Friday, November 12, 2004
Against the Grain
Maybe it's West Coast Bias (for a change), but after his latest column, I'm entertaining the thought that Ed Graney is the best of ESPN.com's college basketball analysts and contributors. Andy Katz gets better scoops, Dick Vitale is more blogworthy (by virtue of his far-out opinions), Jeff Shelman looks younger, Jay Bilas had a lengthier movie career (including "I Come in Peace"), Doug Gottlieb was a better player, Pat Forde writes "thought pieces" with greater frequency, Fran Fraschilla has a harder name to spell and Joe Lunardi provides better evidence to back up his claims. But none write as well as Graney. A case in point:It's easy to forget about the stagehands and stand-ins.
That would be a mistake for those who follow UCLA basketball this season. Fresh faces might forecast a bright future, but familiar ones could still decide how far the team lives into March.
