The biggest portion of the latest offering from George Solomon is all about defending Dick Vitale, while not really mentioning any specific complaint. The rest of the column is about Colin Cowherd’s theft, ESPN’s involvement with Barry Bonds, etc… but the biggest part of it seems to just be, “Hey, leave Dick Vitale the fuck alone, alright?” The Ombudsman’s inbox must be about 45% Vitale hatred.
But, just for the record, the Ombudsman is OK with Vitale, and… while I do kinda loathe seeing the man on TV, I was thinking today… you know, it wouldn’t be right to rail against Dick Vitale and not say anything about any number of other sucky ESPN college basketball commentators… Digger Phelps and Steve Lavin, for instance.
Phelps in particular… the next time he says something that truly helps me learn about basketball will be the first time. He, like Lavin, was hired as a commentator, and then stopped thinking like a coach and started thinking like a TV person. I hate that. Now, Rick Majerus, say what you want about the man… but he gives you all he knows. He may fuck up someone’s name, he may have some odd little peccadillos, but… if there’s something he can share with you, he does, if he thinks you’re going to understand it or not. Steve Lavin just wants to say “apple turnovers” and remind you that he used to coach UCLA.
My point is just that… you know, Dick Vitale is louder than anyone else, but I don’t think he’s necessarily worse. His passion for the game is real… that’s not a small thing. When’s the last time you saw Digger Phelps get passionate about anything that wasn’t a highlighter? I don’t intend to compliment Vitale, necessarily, but… I just think we should remember to skewer some others along with him. It’s only fair.
Insomniac
Actually, Steve Lavin thought like a TV commentator while he was coach of the Bruins, which is why his players knew less about basketball after a few years with him than they did coming out of high school.
April 5, 2006 at 12:38 am
Brian
Seriously, if the Lavatory knew something about basketball, he’d still be coaching.
April 5, 2006 at 4:55 am
Rob
I dislike Vitale because he has become a caricature of himself. He’s too busy being “Dick V bay-BEE!!” to actually add anything to a game.
It’s like a porno star spending more time fellating themself then giving me any insight into Peter North’s ass ramming ability in a crucial Final Fourway.
And what does it say about the worldwide sports leader that most of its commentators suck?
April 5, 2006 at 7:19 am
Dave's Football Blog
“Odd little peccadillos?” Majerus told the world he jerked off to an Ashley Judd movie. I don’t need to hear that during the game.
April 5, 2006 at 10:53 am
Adam
Lavin is pretty bad, and Phelps is even worse but they both have a LONG ways to go before they reach the annoyance level of Dick Vitale. I watch mostly Big Ten games so I see Lavin a lot more than either of the other two, and while he’s kinda irritating, he’s pretty harmless and you can mostly ignore him; it’s impossible to ignore Vitale.
April 5, 2006 at 10:54 am
ddray
I can’t stand Digger Phelps’s aggressive-passive assertions that he makes doing his commentary. For example, “The Connecticut Men’s Team is the most dominant team in the country. Why?” Or, “They play like a team is supposed to. What?”
I swear, the man answers more of his own rhetorical questions than I’ve ever seen. What’s worse is that the questions after his assertions sometimes don’t match up with what he was saying. “Why” appears behind a statement that should be “Who.” Who does this guy think he is? It’s no wonder he’s not doing color commentary at a live game because he would try to do both the play-by-play and color parts. He’s the set-up and the punchline, except he does it backwards.
Digger Phelps is the most indolent commentator in sports today. Who? Why? What, What?…
April 5, 2006 at 2:22 pm
madtownman
What the hell is wrong with you guys. Talkin shit on dicky V is sad because its too easy. He brings national attention to teams who don’t get much wether you like it or not. He is a face of college basketball and brings in extra money to schools and promotes various charities. Plus he loves the great Wisconsin Badgers. I’m glad he doesn’t listen to assmunchers like you.
December 17, 2006 at 5:20 pm