First, it should be pointed out that the 2011 NCAA tournament enjoyed its highest overall television ratings in the past 17 years.  This is obviously due to the combination of games broadcast across all of the Turner cable partners.

Now, for some specificsWhat worked

• Broadcasting every game – This seems like a no-brainer, but for any sports fan the ability to pick and choose is a must, and CBS/Turner delivered that this year, at no additional cost (Bye, Bye Directv March Madness package) to the viewer
• Staggered Start Times – Allowed the viewer to catch the exciting conclusion to any game without having to make a tough viewing choice.
• Notifications  – The network added a blinking button feature to the in game scoreboard of any close game airing on another network.  This made it almost idiot proof for viewers, and lets face it, we are all kind of idiots
• Charles and Kenny – While it was obvious that Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith had not followed college basketball all year, they were still entertaining and a must watch.  Granted, Barkley did rail against the 1-and-done rule about 50 times a game, but he did so colorfully and honestly.  Smith, beside being a UNC homer and apologist, wasn’t as insightful as he is on NBA games, but he was markedly better than whatever else CBS/Turner would have rolled out
• Gus Johnson – The guy just brings it every game.  He brings an air of excitement to every game he calls, and somehow he always seems to be on a close game that comes down to the final shot.  Yes, he did ask a somewhat boneheaded question at the end of the BYU-Florida game, but that is more of an aberration than an habit.  In our opinion, and based on the almost cult following he receives, Gus is the best play by play guy out there right now

What didn’t work/Needs Changes

• Reggie Miller – For some reason he seemed really out of place in the tournament.  His NBA counterparts (Barkley, Smith, and Kerr) were able to fit in somewhat easily, but Reggie seemed like he dropped in from a strange plant and had never seen a college basketball game before.  His chemistry with Len Elmore was awful, and even play by play guru Gus Johnson couldn’t make him sound interested.
• The Three Man Booth – First, to be consistent, this isn’t a gripe solely with college basketball or CBS.  However, the three man booth is generally a bad idea, especially when it isn’t the normal configuration.  The final four trio of Nantz, Kellogg, and Kerr just did not seem to mesh, and in our opinion, Kerr outshined Kellogg in his analysis of the game.  If this group had worked 15 games together all year, it might be a different story, but to throw these guys together for 7 games a year and expect greatness just doesn’t seem realistic.  CBS needs to choose one analyst, and in our opinion, it should probably be Kerr.
• Jim Nantz – Much in the same way Billy Packer dragged on past his years, Nantz seems to be hanging on like that piece of gum stuck to your shoe.  The reality is that he is not a strong basketball play by play guy, but he is the lead voice of CBS Sports.  This is kind of like ABC using Al Michaels to call NBA basketball simply because he was Al Michaels.  Don’t get us wrong, Nantz is serviceable, but an upgrade, say to Gus Johnson, might inject some new life into the broadcast.
• Seth Davis’ demotion – CBS/Turner decided to bump Seth from the lead pre-game/halftime set with Greg Gumbel, Kenny Smith, Greg Anthony, and Charles Barkley to the secondary (cable) set with Ernie Johnson, Steve Smith, and a revolving door of coaches and guests.  We generally liked Davis on the CBS set in the past and were surprised to see him moved, however it did seem like he and Barkley had the chemistry of a drunken one night stand couple the morning after.  Davis is insightful and knowledgeable, and he should have had as big a role this year as he has it past years.
• Championship Game Start Time – The finale on Monday night tips at 9:21 eastern.  This is later than the World Series, Super Bowl, BCS Championship game, and NBA finals (barring West Coast teams).  In our opinion the NCAA puts on a great four week tournament, and then squibbs the biggest game.  Not to play the whole “what about the kids” card, but the reality is that a 9:21 start time will alienate and preclude some fans from being able to watch and enjoy the game.  CBS needs to bump the start time up to 8:00pm eastern.  They should also use one of there Turner cable partners (TruTV?) to provide alternate camera angles/positions and announcers for the game.

Overall, the majority of the 2011 NCAA Tournament has been a joy to watch, but as with all things, it could always be better.

Here are some 2011 Tournament Highlights

Stay Thirsty my Friends

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone.  When you’re sure you’ve had enough of this life, well hang on.  -REM

Just a short little quick one.  Short like Herve Villechaize’s walking stick one.  The plane!  The plane!  Last night, I was watching the Celtics/Kings game on a super secret website that plays such things.  Like my main man Travis Bickle always says, ”a secret signal for the secret service.”  So I’m watching the game, from the Sacramento feed, minding my own business, when who happens along?  Bill Walton happens along.  Bill Walton hops along.  Hop Along Cassidy.  Bill Walton hops along Cassidy and is gushing about the Kings.  He’s gushing about the Kings as they come out to an early 54-45 halftime lead.  Gushing and talking about what a great win this would be for Sacramento.  Isn’t this the same Bill Walton who was part of the greatest third quarter teams of all time?  A 1986 Boston Celtic team, that in Game 5 of the East semifinals against the Hawks, rolled off an unprecedented 25-0 run in the third quarter to clinch the series.  Shouldn’t he know better?  He didn’t.  He didn’t and he Kings couldn’t hold on to a 10-point second-quarter lead and lost the game 95-90 at home to the Celtics.  Wouldn’t you think now that Walton is part of the Sacramento broadcast team, he should have guessed this would happen?  I mean, this wasn’t the first time something like this has happened.  In fact, this was the tenth time this season that Sacramento lost in a game in which it held a double-digit lead.  Shouldn’t he have known, like he says himself, this “is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization.”  He should have at least known that it ties Washington for the most such losses in the NBA.  He didn’t.  Now you do and that’s something, ain’t it?  Sure it is.

Peace out Kings.  Six two and even!

(ESPN 9PM ET)  You say Bill Self has never won at Lubbock?  You say it’s the Raiders riding the the longer winning streak going into this game?  You say Tech is playing with the reigning Big 12 Player of the week in Mike Singletary?  Is that what you say?  Huh?  Is it?  You know what I say?  Huh?  Do ya?  I say Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk!  That’s what I say.  I’m like Dick Vitale.  I say, “The Big 12 championship goes through Lawrence.”  Actually, I say more than that.  I say the NCAA championship goes through Lawrence.  They’re awesome baby!   They’re awesome and they’re coming off their most dominating win of the season.  On Saturday, the Jayhawks played nearly flawless basketball.  On Saturday, the Jayhawks beat hated Kansas State by 24 while shooting a super scintillating sensational 61.8 percent from the field.  Who do they think they are?  The Celtics?   Are you serious?  You bet your bippy I’m serious, and so are the Jayhawks.  Get your popcorn ready!

Peace out homies!  Six Two and Even!

We gon’ go all night.  We gon’ light it up like it’s dynamite!  ‘Cause I told you once, now I told you twice.  We gon’ light it up like it’s dynamite!  -Taio Cruz

Before Charles Barkley was an analyst for TNT, Charles Barkley was a basketball player.  Now I know you know that.  But what I meant was:  Before Charles Barkley was an analyst for TNT, Charles Barkley was a basketball player.  Legend has it, when USC Trojan Fullback Sam Bam ran roughshod all over the then lilly white Alabama Crimson Tide, he did more in that one game for integration in the South than Martin Luther King was able to accomplish in a decade.  Legend also has it, after that game, Bear Bryant took Cunningham into the Tide locker room and said to his team:  “This is Sam Cunningham. This is what a football player looks like.”  Charles Barkley is what a basketball player looked like.  He was that rare player who could operate almost anywhere and do almost anything on the court.  There’s a guy out there now who reminds me a lot of Charles Barkley.  That guy is Zach Randolph.

There was a time nobody wanted Zach Randolph.  There was a time trouble had a way of finding Zach Randolph.  Trouble, right here in River City.  Trouble with a capital T.  Trouble, like going to strip clubs while on berievement leave.  Trouble, like gunshots being fired at the Greek Cusina in downtown Portland.  Trouble, like punching Louis Amundson in the jaw.  Trouble that gave him the “cancer in the clubhouse” label.  A label that landed him on four different teams in four different years.  But that was yesterday.  Today, all his troubles seem so far away.  Today Zach Randolph Today Zach is a leader in the clubhouse.  Today he’s playing some of the best basketball in the league.  He’s got a job.  He’s got prospects.  He’s bona fide.  What are you?

That’s right, our little baby’s all growns up.  He’s growns up, he’s growns and he’s growns up!  Yeah!  Dig that!  Dig this: Last night, Randolph scored 20 big points.  Last night, Randolph grabbed 16 big rebounds.  As impressive as all that is, what’s more impressive is that of those 16 big rebounds, six came off the offensive glass.  Big deal, you say?  Who cares, you say?  I say Randolph has now registered at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and three offensive rebounds in each of his last 12 games.  I say that’s the longest such streak by an NBA player since, you guessed it, Charles Barkley had a 12-game streak for the Suns in 1996.  Randolph, Barkley (four times) and Moses Malone (eight times) are the only players with 12-game streaks of that kind since the NBA began tracking offensive rebounds in 1973-74.  Yowza!

Blake Griffin, thanks to his thunderous dunks, is the most-searched NBA name on YouTube.   In Minnesota, Kevin Love made his mark with one amazing 30-30 game early in the season against the Knicks.  Meanwhile, back in Memphis, a more deserving Western Conference power forward is getting ignored for an All-Star bid.  Oh, Mama, can this really be the end?  To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again.  It’s high time a basketball player gets his due.  Rock the vote!  Free Zach Randolph!

Peace out homies. Six two and even!

Some folks may think the above video crosses the line. Some folks may think the above video is in bad taste. Those folks are probably right, but it sure is funny. Just so you know, I’m digging the Onion’s Sports Dome. Just so you know, I haven’t laughed this hard at sports anchors since Chet Harper said, “Tonight at the Alamodome, he gets Happy-Go-Jackie on the big white guy like a donkey eating a waffle! Sweet Sassy Molassey! Get out the checkbook and pay grandma for the rubdown as the Spurs beat the Heat, 86-79! So tune in, tell ‘em the Public sent ya. You won’t be disappointed.

Peace out homies. Six two and even!

Don’t you forget about me. Don’t don’t don’t don’t don’t you forget about me. -Simple Minds

If you’re like me, you’re rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. If you’re like me, you’d like to see them crush the Jets like little tiny ants. Like Kids in the Hall, “I’m crushing your head. I’m crushing your head.” But before the Steelers crush any heads on Sunday, I’d like you to do one thing for me, can you do that? Sure you can. Before the Steelers crush any heads on Sunday, I want you to remember Myron Cope. Yoi! Before you start waving your Terrible Towels on Sunday, remember Myron Cope. Double yoi! With his unique nasal voice and distinctive Pittsburgh area accent, Cope was a part of the Steelers’ landscape for almost forty years. Heck, Dr. Cope was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Myron said stuff like, Mmm-Hah! Stuff like, Okel Dokel. Stuff like, feh, yoi, double yoi and if you were really really lucky, triple Yoi! He was an innovator. A sports creator. This is a story about a brother I know. Cut Creator on the fader now watch him go. Go, go, Cut Creator go! Go, go, Myron Cope, go! He was Chris Berman before there was a Chris Berman. Made up nicknames. Very peculiar names. Funny names. Strange names. Pet names. Names like the Bus, Jack Splat and Slash. But Myron’s Cope’s proudest achievement was the creation of the Terrible Towel. So when you’re singing your Pittsburgh Steeler Polka and wavin’ that Terrible Towel, please, please, remember Myron Cope. He’d do it for you.

Peace out homies. Six two and Even!

Radio is cleaning up the nation.  They say you better listen to the voice of reason.  But they don’t give you any choice ’cause they think that it’s treason.  So you had better do as you are told.  You better listen to the radio.  -Elvis Costello

As I watched Matt Hasselbeck engineer one of the largest NFL playoff  upsets in recent years, my mind began to wander.  My mind does that.  It wandered to a simpler place and time.  It wandered to a place and time before today’s sports talk radio.  Before Sports Center.  Before Al Gore invented the interwebs.  Before today’s round the clock analysis and micro analysis of minutiae and nonsense.  Before all of that.  My mind wandered to simple gag.  The radio show was called The Sports Huddle.  Anytime a caller would mention Matt Hasselbeck’s dad, Don, Eddie Andleman would pretend to drop the phone.  Simply Hillarious.  I grew up very spoiled.  Loads of talented sports reporters came through Boston in the 70′s and 80′s.  Bob Ryan.  Dan Shaughnessy.  Leigh Montville.  Will McDonough.  Johnny Most.  Len Berman.  Dick Stockton.  Jackie MacMullan. Ken Harrelson.  Ned Martin.  Ken Coleman.  Sean McDonough.  Peter Gammons.  Jack Edwards.  Guys like that there.  As much as I loved reading/watching/ listening to these guys, none gave me as much enjoyment as three regular guys: Mark Witkin, Jimmy McCarthy, and Eddie Andelman  

Those three guys are better known as the hosts of radio’s Sports Huddle. Pioneers. Every Sunday from 7-11, Eddie, Mark, and Jim welcomed you into their world.  I learned more about sports there than anywhere else.  These guys were a riot.  The intro featured circus calliope music and ended with some lady screaming, “Jimmy…Jimmy McCarthy, its supper time.”  You heard that you knew.  You knew it was huddle time.  About 10 one liners and fake sports stories to start the show.  Sports Huddle was more than sports radio, it was like Second City Television and the Jerky Boys rolled into one.

I will never forget lying in bed, lights off, radio on, all of about 8 years old.  The guys call Howard Cosell’s hotel in Detroit and orderd a double prune juice… straight, no chaser…for Cosell’s breakfast.  I didn’t miss too many Sunday night shows, I’ll tell you that. Prank calls were my favorite.  I remember they called Buckingham Palace and asked whether the Queen would trade two of their guards for Len St. Jean and whoever the other starting guard for the Pats was at the time.  It seems corny now, but there was nothing like it then.  It was cutting edge.

When the Red Sox were in their 10 player, 10 cab mode, the guys called the Sox’ hotel restaurant in KC during a Sox road trip. Reserved 25 tables for one. Simply classic. C’mon, its a little funny.  Oh there’s more.  Eddie called a hotel in San Diego.  Winter baseball meetings.  Nobody would talk to him.  Andelman picked up on a background voice saying “There’s no hot water in Room 313.”  That’s all he needed.  Called the lady in the room.  Told her he was the hotel manager.  Told her that he couldn’t help her and that she had a lot of nerve asking for hot water.  She demands to talk with his boss.  He refuses, knock down, drag out war, I’m in tears.  Great stuff!

The Huddle searched Australian Football for a kicker for the Patriots. Then, they brought one of these guys over.  Called him “Super Foot.”  He made the fricken team.  At one point, there was this Mexican pitcher with the Red Sox, Vincente Romo. This guy just disappears in the middle of the season.  The Huddle hunts him down and finds him.  In a Mexican barroom.  Unbelievable.  No, this is the best one, really. These guys hated Don Zimmer, the bald headed gerbil.  Anytime anybody said his name, they’d play this public service announcement: “I’m sorry, You are not to refer to the Red Sox manager by name.  His code name is: ‘Chiang Kai-shek’.”  You would hear this like 50 times a night.  Relentless.

Sports Huddle was a sensation.  It was bigger than just sports talk, it influenced all sports coverage.  Without it, there’d be no Mike and Mike.  For the avid Boston sports talk radio fans, we all had our favorite Sports Huddle moment.  During its heyday, with Eddie as the ringmaster of the show, there was nothing like it.  The show would end with “Happy Trails,” and Donald Duck giving the station identification, and then I could go to sleep.

Peace out homies:   Six Two and Even!

Today’s top links from the wide wonderful world of sports and beyond:

• Don’t Let The Door Hit Your Ass Vince  (Yahoo)
• Back In The USSR  (Toronto Star)
• Curses!  Foiled Again!  (Dime Mag)
• There’s A New Jordan In Town  (Intentional Foul)
• You Think He Banged Sean McDonough?  (Boston Herald)

(Thanks @wyshynski)

• Alomar Didn’t Know Spit About Fielding  (The Score)
• Fuck Rex Ryan  (@kdyer1012)
• UConn, The Seattle Seahawks And Other Inequities  (Sports Chump)
• Urban Myer To The Browns?  (Cleveland Frowns)
• Sensational News!  (USA Today)

Peace out homies.  Six Two and Even!

Today’s top links from the wide wonderful world of sports and beyond:

• Mike Tomlin Loves Jersey Shore  (PSaMP)
• Getting Pickled In The PGA  (bnet)
• Good News Celtics Fans  (Boston Celtics Report)
• Move Over TO…It’s Brandon Marshall  (Helmets & Pads Required)
• Another Reason To Love Mark Cuban  (Celtics Life)

(Thanks NESW Sports)

• Lozo Chats With Eric Staal  (NHL.com)
• Hey Chiefs Fans:  Something Or Nothing?  (Pro Football Talk)
• I Would Have Gone With Cookie Puss  (Larry Brown Sports)
• I Hate When This Happens  (Pregame)
• Roberto Alomar scouting report from 1987  (Baseball America)

Peace out homies.  Six two and even!

Ever since Deadspin coined the phrase “You’re with me leather“, ESPN has seen a slew of sexual-related scandals.  Tony Kornheiser mused that Hannah Storm looked “like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body.”  Bob Ryan spouted that the wife of New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd, who was allegedly the victim of domestic abuse, needed someone to “smack her.”  Harold Reynolds allegedly gave an ”inappropriate hug” toward a PA at an Outback Steakhouse.  Erik Kuselias became a little too friendly with a female ESPN employee at a Monday Night Football party and drunkenly blurted out to her, “I would like to fuck you.”  Incidently, Kuselias was hired by ESPN radio after they fired Jason Jackson for…sexual harassment.  And the list goes on.  Like my main Nick Lowe always says, “And s o it goes and so it goes.  But where it’s goin’ no one knows.”  I know.  It goes here.  It goes to  the latest incident involving play-by-play announcer Ron “Women Should Be Barefoot & Pregnant” Franklin and long suffering sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards.  Apparently, at a production meeting before the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Edwards tried to join the conversation.  Silly girl.  When she did, Franklin said to her, “Why don’t you leave this to the boys, sweetcakes.”  Here’s one marketing firm’s response to the ordeal: “Overall, this is yet another incident at ESPN where a female employee has been subjected to uncalled for and harassing behavior by a fellow male co-worker.  In addition, this is also just another prime example of ESPN being the all-boys” club.”  Yikes!

Public Spectacle:  This message brought to you by Peter Chao

Peace out homies.  Six Two and even!