Chris Dodd: “on a lighter note and a moment of celebration, I would like to take a few minutes of the Senate's time to congratulate…”

“on a lighter note and a moment of celebration, I would like to take a few minutes of the Senate's time to congratulate an institution located in my home State of Connecticut which is going to be celebrating today its 25th anniversary as an institution. I speak of ESPN, the network which is enjoying 25 years of existence as a network. I want to read the lead paragraph from a newspaper article that appeared on June 27, 1979, in the Journal Inquirer, a newspaper located in Connecticut. The lead paragraph of this story reads as follows: Cable television may be the place for over 150 hours of local sports programming starting this fall. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network-- ESPN-- an independent cable television production company, announced here Monday plans to televise up to 20 hours a week-- Think of that, 20 hours a week-- of both professional and amateur local sports programming. That was 25 years ago.”