On Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 12:04 PM, M-D November <[email protected]> wrote:
> Keith Olbermann touched on MLB's TV troubles and how they play into the > selection of the next Commish in his cold open the other night... > > KO: 20 Years Later, MLB's New Crisis > <http://youtu.be/NDC2MBFPzuo?list=UUdJtV6wXT6lnrvldU_urowQ> > I agree with every single thing Keith says here. Today's election of Manfred over Werner (after many tense hours and several ballots) is probably better than the alternative, even though, paradoxically, Manfred is Selig's man, and I loath Bud Selig. But the anti-Manfred coalition that coalesced around Werner was focused on more of a "get tough" approach to the Union - and another work stoppage would be just the thing not just to move the NBA passed the MLB, but also probably soccer as well. What Keith did not say is that the last interrupted season also led directly to the full steroid era (which is why this period is more accurately referred to as the "Selig Era"). Steroids were already influencing baseball before the 1994 strike that cancelled the World Series (as I recall, Matt Williams was on track to break Maris' record, though I guess he only admits to using steroids later in his career) but after the strike Selig and the owners put one hand over their eyes and the other over their ears as literally incredible numbers started being put up, driving fans back to the parks. As KO points out, if Manfred is smart he will push for substantially more revenue-sharing, so that small market teams get more benefit from the revenue they generate for the Yankees and Dodgers, and so the big market teams have an interest in small market teams doing well. They will also eliminate inter-league play (I can live with the wild card, especially in its much improved current format) and figure out ways to market interest in baseball games, not just local games (I grew up loving baseball, and I now can not remember the last complete regular season game I watched on TV that did not involve the Giants). MLB now has a long and, in its own way compelling post-season; they must figure out a way to structure their season to drive interest in this, which in turn would justify large network rights fees. And they must make games shorter - not longer, which is what the awful replay rule is doing. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
