Lance Armstrong Has The Ball To Call Out VS and The NHL

[IPostedWhat]

If a cyclist and an ice hockey player collide, who ya got?

That's the collision course Lance Armstrong chose for himself when he tweeted angrily about the decision by Versus to cut away from television coverage of the Tour of California's third stage yesterday for NHL pregame chit-chat.

Wrote Armstrong:

"Who's the dumbass @versustv that cut off @AmgenTourofCali coverage w/ a mile to go for pregame hockey?? #pathetic"

As SI.com's Ann Killion points out, Armstrong is entitled to be a loud critic of Versus. It was coverage of Armstrong winning regularly at the Tour de France that gave Versus its first prominence, back when it was called Outdoor Life Network.

And no matter what's being shown, do you really stop live coverage of an event that's approaching the finish line just to hear the talking heads discuss matchups?

-- Tom Weir

Lance Armstrong slams Versus and the NHL - Game On!: Covering the Latest Sports News

 

[maddogmark25]

Well, a hockey player can slash the cyclist's tires with his skates, so I think I will put my chips on the toothless Canadian

 

[esls79]

On a network that was built upon cycling, Lance has got a point. There was literally two or three minutes left of coverage in that leg of the race and with two national anthems, there is almost 12 minutes of pregame coverage from the top of the hour. Even with half of that as commercials, there would have still been plenty of time to show the end of the race live and not adversely affect the hockey coverage.

And yes, I'm a fan of cycling as well as hockey.

 

[pixburgher66]

bike...racing. i'm not sure which is worse, bike racing or nascar. sorry lance. NHL is what's bringing in ratings for VS now, sorry bud.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

I hope someone lance's off his balls.

 

[TOX1]

Dear Lance,

Brother....you are truly an American sports legend who's performed amazing feats. You have shown amazing courage in conquering a horrific disease that could have not only ended your excellent career, but your life.

...but shut the fuck up pussy!!!

Nobody outside of your little circle gives a rats ass what you think about your precious exposure or tv ratings. Go man up and grow some real balls and leave us to our own already!

Sincerely -

Fuck You

 

[dash]

I gotta side with Lance on this one, even though this is the same guy who couldn't make it work with Sheryl Crow...

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I could care less about cycling, but if they were down to the final stretch why didn't they just show the rest of it?

To be fair, I REALLY don't usually give a crap about pregame and intermission shows. Unless Roenick is involved...

 

[Automattic]

The serious side of me agrees with esls. Lance is pretty much wanting the same thing we want, which is more coverage.
The normal side of me just thinks this is the winner for thread title of the week.

 

[pixburgher66]

i just read the whole title.

IPW...gold. pure gold

 

[Slimpikins]

If NBC cuts the OT of a hockey game to go to the Kentucky Derby this board would be livid, and rightfully so.

I think cycling enthusiasts should be pissed. Especially becuase it wasn't necessary, no actual game time would have been missed by staying with the race.

 

[Slimpikins]

On a side note:

Chuck Norris once challenged Lance Armstrong to a 'who has more balls' contest. Chuck won by five.

 

[juliansteed]

I could care less about cycling, but if they were down to the final stretch why didn't they just show the rest of it?

To be fair, I REALLY don't usually give a crap about pregame and intermission shows. Unless Roenick is involved...

Agreed. I couldn't care less about cycling but if it was approaching the finish and they left it for pre-game chat that does seem pretty extreme. Imagine the uproar on here if NBC ever did that to the NHL for something that draws more ratings. Oh wait! I'm pretty sure they have. That being said, we don't know all the contract/legal stuff. They may not have had much choice.

 

[davnlaguna]

Since we are voting. Stay on the live event until it is over. If the hockey game had started then do a split screen or show the bike race on standard and the hockey game on the HD channel.

 

[forty_three]

Agreed. I couldn't care less about cycling but if it was approaching the finish and they left it for pre-game chat that does seem pretty extreme. Imagine the uproar on here if NBC ever did that to the NHL for something that draws more ratings. Oh wait! I'm pretty sure they have. That being said, we don't know all the contract/legal stuff. They may not have had much choice.

For as long as I can remember, the local Baltimore NBC affiliate pre-empted whatever playoff hockey was going on so they could do their "pre - race" coverage of the Preakness. FIVE HOURS WORTH. For a race that takes less than three minutes. I really fucking hated that. And that was their justification; more people wanted to see the Preakness. To them "Slobbering morons talking about horses" = "the race".

I'm with Lance. It's a dick move to cut off any event in progress, especially for the kind of jibber jabber Vs has been giving us. If they aren't going to commit to the sports they agreed to carry, what do you think would happen if they get an NFL game a week or basketball? Would they think twice to switch off a "Niche" sport like hockey for something worthwhile? Who makes that decision?

Oh, and I guess I can erase the ToC race on my DVR....

 

[buffhockey]

I hope someone lance's off his balls.

Shouldn't that read:

I hope someone lance's off his ball.

 

[scottflyers88]

well vs gets more ratings from the nhl so they have a point. also, it is not all pre game talk. about half of it is commercials which they have to show. the split screen thing makes sense. i was watching the race and i was like, they might as well just show the end. although, was anybody really watching the race? it was pretty boring.

 

[Hckygoalie31]

Point being...Lance brought in ratings when it was the OUTDOOR LIFE NETWORK. Last I checked...that's not what it is anymore.

Quit bitching, Lance...you're lucky it was even televised for 5 minutes.

 

[ritari330]

Lance has a point, and who really gives a shit about the pre-game. They aren't going to tell you something you don't allready know. "The flyers are winning this game, because they have more goals than the other team" (not an actual quote, just making a point)

 

[scottflyers88]

it was not a half hour pre game though. they say something like, hey welcome to hockey central. 2 minutes later, a commercial. then they talk for another 2 minutes. then commercial, then game.

so the only way it would have worked is if the race finished pretty quickly and they basically did not have time to even announce the winner then like 5 straight minutes of commercials then right to the game.