Re: Emergency ESPN Programming It can be done. MLS, sumo, NHL, and re-runs of LLWS. All Jack, all the time. Let's see Comcast try to bump that from its systems.
Because it's the end of August, I think that most of the financial obligations on the part of the owners (i.e. salaries) and the sponsorships are pretty much taken care of. They can strike now and it can extend through the winter without a whole lot of difficulty for either side. Starting around the time spring training gets underway, however, the players start to have more and more leverage because the banks who have loaned out money to the teams will still demand their payments and around that time, there's not a whole lot of cash coming in to the clubs. Some of the cash poor teams as well as the ones who have borrowed a ton of money should really start feeling the heat by then. At that point it will be in the club's interest to settle and something will get done. More than likely, if the players hold their ground, they're going to win again as they always have. The only pressure for not cancelling the playoffs and world series comes from the Networks who paid for the rights and of course, the fans. MLB can satisfy the networks with make goods, and when has MLB or especially the Players Association ever really cared about the fans? Enjoy the strike everyone and let's hope it's a long one so we can see more soccer on ESPN.
I thought the deadline was midnight, now they say it's 3:20 pm. Oh well, 15 hours until a strike. MLS: Seven years without a strike.
OK, I'm gonna play devil's advocate for a moment. Say ESPN picks up a couple of weeknight games. They're all set to broadcast them. Then baseball settles and comes back. Those games are gonna bump the soccer games off, and the Bigsoccer boards will crash. So, my question is, if ESPN puts on soccer, and baseball settles, will you accept that baseball would replace soccer?
Not exactly. The contract with Fox has a clause in it that MLB will have to kick back $500M if the World Series is cancelled. What you're saying is true for the players. But for the owners, this is when the network TV money comes in, plus (for 8 teams, anyway) the premium prices for postseason games.
I'm hearing reports that the labor negotiations have been settled. Reporters were hovering around Fenway Park as the team waited to see if they should board a bus to the airport. The bus has been boarded. MSNBC is reporting a settlement, from what I hear. Just as intriguing is that three teams told Don Fehr that they would refuse to strike. A cracked baseball player union changes the American sports scene in some profound ways.
AARGH!!! I hate that commerical so much. FSW has the worst promos. The U.S. Open cup ad is pathetic too, a true feat in TV editing. Max Bretos going nuts for the Galaxy with his signature phony enthusiasm, followed by 5 seconds of awkward silence.