AS witnessed in the recent John Andariese ticket case, violation of Cablevision/Madison Square Garden internal corporate policy can lead to harsh punishment. Clearly, there was no room for Andariese to deviate from that policy, thus he paid with his job.
On the other hand, Cablevision/MSG external corporate policy toward consumers has always been far more flexible. Cablevision/MSG will always bend this way and that in order to get the best angle on patrons’ wallets.
Consider the revolting stunt Cablevision/MSG pulled Wednesday, an in-yer-face act of self-service that left tens of thousands of MSG Network subscribers in three states without the Nets-Knicks game.
With Tuesday’s Yankee home opener pushed back a day on Ch. 5, MSG, scheduled to carry Game 2 of the Rangers-Yankees series on Wednesday night, found MSG 12>empty0> on Wednesday night.
MSG knew that its network would be empty Wednesday on 12>Monday0> -2>when Tuesday’s Yankee home opener was postponed until Wednesday afternoon. Thus, Wednesday night’s Nets-Knicks game could’ve easily been moved off Metro and on to MSG, where all MSG subscribers could’ve seen it.
Instead, MSG left the basketball game on one of Cablevision’s three Metro channels, thus the game was unavailable to MSG subscribers in large areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
And that stinks. Wednesday night, with the Mets-Phils on Cablevision-owned FSNY and the Yanks having played an afternoon home opener on Ch. 5, the Nets-Knicks game was left on Metro while MSG aired any-old-time taped filler. That’s the kind of treatment of consumers that only WFAN hosts would approve.
Cablevision is so eager to create and sustain leverage on behalf of clearing Cablevision’s Metro channels on non-Cablevision cable systems that it chose to place nothing on MSG before moving a Nets-Knicks game. With more than two days’ notice the game should have been moved to MSG, which is where it belonged and where the most number of MSG subscribers could see it.
Wednesday witnessed the kind of corporate policy toward the public that Cablevision has enacted for 20 years. It’s Cablevision’s “Go to hell, please remit” policy.
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OUR most lasting impression of Keyshawn Johnson, the Jet, was formed this past NFL season when he sat for an interview with Lesley Visser on ESPN. When asked about his disdain for teammate and co-WR Wayne Chrebet, Johnson grew annoyed, claiming that the issue “was created by the media.”
Reminded that it was he who had targeted Chrebet, Johnson snapped, “Just one time.”
Yeah, genius, the 12>first0> time. Otherwise, it never would have been an issue. And it was in a book that he sold to the public as his words and thoughts. But Johnson clearly felt that he shouldn’t be held accountable for that. Another hero.
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THERE will always be men and women who firmly believe that owning a team gives them the exclusive rights to the hearts and minds of media and fans. Tampa Bay Devils Rays owner Vince Naimoli is such a fellow.
This past Sunday, Naimoli was the object of some rather benign satire in the 12>St. Petersburg Times. 0>But Naimoli took it hard. In fact, he broke out in a rash of bad reactions, including a case of creeping megalomania.
Naimoli threatened to sue. Although 12>The Times0> is one of the team’s sponsors, he banned the newspaper from the Rays’ stadium. St. Pete Times’ vending machines were removed from the premises and The Times’ human newspaper vendors, who normally work inside the ballpark, were prohibited from entering.
Last year, Fox Sports’ Keith Olbermann took a couple of on-air swings at the Devil Rays’ decision-making process. The Rays’ response was to put Olbermann’s name on the scoreboard while encouraging fans to mail or fax him their complaints.
According to Olbermann, he receive three.
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WILL CLARK, never among the more enlightened men among >major leaguers, recently ran into 12>Sports Illustrated’s 0>Jeff Pearlman in the Orioles’ clubhouse. Clark berated him for reporting what John Rocker said to him this past winter. Clark then demanded that Pearlman leave the premises, which were open to the media.
Such an act might put Clark in a place slightly lower than Rocker’s. Not even Rocker tried to blame Pearlman for transcribing the stupid things he said.
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NEW York Times sportswriter Mike Freeman has authored a less-than-flattering book about ESPN, “ESPN: The Uncensored History.” Ads for the book that appeared this week in The Times included only one review of the book: “It’s outrageous.”
The “It’s outrageous,” however, seems highly and intentionally misleading in the storied tradition of the selective application of words from movie reviews.
As noted in the ad, “It’s outrageous” is attributed to ABC Sports president and former ESPN exec, Howard Katz. ABC and ESPN operate under the Disney banner, thus Katz, naturally, said he was outraged by some of the negative passages in the book.
In other words, the use of his “outrageous” quote as a perceived endorsement is, well, outrageous. Imagine what would’ve happened had Katz said, “This certainly isn’t my idea of a great book.”
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BECAUSE I’m not one to throw a notebook out without first squeezing it dry, I submit the following tidbits for your perusal, if not your approval:
In Bristol, Conn., the only building taller than the ones that comprise ESPN’s compound is located in a field, right across the street from ESPN. It’s the Otis Elevator testing shaft, 29 stories high.
Then there’s Olympic video chronicler Bud Greenspan. At last count, he has accumulated 2,800,000 frequent-flier miles. With just one airline. “And,” he says, “it’s not as if I don’t use them.”
What beverage does Bill Walton order with dinner? Steaming hot water. Two glasses. It’s for his throat. I think.