Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Why can't the Mtn. schedule better?
By far my biggest complaint about the Mtn. is the inability to televise ALL of the conferences games. Clearly the money making programs for the station are men's football and basketball. If this is so, why can't every game be televised? As Brandon showed us, it's not like they are full of intriguing programs and they don't have spots for these games. I remember last year, BYU was playing Air Force in basketball and the Mtn. didn't cover the game. BYU was ranked 1st in the conference and Air Force was around 3rd. It was a big game and would have attracted a lot of viewers. So I assumed another game would be airing, but I turned on the Mtn. a few minutes after tip-off and they were showing a re-run of some stupid women's volleyball game that happened over a week ago!! It's not that difficult. You get together with the teams in the conference and make sure that no conference games conflict with one another. If they do you make a 2nd channel to insure ALL of the money making games (basketball and football) are on T.V. What a joke.
Do I want the Utes to win on Thursday?
Usually my m.o. is to wish the Utes would lose every game. So when Oregon State plays at Utah on Thursday my natural reaction would be to wear orange and cheer loudly for the Beavers. However, the idea of BYU and Utah both being 11-0 when they meet at the end of the season with a BCS bowl on the line would be off the hizzle for shizzle. The national attention could be the biggest either school has ever had leading up to the game. And if BYU could win...wow, my joy would be full. So let me put it this way, I want Utah to win on Thursday but if they lose, I won't be crying myself to sleep.
Monday, September 29, 2008
BYU basketball schedule
The upcoming BYU basketball schedule was announced recently. Apparently the mtn has wised up and is going to broadcast all of BYU's conference games. Inexplicably, they have failed to pick up some some conference games in the past (BYU at Air Force last year), but then also refused to let BYU-TV air those games. Luckily this won't be a problem this year. However there are a few pre-season games that are not being picked up, for instance, Long Beach State is on Nov. 14. What else could the mtn be possibly showing on a Tuesday night? Luckily, the mtn is picking up the Wake Forest game. Hooray.
Speaking of big games, I wish Coach Rose would schedule more. Their only big games are against Wake and Arizona State. Hardly daunting. Why not schedule more teams like Gonzaga, Washington, Arizona, UCLA, etc. I think part of the reason BYU has failed to do well in the NCAA tournament is that they have failed to play in a lot of big games and they get overwhelmed when they get to the big dance. As a fan, it is really hard to get excited about Western Oregon and Idaho State.
Speaking of big games, I wish Coach Rose would schedule more. Their only big games are against Wake and Arizona State. Hardly daunting. Why not schedule more teams like Gonzaga, Washington, Arizona, UCLA, etc. I think part of the reason BYU has failed to do well in the NCAA tournament is that they have failed to play in a lot of big games and they get overwhelmed when they get to the big dance. As a fan, it is really hard to get excited about Western Oregon and Idaho State.
HD for Bull Riding?
Apparently Versus and the Golf Channel share a HD channel. Whenever a BYU game has been broadcast on Versus, the game never makes it onto the HD channel.
The other night I was flipping through channels and I noticed that on the HD Versus/Golf Channel station bull riding was being broadcast in HD. What the? The bull riders get HD? Who cares about bull riding? 1.2% of Americans? They can't get those same HD cameras to a BYU game? What else are they going to show on the HD channel? Re-runs of LPGA events? I was thoroughly disgusted.
The other night I was flipping through channels and I noticed that on the HD Versus/Golf Channel station bull riding was being broadcast in HD. What the? The bull riders get HD? Who cares about bull riding? 1.2% of Americans? They can't get those same HD cameras to a BYU game? What else are they going to show on the HD channel? Re-runs of LPGA events? I was thoroughly disgusted.
BYUTV vs. the mtn
The BYU-Utah State game will be on BYU-TV this Friday. We will see if a not-for-profit tv station can produce a better broadcast than the mtn. My money is on BYU-TV.
Pros & Cons
Con=BYU had a bye this week so I was unable to watch them play. I always look forward to sitting on the couch for several hours straight when they do play.
Pro=I didn't watch 1 second of television on the Mountain this weekend.
Pro=I didn't watch 1 second of television on the Mountain this weekend.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
More Highlights
I hate to attempt to add anything to the seemingly flawless blog previously written by my good friend, but there were a couple of highlights from the BYU-Wyoming game that I feel also need some attention. Although I only watched about twenty minutes of the game this past Saturday, the Mtn. provided gem after gem of awkward and frustrating moments.
After Sammie's interview with Ryan Millar, and after the two terrible interviews which followed, the broadcasters in the booth began another interview with some unknown Olympic athlete which seriously lasted about 15 minutes. Besides the fact that no one cares about what this person has to say - no offense to her, I'm sure she is an incredible athlete to have gone to the Olympics - it is incredibly frustrating when you only have a short time to relax and watch some football and so you turn on the tv to the presumed football station but are only able to see every other play because there is some meaningless interview going on. Why don't the incompetent "broadcasters" just tell us that they have run out of things to say and that they are bored with the game.
Another highlight which proves this same point is how after this interview they spent several minutes (game still going on mind you) showing some footage of people up on the "Y". This of coarse led to a discussion about the "Y" and some theorizing on how it is painted; rollers, brushes, big buckets of paint that they just let drizzle down from the top of the letter; the announcers had no clue but they sure enjoyed talking about it. It was so ridiculous that I wanted to show Becca why I was so frustrated so I changed the channel to a couple of other stations with football games going. It was like walking out of the dark into the light for the first time. I heard play-by-play analysis, breakdowns of previous plays along with replay footage, and knowledgeable announcers with helpful stats. Listening to their commentary was like going to a porsche dealership knowing that you will never have a porsche, but be stuck driving a Mazda GLC hatchback for the rest of your life. But as long as the Mtn exists, this is exactly how I will feel.
After Sammie's interview with Ryan Millar, and after the two terrible interviews which followed, the broadcasters in the booth began another interview with some unknown Olympic athlete which seriously lasted about 15 minutes. Besides the fact that no one cares about what this person has to say - no offense to her, I'm sure she is an incredible athlete to have gone to the Olympics - it is incredibly frustrating when you only have a short time to relax and watch some football and so you turn on the tv to the presumed football station but are only able to see every other play because there is some meaningless interview going on. Why don't the incompetent "broadcasters" just tell us that they have run out of things to say and that they are bored with the game.
Another highlight which proves this same point is how after this interview they spent several minutes (game still going on mind you) showing some footage of people up on the "Y". This of coarse led to a discussion about the "Y" and some theorizing on how it is painted; rollers, brushes, big buckets of paint that they just let drizzle down from the top of the letter; the announcers had no clue but they sure enjoyed talking about it. It was so ridiculous that I wanted to show Becca why I was so frustrated so I changed the channel to a couple of other stations with football games going. It was like walking out of the dark into the light for the first time. I heard play-by-play analysis, breakdowns of previous plays along with replay footage, and knowledgeable announcers with helpful stats. Listening to their commentary was like going to a porsche dealership knowing that you will never have a porsche, but be stuck driving a Mazda GLC hatchback for the rest of your life. But as long as the Mtn exists, this is exactly how I will feel.
Highlights from the mtn's coverage of the BYU-Wyoming game
Here are some highlights from the mtn's coverage of the BYU-Wyoming game:
1) The broadcast crew's interview with LaVell Edwards. It seemed like Todd Christensen really liked giving the coach a hug now and then. I counted at least four side-hugs liberally given by Todd during the course of the interview.
2) Max Hall's 62-yard perfect touchdown strike to Austin Collie rendered unviewable because a fan was cheering in front of the camera. Over the years I have watched hundreds of BYU games and this has never been a problem until the mtn started broadcasting the games.
3) Sammie's (the sideline reporter) interviews with the olympic athletes. You would think that they could get a field level camera, but Sammie had to do the interview with a camera that is on the other side of the stadium up in the bleachers. Sammie starts out by interviewing Ryan Millar, team member of the gold medal winning men's volleyball team. Sammie's first question, "So Ryan, your team won the gold medal, but your coach's in-laws were murdered at the games. What was that like?" Right at that moment, BYU scores a touchdown (which we can't see because of the interview), the fans go wild, Ryan is distracted and says something like "oh nice, we just scored another touchdown." And then Ryan has to make the subtle transition back to the murder of his coach's in-laws. Let's just say the interview didn't get better after that. The interview actually ended with the audio going in and out and the audience being unable to hear what Ryan was saying. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Sammy still had to do two more interviews...
1) The broadcast crew's interview with LaVell Edwards. It seemed like Todd Christensen really liked giving the coach a hug now and then. I counted at least four side-hugs liberally given by Todd during the course of the interview.
2) Max Hall's 62-yard perfect touchdown strike to Austin Collie rendered unviewable because a fan was cheering in front of the camera. Over the years I have watched hundreds of BYU games and this has never been a problem until the mtn started broadcasting the games.
3) Sammie's (the sideline reporter) interviews with the olympic athletes. You would think that they could get a field level camera, but Sammie had to do the interview with a camera that is on the other side of the stadium up in the bleachers. Sammie starts out by interviewing Ryan Millar, team member of the gold medal winning men's volleyball team. Sammie's first question, "So Ryan, your team won the gold medal, but your coach's in-laws were murdered at the games. What was that like?" Right at that moment, BYU scores a touchdown (which we can't see because of the interview), the fans go wild, Ryan is distracted and says something like "oh nice, we just scored another touchdown." And then Ryan has to make the subtle transition back to the murder of his coach's in-laws. Let's just say the interview didn't get better after that. The interview actually ended with the audio going in and out and the audience being unable to hear what Ryan was saying. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Sammy still had to do two more interviews...
Monday, September 22, 2008
New Material Please
If you ever need to understand the fact that the Mtn. is in desperate need of some new material, just take a look at their tv schedule at any given time and you will find something that looks like this:
I mean seriously, how many times can you show "The Mountain Cap" over the coarse of an 11 hour period. Apparently the answer is 6. Not to mention that during this same eleven hours there are only three different programs being televised. Four if you count the paid programming (which just might be the best portion). But then again it might be a blessing that the Mtn. isn't coming up with any new material.
| Mon, Sep 22 | 12:00 AM | The Mountain Cap Recap of MWC Athletics |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 12:30 AM | Net Impact |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 1:00 AM | Paid Program |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 6:00 AM | The Mountain Cap Recap of MWC Athletics |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 6:30 AM | The Mountain Cap Recap of MWC Athletics |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 7:00 AM | The Mountain Cap Recap of MWC Athletics |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 7:30 AM | The Mountain Cap Recap of MWC Athletics |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 8:00 AM | Net Impact |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 8:30 AM | MWC Football Encore Iowa State at UNLV (9/20/08) |
| Mon, Sep 22 | 11:00 AM | The Mountain Cap Recap of MWC Athletics |
Andrea, Oh Andrea
All-American at the University of Texas. She was honored as a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June of 2007. Andrea began her broadcasting career with FSN North in 2002, where she worked as a color analyst covering University of Minnesota women’s basketball and the WNBA Minnesota Lynx. Since that time she has worked for FSN North, FSN Midwest, FSN Southwest, CSTV, and others." (Biography taken from themtn.tv)
As we kick of the inauguration of "down with the mtn.", I would feel somewhat amiss if my first post was not about Ms. Andrea Lloyd. For the last couple of years we have had the privilege of hearing detailed analysis from Andrea on the Mtn. In addition to her large stature she has quite the resume as is seen below. The only thing that I can't quite understand after reading her biography on the Mtn.'s website is why her broadcasting career took such a rapid decline, going from FSN, to CSTV, and now with the Mtn. (it doesn't get any worse than the Mtn). I feel bad for whatever mishap that ocurred in her life that caused this to happen. With this being said I would rather listen to Andrea cover a game any day of the week than to have to hear the wannabe Dick Vitale Marty Fletcher.
Bronco doesn't like a playoff?
I really enjoyed Bronco's interview with Jim Rome. I thought he answered Rome's questions in a direct way and he represented the university well. The only issue I had was Bronco's opinion of the a football playoff. He told Rome that he was in favor of a playoff in principle but didn't know how we would get to it structurally. I think the structure would be easy: have a sixteen team playoff, have the final eight teams play in the BCS games (Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta), and then have the remaining bowls stay intact for all the teams that didn't make the playoff. In college basketball, the NIT is still around although the NCAA tournament is all that people care about. In my opinion, Bronco needs to be on the front line, banging the drum of a playoff. If even non-BCS coaches are not in favor of a playoff, than this is never going to happen.
BYU-Utah game on the mtn? Kill me first...
I recently emailed Scott Pierce, the TV editor of the Deseret News. Here is our correspondence (I hope he doesn't mind that I post it):
Me: Hypothetically, let's say that BYU and Utah are both 11-0 going into their game, the entire nation is interested, and the game is schedule to be on the Mtn. What a joke.
Is there any chance that one of the other networks can pick this game up? CBS or CBS college sports?
Scott Pierce: That's an excellent question. I'm waiting to hear an answer myself to some inquiries I've made.
The problem may be that the BYU-Utah game was used as an inducement for DirecTV to pick up The mtn. You know, something exclusive that wouldn't be available elsewhere.
It might violate the agreement with DirecTV to put it on another channel.
I am actually checking into this. If I can get an answer, I'll certainly write about it.
Thanks for your e-mail.
So according to Scott, it might be that the BYU-Utah game was written into the fine print of the DirecTV deal. Those wily devils at the mtn continue to screw us.
Me: Hypothetically, let's say that BYU and Utah are both 11-0 going into their game, the entire nation is interested, and the game is schedule to be on the Mtn. What a joke.
Is there any chance that one of the other networks can pick this game up? CBS or CBS college sports?
Scott Pierce: That's an excellent question. I'm waiting to hear an answer myself to some inquiries I've made.
The problem may be that the BYU-Utah game was used as an inducement for DirecTV to pick up The mtn. You know, something exclusive that wouldn't be available elsewhere.
It might violate the agreement with DirecTV to put it on another channel.
I am actually checking into this. If I can get an answer, I'll certainly write about it.
Thanks for your e-mail.
So according to Scott, it might be that the BYU-Utah game was written into the fine print of the DirecTV deal. Those wily devils at the mtn continue to screw us.
UCLA fans bash on Versus
UCLA fans apparently weren't impressed with the coverage of the BYU vs. UCLA game on Versus. If only they new what BYU fans have to deal with. The sad thing is that Versus is the top of the network ladder for the MWC. As ABC is to the PAC-10, Versus is to the MWC. MWC fans actually look forward to games on Versus because the mtn. is so bad.
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