Vitale Defends Duke....

[merlyn316]

espn.go.com/dickvitale/vcolumn050422-CoachK.html

I read these boards a lot and wonder why there is such angst against the ACC and, in particular, Duke. I know they get a lot of coverage and analysts kiss up to them hard core....but the conference is good. I just let it go and focus on our beloved Big East.

However, this article SHOCKED me... Why did Duke Vitale feel the need to defend Coach K and A-Rod? Does he play for either team? (some may say he does play for duke...) What is his interest in defending K? Doesnt it KILL his objectivity as a "sports" analyst?

My Favorite part is:

"If you're a success, you draw people like American Express. Here's what gives Coach K an edge: 10 Final Fours, three national titles, six ACC tournament championships in seven years, no NCAA investigations. Yes, the man is desirable by the marketing gurus of the world. "

Well...the players are successes too, arent they? Why cant they get an American Express commercial after winning a national championship??

Well...I think that article pushed me over the edge.

[JimmyHoya]

I whole heartedly agree.

Dickie V gots it right.

People need to pull their heads out of the sand and wake up--no matter you may think about Coach K or his teams, his program is THE definitive college basketball program and it has been for awhile.

*prepares for endless, super biased moaning*

You all need to step back from your perches on the hilltop and look at things realisticly.

[SirSaxa]

JT-Pops got a few national ads too, back in the day.
Success breeds success.
Good for Coach K. Who cares.

I am only interested in JT3 and how well he is rebuilding our HOYAS!

[SoCalHoya]

JT made me want to buy Nike. Coach K makes me want to avoid American Express.

[Loyal Hoya]

dog bites man...

[Eurostar]

the problem for me is that it seems every offseason, vitale finds a way to bring up duke into every story he is reporting on. i looked at this article and i thought it was written last year at this time. so i looked back and found his annual summer "why are people bashing duke?" article from last year:

espn.go.com/dickvitale/vcolumn040609Duke.html

also same picture of Coach K used.. vitale must like that one

[Cambridge]

I won't go into my argument again, but I'll summerize.

A) It was the quiet period in recruiting where no contact is allowed with any recruit whatsoever. None. Nada. Niente. Sorry, but even if he did so inadvertantly, he broke that rule and should be sanctioned accordingly.

B) The commercial had nothing to do with American Express and was a huge plug for Coach K and Duke University.

C) It ran during the NCAA tournament, the one time you are certain that those interested in college basketball, including recruits, are glued to the television. Not to mention there was a second commercial featuring him where he drove a car toward March Madness...So two of the oft repeted commercials featured a coach who's team had already been eliminated.

D) Who cares if Duke is the preeminent college basketball program? Does that mean that whatever team is the best in every league should get an unfair advantage in recruiting new talent beyond their own reputation?

E) I agree that Duke's winning tradition is it's main selling point, but I would seriously doubt they are the winningest team since 2000. If anything they are a fading star bouyed only by media hype. As our glory spanned the 1980s and early 90s. Their glory spanned the 1990s...but has not burned so brightly in the 00s. The torch has been passed. I'd have to say, despite how it pains me, that the preeminent team so far this decade is the UConn Huskies and I didn't see a commercial for American Express featuring Calhoun.

[the_way]

CambridgeHoya said:

I won't go into my argument again, but I'll summerize.

A) It was the quiet period in recruiting where no contact is allowed with any recruit whatsoever. None. Nada. Niente. Sorry, but even if he did so inadvertantly, he broke that rule and should be sanctioned accordingly.

B) The commercial had nothing to do with American Express and was a huge plug for Coach K and Duke University.

C) It ran during the NCAA tournament, the one time you are certain that those interested in college basketball, including recruits, are glued to the television. Not to mention there was a second commercial featuring him where he drove a car toward March Madness...So two of the oft repeted commercials featured a coach who's team had already been eliminated.

D) Who cares if Duke is the preeminent college basketball program? Does that mean that whatever team is the best in every league should get an unfair advantage in recruiting new talent beyond their own reputation?

E) I agree that Duke's winning tradition is it's main selling point, but I would seriously doubt they are the winningest team since 2000. If anything they are a fading star bouyed only by media hype. As our glory spanned the 1980s and early 90s. Their glory spanned the 1990s...but has not burned so brightly in the 00s. The torch has been passed. I'd have to say, despite how it pains me, that the preeminent team so far this decade is the UConn Huskies and I didn't see a commercial for American Express featuring Calhoun.

Oh please! UCONN is not the preeminent program. Don't be fooled by Calhoun and his insecure thuggish ways. He would like the world to think that. Calhoun is a wannabe,who yearns to be the "Don of Big East basketball", but he isn't and never will be. That is JT2's legacy. Who has been to more final fours in the 2000's, Duke or UCONN. If UCONN's 2003 team, which demolished eventual National Champ Syracuse in the Big East Tournament and in Storrs, did what they were suppose to do in the NCAA tournament instead of losing to Texas, and if UCONN's 2002 led by Caron Butler had beaten Maryland that year to get to the Final Four, then maybe I would say that. But still, to say UCONN is a the leading program in America is dumbfounding. Could you imagine Jim Clahoun IN a commericial.I don't know if the thug could go 30 seconds without dropping an F-bomb. And what would he say in the commercial: "If you want to be $22,000 richer, come to my school."

[SSHoya]

No NCAA investigation: Dan Wetzel from a year ago:

April 1997 to August 1997: Kansas City summer basketball coach Myron Piggie makes cash payments to high school player Corey Maggette totaling $2,000. The money comes from a revenue pool that includes donations to Piggie from professional sports agents Kevin Poston and Jerome Stanley.

Nov. 12, 1997: Maggette signs a national letter of intent with Duke.

October 1998 to March 1999: Maggette averages 10.6 points per game to help Duke (37-2) reach the national championship game, which Duke loses to Connecticut.

June 30, 1999: Maggette is selected 13th in the NBA draft.

April 13, 2000: A federal grand jury in Missouri hands down an 11-count indictment of Piggie, which details the payments to Maggette (along with players at three other schools). By NCAA statutes the payments compromise Maggette's amateur status. Maggette initially denies receiving any money.

April 18, 2000: The NCAA's Jane Jankowski says: "We will have to determine if Duke, in fact, had an ineligible player in the NCAA tournament. And, if so, what monies would have to be returned for use of an ineligible player."

May 23, 2000: Piggie works a plea bargain and admits making the payments.

July 12, 2000: Maggette comes clean and admits he received the cash from Piggie.

Spring 2001: Duke hands over all its information to the NCAA, according to John Burness, Duke's senior vice president for public affairs.

May 30, 2001: Piggie is sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for fraud.

January 2003: Piggie is paroled from federal prison in Arkansas.

As for the NCAA ruling, it's been nearly four years since all pertinent information was admitted under oath, four years after the NCAA vowed to "determine" if Duke violated eligibility standards and three years after the school presented its defense.

"We don't have any information on that," NCAA spokesperson Monica Lunderman said Tuesday. The NCAA does not provide comment concerning "ongoing investigations."

But what they could still be investigating is unclear. There appears to be nothing else to find. Everyone long ago admitted everything. If there is any movement on the case, Duke administrators are unaware.

"We have not heard anything official for the past year," Burness said Tuesday.

So the case is what, fully investigated but never to be ruled on? The NCAA hoping it just fades away, forgotten?

[rccoleon]

very interesting post on magettee. for some reason i dont think that duke was involved as much as i hate coach K. i just dont think he has to do much to get the studs to come play for him. it is interesting that it has been four years. i think your second question is the right one, that the ncaa is hoping that this just gets forgotten. dont think this would happen to a Pittsburgh, or say a Oklahoma. very few programs would get this kind of treatment. granted the NCAA often takes a long time to make their decisions but four years? come on.

[SSHoya]

One would think that Duke would want a resolution to the whole issue to demonstrate its hands are clean.

Wonder what Junior Feinstein thinks of it?

[Cambridge]

the_way said:

I don't know if the thug could go 30 seconds without dropping an F-bomb. And what would he say in the commercial: "If you want to be $22,000 richer, come to my school."

Despite your claims, it is COACH K who is notoriously profane.

As for your second claim...Myron Piggie

[Cambridge]

the_way said:

Oh please! UCONN is not the preeminent program. Don't be fooled by Calhoun and his insecure thuggish ways. He would like the world to think that. Calhoun is a wannabe,who yearns to be the "Don of Big East basketball", but he isn't and never will be. That is JT2's legacy. Who has been to more final fours in the 2000's, Duke or UCONN. If UCONN's 2003 team, which demolished eventual National Champ Syracuse in the Big East Tournament and in Storrs, did what they were suppose to do in the NCAA tournament instead of losing to Texas, and if UCONN's 2002 led by Caron Butler had beaten Maryland that year to get to the Final Four, then maybe I would say that. But still, to say UCONN is a the leading program in America is dumbfounding. Could you imagine Jim Clahoun IN a commericial.I don't know if the thug could go 30 seconds without dropping an F-bomb. And what would he say in the commercial: "If you want to be $22,000 richer, come to my school."

While this is one of the most incomprehendible posts I've ever read, I'll say this for Calhoun, he is the residing Dean of the Big East...but only because JTII retired. Who is the Dean if not him? Coach McGoo? No other active coach in the Big East has the track record of developing talent and winning national championships. His creation of a national superpower basketball program is not as impressive as JTII's work at GU -- due to financial differences between state/private, politcal considerations, racial considerations, etc -- but it is none the less very, very impressive.

[CAHoya07]

JimmyHoya said:

People need to pull their heads out of the sand and wake up--no matter you may think about Coach K or his teams, his program is THE definitive college basketball program and it has been for awhile.

Fine, I'll admit, Duke is probably the best college basketball program in the country, based on consistently being ranked in the top 5, getting top recruits, garnering a large and vocal fanbase, and being "clean" without any NCAA violations.

That does not, however, mean I have to like them. And that does not mean I have to accept without scorn excessive pandering to their program, their coach, and their conference.

[showcase]

As I recall, the NCAA came out just days after that Wetzel column and exonerated Dook.

That said, it's still an investigation, and Dookie V is still an annoying Dook apologist.

[showcase]

Case & point from that Vitale column from a year ago that MinionHoya linked above:

Up front, you can rest assured that Shavlik Randolph will be much improved after a solid sophomore campaign. He had some good moments during the NCAA Tournament. He can contribute more in 2004-05 and be the kind of player many are projecting him to be.

[/size][/i]

www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/roll.gif [/img]

For those jumping for joy, predicting gloom and doom for the Blue Devils -- like those who are anti-Yankees or anti-Notre Dame football -- think again. There is something about teams and programs that win on a consistent basis ... some fans want to see those champions fail.

But Coach K and his outstanding staff of Johnny Dawkins, Steve Wojciechowski and Chris Collins won't allow it to happen.

Duke will be physically, mentally and emotionally prepared for battle. This program will play at an incredible level night in and night out to prove those critics wrong. That's Coach K at his best.

[/size][/i]

Excellent find, MinionHoya, excellent find.

[RDF]

I'm numb to the QUEERNESS that is Vitale and his Duke obsession--it's beyond odd and is behavior of a schoolboy who has a crush on people who have been something he never has been--successful in the game of basketball. This same behavior will be directed to someone else the minute RatBoy leaves Durham and the "next big time coach" arrives-be it in Big 10, Big East, etc......

I take more issue with his defense of A-Rotten. As a Yankee fan, I despise this guy as a player, and phony. I applaud and agree with the Red Sox opinions on him and not only do I expect more misery with A-Rotten on Yanks, I think Steinbrenner got what he deserved for pushing for a team that is exact opposite of the teams that brought entertaining baseball to Yankee fans for numerous seasons. I'd rather see Jason Giambi's funeral than watch him play baseball--he's a phony piece of scum as well. A-Rotten is getting the "big stage" he cried for and as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. His bragging about doing the things that ALL Professional Athletes do (working out in offseason, etc...) and his lack of composure is why he's such a butt-clown. The guy really doesn't know a thing about being a Champion and maybe he and Giambi should produce something before trying to be the official "spokespeople" for the team.

My Yankee math is simple: A-Rotten + Worm (Giambi)= a hateable, losing team.

Best thing for Yankees would be finishing 3rd/4th in AL East and showing Steinbrenner you build a team from Farm System and use it to trade for parts, not buying Free Agents who are overrated and cheat--as the Worm did in Oakland. Guy goes from 170 lb slap hitting dork at Long Beach State to the Incredible Hulk. Hmmm... and people just figured out he was using Roids?

Sorry for baseball talk here, but Vitale's man crush on A-Rotten brought this on. Vitale and A-Rotten both suck and deserve each other.

[Cambridge]

RDF said:

I'm numb to the QUEERNESS that is Vitale and his Duke obsession--it's beyond odd and is behavior of a schoolboy who has a crush on people who have been something he never has been--successful in the game of basketball. This same behavior will be directed to someone else the minute RatBoy leaves Durham and the "next big time coach" arrives-be it in Big 10, Big East, etc......

I take more issue with his defense of A-Rotten. As a Yankee fan, I despise this guy as a player, and phony. I applaud and agree with the Red Sox opinions on him and not only do I expect more misery with A-Rotten on Yanks, I think Steinbrenner got what he deserved for pushing for a team that is exact opposite of the teams that brought entertaining baseball to Yankee fans for numerous seasons. I'd rather see Jason Giambi's funeral than watch him play baseball--he's a phony piece of scum as well. A-Rotten is getting the "big stage" he cried for and as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. His bragging about doing the things that ALL Professional Athletes do (working out in offseason, etc...) and his lack of composure is why he's such a butt-clown. The guy really doesn't know a thing about being a Champion and maybe he and Giambi should produce something before trying to be the official "spokespeople" for the team.

My Yankee math is simple: A-Rotten + Worm (Giambi)= a hateable, losing team.

Best thing for Yankees would be finishing 3rd/4th in AL East and showing Steinbrenner you build a team from Farm System and use it to trade for parts, not buying Free Agents who are overrated and cheat--as the Worm did in Oakland. Guy goes from 170 lb slap hitting dork at Long Beach State to the Incredible Hulk. Hmmm... and people just figured out he was using Roids?

Sorry for baseball talk here, but Vitale's man crush on A-Rotten brought this on. Vitale and A-Rotten both suck and deserve each other.

I wasn't going to get into the A-Rod and Giambi thing...but, actually I think you said it even better than any Red Sox fan ever could.

The funny thing is that you've become everything that always seemed to prevent us from winning a world series. It wasn't a curse. Not at all. It was our fondness for/reliance on big swinging, slow moving sluggers who could knock runs in by the bucketload when home at Fenway but struggled when it came to the playoffs -- where pitching and character were the lynchpins to success. Worst of all, often those Sox were pretty crummy guys and no one seemed to get along with anyone else on the team...and this was a reflection of perhaps the most corrupt and evil ownerships in all of sports -- The Yawkees. UGGG. I shudder thinking about those racist bastards. Anyways, my point is, we were always jealous of the class and pitching that the Yankees symbolized. We just could never measure up. Sure, they had batters too...obviously...but it was their pitching and well, they just had "it" -- that nameless quality of Tom Brady, Derek Jeter and others -- that seems to always position them at the right place at the right time, that made balls bounce the right way, etc that drove us crazy. This crew doesn't have it, and A-Rod is the posterchild.

[the_way]

CambridgeHoya said:

While this is one of the most incomprehendible posts I've ever read, I'll say this for Calhoun, he is the residing Dean of the Big East...but only because JTII retired. Who is the Dean if not him? Coach McGoo? No other active coach in the Big East has the track record of developing talent and winning national championships. His creation of a national superpower basketball program is not as impressive as JTII's work at GU -- due to financial differences between state/private, politcal considerations, racial considerations, etc -- but it is none the less very, very impressive.

Are you a UCONN fan? Who has UCONN developed. Hamilton, Butler, Okafor, Donyell Marshall, and Allen were great players coming out of high school. What kind of development did he do,but give money under the table. McGoo has senority and he gives credit where credit is due. McGoo has said back in the late 80's JT2 was the best coach in the country. McGoo has said that coaching in the Big East of old is better then coaching the new Big East because of coaching against the like of JT2 and Lou Carneseca. Calhoun is an ingrate who only gives credit to himself and his program.

[SFHoya99]

Oh, come one, Cambridge. Last year's Sox team may have had character -- I'm not going to debate that. And I suppose you could argue that ARod and Giambi completely negated Jeter & Co's magic.

But please, let's not get revisionist on the make-up of last year's team.

"It was our fondness for/reliance on big swinging, slow moving sluggers who could knock runs in by the bucketload when home at Fenway..."

Yes, the Red Sox' addition of Schilling and other pitching put them over the top, but Ortiz, Manny and Millar all certainly fall into the Big swinging, slow moving sluggers category, as does Varitek.

There's nothing wrong with Sluggers. Even if they can't field (Manny). They were a big part of why your team was that good.