Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Commentary: College hoops fans will miss Packer

By By Caulton Tudor - McClatchy Newspapers

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Go ahead. Laugh when you read this, but college basketball fans will miss Billy Packer.

They'll miss him for the same reason that the late Al McGuire once explained why Packer basically had two categories of fans - those who don't like him, and those who really don't like him.

"The poor guy," McGuire said, "is so serious about basketball that he can't have any fun with it. He's like a Catholic nun with her rosary and all these Baptists down here are about the Lord's Prayer. It's all life or death. There's no in-between with Billy. If it's on his mind, it jumps out of his mouth. But, bless his heart, his mind is just as fast as his mouth."

College basketball, for years, has been Billy Packer's religion and the month of March his High Holy Days. That's why he's probably not finished with the sport. He'll likely still be around, whether as an announcer or not.

Yeah, sure, the decades-long association with CBS came to an end Monday. Exactly why, we don't really know, and CBS is too timid to explain its motive. Odds are, it was all about ratings and market share. Either that, or Packer finally ticked off someone in New York in the same manner that he became famous for doing to folks sitting in front of their television sets in Outback, Kan., or Down East, N.C.

If you get to know Packer, it doesn't take very long to figure out that his brash personality isn't about having a CBS logo on his clothes or his face on television. It really makes no difference to him whether he's discussing Kentucky vs. UCLA or the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game of the ACC Tournament, he's going to work each angle, examine and possibly criticize each strategy - and with the same diligence to his assignment.

Not only that, the delivery will be seasoned with the same lack of deference to the more popular school. He's been at courtside, spewing forth, purely out of interest in the game and in his bank account.

"I'm too ugly to be in this (TV) racket for my face," Packer said last season. "All I have to offer is what I have to say. I've never been a professional broadcaster, per se, and I've never had any interest in being one."

In those long-ago days when Packer, McGuire, Dick Enberg and NBC helped to turn the NCAA Tournament into a national happening, Packer's observations did as much as anything to create interest. He did it the hard way, too. From the start, when he was basically drafted into an analyst role during the early days of the ACC regional telecasts, Packer refused to fill the role of a cheerleader and public defender of erring coaches.

"If you don't call 'em like you see 'em, what's the sense of opening your mouth?" he said shortly after the Duke-UNC game in 2007.

Near the end of that game, Duke's Gerald Henderson was ejected after fouling UNC's Tyler Hansbrough. The result was a bloody mess that strained emotions on both sides of the rivalry. Without much hesitation, Packer defended Henderson, stating that the injury to Hansbrough appeared to have been unintentional even though the replays seemed to indicate otherwise.

Whether he was right or wrong on that call, Packer not only had the nerve to make one but also to make it fast.

That's the sort of thing a television analyst should do. In sports, no one is perfect. Everyone - players, coaches, officials, fans, media - makes mistakes. But someone once said more mistakes are the result of indecision than poor decisions.

Packer rarely tripped on the side of indecision. That's what made him special. But correctly, it made him different. It's what college basketball fans aren't likely to see and hear in the future.

Comments

ihatepurple (anonymous) says...

good riddance!

July 15, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jackhawk (anonymous) says...

And again: Hooray!

July 15, 2008 at 9:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

speckleddog (anonymous) says...

God Bless him for loving the sport. So do I. I won't miss him.

July 15, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

Billy Packer's time passed years ago. His shortsighted view of college basketball as a major conference only party, and his borderline racial comments through the years make me think that there aren't a lot of people that will really miss Billy Packer.

July 15, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

hs_reader (anonymous) says...

djkc28, please say that your above comment was sarcastic. Otherwise I think that this is the wrong town in Kansas to have those views in.

I'm so glad he's retiring, my only regret is that it wasn't last year.

July 15, 2008 at 7:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

hs_reader (anonymous) says...

Okay, just read djkc28's other comments, and they are as close minded as they sound. Really can't believe that they are Kansas fans, if they went to KU I'm surprised they survived this town.

July 15, 2008 at 7:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kik1958 (anonymous) says...

My favorite memories of Billy were in the 70's with NBC.
He was always wrong, and Al was always right. CBS taking over college basketball was not a plus, especially when they added Billy Packer.

He and djkc28 can go drink somewhere else in this town.

July 15, 2008 at 9:01 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

albraun (anonymous) says...

I'll miss him about as much as I'll miss "hey baby"/"diaper dandy" Dukie V when he's gone. Or Howard Cosell, God rest his soul. They were good for entertainment value - in VERY limited doses - but after the 1st 5 minutes they became about as much fun to listen to as someone dragging their fingernails across a chalk board. As people I'm sure they're all nice folks and I wish them the best in their future endeavors, but PLEASE let it not be in broadcast sports!

July 16, 2008 at 6:44 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

"(Billy Packer) hired a psychic to find the murder weapon in the O.J. Simpson case. "

So he reads the Bible and yet believes in psychics ...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/column...

July 16, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

milehighhawk (anonymous) says...

This hoops fan won't miss Packer ONE BIT.

July 16, 2008 at 5:44 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

tdub (anonymous) says...

I literally shouted with joy when I saw this on TWWL's bottom line. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Dude had it out for KU, which is why it was so bittersweet when he HAD to praise the Hawks during our dominant stretch run.

July 16, 2008 at 6:09 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

irish2255 (anonymous) says...

does anyone else think djkc28 was homeschooled? As for Packer I only wish it would have been sooner.

July 16, 2008 at 7:13 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Krohnutz (anonymous) says...

So Packer was sexist AND racist?

And we are supposed to honor this guy as he gets the boot?

My only question is, who did he have photos of for him to keep this job this long?

July 18, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

"Commentary: College hoops fans will miss Packer"

hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah!!!

And let me just add: hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah!

Seriously, I suppose if I had a broken arm and the break healed, I would miss the break in the sense that I was used to it being there. That's how much I'll miss Billy. Yes, it was a good thing that he didn't kowtow to anyone and that he spoke his mind. Unfortunately, he had (has) the mind of a moron.

July 18, 2008 at 4:59 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

For the first time, I actually found djkc's comment amusing. It's so ridiculous and so farfetched that it's actually borderline humorous.

July 18, 2008 at 5 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Mitch_4_KU (anonymous) says...

I am usually a mild mannered person who would not do harm to anything on purpose......BUT I would happily spit on Billy Packer or Jane Fonda if given the chance..... two of the most obnoxious people on earth. Hopefully we have heard the last of him and maybe her.

July 19, 2008 at 4:38 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

mr_lawrence (anonymous) says...

You've gotta admit that it sure was great when 12 minutes into this year's semi with UNC, he said, "Jim, this game is OVER". I enjoyed that.

July 21, 2008 at 12:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Trobs (anonymous) says...

Who is going to tell us how awesome the ACC is now? Oh wait, Dickie V is still around.

July 21, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jayhawk_fan_25 (anonymous) says...

Miss him? Most People just hate him!

July 29, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )