The Grizzlies are playing one regular season game on ESPN. One. They have six on NBATV. But they have one (1) (uno) (eins) regular season game on ESPN. Great job promoting a small-market team that's made the playoffs four seasons in a row, league. I guess people would rather watch the Lakers (who have 20 nationally-televised games), who will probably be terrible this year, but that just proves something we already knew: people are dumb. Also galling is the fact that the ESPN game is (1) at OKC, not a home game and (2) in November, so late in the season when the team is rounding into playoff form (we hope) that national basic-cable audience will have no idea what they look like. I think it represents a massive failure of league marketing strategy not to promote their best teams no matter what market they're in. The NFL does a much better job of this.

-- Memphis Flyer