I know we've covered this territory before, but under the heading, "They just don't get it," comes the following:

As many sports fans know, there's nothing like rounding up a few of the boys to watch the "big game" on TV. In Japan, of course, this often requires a little extra effort as the event often kicks off early in the morning if you want the added pleasure of witnessing the event live.

It's bad enough that public TV in Japan will cut away from its baseball coverage at exactly 9:24 p.m., regardless of the situation on the field, to make way for some bogus variety show or drama. Or how about NHK ending its Major League Baseball broadcasts as soon as a Japanese pitcher gets lifted?

The local sports fan may think he can take refuge from inconsiderate and incompetent programmers by turning to pay TV, but not so fast.

Sad to say that cable-TV network Sports-i ESPN has dropped the ball once again. The latest programming gaffe occurred last Sunday afternoon as the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars were battling it out in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. With the game tied 1-1 and the first overtime period winding down (and just as a rare OT penalty was being called), the brain surgeons over at Sports-i(diots) cut away to a midseason Japanese baseball yawner between the Daiei Hawks and Kintetsu Buffaloes.

Needless to say, the reaction was swift. As my cell phoned buzzed frantically with fellow-irate hockey fans calling to ask the rhetorical question, "Can you believe this crap!" four of us sat there dumbfounded -- but not surprised -- that we'd just invested the past four hours in an event and we were not going the witness its dramatic conclusion.

As it turned out, the Devils went on to score the Cup-clinching goal early in the second overtime period. A Monday morning call to Sports-i ESPN headquarters in Tokyo got the following response from assistant programming manager Hide Otsuka: "We apologize greatly for the switch, but we have a contract with Japanese baseball that we have to honor."

Oh, really? Well, what about the contract with your customers, the one in which it is implied that they will pay your monthly subscription rates and you, in turn, will provide sports coverage as advertised in your pamphlets, TV spots and listings guides?

While NHL hockey may not be the most popular sport in the world -- in fact, according to a recent poll, 800,000 more viewers in the U.S. tuned in to watch a regular-season WNBA game over Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals -- it's still completely unacceptable to pull the plug like that on the loyal followers it does have.

News flash: When people tune in to see a "live" sports event, they expect to see the whole thing.

"Those people have no comprehension of what sports fans are all about," said longtime subscriber Brent Carlsson. "Live sports programming doesn't always fit into a three-hour box. I can only hope that others will be canceling their subscriptions, because I know I will."

Added Rob Siddons, another disgruntled (non-)viewer: "These jokers think it's like going to see the Grand Canyon: 'There, we showed you some hockey. You should be happy that you've seen it.' They don't understand it doesn't work like that."

No, they don't. Hopefully, they'll figure it out soon.