Betsy Dickson is not stressing about her upcoming television appearances, the first scheduled for this afternoon.
"That is probably like the last thing I've been thinking about," said the senior guard for the Minnesota State Moorhead women's basketball team. "There is nothing for us (players) to worry about."
Minnesota State Moorhead will have its next two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference basketball doubleheaders aired on Midcontinent's Midco Sports Network.
"The more we can inform people not only about our basketball program but the Northern Sun, that's a pretty good deal," said MSUM men's coach Chad Walthall.
The Dragons host the University of Mary today at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse. The women's game is set for 2 p.m. and the men's game for 4 p.m. The Dragons host Northern State on Sunday with the same game times. Today's games are believed to be the first televised games at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
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The MSUM games are part of the NSIC television deal with Midcontinent Communications to air more than 40 live NSIC events during this current school year.
"As a whole, it's gone very well," said NSIC commissioner Butch Raymond. "I compliment them on their presentation that they give. I think they have done a very good job of how we want to be represented. It does a good job of showing the product that we have and the caliber of product that we have."
Midcontinent provides service to West Fargo and Moorhead and limited service in Fargo. Midcontinent reaches more than 240 communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota."The nice thing is the exposure," said MSUM athletic director Doug Peters. "Midcontinent has a big footprint and we will be getting into some places where we haven't been seen before. It just puts us into markets where we haven't been before."
While video has been available for all Dragons NSIC basketball games this season through live web streaming, games today and Sunday will have a higher production value.
The MSN broadcast will use multiple cameras, have instant replays as well as a professional crew calling the game. Most webcasts are single-camera productions with no replays.
"There are still a lot of people out there who probably still don't know you can watch the games on Internet or probably don't care to watch the game on Internet," said MSUM women's coach Karla Nelson. "As a player, I think it would be a lot of fun. It gives the game a little bit more of a big-time feel."
Fans who attend the game will also probably notice a difference with TV timeouts scheduled around the 16-, 12-, 8- and 4-minute marks of each half.
Dickson doesn't think playing on regional TV will cause extra nerves for the players. While she knew the Dragons were slated to be on TV this season, she didn't realize it was this weekend's games until a couple days ago.
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"I don't think it will have any effect on the way we play," Dickson said. "A lot of the girls don't know. I think it will be better that they don't know."
Tom Nieman, a veteran Sioux Falls, S.D., sports reporter and sportscaster, will handle play-by-play for the games. Nieman is also the programming manager for Midcontinent. Nieman said the partnership with the NSIC has been a good one.
"That's our meat and potatoes right now," Nieman said. "It's a great fit for us and the markets that we are in."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513.
Peterson's blogs can be found at www.areavoices.com
