BYU's games in the Marriott Center with Jackson State and Hartford and the Louisville game in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas were all seen live on BYU-TV. Because these games were part of a tournament, they fell into a category, like the neutral site clause, that enables BYU-TV to step in on the back of BYU's retained rights to broadcast. The Portland game in Oregon also became available for broadcast.

If BYU had defeated North Carolina in Las Vegas, the next game could have been on BYU-TV. Folks on campus are working on the Dec. 29 Boise State game in Idaho.

Versus never explained its reasons for pulling out of the Michigan State game Saturday. It was just done on Thursday.

BYU didn't blink an eye.

"We have had zero complaints from our fans about broadcasting that game on BYU-TV," said athletic department spokesman Duff Tittle. "If there is one thing our fans do know, it's how to get BYU-TV and find our games there if they are broadcast."

In fact, Crabb helped BYU-TV air rebroadcasts of sporting events, a mainstay of The mtn. network.

So, this invites an interesting dilemma. The struggling MWC TV deal versus BYU's new-found flexibility.

Just more than a week ago, athletics director Tom Holmoe told reporters he is more than aware of Cougar fan dissatisfaction over the lack of distribution of the product on TV. He said the university is doing all it can to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.

The current MWC distribution package, which really is not what was sold to the league four years ago, is found to be a little leaky.

Thanks to Crabb, BYU is jumping through the paper cracks with both feet, as evidenced by the power play this weekend with Versus.

Outside of BYU, the folks inside and outside the MWC are finding little clamor or demand for the MWC product. That may be part of the problem in negotiating.

But if BYU is pulling this string, finding ways to get its product on the air despite an existing league contract, well, who knows how far they can take it?

Why Versus decided to cut and run Saturday remains unexplained. It could be pride. It could be cost or depleted revenues. It most likely is a fear of duplicity in the market for that particular game, thus a shortfall in revenue from commercials after ratings.

BYU-TV falls under the umbrella of a PBS station, an educational public broadcasting entity. Its ability to bring in revenue has to follow a certain model for commercial content.

In a sense, it's a mongoose in a rat nest competing with commercial TV the likes of Comcast/CSTV and Versus.

And I think it's funny.

For the past two years, MWC folks have been banging their heads on a table, fretting over giving up too much, failing to gain a place at the distribution negotiating table, and beating itself up over a lack of a hammer to do something about it.

Now, that Crabb's doing his work with a brief case, it has to be Comcast and CSTV banging their heads on a table, wondering how they could have failed to lock up every jot and tittle of the distribution contract. It appeared they had all the victims locked up, when in reality, some are sneaking out of the corner of the box.

Love it.

"All we want is to get a distribution deal done so our fans can enjoy coverage like they are used to," said Tittle.

In the meantime, have at it, Mr. Crabb.

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com