WCBSTV.Com

Editor's Blog: WWW Of Confusion

(CBS) Major League Baseball's unofficial halfway mark came and went Tuesday night, and sports writers across the nation showered us with the fantastic feats and standout statistics our tax money went to bat for from April through Sunday.

For me, the most remarkable number was 3,500.

That's the amount of credentials MLB reportedly issued for the midsummer night classic.

Here at WCBSTV.com, which also happens to be the #1 local TV news Web site in New York City, which also happens to also be the city hosting the beloved game, we asked for two credentials.

That's 0.000571428571-th of the number of credentials issued for the game.

I'd requested one for myself, as I planned on providing an out-of-towner fan's-eye-view of the Home Run Derby on Monday night, seeing as I'm from Baltimore; and one for our Senior Producer, Jeff Capellini, a lifelong Yankee fan who I'd planned on having provide me and all of you with a devoted hometown die-hard's-eye-view of last night's historical game.

Believe me, I'm an Orioles fan. The game wasn't a big deal to me. Talking crab cakes with George Sherrill would be cool for a hot minute I'm sure.

So instead, I was home Monday night cooking my famous turkey and broccoli marinara, and Jeff watched the game from his desk in the newsroom Tuesday night on a 13 inch television screen.

In fairness, MLB cited space issues for the denial of our request. There was only enough room for just 3,500 other journalists.

Clearly, the city's #1 local TV news Web site ranks at 3,501 or higher when it comes to covering a historical game in our very own city.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly understand that at some point, you have to draw the line. How we landed on the wrong side will baffle me no matter what the explanation.

To steal and twist around a line from one of my favorite songs, appropriately titled "Land of Confusion," this is the World Wide Web we live in, and these are the hands we're given.

The league's reasoning of course went beyond space issues. When we delved further into the issue, we were told officials were concerned that as a Web site, we might stream the game or certain facets of it live on our site, a clear and obvious no-no that we'd have to be outlandishly stupid to do.

I'd have to imagine they could care less just how blue-collar we wanted to get with our fan's-eye-view coverage we'd expected to provide.

Because, hey, that's what MLB.com is for. Nobody else should have such prestigious privileges. Business is business.

And it makes sense. It's fairly consistent with the average fan's ability just to get into the game. Let's not forget you either had to have an "in," be a celebrity, or fork over a couple barrels of oil just to get a nosebleed seat to this game.

The truth is, this is the World Wide Web we live in. And these are the hands we're given, or lack thereof.

Between Major League Baseball and the National Football League, there are more Internet restrictions than there are credentials issued for the All-Star Game. Or, maybe not, because 3,500 is considered, in MLB's words, "severe space restrictions."

Restrictions, shme-shmictions.

I'm not really sure if the average person knows just how restricted we are when it comes to showing you practically anything sports-related on the Internet. Professional leagues have practically shut out any site's ability to provide online video coverage and even some photography coverage unless it's the actual league's or team's site providing it.

This is the lawsuit-laden world we live in. And these are the rules we're given.

It's so outrageously stupid, and it diminishes the word "pastime" when we think of that nostalgiac and vintage quality of American sport as a whole. And yeah, you can bet your $500 ticket to the All-Star game I'm bitter.

Pastime, shmastime.

This is a brand new world we live in.

This is the World Wide Web we live in. And this is the idiocy we're given.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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