A Rebound Weekend

One of the "joys" of parenthood is all of the viruses your kids bring home from daycare. Last week was no exception, as the latest bug not only cleared out half of the room on Friday, but also inflicted most of the parents over the weekend...including yours truly... As Buddy Ryan would say..."But I'm feeling MUCH better now!"

The Big 1011 conference is forming their own TV network, with coverage of football, basketball, and other sports. Good idea or not? I lean towards not. On one hand, increasing coverage of sports is good for fans...but at what cost? Many cable systems are at capacity as new channels come on line, forcing networks to make decisions as to which channels to carry. As long as existing coverage isn't affected, it's not such a problem. But if games move from existing broadcast or cable outlets to a new network, much like the NFL is doing with the NFL Network, that's a problem for fans and consumers. There is only some much capacity on cable systems and so much programming to go around. Now comes the idea of each Big XII school forming their own TV network. This might make sense in Texas, where the Longhorns can sell this package in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio easily. What about Nebraska? Sure, our cable systems will pick it up, but the Omaha and Lincoln markets aren't going to pay the bills. And is it really realistic to expect cable systems in Phoenix or New York to add a bunch of Big XII networks to their cable systems? Heck, will the satellite providers even have the capacity to carry these networks? Probably not in the near future, but it will take a new model for broadcasting television to make these types of networks feasible. In the case of Nebraska, it will probably evolve from the existing Husker N-side package combined with a device such as AppleTV to use the internet to broadcast games. The technology is getting there...but we're still a way away from it. We probably won't ever have a 24x7 Husker network...but many of these cable networks might not exist in a few years anyway.

That same article from the San Antonio Express also reminds recruitniks of the folly of their obsession:

Players like former Nebraska DE Adam Carriker are a reason why recruiting lists should be taken with a grain of salt. Carriker was listed as a two-star recruit and was listed as the nation’s 46th best strong-side defensive end prospect by Rivals.com when he graduated from Kennewick (Wash.) High School in 2002.

Carriker will be laughing at the so-called recruiting experts all the way to the bank.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in the conference finals now with a couple of gems over the weekend. Saturday night, Daniel Briere scored with under 6 seconds left in regulation for Buffalo to send the game into overtime, where Ottawa won it in double overtime 3-2. Tonight, Ottawa pulled within one game of playing for the Cup by shutting out Buffalo (and former Sparty goalie Ryan Miller). In the other series, the Niedermeyer brothers teamed up in another overtime contest to give Anaheim the victory over Detroit.

I will admit that I could not care less about the Not Basketball Association...but the story about Derek Fisher of the Utah Jazz proves that not all is wrong with the NBA. Fisher's 10 month old daughter was diagnosed with cancer in her eye a couple of weeks ago. Fisher took leave from the team to find the best specialists, who proposed an experimental chemotherapy treatment to treat the cancer and hopefully save the eye. Rather than delay the treatment for basketball, his daughter's health took top priority. Once cleared by the doctors, the family raced back to Salt Lake City on the Jazz private jet, making it back in the 2nd half for a playoff game against Golden State. He runs into the locker room, dresses, and sprints straight into the game. Hits a clutch shot in overtime to give the Jazz the victory in overtime.

Kind of puts a little stomach flu into perspective, doesn't it?