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On To The Tuesday Links

Let’s get your Tuesday linkage up and posted today. Good stuff to get to.

Variety’s Stuart Levine talks with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus about the Versus rebrand to NBC Sports Network and other subjects.

The Associated Press has Lazarus hopeful that he can make former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol proud.

Brian Steinberg at Advertising Age writes that NBC’s rebrand of Versus plus having the Super Bowl this season puts the network in position to be a real challenger to ESPN.

Marisa Guthrie in the Hollywood Reporter’s Live Feed blog says NBC’s top brass was never worried about losing NFL games this season.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Canada’s Rogers Communications will stream live video of Toronto Blue Jays games online and on smartphones starting this month.

Georg Szalai of the Reporter notes that Fox Sports is protesting a plan to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers’ media rights. Fox says it agreed to a long-term extension of its current deal with the team, but MLB has rejected it.

To Adweek and Emma Bazilian who says Fox is going to war over the Dodgers’ media rights.

Todd Spangler at Multichannel News writes about AT&T U-verse suddenly dropping ESPN3D citing the high carriage fees and lack of subscribers.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable notes that ESPN has promoted one of its executives.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser notes that Chicago sportscaster Mike Adamle was cleared of DUI charges.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser looks at Awful Announcing’s Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament that left Craig James as its “winner”.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group wonders if 3-D will have a role in the 2012 London Olympics.

At Outkick The Coverage, Clay Travis says it’s Yahoo! that’s poised to be ESPN’s true sports media rival in the 2nd decade of the 21st Century.

The Sports Biz Miss, Kristi Dosh in the Business of College Sports explains why BCS Automatic Qualifying conferences are not knocking down Boise State’s doors to have the school join their leagues.

Kristi also looks at how the Pac-12 Network will be distributed to several Top 100 media markets within the Conference footprint.

To Yahoo’s Puck Daddy where Sean Leahy talks with ESPN’s John Buccigross about his NHL guilty pleasures.

Jose Martinez of Complex speaks with ESPN’s Erin Andrews about her country music and Saturday Night Live obsessions.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy also talks with Erin, this time about Twitter and her assessment of her first year on the anchor desk at College GameDay.

All Access reports that Fox Sports Radio is hooking up with Mastercard for a Stand Up to Cancer promotion.

Greg Bordonaro of Hartford Business writes that ESPN plans to take advantage of a Connecticut tax break incentive offer to add more jobs in the state.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union looks at NBC/Versus NHL voice Mike “Doc” Emrick receiving another honor.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call catches up with iconic Philadelphia Eagles radio voice Merrill Reese.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post speaks with outgoing local sports anchor Brett Haber about his decision to leave his local station.

Adam Kilgore of the Post writes that MASN has not exercised the option on Washington Nationals TV voice Bob Carpenter’s contract, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t be back next season.

ESPN3.com will be streaming a Georgia rivalry high school football game later this month.

Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says Big 12 schools decided to compromise on the Longhorn Network for one season.

Randy Riggs of the Austin (TX) American-Statesman writes that means no high school football games on the Longhorn Network for now.

Mike Finger in the Houston Chronicle says the Big 12 did leave open the possibility of having a conference game aired on the Longhorn Network this season.

Anthony Schoettle of the Indianapolis Business Journal says an NBC Sports Group deal to put NFL games on Versus would be a big help to the channel’s IndyCar package.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that NFL Network and companion RedZone were picked up by Charter Communications.

Bob says Chicago Cubs radio voice Pat Hughes regales in telling stories about the late Marquette coach Al McGuire and their time calling the school’s games together.

In OnMilwaukee, Andy Tarnoff goes behind the scenes during a Brewers game production with the Fox Sports Wisconsin crew.

Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star writes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football crew is ready for the NFL season to start.

Shad Powers of the Desert (CA) Sun says MLB Network came through on Sunday.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News discusses the rebranding of Versus to NBC Sports Network.

In the Daly Planet, John Daly notes that ESPN NASCAR analyst Rusty Wallace has a conflict of interest when calling Nationwide Series races.

Toronto Sports Media says Sirius and XM in Canada might be pulling the plug on The Score radio channel.

The Canadian Sports Media blog has some thoughts on the last week in Canadian sports media.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN has brought in former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas as a studio NFL analyst.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs looks at the moves to rebrand of Sporting News Radio and Versus.

And we’re done with the linkage for today.

Dragging Out The Monday Linkage

Lots of stuff coming out today. Rebranding news galore as we found out that Versus will undergo a name change on January 2, 2012. Then there’s Sporting News Radio changing its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio as of today. And Westwood One Radio has merged with Dial-Global today. Crazy day. Let’s do some linkage and hope nothing else breaks.

First, Mike McCarthy of USA Today broke the news last night of the Versus rebrand.

We have the reason for the rebrand to NBC Sports Network directly from NBC.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has a story on the Versus rebrand.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the goal of the Versus rebrand is to gain more access for NBC Sports Network and to raise subscriber fees.

Georg Szalai at the Hollywood Reporter says NBC Sports hopes to provide marketers and affiliates with a better value for the channel.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that the new name for Versus will launch on January 2.

Stuart Levine from Variety says NBC Sports hopes the new name will give the channel better footing in competing against ESPN.

All Access looks at Sporting News Radio becoming Yahoo! Sports Radio as of today.

The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron explores the rebranding of Sporting News Radio.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer say local SNR affiliates were informed of the new name today.

To other stories now.

ESPN Ombudsman Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute wonders if ESPN got too entrenched in its NFL lockout coverage.

Eric Morath of the Wall Street Journal says Fox Sports is protesting an MLB-backed plan to sell media rights for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Overseas, Current’s Keith Olbermann writes in the London (UK) Guardian how News Corp. President Rupert Murdoch hired and fired him from Fox Sports Net.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com says Texas A&M is appealing to the NCAA to use a 17 year old rule to block Texas and the Longhorn Network from airing high school football games.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says a Seattle sports radio host gave former Mariners pitcher Erik Bedard a real parting shot as he heads to Boston in a trade to the Red Sox.

Also at SportsGrid, Timothy Burke has a mashup of horrible Tim McCarver analysis from Saturday.

To Cam Martin of SportsNewser who writes is ESPN is renaming its RISE brand to reflect its true focus.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life Magazine notes the return of fans to NFL team websites which bodes well for the regular season.

Richard Lawler from Engadget HD notes that AT&T U-verse suddenly booted ESPN 3D off its lineup last night without any warning.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the NFL fantasy business seems to have recovered from the lockout.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is calling out some sports reporters for being lapdogs.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has his reaction to NBC changing Versus’ name.

Pete also has the MLB Network schedule of games for early August.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette writes NBC/Versus NHL voice Mike Emrick will be honored by the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

In the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner says football may be back, and so will the stadium hostage game.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg in the DC Sports Bog says former ESPN’er Brett Haber is leaving his local DC gig to spend more time with his family.

Here’s the announcement of Haber’s departure from his local station.

Mark Washburn of the Charlotte (NC) Observer says two local radio stations are swapping their national ESPN and Fox Sports Radio affiliations.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times looks back at the weekend in sports TV.

In his blog, David Barron of the Houston Chronicle briefly touches upon the Sporting News Radio rebrand and discusses the passing of a legendary Texas play-by-play man.

The Pittsburg (KS) Morning Sun has a story from Jesse Cordova that ESPN will air a high school football game in neighboring Missouri.

The Denver Post’s Dusty Saunders says despite having a losing record last season, the Broncos will be covered aplenty on TV.

In the Salt Lake Tribune, Scott D. Pierce says Utah fans are already screaming about the lack of TV exposure in this year’s Pac-12 football schedule.

Brian T. Smith of the Tribune talks with new Fox Sports college football announcer Craig Bolerjack who comes over from CBS.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News has this week’s sports calendar.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News looks at how TV rights and market size come into play for any future Pac-12 expansion.

Jonathan Okanes in the Mercury News says there’s a new FM sports radio station in the Bay Area.

Rachel Bachman of The Oregonian talks with ESPN’s Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews about the 25th anniversary of College GameDay.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star says sports seems to be getting the reality TV treatment throughout visual mediums.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN seems to be a retraining ground for coaches.

To The Big Lead and Jason Lisk where he looks at the rather interesting tweets by NFL insiders Peter King and Adam Schefter.

Sports Media Watch learns that Turner Sports’ Marc Fein is leaving to pursue other opportunities.

That’s going to do it. Lots of links today.

Sporting News Radio Is Now Yahoo! Sports Radio

Here’s another rebrand for you. Sporting News Radio which is based out of Houston has rebranded as Yahoo! Sports Radio as of today. Gow Broadcasting which owns Sporting News Radio, now Yahoo! Sports Radio made the announcement today. The daily lineup which includes Steve Czaban, Tim Brando and Todd Wright remains intact. This give listeners access to the many writers Yahoo! Sports employs and they can now be heard regularly on Yahoo! Sports Radio.

The origin of Sporting News Radio date back to 1991 when it began as the Sports Entertainment Network, the third attempted company to syndicate all-sports programming across the country. Two years later, a Chicago investment group bought Sports Entertainment Network changing the name to One on One Sports. It eventually grew to a network of over 300 radio stations across the country.

In 2000, Sporting News bought One on One and changed the name to Sporting News Radio. Gow Broadcasting eventually purchased the assets of Sporting News Radio, moved the operations to Houston and today, made the announcement that it’s changing its name once again to Yahoo! Sports Radio with a network of 180 affiliates nationwide.

We have the press release from Gow Broadcasting and Yahoo.

Yahoo! Sports and Gow Broadcasting Hit the Radio Airwaves with Yahoo! Sports Radio

No. 1 online sports destination announces new relationship with leading sports radio network

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug 01, 2011 — Yahoo!, the premier digital media company, and Gow Broadcasting, LLC (formerly Mission Media Group, LLC), today announced the launch of Yahoo! Sports Radio. The new, national sports radio network can be heard on over 180 affiliate radio stations across the country, Sirius Satellite Radio, and a number of digital and mobile partners. This partnership enables Yahoo! Sports — the No. 1 destination for online sports with more than 50 million monthly unique users — to reach its avid fans in the largest local sports markets across the country.

“Yahoo! Sports Radio builds on our leadership as the No. 1 sports site online and creates a national and local outlet for our brand and talent,” said Ken Fuchs, VP Yahoo! Media Network. “As Yahoo! Sports covers the biggest events, stories and athletes on and off the field, our partnership with Gow Broadcasting will provide more access to our users and solutions to our advertising partners that want to connect with them wherever they consume sports.”

“We are delighted to enter this relationship with Yahoo! Sports,” said David Gow, CEO of Gow Broadcasting, LLC. “We have long enjoyed Yahoo! Sports’ content. We believe strongly that the resources at Yahoo! Sports combined with our on-air talent create the strongest sports roster in the industry. For our affiliates and our listeners, we can deliver top-shelf reporting, analysis and commentary.”

In this relationship, Yahoo Sports! and Gow Broadcasting will share content, develop new content together and engage audiences and advertisers across multiple platforms. The result is that Yahoo! Sports and Yahoo! Sports Radio are designed to be the first stop for news, information and sports commentary. Key features of the new Yahoo Sports Radio include:

– Yahoo! Sports Radio’s popular shows, such as the Steve Czaban show and the Tim Brando show, will feature experts from Yahoo! Sports. Dan Wetzel, Mike Silver, Adrian Wojnarowski, Charles Robinson and others will be regular participants on Yahoo! Sports Radio.

– Yahoo! Sports investigative stories and breaking news will be delivered simultaneously on both platforms.

– Yahoo! Sports Radio’s audio content will be featured on Yahoo Sports!, including Peter Gammon’s daily feature, and top interviews from Yahoo! Sports Radio’s shows.

– Yahoo! Sports Radio will also add shows such as Fantasy Freaks with experts Brandon Funston, Brad Evans and Andy Behrens and Rivals Radio with host Chris Childers, where fans can listen to college football and basketball programming with Rivals.com experts.

Yahoo! Sports Radio continues Yahoo!’s commitment to provide sports fans with personally relevant sporting content across all media where fans gather — including online, mobile, tablets, connected television, AT&T U-verse and multiple publications such as Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football and Rivals College preview magazines.

For more information on Yahoo! Sports Radio and a full list of local affiliates including New York (WFAN), Chicago (WSCR), San Francisco (KBWF) and Dallas (KTCK) visit: http://www.yahoosportsradio.com.

That is all for now.

CBS Sports Network To Simulcast Tim Brando’s Radio Show

This announced this morning by CBS Sports Network. The network will pick up Tim Brando’s radio show that is currently aired across the nation through Sporting News Radio and Sirius XM. This is now adds another platform for Tim’s show which is quite good if you haven’t had the chance to listen. The show will air from 10 a.m. through 1 p.m. Eastern time. It will premiere on CBS Sports Network sometime in August.

The press release reads as follows:

CBS SPORTS NETWORK TO LAUNCH THE “TIM BRANDO SHOW” ON TELEVISION

CBS Sports Network will launch the “Tim Brando Show” live on television, debuting August 2011. The Network will produce for its air the popular nationally-syndicated radio program featuring CBS Sports’ Tim Brando, which also airs on Sporting News Radio.  The three-hour show covers the world of sports, with a focus on college athletics, featuring an array of compelling guests, topics and commentary.  The show will air live weekdays from 10:00 AM-1:00 PM, ET.

“We’re thrilled to be launching ‘The Tim Brando Show’ on CBS Sports Network.  This show, along with several other enhancements we’re making, will significantly increase the live, daily, topical programming for our fans,” said David Berson, Executive Vice President, CBS Sports and President, CBS Sports Network. “Tim is a well known and respected sports personality and valued member of the CBS Sports family who adds to our already strong line-up of talent.”

“CBS Sports Network will expose the show to a new audience, and produce a high-quality, entertaining telecast that I know fans will enjoy,” said Tim Brando. “It’s thrilling for me every day to be talking about sports in this format and I’m lucky to now have two great media partners on board.”

“Tim’s show has been a core part of the Sporting News Radio line-up for years, and we are delighted that the reach of his show will be extended onto a new platform with CBS Sports Network,” said David Gow, President of Mission Media Group, LLC.

The show also features co-host Rogers Hampton and will include a CBS Sports Network reporter for hourly updates. The program will originate from a custom-built studio in Shreveport, La., which will be integrated with CBS Sports Network’s operations based in New York City. CBS Sports Network will also air “Best Of” compilation shows, as well as stream daily highlights online at www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

Tim Brando joined CBS Sports in 1995. He serves as the host of COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY, the Network’s college football pre-game and studio show, as well as a play-by-play announcer for coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. He has called play-by-play for the CBS Television Network’s coverage of the NFL and also serves as host of AT THE HALF®, CBS Sports’ college basketball halftime studio show.

The “Tim Brando Show,” now in its tenth year, is part of the Sporting News Radio network and can be heard on affiliate stations across the country, as well as on Sirius channel 94 and XM channel 208.

That’s all.

Time For The Monday Linkage

After being in the Massachusetts office this morning and needing to run a few errands for the main RI office, I’m now ready to provide links provided I don’t get interrupted at work. You never know. And with the decision to eventually close the MA office due to the slow economy, I may be looking for work so if any blogging networks want to bring on a sports media blogger full-time, please contact me. I’m available any time.

Let’s get to your links.

We start with USA Today’s Michael Hiestand who looks at the Olympic bidding that began today.

Stephen Wilson of the Associated Press reports from Switzerland where the US networks are meeting with the International Olympic Committee, that in its bid, Fox has committed to airing four Olympiads (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020).

Sports Business Daily including reporter Tripp Mickle who’s on the ground in Switzerland looks at the Fox presentation to the IOC today.

While many observers are already handing the Olympics to ESPN or Fox, John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal writes that new NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus isn’t coming into these Olympic negotiations cold and raw.

Tripp and John have a podcast at Sports Business Journal in which they predict the winner of the Olympic bidding. Their picks might surprise you.

Funny article from Spencer Hall at SB Nation saying it would be bad if Fox got the Olympics.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter also looks at the Fox bid.

Over at Geneva Lunch in Switzerland (I believe this is the first time I’ve linked to a publication from Switzerland), Ellen Wallace looks at Lausanne hosting three American networks for the Olympic Games bidding.

Lawrence Donegan of the London (UK) Guardian says there could be a changing of the guard for the US rights to the Olympics.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek notes that ESPN could very well come out on top of the Olympic bidding when all is said and done.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times handicaps the Olympic bidding.

To non-Olympic bidding stories now.

John Ourand at SBJ wonders how high is too high for sports rights fees.

Kudos to SportsbyBrooks which continues to investigate Mel Kiper Jr.’s relationship with NCAA-scrutinized 7-on-7 summer football camps and why ESPN has been covering it up.

Dwayne Dunham at Technorati speaks with The Big Lead’s Jason McIntyre about his blog. Disclaimer: Fang’s Bites is a member of The Big Lead Sports blogging network.

Jason Fry writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center looks at the writing for free-writing for pay debate.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says it’s not a surprise that Tiger Woods has left agency IMG after his own agent left the company.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that hoops beat the Yankees and Mets head-to-head on two separate occasions.

Neil talks with ESPN Radio New York’s Michael Kay about his YES workload.

Neil says it’s time to go live around the clock with the Olympics.

Neil also reviews the Borg vs. McEnroe HBO documentary.

It’s like the old days when I used to have multiple links to Neil!

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post gives Shaquille O’Neal a backhanded compliment.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times enjoys Mike Milbury’s commentary.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle has a few thoughts on this week’s sports media news.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business wants the Big Ten Football Championship to be played out of doors.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post reviews HBO’s McEnroe/Borg documentary. I’ve seen the first half of the doc and it’s very good.

Ron Kantowski of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes the death of former Sporting News Radio host “Papa Joe” Chevalier. A couple of readers wondered why I didn’t do anything on him. First, I didn’t know he died and second, Sporting News Radio didn’t have an affiliate in Rhode Island so I never got the opportunity to hear him. From the story, he sounded like a good host. Never had the chance to listen.

I’m leaving the office now so I’ll have to end the links right here. I’ll be back later to finish up.

UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.: Time for more links.

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

Tom notes that Marv Albert is the latest addition to the NFL on CBS roster.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star says we must pay attention to Captain Blowhard. I say no!

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says HBO won’t be putting a Canadian NHL team on 24/7 in anticipation of the Winter Classic.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog is surprised that CBC did not set a ratings record on Saturday for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Sports Media Watch notes that NBC saw over a decade ratings high for the French Open men’s final.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing can’t believe that Fox is in even in the discussion to get the Olympics.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has Charles Barkley feeling someone at ESPN or TNT would lose his job if Shaquille O’Neal is brought on board.

That’s all.

Providing You With Tuesday Linkage

For some of you, it’s a back to work Tuesday after a three day weekend. Not for me as I was at the office until late on Memorial Day. But you don’t want to read my complaining, you want linkage so I’ll get it to right away.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek says expect LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki to draw viewers to the NBA Finals starting tonight.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes about TNT’s record NBA ratings and the potential for a blockbuster NBA Finals for ABC.

Jeff Neff and E.J. Schultz of Advertising Age say NFL advertisers are getting nervous as the lockout is starting to effect grocery in-store displays.

Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell gives readers an introduction to investigative reporter George Dohrmann who wrote the expose on former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.

Sergio Non of USA Today says UFC’s Dana White is looking to put more cards on over the air TV.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says soccer-centric Gol TV will air another edition of its signature reality show.

Carolyn Braff of Sports Video Group writes that Versus had to overcome massive mud puddles in order to bring the Tour of California to viewers.

Paul Meehan at ESPN Front Row says the network’s NBA Marketing team is spending a lot of late nights creating TV and radio promos for the Finals.

Over at Mocksession, a very interesting post on how Fox Sports Net and ABC deceived viewers in various ways.

Maggie Hendricks at Yahoo’s Cagewriter blog wishes the media would stop giving MMA fighter Quintin “Rampage” Jackson the time of day. It’s all over this video as Jackson pretends to motorboat reporter Karyn Bryant’s breasts.

The Big Lead goes into why Jackson is such a lightning rod with reporters.

MMA reporter Karyn Bryant who was the subject of Jackson’s attention last weekend tweets that she wasn’t offended.

I’ve now been told I have to run an errand. More later.

Some more links now.

Tripp Mickle and John Ourand from the Sports Business Journal report on the latest on the bidding for the US Olympic TV rights now that NBC’s Dick Ebersol is out of the picture.

Tripp teams with Terry Lefton on a story about sports marketers who plan to stay in Brazil after the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics are finished there.

And Kevin Sullivan of SBJ instructs athletes on how to tweet the right way.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser notes that ESPN/ABC NBA analyst Mark Jackson is a finalist for the Golden State Warriors coaching job.

Cam says the Sports Illustrated story on Jim Tressel caused a Twitter spat among sportswriters.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports says the NBA’s TV partners should send thanks to LeBron James and the Miami Heat for increased ratings this season.

Gordon Cox of Variety notes that ESPN and the Tribeca Film Festival are teaming up to put three movies on Video on Demand.

Tony Barnhart of CBS Sports talks with SEC Commissioner Mike Slive about the BCS, college football TV contracts and his contract.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell cautions fans who think college football will change with Jim Tressel’s resignation.

Bill Gorman at zap2it’s TVbytheNumbers notes that Fox’s NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 zoomed past all network competition on Sunday.

Newsday’s Neil Best says former Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill will now double his workload for YES.

Neil says NBC/Versus NHL host Liam McHugh appears to be on a fast track to stardom.

Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at the ESPN book.

Former ESPN Radio host Mark Madden in the Beaver County Times feels the ESPN book doesn’t cover any new ground. How about bringing up your firing, Mark?

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has his take on DC NFL team owner Dan Snyder making the local media rounds last week.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says ABC expects to garner good ratings with the NBA Finals.

Shannon J. Owens at the Orlando Sentinel wonders why Urban Meyer would leave ESPN for Ohio State, especially at this juncture.

Ben Thomas of the Mobile (AL) Press-Register says a local station is dropping ESPN Radio programming in favor of Sporting News Radio.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says national announcers have to deal with fans who feel they root against their teams.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN/ABC’s NBA crew denies that it was rooting against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.

WLWT-TV in Cincinnati notes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth has taken a job coaching high school football until the NFL lockout ends.

And at his website, Football Pros Live, Cris explains why he took the job.

The Big Lead says it appears that ESPN2 First Take buffoon Skip Bayless was forced to apologize to Chris Broussard after yelling at him on Monday.

EPL Talk says the UEFA Champions League Final drew a 1.8 overnight rating for Fox, a 64% increase from the year before.

EPL Talk notes that Fox dumbed down its Champions League pregame show.

Sports Media Watch notes that Charles Barkley will be back in Miami for the NBA Finals working the games for NBA TV.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media looks at how Boston and Vancouver have fared in the ratings throughout the NHL Postseason.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin notes that MLB.com is actually allowing some videos to be embedded! Hallelujah!!!

And we’re going to end it there for today.

Bringing You A Friday Megalink Thing

I owe you some megalinks from last week so let’s get this done.

Don’t forget the Weekend Viewing Picks.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand and Mike McCarthy square off over whether viewers should care what announcers do off the air and away from the camera.

USA Today’s Sean Leahy has NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger saying the New York Jets did nothing wrong in the Ines Sainz controversy. For some reason, this story is just not going away. 

At Sports Illustrated, Richard Deitsch has his Media Power Rankings for August and September.

Chris Gentilviso of Time notes that 2010 may be the Year of the Blackout for the NFL. 

At Pro Football Talk, Michael David Smith says all 32 NFL teams will undergo a training program in the wake of the Ines Sainz incident.

Mike says the Lions just barely avoided a blackout in Detroit.

Jason Lisk at The Big Lead feels the NFL blackout policy needs to change.

Ryan Wilson at Fanhouse tells us which athletes are going to “appear” in this year’s “Body” issue for ESPN The Magazine.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Fox Soccer Channel has signed a rights deal to air French’s top soccer league in the US.

Mike writes that some Comcast subscribers had trouble accessing NFL Network’s RedZone last week.

George Winslow of Multichannel notes that Verizon Fios is adding Syracuse University sports for fans in the upstate New York area.

Paul Thomasch at Reuters notes that Fox is over 90% sold for the Super Bowl in February.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Michigan football jerseys are a hot seller once again.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser reports that Jay Mariotti’s arraignment on domestic violence charges was postponed until October 1.

Sports Media Watch notes that the NFL had its most watched opening week since 1987. 

Even with that good news, SMW discovers that the early NFL window for Fox actually experienced a ratings decline from the year before.

SMW has some various ratings news and notes.

SMW says the delayed men’s final at the US Open hit another ratings low.

And SMW tells us that the US Open women’s final also delivered low ratings. 

At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore looks at the early plans for NHL Network and NHL Radio.

Dave Dahlquist at Macworld says CBS is streaming its entire SEC football schedule on its iPhone app.

David Brown at Yahoo’s Big League Stew blog has a very good interview with Los Angeles Dodgers voice Vin Scully.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe looks inside the radio ratings between 98.5 The Sports Hub and WEEI.

At the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Bill Doyle talks about the tremendous Week 1 TV ratings for the NFL.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says Fox failed to follow up after the Philadelphia Eagles’ Stewart Bradley returned to the field after seemingly suffering a concussion.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that MSG Network has signed a rights agreement with the New York Giants.

Kimberly A. Martin of Newsday says the Jets will not be penalized for its behavior last week against Ines Sainz.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News has NBC’s Andrea Kremer’s take on the Ines Sainz
situation.

Dr. Doom and Gloom in the New York Post continues to harp on points that only he cares about.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union profiles the new program director/midday host of the local sports radio station.

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Ashley Fox says Ines Sainz brought on the Jets behavior by her improper attire. 

Dave Hughes at Press Box talks about the new partnership between the Baltimore Ravens and Comcast SportsNet’s Baltimore website.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner notes that football fans are opting to stay home and watch games in HD rather than go to the stadium and pay expensive ticket prices.

And Jim likes listening to the Sirius Playboy Morning Show not just to hear about women, but for the NFL picks.

South

Carolyn Shapiro at the Virginian-Pilot notes that CBS College Sports is being picked up by a local cable company.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald looks at the tremendous TV ratings for the NFL.

Katherine Kington of WTVM in Columbus, GA speaks with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit. 

Ray Buck at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hears from the CBS college football crew on the state of the game today.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle talks with one of the hosts of Sporting News Radio who made the move to H-Town when the operations moved from California.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman says Saturday’s Air Force-Oklahoma game will be picked up for troops stationed overseas.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Bengals avoided a local blackout on Sunday.

John notes a Chicago sports TV anchor who got some bad advice from her boss when she was working in Dayton.

Tim Twentyman of the Detroit News says the Motor City will not be blacked out this Sunday for the Eagles-Lions game.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on the very short leave that Shannon Sharpe took from CBS due to a legal problem that was quickly dropped.

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

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune says the Ines Sainz controversy is an example of a woman being unprofessional.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes with Cardinals returning to KMOX, it completes sports teams going full circle in the Gateway City.

Dan notes that there’s some late season juggling going on with the Cardinals TV schedule.

West

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman says a local cable system will not pick up CBS College Sports for tomorrow’s Boise State-Wyoming game. 

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders what’s going on at one local sports radio station.

John Maffei of the North County Times says fans who want to watch San Diego State play this weekend will have to shell out some extra bucks.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star wants CBS to stop sending the Oakland Raiders to the local airwaves.

Jim also has the NBC crew previewing Sunday’s Manning Bowl II.

At the Los Angeles Daily News, Tom Hoffarth inquires about the local ESPN Radio affiliate.

Tom speaks with a former Sports Illustrated editor who authored a damaging book on the USC football program.

Tom looks back at a crazy week in sports media in his blog.

The San Jose Mercury News has video of a rather testy exchange between KPIX sports anchor Dennis O’Donnell and 49ers coach Mike Singletary.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that two cable companies are picking up the controversial Rogers Sportsnet One in time for NHL season.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star wonders if it’s time for a rights charter for sports fans.

The Star’s Rosie DiManno heard from former NHL coach Pat Burns after CTV Ottawa erroneously tweeted today that he had died.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie received the first phone call from Burns.

And we’re done for the night.

The Tuesday Links Or Getting Through Some Stuff

Dealing with work and trying to finish up some stuff, but while I have a break, let’s do the linkage for you.

First, USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at the ratings from various events from the weekend. 

Mike also writes about Fox NFL Sunday analyst Jimmy Johnson being a contestant on CBS’ Survivor: Nicaragua this fall.

Over at FoxSports.com, Brian Lowry says as Tiger Woods goes, so goes golf’s TV ratings.

Former Fox Sports Radio morning host Steve Czaban breaks his own news by informing fans on his blog that he’s going to be the morning host at Sporting News Radio. Thanks to reader “Tuskaloosa” for the tip.

Milton Kent at Fanhouse has CBS President of News and Sports Sean McManus and Jim Nantz talking PGA Championship.

Milton writes that a major reason why the Baltimore Ravens are no longer on MASN is due to Orioles and MASN owner Peter Angelos’ meddling. 

David Goetzl at Mediapost previews Turner Sports’ 3-D coverage of the PGA Championship.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News writes that former Showtime Sports executive Jay Larkin has passed away after a bout with cancer.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says SportsCenter’s realm is being expanded to ESPNews at the end of this month.

Ryan Berenz of Channel Guide Magazine has the national TV NFL preseason schedule.

To the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center where the St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deggans tells us that without Jets holdout Darrelle Revis, HBO’s Hard Knocks will lose some bite.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the Florida Panthers are taking a page out of Priceline.com.

Darren reports that after a 7 month hiatus, Golf Digest has renewed its relationship with Tiger Woods. 

Darren adds that Frosted Flakes get plenty of free advertising from Shaquille O’Neal.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says the rehiring of the embattled Isiah Thomas by Madison Square Garden couldn’t be a worse public relations move by the company.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News can’t understand it either.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says NBA TV will air the Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremonies this Friday.

Pete says TNT gets the Miami Heat’s (and LeBron James’) first visit to Cleveland this season. 

Pete also has the NFL preseason schedule for this week.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says boxing is being showcased on local TV this month.

Leonard Shapiro in the Washington Post notes that golf gets low ratings when Tiger Woods is not in the proverbial hunt. 

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Steve Czaban about returning to national sports talk radio. 

Jon Solomon in the Birmingham (AL) News says with Tim Tebow in the NFL, CBS might experience a ratings downturn with SEC football this season.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News feels a Cowboys practice would beat New York Yankees-Texas Rangers in the ratings.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle discusses his brief visit to ESPN and also talks about the ESPNews rebranding.

John Kiesewetter in the Cincinnati Enquirer says Fox Sports Ohio will air a softball game featuring local celebrities later this week.

The Enquirer looks at Fox Sports Ohio’s High School Football Game of the Week series. 

Tim Feran of the Columbus Dispatch says the NFL Network was booted off the local cable system due to what? A fee dispute, what else?

In Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman asks why the White Sox aren’t sold out for an important series against the Twins?

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has CBS’ Jim Nantz talking international golf ahead of this week’s PGA Championship.

Judd Zulgad in the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Minnesota Twins have reupped with their radio flagship station for two more years.

Chris Newmaker of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal also writes about the Twins’ renewal with KSTP.

Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times has the video of newly inducted Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith calling NBC’s Al Michaels by a new name.

Sports Media Watch notes Red Sox-Yankees drew well for ESPN, but not as well as in the past.

SMW says this past weekend’s NASCAR race did decently for ESPN, but still lags behind previous editions.

John Daly at The Daly Planet notes that ESPN2 NASCAR Now host Nicole Briscoe took down her Twitter account.

Over to Dan Levy’s new website, Press Coverage, he writes that America really likes football, even the preseason variety.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media concludes his five part series on the future of the NHL on US TV.

Steve also tells us about the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames ending their pay per view outlets after signing a new 10 year deal with Rogers Sportsnet.

The Big Lead speaks with Dr. Lou, ESPN college football analyst Lou Holtz.

That’s going to do it for us today.

Thursday Linkage

Let’s do some linkage for you. Getting off to a slow start today.

David Bauder of the Associated Press writes that the NFL Draft is a hugely popular television event.

Sean Leahy of USA Today’s The Huddle blog says the NFL plans to keep the Draft at three days.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says ESPN resident moron Matt Millen gave some puzzling answers today on SportsCenter regarding a question posed to wide receiver Dez Bryant by Miami GM Jeff Ireland. 

Florio is continuing to chase the Jon Gruden not being on ESPN at the 3rd day of the NFL Draft story.

Alex Dobuzinskis of Reuters has CBS Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves not being very enthused about 3-D TV.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at Lance Armstrong’s latest endorsement. 

Jackie Majerus of the Bristol (CT) Press writes that ESPN was honored by the State of Connecticut.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union writes that a former RPI women’s basketball coach has received a promotion at ESPN.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record says the 2nd round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs get going right off the bat. 

Laura Nachman writes that with Flyers voice Jim Jackson busy with the NHL Playoffs, his Phillies pre and postgame role will be filled temporarily while he’s calling games.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner looks at the new ownership of the Washington Wizards.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times feels there are too many college bowl games. I’ll agree with that.

Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel says ESPN has announced some college bowl schedules for December.

James Pennington of the Kentucky Kernel feels the new ESPN/SEC rights deal has not delivered what it has promised.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News wonders where the Mavs fans are in the stands and watching TV.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle writes that Sporting News Radio will be moving its operations to Houston.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says Blackhawk fans get to watch local coverage of the Vancouver-’Hawks series for five games out of a potential seven.

Bob Mayhall of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat says Fox’s Tim McCarver is still talking about the 20 inning marathon game earlier this month between the New York Mets and the Cardinals.

Kevin Haskin of the Topeka Capital-Journal talks with ESPN’s Dick Vitale about the new CBS/Turner contract to air the NCAA Tournament which essentially ends any chance for him to call a Final Four.

Sports Media Watch notes that the Cavaliers and Lakers are drawing ratings for the TNT during the NBA Playoffs.

SMW says the Lakers/Thunder series is garnering good ratings for ESPN as well.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Game 6 of Blackhawks-Preds outdrew White Sox-Mariners when they were opposite each other last Saturday.

Steve says Universal Sports will air the IIHF World Hockey Championships next month.

In Major League Programs, Dave Kohl looks at one Baltimore sports radio station advertising for a talk show host.

That’s going to do it.

Another Friday Night Megalinks Post

In the euphoria of my joining Boston Sports Media Watch, I got stuck doing a few things and did not do the megalinks. Time to do them now.

As usual, it’s time for the Weekend Viewing Picks.

Interleague baseball’s last games of the season takes center stage this weekend. Games such as Yankees-Mets, Red Sox-Braves, Cubs-White Sox get national attention. MLB Network and ESPN will take Yankees-Mets on Saturday and Sunday nights respectively. Fox and TBS will air Red Sox-Braves on consecutive afternoons. Fox also has Cubs-White Sox Saturday, then WGN has the matchup on Sunday. The national MLB schedule with announcing assignments and regional splits in the case of Fox can be seen at the MLB This Weekend section of Fang’s Bites.

Wimbledon resumes Saturday and then takes the middle Sunday off as is tradition with the tournament. ESPN2 has live coverage Saturday morning at 8, then moves over for NBC at 3 p.m. Then on the rest day, NBC has taped coverage of the best matches of the week at 1 p.m.

NASCAR heads to Loudon, NH for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. TNT has that race Sunday at 2 p.m.

The IndyCar circuit is in Richmond for the SunTrust Indy Challenge that Versus will bury Saturday night at 8.

In soccer, the US is in the finals of the Confederations Cup against Brazil and after its upset of Spain on Wednesday, interest will be a bit higher for the match played on Sunday. ESPN has the game starting at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The PGA Tour is in Cromwell, CT for the Travelers Championship and CBS has weekend coverage at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

And boxing fans have their choice of bouts to watch Saturday on Showtime at 9 p.m. and HBO at 10 p.m.

The full Weekend Viewing Picks are over here.

Now to your links.

National

USA Today’s Michael McCarthy says TBS feels Ron Darling is in the upper echelon of MLB TV analysts.

Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal writes that MLB remains in a ratings malaise.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says his readers have spoken and chosen a new nickname for Shaquille O’Neal. Darren reports that Vijay Singh was willing to post bail for embattled Stanford Financial CEO Allen Stanford. Darren also projects the contracts for the first round picks of the NBA Draft.

Joe Favorito wonders if soccer can take advantage of the US’ performance at the Confed Cup.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says MASN is mixing and matching its announcing teams for the Orioles-Nationals series. Mike writes that ESPN and ESPN2 saw record viewership for the College World Series.

The Sports Media Journal’s Ray Frager says he prefers watching the NBA Draft over the NFL Draft.

Deadspin says HBO plans to ditch the comedy for the next edition of Joe Buck Live.

The Sports Media Watch says ESPN has chosen its hosts for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Andrew Laughlin of Digital Spy says ESPN may use one its existing UK channels to show recently acquired English Premier League gamese.

Len Berman gives us his top 5 sports stories of the day at the Huffington Post.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says Dennis Eckersley is gaining his own legion of fans while sitting in for Jerry Remy on NESN.

Good friend LC at the 38Cliches blog is impressed with Dave O’Brien’s work ethic on Red Sox radio broadcasts.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times chronicles how NBC’s Breakfast at Wimbledon began.

Here’s a Phil Mushnick column I can actually agree with. The New York Post columnist rips WFAN’s Craig Carton for sexually harassing tennis star Jennifer Capriati earlier this week.

The Big Lead also weighed in on Mushnick’s column.

Justin Terranova of the Post talks with YES’ Al Leiter about the Subway Series which has lost some luster this year. And Justin has five questions for MLB Network analyst Mitch Williams about his former Phillies team.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with WFAN’s Mike Francesa one year after his split with former partner Chris Russo. Neil has more with Mike Francesa in his blog. Neil says Mike is in no rush to find a new partner for his show. Mike has some choice words for former CBS Radio and now Sirius XM chairman Mel Karmazin. And Neil has some more from Mike regarding Russo and ESPN. Neil writes about former WFAN midday co-host Sid Rosenberg whether his future is in the Big Apple or South Florida. Neil wonders why the TSN-produced NHL Draft show carried on Versus did not have a continuous scroll.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman goes after ESPN and MLB for “celebrating” the return of Manny Ramirez.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union writes about the Yankees’ deal to stream games online and in-market for a hefty price. Pete adds that ESPN was really happy about its College World Series ratings.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner gives us his weekend viewing picks. And Jim says the USA-Brazil final in the Confederations Cup is a highlight of the weekend.

South

The Munroe (LA) News Star says CBS’ Tim Brando was honored by the nation’s Sports Information Directors.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News says Terrell Owens and supermodel Joanna Krupa get to return to The Superstars on Monday.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle writes that Sporting News Radio gets a new affiliate in town.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman writes about a local sports radio host who’s happy he can see again. In his media notebook, Mel talks about ESPN NFL analyst Keyshawn Johnson branching out from his football roots.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids Press is another who prefers the NBA Draft over the NFL’s.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has quotes from ESPN’s basketball analysts about the NBA Draft.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business has his winners and losers of the week.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin is already looking forward to college football season on ESPN and the Big Ten Network.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with former Blues voice Ken Wilson about Brett Hull who will be inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame this year.

West

A local sports talk show host switches places with the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jay Posner and writes this week’s media column in the newspaper.

John Maffei from the North County Times says rain put a damper on the U.S. Open and its ratings.

Mike Penner of the Los Angeles Times says the NBA Draft lent itself to a lot of trade talk on ESPN.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Manny Mania swept Albuquerque and the media in both New Mexico and SoCal.

Tom has other sports media news in his blog. Tom goes over the week in blogging.

Canada

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star bids farewell to a different type of sports radio show.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN NHL analyst Ray Ferrarro will have to wait and see where his son will be picked in the Entry Draft.

And that’s it. I’ll be back with more links Saturday.

A Monday Night Update

Time to give you some links this evening.

We start out with some sad news. This link comes courtesy of the Boston Sports Media Watch, Bill Burt of the Lawrence (MA) Eagle-Tribune reports in his blog that the son of Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan has died. The Boston Globe has the story which states that Keith Ryan apparently took his life. It’s a horrible story. Bob Ryan is one of the nicest men in the sports media and I will certainly have him and his family in my thoughts tonight. Bruce Allen of BSMW gives his sympathies to the Ryan family. And David Scott does as well.

If you’re wondering why Michael Wilbon didn’t appear on “Pardon the Interruption” today, it was because he suffered a minor heart attack very early this morning. The Sports on My Mind blog has the story. Michael is ok.

Over to Newsday’s Neil Best who writes that NFL Network host Rich Eisen is frustrated with Cablevision and Time Warner cable. Neil follows that story up with a post on his blog. And Neil tells us that the Patriots’ interview session with coach Bill Belichick was a snoozefest.

Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher says this Super Bowl has the most media credentials ever. Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life magazine says Super Bowl XLII has the potential to be the most watched ever. John Consoli of Mediaweek writes that Foxsports.com will have plenty of webcasts and online coverage from Super Bowl XLII.

Ryan Sharrow of the Baltimore Business Journal writes that the Baltimore Ravens will air its preseason games on WBAL-TV which is part of the same company that has the games on radio.

Joel Sherman posts in the New York Post’s TV Sports blog that former Yankees pitcher David Cone will be an analyst on the YES Network.

Some ratings news from the Sports Media Watch blog. First, we get word that the ratings for the NHL All Star Game on Versus were up. It was a small increase, but an increase nonetheless. Next, the 4th round of the Buick Invitational featuring a Tiger Woods runaway beat the late NBA game featuring LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Paulsen also tells us that the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on NBC finished fourth on Saturday night. Fourth!

Rachel Blount of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the telecast on NBC showed that figure skating is not on life support.

In what has to be described as earth shattering news, Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his Farther Off the Wall blog that the Lingerie Bowl will be a no-show for the second year in a row. Curses!

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty reports in his Best Seat in My House blog that NBC has chosen the Anaheim Ducks-Detroit Red Wings game for its NHL Game of the Week on February 10.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that the Carolina Hurricanes have signed a contract extension with FSN South to air 65 games a season for at least the next five seasons.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News writes that San Francisco sports radio station KNBR wants to bring Tony Bruno into the fold. Bruno who was on the air on Sporting News Radio has left due to a contract dispute.

The Ski Channel has signed a distribution deal with Cox Cable as R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel tells us.

That’s it. Back tomorrow.