December 2nd, 2020 at 7:11 AM ^
WTF; hockey and basketball on TV at the same time.
December 2nd, 2020 at 7:14 AM ^
Weird; but it helps if you don't have ESPNU :(
December 2nd, 2020 at 7:18 AM ^
I think the BTN is missing the boat with not having more hockey on TV.
December 2nd, 2020 at 11:23 AM ^
Especially with Michigan and Minnesota fans looking for something to watch that helps them forget football.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
Exactly! The BTN should be trying to woo viewers like me. College sport lovers but fringe hockey fans who are unusually excited about hockey this season because of how loaded with raw talent we are. And because of how crap our football team is. If I were them I'd be hyping up future NHL talent on Michigan and other teams' to attract viewership.
Instead they do lame reruns and analysis I never turn on BTN and forget it even exists.
December 2nd, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
Growing up in Ann Arbor, I attended a ton of Michigan hockey games and went to almost all of then when I was in college.
When I moved away, it was shocking to find out that, outside of a few select places, college hockey just doesn't even exist. No one even knows about it.
Still, I would think the BTN would be desperate for all the live sports they could get their hands on. Does replaying old games in shortened formats really bring in viewers?
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:36 PM ^
My guess is that those old games get more viewers on average than a Michigan penn state hockey game
December 2nd, 2020 at 1:28 PM ^
I also grew up in Ann Arbor and lived there from birth until age 27. I traveled in Canada quite a bit in my 20's, and when I would have to show my driver's license or mention that I was from Ann Arbor in "The States", I got more than a few "You guys got a great hockey program at that university there, eh?" comments (I may or may not be ad-libbing the "eh?").
As a non-hockey fan, that always struck me, especially since many people in the US outside the Midwest aren't even aware that college hockey is a thing (as you point out), let alone the fact that Michigan is a college hockey blueblood. Here in California where I live now, I have never met a single person who was even passively aware of college hockey.
December 2nd, 2020 at 7:22 AM ^
Just FYI, the hockey game is slated to start at 6:00 rather than 6:30.
December 2nd, 2020 at 7:25 AM ^
Yes sir. Thank you. I looked at it wrong.
December 2nd, 2020 at 7:43 AM ^
I've always enjoyed the ol' 3:40pm Wed afternoon NFL kickoff.
December 2nd, 2020 at 7:51 AM ^
With Pittsburgh bars closing at 5, you'll have to leave before halftime!
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:03 AM ^
So many great memories from this time slot.
December 2nd, 2020 at 7:52 AM ^
Disappointed that Ravens/Steelers didn't play last night in the snow. I'll be glad to see that game end so I can move on to replacing Will Fuller on the waiver wire.
December 2nd, 2020 at 8:21 AM ^
My fantasy team that up by 2 points would prefer to see the game not played.
December 2nd, 2020 at 8:25 AM ^
Concur. This game should be cancelled. In the interest of public health and safety. And my 5-6 fantasy team that needs to win to stay in the playoff mix with a 13 pt lead and his Pitt K and Balt D still to go. Think of the children.
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
I need to avoid getting dunked on by Diontae Johnson to make the playoffs. If he puts up 24 points or less, I'm in.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:00 PM ^
Yeah me too unfortunately.
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:00 AM ^
Me too.
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:02 AM ^
living in the guts of 'stiller country', its hilarious how many fans actually said that the ravens should just forfeit the game, since they have to keep moving the date??
entitled Stiller's Nation.
Yet Denver had to play using a RB as their QB....LOL
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:07 AM ^
As a Steelers fan, the Steelers absolutely have a gripe. Baltimore pinpointed the cause of the outbreak being a bad decision by a staff member. In other words, they brought it upon themselves. This game was supposed to be played a week ago tomorrow. Now here we are 6 days later, the game might get played, and the Steelers now have to turn around and play a game in 5 days on Monday, and 6 days later the next Sunday, all because of a mistake on the part of the Ravens. Not to mention the fact that the game was supposedly not played yesterday because the Ravens players were going to "sit out", they wanted it today so they could get Ingram and Dobbins back. How is any of this the Steelers fault? Why do they suffer?
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
The ravens absolutely fucked up and I wouldn't be against them having to forfeit the game but considering the steelers had multiple positive tests last week too I'm not sure its quite as strong an argument.
And its not comparable to the denver game because the ravens outbreak was ongoing and traveling would have been a public health catastrophe. The options were forfeit or move the game, there is no way the game could have been played today. If the NFL was actually smart they would have just created a week 18, zero percent chance this doesn't happen again with the way covid is going in this country.
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:26 AM ^
Under no circumstances were the Steelers going to have to postpone or cancel the game due to their minimal positives, theirs were in line with what every team is basically dealing with every week. This was a straight up self inflicted wound for the Ravens, the Steelers should not be screwed because of it. If you switched "Ravens" with "Steelers" I would feel the exact same way.
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:44 AM ^
Does it really matter? Most people are trying to do the best they can to keep safe during a pandemic which has shown a significant resurgence. Does this really need to devolve to a conspiracy blame game between who is trying to manipulate the schedule due to covid? Don't be a Herbstreit.
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:56 AM ^
The Ravens absolutely tried to manipulate the schedule, they were going to refuse to play Tuesday so they could get their RB's back to play today, this isn't a conspiracy theory, this is what actually happened.
December 2nd, 2020 at 11:21 AM ^
Not in my mind, that is new today and technically not final although they didn't make the trip. By many accounts that is why the Ravens were going to "sit out" if the game was yesterday. Dobbins and Ingram are eligible to play today, but didn't travel. There is also certainly a possibility that they are showing symptoms or have re-tested positive to change things.
December 2nd, 2020 at 11:30 AM ^
They were never allowed to travel with the team because they were never eligible to come off the list until today at the earliest. The ravens protested playing tuesday because they were told they weren't allowed to have a walk through Tuesday because of Covid risk but were allowed to travel together.
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
I agree the Steelers have a gripe, but considering how the NFL has seemingly manipulated positive test results to minimize disruption to games thus far I'm not all that surprised.
December 2nd, 2020 at 11:24 AM ^
Funny thing, because Ingram and Dobbins are both still out today.
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:15 AM ^
this is what i'm talking about
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:27 AM ^
You're right, just because you don't like the Steelers, they should have to bend over and say "thank you sir may I have another?".
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:46 AM ^
IDGAF about the stillers..... i'm just amused by their fans.....
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
Pretty much how people feel about UM fans.
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:06 AM ^
I'm going to go on a bit of a rant here on the NFL and their blatant and naked favoritism of certain teams so if that subject doesnt interest you skip the post as it will be a TL/DR for most.
So earlier this year the 49ers have a mini-outbreak and coupled with injuries at many key positions were going to have to play a game severely shorthanded. The NFL's response? "Play on boys! Next man up and all that."
Last week the Broncos QBs conducted a voluntary film review on their day off (largely because their HC Fangio insinuated the week before that Lock wasnt working hard enough) and allegedly broke NFL protocol by not having their masks on the whole time. Each player repeatidly tested negative before Sunday's game but weren't allowed to play due to league rules so Denver had to play the game with no functioning NFL QB. A WR who last took snaps as a QB as a sophomore at Wake Forest started and they tied an old NFL record for futility by only completing one pass all game. And when the Broncos asked to have the game moved to Monday, so they could potentially have ALL their QBs available the NFL's response was "Play on boys! Next man up and all that."
Now the beloved, cherished and precious Baltimore Ravens have Covid issues. But their Covid issues are completely self-inflected and real because their idiot, meathead S & C coach, in an attempt to show everyone he's tougher than the Rona, runs a workout while completely symptomatic, doesnt tell anyone he's symptomatic and infects basically the whole team. Either that our they're havig kissing contests during practice. Now, when the NFL league office finds out about this their response is just a bit different than the other cases. Now it's not "Play on boys, next man up". Now the response is "what can we do to help?" "Want the game moved from Thanksgiving to Sunday? No problem gentlemen - consider it done." Then, when the outbreak continues and Baltimore cant play Sunday the league responds "Will Monday night work for you guys? Because we can definitely move the game to Monday for you.". Still more outbreaks so the league says "Let's try for Tuesday. We can make that work." Nope, still not enough time for the beloved Ravens to have the right players healthy so they move the game a fucking FOURTH time to this afternoon. Thereby screwing the Steelers big time (not that i really care about that - I'm a Browns fan after all) but the absolute double standard and favoritism the league employs for certain teams while basically giving the middle finger to others is beyond galling.
Ok rant over.
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:12 AM ^
Thank you. The Steelers have been screwed twice by other teams having outbreaks. First it was Tennessee, making the Steelers move their Bye up to week 4, which makes for a hell of a long end to the season. Now they have to move 3 games, and play all 3 on shorter than normal weeks as well as missing out on what they were all amped to be a part of in the Thanksgiving night game. The NFL screwed the pooch here, they should have come down hard on the Ravens for having a S&C coach that decided it was ok to put an entire team at risk. That dude shouldn't be employed by a NFL team again.
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:45 AM ^
I had no idea the Ravens had favored team status. If anything, you would think the Steelers would be in that group?
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:23 AM ^
Yeah, I haven't seen a good explanation yet as to why the Ravens are suddenly Goodell's favorite son.
Didn't he have issues with their owner over the Ray Rice case? I guess they patched things up.
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:31 AM ^
I don't think the Ravens are favored by the NFL, I'm not into that conspiracy. However, the NFL is botching how they are handling this. Very cut and dry, if an outbreak occurs through natural occurrences, neither team should be punished. If a S&C coach shows up knowing he is sick and has symptoms, proceeds to run a workout (sans mask BTW), and infects the team, well that's on the Ravens, and they should pay a price. That price? Another loss and they have to figure out how to offset it to get into the playoffs.
If anything the Steelers and Ravens are neither considered the favorite son of the NFL, nor are they the stepchild. Both have won championships, both bring in the money, this wasn't a conspiracy against the Steelers, it was just a poorly handled situation by the NFL.
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:55 AM ^
It should be a forfeit. The NFL is doing what the rest of the country has been doing. Saying some things are ok while others are not. Even if it doesn't make sense. Couldn't they have extended the season by a few weeks to allow for multiple bye weeks?
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^
In what world does the NFL love the Ravens more than a team like the 49ers? They didn't get forced to play because the outbreak was still ongoing and traveling would be a public health disaster. In what way will the Ravens have the right players healthy for this game? Is it still missing 4/5's of the offensive line? Top two running backs? Best defensive linemen? MVP QB? They still can't even field a full 53 man roster even with all 15 players from the practice squad activated.
Jesus sports fans are the most pathologically conspiracy obsessed group of all time. The Ravens are running a D squad out there and are going to get absolutely hammered. This game got moved because the other option was a forfeit and the league didn't want to deal with the union on that.
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:35 AM ^
I mean conspiracy theories literally dominate this board. Every loss for the last 6 years has been summed up as a loss because of refs, bagmen, no academic integrity....take your pick. It wasn't until the end of last year that the board took a step back and said, maybe we have a coaching problem and it's not all of those things.
I literally come here to read the conspiracy theories.
December 2nd, 2020 at 11:02 AM ^
The academic integrity stuff was always a bit wince-inducing, but literally every fanbase in sports blames refs when they call an awful game. And if you don't believe some teams flout the rules worse than others and get away with it, that's your prerogative but it's also a fact.
A conspiracy theory around here would be, I don't know, an ESPN analyst saying during a show he thinks Michigan might just fake COVID-19 positives to skip playing a hated and much better rival in order to rob them of a chance to play for a conference title. But that's, like, insane and would never happen.
December 2nd, 2020 at 11:24 AM ^
Did that ESPN analyst say "he thinks Michigan might just fake COVID-19 positives to skip playing"? I must have missed that quote. I mean, this is why I come to see the conspiracy theories here, Herbie says Michigan might wave the white flag and cancel, as many teams have been suspected doing this year, you say that he claims they are faking positive tests.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:13 PM ^
What do you think "waving the white flag" means within this context? That despite only one of the presumptive positives being confirmed by a PCR follow-up, Michigan would play this weekend against Maryland and then not play against OSU? Even in his apology Herbstreit recognized he had no evidence that they would "intentionally try to avoid playing Ohio State by just saying 'we have too many cases and we'll just opt out'"?
Again, I'm sorry your Steelers have to play more games in a shorter time than they should; I actually agree that it's BS the Ravens got to delay the game as many days as they did. But if you're somehow trying to say that Herbstreit saying something completely unfounded on a national broadcast about a rival skipping a game against OSU and the possible impact that would have on a rival's chance at the playoffs is actually just a sign Michigan fans are being paranoid, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you should look somewhere else for better conspiracy theories.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:28 PM ^
I never said Michigan fans are being paranoid. I simply said you mentioned him saying that Michigan was going to fake positive tests to avoid the game is incorrect. Which it is incorrect, you are drawing the conclusions to get to the point you reached. You ever play the game telephone as a kid? That's what you just did. Herbstreit says he could see Michigan waiving the white flag to avoid OSU. You then come out and say Herbstreit says Michigan is going to fake positive tests to avoid the game. Next person builds on it and voila, people are claiming much worse things than what was actually said.
FYI I don't like or dislike Herbie. He is pretty fair in his analysis, doesn't toot the OSU horn constantly and come off as a homer. In fact, it's almost like he goes against OSU to prove he isn't a homer.
Now Desmond Howard on the other hand....he will probably still come up with some convoluted argument as to why UM will beat OSU like he does every year, then pick UM to win the national championship next summer.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:40 PM ^
Feel free to watch his apology if you don't believe he understood the insinuation was that Michigan would claim too many COVID-19 cases and "wave the white flag" against OSU. He then admitted there was no evidence of this being the case and he was just expressing his frustration with the season.
Also, it's quite ironic for you to be decrying Michigan fans as peddling in conspiracy theories when this is you in this same thread.
The Ravens absolutely tried to manipulate the schedule, they were going to refuse to play Tuesday so they could get their RB's back to play today, this isn't a conspiracy theory, this is what actually happened.
Of course, the fact those two RBs are in fact still out. So, yeah, I'm going out on a limb and saying you don't really understand what makes a theory conspiratorial and instead are just cranky your Steelers have to play a bunch of games in quick succession.
Anyway, enjoy watching your Steelers play the remnants of a functional Ravens team today.
December 2nd, 2020 at 1:58 PM ^
Your quote:
A conspiracy theory around here would be, I don't know, an ESPN analyst saying during a show he thinks Michigan might just fake COVID-19 positives to skip playing a hated and much better rival in order to rob them of a chance to play for a conference title. But that's, like, insane and would never happen.
There is a big difference between Herbie saying they will use COVID tests as an excuse to "waive the white flag" and you saying he said they are going to fake positives to get to that point. Those are two completely different things. If you can't understand that on a very basic level, well I think we're done here.
It's amazing that a guy that played football for OSU 30 years ago gets under your skin so badly by saying what people on this blog have been saying since....oh September?
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:40 PM ^
Maybe Herbie just reads the blog?
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:48 AM ^
con·spir·a·cy the·o·ry
noun
-
a belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event
First and foremost the NFL league office is not a "covert but influential organization" so throw that dog whistle term right out the window. Let's debate facts, not opinions shall we?
1. Were the Broncos forced to play a game on Sunday without a functioning QB because the league refused to move their game?
2. Did any of the Denver QBs test positive at any time before the game itself?
3. If the Broncos game got moved to Monday would all four QBs on their roster been eligible to play?
4. Did the league deny the Broncos their request to add a coach from their team to their active roster so they could have a QB for the game?
5. Was the Ravens/Steelers game moved four times?
6. Was the S & C coach for the Ravens responsible for the team-wide outbreak?
My point is the league has massive double standards in how they adjudicate situations like these and they absolutely do. That's not a conspiracy theory - that's a fact.