I think March is a great time to be a sports fan. You've got baseball coming up, the NBA playoffs right around the corner, and my single favorite sports event: the NCAA tournament. The upsets, the close finishes, the non-stop action of the opening rounds just can't be beat IMHO.
There's only one problem.
This year's tourney, like so many before it, will be marred by the presence of the single worst sports television personality ever: Billy Packer.
Billy Packer is the worst color commentator I have ever seen. He's ignorant, opinionated, and often downright rude. His totally irrational hatred for professional basketball is just bizarre. His refusal to even acknowledge the existance of the NBA on the air tells me he's living in a state of denial. His shameless backing of the "traditional" college basketball powers like Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, UConn, etc. is just plain unprofessional. Even though mid-majors in the tournament make it more interesting, and have increasingly showed they belong with the big boys, and justly punish mediocre teams from power conferences for playing pushover non-conference schedules, Billy Packer continues to regard mid-majors as an afterthought who don't really belong in the tourney.
Plus he looks like Dick Cheney, who I also don't like.
John Madden points out the obvious, and does it obnoxiously, but at least he's friendly about it. Billy Packer is obvious, obnoxious, and a dick about it too. The day he retires will be a great, great, day for college basketball.
There's only one problem.
This year's tourney, like so many before it, will be marred by the presence of the single worst sports television personality ever: Billy Packer.
Billy Packer is the worst color commentator I have ever seen. He's ignorant, opinionated, and often downright rude. His totally irrational hatred for professional basketball is just bizarre. His refusal to even acknowledge the existance of the NBA on the air tells me he's living in a state of denial. His shameless backing of the "traditional" college basketball powers like Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, UConn, etc. is just plain unprofessional. Even though mid-majors in the tournament make it more interesting, and have increasingly showed they belong with the big boys, and justly punish mediocre teams from power conferences for playing pushover non-conference schedules, Billy Packer continues to regard mid-majors as an afterthought who don't really belong in the tourney.
Plus he looks like Dick Cheney, who I also don't like.
John Madden points out the obvious, and does it obnoxiously, but at least he's friendly about it. Billy Packer is obvious, obnoxious, and a dick about it too. The day he retires will be a great, great, day for college basketball.
