ESPNU availability frustrates

The lines are certainly drawn for this one.

The good guys: the Cougs and Zags.

The bad guys: ESPN, Comcast, the West Coast Conference, the evil alliance of American business and collegiate athletics, and the 21st century sports fan who can’t understand why there isn’t a 28th Amendment guaranteeing that any game he wants to see be available in his living room.

Have we left anyone out?

Oh, right. The newspaper. Our phone will ring nonstop from about noon to tipoff Wednesday night, demanding to know why the Washington State-Gonzaga basketball Game -of-This-or- Any-Other- Century isn’t on an easily accessible channel and what we’re doing about it. Because, you know, when the paperboy misses your porch, your first instinct is to call Dick Vitale.

The game is being televised – on ESPNU, the “U” standing for “unavailable” in Spokane unless you’re a Dish Network or DirecTV member or the bartender at a properly equipped sports pub is saving you a stool. The channel is not one of Comcast’s many offerings, even though the rest of the ESPN family – including six pay-per-view channels – is.

So it’s another “Law & Order” rerun for you cable customers.

This is a sorry circumstance at the least, and an outrage to the perspective impaired, what with the Cougs ranked eighth and the Zags 17th – both rivals being ranked for this game being unprecedented. And it requires some explanation, which we’ve cobbled together with the help of Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth, WCC commissioner Mike Gilleran and Ken Watts and Walter Neary of the local Comcast office.

Like virtually every Division I conference in America, the WCC owns the TV rights to all home games of its member schools. A year ago, the league signed a five-year deal with ESPN to broadcast a select number of games – 21 this year, including its tournament semis and final. Part of that agreement, Gilleran acknowledged, is a commitment to a certain number of appearances on ESPNU, the latest offspring of the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader – and its least available channel.

“Our ability and willingness to help grow ESPNU made us a more attractive partner for ESPN,” Gilleran said.

Which, of course, is precisely what ESPN wants to do. As it did when it launched ESPN2 some years ago, it is diverting some attractive events to the U to create a demand among viewers that it hopes will eventually be heard in cable boardrooms.

“If you looked at the leagues that have agreements with ESPN, you’ll see examples of their big programs playing some games on ESPNU,” Roth said.

It’s true. Just this week, Tennessee’s game at Chattanooga is on the U, as is Pittsburgh- Duquesne. Philadelphia rivals Villanova and Temple will meet on the channel, and it’s probably just a coincidence that Comcast’s corporate headquarters is in the same city.

Kansas-Missouri. Iowa-Iowa State. Virginia-Virginia Tech. Even top-ranked North Carolina has two games, albeit non-league stinkers.

But we only care about this game.

So does Watts, the general manager of Comcast Spokane. How could he not? Adam Morrison’s mother, Wanda, works in his office.

But the decision on what channels are offered here isn’t simply a local decision – “it’s collaborative,” Watts noted. Nor is it a slam dunk.

“We know people love the Zags,” said Neary, a public relations manager. “We also have to weigh how much value there is for our customers if there are a bunch of games that many people aren’t interested in, but there are four times a year when it’ll have something everyone in Spokane will watch.”

These are all reasonable answers, but not particularly satisfactory.

ESPN is in business, not the goodwill business, but telecasting West Virginia-Auburn – followed by poker – on ESPN2 during the same time slot is certainly rubbing it in. Besides, it understands short memories. Too many Zag fans will be goobering to host another GameDay soon enough.

The WCC must look after the interests of all its members and not just Gonzaga – “at most of our places, ESPNU is a cool deal,” Gilleran said. But the league is shameless about leveraging the Zags for the sake of TV, and still sells itself pretty cheap.

Comcast’s Watts noted that, “Without being flip, (an agreement on ESPNU) hasn’t happened just simply because it hasn’t happened.” That doesn’t strike a very responsive chord, especially since there are alternatives to Comcast’s services.

And the Zags are hamstrung, both happily and unhappily. They treasure their ESPN treatment – only Duke had more appearances on that brand last season – but realize more financial and local benefit from their deal with KHQ and FSN.

“They’ve done a great job building our product and that’s why people are upset,” Roth said. “Go back eight years and you watched us play five times on TV all year. Now you see every game.”

Except for when it’s the U’s turn.