SPORTS: Boys and Their Toys

I should be trying to catch up here in the next few days. I'm supposed to be getting a post a day done, but time isn't as permissive as I'd like. But there should be a lot of verbiage spewing over the next few days. You've been warned.

A couple of days ago, I went on about how good the CBC and Leaf TV guys were at broadcasting hockey. And how the Dallas Stars were emblematic of bad hockey broadcasting, while not being the only culprits. Later that same night, the NBA Semi-Finals kicked off with ESPN doing the Celtics-Pistons game. I don't know who the director was for the show, but somebody, PLEASE, Stop him!

His new toy isn't all that new. It's the follow-the-action camera. And it has NO BLEEPIN' PLACE in an NBA game. Developed for races, like an Olympic 100m final, the concept works perfectly fine as an after-the-fact analysis viewing angle. It eliminates the distortion brought on by viewing from an angle, a surging wave of competition as it advances down the straight. It is GREAT for that purpose. Cannot recommend it more highly as the first replay angle to be shown in these circumstances.

Then, the camera gets given to MORONS like the director of the game Tuesday night. He uses the camera on a cable to show LIVE ACTION. It's not the first time I've seen it in basketball and would that it be, that it would be the last time I did so. It is the most worthless use of technology since the glowing puck in hockey. Just because you CAN do something, isn't any reason to actually do it. I've said it before, common sense and being in the seat at home to watch other idiots fail similarly are the best thing that could happen to a director.

The best seats in the house are at midcourt, centre ice and the 50-yard line. Centrally located. That hasn't changed since the Romans were watching lions have their dinner. WHY, WHY, WHY would any director think you should move away from that view for regular action? I've seen end-zone views from red-zone football plays and powerplay situations. A little distorting, but it's going to be the stable view for the next few seconds. Who in their right bleepin' mind thinks running along the side of a basketball court watching men dribble is anything other than nauseating?

Tuesday night, I flipped the game to the small TV and watched some season 3 Penn and Teller BS shows on the main TV. Tonight, I'm here at the keyboard rather than watching the game. Should tell you something.