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Former Dukesters get a deserved shoutout as basketball analysts
(March 18, 2010) -- Don't blink an eyelash or March Madness will have come and gone. Sunday, March 14, 2010, from 1 p.m. until bedtime, was a true college basketballer's day -- especially if, like me, you are a Duke fan.
First off, the Blue Devils added another Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title (nine out of the last 12 -- to be specific) by defeating Georgia Tech in the championship game. Then, at 6:01.30 p.m., came a mild jolt -- Duke was chosen as a No. 1 seed, but was placed in the South Bracket instead of the expected West Bracket (which went to Syracuse). Kansas is the top seed in the Midwest and Kentucky the same in the East. Most bracketologists had pegged either Duke, West Virginia or Ohio State as the fourth No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. To me, it was a pleasant surprise -- and well-deserved for the Blue Devils.
With brackets filled out, let the games begin.
SOME OVERVIEWS -- AND PERSONAL OPINIONS
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I would like to offer a couple of shoutouts to a pair of former Duke basketball stars -- Jay Bilas and Mike Gminski, who now announce games that sometimes involve their alma mater.
Bilas, who was a four-year starter for Coach Mike Krzyzewski from 1983-86, is now an analyst with ESPN. He is so on target with his with his comments -- and displays no bias toward Duke. Bilas, Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie and David Henderson lifted Duke into the national limelight. His senior year, Duke reached the national championship game, losing to Louisville by three points. As an assistant coach with Krzyzewski, he was on hand when Duke won back-to-back national titles in 1991 and 1992. Although drafted by the Dallas Mavericks for NBA play, Bilas' professional basketball career was spent in Italy and Spain. He joined ESPN in 1995 and is one of my favorites -- along with Bob Knight -- who are knowledgeable about the game and are not flamboyant scene stealers.
The G-man, as he was called during his four years at Duke (1977-1980), is a Fox Sports and Raycom analyst. Like Bilas, Gminski shows no partiality to Duke. He knows his ACC basketball teams and is a formidable analyst in any arena. He and Tim Brant called the ACC championship game.
At Duke, Gminski was "The Main Man" under the basket. After playing his final game for the Blue Devils, the G-man held the record for the most points (2,323), most rebounds (1,242) and most blocks (345). He played in the 1978 national championship, but Duke lost to Kentucky. He was drafted by the New York Nets, where he played from 1981-88; and played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets and finished his career in 1994 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Not too long ago I told a fellow Panther buddy that if Carolina could just find themselves a quarterback we could see them in another Super Bowl. Well, Jake Delhomme is out (but recently signed by the Cleveland Browns) as QB. Now look what has happened. Key players are being cut or are signing with other teams. It'll be like starting all over when the NFL season picks up in September.
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The USA Network has started to challenge ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC -- especially in the 10 p.m. time slot. "Burn Notice" has been up against "The Mentalist" on CBS and "Psych" has been opposite "CSI: New York," also on CBS. Now, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will challenge "The Good Wife" on CBS this month and when "In Plain Sight" returns in June, it will be in the 10 p.m. Wednesday slot against "CSI: New York" reruns. The good news is that USA repeats the shows often enough to catch them later on -- or they can be recorded for later viewing -- if, like me, you lean toward watching CBS' procedural dramas.
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Meanwhile, CBS (the No. 1 network) continues a self-destruction path by hinting that "Numb3rs" will not be renewed for the 2010-11 season. "Numb3rs" could join "The Eleventh Hour" and "Without a Trace" on the cutting board. For those of us who are home on a Friday night, "Numb3rs" is an exceptional, character-driven drama that keeps viewers coming back for more about the Epps family.
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The television promos for "Shutter Island," starring Leonard DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo and directed by Martin Scorsese, sold me on seeing the flick on the wide screen. What a disappointment. The previews led me to believe that "Shutter Island" was going to be a scary movie with a Scorsese flourish. I was misled by the previews and watched an entirely different movie -- one that could've been given four stars if I had known it wasn't in the horror genre.
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Rumors are circulating that MBMC is going to cancel elbertreble because of low readership. MBMC officials categorically deny such a rumor. Therefore, I am not going to ask readers for a write-in campaign (see below if you feel inspired -- or angered) to save elbertreble.
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