David Letterman isn't exactly known as a company man, but he's happy to promote CBS's coverage of the NCAA Tournament with a top 10 list:
The great thing about Letterman is that he can take something as obvious and seemingly overdone as the spelling of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's name and make it into a funny punch line.
Speedo Guy III came and went in the UNC-Duke rivalry ... and hopefully he will never come back.
ESPN spent all day on its family of networks showing a feature on the original Speedo Guy. He was a Duke grad student who, back in 2003, stripped down to his skivvies and danced while UNC's Jackie Manuel shot (and missed) two free throws.
ESPN thought it'd be neat to do a feature on his which saw Speedo Guy (who is now a minister), Jackie Manuel and Mike Krzyzewski (who said that no one should ever do that again) discussing the incident. No one listened because Speedo Guy II appeared in 2005 while UNC's Marvin Williams shot (and missed) two free throws.
ESPN's Reece Davis noted that UNC has missed all free throws that Speedo Guy has danced to. Trap set. As you can see in the video above, the bait was taken.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption today, and he had some interesting thoughts about his mentor, Bob Knight, who resigned -- but didn't retire -- this season:
"I still don't think he's through with coaching," Krzyzewski said. "I think he'll come back -- not that he's told me that, but he loves the game so much."
I think he'll return to coaching, too, but it's odd to think of Knight as someone who "loves the game so much," just because he never seems happy when he's in the process of coaching.
Krzyzewski also said he hopes Knight, in his work as an ESPN analyst during March Madness, spends time actually teaching the viewers about the game and its history. I'd love to see that, but I'd love it even more if Knight would answer legitimate questions from his co-workers.
A lot of college basketball fans think that ESPN is far too favorable toward North Carolina and, especially, Duke, on its college basketball broadcasts. Dick Vitale, in particular, draws criticism for treating Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski as though he's not just the greatest coach in human history but the greatest man in human history.
Last week's Duke-North Carolina game drew a 2.1 cable rating for ESPN, making it ESPN's highest-rated regular season college basketball game in more than a year. And that high rating was despite having the game blacked out on ESPN in most of ACC country.
The last time ESPN did better than a 2.1 rating for regular season college hoops, it was also a North Carolina game, against Ohio State in November of 2006. Fans of Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, SEC and Pac 10 teams may not like it, but as long as the ACC delivers the biggest ratings, the ACC's top teams will be on TV more than Leave it to Beaver reruns.
Around the country, fans will see the return of ESPN's Dick Vitale to announcing when Duke takes on North Carolina on Wednesday. Either you are excited to see him back ... or a bit bent that you have to hear all that pent up emotion just waiting to explode. The fact that he will be paired up with Mike Patrick might just make you want to watch the game with the sound off.
Maybe you rather be in ACC country? In ACC markets, the game will be carried by Raycom sports ... who will have Tim Brando (of "the iron unkind" fame) and Billy Packer calling the game. In those markets, ESPN's coverage will be blacked out and ESPNews will be shown instead. No Vitale for you!
Who would you rather listen to: Dickie V waxing poetic about Duke, Michaelangelo (aka, Dean Smith) and the rivalry? Or Billy Packer ... who hates everything?
Kudos to Awful Announcing for this video, demonstrating the ridiculous flops from Duke point guard Greg Paulus against Florida State:
But even more ridiculous than Paulus was the reaction from ESPN's Mike Patrick, who acted as if Florida State had put out a hit on Paulus. Apparently ESPN hasn't issued Patrick his BS detector.
A scope and analysis of Vitale's throat by Dr. Steven Zeitels in Boston revealed that the broadcaster has recovered sufficiently after the removal of the non-cancerous lesions.
"I was in tears when he asked me to speak my first words since the surgery," Vitale wrote in a letter to fans. "Believe me, it was very difficult to go 3½ weeks without speaking! When he had me count to 10, I was so relieved."
It seems a fitting comeback game for Vitale, who is mocked as "Dookie V" and also glowing of North Carolina to return to action. He does most of the UNC-Duke games over the years and has been part of some of the most memorable calls in this memorable series.
It's been pretty evident for the past half century or so now that Duke University doesn't really care about their football program, or the fact that they have steadily become what is possibly the worst "BCS League" program in the country. It hasn't been anything blatant, but just a steady neglect that has slowly rotted away the foundation of what used to be a proud and successful program. Duke basketball is obviously the lifeblood of the athletic department and the top dog in the school's sports food chain. It's going to draw the attention of all the fans and the vast majority of the media coverage (seriously - can you remember the last time you read a Duke football story other than "look at Duke's football team, aren't they terrible"?).
This weekend though, Coach K made the irrelevance of the football team as clear as it could be when Duke's annual Blue v. White basketball scrimmage was played in an overlapping time slot with Duke football's visit to Florida State. Even Duke fans thought this was a bit much, as it would have been very easy for the basketball team to play earlier in the day (the scrimmage had originally been scheduled for 1pm and was later bumped to 7pm) and not force fans to choose between hoops and pigskin. Look, I know the vast majority of the fans didn't care and wouldn't have watched, but at least the athletic department and the basketball coaching staff could have pretended that football mattered in the slightest bit. Instead, it's just another step by Coach K and Duke athletic director Joe Alleva that makes it more than clear that the only reason Duke football still exists even in it's abortive form is because the ACC won't allow membership without it.
(biggest surprise out of all of this ... Duke has football fans, and they are pissed!)
A lot of college basketball fans think that ESPN is far too favorable toward North Carolina and, especially, Duke, on its college basketball broadcasts. 
Around the country, fans will see the return of ESPN's 
ESPN's 
It's been pretty evident for the past half century or so now that 
