Links to free audio broadcasts by Cornell's opponents

[mywebpages.comcast.net]

Ok, hopefully the info contained in the above is correct, but I can't make any promises. Amazingly, all but 2 (or 3, depending on how the Everblades Tourney unfolds) games could be available free.

Feel free to let me know of any errors you discover.

(EDIT: John Whelan, sorry to steal your idea, but being on paternity leave means what little time is not occupied by the baby is nonetheless spent in the house, so this little sit-at-my-computer project fit the bill when I needed a mental distraction.)

Good job. Hmmm... 99.9% of the fans who listen to hockey games on the internet now have access through this to a free alternative to Cornell's lame pay service.

Sure turned out great for the athletic department, didn't it?

Jason N '95 wrote:

(EDIT: John Whalen, sorry to steal your idea, but being on paternity leave means what little time is not occupied by the baby is nonetheless spent in the house, so this little sit-at-my-computer project fit the bill when I needed a mental distraction.)

Hey, you'll get no complaints from me. One less thing on my "to do" list.

I would prefer if you spelled my name correctly, though.

As far as I'm concerned: Screw the bahstids.

D'oh! fixed it.

Now it's spelled wrong only in John's post.

Does anyone know WHY there's a charge for the audio? Before I condemn Cornell or Athletics, I'd like to know the background. Does anyone actually KNOW the background? With all these strong judgements being thrown around, I'd hope the facts are understood....

Here's a note that Laura Stange sent to me:

Thank you for your e-mail regarding our internet broadcasting. We regret that we cannot continue to offer Big Red internet broadcasts free of charge.

Due to the recent upheaval in the Internet broadcasting industry, we had to look at new options for providing netcasts of hockey, football, basketball and lacrosse. In the past, we were fortunate to have a system that cost us nothing to use, but that option is no longer available. Several alternatives were explored for us to continue offering this service, but all came with a substantial price tag. Facing budgetary constraints that wouldn’t allow us to do this on our own, but not wanting to cut off our online audience, we opted for a subscription package.

I would also like to mention that the move to a subscription service was not looked to as a strategic way to increase department revenue. Our agreement is simply a way to continue to make games accessible to fans outside of the normal radio-listening area.

On a related front: I am willing to pay the $6.95 per month. But, am unwilling to give RealOne open access to my credit card account. Has anyone found a way around that problem? RealOne doesn't reply to my notes on the subject (making me feel good about my decision to NOT give them my credit card number).

The facts are clear: $7/month to listen via CornellPass. Or you can listen free from every other school except Princeton...and, I guess, UMass.

What else do you need to know? Cornell Athletics screws over its Faithful fans. Dumb.

Interesting that fourteen of our sixteen opponents found a way to offer their fans free broadcasts. Sorry, Laura, that's the usual BS.

Agreeing with Al here,

What makes the internet structure so different today than last year that they can't afford it? Why is that system no longer available? Its total bullshit. It costs more to keep the Hockey Cam going than just Audio, but that's happening (Thanks, Age!).

And their choice or RealPlayer makes it worse - that system has always been junk. (Not to mention incompatible with almost every OS that isn't called Windows)

actually...
from what i was told the new tax or charges or something on internet broadcasting is hitting a lot of stations hard. many of the smaller radio stations around the country who need internet broadcast b/c of web ads for money cant do it b/c of the taxes. dont know how true this is, but this is what i was told. if anyone wants to do some research go right ahead

isn't the music royalty issue that internet broadcasters have to pay? or is that something completely different...

I think I found out why, and it's not BS. I'm not exceptionally well-versed in internet lingo, but here goes. Athletics changed its web site provider (last year?) when its former provider (Total Sports?) went belly-up. The agreement with the new provider (OCSN) gave them the rights to the internet broadcasts, and hence the ability to charge. It also suggests that Athletics does not benefit directly from these charges as Laura mentions.

So, it might not be BS as Al suggests. It may also answer Felix's questions about the change from last year and the choice of RealPlayer. Any older web agreements may not provide for the network charges, but newer ones (like Cornell's) might. And, the network might be OCSN's choice.

But, a larger question is begged here: might the Hockey Cam fall under the OCSN agreement? If OCSN has the rights to video as well as audio, it would, and Athletics would not have a say in the matter. Hey, maybe OCSN could combine the audio and (upgraded?) video in one package. Now THAT might make the $7/month more attractive. And if the Faithful paid the stinkin' $7, maybe OCSN would have an incentive to provide this service. Let's not cut off our nose to spite our face here. $1.75/game during four home-game months seems like a pretty good deal for audio and video. Just my $.02......

I've been as big a critic of the Athletic Department as anyone reading this, but I'm no longer angry at the charge for internet broadcasts. From talking to a friend who works in the department, I'm confident that they're not making a cent off this. A third party lays out the costs and reaps the rewards (as it were). It's a break even proposition for Cornell, and we as fans at least have the option of listening. Now, if you want to criticize them for not taking a loss (ie. paying for the costs of the broadcast and not charging us), that's your right, but I don't blame them.

As for how other schools are still doing it for free... I don't know. Perhaps there's a way it still could be free, but that way was missed. If so, Athletics should be criticized for being stupid, not money-grubbing.

Now, about that f' ing logo.....

Having OCSN do your website does not obligate you to participate in College Sports Pass. Ohio State's website is an OCSN site, and they have two free internet audio feeds.

I have a lot more to say on this issue, but no time to go into it this afternoon.

OCSN might be able to control it, if it's contractual. This pertains to internet "broadcasting", the rights to which is something OCSN could certainly have an interest in. Plus which, this way the end consumer would pay for the service directly.

John: Have you seen any OCSN contract for Athletics?

I still blame Cornell Athletics.

If the OCSN contract is bad, then why did Cornell get into it anyway? In fact, I was already annoyed by that before I heard of the internet charge, since IMHO the CU Athletics page looks much worse than what it looked like 4 years ago when it (I think) was student run. Its not like there isn't a lack of student talent on campus.

And there is no fee for internet broadcast if you are not doing music. So that argument is not true at all.

Plus, what Whelan said. Maybe CU Athletics isn't making a cent off the broadcasts, but they still got into a shitty deal, and I am still voting with my wallet by cancelling my annual donations.

Perhaps someone will show us the gun that was held to Noel's and Stange's heads forcing them to sign the OCSN contract. C'mon, they just didn't give a crap for the Faithful here--among whom are those who paid for Cornell Athletics' first Internet broadcast machine four or five years ago. It was simply an easy way out. Nearly every other school managed to find a solution, and none of 'em have fans who care like the good folks here do.

Absolute worst case, we should have been given a heads up on eLynah that there might be an issue concerning Internet broadcasts long before the insulting public announcement (TADA, do we have a great deal for all of you Faithful!!!!!), and given a chance to kick in whatever funding might have been needed to keep the broadcasts free for those in grad school, etc., who might not be exactly flush with $$. Instead, we get an insensitive, impersonal, insulting announcement out of the blue and are told we should be really thrilled because we can now listen to Miami football, too--as if any of us here gives a hoot in hell.

Insensitive bahstids, plain and simple, IMNSHO.

Speaking of the OCSN wasteland, where's the Cornell site I can access to get any kind of historical records about past teams, players, coaches, etc.? The CornellBigRed site is close to worthless for serious fans, and seemingly serves little purpose but to hype upcoming games and attempt to put as positive a spin as possible on the performance of Cornell teams. Wonder when we'll have to subscribe to that, too.

To quote from the FAQ for internet broadcasting:

Why are you charging for access to live game audio while other schools still have free audio?
We believe that most colleges and universities will be using some form of subscription product for their multimedia content by the start of the next school year. We decided to shift into this model now rather than later. By making the transition now, we can begin offering our fans this improved experience immediately. Further, subscriptions benefit the athletic department from a revenue standpoint, which makes it possible to offer as many live events as possible and the best in multimedia content and quality.

I'm just amazed that they think that charging us money is a BENEFIT to us.

What was the word Orwell used for stuff like that? Doublespeak?

CornellPass is double plus good

Yeah, that FAQ is really annoying since it's clearly a pile of generic propaganda which was put together by the marketing team at RealNetworks or OCSN. In our case, it's clear that the switch is not giving us an improved experience, considering that last year we had the hockeycam complete with radio feed for free.

Felix Rodriguez wrote:

And there is no fee for internet broadcast if you are not doing music. So that argument is not true at all.

To be fair, the ludicrous DMCA fees do make it more difficult to put sports feeds on the air, because it means that stations which play music and also broadcast college sports are in large numbers dropping their feeds, which means one has to come up with special game-time-only streams, which are more hassle to maintain than 24/7 ones. Cornell Athletics was put in a difficult situation by the off-season changes, but they handled it really badly by not using the potential volunteer resources at their disposal to put up a "listener-supported" feed. That's why we have to convince them they made a wrong decision, by means which include making them face the consequences of their actions (e.g., withdrawn donations).

Well said, John. "Pile" is an astonishingly good choice of word.

Perhaps a little deconstruction is in order. Take the two sentences: "We believe that most colleges and universities will be using some form of subscription product for their multimedia content by the start of the next school year. We decided to shift into this model now rather than later."

This is pile number one--a non-argument built on pure speculation. The reality of the situation would better have been described by the following: Despite the fact that Yale, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Union, Colgate, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Vermont, RPI, BU, Maine, Ohio State, and Western Michigan have found ways to offer Internet broadcasts free of charge to their fans this year, we've decided that you, the most Faithful fans in all of college hockey, are not worth our incurring the cost or effort it would take to do the same.

Pile number two: "Further, subscriptions benefit the athletic department from a revenue standpoint, which makes it possible to offer as many live events as possible and the best in multimedia content and quality."

"As many live events as possible" in fact means all scheduled games except exhibitions and Red-White games--the same as last year...the sleeves out of their vest. And would anyone listening Friday night (I, of course, did not since I refuse to pay for Internet radio) care to describe any additional "multimedia content" that was offered, and how it enriched your listening experience? Do I hear silence?

It's all just BS. "Tell the monkeys whatever it'll take to keep 'em off our backs."

In Cornell's case, what they mean by "as many live events as possible" is football, basketball, and lacrosse in addition to hockey. Of course, it's not like they came to us over the summer and asked us to go along with paying a subscription for something we could have arranged to put on the net without a per-listener charge, in order that they'd have a way to broadcast other sports.

I could be wrong but I believe all these sports were available over the 'net last year. Football, hockey, and lacrosse certainly were. I have too vivid memories of the collapse against Brown last spring costing us an Ivy title.

So "where's the beef?"

The point is that those broadcasts were done through the old web outsourcee (FansOnly) and that mechanism went away in the offseason. So they had to do something, and chose to buy into RealPass.

Of course, none of this is apparent from the press release.

I don't have a computer, so this discussion doesn't concern me, however, sometimes you guys make it sound like you are the only ones who listen to sports on the internet. There is a HUGE contingent of football fans (ie. mostly family) that are thrilled they still have the opportunity to listen to their kids/friends/students'/ football games. And I'm surprised that you guys are appalled at having to pay whatever it is a month or a year to listen to something of which you are self-professed fanatics, especially since a lot of you (not all) are willing to drive or fly from the ends of the earth to go to each home game and away game and tournament, not to mention the cost of tickets. Some people spend upwards of $300 (I would imagine) to follow Cornell hockey around. It seems like you would save money if you were to pay this fee and stay home. Perhaps you are only complaining on principle, but I believe the people who refuse to do things just because of principle are the pettiest people around. And refusing to give to the Athletic Dept is just ridiculous. You do know the athletes are the ones that will suffer the most. And not the big athletes, the athletes of the little sports that hardly get any money as it is. If you don't want to listen to it, fine, but there will plenty of other people who will.

And my point, John, is that, despite the hype of the press release and FAQs, all of this was available last year and there's nothing whatsoever "improved" in the new offering.

Yes, we certainly wouldn't want our world cluttered by "principled" people, would we. Very inconvenient for those who aren't, I'd say.

I would, pay more to follow hockey around, but that's irrelevant. I am willing to pay $60 for a live concert, but I'm sure as hell not willing to pay that much for a CD. $7 per month is not a reasonable price.

Given that. I'm not exactly compelled to give donations to a school that just cancelled my only connection to it.

I'm about ready to chime in here. My biggest beef with the situation is this: has been going around telling everyone that alternatives were sought and the situation was discussed with people who actually understand the situtation. One would think I fall into that category. Naturally, I was not consulted, and I didn't get a whiff of this until everyone else did, at which point it was too late. The fact is I could have handled the netcast for as many sports as Cornell wanted for free without breaking a sweat (at least until CIT starts shafting everyone next year).

Furthermore, no one in athletics even wants to hear anything that's not neck-deep ass-kissing. During a rather unpleasant conversation with on Friday (and thanks to the tool who forwarded my e-mail to he/she/it), he/she/it simply was not perpared to listen to anything I had to say and was quite steadfastly rooted in the warped alternate reality that surrounds athletics.

And this is simply the latest in a long, long stream of crap generated by athletics. Most of you are, no doubt, familiar with their refusal to offer a modicum of support for the HockeyCam. Their excuse for not assisting in the software license purchase was that "they didn't own any computers on which the software could be installed." Of course, the generosity of the Faithful (including former players and current players' parents, who were delighted at the opportunity to watch their kids) bailed me out of that situation, enabling the HockeyCam to continue.

Before last season begain, swore up and down that the press box would be wired for ethernet before the season started. Then he/she/it found out how much it would cost, and promptly backed out of the promise, leaving me to lay down about 200 feet of Cat-5 ethernet myself or risk losing the HockeyCam again. The cleaning staff was kind enough to completely shred the wire the first week it was in place, leaving me to lay another 250 feet of wire, out of my pocket to be sure.

This summer, USACH was looking for a Cornell reporter. I initially offered to supply them with photos from Cornell games, but since they couldn't find a writer, I eventually offered to do that, as well. This was strictly a non-paying volunteer position, but I figured it would look bad if Cornell were the only ECAC team without coverage. It would probably have been fun, anyway. Apparently, was not interested in such matters and told USACH that he/she/it was concerned that my "role with eLynah and overall support of the Cornell hockey program would adversely affect [my] ability to cover the team" and that "he/she/it would not feel comfortable having the Cornell staff or student-athletes speak to you about articles for USACH, and that he/she/it would not issue media credentials or grant interview requests." Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? I've since learned he/she/it hates me for some unbeknownst-to-me reason. Well, you can be sure the feeling is mutual now. Just because he/she/it can't be professional in her position does not mean I can't be either. he/she/it seems content to play god in he/she/it's little sandbox, Cornell be damned. Nice to know that my efforts are appreciated. Next time their idiot camera operator lets the tape run out and they need a copy from me watch how fast I go...

Just noticed that one of the 4 people who picked "will pay gladly" for the CornellPass poll was . Yeah...

I wonder if she actually paid...

Amen to Age's rant. Sounds like it was overdue.

I am tending to agree with everyone else about the principle of the whole thing wrt charging now for the broadcasts. If I had to estimate, I would say that I (and a bunch of others I can think of off hand) spent in excess of $2000 last year on cornell hockey. The thing is, we didn't think anything of it. We were supporting our team and watching some great hockey. There were few complaints about the cost. Thus, $7 a month ISN'T the end of the world. However, it does seem freakin ridiculous to try and offer up this REALONE deal as an improvement and a favor to us when last year it was nearly identical and free. We aren't idiots - contrary to popular belief. If an ivy league school cannot afford to offer its students and alumni such perks (or cannot be intelligent enough to negotiate a contract with said advantages) what the heck does it say about the state of our school?

I have been reading the posts here, trying to consider both sides of the issue with great care. In fact, I was talking to my former Cornell roommate (Graham '02) on Friday night during the (free!) OSU broadcast of the game. We were both debating the merits of paying for the (not free) Cornell feed this season. After that conversation, and some thought on the issue, I'd like to hear a response from the athletic department.

Can someone from the department (yes, we know ya'll read this board) please reply to some of the points made in previous posts? I paid $100,000 to go to Cornell. I gave $200 to the school this year in donations and $100 to my class. I am not thrilled with the idea of paying more to follow the hockey team. Universities fill this weird space between non-profit entities (which they should be) and for-profit enterprises (which they too often are). But before I go making judgements, I'd like to see a public statement from the department.

If I don't hear (read) a response, I'll just continue to follow hockey through the opponents' feed (when available). As far as other sports, I'll easily just shift my allegiance to Syracuse U., as they consistantly produce a far superior product anyway.

melissa'01 wrote:

However, it does seem freakin ridiculous to try and offer up this REALONE deal as an improvement and a favor to us when last year it was nearly identical and free. We aren't idiots - contrary to popular belief.

Exactly the point, Melissa.

When someone tries to sell me a sow's ear by telling me it's a silk purse--with the implied expectation that I'd be stupid enough to believe it--it simply irritates the hell out of me.

Age, I think the chad is still hanging by at least two corners so the ballot should clearly not be counted.

Quoting Bill Mack
[q]Here's a note that Laura Stange sent to me:

Thank you for your e-mail regarding our internet broadcasting. We regret that we cannot continue to offer Big Red internet broadcasts free of charge.

Due to the recent upheaval in the Internet broadcasting industry, we had to look at new options for providing netcasts of hockey, football, basketball and lacrosse. In the past, we were fortunate to have a system that cost us nothing to use, but that option is no longer available. Several alternatives were explored for us to continue offering this service, but all came with a substantial price tag. Facing budgetary constraints that wouldn’t allow us to do this on our own, but not wanting to cut off our online audience, we opted for a subscription package.

I would also like to mention that the move to a subscription service was not looked to as a strategic way to increase department revenue. Our agreement is simply a way to continue to make games accessible to fans outside of the normal radio-listening area.

On a related front: I am willing to pay the $6.95 per month. But, am unwilling to give RealOne open access to my credit card account. Has anyone found a way around that problem? RealOne doesn't reply to my notes on the subject (making me feel good about my decision to NOT give them my credit card number).[q]

If she is unwilling to give RealOne open access to her credit card account, then she is unwilling to pay, because that is the only method of payment. LIAR!!!

Adam, I think you've accidentally attributed to Laura something that Bill was saying himself. It's hard to tell since the quote from Laura is not in quotation marks or tags, but that's how it reads to me.

Maybe. As I turn red in the face.

Chiming in...I guess...
Spent way too much money and time following Cornell hockey team around last year but something's got to be said for paying all that money to be able to actually see the play, and cheer with others, and at least for me, make comments to melissa who would be standing next to me, as opposed to listening to a game over the internet with no atmosphere, hoping the feed doesn't die, and melissa on the phone while the two of us are a few hundred miles apart and our neighbors thinking we're getting attacked because we're constantly screaming.

Checking the schedule...well, I could use the free trial for this weekend's Princeton game, I plan on being in Princeton when Cornell heads south...and the Everblades' tourny...well, hell, I think I missed all those broadcasts last year anyways. Anyways, I plan on catching 1 weekend of games a month. The money spent on traveling, well, I'm getting something more out of it than a hockey game (and football, bball, lacrosse broadcasts - none of which I care too much about though I did enjoy the lacrosse game in MD when they were here earlier this year). The hockey weekends lets me see one of my best friends in the world and spend time with others who are as crazy (no, more crazy) about this damn hockey team as I am...

As for giving money to support webcasts, I will gladly give Age money because at least I can trust him and know what I'm getting since I have seen what he's done with elynah. Even if the money goes to fund his road trips, at least I know he's there, getting some good shots at the game, and cheering for the rest of us. Giving money to the school, or to the athletic dept... I'm way more hesitant cuz I don't know wtf their doing with it.

John: You are correct. The comment about the credit card payment was indeed from me. I guess nobody else shares that concern, huh?
Adam: The RED face should be mine. Sorry about that!

Maybe no one else is thinking about signing up, Bill.

Al DeFlorio wrote:

Age, I think the chad is still hanging by at least two corners so the ballot should clearly not be counted.

Well, it may be a recycled joke, but at least it's timely.

amen to all that dearie!

I agree with you. It really is ridiculous how much Cornell feels it needs to nickel and dime you. 10 cents for net print when i bet it costs less than that to run it. 45 bucks a month for resnet that's 1/10 as fast as when it cost 45 bucks per 2 1/2 months. They have the audacity to charge (sometimes) $4.00 for a six-pack of soda at the J's Express convenience store on West Campus. I won't talk about parking passes or Cornell dining here.

This is Cornell Univer$ity. Remember that. The answer to lots of questions that include the words "Cornell" and "why" is money. What Cornell is trying to accomplish by being so financially stingy i dont know. They must waste loads of money on certain things.

Does anyone else feel kinda violated that Age knows how each of us voted on the polls? Just kidding...

[Q]10 cents for net print when i bet it costs less than that to run it.[/Q]

Regarding this...I work in the CIT labs on campus. In training at the beginning of the semester, the Net-print guy told us that it does indeed cost a lot less than ten cents per page to run things. The cost is set at that level really to dissuade people from wasting paper. It's not a for-profit thing, it's a save-the-environment thing. If the cost is really that much of a problem for you, you should fill out some refund requests for your printjobs, or get one of the lab operators to do it for you. I think the grants just about every refund request that comes across his desk (or screen, as it were).

It's not any particular small little charge that bothers me. It's this approach that Cornell seems to be using increasingly of trying to take your money in little bits incrementally that really add up. Having you pay $7 a month for Cornell hockey (and other sports) online is not a big deal in itself, but when you factor in all the other incidental charges you incur, they together become a significant amount.

Have any of you heard about the new Cornell meal plans for next year? No more meal equivalencies (one of the best things about the current plans in my opinion). Instead, you'll get 500 big red bucks instead of 225 or whatever it is now. Of course, they're going to charge you a lot more

Big Red Bucks? Does this mean Cornell Dining no longer has all-you-can-eat cafeterias with plans like the 7/3 and 5/2 where you get a certain number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners a week? That was one of the really good things about our meal plan when I was a student, compared with the experiences of my friends at Binghamton and Potsdam who would always run out of money late in the semester and have to eat macaroni and cheese for the last month or so.

In my opinion, the quality of Cornell on-campus dining has decreased overall. North Campus dining in RPCC and North Star (the new dining hall in the new Appel Commons community center, for those not in the know) is still decent, but nowhere near the "award winning" quality it was at four or more years ago (or back in '91 when John was here). Most of the other dining halls/facilities on campus don't do it for me. (To be fair, I can't speak for Risley Dining, since I've never been there, though I heard it's pretty good.) Justin, you should do what I did--move off campus and get Dining Dollars ($525 or so in BRB plus ten meals per semester, though this might be different for next year). The quality of life living on-campus is really decreasing across the board.

so. . .how about those links to free audio broadcasts by Cornell's opponents?!?!?!?!?!?

See Jason N's thread-opening post, which has now been viewed 1996 times. That was a very good year, IIRC.

[q]The comment about the credit card payment was indeed from me. I guess nobody else shares that concern, huh?[/q]

I guess I'm just not sure what it is you're concerned about. Do you not have any other arrangements with any other merchants for any other products or services where they bill you on a monthly basis? Your ISP, for instance? Isn't there something in the agreement with the provider that says they'll charge you this amount for this service, and any changes in the amount will come with some advance notice?

If what you're concerned about is simply using your credit card online, I understand your concern and many millions have been there before. But it's probably worth considering that you probably take a significantly higher risk when you hand your credit card to a waiter in a restaurant; he can write down the number and use it later. When you enter it into a secure website, no human being ever sees the number. Yes, there's a risk, but it's pretty minimal.

Beeeej

I think Ben was just alluding to the fact that this thread has strayed a bit off-topic.

Kidding or not, it's a valid concern. To ensure that you can't vote more than once by deleting cookies, the poll also logs IP addresses and will only record one vote per address. That having been said, one could see how you could match up a poster with an IP address with some effort, a static IP, and some luck. THAT having been said, I don't make a practice of it. I was very suspicious that what I mentioned was in fact the case and went looking just for that. THAT having been said, there's no privacy statement anywhere on eLynah. You'll just have to trust that I'm responsible with your info.

No, the concern is that they will continue charging you till you call them up and unsubscribe.

Well, I don't want to be the only one not to say something about the CornellPass situation…

I am disappointed that Cornell hockey will not be available for free, not so much that I’ll have to fork out some money, but rather because it means that basically casual Cornell fans and diehard college hockey fans whose allegiances lie with other schools will miss out on listening to Cornell games. They simply will not bother with the burden/cost that is CornellPass. (Mainly for this reason (and as a service to the eLF regulars that have been so helpful over the years) I put together the links to opponents' free broadcasts --I'm hoping that this will make it easy enough that some listeners that would otherwise not tune in will now do so.) And it’s happening when Cornell arguably has its best team in the past 10+ years –who knows when we’ll be so blessed again.

The other reason for my disappointment is how HockeyCam will be negatively impacted, i.e., no more synced audio and video. Obviously, my personal viewing pleasure will be diminished. But I’m also concerned that the Cornell hockey program is losing a possible recruiting enticement. For a school saddled with many recruiting disadvantages, what advantages it has are precious and should be guarded. I doubt that HockeyCam is very influential in recruiting, but if nurtured it could have been a genuine plus (imagine Coach being able to tell a recruit that “Your friends and family can watch every home game no matter where they live.”) to help set Cornell apart from other hockey programs. (And from what Age says, it’s likely to get worse for HockeyCam next year (next year's problem is completely unrelated to CornellPass).)

The exasperating thing is that this all could have been so easily avoided, whether by a simple inquiry with Age or by coming to this forum (which has had posts by Cornell Athletics representatives in the past and I hope does so in the future despite the current bad blood) and asking for our help/thoughts. I gladly donated to help put hockey broadcasts online the first time and I would have done so again. I could be way off, but I wouldn't be surprised if more money would have been generated by seeking donations rather than instituting CornellPass.

Finally, Although I did put together the audio links page and was pleasantly surprised at just how many games would be available for free, I still may nonetheless subscribe to CornellPass for the simple reason that I like the notion of listening to "our" guy, so that whatever bias/slant/familiarity/etc. that comes through, however small, is towards the Cornell squad. The biggest hurdle is the aggravation of signing up and the potential aggravation of canceling (why do I think that trying to cancel is going to be like trying to cancel AOL –your requests go ignored and they just keep charging your credit card every month while you exhaust yourself with numerous calls/threats/pleas to (nonexistent) customer service).

bump

Why don't you bookmark the page Jason set up? There's no reason to make the rest of us believe something else useful has been said here just to keep the list convenient.

Beeeej

Note that Age has also added a link to Jason's page in the menubar at the left.

I will update the links page as I become aware of changes/problems. (E.g., Yale's link last night had routine music programming --I suspect that they may only broadcast Yale home games (it's student run radio, I believe).) You can email me with any problems you discover and I will update accordingly.