Packer

[MChambers]

For those of you who have such antipathy for Packer, what was your reaction to him today? I haven't heard him much this year, but he didn't seem too bad to me today.
(I'm no Packer defender, having been at Cameron for the famous "Billy [bad word starting and ending with "s"], Billy [bad word starting and ending with "s"]" cheer in 1979.)

[Bob Green]

I watched the game with the sound turned off. Packer, Vitale, Mussberger, et al...provide zero added value to my basketball entertainment.

[KandG]

By Packer standards, he seemed quite nice to Duke today, I thought...I could even imagine opposing fans grumbling about Packer's "Duke bias" a couple of times, he was so complimentary of the Crazies and Duke (of course, you know jealous haters on various message boards are frothing and screaming at the top of their lungs "CHEER SHEETS").

BC was giving Duke all sorts of problems until midway through the second half, but Packer didn't fall into the trap of glorifying everything BC was doing and trivializing what Duke was doing. And he really seems to admire Markie (as well he should).

Of course, I've never thought Packer was as bad as everyone says he is -- he's just a curmudgeon. The only thing he does that obviously gets a rise out of everyone is indulge in the "losses that were never credited to Coach K" discussion -- but I don't recall hearing that today.

[CDu]

Packer wasn't bad today, with one exception. He kept harping on the fact that nobody stayed out on Paulus or Oates when they hit open threes. His statement was something to the effect of "why wouldn't you get out on him when you know he can't beat you off the dribble?" Well, I felt that was pretty poor analysis, as nearly all of Oates's threes came on plays where the defense broke down and Oates' man (Singler or Thomas) had to help out. It wasn't a case of lazy or tentative defense. The same was true on one of Paulus's threes. The ball was loose, BC scrambled, and there was a kickout to Paulus.

Otherwise, Packer was tolerable. My frustration with him has generally been that he just overly negative and critical. He reports the flaws in everything rather than the good. And his analysis borders on maniacally critical, even to the point that he sometimes (like on the Henderson/Hansbrough foul, where he stated "he's not going to be able to shoot the free throws," as though that was the most important aspect of the situation!).

[mapei]

I thought Packer wass fine today, pretty even-handed. I did not think that about his call on the UNC-CH game, but no complaints today.

[dukie8]

Packer wasn't bad today, with one exception. He kept harping on the fact that nobody stayed out on Paulus or Oates when they hit open threes. His statement was something to the effect of "why wouldn't you get out on him when you know he can't beat you off the dribble?" Well, I felt that was pretty poor analysis, as nearly all of Oates's threes came on plays where the defense broke down and Oates' man (Singler or Thomas) had to help out. It wasn't a case of lazy or tentative defense. The same was true on one of Paulus's threes. The ball was loose, BC scrambled, and there was a kickout to Paulus.

Otherwise, Packer was tolerable. My frustration with him has generally been that he just overly negative and critical. He reports the flaws in everything rather than the good. And his analysis borders on maniacally critical, even to the point that he sometimes (like on the Henderson/Hansbrough foul, where he stated "he's not going to be able to shoot the free throws," as though that was the most important aspect of the situation!).

i agree that he wasn't his usual horrible self today. the other thing that annoyed me was when scheyer stole the ball in the first half and then went down for a completely uncontested lay-up. rather than saying what a great play it was, packer went nuts that nobody from duke or bc followed the play because you have to assume the guy will miss the wide-open lay-up. i can't remember the last time a duke player missed a shot that easy because they don't go for highlight dunks so i thought it was ridiculous that he refused to complement scheyer but, instead, ripped the other duke 4 on the court.

[3rd Dukie]

As I said in another thread, I thought he was down right enjoyable. He does know the game; he usually pays attention to the game on the court; I thought his criticisms were mostly constructive and valid. He was also complimentary of Duke and even Coach K.

I am anything but a Packer fan as a rule, but I have to say that I have no complaint whatsoever about his performance today.

I'm just a fan, but that's my opinion.

[Lotus000]

A friend of mine mad a pretty astute comment about Packer today....

He's biased againgt EVERYbody, not just Duke. I think he's just a curmudgeon. I remember a year and a half ago (right when I stopped reading his stuff) that Bill Simmons said that Packer was PRO-Duke. I think that he just dogs on everybody because he's old and cantankerous. So, everybody that we play thinks he's pro-Duke, and we think he's anti-Duke.

[insert play]

Packer's Comment.... "There's a [walk, foul, some foul...]...was...not...called." Listen for the three latter words, Packer says them about three zillion times in a single broadcast.

There is no hyperbole in this post.

[OrangeDevil]

I've always thought that Packer had a honest respect for Duke and especially how K coached and implemented strategy.

The real devious and deep-seated anti-Duke prejudice comes from Digger Phelps. I don't know exactly why but suspect it's grounded in the reality that the only time he got even remotely close to sniffing a title the Devils slapped his ^$%^$%^$% back to South Bend. Look out Digger! Duke 's gonna get yo mama!

[Ignatius07]

I agree about Digger - he does seem to have the most dislike for Duke of any of the major analysts. I would also argue that Digger is the most biased in favor of his former team. A couple of years ago when ND was on the bubble, he went absolutely nuts when they didn't make the tournament.

[dukerev]

The difference between Packer and Vitale is that Vitale loves everybody and everything that happens, and because of that, he misses the opportunity to call the game (which he does know). Packer is just bitter. It is like he doesn't enjoy basketball and is being forced to call games year after year. So while he does know the game, he doesn't bring anything positive to his commentary. Case in point. When Jon made the steal for a break away lay up (the first time), Packer immediately started whining that he "didn't like what either team did," i.e. B.C. didn't hustle after losing the ball and none of the Duke players followed Jon down the court to follow in case of a miss. Whether he was right or wrong is not the point - he didn't comment on a beautiful defensive play, but instead started complaining about something. Then he had to come back several minutes later when a similar play happened and there was hustle and pat himself on the back for noticing it earlier.

I judge the commentary by how I would feel if that guy was sitting next to me on the couch. A few too many comments and I want to punch you in the neck - well, then, maybe you shouldn't be calling a game. A few blown calls here or there - well, then, maybe I'll cut you some slack but bust your chops about it. I wouldn't want Vitale on my couch for most games because it would just get annoying. But I wouldn't mind having him over for dinner. I wouldn't let Packer on my property, let alone in the door.

[gw67]

I thought Packer was fine. As far as I'm concerned, he is the best color man around for ACC games. He has a good eye for the game, provides good analysis (both from a team as well as individual standpoints), he doesn't step on the toes of his partner, he calls them as he sees them without regard to hurting the feelings of thin skinned fans, and, most of all, he has a 45-year ACC perspective that allows him to add some history to what we are watching.

Just for grins, I kept track of his anti-Duke comments during the first half. Although multi-tasking isn't easy for a fan my age, I did not hear one comment that I considered to be anti-Duke from this "Duke hater". In fact, he was complementary about the team, coach, players and fans at the game.

gw67

[dukestheheat]

For those of you who have such antipathy for Packer, what was your reaction to him today? I haven't heard him much this year, but he didn't seem too bad to me today.
(I'm no Packer defender, having been at Cameron for the famous "Billy [bad word starting and ending with "s"], Billy [bad word starting and ending with "s"]" cheer in 1979.)

I simply turn the sound off. I do this with several announcers, including Vitale, Packer and Bilas, to name a few. I've been watching this game for awhile, I've coached it also, and I know the game and really, I don't need any announcer to tell me what I know I'm watching on the television set. Now, if I were unable to see, then they might help me with their commentary.

I know Duke well, as all who post here on the DBR, and I can tell within a few plays where we're not doing well, where we are, and whether or not 'that play' was a foul or not! By the way, the refs usually are pretty accurate and bad calls go BOTH ways, all the time. That's a fact of life, we just happen to have a better team than most teams out there, and it's been that way for a long, long time.

dth.

[mpc]

I was wondering if there would be some comments on this. When I saw Packer was doing the game I rolled my eyes and expected the usual negative commentary, but he seemed really subdued today, maybe age is catching up w/ him.

[DevilBen02]

I judge the commentary by how I would feel if that guy was sitting next to me on the couch. A few too many comments and I want to punch you in the neck - well, then, maybe you shouldn't be calling a game. A few blown calls here or there - well, then, maybe I'll cut you some slack but bust your chops about it. I wouldn't want Vitale on my couch for most games because it would just get annoying. But I wouldn't mind having him over for dinner. I wouldn't let Packer on my property, let alone in the door.

I'm with you 100% on Packer. I think that Vitale, while I agree is sometimes painful to hear, could be fun to sit next to while watching a game. At least it sounds like he's having fun watching the game. I would certainly take his over-the-top enthusiasm over Packer's over-the-top negativity.