Richard Stevens: Don't try to explain; we don't get this joke
By Richard Stevens
Tribune Columnist
July 1, 2006

Maybe it would be best if the Mountain West Conference dumped this CSTV package and struck up a deal with "Comedy Central."

We're serious, and here's a quick, one-question test that should bring you on line with this idea:

Question: Why should the MWC (Major Wannabe Conference) link up with "Comedy Central"?

A. "Comedy Central" is the perfect place for University of New Mexico men's basketball coach Ritchie McKay's offense.

B. The MWC officials are kind of a joke.

C. At least people watch "Comedy Central."

D. All of the above.

Oh, sure, you are tempted to go with D, but the correct answer is C. Yeah, people watch "Comedy Central" because people get "Comedy Central."

It isn't yet cast in stone who exactly will get the CSTV package, especially if you aren't a fat cat with a satellite dish.

To simplify: The branch of CSTV that will carry MWC athletics into several homes in the West is a regional cable network called the Mountain.

It's difficult to decide whether it's easier to say where the Mountain will go or where the Mountain won't go.

It probably won't go East of the Mississippi.

It probably won't go to many homes in Texas.

It probably won't be a hot commodity in California.

Hey, doesn't the University of New Mexico heavily recruit California and Texas? Wouldn't it be nice if UNM men's hoops and football were being cable-fed to the young talent in those states?

Funny thing. The Mountain isn't even part of Comcast's cable package in New Mexico.

But the MWC and Comcast are working on it. The MWC also is working on getting into the BCS.

The guess here is that Comcast and the Mountain will work things out, maybe even in time for the football season. But the Mountain has not struck up a deal with cable providers in any MWC market.

Of course, the MWC has a plan. The league plans to get the Mountain on cable packages throughout the prestigious MWC markets.

Big deal. Laramie will take any TV it can get.

The MWC going from ESPN to CSTV to the Mountain is like going from Nike to Keds to the clearance rack at Shoes on a Shoestring.

The pitch from the MWC - and the UNM men - is that the Mountain package will make the parents of recruits happy. That's probably true. And it's a huge boon for UNM women's hoops and any and all Olympic sports that might steal some Mountain air time.

But placing MWC sports on a CSTV subsidiary is almost like accepting the MWC's little-league status. It's definitely not a push to make the MWC a national name. CSTV isn't ABC, ESPN or Fox Sports Network.

CSTV and the Mountain translate the MWC into a wannabe conference accepting its role as a regional draw.

Sad, but maybe that's all the Mountain West Conference will ever be.

Richard Stevens is the Trib's deputy sports editor. You can reach him at 823-3663 or [email protected].

That's a good article.

Someone please post this on the MWC board, they need to read it. I would but I am at my limit turning this stupid computer on.

Interesting to read that the MWC officials are a joke. Do they use the same officials we do?

Well it got posted on the goat board, man its HILARIOUS.

Yes I read the thread, and a lot of the posters said that this guy has an agenda against the MWC. There have been two similiar articles in the San Diego press and the Las Vegas press that were both got similiar reactions as well. Even in the SLC press which is probably the most MWC based media in the country, certain concerns have been raised. But hey it is just WAC trolls with agendas that bring this up. ;-)

Yes some are mad at Yoda right now on the thread. Others implied (jokingly I think) that the writer was influenced by his skepticism. Funny thing is that here are three other articles from writers in MWC cities that say they have similiar concerns about this.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600129964,00.html

Quote: The Mountain West Conference's exclusive deal with CSTV doesn't go into effect until next year, but I'm already getting a little nervous. More than a little nervous.
First, CSTV issued a release earlier this week trumpeting a deal to televise football, basketball and other sports in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. This was troubling in and of itself.
You're known by the company you keep. Does the MWC really want to be lumped in with the SWAC, MEAC and SIAC?
Quick ? name one team in each of those leagues. Betcha can't.
But it gets worse. Shortly after CSTV issued its announcement, the commissioners of the SWAC, the MEAC and the SIAC all issued statements denying they had signed anything with the cable network. SWAC's commissioner said his league has an exclusive deal with ESPN for men's and women's basketball and select football games; MEAC's commissioner said his league has signed a seven-year deal with ESPNU, a spinoff that the powers-that-be at ESPN have designed to cut the legs out from under CSTV.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/200...media.html

Quote:It isn't often that I plan to write something hoping to be proved wrong ? usually it just happens anyway ? but there's a first time for everything.

And I don't have a good feeling about where we're headed with this new Mountain West Conference television package. At best, it's going to cost fans more money to watch the games they want to see. At worst, a lot of fans aren't going to be able to see many games.

Right now, I think we're more likely to see the worst-case scenario.

Quote:Two years is now down to four months, and most fans in two of the MWC's largest markets ? San Diego and Las Vegas ? are no closer to having access to CSTV or the new so-called ?super regional? network with the super-unwieldy name, The mtn. ? MountainWest Sports Network.

That's because CSTV has not been able to come to terms with the largest cable provider in each city, Cox Cable. In Las Vegas, Steve Schorr, a company vice president, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that ?no progress has been made in talks? to carry CSTV or The mtn.

Quote:When the CSTV-MWC deal was signed, all the parties were projecting CSTV would have about 40 million subscribers by 2006. Last time I checked my calendar it was 2006, and CSTV's subscriber total is . . . about 15 million.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/storie...73974.html

Quote:For instance, there's the little detail that CSTV is not yet available to cable viewers in Las Vegas and San Diego, arguably its two most important markets - and certainly its two warmest. That has been the case since the deal was announced in August 2004.

To me, this is like announcing sliced bread, but not having a bakery in which to cook it.

That's why when the MWC sent out a dozen media advisories last week, saying there would be a major teleconference on Tuesday, I thought this had to be it. This had to be the news that Cox cable was finally coming on board and we all could stop whining about wanting our CSTV.

That is just plain stupid. These writers all have an anti-MWC agenda. (Or so many posters on the other board would have you believe.)

Wow, considering all of the other loser stations that Cox Cable carries--I'm surprised that CSTV is unable to get a foothold in the door.

WAC_FAN Wrote:Wow, considering all of the other loser stations that Cox Cable carries--I'm surprised that CSTV is unable to get a foothold in the door.

The problem is not that they don't want CSTV. The problem is that CSTV so overpaid for the MWC that they have to ask an arm and a leg for their product. And Cox is holding out for a lower price.

I think that it will eventually be resolved but I also think that CSTV is going to have to drop their price significantly before it does.

In my view, the mtn is in trouble. They haven't even got satellite support for that yet (much less cable support in a single city) -- no way that gets widely distributed by September.

Yoda out...

I made the mistake of going to the MWC message board yesterday. All I wanted to know was who held the MWC home game broadcast rights. I figured that some MWC fan would actually know. I only was attempting to find out if there was any chance a non MWC city might get a specific game. In this case Nevada Southern/Nevada on 9/30 televised to Northern Nevada. Some of the MWC posters actually believe that WAC cities want to have the MWC games for free, hell I would pay for a select game from the MWC if Nevada was playing in the game. Other than that, I have very little interest. For the most part I think that fans of WAC schools mainly have interest in watching the school they support play a MWC team and that's about it. Personally I could give a rats ass about BSU playing Wyoming, but that game is important to the Boise fans. Not because of Boise, just little interest in watching Wyoming. I'd rather watch a WAC/ Pac 10 game or Fresno play LSU.

nwp Wrote:I made the mistake of going to the MWC message board yesterday. All I wanted to know was who held the MWC home game broadcast rights. I figured that some MWC fan would actually know. I only was attempting to find out if there was any chance a non MWC city might get a specific game. In this case Nevada Southern/Nevada on 9/30 televised to Northern Nevada. Some of the MWC posters actually believe that WAC cities want to have the MWC games for free, hell I would pay for a select game from the MWC if Nevada was playing in the game. Other than that, I have very little interest. For the most part I think that fans of WAC schools mainly have interest in watching the school they support play a MWC team and that's about it. Personally I could give a rats ass about BSU playing Wyoming, but that game is important to the Boise fans. I would only watch that game if there were no other college games on tv. Not because of Boise, just little interest in watching Wyoming. I'd rather watch a WAC/ Pac 10 game or Fresno play LSU.

CSTV owns the rights to every MWC home game, that I can think of. Unless you have access to CSTV, or the MTN, the only way you'll watch the game is if you're willing to travel to Vegas.

In my case, I'll be going to Laramie and Provo to watch the Aggies, since I won't be able to see the games on tv. I'll be in Boise, also, and possibly Reno.

Btw, the only reason I'm going to Laramie and Provo is because I've never watched a CFB game in those towns. I won't be doing this every year. I may have to watch the Aggies over the internet next year, since I'm not willing to pay an arm and a leg for CSTV and The MTN.