Fang's Bites

Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Consortium Teams Up For More Than 5,500 Hours of Coverage

Canadians watching CTV, TSN, Rogers Sportsnet, OLN, RDS, V, et. al., a.k.a. the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium plans to go all out for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. More than 5,500 hours will be made available in the Great White North. Well, it won’t be white in the summer, but plenty of action will be seen on the 9 networks that make up the Consortium.

This was used to success in 2010 during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It will be used once again for the last time in 2012. After this year, Rogers drops out of the Olympics business and if the IOC approves, CBC will return to airing the Olympic Games as a partner to CTV for 2014/2016, but we’re not there yet.

Overall, more than 2,000 hours will be aired on TV through the four English language networks (CTV, TSN, Sportsnet and OLN), two French networks (RDS and V) and three multi-language networks.

In addition, more than 3,500 hours will be streamed online including the TV coverage plus events that won’t be aired on television.

Here’s the CTV press release.

Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium To Deliver More Than 5,500 Hours of Olympic Games Coverage for London 2012

More choice than ever before with largest four screen experience on television, computer, smart phone, and tablet platforms
CTV’s Brian Williams and RDS’ Chantal Machabée helm Prime Time broadcasts live from London

Toronto, ON (June 1, 2012) – Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium has announced its commitment to delivering Canadians the best Summer Games experience ever. The Consortium is bringing viewers more than 5,500 hours of coverage – the equivalent of more than 229 days of content or close to two thirds of a year – during the 17 days of London 2012, more than any other Games. The Consortium’s plan includes 2,000+ hours of television coverage in 11 different languages and 3,500+ hours of digital coverage. Additionally, the Consortium has confirmed the schedules for its conventional and dedicated sport channels which range between 15 – 22 hours of coverage per day. This plan ensures Canadians have as many options as possible to watch their favourite events.

A breakdown of hours and schedules is below.

HOURS OF COVERAGE FOR LONDON 2012

Television

In total, more than 2,000 hours will be broadcast on Consortium television stations:

• English coverage on CTV, TSN, Sportsnet, and OLN – 1,114 hours
• French coverage on RDS and V – 704 hours
• Multi-lingual coverage on OMNI.1, OMNI.2, and ATN – 223 hours

• Languages include Bangla, Cantonese, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Tamil, and Urdu

Digital

More than 3,500 hours of coverage will be available online and on mobile devices at CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca:

• Live streaming of coverage from CTV, RDS, TSN, Sportsnet, and V – 1,431 hours
• Live streaming of events from various Olympic venues – 2,100 hours

“We are committed to bringing Canadians a robust Olympic Games experience, whether on television or digital platforms,” said Adam Ashton, President, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. “With 26 sports, plus a sizeable time difference and so many people on the go during the Summer, it is important to provide Canadians with a choice on how, when, and where they want to consume London 2012 content.”

In addition, 10 Rogers Radio stations will provide listeners with Olympic Games coverage, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, a daily hour-long highlights show, and updates three times an hour everyday during the Games. The 10 stations are: 1310News (Ottawa), 680News (Toronto), News1130 (Vancouver), 660News (Calgary), 570News (Kitchener, Ont.), News95.7 (Halifax), News 88.9 (Saint John, N.B.), News91.9 (Moncton), Sportsnet 590 The FAN (Toronto), and Sportsnet 960 The FAN (Calgary). The national hour of Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown(6 – 7 p.m. ET) airing on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 960 The FAN and 19 other radio stations across the country, will also be dedicated to London 2012.

That’s it.

Bringing Out The Thursday Linkage

Here to provide some links for you today. Looks like I’ll be out on Friday so posting may be scarce, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

In the meantime, I have some links for you now.

This week, CBSSports.com Deputy Managing Editor Craig Stanke passed away at the age of 56. He joined the site as a deputy editor when it was known as SportslineUSA.com. During his time, he helped to attract a number of writers and build CBSSports.com’s stable to a point where it challenges the best sports news websites. Stanke worked at a number of newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, the Palm Beach Post among others.

We have a number of links.

First, CBSSports.com’s Mark Swanson writes Stanke’s obituary.

Scott Miller, CBS Sports’ Senior Baseball Columnist mourns Stanke’s passing.

CBS Sports’ national columnist Gregg Doyel says Stanke continued to teach him even after his death.

Stanke’s good friend, T.J. Simers at the Los Angeles Times, the man who hired Stanke for his first job, says he can’t believe his friend is gone.

To other stories now.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com notes that no matter how much the Big 12 expands, the TV payout money will remain the same. And Dodd tells us that the league’s TV deal with ESPN and Fox will be announced any day now.

Brian Steinberg at Advertising Age reports that CBS is 50% sold for Super Bowl XLVII and could reach 80% soon.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says despite CBS/Showtime dropping Warren Sapp from Inside the NFL this season, NFL Network has signed the controversial snitch for another year.

Reid Cherner at USA Today writes that many feel last night’s NBA Draft Lottery on ESPN was fixed in New Orleans’ favor.

Patrick Burns of Deadspin notes that almost a quarter of all of SportsCenter’s editions last week was devoted to the Miami Heat.

Richard Deitsch from Sports Illustrated has his monthly Media Power List.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says the 2012 NHL postseason has had the most viewers in ten years.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media has the viewership of all of the completed 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs to date.

Steve tweets the overnight ratings for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final were down significantly from last year.

And Steve has a story on the overnights at Puck The Media.

Tim Nudd of Adweek reviews the NHL’s newest Stanley Cup spot. It’s a winner, but still doesn’t hold up to last year’s “No Words” promo.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that newspapers are dropping the printed word for digital content.

Eric Goldschein of SportsGrid has the video of Chicago White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson going nuts.

In the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks about Hawk’s homerism and his love of all things White Sox.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says talk about concussions may affect youth football participation.

Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk writes that the Miami Dolphins were the first pick of NFL Films for this year’s Hard Knocks and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union tells us that Sunday’s motorsports races finished in a ratings dead heat.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes that the Anaheim Angels Radio Network is now being nationally syndicated.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that a colleague, Tarik El-Bashir, is leaving the paper to join Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.

At the Miami Herald, David J. Neal says NFL Films won’t have a problem finding story lines for Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman talks with ESPN softball analyst Michele Smith about the Women’s College World Series which starts today.

Daniel Dorfman at Chicago Side Sports talks with unabashed White Sox homer Hawk Harrelson.

Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that San Diego State stands to get more TV money when it enters the Big East than from the Mountain West.

The Toronto Star’s Cathal Kelly rips CBC’s online attempt at satire of last night’s Stanley Cup Final Game 1.

To the Canadian Sports Media Blog which notes that Sportsnet has signed a deal to remain the home of the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football package which even includes NBC’s Thanksgiving Night game.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN received a good overnight number for Game 2 of the Celtics-Heat NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

I Am A GM notes that 10 NBA players are crying conspiracy over last night’s Draft Lottery.

At Awful Announcing, the Brothers Yoder list their favorite NBA announcers.

And that’s going to do it.

Some Back To Work Tuesday Linkage

Back to work for many of you after the Memorial Day holiday. Because of my crazy schedule, I didn’t get to enjoy it, but you don’t care about that. Let’s do links.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reports that Cox Communications has dropped the New Orleans Hornets allowing Fox Sports to swoop up the rights.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News takes a look at the US TV coverage of the French Open.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter writes that UK’s Channel 4 plans extensive coverage of the 2012 London Paralympics which will be held two weeks after the Summer Olympics.

Tim Nudd of Adweek reviews the latest WatchESPN spot.

Alex Weprin of TVNewser reports that HBO’s Real Sports host Bryant Gumbel will co-host Live with Kelly next week.

Evan Weiner at Examiner.com explains how NBC’s huge rights fee effectively ended Qatar’s bid for the 2020 Olympics.

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report interviews legendary sportswriter Frank Deford.

Ed writes that USA Today’s Sports section is changing its reporting strategy.

Media Rantz remembers the Marv Albert arrest 15 years later. Disclosure: I’m quoted in this very well-researched article.

Will Brinson at CBSSports.com writes that Showtime/NFL Films has quietly dumped Warren Sapp from “Inside the NFL”, however, he remains on NFL Network.

Evan Sporer of SportsGrid has the great video of a soldier home from Afghanistan surprising his daughters at Sunday’s Minnesota Twins game. It has nothing to do with sports media. I’m just a huge sucker for reunion videos.

Chadd Scott at ChuckOliver.net explores how TV money has led to the “Wal-Martization” of college football.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing notes that former ESPN college football crackpot Craig James is running below “Undecided” in the Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary. Always a good place to be when trying to run a successful campaign.

Bob’s Blitz says former Miami sports radio talker Sid Rosenberg has a new gig.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick actually heaps praise this morning. And he does it to Hall of Fame hockey voice Mike Emrick.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says Time Warner Cable will air some local high school lacrosse playoff games.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that the NBA Draft Lottery will air from New York’s Times Square for the first time ever.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes that apparently NFL Network will no longer air CFL games.

Ken adds that there’s no New York City radio home of the 2012 Olympics as of yet.

Ken provides the Compass Media college football schedule for the 2012 season.

And Ken has the Sports USA college football schedule as well.

Tom Jones from the Tampa Bay Times looks back at the weekend that was in sports television.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes that embattled South Florida sports radio talk show Sid Rosenberg is about to start a new gig.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a local sports radio station is about to acquire a rival FM station.

Jerry Garcia from the San Antonio Express-News says TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal spent some time talking to a local TV station and defending his co-hort Charles Barkley.

Roy Bragg of the Express-News says the Chuckster was glad to meet the peeps in San Antonio on Monday.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch has some linkage of his own to provide.

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune talks with Utah Jazz TV voice Craig Bolerjack.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post looks at the mtn.: The Final Days.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that a hockey primer from 1993 still holds true today.

Steve Ladurantaye from the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that Rogers and TSN are smelling blood and plan to bid for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada package.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Globe and Mail says Rogers Sportsnet has snatched IndyCar rights away from TSN.

The Canadian Sports Media blog looks at the silly PR hockey wars being conducted by Rogers Sportsnet and TSN.

Sports Media Watch gives us the overnight ratings for the Indianapolis 500 on ABC.

Steve Lepore at SB Nation’s Puck The Media predicts the ratings for this year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Joe Favorito says things are looking good at NBC Sports.

Jordan Golson at MacRumors talks with ESPN’s NASCAR pit reporter Dave Burns about using an iPad for his reports.

That’s going to do it for now.

Some Long Overdue Linkage

Due to crazy personal schedules on Tuesday and Wednesday, I wasn’t able to update the site as much as I would like. I apologize to you as I’ve been trying to keep you apprised of the latest sports media news. A few housekeeping notes, first I did some Sports Media Thoughts earlier this morning and you read them here.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing was kind to ask me on his podcast and we recorded it on Wednesday while I was on the road so the phone quality isn’t great (damn you, AT&T 3G). You can listen to what Matt and I discussed at the Awful Announcing site.

And lastly, Keith Thibault and I recorded our latest Sports Media Weekly podcast this week and our guest is Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette and the subject is college hockey coverage.

Now to our links.

Michael Smith & John Ourand from Sports Business Journal look at the possibility of ESPN and Fox Sports teaming up once again, this time to control the media rights to the Big 12 Conference. The two companies combined for the Pac-12 last year in an attempt to keep NBC Sports out of college sports and it appears the two are back at work again on the Big 12 rights.

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim makes a very good point on the perceived conflict of interests of ESPN’s tennis announcers and the players to which they’re connected, case in point, Mary Jo Fernandez seen sitting with Roger Federer’s wife during the BNP Paribas Open last week on ABC.

Andrew McCalvy at MLB.com writes that Milwaukee Brewers Hall of Fame voice Bob Uecker will be honored with a statue outside Miller Park. Congrats to Uke on a well deserved honor. We all remember his character, Harry Doyle from the “Major League” movies and his great quote, “Juuuuust a bit outside.” Classic.

Interesting study from the Media Behavior Institute which shows a great majority still watch the NCAA Tournament on TV, but online numbers comprise a large chunk.

Ben Grossman at Broadcasting & Cable reports that Major League Baseball is looking at placing postseason games on MLB Network to boost its subscriber numbers.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that MLB Network will produce a pregame show for Fox Saturday Baseball.

Tom Comi of Channel Guide Magazine would like a halt to the Tim Tebow media circus.

Mike Miller at NBC’s College Basketball Talk notes that the NCAA Tournament ratings on CBS/Turner are just about even with last year.

Eric Goldschein of SportsGrid has video of ESPN’s Mike Tirico losing it during last night’s Lakers-Mavericks game.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Wheaties may be dying a very slow and painful death.

Ronnie Ramos in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says coaches and players are learning the proper use of Twitter.

Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy notes that Rogers Sportsnet picked up on a popular internet meme and used it in an on-screen graphic.

To Fishbowl NY where Jerry Barmash talks with Kenny Albert.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes that NBC Sports Network set a ratings record for hockey in NYC.

Neil notes that ESPN has a new head man-in-charge.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that CBS/Turner will bring in two coaches as guest analysts for the NCAA Tournament.

Pete says ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball crew will be busy in the first week of the MLB season.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says Lehigh left an impression on CBS during the NCAA Tournament.

Matt Brooks of the Washington Post’s Early Lead has your viewing guide for tonight’s Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has links to some of the best columns from the late Furman Bisher.

Some of Bisher’s friends pay tribute to the man.

The AJC has a gallery of pictures showing Bisher throughout his career.

Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman looks at HBO Real Sports’ update on the 2001 plane crash that hit the Oklahoma State basketball program extremely hard.

Mel says local viewers chose Fox Sports Oklahoma over ESPN for two Oklahoma City Thunder games last week.

David Jablonski of the Dayton (OH) Daily News says a local man leads the millions of entries in ESPN’s Bracketology contest.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer is not a fan of NCAA Tournament scheduling.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the radio analyst for Bucks games has been off the air since last month.

Bob says former Brewers voice Matt Vasgersian will host the MLB Network-produced MLB on Fox pregame show.

Tom Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times remembers pioneering sportswriter Lacy J. Banks who died Wednesday.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has video of Bob Costas pontificating on the Saints suspensions.

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin writes about the media fighting over staged NHL fights.

The Toronto Sports Media blog explores the local newspapers imploring the Maple Leafs to apologize to their fans for missing the playoffs.

Sports Media Watching notes that ratings on NBA TV are up.

Media Rantz says ESPN got fooled by a fake Adam Schefter Twitter account during Tim Tebow coverage last night.

We have a picture of that fake Adam Schefter tweet. “Adarn Schefter”?

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing explores the Gus Johnson departure from CBS and how it may leave him without his signature event for a long time to come.

The Convoluted Mind of a Single Man site looks at the innovations John Madden brought to NFL broadcasting.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth says league-owned networks are making big strides in production and programming.

And that will finish our links for today.

Some Long Overdue Sports Media Thoughts

Due to a very hectic schedule, I have not been writing as much as I would like, but with so many sports media stories occurring, I have to give you some of the thoughts that have come to mind. I want to provide them before they become outdated. As usual, they come in bullet form.

• Let’s start with NASCAR and Fox’s coverage of the Daytona 500 in particular. Due to a rainout on Sunday, NASCAR officials decided to postpone the race for the first time in history and move the event into primetime on Monday. By making the race into a primetime event, Fox’s crew showed that not only was it ready, but it shined for most of the broadcast. Yes, there were a lot of wrecks and a two hour delay caused by Juan Pablo Montoya crashing into a jet-fueled blow drying truck might have hurt the ratings a tad, but Fox did a very good job in reporting on the incident, plus keeping viewers updated on the condition of Montoya and the driver of the truck.

  Throughout the night, replays of crashes and key moments of the race were clear. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the moment of impact of Montoya hitting the truck, but we did see flames from the fireball.

  And Fox filled time admirably with driver interviews and getting NASCAR President Mike Helton to talk about the delay. In addition, Fox pit reporters had fun with driver Brad Keselowski who tweeted a picture of Montoya’s accident from inside his car and continued to tweet during the delay, picking up 200,000 followers in the process.

  The coverage was rewarded with what Fox claims was a record viewership for The Great American Race on the network. Imagine the ratings without the two hour delay.

• Monday’s coverage of the NHL Trade Deadline was well covered throughout North America. The two competing Canadian sports networks, Rogers Sportsnet and TSN waged all day battles and based on what I saw online, I give the edge to Sportsnet. Thanks to Yahoo’s Puck Daddy, there was an online stream of Sportsnet’s coverage available for viewers in both Canada and the U.S. TSN’s TradeCentre was simulcast on NHL Network in the U.S. throughout the day then streamed online at NHL.com from noon ET.

  In the past, it was TSN that had all the angles covered, but on Monday, it appeared to be playing catch up to Sportsnet. When trading began to get hot and heavy as the deadline approached, Sportsnet not only broke news, but got the players on the phone immediately to get their reaction. In the case of Brian Rolston going from the New York Islanders to the Bruins, Sportsnet actually broke the news to him.

  Both networks tried some gimmicks, Sportsnet utilizing former General Managers to get their input on the mindset of making a trade. That made for some fascinating TV. TSN used the stunning Alyonka Larionov as a social media reporter to read tweets. That didn’t go over too well, but TSN isn’t utilizing her in the right way.

  Overall, NHL Trade Deadline was well covered, but there’s no need to start coverage at 8 a.m. ET. I give Sportsnet an A minus for its coverage. TSN gets a B minus.

• This leads us to the what I am calling the Death of Hockey Coverage on ESPN. It didn’t go unnoticed that ESPN failed to cover the NHL Trade Deadline on SportsCenter. Ben Koo at Awful Announcing was surprised not seeing a single mention, not even one sentence. Ty Duffy at the Big Lead was not. Neither am I.

  But then came the announcement that ESPN was shuffling the NCAA Frozen Four, the Division I Hockey Championship from ESPNU/ESPN2/ESPN as in the past few years to ESPNU/ESPN2 this year. And as Puck The Media’s Steve Lepore points out, that ESPNU will carry all but one game of its NCAA Hockey Tournament schedule.

  Hockey aficionados know all too well about the incredible shrinking coverage on ESPN. Since giving the NHL the boot in 2005, highlights have gone from being an integral part of SportsCenter to a bit player, if that.

  I went to ESPN last year to take part in a mini-focus group and talk with their producers. While there are many hockey fans in Bristol on the on-air and production staffs, I find it sad that the network continues to treat the sport as a bastard stepchild. And while the producers can tell me that giving hockey more time is constantly debated internally, the result has always been the same, two or three minutes of NHL highlights on SportsCenter, no regular season college hockey games on any of the ESPN platforms nor much coverage of the sport on .com.

  It’s as if in ESPN’s eyes, the sport just doesn’t exist. But as we know, if it’s not on an ESPN platform, the sport is hardly recognized by the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

• This also transitions to our next bullet, the NHL’s current cable home, NBC Sports Network. Last week, Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand wrote a story on the slow start and low ratings for NBC Sports Network since it relaunched in January from being Versus. While some of its programming has been critically acclaimed, ratings are lower than when the channel was under its previous name. And while that development is disturbing, remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint and certainly, the first two months under its new name does not a track record make.

  Expect those numbers to go up as NBC Sports attempts to stock NBCSN with more inventory. Certainly, this summer’s London Olympics and preceding U.S. Olympic Trials will help. And if NBC is able to get a piece of the Big East, NASCAR and/or MLB contracts this year, then the network will be in good shape. I don’t think Comcast and the NBC Sports brass are going to make rash, panicked decisions based on the results thus far. ESPN wasn’t a ratings success out of the gate either back in 1979 and it took a while for it to become successful and turn a profit. There might some tweaks here and there throughout this process, but overall, I do expect a lot of growth from NBC Sports Network down the line.

• And finally, with the NFL making its decision on Tuesday to move the 2012 regular season opening game back a day, it avoids the same situation from four years ago when the league kept its season opener on the same night as John McCain’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. In 2008, the NFL pushed back the opener to 7 p.m. ET only to get a significant drop in the ratings. This year by moving the game from Thursday, September 6 to the night before, it prevents a conflict with President Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention and the NFL can own the coverage without taking a ratings hit.

  It works for all sides.

And that will conclude a very long thoughts column. I had to get these off my chest and now I can move onto other items for you..

Our Tuesday Links

Let’s provide some links now.

John Ourand and John Lombardo of Sports Business Journal write that local NBA TV ratings are up thus far.

Eric Fisher of SBJ writes that sports arenas have an issue with providing more bandwidth as fans demand wifi access.

Paul White at USA Today says the newly-renamed Miami Marlins are ready for their reality TV closeup.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today says Los Angeles Lakers radio voice John Ireland was busted by Jay Leno’s Show of Hacks for putting on makeup during a game.

Michael O’Connell at the Hollywood Reporter says thanks to the Daytona 500, Fox won Monday night’s ratings over strong network competition.

John Eggerton from Broadcasting & Cable reports on a sports fan lobbying group that’s asking the FCC to end the NFL’s archaic blackout policy.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine says despite lower ratings from last year, the NBA is pleased with the numbers for the All-Star Game.

Mihir Bose of the London (UK) Evening Standard looks at the upcoming bidding for the English Premier League TV rights by talking with an ESPN Europe executive. It’s expected that incumbents Sky Sports and ESPN will have to fend off a heated bid by Al-Jazeera.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says Dan Patrick almost got into a heated exchange with David Letterman last night.

Sports Video Group says ESPNsoccernet has launched a new mobile app.

At Her Campus, Annie Wang talks with a close friend of Jeremy Lin’s on he views Linsanity in Communist China.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says reviews the upcoming ESPN documentary on the 20th anniversary of Magic Johnson’s announcement that he was HIV positive.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that today ends a long streak for Jeremy Lin.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says a local radio station will air a handful of Red Sox exhibition games.

Pete says this year’s MAAC Tournament will be online except for the finals.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the NBA’s pay per view League Pass package is free for this week.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that Oklahoma City was the 2nd highest rated local market for the NBA All-Star Game.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says rain delay coverage of the Daytona 500 on Sunday scored well in Suds City.

And Bob says Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver is given good odds to win this season’s Dancing with the Stars competition.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Fox Sports San Diego has tapped a news anchor to become its first-ever Padres studio host.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times talks with ESPN college football analyst Ed Cunningham about winning the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says Twitter scooped TV in breaking NHL trades yesterday.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog kept track of which Canadian networks RDS, Rogers Sportsnet or TSN broke the trades yesterday.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing says ESPN ignored the NHL Trade Deadline yesterday.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead explains why ESPN chose to ignore the deadline.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media declares Rogers Sportsnet the winner in NHL Trade Deadline Day coverage.

In Tennis Space, former player Mark Petchey tells how he became a TV analyst.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin gets an internal ESPN e-mail about Twitter.

Sports Media Watch looks at the Daytona 500′s ratings.

And that’s going to do it for now.

Unleashing Some Friday Megalinks

Ok, let’s get this done. Lots of linkage from yesterday and today. I need to catch up. Let’s go.

Check out your Weekend Viewing Picks for the sports and entertainment programming for Saturday and Sunday.

National

Mike McCarthy of USA Today wonders if there’s a glass ceiling for women in sports television.

Former Comcast SportsNet New England anchor Jackie Pepper has her take about being a woman in sports television.

Back to USA Today, Michael Hiestand looks at the casting call for the new Broadway play focusing on the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird rivalry and friendship, produced by the same people who did Lombardi on Broadway.

Hiestand writes that Fox Sports will be using some of its own talent for its UFC debut next week.

Paul Thomasch of Reuters talks with CBS head honcho Les Moonves about the network’s SEC deal.

Emma Bazilian at Adweek notes that DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket promotion over the summer paid off in droves in the third quarter of this year.

Phil Swann of TV Predictions has his take on DirecTV’s subscriber spike.

The talk of the sports blogosphere the last couple of days has been the Deadspin story by A.J. Daulerio on a former ESPN executive who’s filed a lawsuit against an employee denying several displays of odd behavior including masturbating in Erin Andrews’ presence.

Congratulations to former ESPN reporter Amy K. Nelson who leaves the Alleged Worldwide Leader for SBNation. Deadspin has that story as well.

Aaron Kuniloff and David Mildenberg from Bloomberg Businessweek co-author a story on ESPN’s Longhorn Network and its ramifications on college sports.

Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek of Businessweek talk about the alternatives to the NBA and how the league’s TV partners have lost money airing the games.

Rick Chandler of NBC’s Off the Bench explains how an ESPN.com story mushroomed into the Occupy Tebow movement.

At ESPN Front Row, network spokesman Mike Soltys notes that the Alleged Worldwide Leader has new policy on employees writing books, something that got Bruce Feldman into trouble earlier this year.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group looks at a new MSG Network mobile app that brings live high school sports to your cell phone.

Ariel Sandler at the Business Insider Sports Page has video of two Canadian news anchors going crazy when their sports anchor is named the winner of a $2.5 million lottery on live TV.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reviews the results of having two In-N-Out Burgers shipped frozen across country.

Sports Media Watch says TNT’s replacement programming for the NBA’s canceled games on what would have been Opening Night of the season failed miserably in the ratings.

Joe Favorito wonders if the Bellator Fighting Championships can co-exist with UFC in Mixed Martial Arts.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing says Brent Musburger got the job done in his cameo on an ABC sitcom.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth says it’s the subject matter, not the personalities that drive ratings for sports radio stations.

SportsbyBrooks notes that ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd sat with the beautiful people at last week’s Stanford-USC game.

Marisa Ingemi of In Lax We Trust reports that the National Lacrosse League has a deal in place with CBS Sports Network to air games in 2012-13.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe speaks with former ESPN MMA Live host Jon Anik who will work straight for UFC now.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Bill Doyle talks with Comcast SportsNet New England Celtics analyst Tommy Heinsohn who’s cooling his heels during the NBA lockout.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that WFAN’s Boomer & Carton show has really taken off in the ratings.

Neil has more with Boomer and Carton that he could not provide in his feature story.

Scott Shifrel and Bill Hutchinson of the New York Daily News write that former ESPN executive Keith Clinkscales is claiming that he is the victim of a smear campaign.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wonders where’s the outrage on the Detroit Lions for what he feels was mocking Tim Tebow’s religion.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for Cleveland Browns franchise assassin and ESPN analyst Eric Mangini. No, I’m not bitter about his tenure as Browns coach.

Justin previews MLB Network’s special on the 1986 Postseason.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union hears from SEC on CBS analyst Gary Danielson on LSU-Alabama.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call also has quotes from Danielson regarding this year’s Game of the Century.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com has the latest in Baltimore-DC sports media news.

In the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg looks at a failed lobbyist’s efforts to get DC NFL team owner Dan Snyder to change the brand name.

And Dan has Joe Theismann’s thoughts on the whole John Beck/Rex Grossman QB controversy in Washington.

Monica Hesse of the Post says some of the items from the now-defunct ESPN Zone in DC are being sold at auction.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner finds out ESPN’s plans for this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup.

South

Sean Cartell of SEC.com has Verne Lundquist’s thoughts on LSU-Alabama.

Brian Reynolds in the Tuscaloosa News says ESPN is giving LSU-Alabama the Super Bowl treatment.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says both CBS and ESPN are pulling out all of the stops for LSU-Alabama.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter in the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that former Bengals QB Carson Palmer will be profiled on Sunday’s edition of The NFL Today.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says ratings for the World Series were good, but the games showed that instant replay was greatly needed.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that former Brewers radio voice Corey Provus now has a new gig with the Twins.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his winners and losers in sports business and media.

Ted Gruber in Chicago Now feels ESPN gets a big fail in covering Mixed Martial Arts.

Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says Corey Provus takes over for former Minnesota Twins voice John Gordon who retired this year.

Paul Christian in the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin talks about Provus’ hiring by the Twins.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch feels the national media undersold Albert Pujols’ achievement in Game 3 of the World Series.

West

Jeff Call of the Deseret (UT) News says ESPN’s partnership with BYU has been beneficial for both parties.

John Maffei in the North County Times notes how CBS obtained LSU-Alabama for primetime.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star says it’s rare to get a #1 vs. #2 matchup in the regular season.

Jim says Brad Nessler is ready for primetime when Thursday Night Football begins next week.

Jim has his weekend viewing picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says we’re in a Golden Age of sports documentaries.

Tom has more in his blog.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says Hazel Mae is officially back with Rogers Sportsnet.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog which broke the news of Hazel’s return discusses what her duties will be.

That’s going to do it for the megalinks today.

BREAKING: Hazel Mae Leaves MLB Network For Rogers Sportsnet

This news is going to make some fanboys sad. According to the Canadian Sports Media Blog, Hazel Mae is leaving MLB Network to go back home to Canada and work for her former employer, Rogers Sportsnet.

BREAKING NEWS: Hazel Mae has left MLB Network to join Rogers Sportsnet. It's not clear what her role will be yet. More to come.

September 19, 2011 1:26 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@CdnSportsMedia

CanadianSportsMedia

We don’t have another source on this, but we’re attempting to find out more. Hazel joined MLB Network for its launch in 2009 where she was the original host of Quick Pitch. This year, she had been hosting The Rundown Live with Matt Yallof and had a role on Intentional Talk Live.

Before MLB Network, she came to the United States as a host of NESN’s SportsDesk. Hazel was a favorite subject of the Boston Herald’s Inside Track gossip page. And in Canada, Hazel was an anchor on Rogers Sportsnet for its morning sports update.

No word on what her new role on Rogers Sportsnet would be. It’s known that many of her fans stateside will be sad to see her leave.

UPDATE, 2:55 p.m.: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated who also works at MLB Network tweeted the following which is pretty much confirmation that Hazel is gone.

so sorry to see fabulous hazel mae leave @MLBNetwork. going home to toronto to work for rogers. great working with her!

September 19, 2011 1:15 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@SI_JonHeyman

Jon Heyman

UPDATE, 3:40 p.m.: I asked MLB Network to officially confirm Hazel’s departure, however, I received a “No comment” from a spokesperson. Let us suffice to say that from the sources that I’m hearing on this story, it’s safe to say that Hazel is headed back to Canada.

Let’s Do Some Monday Links

Time for some links. I expect press releases galore today announcing NFL ratings news so before they come fast and furious, I’ll do some linkage.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says the NFL and its TV partners handled their 9/11 tributes yesterday as best as they could.

Scott Woolley at Forbes.com writes that cable operators are ready to fight ESPN over its huge rights deal for Monday Night Football.

David Lieberman of Deadline says the battle lines are drawn between cable operators and ESPN.

In the Hollywood Reporter, Lindsay Powers reports that the NFL saw its best season opening primetime ratings in 15 years.

Michael Malone of Broadcasting & Cable notes that NBC’s Universal Sports is going to be a cable-only channel starting in 2012. Universal is on several NBC owned-and-operated local digital channels and will be removed starting in January.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says Universal Sports has begun an ad campaign asking cable and satellite distributors to pick it up in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek asks if the flashy Maryland football uniforms were a nightmare or a brilliant marketing scheme for athletic apparel manufacturer, Under Armour.

Anthony says Dunkin’ Donuts will be sponsoring ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown this season.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine writes that the NFL regular season opener last Thursday really scored for NBC.

Kat Stoeffel of the New York Observer notes that former Boston Globe curmudgeon Charlie Pierce is joining Bill Simmons’ Grantland. Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch points out that it comes after Pierce lambasted Simmons last December.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has the video of NASCAR driver Tony Stewart being a dick to Associated Press reporter Jenna Fryer.

Deadspin has video of Fox Sports’ Chris Myers ordering a stiff drink on the air.

TMZ says former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Josh Elliot could replace Good Morning America co-host George Stephanopoulos.

ESPN’s Front Row PR blog profiles the man who literally drives the bus for Monday Night Football.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post believes everything in the world is bad.

Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that the Temple-Penn State game will be on ESPN this Saturday.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun has fun with the CBS NFL Today analysts picking Pittsburgh before yestserday’s game with the Ravens.

Leigh Pressley of the Charlotte Observer says a local man will be seen on Golf Channel’s Big Break reality show this month.

Paul Woody of the Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch profiles ESPN NASCAR pit reporter Jamie Little.

Paul also talks with ESPN’s NASCAR pit studio stage manager who is from Virginia.

Gary Smits of the Florida Times-Union says ESPN College GameDay comes back to Tallahassee this Saturday after a 10 year absence.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times reviews the weekend in sports television and radio.

Mike Baldwin of the Daily Oklahoman writes that Oklahoma University is in a mini-slump when College GameDay goes to one of its games.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business is amazed at the local TV ratings for the Bears season opener.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers will be seen on Golf Channel this week as part of an NFL-themed program.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post talks with ESPN NFL analyst Trent Dilfer who will be working tonight’s Oakland-Broncos game.

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

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that one local talk show host was on the warpath last week.

Susan Krashinsky of the Globe and Mail explores the potential new partnership between Canadian TV rivals CTV and CBC for the 2014/16 Olympics.

Jamie Sturgeon of the National Post writes about Rogers’ decision to pull out of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Consortium.

Dusan Belic of IntoMobile says the NFL has launched a new Android tablet app.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing explains why ESPN’s GamePlan college football pay per view package has been rendered obsolete and worthless by ESPN.

Matt Clapp at AA has the stirring video of America’s Unofficial Anthem Singer, Jim Cornelison, helping to kick off the NFL season before yesterday’s Atlanta Falcons-Chicago Bears game.

Joe Favorito says even in its worst times, hockey finds a way to heal the sport and its players.

Dug out as many links as I could today. That’s it for now. More press release posts as they come in.

Some Sunday Linkage

I wasn’t able to link yesterday due to some personal commitments. I’ll be doing some today.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today says ESPN yanked teams with anti-Semitic names from its fantasy football leagues.

Daniel Riley of GQ speaks with the best baseball announcer of all-time, Vin Scully about his greatest calls.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable notes that the American Cable Association is blasting ESPN for its huge rights contract for Monday Night Football.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that NBC and Universal Sports have begun to air coverage of the Rugby World Cup.

Mike writes that YES Network is coming in to air Fox NFL Sunday for Fox in New York for one week only.

Eric Deggans from the St. Petersburg Times writes in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center that fans will be footing the bill for the NFL’s recent megadeal with ESPN.

Brandon Costa at Sports Video Group says NFL Films will have a nationwide tribute to 9/11 before all games today.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid notes that TNT’s Charles Barkley wasn’t quite himself doing an interview on ESPN yesterday.

Timothy Burke of SportsGrid has the audio of Yankees broadcaster John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman using a cell phone to broadcast a game last week.

Former CNN correspondent Kelly Wallace, now of iVillage, speaks with NBC Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya about balancing motherhood with her job.

Rob Neyer at SBNation wonders if MASN handled Orioles analyst Mike Flanagan’s death properly.

Ian R. Rapoport of the Boston Herald has a look at the NFL Films documentary on Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with some of New York’s sports figures who remember 9/11.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reports that some cable providers are unhappy over ESPN’s megadeal for Monday Night Football and may fight back.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says the local CBS affiliate will be throwing Monday’s U.S. Open men’s final to another station.

John Brennan of the Bergen (NJ) Record writes that several NHL promos for the league’s TV partners are being shot in Newark, NJ.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a rainout prevented a local minor league baseball announcer from making a signature call.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with NBC/Versus’ programming chief about its new lineup.

Mike Madden of the Washington City Paper says DC NFL team Daniel Snyder has dropped his SLAPP lawsuit against the publication. If you’re wondering what a SLAPP lawsuit is, go here.

Lauren Bailey of the Charlotte Observer profiles an Emmy-award producer who has helped to shape the way ESPN does its features.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times has your NFL Viewing Guide for this season.

Norm Sanders of the Belleville (IL) News-Democrat remembers a local man who worked behind the scenes for both CBS and Fox Sports.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the NFL Films documentary on Patriots coach Bill Belichick lifts the curtain on some of his mysterious persona.

Dan Caesar in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals’ ratings are down compared to last year.

Dr. Michael Chung writes in the Kansas City Star that based on its TV ratings, baseball might be in trouble.

Jason Franchuk of the Provo (UT) Daily Herald compares how the Longhorn Network shapes up against BYUtv.

Marcus Vanderberg of Fishbowl LA says Kings on-air personality Heidi Androl won’t be returning to her duties with Fox Sports West this season.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that CTV and CBC will team up for the Canada’s Olympic Broadcasting Consortium’s bid for the 2014/16 Games. Rather shocking. That would be like NBC and CBS teaming up for a joint Olympic bid here.

And the CSM writes that former Hockey Night in Canada insider Scott Morrison has joined his on-air partner Jeff Marek at Rogers Sportsnet. In fact, Morrison now becomes Marek’s boss.

Sports Media Watch looks at the ratings for the NFL regular season opener on NBC.

SMW says ESPN’s college football Labor Day game did not do well in the ratings.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says the New Jersey Devils have chosen the man to replace Mike Emrick as lead play-by-play voice.

And that is going to be it. The Sunday NFL pregame quotage is in so I’ll be posting that in the next hour.

Handing Out Some Labor Day Sports Media Links

A nice day here in Southern New England and I’m at home watching some good sports action as we have afternoon MLB games, the U.S. Open, a little CFL and some college football later. A good sports day for the Labor Day holiday. Before I do the links, let’s go into one of the stranger nights on sports television on Sunday.

Last night, ESPN got stuck with two weather delays for two events, in college football at the Marshall at West Virginia game and at NASCAR in Atlanta. ESPN handled both situations as best as it could, first updating viewers on lighting approaching Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV. As players were hustled off the field before 6 p.m., ESPN threw to its studio with Ryan Burr and Robert Smith who deftly filled the time with highlights and comments.

Then as the NASCAR window approached, Burr threw it to Atlanta and the NASCAR Countdown crew led by Nicole Briscoe. The prerace program went as scheduled for the half-hour and at 7 p.m. when the race coverage was supposed to begin, ESPN updated viewers on the rain from Tropical Storm Lee that hit Atlanta and was wreaking havoc. However, ESPN said that it was hoped that the race would begin “within the hour.”

It was during this time ESPN kept switching back and forth between Atlanta and the ESPN studios in Bristol, CT to fill time. Then at 8:50 p.m., ESPN went back to Morgantown for the game. While ESPN did not inform viewers publicly, it was learned via Twitter that the game would be switched to ESPNU if NASCAR started and we also learned via Twitter that NASCAR was hoping to get the race started at 10:30 p.m.

ESPN was balancing between the two venues hoping that it would not have to bump one event for the other. And at 9:05 p.m., ESPN got another jolt when authorities pulled Marshall and West Virginia for another lightning delay. Ryan Burr and Robert Smith were back to quickly throw things back to Atlanta where Nicole Briscoe relayed to viewers of the 10:30 p.m. start time and it was when we began seeing shots of the track dryers going around the Atlanta Speedway circuit.

During the delay, ESPN went back to Morgantown for an update on the weather from its announcing team, Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore and sideline reporter Quint Kessenich. It was during this update that ESPN showed a lightning strike at 6:02 p.m. that looked like it struck the stadium. Kessenich reported that the strike hit the stadium and a fan in the upper deck and from the screengrab, it certainly looks like it did. However, scuttlebutt was surfacing that there were no independent news on the strike.

And later, West Virginia State Police denied that no fan had been hit and the lightning strike was close to the stadium, but did not hit it. In addition, West Virginia University Media Relations published its own statement on the story.  So where did Kessenich get his information and as Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand correctly asked, why didn’t ESPN issue a correction on the story? ESPN certainly had plenty of chances to correct it.

At 10 p.m., ESPN had Robert Flores and Stuart Scott start SportsCenter early. It went right to Atlanta where NASCAR race caller Allen Bestwick interviewed NASCAR President Mike Helton who announced that with the rains from Tropical Storm Lee, it was impossible to restart the race Sunday and as rains would continue into Monday, the race would be rescheduled to 11 a.m. Tuesday.

A quick toss back to SportsCenter and then, at 10:24, ESPN thew it back to Morgantown where it was announced the game was going to be called with West Virginia leading Marshall 34-13. Again, the lightning strike from 6:02 p.m. was shown. After 11 p.m., the strike was not referenced and the report of the fan was not raised again. So why didn’t ESPN retract or correct it? No word from the network on this. However, it’s a situation where a story is front of them and they didn’t get it right. And there was no correction. ESPN has to do a better job.

And as I watched the 2 p.m. SportsCenter on ESPNews, the network has chosen to ignore its erroneous report on the lightning strike rather than issue a correction.

Now to the links.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says despite being dropped by Verizon FiOS, Tennis Channel is talking with the cable provider to return to the lineup.

The Associated Press reports that Missouri is the next Big 12 school to announce its own digital network joining Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas State.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has the video of Rafael Nadal cramping up during his U.S. Open press briefing yesterday.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid wonders why a mascot is being taken off the court on a stretcher during the EuroBasket Championships.

Timothy Burke at his Mocksession site shows an unfortunate ESPN crowd cutaway during yesterday’s Marshall-West Virginia game.

Joe Favorito asks smaller universities if it’s worth the payday to go to a large FCS school and get beaten up on the football field.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times explores the dispute between Tennis Channel and cable providers Cablevision and Verizon FiOS.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times has praise for NBC’s Notre Dame coverage and ESPN’s College GameDay.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle speculates on the future of the Longhorn Network if Texas goes to the Pac-12.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman liked Gus Johnson and Charles Davis’ work on the Tulsa-Oklahoma game, but Kevin Frazier and Marcus Allen, not so much.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post says Colorado fans will have to scramble to find Saturday’s game against Cal.

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

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star says NFL gamers are gearing up for the season.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail wonders if the public really needed to know the details of Wade Belak’s suicide.

The Paranoid Puck reports that former Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford will be joining TSN and former MSG host Christine Simpson returns to Canada to work for Rogers Sportsnet.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has some Labour Day thoughts.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has some typos both on TV and online.

Sports Media Watch says Nielsen will be tracking fewer TV households this year.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that Versus will be airing some NHL preseason games for the first time.

And that will do it for today.

The Recovering After Irene Links

Yesterday at 8:30 a.m., I lost power at my house and as of this post, I still don’t have it. The northern part of my town has power, but I live in the southern part and there’s nothing. That’s not good. And RI did not get hit that hard by Irene so I don’t know how we could lose power for so long. Anyway, it appears that my office never lost electricity as the clocks appear to be on time so I’m blogging from work. Hopefully, I won’t be without power for that long.

Here are your links.

Michael Smith of the Sports Business Journal writes that UPS and MillerCoors are looking to become very aggressive sponsors of college sports.

Eric Fisher of SBJ says a new site has launched to cover digital fan marketing.

Terry Lefton of SBJ speaks with a sports marketer who believes stadium naming rights work.

Mimi Turner of the Hollywood Reporter says the BBC will air every hour of every single event at the 2012 London Olympics. That’s quite ambitious.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says with Hurricane Irene out of the way, New York can focus on the U.S. Open for the next two weeks.

Mike says Tennis Channel will reach 50 million homes for the Open.

ESPN Ombudsman Kelly McBride from the Poynter Institute says there’s nothing wrong with ESPN airing the Little League World Series to which I ask her, are you crazy?

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says reporting on suicides and speculating why they happen as in the case of former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and broadcaster Mike Flanagan demonstrate the need for due diligence by news organizations.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says a short two days after Vin Scully announced his return to the Dodgers, so did Spanish voice Jaime Jarrin.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid notes that Houston Texan RB Arian Foster is not a fan of ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowhack. Really, who is?

Zombie Journalism has a problem with ESPN’s social networking policy that bans its reporters from breaking news on Twitter.

TMZ reports that wrestler Ric Flair is contemplating a lawsuit against Captain Blowhard-led Grantland.com for a long article on him that was published last week.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir speaks with Fox Sports’ Joe Buck about his ailing voice.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick decides that he’s a man of the people, which probably couldn’t be further from the truth.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with CBS college football host Tim Brando about his radio show being aired on CBS Sports Network.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times looks at the weekend in sports television including a poor local broadcast of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason games.

Sean Pendergast in the Houston Press says the Longhorn Network doesn’t have enough content to be successful.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says ESPN’s Chris Spielman picks Wisconsin to win the Big Ten title.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dan Caesar writes that Missouri’s new football analyst has a football background, but also one in intelligence. As in CIA. Yup.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post is amazed at the media controversy swirling around Broncos third-string quarterback Tim Tebow.

Andrew Malcolm from the Los Angeles Times says ESPN has warned golf analyst Paul Azinger over his tweet criticizing President Obama.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News speaks with Olympic swimmer Janet Evans who turned 40 on Sunday. Wow.

Tom writes about Dodgers Spanish broadcaster Jaime Jarrin’s return for next year.

Tom also has your sports calendar for this week.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star says the lockout doesn’t seem to be effecting the NBA.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail advises us not to look for Rogers Sportsnet to wrest the CFL rights away from TSN in the next bidding.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog says the Maple Leafs are close to hiring a new announcer.

Sox & Dawgs has a look at the UConn Radio Network for the 2011-12 season.

Mike Shields at DigiDay notes that ESPN’s College GameDay will really sink its teeth into social networking this season.

Ryan Yoder of Awful Announcing is critical of the ESPN Ombudsman for letting ESPN off the hook for airing the Little League World Series.

Joe Favorito feels the World Fire and Police Games taking place in New York are brand and activation opportunities for potential sponsors.

And lastly, here’s a video I made last night driving down the main road of my town showing how dark it was. Definitely no fun without power.

That’s all. Back later.

Bringing You Some Friday Megalink Love

Ok, seeing some good stories on this Friday and it appears that I’m staying in the office today so I can give you a full set and not have to leave for another site. Let’s git ‘er done!

We start as always with the Weekend Viewing Picks which are getting busier with each passing weekend as we get closer to football. And in September, you’ll have College Football Viewing Picks and the NFL Viewing Picks to go along with the weekend picks so you can expect to see those every Friday from September through the end of both football seasons.

Let’s do the linkage.

National

Michael Hiestand and Mike McCarthy of USA Today debate whether networks really need to use ex-jocks to be analysts.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News reports that HBO PPV will air the Manny Pacquaio-Juan Manuel Marquez fight with replays of the 24/7 documentary series airing on CNN. Interesting.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says Comcast is going after DirecTV for what it says is a deceptive ad campaign by the satellite provider for offering “free” NFL games.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine looks at how Kraft used its Macaroni & Cheese brand to help warm up football fans tailgating in cold weather cities.

Jason Fry in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center gives some tips on starting up a digital sports journalism program.

At NFL.com, Adam Rank gives his top six favorite features from NFL Films as founder Ed Sabol goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid is giddy over Stephen Colbert taking over MLB’s Twitter account for all day today.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser has the latest New Era Red Sox-Yankees ad featuring notorious Yankees fan Alec Baldwin and Red Sox fan John Krasinski. This ad called “One Hitter” is the best of the series thus far.

Karen Hogan of Sports Video Group says NASCAR.com is expanding its online RaceView program from Sprint Cup only to three Nationwide Series races.

Sports Media Watch notes that the ratings for the MLS All-Star Game on ESPN2 went up slightly from last year.

Joe Favorito talks about motorsports trying to tap into the New York market.

Barry Janoff of The Big Lead notes that Pepsi is returning to advertise in the Super Bowl by using the winner of Fox’s X Factor contest into NBC’s broadcast.

Brady Green at Awful Announcing reports a story that we’ve been following closely here, that Versus may make a big commitment to college hockey.

AA also introduces its Fan Forum where you get a voice on the blog.

In Sports TV Jobs, ESPN’s Clay Matvick talks about what it takes to be a play-by-play announcer.

Kristi Dosh, the SportsBizMiss, notes how big a business college sports is in the Business of College Sports.

Law professor Roger Groves writes in Forbes that the Pac-12 deal while lucrative, may end up costing college sports in the long run.

East and Mid-Atlantic

To the Lewiston (ME) Sun Journal and Randy Whitehouse who writes that the Maine Sports Network has carved a niche for itself by broadcasting local high school sports and talk shows to a hungry audience.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks about the rebranding of Versus to fit the NBC Sports Group.

At Boston Sports Media Watch, Ryan Hadfield has some local media musings.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes about the ailing NFL Films team of Ed and Steve Sabol who are holding on to see Ed finally make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Newsday’s Neil Best says the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry hasn’t lost any of its luster to ESPN or Fox.

Neil says MSG Network has finalized a deal with Spero Dedes for him to call New York Knicks games on radio.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is filled with hatred for the entire world today.

Marc Berman at the Post says MSG is overlooking a recent DWI arrest in hiring Dedes.

Justin Terranova in the Post has five questions for CBS/TNT golf analyst Ian Baker-Finch.

In the Albany Times Union, Pete Dougherty would like YES to stop airing a certain smoking cessation ad.

Pete says NFL Network has confirmed talks with Time Warner Cable to possibly get carriage for this season.

Pete talks with player agent J.R. Rickert about having to squash inaccurate media reports about his clients.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says NFL Network will have up to six live preseason on its air this month.

Laura Nachman says a Philly sports reporter is teaming up on a new book on the hapless 1972 Phillies.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic has hired a new Capitals insider for TV and online appearances.

At the Washington Examiner, Jim Williams says the rebrand from Versus to NBC Sports Network is more than just a name change.

South

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle talks Texans with NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that Cox has released its local high school football schedule.

Mel says Tulsa native Bob Carpenter may be looking for a new gig after MASN did not pick up his option to call Washington Nationals games.

Midwest

Josh Weir in the Canton (OH) Repository profiles NFL Films founder Ed Sabol as he enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.

Josh writes that Ed’s relationship with the late NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle changed the fate of the league and NFL Films.

Josh says Ed’s hiring of the late John Facenda as the voice of NFL Films added a mystique to the NFL.

Josh says Ed’s successor at NFL Films, his son Steve, has been ailing almost as much as Ed has.

And Josh writes that before Ed was a filmmaker, he was a very good swimmer at Ohio State.

Over to the Akron Beacon Journal, Jason Lloyd goes behind the scenes with CBS Sports as it airs this weekend’s coverage of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says a former Bengals radio pregame host is returning to his position this season.

John has a little more on the story in his blog.

John says Fox Sports Ohio picks up an additional Cincinnati Reds game later this month.

Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press says ESPN will make next month’s Michigan-Notre Dame game into a big primetime affair.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says Versus will air a documentary on MLB’s first openly gay player next week.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the Green Bay Packers’ weekend scrimmage will be picked up on TV both locally and nationally.

Paul Christian of the Rochester Post-Bulletin says eight years after its creation, NFL Network finally gets picked up by Charter Communications.

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dan Caesar writes the NFL Network-Charter agreement was a compromise on where the channel would be placed.

Dan says the St. Louis Cardinals were kicked off Fox’s national MLB schedule to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a rare spotlight.

West

John Maffei in the North County Times says the NFL’s TV partners are hopeful viewers will watch preseason football.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Ed Sabol is worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tom wonders if Ed was actually a candidate to succeed the late Pete Rozelle as NFL Commish.

Ed looks at the sports media’s connection to this year’s class of 2011 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tom says ESPN has invented a quarterback rating statistic and wants everyone to know about it.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about a new reality series in which a former CFL’er is trying to make Canada’s bobsledding team.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog looks at CBC and Rogers Sportsnet teaming up to air two tennis tournaments this month.

And the Canadian Sports Media Blog lists the Gemini Award nominees in the sports categories. The Geminis are Canada’s version of the Emmys.

That will conclude the links today.

Unveiling The Wednesday Links For You

On Tuesday, I did the links in the evening, but today, the linkage is coming out early. Let’s get to them.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that Fox plans to use its college football sideline reporter more as an analyst on the field, rather than give injury updates.

To the Wall Street Journal where Sam Schechner and Alexandra Berzon write about poker programming falling off TV due to the recent Fed crackdown of offsite gambling sites.

The Sports Biz Miss, Kristi Dosh, writes in Forbes that the settlement of the NFL lockout does not bode well for the NBA players in their dispute with the league.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser notes that former Access Hollywood and Insider host (and Betsy admirer) Pat O’Brien returns to CBS as the host of a new poker series. Pat used to be NBA, MLB and Olympics host for CBS Sports a long, long time ago. I think he’s better known now for his entertainment work than his sports career.

Cam writes that BBC Sport has posted a rather extensive online viewing guide for the 2012 London Olympics.

Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable has Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban being bullish on cable saying it’s the best way to distribute video rather than the internet.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says Universal Sports, which is now available on DirecTV, is airing “One Year To Go” programming as we’re now a year away from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Ki Mae Heussner from Adweek says ESPN’s Erin Andrews was among those taking part in an event hosted by Marie Claire magazine.

Tim Nudd at Adweek looks at the State of MLS as it hits its All-Star Game tonight.

Timothy Burke of SportsGrid has the video of the controversial ending between the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates in the 19th inning.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group notes that ESPN.com has reworked its video player to stream 720p clips.

At Yahoo’s From the Marbles blog, Jay Busbee has ESPN’s NASCAR crew telling Dale Earnhardt, Jr. that it’s time to be a man.

The Big Lead notes that ESPN is all over football right now even though baseball is approaching one of its busier times of the season.

Awful Announcing is now at the finals of its Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament. Finalists might surprise you.

All Access says ESPN Deportes Radio has picked up another affiliate, this time in South Florida.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times the victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme are now focusing on the Mets ownership and what they knew of Madoff’s shenanigans and when they knew it.

Tom Spousta of the Times notes that Texas’ rivals in the Big 12 are seeing more than burnt orange in regards to the Longhorn Network.

Pete Tobey at the Glen Falls (NY) Post-Star says local native Dave Strader is leaving his Phoenix Coyotes post to work for the NHL on NBC/Versus.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says CBS Radio is making a hard charge at the Pittsburgh Pirates rights as Clear Channel tries to hold onto them.

Fox Sports Southwest has formally announced that Friday nights will be devoted to high school football programming.

Brent Zwerneman at the Houston Chronicle notes that the Big 12 has called a meeting on what to do about the Longhorn Network.

Steve Watkins of the Cincinnati Business Courier says Fox Sports Ohio is offering some online features as a companion to its Reds game broadcasts.

Robert Feder at TimeOut Chicago says NBC Chicago has hired the replacement for the late Daryl Hawks on its sports staff.

Vahe Gregorian at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Big 12 hierarchy is feeling that the issues surrounding Longhorn Network can be fixed.

Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star says a switching error caused the Royals-Red Sox extra inning game to go off the air on Fox Sports Kansas City late Monday night and a streetball program to go on briefly its place.

Chris Dufrense of the Los Angeles Times says Pac-12 schools remain euphoric about their $3 billion media rights contract with ESPN and Fox, but there are still some issues that hang over the conference.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News caught up with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott and spoke with him about several issues facing the league.

Robert Collias of the Maui (HI) News reports that NBC golf analyst Mark Rolfing is sounding off after being dropped as the Executive Director of a PGA Tour stop.

Susan Krashinsky of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that Rogers Sportsnet has purchased Setanta Sports Canada and will rebrand the channel under the Sportsnet name.

Erik Spanberg from Scene Daily has ESPN being hopeful that the upward trend on NASCAR’s TV ratings continue as it takes over the Sprint Cup schedule for the rest of the season.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

The Business Insider Sports Page has its suggestions as who should be cause in the ESPN Book movie.

And I’m done with the links for now.

Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Consortium Preliminary Broadcasting Lineup For 2012 Games

On this one year to the 2012 London Olympics, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium has released the hosts for CTV/TSN/RDS/Rogers Sportsnet/V and some of the announcers/analysts for selected sports. Of course, the main host for CTV will be Brian Williams, of course, not be confused with NBC’s Brian Williams. Canada’s Brian Williams is that country’s version of Mr. Olympics as he has hosted the Games dating back to 1984 on CBC. CTV’s midday hosts will be James Duthie and Jennifer Hedger both of TSN and speed skating gold medalist Catriona Le May Doan will be a host on CTV’s coverage as well.

The Consortium borrowed many analysts from CBC’s 2008 Summer Olympic coverage and we have the list for you right here.

Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium Announces First Names to Broadcast Team for the London 2012 Olympic Games

– Brian Williams leads all-star roster of broadcasters, including Alain Crête, Darren Dutchyshen, James Duthie, Brad Fay, Chantal Machabée, Claude Mailhot, Don Taylor, and more –
– Olympic medallists Alexandre Bilodeau, Nathalie Lambert, Catriona Le May Doan, Marnie McBean, Kyle Shewfelt, Bruny Surin, Barney Williams, and more join broadcast team –
– The Consortium poised to deliver the greatest Summer Games experience with more than 5,000 hours of multi-platform coverage –

Toronto, ON (July 26, 2011) – On the eve of the one-year countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium announced today its initial broadcast team for its presentation of the next Olympic Games. Led by veteran sports and Olympic host Brian Williams, the team is poised to bring Canadians the greatest Summer Games experience ever. The list also includes some of the most impressive Canadian Olympians of all time, such as Catriona Le May Doan, Nathalie Lambert, Marnie McBean, and Kyle Shewfelt. Alexandre Bilodeau, the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal on home soil also joins the RDS team as Collaborator for the Opening Ceremonies. The Olympians announced thus far as part of the Consortium’s broadcast team have an impressive 18 Olympic medals among them.

In addition to Williams, RDS’ Chantal Machabée, V’s Jean Pagé, TSN’s Darren Dutchyshen, and Rogers Sportsnet’s Brad Fay host the prime time slots on their respective channels. With the best broadcasters and athlete commentators in the country, the Consortium team is positioned to bring Canadians the dynamic storytelling that anchored its coverage of Vancouver 2010, on the world’s grandest stage for amateur sports. Viewers can also expect the return of the Consortium’s hugely-popular and dynamic features “Superbodies”, “How Tough Are These Sports”, and “Rick Hansen’s Difference Makers”, all of which are currently in production.“At the Consortium, we have both the responsibility and the privilege to share the stories of London 2012 with all Canadians,” said Adam Ashton, President, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. “Our diverse and experienced broadcast team are prepared to deliver the extraordinary stories of the world’s best, with the care and accuracy they deserve.”

To date, the broadcast team confirmed for London 2012 is:

CTV Hosts

OLYMPIC PRIME TIME – Brian Williams
OLYMPIC DAYTIME – James Duthie, Jennifer Hedger
OLYMPIC MORNING – Dave Randorf, Catriona Le May Doan

RDS Hosts

OLYMPIC PRIME TIME – Chantal Machabée
OLYMPIC DAYTIME – Alain Crête
OLYMPIC MORNING – Claude Mailhot

RDS Collaborator – Opening Ceremonies
Alexandre Bilodeau

RDS Special Reporter
Nathalie Lambert

V Hosts

OLYMPIC PRIME TIME – Jean Pagé
OLYMPIC DAYTIME – Frédéric Plante
OLYMPIC MORNING – Yanick Bouchard

Rogers Sportsnet Hosts

OLYMPIC PRIME TIME – Brad Fay
OLYMPIC DAYTIME – Daren Millard
OLYMPIC MORNING – Don Taylor

TSN Hosts

OLYMPIC PRIME TIME – Darren Dutchyshen
OLYMPIC DAYTIME – Michael Landsberg
OLYMPIC MORNING – Jay Onrait, Dan O’Toole

Play-By-Play Announcers and Analysts – English Broadcast Team

Athletics
Gord Miller (play-by-play)
Dave Moorcroft (analyst)
Michael Smith (analyst)

Canoe/Kayak/Rowing
Rob Faulds (play-by-play)
Larry Cain (analyst)
Barney Williams (analyst)
Marnie McBean (studio analyst, rowing)

Gymnastics
Rod Black (play-by-play)
Kyle Shewfelt (analyst)

Swimming/Diving
Rod Smith (play-by-play)
Joanne Malar (analyst)
Blythe Hartley (analyst)

Play-By-Play Announcers and Analysts – French Broadcast Team

Athletics
Pierre Houde (play-by-play)
Richard Garneau (analyst)
Jean-Paul Baert (analyst)
Bruny Surin (analyst)

Canoe/Kayak/Rowing
David Arsenault (play-by-play)
Maxime Boilard (analyst, canoe/kayak)
Daniel Aucoin (analyst, rowing)

Diving
Félix Séguin (play-by-play)
Annie Pelletier (analyst)

Gymnastics
Claudine Douville (play-by-play)
Bernard Petiot (analyst)

Swimming
Denis Casavant (play-by-play)
Yannick Lupien (analyst)

Synchronized Swimming
Claudine Douville (play-by-play)
Marie-Pierre Gagné (analyst)

Water Polo
Michel Y. Lacroix (play-by-play)
Ann Dow (analyst)

More broadcaster names will be announced in the coming months.

That is it.

Coming Out With Thursday Links

I’ve been out of the office for most of the day as this week has been a bear for some reason. I’ll do some linkage and do as much as I can before being booted out for the day.

Mike McCarthy of the USA Today says the MLB All-Star Game on Fox received its lowest ratings ever.

Mike says Shaquille O’Neal has officially joined Turner Sports as an NBA studio analyst.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter also writes about Shaq joining Turner.

Etan Vlessing of the Reporter says Canadian French language network TVA Sports has signed a deal to become the official broadcaster of Montreal Impact MLS games.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says ratings for the 18-49 demographic for the MLB All-Star Game fell precipitously from last year.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch writes about Shaquille O’Neal shuffling to Turner Sports.

On this 5th anniversary of Twitter, SI lists its 100 must follow Sports Twitter accounts. I discount it because I wasn’t listed. I’m joking. Maybe. Maybe not.

SI’s Jon Wertheim writes about Twitter’s huge impact on sports.

Terry Lefton of Sports Business Journal reports that an Under Armour executive died suddenly last night.

Brian Lowry from Fox Sports has some thoughts on how Fox handled the All-Star Game.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center provides a review of Showtime’s “The Franchise”.

Big news from the IU National Sports Journalism Center, the man who help found the center and also establish its journalism focus, Tim Franklin is leaving for Bloomberg News in Washington.

Ben Axelrod of SportsGrid has a funny video showing the BBC misidentifying and then interviewing the wrong writer.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser writes that Fox Sports President Eric Shanks has been named to the board of a sports statistics company.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says Sony has extended its sponsorship of ESPN 3D which about 35 people across the country have access to.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has 100 Twitter rules to live by. I admit, I don’t follow all of them which is probably why he doesn’t follow me. He used to.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes about the city’s sports radio ratings.

Chad has a story on Shaquille O’Neal going to TNT.

Earlier this week, Newsday’s Neil Best reported that WFAN’s Mike Francesa was dropping his WNBC-TV Sunday night show effective immediately.

Neil says the show will have a new host, but keep the same name.

And Neil writes about Shaquille O’Neal heading to TNT.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun looks at the incredible shrinking TV sportscasts during the late local news.

David talks with former sports TV anchor Scott Garceau about whether Baltimore is as passionate about sports as other cities.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says All-Star Game viewership has hit its nadir.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has video of Lindsay Czarniak’s emotional farewell to DC market.

Dan says the extremely bitter John Feinstein is changing radio stations.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that the Open Championship presents logistical challenges to ESPN.

Jim says DC and Baltimore pace the country in the ratings for the Women’s World Cup.

Jim notes that TNT’s NASCAR ratings are up this year.

John Kieswetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks about Fox Sports Ohio’s high school football schedule.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Suds City loves the long ball.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business shares his thoughts on the All-Star Game.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has parts one, two, three, four, five, six and an epilogue from his interview with CBS/Golf Channel golf analyst David Feherty.

Tom also talks with ESPN Women’s World Cup analysts Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy about having the 2011 USA team being compared to their 1999 champion squad.

The incredibly uninformed Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about Rogers Sportsnet looking to bring in additional talent and not fire its staff.

But then Toronto Sports Media reports that Rogers fired Calgary Flames voice Peter Loubardias.

The Canadian Sports media blog reacts to the Rogers move as well as looking at the Winnipeg Jets broadcast rights.

The Big Lead talks with The Extra 2% author and baseball writer extraordinaire Jonah Keri.

Joe Favorito says the sport that wins on the movie screen is NASCAR.

Sports Media Watch says the USA-France Women’s World Cup semifinal set another high mark for this year’s games.

SMW looks at the top 100 most viewed sporting events on broadcast and cable TV to the halfway point of 2011.

That will do it.

Unveiling The Thursday Links

Been a busy day at work once again. Doing these late and I’ll try to put forth as many links as I can before being told to leave the office.

Sports Business Daily takes a look at the one year anniversary of the infamous “The Decision” that made LeBron James a pariah in Cleveland and most of the country.

Patrick Kemp at the Buffalo News reports that ESPN NHL analyst Matthew Barnaby will perform 500 hours of community service as he was sentenced Wednesday for a domestic disturbance case involving his estranged wife and her boyfriend. I asked ESPN for a statement on this matter and received this response: “Now that its (sic) gotten to the point in the process, we need to regroup and have follow up conversations.” This means that ESPN is evaluating Barnaby’s employment for the upcoming NHL season.

At The Sweet Science, boxing writer Thomas Hauser remembers fellow colleague and former Boston Herald columnist George Kimball who has passed at the age of 69.

Michael Woods of The Sweet Science also pauses to reflect on Kimball.

Another former Kimball colleague, Michael Gee gives his thoughts on his friend’s passing in the Boston Herald.

Lesley Goldberg of the Hollywood Reporter has a preview of Showtime’s MLB reality show, “The Franchise” focusing on the San Francisco Giants.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable looks at CBS’ Jim Nantz getting an award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times says ESPN winning the Wimbledon media rights is just a small part of a big battle between ESPN/Disney and Comcast/NBC.

Sheldon Spencer at ESPN Front Row talks with original ESPN’er Bob Ley on who he follows on Twitter. I’m honored to be one of those to be followed by Mr. Ley.

Last night, comedian Artie Lange made his first radio appearance since his suicide attempt and subsequent departure from the Howard Stern Show. Dylan P. Gadino of Punchline live blogged the guest spot Artie did with fellow comic Nick DiPaolo on Fox Sports Radio. Reading Gadino’s writing, it’s apparent he is not a sports fan.

Fox Sports Radio host Ben Maller writing in Yahoo’s The Post Game chronicles how he lost 200 pounds.

Dan Fogarty has audio of ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd blaming Canada for its health care system and insinuating Tiger Woods takes steroids.

CTV has finally relaunched its Olympics site for the 2012 London Games.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell marvels at how 2018 Olympics host Pyeongchang, Sout Korea is already halfway finished in building venues and it was just awarded the Games on Wednesday.

Marc Berman at the New York Post writes that Spero Dedes’ deal to become the radio voice could be in limbo stemming from his DWI arrest over the weekend.

Newsday’s Neil Best says ticket prices remain high for upcoming Yankees games as fans try to see the contest where Derek Jeter gets his 3,000th career hit.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that a Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic anchor gave a tongue-in-cheek motivational speech to interns.

Writer John Feinstein explains why he quit doing Navy football radio broadcasts effective immediately.

Gary Dinges of the Austin American-Statesman says the ESPN-owned Longhorn Network has chosen the site for its studios and named three of its on-air staffers.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Bengals writes that former radio voice Brad Johansen will call the team’s preseason games on TV starting this season, provided there is a preseason.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Pro Football Hall of Fame is ready to say hello to CBS’ Jim Nantz.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News feels the Pro Football Hall of Fame redeemed itself with Jim Nantz after selecting Chris Berman as its TV-Radio Award recipient last year.

Tom transcribes what Colin Cowherd said about the Dodgers today.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog notes that former CBC Hockey Night in Canada Radio host Jeff Marek has officially joined Rogers Sportsnet.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog writes about Jeff Marek’s role with Sportsnet.

Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that TSN has picked up the Canadian rights to Wimbledon starting next year.

And Canadian Sports Media tells us that TSN’s arrangement to air The Championships, Wimbledon is similar to ESPN’s.

Barry Pachesky of Deadspin says ESPN’s deal with Wimbledon is the future of sports television.

Deadspin’s Brian Hickey notes that Versus had a big, blue phallic symbol creep into its Tour de France coverage.

SportsbyBrooks has word on some college football network TV on-air hires.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes here and here.

SMW notes that the ratings for last weekend’s NASCAR Daytona 400 on TNT fell from last year.

EPL Talk notices that FIFA is considering to break up the 2022 World Cup in Qatar into three 30-minute periods due to the oppressive heat and humidity.

The latest Awful Announcing podcast has the great Darren Rovell of CNBC.

That’s going to do it for today.

A Few 4th of July Links

Let’s provide some linkage on this 4th of July holiday. I hope you’re having a great day wherever you are.

Aaron Couch of the Hollywood Reporter writes about ESPN taking over the Wimbledon TV contract after a 43 year association with NBC.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC wanted to use Versus as part of its Wimbledon coverage.

Diane Pucin from the Los Angeles Times notes that NBC pledged to end the Wimbledon tape delays by 2014, apparently not soon enough for All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union is not a fan of ESPN2′s tennis crew.

Back to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times and he has a good background story on how Fox has played a role in the whole Los Angeles Dodgers-Frank McCourt ownership debacle.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner speaks with Versus’ Paul Sherwin about the Tour de France.

Ron Morris of The State wishes ESPN would cut down the time in-between innings at the College World Series.

Brandon Marcello of the Shreveport (LA) Times speaks with SEC Commissioner Mike Slive about the state of the conference and the league’s TV contracts.

Bob Ray Sanders of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram looks at how Fox Sports Southwest has teamed with an organization to help troubled teens.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says comedy and sports can be mixed.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says an e-mail exchange with a reader over soccer bordered on racism.

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

The extremely uninformed Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN and Rogers Sportsnet failed to get the job done on NHL Free Agent Frenzy on Friday and at the bottom, he writes “hot rumour of the weekend is ESPN snatching rights from NBC for next year’s (Wimbledon).” It’s not rumor, Bruce!

The Toronto Sports Media Blog notes that talented CBC Hockey Night in Canada Radio Jeff Marek is leaving and heading to Rogers Sportsnet. I have enjoyed listening to Jeff on HNIC Radio over the years on Sirius Satellite Radio. He will be missed on the show.

On this day of the Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest, Luke O’Brien looks at the Competitive Eating Champion-in-Exile, Kobayashi.

Mike Silva’s NY Baseball Digest speaks with ESPN Radio New York’s Brandon Tierney who’s heading out West.

Joe Favorito looks at the collateral damage from the NBA and NFL lockouts.

Awful Announcing says Jon Sciambi drew the short stick in having to call the Harlem Globetrotters on ESPN.

The Ringside Report speaks with former CNN Sports anchor Fred Hickman about his friend, the late Nick Charles.

That will do it.

A Monday Link Thing

Let’s do the Monday linkage. Some interesting stories out there already.

I’ll start with some housekeeping from the weekend in regards to Saturday’s passing of Nick Charles.

Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski who wrote a wonderful and poignant article in March on Nick’s coming to peace with his cancer and how he attempted to make every day count, has another wonderful and poignant article on Nick’s passing.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun remembers Nick’s time in Baltimore.

Matt Schudel of the Washington Post has an obituary for Nick from another market where he worked before hitting it big with CNN.

Michael Marley at Examiner.com notes how boxer Mike Tyson made up with Nick before Charles’ passing.

Jason Levine of the Delaware News-Journal mourns Nick’s passing as well as USA Today baseball writer Rod Beaton.

Becky Schlikerman of the Chicago Tribune writes about Charles never forgetting his Windy City roots.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News also has a remembrance of Charles and calling his last fight earlier this year for HBO.

At Fight News, Nick’s Showtime partner, Steve Farhood, also gives his thoughts on Charles’ passing.

Now to other sports media and business news of the day and there’s quite a bit on this Monday.

One big story surfacing today is the potential bidding for the first half of a Thursday Night Football package that would begin in 2012. John Ourand and Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal write about it. I add some thoughts as well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have filed for bankruptcy after MLB Commissioner Bud Selig rejected the team’s 17 year deal with Fox for media rights. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on owner Frank McCourt’s filing in bankruptcy court.

The Times has the Dodgers’ statement on the bankruptcy filing.

Chris Dufrense of the Times has a good story on how the Dodgers lost their toehold on Los Angeles to the Lakers.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports on some of the biggest Dodgers creditors.

Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal writes that McCourt’s filing sets up a battle with Selig.

David McLaughlin of Bloomberg News also has a story on this latest Dodgers development.

Craig Calcaterra of NBC’s Pro Hardball Talk tells us what bankruptcy means for the Dodgers.

From Sports Business Journal, we have a couple of stories from this week’s issue.

First, Terry Lefton breaks news that the new Meadowlands Stadium, home to the Giants and Jets,  is close to having a new sponsor for naming rights.

Tripp Mickle reports that Sprint is about to roll out a new promotion with NASCAR that will benefit both fans and drivers.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today explains how NBC’s tape delayed shenanigans at Wimbledon will work this week. This is the last year of NBC’s contract with Wimbledon. Let’s hope the shenanigans end in 2011.

Mike writes that ESPN college football analyst Craig James could be starting a political career.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reviews ESPN’s NBA Draft coverage.

Mick Mulvenney from Reuters says the International Olympic Committee says athletes can go on Twitter during competition during the 2012 Olympics so long as they don’t do it for commercial purposes.

Jason Fry writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center discusses some of the comparisons Grantland faces with the late, great The National.

SportsGrid notes some nutty behavior by some baseball announcers over the weekend.

SportsGrid has video from Wendi Nix’s subbing for Karl Ravech on Baseball Tonight from Sunday and it apparently didn’t go over well.

Fox Sports in Australia has announced that tennis analyst John McEnroe will be part of its Australian Open coverage in 2012. He had previously called matches for 7 Network, but had not been in Australia since 2004.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels WFAN’s Craig Carton can be a good listen when he wants to be.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY has ESPN Radio New York’s Jared Max reaction to the New York State Senate passing the same sex marriage bill last Friday.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that the Nationals’ TV ratings are beginning to surpass other teams in the market.

Dan has some observations from the news conference involving Wizards top draft pick Jan Vesely who made a big splash last week with a kiss from her girlfriend at the NBA Draft.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times shares his thoughts on the sports weekend on TV.

Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel says the local NBC station won’t be airing Wimbledon this week due to its wall-to-wall coverage of the Casey Anthony trial.

Jeff Korbelik of the Lincoln (NE) Journal-Star says a new local sports radio station will pick up programming from Fox Sports and Premiere Radio Networks in addition to having some local shows.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says soccer’s popularity is rising.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has your Southern California sports calendar for the week.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News writes that the Pac-12 Conference is consideration all distribution options on both TV and the internet for its in-house channel.

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail writes about the NHL delaying a decision about participating in the Olympics and the media rights for the new Winnipeg Jets.

The Toronto Sports Media blog says expect to hear some changes at the local Rogers Sportsnet’s radio station.

With some upheaval expected for next season, Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has some announcing suggestions for the NBA’s TV partners.

At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore notes that the NHL Awards saw increased ratings on both Versus and CBC last week.

And Steve says NHL Network will pick up TSN’s coverage of the first day of the league’s free agent signing period.

Doug Farrar at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner wonders if NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens injured himself during the taping of a VH1 reality show.

EPL Talk looks at ESPN’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup.

The Big Lead notes that Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban shot a new Transformers 3 movie ad.

Jack Dickey at Deadspin says it seems Marv Albert’s conviction on sexual assault charges has been long forgotten.

And that’s where we’re going to leave it.

A Friday Megalink Post

I’m going to try to post some of the Friday megalinks. This won’t be an entire post. Unless something happens, I should be able to get most of them in.

Of course, you can find the Weekend Viewing Picks for your sports and primetime programs.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand and Mike McCarthy debate whether ESPN’s harsh criticism over VCU’s selection to the NCAA Tournament was sour grapes over losing the games to CBS/Turner.

Mike McCarthy says ESPN has pulled NBA analyst Jalen Rose off the air following last month’s arrest on DUI charges.

Bob Velin of USA Today notes that boxing returns to network television on Saturday in the form of a new Showtime reality series on the Manny Pacquaio-Sugar Shane Mosley fight.

This being April Fools’ Day, we hearken back to 1985 and one of the greatest April 1 sports media pranks, The Curious Case of Sidd Finch, written by George Plimpton of Sports Illustrated which fooled many fans back in the day.

And Christopher Borelli of the Chicago Tribune has found the man who posed as Sidd Finch for SI, a retired Chicago-area schoolteacher.

Phil Orlins, coordinating producer of ESPN 3D, writes in ESPN Front Row about how watching The Masters^® in the third dimension is an experience unlike any other.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that SNY has been pulled by Dish Network in the latest dispute among regional sports networks and a content provider.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd has set his target again on Washington Wizards rookie guard John Wall.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if nutrition chain GNC is a good stock buy as it went public today.

Darren has an extensive look at how going paperless could change the ticket industry.

At Digital Spy UK, Andrew Laughlin says ESPN Classic has obtained the BBC Sport archives.

The Big Lead speculates on the replacement for Josh Elliot at the morning SportsCenter anchor desk.

The metgrrl blog is the latest to take MLB to task for catering to the lowest common denominator at its Fan Cave.

The Sports Media Watch has various ratings news and notes.

And SMW has some sports media news as well.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn talks with Red Sox radio announcer Dave O’Brien about signing a new multiyear contract extension.

At the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Bill Doyle interviews NESN Red Sox voice Don Orsillo.

ESPN Boston says it will be launching an internet radio show next Friday.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post for all intents and purposes calls Kentucky’s John Calipari and UConn’s Jim Calhoun crooks.

George Willis of the Post remembers former boxing trainer and CBS/MSG/HBO analyst Gil Glancy who died this week.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says YES and DirecTV have a midnight deadline to keep the regional sports network on the satellite provider.

Pete says baseball should embrace technology to help make calls and speed up the game.

Tim Schooley of the Pittsburgh Business Times looks at FSN Pittsburgh making the transition to a new name.

Gary Haber of the Baltimore Business Journal says radio host Jen Royle is suing a competing radio station for defamation.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com also looks at Royle’s lawsuit as well as other DC-Baltimore sports media news.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the Nationals were the butt of Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue last night.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus about this year’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

Jim says MASN is making a couple of programming changes.

South

Mitch Vingle of the Charleston (WV) Gazette says the ESPN lawsuit against Conference USA bears watching.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recaps the Sports Business Journal’s World Congress of Sports that took place in South Florida this week.

Laken Litman at the Dallas Morning News says ESPN will air Texas’ spring football game this weekend.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle talks with CBS Sports director Bob Fishman about the Final Four’s he called from the production truck.

David has a story on ESPN’s lawsuit against Conference USA.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks about the expanded announcing crews at the Final Four thanks to CBS/Turner collaboration for the NCAA Tournament.

Midwest

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal says STO is ready to air the Cleveland MLB team’s season opener today.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press has CBS/Turner’s crew surprised about the VCU run during the NCAA Tournament.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says this year’s Final Four will be called by a three man booth as opposed to two over the last 29 on CBS.

Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel says MLB has unveiled an unconventional epic ad campaign.

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes about the Twins going all-cable this season and for the foreseeable future.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Fox Sports Midwest screwed up the Cardinals’ Opening Day ceremonies for the second year in a row.

Evan Binns from the St. Louis Business Journal says the Cardinals season opener was the most watched ever on Fox Sports Midwest.

West

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune has CBS/Turner’s Steve Kerr excited about calling his first Final Four tomorrow.

John Maffei of the North County Times says MLB’s national TV partners aren’t giving the Padres any respect.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star writes that this year’s NCAA Tournament has been a different viewing experience.

Jim has his sports media notebook which includes news about ESPN’s Josh Elliot’s departure for Good Morning America.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News gets comments from other announcers on the great Vin Scully.

Tom also handicaps the Pac 12 media rights negotiations.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News says the Pac 12′s rights are now up for grabs as the conference let its exclusive window to negotiate with Fox expire last night.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times says FSN Northwest may have changed to Root Sports, but will be found on the same place on the cable dial.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN has fired its first shots in its new sports radio war with Rogers.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog also talks about the TSN/Rogers Sportsnet radio war.

And that is all for today.

Bringing Out the Wednesday Links

Ok, let’s do the Wednesday linkage. Quite a few things to get to.

We begin with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal who when we last saw him during the World Series last October, was wearing a bowtie despite his protests to management. Well, we find that Ken will continue wearing a bowtie this season, but rather willingly and for a very good cause.

Craig Calcaterra of NBC’s Hardball Talk applauds Ken for making this true fashion statement.

Now back to Ken, he writes at FoxSports.com that Major League Baseball has to do more to promote its game to a very tech-savvy fandom.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today has a few sports media observations in the Game On! blog.

Also in USA Today’s Game On! Steve Coogan writes that Jennifer Hudson is out from CBS’ One Shining Moment NCAA Tournament final montage.

One more from Game On! Mike McCarthy reviews Charles Barkley’s comments on truTV. It was a joke, people.

I had no idea that the former bassist for Guns ‘N Roses, Jane Addiction and Velvet Revolver, Duff McKagan had his own column at ESPN.com. Well, this is a very touching and well-written column on the late Seattle Mariners voice Dave Niehaus.

ESPN’s corporate blog, Front Row, has now launched and has been churning out pictures since midnight to show “A Day in the Life” at its various offices around the world. I have to say it’s quite fascinating. The pictures will continue to be published until late tonight.

Marisa Guthrie and Lindsay Powers at the Hollywood Reporter discuss ESPN’s Josh Elliot moving to ABC’s Good Morning America replacing the always lovely Juju Chang.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes about ESPN’s latest pickup for Baseball Tonight.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says ESPN Films will air a documentary on Jack Nicklaus’ iconic 1986 win at The Masters^®.

The great Ryan Ballengee of NBC’s Pro Golf Talk says The Masters^® iPad app will stream all four days of live TV golf coverage next week. That is very cool.

Jack Neff of Advertising Age says Vaseline Men will be unveiling an ad campaign for the NFL Draft.

In Mediaweek, Anthony Crupi says ad buyers are looking for alternatives as the NFL lockout goes longer.

Doron Levin at Fortune notes that Cadillac has quietly returned to sponsoring golf tournaments.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell examines whether the Chicago Cubs made the right call for their public address announcer.

Darren looks at the MLB Fan Cave that has two men watching every single regular season and playoff game this year.

And Darren goes inside the numbers of college football.

All Access says a Muncie, IN radio station is dropping ESPN in favor of Fox Sports Radio.

All Access also discusses Trenni Kusnierek joining a Milwaukee radio station full-time.

Richard Huff of the New York Daily News writes about ESPN’s Josh Elliot leaving SportsCenter to move to Good Morning America.

Newsday’s Neil Best takes a look at Yankees and Mets ticket prices on the resale market.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union looks at former Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer joining ESPN.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Fox’s Tim McCarver thoughts on the Mets and Yankees.

Conor Orr at the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger says ESPN’s Jay Bilas is a man of many talents.

Neal Zoren of the Delaware County Times notes that Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is ready to cover the Phillies this season.

Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog at the Washington Post is amused with a new Pimlico Raceway ad that acknowledges the infield debauchery during the Preakness Stakes.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that ESPN will be airing a prestigious high school basketball tournament live from the DC area.

Brandon Marcello of the Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger says Mississippi State University now has the announcers who will replace legendary voice Jack Cristil who retired after the basketball season.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman discusses ESPN shaking up its Sunday Night Baseball announcers and adding a new twist to Baseball Tonight.

Doug Zaleski of the Muncie (IN) Star Press notes that a Ball State-Indiana football matchup could end up on ESPN on Labor Day weekend.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox Sports Wisconsin will add some bells and whistles to its Brewers game productions.

Jon Nyatawa of the Omaha (NE) World-Journal says the Kansas City Royals won’t be heard on local radio this season.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post looks at FSN Rocky Mountain changing its name as of Friday.

Lya Wodraska in the Salt Lake Tribune says the University of Utah is open to moving its football games to Sunday in case of an NFL lockout.

Scott D. Pierce of the Tribune looks at FSN Rocky Mountain’s change of name.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times says FX’s plans to carry college football this fall might be part of a larger scheme to increase subscriber fees.

Mike DiGiovanna from the Times says while Fox Sports tested a new overhead camera during last night’s Dodgers-Angels exhibition game, players were concerned that it might be too intrusive.

Mark Hester from The Oregonian notes that ESPN is chock full of spring college football games.

Gretchen Holzang of the Portland Business Journal writes about FSN Northwest’s rebranding on Friday.

To the Toronto Globe and Mail where Bruce Dowbiggin talks with Rogers Sportsnet Blue Jays analyst Greg Zaun.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on Fox hit a ratings low for the first time this season.

The Big Lead critiques CBS/Turner’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

And we’ll end it there today.

Some Monday Linkage

Getting a late start on the Monday links. Part of it was due to the Masters thesis I wrote on the NCAA Tournament earlier today. Let’s do the links for you.

From USA Today’s Michael Hiestand, we have him saying that having the NCAA’s National Director of Officiating on to explain controversial calls only added positives to CBS/Turner’s coverage this past weekend.

Sports Business Journal lists its annual Forty Under 40 sports executives and personalities. The media section will interest you. Or at least it should. The entire section is open to all. I won’t link to everyone, but the names are listed and you can read at your leisure.

Marisa Guthrie at the Hollywood Reporter notes that the NCAA Tournament on CBS/Turner is garnering its best ratings in two decades.

TMZ reported yesterday that Charlie Sheen met with Fox Sports executives about possibly doing some work for them. Yes he did. #winning.

Nellie Andreeva of Deadline confirms the TMZ report with Fox execs.

Lindsay Rubino of Broadcasting & Cable says an NCAA Tournament overrun helped CBS win primetime on Sunday.

Todd Spangler from Multichannel News writes that Verizon Fios TV is picking up ESPN 3D for its 6 subscribers who have a 3-D TV.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel says a Hispanic cable TV network has won the right to show the Puerto Rican Basketball League in the States.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says the NCAA Tournament won’t return to regionalizing its games anytime soon.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament paid dividends to the four national game strategy.

Jason Fry writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center delves into the Associated Press new policy for writing game leads.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser says fans can vote for the athlete who will adorn the cover of the Madden NFL ’12 video game.

SportsGrid’s Dan Fogarty has video of Charles Barkley ripping the Big East on TBS last night.

From Sports TV Jobs, Brian Clapp has a video telling aspiring sports TV anchors some tips on how to get a job.

Brian gives you a day in the life of a sports TV producer.

Pam Modarelli Hegner in Sports TV Jobs, advises young sportscasters not to root in the press box.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports that the owners of the New York Mets are seeking to get a case against them dismissed over their knowledge or lack thereof, of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Charles Barkley has given CBS/Turner’s NCAA Tournament studio a much needed battery charge.

Anthony Rieber of Newsday reports that New York Yankees skipper Joe Girardi won’t be making daily appearances on WFAN as originally announced.

Neil gets the reaction from WFAN’s Mike Francesa who made that original announcement.

Somebody take Phil Mushnick’s temperature because he actually gives praise to CBS/Turner for its coverage of the Butler-Pittsburgh game.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Herald has this year’s NCAA Hockey Tournament TV schedule.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner notes the NCAA Tournament is not only doing well in the ratings, but also online.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times looks back at a busy weekend in sports television.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle has the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 tip times for Thursday and Friday.

In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley notes some strong words from former URI and Texas coach Tom Penders on various CBS and ESPN college basketball announcers.

At Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman looks at the Cubs’ search for a new Public Address announcer.

Ed says the local sports radio host who was suspended from his job after a DUI arrest is now undergoing rehab.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post talks with CBS/Turner’s Verne Lundquist who got to call rare “home” games at the NCAA Tournament this weekend.

Dusty also speaks with the lovely Lesley Visser who worked with Verne and Bill Raftery in Denver. And one thing mentioned in the story that I didn’t know. Lesley divorced Fox/Turner announcer Dick Stockton last year.

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

And Tom rates Charles Barkley’s performance on the NCAA Tournament.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says if soccer doesn’t get good ratings in Canada now, it never will.

Ruju Mudhar from the Toronto Star talks with Rogers Sportsnet head Scott Moore about putting more baseball on the network and the possibility of the company’s purchasing Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment.

Sports Media Watch notes the 17 year ratings high for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Steve Lepore at Puck the Media wishes NBC had more time to talk about the classless and big time thug Matt Cooke’s hit during yesterday’s Penguins-Rangers game.

And that’s going to do it.

Breaking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Let’s do some mid-week linkage on a very rainy Wednesday in Southern New England. Here we go.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says even with all of the NCAA Tournament games being nationally televised, CBS and Turner still have to figure out which games go where.

Sports Business Daily looks at the overnight ratings for the first two NCAA Tournament games on truTV.

Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock goes after Jalen Rose for writing revisionist history in the ESPN Films doc, “The Fab Five”.

Alex Sherman of Bloomberg News writes that DirecTV stands to lose millions in rights fees even if the NFL lockout comes to fruition.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News writes that truTV’s HD feed has been picked up by several cable and satellite providers in time for last night’s start of the NCAA Tournament.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says cable networks aren’t happy with Time Warner Cable’s new app that allow subscribers to stream content on their iPads.

At the Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown writes about MLB.TV experimenting with streaming one free Spring Training game a day on Facebook.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the NCAA Tournament hospitality business is up after a couple of down years.

Darren makes the case for you to not fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket.

At Time magazine, Sean Gregory recounts how he and his Princeton teammates upset defending NCAA Tournament champion UCLA in 1996.

Deadspin catches the leaked script for the sitcom pilot based on ESPN’s Mark Schlereth.

Newsday’s Neil Best celebrates SNY’s 5th birthday.

Toni Monkovic from the New York Times writes that DC NFL Team owner Dan Snyder continues to throw his weight around against the Washington media.

From the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record, Ken McMillan writes that Time Warner Cable will air several NY state high school basketball championship games.

Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper, the same writer DC NFL Team owner Daniel Snyder is suing, discusses how Snyder forced the Washington Post to remove the team’s name from a popular blog.

Cindy Boren of the Washington Post’s The Early Lead blog also discusses the team’s name removal.

Just so you know, I have been calling the DC NFL Team, “the DC NFL Team” for several years, not because of Snyder, but because I find the term “Redskins” offensive to Native Americans. You can consider me ahead of the curve.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner looks at the multiple ways you can watch the NCAA Tournament this year.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle is already sick of the truTV promos and it was just the first night of the NCAA Tournament.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business notes that a suspended sports talk show host remains off the air almost two weeks after being arrested on DUI charges.

Lewis Lazare of the Chicago Sun-Times says Bulls guard Derrick Rose will be the face of a global Adidas ad campaign.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that local CBS affiliates miss out on carrying area teams in the new partnership with Turner.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times looks at the new CBS/Turner partnership for the NCAA Tournament.

Diane says ESPN’s Baseball Tonight will travel to Sunday Night Baseball sites this year.

The Canadian Sports Media blog says Rogers Sportsnet has signed former Blue Jays catcher Greg Zaun as a studio analyst.

The Sports Media Watch says with Turner Sports involved and siphoning off viewers, CBS’ ratings for the NCAA Tournament could hit lower numbers.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media likes some subtle changes NBC Sports has made to Versus’ NHL Overtime overnight replay.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing talks with legendary Boston Celtics TV voice Mike Gorman about his 30 seasons with the team.

That will do it.

The Monday Back to Work Linkage

Let’s do some links on this back to work Monday. Many of the links will focus on the NCAA Tournament so let’s get cracking.

Starting with John Ourand and Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal, they report that Fox is about to sign a new cable rights deal with the Big 12 Conference that would include football and basketball and possibly start a new channel.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today says ESPN’s analysts did a lot of yelling about the NCAA Tournament selections.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch does a Q&A on our viewing the NCAA Tournament.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, wonders if the new NCAA Tournament on CBS and Turner is an exercise in excess.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporters says the controlling stake in Canada’s top TV sports property is up for sale.

Also from Hollywood Reporter, Kimberly Nordyke writes that Dish Network and LIN TV have resolved their differences and 17 markets have their local stations back.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says MSG Network will air its first live concert in its history tonight.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life Magazine writes that media analysts feel the NFL lockout won’t last very long.

Mike Stern of Media Life says radio would be hurt by an extended NFL lockout.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid notes that Charles Barkley and old bastard curmudgeony analyst Billy Packer are continuing their feud.

My Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff of espnW, says watching a baseball game in the press box is extremely different than watching from the stands.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell goes inside the numbers of the NCAA Tournament.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post doesn’t care about eating at the game, he just wants to watch it.

Neil Best from Newsday says it’s time for truTV’s big moment.

Neil says ESPN thumped the desk the loudest over the NCAA Tournament selections.

Neil writes that MLB Network will air some rare footage tonight.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union has the NIT TV tip times.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says WWOR-TV will air a handful of Yankees games this season.

Ken says the NIT will be aired exclusively on the networks of ESPN.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that a Capitals-centric NHL ad will debut tonight.

To Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner who writes that viewers finally have control of their NCAA Tournament viewing.

Jim talks with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s Capitals studio analyst Alan May.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times reviews the weekend in sports television.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle makes a long answer to a reader’s question.

David says Comcast in Houston will add truTV HD starting today.

And David has the early TV lineup for the NCAA Tournament.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer explains what having four networks airing NCAA Tournament games means for local viewers.

A story that’s being picked up across the country in blogs and newspapers, Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch says ESPN’s and Ohio State alumnus Kirk Herbstreit is moving away from the area because Buckeye fans don’t understand that he has to be objective.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviews the credentials of TNT’s Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

Bob says ESPN’s Jay Bilas came out railing against the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

And Bob has CBS’ Uncle Verne Lundquist recalling a story on the late Al McGuire.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business talks about the new world of NCAA Tournament viewing this year.

Philip Hersh from the Chicago Tribune reports that the International Skating Union has postponed the World Figure Skating Championships originally scheduled for Tokyo this month due to the Japan earthquake. This affects NBC’s plans as it is the rightsholder for the event.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says having Turner Sports involved in the NCAA Tournament is a plus for fans.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with CBS/TNT’s Steve Kerr.

Tom also has your Southern California sports calendar for the week.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says it appears CBC’s Mike Milbury is the Voice of Reason in the NHL violence debate.

The Toronto Star has entertainment reporter Raju Mudhar taking over the sports media beat for Chris Zelkovich. Raju looks at the battle between TSN and Rogers Sportsnet.

At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore has the transcript of the discussion of fighting between NBC’s Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire.

And we’ll end it there for now.

Some Thursday Linkage For You

Let’s provide the sports media links this morning. Lots of things to do today so I hope I can get this done and finish up the work I have to do later.

John Czarnecki at Fox Sports is amazed at how the NFL Scouting Combine has become a made-for-TV event.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable writes about ESPN 3D picking up coverage of The Masters in April.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says Carmelo Anthony’s introduction at Madison Square Garden last night was definitely made for TV.

Dan says a former New York Yankee who was part of an infamous wife swap in the 1970′s is now shocked that Academy Award winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck now want to do a movie about the story.

Dashiell Bennett of the Business Insider’s Sports Page is amused by Buzz Bissinger’s tweets.

At TVbytheNumbers, Bill Gorman notes that the NBA All-Star Game on TNT topped the cable primetime ratings for last week.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the ultimate product placement in the NBA Slam Dunk competition is paying off in droves.

Awful Announcing has the video of the Big Ten Network’s Tom Hart calling a buzzer beater.

Ricardo A. Hazell from the Electronic Urban Report catches up with former NFL Today co-host Jayne Kennedy.

At Boston Sports Media Watch, Bruce Allen recaps Dale Arnold’s final show on WEEI.

Mark LaMonica at Newsday has the New York Post’s Peter Vescey’s comments about Steven A. Smith.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette reports that a local radio station will pick up Big East Tournament night games in early March.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning News says a local indoor football analyst has his eyes on the big leagues in Philadelphia.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post writes about the slashing of the staff at the local-run TBD.com which was hoped to be a DC news and sports online destination. While it did have get site hits, revenue was not where the owners had projected so last night came word that the site will focus on arts and entertainment.

Dan Steinberg of the Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was very critical of Maryland students for failing to show up at last night’s game against Florida State.

To the Washington Examiner and Jim Williams who writes about the new look at Golf Channel and NBC Sports.

The Tampa Bay Newspapers have the Rays’ spring training schedule on Sun Sports.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says ESPN has hired a former Green Bay Packers executive to be an NFL business analyst.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business writes about Comcast SportsNet Chicago hiring former Bulls forward Scottie Pippen as a game analyst.

Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has a reader wanting more Minnesota Twins spring training games on TV.

Patrick Saunders in the Denver Post wants to institute a Sports Fans Bill of Rights.

Mike Sunnucks from the Phoenix Business Journal says the Suns will put all of their games on cable next season.

Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star writes that the Pac 10/12 is hoping to get a better TV contract.

Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy notes that a minor league hockey announcer suspended himself after he realized he was guilty of blatant homerism.

Pro Golf Talk’s Ryan Ballengee has the video of CBS golf analyst David Feherty getting hit in the groin.

The Canadian Sports Media blog has the 2011 Toronto Blue Jays schedule on Rogers Sportsnet

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media projects the NHL playoff matchups and TV network projections if the postseason started today.

Joe Favorito says companies with natural tie-ins are missing the boat on the NBA  and NHL Trading Deadlines.

And that’s where I’ll end it now.

Late Night Thursday Links

I wasn’t able to provide links during the day and I keep accumulating sports media stories and I don’t want to get into this pattern where I can provide links Monday through Wednesday, but not from Thursday through Sunday. That’s not good especially since you have come to expect linkage just about every day. So I’ll burn the midnight oil and do some linkage for you.

Let’s start with Milton Kent of Fanhouse who fears that Dan Patrick might be risking becoming an enabler to Charlie Sheen after two interviews that have been picked up by the tabloid press.

To Advertising Age where Michael Bush looks at the Super Bowl ads that remain on the national conscience while other brands have faded from memory.

Rich Thomaselli from AdAge looks at the LPGA’s new ad campaign in an attempt to raise awareness and bring the tour’s stars to the forefront. You might recognize the name of a certain sports media blogger in the story.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid explains why you haven’t seen Friend of Fang’s Bites Michelle Beadle on ESPN2′s SportsNation recently.

Also from SportsGrid, Brad Cohen feels Tony Kornheiser looks bad over his refusal to speak about Dan Snyder’s lawsuit against the Washington City Paper on his radio show.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk says Mr. Tony loses credibility the longer he protects Snyder.

Jeff Neuman at Real Clear Sports has an interesting article on the making of the great movie, Slap Shot and some casting decisions that might have changed the movie we know and love.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi tries to read between the lines at comments made by new NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke on whether the network will actually make a run at bidding for the 2014/2016 Olympics.

To the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center where Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writes that sports broadcasters should be held to the same standard as broadcast news journalists when it comes to endorsing products.

The Hollywood Reporter has Dan Patrick explaining how he got Charlie Sheen on his syndicated radio show.

Sofia M. Fernandez of the Reporter says Comcast’s new 3-D channel debuts Sunday with the airing of the NHL’s Heritage Classic.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News notes that HBO has scheduled its first boxing pay-per-view event of 2011.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel reports on ESPN’s dedicated channels being available online to Verizon Fios TV subscribers.

Alex Weprin from SportsNewser notes that the producers of the Broadway play, Lombardi, now want to bring another sports story to the Great White Way.

A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin laments the loss of contributor Katie Baker to Captain Blowhard’s yet-to-be-named project at ESPN.com.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media provides the market-by-market breakdown for the early games of NBC’s Hockey Day in America doubleheader.

The Boston Herald’s Jessica Heslam talks with outgoing WEEI midday host Dale Arnold who still is shellshocked about losing his show.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Reds will be seen quite often on MLB Network during Spring Training.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel searches for the lost younger NASCAR viewer.

Bob says the Miami Heat are burning up the NBA’s ratings.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business notes that the Windy City will be the host and the focus for NBC’s Hockey Day in America.

Michael Olivera of the Canadian Press notes that viewers are cutting the cable as they find affordable ways to watch their favorite hockey team either through their mobile phones.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says CBC and Rogers Sportsnet will team up to air every game of the Women’s World Cup later this year.

Sports Media Watch says the Chicago Bulls are on a pace to set a regular season ratings record for Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

SMW says the NBA’s marquee teams are helping to raise the ratings for ABC’s Sunday games.

I think that will hold us over until the regular Friday features start posting. Good night.

Bringing Some Wednesday Linkage

Ok, let’s bring you some linkage. Again, in the midst of a lot of stuff, but taking a break to do some now before work really prevents me from blogging.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today recaps Phil Simms comments to Sirius XM regarding his Super Bowl incident with Desmond Howard.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NBA is experiencing its own ratings renaissance this season just as the NFL has.

TNT’s Marv Albert held a chat with USA Today yesterday and talked about his approach to calling the NCAA Tournament this season.

If you’re a fan of the Dan Patrick Show like I am, then you’ll welcome a relaunch of his website.

Stu Hackel of Sports Illustrated says don’t expect the NHL to leave NBC/Versus anytime soon. Thanks to Steve Lepore of Puck The Media for the link.

Jeff Pearlman talks about the monotony of a postgame press conference.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse looks at CBS’ Sean McManus focusing on sports again.

The Hollywood Reporter says HomeAway’s Super Bowl ad which featured a baby doll being smashed against a window will be re-edited for future showings.

Lindsay Powers of the Hollywood Reporter says the director of the popular Volkswagen mini-Darth Vader Super Bowl ad which went viral before the game feels releasing them online will be the model for future commercials.

Philiana Ng of the Hollywood Reporter notes that Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl VII received its highest audience ever.

Jon Lafayette at Broadcasting & Cable reports that Disney showed higher earnings in the first quarter of its fiscal year thanks to ESPN and ABC.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that TNT is on pace to have its highest rated NBA regular season ever.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes that thanks to the Super Bowl and American Idol, Fox has climbed to number 1 in the all-important 18-49 ratings demographic.

Brad Cohen of SportsGrid gives his first-hand account of surviving Super Bowl Week in the Metroplex.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans from the St. Petersburg Times writes that CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus has plenty of challenges lying ahead of him.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says a Dallas radio talk show host went over the line in confronting Michael Vick last week.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the NFL is stepping up a notch in the ticket snafu that left hundreds of fans watching the Super Bowl in a bar instead of inside Cowboys Stadium.

Nellie Andreeva of Deadline says Comedy Central has given the green light to a Norm Macdonald-hosted sports show.

Josh Halliday of the London (UK) Guadian reports that ESPN is going to launch mobile apps for cricket and Formula 1 racing for the iPhone.

Alex Marvez of Fox Sports writes that NFL labor unrest could put the league’s annual game in London in jeopardy.

Ron Sirak of Golf Digest has the new president of Golf Channel talking about the new corporate synergy between NBC Sports and Golf Channel.

Stuart Elliot of the New York Times says amid complaints, Groupon is revising its Super Bowl ads.

Newsday’s Neil Best attended an event previewing an MSG Network documentary series on the 1986 New York Mets.

Brad Wellen of Fishbowl NY says ESPN The Magazine is packing up its Manhattan offices and heading to Bristol, CT.

Ken McMillan in the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record states that the New York Yankees will have 15 spring training games on TV and radio.

And Ken says the Mets will have a combined 19 exhibition games on the air this spring.

In the Buffalo News, Greg Connors praises Fox’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman for their work in the Super Bowl.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Orioles have decided to return to 50,000 watt powerhouse WBAL-AM as its radio flagship station after a three year absence.

MASN says it’s pulling a simulcast of the Scott Garceau radio show effective immediately.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner explores why the Orioles decided to return to WBAL after being on FM.

Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel has ESPN’s Dick Vitale giving some love and support to co-worker Stuart Scott who’s undergoing a second battle with cancer.

Mike Bianchi of the Sentinel says the 9 year old girl who sings the National Anthem at Magic games feels she could have done better than Christina Aguilera at the Super Bowl. Ouch!

Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas writes that Mavericks TV analyst Bob Ortegel has decided not to return to the organization after owner Mark Cuban pulled him off the broadcasts last month.

John Henry of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the city’s mayor feeling his town was the epicenter of Super Bowl Week thanks to ESPN.

Mike Bailey of the Houston Chronicle talks about a local news anchor who loves to hit the links.

David Barron of the Chronicle looks at Sean McManus’ elevation to CBS Sports Chairman.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News has an appreciation of Friday Night Lights which ends its run this week on DirecTV. I’ve never watched the show and I know my Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff and Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead are big fans. Had this show not run on NBC at a time when I was boycotting the network’s primetime schedule, I might have given it a chance. I guess I’ll have to watch the DVD’s. Yes, I know it’s been on DirecTV the last two years which I have, but I just didn’t want to pick it up in the middle of its run.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Super Bowl XLV set viewing records all over the place.

Bob also looks at the ratings in various local markets.

The Chicago Sun-Times says nearly all of the Cubs’ spring training games will be aired on TV, radio or the internet.

George Diaz of the Chicago Tribune despite the urgings of Fox Sports, NASCAR will not change its start times this season.

KSDK-TV in St. Louis says a local rapper is suing ESPN and two other parties for using his song without his permission.

Mike Sunnucks in the Phoenix Business Journal says Super Bowl XLV is the most watched TV program ever locally.

The San Francisco Business Times reports that Comcast SportsNet California is back up and running on Dish Network systems.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog reports that tennis is headed to Rogers Sportsnet.

Sports Media Watch says public indecency charges have been dropped against an ESPN NASCAR producer who was arrested last year.

SMW also looks at the ratings and viewership for each 2011 NFL postseason game.

SMW says the Super Bowl had slight increases in every key demographic from last year.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Versus’ NHL Overtime is showing slight increases in viewership on non-game nights.

Joe Favorito wonders when a sports franchise will hold a Christina Aguilera National Anthem Night.

Dave Kohl of Major League Programs writes about a new talk show on New York’s Off Track Betting channel.

That’s all for now.

Going For Some Monday Linkage

Ok, let’s do some linkage while I can squeeze some in. I had to meet a deadline earlier. I think I’m safe for now.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, he wonders if the PGA Tour can generate ratings if Tiger Woods isn’t winning tournaments.

Michael also has some of the upcoming sports viewing for the week.

Tom Weir of USA Today’s Game On blog wonders how a year without the NFL would be like.

Mathew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal has a fascinating look at the meticulous notes prepared by college basketball analyst Bill Raftery.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Jason Fry notes that last week was a big one for breaking news on Twitter.

To Press Coverage and Dan Levy who feels the Associated Press might not be doing the NFL any favors.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter writes about a Canadian company that wants to launch a third sports network to compete with TSN and Rogers Sportsnet.

Anthony Crupi from Mediaweek says a lockout by the NFL could turn disastrous for the league, its TV partners and its sponsors.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age reports that CBS has rejected an NFL Players Association ad that would have aired on CBS College Sports this week.

Steve McClellan of Advertising Week writes that NBC’s Cris Collinsworth and Wipeout’s Jill Wagner will host a new syndicated lifestyle series starting this week.

The Huffington Post says Fox has rejected a Super Bowl ad that has religious overtones.

AllAccess notes that ESPN Radio has released the latest version of its iPhone app today.

Mike Walker of Golf Magazine says CBS saw higher ratings for the final round of yesterday’s PGA Tour stop from last year.

From across the Atlantic, James Robinson of The Guardian/The Observer writes about upstart ESPN UK trying to battle the  well-established Rupert Murdoch-owned Sky Sports.

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes that NESN will be airing a Red Sox Town Hall tonight.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is in a foul mood today.

Newsday’s Neil Best has some Monday thoughts.

Ray Didinger of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia lobbies for NFL Films founder Ed Sabol to get a call for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Patty Tascarella of the Pittsburgh Business Times reports that the Penguins lead the NHL in the local US TV ratings.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times provides his thoughts on the sports weekend.

Shannon J. Owens at the Orlando Sentinel writes about Stuart Scott’s latest battle with cancer.

Mark Norando of the New Orleans Times Picayune says the NFL Films-produced America’s Team documentary on the Saints Super Bowl XLIV-winning team is now available for download.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says this Sunday’s Super Bowl could break a viewership record despite having small markets involved.

Barry profiles ESPN’s senior coordinating producer of the network’s NFL studio shows, Stephanie Druley.

Leigh Munsil of the Morning News writes about ESPN’s kickoff of Super Bowl week in Fort Worth with Mike & Mike in the Morning.

Pete Alfano from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says even with bitter cold temperatures forecast for the Metroplex, ESPN is steaming ahead with plans to air shows live from Sundance Square this week.

Gordon Dickson from the Star-Telegram writes that Super Bowl planners are facing the worst-case scenario with winter weather and potential traffic snarls.

The Star-Telegram has a slideshow of ESPN’s start to Super Bowl week at Sundance Square.

Kathy Vetter of the Star-Telegram says the NFL’s Super Bowl media center opened quietly yesterday.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that a local sports reporter is leaving for Dallas.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Sentinel feels Super Bowl XLV won’t surpass last year’s viewership record, but I’m going to disagree with him.

Crain’s Chicago Business’ Ed Sherman explores the unique trust that is the Green Bay Packers ownership.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post lists some of his dreaded sports broadcasting cliches.

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

In the Toronto Globe and Mail, Bruce Dowbiggin feels NHL All-Star Weekend was a mixed bag for the league’s Canadian TV partners.

The Globe and Mail picks up a Canadian Press story chronicling how curling delayed CBC’s coverage of the All-Star Game.

Sports Media Watch has a quick glance on how the NBA postseason will begin on the league’s TV partners.

SMW also has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media wonders if MLB on Fox and Stanley Cup Final on NBC will go head-to-head during Memorial Day Weekend.

Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer says a popular anchor with Fox Soccer Channel is leaving after 9 years.

And we’re going to end it there.

Some Saturday Links

Let’s do some linkage for you. I haven’t done any since Wednesday, I believe. Still working on bringing archives here, but I’m not as stressed as I was last night. Thanks to my friends over at Radio Insight for giving me some great ideas on how to bring the archives over. I’d say about 90% of my archives are here. I’ll be working to bring them all over and when all is said and done, the Blogger site will be taken down for good. Let me know what you think of this particular site and how it can be improved. My e-mail address remains at kzf1@fangsbites.com.

Now to the links.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated looks at the new CBS/Turner lineup for the NCAA Tournament.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes about how the combined CBS/Turner team came together to decide on the announcing and sales teams for the NCAA Tournament.

Mike says he can’t wait to watch the NFL Conference Championship games tomorrow.

Last night, the big buzz on Twitter and Facebook was the sudden departure of Keith Olbermann from MSNBC. There’s speculation on where he might end next, whether it be at a sports network, radio, on Live with Kelly Ripa. Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says you can rest assured that he won’t be heading back to ESPN.

Tim Goodman of Hollywood Reporter has 10 tongue-in-cheek suggestions.

Bill Carter of the New York Times says Olbermann’s departure was in the works for weeks.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse wonders where Olbermann will go considering he has a reputation for burning bridges.

Now to the sports media.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser notes that ESPN Ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer will write his last column after being mostly non-existent.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times notes that the line for sports media coverage is being redefined more and more by Deadspin.

Back to Milton Kent of Fanhouse, he says CBS’ Jim Nantz and Phil Simms do not like being called biased towards one team or another.

Also from Fanhouse, David Whitley writes about how rival NFL bloggers came together as friends before one passed away earlier this week.

Speaking of Jim, Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at how Nantz has become an advocate for Alzheimer’s Disease research.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says the local Jets radio affiliate won’t be able to carry the AFC Championship Game tomorrow.

Greg Connors of the Buffalo News talks with the new Executive Producer of the NHL Network US.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in Press Box how the Comcast/NBC merger will affect Comcast’s regional sports networks in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner writes that the NFL’s ratings have made people sit up and take notice.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes how Alzheimer’s Disease affected CBS’ Jim Nantz up close.

David also looks back at this week’s anniversary of one of the biggest games that made college basketball a viable TV sport.

David shares a reader’s e-mail of how he managed to listen to the game from all the way in Vietnam.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes how the New York Jets have helped to boost CBS’ NFL postseason ratings.

Mel talks about how TNT’s Charles Barkley will be part of the NCAA Tournament coverage this season.

Mel says ESPN’s Outside the Lines will look at the ten year anniversary of the Oklahoma State basketball air plane crash.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Reds are virtually ignored in the early Sunday Night Baseball schedule.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at Joe Buck calling plenty of Green Bay’s game in the last month.

Bob says a local channel will air two specials on the Packers this weekend.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at the shuffling of the Cardinals Fox Sports Midwest team this season.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News profiles local sports anchor Jaime Maggio and lists the best and worst in local sports anchors/reporters.

Tom also has his media notes.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN has made a hire for its sports radio network.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that Rogers Sportsnet has lured a noted hockey reporter away from TSN.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

SMW has more ratings news and notes.

SportsbyBrooks explores the deal that led to Sporting News buying the assets of Fanhouse from AOL.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has his final comparison of NHL Overtime and NHL on the Fly.

Joe Favorito says by bringing the World Series Trophy to New York, the San Francisco Giants are doing all they can to expand their brand beyond the Bay Area.

The Big Lead wonders who will be in charge of ESPN The Magazine when it finalizes its move from New York to the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s headquarters.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs is not a fan of the new Longhorn Network.

And I think that will do it. Sorry to get these up late.

Providing Some Sunday Links

Yesterday was busier than I expected both personally and sports media-wise. I was out most of the day which prevented me from providing links, but then the Cablevision/Fox story broke and I give tremendous kudos to Brian Stelter of the New York Times who tweeted the news just as Game 3 of the World Series was about to air on Fox. And he was able to get statements from both companies and in particular, the extremely bitter statement from Cablevision that it acquiesced to Fox’s demands. Thanks to you, the traffic to Fang’s Bites was quite heavy for a Saturday and it’s much appreciated.

I published that statement up while I was in a movie theater, about to see “Red” with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren and Richard Dreyfuss. Good movie, but blogging during the previews wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but it was important to get the news out as fast as possible. Here I am, trying to shade my iPhone so people won’t see the light in the dark theater and copying and pasting the press release from Cablevision. Thank goodness for the BlogPress iPhone app which allows me to blog at a moment’s notice.

Ok, to your links.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News says the Cablevision/Fox accord was hashed out minutes before World Series Game 3.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes that Cablevision and Fox could not kiss and make up after firing off terse statements about the agreement.

Minutes after the Cablevision/Fox deal was announced, New York Times reporters Brian Stelter and Bill Carter gave an overview of how the agreement was reached.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says Cablevision came to an agreement with Fox, then fired a shot across the company’s bow.

Richard Huff and Rich Schapiro of the New York Daily News says the agreement came in time for today’s Jets game against Green Bay which is airing on Fox.

Andy Edelstein of Cablevision-owned Newsday writes about the end of the carriage dispute.

In SB Nation New York, Steve Lepore at Puck The Media looks at how the Cablevision/Fox dispute affected the network’s ratings. 

Ok, we’re moving on from Cablevision/Fox and on to other sports media stories. I’m tired of these carriage dispute stories.

Bill Reynolds of the Providence Journal talks with legendary Boston Celtics TV voice Mike Gorman who got his start on WPRO-AM in Providence. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes that a reluctant Sandy Koufax agreed to take part in a new documentary on Jews in baseball.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the opening segment of Football Night in America with Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels is must see TV.

Phil Mushnick from the New York Post is blaming ESPN for everything that’s bad in society. He does make a good opening point, then sours into extreme bitterness.

Dan Mangan of the Post says brunette bombshell Jenn Sterger will likely meet with the National Football League to talk Brett Favre. Just get it done and over with, honey. And maybe help your dead show, The Daily Line, with a statement or two about the story instead of clamming up. I was on your side on this earlier, but stonewalling the NFL hasn’t helped you.

Chuck Gormley of the Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier-Post profiles the Vice President and General Manager of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. 

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s Wizards reporter about the team’s chances this season.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News reports that Fox Sports Houston will lose the Astros and Rockets in 2012-13.

Barry writes that the NFL TV partners don’t want to kill off the Cowboys despite their pitiful record.

Mitchell Schnurman of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram profiles the real owners of the Texas Rangers, the team behind front men Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan.

Bud Kennedy of the Star-Telegram says Fox is showcasing the Ballpark at Arlington in a way similar to how it showed AT&T Park in San Francisco during the World Series. 

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says Dish Network subscribers could lose the local CBS affiliate later tonight.

David says Comcast SportsNet Houston will become a reality in the 2012-13 season.

The Daily Oklahoman has a video clip from an upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on former Oklahoma University running back bust Marcus Dupree.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says the ESPN on ABC crew gushed over Oklahoma’s quarterback last night. 

Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has video of a new ESPN NBA promo featuring Stuart Scott and the Bucks mascot, Bango.

Michael Rand in the Minneapolis Star Tribune talks with Dan Patrick. 

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Dish subscribers get Fox Sports Midwest back on their systems.

Matt Solinsky of the Desert Sun (CA) answers a reader’s question on the chances of seeing NFL Network on Time Warner Cable this season. 

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with disgraced track star Marion Jones about the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on her and her new book.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says Rogers Sportsnet has chosen to reject Fox’s feed of the World Series and take MLB International’s.

Joe Favorito says NBC is choosing to put the Fright in Fright Night tonight.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

SMW speaks with PromaxBDA President Jonathan Block-Verk about the upcoming Sports Media Marketing Awards.

Jonathan Stein at CultureMob would like to see Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia on DirecTV and so would I.

A good amount of links today. Enjoy your Sports Sunday.