CBS, Definitely Not the Sports Leader

This weekend I was in Washington DC putting the final touches on the newest addition to the writing team here at Drinking the Forty. After the deal was closed I obviously went out, had too much drink, and somewhere during the evening signed a cricket correspondent. That's another story for another time.

Saturday around noon, like any good Texas fan, I began my search to catch the Kansas game. Big XII title on the line, number three versus number fifteen, the best player in the country, at one of the most hostile environments in the country. Must see television isn't it? Well, unfortunately, NBC seems to be the only network that has "Must See TV".

Now I understand the concept of regional coverage, and frankly it works well. I'm sure a majority of people in the northeast could care less about Kansas against Texas, let alone know where Lawrence, Kansas is (Not that I really do). Georgetown versus Connecticut is probably a much more prevalent game considering Georgetown is in the District. However, you figure with two to three bars in the District that tend to show Texas games or a plethora of college basketball, you would think that one could find the Texas game. Well after making a search of eight to ten bars and contacting several people in the know in the District, (we even thought about calling or Congressman) we came to the painful realization we weren't going to be watching the game.

Seriously though, wouldn't a bar, with multiple televisions think to show a game between two powerhouse teams that will draw fans, from an area with a large Kansas and Texas contingent? I think so. Which leads me to wonder, does CBS have regional availability for out of region viewers? I could see not doing that for someone in their home, but bars kind of thrive off that kind of business. Also, it means that since CBS has top games every week there are fans across the country, that are as pissed as I was. I mean it's one thing to not know how to put together a sports broadcast as well as other networks, but to just not know how to handle a gold mine like NCAA basketball; it's just frustrating. I mean in all the years that they've been covering the NCAA, they just now realized that it might be a good idea to make available all the 1st round games? Wow, give that guy a raise!

What explanation do I have for all of this? I think it's pretty obvious. Just like the BCS in college football, this is the NCAA's way to make sure we don't enjoy college sports too much. I suppose dealing with a network that could maximize the NCAA's product would way to smart. Why mess with a good thing when you could have a great thing. Thanks Myles, thanks.