No. 102 may have been Packer's final number

Monday's NCAA title game marked the 102nd Final Four game broadcast by Billy Packer.

It may have also been his last.

That was the word on the street in San Antonio, that the 68-year-old Packer may be either stepping down or yanked down from his long-time CBS analyst chair, to be replaced by a younger presence, say possibly CBS colleague Clark Kellogg.

Packer told the Los Angeles Times' Christine Daniels that, "When I do my game, the last game, the last game will be like the first one. I'll put a headset on, I'll take a headset off. It will be what it is."

Asked by USA Today if this was his last Final Four, Packer replied, "Who knows?"

As for his longevity, Packer said, ""It's something I almost feel bad about, that for so many guys this is their given profession and they worked their tail off and it never paid off for them."

Packer created a mild controversy when he declared that the Kansas-North Carolina semifinal was "over" with Kansas leading 40-12 in the first half, only to have Carolina cut the lead to four points in the second half.

And Packer picked up another critic at the Final Four: David Stern. At a Monday press conference to announce a joint NBA-NCAA initiative to take over summer basketball, Stern was asked why the NBA and the NCAA had not enjoyed a closer relationship. The NBA commissioner put the blame on ex-NCAA head Walter Byars. But then Stern said that had continued with Packer.

"“There was an ongoing feud initiated by Mr. Byers that all things professional should be disassociated from college basketball. As a result, the harmony between our games was disrupted. The last remaining vestige of Mr. Byers’s approach is Billy Packer. He won’t mention a professional player or the N.B.A. in his occasional tirades. The rest of the announcers and the like, the harmony between our games is actually named. They’ll say whether someone is a lottery pick or a pro prospect or not or if someone had a relative that played in the pros. This is one great game, whether it’s a high school component or a pro component. We work together now with all of those various components in a very productive way.”

Links:

• John Ryan says Packer is "gloriously old." [San Jose Mercury News]
• NCAA Tournament Loser: Billy Packer. [San Jose Mercury News]
• Packer set to call 100th Final Four game. [Houston Chronicle]

Comments

[Ralph]

Ding! Dong! Ring the bells! The witch is dead! Packer smells!

I feel like celebrating.

[KyLydia]

Thank God. I can't stand Billy P-ACC-ker

[JTapp]

This is the best news I've heard all week! I hope CBS has the guts to yank him because I doubt he'll ever step down.

[John Clay]

Those of you celebrating, it's a little premature yet. Nothing set in stone. Nothing official. But that was the rumor in San Antonio.

[Danny Pearson]

Though on occasion I disagree with him, I've always thought that Packer was one of the best analysts. I think that too many people equate a good announcer with being a "homer" for your team. Do I think he talks about the ACC too much, yes. But I would take his style over Dickie the Shill any day.

[Ralph]

My main beef with Packer is that he never has a kind word for anybody or anything unless it's forced on him.
It's always, "he did this wrong", or "that's just bad", or "he's being outplayed". They may be correct statements but he always delivers them the worst possible way an announcer should.

I like to think of Packer as the anti-Vitale, they're both iconic, larger-than-life hoops figures that rub people the wrong way, but one(Vitale) is constantly saying kind things. He's always trying to make coaches, players, media, and fans feel good(all of them, lol). Packer, on the other hand, uses his platform to try and make people feel inferior to him and his ideals. IMO.

[R.C. Hatter]

If Packer is gone, thank God & Greyhound! The man never had a good word about Kentucky, or much of anyone else, except the ACC, in his whole tenure. He really needs replacing!