4 Page 8 -The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, March 22, 1988 CBS coverage too commercial By RICHARD EISEN These have been the biggest bonehead maneuvers by any televi- sion network since ABC cancelled "Police Squad." Last weekend, CBS Sports, the network in question, completely botched their coverage of the NCAA tournament. They botched it by cut- ting away from games at inopportune moments to show us games which they felt were coming to their cli- max. Most of the time CBS was cutting away from an exciting game, only to show us nothing. But the biggest blunder of the weekend was CBS' incomplete cov- erage of the Michigan-Florida game, which was especially angering to say the least. DID ANYONE notice that when CBS began its coverage of the Michigan-Florida game the score was 16-7? I thought you did. Instead of watching their favorite team, Wolverine fans all over the state of Michigan watched the ending of Syracuse-Rhode Island. CBS had a problem: Which game is more im- portant to the people of Michigan, Syracuse's or Michigan's? CBS made the wrong choice. Supposedly, Gary Grant's long three-pointer 58 seconds into the game was key, giving the Wolver- ines some confidence. We missed it. So, instead of watching the Wolver- ines blow away Florida, viewers had to hear about it from Billy Cunning- ham, the color commentator. TUE gmL - .Al' - b CBS should have realized that they were disappointing Michigan fans and should have cut away from the Syracuse game, and updated the scores. If they wanted to show a close ending, then they should have cut away from the Michigan game during a commercial break and shown the end of Syracuse's game. BUT CBS has its priorities - commercials before coverage. For instance, CBS did not show the second half of the Michigan game until five minutes were gone. In- stead, Wolverine fans were sentenced to watch the middle of a meaningless Duke-SMU game and a whole bunch of commercials. While the second half had already begun, reporters Jim Nantz and James Brown "Live from Studio 43" appeared on the screen, talking about how Michigan was manhandling the Gators. At one point, the score of the Michigan game was updated on the screen behind Brown, so obviously the game was being missed. Why not show the game itself in- stead of watching two reporters talk about it? Isn't radio for talk? This is television - let's see the damn game. BUT, NO. CBS had to show seven more precious commercials and another Nantz-Brown summit before bringing the Michigan game back on. While their favorite team was in the process of breaking the jinx and finally advancing to the third round, Michigan fans were treated to Billy Dee Williams talking about Colt .45 beer. One would think that CBS could learn from their mistakes, but the botched coverage continued Sunday. CBS showed the Kentucky-Mary- land game. And it was a dandy. With just two minutes to go, Maryland had just capped a nine point run to tie the game. It was at this juncture when Nantz and Brown, who are like annoying relatives who keep coming to visit, interrupted "Live from Studio 43" again to tell us we were going to see the end of the Pitt-Vandy game. We would be updated on the Kentucky- Maryland game. HOW COULD CBS do this? How could they show a game for 38 minutes, and then cut away at the end? It was as if a Pittsburgh fan came in and turned the channel on me. When CBS cut to the Pitt game, a time out was called, hence CBS should have returned right back to the Kentucky game. But, a director somewhere panicked and viewers stayed at the Pitt game, listening to Dick Stockton, who thought he was at commercial, talk about who the CBS Player of the Game might be. When CBS cut back to the Ken- tucky game, it was practically over as Maryland, which was now down by six points, were fouling in des- peration. Viewers which had watched the game from the beginning, missed the entire ending. Tube Banter -What the hell does "Live from Studio 43" mean? Should we be im- pressed that CBS tells their viewers the exact number of the studio from which they are broadcasting? Just another piece of marketing from CBS Sports. -The funniest moment of the weekend came out of CBS' limited coverage of the Michigan game when Billy Cunningham couldn't under- stand that Michigan's colors were maize and blue, not yellow. "Where I come from, we call it yellow," said Cunningham. -CBS wasn't completely awful, as they came up with brilliant shots, especially one of angry Temple coach John Chaney staring down a referee. I thought he was going to burn a hole in my television set. -Once again, Brent Musberger was annoying. 'Nuff said. The Schef's Specialty BY ADAM SCHEFTER Pr p editrpicks pro~ve postivlypoinls Last November, in Chicago, the Big Ten basketball coaches' press conference took place and it marked the first time since 1983 that Indi- ana's coach Bob Knight graced the media with his presence. Each coach took their turn at the stand commenting on the things they expected to see throughout the course of the year. Some listened, others didn't. When Knight was called to the podium, however, all eyes turned his way. The professor was about to give his lecture and his stu- dents, the reporters, eagerly awaited his words. Knight skipped the upcoming prospects for his team. He had better topics to touch on. "If my being here is news, there can't be much happening here that's worth a damn," said the irascible Knight, getting his sermon off to a bang. THEN T HE living legend turned to ripping the iedia - some- thing he enjoys almost as much as winning. "Why should I speak to all of you anyway?" he said. "You guys al- ready have all the answers." He proceeded to take out of his pocket a newspaper article that he had saved. It was a preview of last year's NCAA tournament in which the Hoosiers beat Syracuse for the national championship. The coach read it aloud. "Team with the best chance to be upset by the second round - Syracuse," Knight recited looking up to the silenced crowd. He continued, "Team most overrated in the tournament - Indiana." He paused. "See what I mean? You guys just think you know every- thing." The coach could not have spoken more meaningful words. Now, once again, it is that time of year when "the experts" get to make their opinions heard. LAST WEEK, a family member informed me that a radio sports talk show back home predicted that Michigan would be watching the majority of the tournament on television. The newspapers said the same. And on CNN Sports late-night, one broadcaster said the Wolver- ines were the team most likely to fall to a school that did not belong on the same court as them. They did it before and they'll do it again he said. That same person's prediction was that Illinois would win the na- tional championship. Many more felt Illinois would be in the Final Four. Why the Fighting Illini? Because they were a team on fire, beating up on their opponents in the final games of the year. But if one examines their schedule over the final four games, their hit list included games the Wolverines had al- ready won throughout the season: beating Indiana in Bloomington; Iowa at home; Michigan in Champaign, returning the favor they re- ceived in Ann Arbor; and Northwestern in Evanston. ILLINOIS was hot and just beginning to cook, they said. Presently, Illinois is well-done, after being roasted by Villanova. So how hot were they actually? Upper-echelon teams in the Big Ten aren't supposed to lose at home. They didn't top any world beaters on the road either. Prior to the tournament, Illinois lost nine times, including losses to Villanova, North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio St., and Indiana. If the two teams schedules were reversed, Illinois would have entered the tournament floundering while the Wolverines would have been flourishing. The experts would have then crowned Michigan champions prematurely and said that Illinois would be exiting early. Instead, as usual, it is their predictions that have taken a fall - but not sooner than expected. 4 4 IONA University of Windsor BETTY FRIEDAN author, feminist, social critic An Evening of Discovery on Wednesday, March 23 7:30 p.m. Cleary Auditorium 201 Riverside Dr. West Windsor, Ont. Phone (519) 253-9102 for Visa/Master Card orders IONA College, University of Windsor, 208 Sunset Ave. Windsor, Ont. N9B 3A7 Phone: (519) 973-7039 4 :.: 4 Read andS 6M9 opens with par outing in Florida Da4~ 1 By DAVID HYMAN Last weekend the men's golf team competed in the South Florida Invi- tational (3 rounds) in Tampa, its an- nual 'kick-off' tournament, to open the 1988 season. Despite finishing 11th out of 14 teams, coach Jim Carras was pleased with his team's performance. "Overall we kept most of our scores in the 70's and that is not bad for the first tournament." The Wolverines were led by ju- nior Hersh Patel, who shot a 228 for the tournament. "He is a very fine player who just hasn't scored well in the past and is starting to show signs of doing that (scoring well)," said Carras. The other Michigan golfers were Bob Papp (234), Scott Chipokas (236), Tom Paton (240), and Eric Kuhlman (241). Senior Scott Chipokas, the top scorer for Michigan the past three seasons, did not shoot his usual game. "Scott did not have a very good tournament in Tampa, but he is a very capable player and I expect he will be playing a lot better as we go along," said Carras. "We have the basis for a solid team, but our weakness are that we do not have a lot of depth- and we must get all five players to play well if we are going to be competitive." Last weekend, all five golfers, played well and this may be a sign of the future. Mich;gan's next metith 4 i Discover Canada by train with VIA's Youth Canrailpass. All you can see, for one great price. Up close. That's the unforgettable adventure of Canada by train. VIA Rail. Canada's nassenger for coast-to-coast travel, the West, the East, the Maritimes, or the area between Ouhebc Citv and Youth Canralipass (Valid for ages 12 to 24 from June 15 to Sentember 15 1988) A