TIME OUT, BABY!

Fast-break fulminations on the 1990-91 NCAA season, delivered at record decibels by megastar sportscaster Vitale (Vitale, 1988). Vitale (writing with veteran Philadelphia Daily News sports- reporter Weiss) offers a screaming diary of frenetic moments and random observations on college hoops that is as much self-promotion and self-defense against critics as it is record or analysis. In addition to finding out that the most impressive college player he has seen since joining ABC four years ago was David Robinson, learning that Syracuse's Billy Owens was his favorite collegiate last season, and that the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers are Vitale's pick for all-time greatest college team, we are subjected to seemingly endless Vitale-related trivia from last year's campaign: Norman Chad attacks Vitale in The National; Vitale and Billy Packer squabble over self-promotion strategies; Jim Boeheim calls to rip Vitale after Vitale rips him. The author provides almost no new insight into the 1990-91 NCAA season and especially disappoints in not explaining how Duke pulled off its miracle upset in last year's semifinals. He also glosses over the nefarious side of modern college hoops, paying scant attention to recruiting scandals. Vitale seems too wrapped up in hyping the game and his own career to be an attentive reporter—so what we get is goofy and giddy, Baby, like the man himself. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs—not seen.)