Someone (I'm sorry, Someone) in my twitstream remarked on how silly it was for NBC to have multiple channels, and still not have everything live. I think that's wrong.
I don't care about live, really. The DVR has made watching the NFL a much more pleasant and much less time-consuming experience. You give an hour or so head start, and you can skip all the nonsense, and do an hour of chores.
While I don't care about whether it's live or not, I really hate when it's edited.
Sports has two compelling elements.
First, the uncertainty of the result. Unlike any teevee show or movie, there is no way to predict what's going to happen in the end.
Second, the soap opera--the constantly fluctuating relationships between players, between players and coaches, coaches and management. LinMania! or Tebow! There's the soap opera of the game, the story arc of the season, and the overarching tale of the franchise.
The Olympics! Prime Time, presented by the writers and producers of NBC, intentionally sacrifices uncertain results in order to present the soap opera. But because they also insist on inserting a predetermined script (player, team, sport, USA!!), even that part of sports gets lost.
