NBA Airballs Its National Television Scheduling
by Tom Martin on Aug 5, 2009 1:23 AM CDT
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Folks, if you haven't already done so, it's time you subscribe to Fox Sports Net Southwest. Only there will you find your beloved Houston Rockets, who will be making ZERO appearances on national television this season.
Apparently, without Yao Ming, the Rockets are less appealing to Asian viewers than the Clippers. And that's no joke - the Clips have eight nationally televised games this year. Eight!
Feel the breeze. It's what happens when you're hung out to dry.
There's a scene in Remember the Titans, when Bill Yoast approaches head coach Herman Boone a night after successfully converting Petey Jones into a game-changing linebacker, only after Boone had benched Jones. He walks into Boone's office expecting a smile, accompanied by a hearty, "Nice move, Coach!" and a handshake. Instead, this happens:
Boone: All right, listen, about Petey...
Yoast: No thanks required, coach.
Boone: Thanks? You challenged my authority in front of the entire football team, coach.
Pow! Right to the gut.
Picture yourself as Coach Yoast. You made a fantastic move. You did your job, and then some. And by rising to the ocassion, you not only made Boone look better by getting a victory, but you practically saved his ass from being fired in the event he had lost that game.
And for your reward, you get a reprimand.
The Rockets' situation is no different. They saved the playoffs last season. They made them interesting. They turned a sure-fire sweep into a seven game barnburner, complete with technicals, personal vendettas, and absolutely stunning upsets.
What's the Rockets' reward from the NBA? How many television appearances do they get in order to further popularize themselves to new fans, or to propel jersey sales, or to increase general awareness of their product? What does the NBA say to them?
"You get nothing. Go away."
If the NBA thinks that Yao Ming's absence guarantees indifference to the Rockets from millions of Asian viewers, they are sorely mistaken. Sorely, sorely mistaken.
Maybe they'll find a new hero in, say, Al Thornton. Right.
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No.
I was in Beijing during the first round of the playoffs and each of the Rockets game and Lakers games were carried on CCTV, which is available to all households I think. Strangely, ESPN Asia didn’t show any games live and I don’t think I saw any replays of the Boston/Chicago series or other first round series except for the Rockets/Blazers and Lakers/Jazz.
I am pretty sure that CCTV picks a bunch of games to show and I seem to remember that they showed something like 50 regular season games total last season and the Rockets were about half of that total. The national airtime I don’t think affects what is shown internationally.
The national airtime I don’t think affects what is shown internationally.
That was basically what I was trying to find out. So, the NBA’s decision has little to no effect on Asian markets.
Still, the point remains vaild: no Yao, no TV.
by DribbleHooper on Aug 5, 2009 4:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Seriously
I thought at least we’d get one game against the Lakers or Blazers on television. Both would give the announcers plenty to talk about, even if the NBA thinks they’d be blowouts (they wouldn’t). I mean, look at January 28: Dallas at Phoenix on TNT. Those games haven’t been good for three years now.
Plus, Orlando at Houston on Feb. 24 looks promising. Just six days after the trade deadline, it could either feature a cousin currently playing for the Magic (Vince Carter) vs. an ex-Magic (T-Mac). I find those stories stupid (like Dunleavy vs. Dunleavy), but the NBA loves them, so….
Or, the Rockets could have gutted their roster or traded T-Mac, and that game could be a showcase of the new-look Rockets, since the team is one that has the serious potential to look very different around midseason.
Anyway, I’m also upset. However, mark your calendars for November 27. ESPN is showing Phoenix at Minny. Oh baby! Hide the women and children. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, December 18. Washington at Golden State! We’ll have a barbecue at my place.
Rant: Seriously, there are like 20 GSW games on national tv next season. Do we really need to see them host the Lakers on March 15 and then host the Hornets TWO NIGHTS LATER! And both games are on ESPN. Is Stephen Curry seriously worth this many broadcasts? Short answer: no. End of rant.
At least no Milwaukee vs. Sacramento games are on tv. i would have had to shoot myself. Or better yet, David Stern.
How many Biletnikoffs does he have? NOT TWO!
Yeah, I don’t understand why everyone give us so much shit!!!!
We are still playoff caliber, and only true Rockets fans know!
We actually are the only team to challenge the Lakers, give us some damn credit for god’s sake!
Last year I was so pissed watching GameTime on NBATV and never seeing those douches give us credit on wins, when they talk about Minny as if they are champions.
For god’s sake we are STILL a playoff kinda team with NO allstars or nothing!
Look at Pheonix, Nash and Oneal ande they didn’t do SHIT!!!
Real NBA analysts piss me off man. Please for once, give us the credit we deserve. Allstar or not.
WTF?
Referencing Remember the Titans?
You should get your own reprimand for referencing that movie and making no mention of Hayden Panettiere’s (highly annoying) role in it… tsk, tsk.
you sure??
I think Tom’s within that age range where it’s okay…
it’s like +/- 2 years or something of the girl’s age.
woah woah woah
please tell me you like the movie. panettiere aside, you don’t think that RT is a movie worth referencing?
The Dream Shake ...on Twitter.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
Wasn't a very good movie
Just my opinion though :-)
I get it. Sports used to be racist, I don’t need another movie about it! It could also be that people hyped it to be the greatest sports movie ever, so I went in with unrealistic hopes and left more disappointed than I woulda been if people hadn’t hyped it so much.
(Picture Rocky 5. It really wasn’t that awful of a movie, but because the first 4 were so damned awesome, it just couldn’t cut it.)
Poster for next year? I'm thinking My Little Pony.
wait
You mean Glory Road and Coach Carter don’t make you weep due to the whites and blacks getting along?
How many Biletnikoffs does he have? NOT TWO!
No, I weep due to the poor writing and the length.
Poster for next year? I'm thinking My Little Pony.
Dude
it’s a shitty movie.
Denzel plays Denzel (as usual). And nothing interesting or surprising happens beyond that.
That's not true!
Denzel has excellent range as an actor. He can play “Badass, (street-)wise black man dispensing wisdom” (Remember the Titans, Crimson Tide, The Bone Collector) and “Badass, streetwise black man dispensing wisdom who is also evil” (Training Day).
Your friendly neighborhood Dream Shake mod.
seriously, though
Denzel-playing-himself is probably most notable (and egregious) if one watches Glory and Remember the Titans back to back. Coach Boone and Pvt. Trip are pretty much indistinguishable.
Your friendly neighborhood Dream Shake mod.
Lucky for Denzel
That one character still makes him a better actor than about 90% of what is out there
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Oh and that's what's been called for in those roles I'd say
And since Denzel is good at that character he gets those roles. This could be said for most actors honestly
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
stop defending him
If Denzel had to play a “weak, mentally challenged person” role… he’d fail gloriously. I’m glad he found his niche as a screen personality, but he’s not an actor. Or, at least, he’s not any more.
I enjoyed Crimson Tide though…
Weak
I agree 100% with all of you. Houston got screwed pretty royally. Even Yaoless I’d rather watch you guys than half the teams in the league. Maybe if you pick Sun Yue up the NBA will give you some TV games?
Poster for next year? I'm thinking My Little Pony.
i feel for you guys
come on. the clippers got EIGHT national games and the rockets got none? what a damn shame.
Not One?
Really? No ESPN, no TNT? WTF? Really?
Do they really think we’ll be worse than LAC, or GSW?
That’s gonna look stupid when we make the playoffs.
"So do you keep open 3pt FG percentage?"
"Yeah, we'd have everything you'd want, Bill."
"I hate you."
Bill Simmons/Daryl Morey Podcast 5/8/09
Well, hopefully...
rockets will be fueled with anger from this and play spectacular :D
Bobby G is Sexy
Kind of like the Mother's Day non-sellout in the first championship season?
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
hold on
Really? No ESPN, no TNT? WTF? Really?
What are yall sayin??? Im not gonna see a single Rockets game this season? I know yall not sayin i have to go to a game if i wanna see the Rockets play. Yall better no be sayin that!
Opening sentence
The Dream Shake ...on Twitter.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
by Tom Martin on Aug 5, 2009 6:36 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
this sucks
But van gundy will probably call out his employer for this, he was the best rockets homer for us during the regular season. He made many rocket comments this past Christmas.
Wafer . . . again. (Marv Albert, HOU v. CLE Feb 2009)
-one of the FEW at Toyota Center who has the Wafer jersey
by olivarezq1 on Aug 5, 2009 6:04 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
Screw the networks
Clippers are perennial losers and are already thinking of who will pick their ping pong ball next season. That gives you 8 nationally televised games? Jeez. Maybe the Rockets can suck this year and get 20 nationally televised games next year. Rockets pushed the Lakers to 7 while the Clippers had long since cleared out their lockers.
GREAT JOB NBA. I won’t be watching, unless the Rockets make the playoffs and get on TV.
damn i missed that tom my bad
This is sad. We have T-Mac!!!! Dammit.
T-Mac??
Are you serious? I know he was playing hurt last year (when he was playing) but he is the classic definition of a ball-stopper.
Whenever he gets the ball, he dribbles the air out of it, then puts up a bad shot. To his defense, Benedict Ron took over those duties after T-Mac called out sick.
I’m kinda excited for the new season, we get to see what is, hopefully, a hungry, faster-paced Rockets team.
by bigalshouseoflove on Aug 5, 2009 11:07 PM CDT reply actions
its a star league thats how it is marketed.
of course your better than the clippers but they have some young (potential) the rockets dont after artest and yao are gone and who knows when and if mcgrady is gonna play.
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