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Vitale, Bilas Foul Out
Published: 3/21/2011 11:09 AM
Last Modified: 3/21/2011 11:12 AM

The big winner in the NCAA basketball tournament so far?

The big loser?

The answers are related.

The winner is the public.

The biggest loser in the history of sports coverage is ESPN.

Perhaps you have heard that the Eastern Sports Promotional Network lost the NCAA hoop coverage to the fabulous CBS teams. Not that ESPN would get too full of itself or play favorites. But: Seconds after the draw for the bracket, old Dick Vitale and uppity Jay Bilas came on the screen condemning the inclusion of certain teams into the tourney, VCU, for one. These self-proclaimed experts were screaming, veins popping out on Vitale’s ancient skull, Bilas flushed with anger, get VCU out of our tournament, they screamed.

Yeah, well, take that hacks: VCU is in the Sweet 16.

Now ESPN has circled its mouths and is trying to dream up answers for being so incredibly miserable in its analysis.
Vitale and Bilas should be suspended for incompetence, and Dugout Phelps and others should be put on probation for being sheep.

Hopefully nobody will take ESPN seriously for some while. All it is is a whole bunch of cameras.

In more NCAA news, the officiating has been inconsistent: do they let them play or not?

And with regard to the five-second call against Texas, give the zebra a gizmo that counts to five and buzzes, ok?









Reader Comments 11 Total
Gene M (last year)
Mr. Picker, another big winner in the tournament is Tulsa. Congrats to all of the folks who worked very hard to make this event such a success.
Your descriptions of Vital and Bilas are laugh out loud, funny.
Question: when is the last time Digger Phelps got anything right?
beachboy (last year)
Ok Picker....I have to totally disagree with you on this one...which is abnormal.

Wins in the tournament DO NOT justify VCU getting in..There are teams in the NIT who could win a tournament game, or two. Hell, TU might even be able to win a tournament game, with a favorable match-up...but that doesn't mean they deserve to be in the tournament. Based on VCU's "resume" comparared to other schools (like Colorado)- they didn't deserve the bid to the tournament.
beachboy (last year)
Ok Picker....I have to totally disagree with you on this one...which is abnormal.

Wins in the tournament DO NOT justify VCU getting in..There are teams in the NIT who could win a tournament game, or two. Hell, TU might even be able to win a tournament game, with a favorable match-up...but that doesn't mean they deserve to be in the tournament. Based on VCU's "resume" comparared to other schools (like Colorado)- they didn't deserve the bid to the tournament.

As much as it pains me to say it....I agree with DOOK Vitale.
Bart78 (last year)
Gene M. - Phelps was last right sometime before Notre Dame canned him otherwise he would be a coach instead of a talking head.

Picker - As long as you are working over ESPN for their obvious bad call on VCU, how about a round on how they are the primary culprits behind the undeserving number of Big Least conference teams in the Tournament? Charles Barkley set it up in his exchange with Rick Pitino.
The Picker (last year)
Beachboy, stick to volleyball, of course tournament wins reflect back on who gets in. It's all subjective. It's all about conferences. So what separates all the numbers that might look alike? Skill as an analyst. When you say somebody doesn't deserve to be in the tournament, you are, in fact, saying it can't win. What does "deserve to be in" mean? It means you have a chance to play as well if not better than the next party. Now the lippy Bilas says seed 'em before the tournaments. Fine. But please realize he's saying that because be has come across looking like a chump. How do you measure conferences, anyway? Simply put, Bilas and Vitale and the rest of those spoil sports thought junk like Colorado could have played better than VCU. The answer is nonsense. CBS has the tournament. ESPN has been whining ever since. There's no formula for picking who should be in or out. There's simply an eye for what matters. ESPN doesn't have it.

PS: Why no five-second buzzer in the ref's hand?
tulsandn (last year)
The 5-second call still exists ????

Haven't seen it called in a decade or 2 but I did hear a reference to it either Saturday or Sunday & my thought was, "You mean it still exists????"
senor notas (last year)
Add Sir Charles to the list of no-nothings(know nothings) What a waste or is it waist.HA! Call against Texas made by a PAC 10 Ref. There should be no refs working a game who are from the same conference as those playing the game.
The Picker (last year)
Senor, what a great note, if true, not that we mistrust your eye or ear -- that the call against Texas was made by a Pac 10 ref!

That would be pretty unbelievable, putting one of your own into the big bucks.

We'll check it out, thanks, Notas.

Didn't even thought a conference ref could do his own team's game.
The Picker (last year)
Senor, what a great note, if true, not that we mistrust your eye or ear -- that the call against Texas was made by a Pac 10 ref!

That would be pretty unbelievable, putting one of your own into the big bucks.

We'll check it out, thanks, Notas.

Didn't even think a conference ref could do his own team's game.
MexiMike (last year)
I thought the bigger officiating blunder was the time left on the clock at the end of the UNC/Washington game. When the ball hit the floor out of bounds, there was clearly 1.1 seconds left--not 0.5.

Refs check the monitors all the time to make sure the proper amount of time is on the clock. Why wasn't it checked that time?

When you're down three and trying to make a game tying shot, there's a big difference in having 1.1 seconds to shoot and 0.5 seconds to shoot.
MJ17 (last year)
I agree that winning a game or two in the tournament doesn't justify inclusion in the tournament. Bilas actually said as much during the broadcast but perhaps the Picker was too busy scribling mustaches and horns on stills of Digger and Vitale to hear it.

That said, this is a tournament to determine the national champion. If you're not good enough to merit inclusion into the field of 64/68, then you haven't done enough. In a way, you could compare it to a UFC fight -- if you leave it in the hands of the judges, you might not like the result. Colorado, Alabama and the rest didn't score a knockout during the regular season and the "judges" left them out.
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Out Pick The Picker

The Picker began entertaining – and infuriating – sports fans in 1993. Each week during football season, he writes about his picks of college and NFL games in his Thursday Sports column. He's never afraid of sharing his opinions about the game and the personalities who play it. Readers have a chance to go against him each season in the Outpick the Picker contest. He welcomes the competition.

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