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 HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.