Amidst all the doom and gloom of the winless preseason, there hasn’t been much for Bobcats fans to smile about. And I’ll be the first to admit: this isn’t much — but for now, it’s all we got.
First, the Bobcats will make their only National TV appearance of the season tonight at 10 PM ET, against the Lakers in a meaningless preseason tilt on TNT. It’s fair to assume that the game will be broadcast in HD; however, it’s not clear to me whether or not this will get the full “Thursday Night NBA on TNT” treatment with Ernie, Chuck and The Jet back in the studio. I’m betting not.
Get ready for non-stop plugging of TNT’s “Raising the Bar” with the former leader of The Zack Attack taking on Malcolm in the Middle’s mom (“You’re a joke!” “Get him outta here!”). Or maybe they’ll have a “series with in a series.”
And in a second piece of small good news, the Observer’s Langston Wertz is reporting that a total of 16 Bobcats games will be broadcast in HD this year:
Monday, November 3 – vs. Detroit Pistons – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Friday, November 7 – vs. New Orleans Hornets – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Tuesday, November 11 – vs. Denver Nuggets – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Sunday, November 16 – vs. Orlando Magic – 5:30 p.m. ET – FSCR
Tuesday, November 18 – vs. Dallas Mavericks – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Saturday, November 29 – vs. Boston Celtics – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Saturday, December 13 – vs. Detroit Pistons – 7 p.m. ET – SPSO
Monday, December 15 – @ Atlanta Hawks – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Monday, January 19 – vs. San Antonio Spurs – 2 p.m. ET – FSCR
Friday, January 23 – vs. Phoenix Suns – 7 p.m. ET – SPSO
Tuesday, January 27 – @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30 p.m. ET – FSCR
Friday, January 30 – @ Denver Nuggets – 9 p.m. ET – FSCR
Friday, February 6 – vs. Atlanta Hawks – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Wednesday, February 11 – vs. Washington Wizards – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Wednesday, February 18 – vs. Indiana Pacers – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
Friday, March 13 – vs. Houston Rockets – 7 p.m. ET – FSCR
In approaching any good news concerning the Bobcats these days, I have an “I’ve gotta see it to believe it” mindset. The skeptic in me notes that the primary cable outlet in the Charlotte area, Time Warner Cable, doesn’t even have HD versions of Fox Sports Carolinas or SportsSouth listed in the channel guide as of this writing.
And besides, this news still puts us way behind many (most?) other NBA teams who have more than a measly 16 games broadcast in HD.
Such is the life of a Bobcats fan…
-E