I caught a bit of the Packer-Knight show, "Survive and Advance", and I have to say that I was rather impressed. The two had on Isiah Thomas and Quinn Buckner, and the group discussed a lot of Tournament related topics, but none more interesting than the story of the 1981 Championship Game, and how it was almost postponned. Ronald Reagan was shot earlier in the day on March 30th, 1981, and both Knight and Thomas recalled the events of the day....

All My Children, huh Isiah? That explains a lot. Seriously though, the show was actually pretty entertaining, and the breakdown of the best players at each position in the Tournament, was extremely informative. Billy Packer even laughs during the show!

Check it out if you get a chance. It's on every Sunday, throughout the Tourney, at midnight.

One of the more anticipated (and controversial) things to debut this March is, Billy Packer and Bob Knight's newest endeavor, "Survive and Advance". I was curious to see what the duo had planned, and as it turns out, the site is actually pretty informative and entertaining. There is obviously a bracket contest, but on top of that they've added videos, trivia and an online talk show. Here are some quotes by Knight and Packer on the site, and one of the videos they put together on Magic Johnson....

Billy Packer: "I first thought about this project years ago, and I wanted a way to expand my ability to communicate my love of basketball beyond what I could do while broadcasting games all those years. Even though I am not technically savvy I wanted to use this website to work in conjunction with our upcoming Fox SportsNet TV show to help us reach out to as many fans as possible. Frank Sinatra said I did it "my way," and though I am not him, I'm doing this multi-platform project my way, and this is something I have planned on for a few years now and I always wanted to do with my good friend Bob Knight."

Bob Knight: "I am very excited about working on this project with Billy. In all the years that he has worked on NCAA basketball I have always been very impressed with his insight into the game and his ability to tell the viewing audience what's going on in the game and why it's happening. I have great respect for his knowledge of the game and think the two of us doing something together will be enjoyable and informative for the audience and that's what we intend to do here."

Looking through the videos, it seems like this might be the direction and change that Packer needed. He always had a great Basketball mind, but over the years he got more and more surly, and seemingly disinterested in the Sport. I think this is the perfect venue for him, and he already seems more relaxed and focused on sharing his views with fans.

The "Talk Show" portion airs Sundays at Midnight, starting March 15th (Selection Sunday), and will be on FSN. I'll be sure to get video up of the first show as well.

Bob Knight and Billy Packer are causing quite a stir in the Sports World since announcing the details surrounding their new FSN show, "Survive and Advance". USA Today spoke with a former gambling addict, and she says that program's locale is saying it's okay for College kids to bet on games....

"The NCAA should have enough clout to stop something like this. It sends the message to (college) kids it's OK to do this," complains Arnie Wexler, a recovering compulsive gambler who runs a gambling hotline.

"They're setting themselves up for a scandal. Who knows how many college students are going to bet on these games? I'm sure some athletes will bet too. What kind of message are we sending by running a show like this? The whole thing is sick."

Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, says the show flies in the face of the NCAA's anti-gambling stance. "This is really an issue for the NCAA. There's a contradiction between their zero-tolerance gambling approach — and the reality that most Americans do gamble."

The unfortunate thing, is that a hell of a lot of Americans do gamble on Sports, and there's nothing that can really be done to change that. Especially when you consider that banning online gambling in the U.S. did absolutely nothing to curtail it. FSN promises that the show will have nothing to do with betting, but young kids are impressionable, and all of the lines posted and people walking around with betting slips won't go unnoticed.

Hell, College is when I started gambling, and I'm sure that's the case for most people my age. I'm not for telling grownups what to do, but FSN might want to think about changing the location of the show.

Vegas venue raises eyebrows for Knight-Packer show (USA Today)