No TV Coverage?

So I'm still a bit miffed as to why this year's spring game hasn't been picked up for broadcast on TV.......last year, the NFL Network came to town to watch Keller beat up the sixth string defense while Witt was assaulted behind an offensive line comprised of some kids found at the local Y....but this year, nothing. Now, if it was a week later and the NFL draft was going, I'd understand why neither the NFL Network or ESPN would want to commit to covering the game. But it's not draft weekend. On the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" networks, they are showing (and I wish I was kidding): a women's billiards 9-ball tournament, the Indy 300 from Japan, and the World's Strongest Man 2007 competition.

On the NFL Network, though I haven't checked, I can only assume they are re-re-re-covering what needs the Miami Dolphins and other top-10 pick teams have, which most of us already have seen in some form about 1,000 times (and if you haven't, don't worry, it'll be on 24 hours a day all the way through the draft, at which point they will fill out "report cards" based on players who have never played one snap in an NFL game, which makes as much sense as doing a job review of someone who hasn't completed their first day on the job yet. Man, I LOVE media over-saturation.)

Now, with ESPN, there are obviously contracts with those sporting events that have to be honored (particularly the one with Indy Car). I don't mind this, and being someone that attends the Indy 500 every year (I go for the drinking, not the racing), I can accept that. But do we really need to see last year's strongest man competition? What is this, the Ocho? First of all, these competitions aren't even fun to watch anymore. The only WSM contests that should be on TV are the classic ones from the '70s that starred Lou Ferrigno and Bruce Wilhelm, the contests they had back then were so primitive and ridiculous that the chances for some comedy (and atrocious freak injuries) were through the roof. Now, it's just a prolonged MET-RX commercial with freaks that look like blimps.

Speaking of the NFL network, there are few things on the sports calendar I hate more than the annual release of the NFL schedule. ESPN stops all other activity, and we have to be subjected to Jaws and company breathlessly break down every "must-see" matchup from the upcoming season. What these guys forget is that with the exception of the Pats and Colts, the good teams in the NFL vary EVERY SINGLE YEAR. What might seem like a good game in April might turn out to be a crapfest between two sub-.500 teams in November. So why the hell are we subjected to these guys yelling over each other, arguing about games? What makes the NFL very appealing is also what makes it difficult to care about: the parity that enables teams that went 8-8 one year to leap to a Super Bowl Champion the next also guarantees that there is going to be a high level of mediocrity as well, and with the exception of a few teams, year to year you have no idea of whether your team is going to suck or make a run to a division title. That's what I love about college football: traditionally, there is always going to be a top 20 or so programs that will be strong, even if there are a few roadbumps where they struggle (um.....Nebraska, anyone?). With the NFL, it's a year-by-year crapshoot. That said, it works for them, and it is comforting if you're an NFL fan to know that a team that sucks for a couple years is only three or four seasons from potentially becoming good. Maybe that's why all these delusional Minnesota fans cling every year to the fantasy that they're going to turn it around soon (which makes it all the more satisfying for me to watch it go down in flames in dramatic fashion every season).

Anyways, I guess I'm just bitter that Florida's spring game was televised by ESPN but we're getting passed over in favor of women's billiards and steroid abusers. Stupid, I know, but it's my job as a Husker fan to make sure that we always feel slighted by ESPN. I'll be back tomorrow with thoughts on the spring game rosters and other tidbits.