Revivin' the Ramble—A March Madness Edition

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I just got done reading it. coolhandgopher, you have joined the ranks of MnSnowman, Selection Sunday, GopherLady, just to name a few, of fantastic writers. I liked most about your article was the comparison of Knight to K(alphabet) and their careers. Thanks for the good article. Now, back to Carol Burnett and AS THE STOMACH TURNS!!!! :)
 

Nice ramble, coolhand. I appreciate the time & effort you put into it, as well as your insight.

I was watching Duke and K the other night, and a thought occurred to me. Coach K looks like a guy that's going through the motions. I might be completely off, but I gave him a good long look while the camera was on him just before the tip, and I didn't see any fire at all. Sure he can be excitable during games, but I wonder if he's missing that something that all coaches need to get the most out of themselves and their teams. If he is, I wonder where it went.
 

Great ramble coolhandgopher. This is better than columns on ESPN and CBS. I love the historical references and the style of writing. You are talented!
 

CH - I could rave about how amazing this ramble was, as everyone has done...but I'm really just more honored to have been mentioned in it. I feel like a celebrity!

So glad you brought the ramble back, it was always one of my favorite Sunday night reads!
 


The Ramble is back = smile on my face.

Bravo.
 

Good to see the Ramble back

nice job, as always.

And to answer your question about "Where is the young play by play talent?"

Kevin Harlan always seems to do a good job and in several different sports (basketball, football and baseball). Good voice, nice level of enthusiasm, great sense of humor and creative without going over the top.
 

Kevin Harlan is a great broadcaster.
 

Nice work as always Coolhand. I was wondering if anyone else noticed that about Dick Enberg. He's one of the true old pros, but he made a ton of mistakes in the games he was doing. Bilas did a nice job of not stepping on his toes. Probably time for Enberg to pass the torch.
 



Coach K

Coach K. hasnt had a good low post presence since Sheldon Williams left. They are outquicked on the perimeter and have almost no post up game. He never has been a fiery coach. More of a stoic dispostion.
 

I like Harlan too, and wish he would have been broadcasting games this past weekend. Gus Johnson also makes that list, and although I like him, he did throw out some head scratching comments during his games this weekend. Maybe he always does that and I was just paying closer attention this past weekend.
 

Gus Johnson headscratcher. ... Izzo underappreciated?

I heard Gus say Izzo was "underappreciated" in East Lansing. I don't buy that for a second. Have never had that vibe at all. Sure, there's the few internet yahoos/knuckleheads who want to take shots at a coach of Izzo's stature every time he doesn't win 25 games, but I don't for a second believe he is undervalued in East Lansing.

One only needs to go to Spartan Stadium for a football game in the fall when Izzo's at the game. "Underappreciated" isn't a word that comes to mind when you see how he interacts with Spartan fans. He's treated like a rock star, and he's earned it. He's one of them, everyman, and they like that.
 

That was the big one SS, but Johnson also said something to the effect on Sunday ". . .and Suton's talking to his teammates. He's talking on defense" I don't have the exact quote, but it was just odd. He stated it like Suton invented the art of talking to your teammates on defense.
 



The best broadcasters

are on the radio. Circumstances had me listening to a lot of this years' tournament on the radio in the car. The crisp voices and clear descriptions by guys like Larivee, Sims and Harlan make me want skip the video and just listen. Their words describe as good a picture as I can see on TV, and the lack of graphics encourages them to frequently share things like time, score, number of fouls, and action away from the ball. In one minute on the radio, I know exactly what is going on in the game. I can't tell you how many times I was watching BTN this year almost screiming that they would tellme how many team fouls there were until they got in the bonus.

All play by play guys need to get proficient on radio before they head to TV. Video has hurt the profession. But there still are some really good ones out there, and a lot of them are not pretty boys.
 

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