Today my beloved Cyclones were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by No. 1-seeded North Carolina. UNC was more talented and had a much deeper bench. We were outmatched, and the Tar Heels clearly deserved to win the game. I can tolerate this.
What I cannot tolerate is Billy Packer, who called the game for CBS with Jim Nantz. From the beginning, he decided that there were three major themes to the game:
1) North Carolina had already won the game and non-ACC teams such as ISU shouldn't even bother to field basketball teams.
2) Iowa State's players, most of whom average more than 35 minutes of playing time per game, were tired -- no, exhausted.
3) Iowa State's players are thugs who play too rough.
He backed up these themes with some the most idiotic commentary I have ever heard. Here's a brief sampling, as I could never list them all:
1) Three minutes into the game, Packer commented on the fact that ISU center Jared Homan, who ranks among the top three Big 12 players in average minutes played, was CLEARLY (not just tired, but) EXHAUSTED.
2) When analyzing a side-by-side chart of three point percentage for both teams, Packer commented that ISU was clearly hurt by its lack of ability to make shots from beyond the arc. Never mind, of course, that the Cyclones were actually shooting a higher percentage from three-point range than the Tar Heels, which could be easily understood if one actually read the graphic.
3) At one point during the second half, Packer began blathering on pointlessly about something that had to do with former ISU assistant basketball coach (from the 1980s) Steve Krafcicin. Who the hell knows why.
4) When going up for a layup in the second half, Cyclone guard Curtis Stinson stuck his elbow out a bit to draw contact, which Packer essentially labeled reprehensible. He proceeded to launch into a 10-minute diatribe about ISU's disgusting rough play (that's how we do it in the Big 12, jerk).
5) Along those same lines, when a foul was called after Cyclone Will Blalock kind of bumped Tar Heel guard Raymond Felton and Felton slid onto the court, Packer freaked out, attempting to imply that somehow Blalock's foul was some sort of thugtastic cheap-shot, and said UNC coach Roy Williams should really take Felton out of the game now before he got hurt. Never mind that the Heels only held a 13-point lead at the time. Packer had apparently forgotten to even look at the score. Even Nantz couldn't ignore that one, responding: "Um...well, Iowa State is kind of making a run and are only down 13, Billy."
UGH!
6) Perhaps the most hilarious (by hilarious I mean "so ridiculous that you can't even really get mad but instead just laugh") comment of the day came when he was attempting to console ISU fans. "Well, ISU might not get to St. Louis in basketball," he said, "but they got there in wrestling, and won their third-straight team title with five individual champions!"
Well, um...actually. OKLAHOMA State was the team that won its third national wrestling title, you moron. And thanks for reminding ISU fans of our poor performance in the national wrestling tourney, in which we placed 10th (lower than usual and much lower than expected) with NO individual champs. But thanks, anyway, you pittsnoggling asshat.
Go, Mississippi State. At least Packer can stop smooching Duke's butt if the Bulldogs knock them out.
