I have a gripe, and this gripe has nothing to do with the people involved. It has to do with the promise, the premise, and the execution.

Last night NBCSN blocked us (Dallas Stars broadcasting/FSSW) from telecasting the Stars-Flyers game in Philly. They had exclusive rights to the game because they paid the national toll. I get that. Only, a funny thing happened. The "national game" was actually a Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia game - a 'Flyers' telecast.

What the what?

And just how, in this new world of video reviews via coach's challenge is that copacetic?

Now again, nothing against the broadcasters (Jim Jackson, Keith Jones, and Chris Therrien - the Stars leading goal scorer from the 2004 playoff. You can win a bar bet with that little factoid) They are very good, and Jones is both outstanding and a mainstay on NBC's national coverage, but that's a Flyers home show, being sold as a national broadcast, and going into our Stars market as such.

Another thing that it does is allow for the Flyers to be on TV nationally 30 or so times instead of the 11 or 12 slotted/allotted per team, as per the national rights holder agreement.

How? Well, Comcast, that's how.

Flyers owner Ed Snider is Chariman of Comcast. Comcast owns NBC Universal. Ta-Da!!

So anyway, rather than just piss and moan about it I have a solution.

Let's use last nights game as the framework for my epiphany:

NBCSN doesn't send their contracted talent to call the game (Doc, McGuire, Olcyck, Albert, etc.) nor do they crew it. The game is instead merely a regional show that is slapped on the network as a national game. When this scenario happens why not, at the very least, combine portions of the two team's regional broadcasts to form a bigger feeling show that would have inside information and intimate knowledge of BOTH teams.



Options for this last night would have been:

A)Dave Strader play x play, Keith Jones booth analyst, Me or Chris Therrien between the benches

B)Jim Jackson play x play, Me booth analyst, Therrien or Jones between benches

(Note: Strader, Jones, and I have all done a multitude of NBCSN regular season and playoff games since they purchased the rights in 2011)



This same Razor-vision, or proposed approach, always comes to my mind when I watch Fox Sports LA broadcast Kings vs Ducks. They currently have the home team broadcast do the game while the 'road' team broadcasters sit at home and have to just watch. Why not continue having the home team play by play man call the game (Ahlers in Anaheim, the great Bob Miller at Staples) but include both team's analysts in the presentation? Doesn't seem that big of a leap and it would surely broaden the coverage to embrace both fan bases while possibly spicing the banter up a tad.

This may also be the formula for MSG's coverage of the three NY area teams when they face each other. (Maybe, or am I wrong?)

Am I out of my mind, or is this the brightest idea you've ever heard on this polarizing topic?!