When it comes to sports and television, football is King. Ask the University of Utah just how big the King is or more importantly, who rules the King.
That’s easy—King Football (as well as other collegiate and professional sports) bow to the television networks that spend millions in right fees to televise college sports. When the huge money started flowing into collegiate sports conferences 20 years or so, the traditional starting times for football games went out the window.
Starting times are determined by the networks on the Sunday before the next weekend’s games. The Pac-12 signed a lucrative contract a few years ago that allowed the networks to fill the late game in their schedule—that’s why you see the 7 p.m. kickoffs that net plenty of money for universities and West Coast audiences, but no viewers on the East Coast when it’s bedtime.
That’s one key reason why extraordinary West Coast players such as Christian McCaffery of Stanford have come up short in the Heisman Trophy balloting where there are more East Coast voters.
Our long-time friends, Alvin and Patti Baer, discovered just how King football overshadows other activities at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where Alvin went to school. Their granddaughter, MorganWerder, was cast in a play last weekend and they flew to Salt Lake anticipating seeing the Friday and Saturday performances.
To their disappointment, the Utah football game was scheduled for a late kickoff Saturday and the university determined that the football fans needed the available parking, so the Saturday drama performance was cancelled. They were not happy, but such is the impact of King Football and the dollars.
The university’s recovery plan was a doubleheader (excuse me) a matinee and an evening performance on Sunday.

One follow-up to my blog about our God who heals that ran last Thursday:
I was talking about my Brazil trip with fellow Pleasanton resident Len DiGiovanni last week. Len, who has been battling prostate cancer, shared what he told his doctor when he received the bad news. The physician was somewhat taken aback by Len’s calm demeanor when he heard the diagnosis.
When he asked about it, Len explained that there are three outcomes:
God uses the physician and traditional medical techniques to put the cancer into remission;
God heals him miraculously;
Or God welcomes him home to eternal life in heaven.
Any of the three are wins for Len. That’s living your faith.