My alma mater, Indiana University, will be playing in its first college football bowl game since 1993 this year. The IU Hoosiers are scheduled to take on Oklahoma State at the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 31.
Unfortunately, many of its alumni across the country will be unable to watch the game, which, for some unknown reason, will air on the NFL Network.
There's been a lot of talk this year debating the NFL's decision to air some of its own games on the NFL Network, because of the limited and costly availability of the premium station. At least in case of those games, I think the NFL saves itself by airing the games on local networks in the cities of the two teams involved.
I'm not sure if these college bowl games will be shown in local market networks or not, but I really hope so. Meanwhile, sports leagues and conferences around the country continue to push their own networks more and more. The Big Ten Network presents the same issues to IU fans.
The league-specific networks may be great for the leagues, but not for the fans. If your cable or satellite provider even offers the network, you have to purchase it as part of a premium package with a bunch of other stations that you probably don't want. In an age where information is becoming more and more accessible, the league executives are making games harder and more expensive to watch.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
football: College bowl games on NFL Network?
Saturday, December 1, 2007
football: Pitt's chance to beat WVU? Non-existent
I've laughed several time this week while reading the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's pregame coverage of today's Backyard Brawl (Pitt Panthers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers). Much of the coverage suggested that Pitt actually has a chance to beat their biggest rival.
No way. West Virginia, ranked No. 2 in the BCS Standings and the AP pool, and No. 1 in the USA Today poll, simply needs to win this game to make it the national championship. Pitt stopped dreaming about being ranked a long time ago, and their 2-4 Big East record can't even send shivers of fear to WVU. The game's in Morgantown, and I'd bet money on couches being burned in a victory celebration tonight.
Meanwhile, Pitt seems to favor rewarding failure. They've extended football coach Dave Wannstedt's contract, and rehired former athletic director Steve Pederson (yeah, that's right, the man who tried to change Pitt to Pittsburgh).
