The same can't be said of Major League Baseball, whose dominant franchises are in metro areas such as New York, Boston and Los Angeles - and if at least one squad in this category isn't battling for supremacy at season's end, television titans are disappointed. Hence, the playing field (make that the ice) is more even, which translates to fairer treatment in general. The NHL's talent is spread out across many smaller markets rather than being concentrated in the most populous cities. The Denver Broncos' assorted triumphs at the national level didn't earn sneers from TV types because the team itself has been broadly popular over the years, thanks in large part to the presence of luminaries such as John Elway and Peyton Manning - and besides, the NFL's appeal is so overwhelming that any team capable of reaching the Super Bowl can be successfully hyped.ĭifferences in circumstances have helped the Colorado Avalanche avoid Nuggets-like media disinterest. But the factors that have contributed to their response aren't quite as simple to discern. You've probably already guessed that money is why these powerhouses aren't psyched over Denver's march to prominence - and you're right. They needed to overcome the referees, too - and they did. The Nuggets, led by the masterful Nikola Jokic, a revitalized Jamal Murray and gifted role players such as Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown, didn't only have to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers en route to the promised land. The big shots at the NBA clearly favored an early Denver exit, as evidenced by foul-calling far less balanced than the U.S. And while ESPN has attempted to pivot to some degree over the past 24 hours or so, these efforts qualify as transparently bogus - last-minute concessions that fail to mask an overall sense of disappointment that, so far at least, the best team has won.ĮSPN isn't the only stakeholder that wishes the Nuggets had fallen short of the finals, as they've done so many times before. Their anti-Nuggets fervor has been on view throughout this year's playoffs, with the week-plus since Denver swept the Los Angeles Lakers offering a parade of absolutely infuriating passive-aggressiveness too obvious to deny. No, the powers-that-be at ESPN haven't publicly admitted being down on Denver, but such a confession isn't necessary. Thank goodness, since Comcast customers wouldn't be able to see it otherwise. But the joy felt by long-suffering Nuggets fans, many of whom never thought they'd live to see this glorious day, contrasts sharply with the dismay over Denver's achievement buried deep in the tiny hearts of executives at ESPN, the country's dominant sports broadcaster and de facto presenter of the matchup against the Miami Heat, which will air on its sibling network, ABC. On June 1, the Denver Nuggets host game one of the NBA championship series - a first in the history of the franchise.
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