Dick Vitale on the BCS

[OSUsushichic]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but Dick Vitale took a jab last night at the BCS by stating last night during the OSU/UNC game that college basketball is better than college football, because the little schools can beat the big schools. Here is an editorial about it:

King Kaufman's Sports Daily

ESPN's basketball guys hammer the BCS. Now that it's not an ABC property, that is. Plus: Hoops whizzing match!

Nov. 30, 2006 | Really, really interesting to hear ESPN's college basketball guys ripping on college football two nights in a row. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that ABC no longer has the excloo on the Bowl Championship Series, could it?

Tuesday night the studio crew, especially Jay Bilas, made a few snarky little comments about the BCS method of crowning a champion during halftime of the Indiana-Duke game. On Wednesday, Dick Vitale -- college basketball's most prominent cheerleader -- and his play-by-play partner Dan Shulman let the BCS have it with both barrels near the end of North Carolina's exciting win over Ohio State.

"I want to tell them why college basketball is head and shoulders above college football," Vitale said, referring to his friends, ESPN college football analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Spielman. "Because in college basketball, the little guy, the little team, has a chance against the Goliath.

"The Davids, the Oral Roberts, the programs like Gonzaga, they have a chance. You have no chance in football for a mid-major to go up and beat Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Southern Cal in football."

"Right," Shulman chimed in.

"Case closed," Vitale continued, "college basketball gets the honors."

"And the other reason," Shulman said, "and I know you feel this one just as strongly, and it applies to Ohio State here tonight: Even if they lose tonight, it does not cripple their hopes to win a national championship."

"Exactly!" Vitale agreed. "After the first two weeks of college football, 90 percent of the schools are eliminated from chasing the dream of being a national champion."
Two Ohio State free throws and a full-shot-clock possession by North Carolina went by without comment during all this.

Vitale has been shilling for college hoops since the first day anyone put a microphone in front of him, and I think I've heard similar rants from him on this subject in previous years.

But there's never been this kind of drumbeat criticism of the BCS or college football on ESPN, which after all still carries a lot of college football games, including an astounding 21 bowl games this year, plus the two ABC will carry, the non-BCS Capital One Bowl and the BCS Rose Bowl.

This is a good thing.

Hardly anybody other than the honchos of the six BCS conferences likes the BCS, but those honchos have a lot of power.

But I'm not sure anybody has as much power in sports as the Worldwide Leader. If the talking heads there have the green light to take potshots at college football for not having a tournament, that might increase the momentum for a tournament just a little bit.

Maybe when the NCAA powers that be get past their urgent worries over whether Boise State running back Ian Johnson might be illegally giving crocheted beanies to charity -- the cur! -- they'll start listening to this new drumbeat.

http://www.salon.com/sports/col/kauf...day/index.html

Your thoughts?

[TRON]

Vitale is a Dick.

[Dryden]

Ian Johnson is a [censored]ing cheater. I'm taking him off my Heisman ballot now.

[Bucklion]

Too bad he didn't have time to add that he thinks Duke should have an automatic spot in the BCS, just like he thinks Duke should have a bye into the Final 4 every year.

[Bucky Katt]

It's a good thing nobody gives a [censored] what he thinks about football.

[Buckeye86]

Originally Posted by Bucky Katt

It's a good thing nobody gives a [censored] what he thinks about football.

Are you saying people actually give a [censored] what he thinks about basketball??