Dick Vitale complaint collection thread

[Son of Mojo]

I know this is nothing new, as it's gone on for as long as I've watched college hoops, but MUST we hear about other teams (most notably the holes) or past defeats of our team DURING a game with our team? Vitale is terrible for this in particular. As a Duke fan, does espn reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally think I want to hear about unc umpteen times, even to the point of showing graphics of Beaker and Drinky Crow? OR hear about how we lost the '94 title to Arkansas? I'm watching the dvr of the game last night (only got to see the last 10 minutes live) and hearing all about the greatness of unc or how uconn is their only real contender during a Duke game just set me off again. I know they have to fill time during a broadcast somehow but can't that be done without having to talk about other teams, particularly our main rival in such a glowing light, so often? I'd think hole fans wouldn't want to hear about us much during their games (then again, they aren't known for rationality....). It's another example why Bobby Knight needs to do more broadcasts or have broadcasting "clones" of him; he stays focused on the game and gives you insights as to what both teams competing are anticipating to do. It was uncanny hearing him say what he believed would happen next and then watch it happen shortly thereafter. Ok, enough griping from me...

[roywhite]

Well, consider the progress in this area made by losing Billy Packer this year. He regularly referred to games that took place up to 30 or 40 years ago. We could count on him to retell the 8-point-17-seconds 1974 Duke--Carolina game story a few times per year.

I agree with your point; more description of technical aspects of the game we are actually watching would be nice.

[brumby041]

Well, consider the progress in this area made by losing Billy Packer this year. He regularly referred to games that took place up to 30 or 40 years ago. We could count on him to retell the 8-point-17-seconds 1974 Duke--Carolina game story a few times per year.

I agree with your point; more description of technical aspects of the game we are actually watching would be nice.

I was commenting to Mrs. Brumby during the game that Vitale is becoming Packer. How many times did he talk 1980 last night?

[Biscuit]

I know this is nothing new, as it's gone on for as long as I've watched college hoops, but MUST we hear about other teams (most notably the holes) or past defeats of our team DURING a game with our team? Vitale is terrible for this in particular. As a Duke fan, does espn reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally think I want to hear about unc umpteen times, even to the point of showing graphics of Beaker and Drinky Crow? OR hear about how we lost the '94 title to Arkansas? I'm watching the dvr of the game last night (only got to see the last 10 minutes live) and hearing all about the greatness of unc or how uconn is their only real contender during a Duke game just set me off again. I know they have to fill time during a broadcast somehow but can't that be done without having to talk about other teams, particularly our main rival in such a glowing light, so often? I'd think hole fans wouldn't want to hear about us much during their games (then again, they aren't known for rationality....). It's another example why Bobby Knight needs to do more broadcasts or have broadcasting "clones" of him; he stays focused on the game and gives you insights as to what both teams competing are anticipating to do. It was uncanny hearing him say what he believed would happen next and then watch it happen shortly thereafter. Ok, enough griping from me...

This is a completely valid criticism. However, you're treading on amazingly thin ice posting it on a Duke message board and complaining about him talking about UNC too much. Nobody has gotten more unwarranted love from Dickie V during random games than Duke. I recall him talking about Duke during an Ohio State/Indiana game at some point when Duke wasn't even ranked at the top of the polls.

So, yeah, he's been doing things like this for years. But this year, UNC is the story in college basketball. So while it might annoy you,and rightfully so, it is far more justifiable that when he talked about Duke non-stop in games not involving Duke during the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons (which he did), or comparing every decent three-point shooter to J.J. Redick two years after Redick left for the NBA.

Also, while annoying, it is at least more relevant than his BCS whining ... at a Duke/Purdue game, no less.

ETA: I fully agree with your thoughts on Bobby Knight. Who would have thought he would become an incredible studio man and color commentator? That development is as big a college basketball "shocker" as I can recall.

[Son of Mojo]

True, but that's why I mentioned how if I were a hole fan I wouldn't want to hear a lot of Duke data either. That would annoy me from the other side of the fence too. Again, I know they have to have topics to discuss and sometimes you have situations that transcend the game you're viewing but at least give forth a little more effort and emphasis on the present game. The graphics of the two hole players really got my fuse burning--didn't want to see either of them when neither were involved in the game I'm trying to get into and enjoy.

[killerleft]

The play-by-play guy had to wait for Dickie V to get through rambling for 30 seconds or more to let everybody know that Nolan had 4 fouls... heck, a game might have broken out had Dickie been watching it.

[roywhite]

Yeah, have to agree that Dickie V. has just become too much. He's a great guy, he loves the game, he's enthusiastic, he knows hoops, etc., etc.---but he rambles, misses game action, and just won't shut up.

A couple factors that seem to make this worse:

Dick, being the dedicated guy he is, does a lot of prep work; he's ready with stories and anecdotes about players, coaches, teams, etc. For some reason, he thinks he has to use all of his material, whether it fits or not.

Some of the play-by-play guys he works with are "enablers" or motor-mouths themselves, who merrily go along on Vitale's tangents. Mike Patrick comes to mind.

Ahhh...hoops season is wonderful...we get to gripe about announcers, officials, and other teams, and get to watch our beloved Blue Devils. What could be better.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Yeah, have to agree that Dickie V. has just become too much. He's a great guy, he loves the game, he's enthusiastic, he knows hoops, etc., etc.---but he rambles, misses game action, and just won't shut up.

A couple factors that seem to make this worse:

Dick, being the dedicated guy he is, does a lot of prep work; he's ready with stories and anecdotes about players, coaches, teams, etc. For some reason, he thinks he has to use all of his material, whether it fits or not.

Some of the play-by-play guys he works with are "enablers" or motor-mouths themselves, who merrily go along on Vitale's tangents. Mike Patrick comes to mind.

Ahhh...hoops season is wonderful...we get to gripe about announcers, officials, and other teams, and get to watch our beloved Blue Devils. What could be better.

Do you think he did that on his exams?

[SupaDave]

Best to be talked about rather than not mentioned at all in my book. Ask Maryland how it feels...

[Highlander]

This is a completely valid criticism. However, you're treading on amazingly thin ice posting it on a Duke message board and complaining about him talking about UNC too much. Nobody has gotten more unwarranted love from Dickie V during random games than Duke. I recall him talking about Duke during an Ohio State/Indiana game at some point when Duke wasn't even ranked at the top of the polls.

So, yeah, he's been doing things like this for years. But this year, UNC is the story in college basketball. So while it might annoy you,and rightfully so, it is far more justifiable that when he talked about Duke non-stop in games not involving Duke during the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons (which he did), or comparing every decent three-point shooter to J.J. Redick two years after Redick left for the NBA.

Also, while annoying, it is at least more relevant than his BCS whining ... at a Duke/Purdue game, no less.

ETA: I fully agree with your thoughts on Bobby Knight. Who would have thought he would become an incredible studio man and color commentator? That development is as big a college basketball "shocker" as I can recall.

I think you hit on something, and it's something I've mentioned before.

Vitale cheers for whoever is the top dog. If that's Duke (as it was a lot during the late 90's) he is our shill. If that's UNC (as is the case this year and last) he is yours. One minor correction, UNC was Dick's preseason pick last year to win it all (and in '05 IIRC), not Duke. '04 he was smelling Duke's behind and declaring it free of odor, I'll give you that.

Second point is that just because he's your (or our) shill doesn't mean we enjoy listening to him any more than anyone else. I've been muting Dickie V on my television since the early 90s, back when Deano was better known as "Michaelangelo." I've tried to listen to him, but I just can't deal with it. Earler this year I watched almost 3 minutes of clock time go by in a Duke game during which Vitale never once mentioned anything having even remotely to do with the game. So I gave up again. I even chose to watch last night's game in silence, rather than listen to his yammering.

He is a great steward of the game and by all accounts, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. I just wish he'd call the game rather than prattle on about stuff that no one cares about, even if it is about Duke or UNC.

[ugadevil]

While Vitale is not my favorite analyst, I'll continue to take him any day of the week over a number of other analysts. I'd rather here the off-topic tangents instead of anything out of the mouth of LEN ELMORE, Steve Lavin, Billy Packer, Bill Walton, and many more.

[davekay1971]

Vitale cheers for whoever is the top dog. If that's Duke (as it was a lot during the late 90's) he is our shill. If that's UNC (as is the case this year and last) he is yours.

Second point is that just because he's your (or our) shill doesn't mean we enjoy listening to him any more than anyone else.

He is a great steward of the game and by all accounts, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. I just wish he'd call the game rather than prattle on about stuff that no one cares about, even if it is about Duke or UNC.

Agree heartily to all of the above. I was thinking before reading Biscuit's post that Vitale probably prompted a good amount of Duke-hatin' over the years by waxing rhapsodic about us while announcing other peoples' games. It doesn't lessen my 'heel-hatin any to not be able to get through a game, any game, without two Hansbrough graphics and a full 10 minute Ode by Dickie V to the greatness that is Carolina. I can only imagine that Vitale's nonstop Duke-pimpin' has helped to flame the anti-Duke feelings around the country.

I appreciate Vitale for his love of the game and his positive look on hoops. I'd take him over Billy Packer's curmudgeon routine...not to mention Packer's infamous and inaccurate "Duke's really getting a lot of calls" moment. But Vitale has seemed to spend less and less time and effort analyzing over the years, and more time babbling about his viewpoints on an increasingly broad (and irrelevant to the game at hand) range of subjects.

[Lulu]

I saw the thread title and couldn't resist posting.

The problem is... Bobby Knight has exposed all other commentators as truly being as horrible as we all expected. He actually focuses on the game at hand and tells you what is going on, things you probably didn't know and not just what anyone can see with their naked eyes.

Vitale was miserable last night. As excited as his persona might be, you might also think he was bored and disinterested in the game at hand on any one night because he spends so little time talking about it or actually analyzing it. I swear, sometimes there will be a really great play and you'd think he wasn't even paying attention the way he doesn't miss a beat in whatever rant he is going off on for the umpteenth time. It's almost as distracting as receiving a phone call during a game.

The 2nd poster is right, though. We're rid of Packer and should be glad for that alone. And maybe Vitale isn't really that much worse than Elmore, who just makes stuff up (and doesn't seem to care for Duke anyway), and Lavin, who I can't even figure out yet, maybe because he always seems a year behind in his analysis.

I'm just gonna pray every day that ESPN realizes what they have in Knight and what that kind of analysis brings to the viewer.

[Lulu]

... and more time babbling about his viewpoints on an increasingly broad (and irrelevant to the game at hand) range of subjects.

Yeah. What about that jump ball last night? The real issue was how quickly the ref blew the whistle to call the jump ball, when I'm not sure there was really any possession. Instead, Vitale uses it to go off on his same-old alternate possession rant instead of addressing the actual play. That's par for the course these days. ...Of course, you might be talking about his BCS views.

[Eckster]

Yeah, have to agree that Dickie V. has just become too much. He's a great guy, he loves the game, he's enthusiastic, he knows hoops, etc., etc.---but he rambles, misses game action, and just won't shut up.

A couple factors that seem to make this worse:

Dick, being the dedicated guy he is, does a lot of prep work; he's ready with stories and anecdotes about players, coaches, teams, etc. For some reason, he thinks he has to use all of his material, whether it fits or not.

Some of the play-by-play guys he works with are "enablers" or motor-mouths themselves, who merrily go along on Vitale's tangents. Mike Patrick comes to mind.

Ahhh...hoops season is wonderful...we get to gripe about announcers, officials, and other teams, and get to watch our beloved Blue Devils. What could be better.

I agree that Dick is a dedicated and enthusiastic champion of college basketball. However, when I sit down to watch a Duke game with my kids, I just want to focus on the game at hand. I have followed Duke B-Ball for 20 years and am as passionate about it as the next guy but give me a break! I'm tired of hearing about things that happened 20 years ago in the middle of an exciting top 10 matchup. I'm wondering how many fouls Lance Thomas has and Dick's talking about something totally unrelated. I so enjoyed the game in MSG with Bobby Knight (the General, baby!), a color guy who was actually analyzing the game at hand with useful insight. My 12 year old just shakes his head and wonders why we have to listen to the nonsense when Dick's on the scene.

At halftime, I tried to sync the radio feed w/ Bob Harris and the TV on ESPN but unfortunately, they were way off and so had to endure the torture. I'm just glad Duke won.

[TheRose77]

Last night the Big Guy ('76) and I ended up watching the second half with the sound off. Dickie V is just sad, sad. He really takes alot of the enjoyment out of watching a game, with all his yammering. Enough already. There is a pasture out there calling his name.
It's bad when you turn on a game and find yourself groaning when you find out who is doing the color. I loved Bobby Knight's commentary on MSG. He added to the experience, rather than detracting from it. Here's hoping we see and hear more from him this year.

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

I would love to have actual SCOUTS or trainers commentating on the games...

Guys that scout for NBA teams or David Thorpe from ESPN perhaps.

Not only would you learn more about the game - you'd get live scouting reports and professional evaulations...

[roywhite]

One of my gripes (not only pertaining to Dickie V. but a lot of TV broadcasts)...on foul calls, please tell me how many personal fouls does that player have and how many team fouls? Important info for 1 and 1, 2-shot fouls, substitution patterns, etc. Argghhh.

[rasputin]

One of my gripes (not only pertaining to Dickie V. but a lot of TV broadcasts)...on foul calls, please tell me how many personal fouls does that player have and how many team fouls? Important info for 1 and 1, 2-shot fouls, substitution patterns, etc. Argghhh.

Heck, I'd be happy if they just told us who the foul was called on.

[grossbus]

you will miss packer before the year is out. abrasive yes, but he knew the game and was able to communicate the nuances. vitale has not said anything new in 10 years. every phrase he utters has been uttered by him before, ad infinitum. i strongly suspect he does not even watch the game going on in front of him.

raftery, bilas, yes knight. good to listen to. help you to understand what is happening and why it is happening. put kellog back on the sidelines, please! get daugherty back from nascar.

i swear, the next time vitale is calling one of our games (oops, he doesn't actually CALL OUR GAME), i am unplugging my front and center speakers and just listen to the background sounds on the surround sound speakers.