Gus Johnson called the Women's World Cup?

Yes, I was watching the US Women's team on Sunday afternoon during World Cup play.

And yes, I went crazy when Ally Wambach scored her game-tying goal. I hope you did the same. If you didn't, you missed an incredible sporting event.

This is a college hoops blog, though. Why are we talking about the women's soccer? Because someone threw the voice Gus Jeezy and Bill Raftery over the play. It works:



If you are wondering, the call originally came from this game. Bonus points if you knew that already.
Continue reading...

Gus Johnson Won't Watch March Madness

Way to CBS, way to go.

A few weeks back, it was announced that Gus Johnson, the broadcaster synonymous with March Madness, could not reach an agreement with CBS for a new contract, and therefore would no longer provide play-by-play for college basketball games on the network.

That alone is bad enough.

But, according to a New York Times article published on Thursday, Johnson will not be watching next season's NCAA Tournament either.

He said he would miss the N.C.A.A. tournament, but he does not plan to watch next March, the same way he did not watch the Knicks until January or so. But Johnson also reiterated that he did not fear leaving the tournament “that made me.” He described his split from CBS as amicable, a necessary step.

Like in many relationships that end in a messy break-up, sometimes it is necessary to stay away from anything that might serve as a reminder to the falling out. And unfortunately for Johnson, this means not watching March Madness.

But why should Johnson's decision to not watch next season's tournament effect you?

Well, because there will come a point next March when a Belmont or a Wofford rallies back from down-7 in the last minute to force overtime against a Kansas or a Kentucky. All hell will be on the cusp of breaking loose.

As CBS goes to commercial, your buddy will say something along the lines of "I wonder what Gus Johnson is saying right now" or "Somebody get Gus-Jeezy on the phone and tell him he's needed in Lexington!"

Then you will remember that he's probably in the backyard having a catch with his son, or at Home Depot getting some new tiles for the kitchen floor. You will realize that Gus Johnson, the man that perspires March Madness, has no idea what is going on.

It's during moments like these when you will realize just how much CBS screwed up.

Yeah, it doesn't seem like a big deal now, but you just wait.

March will never be the same again.

Continue reading...

CBS doesn't want to be "America's Most Watched Network"

Apparently, the slipper no longer fits.

According to Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch, Gus Johnson and CBS Sports could not agree on a new contract now that Johnson's current contract has ended. The New York Daily News is reporting that the end is not official yet -- they said that Johnson's people have not yet shown CBS executives the offer that he has received from FOX Sports to call Pac-12 football games -- but the feeling seems to be that it is only delaying the inevitable.

What can we say that has not already been said about Gus Jeezy?


The man epitomizes the NCAA Tournament. He perspires excitement. He makes any game that he is on the call a must-watch. There is a reason that we dubbed him Mr. March Madness. I can honestly say that a majority of my most memorable NCAA Tournament moments are simply the result of Gus Jeezy's call. Not only is he hands down the most popular play-by-play man that college basketball has, but he is a brand in and of himself. How many announcers have enough notoriety to start their own clothing line?

None do.

That's the point.

And that's why everyone would be devastated if CBS were to allow another network to swoop in and outbid them for Mr. March Madness.

The NCAA Tournament will live on no matter who calls the games. The excitement of the first weekend of games will not wane without Gus Johnson flexing his vocal chords. The drama of a 13 seed making the Sweet 16 doesn't hinge on a guy in a suit sitting at half court. CBS still has plenty of talented play-by-play announcers -- Iain Eagle, Kevin Harlan -- to call the games.

Its like The Office without Michael Scott. The show will go on, but it just won't be the same.

So please, CBS, I beg of you: throw Gus Jeezy a couple of Ricky Roe duffel bags.

He is well worth the investment.

----------------------------------------------------------------

We counted down our ten favorite calls from Gus Johnson prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament. Seriously, go watch them. I just wasted the last 15 minutes listening to every single one. And I'm dead serious when I say 'listening'. Play the youtube clips on mute, and then play them with the volume full blast.

Which is better? Continue reading...

10 Things I won't miss about the 2010-2011 Season

The 2010-2011 is long gone, and there is no getting it back. We now have to wait roughly 175 days until sanctioned college basketball begins again. Some of us will fill the void it by projecting next season's field of 68 or the top recruits in the class of 2013. But for us, at least at the current moment, it's high time we start reflecting on what made the past season both special and frustrating.

First up, the top-ten things that we won't miss about the 2010-20112 season. We laud college basketball as the greatest sport on the planet, which it most certainly is. But that doesn't mean it doesn't come with baggage. In order to get the good, you have to deal with some of the bad that goes along with it.

Now, some of these things may return next season, but the next few months will provide some sanctity for our tortured ears and eyes.

The Top 10 Things I Won't Miss About the 2010-2011 Season:

10. The Kansas State Catastrophe

With every day that passed, a new issue arose in "The Little Apple".

Let's see, where to begin.

Well, before the season even began, Dominique Sutton decided to transfer.

But things really went south once the season actually started. (Try to follow along, there's about to be a lot of news thrown at you)

Curtis Kelly was benched early in the season for not living up to the program's standards, then was suspended for receiving illegal benefits, a.k.a he got free swag from a clothing store. Even after those two incidents, he reportedly violated the school's student-athlete honor code. You really have to make an effort to get in trouble that much.

Wally Judge sat out due to personal problems for a few games then sparked controversy for his in-game salute to the Pinstripe Bowl controversy. FIU-transfer Freddy Asprilla left the program, reportedly because he couldn't "handle it". First it was reported that he was going to play pro ball in Europe in order to raise money for his ill mother. Then it was reported that he would be transferring to Canisius.

Jacob Pullen lashed out at fans on twitter, said he wouldn't play in the N.I.T. and was also suspended for receiving illegal benefits. When you add in Frank Martin's ever-colorful demeanor both on and off the court, the Wildcats were almost always in the news. It was good to see K-State turn things around at the end of the season, because we respect Jacob Pullen far too much to wish any of that upon him.

But seriously, that's just way too much news on one team for us to cover.


9. Wiz Khalifa/YouTube Remixes

Who doesn't love hip-hop? If you love hip-hop, like us, then you probably love remixes. I mean, who doesn't?

Wiz Khalifa absolutely blew up in late 2010/early 2011, in large part to his single "Black and Yellow". Listen, I really liked the song, and I still think it's good, even after the unnecessary radio overkill.

But what really tested my limits was the endless, countless college remixes in which some "budding" artist (and I use that term loosely) replaced "Black and Yellow" with the colors of his school. A few of the remixes weren't THAT bad, but some of them were flat-out dreadful.

Listen, if your school colors don't rhyme with "Black and Yellow", you shouldn't make a remix of the song.

End of Story.

Here are some of the examples of people who didn't get the memo.

(The following list is just a small sample size. There are plenty of more out there. But I couldn't bring myself to listening to one remix an infinite number of times)
Alabama - White and Crimson
Central Florida - Black and Gold
Georgetown - Blue and Gray
Kansas - Red and Blue KU
Oklahoma - Boomer Sooner
South Carolina - Black and Garnet
Syracuse - Orange and White
Tennessee - Orange White
UConn - Kemba Walker
VCU - Black and Gold, Black and Yellow

There were a few exceptions to this rule. But it just so happens that these exceptions didn't use Wiz Khalifa's song. Indiana student's put together a solid one, made all the better by featuring some rather attractive co-eds. The Gaels of St. Mary's were repp'd well by "Gaels Gone Wild" which featured a pretty solid beat and a well-produced music video.

Again, these were more "exception" than they were "rules".

This Duke rap however, was no exception. It's awful, and it's not even a Wiz Khalifa remix.

Listen, I'm all for fan-creativity. But a line needs to be drawn. You need to know when enough is enough.

If "Black and Yellow" is still catchy in 2012, or if crappy remixes are still being made, I may have to double-Van Gogh myself.


8. RCN not getting the Big-Ten Network

The B.I.A.H HQ is fully equipped with what-we-were-made-to-believe is the most comprehensive sport-package available from RCN, our trusty television service providers.

It's true, we don't get The Mountain, and we only get a limited number of FSN-West games, but with the innovations in pirated Internet streaming, adjustments for the most part could be made. That is, of course, with the exception of the Big-Ten Network.

All the Google searching in the world couldn't help us find a good stream of the Big-Ten Network, and RCN was not able to help us with explaining why we didn't get The BTN and how we could get it. Now with 374 teams in D-1 hoops, there were almost always a game or two on TV, and with ESPN3 and online streaming, we could almost always watch the games we wanted to see.

At this point, you are probably wondering, "Why do you care if you don't get The BTN?"

I have but one simple answer: GUS JOHNSON.

Sure, Gus-Jeezy is on CBS every week or so after the NFL season concludes. But you have to understand our frustration if the man is providing the public with the sounds of his golden pipes on a weekly basis and we aren't able to listen to him do so. I mean, we did fine with limited coverage of the Big-Ten Network, but everybody could use more Gus Johnson in their daily lives. I know I could.

Do you know how many times I had to listen to Steve Lappas and Sean Farnham? More than I ever cared too. You know how many times I listened to Gus-Jeezy? Not nearly enough. So, RCN, it's your move. Time to step your game up for next season.


7. Bruce Pearl's lack of decision-making skills

Have you ever watched somebody from afar try to pick their nose and eat what they find?

They look around to see if anybody is watching, dig in, pause, look around again, double check, and sneak in the nasal treat, all while you are watching, going "Ahh man, no, don't do it" and "Oh man, he's totally going to do it.....ewwww".

That's kinda like how I will remember Bruce Pearl's final 14 months at Tennessee. He broke a rule, which is fine I guess, everybody isn't perfect. You can't look at me with a straight face and say you have never picked your nose. You'd be lying if you did. But instead of just admitting he was wrong, or flicking the booger away, he decided to see if he could get away with it. But once you do something for the first time, and like it, you are bound to do it again, and that's what Pearl did.

He didn't just break one rule, he broke numerous rules. You know the NCAA was sitting there knowing what he was doing, and just waiting for him to either come clean or continue to dig at his nose. And that's just what he did.

Even in as late as March, Pearl committed an NCAA violation, and it eventually cost him his job.

I know this analogy has been pretty bizarre but hopefully you get the idea.

I will miss Pearl's bravado, but I won't miss his lack of judgement.


6. Twitter Misuse

If it was not for my involvement in sports media, I would never EVER use twitter.

I believe it is a valuable resource for people in marketing, promotions, and public relations. But unfortunately, twitter is over-run by classless fans, athletes who can't spell, people who try to communicate with celebrities and college students who are unaware of twitter's functionality.

Sure, I guess twitter can be used to express your opinions, feelings and frustrations. But it seems like a majority of the D-I college basketball players are unaware that when they tweet something, it's likely to be re-tweeted by thousands of people. Every tweet they send out is eventually seen by TV analysts, national writers, head coaches, and athletic directors.

I'm aware that twitter only provides 140 characters for each thought. But would it kill you to use correct spelling? Oh and by the way, don't try to pull this "my account got hacked" stunt. That doesn't happen. Even if it does, how come people's accounts only get hacked when they say something controversial?

But the athletes are not the only ones to blame. Have you ever seen some of the things people have tweeted at Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas or Terrence Jones? I understand that fans get frustrated. Hell, I do. But I also realize that these athletes are kids working their asses off to represent their school.

Twitter isn't going anywhere, and we will likely see the same type of shenanigans next season. But hopefully fans and players decide to ease up during the off-season.

Do it for the sake of my sanity.


5. JimmerMania

Don't get me wrong, I love watching Fredette play. Every time he brought the ball over half court, I would urge him through my TV to "make it rain" from 40 feet. The kid is polite, full of swagger and has a nice, attractive Mormon girlfriend.

But I liked Jimmer when he was our little secret. I liked it when only the basketball media would drool over his circus shots and his Mormon-moxie. I liked it when "You Got Jimmer'd" was in it's infancy, before he became a regular on every "talking heads" sports show across the country.

I guess I'm taking the indy-hipster-emo-jam band music approach. You know, like when an unknown band that you love suddenly blows up and becomes famous. Once the band becomes mainstream, the longtime supporters decide the music isn't good anymore.

Well, I don't think Jimmer "sold out", but I certainly could have done without the music videos, parodies, and letters to the editor.

For us uncoordinated, unathletic white kids, Jimmer was our hero, our cult-icon. But then the media had to go all ga-ga over him and ruin the special bond we had.

While I will miss watching Fredette launch shots from the souvenir booth, I won't miss the mass hysteria that he produced.


4. Renardo Sidney

There aren't many things more compelling than watching two guys try to punch each other unconscious.

I love fights: schoolyard fights, locker room brawls, donnybrooks, melees, bench-clearing brawls, cages fights, slobber-knockers, street fights, cat fights, pretty much all fights with the exception of boxing matches.

But despite all of this, I found the Renardo Sidney vs. Elgin Bailey bleacher brawl to be somewhat un-nerving.

This wasn't Sidney's first mistake, and while he wasn't the instigator of the fight, he should have known better. Up until December 24th, 2010, Sidney had played in a grand total of two college games. Yet I was forced to read and hear about his attitude problems, weight issues and NCAA violations.

Once he actually started to play, he showed actually showed some signs of promise. He even proved some doubters wrong by deciding to return to Starkville for his junior year.

But for all the buzz around this kid, nothing he accomplished last season made up for the fact that he was the biggest headache in college basketball for a good 12 months.

Seriously, I've never met the guy, and I already hate him.



3. Rule 9, Article 13, Sections 1-3

The elbow rule. Hands-down the most stupid thing done to college basketball since, well, ever.

Coaches and camp counsellors have been teaching rebounding fundamentals since the beginning of time. You can't just decide to implement a rule that would change the way basketball is played right before the season starts. Rules like this need implementation, regulation and most importantly, education. All we got was a graphic during Marathon-Madness and some re-hashing during in-studio halftime reports.

I understand that it was a safety concern, but again, swinging your elbows to clear out space has been part of the game for so long, it's hard to tell gifted athletes to just stop doing what they are doing.

Even if they had decided to make it a rule, which they did, why make it a "flagrant two with possession"? The rebounder is only doing what he has been taught over and over and over again. If anything, the NCAA should just fine players for flagrant contact (Oh wait, I forgot, players don't get paid).

I hope to God the NCAA does some serious thinking during the off-season. This rule needs to go back to whatever dark crevice it came from and should stay there for all eternity.


2. UPS Logistics Commercial

Companies use many advertising tactics in order to make their commercials and marketing campaigns stick. Fresh slogans, celebrity endorsements, even catchy jingles. Some work, others don't.

UPS clearly forgot to schedule any focus groups and must have ignored all feedback and viewer response, because the "logistics commercial" they marched out for the 2010-2011 season had the most annoying, brain-numbing jingle I havee ever listened too.

I never liked the song "That's Amore". So why on Earth would I enjoy that same tune describing the benefits of logistics?



I don't know a god-damn thing about logistics. I've been made to believe that it has something to do with making sure small businesses save money on shipping and handling fees.

Even the overly-repetitive "NAPA know-how" commercial seemed pleasant compared to the "logistics commercial". I know we weren't the only ones who frequently used ESPN3.com and their wonderful replay streams of college basketball games. But did ESPN3 really have to choose the "logistics commercial" as the only advertisement to use over-and-over again?

It got so bad that @ballinisahabit quickly muted his computer or television every time this disaster-of-a-jingle would come on. If you every wanted to add just a bit of misery into his day, tweeting a link of the commercial to @ballinisahabit would do the trick.


1. Jimmy's Jet

Not every production idea or programming segment is a hit, I get that. For every "Pardon the Interruption" there is a "Steve A. Smith Show".

But the "Jimmy's Jet" segment during ESPN-televised games was by far the worst in-game segment I have ever seen, bar-none.

Did not a single programming director realize how corny it was? Did nobody ever wonder to ask if people enjoyed it? How many executives OK'd this idea? I really feel like somebody should have been fired for allowing this to run week after week after week.

True, it was only a 30-60sec segment, but man, those seconds were rather brutal. Just give me a standard-issue Bubble Watch. I don't need aww-shucks-Jimmy Dykes using airplane analogies and foolish graphics to tell me who is on the bubble and who isn't.

I would have paid to see a camera-shot of Brad Nessler's reaction during those segments.

Jimmy Dykes is OK at his job (although if you check any SEC message board, you will realize many fans don't share my sentiments). His southern accent gets on my nerves sometimes, and sure, he has an over-abundance of unnecessary catch-phrases, but ussually he does adequate work.

But this "Jimmy's Jet" thing has to go.

Take it from me, the broadcast production major still toiling in the Internet ranks, "Jimmy's Jet" doesn't work. It never worked, and if I see it again, I may have to do something drastic.

Somebody call Amilia Earhardt, we have another mission for her.


Continue reading...

George Mason knocks off Villanova as Gus Johnson shines

Gus Johnson breeds excitement.

Seriously. Its unreal. It seems like every game that he calls in the NCAA Tournament comes down to the wire, so it should be no surprise that No. 8 George Mason's exciting, 61-57 comeback win over No. 9 Villanova had Mr. March Madness on the call.

Mason was down for much of the second half, and after getting to with a point on a couple of different occasions midway through the half, the Patriots found themselves down 54-48 with about two minutes left in the game. But the Patriots used a 13-3 run, capped by an emphatic put-back dunk from Mike Morrison and an ankle-breaking, step-back three from Luke Hancock.



The only thing less surprising than an exciting finish with Johnson on the call is a late-game collapse by Villanova.

For the second straight season, the Wildcats finished off a disastrous finish to their year with an early exit in the NCAA Tournament. And much like their first round loss to South Florida in the Big East Tournament, the Wildcats looked as good early in the game as they did bad down the stretch.

Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes were both on fire in the first half, but neither could buy bucket in the second half as Jay Wright's team, once again, resorted to dribbling the air out of the ball. Its almost frustrating to watch Villanova late in a game. Fisher and Maalik Wayns seemingly take turns dribbling out the shot clock and forcing up a tough shot.

One of the talking points coming into the tournament was that the Big East was overrated; that there was no way that a league sending 11 teams to the tournament would produce results living up to expectations; that the Big East had a lot of good and not much great.

And while Villanova lost this game, don't let that sway your opinion about the Big East's performance as much as, say, Louisville's loss to Morehead State.

Most folks had George Mason winning this game. I know I did. In fact, a Villanova win would have been a much more surprising result. Using this as evidence of the lack of power in the Big East would be a slap in the face of this Patriot team.

Villanova lost their last six games, eight of their final 10, and ten of their final 14. George Mason was on a 16 game winning streak -- the longest in the nation -- when VCU beat them in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. George Mason is a very good basketball team, even if they didn't play like it for the first 38 minutes today.

The most impressive part about this victory is that George Mason was able to win despite getting poor performances out of both Cam Long and Ryan Pearson, their two leading scorer. The two combined for 15 points, 10 boards, four assists, and six turnovers on 4-17 shooting from the field. Instead, it was Luke Hancock (18 points, five assists) and Mike Morrison (10 points, 11 boards, four offensive) that carried the Patriots.

Those two are going to be very important on Sunday.

George Mason is not a very big basketball team. They don't have a lot of depth in their front court, which is not a good thing with Ohio State and Jared Sullinger on the docket for Sunday.

The Buckeyes are also a very good defensive team, and Hancock, despite being the team's small forward, is the team's best ball handler and creator.

Ohio State is the best team in the country. There are not many teams that matchup well with them, and George Mason is no different.

But if the Patriots get the kind of play they got out of Hancock and Morrison today, and Pearson and Long play up to their standards, GMU has a shot.

No one thought Jim Larrananga was going to be able to knock off UConn in 2006, either.
Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 1: Morrison, six, fires, OOHH HE BANKED IN A THREE

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 1: Morrison, six, fires, OOHH HE BANKED IN A THREE

Many of us have speculated on what would happen if Bill Raftery, the loveable drunkard version of Dick Vitale, were to get paired with Gus Johnson in a game with an exciting finish.

Well, we know the answer to that question.

And as you might expect, it involves quite a bit of incoherent babbling:



So concludes our countdown of Gus Johnson's best calls. I hope you enjoyed watching them as much as we did.

There is nothing like Gus Jeezy. Don't you go a'changin'.

Mr. March Madness: No. 2 - And we're going to overtime, iiinnn Lexington
Mr. March Madness: No. 3 - Crawford's gotta hurry ... uh ... OOOHHH!
Mr. March Madness: No. 4 - The Slipper Still Fits
Mr. March Madness: No. 5 - Cold. Blooded.
Mr. March Madness: No. 6 - Sorrentine from the parking lot
Mr. March Madness: No. 7 - Heartbreak City
Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Sylvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.
Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 2: And we're going to overtime, iiinnn Lexington

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 2: And we're going to overtime, iiinnn Lexington

This is when I fell under the spell that is Gus Johnson.

This game, this call, I remember watching it live. I remember thinking "this announcer is awesome". I remember it all very clearly:



This clip features the beginning of a handful of epic "Gus-isms". First and foremost is "And we're heading to overtime", but we also got the "HA...HA" and, the classic "THIS......IS MARCH MADNESS". This clip really does have it all.

I still get chills watching this clip. Crazier than that? David Lighty was on this team.

Mr. March Madness: No. 3 - Crawford's gotta hurry ... uh ... OOOHHH!
Mr. March Madness: No. 4 - The Slipper Still Fits
Mr. March Madness: No. 5 - Cold. Blooded.
Mr. March Madness: No. 6 - Sorrentine from the parking lot
Mr. March Madness: No. 7 - Heartbreak City
Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Sylvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here. Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 3: Crawford's gotta hurry ... uh ... OOOHHH!

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 3: Crawford's gotta hurry ... uh ... OOOHHH!

Calling something the "greatest of all time" is a grandiose statement, and one I am not sure I'm qualified to make.

But if we are talking about the all-time greatest NCAA Tournament game, last year's epic, two overtime duel between Kansas State and Xavier has to, at the very least, be in the conversation. Clutch shot after clutch shot was made. There was drama. There was back and forth action. There were exhausted kids playing their hearts out.

And of course, there was Gus:



There may never have been a better game for Gus Johnson to call than this one. Seriously. Some of his calls get cut off in the clip I embedded simply because I tried to find the youtube video with the most big plays down the stretch. Its tough to pick just one from the bunch, but we went with Jordan Crawford's double-overtime forcing 30 footer.

The crazy thing about this game? I am not sure it would have been quite the same with Gus on the call.

He makes watching sporting events like watching a game with a good friend.

Mr. March Madness: No. 4 - The Slipper Still Fits
Mr. March Madness: No. 5 - Cold. Blooded.
Mr. March Madness: No. 6 - Sorrentine from the parking lot
Mr. March Madness: No. 7 - Heartbreak City
Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Sylvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.

Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness: No. 4 The Slipper Still Fits

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 4: The Slipper Still Fits

Not only is this the signature call in Gus Johnson's resume, it is also one of the most iconic calls in college basketball history.

The Gonzaga program has long been known as the pioneers of "the Cinderella story". A small catholic school from Spokane, WA should never be able to challenge the big universities of the mid-west and the east coast. But somehow, someway, the Zags always seemed to be primed for a March Madness upset.

In 1999, Gonzaga, the No. 10-seed won their first-ever tournament game, defeating No. 7 Minnesota, win the first round, then had to face No. 2 Stanford in the round of 32. Gonzaga beat Stanford by eight, setting up an unlikely Sweet Sixteen showdown with the No 6. Gators.

Florida trailed 52-44 with 14:08 to play, but clawed back to even things up after Udonis Haslem made the second of two free throws and a lay-in to tie the game 67-67 with two minutes to go. Florida's Greg Stolt nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to give Florida a 72-69 lead with 45.7 seconds to play, but a Jeremy Eaton-layup with 19.7 seconds left made it a one-point game. Florida got the ball but Brent Wright was called for traveling as he tried to call timeout, which would give Gonzaga the ball back with 15.4sec to play.

From here, well you know the rest:




"CALVARY....HALL....HALL....THE RUNNNNEEEEERR....LOOOOOSEE BALLLL....IT'S GOOOOD."

"SHANNON........SHANNNON....FROM THE CORNEEEERRRRRRR....AND IT'S ALL OVER"

"GONZAGA....THE SLIPPER STILL FITS"


Those final four words " The slipper still fits" has become a hallmark of the Gonzaga program. This was arguably the school's signature moment, and the program has had a meteoric rise to success since Gus-Jeezy uttered those four glorious words.

For Gus Johnson, this was the call that started it all.

Mr. March Madness: No. 5 - Cold. Blooded.
Mr. March Madness: No. 6 - Sorrentine from the parking lot
Mr. March Madness: No. 7 - Heartbreak City
Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Sylvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.


Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 5: Cold. Blooded.

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 5: Cold-Blooded

Gus Johnson can make any great moment special, any special moment spectacular, and any spectacular moment unforgettable.

This was one of those moments.

Saturday March 12, 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Pac-10 Championship game. The top-seeded Arizona Wildcats had been winning most of the game against the under-achieving No. 3 Huskies of Washington. The Huskies had won last season's tournament title and were looking to solidify their NCAA tournament status.

Down the stretch both teams hit big shots. CJ Wilcox burrtied a 3-pointer from the corner to send the game into overtime for UW, then Kevin Parrom hit a 3-pointer from the side to tie the game up at 75.

That's when Isaiah Thomas, last season's tournament MVP took over.

That's when we would be entering "Gus Johnson Time"



"SHOT-CLOCK TURNED OFF....GAME-CLOCK AT EIGHT....HE'S GONNA DO IT HIMSELF....THOMAS....SHAKE....CROSSOVER....STEP-BAAAACK....OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"COOOOOOLD BLOODED"


Mr. March Madness: No. 6 - Sorrentine from the parking lot
Mr. March Madness: No. 7 - Heartbreak City
Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Sylvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.


Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 6: Hit that one from the parking lot

This post is courtesy of Rizzo, our resident B.I.A.H Vermont fan.

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 6: Sorrentine from the Parking lot

The biggest game in the history of Vermont basketball, one of the greatest upsets of all time, and Gus Johnson swagging all over the mic brings this call in at #6. This moment was incredible and Gus Johnson capped it with one of his best calls ever.

Let's review. Vermont has the ball up one, 56-55, with 1:30 left on the clock IN OVERTIME. This is already the greatest game in the history of Vermont's program, but what happened next made it one of the greatest game in the history of the NCAA Tournament. TJ Sorrentine was UVM's scorer and three point threat, so he had the ball about 35 feet from the hoop, with the game on the line. The "U-V-M" chants start from the crowd who is obviously pro UVM because Vermont travels better then any team in the country. Sorrentine waves off a pick attempt from David Hehn, and continues to dribble now about 32 feet from the bucket. There is now only 10 seconds left on the shot clock and not a single person on the court has moved. Nobody knew it, but Sorrentine was about to pull off one of the swaggiest shots in the history of the NCAA tournament.

Sorrentine decides that the best option here is to pull from 30 feet, and drain a shot that completely breaks the will of the Orangemen, and puts UVM up 4 with a minute to play. Gus Johnson had this to say "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY GOODNESS, SORRENTINE. HIT THAT ONE FROM THE PARKING LOT!!!!"



Now ask yourself if you have ever seen somebody pull from 30 feet, in a game that big. Probably not, right? That's what makes the moment so awesome. HUGE upset paired with unbelievable shot and the golden pipes of Gus.

Johnson has had a lot of good calls and he always knows how to take excitement to another level. This game was no different. Vermont brought the game and Johnson brought the call.


Mr. March Madness: No. 7 - Heartbreak City
Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Sylvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.

Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 7: Heartbreak City

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 7: Featuring Adam Morrison's tears

This clip could have been titled "Batista with the catch", "Unbelievable", "What a comeback", or any number of different Gus-isms.

You see, the ending of the UCLA-Gonzaga game -- when the Bruins came from 17 down to end Adam Morrison's collegiate career -- s what Johnson was built for. This wasn't just one play or one shot or one steal that Gus made a call on. The entire final fifteen minutes of the game were legendary.

And if I could post that right now, I would. Unfortunately, this clip of the last 20 seconds is all I got.

But, boy, is it worth it.



Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Syvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here. Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 8: Sylvester for three

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 8: Sylvester for three


To create the perfect game, you don't need many ingredients: One undefeated team, one major underdog, one game-winning 3-pointer, one court-storming, and one Gus Johnson.

In case you've forgotten, this was the final game of the regular season and Illinois, with Dee Brown, Deron Williams, and Luther Head, was undefeated coming in:



This wasn't the most creative Gus Johnson call we've seen, but sometimes you don't need creativity, you need execution, and Gus-Jeezy executes this perfectly.

Matt Sylvester was just 28% from behind the arc over the course of his career and never averaged more than 7.8 ppg. But nobody will ever remember that about him. What we will remember about him is that he was part of a legendary Gus Johnson call.

Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.

Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 9: Hey Coach, play this kid

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 9: Hey coach, play this kid

The great thing about Gus Johnson is that he can call a relatively unimportant basketball game and make it seem like the national title is on the line.

Back in 2007-2008, Georgetown was trying to pull away from Louisville atop the Big East conference standings with just two games left while Marquette, who came into this one two games behind the Hoyas, simply was trying to better their tournament profile.

This wasn't even the end of the game. There were still two more possessions for each team upcoming as Georgetown eventually forced overtime and won the game. The situation here? Seldomly used reserve center Dwight Burke was on the court with 30 seconds left in a tie ball game and, well, just watch the video:




Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.

Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness No. 10: Overtime in Seattle

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Here is No. 10: Overtime in Seattle

The thing that is great about non-conference basketball is that we get matchups like UConn and Gonzaga every once in a while.

Back in December of 2008, the No. 2 Huskies headed to Seattle to take on No. 8 Gonzaga. AJ Price, the Huskies star point guard, finished the game with 24 points and 10 assists, which included a game-tying three pointer with nine seconds left to cap a comeback from 11 down:



The best thing about this call?

Listening to Greg Anthony try to get a word in. Gus doesn't stop going, and Anthony finally gets the point. You don't interrupt Jeezy when he's on a roll.


Mr. March Madness: The Preview

To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.

Continue reading...

Mr. March Madness: The Preview

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

That's it, that's all.

Seriously, March should be honored as "National Gus Johnson Month". All the upsets, all the buzzer-beaters, all the great tournament moments would not be the same without the narration of Gus-Jeezy.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.

Finding the best Gus Johnson clips was not hard. But trying to rank them was damn-near-impossible.

To prep you for the countdown, we've decided to provide you with some of Gus-Jeezy's best non-basketball calls.


Kimbo Slice get's KO'd



You all know who Kimbo Slice is, and you all know who Gus Johnson is. So it makes perfect sense that magic was made when they shared the same screen.


Brandon Stokley and the "Immaculate Deflection"



Is there ever a time when Gus Johnson isn't involved with something ridiculous?


Chris Johnson runs from the cops



Only Gus-Jeezy can get away with saying something like that.


"My name is Al Harrington, and I get buckets"



I cannot tell you how many times I have used this phrase, inserting my name for Al Harrington's.


Rise and Fire



Quite possibly the greatest mixtape in the history of YouTube.


Over the next two days we will be dropping the top-10 Gus Johnson calls, so stay tune.

Click here to read more about Gus Johnson



Continue reading...

Gus Johnson already working more college hoops

Last week, we mentioned that Gus Johnson had been fired from his gig with the New York Knicks. We said that firing would be a blessing in disguise for college hoops fans nationwide.

We were right and wrong.

Gus Johnson does play-by-play for college hoops with CBS and with the Big Ten Network. Yesterday, the Big Ten Network announced that they would be doubling the workload of Johnson for the 2010-2011 season. He will call 23 Big Ten games this year, which gives fans around the country a legitimate reason to watch Big Ten basketball.

If anyone can make a game played in the 30's (yes, seriously, in the 30's) interesting, its Gus Jeezy.

Continue reading...

Gus Johnson has been 'Rise and Fired'!!!

Relax.

Its not what you think.

The New York Knicks and Gus Jeezy have officially parted ways after 16 years. Johnson was the radio play-by-play announcer for the Knicks since 1998, but based on the wording in this article, it seems as if Johnson wanted more money than the Knicks were willing to spend. Either that, or the Knicks were fed up with his side gigs -- we all know about his work with college basketball for CBS and the Big Ten Network, but he also does play by play for the NFL on CBS and MMA on Showtime.

Whatever the case, this is potentially great news for us, the college hoops fan: Gus Johnson just had some time during college basketball season open up. If CBS -- or, hell, why not ESPN? -- is smart, they've already made the call and thrown the stack of cash at Johnson.

And why shouldn't they? What other announcer could actually have a song made out of their calls:



Continue reading...

Gus Johnson's calls at the end of Kansas State-Xavier

Well now.

That was exciting, wasn't it?

I think we all need to take a moment and thank the basketball gods that Gus Johnson called what is one of the best NCAA Tournament games I can remember.

There were so many big shots and great calls by Johnson in this game. Too many to put into any one blog post. Hit the jump for his calls at the end of regulation and the end of the first OT.

Trust me when I say, the second one is worth it:






Vids @Jose3030

Continue reading...

Top 10 moments from 2008-2009 - No. 10

College basketball season tips off today, and in an effort to get you guys (and ourselves) excited, we will be counting down the Top 10 moments from last season. Check back with us throughout the day as we will be posting on the hour until 7pm, when UNC and FIU kick off the 2009-2010 college basketball season.

10. UConn and Gonzaga play a classic early in the season. It doubles as Gus Johnson's best performance of the year.




Continue reading...