Well, CNN/Sports Illustrated, the TV network, has now been off the air for a little more than 24 hours, and it's pretty sad to see it go, even if few people actually did watch it on a regular basis. I considered going to the goodbye party, but wasn't sure how comfortable I would've been given I still had a job and most of the people there didn't. Plus, it's not like I knew a ton of people over there. I knew a few folks here and there, mostly good folks. I wish them all the best wherever they end up.

The network was doomed pretty early on. It was odd that this network was announced first back in '96 but ESPN trumped them with ESPNews and launched about a month before CNN/SI did. Somehow, we couldn't leverage on the CNN or Sports Illustrated brands and everything was floundering for years before the plug was finally pulled. There was promise and competition would've been good (like CNN vs. MSNBC vs. Fox News), but I suppose running highlights and packages nonstop for 24 hours doesn't necessarily cut it. I'm still curious as to why CNN/SI didn't launch as a network AND TV network at the same time, especially since MSNBC did so with varying degrees of success earlier that summer. (I remember being at CNN.com when that happened -- impressed moderately, knowing there was a long way to go.)

Then again, it could've meant that we could've suffered the same fate as them at this point. (Hmm, the Web site launched eight months after the channel launched. Ya think??? Nah ....)

It's a bit strange to see ESPN have such a stranglehold on a sports broadcasting brand -- the two main networks, the news channel, buying out Classic Sports a few years back, the restaurants, etc., especially when you consider the early days with Australian rules football and other assorted sporting events. But that's the way it goes.