by Johninho
This sucks.
I was all set to bring you (through the wonder that is liveblogging) the battle of eastern Washington state, and a damn good game: Washington State, in their first real test of that lofty #6 ranking this year, against the team that has carried the banner of basketball excellence for years in that state, not to mention the poster child for mid-majors that Aren’t – Gonzaga University.
But it’s on ESPN U, being broadcast to all of 300 homes nationwide. tWWL’s website doesn’t even have this on Gamecast, as if this is the event that’s going to have all of us storming the gates of our cable operator and demanding they add the 10 hours of quality Ultimate Frisbee programming that is the U to our Expanded Basic tier of channels.
Obviously, I object.
This isn’t nearly as retarded a move by ESPN as it is a powerplay to get that pesky Pac-10 commissioner to be the ass end of Big Monday. If I could run a poll, it would ask what the E really stands for: Evil, Entertainment, or just Eastern?
So they just teased it during the beating that WfV is giving Auburn. And good lord, is it a beating: the battlecry just became War Parakeet.
I wish you luck. I’ll be staying tuned for the in-game updates. But I won’t liveblog that shit, on principle. In a just world, Wazoo-GU would be on CBS during primetime.
OK, they’re extending an olive branch, and giving us bonus coverage. and Gamecast is up. There may be hope.
– I am doomed to have schools I adore present starting lineups that are way too damn small. Gonzaga’s using a FOUR-guard to open, and as a result, not using Daye, Sacre, or even Downs in a second forward role. Pargo is going to be a superstar.
Are you kidding me? That’s all we get for bonus coverage? ESPN should be banned from showing West Coast schools play basketball on TV. And there should be an FSN2. That’s it.
Storming the Court 
I have ESPNU – Me and 299 others… So it was excellent to see WSU beat Gonzaga, even if I was one of only a few! Now do you think they deserve their ranking?
Lucky you, and congrats. I would have paid to see that game, but not to add ESPN U. That’s just too perilously close to the Ocho for me.
I notice the score was low, which plays to a down-tempo team like Wazoo. I’ll lay off the Big Ten jokes and the diatribes about the fabric of the game, blah blah blah, and just give them props – the Cougars have the makings and the personnel to have a VERY special year.
But more than that, even the snippet I got to see before I ejected, and the gamecast I got to follow where neither team scored for 5+ minutes at a stretch, tells me that Washington State probably defends better than any team in the conference, if not the country – and that deserves serious respect.
One road win in Spokane doesn’t automatically legitimize their schedule, but it’s huge.
I’m glad more bloggers are complaining about ESPNU! Maybe common sense will prevail in the end and they’ll make ESPNU available in some form!
Until then it looks like the two sides (cable cos and ESPN) are being stubborn and unprofessional đŸ™‚ There are many ways they could find to make it available in some form, but they are playing hardball.
For example they could stick ESPNU in the ESPN Full Court package, or put it in the Sports Tier.
Why waste all the time and energy of the ESPNU staff to produce all those games with only a small percentage of the country having a chance to watch them?
I’m glad you are taking them to task as well!!!