The good-natured ribbing occurs between 1:40 and 2:30 of the video, after Buccigross sneaks in a little shot at Memphis' inability to win that national title (which now wouldn't exist!) in 2008.

The argument can be made that no media person is as synonymous with any sport in the country as Dick Vitale is with college basketball. Some people love his genuine enthusiasm; others think he's too bombastic, over the top and annoying. One thing's for certain: he takes nothing for granted. Vitale went out of his way to ask me if I'd like to have a few minutes for an interview. ... Read More

I'm proud to bring you, I believe, the first Q&A with Digger in blogosphere history. Digger, who is the definition of orotund in person, was terrific. In fact, 90 percent of the stuff we talked about, unfortunately, isn't repeatable. Here's what is, and some of it is longwinded, but worth it. Enjoy. Dick Vitale: Ask him why he never scheduled me when I was at Detroit! Ask him that! Digger Phelps: ... Read More

Note: ESPN allowed me into its hub with its college basketball analysts under the agreement that everything said in the room was off the record. Anything with quotes attached to it was cleared by said parties. I will have separate Q&A's with Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale going up Monday morning. The campus in Bristol is wide-ranging, ever-expanding and on extreme lockdown for anyone without proper ID; when attempting to leave ... Read More

Some good television near the top of ESPN's bracketology show last night. Love Vitale's emotion, and love Bilas' law-school-trained counter as well. Then Vitale drops a "you went to Duke, you must be right" card on Bilas! Love it. Wait until the final seconds of the video, when Phelps then appears to further mock (maybe applaud?) Bilas when Vitale's done. ... Read More

I'm guessing not all that much. It's funny: Someone out there on the Webs through this theory (Gillispie asking Edwards out on a date, being shot down) against the wall a couple of weeks ago, but I thought nothing of it. Perhaps there is some legitimacy to it. Since this story has gotten some speed, I'm guessing that everyone with Kentucky and ESPN has sat down and had a nice little chat ... Read More

Or does he have something against ESPN's Jeannine Edwards? Last night's interview after the first half wasn't as chippy as the first one (link above), but Gillispie clearly didn't want to be bothered by Edwards ... again. The condescending tone isn't lost on this viewer. And yet, the questions were fine ... again. Is this part of Gillispie's personality (read: prickish), or is he just a man who might've taken on ... Read More

The lack of travelling violations called has been as hideous on the college level as it's been on the pro level for a number of years. In this video, Knight goes after Hansbrough (who refers to as "50") and Blake Griffin. SportsCenter ran with this Knight-breaking-down-film feature all week, and it worked really well. I just get a little uncomfortable when he looks into my soul. ... Read More

But ESPN is ready to shove college hoops down your throat. My mouth is agape. If I had a job that would afford me to do it, I'd attempt to liveblog this marathon of roundball goodness for you. Instead, I'm going to have to pick and choose what games I'll be able to watch. (Honestly, what's cooler than that 4 a.m. tip between Idaho State and Hawaii?) This is a great idea by ... Read More

Let's be real: ESPN put its cameras behind the bubble team that is the Oklahoma Sooners with the perception that they'd beat Nebraska and have a nice little piece of video to show how a team really comes together amidst the craziness of this month. Well, Oklahoma lost, and it makes for a much better segment. It's a few days old, but it's a good watch. Jeff Capel looks an eventual ... Read More

Yes, the media-hating hypocrite that is Bobby Knight will be at The Juggernaut for a few weeks, providing some quotables about how to bow out early win in The Tournament. And yes: Bloggers everywhere are rejoicing. I don't see how he's going to really get that much of a sentence in during studio coverage with Vitale and Digger (who tend to tug at each other as is), but maybe Knight would ... Read More

As everyone well knows by now, ESPN has hit an absolute television gold mine by having their broadcast of College Gameday take place at Indiana University this Saturday as it coincides with the less-than-startling news of Kelvin Sampson's love for his cellphone plan. That deafening roar on Bristol's door is Opportunity. I have to implore The Jug to get Kelvin Sampson (every other Gameday has a lighthearted interview with a coach) ... Read More

If you watched ESPN at all yesterday, then you probably saw this, as I only watched about two hours of basketball all day and managed to see them pump this hilarious bit out about five times; I just had to put it up on the site. Strangely, it doesn’t appear as though Rece Davis was an integral part of lock room amp-ups in his earlier years. Who knows though, maybe ... Read More

...Then be sure to tune into tonight at 7 p.m ET on ESPN, when they will air (as they do every year) all 13 minutes of Jim Valvano's speech from the 1993 ESPY Awards (you know, when they meant something?). This is one of the five best things that ESPN does every year (CHJ's research team is currently digging through the files for the other four), and I make sure I ... Read More