A Small-Market Trail Blazers Broadcast Cut To A Weather Report During A Blowout Loss, And They May Have Just Uncovered The Next Great Idea In TV

If you’re a Portland Trail Blazers fan, your local sports network found a creative way to help you out of last night’s misery.

The Oklahoma City Thunder obliterated the visitors by an astounding score of 139-77 on Thursday. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault decided to implement his own mercy rule by pulling the starters midway through the third quarter. It officially became the 5th-largest margin of victory in any NBA game in league history. 

In fact, one fan pointed out that one website officially marked the Thunder the victors even before the game ended.

Remarkably, the Trail Blazers trailed by only 12 after the first quarter, but things quickly spiraled downhill. By halftime, The Thunder had the game in the bag.

That’s why it’s no surprise that during the fourth quarter, the Portland-area broadcast of the game was fed up with the action. Understanding that their viewers (and themselves) needed a break from the misery, the producers took a creative approach to get their attention off the game.

With the Thunder leading 123-65, in the fourth, commentators Kevin Calabro and Lamar Hurd needed a game break. So they placed the burden of filling time on this excruciating evening on studio hosts Antonio Harvey and Jamie Hudson.

But they didn’t talk about the game, for obvious reasons. Instead, Harvey and Hudson (that sounds like a catchy band name) talked about the weather.

Other Networks Should Follow This Model From The Trail Blazers Crew

Yes, this is real. On a live broadcast of a professional basketball game, things got so bad that talking about the weather seemed more enjoyable than watching the Trail Blazers.

In addition to making a joyless moment somewhat pleasant, this network just unlocked a brilliant idea.

If a small-market network finds its team in an irredeemable situation, the team may have to share the screen with a weather forecast, a show with cooking tips, or some other useful segment to alleviate the suffering. That way, fans can get some sort of dopamine boost that they clearly wouldn’t get from watching a blowout loss. You could kill two birds with one stone!

Imagine all of the productive things I could have learned while watching nearly every New England Patriots game this year. That would have made my afternoons much less of a waste.

Portland’s basketball team’s nickname is the “Trail Blazers.” Why not harness the spirit of that moniker and start a new entertainment trend in real life?