At 10:45 PM 3/28/00 +0200, John Whelan wrote:
>ESPN has a policy which I think shows integrity and attention to their
>mission as a sports network.  FSN apparently does not.  Remember this
>the next time someone complains about ESPN's Phrozen Phour coverage.
 
You can't compare the ESPN/ESPN2 broadcasts of the Frozen Four to the FSN
broadcasts of the regionals. Aside from being a lower-profile event, the
regionals are not carried nationally.
 
To say that FSN or FSN-E show no integrity while ESPN does is an ignorant
statement.
 
FSN-E proved they did everything within their power by showing
non-truncated coverage of both games on Sunday, while also satisfying the
basketball fans (of which there were twice as many). FSN also could have
pulled rank on FSN-E by not allowing them to push back Fox Sports News, The
Last Word and any other Sunday evening "national" programming that was
scheduled.
 
Furthermore, I've witnessed countless programming on ESPN and ESPN2 that
has suffered from commitments to broadcasts that cater to a larger
audience; in particular, tennis and soccer have been delayed and in some
cases pre-empted entirely, and not just to games.
 
Not long ago, ESPN failed to broadcast a major international soccer match
because of Michael Jordan's retirement. It wasn't just coverage of his
press conference; the entire day of programming was shuffled around and in
many cases (the soccer match) not rebroadcast, just so they could show
endless Jordan highlight reels.
 
Do you really think ESPN would care about their integrity if Jordan were to
announce his return to the sport, or Tiger Woods were to announce his
retirement? Maybe the championship game would be safe, but I wouldn't count
on the semifinal broadcasts going uninterrupted. They'd swap back and forth
every time the puck came to a stop.
 
Considering the many options available to Fox New England, they came
through well and offered the viewing public the opportunity to watch the
games in their entirety. Additionally, they kept the public informed as to
their plans; during the Celtics game they repeatedly reminded viewers that
the BU-SLU conclusion would be shown, in its entirety, and that
Maine-Michigan would be immediately following.
 
Compare that to 1997, when MSC dropped the broadcast of a regional hockey
final to instead  provide 30+ minutes of helicopter coverage as the
Minnesota basketball team bus drove back to campus from the airport.
Granted, it was BU vs DU but still, a much bigger gaff considering they
never aired the pre-empted portion of the broadcast.
 
Like it or not, the broadcasting of sports on TV is a business. As viewers
we've demanded better college hockey coverage at tournament time, and we've
received it. Be grateful, not spiteful.
 
 
greenie
 
ps: if you want to point a finger, push it in the face of the NCAA for not
putting together a contract that would require networks to show the games
uninterrupted, regardless of how long they run. The NCAA has this agreement
with CBS (and all of their affiliates) for the basketball tournament, but
how far do you think this would fly for hockey?
 
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