March Madness: A Study in Hype
It really maddens sportscasters when their favorite teams don’t win. Look at all the hype on UCLA before the championship game with lowly Florida. Florida was supposed to be sticking to football. What were they doing there in Indianapolis anyway? John Wooden, the great UCLA coach was in the hospital during the game. He watched it on television. I’ll bet the pre-game UCLA hype made him feel even more ill. When Florida trimmed UCLA’s sails in the first half, the television announcers did all they could to coach UCLA to a second half win and the National title. But, alas, even they, with their superb coaching skills, failed to help UCLA obtain there “deserved” victory. I think that some announcers think that the first thing the coaches do at half-time is turn on the television to get the great advice springing forth from the television sportscasters. I’ve got news for them: they don’t. When you listen to those half-time guys the first thing you realize is why they are sportscasters instead of coaches. It doesn’t just happen during the championship game, of course. It goes on all through the tournament. How many ways are there to bad mouth that little commuter school, George Mason University in Virginia and football power, LSU, that knocked off the big boys and gave UCLA and Florida a crack at the crown? LSU and George Mason determined the final outcome where “Little Ole” Florida gave UCLA basketball lessons. None of the above applies to Jim Nantz. It’s good he was the anchor to add some sense to the commentary. I hear he’s switched to golf. I don’t blame him. Here's what Les Payne said: "As for the new breed of airhead, talk-a-thon, big-city, radio sports jockeys, their handicapping is as bad as their syntax. When not flagellating hapless players, and thus aiding management's suppression of labor, these squawking sports jocks, some of whom are paid millions, while away their airtime by reducing the unknowable to terms of the not worth knowing. “Bring forth one sportscaster who picked as his initial final four UCLA, LSU, Florida and George Mason. No such sportscaster exists. " See http://tinyurl.com/oovl8 Here are Les Payne’s final words: “It's too late for the office pool, so Jamal and I have squared off with a nickel. He likes the defense of both LSU and George Mason. He knows that Louisiana natives have been toughest in every way and are fighting for a break this year. Also, it has not escaped Jamal that LSU has a floor leader and plays as a solid unit, with all five starters hailing from Baton Rouge. “I have little with which to counter, except that Gonzaga once made it as a Cinderella team, and that George Mason is this year's Gonzaga team. “With a nickel riding, Jamal's got LSU and I've got George Mason as NCAA champions.” I guess that proves that sportscasters are no better than the rest of us at predicting and coaching, as Les Payne explained to us. What the heck happened to Duke? The men? The Ladies? The Lacrosse Team? The End Les Payne, sportscasters, sports, news, March Madness, final four, NCAA, basketball, championship, hype, propaganda, Duke, George Mason, Florida, UCLA, LSU John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine. He is Executive Representative of IWS sellers of Tyler Hicks wealth-success books and kits. He also sells TopFlight flagpoles. He calls himself "Taylor Jones, the hack writer." More info: http://www.tjbooks.com Business web site: http://www.aaaflagpoles.com |
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