Readers John Rucynski of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, and Ken Smith of Tokyo e-mailed this column and, respectively, wanted to know why the Pacific League Stage 2 playoff games between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Chiba Lotte Marines were not televised, and why NHK BS-1 did not carry live Games 5 and 6 of the National League Championship Series.

Rucynski asked, "Do you have any idea why games of such importance are not even nationally televised? It seemed that making the playoff system was another ploy to finally give more attention to the over-looked Pacific League.

"But how can the league get more attention if these games aren't even televised? In many ways, I actually now prefer NPB to MLB, but things like this still confuse me. Any answers?"