What to watch? ALCS, NFL games knocked off TV

[October 20, 2008]  (AP)  For fans trying to tune into the NFL and AL championship series this weekend, a couple of big games turned into Can't-See TV. A power outage prevented CBS from showing most of the first half in Sunday's matchup between the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills.

Three helium balloons caused the problems at Ralph Wilson Stadium, and the game was delayed for about 15 minutes in the first quarter. The man himself -- Bills owner Ralph Wilson -- could only chuckle.

"Some guy with a beer said, 'Why don't you pay your electricity bills?'" Wilson said. "I said, 'I knew it would be my fault.'"

Baseball had its own blackout Saturday night.

Technical trouble at TBS kept Game 6 of the ALCS off the air for the first 20 minutes. The telecast from Tropicana Field came on right after B.J. Upton homered to put Tampa Bay ahead of Boston 1-0 in the first inning.

Game 7 started without a hitch Sunday night.

About 37 percent of the country was supposed to see the Chargers and Bills. There was trouble inside the stadium, too, and the teams played for more than an hour without electricity.

There was no game or play clock during the outage. Coaches on the sideline could not communicate with their counterparts upstairs because headsets were not working, and the audio receivers in the quarterbacks' helmets also were out.

"I've never personally been involved in something like that," kidded Chargers linebacker Marques Harris after the Bills won 23-14. "Maybe they planned it."

Red Sox rooters weren't so forgiving Saturday night.

With no game to show, TBS put on an episode of "The Steve Harvey Show." The cable network ran a crawl saying it was having difficulty, but that did little to satisfy patrons at the Cask N Flagon outside Fenway Park.

"People were in a little uproar because they thought we didn't put the game on. They were just screaming at us to put it on and try all the other stations -- Fox, TNT," tavern manager Mike Fusco said.

Major League Baseball did not consider delaying the start because the pitchers had already warmed up, spokesman Rich Levin said. The Red Sox won 4-2 to force Game 7.

[Associated Press]

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