Warriors face playoff TV woes

THE NBA PLAYOFFS are still a week away, and there’s still at least a 50-50 chance the Warriors won’t be involved, but it’s decision time nonetheless at FSN Bay Area.
What if …

-The Warriors open the playoffs next Saturday night at Dallas, potentially conflicting with FSN’s telecast of the A’s-Rangers game? OK, that’s a no-brainer: The Warriors bump the A’s over to FSN Plus.

-But what if Game 1 is Sunday night, up against Game 6 of the Sharks-Predators series? Do the Warriors still get top billing? Do they get relegated to Plus? Or does FSN look at the costs involved and pull the plug on the Warriors altogether, letting ESPN or TNT deliver it exclusively to the Bay Area?

-An even tougher call would be if Game 2 were to fall on Tuesday the 24th, when the Sharks could be playing a Game 7 and the Giants are visiting the Dodgers on an “American Idol” night (meaning Channel 2 is off-limits).

Ted Griggs, FSN Bay Area’s new general manager, admitted Friday he’s not sure where his network’s priorities will lie. Suffice it to say, Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett haven’t been mailed their plane tickets yet.

Is there something wrong with this picture (or lack thereof)?

A Warriors playoff game would dominate any Sharks postseason action in the ratings. And it would be flat-out embarrassing if the Warriors were trumped by an unwatchable Giants club.

Griggs assures all Warriors playoff games will be televised in the Bay Area. He’s just not fully

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convinced FSN needs to foot the bill for the broadcasts when someone else (ESPN or TNT) is willing to do it.
Fortunately, a final decision hasn’t been made, so a potential mistake is easily correctable. I encourage all Bay Area sports fans to make their feelings heard beforehand, rather than complain about it afterward.

DATELINE: Between the lines. Speaking of TV schedules … when you look at the NFL’s list of national telecasts in 2007, it paints a pretty clear picture of what the decision-makers in New York think of the Bay Area teams and fans.

Take opening week, for example. I’m sure Tags and the boys got quite a chuckle out of scheduling the “Stupor Bowl” — 2006 doormats Detroit and Oakland — to kick off the season.

The unfunny part is: We don’t get to see one of the best games on the entire NFL schedule — Chicago at San Diego — because Fox will be forced to show us the Oakland game. Send the Raiders off on one of their NFC North road trips, and we don’t encounter that problem.

Meanwhile, much is made of the 49ERS getting four prime-time dates, but all four serve a purpose.

Don’t for a minute believe the 49ERS were “rewarded” with a coveted Monday-night spot on opening week. The fact is: Like last year, ESPN wanted two West Coast teams for the game that will kick off at 10:15 in the East, and the Arizona-San Francisco matchup was the only one that qualified.

The 49ERS return to ESPN on Nov. 12 at Seattle, but that’s only because that matchup could not be scheduled on Sunday afternoon because of a potential conflict with the Raiders. The same goes for the Bengals-49ers pairing on Dec. 15 that will be telecast by the NFL Network.

Lastly, there’s the 49ERS’ so-called return to the Big Stage when NBC has them slotted to host Tampa Bay on the night of Dec. 23. Don’t believe it.

That’s one of those “flex” games where NBC reserves the right to change matchups. With Brett Favre visiting Chicago and an Eagles-Saints playoff rematch that day … uh, I wouldn’t make afternoon plans, Niners fans.

Interestingly, the NFL has the Raiders playing at Jacksonville that day, leaving the afternoon slot open for the 49ERS.

Now that’s good scheduling.

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