There were many howls and much gnashing of teeth here and in the Twitterverse over the lack of broadcast Timberwolves games last season.

Now, they are back on broadcast television, partnering with My29 (WFTC) to bring you 25 games that are FREE to everyone. Here is where you need to hold up your end of the deal. People need to watch the games and the ratings need to be high enough for them to remain on broadcast TV in the future.

The economic models of broadcast vs. cable are such that in order to justify broadcasting games, the threshold for acceptable ratings is actually higher for broadcast. I won't bore you with details of the battle broadcast television has been waging with cable companies to get rebroadcast fees that are equivalent to the piles of money many cable channels claim. But, it's part of the imbalance.

Also know that in order to broadcast games, My29 has to displace previously scheduled programming. Even though the primetime schedule for MyNet is low-rated, it is also essentially free, and the station owns many more of the commercial spots. The decision to broadcast games is a dual decision between the station and the team, and both are driven in large part by revenue potential.

So... if you want free games over broadcast TV in the future, you need to vote with your remote, and get others to join you.

Here is the schedule for this year's games on My29. Mark them on the calendar.