Grip on Sports: Night games are the Pac-12’s money-making, and complaint-making, machine
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Travel around the Pac-12 for football games and the first thing you will be struck with are all the new facilities, from stadium renovations to support buildings. The next thing that hits you: All the night games. They are related. Read on.
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• It took money, lots of money, to build the Taj Mahals that have sprouted around the Pac-12 – and the rest of college football – the past decade.
The money didn’t come from increased ticket sales, though bumps in prices may have helped some. It didn’t come from student fees, mainly because tuition is so expensive these days few have an extra $50 to kick in. And, in a majority of places, it didn’t come from Uncle Phil or his relatives in the booster club.
It came from television. ABC. ESPN. Fox. CBS. Regional channels. Conference-affiliated stations.
Why would television networks want to give colleges heaps and heaps of cash? Programming. Reality programming, actually. The best of reality shows. Football draws ratings not just because it’s a sport, but it’s also unscripted – after the first 10 plays or so.
Who knows what is going to happen? No one, for sure, so they tune in.
And television viewership is craved all day Saturday, from the early morning hours – hence the popularity of ESPN’s GameDay – to the wee hours of the morning – hence #Pac12afterdark.
For some schools it goes on night after night, week after week.
No one affiliated with the games playing after curfew, besides the networks, really likes it.
Not the fans, not the media, not the players, not the coaches. But the crucial part of this particular reality television series is night games are a reality. And they are not going away.
They play them in other places, sure. But nowhere with the regularity of the West, with the Pac-12 leading the pack. (The Mountain West is not all that far behind, though most in the Inland Northwest might not know it, or care.)
Chris Petersen can rail about it. And he did. David Shaw can rail about it. And he did. But it isn’t changing materially.
Oh, the conference, seeing which way the wind was blowing after it made its deal with the devil’s bankers, has tried to tweak game times a bit.
But it’s really no use. For their millions, the networks are going to get their pound of flesh. And that pound comes right out of everyone’s mattresses. (Man, that’s a convoluted analogy. I should have taken the time to think of something better, but I am too sleep-deprived over the past few weeks to spend the energy.)
You can call up your local Pac-12 athletic director and complain. They will commiserate with you. But their hands are tied. The CEOs of this particular business enterprise – the chancellors and presidents – have made their decision.
Money talks. The rest of us sleepwalk.
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WSU: The Cougars have yet to play a road game. As Theo Lawson tells us, they are looking forward to it. … The top of Theo’s Pac-12 power rankings have a distinctive Evergreen State flavor. … Theo told us yesterday the Washington State police are investigating a possible assault after the USC game. Now the USC player has been identified. The investigation is garnering some publicity in California – and nationally – as well. … Three players spoke with the media after practice yesterday. Those interviews, as well as everything we have on the Cougars, can be found on our WSU football page. … Stefanie Loh catches up Times’ readers with the fine leveled by the Pac-12 and the injuries facing WSU and Oregon. … The Ducks are beat up. They will be missing their most important offensive player, their quarterback. And Oregon expects the Cougars to gear their defense to take advantage of it.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the betting lines for conference games have earned some attention. … Once again there are connections between the coaching staffs as Washington prepares for California. … The numbers are mostly good for Utah and coach Kyle Whittingham. Which may not bode well for Stanford. … Losing is never fun. Anywhere. But no one seems happy at Oregon State. It doesn’t get any easier for the Beavers with a trip to USC on tap this weekend. Though the Trojans have some problems to fix. … UCLA can use its bye week. … Arizona State is giving up big plays again and that’s not good. … Arizona is looking for a game manager. … How deep does the college basketball scandal run in the Pac-12? Arizona coach Sean Miller and the school’s president acknowledge the elephant in the room yesterday. … When there is a tragedy as widespread as the Las Vegas shooting, it’s bound to touch someone in the conference.
Gonzaga: The volleyball team is off to a fast start this season. Jim Meehan has that and more in his volleyball notebook.
EWU: The Eagles lost their best returning defensive lineman in the second week of the season. But, as Jim Allen relates, only on the field. He’s helping out the young group in other ways. … A couple of Eastern basketball players earned preseason honors. … As is his habit, Jim catches us up on Cooper Kupp’s week with the Rams. Kupp will face the Seahawks this week. … Around the Big Sky, Montana will be tested by a surprising Idaho State squad. … Montana State turns to its running game.
Chiefs: Those of you who watch Spokane on a regular basis know what the Edmonton Oilers are learning: Kailer Yamamoto is really good. John Blanchette’s column today centers round Yamamoto’s chances of making the Oilers’ roster this season. … The Chiefs have a few other players who have NHL possibilities. … Around the WHL, some team’s depth is already being tested.
Preps: Tuesday nights are always busy in the fall and last night was no exceptions. We can offer roundups from slowpitch softball, girls’ soccer, boys’ soccer and volleyball.
Seahawks: Believe it or not, we are one-quarter of the way through the regular season. … The ratings and ticket sales have been solid. … With Chris Carson’s injury, the starting running back spot against the Rams is anyone’s to grab.
Mariners: Yesterday seemed like a good time to assess the just-finished season and look ahead to the next one. General manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais spoke with the media and went over both. The upshot? There will be changes in the coaching staff, there probably won’t be as many roster moves and winning the division in the near will be a near-impossible task. That last one comes courtesy of the Times’ Larry Stone. … Shohei Otani intrigues just about everyone.
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• Are we already to the middle of the week? Wow. That went fast. We will begin the last half of your week by passing along a feel-good story. Why not? One of the main characters is Brooke Olzendam, who grew up around here. Until later …