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NBC Sports Group Crows About Its 58 Sports Emmy Nominations

NBC received a total of 58 nominations for the 34th annual Sports Emmy Awards. The NBC Sports Group consisting of NBC, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC and NBCOlympics.com received the most nominations of any sports media group over ESPN, Fox Sports Media Group, CBS and Turner Sports. Of course, NBC is coming off an Olympics so that will increase its nominations.

Among the major nods include Bob Costas and Dan Patrick for Studio Host, Al Michaels for Play-by-Play, Cris Collinsworth as Event Analyst, Tony Dungy for Studio Analyst, multiple nominees for Sports Reporter including last year’s winner Michele Tafoya and last year’s nominee Pierre McGuire (why?), Sunday Night Football for Live Sports Series, Super Bowl XLVI in the Live Sports Special category and there were plenty for the London Olympics.

Let’s take a look at what NBC Sports Group is saying.

NBC SPORTS GROUP GARNERS 58 SPORTS EMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS, MOST OF ANY SPORTS MEDIA COMPANY

Total Nominations for NBC Sports Group up from 33 Last Year
NBC Leads All Networks (Broadcast or Cable) with 36 Nominations
London Olympics Receives 19 Nominations
NBC Sports Group’s NFL Coverage Receives 16 Nominations
Super Bowl XLVI Receives Nomination for Outstanding Live Sports Special
Sunday Night Football & Football Night in America Nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Series & Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly
On-Air Personalities Costas, Michaels, Emrick, Collinsworth, Dungy, Patrick, Mayock, Tafoya, McGuire, Boldon & Joyce Nominated
NBC Sports Network Garners 9 Nominations; NBCOlympics.com Receives 3; Golf Channel Earns 2

NEW YORK – March 20, 2013 – NBC Sports Group received 58 total Sports Emmy Award nominations for 2012, the most nominations for any sports media company or network. NBC led all networks, broadcast or cable, with 36 nominations. The announcement was made today by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The winners will be announced by the Academy on Tuesday, May 7.

Highlights of NBC Sports Group’s nominations include:

• The London Olympics received 19 nominations, including Outstanding Live Event Turnaround;
• NBC’s NFL coverage received 16 nominations;
• Super Bowl XLVI on NBC was nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Special;
• Once again, Sunday Night Football on NBC was nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Series, which it has won each of the last four years;
• Football Night in America was nominated for the third consecutive year for Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly;
• NBC’s NFL Wild Card Saturday received its second nomination for Outstanding Playoff Coverage;
• NBC Sports Network received nine nominations, the most in its history, and Golf Channel earned two.
• NBC Sports Group’s digital assets NBCOlympics.com and NBCSports.com received a combined four nominations.
• 11 nominations in individual talent categories:

• Bob Costas (Studio Host)
• Dan Patrick (Studio Host)
• Al Michaels (Play-by-Play)
• Cris Collinsworth (Event Analyst)
• Michele Tafoya (Reporter)
• Tony Dungy (Studio Analyst)
• Mike Mayock (Event Analyst)
• Mike Emrick (Play-by-Play)
• Pierre McGuire (Reporter)
• Ato Boldon (Event Analyst)
• Andrea Joyce (Reporter)

All of the national platforms of NBC Sports Group — NBC Sports, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, NBCOlympics.com and NBCSports.com — received nominations. Most notably, NBC Sports Group received 19 nominations related to coverage of the London Olympics and 16 nominations for its NFL coverage. Golf Channel earned two nominations, NBCOlympics.com received three nominations and NBCSports.com was honored with one. MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo and Telemundo each received nominations for their London Olympics coverage.

The complete list of NBC Sports Group nominations are as follows:

• Outstanding Live Sports Special: Super Bowl XLVI (NBC)
• Outstanding Live Sports Series: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
• Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: London Olympics (NBC)
• Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: USA Pro Challenge (NBC)
• Outstanding Playoff Coverage: NFL Wild Card Saturday (NBC)
• Outstanding Edited Sports Special: Still Standing: The Earl Campbell Story (NBC Sports Network)
• Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly: Football Night in America(NBC)
• Outstanding Long Feature: London Olympics – Olga Korbut (NBC)
• Outstanding Open/Tease: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
• Outstanding Open/Tease: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
• Outstanding Open/Tease: Red Bull Signature Series – Show Open (NBC)
• Outstanding New Approaches, Sports Event Coverage: Super Bowl XLVI Extra (NBCSports.com)
• Outstanding New Approaches, Sports Event Coverage: London Olympics – Live From London (NBCOlympics.com)
• Outstanding New Approaches, Sports Programming: London Olympics – Countdown to London (NBCOlympics.com)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host: Bob Costas (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host: Dan Patrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network/DirecTV)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play: Al Michaels (NBC)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play: Mike Emrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Analyst: Tony Dungy (NBC)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Cris Collinsworth (NBC)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Mike Mayock (NBC/NFL Network)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Ato Boldon (NBC)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Michele Tafoya (NBC)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Pierre McGuire (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Andrea Joyce (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
• Outstanding Technical Team Remote: America’s Cup World Series (NBC)
• Outstanding Technical Team Remote: London Olympics (NBC)
• Outstanding Technical Team Studio: London Olympics (NBC/NBC Sports Network/MSNBC/Telemundo/Bravo)
• Outstanding Camera Work: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
• Outstanding Camera Work: 2012 Ironman World Championship (NBC)
• Outstanding Editing: London Olympics – Profiles of the London Games (NBC)
• Dick Schaap Writing Award: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
• Outstanding Post Produced Audio/Sound: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
• Outstanding Graphic Design: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
• Outstanding Graphic Design: London Olympics (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
• Outstanding Production Design / Art Direction: Sunday Night Football – Open (NBC)
• George Wensel Technical Achievement Award: London Olympics – The Multi-Screen Olympics (NBC/NBC Sports Network/ NBCOlympics.com/ MSNBC/ CNBC/ Telemundo/Bravo)
• George Wensel Technical Achievement Award: London Olympics/NBC Golf Tour – 360 Cam (NBC)
• Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Episodic:
  • London Olympics – Britain Just Got Great (NBC)
  • Triple Crown Trailer (NBC)
  • Feherty Live from Ryder Cup(Golf Channel)

That will do it. More Emmy nomination press releases next.

34th Annual Sports Emmy Awards Nominations Announced

Just received this from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the full press release of the nominations for the 34th Annual Sports Emmy Awards.

NBC Sports Group received the most nominations with 58 followed by ESPN with 43 and Turner in third with 27.

Bob Costas was nominated yet again for Outstanding Studio Host along with Dan Patrick, James Brown, Ernie Johnson and Rich Eisen.

There were only four nominees for Outstanding Play-by-play, Mike Breen, Mike Emrick, Al Michaels and Jim Nantz.

Cris Collinsworth received another nomination for Outstanding Event Analyst. He’s joined by Ato Boldon of NBC Olympics, Jon Gruden, Jim Kaat and Mike Mayock.

Studio Analyst was full with Charles Barkley of TNT, Tony Dungy of NBC’s Football Night in America, CBS’ Boomer Esiason, MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds, Bill Ripken also from MLB Network and Kurt Warner of NFL Network.

Let us take a look at the full list. We need a jump break in here as well. Let’s go. Lots of things to read through. Get ready to scroll.

THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 34th ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS

Winners to be Honored During the May 7th Ceremony At Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center

New York, NY – March 20, 2013 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 34th Annual Sports Emmy® Awards.

More than 170 nominees were announced in 34 categories including Outstanding Live Sports Special, Live Series, Sports Documentary, Studio Show, Promotional Announcements, Play-by-Play Personality and Studio Analyst. The Awards will be given out at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 in New York City.

“What a world we live in,” said Malachy Wienges, Chair, NATAS. “The Olympics, NASCAR, the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the World Series, The Stanley Cup, The NBA, the US Open, the Masters…it just goes on and on! This is another outstanding year for the sports community and for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The entries received in this year’s Sports Emmy Awards illustrate the high-water mark of quality each of us gets to enjoy every time we turn on our favorite program. With so much talent vying for the prestigious Emmy Award and with many of the today’s leading sports broadcasters, personalities, and television professionals in attendance, it promises to be an exciting evening.”

The networks of NBC Sports Group (NBC, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel nbcolympics.com, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, nbcsports.com, & Telemundo) lead the nomination totals with 58, ESPN (ESPN, ESPN2, grantland.com, ABC, ESPN3D, ESPNU & ESPNews), garnered 43, and Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NCAA.com & truTV) garnered 27. A complete list of all Networks and individual show nominations follows below.

A complete list of all nominees is attached and also available at www.emmyonline.tv/sports

34th Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network Group
Network or Network Group Nominations

NBC Sports Group (NBC, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, nbcolympics.com, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, nbcsports.com, Telemundo) — 58
ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, grantland.com, ABC, ESPN 3D, ESPNU, ESPNews) — 43
Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, truTV, NCAA.com) — 27
FOX Sports Media Group (FOX, SPEED, FOX Soccer Channel) — 17
HBO Sports — 17
NFL Network (NFL Network, NFL Media, NFL.com) — 16
CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBS Sports Network) — 15
MLB Network — 9
DIRECTV — 1
YouTube — 1

34th Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network

NETWORK — NOMINATIONS

NBC — 36
ESPN — 23
HBO Sports — 17
FOX — 13
NFL Network — 13
TNT — 13
CBS — 10
ESPN2 — 10
MLB Network — 9
NBC Sports Network — 9
TBS — 5
NBA TV — 4
Showtime — 4
truTV — 4
grantland.com — 3
NBCOlympics.com — 3
Speed — 3
ABC — 2
Bravo — 2
ESPN3D — 2
ESPNU — 2
Golf Channel — 2
MSNBC — 2
NFL Media — 2
Telemundo — 2
CBS Sports Network — 1
CNBC — 1
DIRECTV — 1
ESPNews — 1
FOX Soccer Channel — 1
nbcsports.com — 1
NCAA.com — 1
NFL.com — 1
YouTube — 1

BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM — SERIES NOMINATIONS

Program/Network/Nominations
Games of the XXX Olympiad (NBC/Bravo/CNBC/MSNBC/NBC SportsNetwork/NBCOlympics.com/Telemundo) — 14
NBA on TNT (TNT) — 6
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (TNT) — 6
E:60 (ESPN2) — 5
24/7 (HBO) — 4
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Miami Dolphins (HBO) — 4
MLB on FOX (FOX) — 4
Outside the Lines (ESPN) — 4
Sunday Night Football (NBC) — 4
NASCAR on FOX (FOX) — 3
NFL Films Presents (NFL Network) — 3
30 for 30 (ESPN) — 2
A Football Life (NFL Network) — 2
College Gameday (ESPN) — 2
The Dream Team (NBA TV) — 2
Inside the NBA (NBA TV) — 2
Inside the NFL (Showtime) –2
MLB Network Division Series (MLB Network) — 2
MLB Tonight (MLB Network) — 2
Namath (HBO) — 2
NCAA March Madness (TBS) — 2
NFL on FOX (FOX) — 2
SportsCenter (ESPN) — 2
Sport Science (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNews) — 2
UEFA Euro 2012 (ESPN) — 2

The nominations are coming after a jump break.
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A Monday Sports Media Notebook

Let’s get cracking on some fresh content on this Monday afternoon. Plenty of stuff to go over.

• Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch’s Monday column discusses Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed reporting on the Red Carpet at The Oscars and reviews Fox’s Daytona 500 coverage. 
• The man who started SportsGrid, ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams, the site has been sold to RotoExperts.
• I’m getting a lot of reaction to my post on whether Fox can find the proper role for Erin Andrews.
• Randolph May at Multichannel News talks about a case over Comcast’s refusal to move Tennis Channel off a dreaded sports tier.
• To Sports Business Daily where Richard E. Lapchick laments the lack of hiring diversity in the sports media.
• Overseas, ESPN is getting out of the UK television business, selling its channels to BT Group which beat it out for the rights to the English Premier League. ESPN will continue to maintain its digital UK assets and also kill ESPN Classic in Europe and Africa in separate decisions.
• USA Today’s Michael Hiestand feels Fox got off to a fast start with the overnight ratings for the Daytona 500.
• Hiestand also looks at the other sports overnight ratings from the weekend.
• David Lieberman at Deadline says News Corp.’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch (son of Rupert) says even with Fox Sports creating new all-sports cable channels, the company plans to be pennywise and not pound foolish over rights fees.
• In the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with Golf Channel’s David Feherty about the season premiere of his weekly interview show.
• Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch looks at a preposterous argument put the forth by WEEI’s Gerry Callahan regarding the Daytona 500 and Danica Patrick.
• Bill Carter at the New York Times notes how NBC has had a precipitous fall into the ratings basement after starting off so well when Sunday Night Football was on.
• Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels the Federal lawsuit against Lance Armstrong wreaks of hypocrisy.
• From Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog reports that MASN’s Kristina Akra who was the Nationals’ on-field reporter is leaving the network. No word on where she’s going or who’s going to replace her.
• Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says David Feherty will reveal a different side of golfing legend Jack Nicklaus tonight.
• Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times says Fox didn’t do itself any favors during its Daytona 500 prerace coverage.
• The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron notes that a local sports anchor is leaving his station after more than 20 years of service.
• Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Cardinals fans will be able to see and listen to their team throughout Spring Training.
• Dusty Saunders in the Denver Post writes about a Rocky Mountain TV veteran who wants to return to his sports roots.
• Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the SoCal Sports Calendar for this week.
• Tom has the five things he learned from the weekend.
• Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail makes clear of his disdain for CBC’s Don Cherry.
• Paulsen of Sports Media Watch says opposite the Daytona 500, the NBA on ABC took a big ratings hit.
• To Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing who looks at what Joe Buck plans to do with the St. Louis Cardinals if he manages to get the team and Fox Sports Midwest to sign off on his idea.
• Michael Shamburger at The Big Lead says Katherine Webb is 1st Round talent.

Ok, I’m going to end the linkage/notebook there.

Breaking Out Some Sunday Linkage

I haven’t done Sunday links in a very long while. It seems as if part of my weekends have been planned for me behind my back for almost three years straight. Finally glad to be able to do links on a weekend.

Charlie White at Mashable talks about NASCAR taking down fan videos of the horrific crash that injured 28 fans at the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona yesterday.

John McQuaid from Forbes says NASCAR has a YouTube problem.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable says Dish Network may not be allowed to advertise on Fox over its Hopper device, but it’s finding a way to be seen on today’s Daytona 500.

The Sherman Report’s Ed Sherman has some videos displaying Joe Garagiola on TV at various times in his career.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says the Big East had to go back to ESPN after rejecting a huge megabucks offer from the network two years ago.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with SNY’s Bob Ojeda who steps out of the studios to analyze Mets Spring Training games.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post hates Twitter.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the entire World Baseball Classic TV schedule.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner looks at the new season of The Haney Project on Golf Channel.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle looks at the local sports radio ratings and the Houston Rockets’ TV numbers.

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman talks with Sooner State native Stacey King who is now the Chicago Bulls TV analyst.

Paul M. Banks at the Chicago Sports Media Watch has NASCAR pundits choosing their winners for the Daytona 500.

MediaRantz has yet another mistimed headline at ESPN.com.

That’s it for the linkage for now. I could be back later if news breaks.

Golf Channel and NBC Sports All Over The World Match Play Championships

Starting at noon, the WGC Match Play Championships will tee off from the Dove Mountain Resort in Marana, AZ. Golf Channel and NBC Sports will team up to air more than 60 hours of coverage through Sunday. This includes 29 hours of live tournament action.

And with weather expected to have an impact on play, it will be fun to see the golfers bundled up for cold temperatures in the Valley of the Sun.

Golf Channel will have weekday coverage with the preliminary match play groups and NBC will come in with quarterfinal play on Saturday and the Championship Match on Sunday.

The matches always lead to surprise finishes and results and favorites don’t always win.

Here’s the NBC Sports Group press release.

NBC SPORTS GROUP TO AIR MORE THAN 60 HOURS OF LIVE TOURNAMENT AND NEWS COVERAGE OF THE WGC MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

WGC Match Play Championship Kicks Off NBC Sports Group’s Seven-Week Run Leading up to the Masters
Two Year Anniversary of Golf Channel/NBC Joining Forces This Week
Golf Central Live and On-site Throughout the Week
Miller, Chamblee, Nobilo, Faldo and Hicks to Participate in State of the Game Friday Night, Feb. 22 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel
Spotlight Coverage Returns to Golf Channel During Florida Swing

ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 19, 2013) – Golf Channel and NBC Sports will celebrate the two-year anniversary of the companies joining forces this week at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship with more on-site news and live tournament coverage than ever before, kicking off NBC Sports Group’s seven consecutive weeks of coverage dedicated to the PGA TOUR leading up to the Masters in April.

“The partnership between Golf Channel and NBC the past two years has been extremely rewarding for NBC Sports Group, highlighted by two consecutive most-watched years in Golf Channel’s 18-year history,” said Mike McCarley, Golf Channel President. “Our goal from the outset was to expose Golf Channel’s brand to millions more people through the vast resources of NBCUniversal. Additionally, we have focused on providing a new and unique experience for golf fans across all of our programming.”

Golf Channel and NBC will air more than 60 hours of combined coverage this week from Dove Mountain Resort in Marana, Ariz., including 29 hours of live tournament action on Golf Channel and NBC Wednesday-Sunday. Golf Channel also will deliver comprehensive on-site news coverage throughout the week, headlined by a special State of the Game on Friday in primetime and special Golf Central pre-shows airing on NBC prior to NBC’s live tournament coverage.

WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE

40 Hours of On-Site News Coverage: Golf Channel’s news coverage began Tuesday with pre-tournament news conferences from Dove Mountain. Through Sunday, Golf Central will provide on-site, wraparound news coverage for both Golf Channel and NBC’s live tournament coverage, including special Golf Central pre-shows that will air on NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday prior to live tournament coverage. Morning Drive, the network’s live, weekday morning show that recently expanded to seven days a week, will increase its coverage during the week with a three-hour show Wednesday, Feb. 20 from 7-10 a.m. ET and a four-hour show on Saturday, Feb. 23 from 7-11 a.m. ET.

State of the Game: Friday, Feb. 22 at 10:30 p.m. ET, the biggest names in golf that cover the game – Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Nick Faldo, Brandel Chamblee and Frank Nobilo – will discuss golf’s biggest issues on State of the Game. A Golf Central special, State of the Game will be a roundtable discussion of relevant events making news at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, including World No. 1 Rory’s McIlroy’s outlook for 2013; Tiger Woods continued quest for Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors and the growth of the Woods / McIlroy rivalry; the possibility of separate rules in golf for amateurs and professionals; and Vijay Singh’s legacy.

Golf Central on NBC: Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-24 at 1:30 p.m. ET, Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Frank Nobilo will host special editions of Golf Central that will air exclusively on NBC leading in to live tournament coverage. These pre-shows will feature early highlights and will prepare viewers for all of the upcoming action on NBC.

Golf Channel and Golf Channel on NBC Broadcast Team: Leading the broadcast for Golf Channel on NBC’s weekend coverage will be Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller; and for Golf Channel, Terry Gannon, Nick Faldo, Curt Byrum and Steve Sands. Reporters from both networks will include Roger Maltbie, Gary Koch, Notah Begay, Peter Jacobsen and Jimmy Roberts. Kelly Tilghman will serve as host for Golf Channel’s tournament coverage.

GolfChannel.com Editorial Coverage and Live Chats: Golf Channel’s online team will complement the network’s on-air coverage throughout the week on GolfChannel.com. Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner will report on-site from Dove Mountain throughout the week with daily columns, blogs, news articles and breaking news. GolfChannel.com’s editorial teams also will participate in live chats online Wednesday-Friday.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S SEVEN-WEEK PGA TOUR RUN

Start of Seven-Week Run on the PGA TOUR: NBC Sports Group will carry live coverage the next seven weeks on the PGA TOUR, including the Florida and Texas swings, leading up to the Masters in April. In addition to this week’s WGC Match Play Championship, NBC Sports Group will air The Honda Classic (Feb. 28-March 3), WGC-Cadillac Championship (March 7-10), Tampa Bay Championship (March 14-17), Arnold Palmer Invitational (March 21-24), Houston Open (March 28-31) and the Texas Open (April 4-7).

Spotlight Coverage Returns During Florida Swing: Golf Channel’s Spotlight coverage will return during the PGA TOUR’s Florida Swing at The Honda Classic, the WGC-Cadillac Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. While NBC delivers its traditional weekend coverage at these three events, Golf Channel also will be on the air live, but focusing on a specific stretch of holes on the back nine of the three events. Golf Channel’s Spotlight coverage will conclude an hour before tournament conclusion each day, when viewers will be directed to the final hour of NBC’s third- and final-round coverage. Golf Channel’s production unit providing Spotlight coverage will provide a unique, but complementary, viewing experience showcasing action from notable holes. NBC’s production will operate side-by-side with Golf Channel’s Spotlight production. Spotlight coverage made its 2013 debut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, covering a three-hole stretch at TPC Scottsdale that included one of the most exciting settings in all of sports – the famous par-3, 16^th hole.

• The Honda Classic Spotlight Coverage: Holes 15,16,17 at PGA National (The Bear Trap)
• WGC-Cadillac Championship Spotlight Coverage: Holes 15,16 and 18 at Doral Resort & Spa
• Arnold Palmer Invitational Spotlight Coverage: Holes 16,17 and 18 at Bay Hill Club & Lodge

NBC Sports Group / WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Airtimes

Wednesday	Noon-6 p.m. ET	32 Matches	Golf Channel
Thursday	1-6 p.m. ET	16 Matches	Golf Channel
Friday	2-6 p.m. ET	Eight Matches	Golf Channel
Friday	10:30-11:30 p.m. ET	State of the Game	Golf Channel
Saturday	Noon-2 p.m. ET	Quarterfinal Matches	Golf Channel
Saturday	2-6 p.m. ET	Quarterfinal Matches	NBC
Sunday	9 a.m.-1 p.m. ET	Semifinal Matches	Golf Channel
Sunday	2-6 p.m. ET	Championship Match	NBC

There you have it.

Golf Channel’s Big Break Heads to Mexico For Its 19th Season

Golf Channel’s successful reality show, Big Break will head to Mexico for its 19th season. It will feature six men and six women with PGA and LPGA Tour exemptions on the line.

In addition, LPGA Tour star Lorena Ochoa will take part in one of the episodes and it will be her tournament which will have a sponsor’s exemption for the female champion of the Big Break.

We have details of where Big Break Mexico will take place and what is at stake for the winners. It’s all down below.

GOLF CHANNEL’S BIG BREAK SERIES HEADS TO MEXICO FOR 19TH SEASON

Premiering Monday, May 13, Big Break Mexico to Feature Male/Female Cast at IBEROSTAR Playa Paraiso Resort & Spa
LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR Exemptions on the Line
Former LPGA World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa to Make Special Guest Appearance

ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 19, 2013) – Golf Channel’s popular Big Break reality competition series has chosen Mexico as the next competition grounds for its 19^th season, premiering Monday, May 13. The luxurious, all-inclusive IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Paraiso and the accompanying Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Riviera Maya will serve as the backdrop for Big Break Mexico, providing the opportunity for the ultimate winner to compete alongside the game’s best on the LPGA Tour or the PGA TOUR.

“Big Break is a cornerstone of our original series franchises, and it has proven to be a launching pad for many professional golfers looking to break through to the world’s top tours, including the likes of PGA TOUR pros Tommy Gainey and Matt Every and Solheim Cup veterans Ryann O’Toole and Kristy McPherson,” said Golf Channel Executive Producer Molly Solomon. “Our ultimate goal with Big Break Mexico is to place our competitors in pressure situations on a world-class golf course, and we achieved this from the picturesque IBEROSTAR Playa Paraiso Resort & Spa in Riviera Maya, Mexico.”

Big Break Mexico, produced in partnership with the Mexico Tourism Board, will feature a cast of six men and six women competing in a mixed team format in an attempt to make their lifelong dreams of playing alongside the world’s top golfers come true. This season’s Big Break champion will receive an exemption to compete either on the LPGA Tour at the 2013 Lorena Ochoa Invitational presented by Banamex and Jalisco or on the PGA TOUR at the 2013 OHL Classic at Mayakoba (both Nov. 14-17).

“Mexico Tourism is excited to bring Golf Channel’s Big Break series to Mexico for the first time and showcasing everything Mexico has to offer as an ideal vacation destination,” said Gerardo Llanes, Chief Marketing Officer for Mexico Tourism Board. “We look forward to working with Golf Channel in featuring Mexico’s beautiful tourism experiences and vacation resorts, magnificent golf courses and also touting our signature professional golf tournaments on the LPGA and PGA TOUR.”

Big Break Mexico also will feature a guest appearance from former LPGA World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, who surprised the cast during the filming of the series and competed alongside the players in one of the challenges. Following the challenge, Ochoa also was given the opportunity to participate in Big Break’s signature challenge for the first time – The Glass Break – where she shattered the glass on her first attempt.

“I love having Big Break in my home country of Mexico and am proud to offer an exemption to the Lorena Ochoa Invitational,” said Ochoa. “Big Break is very popular, and I want to help the sport of golf in my country as much as I can. This is a win-win situation for all of us. It was great to meet all of the players and see how excited they are to be on Big Break. I’m looking forward to watching the series this summer and see how I fared in front of all of the cameras.”

The series will unfold on the resort’s P.B. Dye designed 18-hole championship course – IBEROSTAR Playa Paraiso Golf Club – a par-72 layout featuring breathtaking signature holes and distinctive rock work that are signatures of a typical P.B Dye design. Carved out of the ancient Mayan jungle, the IBEROSTAR Playa Paraiso Golf Club features narrow fairways, deep bunkers and extreme vertical movement, along with untraditional hazards such as a rock riverbed that make the course distinctively unique to the area.

“We are thrilled to be the host partner for Big Break Mexico. Golf is an important growing segment for IBEROSTAR and Golf Channel’s audience aligns well with our target guest; therefore, it was a natural fit to partner with Big Break,” said Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for IBEROSTAR, John Long. “It is our hope that Big Break Mexico will inspire travellers and golf enthusiasts to visit IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Paraiso and experience the luxurious amenities and services we have to offer guests.”

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Canadian Tour. Mark Silvers, Big Break Greenbrier champion, will compete in the 2013 Greenbrier Classic on the PGA TOUR as a result of his victory in 2012.

Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, captured his first PGA TOUR victory in 2012 at The McGladrey Classic and is playing full-time on the PGA TOUR. Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties and Mark Silvers (Web.com Tour) and Kim Welch, Nicole Smith, Gerina Piller, Kelly Jacques, 2011 Solheim Cup team member Ryann O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour).

That is it.

Golf Channel’s Morning Relaunches and Expands To A Seven Day A Week Scheudle

Since January 2011, Golf Channel’s Morning Drive has been a destination for golf fans to watch the latest information on the game they love. It first began as a vehicle for Erik Kusilias and Gary Williams. Kuselias left the show last year to go to NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Radio. That left regulars Williams and Holly Sonders behind with a rotating roster of guest hosts. But lately, Morning Drive found its mojo by bringing in Damon Hack and the show has lifted to a very nice rhythm as compared to when Kuselias tried to overtake the show.

Now Golf Channel has announced that Morning Drive will expand from a Monday-Friday schedule to a 7 day a week show. New hosts will be utilized for certain days and the whole enchilada will relaunch on February 4.

Williams, Hack and Sonders will host from Thursday through Monday. They’ll be joined by Charlie Rymer.

Kelly Tilghman will be the main host for Tuesday and Wednesday. She’ll be joined by Matt Ginella, formerly of Golf Digest magazine. Lauren Thompson will fill the Holly Sonders role on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

In addition, there will be various guest hosts throughout the week including Ahmad Rashad (?).

Here’s the Golf Channel announcement.

GOLF CHANNEL’S MORNING DRIVE EXPANDS TO SEVEN DAYS AND UNVEILS NEW FORMAT, NEW CO-HOSTS, NEW SET

11-Time PGA TOUR Winner John Cook and Travel Expert Matt Ginella Join Gary Williams, Holly Sonders, Damon Hack, Kelly Tilghman, Charlie Rymer and Lauren Thompson as Morning Drive Regulars
Guest Host Ahmad Rashad Joins the Ranks of Annika Sorenstam, Brandel Chamblee, Tim Rosaforte and Jimmy Roberts as Contributors
State-of-the-Art Studio Brings the Outside in with Four New Sets

ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2013) – The list of reasons to wake up to television’s only live morning golf show got longer with today’s announcement that Golf Channel’s popular Morning Drive will re-launch on Feb. 4 with a new format, a new cast of co-hosts, state-of-the-art studio and an expanded, seven days a week schedule.

“If you love golf, Morning Drive has become the way to start your day,” said Mike McCarley, President of Golf Channel. “In just two years, the show has become weekday appointment viewing for those who share a passion for the game and on the few weekends when Morning Drive has aired, Golf Channel has seen a three-fold increase in ratings. This move to seven days a week, with a new set and new additions to the cast will allow us to engage in a broader range of topics covering all aspects of the game and give viewers a reason to wake up with Morning Drive every day of the week.”

NEW AND EXPANDED CO-HOST TEAM: By expanding to seven days each week, the new Morning Drive cast naturally is going to grow. Current Morning Drive co-hosts Gary Williams, Damon Hack and Holly Sonders will be joined by Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer to form the on-air “foursome” typically covering Thursdays through Mondays. Williams, Hack and Sonders have been the regular co-host team of Morning Drive over the past few months and will build upon that camaraderie. Rymer will bring his exuberance for the game to the morning, in addition to his continued work as an analyst for Golf Central.

Longtime Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman will be a central figure mid-week on Morning Drive, typically on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Tilghman will continue to be an anchor for Golf Central and a central figure of Golf Channel’s Live From coverage of the biggest events in golf. Matt Ginella comes to Morning Drive after 11 years as the travel editor for Golf Digest magazine. Ginella has garnered a keen sense for what makes a golf course a destination for golfers of all tastes and will be co-host throughout the week. And Lauren Thompson, who has been a regular contributor to the show, now will have a permanent role, providing news updates and reports for midweek shows.

Several regular contributors and guest hosts include:

• - Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster, Ahmad Rashad, headlines as a new guest host. A former All-Pro wide receiver, college football Hall of Famer and 25-year network veteran with ESPN, ABC, NBC and NBA TV – and a voracious golfer – Rashad will bring a unique perspective.
• - John Cook is an 11-time PGA TOUR winner and recent champion of the 2013 Mitsubishi Electric Championship on the Champions Tour. The 1993 U.S. Ryder Cup team member will join the show during some of the biggest weeks on the golf calendar.
• - Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam will continue to make weekly Morning Drive appearances, providing insight into the professional ranks to the amateurs, and sharing her passion on growing the game.
• - Other Golf Channel analysts and reporters also will continue to contribute to Morning Drive on a daily basis, both in studio and on location at various tournaments. Golf World’s Tim Rosaforte will continue to appear weekly on the show; analyst Brandel Chamblee will regularly set up that day’s tournament action on weekends; and Golf Channel on NBC’s Jimmy Roberts will be a frequent contributor in support of his new series, In Play with Jimmy Roberts.

NEW FORMAT: Since Morning Drive’s debut in January 2011, the show has become appointment viewing for viewers seeking the latest golf news and information, as well as expert analysis and discussion about all things golf. The show’s new format will continue to set the table for what’s new each day in professional golf, while expanding its scope to cover the golfing lifestyle including how to play, what to play and where to play. Resident Golf Channel experts and show guests will cover such topics as trends in golf equipment, the hottest travel destinations for golf and the latest fashions turning heads on the course.

Morning Drive’s daily polls and interaction with the show’s loyal audience will be conducted through social media, as well as themed weeks exploring unique aspects of golf.

Viewers can take Morning Drive with them via a “Best of” highlight podcast hosted by Sonders available online each afternoon and the series’ audio will continue to be streamed live at GolfChannel.com/MorningDrive.

NEW STUDIO: Morning Drive is moving into a new, state-of-the-art studio for the re-launch on Feb. 4. The studio features four dedicated sets: a main anchor desk, an interview area, a product demonstration area and a news update desk. The new home is nearly four times larger than the show’s original studio.

Panoramic, high-definition video backdrops throughout the studio will make viewers feel like the Morning Drive cast is broadcasting from just inside the picture windows of their local clubhouse. This signature Morning Drive look is accomplished by linking 20 90-inch and 10 52-inch monitors to create golf course morning vistas.

Morning Drive’s production team is led by coordinating producer Jeff Neubarth, producers Kyle Brown and Bill Hentschel, and directors Charlie Reynolds and Eric Rutledge. For Golf Channel, Molly Solomon is executive producer, Geoff Russell is executive editor and Mike McCarley is president.

MORNING DRIVE TALENT BIOS

JOHN COOK
@johncookgolf

Professional golfer, John Cook, is an eleven-time winner on the PGA TOUR, was a member of the 1993 U.S. Ryder Cup team and won the 1978 U.S. Amateur. He was ranked in the top 10 for 45 weeks between 1992-’93 and currently plays on the Champions Tour. Most recently, Cook won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in January 2013.

MATT GINELLA
@Matt_Ginella

Matt Ginella joins Morning Drive as Golf Channel’s new travel expert where he will appear regularly with discussions on travel trends, his favorite trips and overall news regarding golf travel. Ginella comes from Golf Digest where he served as the senior travel editor and penned the blog “Where’s Matty G?” and orchestrated “Golf Digest Ambush,” where unsuspecting golf outings got a major makeover.

DAMON HACK
@DamonHackGC

Damon Hack joined Golf Channel in 2012 and can be seen on-air on various shows including Golf Central, Morning Drive and Grey Goose 19th Hole. Hack will also contribute regularly to GolfChannel.com. Hack comes to Golf Channel from Sports Illustrated where he covered golf and the NFL. Before joining the magazine, he covered golf and the NFL for The New York Times and golf and the New York Knicks for Newsday.

AHMAD RASHAD

Emmy® Award-winning sportscaster Ahmad Rashad is a former college and pro football star who was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. He is a four-time Pro-Bowl selection for the Minnesota Vikings, and was voted to the Vikings All-Time 25th Anniversary Team and their 40th Anniversary Team. Currently hosting for NBA TV, Rashad has covered a wide spectrum of sports for NBC, ABC and ESPN across his career. Rashad is an avid golfer, who plays with a who’s who of sports and Hollywood foursomes.

CHARLIE RYMER
@CharlieRymerGC

Charlie Rymer treats fans to his quick wit and “down home” humor as a studio analyst for Golf Central and the network’s Live From telecasts from golf’s major championships and premier events. A former PGA TOUR professional and a two-time All-American golfer at Georgia Tech, Rymer’s 15-year broadcast career includes 10 years at ESPN and USA Network before joining Golf Channel. In 2008, Rymer joined the network as a cast member on Road Trip: Myrtle Beach, an original series that focused on Myrtle Beach, S.C. as a golfing destination, and also co-hosted Big Break: Prince Edward Island alongside Stina Sternberg. Rymer joined Golf Channel as a full-time studio analyst in 2009.

HOLLY SONDERS
@HollySondersGC

Holly Sonders joined Golf Channel in January 2011 as a co-host for Morning Drive. In 2012, Sonders has an increasing role in Golf Channel’s instruction franchises, where she contributes to The Golf Fix, joined Martin Hall as co-host of School of Golf and hosts Playing Lessons. Sonders was a four-year member of the Michigan State Women’s Golf Team and helped the Lady Spartans to a Big Ten Championship in 2007.

LAUREN THOMPSON
@LThompsonGC

Lauren Thompson joined Golf Channel in 2009 as host of Top 10, a Golf Channel original series that provides an entertaining and informative review of controversial and compelling stories in golf. In addition to Top 10, Thompson hosts the network’s travel documentary series, GolfNow, and is a weekly contributor to Morning Drive.

KELLY TILGHMAN
@KellyTilghmanGC

A member of Golf Channel’s original cast and one of the network’s most versatile anchors, Kelly Tilghman serves as show host for the network’s PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour coverage and play-by-play host for the network’s PGA TOUR broadcasts. She also co-anchors Golf Channel’s signature news program, Golf Central,as well as Live From telecasts from golf’s major championships and premier events. In 2007, Tilghman became the first full-time female play-by-play commentator in the history of the PGA TOUR when Golf Channel embarked on its 15-year contract as the TOUR’s exclusive cable home.

GARY WILLIAMS
@GaryWilliamsGC

Gary Williams joined Golf Channel as a co-host for Morning Drive when the morning news series first launched in January 2011. In 2012, Williams’ on-air responsibilities expanded to include live tournament coverage for select tournaments and serving as host for On the Range, a weekly news and informational show that gives viewers an inside look at players’ preparations on the various professional golf tours. Williams came to Golf Channel from Sirius/XM Satellite Radio where he served as a lead host on PGA TOUR Network.

That’s it for this post.

Golf Channel Has Season Debuts of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in Abu Dhabi

Earlier this week, Nike Golf announced that it signed Rory McIlroy to a lucrative endorsement contract joining its other major client, Tiger Woods. Now both men will make their 2013 season debuts in Abu Dhabi in a European PGA Tour stop.

Golf Channel will have extensive live coverage of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship starting Wednesday night at 10:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the first and second rounds will continue into the overnight hours on the East Coast.

In addition, Golf Channel picks up the start of the Champions Tour in Hawaii as well as this week PGA Tour stop in California.

We have the tournaments that you’ll watch on Golf Channel below.

Woods and McIlroy to Make 2013 Debuts at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
Mickelson, Snedeker and Kuchar Headline Field at Humana Challenge in Partnership with the Clinton Foundation
Champions Tour Kicks off 2013 Season in Hawaii

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
Dates: Jan. 16-20
Venue: Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Airtimes (Eastern):   

Wednesday     10:30 p.m.-8 a.m. (Live)
Thursday         10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 11 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Round One Replay)
Friday              2:30-8 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 1:30-4 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday          4-8 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 1:30-4 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday            4- 8 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 1:30-4 a.m. (Replay)

Tournament Field Notes:

• Woods and McIlroy Make 2013 Debuts – The world’s number one and two players, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, begin their 2013 season at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
• Headlining the Field – The field also includes Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer, Jason Dufner, Justin Rose, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Branden Grace, Thomas Bjorn, Francesco Molinari, Peter Hanson, Edoardo Molinari, Colin Montgomerie, Matteo Manassero, Henrik Stenson, Alexander Noren, Paul Casey, Robert Rock and Todd Hamilton.

Humana Challenge in Partnership with the Clinton Foundation
Dates: Jan. 17-20
Venue: Nicklaus Private Course & Palmer Private Course, PGA West, La Quinta Country Club, La Quinta, Calif.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         3-7 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-10:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday              3-7 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday          3-7 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday            3-7 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)

Tournament Field Notes:

• Headlining the Field –  The field includes Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas, Robert Karlsson, Tommy Gainey, Stuart Appleby, Carl Pettersson, Sean O’Hair, Seung-yul Noh, Harris English, Mike Weir, Boo Weekley, Robert Garrigus, Greg Chalmers, Jhonattan Vegas and Erik Compton.

Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai
Dates: Jan. 18-20
Venue: Hualalai Resort Golf Club, Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday              7:30-10 p.m. (Live) / 8-10:30 a.m. (Saturday Replay)
Saturday          7:30-10 p.m. (Live) / 8-10:30 a.m. (Sunday Replay)
Sunday            7:30-10 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Monday Replay)

Tournament Field Notes:

• Headlining the Field –  The first event of the 2013 Champions Tour season features all tournament winners from the last two years including Mark Calcavecchia, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Mark O’Meara, Corey Pavin, Kenny Perry, Tom Watson and Dan Forsman.

That will do it.

Oh My! It’s The Return of The Linkage!

It’s been way too long since you’ve seen linkage on this site. This has been the main mission of Fang’s Bites since the beginning, but too often, I get roped into doing family stuff and it prevents me from getting on here until late.

I hope to rectify that. So without further delay, here’s the linkage.

I’ll begin with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch who looks at tonight’s ESPN production of the BCS National Championship Game and he breaks news that former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine will co-host a daily NBC Sports Radio show.

From The Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with ESPN’s Brent Musburger about retirement.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal says thanks to its parent company buying into YES Network, Fox Sports will have the rights to as many as 18 New York Yankees games for its national MLB broadcasts (for now, subscription required).

Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Daily writes that DirecTV is dropping NASCAR Hot Pass due to the high cost and low demand.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell reports that the “Catholic 7″, the breakaway basketball schools from the Big East, is negotiating a megabucks deal with Fox Sports.

Nathan Savin Scott of USA Today lists the best sports commercials of 2012.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says tonight’s BCS Championship Game could set an all-time viewership record for ESPN and cable TV.

The extremely warped Anthony Crupi (he’ll even admit this) of Adweek writes that the NFL’s regular season ratings were down slightly from last year, but it delivers an audience unlike any other programming.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Michael McCarthy at Advertising Age notes that college football is close to passing baseball as the nation’s second most popular sport.

Natalie Zmuda of Ad Age says Pepsi wants to make you, yes you, part of its Super Bowl ad.

Mark J. Miller at BrandChannel notes how a Nike ad campaign helped to nudge the NHL into ending its lockout.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine wonders if the ratings will return for the NHL now that its lockout has been resolved.

SBNation’s Steve Lepore reports that Michelle Beadle’s new show, The Crossover, will replace NBC Sports Talk later this month.

David Rogers over at Awful Announcing scolds NHL Network for not covering one second of the end of the lockout.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Wheat Hotchkiss (I like this name) delves into ESPN’s production of the BCS National Championship Game in South Flordia.

EPL Talk reviews Fox’s first-ever broadcast of an FA Cup game.

Will Leitch at Sports on Earth says NBC Sports Network’s ratings may be low, but at least it’s trying to be the anti-ESPN.

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe writes about Bobby Valentine’s new foray into daily sports radio.

Brian Stelter at the New York Times says rising sports fees are causing cable providers to drop lower performing channels.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post needs to stop watching television.

Newsday’s Neil Best says there’s too much sports television and radio for the average fan to keep track of. Well put, Neil.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Golf Channel has had to adjust its schedule for the weather-delayed Tournament of Champions.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says CBS Sports Radio has a home in the Hudson Valley.

Keith Groller with the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks with an Eastern Pennsylvania native who’s been covering Notre Dame for the last six years.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun feels CBS did not get the job done covering yesterday’s Colts-Ravens game.

David says yesterday’s Colts-Ravens game received the highest rating in the Charm City since last year’s Super Bowl.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has the national media reaction to DC NFL Team head coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to keep quarterback Robert Griffin III on the field despite him seemingly being hurt until an injury that ended his game.

Dan says a local sports radio morning show now gets an opportunity on TV.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times has the winners and losers in the NHL Lockout.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has some info from ESPN on tonight’s BCS National Championship Game.

Mike Herndon of the Birmingham (AL) News says ESPN could not have asked for a better matchup in the BCS National Championship Game.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News looks into the behind-the-scenes for ESPN’s telecast of Alabama-Notre Dame.

David Barron with the Houston Chronicle says Saturday’s Bengals-Texans local rating matched last year’s Wild Card playoff game number.

David writes that former Houston Astros broadcaster Alan Ashby will return to the team as its TV analyst on Comcast SportsNet.

WDIV-TV in Detroit had the suspended Rob Parker from ESPN’s First Take in his first TV interview since he was taken off the air for his comments on DC NFL Team QB Robert Griffin III (starts at 6:15). h/t to Richard Deitsch for the link.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says a Rocky Mountain region sportscaster has plenty of memories that include the Broncos.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times writes that the NFL’s ratings have slipped a bit from last season, but they still remain king of all television.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the five things he learned from the weekend.

Tom also has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail asks with the NHL Lockout over, what’s in it for the fans?

Sports Media Watch notes that the overnight rating for the Cincinnati-Houston NFL Wild Card Game on NBC was up from last year.

SMW says NBC’s nightcap of Vikings-Packers was down slightly from last year.

SMW tells us that Seattle-Washington had the third highest overnight for an NFL Wild Card game since 1999.

And for Indy-Baltimore on CBS, the overnight number was very good.

And that’s going to be it for now.

PGA Tour Returns This Week on Golf Channel/NBC Sports

Starting on Friday , the PGA Tour returns to action with the Tournament of Champions live from Kapalua, Maui in Hawaii. The Tournament of Champions will only feature the men who won in 2012 on the PGA Tour.

Golf Channel will carry most of the action, however, NBC will air third round action on Sunday. NBC’s Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller will call the action with Rich Lerner and Frank Nobilo.

In addition, NBC Sports will produce the tournament and most of the PGA Tour events that will air on Golf Channel this season. And the Tournament of Champions will feature Sunday Night Football-style introductions of the golfers.

We have the NBC Sports Group press release.

NBC SPORTS GROUP KICKS OFF 2013 PGA TOUR SEASON ON GOLF CHANNEL WITH TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS IN HAWAII

Tournament of Champions Returns to Broadcast TV for First Time in 15 Years with Sunday’s Third Round on NBC Leading into Primetime on Golf Channel
New “Driving Grid” Graphic Technology Debuts to Measure Longest Drives at 663-Yard No. 18 – Long Ball Hitters Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson Featured Friday Primetime Pairing
New “Sunday Night Football Style” First Tee Player Introductions
NBC and Golf Channel to Air 20 Live Tournament Hours, Including Six Hours in Primetime with Wraparound News Coverage on Golf Central On-Site in Kapalua
“Dustin Johnson arrived to Hawaii on Dec. 27 and will have at least seven practice rounds under his belt by Friday. I have a feeling this could be a great year for Dustin.” – Golf Channel on NBC analyst Mark Rolfing
“It will be interesting to see if any of the putter-anchoring players in the field decide to try a new method in competition. Longer putters to me never seem to work as well on large greens and in windy conditions.” – Golf Channel on NBC analyst Mark Rolfing

ORLANDO, Fla., (Jan. 2, 2013) – NBC Sports Group will present comprehensive coverage of the kickoff of the 2013 PGA TOUR season this week with the Tournament of Champions from Hawaii. Featuring a stellar field comprised only of 2012 tournament champions, the Tournament of Champions, which is scheduled as a Friday through Monday tournament (Jan. 4-7), will be held at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Maui. NBC’s and Golf Channel’s coverage features a combined 20 hours of live tournament action, including NBC’s third-round lead-in coverage, which marks the first time the Tournament of Champions has aired on broadcast television in 15 years. Golf Central, Golf Channel’s signature news program, will complement live coverage throughout the week with shows hosted on-site in Kapalua.

“The return of broadcast television coverage for the first time in 15 years coupled with the Monday night finish and the unprecedented production resources across two networks will showcase the Tournament of Champions and give the PGA TOUR season the kickoff it deserves,” said Mike McCarley, President of Golf Channel. “We’re also looking forward to giving viewers a much needed dose of Hawaiian paradise during this tough winter.”

TOURNAMENT BROADCAST TEAM: Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller will join Rich Lerner and Frank Nobilo in calling the action from the 18^th hole tower at the Plantation Course in Kapalua. Both teams will be joined by tower reporters Gary Koch and Mark Rolfing; on-course reporters Roger Maltbie and Jerry Foltz; and interviewer Steve Sands.

NBC PRODUCTION: For the first time since Golf Channel became part of the NBC Sports family in 2011, NBC’s award-winning golf production team will produce events airing primarily on Golf Channel. Tommy Roy, a 28-time Emmy Award-winner, will produce the Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in Hawaii. The Tournament of Champions broadcast will feature an increased number of cameras and camera towers, including aerial coverage from a fixed wing airplane for a second-consecutive year at Kapalua.

DRIVING GRID GRAPHIC DEBUTS ON THE 18TH: Driving Grid, a new graphic representation that measures the yardage of tee shots, will make its debut on the 18^th hole at the Plantation Course during the Tournament of Champions tournament broadcasts. Similar to the “First and 10” graphic lines used during NFL broadcasts, the Driving Grid graphic lines will be marked off in 25-yard increments on the 18^th fairway, which regularly sees some of the longest drives during the entire PGA TOUR season. Since 2003, 92 drives have eclipsed 400 yards on the par-5 18^th hole, more than 25 percent of all 400-yard drives on the PGA TOUR in the last nine years. The penultimate group in Friday’s opening round on Golf Channel will be two of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson.

NEW PLAYER INTRODUCTIONS, “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL STYLE” – Players competing in the Tournament of Champions will introduce themselves on the first tee during Friday’s opening round on Golf Channel and Sunday’s third round coverage on NBC in a new graphic package that models NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcasts. Players will introduce themselves by name, hometown and the 2012 tournaments they won.

Tournament of Champions Airtimes (all times ET)

Jan. 4	Friday	Round 1	5:30-10 p.m.	Golf Channel
Jan. 5	Saturday	Round 2	5:30-10 p.m.	Golf Channel
Jan. 6	Sunday	Round 3	3-6 p.m.	NBC
Jan. 7	Sunday	Round 3	6-10 p.m.	Golf Channel
Jan. 8	Monday	Final Round	4-8 p.m.	Golf Channel

MORE THAN 20 HOURS OF NEWS COVERAGE: Golf Channel has scheduled more than 20 hours of live, wraparound news coverage of the Tournament of Champions throughout the week. Coverage will begin Wednesday with the 2013 premieres of Morning Drive and Golf Central and continue with comprehensive coverage on-site at Kapalua before and after tournament play Thursday-Monday. Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game will originate from a dedicated set at the Plantation Course. Kelly Tilghman, Brandel Chamblee and Tim Rosaforte will anchor Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game on-site from the Plantation Course in Kapalua.

GOLF CENTRAL SCHEDULED FEATURES:

• - Ian Poulter Goes One-on-One with Tim Rosaforte: Ian Poulter sits down with Tim Rosaforte for a candid discussion looking back at the 2012 season. Discussion includes the 2012 European Ryder Cup victory and closing the 2012 season on a high note with a victory at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.
• 2012 FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker: Brandt Snedeker, winner of the 2012 FedExCup, talks about his 2012 season and looking ahead to 2013.
• - Rich Lerner Essay on Bubba Watson – Rich Lerner will deliver one of his signature essays on a memorable year for 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson.

ON THE RANGE RETURNS THURSDAY: On the Range, Golf Channel’s weekly series that takes viewers to the driving ranges of golf’s professional tours, returns Thursday at 5 p.m. ET at the Tournament of Champions. Host Gary Williams and analysts Bill Kratzert and Billy Harmon will examine the players’ swings and routines as they prepare for Friday’s opening round of play. Alex Miceli will report on-site from Kapalua and will be joined by Ian Poulter, who will discuss his preparations for 2013.

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS PRO-AM: Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, Golf Channel will air an hour-long Tournament of Champions Pro-am special, eavesdropping on players as they get ready to kick off the 2013 PGA TOUR season.

COMPREHENSIVE DIGITAL COVERAGE: GolfChannel.com will provide users with comprehensive online coverage of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions throughout the week. GolfChannel.com senior writer Jason Sobel will report from Kapalua.

NBC Sports Group Hyundai Tournament of Champions Coverage (all times ET):

Show		Network		Airtime (all times ET)
Wednesday, Jan. 2
Golf Central		Golf Channel		6-6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 3
Morning Drive		Golf Channel		7-9 a.m.
On the Range (2013 Premiere)		Golf Channel		5-6 p.m.
Golf Central		Golf Channel		6-8 p.m.
Hyundai TOC Pro-Am		Golf Channel		8-10 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 4
Morning Drive		Golf Channel		7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game		Golf Channel		3:30-5:30 p.m.
Tournament of Champions		Golf Channel		5:30-10 p.m.
Golf Central		Golf Channel		10-10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 5
Golf Central Pre Game		Golf Channel		5-5:30 p.m.
Tournament of Champions		Golf Channel		5:30-10 p.m.
Golf Central		Golf Channel		10-10:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 6
Tournament of Champions		NBC		3-6 p.m.
Tournament of Champions		Golf Channel		6-10 p.m.
Golf Central		Golf Channel		10-10:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 7
Morning Drive		Golf Channel		7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game		Golf Channel		3-4 p.m.
Tournament of Champions		Golf Channel		4-8 p.m.
Golf Central		Golf Channel		8-9 p.m.

More coming up.

Golf Channel Airs PGA Tour Championship & LPGA This Week

This week, the PGA Tour ends its FedEx Cup playoff with The Tour Championship in Atlanta and the LPGA continues with the Navistar tournament.

Golf Channel will have coverage of both tournaments. Golf Channel and NBC Sports will combine for The Tour Championship which will determine the PGA Tour’s Champion for 2012. Overall, the NBC Sports Group will have 22 hours of coverage of The Tour Championship.

We have details of the coverage of both tours below.

NBC Sports Group to Showcase More than 22 Hours of Live Coverage of the TOUR Championship

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods Featured Pairing
Golf Central to Broadcast Live and On-site at East Lake Thursday-Sunday
LPGA Tour Returns to Alabama for the Navistar LPGA Classic 

TOUR Championship
Dates: Sept. 20-23
Venue: East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.

Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday         1-6 p.m. (Live)/8:30 p.m. -1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Friday             1-6 p.m. (Live)/8:30 p.m. -1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday          Noon-2 p.m. (Live)/7:30-11:30 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Replay)
Sunday            11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live)/7-11:30 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Replay)

NBC Airtimes (Eastern):
Saturday          2-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday            1:30-6 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel/NBC Broadcast Team
Terry Gannon (Golf Channel Play-by-Play)/Dan Hicks (NBC Play-by-Play)
Frank Nobilo (Golf Channel Analyst)/Johnny Miller (NBC Analyst)
Gary Koch (Tower)
Peter Jacobsen (Tower)
Jimmy Roberts (Tower/Essays)
Billy Andrade (On Course)
Roger Maltbie (On Course)
Mark Rolfing (On Course)
Dottie Pepper (On Course)
Steve Sands (Tower/Interviews/FedExCup Updates)

Broadcast Notes:

• NBC Sports Group To Air More than 22 Hours of Live Coverage – Golf Channel and NBC Sports will broadcast a combined 22 hours live tournament action from the TOUR Championship.
• Woods and McIlroy Featured Pairing – The top-seeded FedExCup group at the TOUR Championship – Rory McIlroy (1) and Tiger Woods (2) – will be paired together for Thursday’s opening round of coverage, teeing off at 1:55 p.m. ET.
• Golf Central to Broadcast On-site Thursday-Sunday – Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game will broadcast live and on-site at East Lake Golf Club Thursday-Sunday before and after live tournament coverage.  Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee, Todd Lewis and Tim Rosaforte will anchor coverage throughout the week.  Golf Central Pre Game will air Thursday-Sunday at 11 a.m. ET, including expanded two-hour shows Thursday and Friday.
• Golf Central Live on NBC Saturday and Sunday – NBC will air Golf Central Live on Saturday and Sunday preceding NBC’s weekend coverage of the third and final rounds of the TOUR Championship. (1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday and 1 p.m. ET on Sunday).
• Aimpoint Returns to Golf Channel Coverage – Aimpoint, Golf Channel’s Emmy-award winning graphics technology that measures the line of a putt and where players must aim to hole out, will be featured on holes 9 and 18 at East Lake Golf Club.
• Four Rounds of Coverage on Golf Channel – In addition to exclusive Thursday and Friday coverage, Golf Channel will air early coverage on Saturday and Sunday leading into NBC’s live coverage.  Golf Channel also will re-air NBC’s coverage in primetime on the weekend at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday and 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.
• TOUR Championship Features Field of 30 – The top-30 players remaining in the PGA TOUR Playoffs not only will compete this week to win the TOUR Championship crown, but also to improve their shot at winning the season-ending FedExCup and $10 million.
• Steve Sands to Give “FedExCup Updates” Friday-Sunday on Golf Channel and NBC – Steve Sands will update viewers on the status of the FedExCup points standings throughout the broadcasts Friday-Sunday on both Golf Channel and NBC.  Using “whiteboard” technology made famous by NBC News’ Tim Russert, Sands will lay out the finishing scenarios of players in contention to win the FedExCup.

Navistar LPGA Classic
Dates: Sept. 20-23
Venue: The Senator Course, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Prattville, Ala.

 

Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday                     6:30-8:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Friday                          6:30-8:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday                      2-5 p.m. (Live) / 12:30-3 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday                        1:30-5 p.m. (Live) / 12:30-3 a.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Tournament Broadcast Team
Whit Watson (Play by Play)
Judy Rankin (Analyst)
Tom Abbott (Tower)
Jerry Foltz (On Course)
Kay Cockerill (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Players in the Truck – Danielle Kang and Sydnee Michaels – LPGA Tour rookies Danielle Kang and Sydnee Michaels visit Golf Channel’s production trucks on Friday for a special “Players in the Truck” segment. Kang will be sporting a boom mic, while Michaels will operate a graphics machine for the tournament broadcast.
• Walk and Talks Featured – Golf Channel on-course reporters Jerry Foltz and Kay Cockerill will interview players inside the ropes as they are walking the fairways during all four rounds of tournament coverage.
• Headlining the Field – Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, Brittany Lincicome, Azahara Munoz, Beatriz Recari, Sandra Gal, So Yeon Ryu, Anna Nordqvist, Gerina Piller, Angela Stanford and Vicky Hurst.

That’s going to do it.

Doing Our Friday Megalinks

Haven’t been able to provide the Friday megalinks in a while. Let’s do an edition today.

Normally I include a link to the Weekend Viewing Picks, but I’ll be doing that tonight so you can find it on my site when it’s posted. If you follow me on Twitter or have an RSS feed, you’ll be updated as soon as it posts. If not, you can find it later.

Let’s do the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand wonders what effect the gold medal win by the US Women’s Soccer National Team will have on the sport in the long run.

Michael also live blogged Thursday’s Olympic Primetime on NBC.

Jeffrey Martin of USA Today looks at the grand experiment that’s known as the Pac-12 Networks.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus about the NBCUniversal’s handling of the 2012 Olympics.

At the Sports on Earth blog, Joe Posnanski chronicles his day in covering the Olympics.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily says with NFL preseason games airing in many local markets on Thursday, NBC Olympic overnight ratings took a hit.

Bill King of SBD says CBS Sports is forging ahead with a show featuring the professional debut of several US Olympic boxers despite their poor performance in London.

Ryan Baucom of SBD writes that several Olympic athletes are getting a boost in Twitter followers after their success in the London Games.

Tripp Mickle of SBD says Universal Sports broke out an ad on NBC Thursday trying to promote its Olympic sports programming. Good luck with that.

Eric Fisher of SBD says Yahoo is declaring victory over NBCOlympics.com for unique pageviews.

Sohrab Amari of the Wall Street Journal reviews an NBC News documentary fronted by Tom Brokaw which will air on NBC’s Olympic coverage on Saturday.

Sarah Kwak of Sports Illustrated talks with Lolo Jones about the media firestorm that swelled just before she ran her 100 meters hurdles race.

In the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with outgoing Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan about his first job. Ryan will be missed in the pages of the Globe.

Sports Media Journal’s Keith Thibault and I have an Olympic-themed podcast with Richard Sandomir of the New York Times and Bruce Beck of WNBC-TV.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Today Show host Matt Lauer had an icy reunion with former co-host Ann Curry on NBC’s London Olympics set.

John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable writes that the FCC has already denied a Comcast request to stay its decision requiring the cable provider to give space to the Tennis Channel.

Christopher Heine of Adweek says Olympic marketers have failed to medal in their social media campaigns.

But Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age looks at the Olympic sponsors that managed to get a boost through social media.

Michael Learmonth of Advertising Age says NBC and the International Olympic Committee have to fix the Olympic business model before it breaks down.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life notes that NBC’s ratings for Wednesday Olympic Primetime show drew better viewership numbers than Atlanta in 1996.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says CBS Sports is preparing for all type of weather conditions for this weekend’s PGA Championship.

Karen Hogan of SVG looks at NBC New York Olympic operations.

Ken Kerschbaumer at SVG says Denmark TV has a floating barge studio for the London Olympics. Now that’s pretty cool.

And Birgit Heidsiek of SVG says Eurosport TV is producing the Olympics in 3-D.

Jason Fry of the Poynter Institute and writing as the ESPN Ombudsman investigates a plagiarism incident at the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that the Pac-12 Conference is readying an aggressive digital strategy that will go along with its television distribution.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead goes after former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol for being out of touch in defending the tape delayed Olympics.

The Big Lead looks at the Pac-12 being in the forefront of digital distribution after being marred for years of being behind the curve.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says the Miami Dolphins will take advantage of the NFL’s relaxed TV blackout policy this weekend.

Emmett Jones of Sports Business Digest notes that Buffalo Wild Wings has purchased naming rights for a college bowl game. Looks like it will be going to overtime every year.

Sports Media Watch says with NBC committed to the Olympics this year, the NFL Hall of Fame preseason game was aired on NFL Network and naturally suffered a big viewer dropoff.

SMW reports that NBC got another ratings increase for the Olympics.

TVNewsCheck says Gannett is declaring victory saying three of its stations are the top-rated local NBC affiliates in key demographics.

Alex Weprin of TVNewser looks at NBC’s Today Show operations in London.

At TVSpy, Alex tours NBC’s operation center for its local affiliates in London.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with Celtics TV voice Mike Gorman who’s been calling Olympic handball off a monitor for NBC.

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen discusses Golf Channel’s meteoric rise and its plans to cover the PGA Championship this weekend.

Jane L. Levere of the New York Times writes about ESPN’s new ad campaign for Monday Night Football.

Verne Gay at Newsday notes that a long-time NBC Sports director is retiring after the Olympics.

Newsday’s Chris Serico wonders if NBC’s Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera will be a bit more subdued during the Olympic Closing Ceremony on Sunday than their talkative performance during the Opening Ceremony two Fridays ago.

Neil Best of Newsday catches up with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski who’s filling a new role at the network after being in the Monday Night Football both.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is in another one of his moods today.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes a local radio station’s high school football schedule.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says Pac-12 Networks will be seen on Time Warner Cable locally.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says despite a lost season, the Philadelphia Phillies TV crew still has plenty to talk about during games.

Tim Richardson in Press Box looks at the business of fantasy football as leagues get ready to hold their drafts soon, if not already.

Sarah Kogod of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that more people were watching the DC NFL Team in area sports bars last night as compared to the Nationals.

Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog says the Nationals radio team tried to explain the term “ball bag”.

South

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald reviews HBO’s Hard Knocks on the Dolphins.

Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Dolphins have announced their TV blackout policy today.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says a local high school sports TV show expands to a new market.

Midwest

The Cincinnati Enquirer says ESPN’s College GameDay could be visiting the Queen City in February.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at Dick Ebersol’s latest comments on tape delaying Olympic events.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with a local sports radio host who’s perturbed at a former employer.

Dan notes that the Olympics and the St. Louis Cardinals ratings have been hurt by each other.

West

Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star says the Pac-12 Networks are ready to launch next week, but without a few major cable and satellite providers.

John Maffei of the North County Times talks with a former NBC Olympics analyst who was fired on the spot after calling a race.

To the Ventura County Star where Jim Carlisle talks about the increased spotlight on the Pac-12 through its new TV networks.

Jim says Twitter has become an Olympic event.

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times has the Irish radio call of boxer Katie Taylor’s victory giving the country its first gold medal of the Olympics.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says this is a critical time for beach volleyball as the sport is in transition now.

Tom has some Olympic TV notes in his blog.

And those are your supersized megalinks for today.

Looking at the Next Generation of Olympic Announcers

As we go into the second week of the 2012 London Olympics or the Games of the XXX Summer Olympiad, I thought I would take the opportunity on this middle Sunday to look ahead for the next set of Games on television.

We know that NBCUniversal will carry the Olympics through 2020, that’s two Winter and two Summer Games in that timespan. While the network has been served well by its current crop of announcers, some of whom date back as far back as 1988, it’s time to replace them with a new generation of hosts, play-by-play callers and analysts who can carry the network through 2020 and possibly beyond.

I’ll focus this post on the Summer Games since that’s what we’ve been watching for the last 8 days. I’ll do a Winter Olympics announcing post at a later date. I’ll start with hosts, then go by the glamor sports.

HOSTS

Bob Costas — Bob is 60 this year and while his youthful look betrays his age, he’ll be 64 in 2016 for Rio and 68 in 2020 at a site yet to be determined. ABC’s Jim McKay hosted his last Olympics in 1988 at age 65. Costas remains the best interviewer on sports television and should be allowed to host the Olympics on NBC for as long as he wants. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.

Dan Patrick — Dan is just four years younger than Bob, but if Costas decides to leave, DP could step into his shoes as Primetime host.

Liam McHugh — For 2016, I would think this is where NBC could tap Liam McHugh and put him in Al Michaels’ place on Daytime. Al would be 71 in Rio and while he would still be very good at calling Sunday Night Football in four years, I would not put him in the host’s chair in Rio. McHugh has proven he can be very versatile hosting the NHL Postseason, the Stanley Cup Final, the Tour de France and the Olympics over a four month span. That is not easy, but Liam has made it look easy and that’s the sign of a very good host.

Bonnie Bernstein — ESPN’s Bonnie Bernstein is the best personality not to have an Olympic gig. This is like saying she’s the Best Golfer Not To Win A Major. She has proven as a substitute host for Dan Patrick and on Twitter that she can discuss multiple sports. And Bonnie’s also a former gymnast. Watching BBC’s coverage of the London Games, the network utilizes both studio and venue hosts. Making Bonnie a venue host at Gymnastics with Nastia Liukin as her analyst would work to one of her strengths. She was a five-time host of the NCAA Gymnastics Championship when she was at CBS. I would love to see her work an Olympic Games.

Ryan Burr — Ryan will be coming to the NBCUniversal family to work at Golf Channel and at NBC Sports Network. We could see him host on either MSNBC or NBCSN.

Michelle Beadle — Michelle’s done a great job thus far in London. She has shown she can talk Olympic sports and bring some humor as well.

Kelly Tilghman — I’ve liked her work on MSNBC. I can see her on future Olympics as well.

ANNOUNCERS

Let’s do this by sport.

BASKETBALL — If the NBA continues sending players to the Olympics, then NBC could continue utilizing Bob Fitzgerald from Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Chris Carrino. This is where NBC should tap Turner Sports for a Steve Kerr or even Reggie Miller for analysts.

If basketball becomes an Under 23 tournament as speculated, NBC may have to hire college basketball announcers. Borrowing Ian Eagle from CBS and YES to call games would be a good move. Jay Bilas from ESPN would forge a strong team with Ian throughout the Games. And NBC should still utilize Craig Sager as the reporter although he looks muted with a regular wardrobe.

On the women’s side, if NBC could get Doris Burke on loan from ESPN, that would be ideal. She could work men’s games too as she’s proven over the past few years. If NBC can’t get Doris Burke, why not former ESPN’er Stacey Dales or Fox Sports Net’s Debbie Antonelli?

BOXING — Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas are a very good team and should remain, but I’d love for NBC to bring in its old friend Jim Lampley with Larry Merchant and Emmanuel Steward from HBO to call one or two bouts a day. What could be better than that? And bring in Harold Lederman for judging analysis while we’re at it.

Host Fred Roggin should be replaced with boxing fan Brian Kenny of MLB Network.

CYCLING — If it’s not Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, NBC should go announcer-less.

DIVING — Can you believe Cynthia Potter has worked every Summer Olympics on network television since 1984? She’s been solid, but it’s time to bring in some new blood. 2000 gold medalist Laura Wilkinson who worked the Diving Trials for NBC Sports Network in June is a potential candidate.

GYMNASTICS — Utilizing a favorite word of Tim Daggett’s, the announcing on this sport over the last two Olympiads has been catastrophic. Normally, I like Al Trautwig, but his calls of gymnastics in 2008 in Beijing and this year in London is reaching John Tesh disastrous proportions in 1996. Al makes everything seems at life or death levels. In addition, his penchant to focus on crying gymnasts borders on creepy.

Tim Daggett’s constant talking and use of the word “catastrophic” is annoying. Elfi Schlegel has been reduced to short sentences. NBC needs to replace this team for 2016.

This is where NBC can utilize a venue host (see Bonnie Bernstein above) with an analyst. Nastia Liukin could fill that role very nicely. Bela Karolyi has proven to be Must See TV and should be one of the studio analysts. And if his wife, Marta retires, imagine the fireworks on the set between those two.

NBC is using Terry Gannon this year to call rowing. Why not have Terry call Olympic Gymnastics in 2016? He has called the sport for ABC and did it well. And having watched the World Feed this year through NBC’s Olympics Live Extra app, I’m very impressed with Shannon Miller from 1996′s Magnificent Seven Team. She’s been the sole analyst for Olympic Broadcasting Services and has done very well in explaining certain moves, the scoring system and their implications without sounding overdramatic. Terry Gannon and Shannon Miller would make an excellent team.

GOLF — Remember, golf makes its return to the Olympics in Rio in 2016, having made its last appearance in 1904. NBC/Golf Channel has an established team with Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Nick Faldo, Roger Maltbie, Brandell Chamblee, Frank Nobilo, Rich Lerner, the aforementioned Kelly Tilghman, David Feherty, the incoming Ryan Burr and so many others who could work this event.

Some people have asked me on Twitter if Dan would stop calling swimming to do golf. I think Dan could do both especially if the IOC (with the help of NBC) decides to schedule golf in the second week of the Olympics, so that it doesn’t interfere with swimming, tennis, gymnastics and other sports in the first week. This is where a venue host would come in handy, perhaps Kelly or Ryan with one or two of the many Golf Channel analysts. And we could expect Golf Channel to have a role in picking up the first two rounds of Olympic Golf with NBC coming in for the last two rounds.

SOCCER — NBC used its MLS crew, Arlo White and Kyle Martino on the men’s games along with JP Dellacamera, Glenn Davis, Steve Cangialosi and Allen Hopkins. I’d love to see English Premier League announcers Martin Tyler and Ian Darke on US TV calling some Olympic action.

Brandi Chastain despite Hope Solo’s complaints last week is doing well on women’s games and I would keep her in the booth.

SWIMMING — Dan Hicks has made this one of his signature sports along with golf throughout his career at NBC. I can’t see him leaving the sport unless golf is scheduled in the first week, but I don’t think that would happen. Rowdy Gaines has been a good salesman for swimming and he’s doing yeoman’s work to raise money for the sport to establish a training center. However, I’ve grown tired of his screaming and his voice raising over 50 octaves. This is where NBC could bring in a plethora of gold medalists to replace Gaines. This is also a sport that could utilize a venue host and it’s where Liam McHugh could go if NBC decides to keep Al Michaels in Daytime.

While Phelps has said he’s retiring, NBC would like to see him in Rio either as a swimmer or perhaps an analyst. If the network uses him on TV, I’d prefer to see him in the studio. At first thought, I felt putting Phelps on camera would be a bad move, but this was based on his interviews in Beijing where he looked uncomfortable. During his NBC interviews in London, Michael has looked more at ease, but that does not necessarily make for a good analyst. If he wants to go the TV route, putting him in the studio for short spurts might be best for 2016.

As for the races, I’d go with Amy Van Dyken to replace Rowdy. For the past year, Amy has been co-hosting Fox Sports Tonight with Rob Dibble on Fox Sports Radio and she’s been in London analyzing the Olympic swimming for FoxSports.com. Amy is not only funny, but she speaks her mind. She knows the mind of an Olympic athlete and I think she’d be perfect with Dan in calling the races.

TENNIS — This sport finally received some glamor treatment from NBC this year. However, it was treated badly with Pat O’Brien as the venue host. Not only did Pat demonstrate a huge lack of knowledge, he conducted awkward interviews as well. Brett Haber and Andrew Catalon did very well on the play-by-play and I liked Rennae Stubbs to want her to return in Rio. Justin Gimelstob was a weak link in the crew. I’d replace him with ESPN’s Darren Cahill or have John McEnroe call more matches.

TRACK & FIELD — There’s not much I would replace here. Tom Hammond is about as classy an announcer as you will find. Ato Boldon has become a very strong analyst. And NBC has brought back Craig Masback, long a staple of track coverage in the 1980′s and 1990′s. But for 2016, I think Lolo Jones would make for a good studio analyst. And Michael Johnson who has been on the last few Olympics for the BBC would work well too. Having Bob host Primetime from the Athletics venue would be a nice change of pace from being in the studio. And he could mix it up with Lolo and Michael.

Those are my suggestions. If you have some of your own, put them in the comments below.

Big Break Atlantis Cast Back For A Catty Reunion

The latest season of Big Break wraps up tonight with what appears to be quite a catty reunion show among the cast. Golf Channel has released two videos showing some tension as cast members open up about the show.

Last week, Marcela Leon won the opportunity to play in an LPGA event later this year and get all of her entry fees to the Symetra Tour waived for next year plus plenty of cash and prizes.

Tonight, Golf Channel gathers the entire cast one last time and has co-hosts Tom Abbott and Stephanie Sparks question each woman about her experience on the show and what it’s meant to them. And we do get some fireworks.

As a fan of The Amazing Race, I’m always entertained by conflict and there wasn’t much of that in Big Break Atlantis, but there appears to be some in tonight’s reunion show, so I’ll be looking forward to that.

Here’s the preview from Golf Channel.

CAST REUNITES MONDAY FOR BIG BREAK ATLANTIS – REUNION

Open and Candid Discussion with all 12 Competitors on Various Topics and Situations that Occurred on Big Break Atlantis Reunion Show Filmed at Universal Orlando CityWalk
Big Break Atlantis Champion Marcela Leon to be Awarded LPGA Kingsmill Championship Exemption and Full Exempt Status for 2013 Symetra Tour
Big Break Atlantis Fan Favorite to be Revealed
“I don’t have any regrets, but sometimes I feel angry because I feel some people were on the show longer that don’t care about golf as much as me.” – Meghan Hardin
“It didn’t surprise me that Zakiya didn’t want to go into elimination against the four of us because I think that she knew we were going to hit better shots than her.” – Shannon Fish
Video Preview: Meghan Hardin’s Bold Statement
Video Preview: Shannon Fish Responds to Zakiya Randall Questioning Her Teammates

ORLANDO, Fla., July 27, 2012 – Marcela Leon defeated Selanee Henderson in a pressure-packed season finale on Monday to be crowned winner of Big Break Atlantis. On Monday at 9 p.m. ET, the entire cast will reunite for the first time since the series concluded filming in January.

Hosted by Stephanie Sparks and Tom Abbott, Big Break Atlantis – Reunion will take place before a studio audience at Universal Orlando CityWalk. The special will feature open, candid and surprising discussion on various topics and situations that occurred during the taping of the series, including how the competitors handled the pressure, meeting World No. 1 Yani Tseng, facing elimination and clashes between the contestants.

“I don’t have any regrets, but sometimes I feel angry because I feel some people were on the show longer that don’t care about golf as much as me. I’m here for my golf career. I’m out playing and practicing every day. I’m not doing anything else. There are people who still aren’t playing in tournaments…I wasn’t here to get my 15 minutes of fame.”— Big Break Atlantis competitor Meghan Hardin.

“I don’t really know what to say to that, because everyone comes from different circumstances in life. You cannot judge if someone is playing in tournaments. Maybe there is a reason why they are not playing in tournaments. That is just a bold statement to make, really bold.” – Big Break Atlantis competitor Aubrey McCormick, in response to Hardin’s comments.

When asked by Abbott and Sparks if anything shown on the series surprised them, Zakiya Randall questioned her fellow competitors about some remarks made during a team challenge in one of the early episodes.

“It didn’t surprise me that Zakiya didn’t want to go into elimination against the four of us because I think that she knew we were going to hit better shots than her.” – Big Break Atlantis competitor Shannon Fish.

Following the statement and during a commercial break, Fish placed her hand up to her mouth in the shape of a gun and pretended to blow out smoke.

The show also will reveal the winner of Big Break Atlantis Fan Favorite Poll, a season-long online fan poll where fans and viewers voted for their favorite competitor on the series. The winner will receive a potential career-changing prize during the show.

As champion of Big Break Atlantis, Leon receives one of the most valuable prize packages in Big Break series history, highlighted by an invitation to compete in the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship in September and $50,000 in cash. In addition, Leon receives an endorsement contract, which includes $10,000 in cash; $10,000 shopping spree; $10,000 car rental credit and a return trip for two to Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas.

The 11-part Big Break Atlantis series unfolded on the Tom Weiskopf-designed Ocean Club Golf Course, a picturesque par-72 championship layout featuring breathtaking signature holes, and seaside greens and tees stretched over 7,100 yards of coastline.

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. One contestant was eliminated each week during Big Break Atlantis. The last player standing was awarded her Big Break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship and more than $80,000 in cash and prizes.

Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Canadian Tour. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, caught the world’s attention in 2011 with three top-five finishes, and Big Break Ireland champion Mark Murphy made the cut in both of his 2012 events on the European Tour he received as a result of winning the series (Trophee Hassan II and The Irish Open).

Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties (Web.com Tour), Kim Welch and Sara Brown (Ladies European Tour); and Gerina Piller, 2011 Solheim Cup team member Ryann O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour).

That is all.

Big Break Atlantis Finale Airs Monday Night

Big Break Atlantis’ finale airs on Monday night. I’ve watched every show this season and have been quite impressed with the production.

The last two contestants, Selanee Henderson and Marcela Leon will vie for a chance to gain an exemption on the LPGA Tour’s Kingmill Championship and all entry fees waived for an entire LPGA’s Symetra Tour season. There are other prizes including $10,000 cash plus other loot.

Check out the Golf Channel announcement below.

INVITATION TO COMPETE ON THE LPGA TOUR AND MORE THAN $80,000 IN CASH AND PRIZES UP FOR GRABS ON MONDAY’S BIG BREAK ATLANTIS FINALE

Temecula, Calif., Resident Selanee Henderson and Orlando, Fla., Resident/Mexico Native Marcela Leon to Compete in a Singles Match to Determine Big Break Champion
Exemption to LPGA Kingsmill Championship, Entry Fees Waived for Full Symetra Tour Season and $50,000 Cash on the Line, Among Other Prizes

ORLANDO, Fla., July 20, 2012 – In a season that started with 12 competitors, Golf Channel’s Big Break Atlantis reality competition series has narrowed the field to the final two –Selanee Henderson and Marcela Leon– who will grind it out in an 18-hole singles match on the series season finale, Monday at 9 p.m. ET.

Henderson and Leon will compete for the opportunity to make their lifelong dreams of playing alongside the world’s top golfers a reality. The winner of Big Break Atlantis on Monday will be awarded one of the most valuable packages in series history: Tournament exemption to compete in the LPGA Tour’s 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9); an endorsement contract, which includes an additional $10,000 in cash; $10,000 shopping spree; $10,000 car rental credit; full exempt status and all entry fees waived for a full Symetra Tour season; all-expense paid return trip for two to Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas and $50,000 in cash.

The finalists are:

Selanee Henderson (25, Temecula, Calif.) – A tough competitor on and off the course, Henderson is looking to capitalize on her success on the 2011 Cactus Tour (one win and one runner-up finish) to Big Break Atlantis. A natural athlete, Selanee also is the younger sister of former Olympic wrestler and current MMA fighter Dan Henderson.

Marcela Leon (31, Orlando, Fla./Monterrey, Mexico) – The most experienced competitor in the series, Leon has competed on the Symetra Tour for the past nine years, with five career top-10 finishes and one runner-up finish. She is competing a full-schedule on the 2012 Symetra Tour.

Shot in January at the Bahamas resort, the 11-part series unfolds on the Tom Weiskopf-designed Ocean Club Golf Course, a picturesque par-72 championship layout featuring breathtaking signature holes, and seaside greens and tees stretched over 7,100 yards of coastline.

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. One contestant has been eliminated each week during Big Break Atlantis. The last player standing will be awarded her Big Break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in an LPGA Tour event.

Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Canadian Tour. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, caught the world’s attention in 2011 with three top-five finishes, and Big Break Ireland champion Mark Murphy made the cut in both of his 2012 events on the European Tour he received as a result of winning the series (Trophee Hassan II and The Irish Open).

Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties (Web.com Tour), Kim Welch and Sara Brown (Ladies European Tour); and Gerina Piller, 2011 Solheim Cup team member Ryann O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour)

That’s all.

Golf Channel’s Live Tournament Action This Week

While the Open Championship is taking place now at Royal Lytham, the PGA Tour still charges ahead with the True South Classic in Mississippi. Those golfers who chose not to cross the Atlantic or didn’t qualify for the Open Championship will be taking part in the True South Classic.

Golf Channel will have four round coverage and Mike Crispino will be the man in the 18th tower along with analyst Curt Byrum.

In addition, Golf Channel will air the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship from Daly City, CA. Coverage will include the quarterfinal round on Friday and the championship match on Saturday. Brian Hammons and Kay Cockerill will be the main announcers.

GOLF CHANNEL TOURNAMENT AIRTIMES AND NOTES: TRUE SOUTH CLASSIC AND U.S. GIRLS’ JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

PGA TOUR Heads to Mississippi for the True South Classic
Quarterfinal and Championship Match Coverage of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship

True South Classic
Dates: July 19-22
Venue: Annandale Golf Club, Madison, Miss.

Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Mike Crispino (Play-by-Play)
Curt Byrum(Analyst)
John Mahaffey (Tower)
Peter Oosterhuis (Tower)
Billy Ray Brown (On-Course)
Scott Walker (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:-

• Aimpoint featured – Aimpoint, Golf Channel’s Emmy Award-winning graphics technology that predicts the line of the putt and where players must aim to hole out, will be featured this week on holes 14 and 17 at Annandale Golf Club.
• Defending Champion Chris Kirk returns to Annandale – Defending champion Chris Kirk headlines the field that includes Boo Weekley, Bud Cauley, Jerry Kelly, Rocco Mediate, Shaun Micheel, Lee Janzen, Tommy Gainey, Erik Compton and Stuart Appleby.

U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
Dates: July 20-21
Venues: Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, Calif.

Airtimes (Eastern):
Friday 1-3 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-9:30 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 6-8 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-9:30 a.m. (Sunday replay)

Golf Channel Tournament Broadcast Team
Brian Hammons (Play-by-Play)
Kay Cockerill (Analyst)
Steve Burkowski (Tower)
Val Skinner (On Course)
Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Live Coverage of Quarterfinal Round and Championship Match – Golf Channel will air live coverage of the quarterfinal matches on Friday and the 36-hole championship match on Saturday.

There you have it.

Doing Some Tuesday Linkage

I was expecting to be out of the office today, but with the temperatures over 90 in Southern New England, being inside with air conditioning is probably the way to go today. I hope wherever you are, you’re staying cool and away from the sun.

I have some links.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says the BBC is defending the size of its staff devoted to covering the London Olympics pointing out that NBC is bringing almost four times BBC’s number.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes that ESPN has hired an internationally-known soccer journalist to bolster its website.

Tim says Golf Channel has made a couple of hires.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable writes that the Pac-12 Networks have selected Cisco to distribute video throughout its systems.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says a US-based martial arts network is attempting to gain a foothold in Europe.

Gabriel Belton of Adweek looks at a new Olympics-themed ad from GlaxoSmithKline.

Rupal Parekh at Advertising Age says Ralph Lauren is taking a huge PR hit over its “Made in Communist China” US Olympic Opening Ceremony uniforms.

Michelle Smith of espnW profiles Lydia Murphy-Stephens who’s helping to launch the Pac-12 Networks.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin notes that NBC’s Today Show ran video of the wrong man during an interview with Philadelphia Eagles’  quarterback Michael Vick.

John Koblin of Deadspin says Sports Illustrated will not run an excerpt of Joe Posnanski’s upcoming book on Joe Paterno.

Ed Sherman in The Sherman Report says a promotional video for Posnanski’s book seems to be seriously outdated in the wake of the Freeh Report released last week.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing explores whether Baseball Night in America was a ratings success for Fox.

Matt Yoder of AA talks with ESPN tome author James Andrew Miller in a podcast.

And Matt speaks with Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel about Penn State and the BCS in a new podcast.

How about one more podcast? Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina interviews Fox’s Erin Andrews on why she left ESPN.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy explores whether the NHL’s new TV deals with NBC and HBO could prevent a prolonged lockout unlike the last one which wiped out an entire season.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says the Freeh Report shows that journalists cannot take a college football program at face value.

Also at the National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley blasts ESPN and Big Ten Network for their coverage of the Freeh Report.

Sports Video Group looks at a company that is streaming the Olympics to 70 countries worldwide.

Cork Gaines of the Business Insider Sports Page says ESPN actually censored its own Body Issue cover of New England  Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski this morning.

Newsday’s Neil Best ventures into NBC’s “Billion Dollar Lab” for the 2012 Olympics.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes that WFAN’s Mike Francesa tops the Talkers Magazine Heavy Hundred Sports Radio Talk Show Hosts.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty discusses Golf Channel’s new hires.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says the NFL is pricing out the regular fan.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning News says a former Eagles and Steelers offensive lineman is now working for NFL Films.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is telling readers that Taylor Teagarden’s inadvertent “S” bomb after the Orioles win over Detroit on Fox Saturday is not a big deal.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog looks at where the local sports radio talkers rank on Talkers Heavy Hundred List.

Dan has video of a new Robert Griffin III commercial.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner explores the Nationals’ TV and radio ratings.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that native Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be profiled on HBO’s Real Sports tonight.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has video of Charlie Sheen appearing with Joe Morgan (?) on Jay Leno’s Show of Hacks.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue included a local Olympic volleyballer.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Chris Scott says the site’s own online TV service will be live from the Del Mar Racetrack this week for Opening Day.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that the White House had trouble transcribing ESPN’s Mark Jones’ interview of President Obama during last night’s USA vs. Brazil pre-Olympic basketball exhibition game.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says NHL fans may not see hockey until at least Thanksgiving at the earliest.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

That’s going to end the links for today.

Let’s Do The Friday Megalinks

Time for Friday linkage.

The Weekend Viewing Picks have your sports and entertainment suggestions. Let’s get cracking.

National

Michael Hiestand from USA Today looks at TNT’s plans to go mostly split-screen during breaks for Saturday’s NASCAR race.

Tom Perrotta of the Wall Street Journal reports that the one Wimbledon souvenir the players want is the towel.

Alex Sherman at Bloomberg Businessweek talks with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus about the Olympics.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says enhancing the NFL fan experience might bring more people to games.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report is happy to learn that Jeremy Schaap’s ESPN Radio show is now available as a podcast.

Bob Pockrass at The Sporting News says NASCAR hopes that NBC Sports will be a bidder for the sport’s TV rights.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says ESPN Deportes scored with the EURO 2012 Final last Sunday.

Mike says Golf Channel has selected the venue for the next season of “Big Break”.

Christopher Heine of Adweek says MLB’s allowing Twitter votes for the All-Star Game for the first time may have had a hand in deciding which league hosts the World Series.

Jason Del Ray of Advertising Age says the impending Turner Sports purchase of Bleacher Report makes sense.

Wayne Friedman at MediaPost says the NFL easing requirements on local TV blackouts shows the league wants to reach the casual fan.

Dan Daley at Sports Video Group says ESPN will be utilizing plenty of microphones at the MLB Home Run Derby.

Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder has a screengrab of a Canadian TV station messing up the Steve Nash trade to the Lakers.

And Matt has found an episode of Judge Sapp. Yes, that’s Warren Sapp.

The Big Lead soaked up the latest Twitter battle between ESPN’s Darren Rovell and Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch.

MediaRantz looks at the top 5 ESPN plagiarism scandals.

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo’s From the Marbles blog wonders what is the big deal with the TNT/truTV simulcast of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race on Saturday.

Joe Favorito likes how MLS has adopted “Food Week” to get fans to explore its markets’ restaurants.

East and Mid-Atlantic

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen says it was time for Erin Andrews to leave the ESPN Mothership.

Jerry Barmsah of Fishbowl NY says CBS Radio’s WFAN could be headed to FM and could take the Yankees with it.

Yes, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, we know you hate ESPN.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the MLB Extra Innings pay per view package will be free next week.

Don Laible of the Utica (NY) Observer-Dispatch talks with the NHL on NBC’s Dave Strader about calling Olympic basketball.

Ken says a local minor league baseball team has found a new radio home.

Dave Sottile of the Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News says there are no plans to bring Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic to the local area.

Tim Richardson in Press Box looks at the differences between the Washington Nationals and MASN over the team’s TV rights fee.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with MLB Network’s Chris Rose.

South

Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal says a popular local sports radio host is changing stations.

At the Houston Chronicle, David Barron writes that the new Comcast SportsNet Houston will air Conference USA football featuring the University of Houston.

Midwest

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says MLB feels it has restored integrity to the All-Star Game. It’s an exhibition game!

Paul M. Banks of the Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders who had the best mock NBA Draft?

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says the new TV voice of the Minnesota Wild will have an exciting team to call this season.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks about Erin Andrews making her Fox debut next week.

Dan writes that Blues analyst Darren Pang turned down a full-time offer from TSN and will remain in St. Louis.

West

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has this harsh takedown of Erin Andrews.

Here’s Tom’s column which has a little more on the last post.

Tom also links to reaction to his Erin Andrews column.

Matt Rudnitsky of SportsGrid replies point-by-point to Hoffarth.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes about Erin Andrews joining Fox.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star talks with Fox’s Joe Buck on the challenges of calling the MLB All-Star Game.

Jim has his Weekend Viewing Picks.

Matthew T. Hall at the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders where’s the fan outrage in the Fox Sports San Diego-Time Warner Cable dispute leaving Padres games off TV.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News tries to clear up some confusion over the Pac-12 Network.

And that will conclude our links for today.

NBC Airs The U.S. Women’s Open This Weekend

This from the NBC Sports Group. The U.S. Women’s Open has begun and both ESPN2 and NBC will share coverage under their contracts with the US Golf Association. NBC will have weekend coverage from Blackwolf Run in Kohler, WI. Dan Hicks will be at the tower on the 18th green with Dottie Pepper. Joining them will be Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam who makes her NBC debut. Assisting NBC in the coverage will be tower reporter Gary Koch, on-course reporters Roger Maltbie, Kay Cockerill and Jane Crafter.

Golf Channel will provide studio coverage for the event, but there will be no live golf action from the U.S. Women’s Open on the network.

Here’s the NBC Sports press release.

NBC SPORTS GROUP TO AIR MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN PROGRAMMING

Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam to Join Tournament and News Coverage
Six Hours of Weekend Tournament Coverage on NBC
Golf Central Team to Broadcast On-Site
Golf Central to Air on NBC Saturday and Sunday
“It will be a test of patience and perseverance.” – Annika Sorenstam
“Highlight of my season to cover the greatest championship in women’s golf.” – Dottie Pepper

ORLANDO, Fla., / NEW YORK – July 3, 2012 – NBC Sports Group will present more than 30 hours of combined, live tournament and wraparound news coverage of this week’s 2012 U.S. Women’s Open Championship – the third major championship on the women’s schedule this year – on both Golf Channel and NBC

“Golf Channel on NBC’s” weekend coverage on NBC will include three hours of live tournament action each day, which, for the first time, will be complemented by Golf Channel’s Golf Central pre-game show. Golf Channel’s wraparound coverage will originate from the tournament site throughout the week, featuring news, talk and instructional programming. GolfChannel.com also will provide comprehensive online coverage of the championship.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM TO MAKE NBC DEBUT – Hall-of-Famer and three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Annika Sorenstam will make her NBC on-air debut, joining analyst Dottie Pepper and play-by-play host Dan Hicks for a portion of the weekend tournament coverage. Sorenstam also will contribute to Golf Channel’s news shows throughout the week, including Golf Central, Golf Central Pre Game and Morning Drive.

TOURNAMENT BROADCAST TEAM – Host Dan Hicks and lead analyst Dottie Pepper will anchor coverage from the 18^th tower. They will be joined by tower reporter Gary Koch and on-course reporters Roger Maltbie, Kay Cockerill and Jane Crafter. Sorenstam will join Hicks and Pepper in the booth for a portion of the coverage each day.

ON-SITE NEWS COVERAGE – Golf Channel will provide the most extensive news coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open in its history, featuring live news reports, inside analysis, player interviews, special guest appearances and compelling features from the women’s third major championship of 2012.

Golf Central will broadcast live and on-site from Blackwolf Run throughout the week and will originate from a dedicated set near the 13th green – delivering news coverage before and after tournament play. Morning Drive, the network’s live, weekday morning show, will feature daily special guests from the tournament site. The Grey Goose 19^th Hole (Thursday night at midnight ET and Friday night at 2 a.m. ET) will feature news, highlights and interviews from the U.S. Women’s Open. Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Tom Abbott will anchor Golf Central and will be joined by contributors Annika Sorenstam, GolfChannel.com senior writer Randall Mell and other NBC analysts throughout the week.

GOLF CENTRAL ON NBC – For the first time at the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel will prep NBC’s weekend tournament action with a 30-minute Golf Central on NBCpre-game show, airing exclusively on NBC from 2:30-3 p.m. ET. Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Tom Abbott will host the shows, and will be joined by NBC analysts and contributors.

U.S. Women’s Open Programming

Show	Network	Airtime (all times ET)
Thursday, July 5
Morning Drive	Golf Channel	6:30-8:30 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	ESPN2	4-8 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	7-7:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m.-Midnight
Grey Goose 19th Hole	Golf Channel	Midnight-12:30 a.m.
Friday, July 6
Morning Drive	Golf Channel	6:30-8:30 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	ESPN2	4-8 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	7-7:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	1:30-2 a.m.
Saturday, July 7
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1-2:30 p.m.
Golf Central on NBC	NBC	2:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	NBC	3-6 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	6-6:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m. – Midnight
Sunday, July 8
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1-2:30p.m.
Golf Central on NBC	NBC	2:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	NBC	3-6 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	6-7 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

DIGITAL COVERAGE – GolfChannel.com senior writer Randall Mell will contribute daily columns, news articles, features and breaking news from the U.S. Women’s Open throughout the week.

That does it.

Doing Some Monday Linkage

Let’s bring out some Monday links today.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, he talks with Fox’s Erin Andrews (weird to write that) about her decision to leave ESPN.

A.J. Perez of Fox Sports has Erin’s reaction to joining the network.

Jane Kellogg and Alex Ben Block of the Hollywood Reporter write about Erin Andrews leaving ESPN for Fox.

As for replacing Erin at ESPN, Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead seems to be in Samantha Steele’s corner.

Back to Hiestand at USA Today, he notes that the U.S. Olympic Trials scored for NBC this past weekend.

Michael says the CBS Sports golf crew did as best as they could in a difficult situation when heavy storms ravaged the Washington, DC area and affected the AT&T National PGA Tour stop.

John Ourand at Sports Business Daily talks with NBCUniversal’s CEO on how important the Olympics are important to the company.

Ryan Wilson at CBS Sports notes that the NFL has changed its blackout policy, reducing the requirements for local teams to ensure games will be seen in local markets.

Also at CBS Sports, Dennis Dodd writes that the Big 12′s TV contract has still yet to gain approval from the league’s presidents.

To Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report and he remembers the passing of Jack Buck ten years later.

Ed also looks at Erin Andrews leaving ESPN for Fox.

Scott Roxborough of the Hollywood Reporter notes that the EURO 2012 Final racked up the ratings in Europe.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that Comcast SportsNet Chicago has entered the game show arena.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek says the broadcast networks are looking to sports and reality to attract viewers during the dead summer season.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life notes NBC’s plans for the London Olympics later this month.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost writes that NBC is mostly sold for the Tour de France.

Kevin Iole at Yahoo’s Boxing Experts Blog writes about NBC Sports expanding its boxing portfolio.

Evan Weiner of Examiner.com says no matter how you look at it, the NFL is a monopoly.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group notes the amount of cameras ESPN is using at the X Games.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after college athletics once again.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says a local minor league hockey announcer is moving on.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times-Herald Record talks with some area sports radio personalities about WFAN’s 25th anniversary.

The Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune notes that an announcer with local ties will be part of NBC’s Olympic broadcast team.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s Chick Hernandez was hit by a Tiger Woods drive this weekend.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times still yearns for the faulty BCS.

Gary Brown of the Canton (OH) Repository notes that a Golf Channel crew was in town to do a story on a local golf pro.

At the Denver Post, Dusty Saunders says the U.S. Olympic Trials serve as an appetizer for the main course later this month.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the sports calendar for this week.

In the Toronto Globe and Mail, Bruce Dowbiggin pays tribute to a colleague who’s retiring this month.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing looks at the free agent frenzy among the TV networks over the last year.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has the video of gymnast Nastia Liukin doing a horrific faceplant off the uneven bars during last night’s US Gymnastic Olympic Trials.

Paul M. Banks at the Sports Bank says a popular Comcast SportsNet Chicago reporter picked up a lot of Twitter love when she joined the service a few days ago.

MediaRantz notes that WFAN’s Boomer and Carton could be nationally syndicated on CBS Sports Radio in January.

Joe Favorito talks about the growth of American soccer.

And those are all of the links I could squeeze out today.

Coming On Golf Channel This Week… Yes, Golf, But Besides That….

Yes, golf. But Golf Channel has more than golf, its original programming that fill the days until Thursday when the live golf action hits.

There’s the return of Feherty this week, Big Break Atlantis of which I’m totally hooked this season and other shows. Check out the lineup below.

COMING UP ON GOLF CHANNEL: CHUBBY CHANDLER ON ‘FEHERTY’; BIG BREAK ATLANTIS DOWN TO SIX COMPETITORS

Feherty Visits with Old Friend Chubby Chandler to Discuss Their Early Lives on Tour, Clarke and McIlroy on ‘Feherty’
Head-to-Head Matches In-Store for Six Remaining Competitors on Pressure-Packed Big Break Atlantis
Re-Live Tiger Woods’ Victory at the 2005 Open Championship
The Golf Fix On-Site at the PGA Professional National Championship

Original Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

Feherty (New)
Host: David Feherty
Guest: Chubby Chandler
Airtime: Monday, 10-11 p.m.

On Monday’s new episode, David Feherty will take a ride to the Florida coast to interview golf super-agent Andrew “Chubby” Chandler. Founder of International Sports Management and based in England, Chandler manages a stable of golfers including World No. 3 Lee Westwood, Open Championship winners Darren Clarke and Louis Oosthuizen and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. Feherty and Chandler’s relationship spans nearly four decades when both men played on the African Tour and were “sunburned and penniless.” Their conversation will include the origination of his “Chubby” nickname, early life on tour, Chandler’s decision to start a management company, the significance of signing Darren Clarke as an amateur in 1990 and the departure and shock of losing Rory McIlroy as a client following McIlroy’s U.S. Open victory in 2011.

Big Break Atlantis (New)
Hosts: Stephanie Sparks, Tom Abbott
Airtime: Monday, 9-10 p.m.
Eliminated:
Meghan Hardin (Episode 1)
Shannon Fish (Episode 2)
Zakiya Randall (Episode 3)
Aubrey McCormick (Episode 4)
Natalia Ghilzon (Episode 5)
Allison Micheletti (Episode 6)

With Big Break Atlantis crossing the midway point of the season, the competition will get stronger and more intense, with the six remaining players focused on the grand prize of competing on the LPGA Tour. On Monday’s new episode, the six competitors will discover the importance of their seeding based on championship points won during the previous episodes when they compete in head-to-head matches and try to stave off elimination.

The participants on Big Break Atlantis are competing for one of the largest grand prizes in series history – an exemption to the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9) and more than $80,000 in cash and prizes.

2005 Open Championship – Final Round
Airtime: Tuesday, 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

Golf Channel will look back at the final round of the 2005 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews, when Tiger Woods pulled away from the field and captured the championship by five strokes over Colin Montgomerie.

Instruction Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

The Golf Fix (New, On-site at the PGA Professional National Championship)
Host: Michael Breed
Airtime: Monday, 7-8 p.m
Guests: PGA of America Professionals David Hutsell (2011 PPNC Champion), Scott Erdmann (2011 Runner-Up) and U.S. Open qualifier Denniss Miller

In a special episode of The Golf Fix, host Michael Breed will be on-site at the PGA Professional National Championship in Seaside, Calif., to provide instruction and drills from the nation’s top PGA Professionals competing in the championship.

Big Break Academy (New)
Host: Michael Breed
Guest: Big Break Atlantis eliminated contestant from Monday’s episode
Airtime: Tuesday, 8:30-9 p.m.

Host Michael Breed will meet with the seventh eliminated player from Big Break Atlantis to provide tips and instruction to viewers.

School of Golf (New)
Chapter 19: Hitting it Pure
Host: Martin Hall
Contributor: Holly Sonders
Airtime: Wednesday, 7:30-8 p.m.

School of Golf host Martin Hall will share a formula for hit chips, pitches and approach shots purse. Tips from one of legendary instructor Bob Toski’s books will be revealed during the episode. Co-host Holly Sonders will help answer viewer questions and assist with instruction during the episode.

News and Talk Show Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

On the Range (New)
Hosts: Gary Williams, Billy Harmon and Tripp Isenhour
Contributors: Alex Miceli (AT&T National) and Billy Kratzert (Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS)
Airtime: Wednesday, 8-9 p.m.

On the Range will take viewers through the tournament preparation of the top players in the field at the AT&T National and the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship. Gary Williams hosts as Billy Harmon, Tripp Isenhour, Billy Kratzert and Alex Miceli take viewers to the driving ranges at both tournaments, featuring an in-depth look at the practice routines, swing analysis, interviews and mic’d up players.

Grey Goose 19^th Hole (New)
Host: Lara Baldesarra
Panelists: Tripp Isenhour, Jason Sobel
Airtime: Thursday-Friday, Midnight-12:30 a.m.

Host Lara Baldesarra and panelists Jason Sobel and Tripp Isenhour will take a look back at the entire day’s action in the world of golf Thursday and Friday. Discussion will be provided in a round-table format, with Win McMurry also contributing throughout the show.

Golf Central
Live Airings: Monday, 6-7 p.m.
Tuesday-Wednesday, 7-7:30 p.m.
Thursday-Friday, 6-6:30 p.m.; 11:30 p.m.-Midnight
Saturday- Sunday, 7-7:30 p.m.; 12:30-1 a.m.

Golf Central Pre Game
Live Airings: Saturday-Sunday, 12:30-1 p.m.

Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game will deliver the latest news, analysis and highlights from the world of golf throughout the week, including the PGA Professional National Championship, the AT&T National, Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, United Leasing Championship, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and the Irish Open.

That’s all.

Golf Channel To Cover “Golf’s Longest Day”

While many of you will be heading to work on this Monday, more than 1,000 golfers will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot in New York. Today is the day for U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying at sites all over the country. Only 79 slots are open for the qualifiers and you have over 1,000 men hoping to gain one of those open spots.

It’s like a megadose of Indianapolis 500 Bump Day as the golfers will be waiting for their scores and hoping to hear their named called.

Golf Channel’s coverage of what it’s calling “Golf’s Longest Day” will begin at 7 a.m. ET today during a special four hour edition of Morning Drive hosted by Gary Williams. It will continue with special editions of Golf Central sprinkled throughout the day.

We have the announcement from Golf Channel.

GOLF CHANNEL PREPARES FOR MAJOR TV FEAT AND ‘GOLF’S LONGEST DAY’

June 4 to be Golf’s Version of ‘Super Tuesday’
Reporters at 14 U.S. Sites Will Follow More Than 1,000 Hopefuls Attempting to Qualify for the U.S. Open Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. — Dreams of playing on one of golf’s brightest stages either will be realized or dashed on June 4 for nearly 1,000 golfers who will attempt to qualify for a mere 79 slots available in the final field of 156 players for the 2012 U.S. Open Championship. Through a first-of-its-kind golf television undertaking, Golf Channel will devote an entire day of programming and updates in order to follow these compelling stories during what the network is calling Golf’s Longest Day, or more commonly known as U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying.

Starting at 7 a.m. ET and lasting until Midnight (or when final results are in), Golf Channel will feature interviews, analysis and scoring updates delivered by a team of more than 50 reporters and production professionals embedded at 14 locations throughout the United States. In addition to the 11 USGA Sectional Qualifying sites, the network also will have reporters located at The Olympic Club in San Francisco – site of next month’s U.S. Open – and at USGA headquarters in Far Hills, N.J. All of the content throughout the day will be hosted by Steve Sands and Kelly Tilghman from Golf Channel’s Orlando studios.

Golf’s Longest Day will begin with an expanded, four-hour version of Morning Drive, hosted by Gary Williams. The telecast will include live and taped reports from the 11 sectional qualifiers, as well as interviews with USGA members past and present. Mark Hill, former executive director of the Kentucky Golf Association who ran USGA qualifiers for many years, will serve as a special in-studio expert and will be featured on Golf Channel throughout the day. Hill now serves as USGA senior director of competitions, overseeing the Association’s 12 national amateur events.

Three Golf Central special presentations (1-2 p.m. ET; 6-8 p.m. ET; and 10 p.m.-12 a.m. ET) will cover emerging stories, interviews with medalists and other qualifiers, and studio analysis from Tripp Isenhour (who has qualified for the U.S. Open three out of seven attempts in the past) and Hill. In between, frequent news updates throughout the day will keep viewers up to date on all the news and scores.

GolfChannel.com also will serve as a source for U.S. Open qualifying news and information, with feature stories written by correspondents in the field, scoring updates and posting social media content from Golf Channel reporters covering the Sectional events.

Golf’s Longest Day
News Team and Featured Guests

Gary Williams, host, Morning Drive
Holly Sonders, co-host, Morning Drive
Steve Sands, host, Golf Central
Kelly Tilghman, co-host, Golf Central
Tripp Isenhour, analyst, Golf Central
Tim Rosaforte, Golf Channel Insider (San Francisco)
Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director
Jeff Hall, USGA Managing Director of Rules and Competitions
Tom O’Toole, USGA Executive Committee Member
Mark Hill, USGA Senior Director of Competitions
Jerry Foltz, Golf House (USGA Headquarters)
Whit Watson (Columbus, Ohio)
Scott Walker (Memphis, Tenn.)
Rex Hoggard (Lecanto, Fla.)
Win McMurry (Suwanee, Ga.)
Kay Cockerill (Daly City, Calif.)
Jeff Rude (Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
Alex Miceli (Rockville, Md.)
John Hawkins (Summit, N.J.)
Jason Sobel (Springfield, Ohio)
Steve Burkowski (Creswell, Ore.)
David Marr III (Houston, Texas)

One more post before we move on to something else.

Original, Instructional Plus News & Talk Programming This Week on Golf Channel

Headlined by the second installment of Big Break Atlantis, Golf Channel will be airing plenty of original programming this week. Not only will fans of Big Break see LPGA superstar Yani Tseng take part in one of the challenges, the original talk program, Feherty will show David Feherty talking with Donald Trump.

There’s also other programming including The Golf Fix hosted by Michael Breed plus a look back at the 2002 U.S. Open.

Take a look at what Golf Channel will be airing throughout the week starting on Monday.

COMING UP ON GOLF CHANNEL: YANI TSENG SPECIAL APPEARANCE ON BIG BREAK ATLANTIS; FEHERTY SITS DOWN WITH ‘THE DONALD’

LPGA World No. 1 Yani Tseng Makes Surprise Appearance on Big Break Atlantis
David Feherty Talks Golf, Politics and Real Estate with Donald Trump on ‘Feherty’
Final Round Replay of Tiger Woods’ Victory at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage

Original Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

Big Break Atlantis (New)

Hosts: Stephanie Sparks, Tom Abbott
Airtime: Monday, 9-10 p.m.
Guest: Yani Tseng
Eliminated: Meghan Hardin (Episode 1)

Monday’s new episode of Big Break Atlantis will feature LPGA World No. 1 Yani Tseng making a special guest appearance on the series. Tseng will compete alongside the contestants in the challenges, including the popular Flop Wall Challenge. During the episode, a twist will change the course of the series, and another competitor will be eliminated at the end of the show.

The participants on Big Break Atlantis are competing for one of the largest grand prizes in series history – an exemption to the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9) and more than $80,000 in cash and prizes.

Feherty (New)
Host: David Feherty
Guest: Donald Trump
Airtime: Monday, 10-11 p.m.

Taking place in New York City at the Trump Tower, David Feherty sits down with millionaire mogul and entrepreneur, Donald Trump. Trump discusses with Feherty his hit television show, The Apprentice, and also his views on sports and politics. Trump also reveals a career path he almost took before deciding to dive into real estate. The interview touches on Trump’s family and the legacy the highly successful businessman will leave behind.

2002 U.S. Open – Final Round
Airtime: Tuesday, 8-11:30 p.m.

Golf Channel will look back at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park in New York, when Tiger Woods captured his second U.S. Open title and eighth major championship. Woods withstood a boisterous New York gallery, leading the tournament wire to wire and finishing as the only player under par at Bethpage.

Top 10 – Press Conferences
Host: Lauren Thompson
Airtime: Monday, 11-11:30 p.m.

Lauren Thompson will count down the top 10 most memorable, candid insightful press conferences given on the world’s professional golf tours.

Instruction Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

The Golf Fix (New)
Host: Michael Breed
Guests: Rick Murphy, Jordan Babineaux
Airtime: Monday, 7-8 p.m.

The Golf Fix host Michael Breed will welcome PGA Professional Rick Murphy in-studio as a part of the PGA of America’s “Welcome to Golf Month.” Murphy earned his appearance on the show by winning the 2011 PGA Free Lesson Month contest for having the most validated PGA Free Lesson Month cards. Murphy and his staff provided a free 10-minute lesson for the 7,561 attendees at a local minor league baseball game in 2011. Also joining the show in-studio will be Jordan Babineaux, a safety for the Tennessee Titans. Breed will examine Babineaux’s golf swing and provide tips and instruction to improve his game.

Big Break Academy (New)Host: Michael Breed
Guest: Big Break Atlantis Eliminated Contestant from Monday’s episode
Airtime: Tuesday, 7-7:30 p.m.

Host Michael Breed will meet with the second eliminated player from Big Break Atlantis to provide tips and instruction to viewers that will focus on the driver and iron-play.

School of Golf (New)
Chapter 15: Get Your Timing Right
Host: Martin Hall
Contributor: Holly Sonders
Airtime: Wednesday, 7-7:30 p.m.

School of Golf host Martin Hall will teach viewers how to correct bad timing in the golf swing for consistent contact. Hall also will break down the swing of Lee Westwood to show viewers how to improve the impact position. Holly Sonders will help answer viewer questions and assist with the instruction.

News and Talk Show Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

On the Range (New)
Hosts: Gary Williams, Billy Kratzert, Billy Harmon
Contributor: Alex Miceli, Tripp Isenhour
Airtime: Wednesday, 8-9 p.m.

On The Range will take viewers through the tournament preparation of the top players in the field at the Champions Tour’s first major of the season – the Senior PGA Championship – and the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Gary Williams hosts as Billy Kratzert, Billy Harmon and the network’s team of experts will take viewers to the driving ranges at both events, featuring an in-depth look at practice routines, swing analysis, interviews and mic’d up players.

Grey Goose 19^th Hole (New)
Host: Lara Baldesarra
Panelists: Tripp Isenhour, Jason Sobel
Contributor: Win McMurry
Airtime: Thurday-Friday, 1-1:30 a.m.

Host Lara Baldesarra and panelists Jason Sobel and Tripp Isenhour will take a look back at the entire day’s action in the world of golf Thursday and Friday. Discussion will be provided in a round-table format, with Win McMurry also contributing throughout the show.

Golf Central
Live Airings: Monday and Sunday, 6-7 p.m.
Tuesday-Saturday, 6-6:30 p.m.
Thursday-Friday, 12:30-1 a.m.
Saturday, 11:30 p.m.-Midnight
Sunday, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

Golf Central Pre Game
Live Airings: Saturday-Sunday, 1-1:30 p.m.

Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game will deliver the latest news, analysis and highlights from the world of golf throughout the week, including the Senior PGA Championship, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the BMW PGA Championship.

That is all.

Let’s Get Some Linkage Out

I’ve accumulated a lot of links. They’re slowing down my browser so let’s clear them so I can let my computer get back some memory. Lots of stuff going on.

Let’s start with ESPN stuff as it dominated the news today with its network upfront presentation to advertisers and also confirmed personnel moves.

First, Sports Media Watch talks about Scott Van Pelt reupping with ESPN.

The ESPN Front Row blog has a Q&A podcast with Van Pelt in which he explains why he decided to remain with the Bristolians.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today recaps today’s ESPN upfront presentation in New York.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today notes that with Michelle Beadle leaving ESPN, the network is now focusing on keeping Erin Andrews in the fold.

The Hollywood Reporter goes over some ESPN upfront news including its plans to bring back the 30 for 30 documentary series.

Stuart Levin from Variety also has a story on the new set of 30 for 30 docs.

Jeannie Poggi of Advertising Age also reviews ESPN’s upfronts.

Alex Weprin from TVNewser says ESPN and ABC News will co-produce an interview series to be fronted by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.

Mike Shields from Adweek says ESPN.com will now partner to sell ads.

ESPN’s Vice President of College Sports Programming, Burke Magnus responds to a Dan Wetzel/Yahoo Sports article on the new ACC TV contract.

Chad Scott at ChuckOliver.net explains how third tier media rights work in college sports.

Andy Fixmer and Alex Sherman at Bloomberg report on how ESPN may expand its WatchESPN app to Apple TV platforms.

Andy Fixmer of Bloomberg says CBS is ready to take the coveted 18-49 ratings title from perennial winner Fox with the airing of Super Bowl XLVII next season.

The great SportsbyBrooks tweets that Erik Kuselias’ move to NBC Sports Network from Golf Channel’s Morning Drive is being considered a demotion by network higher-ups. I had a feeling this was the case. Do you consider this tweet inane, Mike Francesa?

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report enjoyed watching Survival Sunday on the Fox Sports platforms, but wondered why the most important English Premier League game was on another network.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has four different calls of the same moment when Manchester City won the EPL title on Sunday.

John Ourand from Sports Business Journal writes about a now-defunct Twitter account that got under the skin of several sports network executives.

Earlier today, WFAN’s Mike Francesa

If you want to see Mike’s veins popping out during this rant, you can see it here on the YES Network website.

And while Francesa seemingly hates Twitter, Media Rantz points out that Francesa has an app where he does something similar to Twitter.

Bruce Jenkins from Sports Illustrated says Tennis Channel failed to serve the WTA Tour’s Madrid Open like it did with the ATP’s side of the same tournament.

Phil Allaway at Front Stretch looks at ESPN’s coverage of this past weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Race.

BBC Sport has announced it will have 24 live HD streams dedicated to the Olympics this summer.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says NBCUniversal has set the Olympics programming lineup for Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC.

John Eggerton at Multichannel News notes that a Federal Appeals Court has upheld an FCC ruling that Time Warner Cable did not discriminate against MASN when it refused to put the regional sports network on its North Carolina systems.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the college conference realignment game won’t be settled for at least another decade.

Matt Boutwell of Maine Sports Media looks at a case I wrote about three years ago, about the mysterious tweeter, BrianAdExec.

NESN goes behind the scenes with Jenny Dell and the network’s production team on what goes on during a typical Red Sox gameday.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post has SNY’s president talking about the regional sports network’s plans to air UConn Women’s basketball next season.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with NBC Sports’ Mike Emrick about calling his old team, the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

In the New York Times, Jay Schreiber talks about the last time the Devils and the New York Rangers met in the Eastern Conference Final and how he had to monitor the series without smartphones back then.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports on ESPN’s plans to bring back 30 for 30.

Jerry Barmash from Fishbowl NY writes that MSG Network will provide of wraparound coverage of the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says YES Network will air a Yankeeography on David Wells this week.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that MSG Network will begin airing the WNBA’s New York Liberty starting this weekend.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says two local global conglomerates including Comcast expect to make some big money from the London Olympics.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com Sports goes behind-the-scenes with ESPN’s MLS production.

Jeff Barker from the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles and the Washington Nationals are waiting word from MLB on a decision on how much MASN should pay the Nats.

Over to Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog who writes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is making a change in its DC NFL team beat reporter.

Dan talks about former Post columnist Howard Bryant ranting against Washington Nationals ownership.

Mike Finger at the Houston Chronicle says the Longhorn Network may offer more Texas football games in another attempt to get carriage from state cable providers.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman writes that the Oklahoma City Thunder on TNT set another local ratings record.

In Chicago Sports Media Watch, Paul M. Banks goes over some hate mail.

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune writes that Utahans should be able to see the Running Utes thanks to wider distribution of the Pac-12 Networks than the soon-to-be defunct the mtn.

Tuesday night, KNBC-TV did a story on the busy postseason in Los Angeles, but aired the wrong graphic for the Kings and showed the Sacramento Kings instead of the LA Kings. C’mon, man!

Martin Miller of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN upfront presentation showed the network was ready for some football.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media is telling everyone that a New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Final might not mean boffo ratings as some NHL observers are saying.

Jay Koot of Busted Coverage is disgusted by Erik Kuselias’ engagement to Morning Drive news reader Holly Sonders.

And that’s where we’ll end the links tonight.

Looking at Some Sports Media Personnel Moves and Non-Moves

I have accumulated a lot of links today, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to get to them right now. I’ll save them for Tuesday, but I can get to a couple of sports media personnel moves. Lots of stuff to get to. This will be done in bullet form.

• It was broken earlier tonight by Jim Miller, the co-author of “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN“:
  

  Staying. @notthefakeSVP has just finished telling colleagues he has renewed his deal with ESPN.

  — James Andrew Miller (@ESPNBook) May 14, 2012

  And it was later confirmed by Scott Van Pelt himself:

  Appreciate the interest and support here.Feel very fortunate to have gone through process but glad it’s over. Ultimately, ESPN is my home

  — Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) May 15, 2012

  It’s a good move. SVP had a couple of suitors, NBC and Fox, but chose to stay where he’s most comfortable. Van Pelt has his radio show which he has enjoyed doing plus the early SportsCenters. While he could have left to go to NBC and return to his old stomping grounds of Golf Channel, ESPN is the best place for him. I told you throughout that I thought he would stay in Bristol and he did.

• Speaking of Golf Channel, the co-host of Morning Drive, Erik Kuselias is leaving the show and heading up the East Coast to become a host of NBC SportsTalk on sister network, NBC Sports Network. Stephanie Wei of the Wei Under Par golf blog had the story and some interesting gossip that I was not aware of. I’m not enamored with this move as I’m not enamored with Kuselias. He comes off as smug and pompous and I’m sure he’ll come off as smug and pompous on NBC Sports Talk. I’m not sure what anyone sees in him as he’s worked at ESPN on both radio and television, then moved to Golf Channel to launch its morning show with Gary Williams and Holly Sonders.

  Apparently during his time on Morning Drive, he became friendly with Sonders and they began dating. According to Stephanie’s story, the two are now engaged.

  Kuselias was one of the subjects of A.J. Daulerio’s Scorched Earth Policy on ESPN in 2009 after he felt the network deliberately misled Deadspin on a couple of stories.

  Anyway, it seems Kuselias will move back up north and make guest appearances on NBC Sports Talk. I don’t think NBC will use Kuselias to replace regular host Russ Thaler. At least I hope not.

• A couple of other ESPN notes, Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated reports that SportsCenter anchor and celebrated puckhead John Buccigross has reupped with ESPN:
  

  Source tells me @Buccigross has also re-upped with ESPN. No doubt he’ll be fighting the good fight for NHL love at the Empire.

  — Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 15, 2012

  I’ve followed Buccigross since he was in Providence and felt he was very solid. He remains so to this day and along with Linda Cohn, continues to hold the torch for hockey at ESPN. Here’s hoping he’ll be back hosting the sport one day.

  Richard also reported yesterday that Michelle Bonner is leaving.

  Longtime ESPNNews/SportsCenter anchor Michelle Bonner and ESPN have parted ways. Another work-a-day, no-shtick anchor. Wish her well.

  — Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 13, 2012

  I liked Michelle. Too bad about her departure.

• Now that ESPN has decisions on Dana Jacobsen, Michelle Beadle and Scott Van Pelt, the network can now focus on its last major free agent, Erin Andrews. Look for her to remain with the network and keep her hosting position on College GameDay during college football season.

That is it for tonight.

“Big Break Atlantis” Premieres Tonight on Golf Channel

One of Golf Channel’s most popular series, “Big Break” returns tonight. With an all-female cast this season, the dramatics may be ratcheted up a notch. The show goes from the cold and wind of Ireland last season to the beautiful tropics of the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas.

The 12 member cast will be seeking a spot in the LPGA Kingsmill Championship in September. In addition, there will cash prizes along the way. The women range in age from 19-31 and all are in various stages of their golf careers.

Golf Channel has tweaked Big Break to make the show a cumulative points format. You’ll see what that means in the press release.

BIG BREAK ATLANTIS TEES OFF MONDAY WITH POPULAR AND PRESSURE-PACKED ‘GLASS BREAK CHALLENGE’

New Format and Challenges in Store for the 12 Competitors
More than $80,000 in Cash and Prizes on the Line for Ultimate Champion
All-Female Cast at Different Career Stages Looking for a Big Break to the LPGA Tour

ORLANDO, Fla., -– Golf Channel’s Big Break Atlantis reality competition series starts off with a bang on Monday’s premiere episode (9 p.m. ET) which will feature a new format, new twists and challenges that will test the 12 competitors’ mental and physical toughness on the course. With one of the largest prizes in the history of the series on the line, the pressure will be high from the start when the competitors face off in one of the most popular challenges on the series – The Glass Break.

The Big Break Atlantis series format this season will rely on points. Winners of each challenge will receive points, with the first player accumulating 100 points automatically advancing to the championship match in the season finale. The ultimate champion will have the opportunity to put her golf career on the fast track with an invitation to compete in the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9) on the LPGA Tour and $50,000 in cash. In addition to the tournament exemption and cash, the winner also will receive an endorsement contract, which includes an additional $10,000 in cash; a $10,000 shopping spree; a $10,000 car rental credit, full exempt status and all entry fees waived for a full Symetra Tour season and an all-expense paid return trip for two to Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Big Break Atlantis will showcase a cast of 12 women at different stages of their golf careers. Several are currently playing on the Symetra Tour (LPGA developmental tour), while others either turned professional for the series or are giving professional golf a second try. The series also will feature special guest appearances from Women’s World No. 1 Yani Tseng and LPGA Tour professional Gerina Piller, a former Big Break competitor from the series’ 11^th season taped on Prince Edward Island. Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott and Stephanie Sparks return as co-hosts for the series.

The competitors on Big Break Atlantis are:

Anya Alvarez, 22, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Shannon Fish, 23, Spring, Texas
Natalia Ghilzon, 21, Windsor, Ontario
Meghan Hardin, 19, Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
Selanee Henderson, 25, Temecula, Calif.
Marcela Leon, 31, Orlando, Fla. / Monterrey, Mexico
Aubrey McCormick, 29, Arlington, Va.
Allison Micheletti, 24, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Zakiya Randall, 20, Atlanta, Ga.
Gloriana Soto, 25, Windermere, Fla. / San Jose, Costa Rica
Christina Stockton, 24, Rocklin, Calif.
Kelly Villarreal, 29, Birmingham, Ala.

Shot in January at the Bahamas resort, the 11-part series will unfold on the Tom Weiskopf-designed Ocean Club Golf Course, a picturesque par-72 championship layout featuring breathtaking signature holes, and seaside greens and tees stretched over 7,100 yards of coastline.

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. One contestant will be eliminated each week during Big Break Atlantis, with the last player standing awarded her Big Break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in an LPGA Tour event.

Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Canadian Tour. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, caught the world’s attention in 2011 with three top-five finishes, and Ryann O’Toole, competitor on Big Break Sandals Resorts in 2010 competed on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team as a Captain’s Pick during her rookie year in 2011.

Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties (Nationwide Tour), Kim Welch and Sara Brown (Ladies European Tour); and Piller, 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour).

I’ll have more throughout the day. Keep it here.

Finally Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do some Friday megalinks. You’ve been owed some and I haven’t been able to do links for most of the week.

Of course, you have the Weekend Viewing Picks which provide plenty of college sports, soccer, baseball and the NBA and NHL postseason action.

Now let’s do your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today explores Jason La Canfora’s decision to leave NFL Network and bolt to CBS.

Media Rantz looks into the potential departure of Michelle Beadle from ESPN to NBC.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch says E! will produce a special on New York Jets QB Tim Tebow.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report hears from a Fox Soccer executive on why the Fox Sports Media Group chose to air so many English Premier League games on the final day of the season.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk writes that despite reports to the contrary, it appears that the New York Jets won’t make another appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer.

Eriq Gardner at the Hollywood Reporter says a group of fans have filed a class action lawsuit against MLB and its TV partners on the antiquated and silly blackout policy.

Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel says while the Minnesota Vikings will finally get their long-awaited stadium, one state legislator attempted to sneak a bill ending all local NFL blackouts. I think that was a great idea.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable writes the long-anticipated Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Lakers-centric regional sports network will launch in October.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that Fox has sold out its ad inventory for the UEFA Champions League Final.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says social media is changing the way we watch sports.

In the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says there are times when the N-word should to be published in full.

Eric Goldschein at SportsGrid says CBC Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean stretched his analogy too far in comparing the 9/11 First Responders to NHL players this week.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group looks at NBC/Golf Channel’s joint production of this week’s Players Championship.

Brandon Costa of SVG explores ESPN’s expanded multiplatform rights for NCAA Championships.

And SVG tells us about the Big East Conference’s in-house production of the league’s Baseball Tournament.

Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com looks into the dollars and cents of the major college sports TV rights contracts.

Patrick Rishe at Forbes says while the ACC signed a rich contract with ESPN, it still doesn’t compare to the Pac-12′s huge megadeal.

My Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff chronicles her day spent at the MLB Fan Cave for espnW.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch crunches the numbers behind the ratings rise for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and the lower for the NBA Playoffs.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing also looks into the ratings for the NBA and NHL Postseasons.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead notes the disturbing arrest of the PA Announcer for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth looks at some of the sports media stories that are irking him this week.

East and Mid-Atlantic

I haven’t been able to address the death of Carl Beane, the Red Sox public address announcer. Carl was a radio reporter in Western Massachusetts and also free-lanced for ESPN Radio, CBS Radio, Fox Sports Radio to report on various NFL and college games. He died this week when he suffered a heart attack and crashed his car. He was 59. It seemed everyone in New England had some connection to Beane. I’ll give you some of the stories that have been written about him this week.

David Scott at ESPN’s Front Row PR blog gets reaction from people at the network who knew him.

Gordon Edes at ESPN Boston says Beane felt he was born to be the Fenway Park public address announcer.

WEEI’s Mike Petraglia writes about his personal connection to Beane.

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox paid tribute to Beane at last night’s game by not having anyone do the PA.

Amanda Bruno of the Springfield Republican writes that Beane was a role model and mentor to her.

To other stories now, heading back to the Globe, Chad Finn says the ACC got its huge deal and it will affect member school Boston College in many ways.

Chad says former Red Sox voice Jerry Trupiano is getting some familial help in trying to get the Houston Astros radio gig.

Desmond Connor of the Hartford Courant says the Big East’s interim commissioner is hopeful his conference can cash in on the recent big spending by ESPN and other networks.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir talks with the legendary Vin Scully.

Richard profiles the person behind a fake Walt Frazier Twitter account.

Jack Bell of the Times interviews Fox Sports President Eric Shanks about Sunday’s unprecedented English Premier League coverage.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Times rails over player unions defending their membership for the wrong reasons.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with NBC’s Pierre McGuire.

Justin has five questions for TNT’s Kenny Smith.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says a former local sports reporter is returning to her roots with Time Warner Cable’s Southern California network.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says technical difficulties plagued a local radio broadcast of the Yankees.

Pete says many of NBC/Golf Channel’s cameras will be focused squarely on one hole at the Players Championship this week.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record explores the new SNY deal to air UConn women’s basketball games.

At the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner asks if high school football is doomed.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call watched the train wreck of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens appearing on Dr. Phil this week and being confronted by his multiple baby mommas.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post says MLB Network compared the swings of the late Mickey Mantle and the Nationals’ Bryce Harper.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a new local sports radio morning host comes with some baggage from his old job.

David says Comcast and ESPN cut a deal this week for subscribers to watch the network online.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that Fox Sports Oklahoma will air specials next week on the state’s two major college football programs.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds TV and Radio ratings are up this season.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch explores the Cubs’ Kerry Wood blowing up at the local media this week.

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin looks at NBC’s coverage of The Players Championship.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that a local sports anchor gets to talk news on the radio.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times says the local media plans to cover Junior Seau’s public memorial today.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star notes that outgoing flagship TV station KCAL gave another farewell to the Los Angeles Lakers this week.

Jim looks at the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass which will get plenty of attention on NBC/Golf Channel at the Players Championship.

Jim provides his weekend viewing picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at Time Warner Cable’s new sports channels.

Tom tries to give Kings fans missing their local TV voices a silver lining.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News goes over the latest developments at the Pac-12 Networks.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC’s Ron MacLean had to clarify his 9/11 remarks before Game 6 of the New York Rangers-Washington Capitals series.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the announcing assignments for both CBC and TSN in the NHL Conference Final round.

And we are done. Enjoy your sports weekend.

Some Leftover Linkage

I need to clear my brower of links I was hoping to get to sometime over the last few days. Since I couldn’t do the Friday megalinks or any Saturday morning linkage, I’ll do some Sunday evening leftover links.

Consider this the Sunday entrée to the beginning of the workweek. I honestly don’t know what that means.

Here’s some linkage for you to chew on.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports is not a fan of Shaquille O’Neal on TNT.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News writes that Time Warner Cable is hoping to obtain more sports properties for its new Southern California regional sports network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the first round of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most watched on record.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable reports that no talent hack Ryan Seacrest will be haunting NBC Sports as well as NBC News in an all-new, all-encompassing contract with NBCUniversal.

Tim Baysinger at B&C says ESPN’s ratings for the First Round of the NFL Draft were up double digits from the year before.

Sam Laird at Mashable writes that social media is influencing sports in many ways.

To Sean Newell of Deadspin who looks at the strange Twitter meltdown of Chicago Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley who went all-sexist on female pilots and one of his co-workers.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report writes that former CBS and ABC Sports essayist Jack Whitaker is receiving a long overdue honor from the Sports Emmys on Monday.

Ryan Yoder from Awful Announcing reviews the good and the bad of ESPN’s First Round coverage of the NFL Draft.

Joe Lucia of AA does the same for NFL Network.

Back to Matt from AA, apparently Tim McCarver fancies himself an expert on climate change

From the Tampa Bay Times, Eric Deggans reviews ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group has ESPN optimistic that its Los Angeles studios will put itself in a unique position to cover the Lakers and Clippers in the NBA Playoffs.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck can ever match Peyton Manning’s marketability.

Providence’s WJAR-TV and Cox Communications announce a new partnership that will simulcast the NBC affiliate’s local newscasts and also put Cox Sports RI’s programming on a new cable channel.

Amy Chozick and Nick Wingfield of the New York Times explore the growing world of TV mobile and tablet apps which include the soon-to-be released NBC Olympics iPad app.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times profiles actor Peter Scolari who plays three important roles in the Magic/Bird Broadway play.

Breaking a ban of linking to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News who has an interesting story regarding Yankees voices John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman and whether they’ll be leaving if the team changes flagship radio stations after this season.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has no hope for our society. Lighten up, Phil. Time to travel to Moldova or Johannesburg. Somewhere you don’t have to watch sports anymore.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says MSG Network’s ratings for Game 7 of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers series were the best since the 1994 Stanley Cup-clinching game on the network.

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the 76ers are leaving long-time home WIP and switching to ESPN Radio Philadelphia.

Crossing Broad says the Sixers’ move came as a surprise.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner talks with Jim Rome and his new CBS home.

Laura Newberry of the Orlando Sentinel says Golf Channel has become a Central Florida mainstay.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Rockets are not only moving to a new TV home next season, but are currently looking for a new radio flagship station as well.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman transcribes Mike Tirico’s call of Kevin Durant’s winning shot for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Enquirer says one local cable provider will pick up NFL Network, but it’s not Time Warner.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley may be headed towards a suspension.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business says the Bulls generated their highest regular season TV ratings since the Michael Jordan years.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says scheduling of playoff games never has the fans in mind.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says ESPN gave the Utah Jazz the benefit of the doubt in its series opener.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC got the job done in choosing its NHL Playoff series for the Conference Semifinal round.

Peter Adler from the Edmonton Journal says the Oilers’ documentary series Oil Change which runs on NHL Network should return for a third season

Howard M. Alperin of Midwest Sports Fans asks why CBSSports.com doesn’t include soccer coverage?

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy has TSN’s top hockey bloopers of the 2011-12 season.

That’s a lot of leftover linkage. Glad I was able to clear this out before Monday.

Knocking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for some linkage again.

Starting with Sports Business Daily which gauges media reaction to last night’s extravagant NFL regular season schedule release on both ESPN and NFL Network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reviews both the Monday Night and expanded Thursday Night Football schedules.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report has your potential hits and misses in the 2012 NFL regular season schedule for all of the league’s TV partners.

Dan Levy of the Bleacher Report talks with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch about Skippy Bayless, ESPN’s free agents and Twitter.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that NBC is now going all in to provide a live online Olympic experience.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today says the NFL Schedule Release Shows on ESPN and NFL Network filled fans’ thirst for football news.

Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press says thanks to a NASCAR-less Sunday, IndyCar’s race on NBC Sports Network got a ratings bump.

Stuart Kemp and George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says London is hoping to build buzz for the XXX Olympic Summer Games in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable notes the FCC is appealing to the Supreme Court, the ruling from a lower court throwing out its decency complaint over CBS’ airing of Janet Jackson’s nekkid boob during Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Sarah Mahoney of MediaPost’s Marketing Daily says advertisers are jumping on the Olympics 100 Day Countdown.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that cable provider Comcast is proving to be a very good broadcast competitor.

Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead says a lawsuit brought forth by a former ESPN.com writer against New York Post NBA big mouth Peter Vescey has been settled out of court.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid talks with ESPN’s Michelle Beadle about what her next move is.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group notes that NBCOlympics has tapped AT&T to manage private networking systems for the London Summer Games.

Zac Wassink in Yahoo! says MLS on NBC Sports Network is doing decently in the ratings.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe has the local sports radio ratings and CBS Radio continues to be on top.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC will stream all Olympic events live online, but there’s a bit of a catch.

Richard says the NBA is looking at allowing jersey sponsorships.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes the passing of a former Yankees, Islanders and Nets radio announcer.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette notes the good ratings for the NHL on NBC.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has a viewing primer for the upcoming NFL season.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call discusses and dissects NBC’s Sunday Night Football schedule.

Keith says the NHL’s Battle of Pennsylvania is drawing big ratings in the Keystone State.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com’s Goalkeeper blog says a Spanish League soccer game on ESPN2 beat MLS on NBC Sports Network in the ratings last weekend.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has pictorial proof of the Space Shuttle Discovery passing various local sports venues on its last flight to the Smithsonian yesterday.

Tom Robinson at the Virginian-Pilot reports that the United Football League could have a TV contract with CBS Sports Network.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the Texas Rangers’ ratings on Fox Sports Southwest are way up this season.

Mike Bailey of the Houston Chronicle talks with a local golfer who took part in the upcoming season of Golf Channel’s Big Break reality show.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman says a local sports radio show moves from middays to afternoon drive.

Mel has the local weekend TV ratings.

Berry Tremel of The Oklahoman writes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football is the NFL’s premier TV package.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer remembers a former NBA announcer.

Bill Shea at Crain’s Detroit Business says the Tigers are looking at a big payday for their TV rights.

Robert Channick in the Chicago Tribune profiles Comcast SportsNet Chicago head man Jim Corno.

Eric Goodman at Mile High Sports feels he wasted three hours of his life watching ESPN’s NFL regular season schedule release special.

Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic says Phoenix Coyotes TV analyst Tyson Nash is feeling the wrath of Chicago Blackhawks fans for comments he made about a hit on ‘Hawks star Marian Hossa.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News mourns the passing of a former Kings radio voice.

Tom Cheredar of Venture Beat talks about NBC’s extensive plans to stream the Olympics online.

Sports Media Watch notes the rise of NHL ratings for a couple of regional sports networks.

SMW talks about CBS passing on broadcasting this upcoming season’s Pro Bowl.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says NBC may air both Bruins-Capitals NHL Playoffs games this weekend.

Joe Favorito says sometimes, it’s a little idea at a major network that could catch fire elsewhere.

And that is all for now.

Golf Channel Airs Live Four Round LPGA Coverage

Starting tonight, Golf Channel will carry the LPGA LOTTE Championship from the Ko Olina Golf Club on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii. The four round coverage will be live in primetime starting at 6:30 East tonight and going through Sunday evening.

Tom Abbott will be the main at the 18th tower along with Judy Rankin. Mark Rolfing will also be on hand at the 17th.

LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan is expected to join Tom and Judy at the 18th sometime during tonight’s coverage to discuss the future of the LPGA and where it’s headed.

We have the Golf Channel press release for you.

GOLF CHANNEL/LPGA AIRTIMES AND NOTES: LPGA LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP (AIRTIMES EXTENDED)

Live Tournament Broadcast Airtimes Extended Wednesday-Sunday

LPGA LOTTE Championship
Dates: April 18-21
Venue: Ko Olina Golf Club, Oahu, Hawaii

Airtimes: Wednesday 6:30-11 p.m. (Live)
Thursday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Live)/1-4 p.m. (Saturday Replay)
Saturday 7-10 p.m. (Live)/10 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Tom Abbott (Play by Play)
Judy Rankin (Analyst)
Mark Rolfing (Tower)
Jerry Foltz (On Course)
Jane Crafter (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Wednesday-Saturday Tournament – The LPGA LOTTE Championship will take place Wednesday-Saturday, with live coverage in primetime on Golf Channel.
• I.K. Kim and Karin Sjodin Featured Wednesday for LPGA Unplugged -– LPGA professionals I.K. Kim and Karin Sjodin will be featured participants on Wednesday on “LPGA Unplugged,” a new feature airing on Golf Channel during LPGA tournament coverage where players discuss all aspects of golf, the tour and their everyday lives.
• LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan to Join Broadcast Booth Wednesday -– LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan is scheduled to join Abbott and Rankin in the broadcast booth during Wednesday’s live tournament coverage.
• 2011 U.S. Women’s Open Champion So Yeon Ryu Rookie Spotlight –- 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion So Yeon Ryu will be Golf Channel’s rookie spotlight player during Thursday’s live tournament coverage.
• Walk and Talks Featured – Golf Channel on-course reporters Jerry Foltz and Jane Crafter will interview players as they are walking the fairways during all four rounds of tournament coverage.
• Headlining the field: World No.1 Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Ai Miyazato, Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Azahara Munoz, Beatriz Recari, Christina Kim and Brittany Lincicome.

So far, it’s been quite the NBC Sports Group morning. Back later.