Merrimack vs. UNH in March 2011. Photo by Walter Rossini.

I’m a college hockey writer without an online home this season (time is my enemy – I couldn’t commit enough time to any one website, so I bowed out for the season), so more of my random college hockey thoughts will get featured on this blog.

In the Straight Out of Andover department, Merrimack College announced their first ever hockey television coverage deal on Friday. WBIN-TV Channel 18 (formerly MY TV 18 Boston/Manchester, NH) will air three of the Warriors’ home games in December and January. The program’s strong 2010-11 season spurred on this new deal, said WBIN’s general manager Gerry McGavick in a statement:

“Coming off a 25 win season, an NCAA berth last year and entering this season with a top 15 national ranking, the Warriors will be a strong addition to the WBIN team.”

Merrimack will not be the only team WBIN gives college hockey love to this season. University of New Hampshire announced a 12 game deal with the station this week, spanning four of the school’s winter sports. WBIN will air six men’s hockey games, and two games each for the women’s hockey, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams. UNH men’s hockey had been without a television deal since New Hampshire Public TV (WENH) stopped covering their home games in 2008. The deal also gives the America East conference additional television exposure for basketball, which is always coveted.

Here is WBIN’s men’s college hockey schedule thus far:

Fri. Nov. 18 Mass.-Lowell at UNH 7 p.m.
Thu. Dec. 8 Boston U. at UNH 7 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 17 Union at Merrimack 7p.m.
Sat. Jan. 14 Merrimack vs. Maine 7 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 21 Merrimack at UNH 7 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 28 Boston College at UNH 7 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 29 Merrimack vs. Providence 4 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 10 Northeastern at UNH 7 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 17 Vermont at UNH 7 p.m.

But in a sad piece of news, WBIN’s rebranding has seemingly signaled the end for my favorite cable TV show, Dollar Bill’s Discount World. Dollar Bill announced himself in September that his show would be ending its over decade long run on the channel and be going web-only. For those of you who never had a chance to watch, Dollar Bill is an overly hyper and occasionally inappropriate salesman who sells closeout and discount wares in his Derry, NH warehouse. I salute you, Dollar Bill, and wish you all the best as you enter the world of online video.

I was addicted to TV Guide when I was younger. My mother was charged with buying two copies at Wegmans every week – one for Grandpa, who kept it tucked in the cushions of his electric recliner or next to his pen collection (he collected pens from his route as a bread delivery man), and one for Great-Grandma (his mother, she of the fun stories. Her last name was Hooker. She knocks the flowers off her grave. She lived to be 94 and was the first person to tell me to my face that I sucked. She would take my mother’s hand, hit her on the cheek with it, and tell her to “stop hitting yourself, Kelly!” She was that kind of woman.)

On the car ride between Wegmans and the two TV Guide drop-offs, I would devour the magazine. First, I had to see what would happen on next week’s Full House. After getting that all-important information (“Mom, DJ is going on a date with a guy Danny doesn’t like, and Stephanie wants to get her ears pierced!”), I would flip to the front and read every morsel on every non-listing page that I could. This single-handily is why I was a speed-reader in school. I had 10 minutes to read the entirety of early 1990s TV Guide, which was much more substantial than today’s version.

Zoom to today. TV Guide is obsolete, given that I have the Digital Cable Program Guide. I just press menu, listings, and the arrow keys and BAM! – I have automatic, fully updated TV Guide, just minus the profiles of Victoria Principal, Patrick Duffy and Scott Baio. If Grandpa and Great-Grandma were still alive, they would fully and functionally freak the heck out.

But the continuously updated and information overload nature of the Digital Cable Program Guide can lead to pretty funny gaffs. My fiance and I have caught two in the past four days. Thus, I present to you, our first installment of…Digital Cable Program Guide Fail, or Comcast Info Guide Fail, or whatever you choose to call it.

Example #1: The listing for Saturday night’s Boston College versus Wisconsin National Championship game.

Not a screen bitter BU fans wanted to see. (Photo: me)

While Boston College did win this game on Saturday night, they did not win in 2009 over Miami in overtime. Boston University did. Remember that? It was glorious. April 11, 2009. (By the way, congrats to BC on winning another title on Saturday. Way to keep the National Championship on Comm Ave. The WCHA can cry all they want.)

Example #2: Did you know the United States added a new state? And it is home to a city named Denver too!

It's a new state. I wonder if it's near Colorado. (Photo: Me)

Do you have any fun Digital Cable Program Guide Fails? I’d love to feature them. Send them to sportsgirlkatATgmail.com (replace that AT with the @ sign). I can’t give you anything, but I can ensure that you’ll make me giggle.

Just a quick note for those of you who were intrigued in my July interview with Rival Films’ Matt Fults on the Boston University-Boston College documentary, The Battle of Comm Ave. A pre-sale of the DVD begins today and ends on October 9. During this time, you can get the Director’s Cut DVD for half price, with free shipping. The DVD will ship November 1st.

The made-for-TV version – minus the Director’s Cut’s 32 minutes of extra footage – will air several times on NESN in November.

Even if you despise both BU and BC, you can never go wrong with supporting mainstream media coverage of college hockey, especially when the DVD is the price of one beer at an arena.

You were quite the topic of conversation on Tuesday, appearing literally out of nowhere with the sudden morning announcement of the demise of WBCN. With your August 13th arrival, Boston will be home to four sports radio stations – fitting really, given that Boston is the capital of obsessive sport fandom.

Before you go around stealing talent from the existing three stations (which you are already rumoured to be doing), let’s talk about one aspect of Boston Sports Radio that no one ever mentions:

Where are the women?

Yes, there is a woman, Jayme Parker, who does WEEI’s Sports Flashes on occasion. And WEEI.com recently hired a recent BU grad to host it’s morning video clip segment and do brief sound bites. Yes, many of the upper administrators calling the shots on WEEI and ESPN890, like Julie Kahn (Vice President of Entercom Radio New England) and Jessamy Tang (General Manager of 890ESPN), are some strong-willed and successful females. But besides that, Boston sports radio is all male dominated.

In 2009, when one of the most consistent and coveted football analysts/hosts of the past decade is female (Suzy Kolber), and when the Red Sox beat writer for the largest newspaper in Boston is female (the Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin), and when our regional sports television network host is female (NESN’s Kathryn Tappen), why are females largely absent from manning the microphones in Boston’s sports radio scene?

Since I was twelve and would watch Fox NFL Sunday in amazement that a woman like Kolber was reporting on football, sports media has made significant strides in including intelligent and insightful women in television sports media and print work. It almost seems, however, that sports media is still reluctant to put women in a position where they can be heard, and not seen – the radio. It seems as if that unless you can visualize the female, have they Erin Andrews-like looks or otherwise, they do not have a place in sports media. Think about it – Boston.com pimps out photos of Benjamin throughout their sports section. Even as a print journalist, they have felt the need to create a visual presence for her more so than the men on their sports desk. Kolber has had to become more feminine looking as the years go by – her hair got longer, she started wearing heavier makeup when she switched to ESPN. Are we still at a point where women in sports media still have to be eye candy, and thus, can’t just appear as a voice through a radio?

This is Boston, Massachusetts, home to more female sports fans than probably any other city in the United States. A large majority of those female fans actually have an in-depth knowledge of their favorite teams, players and sports. Thus, excluding female voices on sports radio is ignoring a giant demographic, and is not reflective of the area in which we live. Instead of hiring a female or ten to add to insightful and legitimate sports commentary, WEEI and 890ESPN rely on idiotic, light-weight old-school radio guys to fill their programming hours. These are the men who debate politics instead of pitching rotations during their morning shows, who will publicly discount some sports over others, and admittedly know very little about some of the sports in which they are hired to report on. At least a woman’s voice could lend something new to these broadcast, and might even keep the broadcasts more on-topic than the meandering nonsense that fills some of the broadcast hours.

Thus, Sports Hub, I expect you to consider some female voices when you begin hiring on-air talent. You want to win the quickly developing “sports radio wars” over WEEI? Hire a woman. WEEI and 890 ESPN, if you want to make a giant change to win over a new demographic and have a chance against the Sports Hub’s FM signal? Hire a woman. Because if Boston can entrust a woman with their Red Sox beat work, and entrust a woman with hosting Bruins and Red Sox post-game analysis, then you can certainly trust a woman to host a sports radio program. You have no excuse.

Sincerely,

Sports Girl Kat

P.S. If you need a woman to fill some of your late night or weekend programming, I might know a certain blogger who might be interested and would come cheap…

Given that both BC and BU have combined to win the last two NCAA Division I Championships, their tradition-laced rivalry has started to receive additional national attention. Sure to add to this national spotlight will be the November release of The Battle of Comm Ave, a documentary on the rivalry by Utah-based Rival Films. The film will premiere on NESN, with an DVD release following. Rival Films’ Matt Fults agreed to answer some questions about the film, the company’s use of social media, and about his own favorite sports documentaries.

Kat: You are a film studio based out of Utah – given your geography, what made your company want to produce a film about the Boston College – Boston University rivalry?
Matt: Utah is our base camp. A majority of our work is done elsewhere. We’ve filmed in Austria, Switzerland, Chile, Germany, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, California … the list goes on. So what we look for are compelling stories. I’m a big hockey fan, and while the BU-BC rivalry is well known in Massachusetts, it’s not as well known in the rest of the country. Plus my mom is from Reading, MA. That’s a plus.

Kat: I know you don’t want to give away a lot about the film yet, but is there any one part that you can mention that will excite fans of these teams (for example, any new information, a story no one has heard before, etc)?

Matt: I think there’s a couple of good stories that maybe haven’t been told. One involves former BU captain Jack O’Callahan, coach Parker and a coin. There aren’t a lot of secrets when it comes to these schools. What you’re going to see is the origins of the rivalry, how it became so intense, what drives it today, and finally just some terrific anecdotes and stories from players, coaches and others.

Kat: Do you see The Battle of Comm Ave spurring national interest in this storied rivalry, given that college hockey seems to be growing in popularity right now?

Matt: I hope so. One of the reasons we decided to do this was the belief that college hockey is undersold and undertold. It’s a great sport with strong traditions and true powerhouse programs.

Kat: Rival Films is quite active on Twitter and Facebook.  How are you using social media to promote this film and engage with the fanbases of the respective schools?

Matt: Being active doesn’t mean we’re successful. Our Twitter following isn’t impressive! Social media as a tool is new to us – literally within the last couple of weeks. Given the subject matter and the audience, it seems like a worthwhile endeavor. Our hope is to build an early buzz that will translate into greater interest when Fall rolls around, and ultimately the start of college hockey season. We are going to use Facebook and Twitter for contest giveaways and more importantly to announce a DVD presale. Sometime in October you’ll be able to find a link that will enable you to preorder the DVD at half price. So if you’re not following us on Twitter @RivalFilms or not a Fan on Facebook, that’s one less Christmas present for your brother.

Kat: Since you are in the business of creating sports films, what qualities do you think make a great sports documentary? What are some of your personal favorites?

Matt: You mean other than my own? Just kidding. To me, it’s all about storytelling. The quality of the story – and its storytellers – make or break any movie. In the end, the subjects of your film need to be the best storytellers. Narration is there to fill in the gaps. If your subjects aren’t compelling, you better hope the underlying story is or you’re done. One of my favorites is “Step into Liquid” by Dana Brown. On the surface, it’s a surfing movie. But it’s more than that. It examines a culture and a lifestyle. Visually, it’s gorgeous. I’m also a Bud Greenspan fan. He’s a master storyteller.

***********

Keep up-to-date with The Battle of Comm Ave by following the company on Twitter (@RivalFilms), becoming a fan of the film on Facebook, or checking the company’s website.

I bounded up the three flights of stairs to my office, jumped through the door, smiled to the student who was working the main desk, skipped into my office, and fired up the trusty laptop. I fired off a few emails, and then opened up Google Reader to catch up on the morning’s recaps of the event that had made me full of so much bounce – BU’s blood-pressure-raising win against Harvard in the Beanpot semifinal the night before.

And then, there it was, in the Terrier Hockey Fan Blog. Yet another BU Beanpot goal had made the Sportscenter Top 10. In 2006, it was Chris Higgins’ crazy “How’d He Do That?!” slide into the boards goal.  Monday, it was his classmate from down Route 1 North, Jason Lawrence’s game-winning goal that made the Top 10.

It’s a rarity that college hockey makes Sportscenter.  Sportscenter just recently rediscovered the sport of hockey in general, so for them to pay attention to anything but bare bones NHL coverage could be asking a little much.

And of course, the one time that Sportscenter shows BU Hockey, and shows one of my favorite players no less, I do not yet have cable set up in my new apartment.

Of course, I immediately go to ESPN.com. I search the recently redone site, looking through the glossy clutter for any link to the Top 10. All I see is coverage of Kobe Bryant’s 61 point performance at Madison Square Garden. I click the “Videos” tab. Nothing. I click the “Sportscenter” tab. Nothing. I use the search function. Nothing. I go to the NHL page, and the College Sports page, and still nothing.

I give up for the time being.  I go back to doing my real work.  At lunchtime, I scour the ESPN site again, repeating my steps from the morning and adding even more.  A waste of time – no Sportscenter Top 10 online.

Was I just missing it?  Is it on the site, but just not easy to find? The new ESPN site is definitely cluttered, and some of its organization leaves much to be desired.  Is it available to Insiders only?

Eh, I’m okay with not being able to find it – I mean, I was at the game, I didn’t need to see it on TV – but it leads me to a bigger issue.  If ESPN wants to make a truly multimedia experience, one where their “SportsNation” can comment, blog and interact with their content, why not make a well-known part of their flagship program available on their website?  I’m not saying make all of Sportscenter available online – I understand that as a cable network, that would be counter-intuitive to their bottom line.  But if ESPN is going to place selected shared content online, why not include the Top 10?

Thoughts? Am I just missing it and looking like a complete idiot?

“Kat thinks the only things on TV worth watching are on her digital sports tier. Who needs CNN and MTV when you can have Fox College Sports Central and the like?”

That may be the truest Facebook status message in the history of status messages.

I adore my digital sports package like my cat adores shiny objects. I took the plunge a year ago and subscribed to a Comcast digital sports tier. I don’t have Netflix, I don’t go to movies, I rarely go out to bars, and one of my hobbies involves rolling every penny I ever find, so I felt I could handle the expense within my student-loan-repayment-consumed budget.

The digital sports tier I am a proud subscriber of is the Comcast “Sports Entertainment Pack.”  Here are the channels:

The Speed Channel
Outdoor Channel
Fox Soccer Network
NBA TV
NHL Network
MLB Network
TV Games
CBS College Sports (the late CSTV)
Fox College Sports (FCS) Atlantic
Fox College Sports (FCS)  Central
Fox College Sports (FCS) Pacific
NFL Network
Tennis Channel

Steve Young likes TV, just like me! (gratutous Steve Young mention of the post)

Out of these channels, I watch NHL Network and NFL Network the most, followed by the FCS channels and CBS College Sports. The FCS channels are great in the variety of sports they cover -last evening, I fell asleep watching Division II women’s basketball from Wisconsin.  Sure, the camera work was out of the Blair Witch Project, but heck – the fact that it was an option for me to watch? That was kind of cool.

The “Sports Entertainment Pack” is severely lacking when compared to other sports channel packages offered by the likes of Direct TV and Dish Network. Call me a geek, but I would love the regional Comcast Sports Networks and/or Fox Sports Networks.  I also would like MSG and Time Warner Sports so that I can keep up with the sports of Western New York. I know some other cable/satellite companies offer these channels – just not Comcast. Maybe the market isn’t there for them up here in Boston.

Besides my “Sports Entertainment Pack,” I have the normal sports channels interspersed throughout my cable: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Classic, Comcast Sports Network (CSN), NESN, and Versus.  I don’t get to watch a ton of television because of the long hours I tend to keep at work, but when I do, 97.5% of the time it is one of the sports channels I have. The other 2.5% consists of my weekly viewing of “The Office,” my weekly viewing of a show on E! that I will not mention, and the morning news.  What makes up that 2.5% of my viewing could easily be watched online. I really don’t need the rest of the 200 channels I have.

Given all of that, here is my proposal to Comcast – let me have “Cable A La Carte.” I get to select 20-30 channels I actually want. No MTV, no Lifetime, no Military Channel. I don’t watch them, thus I don’t need them. Let me have all the sports channels I want, and none of the WE, Oxygen, Bravo, Fuse channels I don’t. None of this Current TV – what the heck is that anyway?  No more QVC, HSN or ShopNBC – I don’t need any Marie Osmond dolls.  Just give me my sports and my local channels. That’s all I need.

In today’s advanced technological age – one in which I can text or Twitter a Comcast Representative to fix a problem or subscribe to my “Sports Entertainment Pack” – why can’t I have a la carte cable?

So, my dear readers, tell me: If  “a la carte cable” was possible, what 15, 20, or 30 channels (including local channels) would you pick? They don’t have to be all sports – I’m just interested in what others would choose.