The Morning After on TSE - 6.22.2007

I'm a little late getting to this but apparently the NCAA doesn't like it so much when people blog during live NCAA events. In fact, people have been kicked out of events, like the money-drenched cashpot that is the College World Series for live blogging (just blogging, live...with the fifteen-year-old daughter of the dean). From SI.com writer Chris Ballard:

"On June 10 Brian Bennett, a reporter for The-Courier-Journal in Louisville, was tossed from the press box at an NCAA Super Regional game for live blogging. The NCAA said the reporter was infringing upon broadcast rights by providing description of the action. This contention begs to be mocked, for it's hard to imagine a fan preferring to read a hastily typed account of a baseball game rather than watch it. Especially considering the content of most live blogs."

Ballard makes a good point, because the contention does beg to be mocked. I've read live blogs and I've written live blogs and those usually come nowhere near any kind of game recap that the NCAA is afraid of. Most are just inside jokes, random sports references outside of the chosen event or just ramblings about pop-culture. And even then, some aren't written by Bill Simmons! But the NCAA owns these rights and they have the right to protect said rights (what?) so they kicked out the bloggers.

But they forgot the lesson that we all learned in Revenge of the Nerds: we can mobilize against an enemy and win. Today, the NCAA came down from it's high horse. Kind of.

"The NCAA eased its restrictions on blogging and said live updates from its
events are permitted as long as they are limited to scores and time
remaining.

The issue arose last week after a reporter for The Courier-Journal of
Louisville, Ky., was ejected from an NCAA baseball tournament game for
submitting live Internet updates during play. "

So kudos to the NCAA for letting bloggers indeed cover their events. So long as there is no opinion. Or commentary. Or thought. Or humans, really. They should just let semi-trained monkeys live-blog now.

I see what the NCAA's problem is and I think that, legally, they're making the best decision for their interests. But let's all get fucking serious for a second here. In no way does a live-blog do anything to take away from the game presentation. Seriously, it's not like a live-blog is giving just play-by-play of an event; that would be a boring live-blog, in my opinion. They are there for commentary's sake and the NCAA should embrace this. Bring the bloggers into the fold and then use them to your advantage. Blogs are the only way some people can get information (like, say, when you put the Ohio State Buckeyes on the Big 10 Network, which most people in Columbus DON'T EVEN GET). Plus, it'll get people to actually care about events like the College World Series, which is only interesting this year because of the Beavers/Eaters matchup and all the wonderful euphemisms thereto.

Get serious, NCAA, or the nerds will come and get you.