Shhh....don't tell the cable company

I think my cable company is making a mistake. But I'm not complaining.

I get the cheap cable. One step up from rabbit ears. And channels 2 through 13 come in crisp and clear on my television set. I don't watch a lot of TV anyway and this option saves me a bundle. Although I admit, I do miss ESPN, FSN and the Big Ten Network. But I've come to accept the fact that I don't get them.

This weekend I made a discovery. The Big Ten Network? It comes in clear as day on my TV. I was flipping through the channels. Like I expected, 2 through 13 came in nice and clear. And nothing was on. For some reason I kept flipping. Yup, ESPN was just snow. Then it skipped up into the 30s and HGTV came in with snow, just like TLC, FSN and the Spanish channel. Skipped again into the 60s and it was still snowy, but it wasn't an all out snowstorm. More like flurries. Kept flipping. Channel 73 comes on.

Clear. As. Day.

It was one of those home shopping networks, so it wasn't anything to get too excited about. But it got me thinking. If this crazy home shopping network comes in this good, what about the Big Ten Network, which is channel 72? I punched in the number.

Hallelujah!

There was a picture. A clear picture. And basketball was on. Purdue and Iowa. And it was glorious.

I'm not sure how long I've been able to get this channel to come in. And I'm not sure how long it will still come in on my TV. Hopefully my cable company doesn't realize that I'm getting it. Because it's basketball season, and I'm loving the chance to watch my Badgers.

So tonight I had a date with my TV to watch the Badgers take on Iowa. But I had time to squeeze in a 3-mile run first. And the run? Almost as glorious as discovering I had access to the Big Ten Network.