I'm just here to voice my extreme annoyance over NBC Sports' trashing of cycling as a sport. They seem to have some sort of grip on the sport--contractually, I presume, and then refuse to televise most of it. I have my Directv set to record "cycling" and what do I get? Triathlons! Seriously, folks, those aren't cycling.
Finally, now watching Paris-Nice, but for how long? The last 30 K of each 140 K stage. Would the NFL showed only the last 5 minutes of every game and soccer even less, since nothing happens in that sport. It's like slow mo hockey. Some might recall a couple years ago when NBC Sports (as opposed to god-awful BeIn Sports) was showing most of the spring classics, at least the men's spring classics. It was great for a cycling fan. Next thing, everyone and every race is gone.
I'm relatively new to cycling, but even if the race is dull, the scenery isn't, and I love that. Not that the races are dull very often. They're not, and that's from start to finish, let alone the last half hour when the peloton is chasing down the break or Tony Martin is beating them all by himself. Not that I want cycling to turn into the big four sports either--infotainment and radio gossip, not to mention enough money to turn poor countries into at least middle-class countries.
I'm urging everyone to write NBC with a complaint, as I just did. Those members of Facebook and Twitter can probably do it more easily. Those of us not members of either have to go to NBC.co to make contact, where to complain under the category of "Other." The more of us who do it, the more televised cycling might be returned so that we can watch these guys, and gals too, do their thing.
Or am I missing it all online? Why? Does NBC Sports have something else on at NBC Sports? Yes, they do: infomercials. Yeah, that's better. Otherwise, why does NBC Sports seem to have a strangle-hold (in the US, anyway) on cycling? Argh!
Finally, now watching Paris-Nice, but for how long? The last 30 K of each 140 K stage. Would the NFL showed only the last 5 minutes of every game and soccer even less, since nothing happens in that sport. It's like slow mo hockey. Some might recall a couple years ago when NBC Sports (as opposed to god-awful BeIn Sports) was showing most of the spring classics, at least the men's spring classics. It was great for a cycling fan. Next thing, everyone and every race is gone.
I'm relatively new to cycling, but even if the race is dull, the scenery isn't, and I love that. Not that the races are dull very often. They're not, and that's from start to finish, let alone the last half hour when the peloton is chasing down the break or Tony Martin is beating them all by himself. Not that I want cycling to turn into the big four sports either--infotainment and radio gossip, not to mention enough money to turn poor countries into at least middle-class countries.
I'm urging everyone to write NBC with a complaint, as I just did. Those members of Facebook and Twitter can probably do it more easily. Those of us not members of either have to go to NBC.co to make contact, where to complain under the category of "Other." The more of us who do it, the more televised cycling might be returned so that we can watch these guys, and gals too, do their thing.
Or am I missing it all online? Why? Does NBC Sports have something else on at NBC Sports? Yes, they do: infomercials. Yeah, that's better. Otherwise, why does NBC Sports seem to have a strangle-hold (in the US, anyway) on cycling? Argh!