Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Bob Saget wannabe foils Phoenix race

Sunday's Sprint Cup event was not a throwaway race. Interesting things could have taken place (they didn't, but they could have); it was the penultimate round of the title for godsakes! Sure, the prospects of an epic Jimmie Johnson v. Carl Edwards showdown were slim, but you'd think round 35 of 36 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup would pull more network weight than"America's Funnest Home Videos."

Yeah, you'd think.

As many of you witnessed, with 34-to-go on Sunday, most of the country's race coverage was replaced with "AFV."

The race coverage concluded on ESPN2, but still, what the fuck?

What is truly mystifying is why Disney/ABC/ESPN devotes so much time to pre-race festivities, driver intros, praying to God, flyovers, Rusty Wallace sitting behind a desk, etc., yet would even consider ending network coverage early. It makes no sense. NASCAR, in a rare moment of truthiness, doesn't get the programming logic either.

It's almost funny that the premier motor racing series in the country was treated like a bitch by TV higher-ups. NASCAR truly got the IndyCar/CART/Champ Car treatment from TV-execs. Ouch. That hurts.

If this doesn't show the masses where motor racing sits in the greater-American sport's hierarchy, nothing will.

The bigger questions raised... Who knew "America's Funniest Home Videos" was still on TV?

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