Kudos on the rule change proposal on timeouts!

I agree it's absurd to allow this diving, squirming nonsense to result in a break for the divee/squirmee...

Let's hope someone pays attention and we get some relief next year.

I agree with King about the attention to dunking in women's basketball. For a long time, I've been mystified at how women's ball is marketed by comparing it to men's ball (and the subsequent implication of misogyny toward those who don't care for the women's game) rather than simply marketing it for what it is: a different type of basketball played by people who could in no way compete against another group of people. Men's college sports such as football and basketball do just fine marketing the product on its own terms without apologizing for the less than professional skills of the athletes, often overtly celebrating those less than professional skills (e.g., numerous Heisman and Naismith winners with limited prospects for professional success).

Furthermore, as King notes, a focus on a woman's dunking, as we saw over and over again on Sportscenter this morning, only highlights the unathletic nature of women's basketball players as compared to men. I remain unimpressed by anyone who can barely slide a smaller ball over the rim, especially if that person is 6'3" with long arms. King clearly likes women's basketball more than I, who have chosen a different athletic threshold for what I appreciate as a spectator sport, and reminding me that I can walk down to the gym and see better basketball players any afternoon of the week isn't a way to win me over.

As a poster above notes, hating Billy Packer may be played out a bit, but I still can't stand the guy. He's a nostalgic blowhard and a hypercritical jerk towards both coaches and players. And, though King notes that he is an ACC homer, listening to him all season in ACC country can grate on a fan, too. Since his obvious allegiance to the ACC becomes moot during regular season games in the conference, the one thing that he does like disappears, leaving only his distaste for everything else that happens. Overly negative hyperbole here? Sure. I've been listening to Billy Packer too much. Give me Len Elmore or Jay Bilas any day, even if Bilas is a dookie.

I disagree with King about CBS's broadcasting of the games. Though CBS is certainly not FOX-esque in its productions, I've still missed way too much on court action, including stuff after a play, because of close-ups, premeditated segments, graphics, or replays, that odd long shot form one corner, and the truly horrible under-the-goal shot on fast breaks, which end in something besides a dunk so often that I'm surprised that shot is still used, and, even when play finishes with a dunk, that shot makes the action seem less impressive than the normal midcourt angle.

I understand what your point is now, and it is (pretty) clear in the original article. And a good point too.

Must admit I'm a fan of Billy Packer's work even though his tirade against the mid-majors last week was completely off. His use of math and statistics was so poor my head was beginning to hurt.

Still, after hearing him do a game I consistently feel like I understand basketball a little bit better. I can't say that about too many other announcers. That's really a color analysts job, and to me he is the best in the business at that aspect.

King,

Although I agree with your general criticism of coaches who bench players rotely when they pick up their second or fourth fouls in the first or second halves, respectively, I think you misapply it to Ben Howland's decision to bench Jordan Farmar with about four minutes left in Saturday's game. At the time that Farmar picked up his fourth, he was (a) not playing well, having recently committed a couple sloppy turnovers, (b) visibly unhinged over what he perceived to be poor officiating, especially on his phantom-charge third foul, and (c) hurt, having bruised both of his wrists on the drive to the basket that resulted in the charge. Fourth foul or not, at the time that Howland benched Farmer, Darren Collison was simply the steadier, better option to run the point.

In contrast to Packer admitting that he erred in complaining about small conference bids(however, dubious his reasoning), Dick Vitale, who was just as vocal in protest, went on without a hint of irony the other day about how great it is to watch the "little guys beat the big guys" because that's "what it's all about." Give me a break.

Timeouts have always been aggravatingin basketball, but the new rule that I really can't handle is where coaches are allowed to call timeouts from the sidelines. Referees should not have to monitor coaches so as to grant timeouts in the middle of action. The level of confusion as plays develop at a fast pace with coaches hollering for timeouts while their players are oblivious is ridiculous.

CBS's coverage has been generally good, but would it kill them to cut over to another game rather than a commercial every now and then? You get back from a commercial, there's a foul and another timeout in about 5 seconds of action, and while there is less than a minute left on another game that would be nice to look in on, I have to listen to that friggin' shrimp song from Applebee's one more time.

Finally, great point on the foul trouble benching. I always thought I was missing something but now feel vindicated.

King wrote: "So once again, the college coaching strategy is clear: You should risk falling farther behind to avoid a guy getting his third foul in the 20th minute, but not the 21st. That doesn't make sense to me."

Is the practice some kind of safety check, keeping the player out of the refs' conversation during halftime? What do refs do during the break--while teams are given second-half strategy and attempts at inspirational speeches, maybe the refs are saying, "Keep an eye on number 99--he already has three fouls" and therefore might foul out sooner because he's being watched. Or perhaps the refs instead just drink their Gatorade and tune in to ESPN2. I'd rather see more foul-outs and more chances for others on the team to play, but then if foul-outs came sooner, the NCAA would increase the number of fouls allowed.