Time-Warner loves the Big Ten again....maybe

Lots of stuff to discuss, so here goes.....

The Big Ten Network

Last night, Time Warner Cable announced that it had reached an agreement with the Big Ten Network. Thankfully, Ohio State fans will get to see every game from the comforts of home.

UPDATE - Some of my readers have pointed out that the BTN is supposed to be part of a sports package that many people will already have. This of course, lessens my fears of an overloaded customer-service system at TWC. Here's hoping they are right. They probably are.
Quoted below is what I originally wrote, but it looks as if it's all just me getting paranoid.

As of now, no details about the agreement are available, and any calls made to TWC are met with a pre-recorded announcement praising the upcoming broadcast of Buckeye games. But TWC is not accepting any orders to add the channel yet. They claim that the channel will be added "in time for Ohio State's first game", but will it be ready in time to accept all their suscribers' calls, and add the channel to that many people's packages.

If you called up Time Warner Cable last week and asked them to add HBO, you would have that channel within five minutes. No problem. But the anticipated number of callers last week was relatively low. Your request could be completed fast because there wasn't a backlog of callers waiting.

When you call to add BTN, you'll be one of (at least) tens of thousands of people trying to do the same thing.

Time Warner Cable still has to do a LOT before you can see the game on Saturday. The biggest task at hand is finding enough hours in the day and enough customer service representatives to handle the crush of people who will want to add the BTN.

They only have 95 hours to get all these people added in time, and they're not even taking calls for it yet. Cross your fingers, and do NOT wait until Friday or later to call them.

In the meantime, I'm excited to see BTN show up on my channel listing.



The Cleveland Indians

Who the hell do these guys think they are? Less than three weeks ago, they were 16 games under .500 and cruising towards the offseason. No hope in sight, just 25 players battling for spots on the 2009 squad.

A week ago, I posted a quick blurb about how they had a relatively easy schedule in the near future and that they could regain some respect with a late-season surge.

The Indians have won 8 of their last 11 games and have a pretty easy schedule down the stretch. If you're asking me if I think they'll make up 15 games in the final 6 weeks, my answer is hell no...but they could make it fun.

Last night the Tribe won their 8th straight game, and are 14-3 in their last seventeen games. They stand at 11.5 games back of Chicago, and a win tonight will put them in third place. Cliff Lee (18-2) takes the mound against a guy making his first pitch ever in the big leagues.

I still don't believe the Indians are playing past Game #162, but at least they're making it fun for us down the stretch.

Of course, now that I've mentioned it, the odds of Lee winning have decreased.....

Troy Smith

He was all set to start last week and capture the top QB role for Baltimore, but a virus derailed it. Baltimore is left with more questions than answers as they head into Thursday's pre-season finale. Apparantly, the job is Smith's if he's healthy. But that is in doubt, as he is still missing practices while taking antibiotics.

Here's hoping Troy gets healthy fast and gets on that field. He's a good guy and I'd like to see him get the starting job.

Chad Henne

The Miami Dolphins have chosen their starting QB for the 2008 season opener (and beyond). Chad Pennington gets the job.

Chad Henne is not the best quarterback in Miami. Hell, he's not even the best quarterback in Miami whose name is Chad.

No further comment necessary.

Michigan Football

Following up on Michigan RB Kevin Grady, who was arrested for DUI a few weeks ago (he blew a 0.271 in the breathalizer), Rich Rodriquez did the right thing and suspended Grady for at least the Utah game.

But I'll be honest with you....I'm thinking he's still too drunk to play anyway.

The BBC

I want to thank all my readers. I started this blog in the early stages of the 2006 season, and a prominent blogger told me that he liked my writing and to "keep writing, and people will notice." Thank you, BBC readers for noticing.

August 2008 will be the most popular month in BBC history. We will have topped our all-time highs in both visits and page views before the Buckeyes even take the field on Saturday. If this blog is getting personal bests in the amount of visitors before the season, I can't wait to see the traffic once things get underway.

I'm truly honored by your continued visits, and I promise to keep improving this site for your enjoyment.