Billy Packer is an Idiot

Actually, most of CBS' sports department should really be torched so something usefull can be added, like maybe programming covering grass growing and paint drying. It would speak well to their core audience of 95 year olds with severe hearing loss and thick glasses that they keep forgetting to put on. Every year they have the NCAA men's basketball tournament (because they don't spend money for NFL rights they can afford it), and every year they make one of the greatest sporting events in the country (if not the greatest) one of the most painfull viewing experiences I go through. It starts with selection Sunday. I fought hard the urge to grab a large stick and beat my television as I listened to Packer and company bitch about how the big conferences were short changed, and too many mid-majors got in.

Every year deserving teams are left out of the tournament and poorer teams get in. Funny things happen. Does Syracuse deserve a 5 seed? Overall, probably not, but they are playing well, so it kind of makes sense. Should Tennesee be a 2? Should GW be an 8? Probably not and God, no. GW was 26-2. The fewest losses in the country. But they didn't play terribly strong opponents. Still, they should be no lower than 4 (they were ranked 6 before their last loss). This alone is proof that the tournament committee did not overvalue mid-majors. Now, I don't think Air Force deserves to be in the tournament, and Missouri State should probably have gotten thier bid, but Cincy, MD, FSU, CU, and any other major school you want to put in there instead does not deserve to be there. No matter how good a conference is, a team near or under .500, or 5+ games off the leader(s) shouldn't get in. There are some judgement calls to be made, like maybe Seton Hall (+) and Colorado(-), but that's generally a good rule of thumb. The NIT is the place for good schools who couldn't cut it in their own conference; the NCAA is for teams that show up day in, day out. If you are the 7th best team in your conference and incapable of winning the conference tournament then you are NOT the best team in the country and really do not deserve a shot at claiming that. Being competitive game in-game out is not the same as being competitive in a conference. (aside: really, Missouri State is pretty much the only team in the country with a justifiable gripe about not getting in.)

Of course Billy Packer has always been one to suck at the teet of the ACC and Big East, etc. You would think they pay his salary the way he lauds them. His game commentary is typically full of such crap and while a former coach being so clueless is somewhat awe inspiring, he makes the NCAA tournament a painful aggravating experience, and that is very hard to do.