What mtn.?

Reports out West indicate fans in Utah are steamed the mtn. is not available from either of the two major satellite companies. Utah is one of the three states (Wyoming makes four) whose residents have access (in limited areas) to the mtn. A column in The Deseret Morning News adds a new twist to the already ridiculous saga of the conference's TV negotiations. BYU was prohibited from rebroadcasting an edited version of its game over the weekend on BYU TV despite a history of doing so. ESPN apparently allowed the practice, in exchange for production assistance.

The MWC braintrust decided to jettison ESPN in part because the upstart CSTV offered better game dates, scheduling occasional Thursday games, but on no other weekdays. ESPN, on the other hand, didn't care. It developed a bad reputation among many of the academic-minded for scheduling games throughout the week.

This begs the question: What's the problem with Tuesday football games if Tuesday basketball games are OK? But that's another matter. What's important to consider is the conference's continual insistence that is struck a good deal. The leaders urge patience. Perhaps the real story is a bit closer to this: Commissioner Craig Thompson has finally realized he made a bad call but must save face. And he has enlisted the help of ADs, school presidents, coaches and others to help misdirect attention with phony optimism. The sad thing is, they probably don't realize they've been tricked.