Bitching About NBC's Olympic Coverage

So, once again NBC gets the Olympics license for the US. Well, they suck. How should I start...

Drama: NBC loves to create drama with their little documentaries on athletes. The five to ten minute segments can easily be replaced by...well, let me think...how about Olympic events? How about the actual sport. There are hundreds, thousands of other athletes competing at the games, show some guy/gal who's name no one can pronounce and from some country I have never heard of. You want drama? Let the sport produce its own drama.

Coverage: If the US is not involved, NBC will not show it. Oh, how I wish I had the Canadian feed so I could watch some curling. Unfortunately, most of the country is not interested in 'non-US sports'. What a shame, how can a sport grow in this country without exposure from "the world's greatest stage"?

I have also noticed that they like to show sports that are quick and easy to transition in and out of. They like events that can finish in three to five minutes.

Time: "Recorded earlier from a live broadcast" - Uh, last time I checked California is in the same time zone as British Columbia. Why do I have to watch things with tape delay while the east coast gets to watch it live? I get "previews of what is to come" on the news that precedes the events. Just show the event.

Speaking of news...half the news is about the Olympics. Well, why not just show the Olympics, LIVE...then show the news? Surely people can sacrifice two weeks of 'news' for the Olympics. All of prime time is already on break, the news should be also.

I guess it is working for them, so expect more of the same in London.

Canada Gold!

I had to watch the game on NBC. I would have love to watch this game on a Canadian network. Even better, I would love to have heard Peter Maher call this game. I am sure he gave out his trademark "Yeah Baby!", when Iginla passed the puck to Crosby for the winning goal in overtime.

Update: They played the clip of Maher's play-by-play on the winning goal during last night's broadcast. Three "Yeah Baby!" calls. Awesome!

Interview with Alan Wilder

Alan and Martin's Soundcheck for 'Somebody'

Jay Leno Drives the DeLorean

Alan Wilder Performs With Depeche Mode

In case you have not figured it out yet:

awildermode = Alan Wilder, Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode Somebody. Royal Albert Hall 17-02-2010
With special appearance of Alan Wilder.



Quote from Alan:

Dave contacted me a few weeks back and asked if I'd be willing to join them on-stage. He assured me that everyone in the band was into the idea. I was very happy to accept, especially as it was all in a good cause and we were long overdue some kind of reunion of this sort. It was great to see everyone again and catch up a bit, and it was also the first time I have actually 'seen' Depeche Mode perform!

Vancouver 2010

I guess I should talk about the Olympics...you know, since it it going on and all.

First off, the opening ceremony. Overall, I enjoyed it. Sorry, Canada. But, you or anyone else will never top what Beijing did in 2008. I will still be rooting for Canada, though. Speaking of 'ROOTing for Canada', I want a pair of those mittens.

For those of you in the US, the NBC coverage really sucks. As far back as I can remember, they suck. Typical NBC coverage is focused on US athletes, and I mean focus. Sometimes it feels like they do a 30 minute documentary on an athlete, when they can be showing some kind of competition. As I recall, the Canadian broadcasts also concentrated on their athletes, but there was no half hour documentary.

Oh, I really enjoyed the "Own the Podium" campaign the Canadian broadcasters have spent the last eighteen months airing. Go Canada.

Now, hockey. This will be an exciting tournament with a deep pool. There are four teams that can skate away with the gold. Heck, I have even joined a hockey pool on some internet forum.

Speaking of hockey, here is an interesting fact. Montreal hosted the Summer Games in 1976. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the 1976-1977 season. Calgary hosted the Winter games in 1988, the Calgary Flames won the Cup for 1988-1989 season. Does this mean the the Vancouver Canucks have a chance to win the 2011 Cup?

Okay, let me take that a step further. The Canadiens won the Cup in 1976, Edmonton Oilers won 1988...Do we have a Canadian team winning the Cup this year?

Math Is Awesome