More college games on TV is not necessarily a good thing

As gimmickry goes, ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon was harmless enough, but the value of the exercise eluded me.

Twenty-four hours of uninterrupted basketball - 12 games played over five time zones beginning midnight Tuesday - is one of those things that sounds better than it plays on the TV. Maybe the mistake is calling it a "marathon." When you hear the word, you think of pain, suffering, tedium and dehydration. At least I do.

Perhaps, too, the unintended consequence of ESPN's marathon is to remind jaded viewers that between now and March they can expect a glut of meaningless basketball games.

Of course, these sentiments aren't shared by everyone. After his team played Monmouth on ESPN, St. Peter's coach John Dunne said, "It's great for us to get that kind of exposure."

The game tipped off around dawn - 6 in the morning in the East but, I presume, prime time somewhere in the world.

Because it featured mostly unremarkable games and some real dogs, the Tip-Off Marathon belied the American axiom that nothing succeeds like excess. The same goes for the rest of the bloated college TV schedule.

For another season, the ACC is proud to be saturating the airwaves with men's basketball. In all, 292 ACC games will be on some form of television, while conference teams will make an all-time high of 179 appearances on national TV.

That's a lot of games for a single conference. But is more really better? I don't think so. More is just more.

I say this as a life-long fan of college basketball. I like eating chocolate, too, but not five times a day.

Many things are more enjoyable in smaller portions. A surplus of basketball coverage fills the idle hours and sells TV advertising, but showing one game after another several nights a week - and an endless buffet on weekends - doesn't whet the appetite; it kills the cravings.

The overcrowded schedule also leads to more TV appearances by teams that aren't very entertaining. Is that really good for a product that wants its regular season to be taken seriously?

Attempting to digest basketball's TV schedule is like walking down an aisle at Costco past the industrial-sized containers of condiments. You like mayonnaise, but when you see it displayed in two-gallon jars, you feel indigestion coming on.

Jon Gruden signed a contract extension with ESPN that expands his role beyond Monday Night Football. Then he went on the air for the dreadful game between Baltimore and Cleveland and declared, "Eric Mangini is a heck of a coach."

Should Gruden be allowed to keep his analyst's license after that? With the loss to the Ravens, Mangini's Browns fell to 1-8. Maybe Gruden thinks that's a heck of a record.

The Browns apparently also have a heck of a quarterback. Turning his attention to the beleaguered and misfiring Brady Quinn, Gruden shied away from serious criticism or insight. Instead he said, "This guy's sharp," and "He's a good quarterback."

Less than a year removed from the Tampa Bay Bucs, Gruden may be too close to NFL coaches and players to tell us what he really thinks. Or maybe he's pulling punches because he hopes to be back in the fraternity soon.

After what I thought was a decent start to his rookie MNF season, Gruden is losing altitude. He seems to be having a lot of fun with Ron Jaworski and Mike Tirico in the booth, but he owes the viewers more than a few laughs. He's not doing a heck of a lot to increase their understanding of the games.

A college basketball season preview show produced and hosted by John Castleberry can be seen in Hampton Roads at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on Cox channel 11.

Included in the program are interviews with ODU's Blaine Taylor and Wendy Larry, Norfolk State's Anthony Evans, Virginia Wesleyan's Dave Macedo, first-year Virginia coach Tony Bennett and William and Mary's Tony Shaver.

Full disclosure: I also make an appearance.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373 bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com