Bigger is better?
When the NBA plays its All-Star Game on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium the star attraction may be above the hardwood, not on it, notes Mac Engel of Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The signature feature of Jerry Jones’ lavish new venue for his Cowboys “is not its grandeur, LA nightclub-style bars or plush suites, but rather its TV set. Unless you are directly underneath JerryTron, your eyes seemingly are unable to look at anything else, including the action on the field.”
Texas men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes, who coached the first basketball game in the building in December, says “the awe factor sets in when you walk in the building and you see it.”
And that’s not necessarily a good thing, Engel writes: “Depending on your point of view, seat in the stands or how much money you spent, JerryTron is the single greatest creation for a live sporting event, or another reason to stay at home and watch the event on your TV.”
Jones, of course, sees it differently: “The screen is telling you a story. It’s a part of telling you a story.”
Maybe it’s too big a part of the story. “It is the rare case of something almost being too much of a good thing,” Engel says.
PARTING SHOT
“It got moved (from ESPN) to ESPN2 because it’s not quite the matchup they expected when the season began. It’s good they don’t have an ESPN4.”
— Mike Montgomery
California’s basketball coach on tonight’s televised matchup between the Golden Bears and the Washington Huskies. Both the UW and Cal, preseason Pac-10 favorites, have struggled this season.
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