I rarely feel bad for West Coasters (given that you get Football so early in your day), but I finally have some sympathy with the coverage that NBC is giving you during these Olympics. Those to the West have been subject to events being listed as "Live" that are certainly not going on at that time and have basically been relegated to watching one of the best Olympic performances on a time delay.

Well yesterday there was a bit of hope in a rumor from Media Bistro that NBC was going to air Michael Phelps' race for a potential eighth gold live across the U.S. Well friendos....that's not happening. Via Sports Business Daily and Yahoo Finance....

SBD: "An NBC Sports spokesperson dismissed a report that that NBC was considering airing Saturday's prime-time Olympic coverage live in all time zones due to U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps potential winning his eighth Gold Medal. The spokesperson called the report, “Absolutely false. There is no chance that this will happen”

Yahoo Finance: "NBC has been airing the swimming events live on a feed for the eastern and central time zones, but offering the same programing three hours later on delay for West-Coast viewers.

"It will not be shown live on the West Coast," said Brian Walker, NBC Olympics spokesman in Beijing. "This is a baseless rumor and I don't know the genesis of it."

"The situation will remain the same as it has for all of our prime-time broadcasts," Walker said. "The reason that we're showing this in the normal prime-time patterns on the West Coast is because this is when the majority of people are available to watch."

So there you have it. No Phelps for you....and for what? A few points in the ratings? This decision is unprecedented for a network to air events live on one side of the Country and not the other. It's amazing how out of touch NBC is with its viewers, and the choice is baffling to say the least, so I completely understand if you're frustrated. Unfortunately for you, it doesn't look like NBC cares.

West Coast TV to stay on delay, even if Phelps gets shot at breaking Spitz's record (Yahoo Finance)
Phelps Race May Get Coast-to-Coast Live Coverage (Media Bistro)