Billy Packer: It's Over

Well, it's official, Billy Packer has called his last Final Four. Let's just it's not over in the same sense as his call during the Kansas-UNC national semifinal:



Usually when a sports broadcasting icon hangs it up I get sad, but not in this case. This move by CBS was long overdue. Viewers could sense that over the past few years the game was passing him by. He made mistakes. In the national championship he mentioned that Kansas was well-equipped to handle overtime because they had been in similar circumstances in 1957. Good memory Billy, but not applicable. He was too grouchy. I admit that there comes a time as an analyst when you need to be critical, but it had become Billy's thing: being critical of every player and coach. College basketball is something people turn too for fun, and to truly experience the game viewers must go through the lows AND the highs. That's where I think Billy's biggest flaw laid. He had a bitter old man's way of dulling the highs. Despite his flaws, one thing I must say is that few in the business know as much as Billy about the game and its history. His replacement had better do his homework.

CBS announced that Clark Kellog would be taking Packer's place on the network's number one announce team along with Jim Nantz. I think this is a solid hire. Kellog loves the game and wears his emotions on his sleeve when he is calling a game. But not too much (see Suzyn Waldman). One thing I hope Kellog leaves in the studio: his penchant for making up words and trying to be funny. Don't try to make people laugh, just naturally let it happen.

In the spirit of the shake-up at CBS sports, here is a list! Five other changes CBS should make in their NCAA basketball coverage (while waiting for my clothes to dry at the laundromat):

5. Bring back the old video intros from about 3 or 4 years ago (I still get chills when I hear that music).

4. Get Dickie V in the studio. I don't care how much it costs. Watching Greg Gumbel try to rein him in would be worth the price of admission.

3. Make sure the studio team goes to the site of the final four. Am I the only one who hated seeing them in New York while all the action was in San Antonio?

2. More shots of the the UCLA dance team.

1. Pair Gus Johnson with Kellog in the number one announce team. Nothing against Nantz, but when I think of March Madness I think of Gus. (Heck when I brush my teeth I think of Gus. Man crush?)