American sportscaster Billy Packer dies at 82
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Billy Packer, an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Thursday.
He was 82. Packer's son, Mark, told The Associated Press that his father had been hospitalized in Charlotte for the past three weeks and had several medical issues, and ultimately died from kidney failure.
Packer's broadcasting career coincided with the growth of college basketball.
He worked as an analyst or color commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008.
He received a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio and Sports Analyst in 1993."He really enjoyed doing the Final Fours," Mark Packer said. "
"Packer played three seasons at Wake Forest and helped lead the Demon Deacons to the Final Four in 1962, but it was his work as an analyst that brought him the most acclaim.
He joined NBC in 1974 and called his first Final Four in 1975.
Packer went to CBS in the fall of 1981, when the network acquired the rights to the NCAA Tournament.
He remained the network's main analyst until the 2008 Final Four.
In 1996 at CBS, Packer was involved in controversy when he used the term "tough monkey″ to describe then-Georgetown star Allen Iverson during a game.