Sports fans and pundits all share the same feeling.  It's the feeling that the NFL shield is impenetrable.  IJWMFTT loves the NFL.  Any league where non-game days are still dominated by headlines from the last game has to have some juice to it.  Whoops!  Wrong word to use nowadays.

At the same time, IJWMFTT has documented some issues with the NFL.  These issues will likely come to light in the upcoming season.  The home blackout rule will have an adverse affect on teams like the Lions, Jaguars, and Bengals.  The bungling of the roid issue in baseball has masked issues in the NFL.  The NFL is lucky that the NBA was the first to reach the matle of "thug league," so as to be sure that its problems are covered as stories of intrigue, rather than police blotter stories.  Deep pocketed owners may create a fracture in the ownership bond to create an uncapped 2010.  And of course, the NFL is trying to quietly replace NFL Films with productions from its own network.

MLB launched its own network in 2009.  Two months into its existence, it has caught the NFL network in qualtiy of content.  Grading on the curve that the NFLN has operated for over five years, and MLBN has surpassed NFLN.

The MLBN is what NFLN needs to be.  NFLN started way too late with original programming.  The "America's Game" series on NFLN is quite good.  But why wait three years.  Did the NFLN really think the public was that sgtarved for football that it could broadcast "Total Access" and "Playbook" around the clock?  The lack of original programming turned off distributors - meaning, they couldn't see paying NFLN for what they were getting,a nd then giving it away on free tier programming. 

MLBN has its flagship show called "Hot Stove."  During Spring Training, the network has an hour long show called "30 in 30," where each team will have its fifteen minutes of fame.  "Prime 9" is a list show - good for starting discussion in a sports bar.  "The Seasons" goes in depth into some of baseball's most romanticized seasons (1986, the Bob Gibson year, "Giants win the pennant"). 

Then of course, rebroadcasts of actual games.  These are great blasts from the past.  Every now and then, something pops up a la "Pop Up Video."  For instance, who hit the most home runs in the American League during the 1980s?  If you saw Fisk's return to Fenway, you would have found out that it was Dwight Evans (Eddie Murray was traded to the NL in 1988).  Many fans know that Harry Caray was also a White Sox broadcaster.  What I didn't know was that it was as recent as 1981.  That's why rebroadcasting games can be interesting.  You get to go back and hear Harry wonder as to whether this Harold Baines fellow will make something of himself.

The NFLN isn't the only guilty party in accessing its own library.  ESPN Classic is such a botched operation, that its continued existence can only be explained as ego boosting.  Branding!  "We have nine brands we maintain here at the four letter."  In fact, if you can catch any NHLN, that's a pretty good network - considering the negative pub the NHL gets for lack of television accessibility.

So the MLBN is getting it right, but it's not perfect.  It does fall into the trap of "you can never have too many people on your network."  Maybe the network is trying to establish its core players to compete with Ravech, Kruk, and Phillips.  If so, not a bad plan.  Though many seemed to dislike Harold Reynolds, I always thought the best BBTN line-up was Ravech, Reynolds, and Gammons.  If HR can go head-to-head against his old mates, it could be an interesting arms race.  For my money, I'll take Vasgersian, HR, and Mitch Williams with Tom Verducci playing the current Gammons role of insider.  

Other personalities used thus far are Mark McLemore, Al Leiter, Dan Plesac, John Hart, Jon Heyman, and Joe Magrane.  Victor Rojas and Hazel Mae have also been used in the anchor role.  McLemore would be a good "next man up," the way Eric Young is on BBTN.  McLemore has a good personality, and played different positions, so he'll have some valuable input for most situations.  Plesac and Leiter are regular, straight to the point folks.  Jon Heyman seems very "old guardy."  I remember that he picked the Diamondbacks last year as sort of a cause celebre against all those who called the 2007 season an aberration.  That's why I prefer Verducci.  He doesn't seem agenda driven.  Magrane is sort of in the Heyman camp, using baseball coloquialisms like "clutch" to make a point.  Ask him to define clutch, and I'm sure it gets murky.  But once a guy is clutch, he's clutch, and don't you question it.

All in all, it will be interesting to see what happens when the season starts.  BBTN versus MLBN.  What will you be watching?