The problem was and always has been Vitale 7 x weeks Nov thru Feb. Packer while crustly and old at least brought you some hoops insight.
Really? Vitale is great for CBB, lets face it the national appeal of CBB isn't great outside of March and Vitale brings exicitement and passion to the sport. Yes he's biased towards the ACC, but before ESPN expanded coverage its all he really worked; and I've heard him stroke the big 3 on many occassions so we shouldn't complain.
He can be over the top at times, but I'm a fan.
I couldn't be happier! I believe Billy gets credit for helping us hire Dukiet. I will also hear how he helped us raise money for The Al and....... The guy was the most biased announcer I can remember. He made numerous errors on this years Final Four. He was a big advovate of reseeding teams when they make the Final Four. Reseeding goes against the idea of the tourney in my mind.
Hallelujah!! That guy and his smug attitude and constantly honking the ACC. he needs to move on--just like the Packers are doing with Brett. :o
I've never been a fan of Packer, but at least he watches and analyzes the games he broadcasts. Vitale talks about the same things regardless of whose playing. Aside from his "best-of lists" (diaper dandies, etc.) he talks about Robert Montgomery Knight, Duke, Coach K, the ACC, Rick Pitino, his one eyeball, his baldness, in every single broadcast. God forbid you are interested in college bball and have to watch him more than 2 a week. A month into the season you can practically guess what he's going to say next. While he's supposed to be a good guy, he's been phoning it in for years.
Quote from: AlumKCof93 on July 14, 2008, 12:30:51 PM
Vitale talks about the same things regardless of whose playing. Aside from his "best-of lists" (diaper dandies, etc.) he talks about Robert Montgomery Knight, Duke, Coach K, the ACC, Rick Pitino, his one eyeball, his baldness, in every single broadcast.
Good list ... I would add ND football and the Cameron Crazies. I guess "The Crazies" could be classified under Duke, but since he spends the majority of his air time talking about the Blue Devils, it might be best to break it out.
Quote from: ZiggysFryBoy on July 14, 2008, 07:07:19 AM
great news, until he gets hired by ESPN and then we have to listen to him all winter.
This really is the nightmare scenario. The previous posts about Packer summed up what I disliked about him (smug, anti-small schools, pro-ACC, etc.). I have this feeling we will have to listen to him on ESPN now. Please no.
I think someone should get going a pre-emptive petition to tell ESPN not to hire Packer.
I could see ESPN hiring him because he is a contentious gasbag like every other commentator (minus Bilas) on that network. At least we won't have to listen to him ruin NCAA tournament coverage with his preening arrogance and ACC bias. Also, I will never forgive him for labelling C-USA a mid-major conference in 2003.
Quote from: tower912 on July 14, 2008, 09:04:48 AM
Packer had become a symbol of all that was wrong with college hoops. From his sycophantic devotion to the ACC to his dissing of mid-majors, to his occasional misogynistic or racial remarks. It was time for him to go. Now, if we could just get Len Elmore to stop talking about the kids from Pitt and their NY connections.
What racial remarks? I'm aware of only the Iverson kerfuffle which both Iverson and Thompson said was a non-issue.
Glad to see him go as well, but I always thought he was more pro Big Ten than ACC... Probably because I hate the Big Ten so much I noticed it more than the ACC.
The words old and bigot come to mind.
Bring back Brent Musburger and Dick Enberg :)
I thought Mike Jarvis did a great job during the Cincy game this year. The best was when he told the producers to replay a certain play.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on July 14, 2008, 07:29:53 PM
What racial remarks? I'm aware of only the Iverson kerfuffle which both Iverson and Thompson said was a non-issue.
Aside from any racial remarks, he used the term "cute one out" in an interview with Charlie Rose. It's possible he could have meant the by the book definition "to tire out."
He also allegedly said, after being asked to show his press pass by a women at Cameron Indoor stadium, "since when do we let women control who gets into a men's basketball game? Why don't you go find a women's game to let people into?"
His grumpiness made it difficult to enjoy a game that wasn't muted.
Quote from: Wareagle on July 14, 2008, 11:53:57 PM
Aside from any racial remarks, he used the term "cute one out" in an interview with Charlie Rose. It's possible he could have meant the by the book definition "to tire out."
He also allegedly said, after being asked to show his press pass by a women at Cameron Indoor stadium, "since when do we let women control who gets into a men's basketball game? Why don't you go find a women's game to let people into?"
His grumpiness made it difficult to enjoy a game that wasn't muted.
Thanks. Wasn't aware of either one but nor did I follow Packer's career much.
http://www.youtube.com/v/0W6pMlysHn8&hl=en&fs=1
Nice video.
Diane Pucin, LA Times writer and Marquette University graduate weighs in today on Packer. She's a big fan. ;)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-packer15-2008jul15,0,6831675.story
From today's Sports Business Daily
Packer Says Decision To Leave CBS Was Mutual, Previously Planned
Packer Says Decision To Leave
CBS Was Made Last Year
College basketball analyst Billy Packer said that the decision to leave broadcasting duties for CBS "was mutual," as he said that he and the network "agreed last summer that the 2007-08 season would be his last," according to Derek Samson of SPORTINGNEWS.com. Packer: "This is a decision CBS and I made over a year ago. The only thing that's peculiar in this is the timing of (the announcement)." Packer, who will be replaced by CBS' Clark Kellogg, said that he will "pursue other projects in college basketball, but vowed he won't be behind the microphone again." Packer, who had worked for CBS since '82, said that he had "'six or seven years' remaining on his contract, but did not feel the need to serve out the remaining seasons." Packer: "I knew I would not be broadcasting through the contract, and felt this would be a good time to step aside" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 7/14). In K.C., Blair Kerkhoff reports Packer also will cease working as an analyst for Raycom (K.C. STAR, 7/15).
TIME TO MOVE ON: Packer and CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus both said that it "was time for a change." Packer said of CBS, "They had to move in a direction for their future. This is good for both parties." CBS' rights contract for the NCAA men's basketball tournament runs through 2013, and the 68-year-old Packer, said, "There's no way I could have continued through CBS' NCAA contract." McManus said that Kellogg, who served as CBS' in-studio analyst and has worked for the net since '94, has "'earned the right' to work courtside with Jim Nantz and was picked as Packer's replacement 'years ago.'" Kellogg said that he "heard a year ago he'd be promoted but wasn't told why" (USA TODAY, 7/15). Packer added of CBS, "They do have plans for the future, and I'm not doing the tournament when I'm 75." Packer, who is "working on a major college basketball project that he hopes to announce by September," had been working for CBS under one-year contracts that "gave him the freedom to depart when he felt he had lost his motivation to continue to call games." Packer: "I wanted to have the guts to say to myself, 'Billy, you didn't really prepare for this game and you ought to be somewhere else,' and I'd know it's my time to leave." But Packer said that time "never came and that the new project was his primary reason for leaving" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/15).
A QUIET FAREWELL: Packer said, "I did not want anyone to do a farewell tour for me. I just wanted to leave on my own terms and the people at CBS were kind enough to honor my wishes" (WASHINGTON EXAMINER, 7/15). On Long Island, Neil Best writes Packer, "sticking stubbornly to his famed stubbornness, ... would not acknowledge it was an emotional moment for him." The "circumstances of his departure were as unconventional as his reaction." Packer did "admit to one regret: failing to get the powers-that-be to protect a game whose quality of play he thinks has deteriorated over the decades" (NEWSDAY, 7/15). In Raleigh, Roger Van Der Horst writes Packer with the announcement of his departure "asked only that nothing be said about his departure until after the season so the news wouldn't detract from the games" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 7/15). In West Palm Beach, Charles Elmore writes under the header, "Packer's Exit From Game, Unlike Most, Refreshing." When it "came time to craft the announcement, he wouldn't play along with portraying it as something it was not, a voluntary retirement." Elmore: "It would have been easier to go with the flow, take a slice of cake and watch himself on a highlight video. ... I often found Packer refreshing. That's how I also feel about the way he chose to leave" (PALM BEACH POST, 7/15).
THE NEXT STEP: USA TODAY's Hiestand notes Packer's future plan "includes tending to his business interests, such as his North Carolina golf course and a new TV project he can't yet discuss except to say it involves TV ratings and 'interactive TV'" (USA TODAY, 7/15). In Houston, David Barron notes Packer this year said that he is "working with a company in Dallas on a system he believes can challenge Nielsen Media Research." Packer, when asked if he would have returned for another year had CBS asked him to, said, "The answer to that is probably no" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/15).
Packer Caught Some Heat For Calling Kansas-
UNC Final Four Game "Over" Before Halftime
CALLING HIS OWN PARTING SHOT? Sources said that CBS "may be looking to add a third voice, Jay Bilas, to the lead broadcasting team." In N.Y., Bob Raissman notes insiders said that Packer "was a collaborator in his own demise." Packer in April said the Kansas-North Carolina Final Four game was "over" during the first half, a comment which "enraged some CBS executives -- especially on the advertising-sales side" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/15). The K.C. STAR's Kerkhoff notes speculation of Packer's exit was "fueled amid widespread criticism during this year's NCAA tournament" (K.C. STAR, 7/15). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes Packer "survived on-air glitches such as calling Georgetown [G] Allen Iverson a 'tough little monkey'" and, on PBS, saying that host Charlie Rose "would 'cute one out' on him" (USA TODAY, 7/15).Washington Post reporter Tarik El-Bashir: "It seemed to me... every five years (Packer) was issuing an on-air apology for something" ("Washington Post Live," CSN, 7/14).
HISTORICAL IMPACT: Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw said of Packer, "He's one of the three most important people for taking college basketball from where it was in the '70s to where it is now." Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti said, "When he was with Dick Enberg and Al Maguire, I think it was the best college basketball broadcasting trio ever created" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 7/14). Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said the "average fan does not know about Billy Packer's influence with CBS ... and the nature in how they shape their coverage and what to look for. He had an awful lot to do with this" ("PTI," ESPN, 7/14).
A LEGEND ON THE MIC: In DC, Michael Wilbon writes, "Nobody has been as good at explaining and analyzing a college basketball game. ... Between the sidelines, Packer has been the most complete critic of all, a very tough but ultimately fair grader." Wilbon: "I'd gladly put up with all of Packer's agendas and his affiliations because when he sat to call a game he threw himself into it and made the experience better for anybody who cared about the game" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15). SPORTINGNEWS.com's Mike DeCourcy wrote, "Nobody ever saw a college basketball game more clearly or communicated his knowledge more succinctly than Packer" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 7/14). Author Will Blythe: "I tell you, I'll miss the old crank. I never thought I'd say that. ... I could depend on his acrid evaluations of coaches and players" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 7/15). THEBIGLEAD.com wrote, "In terms of x's and o's, we've always liked his work." Packer "always gave off the impression he was going to say whatever the hell he wanted. Sure, he came off condescending ... 90[%] of the time, but what we'll miss most is his absolute stance against talking about college players leaping to the NBA" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 7/14). In Raleigh, Caulton Tudor writes college basketball fans "will miss Billy Packer." He "rarely tripped on the side of indecision. That's what made him special. But correctly, it made him different" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 7/15).
Kellogg Expected To Be Less
Contentious Than Predecessor
IT'S ABOUT TIME: SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote Packer's "legacy is his longevity," but added he "could be a world-class grump and rarely admitted wrongs. He often found controversy" (SI.com, 7/14). In Dallas, Barry Horn writes Packer in recent years "grew overbearing, arrogant, condescending, dismissive and petulant." Most viewers "have long had their fill of Packer. ... He was the broadcaster they loved to hate." Horn: "If the game didn't pass Packer by, broadcasting did" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/15). In Philadelphia, Dick Jerardi writes, "What took so long? ... Everybody seemed to think Packer was rooting against his team. Which could mean he was being perfectly objective. It also could mean he was a curmudgeon. I fall heavily on the side of curmudgeon. The man never seemed happy. Did anybody ever see him smile?" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/15). In L.A., Diane Pucin writes, "More than an unwillingness to change an opinion, what stood out about Packer over the last few years was inability to project joy. He had one of the most recognizable voices in NCAA tournament history but never sounded as if he was having fun" (L.A. TIMES, 7/15). SPORTINGNEWS.com's DeCourcy wrote Packer "didn't always seem to be having fun doing this job, which was one of his few failures as a broadcaster" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 7/14). YAHOO SPORTS' Matthew Darnell wrote Packer will be remembered as a "curmudgeonly fellow who didn't have a great amount of respect for mid-major programs, but made up for it with a more than healthy respect for the ACC. Honestly, I don't know of a lot of people who ever enjoyed his work" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/14). The Globe's Ryan: "He is not beloved because he comes off as curmudgeonly, as a little bit too much of a know-it-all and he has no joy, and the modern audience is used to exuberance" ("PTI," ESPN, 7/14). But ESPN's Mike Greenberg said, "You'd think you'd feel like doing a little dance, that you'd be so happy that a broadcaster that you really disliked who was so prominent is not going to be there anymore, and yet I don't feel that way" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN, 7/14).
SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT, CLARK: In Columbus, Rob Oller writes Kellogg is "expected to be a less contentious -- some also would say less grating -- presence than Packer" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/15). But WFAN-AM's Chris Russo said, "To me, as a listener, Kellogg does nothing for me. ... Tell me where Clark has blown us all away with unbelievable work in that studio. Show me. Because I haven't seen it" ("Mike & the Mad Dog," YES, 7/14).
Billy Packer was a damn good BB analyst plus an excellent communicator----in the media biz-----one doesn't stay on the job for 30 years without appealing to the masses-----it's all about ratings.
packer has only been tolerable when w/ the right 'co-'..., vitale on the other hand is totally intolerable.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on July 15, 2008, 11:52:44 AM
From today's Sports Business Daily
Kellogg Expected To Be Less
Contentious Than Predecessor
IT'S ABOUT TIME: SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote Packer's "legacy is his longevity," but added he "could be a world-class grump and rarely admitted wrongs. He often found controversy" (SI.com, 7/14). In Dallas, Barry Horn writes Packer in recent years "grew overbearing, arrogant, condescending, dismissive and petulant." Most viewers "have long had their fill of Packer. ... He was the broadcaster they loved to hate." Horn: "If the game didn't pass Packer by, broadcasting did" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/15). In Philadelphia, Dick Jerardi writes, "What took so long? ... Everybody seemed to think Packer was rooting against his team. Which could mean he was being perfectly objective. It also could mean he was a curmudgeon. I fall heavily on the side of curmudgeon. The man never seemed happy. Did anybody ever see him smile?" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/15). In L.A., Diane Pucin writes, "More than an unwillingness to change an opinion, what stood out about Packer over the last few years was inability to project joy. He had one of the most recognizable voices in NCAA tournament history but never sounded as if he was having fun" (L.A. TIMES, 7/15). SPORTINGNEWS.com's DeCourcy wrote Packer "didn't always seem to be having fun doing this job, which was one of his few failures as a broadcaster" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 7/14). YAHOO SPORTS' Matthew Darnell wrote Packer will be remembered as a "curmudgeonly fellow who didn't have a great amount of respect for mid-major programs, but made up for it with a more than healthy respect for the ACC. Honestly, I don't know of a lot of people who ever enjoyed his work" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/14). The Globe's Ryan: "He is not beloved because he comes off as curmudgeonly, as a little bit too much of a know-it-all and he has no joy, and the modern audience is used to exuberance" ("PTI," ESPN, 7/14).
It's hard to believe Murph would defend someone with the credentials listed above!
Quote from: Murffieus on July 15, 2008, 07:47:18 PM
Billy Packer was a damn good BB analyst plus an excellent communicator----in the media biz-----one doesn't stay on the job for 30 years without appealing to the masses-----it's all about ratings.
This story agrees with you
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/jul/17/packer-could-annoy-but-he-was-almost-always-right/
From the article cited by Chico's:
Regarding Kellogg--he "seems quite comfortable restating the obvious.." So very true.
i know that i didn't care for the guy, but i didn't know so many writers emphatically agreed. especially the part about the feeling that packer is always rooting against your team. also, i've never seen the word curmudgeon used so many times to describe the same person/thing, maybe the writers are onto something.
Sports ratings generally have nothing to do with the announcers. People tune in for the product which alone generates ratings. We have no choice when they ram crappy announcers or sideline analysts down our throats. I don't know one person who enjoys a Brent Musberger game and yet he is omnipresent.