Page 12-The Michigan Daily --Tuesday, September 18, 1990
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Turn in Griddes' picks
Make your picks for the week, and drop them off at the Student
Publications Building at 420 Maynard by Friday at 5 p.m. Winner gets a
$12 gift certificate to O'Sullivans on South University.
1.U CLA at Michigan
2. Notre Dame at MSU
3. Tennessee at Auburn
4. USC at Washington
5. San Diego St. at BYU
6. Colorado at Texas
7. Virginia at Duke
8. Pittsburgh at Syracuse
9. Mississippi at Arkansas
10. Minnesota at Nebraska
11. Oregon at Arizona
12 Missouri at Indiana
13. Iowa State at Iowa
14.Northwestern at Rice
15. Rutgers at Penn State
16. Indiana State at Purdue
17. Temple at Wisconsin
18. N. Texas St. at Texas A&M
19. Tulsa at Oklahoma
20. Florida St. at Tulane
Tiebreaker: Pick the score of Michigan-UCLA:
Name:_
Phone:_
X 1 U T Cl /'1" L1 1
tubeI
talk sends bad
by Jeff Lieberman
Daily Sport Contributor
Scrambling in the NFL is some-
thing usually associated with the
likes of John Elway, Randall Cun-
ningham, and Rodney Peete. Now
scrambling has a whole new mean-
ing, with far greater consequences
than whether or not a quarterback
reaches the first-down marker.
Several weeks ago, NFL com-
missioner Paul Tagliabue was faced
with a minor problem. Bars and
clubs across the nation were broad-
casting NFL games off satellite
dishes to their patrons. Tagliabue
was left with the decision of whether
to allow these establishments to rake
in big dough on NFL Sundays while
the league missed out on the action.
Tagliabue didn't back down and
he ordered the networks to scramble
the signals of these games, under the
notion that if the league is not mak-
ing money from it, then no one else
should.
This is, of course, a valid point.
After all, the NFL does not play its
games just for the fun of it - it is a
big business. It sells its television
rights to the networks, who bid mil-
lions of dollars to broadcast the
games. However, what many people,
including Tagliabue, seem to over-
look are the other benefits satellite
broadcasts bring to the league.
Despite being an enormously
profitable venture, the NFL is still
in existence for the fans - I would
hope. Without the 60,000 to 80,000
gridiron junkies in each stadium
week after week, the league would
have no chance to exist.
It would make sense, then, that
the league should want to accommo-
date the fans and allow them to
watch the largest variety of games
possible. After all, the league cannot
dictate that people root for the teams
in their city.
The networks gear their broad-
casts around local games. If a local
team is playing, and the game is not
blacked-out, it will be the only game
shown in that time slot. So, if CBS
carries the Lions at Tampa Bay at 1
p.m., chances are you won't be see-
ing a game on NBC until 4 p.m.
This policy is terribly unfair to
those fans who for some reason or
another have no interest in seeing
the Lions play, but would rather see
the Giants or the Browns. That is
the case in Ann Arbor, where many
students are from out of state and
want desperately to see their team
play, but cannot find a place show-
ing the game.
Scrambling signals just worsens
this problem by preventing fans
from catching their teams' games on
the air.
I'm not saying that by scram-
bling their television signals; the
NFL is going to drive away hordes
of fans. But it certainly won't please
fans who want to see their out-of-
town teams.
With the league generating so
much money from its current televi-
sion contracts, it seems extremely
signals
greedy for Tagliabue to push foo
more money while blocking out fans:
across the nation. By showing these
games across the country, the NFL
is attracting huge audiences and giv-
ing nationwide promotion to the
league and its superstars.
This is one advantage which thJ
NFL cannot find anywhere else. It is
not difficult to argue that the NFL:
now has its largest following ever irn
history. Allowing these games to
shown is promulgating football's
popularity.
A more reasonable solution
which would please both sides -
the business interests of the NFL
and the fans - would be to work
out some sort of an arrangement
with either the bar owners or the
satellite dish marketers.
Maybe charging a fee to bar own.
ers for the right to broadcast the
games. Or perhaps work out a deal
where a percentage of profits at a bar
on football Sundays would be given
to the league.
Whatever the answer is, the pow-
ers that be must be able to come up
with some sort of compromise
which would please all sides
involved.
CONFUSED??
Need help with your
FUND RAISER?
yWOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL VOLLEYBALL
VS.
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Thursday, Sept. 20
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S aiTickets on sale now at U. of M.'s athletic
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- General Admission $9
-U. of M. students $5
STUDY FOR ONE YEAR OR FOR ONE OR TWO TERMS IN -
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Meet with an Oxford
Tuesday, Sept. 18th,
International Center
603 E. Madison St.
WHSC
Representative
3:30 p.m.
The Washington International
Studies Council
214 Massachsetts Ave., NE, Suite 450
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 547-3275
Classifieds' GREEK GAB
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