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BassMaster Classic gets Pittsburgh into Primetime


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BassMaster Classic from Pittsburgh was carried live from Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena last night on ESPN. The TV times for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday

7-8:05 a.m.: Live BassCenter from Point State Park (ESPN2)

8:05-8:30 a.m.: Schooled with Denny Brauer (taped, ESPN2)

8:35-9 a.m.: Bassmaster University (taped, ESPN2)

9:05-9:30 a.m.: Bass Tech (taped, ESPN2)

9:35-10 a.m.: Beat Charlie Moore (taped in 2004 with challenger Jeff Blanton, ESPN2)

10:05-10:30 a.m.: Beat Charlie Moore (taped in 2004 with challenger John Tarwater, ESPN2)

10:35-11 a.m.: Beat Charlie Moore (taped, amateur challenger to be announced, ESPN2)

8 a.m.-noon: Live BassCenter In-Game from Point State Park (ESPN2)

Noon-1 p.m.: Live Tournament Coverage from the Convention Center (ESPN)

5:30-7 p.m.: Weigh-in Day 2 from Mellon Arena (ESPN)

Sunday

7-8 a.m.: Live BassCenter from Point State Park (ESPN2)

8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Live Classic Coverage from the Convention Center (plus taped segments on the Junior Bassmaster Classic and more, ESPN2)

8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: Live BassCenter In-Game from Point State Park (ESPN2)

5:30-7 p.m.: Weigh-in Final Day from Mellon Arena (ESPN)

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Here comes the kicker, the Post-Gazette wrote up a great piece on how vastly the opinion of the city has changed with this one event. The degree to which many of the anglers and fans opinions were changed were amazing to me, I am so proud of this town. And 12 hour global coverage on ESPN. In one respect I really like the positive feedback from BASS, ESPN, the contestants and the fans, but it just goes to show how much more work has to be done on Pittsburgh's image and it vindicates my opinion that no matter how good we are at improving our city, the stereotypes and "Madison Avenue" uncool verdicts will still plague us until more coverage like this is made for Pittsburgh.

Here is the link, really surprised me how genuinely impressed these guys were of Pittsburgh:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05213/546972.stm

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In one respect I really like the positive feedback from BASS,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, the fish liked it too? :rofl:

But seriously, I read that article too and was very pleased. But I agree, it just goes to show how most people have a very wrong idea about Pittsburgh. Maybe the All-Star game will help. More people watch that than the Bassmaster, I'll wager.

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The Bassmasters tournament was a godsend in badly needed P.R. for the Pittsburgh region (until better minds prevail, i'll refer to it as "region" not "city" ;).

Pittsburgh gets to build momentum on it's changing image with MLB's All-Star game next summer. Who knows, if a new arena gets funded, another NHL All-Star game or even draft may be awarded within a few years...

Speaking of hockey and positive P.R. for Pittsburgh, I think Sid "The Kid" Crosby is about to take the torch 66 is handing out to new heights.

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Gerbil, you know what I meant B.A.S.S. the organization . . . but then again it was "catch and release" and if those big fish in the tank that they shot to before they ran commercials were the ones that were caught that day, then hey they are "stars" now. :lol:

DTJ, I'm with you on the ASG, and Crosby looks great (don't we still have that #2 selection from 2 years ago, the Russian dude too . . . pre-strike?) the only problem I have with hockey is first its under a roof so unless its deep into the playoffs there are no city shots or visitors per say and second and most importantly the sport across the influential sunbelt and techbelt scores a 0 on the ratings scale unless its a hometown team playing some other team. The NFL and MLB and NBA can get a very high rating in Texas for a game between Detroit and Boston, the NHL won't get a handful of viewers for that game in Texas and outside of metro Dallas during a Stars road game, won't get many viewers at all for any game. Hockey is probably the greatest spectator sport when your in the arena but the NHL had to basically give away the rights to televise the sport recently. Sad sad sad. I don't put a lot of hope in a championship winning Pens team making anyone feel good about Pittsburgh outside the Tri-State region.

Imagine how many people are tuned into the Steelers with a young phenom last year (I talked to a woman in her 20s that lived outside of SF in Florida last month, I said I was from Pittsburgh, her face drew a blank except after a few seconds she said--oh that's the Steelers right?) or if the Pirates had some great years (not holding my breath), unfortunately that doesn't translate to the Pens, I hope they compete for the cup but the NHL needs Pittsburgh more then Pittsburgh needs the NHL, they are in a much worse PR battle they we could ever imagine, at least Pittsburgh competed head to head with ESPN HQ city Hartford for the B.A.S.S. and didn't need a "mercy f*" from a network not willing to pay anything for national coverage of its product--like the NHL had to, and that was BEFORE the strike.

Anyways in the words of Dennis Miller, "I don't want to go on a rant or anything" ^_^

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Yes, Russian Evegeni Malkin (Pens #1 in 2004) is expected to be in a Penguin uni by October. BTW, Mario says it looks as if Mellon Arena will be sold out for the entire NHL season - welcome back, NHL & thanks already, Sid!

If Mario gets the new arena designed like he wishes, you'll get your city views for television.

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^^your talking about the "underground" arena with the pool of water uptop? I'm curious.

Also I think its great that B.A.S.S. gave Pittsburgh a whole weekend of visual and promotional TV time to counter the "news" items last year about the close bankruptcy. It goes to show that the city is still very much vibrant and successful despite it's political rumblings.

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Not the underground arena, the one Mario truly wants the slots license to pay for. One he wants designed like a cross between Columbus' and the one they built for the Minnesota Wild. It would have "natural" (green) lighting for day games because the open concourses would bring in the light through a glass-like design also intended to show off the city's skyline.

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I do remember this now, wow the years have flown :lol: yeah what stuck in my mind was the most recent proposal by that LA company that was thinking about buying a steak in the Pens (or did or something) about having an arena underground with a wadding pool right on top similar to the reflection pool on the Washington Mall.

Back to the topic though ;) I saw recently a nice piece in the Pittsburgh Business Times (www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh) about how the hotels and some restaurants business and traffic went through the roof during the Bassmaster with several hotels in downtown posting sellouts on a half dozen nights. Very very good news for downtown, the article also mentioned on how it was the best of both worlds in that the clientel were willing to spend and very well behaved and family type atmosphere, unlike some cities that court "bike week" or "spring break" where the money might flow but so does the 911 calls and property damage bills.

This event was a HUGE coup for the city and unlike some "conventions" or "events" was televised globally for three whole days, you can't beat that PR.

I'll try to find the link to the article, some nice observations in there, the only reason I didn't post it here immediately is that it never gave an estimate of the overall economic impact of the event which I am trying to hunt down.

Even that number though will be woefully low when related to the true reality of the benefits since really it was free "Super Bowl" advertising for almost 36 straight hours. The cost savings and long term benefits of that defy computation.

;)

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One last note about the Pens - because of the current incredible run of good fortune, Lemieux & the LP have decided to keep majority ownership of the franchise. KDKA did a report yesterday about how the Penguins' chances of securing a new arena have probably vastly improved since the arrivals of an NHL salary cap & Sidney Crosby. Tom Murphy admitted on camera that it's a "need", O'Connor was quoted as saying that it can be done maybe even without Mario having the slots license, and Onorato is said to be in strong support...

As for the Bassmasters (and the Senior Olympics, for that matter, as well), doesn't it fill one with pride to be from Western PA? All the quotes and letters pouring into the media outlets from the event stating how great the people are, how vibrant & beautiful the Pittsburgh area is, and most importantly - how their initial perceptions of Pittsburgh have changed drastically since the event. Seems the area isn't a "dead, rusting, filthy city", afterall.

Bring on the MLB All-Star game for the PR trifecta!

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The All-Star game will have ten times the benefit of the Bassmaster or Senior Olympics. Those have kind of a selective audience. I bet more people watch the All-Star game.

As for the new arena, I'm all for it, but I don't want any city, county, or state money going into it. We spent enough on the stadiums.

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Baseball's Nielsen ratings for it's All-Star game have been declining steadily for a decade, it lost it's "national pastime" grade to the NFL many moons ago, it's steroid scandal along with it's competitive imbalance have lost many a fan and will continue to do so. I don't know if it's television viewership will be that much higher than the Bassmasters, really.

It will undoubtedly be a much more ballyhooed event with more promotion, PR and spotlight for the region than the other two hands down - but, it's not exactly on that much of a higher plateau, IMO.

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^^Having a superbowl (Steelers should have built a dome lol) would be the top of the heap, either that or that domed NASCAR track out by the airport for the Pittsburgh 500 that never got off the ground, would have been great pulls for the city since NASCAR and the NFL are the top of the heap, be that as it may ANY event that is nationally or globally televised over 2-3 days and has a crowd that spends as much as spring break or bike week but without all the 911 and damage hassels or "security" lockdowns and stampedes of protesters like the Republican or Democratic National Conventions is going to always be a coup for Pittsburgh ;).

By the way DTJ, love that avatar!

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