(01-27-2023 03:05 PM)makinbacon Wrote:  RIP, Billy will be truly missed. He was the voice of many young people's youth along with Vitale.

I'm a fan of flashy guys like Gus Johnson and Dick Vitale. And I wasn't a fan of Billy Packer when he got old and cranky. But when Jim Nantz and Billy Packer showed up for the Final Four, it had gravitas. Billy was the voice of college basketball. And I enjoyed listening to his son Mark when he had his afternoon show on SiriusXM.

I'm old enough to remember Enberg, McGuire, and Packer together on NBC. Those were the days.

Another voice of my youth and young adulthood is gone. RIP.

"Simon says 'championship.'"

"They won it... on the dunk!"

(01-27-2023 09:37 AM)Midwestan Wrote:  

(01-27-2023 09:27 AM)mlb Wrote:  He lost me when he turned into a pro-power league guy and wanted the cinderella's limited in the NCAA tourney. Then George Mason, VCU, Butler, and others all started making it to final 4s and he doubled down about having fewer places for small conferences.

I agree. He could have had a much better legacy had he not gone off in 2006 about the Missouri Valley getting 4 teams into the tournament (Bradley and Wichita State made the Sweet 16 that year) and the CAA getting 2 spots (one of which went to Final 4 participant, George Mason). He also went off the deep end (was it 2008?) when Kansas was laying waste to North Carolina in the first half of their Final 4 semifinal. It was painful to listen to, and I really liked Billy Packer. I thought he was a good analyst while at CBS, and some of his banter with Al Maguire when they teamed up on NBC was excellent stuff!

Yeah. Definitely saw a shift over time, and it dripped major conference bias. Then again, you’d also see mid-game analysis go out the window on CBS, too. Timeouts weren’t always automatic ad breaks, and you’d get to see the analysts do their thing with certain play. I really miss THAT era of CBS’ coverage.

just saw this.... unbelievable that him and Al would pass on the same day.

nice piece by CBS. His last game he ever saw live was the 2008 final 4 seems amazing?