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CBS suggested Texas A&M was wronged, but viewers were misled(Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) DALLAS _ Anyone who has watched the opening six days of the NCAA Tournament knows who is directing CBS' coverage. It has to be Joe "just the facts, ma'am" Friday. There are basic camera angles, no shtick, no sideline reporters and largely pedestrian analysis. It reminds of the nuts-and-bolts international communal feeds supplied to networks around the world for fringe Olympic sports such as rowing. (Personal aside: The play-by-play voices have been outstanding, particularly the two senior citizens. At age 72, Dick Enberg is gold, and Verne Lundquist, 66, is as entertaining a listen as ever.) In CBS' defense, the network is constantly juggling games, often switching breathlessly from one to the next. Networks are often criticized for disregarding the basics, missing game action in favor of some sort of silly crowd reaction. There has been none of that. But now we come to the final 3.1 seconds of Texas A&M's one-point loss to Memphis in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night. After much discussion among the officials who put a stopwatch to CBS' replay, the game clock was readjusted to 2.0 seconds following a mishandled A&M inbounds pass that bounced out off a Memphis player. A&M lost a precious 1.1 seconds it needed to get off a shot that could have saved it from a 65-64 loss. At courtside, Lundquist and analyst Bill Raftery speculated that tenths of a second had been lost. They offered this exchange, which sounded an awful lot like they were taking the officials to task: "How do you find 1.1 seconds to take off the clock?" said one. "I agree with you wholeheartedly," the other answered. Soon after Dominique Kirk's desperation final shot from just inside half court fell well short, studio analyst Seth Davis said it "befuddles me" how the referees could chop so much time off the clock. Studio anchor Greg Gumbel pointed out that the ball had bounced on the court to eat up some clock, but it was hardly a definitive rebuttal. And that was the end of the story. CBS was off to another game. A&M fans who watched and listened had a right to be upset. They were steered to an unfortunate conclusion by the broadcast. Turns out, however, that the officials were correct. They explained themselves after the game. A&M coach Billy Gillispie had no gripe. On Friday morning, Raftery was on ESPN radio giving a detailed explanation of why 1.1 seconds had been chopped off the clock. Problem is that the explanation came too late. When a game ends as Memphis-A&M did on what network announcers believe was a bad call, it should be incumbent on the broadcast to clear the air before signing off. Stay awhile. Finish telling the story. It's the least a network can do for its audience. ___ Hot seat Nancy Lieberman College basketball analyst Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman will work the NCAA women's regional at Reunion Arena on Sunday and Tuesday for ESPN2. Georgia-Purdue is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m., followed by North Carolina-George Washington. Dallas' Lieberman and Rebecca Lobo, a former star for the University of Connecticut and the WNBA's New York Liberty, will supply the analysis. Mark Jones will call the play-by-play. With the NCAA men's tournament getting so much attention, might there be a better time of the year for the women to play their season and their tournament? No, this is basketball season. No matter where we went, we would have competition. This is America and we're consumed with sports. We've moved our tournament games to times they don't compete with the men. ESPN is showing every game of the tournament. Remember, we're still 50 years behind the guys in getting started. We're still growing our game. Time is our greatest ally. Who's your pick to win in Dallas? I'm sticking with the No. 1 seed. I think North Carolina has it all. They have a superstar in Ivory Latta, they don't have any weaknesses inside or out and they are athletic. In Sylvia Hatchell, they also have a coach who has won a national championship. That's a great combination. If you were running the search for a new coach at Texas, who would be your top candidate? I would call (Duke coach) Gail Goestenkors' cellphone until she answered or it blew up. She's excellent. Not only that, she would understand the tradition and legacy of sports at the university; she would continue to build on a great foundation. She is a wonderful coach who would work perfectly with Mack Brown and Rick Barnes. Do you ever think about coaching college basketball? I'm approached every year about my availability, and that's all I'll say on the subject. I'm happy in my seat with ESPN. Do you think that with you and the 6-4 Rebecca Lobo, you could win a 3-on-3 tournament for all NCAA broadcasters even if you have to carry Mark Jones? Believe me, I'd like our chances. ___ Befitting a dynasty It has been 32 seasons since John Wooden's UCLA Bruins last won an NCAA men's basketball championship, but he remains the most fascinating personality in the history of the college game. Monday night, HBO examines the legacy that Wooden built in a masterful documentary simply titled UCLA Dynasty. For those not quite up on their college basketball history, Wooden's UCLA teams won 10 national championships in the dozen seasons from 1964 to 1975. He won with small teams. He won with Lew Alcindor. He won with Bill Walton. His last game before retiring was the `75 national championship victory over Kentucky. In its inimitable style, HBO has produced a 60-minute classic on the life and times of Wooden's Bruins in an era of civil and political turmoil spurred by race riots and an unpopular war in Vietnam. Wooden preached a fundamental style of basketball that relied on tenacious defense and fast-break offense. He left nothing to chance. He even taught his players a disciplined way to put on their socks. "We really had no idea what he was teaching us," Walton told the HBO cameras. "We thought he was crazy." While UCLA Dynasty is a predominantly loving look at Wooden's basketball genius, it does not ignore the actions of an overzealous booster who took care of Bruins players. At best, Wooden, who cooperated with the production, appears guilty of simply turning a blind eye to the shenanigans. On Monday, Wooden, 96, attended a celebrity-laced public screening of the documentary in a theater just off the UCLA campus in Westwood. He was so overwhelmed by the overall positive tenor of the documentary that when he addressed the audience afterward, he broke down and cried. ___ (c) 2007, The Dallas Morning News. Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. Copyright 2007 The Dallas Morning News |