He kindly asks a BYU representative to see if somebody could switch the channel to ESPN.

"Sorry, sir," he is told. "We don't subscribe to that channel on campus."

You can see the story line where that commentary would have headed since the sign at the entrance of the campus is "The World is Our Campus."

Then I tuned in to ESPN Wednesday morning, just after breakfast.

The Favre Watch, and what he may do had a life of its own. I saw a poll asking if he should play for the Vikings, call an NFL game or go fishing this season.

I listened to endless analysis from taking heads, a piece from Feb. 13 with Favre saying he'd never play again, masters of speculation who were interviewed and claimed that Minnesota sources say he and coach Brad Childress will talk soon, a debate on how Favre should be treated if he does play and how good will he be if he tries.

Blah, blah, blah.

It got so deep, I almost welcomed a clip from the NHL, and that's sad because that's usually when I take a hockey break and get something done around the house for a few minutes until stuff I care about reappears on TV.

Anyway, you get the idea. Life without ESPN is possible. At least until ESPN and the MWC quit squabbling and we have leagues, teams and scores that are neglected by ESPN.

A point of fact. BYU's athletic department has separate satellite services that do subscribe to ESPN, Fox Sports and every existing sports program so video coordinators can secure game tape of opponents for coaches. This extends to LaVell Edwards Stadium, where ESPN feeds can be used in the press box, according to department spokesman Duff Tittle.

Student housing, and pockets of TV communications on campus, are on another loop.

In an era where our economy has cratered, it is certainly justified if not proper and responsible for a big school or business to look at ways to cut costs.

In a time where you can get everything on the Internet, being glued to ESPN for information just might be out of vogue.

Finally, there's always those apartments of off-campus friends who have cable TV. If that doesn't work and it's a must, head for Iggy's or Chili's.

Or, maybe you like going waist-deep in Favre coverage, where you can speculate what the Jets got for one year and $12 million the last time around.

In that case, if I was a student who felt deprived, I'd move a few blocks off campus and try to make it in the real world.

But truthfully, it can be done. One can survive without ESPN on TV if you have a computer or a smart phone.

E-MAIL: dharmon@desnews.com