This is not about love...

In case you've not heard, NBC, wonderful U.S. broadcaster that it is, is trying to get the IOC to change the 2008 Olympics to better fit the U.S. NBC has asked the IOC to move marquee events, such as the basketball, track & field, and swimming finals, so that they occur in the morning in Beijing, and can then be broadcast live in the U.S.

Now, while night prelims and morning finals isn't unheard of in swimming, it is rather rare; currently confined only to events in South America, that I'm aware of. The thing that pisses me off, is the reasoning for it. NBC is doing this just so that the American viewing audience will get "live" events, in hopes that more viewers will tune-in (meanwhile there's been no indication that NBC might actually make the programming more palitable so that viewers can and will stay watching--I mean I'm a fairly die-hard Olympics fan, and NBC's coverage drove me away from making it through the Olympics in Sydney and Athens; not the fact that I knew what was gonna happen).

Anyways, the international swimming federation, FINA, has said it will support whatever decision the IOC makes--which is rather a smart move on their part, and not entirely unexpected. Meanwhile, some Australians are rather pissed off that a U.S. broadcaster should be anywhere close to getting their way. And who can really blame them; I mean swimming is one of the top sports in Australia, every day, unlike the U.S. where the sport is only really on most people radars for 1 week every 4 years. An equivalent would be the Australians asking the Super Bowl to be played in the morning, so that it could be on a better time for them Down Under.

As a U.S. swimming fan, I think it was wrong for NBC to make the request: fix your problems, main; the product itself is fine, it's your package that sucks.

Anyways, to counterbalance that heaviness, head over to Highlights for kids (which just to 60 years old), and do hidden pictures. :)


And it doesn't seem fair
That your wicked words should work in holding me down
No, it doesn't seem right...
To take information, given at close range
For the gag, and the bind
And the ammunition round