The answer to that question: more people than there are who care about hockey. This past weekend the overtime period of a possible elimination game in the Eastern Conference finals was booted off NBC in favor of 20 minutes of pre-race coverage of the Preakness. Now I am as indifferent to hockey as the next guy but this seems a little harsh. I mean, think of the Canadians. Won't somebody please think of the Canadians?!?!
The Canadians, like you, are totally lame. The game was still shown in Canada, but can you blame an American network for going to where the ratings are at? The steadily decrepid dignity of NBC sports does not have many cash-cows left, but the Triple Crown horse races are among them. The NHL, to put it plainly, is not. Now, guys like you and me, no friends to hockey but with an appreciation of playoff sports, not to mention an understanding of three "periods" and "overtimes," might think it's crazy to leave one of our structured sports to go to a sport which is unlike that with which we are familiar, but NBC could care less. Like NASCAR, there's a significant portion of the country that lives and dies with that horse race. Even I bet money on both, giving that money away to the casino for the Derby and to my father for the Preakness.
The point is this, if some Saturday afternoon, Fox was showing the finals of the World Shuffleboard Championship, which had just gone into extra shuffles, but the broadcast began to run into a Matsuzaka-Mussina matchup, we'd throw things at the screen if the network decided to stay on shuffleboard. Moreover, Fox would be crazy to not to go to the baseball game, as they know what makes their advertisors happy, not to mention what gets their ratings up.
Speaking of Yankees-Red Sox...does a Yankees sweep this week worry you at all?
I don't blame NBC or the viewers. I blame the NHL for being NBC's bitch when they signed the television contract.
Yes the sweep worries me. I want to bury this team. I want 11.5 games before the Rocket puts his meaty hand on a baseball in a major league park this summer. I want to find a six year old wearing an ARod t-shirt and I want to kick his baby teeth in. The point: there is blood in the water and the Boston Red Sox have a chance to finish their season half way through June.
That being said, I'm okay with losing two of three. But a Yankee sweep? Every idiot in Massachusetts will be calling WEEI.
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