<RANT> Boy, that game must have really sucked badly. The whole segment on the Rapids KC game only lasted a couple of minutes with less than half of that time being dedicated to highlights, mostly of the KC goal (or LOWlights for the Rapids fan) and the rest was dedicated to talking about how KC has shown their depth as a team (overcoming injury after injury, which is true. They are a hell of a team this year)... Was the game just that bad that they really had nothing to show? Was the league only able to send them a little tape of the game to work from (due to time constraints, etc.)? Did we as Rapids fans really want to see any more, other than the scoreline? If that wasn't bad enough... That POS Wheelock proudly stated that those "highlights" were a Fox Sports World exclusive. Great, thanks for the favor! For a game that could not be seen anywhere on the planet (other than at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City) the least they could do is give us a decent game analysis. Well, whatever... it probably was not worth the time anyway . </RANT>
Wheelock is a self acknowledged KC Homer. and seeing as how neither team televised this game, I'm surprised there were any highlights at all. The game we beat KC on a Friday night I believe, barely even mentioned the score and didn't show a single clip.
I was actually surprised that they had ANY highlight as well. I was even more surprised they had two angles of the goal since the game was only recorded for League purposes.
As I wrote following the Friday night game, in past seasons the availability of clips highlighting non-televised MLS games is dependent on the home team providing a few highlights via satellite or digital delivery. As for this season, I can't say for sure if things have changed. In any event, I think it's a fair assumption that in the case of non-broadcast matches, if highlights do become available it is a result of the home team's efforts, whether independently or in conjunction with a local broadcaster (this might explain the multiple-angle goal highlight).
I feel that MLS wrap generally underplays any Colorado stories. Granted we're a mediocre team but there's only 10 teams and only 60 minutes, you'd think that they'd divide it up fairly.
As I said in another thread, could you imagine if Adu scored a goal and it didn't get 3 or 4 different replays? I get the distinct impression (I don't know for sure, and I've never bothered to look) that MLSWrap is a wholly or mostly owned program by MLS - in that case, they should make an effort to get all the teams reasonable air time.
It doesn't matter whether or not MLS finances "MLS Wrap" (which they do); what matters is that the league is not making sure that key games are televised, or at the very least that extensive hlghlights are available. Remember also that any show covering and discussing the day's games is going to be largely dependent on commentary and analysis by its anchors. I think Colorado has gotten plenty of solid coverage on MLS Wrap, generally every big game they've played that has broadcast coverage. Had the recent KC game been broadcast and/or extended highlights been made available (note they're still not available on MLSnet) I would bet that MLS Wrap would have made it their top game of the program. As for coverage of Adu's goals... perhaps a better question is "could you imagine any player of status playing for a team that doesn't have blanket broadcast coverage?" You can come up with all the conspiracy theories you like, but the reality is that DC has provided extensive broadcast coverage long before the arrival of Adu.
I don't disagree with the points you are making, Greenie, although I disagree that Colorado overall has gotten solid coverage where there is broadcast coverage (A) it shouldn't matter whether or not there was broadcast coverage, because clearly MLS Wrap has access to tapes of the game, and can provide coverage to a greater extent than they do. In fact, they brag about the exclusivity of their coverage of some of these games (such as the KC-Rapids game). Knowing that fans of the Revs, DC, NY, and virtually every other team in the league got a chance to see their game in the entirety, the onus falls on MLSWrap, as the broadcast of last resort, to show more than 5 seconds of the CO-KC game from this past week, and they definitely needed to show more than the, umm, nothing that they showed from the CO-KC game from 2 1/2 weeks ago. (B) I could be wrong (and maybe I just am wrong), but I thought that the KC-CO game 2 1/2 weeks ago marked the debut of Altitude, and that game was covered in some fashion on that network that 7 people get? Regarding Adu: The bigger question is, regardless of DC's extensive broadcast (and I am not arguing with you on this - some teams provide top notch first class broadcasting, and have for a long time now - the league needs to require that every game somehow be broadcast for the appropriate markets)...somehow it seemed to me (and maybe it was just a biased impression in the wake of CO getting poor coverage) that nearly every DC game was getting national coverage in terms of broadcast. I imagine that a fair amount of this stemmed from DC's plentiful broadcasting...but it also felt like the league went just that extra mile to insure that 1 team got a whole boatload of national games, and didn't seem to care that some teams not only get no (or 1 or 2) national broadcasts, but that some teams (KC and CO) can't even guarantee that their fans will see any road games. Honestly, I couldn't care less if DC got everyone of their games nationally broadcast, IF the league made sure that every Rapids game - and I suppose every KC game and every other team similarly situated - (or at least, every road game) at least was broadcast in a way that local fans could see it and that those who shelled out bucks for the MLS package get their moneys worth.
You are, it was the Colorado-Dallas game the week before that marked the debut of Altitude. NONE of the KC - Colorado games were on National TV or Direct Kick. One of them made it to HDNet, but that's the only TV of the 4 games between these teams this season.
Thanks for the correct info. My mistake. Gebus, how cheap is that when you will not even have your own broadcasters cover a game that is in the home town and would be played on your own network which is pretty much thus far Nuggets and Avs free.