Nice thought, poor result

By Justin Albers
basketballss132002@yahoo.com
INDIANAPOLIS- Whoever thought up the idea of the Big Ten Network had a decent idea, but failed to consider all of the angles.
Because of the new Big Ten Network, many fans will not have the opportunity to see their favorite teams in select games. Local cable companies will not carry the Network, so anybody without DirecTV will not even have to make the choice of whether or not to pay for the channel. Indiana basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson doesn't seem to think it is such a bad thing.
"I think the Big Ten Network is a cutting-edge idea to have one place where Indiana fans can go to follow the Hoosiers and the Big Ten on a daily basis," Sampson said in a release.
Sampson is free to think whatever he wants, but the Big Ten Network is going to receive many more complaints then it does praise. Local Big Ten games have always been shown, and that method always seemed to work. Why the change? It's obviously a money move, but I question how much money is actually being made when only DirecTV carries the channel. The only people that will welcome the change are the owners of sports bars that are lucky enough to carry the channel. More and more people are going to have to leave their homes to see games that they would normally watch in their comfy chair on their plasma TV. What's next, the ACC Channel?
After a misguided idea that seems like no more than an experiment, thousands of Big Ten fans across the country will suffer. If the Big Ten Network is really necessary make it a free channel. I guess this is just another example of how everything costs money in this country. Yuck!