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Press Box
Cindy Luis
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Fans should get gold medals for putting up with NBC’s coverage
And here I thought the dream job would be to own a vineyard somewhere in the south of Kailua. Be able to host "Stomp Romp" fun runs and "I Love Lucy" wine-making parties.
Think "Sideways" meets "Bottle Shock" over the Pali.
Nope. The job I now want is head of programming for the NBC Olympics ... oops, I mean the Games of the XXXth Olympiad that will be held in London four years from now.
(Anyone else find it strange, the usage of Roman numerals for something begun in Greece? But I digress).
Obviously, whoever currently holds the position needs to be replaced. In this day and age of instant communication, there is no excuse for 12-hour delays in watching events. Or, in the case of Hawaii, 18- to 30-hour delays.
It's as if NBC, and its monopoly of networks, has created a 25th time zone ... and only they live in it, somewhere in Peacockland.
Thought Idaho, with parts of the state in different time zones, was confusing? Try figuring out when an event -- ANY event -- will be broadcast.
The idea of being held hostage by a bird with paint samples for a tail doesn't sit well. So since NBC keeps promoting its "Chime In," here goes.
(Promise, not a word about my beloved TripleCast of 1992).
The Games should be shown live. Period.
Not to kick a dead pommel horse, but if the talking heads need 12 hours to write the perfect script and insert those feel-good profiles, fine; show those during prime time with repeats of the events.
It is irritating to watch the same athletes over and over -- Did someone say beach volleyball? -- and then, just in case you missed it the first time it was delayed by 18 hours, show it again 12 hours later. (That's 30 hours, major deduction points on the landing).
There was much more diversity on the Korean and Chinese Olympic channels. You may question why badminton and table tennis are in the Games, but at least you could see them while picking up a foreign language as well.
Even more irritating was the treatment of men's field hockey. (Yes, I admit, it's an addiction). Call it arrogance or laziness, but it was incredible that the announcers were watching the video of the matches from 30 Rockefeller Center. As in New York City. Did they confuse the Rockettes with floor ex?
Sure, they admitted they were half a world away but it was embarrassing when, on a questionable call they bailed out with a "We don't know. We're seeing it, just like you're seeing it" to their viewers.
Sadder still were some of the announcers who WERE in Beijing. There seemed to be no sense of history, especially when it came to men's volleyball.
No mention that Clay Stanley was the first second-generation volleyball player, that dad, Jon, was in the stands or that Clay's stepfather Marc Haine was there. Haine is the son of the late Tom Haine, the captain of the 1968 Olympic volleyball team.
There were more than 10,500 athletes in 28 sports and we saw more of Mike Phelps' mother than about 10,400 competitors.
And how ridiculous was it to stay up and watch the gold medal women's volleyball match at 2 a.m. yesterday only to see replays of diving? NBCOlympics.com said it was LIVE now on NBC.
I was gullible. I believed them. I finally realized that the only part of L-I-V-E was L-I-E.
As for the networks of the Not Broadcasting Competition, anyone in Hawaii switching to OCNBC yesterday morning saw that from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. there was nothing but paid programming and "Deal or No Deal."
How appropriate. It's enough to rethink that vineyard.
