Well, for quite awhile it was the SEC, but it looks like EsPN has found themselves a new whore...The University of Texas. With the announcement of the soon to come Longhorn Network, The University of Texas will have its' own television network run by EsPN. The Mickey Mouse of sports coverage will be forking over 300 million dollars over the course of the 20 year deal. Sounds like a sweet deal for Texas, doesn't it?? Especially since it is allowing only 1 football game per year and up to 8 men's basketball games each season for the new network to air. Do those numbers seem odd to you? Where does EsPN expect to get their return...on golf? Something tells me that a few years into the deal, the amount of games may change a bit as I'm sure EsPN wouldn't limit themselves that much. It feels a bit like a deal with the devil, but Texas needed to make a splash after dissing the Pac-10/12 last summer. Something else seems a bit odd with all of this. How objective will EsPN be now with Texas? We've already seen how they kneel down at the altar of the SEC since that "network" started. But now all for one school? Certainly the talking heads representing the Mouse won't hammer on Texas over any issue. In fact, I bet they will be going out of their way to talk more about Texas, just to keep the school in the news cycle. They will definitely be using all of their influence to assist the Longhorns in the football polls, as they themselves stand to benefit. As for the other sports, the NCAA runs tournaments to determine those champions. But isn't it possible that media coverage influences them as well? I find it hard to believe that EsPN won't do all it can to help every Longhorn sport receive the highest and most beneficial seed possible in every sport. So this is where things are now in today's media. CNBC is Democratic, FoxNews is Republican and EsPN is bleeding burnt orange. What a sad state of affairs for the sports world.
After another 1-1 performance during the week our 2011 record is 6-5-1. We are ahead, but not by much. This weekend is the conference championship games in the NFL. The Jets head into Pittsburgh and the Packers travel to Chicago. The Steelers and Packers are both favored by 3.5 points. But the best bet I see is the total in the Packers/Bears game. Currently at 43 the under is a great play. In the last 10 games between these teams only once has a game gone over that number, and it was back in 2007. Now, with everything on the line and in the cold weather, I am to believe the offenses will score at will. I am not buying it, but I am buying the under. My second pick for the weekend is to take the Bears and the 3.5. Since I do expect a low scoring game, I'm happy to take the home team with more than a field goal. The Bears have the better kicker and the better return game which should make the difference on Sunday. Regardless of the outcomes, both games should be quite entertaining, so sit back, stay warm and enjoy the action. Good luck, and remember, never bet what you cant afford to lose.
No comments:
Post a Comment