Welcome to CrashUtah - Where BYU fans Talk Sports

Paul Peterson says Boston College fans have nothing to fear now that the former Eagles quarterback is an offensive intern on Brigham Young’s coaching staff. “They made me turn in my BC playbook before I left,” Peterson said with a chuckle yesterday by telephone from Provo, Utah.

Source

Paul Peterson may have turned in his playbook, but I can’t imagine that Paul is anything but a benefit to BYU planning to defend the Boston College defense. I’ll be amazed if they don’t bring this up as a storyline during the ESPN2 broadcast of BYU and Boston College.

You don’t work for a few years on learning plays just to forget them when you turn in your play book. Plus, BYU has all the film from all the games where he could recreate the playbook if he wanted.

The more important point is that by watching film, Bronco Mendenhall could almost reproduce the playbook also. Hopefully Peterson will have some insight into how the BC coach calls the plays.

In the end, BYU running the ball is going to be the difference in this game. If BYU runs the ball against BC then BYU will win. If they can’t, then they will lose.

I think the UA President, Robert Shelton, deserves all the accolades in the world for sending the letter copied below to UA fans. Everyone that knows me knows that I love to talk smack as much or more than the next. However, it has really been amazing how outrageous many of the cheers have become at sporting events these days. Our culture has something to do with it, but I’m glad to see someone trying to fight against it and make our culture better.

Fans should show mature game manners

The Arizona football team’s season opener against Brigham Young University was a great game, played against a worthy opponent. To borrow from our hallowed history, our team “fought like wildcats,” and we eked out a proud win.

Some of the credit goes to the raucous fans, who displayed admirable school spirit in cheering on the team. The Zona Zoo has never been bigger, and it has never been louder than it was at the BYU game.

Unfortunately, some of the noise was ugly, and it was unbecoming of this university. The expected ribbing of the opposing team devolved into name-calling that included insulting the predominant faith of BYU.

To tell opposing fans who we think will win the game is one thing. To insult their religious beliefs is really quite another, and it is not what the UA is all about. Not only was it unacceptable to treat visitors to our community this way; it was insulting to any member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We are surely joined by UA students, faculty and staff members who feel a sense of betrayal by members of our own fan base at these actions. One need not be Mormon to be terribly offended by these incidents.

This university is a global village of students from all walks of life and from all faiths. To insult visitors for any reason, faith or otherwise, is to insult members of our own community as well.

Some universities have well-earned reputations for acting shamefully toward opposing teams and their boosters. This is not what the UA has ever been about, nor is it what it should become.

When opposing teams and their fans come to the UA, we want to win those games. But there is no place on this campus for the ugly behavior that some chose to carry out at the BYU game. Put bluntly, such behavior will not be condoned, nor tolerated.

So, as we prepare for Saturday’s game against Stephen F. Austin University, let’s all cheer the Wildcats on to victory. More importantly, let’s support our team’s effort on the field by being decent hosts off the field.

UA President Robert Shelton,
Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Erin Hertzog

There is a whole lot of chatter that has happened about the MWC CSTV Comcat the mtn. deal. Here’s some highlights from the chatter and links to more commentary:

Without divulging my sources, (a family member of mine helped put the CSTV deal together before it was sold to CBS), the real issue is with Comcast and their desire not to give BYU the re-broadcast rights. BYU is the only school looking for the re-broadcast rights and apparently they are highly pissed that Comcast is not budging on the deal and there is talks of BYU calling it off, which would include BYU becoming independent. I guess the CBS acquisition has been viewed as a disaster and that the MWC has no credibility right now inside. Also, Cecil Samuelson and Co. had a “hand-shake” negotiation about the re-broadcast rights but never put it in a contract and are now paying the consequences. Until it is sorted out with Comcast and BYU, KBYU will not show any immediate or day-off re-broadcasts. This sucks.

Thanks veddarhall Well, I guess Cecil Samuelson learned a great lesson. I bet Comcast’s purchase of CSTV may have changed much of this.

I know a lot of you are sick of hearing from me on this. But I do have some additional information that might be of some use.

1. CSTV has demanded outrageous rates for their channels
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/ CA6366091.html
Anyone who believes that mtn should cost almost as much as Disney Channel is not thinking.

2. CSTV has demanded that their channels be on a basic or expanded basic package. In any new negotations with cable or satellite, they are demanding that CSTV and mtn be moved from a sports tier to a general tier (thereby increasing the number of subscribers and revenue).

It is my understanding that this is the major sticking point with the satellite companies.

3. CSTV has not been in serious negotiations with any of the major cable or satellite companies for about a month now. CSTV indicated that they were unwilling to negotiate off of their deal. This essentially took Time Warner and Cox off the table. It is my understanding that DirecTV and Dish continued to discuss trying to keep CSTV on a sports tier and make mtn on the sports tier as well, but that has since died.

4. CSTV is not in a good financial position right now. Because they are wholly owned by CBS, it is difficult to prove this out by looking at financial statements. But after having dicussions with those directly involved with the negotations, their gut is that CBS has delivered the ultimatum that they need to be financially contributing to the company by the end of this year.

5. The latest twist is that Comcast sports (in an effort to break even on producing the MWC games) will be offering some of the games on their network. This was apparently a recent change that Comcast made to try to make sure they at least get their investment back from producing the games.

For those of you that continue to state that this is posturing between companies and this occurs regularly, I respectfully disagree. I have been in the cable industry for a few years now and I have never seen anything quite so mismanaged as this.

I don’t know who has done a worse job, CSTV or MWC officials. It is really too bad that they attempted to launch this new channel right now. It should have waited at least a year or two.

P.S. For those of you that want to question my sources, I work for Cox Communications in New Orleans. I was previously working for Cox in Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Thanks whoisjohngalt

Tonight ended the hopes for the current deal with Dish/DirecTV. Here’s why:

1. The negotiations have stalled on price. Dish/DirecTV would love to broadcast at no cost—the question is what they will pay. They have said the current asking price is no good. I have spoken to a contact at one of these companies and he said he sees no reason to pay what they are asking. That is a fact (or at least it was a few days ago when I spoke with him).

2. In response, the MWC/CSTV/MTN have asked fans to put pressure on them by calling and by switching to Comcast/other.

3. Because the Tulsa game was not going to be shown live, ALL THE FANS THAT CARE ENOUGH TO CALL AND/OR SWITCH HAVE DONE SO. There will be no new group of fans calling dish/directv this week. Dish/Directv have decided the volume of fans that care is not sufficient to pay the asking price.

4. Fans are pissed off at all parties. But this week I imagine the MWC/BYU/CSTV/MTN will take the heat. The decision to pull the rebroadcast AT THE LAST MINUTE was NOT made by dish/directv. It was the absolute worst thing the MWC/BYU/MTN/CSTV could have done. They have pissed off all out of state BYU fans (those who care the most about the satellite deal).

Given all of this, think about the next game on the mtn. Suppose dish/directv refuse to pay the asking price and mtn is still not listed. DO YOU REALLY THINK BYU AND THE MWC WILL LET OUT OF STATERS GET SCREWED AGAIN LIKE THEY DID TODAY? I think there is no way that happens. Tom Holmoe will know that if the next game is “blacked out” the way this one was that folks will start calling for him to get tossed and will refuse to give money to BYU. He will hear from so many pissed off fans that he will do whatever he can to make sure that there is at least a rebroadcast of the game.

Dish/Directv know this is not a tenable equilibrium for BYU fans. They know that BYU/MWC will have to give in next time. Knowing this, there is NO WAY they will pony up the money that is being asked.

CSTV/MTN/MWC/BYU bluffed today, and Dish/DirecTV called it. They know that whatever hardball talk they hear before the next game will be more of the same.

The only way this gets done now is if/when CSTV lowers the ask. That has to happen eventually and everybody knows it. The question is: how many more games do we have to miss before the children in charge of the MWC/BYU/CSTV side of these negotiations realize it?

Thanks Milton

I okayed it with the gentleman I spoke to, who was very helpful and forthcoming, that I could come here and lay it out. Feel free to ask questions.

Here are CSTV’s two main points on distribution.

1. They are the lowest cost Regional Sports Network in the country.
2. They are the ONLY Regional Sports Network that accepts Tier Carriage, within their region. (So, they’ll let carriers put them in the digital tier, instead of a basic tier. No other regional sports network accepts that.)

Point #2 also cuts down on the asking price, but cause a carrier may only have 40% of the subscribers in that higher tier.

They’re making the mtn. extremely accessible to carriers.

Prior, I was of the opinion they were asking too much money. Having my questions answered, I think they’re making it quite affordable, and the carriers are the parties responsible for holding this up.

Thanks tkh9

All seems like it is still rumor mill, but it’s interesting conjecture.