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  1. #81
    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    And you know CBS didn't say it when it was happening?

    Talk about missing a major talking point!
    I won't slam Vern for that....Vern is the man, and his instincts, after Laettner's shot went in and he yelled his iconic "YEEESSSSSS" - was to just be quiet and let the chaos play out for a long time....a great broadcaster is like a great drummer...sometimes the beat you don't hit is the key....

    And on another note, how about the amazing moments Vern has broadcast:

    Laettner shot
    Davis 109 yard FG return Auburn over Alabama
    Auburn hail may the week before versus Georgia, adding meaning to the Bama game
    Tiger's chip hanging on the lip, before dropping, on the 16th Augusta.

    ...when Vern is on the call, something magic is bound to happen....

  2. #82
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO

    Verne Lundquist's Take on the Game

    It is appropriate to hear from the announcer that evening, Verne Lundquist. I posted this a few years ago:

    In a recent column that some of you saw and quoted from, Norman Chad listed 23 supposedly true sports facts: “10. If Verne Lundquist lived next door to me, I’d go over to borrow a cup of sugar every other day.”

    I don’t live next door to Verne but I do see him often in our small town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. As Chad intimated, Verne is a really good guy, totally pleasant and exceptionally well informed on many subjects. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Verne Lundquist about “The Shot,” which he called for CBS. Until I saw a recent You Tube clip, I hadn’t even realized that he was the game announcer. I was with another neighbor, former Duke hurler Larry Harrison. “What did you think,” I asked Verne, “when it happened?”

    “Well,” he said, “there was total silence [at the mike] for a few minutes and the camera just panned the court and all the celebrations going on. Then Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe came over and asked Len Elmore [Verne’s partner that day – who knew?], ‘Until today, I thought the ACC final you played against North Carolina State in 1974 was the best college basketball game I had ever seen. Which game do you think was better?’ Len hesitated for a long minute and finally said, ‘I think this game may have been better.’”

    “It was a few minutes later before I could talk to Mike Krzyzewski. One of the things I really admire about Mike (and there are many things I like) is that immediately after the game he went over to talk to the Kentucky radio announcer, Cawood Ledford. Ledford had been there forever and, as the tournament started, had announced that the next Kentucky loss would be his last game. Mike spoke first to Ledford and to the Kentucky fans on the radio network.” K told the Kentucky fans that they had listened to one of the classic basketball games in history.

    “When I talked to Mike a few minutes later,” he said, “I knew if I could get the ball to that son-of-a-I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. in the circle, he would make the shot.’ I was asked later why we didn’t mention on the broadcast that Laettner was perfect from the floor and perfect from the line. [He was 10-10 and 10-10.] Well, I didn’t know. I asked my statistician, a guy who had worked with me for years, why he hadn’t told me. He was a bit strange. He said it was in the handwritten notes, which I hadn’t managed to figure out. I believe he ended up getting fired over the incident.”

    “One more story: Gene Wojchiechowski, a really good guy, is writing a book on the game to be published on the 20th anniversary, and he interviewed me. I told him about my conversation with Mike. He then related it to Laettner. When I talked to him later, he said that Christian was visibly upset with Mike’s remark. ‘What did you tell him,’ I asked? Wojo said he quoted K as saying, “I knew if I could get the ball to that a**hole in the circle, he would make the shot.’ ‘No! No! No! On my mother’s grave that’s not what Mike said. He said something totally different.’ So, Gene went back to Christian with a revised story, and Laettner was relieved.”
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  3. #83
    Quote Originally Posted by HereBeforeCoachK View Post
    I won't slam Vern for that...Vern is the man, and his instincts, after Laettner's shot went in and he yelled his iconic "YEEESSSSSS" - was to just be quiet and let the chaos play out for a long time...a great broadcaster is like a great drummer...sometimes the beat you don't hit is the key...

    And on another note, how about the amazing moments Vern has broadcast:

    Laettner shot
    Davis 109 yard FG return Auburn over Alabama
    Auburn hail may the week before versus Georgia, adding meaning to the Bama game
    Tiger's chip hanging on the lip, before dropping, on the 16th Augusta.

    ...when Vern is on the call, something magic is bound to happen...
    You forgot to list one of Vern's all time great "calls"...Jack Nicklaus' putt on the 17th hole at the 1986 Masters:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X9-LRZNM60

  4. #84
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by duke79 View Post
    You forgot to list one of Vern's all time great "calls"...Jack Nicklaus' putt on the 17th hole at the 1986 Masters:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X9-LRZNM60
    Verne's autobiography, Play by Play, is a good read, especially if you are of a certain age. For example, as a very young man, he was on the air with his own morning show at KTBC radio in Austin in November 1963, when the news director came rushing in and demanded the microphone, saying "President Kennedy has been shot!" KTBC was owned by the LBJ family and Kennedy was due to fly to Austin after leaving Dallas.

    Verne listed his all-time-great TV broadcast experiences at the end of his book: 46 YO Nicklaus's 18-foot birdie putt on 17 in the 1986 Masters, which put him in the lead for his 18th and final major; the 2013 Alabama-Auburn game, which ended on a 109-yard field goal return by Auburn to win the SEC West; Tiger's chip on 16 at the Masters -- the "Nike logo shot," and Laettner's shot.
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  5. #85
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    It is appropriate to hear from the announcer that evening, Verne Lundquist. I posted this a few years ago:

    In a recent column that some of you saw and quoted from, Norman Chad listed 23 supposedly true sports facts: “10. If Verne Lundquist lived next door to me, I’d go over to borrow a cup of sugar every other day.”

    I don’t live next door to Verne but I do see him often in our small town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. As Chad intimated, Verne is a really good guy, totally pleasant and exceptionally well informed on many subjects. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Verne Lundquist about “The Shot,” which he called for CBS. Until I saw a recent You Tube clip, I hadn’t even realized that he was the game announcer. I was with another neighbor, former Duke hurler Larry Harrison. “What did you think,” I asked Verne, “when it happened?”

    “Well,” he said, “there was total silence [at the mike] for a few minutes and the camera just panned the court and all the celebrations going on. Then Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe came over and asked Len Elmore [Verne’s partner that day – who knew?], ‘Until today, I thought the ACC final you played against North Carolina State in 1974 was the best college basketball game I had ever seen. Which game do you think was better?’ Len hesitated for a long minute and finally said, ‘I think this game may have been better.’”

    “It was a few minutes later before I could talk to Mike Krzyzewski. One of the things I really admire about Mike (and there are many things I like) is that immediately after the game he went over to talk to the Kentucky radio announcer, Cawood Ledford. Ledford had been there forever and, as the tournament started, had announced that the next Kentucky loss would be his last game. Mike spoke first to Ledford and to the Kentucky fans on the radio network.” K told the Kentucky fans that they had listened to one of the classic basketball games in history.

    “When I talked to Mike a few minutes later,” he said, “I knew if I could get the ball to that son-of-a-I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. in the circle, he would make the shot.’ I was asked later why we didn’t mention on the broadcast that Laettner was perfect from the floor and perfect from the line. [He was 10-10 and 10-10.] Well, I didn’t know. I asked my statistician, a guy who had worked with me for years, why he hadn’t told me. He was a bit strange. He said it was in the handwritten notes, which I hadn’t managed to figure out. I believe he ended up getting fired over the incident.”

    “One more story: Gene Wojchiechowski, a really good guy, is writing a book on the game to be published on the 20th anniversary, and he interviewed me. I told him about my conversation with Mike. He then related it to Laettner. When I talked to him later, he said that Christian was visibly upset with Mike’s remark. ‘What did you tell him,’ I asked? Wojo said he quoted K as saying, “I knew if I could get the ball to that a**hole in the circle, he would make the shot.’ ‘No! No! No! On my mother’s grave that’s not what Mike said. He said something totally different.’ So, Gene went back to Christian with a revised story, and Laettner was relieved.”

    Man that's good stuff... thanks for posting!

  6. #86
    Quote Originally Posted by duke79 View Post
    You forgot to list one of Vern's all time great "calls"...Jack Nicklaus' putt on the 17th hole at the 1986 Masters:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X9-LRZNM60
    Ah yes, Bear tracks...good catch...as it happens, that's the only one I didn't see live...of those Vern memories. Quite a freaking career....

  7. #87
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by subzero02 View Post
    I was 12 years old and watched the game with my mom and dad; my 6 year old sister was home but wasn't following the game. All 3 of us were actually rooting against Duke(my dad is an Arkansas fan so there was bitterness that lingered from the 1990 final four). I can remember needing to go to the bathroom throughout the entire overtime but not wanting to leave the TV and risk missing a play. After Woods made the go ahead basket, I got up and stood behind the couch so I could watch Duke's season end on what I assumed would be a missed desperation heave from halfcourt. As soon as Laettner caught the ball I knew Kentucky was in trouble. After the shot went through the net, I didn't have to go to the bathroom anymore... I was just numb.
    I would have wagered that I was the only person who frequents this forum that was rooting for Kentucky that day. Glad to see I was not alone.


    People sometimes make mistakes in their younger years....
    "We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust

  8. #88
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Folly Beach, South Carolina
    I graduated the year before from Duke Law and was enjoying my first year in practice living on Isle of Palms, outside of Charleston, South Carolina. My girlfriend, now wife, and I walked down the beach to the legendary Windjammer to watch the game on a huge TV in the bar. I still vividly recall the shot and thinking when Christian took the dribble "Oh no, there is no way he gets it off in time." Thankfully I was wrong. I definitely was the biggest Duke fan in the bar and went a little nuts. On the walk home, my future wife thought it would be funny to tackle me on the beach, dislocating my shoulder. It hurt so bad, I could not take my sweater off, so I slept in it, and went to the doc in the morning. We are still married.

  9. #89
    At the Spectrum. Upper level right behind the basket where Laettner made the shot. I remember saying to myself when the ball was in the air...that shot’s going in.

  10. #90
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    I was a sophomore in college at a party. It was a gorgeous day in NC (at least that is how I picture it now). The entire place was glued to the TV and erupted when Woods hit that banker. When Laettner caught the pass I remember having a feeling of expectation that he was going to hit the shot. I was more worried about him getting it off in time. I was euphoric. I called my parents immediately who were ready to book their flight to Minneapolis. I don't remember much after that. I must have had many celebratory beers after. My girlfriend at the time was a unc fan so I gave her a little space for awhile.
    "Just be you. You is Enough."

  11. #91

    The Birth of Cameron

    I was sitting/pacing in my basement throughout the game, and holding my hands together so tightly (as frequently happens during Duke basketball games) that they almost got stuck together permanently. After Laettner's winning shot, my dad and my pastor called to congratulate me, and then I had to jog around the neighborhood before I could calm down enough to go to sleep.

    About a week later, I heard from a Duke friend who was nine months pregnant during the game that she had to turn off the TV during the timeout before the shot, because she was afraid the excitement of seeing the final 2.4 seconds of the game might induce labor. A few days later, she gave birth to a son that she and her husband decided to name Cameron for obvious reasons. Flash forward 17 years, and I received my annual batch of alumni interview requests. Cameron was one of the applicants. I had to pass along the interview to another interviewer, because I could not objectively interview Cameron, given my wonderful friendship with his mom and my knowledge of what transpired during his last few days in the womb.

  12. #92
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Banana View Post
    I was sitting/pacing in my basement throughout the game, and holding my hands together so tightly (as frequently happens during Duke basketball games) that they almost got stuck together permanently. After Laettner's winning shot, my dad and my pastor called to congratulate me, and then I had to jog around the neighborhood before I could calm down enough to go to sleep.

    About a week later, I heard from a Duke friend who was nine months pregnant during the game that she had to turn off the TV during the timeout before the shot, because she was afraid the excitement of seeing the final 2.4 seconds of the game might induce labor. A few days later, she gave birth to a son that she and her husband decided to name Cameron for obvious reasons. Flash forward 17 years, and I received my annual batch of alumni interview requests. Cameron was one of the applicants. I had to pass along the interview to another interviewer, because I could not objectively interview Cameron, given my wonderful friendship with his mom and my knowledge of what transpired during his last few days in the womb.
    Did Cameron get in?
    "This is the best of all possible worlds."
    Dr. Pangloss - Candide

  13. #93
    Unfortunately, my friend died tragically the next spring, so I never found out whether Cameron got into Duke. But I suspect not, because he ended up attending UMd College Park.

  14. #94
    I leapt from the couch knocking over a table, scaring the dog (named Duke) and waking the baby, who started crying. My wife, a tarhell, was not impressed.

  15. #95
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Mary's Place
    Quote Originally Posted by SamHouston View Post
    At the Spectrum. Upper level right behind the basket where Laettner made the shot. I remember saying to myself when the ball was in the air...that shot’s going in.
    At the Spectrum, top deck, about center court. With Mrs. Turk, Brother and Poppa Turk! When CBS Sports replayed classic NCAA games, my youngest daughter had the misfortune of walking through the living room for the last minute of OT. After her required mockery, I told her she might want to stick around for the end. The thing that surprised me on the "almost shot" was how Pelphrey completely trucked Hurley with his pick allowing Woods into the lane with a full head of steam; almost as bad as Howard, the Butler center who blew up Singler allowing Hayward to get a good clean look on his shot in 2010. Loving those CBS replays! (got a couple still on the DVR!)
    "Quality is not an option!"

  16. #96
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Denver, CO
    I was in House B's common room (then known as "FUBAR") during my junior year. I remember not even being that despondent after Woods hit his shot, which was very out of character for me, but we'd had one heck of a run, and it had been one heck of the game. I turned to a friend and shrugged, as if to say "what can you do about that?"

    Then Laettner hit the shot, and I immediately sprinted out onto the quad and screamed my head off. I remember being the first one out there, as everyone else was glued to TVs watching replays and to see how the rest played out, so it took a few minutes before there were more than four or five people out there with me. The party started soon enough.

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