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NCAA Tournament
With Greg Gumbel
CBS Sports Broadcaster
Monday, Apr. 2, 2001; 9 a.m. EDT
CBS sportscaster Greg Gumbel previews this year's men's national college championship game. This is Gumbel's fourth year as host of CBS Sports coverage of NCAA Men's Basketball.
Gumbel has covered the 2001 NFL seaseon paired with Phil Simms as the Network's lead NFL announce team. He returned to CBS Sports in January 1998 as lead play-by-play announcer for THE NFL ON CBS and studio host for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. His other host roles have included the 1992 Olympic Winter Games, Major League Baseball, college football broadcasts for CBS Sports, play-by-play for college basketball including the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, regular-season and playoff NBA and College World Series championship games.
What did you think of the Final Four tournament? Who do you think will win the championship title? Below is the transcript.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Simi Valley, Calif.:
How are referees chosen for the Final Four tournament? Shouldn't objectivity and fairness in calling fouls be the top priority?
Greg Gumbel: They are chosed based on merit and performance. Considering that, you would think that you would get a better officiated game than the one like Duke and Maryland.
Colesville, Md.:
How do you handle/prepare for the transition between different sports (i.e. football to basketball)?
Greg Gumbel: I think the preparation is the same. You shift gears as the season shifts. It's basically keeping up with what happens. I read every newspaper I can read online and we have a research dept. that supplies us packets of information on a regular basis.
washingtonpost.com:
What is your favorite sport to cover?
Greg Gumbel: When I do play by play I love being at the stadium for football. And when I'm in the studio, it's for basketball. I get to see all those different games at the same time. I consider it the best of both worlds.
Colesville, Md.:
As disappointing (AND FRUSTRATING) as the game was Saturday, how much did the long-term "program" advance for Maryland this March? Did the opinion of Gary Williams in basketball circles advance as well?
Greg Gumbel: I think that the opinion of Gary Williams has been fine. ONly those people who judge coaches by how many championships they won, or Final Fours they've appeared in, would consider Williams an inferior coach. There are bunches of coaches that never make the FInal Four who are terrific coaches. But certainly it was a tremondous thing for the Maryland program.
washingtonpost.com:
WHat do you think about the vandalism at Maryland?
Greg Gumbel: I didn't hear about that. But it certainly is not acceptable to me. IF that were to be considered acceptable, then you would have that going on at half of the schools playing the tournament. I understand the frustration and I certainly agree with those who feel that it was a terrible officiated game. But I would never condone that action just because you are on the short end of the basketball score.
Maryland:
At times the world of sports seems to be controlled from off the court. This latest Duke/Maryland matchup epitomizes the affect of outside forces on a game. Did CBS recieve the final game it wanted? And are ratings more important than letting the best team win?
Greg Gumbel: Well I'm not sure that I agree totally with the premise that the game on the court is controlled by outside forces. I believe CBS was very happy with the 14 that came to Minneapolis. And we would have been happy with whatever match up we have tonight. That said, you can't ask for a better match up than the two teams that were considered number one and number two. It involves two basketball programs, two coaches headed for the hall of fame and a lot of talent on the floor.
washingtonpost.com:
What do expect to see in tonight's game?
Greg Gumbel: I don't expect Arizona will be able to dominate Duke inside the way they dominated Michigan State. I don't expect Duke to fall behind the way they fell behind Maryland. And this game may well come down to which team shoots the best from outside.
Aaron, Maryland:
Thanks for taking questions Greg,
I wanted to know your thoughts on the Duke/Maryland game. The game was unfortunate, not because of the outcome, but because of the unusually poor officiating. Neither the teams nor the fans will ever know who would have won in an evenly called game. The action was poisoned throughout, and even the drama of the ending was undermined after the phantom 5th foul call on Lonny Baxter broke the Terps spirit.
I think both teams could agree it was one of the most poorly officiated games they have played in, and although both teams benefited from bad calls, even a Duke fan would have to admit that blown or questionable calls went at least 2 to 1 in Duke's favor.
What can the NCAA do to improve the officiating in tournament games? The final four is the culmination of the season, and the players and fans deserved better than they got on Saturday. I usually defend referees as humans who do their best, but this game crossed the line. Your thoughts?
Aaron
Greg Gumbel: The NCAA as most competitive organizations do, constantly monitor, train and upgrade their officiating staff. I really felt that the officiating crew for the Duke/Md. game simply had one of those horrible days. I'm sure they'll hear about it from their superiors.
Greg Gumbel: This is my fourth Final Four. When I was with CBS previously, I was doing play by play in college basketball and my season ended in the regional final. When I returned to CBS, I returned as the host of the NCAA tournament. So my first Final Four was four years ago in San Antonio and since then, I've been to St. Petersburg, Indianapolis, and now Minneapolis. And each one so far has had its own special pleasures.
My favorite part in covering the Final four is the excitement the schools bring with them. We were right next to the Michigan State section and every time I started to say something, the Michigan State band would fire up. And it puts a little strain on your voice but it's an awful lot of fun to be in the midst of the excitement that's going on.
Greg Gumbel: My alma mater is Loras College in Debuque Iowa. They're not big enough to play with the big boys. Unless they grow a lot they are never going to be in the tournament.
washingtonpost.com:
What did you think about the AZ mich state game?
Greg Gumbel: I thought it was well officiated because of the two different officiating team from the MD/Duke game. Different things happen in different games. The problem that most college basketball officials have, in my opinion, is that they blow the whistle in anticipation of a foul. Rather than waiting to see if a foul is committed.
The officials are allowed to be a lot more physical in the NBA.
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