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TV follies Is it live or ... is someone messing with the game?
Updated: Saturday November 10, 2001 12:09 AM
My favorite caught-in-the-cookie jar story of the week comes from Pittsburgh. Dimitri Vassilaros, a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, was watching the Oct. 25 game between the hometown Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs on KDKA television, the local CBS affiliate. Preferring familiar voices, he turned down the television sound and listened to the local radio broadcast on WDVE at the same time. He probably wanted to listen to someone who knew something about the home team instead of just the room-service menu at the Holiday Inn. Somewhere during the game, Vassilaros noticed a strange change. The radio voices were describing plays that had yet to happen on television. Why would this be? Interested in the disparity, he made a few calls on Monday and the fun began.
It seemed KDKA was using some kind of "time machine" to insert an extra 30-second commercial into the proceedings. The pictures were delayed just a bit so the time machine could surgically remove 30 seconds of coverage, dead time, to fit in the ad. It all was quite illegal and KDKA is in trouble. I say no punishment is too severe for these boys. Trying to inflict one more commercial into the commercial-filled NFL Sunday is a truly heinous act. Since this is a CBS affiliate, I suggest we take the crew to CBS headquarters in New York, lock 'em onto that NFL set for a week and make 'em listen to Jerry Glanville. Leigh Montville's commentaries appear regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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