Fang's Bites

A Few Late Night Links

Due to the fact that I had to go in and out of the office five times for various errands and meetings during the day, I was not able to provide linkage. And due to the fact that there are some good stories lingering, I don’t want to leave you without some links. So I’ll do a quick set of links now and hopefully will be able to do a full set on Wednesday.

Let’s start with Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated who talks with ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit who sets the record straight about why he moved away from his beloved Columbus to Tennessee.

Matthew Belloni of the Hollywood Reporter says a federal judge has shot down Comcast’s request to block a DirecTV ad campaign on offering “free” NFL games.

Jon Lafayette at Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News says ESPN helped to steer parent company Disney to higher earnings in the 3rd quarter of its fiscal year.

From Mike Reynolds from Multichannel, ESPN saw its highest viewership for an MLB contest dating back to 2007 thanks to Yankees-Red Sox on Sunday.

Mike writes that NFL Network saw its best Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony audience ever since it began airing the event in 2003.

Bill Cromwell at Media Life Magazine writes that media buyers are skeptical that the 2011-12 NBA season will begin on time if it’s played at all.

Writing for Forbes, the SportsBizMiss, the always lovely Kristi Dosh says revenue sharing might be how the NBA solves its labor problems.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser says two MLB.com writers were robbed outside the Great American Ball Park after a Cincinnati Reds game.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Mike Tyson’s autograph is a hotter commodity now than it was when he was in his boxing prime.

Jeré Longman of the New York Times says despite increased attendance and TV ratings for Women’s Professional Soccer since the Women’s World Cup, the league’s future is very much in doubt.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union has the Syracuse football schedule and the networks airing the games.

Ken McMillan in the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that Red Sox fans in the Catskill Mountains have a radio station to listen to their favorite team.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes NASCAR drama is truly reality TV.

Dan Steinberg in the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is expanding its relationship with the Baltimore Ravens. This comes a year after the Ravens severed its relationship with MASN just before last season.

Dan discovers that two DC-area natives co-anchored ESPN’s SportsCenter last weekend.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner also writes about CSN Mid-Atlantic taking in more Ravens programming.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman looks at the local ratings for sports.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says four Brewers originally not scheduled for air will be picked up for TV.

The Cleveland Frowns blog wonders why CBS Radio is bringing in an outsider to be part of its daily lineup for its new FM sports radio station.

Bob writes that a local TV station is teaming up with the local ESPN Radio affiliate to produce a weekly show.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business reports that Tiger Woods has lost another sponsor and Ed also wants Tiger’s former caddie to shut up.

David Zahniser of the Los Angeles Times writes that a deal to build an NFL stadium at the Staples Center site received unanimous approval on Tuesday.

Times NFL writer Sam Farmer talks about what the deal approval means.

The Canadian Sports Media blog has some thoughts on what’s been happening in the Great White North.

CSMB notes that TSN is no longer airing the UEFA Champions League.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog wonders if anyone would buy Rogers’ attempt at a sports magazine in this day and age.

Sports Media Watch says Yankees-Red Sox had ratings drawing power during this past weekend.

And SMW notes that three of MLB’s TV partners saw ratings gains for Yanks-Red Sox.

Brian Packey at Awful Announcing refuses to call the hair on top of Bill Simmons’ lip that was seen on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, a porn mustache. Brian may not, but I will. That thing is hideous.

Dave Kohl at his renamed “Broadcast Booth” blog looks at sports radio ratings for various markets.

Ok, that’s going to do it. I found more links than I thought I would and it’s approach 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. I need sleep. Back later today.

Fox Soccer To Air Abby Wambach & Alex Morgan’s Return To WPS Tonight

Three members of the US Women’s Soccer team and Brazilian star Marta will be returning to Women’s Professional Soccer tonight. All of course, took part in the Women’s World Cup in Germany and Fox Soccer will air the game between the MagicJack and Western New York Flash tonight starting at 7:30 Eastern. Fox Soccer is adding tonight’s game hoping to catch some lightning in a bottle from the increased interest in the women’s game from the last month.

And many fans petitioned Fox Soccer to add tonight’s game to its schedule and the high demand was enough to convince the channel to pick up the contest.

So Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe will be participating in tonight’s match. And Fox Soccer will also air a WPS game this weekend and I’ll list that in the Weekend Viewing Picks. Here is the announcement from Fox Soccer.

WOMEN’S SOCCER FRENZY:  FOX SOCCER ADDS LIVE COVERAGE OF WESTERN NY FLASH vs. MAGICJACK WPS MATCH FEATURING THE RETURN OF USWNT PLAYERS

Los Angeles (July 19, 2011)  – Soccer fans who followed the United States Women’s National Team’s heart-stopping penalty kick shootout with Japan last Sunday used social media as their megaphone in a movement to see the Western New York Flash vs. MagicJack game  added to FOX Soccer’s already packed Women’s Professional Soccer League summer schedule.

FOX Soccer, America’s premier soccer-only network, having already televised 13 WPS matches in the 2011 season, now brings LIVE coverage of Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe’s MagicJack vs. U.S. National Teammate Alex Morgan and Brazilian rival Marta’s Western New York Flash Wednesday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Having just traveled back from Germany to a frenzy of supportive fans, WPS players who also play for their national teams now meet in league action at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, New York, Abby Wambach’s home town.  The stadium, which holds 13,500, is sold out in anticipation of witnessing women’s soccer star-power on the pitch.

Wednesday’s WPS match provides a great lead-in to FOX Soccer’s LIVE HD coverage of summer friendly Manchester United vs. Seattle Sounders FC from 9.30PM ET .

That’s all.

A Friday Megalink Post

Time to give you the megalinks. Let’s get to them, but as usual, we have the Weekend Viewing Picks.

This weekend, there’s quite a bit of action.

For baseball, Fox gives us St. Louis at Phildelphia among its regional coverage, Saturday at 4. MLB Network will air San Francisco at Colorado, Saturday night at 8. TBS shows Cards-Phils, Sunday at 1:30 and ESPN’s Sunday Night game will the White Sox at Detroit. The full regional split for Fox plus the TBS preview is here.

Also, the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies in Cooperstown, NY take place on Sunday as Ricky Henderson, mostly known from his career with the Oakland A’s and Yankees, and Jim Rice of the Red Sox go into the Hall. MLB Network has full coverage starting at 12:30 p.m.

NASCAR heads to Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400 and it marks ESPN’s first race of the Sprint Cup season. That race starts at 2 on Sunday.

Tennis fans have the start of the hard court season and the U.S. Open Series which kicks off in Indianapolis. ESPN2 and Tennis Channel split coverage throughout the weekend.

The PGA Tour is in Canada for the Canadian Open. CBS has weekend coverage.

NBC actually shows live swimming this weekend as the World Aquatics Championships kick off in Rome on Sunday.

A big test for the United States mens’ soccer team takes place on Sunday as the US takes on Mexico in the finals of the Gold Cup from Giants Stadium. Fox Soccer Channel airs the match at 2 p.m.

And there’s the WNBA which ABC carries on Saturday afternoon at 3;30.

The full schedule of viewing along with your primetime picks are here.

Ok, let’s get to your links.

National

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, he writes that ESPN is denying that it judges news coverage on its relationships with sports leagues.

Michael also writes about the NFL Draft expanding to three days and two nights.

Sports Illustrated’s Jeff Pearlman talks with CBS Sports reporter Lesley Visser.

SI’s Stewart Mandel says the SEC’s new TV deal puts it light years ahead of other college conferences.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if more teams will simulcast their TV game broadcasts on radio.

Darren breaks down Lance Armstrong’s new deal with Radio Shack for next year’s Tour de France.

Darren writes some current and past Yankees have bought memorabilia from the old Stadium.

Darren tells us that despite his legal troubles, Ben Roethlisberger’s new Dick’s Sporting Goods will still run on TV.

Joe Favorito says Army is looking to become New York’s football team.

Alex Weprin of Broadcasting & Cable looks at the NFL’s expansion of the Draft for next year.

John Eggerton of B&C writes about Comcast and Golf Channel’s new documentary on the challenges of those who tried to break professional golf’s color barrier.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says the Big Ten Network’s signature studio show will go on the road in August.

The Sports Media Watch feels ESPN’s explanation on its coverage of the Ben Roethlisberger civil lawsuit is not good enough.

However, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban felt ESPN used the proper restraint.

Michael David Smith of Fanhouse writes that ESPN had to pull a report about Michael Vick after the NFL debunked original reports on Twitter.

In the Sporting News, Dan Levy of On the DL feels columnist Jason Whitlock went overboard in his criticisms of the Erin Andrews situation.

Steve Lepore from Puck The Media may have figured out the TSN Wednesday Night Hockey schedule.

Maury Brown from the Biz of Baseball has the new logo for next year’s MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim.

I put this in Follow Friday, but I’ll put here as well. You have got to check out the 24 Hours of StarburyMarbury marathon on Ustream. It’s so funny and compelling to watch.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe writes that ESPN executives are hiding under their desks in regards to the Erin Andrews and Ben Roethlisberger stories.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram notices NESN’s silence in regards to Jerry Remy’s return to the booth.

But then today, Barstool Sports caused an uproar by citing “sources” that Remy was going to return tonight.

I e-mailed Gary Roy, a NESN spokesman and he replied, “I was just told about this rumor by three different people in about a 5 minute span.

“The answer is no, Jerry is not returning to the booth tonight. At this point, Jerry has not yet set a date for his return.”

So there you have it officially from NESN. No timetable for Jerry’s return.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes about ESPN banning New York Post’s reporters from TV and radio after the paper published pictures from the Erin Andrews peephole video.

Neil writes that the Mets are slowly fading into oblivion.

In his blog, Neil says ESPN is paying for its too cautious approach to the Ben Roethisberger story. Neil explains why the Erin Andrews story remains in the forefront of many newspapers and newscasts. And Neil points out that the move by the NFL to expand the Draft into primetime on Thursday and Friday has annoyed some West Coast fans.

Of course, Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News takes the opportunity to jump on ESPN on the Big Ben issue.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says we’re hearing too much from athletes’ lawyers.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with YES analyst Ken Singleton about the Yankees’ improved play since the All-Star break.

And Justin has five questions for new NBC NFL studio analyst Rodney Harrison.

Jack Bell of the New York Times talks with Fox Soccer Channel analyst Christopher Sullivan who’s been calling the Gold Cup.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says televised poker is not leaving us anytime soon.

Pete says in a span of 12 hours, we got to hear the best and worst in baseball broadcasting. And Pete writes that the four major sports leagues are in court to fight Delaware’s attempt to start legalized sports betting.

Dean Jones, Jr. of the Baltimore Sun says ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt will get his own bobblehead this Sunday.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner has his weekend viewing picks.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times talks with ESPN soccer analyst Alexei Lalas about the sport’s popularity in the U.S.

Jennifer Harper of the Times says one of her colleagues is joining the ESPN Radio DC affiliate.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the NFL is trying to create more buzz by expanding its Draft to three days.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times says the Erin Andrews and Ben Roethlisberger stories brought ESPN some unwanted attention.

David Moulton of the Naples Daily News feels ESPN has had one big bad week.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that some decisions will be made soon at a local sports radio station in regards to its lineup.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News wonders when a decision will be made on whether to bring back Texas Rangers TV voice Josh Lewin for next season.

Barry has some thoughts on the recently completed 4th and Long reality show.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman writes that ESPN hopes to end the trend of falling NASCAR TV ratings this year.

Mel reports a local sportscaster may be in line to become the sideline reporter for Oklahoma University football games. Mel has his usual media notebook.

Midwest

Brad VanFossen of the Cleveland Leader has manlove for ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd.

In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley culls some Packer tidbits from the new NFL Kickoff Information Guide.

Paul Christian of the Rochester Post-Bulletin says a local sports radio station is up for a national award.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a sports radio station has spun off its FM unit.

Dan writes that the local WPS team is a ratings dud.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) News feels the mtn. botched coverage of the Mountain West Conference’s media days.

Joe Santoro of the Lahontan Valley (NV) News says ESPN represents everything wrong in sports (calling Erin Andrews a “bimbo” is very harsh).

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic looks forward to one particular NFL Network show.

Jay Posner in the San Diego Union-Tribune says a local sports talk show host returns to his former station and finds many of his colleagues gone.

The North County Times’ John Maffei hopes the new Shaquille O’Neal reality show will be must see TV viewing.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times writes that a group of Time Warner Cable customers never got to see Manny Ramirez’s pinch hit home run on Wednesday. Oops.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has his take on the Erin Andrews story.

Tom has his extensive media news and notes in his blog. Tom also reviews the week in blogging.

Howie Stalwick of the Tacoma (WA) News Tribune talks with ESPN’s Cindy Brunson about the Erin Andrews story.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail looks at the Erin Andrews story as well.

And Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star agrees with Jason Whitlock’s take on Erin Andrews and how blogs are to blame for Global Warming.

Lots of links today. That’s it. See you later.

The Mid-Week Linkage

Let’s do some linkage today. Plenty of stuff to go over.

First, Sports Business Daily’s Tripp Mickle and John Ourand have details of the all-new U.S. Olympic Network which begins operation in 2010 and gets a big boost launching on Comcast.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times says the new channel will provide Olympic Sports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Noted Olympics reporter, Ron Judd of the Seattle Times, says USON as it will be called, will be available on multiple platforms.

Wayne Friedman of Mediapost says USON will show live events and past Olympics through documentaries and movies.

But Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports that the International Olympic Committee is already blasting the new channel.

Also from the Times, Ken Belson writes that Women’s Professional Soccer operates without a major TV contract and with a reduced budget than its previous incarnation.

Back to the Sports Business Daily which lists the Top 10 most viewed sporting events in the 2nd quarter of 2009.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand writes that ESPN is unveiling new graphics for the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday.

Christian Red of the New York Daily News talks with Laura Posada, wife of Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, about her debut on a new reality series about baseball wives on E!

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner previews a Darren Rovell-hosted special on CNBC about NASCAR and its future.

Paula Cee in the DC Examiner says local news/talk radio station WJFK could flip to all-sports any day now.

Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean talks with several NFL writers and TV analysts about the latest developments in the Steve McNair case.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Fox Sports Ohio has taken care of an upcoming Reds-University of Cincinnati football conflict.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business is already tired of the Tribune sale/non-sale of the Cubs.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about the All-Star Game continuing its incentive for the World Series and Tiger Woods outrating the Brewers-Cubs on Sunday.

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says ex-Colorado Rockies skipper Clint Hurdle plans to have more appearances on the MLB Network this summer.

Kelly Burgess of the Los Angeles Times tells us that ESPN will air Tony Hawk’s segment of the tearjerking series, “My Wish” on SportsCenter throughout Thursday.

The BBC reports that ESPN has been granted the rights by the English Premier League to show its package of games into Ireland. That package was held by Setanta Sports.

The Sports Media Watch has a look at the weekend ratings.

Evan Weiner of Examiner.com says the ACC is pulling its baseball tournament from Myrtle Beach, SC scheduled for 2011, 2012 and 2013 over the state’s flying of the Confederate flag at its capital.

I’ll end it there for now.

Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do links for you now. I may have to leave early so I’ll do what I can for now.

Starting with Michael Smith of the Sports Business Journal, he writes that TNT made a little “dig” in its NASCAR coverage by e-mailing a video to viewers signifying the beginning of its six race season.

John Ourand in the Sports Business Daily writes that the annual Army-Navy game is going to be on a three city rotation starting next year.

Ray Frager of the Sports Media Journal says ESPN/ABC’s Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy appear to be not convinced of the Magic’s ability to win the NBA Finals.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Roger Federer may be a winner on the court, but not necessarily in the endorsement court. Darren says projected 1st pick in the MLB Draft Stephen Strasburg is already a winner in memorabilia. Darren writes that Starter is pinning its hopes on resurrection on Tony Romo.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Tiger Woods set New York abuzz with his practice round at the Bethpage Black course on Monday.

Neil adds that there are still plenty of seats available for the Mets-Yankees series this weekend.

In his blog, Neil laments about the possible demise of the Boston Globe. Neil asks readers to pick the ratings winner of what will be a busy Tuesday night in sports. Neil reports that Verizon is in line to be a sponsor of the new Giants-Jets stadium. Sometimes, Neil attends events so you don’t have to. And Neil says NESN’s ratings for the Red Sox are slowly getting back to normal after the Celtics and Bruins playoff runs.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman rips SNY’s Keith Hernandez for not ripping Carlos Beltran.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union writes that the Belmont’s ratings weren’t great, but not bad either. Pete says golf showed the biggest ratings gain over the weekend.

Keith Groller from the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes that a local cable TV company is gearing up for the state high school baseball championships.

Laura Nachman says two Philly sports personalities will be signing their books this weekend.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner has the first part of an enterprise story on how the Lakers went Hollywood.

Shelly Darby of the Detroit Free Press says the NHL is not allowing Joe Louis Arena to show Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on the big screen.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says golf and basketball were ratings winners this past weekend. Ed says former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas will be an analyst for the Cubs-White Sox series.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the NBA Finals finished a close second to the Brewers in the local ratings (scroll down).

I don’t know who wrote this article for the Bradenton Herald, perhaps the writer is hiding under his or her desk, but whomever wrote it feels the MLB Draft should not be in primetime. Whatever, dude.

This is interesting. Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News is also asking readers to pick ratings winners tonight.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN/ABC’s Jeff Van Gundy is admitting he’s pulling punches on his brother.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News wonders if anyone will watch the MLB Draft on MLB Network tonight.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says the NHL Stanley Cup Finals are a ratings dud for CBC.

Steve Clarke of Variety writes that ESPN may be a bidder for the cash-strapped Setanta Sports channel which is in dire financial straits.

BBC News says Setanta is on the verge of collapsing.

Bill Wilson of the Beeb explains why Setanta is in so much trouble.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media wonders about IBM sponsoring the Colin Cowherd show. Chris says there’s something big brewing among the SEC schools.

Joe Favorito says USA Wrestling is making a big move to solidify the sport for the Olympics.

The Sports Media Watch says the WNBA and LPGA did not do well in the ratings over the weekend.

Maury Brown in the Biz of Sports says he’s all aTwitter.

NESN’s Naoko Funayama went along for a taping of the network’s new show, “Pocket Money” based on SNY’s “Beer Money” show.

The Towleroad blog says on Sunday, ESPN’s Outside the Lines will cover the University of Nebraska wrestling gay porn controversy.

The MLS Talk blog says the English Premier League and Women’s Professional Soccer are ratings winners for Fox Soccer Channel.

That’s going to do it for now.

Some More Thursday Links

Let’s give you some more links before they become out of date.

Laura Petrecca of USA Today tells workers to watch the NCAA Tournament online in moderation.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell can’t believe there’s an official ladder of the Final Four.

Newsday’s Neil Best has a breakdown of where the NCAA Tournament games are going to.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the breakdown of who chose whom in ESPN.com’s Tournament Challenge. Pete says a large percentage of the nation will get Ohio State-Siena on Friday.

Jim Williams of the DC Examiner says CBS Sports staffers have a long day ahead of themselves today and tomorrow.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times writes that the NCAA Tournament is one of the few sporting events that has been exclusively linked with one network for more than two decades. The Masters on CBS is another I think of off the top of my head.

Mark Washburn of the Charlotte Observer says we started watching the NCAA Tournament 30 years ago and we haven’t stopped.

David Scott of the Observer catches up with Billy Packer.

CBS’ Tim Brando writing in the Shreveport (LA) Times says the NCAA Tournament is a great American event.

Rick Kretzschmar of the Longview (TX) News-Journal is not a fan of Screamin’ Gus Johnson or Billy Packer.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman says subscribers to Dish Network in the Potato State will have to scramble to watch the NCAA Tournament as the satellite provider is locked in a dispute with the Boise CBS affiliate.

Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Journal-Review talks about Bob Knight joining Billy Packer for his FSN NCAA Tournament studio show.

The Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the ACC Tournament on ESPN were down from last year. But SMW says ratings for the Big East Tournament were up.

And Wrap Around Curl at Puck The Media is not a fan of March Madness. In fact, it makes her stabby.

Now to some non-NCAA Tournament-related links.

Dave Kane of the State Journal Register (IL) says the LPGA State Farm Classic will air in June on NBC.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News feels USC football voice Pete Arbogast really embarassed himself during an appearance on an online show.

The Gaffer at the EPL Talk blog reports that ESPN has lost the US TV rights to air the UEFA Champions League to Fox Soccer Channel.

Fox Soccer Channel has announced its announcing team for Women’s Professional Soccer games.

Laura Martinez of Multichannel News writes that ESPN Deportes is taking its shows to the people.

That’s all for now.