I can't imagine Billy Packer (right) being a fan of raspy-voiced Janis Joplin. But, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,'' as Joplin sang in Me and Bobby McGee, is a fair description of how Packer went about his business as a broadcaster.
Packer worked his last Final Four in San Antonio this past April. CBS Sports announced Monday that Packer's one-year contract would not be renewed. Instead, CBS' Road To The Final Four will pair Clark Kellogg (a younger, hipper analyst) with signature voice Jim Nantz.
Packer worked 34 consecutive Final Fours, the last 27 with CBS. No announcer worked a national sports event longer than Packer worked the Final Four.
"These are really good circumstances," Packer told The Associated Press by phone. "This decision was made with myself and CBS over a year ago. Their timing to announce it is their business. I have nothing to do with that. I was working on a series of 1-year contracts for several years. ... I did say there would be no mention during the season so as not to detract from the games and the guys involved."
That's typical Packer. For a TV guy, he had no schtick and he didn't care if he was liked. An ego? Huge. When it came to college basketball (on the air) and anything else (off the air) Packer sounded like a know-it-all.
And the Janis Joplin reference? Packer was a shrewd businessman who didn't need CBS' money. Being a basketball analyst was his hobby, not his vocation. That meant that he could say pretty much what he wanted without giving a damn.
That honesty was refreshing but dangerous.
During what turned out to be his final Final Four, packer declared that the Kansas-North Carolina semifinal was "over." Kansas, the eventual national champions, had a 38-12 lead in the first half. The Tar Heels rallied in the second half and closed to within four points.
Networks who pay $6 billion rights fees don't like their on-air talent telling viewers that a game is over before the final buzzer. That's not the reason Packer's CBS career is over. But his "this game is over" declaration is a fitting epithet for an announcer who embraced Howard Cosell's "tell it like it is" philosophy.
