blackout Page index.xml - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Nothing ever improves when MLB takes control
We stand here today on the precipice of one of the largest downfalls in broadcasting. Diamond Sports Group, the company that owns all of Bally’s regional sports networks, announced Wednesday that it would be skipping its $140 million payment for February. ...

Soon you'll be able to watch your favorite out-of-town team in your own market
For a sport that has been struggling to retain youthful viewers, blackouts are an incredibly dumb aspect of streaming games. You can watch any team you want to...except the teams near where you live. Throughout most of Nevada, the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, L.A. Ang...

Lights Go Out On Diamondbacks Game, Pedro Gomez Briefly Blames Rampaging Baboon
Top of the sixth, tie game, men on second and third, and the lights went out in Phoenix:...

Arizona State Reminds Fans: We Don't Trust You To Not Use Blackface, So Please Don't Paint Your Faces
Arizona State football will hold its annual blackout game against Colorado this Saturday, so students and fans will dress in all black and throw off the opponent because a stadium full of fans wearing the same thing always rattles opponents who can’t handle color coordination. The university’s preem...

The FCC Will Vote To Dump Its NFL Blackout Rules
Less than a year into his tenure as chairman of the Federal Communication Commission, Tom Wheeler has announced that at the end of the month, the FCC will vote on killing the 39-year-old rule mandating local blackouts for NFL games that don't sell out....

Colts And Packers Avoid Blackouts Thanks To Corporate Charity
Disaster mostly averted: Of the three teams facing the prospect of local TV blackouts for their wild card playoff games, two have achieved sellouts—sort of—and the third appears close. And it's all thanks to the benevolence of corporate America....

Three Of Four NFL Playoff Games Could Be Blacked Out
The NFL maintains the largest live-to-televised enjoyment disparity of any major sport, but that ought to dissipate come the postseason. Yet three playoff games still have thousands of unsold tickets remaining, and broadcasts in those areas could be blacked out this weekend. The deadlines are just h...

Terrell Suggs Says Roger Goodell Caused The Super Bowl Blackout
Terrell Suggs recently sat down for an interview that will air on tonight's episode of E:60, and he talked some shit about Roger Goodell. Specifically, he blamed Goodell for the blackout that delayed the 49ers-Ravens Super Bowl for 34 minutes....

Good (?) News For Bucs Fans: Remaining Games Won't Be Blacked Out
"Sorry our franchise quarterback turned out to be a bust. But we'll make sure you don't miss a minute of the Mike Glennon experience."...

John McCain Introduces Bill That Would Ban Sports TV Blackouts
We can't speak to the chances of McCain's bill passing. We can only say that we very much want to live in a world where teams that play in publicly funded stadiums are no longer allowed to black out home games that don't sell out....

Jim Nantz Nearly Jumped Into The Stands During The Super Bowl Blackout
CBS got hammered for its dreadful coverage during the Super Bowl blackout, and Jim Nantz is finally ready to talk about it. When the lights went out, the announcer says, he called his producer and offered to jump into the stands from the broadcast booth and race down to the field to offer aid to str...

<i>Saturday Night Live</i>'s Cold Open Spoofed The Super Bowl Blackout
It's been a week since the Super Bowl, but Saturday Night Live is a weekly show, unfortunately airing the night before Super Bowl Sunday, so they just got around to pointing out the uselessness of studio shows. Keenan Thompson as James Brown guides the skit and has some fun when, at his wit's end, h...

CBS Had A Reporter In The NFL Control Room When The Stadium Went Dark And Didn't Use Him
CBS had at least one honest-to-God reporter at the Superdome on Sunday: Armen Keteyian, who was on assignment for 60 Minutes Sports. When the lights went out, he was wrapping up an interview with an NFL exec, Frank Supovitz, senior VP for events. Paydirt! The cameras were still rolling, and Keteyi...

"You Couldn't Help But Think, Where's Bob Costas?" An Ex-Producer On How CBS—And ESPN—Screwed Up Last Night
So CBS really, really shat the bed during last night's 34-minute power outage. How could they have handled things differently? We checked in with Those Guys Have All the Fun co-author Jim Miller, who used to be the senior executive producer of Anderson Cooper 360....

What Was John Harbaugh Ranting About During The Blackout? We Asked A Lip Reader
One of the highlights of last night's Super Bowl broadcast was watching John Harbaugh berate a poor old man during the 34-minute power outage. We don't know who the old guy was (Update: He is the NFL's vice president of game operations, Mike Kensil), but we assume he was some kind of stadium offic...

Why Did The Superdome Power Go Out?
The lights went out, and they stayed out for 34 minutes. Colin Kaepernick had just been sacked, and the 49ers were down 22, and if momentum is a real thing, the blackout swung it firmly to San Francisco. Had the Niners come back to win, the power outage would've gone down in sports history as one o...

Watch CBS Herp And Derp Its Way Through The Super Bowl Power Outage
Drew already highlighted how last night's Super Bowl blackout led to some spectacularly bad television. From repeated assertions that the game would resume "in about 15 [or 20] minutes" to sideline reporters fumbling for words, the Tiffany network spread fecal material all over the Superdome and ...

It Took A Blackout To Show You How Truly Useless NFL Broadcasters Are. Let's Blow Up The Studio.
I avoided the pregame shows yesterday. This isn't unusual. I never watch pregame shows for the same reason YOU never watch pregame shows. I showed up at my friend's house just as they were getting ready for Alicia Keys to spend eight minutes doing a national anthem/"Fallin'"/Jazz odyssey medley. And...

The Best And Most Surreal Photographs From The Power Outage At The Superdome
The power outage tonight in the Superdome created 34 minutes of awkward television and some truly dreamlike sports photography. We've collected the best from the Associated Press and Getty. Top photo by Evan Vucci/AP....

Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31: Your Super Bowl 47 GIF Roundup
The Baltimore Ravens outlasted the 49ers in a thrilling Super Bowl that looked all but over after the first half. Then the lights went out and the Ravens stopped pressing deep and the 49ers capitalized on some poor punting and suddenly we had a football game. In the end, the Ravens hung on thanks t...