The National Hockey League initiated a package with Versus/NBC primarily because of money, but hockey is suffering as a consequence.
Vs. does not nearly have the viewers that ESPN does. And we were witness to just how important the NHL is to NBA Saturday. The final game of the Ottawa-Buffalo series went to sudden-death overtime, yet NBC cut off the broadcast for a Preakness Stakes pregame show.
That was an embarrassment to hockey which has sold its soul for some additional cash. At the very least, NBC could have put the rest of the game on one of its cable affiliates.