Love That Madness...

First off, I don’t think there is better coverage in sports than how CBS does March Madness. From the selection show, to the first rounds, to “One Shining Moment” it’s very well done.

Now to the issue of only being able to watch one game at a time. You do have other options if you feel that CBS has all the power. One is to get the march madness package via direcTV or satellite and the other, cheaper way is to go to marchmadnessondemand.com where you can watch every game live for free. CBS does an excellent job of trying to make sure every close ending or exciting moment is shown while switching back and forth between games. It’s not possible to get it perfect every time but they really do it right most of the time.

I really can’t believe that someone could hate Bill Raftery while at the same time begging for more Vitale. Dick Vitale is a cartoon character with nothing to offer a broadcast other than his own tired schtick. At this point, you could replace him with a Dick Vitale See n’ Say and have an intern just pull the string. I guarantee you that whatever comes out of the See n’ Say will be just as cogent and inciteful as whatever it is Vitale would have come up with on his own. Bill Raftery is annoying, but that’s because he tries too hard to act like Dick Vitale. It’s like complaining about Ryan Howard striking out too much , and then trying to trade him for Adam Dunn.

I would rather listen to Stephen Hawking have phone sex than ever listen to Dick Vitale broadcast another basketball game.

and I love Gus Johnson. I think all of the commentators have been pretty good except for the guys who did the Gonzaga game the other night. Dicky V gets a little too nuts when he is talking about the matchups like selection sunday and he starts beating a dead horse, other than that, I am a fan. To me, nothing is better than Bill Rafferty and Gus Johnson. Maybe it is my age group but to me Rafferty is gold, he adds a little flavor. Gus Johnson has some of the best calls in the game and he appreciates the little stuff like boxing out, etc.

I think we can all agree that anything is better than the Billy Packer era and because Billy Packer seemed like an angry old man, that is why I love Rafferty.

    * “Welcome to the block party!”
    * “Shoulder … shake … a little lingerie!”
    * “A little pirouette, and they said this was a beer town!”
    * "I wheel the wheel barrel down the street to the tin!"
    * “Give it to the big fella!”
    * “Send it in, Jerome!”
    * “The Big Guy”
    * “With disdain to the tin!”
    * “Send it in, Verne!”
    * “…with the kiss!”
    * “With the sweet kiss, off the glass…”
    * “With a little dipsy do”
    * “Dagger!”
    * “Onions!”
    * “Onions! Double Order!”
    * “Nylon!”
    * “The vegetable cart”
    * “Put a little English on it”
    * “With the teardrop, that’ll make you cry”
    * “Panties on the deck”
    * “We got a little nickel-dimer here”
    * “The small change”
    * “With the blow-by”
    * “With authority!”
    * “Send it in, big fella!”
    * “Send it in, medium size fella!”
    * “The little guy….with the big ticker!”
    * “From the Right Wing!”
    * “There’s a little lingerie on the deck”
    * “The bounce to ecstasy”
    * “You might call this Newton’s Law!”1
    * “Most unattractive but beneficial”
    * “With the dribble drive”
    * “Attacking the tin!”
    * “Strong… to the goal!”
    * “Bring your lunch!”
    * “Elevation!”
    * “(insert co announcers name), (insert team name) goes man to man!”
    * “They’re playing a (insert zone defense name) zone with man-to-man principles!”
    * “A little ricochet romance!”
    * “Get the puppies set!”
    * “He can do it all; let him into the band!”
    * “(insert player’s name) with some early onions!”
    * “Fill the lane! Provide the lift!”
    * “He can make you ask for your mommy.”
    * “Walter at the altar: High Mass!”
    * “Bottle of blackout!”
    * “Divine intervention!”
    * “With a little smoocher!”
    * “Protect the women and children!”
    * “Chubby Checker Do the Twist!”
    * Verne Lundquist: “I hope Dwyane Wade likes cajun cooking!” … (dramatic 5 second pause) … Bill Raftery: “JAMBALAYA!”
    * “Dairy Farmer”
    * “A Large Edifice!”
    * “He’s got the puppies sent off the bus.”
    * “Why the lefties look so pretty its amazing.”
    * “Count your Chiclets!”
    * “(after Tayshaun Prince hit 5 three pointers to start the game) Tayshaun’s not a Prince, he’s a King. Strokin’ the Tre’.”
    * (After 4th overtime of Connecticut vs Syracuse 2009 Big East tournament quarterfinal) “We got a 5 bagger”
    * “The tavern league discard!”
    * “A Whirling Dervish!”
    * “Onions!…..Double order!”
    * (After Gerry McNamara hit a clutch 3 in the ’06 Big East Tournament vs. Uconn) “Nylon! Gerry Mac! Onions in Manhattan!”
    * (After Andy Rautins hit the tying 3 in the third OT of the Cuse/Uconn 6OT game) “Leo, move over on the couch baby! Your son has… ONIONS!”
    * “He takes it to the promised land!”
    * “Shakes the dust off…Call the Janitor!”

i can hear rafftery dropping those lines, great job…

And yes Gus Johnson easily takes the cake as the best. Hands down, here’s his best call ever…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt0VUSyVIr4

(Fast Foward to about 1:45 mark where it really gets good)