Gary Walters, the chair of the selection committee, was on ESPN just now trying to defend the selection of Arkansas. He's using a lot of four- and five-syllable words, and when that happens I start to wonder.
Dick Vitale just called Arkansas "mediocre at best."
Walters just used the phrase "Jefferson and Jacksonian democracy" in trying to explain choosing 34 at-large teams.
I don't even know what that means.
Walters justified the selection of Old Dominion because of its record both in and out of conference, which is fair.
But he also called it "the height of arrogance" to say "that we also did everything 100 percent right all the time."
"I'm not suggesting that not selecting Drexel is not the right decision," he continued. "I am saying that it is a contender for people around the table who might come up with different results."
Uh. I think the job of the committee is to get it right across the entire field.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was then on the phone with ESPN, and said he was "in shock" when he found out that his team did not get in despite beating Villanova, Marquette and Georgetown. I certainly think the Orange's refusal to leave New York state before conference play is a bad thing, but I also think Syracuse did what was necessary to make the tournament this year.
Walters basically replied that Boeheim is speaking in his own interest, but he saidso in far more words than that. Too many words, I think.
Comments (1)
Walters is a fraud...why dont they come out and admit that there is a tv component (translation... CBS) and get on with it.
Also, NCAA runs, ownes the NIT now, a result of a anti-trust suit the NCAA basically lost....agin Waletrs a fraud who should be kicked out of the any NCAA org
Posted by Breeze | March 12, 2007 2:31 AM
Posted on March 12, 2007 02:31