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The 'Burgh Comes To My Living Room It's a tale of woe that any transplant can appreciate. Knowing that my beloved Pirates had (in an admittedly rare move) dumped the Expos 6-5, I tuned into ESPN's Sportscenter to check out the highlights. Surely, with 6 Bucco runs crossing the plate there was a lot for ESPN producers to choose from. So I waited... and waited... and waited. I knew that a Pittsburgh/Montreal matchup wouldn't exactly be the marquee game of the night. Finally, in the last 15 minutes of the broadcast, they rolled out the highlights. The 20 seconds of tape used began with the Bucs already out in front and showed the Expos whittling away the lead. I watched Montreal score three runs before the latest product of the ESPN cookie-cutter anchor factory (same overly sculpted hair and same overly smug delivery... hey guys, reminder: simply being a dick doesn't automatically make you clever) said, "But it wasn't enough as the Bucs held on to win 6-5." That was it. Six runs in a winning effort, and ESPN couldn't bother to show one single offensive or defensive highlight. For the umpteenth time, I shook my fist at those snobs at ESPN HQ in Connecticut, but this time I did something about it. The very next day, I had a Direct TV satellite system with built-in Tivo installed. With it came access to Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh, and the end to my 'Burgh sports drought. Blackout rules and each league's own subscription packages mean that you won't find Pirates or Penguins games there, but you will get a wave of Pittsburgh-centric news every night. I got news of Kevin Young's release directly from GM Dave Littlefield's mouth in an exclusive interview, I got an in-depth look at the Pirates' best AAA prospects, and I've seen more Pirates highlights in the last four days than I have in my entire seven years in the New York area. When the Steelers coverage finally kicks in, my head will quite likely explode. This could all be old news to you; I'm not exactly what tech-heads would call an "early adopter." I avoided getting a cell phone until work shoved one into my hand three years ago. I missed the whole 2-way pager wave, and I got in the Palm Pilot game late (it now sits under a thick layer of dust somewhere at home). Hell, it took me until this year to get the 3rd grade level of html skills required to build this site. So I may be repeating a refrain you've heard a dozen times before, but I'm going to say it anyway: the Direct TV satellite system with built-in Tivo is the greatest thing to happen to TV since... well, ever. As I type this up, the system's at home recording this week's edition of "Inside Pirates Baseball." It's also scouring the upcoming programming schedules of all 150 of my channels looking for anything that matches the keyword "Steelers." Should someone, somewhere decide to air 1981's "The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid," it will be waiting for me when I get home. It finds the things that I want to watch (which there seem to be a lot more of since I upgraded to Direct TV), records them, and lets me watch them when I want to. The NFL regular season is still just over two months away, and we haven't even broached the whole NFL Sunday Ticket topic (I'll probably save my money and opt to continue to watch the Steelers among friends). But as a fan craving black & gold news in a blue and white town, this thing is really hitting the spot. In Franco we trust, Mean Rob more deep thoughts: Who's Got The O? Have A Black & Gold Christmas Who Better? Why Are The Steelers The Only Team That Matters? Who's On Your Back? How To Pick Your Next Jersey The 'Burgh In Your Living Room... All Hail DirectTV back to main Send questions and comments to MeanRob@SteelersNYC.com |
