Brass Spittoon in 2006. The Hoosiers p from love520's blog

NEW YORK -- A former journalist turned college professor, Kelly Whiteside is watching NBCs prime-time Olympics coverage this month for the first time in 16 years. Air Max Tavas Black . Shes surprised at what shes found -- not because the programs have changed so much, but because they havent.Its almost like a time capsule for me, said Whiteside, who covered several Olympics for USA Today.Much of what NBC does at other times is markedly different from what she remembers; the Olympics are spread around nearly a dozen different cable networks and every competition is streamed live online. Yet NBCs prime-time, the Olympics point of entry for the vast majority of viewers, has remained an island unto itself by sticking to a time-honored formula.Prime-time ratings are down this year from the record-setting London Games, and NBC says a big reason is because more people are watching cable or their devices. But its worth posing the question: Is the formula growing stale?NBCs prime-time focuses on a handful of sports -- swimming & diving, track & field, gymnastics, beach volleyball -- to the virtual exclusion of all others. Its a mix of live and plausibly live, or tape-delayed coverage that allows action to unfold as it happens. A narrative style humanizes otherwise unknown athletes, letting viewers page through a picture book that swimmer Ryan Murphy drew as a child or watch gymnast Aly Raismans parents squirm in the stands.A majority of viewers are women; 55 percent through Rios first six nights. NBC assumes many arent sports fans and, in an attention-getting comment last month, NBC chief marketing officer John Miller said that women are less interested in the result and more interested in the journey. Its sort of like the ultimate reality show and miniseries wrapped into one.That struck some fans as patronizing and reflective of a poor understanding of the audience in an era when women also make up the majority of the U.S. Olympic team.Weve all grown up playing sports, said Joanne Gerstner, who teaches sports journalism at Michigan State. We have kids that are playing sports. Who are these groups of women they feel are so alien to sports that they have to be catered to in this way? I dont know who these people are.Whiteside, who teaches at Montclair State University in New Jersey, said she appreciates knowing about the athletes competing. But, she said, I dont view the Olympics as reality TV. I view it as a great sporting event.Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins wrote that a network would never think of cutting and pasting highlights of a football game around childhood film of Peyton and Eli Manning on a swing set. With its heavy packaging, NBC is living in the past, she wrote.NBC points to its live streams as evidence that people can watch events like the gymnastics finals live if they want. Showing the most popular sports at a time most viewers are available is a service both to the fans and those who bought more than $1.2 billion in advertising.The way we create our storytelling and our narrative, mixed in with incredibly compelling competition, I think is working for men, women and children, NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus said this week. And thats our goal. This is a very big tent and all are welcome. We program, we schedule, and we try to create a show around the competition thats welcoming to all. And I think so far were finding success.NBCs Olympics operation is a deeply experienced and talented team. Gary Zenkel, in his 11th Olympics, runs the business operations. Jim Bell, former Today show producer, is the top producer. His first NBC job out of college was working at the Barcelona Olympics. Both count former NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol as a mentor; Ebersol himself was a protege of ABCs Roone Arledge and the up-close-and-personal Olympics coverage of generations ago.Three of the 27 executives profiled on the NBC Olympics press website are women.The teams experience, and the rarity of any TV programs reaching such a huge audience in todays fragmented world, makes it unlikely NBC will blow up the formula for prime-time to try something completely new.Given the rapid change in the way people watch TV in an on-demand world -- and a 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where there will likely be less live competition to show on prime-time in the United States -- NBC may have to consider changes more quickly than it expects, said Andy Billings, a University of Alabama sports media professor and author of Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television.And what would that new formula be? Thats the tough question.One idea would be a combination of live events with SportsCenter-like highlights and interviews, taking in a far greater range of Olympic sports. I think the audience would be even greater, Whiteside said.---Follow David Bauder at twitter.com/dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder Air Max Tavas For Sale .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Air Max Tavas . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.bestairmaxtavas.com/ . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Some things to watch in the Big Ten in Week 5 of the season:GAME OF THE WEEKNo. 8 Wisconsin at No. 4 Michigan. Its the first time in 65 all-time meetings that these teams have played when both were in the top 10, and each will play with an eye on strengthening its resume for the College Football Playoff. Even after a convincing win at Michigan State last week, the Badgers believe theyre due more national respect. That wont be an issue if they get a second straight strong road performance from redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook. Michigan has scored 45 or more points in four straight games for the first time since 1947. The Badgers have allowed just three offensive touchdowns through four games.BEST MATCHUPNorthwestern at Iowa. This game could determine each teams direction for the balance of the season. Northwestern, winner of 10 games in 2015, is 1/3 and coming off a home loss to Nebraska. The defending West Division champion Hawkeyes followed a loss to FCS North Dakota State with an uninspired performance in a win at Rutgers, and now they are reeling from the loss of top receiver Matt VandeBerg to a broken foot.INSIDE THE NUMBERSThe Ohio State defenses nine interceptions are the Buckeyes most through three games since 1942. Ohio State, which hosts Rutgers, is the only FBS team to not allow a rushing TD this season. ... Rutgers leads the nation in red zone defense, having allowed points on three of its opponents eight trips inside the 20-yard line. ... Nebraska, which hosts Illinois, is a model of balance. The Cornhuskers averaage 242 yards rushing and 243 yards passing. Air Max Tavas Black For Sale. ... Illinois Hardy Nickerson is averaging 9.7 tackles to lead the Big Ten. ... Marylands 123 points are second-most in program history through three games behind the 130 by the 1951 team. ... David Blough enters Purdues game at Maryland looking to tie a program record with three consecutive 300-yard passing games. ... Saquon Barkleys 77 receiving yards against Michigan last week were the most by a Penn State running back since 2008. ... Minnesota, which visits Penn State, has 119 points through three games, its most since 2005.LONG SHOTIndiana is a seven-point underdog at home against Michigan State and has lost seven straight to the Spartans since last winning the Old Brass Spittoon in 2006. The Hoosiers probably would be unbeaten entering their Big Ten opener if Richard Lagow hadnt been intercepted five times in a home loss to Wake Forest last week. Michigan State is looking to bounce back from a 24-point loss to Wisconsin that was its worse at home since 2009.PLAYER TO WATCHWisconsin LB T.J. Watt, younger brother of three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and ex-Badger J.J. Watt, broke out with 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a total of six stops last week against Michigan State. Another performance similar to that will make for a long afternoon for Michigan QB Wilton Speight.---Online:AP college football website: http://collegefootball.ap.org Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike Basketball Jerseys Hockey Jerseys China Supply Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Sale Authentic College Jerseys MLB Jerseys China Stitched Soccer Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Jerseys ' ' '