Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Phone: (502)852-5752; Fax: (502)852-6222
 
 I'm one of those basketball fans who think ESPN made the Final Four what it
is today by starting the non-stop coverage of all the early round games and
switching around the country to catch every important basket, OT, upset, etc.
 
 I was delighted when they got the NHL contract and started covering many of
the early round games this yr. I'm a die-hard Broons fan (and Red Sox; still
waiting for roof to cave in this month), but have really enjoyed the
all-around quality of the coverage. Once again they are managing to take TV
coverage of a sport to a new level. I even like the Goal-cam and many
different angles of replays. Sure they miss a few key events happening on the
ice away from the action, but IMO it is still better than anything ever done
before.
 
 I was surprised that the early ratings are no better than in the past, but
some of the problem seems to relate to blackouts forced by local TV contracts
in NYC or other major metropolitan areas.
 
 Louisville is the true hockey dessert, but what prompted this note was an
all-time first: Yesterday, the Louisville Courier Journal had an NHL hockey
picture on p. 1 of the Sports section AND an A.P. story on p.3. Normally, we
are lucky to get a game score hidden in the summary page. For those of you who
can't comprehend approx. zero hockey coverage, this is the land of the 12
month college basketball season. We fill the extra months with nation-wide
high school recruiting (all-star games, summer camps) and several hours a day
of talk show speculation of anything related to the Univ of Louisville or the
Univ of Kentucky programs. However on yesterday's 5 to 5 sports update the
local b'ball announcer guru even gave the Stanley Cup score!
 
 Perhaps even more noteworthy, a UCLA Californian b'ball fanatical friend
actually stayed up and watched one of the OT game. Folks we're talking strange
effects here. I would have bet he couldn't watch 5 straight min of any hockey
game.
 
 Is ESPN partly resposible for this? I think so and I think it is good for
hockey at all levels. There is potential hockey interest all around the
country that is like a dormant volcano. However, I also worry about the
provincialism of local leaders in non-hockey areas and their ability to
understand what is happening or provide better opportunities for the kids.
 
 Here in Louisville, we had to turn away 250 kids from starting in our Youth
Hockey Program because of the lack of ice-time and our prospects of having a
yr-round rink are still dim. I'm hoping 3 yrs of ESPN coverage will make the
difference and it seems to me positive fall-out is happening already.
 
 Any other perspectives out there in hockey and non-hockey areas?