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Another "busy airport" Story

March 11,’13: EVERY Wednesday of Thanksgiving Week your local TV station(s) sends a junior info-babe to the airport for their annual “busiest airport day” story. Sports has its equivalent. EVERY regular season finale UNC-Duke game we get the “Dookie V” article. ..... Dick Vitale is UNC fans’ version of what John Swofford is for Wuffs?

NOTE: This column was posted BEFORE all the latest revelations about Lots More Nasty Marvin Crap. Not trying to downplay anything. I leave that to those unable to accept grim realities.

Whenever I critique a sports/political/entertainment celebrity I try to note I am only dealing with their public persona. I have been

“around” Dick Vitale at a few sports celebrity charity “dos’” over the years. Even without a camera or live mic in the immediate area Dick Vitale is “Dickie-V”.

I don’t begrudge anyone their shtick. Whether its Howard Stern, Pee Wee Herman, Phyllis Diller, Oprah, Obama or Ric Fair; if you can create a public persona that has appeal to some market segment..... “work it” for whatever potential it has for you. Dick Vitale’s has worked for him for going on 25 years. I’m betting The Kardashians’ will burn out long before then.   Paris Hilton did.   I’m not sure what magic ingredient bestows “staying power”.   Dick Vitale has “it”.

I have gotten emotional over a sports announcer once in my life – Curt Gowdy calling a UNC – FlaState NCAA semi-finals in the early 70s. I felt Gowdy was delighting in UNC’s frustrations in dealing with “little Otto Petty”.   I recall that evening embarrassed at my immaturity.

I got angry at referee Lou Bello at a high school state finals in 1961-ish. Lou told me ten years later that the Mt Airy coach had given him a ½ lb of BBQ to “fix the game”. You had to know Lou to appreciate that. That’s the last time I “blamed a ref/umpire” for my team losing. I was 14. How old were you the last time you “blamed a ref”? That’s a rhetorical question.

“The announcers” have no impact whatsoever on my enjoyment of any sports event. I can only connect one-two voices to any event because of the shuffling among networks. If you called me in the middle of any major sports event and offered me $10 to identify the announcers I would guess 95% of the time.

I have a very intelligent friend who “hates Tim McCarver”. Why would an otherwise very intelligent individual waste “hate” on Tim McCarver?   Hey, I just realized my McCarver-hatin’ friend is also a Liberal and “hates” Sarah Palin. I need to rethink all that. I digress.

Yes, Dick Vitale has a very distinctive style. No way you mistake his voice for anyone else unless someone is “doing their Vitale impression”. Whatever happened to Roy Firestone?

To the Great “Dookie V” Conspiracy..... Dick Vitale’s college basketball media personality career has coincided with Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career at Duke.   Over the past 25 years Duke has played in a great many “big games” (as has UNC) and, more often than not, won those games.   That success is noteworthy and Vitale has noted it. As with similar success runs at Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, UCLA, UNLV, Georgetown, UConn etc etc.   Dick Vitale has been court-side for most of those “big games.

Arguably Duke under K has been more consistently “top-shelf” over those 25 years than any other program but marginally so. UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, UConn are in the same category by any reasonable analysis. “Reasonable” being a silly adjective to use in any discussion of sports fan behavior.

Dick Vitale’s shtick is to be an unapologetic over-the-top cheerleader for college basketball. Just like air-headed coed cheerleaders throwing mega-watt smiles into the upper decks when their team is down by 30 with 30 seconds to play, Vitale accentuates the positive and ignores any/all negatives. ”. I don’t care for Dick Vitale for that reason.

Big Time College Basketball oozes controversial socio-cultural “issues” that Vitale refuses to discuss. He claims that is not his role.   I think less of him for that cop-out.   As a high profile celebrity his voice might make a positive difference.

Every fan base in America has some unique paranoia that it formally embraces. These paranoias are deep-seated, defying reason and common sense.   Their genesis has been covered by the sands of time. They get passed down thru generations.

Every young Wuff and young Heel remembers when his dad and/or mom sits him down and explains either “John Swofford is out to git us” or “Dooky V is in cahoots w/ Dook”. It is a Bar Mitzvah-esque rite of passage into respective fan-hood.

Diogenes would have a fit trying to find a hard-core Tru-Blue who is not convinced that Dick Vitale has a permanent man-crush on Mike Krzyzewski and all things Duke. And furthermore his slobbering man-crush translates into a tangible advantage for Duke ?? I don’t think that; but my Tru-Blueness has been in probationary status for quite some time.

I make the Vitale – Swofford comparison because in both cases the fan base paranoia extends well beyond the bottom-feeding lunatic fringe.   Lunatic fringers (LFers) are insane...... to wit the earth is flat, man will never fly and Lee Harvey Oswald was a Rotarian from the Planet Zoltan.

Wuff-LFers blame John Swofford for them being over-weight, under-appreciated by everyone they encounter, and being pulled over for a busted taillight.... as well as any/all deficiencies in their athletics department.

Their Franklin Street counterparts blame Vitale for Duke’s 14-0 start Saturday night and Kendall Marshall’s injury last March. As well as being pulled over for busted taillights.

Both Vitale and Swofford Paranoias extend into the mainstreams of each fan base. When plum foolishness infects otherwise “normal” people then foolish has become normal.... and all bets are off.

NOTE: As the “how bad will the final score be” set in on Saturday night, I wondered if PhilipBridges’86 and his ilk began their inexorable creep from under their hate-Roy rocks. I’m betting they did. That bitter bunch don’t like Dick Vitale AT ALL.

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Yes... I know about the latest Marvin The Tweeter $2,000 revelation.   Marvin, and Black Santa, fallout will continue like acid rain for at least five (or 50) more years.

Who among you know what March 13, 2013 is the 7th Anniversary of?   BobLee knows.

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Posted: March 11, 2013 at 1:14 PM by SaidWHATMedia | with 19 comments

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Comments

	Lake packer
	As a Wolfpacker, I do believe a good institution has been dirtied by a few. I hope the Sec of State can finally bring down the ones that were in cahoots with Austin, Wiley and etc. it is time and I will never believe BD was an innocent bystander. And, by the way, I will always believe Bello and associate hosed our Devils in '61 whether intentional or not. ____________ BL: Mike Cooke and Johnny Yokely had a part in that '61 game too. .
	3/12/2013 10:16:41 PM

	duckfetch
	Your description of Thorp as a peacetime chancellor is apt. It is not clear that he "gets it" yet. In his comments to the faculty meeting last week, where Thorp explained that the next Thursday night football game in Chapel HIll would be during fall break, and hence not so disruptive. He said he was proud that only in the circumstance of fall break would UNC schedule a Thursday game. Baddour used that word a lot during the reviews. The word "proud" might be due some rationing. __________ BL: This mess has reached the point that every word, phrase and inflection is parsed and sliced thinner than a bubble. Such are the times we live in and the nature of this mess. I appreciate Holden's point re: the Thursday night games. It is a valid point in that controversy. Not sure "proud" is the word I would use. As for anything Baddour mutters. That "I am not here representing UNC" was the key phrase to me. That he was making pubic statements at all is frightening to anyone on the UNC side in this. .
	3/12/2013 9:40:12 AM

	Emmette Taylor
	So now we know where Jen received her funds and maybe even fun! Your 5 year estimate is very optimistic. And, Butch and Baddour knew nothing.This makes the Keystone Cops look real as you can't make up this stuff. If laws were broken, Wiley can have to go under oath, can't she? And all the others too. Biggest boondoggle was the money paid to Martin and crew.Kane and some others are not going to let this go until all dead bodies float to the surface. Keep up your good work. ____________ BL: I do believe the Secty State / AG office can subpoena citizens so yes Wiley (and Crowder) might finally "speak". The Butch has plausible deniability theory is officially blown to smithereens with this latest. .... It ain't over by a long shot. .
	3/12/2013 8:33:21 AM

	DrWire
	DVitale is the Howard Cosell of the ESPN era. He is living off his work from 20 years ago, but either has good ratings numbers and/or some loyal friends in the Bristol-ABC hierarchy. His health will probably stop him from climbing into the bird's nest at Cameron soon and maybe make the travel required not worth the $$$. In a Friday Wall St Journal article they presented numbers from his comments during games which show his speaks with Duke-love about as often as he talks highly about it's opponents during games. I'm sure you can relate to his comment for the article about Duke fans think he loves "TPTCNBM" and those in the Dean Dome think he is all Duke, all the time. Concerning the return of the original UP, I look forward to you answering your own question about timing of the NCSOS info. The different answers given about Watson to the no subpeona NCAA compared to the more legal impact SOS lawyers says a lot about the NCAA problems in a "I gots mine" world. __________ BL: I admit to a certain degree of "fascination" in all this. It contains all the yucky elements that constitute "big time college sports". Hard to imagine a script as complete as all this. Vitale is part of the yucky stew as he has promoted the ghetto-ization of college Bkb. .
	3/12/2013 8:20:35 AM

	YogiNC
	The amazing revelation in all of this "stuff" to me is that it percolated in the Sec of State's office for over two years. THAT within itself without narry a drop or hint of info speaks volumes. THAT bunch can keep a secret. You know somewhere someone in that bunch was about to bust to leak a few juicy tidbits knowing how explosive they would be. That had to be like totin' around an A bomb in your pocket. ___________ BL: If we are giving out awards for "keeping a secret" howabout a shout-out to Marv & His Gang. A dozen or so of Butch's student athletes were living large and neither Butch nor Dickie suspected a thing. Go figger that one.... :-) .
	3/11/2013 7:59:18 PM

	Update From BobLee (5:30 PM)
	. As more and more dribbles out today re: Marvin et al it certainly is MORE than simply "the same Marvin crap". My earlier comments were prior to these latest revelations as they are being released today (Monday). WHY are these just now being released ??? Can UNC PLEASE take back those plaques they gave that moron Baddour! And take his name off the "Learning Center" for heaven's sake. ..... geeezzzzz :-( .
	3/11/2013 5:35:03 PM

	58 Wolf Kennel
	Can't believe Old MacDonald and I are on the same page on this one. BL, you need to hear the WRAL tapes from this afternoon's "Sunshine Session between Dan Kane and ***** Baddour to revel in your previous opinions. Intertwined Prongs are even more penetrating. (Also took the time today to go back to your "golden oldie history channel" and read your two good back-to-back articles when Thorp was named Chancellor. They improved my opinion of your writing insights long before I even knew you. However, I wonder if EB would agree today). ___________ BL: I don't think it would be unfair to Holden or to Erskine to say if ANYONE had had a clue what was percolating in the peat bog when HT was promoted he would NOT have been the choice. Not sure who coulda wrestled this dragon but definitely NOT a newbee with zero combat experience. HT was a "peacetime Chancellor" and we ain't seen "peace" in three plus years. Yes, the Kennel & Old McDonald coalition is frightening for all concerned. Maybe he respects that Watauga thingy ??? .
	3/11/2013 5:17:07 PM

	Old MacDonald
	"But I'm still not sure how 'more of the same illegal crap' is a BFD." -- It isn't for guys like you who already have a handle on the scope of what happened. But yours is a minority perspective within UNC fandom...at least from my experience it is. Again, if I had heard the "amphibious" insult a few less thousand times from UNC folks over the years I swear I would not be nearly so interested. _________ BL: I can GUARANTEE you that mine is a minority perspective among UNCers. And that is being generous. :-) I take great pride that I have been consistent in my perspective from the day that the first leak appeared in the flawless dike... and before. It (UNC) is NOT a "rotten to its core" institution AT ALL. Lots of fine folks with the best of intentions "over there". But a handful of "bad eggs" and too many decades of mind-numbing kool-aid consumption can do lots of damage to any institution. .
	3/11/2013 4:22:44 PM

	ink-stained scribe
	BL, I once had some sympathies for those who say "shill for Dook," but then again, when I was living in Denver and watching Carolina play Kentucky in a sports bar, there were a handful of UK fans who claimed Dickie V was in fact a shill for Pitino. Where you stand depends on where you sit, or something like that! _________ BL: YEP! Around the country many say DV is "a shill for Roy and was a shill for "Michealangelo". All a matter of oxes and ditches. .
	3/11/2013 4:08:11 PM

	fayettewuf
	That's what everyone needs, a psycho-sidekick. I have not had one since my divorce. _____ BL: Whats better? Having a psycho sidekick... or BEING the psycho sidekick ?? .
	3/11/2013 4:00:14 PM

	Old MacDonald
	I have to disagree that this is just a "more pregnant" Marvin story -- From WRAL: "Also listed as people who received cash packages from Watson include former players Robert Quinn, Jordan Nix, Michael McAdoo, Deunta Williams and the disassociated Todd Stewart." ___________ BL: I had not seen those names listed. I'm not poo-pooing the whole gawd-awful mess... and how it was grossly mishandled from Day One - it is and it was. But I'm still not sure how "more of the same illegal crap" is a BFD. Did Marv shave points? Was Tyler H getting anything? Was Jennifer W running a brothel out of the Blue Zone ?? Now... WHY are we JUST hearing about Marv's $2,000 FedEx package after three years is a good question. And how much more have we not heard about ??? .
	3/11/2013 3:57:34 PM

	rowdybluetarheeler
	Thank goodness for the Tar Heel Sports Network, Jones Angell & Eric Montross. d00kie v is not welcome in my home. _________ BL: And thats fine. Absolutely nothing wrong with fans listening to "their guys". Nothing objective about sports any way. .
	3/11/2013 3:38:36 PM

	ink-stained scribe
	BL, .... My dislike of Dickie V comes from an observation that he's no more than noise, and not very pleasant noise, who says as little as possible about the action in front of him. If I had started listening to him five years ago, I would have no idea if he even understands how the game is played, including the rules. I can handle annoying deliveries ... just tell me something I can't see for myself from my La-Z-Boy. It's why I'll still argue that Billy Packer was the best college hoops commentator ever, though Gminski and Bilas are pretty good, too. ____________ BL: My point was more to the "He's a shill for Duke" bleet. The whole "clown act" is another issue. .
	3/11/2013 3:32:19 PM

	nodflow
	My concern with the mouth is that every regardless of teams soon becomes a platform for his never ending babble that interrupts my enjoyment of the game and the play by play announcer..........how I miss the good ole days of Ray Reeve in both sports but especially bb and the Dixie Classic as presented by him. _________ BL: I appreciate anyone who does NOT take himself seriously. Vitale has morphed into his "character" over the years. I also "credit" him with the ghetto-ization of college basketball via his Vitale-ebonics. .
	3/11/2013 3:25:39 PM

	DrJay
	There may well be even more yet to come out re: Marvin Austin. What irks me is that so many want to make each one a "new" blot on UNC rather than simply "more on Marvin." Human nature being what it is, your "5 years" may be optimistic. __________ BL: "Amphibious" still lives after 25 years. But nothing new about it in 24 years. This is Death Of 1,000 Dribbling Revelations. .
	3/11/2013 3:20:15 PM

	Old MacDonald
	I am about to agree with Kennel, so hold onto something. The latest revelations (in which Marvin is only a bit player) are explosive. Fed Ex packages full of money went to lots of players, apparently, and some of them went through Wiley. Also, Kane apparently dropped some bombshells at the Sunshine symposium or whatever it is called -- new info about FB and BB players taking bogus classes (I think he has some numbers on the class makeups). ___________ BL: I read Kane's story that Marv's wanna-be-your agent in Atlanta sent $$$ to "others" not necessarily at UNC but around the country. I still see that as "how pregnant" was Marvin.... dirty is dirty is dirty. And, according to Jon Sasser at the Sunshine Thing - Butch knew NUU-THING... of course! I see where Little Dickie spoke at that McKimmon thing too. Wish I'd been there for that fer sure! Don't know about whatever Kane's new data is. Nothing would surprise me. .
	3/11/2013 3:17:05 PM

	fayettewuf
	I usually say I hate Tim McCarver when I mean I hate to listen to Tim McCarver provide color for a game. I feel the same way about ***** Vitale in that both tend to provide much more colorful information about themselves than they do colorful insights about the game. Never heard Sarah Palin do a game. Working my way through the C J Box series. Is it my imagination but is Nate Romanowski turning into Jack Reacher. ___________ BL: Maybe I'm the only one who is ambivalent about McCarver. ?? Sarah does play by play for The Iditarod for ESPNAlaska. Nate (aka The Outlaw Falconer) is the quintessential psycho-sidekick. Elvis Cole's Joe Pike is of the same stripe as Nate. As is Dave Robicheaux's Cletus Purcell. Nate, IMO, is more sociable than JackR. Nate's loyalty to the Pickett Family is unlike anything in Reacher's DNA. .
	3/11/2013 2:51:08 PM

	CR
	So, what is March 13th the seventh anniversary of? If I had to guess, I would guess it marks the arrival of the Pale Rider, Black Santa or both. My guess is probably as accurate as yours when it comes to guessing announcers. I’ve about exhausted everything Michael Connolly has written, so I went to your reading list and tried a CJ Box book. Due to CRS, I don’t recall the title, but I do remember I like what I’m reading so far. Got a Vince Flynn book too, but it’s on the back burner. TGIBS. Scheming to get in a Boshamer fix….the sooner the better. ____________ BL: Mike Fox's "Moochies" are KICKIN' BUTT - can we spell DYNASTY? New kid - Skye Bolt - is the next Dustin Ackley. For authors try - CJ Box, James Lee Burke, John Sandford and Robert Crais. When you are done with their collected works. let me know. :-) Oh... March 13.... two words - (1) Nifong - (2) Lacrosse. .
	3/11/2013 2:25:21 PM

	58 Wolf Kennel
	Bob Lee, excellent analysis and discussion on Dickie V. The only saving grace is that he has become a caricature of himself. The new Marvin + stuff is explosive. That must be what Sec. Marshall meant several weeks ago when she hinted something else big was coming. Your Johnny Swofford Wuff paranoia may be overstated. I have always felt he did a good job for the conference, even if he couldn't get his referee platoon homoginized. However, his absence of comments over the several years of the Great Unpleasantness have caused me to wonder. Cetainly he hasn't leaped in as he did when Clemson, Florida State, Miami, or Ga Tech were having NCAA ethics issues. I guess it will all come out in the wash, but the over all issue has more prongs than a porcupine. And just becaue I'm a Wuff doesn't make me enjoy this mess. We all hurt !! ___________ BL: I'm not sure EXPLOSIVE is appropriate. We already knew Marv was "on the take" for assorted illegal inducements from one or more agents. "Another $2,000" doesn't markedly change that. Cash, trips, bling... it was all illegal. I'm more amazed by the $500,000 UNC paid "Ugly Betty" for her firm saying "we agree" with Gov Martin's findings. Thats a pretty expensive "rubber stamp" !!! Your tempered view of Swofford relative to your Brickyard buddies may account for your own "iffy status" in WuffNation. :-) .
	3/11/2013 1:52:57 PM