August 03, 2004

What Rivalry?: NESN and the YES (I Can)! Network are discussing a merger. And the Mets want in too. Don't worry about having to watch Tim McCarver drool on your screen Sox fans; we'll probably be blacked out by cable company in-fighting.

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 02:38 PM - 14 comments

what does mccarver have to do with any of this?

posted by goddam at 02:48 PM on August 03, 2004

I bet we would get blacked out. Actually, I always thought that "blacked out" meant "some other channel is showing it in your area so we're not gonna show it". WRT Yankee games in New England, it seems to mean "we're not gonna show it because...we're not gonna show it." I have YES as part of my package, but nary a Yankee game have I ever seen on YES. They're all "blacked out", even in the 98% of cases when no other channel is showing them. Please don't explain it. Just tell me who I have to hurt to get it changed.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:09 PM on August 03, 2004

Isn't McCarver on YES!? Did I screw up my Yankee broadcast lineups? And is it too late to hate on Michael Gold(en)?

posted by yerfatma at 04:30 PM on August 03, 2004

LBB, do you have the MLB Extra Innings package? or is it actually part of your basic cable & gets blacked out? The whole blackout rule sucks. I missed last saturday's Yanks-Sox because Fox only shows the games regionally. (I'm in Atlanta) Some obscure legal issue where they own the rights for all day saturday, so the MLB package doesn't even get it. I got Phillies-Cubs, which would intermittently break away and show the far better Sox-Yanks game for mere seconds. Not to mention, you can't even watch in a bar even if they have a satellite. Believe me, I have the cab receipts and bar tabs to prove it. It was a sad sight, we were at the bar and the final score got texted to my buddy's cell phone. Think about it, you can get final scores sent to your cell phone minutes after the game, but you can't watch it even if you were willing to pay for it!

posted by usfbull at 05:18 PM on August 03, 2004

As far as I know McCarver is on Fox or CBS, but for sure he's not on YES... They have Ken Singleton, Jim Kaat, Bobby Murcer. Michael Kay does the play-by-play.

posted by crank at 05:20 PM on August 03, 2004

Michael Kay. That's the guy: "It's is far! It is high! It is gone!" That alone should sink the deal. Not sure how I confused him with the guy who drew The 'Nam

posted by yerfatma at 05:37 PM on August 03, 2004

NES? YESN?

posted by jerseygirl at 05:57 PM on August 03, 2004

LBB, do you have the MLB Extra Innings package? or is it actually part of your basic cable & gets blacked out? I don't have MLB Extra Innings. Isn't that about a million billion dollars? I have the sports package from my satellite provider, which gives me NESN and YES and a bunch of regional channels, but the Yankee games are always blacked out except when they're on ESPN, the networks, or the big Fox (not the regionals). The whole blackout rule sucks. Like an electrolux.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:51 PM on August 03, 2004

Why the fuck would they blackout a game that's going to get mad ratings? Are they a bunch of total shit-dicks? Or does it relate, as it usually does, to money: trying to boost ratings for the boring-ass regional games? I love the Brewers, don't get me wrong, but if I have a choice between watching them get their ass handed to them on a paper plate by the Pirates or watching the Yanks and Sox go to 11 innings? Friend, that's no choice at all.

posted by rocketman at 06:57 PM on August 03, 2004

rocketman, see the BSG on the MLB blackout deal. Also, glad to see that swear thesaurus got out to you.

posted by yerfatma at 08:15 PM on August 03, 2004

michael kay does suck. he's gotten a little better but not much. it's best when paul o'neill does a game because he rags on kay to no end.

posted by goddam at 10:23 PM on August 03, 2004

Does O'Neill ever screw up a call and wind up throwing the mic out the window? Smashing Kay's head against the wall? Because that I would watch.

posted by yerfatma at 05:54 AM on August 04, 2004

Kay tends to excitedly say, "It's hit deeeeeeeep to left center field!" Then the outfielder will make the catch 25 feet in front of the warning track... O'Neill always gives him a hard time about these odd calls, among other things.

posted by crank at 07:45 AM on August 04, 2004

And just to add insult to injury, I spent about 20 minutes crafting a well thought out, albeit expletive laced letter to the folks at FoxSports. Guess what happened when I tried to send it through their site's "feedback" section? Error messages to no end. I can only hope that was because there were thousands more like me trying to do the same thing.

posted by usfbull at 08:31 AM on August 04, 2004

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