Written and sent BEFORE retrieving new mail...
 
Not to resurrect an old thread, but imagine my disappointment last night as I
settled in front of the big-screen, ready to enjoy the Clarkson-Cornell game
to decide first place in the ECAC... but wait!  What's this?  An AHL game
featuring the Providence Bruins (who cares?)... round-ball (mesomorphs in
their underwear -- blah!) and (who dreamed THIS up?) a pre-pre-preseason
BASEBALL game between the Red Sox and the BC Eagles!  Gee, what an exciting
lineup of mind-numbing choices.  And of course, my favorite cop show,
"Homicide", was pre-empted once again.  A viewing wasteland.
 
Around 4:00 AM I woke up, too hot and stuffed up, to struggle out of bed for
a trip to the john and a cold drink.  Naturally, being a citizen of the 90's,
I snapped on the TV lest I should miss anything important in the wee small
hours -- and lo and behold, there on tape delay, was the Cornell-Clarkson
game!  So, being the confirmed hockey nut that I am, I stayed up to watch the
last 2+ periods, and was rewarded by seeing Todd White score twice, including
the GW'er, and Dana Mulvihill undress Jason Elliott with a wrap-around
stuffer!  Of course, this came with a price: I had to watch four (?)
repetitions of a much-too-long commercial for free time to talk to your
"personal" psychic on the telephone (what an apt sponsor for college hockey
-- not!) but was treated to the insightful observations of Joe Bertagna and
Kevin Paul Dupont.
 
Now mind you, I'm not residing in Hog Hollow, Tennessee -- I'm right in the
greater Boston area, with no less than eight D-I teams within an hour's drive
and a host of fans who follow the game.  No wonder the networks/stations
point to less-than-profitable returns for college hockey broadcasts -- who
besides fools like me is up to watch at THAT hour!?  Why is it that we can
pick up basketball games between East Overshoe State and Obscure College
virtually any night of the week, telecasts of the new Women's basketball
league (pretty entertaining, actually, but what kind of a fan base can they
point to at this juncture?), swamp-buggy races (I think you have to chew
tobacco and wear bib-front overalls to qualify to watch), and fishing derbies
(duh!) but a first-place battle between two top-notch college hockey teams
gets relegated to a 3:30 AM time slot?  If the NHL can support teams in
Anaheim, Tampa, and Phoenix, don't you think it proves there IS a market for
the game beyond New England, Canada, and Michigan/Minnesota?  Of course, the
folks who control television are still using laugh tracks to stimulate a
risible response to "jokes" on lame sitcoms, so I guess I shouldn't be
surprised.
 
Thanks, I needed that.  Have a nice day!
 
--Dave
 
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