The only way you're going to be able to see tonight's season-opening NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets is if you have a ticket for the game at the Salt Palace.
But for 53 out of the Jazz' 81 other regular season games, local televiewers will have the best seats in the house thanks to ongoing coverage by KSTU, Prime Sports Network Utah, TNT and CBS.Now, if a couple of those television options sound unfamiliar, it's only because they are.
Prime Sports Network-Utah is a new basic cable service that will operate much the way the Jazz Cable Network operated last year. That is, they will present a package of 25 Jazz games (on the same cable channels as last year) on basic cable. The difference is, that's not all PSN-Utah will show. It will also offer a variety of syndicated sports events, including hockey, football, baseball, track and field, soccer and rodeo. (We'll give you a complete rundown on the PSN-Utah schedule as soon as it is available.)
TNT is also new to the NBA team this year, but only because Turner Broadcasting decided to switch their pro hoops coverage from TBS to TNT. Everything else will be the same, with games scheduled on most Tuesdays and Fridays, frequent double-headers, a broadcast team that includes Skip Caray, Bob Neal, Pete Van Wieren and Rick Barry and a heavy reliance on America's Teams - the Celtics, Bulls, Pistons, Lakers and Knicks are each scheduled for 10 TNT appearances; the Jazz will only make two (good news for coach Jerry Sloan and his team, which didn't perform all that well on TBS last season).
And then there's CBS, which suddenly seems to be much more aware of the Jazz than TNT is. While Utah just made its first regular season appearance on the network last Christmas, the Jazz could make as many as four appearances on CBS this year, depending on the importance of games scheduled for later in the season.
The complete Jazz TV schedule for the year follows:
November: 11 - at Houston (PSN-Utah); 15 - Chicago (KSTU); 21 - at Minnesota (PSN-Utah); 25 - Los Angeles Lakers (CBS or PSN-Utah); 29 - at Indiana (PSN-Utah).
December: 1 - at Atlanta (TNT and KSTU); 2 - at Washington (PSN-Utah); 5 - at Cleveland (KSTU); 11 - Cleveland (PSN-Utah); 15 - Detroit (KSTU); 17 - at Minnesota (PSN-Utah); 19 - at New York (KSTU); 20 - at Boston (PSN-Utah); 22 - at Charlotte (KSTU); 23 - at San Antonio (PSN-Utah); 26 - Golden State (PSN-Utah).
January: 2 - at Golden State (KSTU); 3 - at Seattle (PSN-Utah); 5 - at Portland (KSTU); 6 - at Denver (PSN-Utah); 10 - Denver (PSN-Utah); 13 - at Dallas (KSTU); 17 - Atlanta (KSTU); 20 - at Sacramento (KSTU); 25 - New York (PSN-Utah); 27 - Milwaukee (KSTU); 30 - at Portland (KSTU).
February: 4 - at Detroit (CBS); 5 - at Philadelphia (PSN-Utah); 7 - at New Jersey (PSN-Utah); 11 - All Star Game (CBS); 14 - at Phoenix (KSTU); 16 - at San Antonio (PSN-Utah); 21 - Boston (KSTU); 25 - at Los Angeles Lakers (PSN-Utah).
March: 3 - San Antonio (KSTU); 5 - at Miami (KSTU); 6 - at Orlando (PSN-Utah); 8 - at Chicago (KSTU); 9 - at Milwaukee (PSN-Utah); 11 - at Denver (PSN-Utah); 13 - Phoenix (KSTU); 17 - at Sacramento (KSTU); 24 - at Los Angeles Clippers; 29 - at Golden State (KSTU).
April: 1 - at Los Angeles Lakers (CBS); 5 - at Seattle (KSTU); 9 - at Phoenix (PSN-Utah); 12 - Los Angeles Lakers (TNT and KSTU); 15 - at Minnesota (PSN-Utah); 17 - at Dallas (KSTU); 18 - at San Antonio (PSN-Utah); 22 - at Houston (CBS or KSTU).
-THE WORLD SERIES struck out at the ratings plate last week, giving ABC the lowest-rated World Series ever. It was also the first time since the fall classic moved to prime time that none of the games was able to crack the A.C. Nielsen top 10 for the week.
And you don't even need me to tell you that ABC's loss was NBC's gain, do you? You had to know that if the World Series did that poorly, NBC won the week.
Again.
But if Bays-ball didn't make the top 10, what did? Glad you asked: 1. Roseanne (ABC); 2. The Cosby Show (NBC); 3. Cheers (NBC); 4. 60 Minutes (CBS); 5. A Different World (NBC); 6. Murder, She Wrote (CBS); 7. Wonder Years (ABC); 8. Golden Girls (NBC); 9. Monday Night Football (ABC); and 10. In the Heat of the Night (NBC).