If you have
ever been up at 3 AM to watch the replay of an ESPN college game you missed,
not only do you need a sleep aid, you wasted your time. It isn't often that the new rookie on the
team is better than the grizzled veteran, but when it comes to football
replays, ESPN college football can't hold the NFL Network's jock---video
tape.
By Bill Smith
After many of us have
complained, ESPN and ESPN2 have improved to the point that they usually show
the lineups. However, after the first
possession of each team, what you most likely to see is a touchdown play, the
extra point, and a series of commercials.
That is often followed by the phrase we have all grown to hate—“In the
interest of time, we move ahead in our coverage.” Guess what?
That statement is usually followed by yet another commercial break
before we return to the next touchdown play, extra point, and series of
commercials.
Now it is
not like the live broadcast of a game short-changes the advertiser or revenue
opportunities for the Networks. The
average broadcast college game drags on well past 3.5 hours due in part to the
length of commercial breaks. The break
is so long at the end of the first and third quarters that the band could come
out and do a show. But the ESPN replay
is even worse.
In two
typical replays in the 2007 season, a two hour replay contained an average of
63 minutes of scrimmage play, excluding punts and point kicks. That is ridiculous. What good is watching it? Time watching an Infomercial would be better
spent. At least that might be boring
enough to help you sleep. Even ESPN Classic
does a better job than the flagship channel and ESPN2.
The NFL
Network does a great job with the replay of games. They eliminate both the delays between plays
and breaks in the action due to reviews of plays and injuries. As a result, you get a real feel for the game
both offensively and defensively in a 1.5 hour presentation.
If you are
going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all.
Bill Smith is a
former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for
http://BrutusReport.com. He has also
published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and
edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com