(10-02-2017 06:26 PM)Mav Wrote: Now Big 12 fans get to feel how hockey fans felt since the mid-2000s.
Yep.
When ESPN made the decision to pursue the NBA, they also made the decision to cut the NHL off at its knees.
From a pure business standpoint it makes sense. The NBA and the NHL are direct competitors. Their seasons are almost identical and they are competing for eyeballs every single night.
The NBA is more popular than the NHL and there’s no disputing that fact. However, if you went by ESPN’s coverage, you would believe that the NHL is a dead or dying league and that’s just not true.
However, ESPN simply will not talk about the NHL unless something bad happens, at which point they are all too happy to talk about the NHL. It’s really strange to be at an NHL game and see Sidney Crosby – the LeBron James of the NHL – do something amazing like record a five point night – which is basically the equivalent of James scoring 50–60 points in a game – and it gets a only a cursory mention on ESPN, if it even gets that much attention.
It’s going to get worse in the coming years because the best player in the league for the next 10–12 years is going to be Edmonton center, Connor McDavid. However, he plays for Canadian franchise and they are simply not going to cover a Canadian franchise, no matter how good McDavid eventually becomes.
That is where the Big 12 is right now and it is bolony and it is vicious.