So ESPN decides to bring back the good old days of Aussie Rules back to American cable.  Gone is the deal with Setanta, a subscription channel that specializes in sports that most Americans don't think exist, and in its place, a deal with a basic-cable sports giant poised to spread the word of footy.  Good thing, right?

Wrong.

ESPN failed the first time around with footy.  Sure, they gave access to something that had no forum in America at the time.  But they did little to raise the profile of the sport.  As it was, it was simply rebroadcasts of Australian tapings.  Not bad if you're a fast learner, but horrible if you're just getting in to the sport and would like to learn more.  They set it at times where there was no other option than blackout.  A few years later, they've got some revolutionary programming, and AFL is given the door.

Step forward to now.  Setanta is having their financial difficulties, the UK branch going in to receivership.  Setanta US is now owned, along with Setanta Ireland, by Sabloss, and is licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.  Not the most fertile grounds for an Aussie game, but given the proper cultivation, good prospects.  In an abrupt move, ESPN purchase the immediate rights in the middle of the season, promising to cover it through their "media platforms".

What this boils down to is you get one, maybe two, matches per week at a horrific time (6:40 a.m. EST) on ESPN360, no highlight show, no match of the week, and the Grand Final being shown on ESPN2.

"We look forward to bringing the excitement and passion of Australian football back to fans in North America."

I'm not sure about all of you, but it's awfully difficult to be excited or passionate when you're fast asleep.

We can only hope that someone up in programming will realize that watching a real sport like footy is more interesting than watching 3-4 hours of Doyle Brunson looking senile and Mike Madusow being an ass, and will replace the continuous loop of Poker Tour repeats for something that could help give them true worldwide appeal.