I know Dick Vitale loves all things Duke, but that doesn't mean he has to dismiss how Butler got to the final game of the NCAA Tournament. Which is exactly what he did.
Following the Duke victory, Dick was talking about the match-up, but managed to damn Butler with faint praise--I'm paraphrasing, but it went something like this--"Butler--it's a heck of a story. They beat Syracuse, who was without Onuaku, and then they beat a Michigan State without Kalin Lucas!"
That's funny, for any number of reasons. I like to list them just to drive me extra crazy.
1. Syracuse had run through the field without Onauku up until that point, including a pretty impressive destruction of a good basketball team in Gonzaga.
2. Michigan State beat Tennessee without Kalin Lucas. They also beat Northern Iowa. They also beat Maryland, with Kalin Lucas going out early in that game. So, Michigan State had been pretty formidable without him. Korie Lucious had played well throughout the tournament--after all, they were a Final Four team. And sure, they didn't have to face Kansas or Ohio State or Georgetown, but that's not their fault, and it surely isn't Butler's.
3. Dick apparently forgot all about Butler's win over a 100% healthy, well-regarded Kansas State team. He certainly didn't mention it, when tacitly suggesting that Butler has had an easy road to the Championship.
4. Speaking of pretty easy roads--Duke beat the Arkansas Pine Bluff, California (5 losses in the awful PAC-10), a Robbie Hummel-less Purdue, and maybe got a little help from the officials in knocking off Baylor. I'm not taking anything away from Duke's victories, particularly tonight's, as they have looked impressive. But let's agree that to dismiss Butler for having beaten a #12, a #13, #1, #2, and a #5 to get to the final seems unfair, as Duke has beaten a #16, #9, #4, #3, and #2. That seems comparable and fair to me, and not just a series of lucky breaks for Butler.
5. To summarize: fuck you, Dick Vitale.
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3 comments:
You are not alone in thinking Vitale is a total drip.
In my dad's house, you could always tell when Vitale was announcing a game, because the sound would be off.
When Butler beats Duke, it will be all the sweeter. They're going to run the ol' picket fence!
Let it be known, that the multitude of Duke fans that I know also hate Dickie V. his schtick of loving all things basketball has just become way too tiresome.
Although it is better than Billy Packer's "I hate what is happening in front of me, and, oh, by the way, get off my lawn" schtick.
Billy Packer was put out to pasture 3 years ago, though.
Dick Vitale is, if anything, on TV more than he was 5 years ago.
Don't know if you saw the 30 for 30 about Loyola Marymount back in the day, but they have a quick clip of Dick complaining about how they weren't playing real basketball. He's been wrong and annoying for 20 years, and he's just getting louder and crazier.
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