Finally, after much anticipation we are living in the era of the Pac-12 Network.
If you haven’t already, head over here: http://pac-12.com/AboutPac-12Enterprises/ChannelFinder.aspx And figure out what channel it is in your area.
I’m watching right now, and it’s pretty much a standard sports network. The set design looks like you’d see from a Fox sports setup, so it’s nothing visually stunning. The real difference is that the talking heads know the Pac-12. Really well. They can even *gasp* pronounce players’ names correctly, something that other conferences take for granted. I can’t begin to explain how annoyed I got at hearing “Darnell GRANT” over and over.
I didn’t really know what to think when I found out Rick Neuheisel was going to be featured on the Pac-12 Network, but I have to say, I really like him so far. He’s knowledgeable, gives a good point of view, and is just self deprecating enough (he made a joke about knowing what it feels like to be on the hot seat). It was a little awkward when they had to talk about UCLA, and rebuilding the culture, and Neu had to defend the talent. The other guys though seem pretty milquetoast, but we’ll see. Mostly they just repeated the talking points we’ve been putting out there and seeing from other media sources because right now that’s about all we have.
Mostly though, it was good to just see Pac-12 football back on TV. Lots of highlight from last year as well as some classic plays from years past. It’s just nice to know that we’re going to have access to every live game, specific coverage for the west coast programs, game replays, classic games, previews, non-revenue sports, and much more. It’s a great time to be a Pac-12 fan.
There is still no news on the Pac-12 and DirecTV coming up with a deal, which is unfortunate.