Ooh

The Islanders are playing right now. But this can't wait.

Our first road game of the season is being broadcast in, as Jim Nantz would say, "stunning high definition". Not exactly what I expected, to be honest. But I guess that's the way things are going these days. Both the Mets and Yankees do road games in HD, but they also get huge TV ratings. The Islanders? Not so much. But I think we'll all take it.

I hereby take back everything bad I've ever said about MSG Plus including, but not limited to, its lack of pre-season coverage, the lack of pre-game show before the Islanders' home opener, the fact that the network shows a total of five different commercials, the fact that they never talk about the Islanders on Hockey Night Live!, and about fifty other things. I'd also like to thank Panasonic ("Ideas For Life"), not only for their Viera line of TVs that sponsor every HD broadcast, but for their copious Digital Replays (drink!). I wish I could have put a couple of Panasonic Digital Replays into my wedding video.

Anyway, it's a good thing we get tonight's game in HD. Because Barry Melrose is wearing the nicest suit a coach has ever worn. That thing needs to be appreciated. I always hoped a coach would go all black like Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson in The Mighty Ducks 2. Melrose could be the guy to do it.

Awesome

I'm trying to watch Sharks-Stars on Versus. It's on the regular channel, but not on the HD feed. Why not? Turns out they're showing some golf tournament that happened earlier today. I know it happened earlier today because it's sunny outside on TV. They've since gone into a rousing telecast of "Golf Central".

Now, I understand that Versus and The Golf Channel share an HD channel, and I understand that Versus has bumped golf programming in the past. I also understand that Versus has done a ridiculously good job with this year's playoffs. But come on! I really wanted to watch this game, but HD is hard to live without when you get to experience it on a daily basis. So, thanks to the transgressions of Versus and/or The Golf Channel, I'm stuck watching the game in a small box on the bottom right hand corner of my screen. The Mets are on the West Coast and in HD; obviously, they get the nod here.

Again, not knocking Versus here. I'm just nitpicking. To prove it, here's a tidbit about Versus that you won't hear reported anywhere - their ratings are better than the ratings ESPN2 got when they broadcast the NHL before the lockout. Given the issues with distribution and Versus' less-than-favorable position on most TV dials, that's a great achievement. Kudos to all involved.