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Black Mambo
01-23-2009, 03:32 PM
Check out http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=24688

Third post (by JiltedDukie) and 9th post (by John)

I know this has been mentioned on the board a lot. I guess that's Bilas' direct answer. Thoughts?

dcarp23
01-23-2009, 03:38 PM
My follow up question: even if Jay were bending over backwards to try and avoid being perceived as biased, or if he picked Georgetown to win so as to not appear to be a Duke homer, why do people care? Why does Jay or anyone need to pick Duke to win every game or not pick Carolina to win every game? How does one man's perceived opinion affect anything?

I enjoy listening to Jay Bilas because he knows the game and offers insights that a lot of other announcers don't, and I think that's all you can really hope for in an announcer.

TillyGalore
01-23-2009, 03:39 PM
Check out http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=24688

Third post (by JiltedDukie) and 9th post (by John)

I know this has been mentioned on the board a lot. I guess that's Bilas' direct answer. Thoughts?

He did change his final four pick to include Duke.

feldspar
01-23-2009, 03:41 PM
Jay has let it get inside his head.

You'll notice that later in the chat, someone asks who is the better athlete, Gerald or Terrence Williams.

He gives a complete milquetoast answer about Gerald having more "bounce" but Terrence being stronger. He picks neither one.

Huh?
01-23-2009, 03:45 PM
That sounded like and arguement I had with my girlfriend in the ninth grade.

Duvall
01-23-2009, 03:52 PM
Jay has let it get inside his head.

You'll notice that later in the chat, someone asks who is the better athlete, Gerald or Terrence Williams.

He gives a complete milquetoast answer about Gerald having more "bounce" but Terrence being stronger. He picks neither one.

Milquetoast? It's a much better answer than if he had picked one and left it at that.

Our fans are weird.

feldspar
01-23-2009, 04:02 PM
Milquetoast? It's a much better answer than if he had picked one and left it at that.

Our fans are weird.

Yes, milquetoast. He was asked who was a better athlete, and instead of either picking one or rejecting the premise of the question, he gave a bland description of both of them without picking one.

I honestly wouldn't have cared if he had picked Williams, but at least you can answer the question. With that answer and several others, he came off as quite the smart-a__.

Black Mambo
01-23-2009, 04:11 PM
I honestly wouldn't have cared if he had picked Williams, but at least you can answer the question. With that answer and several others, he came off as quite the smart-a__.

Whoa, whoa...no need to bash Jay. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, and time and time again has proven to be the cream of the crop in sports analysis and broadcasting.

I agree that his "unbias" for Duke sometimes seems overtly purposeful, but whatever, the man is entitled to his opinion as long as they are backed up...and honest minds can differ.

Ian
01-23-2009, 04:38 PM
You know why I know Bilas is biased? Because nobody ever accuses him of being a Duke homer.

If at the end of a basketball game, and fans of both teams claim the refs were "in the tank" for the other side. That usually means the refs were pretty much even-handed. If one side is complaining and the other side thinks the refs did great. That probably tells me the refs were not even handed.

I am well aware that being a Duke fans, my views on things are probably clouded by my own biases, which is why I frequently look at what Duke neutral and Duke hating people say about the Duke, as means to check my own biases.

What I've noticed is that the standard Duke hating crowd all think Bilas is great, and complaints about him seems almost exclusively from the Duke fan side. If he were truly even handed, then he would at least once in a while tick off the Duke haters. But I've never seen this.

greybeard
01-23-2009, 04:41 PM
Which of the two is a better athlete seems a bizzare question, certainly not a basketball one. Bilas seemed very converant with every basketball issue asked and had an opinion as to each.

If he was being politic in any of his answers, it might have been in relation to his pick in the Duke Hoya game. He might have thought that Monroe would bust out, particularly if the crazies got on him. If he did, wise not to have gone there, take it from me. ;)

greybeard
01-23-2009, 04:42 PM
Which of the two is a better athlete seems a bizzare question, certainly not a basketball one. Bilas seemed very converant with every basketball issue asked and had an opinion as to each.

If he was being politic in any of his answers, it might have been in relation to his pick in the Duke Hoya game. He might have thought, in addition to what he said which does seem to make sense, that Monroe was going to have a bust-out game, particularly if the crazies got on him. If he did, wise not to have gone there, take it from me. ;)

Devil in the Blue Dress
01-23-2009, 04:47 PM
Enough already! Let the man do his job. There are other commentators who pale in comparison with Jay's insights, intelligent analysis and at times eloquent comments.

Would those who complain really like him better or be satisfied if he "rubber stamped" everything about Duke?

feldspar
01-23-2009, 04:50 PM
If at the end of a basketball game, and fans of both teams claim the refs were "in the tank" for the other side. That usually means the refs were pretty much even-handed. If one side is complaining and the other side thinks the refs did great. That probably tells me the refs were not even handed.



Hmmm. Put me in the camp that says just about the worst way to evaluate the officials' performance is to measure the fans' reaction to the officiating (one way or the other).

micah75
01-23-2009, 05:12 PM
With that answer and several others, he came off as quite the smart-a__.

I'm sort of thinking that you might want to take a good hard look in a sparkling clean mirror. If it's not clean, then kindly wipe the grease and grime off it first so you can see the reflection properly.

feldspar
01-23-2009, 05:20 PM
I'm sort of thinking that you might want to take a good hard look in a sparkling clean mirror. If it's not clean, then kindly wipe the grease and grime off it first so you can see the reflection properly.

You must not know me well. I'm a self-proclaimed smart-a___.

Lulu
01-23-2009, 05:48 PM
Bilas is one of the best. That said, he seemed slightly defensive.

I think the question was poorly phrased in focusing on just picks, and specifically the Georgetown one. I think a better question would have been something like:

"Why do you think it is that other analysts always seem to rank Duke higher than you do?"

Whether he has more insight into the Duke program, is biased, or whatever, one thing you cannot deny is that whatever he has said the past few years that seemed to undermine Duke's ability... well... it might have played out to be true in the end, didn't it?