By Craig Edwards

If two of the NFL's best teams played a game, but nobody could actually watch it... did they really play the game?

That's a bizarrely philosophical question the NFL may be asking itself later tonight, as the Green Bay Packers visit the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams are 10-1, and this matchup could determine home field advantage for the NFC playoffs. It's safe to say this one is highly anticipated.

But there's one small problem, and by small I mean insanely huge. The game is on NFL Network, which only about 13 million homes can watch (out of around 70 million cable homes in the U.S.).

Why such a small number? The world's most powerful sports league is in a bitter dispute with cable companies around the country over how they offer the channel. The exact details of their dispute vary by cable company. They're also long and complicated, so here's the Reader's Digest version:

The NFL wants to charge cable companies whatever it wants, but wants the cable companies to put the network in their expanded basic packages, alongside other sports networks like ESPN and such, without passing the extra cost to consumers. Meanwhile, the cable companies want to sell the network only as part of extra sports tiers. They claim NFL Network is too obscure and specialized to be part of a basic package, though they keep other obscure channels (like the Comcast owned Versus Network) on the basic packages, simply because they own them.

These feuds have gotten so bad, the NFL even went on a campaign telling fans to switch to Direct TV or Dish Network, which both carry the network as part of their expanded basic lineups. However, a court order stopped that marketing pretty quick.

As these multimillion dollar empires battle it out for even more money, the biggest loser is the fans. They won't get to see tonight's game, or any of the Thursday night contests for the rest of the year, the second straight season that's happened. Both sides should be embarrassed.

If you want to watch the game tonight, show some love to your local sports bar, or find a buddy who has DirectTV or Dish Network and crash their party.

Enjoy the game... if you can find it.

Posted by Craig Edwards at 2:46 PM | Permalink

By Joe Becker

Had a great Thanksgiving. It's a wonderful time to reflect on life and give thanks...and my wife Janice is a fantastic cook so the whole day is special. When I got to work there was more food. The station managers take care of the staff, who has to work...and have a tasty thanksgiving dinner catered in the afternoon. I ate well at home...so I didn't eat anything here at the station, except for two pieces of Pumpkin Pie. As I said...very tasty.

Fun day at work, plenty of great games in the NFL and the big game in college between USC and Arizona State.

It's that time of year when the football games mean more and more every week.
Now that USC has beaten the Sun Devils...it will be interesting to see how the Ducks do against UCLA. One way or another...the Civil War will be a fantastic matchup on Dec. 1st.

If the Ducks beat the Bruins...then a win over OSU would mean a trip to the Rose Bowl.
If the Ducks lose to the Bruins...then OSU can tie Oregon at 8-4 with a win in the Civl War.
How about that? The Beavers can finish 9-4 if they beat the Ducks and Win their Bowl game.
That would give Head Coach Mike Riley 19 wins in the last two seasons.

We have another Friday Night Flights show tomorrow night and I'm looking forward to it.
I'll be at PGE Park covering the Central Catholic-Grant game.
It's been a great year so far...and I'm hungry for more!

Posted by Joe Becker at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

By Craig Edwards

When people ask me what working in TV is like, I often steal a quote from screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski. Imagine laying down train tracks while the train is storming down the way. That's a normal day in the TV world.

Such was the case tonight, getting ready for the 6:30pm news. Joe Becker was live in Arizona, covering the big game. He's the only Portland TV reporter there. After doing his 6pm story live at about 6:10, Joe called me. He said he and his photographer wanted to shoot some quick highlights during the first quarter, and use a couple during his hit at 6:30.

At about 6:28, the bad news came, as Dennis Dixon went down with a knee injury. I called Joe right away.

ME: Tell me you got that.
Joe: Got What?
ME: Dixon... It doesn't look good.
Joe: We got it. I think that's the only thing I need to show.
ME: That's what I'm thinking.

So after that 30 second phone call, Joe managed to run from the field back to his live truck, and feed us the video. I got Richard Gordon, one of our awesome editors here, to cut it down quickly while Joe wrote a quick script for himself. I put in some quick graphics in and Adam Bjaranson confirmed that Dixon was out for the game. 6:30 show Producer Leilani Welch told Joe right before he went on the air live (in fact, it was just as Laural Porter was tossing to him). All of this happened in a span of about 9 minutes. At 6:37ish, Joe went on the air with the story.

We've got a good team here, which is what you need when you're putting down the tracks as the train is coming.

Posted by Craig Edwards at 7:51 PM | Permalink

Devastating.... that's the one word that comes to mind! Ducks QB Dennis Dixon went down in the 1st quarter tonight at Arizona with what is being described as a "left knee sprain". Nobody was around Dixon when he went down... he tried to make a cut to his right when the knee buckled a bit. Now, that's the same knee that knocked him out of the last game vs. ASU. It appears Dixon is down for the night.... even possibly the season. That is the unspeakable truth of it. And, as I type this blog, Dixon's replacement (Brady Leaf)... just threw an interception that was returned for 6 by Antone Cason. Ducks now trail 17-11 at the start of the 2nd quarter.... but, more importantly, it appears (and I'll use that word loosely right now) that Dixon's collegiate career may be over--- all in a blink of an eye!

Posted by at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Those of you in attendance at Reser Stadium on Saturday had every right to grip over the officiating. What a joke! On Monday, the Pac-10 Commissioner (Tom Hansen) reprimanded the officiating crew for blowing an obvious call late in the Beavs game with Washington. Mind you, this was a crucial game for OSU. They NEEDED this win to become bowl eligible.
Back to those officials....really? I'd love to hear from each of them WHY they didn't feel the need to review Yvenson Bernard's fumble. It was obvious to each and every one of the 45,629 in attendance! Why not review this? I'm getting incredibly frustrated with how officials have been handling games in the past few years. The Ducks know they stole one last year-- sorry Sooner fans! I know it's not very easy to be an official.... but for crying out loud guys... GET IT RIGHT! If you review the play, it will bear no further abuse!
Said Hansen on Monday, "We do believe the instant replay officials did not perform properly on the Bernard fumble play. There was human error in that while reviewing
the available replays the crew failed to notify the game officials to
stop play before the ball was snapped for the next play. It was not the
fault of the equipment. The game should have been stopped and the play
reviewed. The members of the IR crew have been reprimanded."
Here's hoping this helps eliminate the foolishness that was all the talk around the water cooler this morning!

Posted by at 10:43 PM | Permalink

By Craig Edwards

If your favorite college football team is doing well (like the Oregon Ducks), then there's something you may not have noticed this November. However, if your team isn't doing so good (like my WSU Cougars), then you've actually been waiting with great anticipation for that same something.

The "something" is two simple words... COLLEGE BASKETBALL.

Yes, the college basketball season is upon us, with most teams tipping-off their non-conference schedules this week.

If you live on the East Coast, start investing in those caffeine sources now, because if you want to watch the best basketball this year, you'll have to stay up late. That's because the Pac-10 will be the best conference in college basketball this year, with a legitimate chance of sending 7 teams to the NCAA Tournament.

That being said, how is the conference going to play out? Here's how I think the teams will finish.

Continue reading "Scouting the Pac" »

Posted by Craig Edwards at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

...and he should top yours! Could you imagine where the Ducks would be in Chip Kelly's offense if Dennis Dixon wasn't manning the controls? They wouldn't be in the same hemisphere. I love Brady Leaf as a back-up....but these two are polar opposites in Kelly's system. Dixon's physical attributes are far superior to any other QB in the Pac-10. Maybe even the nation.
There's no question that Dixon is ahead of BC's Ryan....and Michigans Hart. If only there was a Comeback Player of the Year award, right?
I love the Ducks chances....and really, who would've thunk it after last year? Through 9 games this year....Dixon has 20 TD's against only 3 INT's (2 came in their loss to Cal...the other on a desperation heave at the end of the first half at Washington). Last year...he finished the season with 12 TD's and an ugly 14 INT's. As Dixon goes, so go the Ducks.

Posted by at 11:12 PM | Permalink