Fang's Bites

College Basketball Viewing Picks for 12/01 & 12/02/2007 (All Times Eastern)

Saturday, December 1
Duke vs. Davidson at Charlotte, NC – ESPNU, noon
UC-Riverside at Minnesota – Big Ten Network, 1 p.m.
North Carolina at Kentucky – ESPN2, 2 p.m.
Indiana State at Purdue – Big Ten Network, 3 p.m.
UConn vs. Gonzaga at Boston, MA – ESPN, 3:30 p.m.
Weber State at Illinois – Big Ten Network, 5 p.m.
Washington at Oklahoma State – ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Michigan at Harvard – ESPNU, 5:30 p.m.
Boston College vs. Providence at Boston, MA – ESPN Classic, 6 p.m.
Cincinnati at UAB – CSTV, 6 p.m.
Jacksonville at Michigan State – Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
Ohio State at Butler – ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Southern Illinois – ESPNU, 9:30 p.m.
UC-Santa Barbara at Loyola Marymount – CSTV, 10 p.m.
Missouri at California – FSN, 11 p.m.

Sunday, December 2
Kansas at USC – FSN, 2 p.m.
Arizona State at Nebraska – ESPNU, 2 p.m.
St. John’s at Miami (FL) – FSN, 4 p.m.
Stanford at Colorado – ESPNU, 4 p.m.
Texas A&M at Arizona – FSN, 6 p.m.
Oklahoma at TCU – CSTV, 7 p.m.
Texas at UCLA – FSN, 8 p.m.

College Football Viewing Picks for 12/01/07 (All Times Eastern)

College Gameday live from the Big 12 Championship, San Antonio, TX – ESPN, 10 a.m.
MAC Championship, Detroit, MI/Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH) – ESPN2, 11 a.m.
Army vs. Navy, Baltimore, MD – CBS, 12 p.m.
Conference USA Championship/Tulsa at Central Florida – ESPN, noon
ACC Championship, Jacksonville, FL/Boston College vs. Virginia Tech – ABC, 1 p.m.
SEC Championship, Atlanta, GA/LSU vs. Tennessee – CBS, 4 p.m.
UCLA at USC – ABC, 4:30 p.m.
Oregon State at Oregon – ESPN2, 4:30 p.m.
Cal at Stanford – Versus, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at West Virginia – ESPN, 7:45 p.m.
Big 12 Championship, San Antonio, TX/Oklahoma vs. Missouri – ABC, 8 p.m.
Arizona at Arizona State – ESPN2, 8 p.m.
Washington at Hawaii – ESPN2, 11:30 p.m.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

Women’s College Basketball/Ohio State at Maryland – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
NHL/Dallas at Pittsburgh – NHL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NBA/Boston at Miami – Comcast SportsNet New England/ESPN, 8 p.m.
College Football/Fresno State at New Mexico State – ESPN2, 8 p.m.
College Basketball/Washington State at Baylor – ESPNU, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/UL-Munroe at Iowa – Big Ten Network, 9 p.m.
NASCAR Awards Show – ESPN Classic, 9 p.m.
Friday Night Lights – NBC, 9 p.m.
20/20 – ABC, 10 p.m.
Giada’s Weekend Getaways/Boston – Food Network, 10:30 p.m.
College Basketball/Iowa State at Oregon State – FSN, 11 p.m.
Co-Ed Confidential 05 – Cinemax, midnight

Los Friday Megalinks

I’ve been in meeting today so I’m starting the megalinks late. Let’s get to them without further delay.

From USA Today, Michael Hiestand says the NFL has to cut its price per subscriber for the NFL Network for the cable providers to start putting the channel on basic. Here’s the listing for sports on TV this weekend.

Again, we’ll go East to West for the links.

Starting with the Boston Globe, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell writes about the Kraft family airing six of the seven Massachusetts high school Super Bowls being played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro this weekend.

David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch suggests some talent hires for Comcast SportsNet New England.

Neil Best of Newsday talks with CBS’ Phil Simms and Fox’s Troy Aikman about New York Giants QB Eli Manning. In his blog, Best expands on Aikman’s comments about the NFL Network situation. Neil had a chance to catch the NFL Network broadcast of the Green Bay-Dallas game last night and says play-by-play Bryant Gumbel improved, but not by much.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post attacks the NFL for putting the Packers-Cowboys game on the NFL Network.

Laura Nachman talks about Tom McCarthy returning to the Philadelphia Phillies broadcast booth.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun has more than a few news and notes today.

Doug Nye from The State newspaper says the Best Bet for the weekend is South Carolina at Clemson college basketball on Saturday. And Nye goes over a new book written by the former Voice of the Gamecocks, Bob Fulton.

Dave Darling of the Orlando Sentinel laments the absence of the Big Three Florida schools from the conference championship football games this weekend.

David Barron in today’s Houston Chronicle writes that the NFL Network debate will rage again with next month’s Patriots-Giants game.

Eric Benderoff of the Chicago Tribune was frustrated with NFL.com’s presentation of the Green Bay-Dallas game last night.

Over to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where Bob Wolfley was critical of Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth on the NFL Network.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that FSN North is changing its approach for its halftime shows during Timberwolves games.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes that more Minnesota Wild games will be made available on over the air TV.

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) Morning News says the Utah coach’s show on KTVX-TV is an embarrassment in journalism.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune talks with David Norrie of ESPN/ABC about tomorrow’s USC-UCLA game. In his notebook, Posner says expect more of the same from the NFL Network, not being able to watch the games and more fighting between the league and cable. And here are last week’s ratings for sports in San Diego.

From the North County Times, John Maffei says this year’s USC-UCLA game doesn’t carry the importance it once did.

Christine Daniels in her Sound and Vision column in the Los Angeles Times also writes about the USC-UCLA game.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News talks with ESPN’s Steven A. Smith. And Hoffarth has more media notes in his Farther Off the Wall blog.

Up to Canada where William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment has become a circus.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says the ratings for Hockey Night in Canada are down thanks to the falling fortunes of the Maple Leafs.

That’s it for now. You can expect Primetime Viewing Picks, our last College Football Viewing Picks of the season, NFL Viewing Picks, College Basketball Viewing Picks, NFL Picks, Weekend Viewing Picks, the Amazing Race Asia Episode 2 Recap, Friday Night Update, Saturday morning links and anything else I can think of in the next 24-36 hours. Keep it here.

The Thursday Night Links

While watching the NFL Network’s broadcast of the Green Bay-Dallas game, I’ll provide some links. As I start this latest entry, the score is 27-23, Dallas in the 3rd quarter and Brett Favre is out of the game with a swollen elbow, but backup Aaron Rogers has led the Packers to two consecutive scores. We’ve got a ball game as many of us expected.

Three things from Newsday media reporter extraordinaire, Neil Best. First, he reports that New York sports anchor legend Warner Wolfe joins ESPN Radio 1050 as a morning drive sports update guy. Neil says Tony Kornheiser will address rumors whether he’ll leave Monday Night Football after the season. Finally, Neil says Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declined to appear on WFAN’s Mike & the Mad Dog show this afternoon after realizing that the hosts would be hostile towards his pro-NFL Network campaign.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Dancing with the Stars champion, race car driver Helio Castaneves looks to cash in on his appearance.

The Orbitcast satellite radio blog reports two sports-related programming notes. First, XM Satellite Radio will have extensive coverage of the MLB Winter Meetings next week on its Home Plate channel. And XM will also have the ACC, SEC and Big 12 Football Championship games this Saturday.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated talks with actor Michael Imperioli, formerly of “The Sopranos”, about his latest role, playing a catcher in the TV movie, “For One More Day”, based on Mitch Albom’s book. And Deitsch nominates former Dallas Cowboy Everson Walls for SI’s Sportsman of the Year for donating his kidney to his friend and teammate, Ron Springs. That’s a great choice.

Sam Thielman of Variety writes that ESPN will air a four hour documentary on NCAA Selection Sunday on the civil rights movement seen through African American basketball players.

ESPN wants you to know that it will air a Best of “This is SportsCenter” special on December 11.

CBS Sports previews its coverage for this Sunday, plus it has the announcing team assignments for Weeks 13 & 14. And the Tiffany Network will have a college football doubleheader on Saturday including the SEC Championship.

That will do it for now. The Friday megalinks will be coming sometime Friday morning.

The Amazing Race Asia 2 – Ep. 3 Preview

Here’s a promo for Episode 3. I’ll have a recap of Episode 2 coming up in the next couple of days.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

Women’s College Basketball/Purdue at North Carolina – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
NHL/Boston at Florida – NESN, 7:30 p.m.
College Football/Rutgers at Louisville – ESPN, 7:30 p.m.
Survivor China – CBS, 8 p.m.
College Basketball/Gonzaga at St. Joseph’s (PA) – ESPNU, 8 p.m.
NFL/Green Bay at Dallas – NFL Network, 8 p.m.
NBA/New York at Boston – TNT, 8 p.m.
College Basketball/Oregon at Kansas State – ESPN2, 9 p.m.
NBA/Denver at LA Lakers – TNT, 10:30 p.m.
College Basketball/Oklahoma at USC – FSN, 11 p.m.

NFL Pick – Green Bay at Dallas

Last weekend’s picks were 11-5 once again. Overall record is 102-63 for an overall winning percentage of .618. Not bad.

Let’s go over tonight’s game.

Green Bay at Dallas – NFL Network, 8:15 p.m.
Yes, we know that only 35 million homes out of a potential 100 million households have the NFL Network, most of which are through DirecTV or Dish Network. The sports bars across the country should do good business. And those who watch this game will see a contest of two 10-1 teams. The only blemish for Green Bay was a loss to Chicago and the Cowboys’ only loss was to New England in Week 5. Since then, both teams have been on a collision course for tonight.

Brett Favre has been having a spectacular season, however, he comes into Texas Stadium with an 0-8 record. But this is the best team he’s brought to Dallas and that includes the two teams that went to the Super Bowl. He has excellent receivers in Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. And the Cowboys secondary does have a tendency to give up big plays.

Tony Romo is also having an excellent year at QB for the Cowboys and many have compared him to Favre in the fact he can improvise and throw sidearm, at three quarters and at his regular throwing motion.

But the big matchup in this game will be Terrell Owens vs. the Green Bay secondary. Cornerback Al Harris is expected to be assigned to TO for most of the game. But with the Packers defensive lineup banged up, expect RB’s Marion Barber and Julius Jones get the bulk of the work for the Cowboy’s offense.

Green Bay has seemingly found a running game thanks to Ryan Grant, but the Cowboys can defend the run very well.

The fact that the winner will have the edge for home field throughout the playoffs is a big prize in this game. Plus, the winner of tonight’s will clinch a playoff spot.

I think the home field will play a big factor in this game. As much as I don’t like the Cowboys, I have to acknowledge the season they’ve been having plus they’re the healthier team coming into tonight.

I’ll pick the Cowboys to win, 28-24 and in essence, pick up a two game lead on the Packers for home field in the NFC.

Hey Now! Thursday Links

I was hoping to have an update Wednesday night, however, I got quite busy, but you get more links this morning which is better for you, the reader. We have a lot of links on the NFL Network vs. Cable dispute, but first, let’s start with the Thursday weekly media columns.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette talks with Boston Bruins radio voice Dave Goucher.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says he knew Lee Corso would be a big TV star after covering him as a coach at Indiana University. Bracht has his media notebook and he also gives us his weekend viewing picks.

A few items from the Sports Media Watch today. First, Paulsen tells us that College Gameday live from the Missouri-Kansas game garnered its highest ratings every. Next, we find that despite a dull 3-0 final score, the Miami-Pittsburgh game on Monday Night Football did quite well for ESPN. And due to the writers strike, ESPN/ABC is looking to put NBA games on Saturdays in primetime.

Neil Best of Newsday blogs that former Mets radio announcer Tom McCarthy left WFAN on good terms. And here’s the story from Best from yesterday’s edition of Newsday. Yesterday, Best appeared on ESPN2′s First Take program to discuss the NFL Network vs. Cable dispute. Here it is:

Neil also writes that HBO is putting together a project on Barry Bonds. And Neil has suggestions on how to catch tonight’s Packers-Cowboys game.

Now, we have extensive links on the NFL Network as Green Bay vs. Dallas is on tonight and is only available in 35 million homes across the nation.

In his blog, Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has more on the NFL Network vs. Cable dispute.

Michael McCarthy of USA Today writes that tonight’s Packers-Cowboys game will be the contest that most of America won’t see. And USA Today’s editorial board says the NFL is making excessive demands on cable.

Over to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel which has extensive coverage of the NFL Network vs. Cable story. First, the paper reports that three over the air TV stations have been given permission to air the NFL Network feed of the Green Bay-Dallas game. Next, we have dueling editorials, the first from NFL Network President Steve Bornstein who goes on the offensive against the cable companies. The other editorial is from Time Warner Cable Wisconsin President Jack Herbert who says cable isn’t the villain here. And the Journal Sentinel’s editorial board says it’s time to level the playing field and deregulate cable. Bob Wolfley writes that the Packers are indeed ready for primetime.

Over to Texas, Linda Leavell of the Dallas Morning News says residents living in the outskirts of Dallas are mad they can’t see the game. Evan Kohl of the Killeen Daily News reports that NFL Network and Time Warner Cable couldn’t come to an agreement in time for tonight. John Maher of the Austin American-Statesman says the ultimate winners in the dispute are the sports bars. Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that the game can be seen in Dallas over the air. Brad Kellar of the Greenville Herald-Banner says local residents will be able to watch the game through KDFI-TV.

Tony Biasotti of the Ventura County Star says many fans are heading to sports bars tonight to watch the game.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune gives fans options to catch the game.

Bill Liesse of the Peoria (IL) Journal-Star writes sarcastically that the NFL Network knows how to pick games.

Howard Herman of the Berkshire (MA) Eagle writes that while local football fans won’t be able to watch tonight’s game, they should be able to see the NFL Network’s feed of the Patriots-Giants game in Week 17.

Ron Grover of Business Week writes about the Big Ten Network and NFL Network battles with cable.

Ryan White of the Oregonian is miffed he can’t see tonight’s contest.

Taking a breather from the NFL Network vs. Cable dispute, we find out that Hannah Storm, former NBC Sports host and now co-host of The Early Show on CBS, is leaving TES for another post within CBS News, or so she’s been promised.

David Whitely of the Orlando Sentinel asks Comcast to come to Orlando to compete with Bright House so Magic fans can see the 35 games on FSN Florida. Bright House does not carry FSN and apparently Comcast which does not have a license in Orlando does.

That’s it for now. Back later.

Primetime Viewing Picks

College Basketball/NC State at Michigan State – ESPN, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/UMass at Syracuse – ESPN Classic, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Boston College at Michigan – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Illinois at Maryland – ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.
Shrek the Halls – ABC, 8 p.m.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 40th Anniversary Special Edition – ABC, 8:30 p.m.
Hotel Babylon – BBC America, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/North Carolina at Ohio State – ESPN, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Alabama at Texas A&M – ESPNU, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Virginia Tech at Penn State – ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.
Inside the NFL – HBO, 10 p.m.

Hump Day Links

Yes, Wednesday is Hump Day and tomorrow, the weekend will be in sight. Once again the links are late because I keep getting phone calls and I can’t get to checking out the net for you. Let’s get to them now.

IT’S A FINAL!!!! Erin Andrews is the winner of Playboy’s America’s Sexiest Sportscaster 2 poll.

From Boston Sports Media Watch, John Molori in his Media Blitz blog talks to long-time Boston Celtics play-by-play man Mike Gorman.

The Sports Media Watch blog has stuff from ESPN about the college football ratings from the recent holiday weekend. Also, Paulsen has the TV ratings from the weekend. And he has a commentary on the coverage of the Sean Taylor story.

Ferd Lewis of the Honolulu Advertiser says the Hawaii-Boise State game last week did well for ESPN.

From Awful Announcing, we get a video clip of ESPN’s John Clayton suddenly appearing on the Sean Taylor press conference. And we get the blog’s take on CSTV not sending announcers to a college hockey game despite being less than a mile from Madison Square Garden.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell remembers Dr. Robert Cade, the inventor of Gatorade.

Let’s go over to the NFL Network as the big Green Bay-Dallas game approaches. Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune writes that most fans are going to miss out on the game. Christine Daniels in her Sound and Vision column in the Los Angeles Times has a similar story in today’s edition. Todd Milewski of the Capital (WI) Times reports that Madison will be shut out from seeing the game on TV. Also from the Capital Times, Adam Mertz writes that Packer fans in Madison are angry over not being able to see the game. Steve Jagler of the Milwaukee Small Business Times writes that the federal government should not get involved in the NFL Network dispute. Jim Leute of the Janesville (WI) Gazette says the game should be big business for local bars. And Leute writes that Charter Communications customers are shut out of the game as well. Autumn Grooms of the LaCrosse (WI) Tribune also gives locations to watch the game. Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star says the NFL is greedier than the cable providers in this dispute. The President of Time Warner Cable in Wisconsin, Jack Herbert, writes in the Green Bay Press-Gazette that the NFL is holding fans and big games hostage. From Texas, Alison Beshur of the Kerrville Daily Times says local Cowboys fans are angry about being shut out as well.

Another story from Ed Sherman from the Chicago Tribune. This concerns the Blackhawks coming to an agreement with Comcast SportsNet to air four more home games this season. The Chicago Sun-Times has the press release from Comcast SportsNet.

John Tomase of the Boston Herald says the Kraft family which owns the New England Patriots and a TV production company, has signed an agreement to produce six Massachusetts high school Super Bowl games for Comcast SportsNet and TV38 in Boston.

Alex Woodson of the Hollywood Reporter says HBO will show a series of short films based on some NFL superfans on cell phones and its website.

A lot of links for you today. I’ll be back later.

For Those of You Who Care….

Race car driver Helio Castroneves and professional dance partner Julianne Hough have won Dancing with the Stars. Now kill this show, please.

It’s a Tuesday Night Linkfest

Let’s check out the linkage for tonight.

Starting out with Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner in his Watch This! blog, he reviews the local coverage on radio, cable and local over the air TV of the Sean Taylor story.

A couple of things from Newsday’s Neil Best in his blog. First, he tells us that Mets radio announcer Tom McCarthy is leaving after two years to return to the Phillies radio booth. And he goes over the very poor commentary from Mike Francesca and Chris Russo on WFAN today on Sean Taylor.

Over on his Farther Off the Wall blog, Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News goes over the alternatives for NFL fans without the NFL Network to catch the Green Bay-Dallas game this Thursday. Meanwhile, fans in Green Bay will be able to watch the game on the CBS affiliate in town.

And here’s an NFL Media press release on the web feature on NFL.com allowing fans to see live cut-ins of the Green Bay-Dallas game this Thursday.

“NFL.COM LIVE: THURSDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”

FEATURES “LIVE LOOK-INS” OF NFL NETWORK GAMES

First-Ever Widely Available Live Online and Wireless

Video NFL Game Coverage in U.S. on NFL.com and Sprint

NFL Network’s Packers-Cowboys Game Thursday at 8:00 PM ET

For the first time ever, NFL.com and NFL Mobile on Sprint offer all fans live online and wireless video coverage of NFL Network games, it was announced today.

This Thursday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys on NFL Network at 8:00 pm ET will be featured on NFL.com Live: Thursday and Saturday Night Football presented by Sprint, offering NFL fans a unique way to experience NFL games.

For fans who don’t have NFL Network, the live broadband broadcast covers the game from all angles. NFL.com Live: Thursday Night Football will be anchored by a live, originally produced video program, complimented by various interactive applications, giving fans a look at NFL Network games (NFL Network game schedule below) and programming.

NFL.com Live is also available to fans on the go via NFL Mobile on Sprint, which will stream NFL.com’s video coverage.

The video program consists of live look-ins, a live studio show, and featured NFL Network programming:

· “Live Look-Ins” – Fans will get a live look at NFL Network game action at :15 and :45 past each hour and during select action in the “red zone” (inside 20-yard line). The NFL Network halftime show will also be shown on NFL.com.

· Live In-Studio Programming – Includes game highlights, analysis and previews of the NFL games ahead that week, in-studio guests, conversations with NFL Network talent on-site at the game, and answers to questions submitted by fans on NFL.com.

· Featured NFL Network Programming – Segments of NFL Network programs reviewing the previous weekend’s games and previewing upcoming action.

NFL Network’s DERRIN HORTON, JAMIE DUKES and ROD WOODSON quarterback the live NFL.com video coverage of NFL Network games from the network’s Culver City, CA studios.

Additional interactive features will enhance NFL.com’s live video program:

· Submit a Question – Select fan questions submitted on NFL.com will be answered by NFL Network analysts.

· Live Statistics – Real-time statistical updates accompany the video program.

· “Call the Play” – Fans can match their play calls with the teams, by “predicting” the upcoming play.

· Live Blogging – NFL.com and NFL Network experts – including those on-site at the game – provide live analysis and commentary.

· “Get NFL Network” – Allows users who want to get NFL Network to find information on how to get it.

“Our coverage complements the complete game telecast on NFL Network and will showcase everything NFL Network has to offer,” said NFL Senior Vice President of Digital Media BRIAN ROLAPP. “

As for all other NFL games, NFL.com will include live statistics and drive charts in Game Center, highlights, and extensive editorial coverage of NFL Network games.

NFL.com, the most popular sports league website, is produced by the NFL.

Andrew Krukowski of TV Week has a feature on the new NFL Network ads featuring former 49er great, Joe Montana.

Friend of Fang’s Bites, David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch talks with the outgoing Red Sox Director of Public Relations, Dr. Charles Steinberg, who’s leaving for a similar post with the Los Angeles Dodgers. One side note in his story, Scott speculates on the fate of Red Sox announcing butcher and Fang’s Bites target, Glenn Geffner. And another Friend of Fang’s Bites, LC over at 38Cliches wonders what the Steinberg move will mean for Goofner. Personally, I don’t think Goofie would go to LA right away as the Dodger radio booth is full for now (Vin Scully, Charley Steiner and Rick Monday), but as former St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Joaquin Andujar once said, “youneverknow”.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at the Alex Rodriguez contract with the Yankees and wonders if the team could ever collect its money back as A-Rod gets closer to Barry Bonds’ home run record.

Gina Keating of Reuters reports from the Reuters Media Summit that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NASCAR Chairman Brian France feel ESPN has much to improve upon.

The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager in his Medium Well blog looks at a poll conducted by the Sports Business Journal of its readership on its favorite sportscasters and sports shows. The results may surprise you.

And that’s it for tonight. See you tomorrow.

Primetime Viewing Picks

NBA/Boston at Cleveland – Comcast SportsNet New England – 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Georgia Tech at Indiana – ESPN, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Minnesota at Florida State – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
NHL/Calgary at Detroit – Versus, 7 p.m.
NHL/Montreal at Toronto – TSN/NHL Center Ice, 7:30 p.m.
College Basketball/Northwestern at Virginia – ESPNU, 8 p.m.
A Charlie Brown Christmas – ABC, 8 p.m.
Bones – Fox, 8 p.m.
House – Fox, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Wisconsin at Duke – ESPN, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Purdue at Clemson – ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.
NHL/Anaheim at Vancouver – TSN/NHL Center Ice, 10 p.m.
Sports Unfiltered with Dennis Miller – Versus, 10 p.m.

Tuesday Afternoon Update

Here’s a few more links on this afternoon.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks with NBC/NFL Network’s Cris Collinsworth about his visit with the Packers during the preseason to advise them about the media.

The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron wonders if Texans give the Texas A&M program too much credence after watching Fox NFL Sunday’s Grumpy Old Coaches segment discussing the school.

Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post gets on ESPN for its coverage or lack of on the Sean Taylor story.

David Hayes from the Kansas City Star writes about the NFL agreement with Sprint to put NFL Network games live on the cellular service provider’s phones.

John Ryan in the San Jose Mercury News writes in his Morning Buzz blog that NBC made the right move in not flexing the Eagles-Pats game from last Sunday night. And Ryan says ESPN is singlehandedly trying to save the magazine industry.

Mason Levinson of Bloomberg writes about the great ratings for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Paul Gough of the Hollywood Reporter reports that 18.3 million people watched all or part of the Sunday Night game.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes in his blog that John Madden was dead on in his analysis of Sunday Night’s Eagles-Pats game on NBC. Also from Multichannel, R. Thomas Umstead says HBO PPV has set February 16 as the date for the rematch of current middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik and former champ Jermain Taylor.

My computer is acting up on me so I’ll end the links here and do an update later tonight. Primetime Viewing Picks, provided my computer is up to it, is up next.

Here Are The Tuesday Links

The links are up late as I had to be in another location this morning and someone came to my office. I hate when routines are thrown off, but I give you the links now.

Neil Best of Newsday chronicles his time spent Sunday at NBC with the Football Night in America studio crew. In his blog, Best follows up his column with some comments made by NBC’s Tiki Barber about his former teammate, Giants QB Eli Manning. Best tells us that CSTV cut corners for its broadcast of last Saturday’s Cornell-Boston University game at Madison Square Garden. And Best links to an article done by College Hockey News about CSTV.

From the Sports Media Watch blog, Paulsen has a couple of entries including one on the ratings of the college football games during the Thanksgiving Day weekend. And the other is on the record overnight ratings for Sunday Night Football.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at the ratings for some of the weekend sporting events.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner says the biggest game of the NFC is this Thursday on the NFL Network, but won’t be seen in most homes.

In the Los Angeles Times, Larry Stewart in the Morning Briefing goes over a few things like Sunday’s Eagles-Pats game and a faux pas committed by CBS’ Steve Beuerlein.

For those who have Sirius Satellite Radio and are fans of NASCAR, the Orbitcast blog has the schedule for live broadcasts during Champions Week.

Jessica Kerman of the Anderson (IN) Herald-Bulletin writes that an Indiana legislator wants the NFL Network and the cable companies to cut a deal. Kerman writes incorrectly that the NFL Network is owned by ESPN. Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) writes in the Milwaukee Small Business Times that the FCC should get involved in the NFL Network-cable dispute. Dennis Grall of the Escanaba (MI) says the NFL Network dispute has even hit the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Sinead Carew of Reuters says NFL Network games will be made available on Sprint cell phones. Nick Dettman in the Michigan City (IN) News-Dispatch says the NFL Network dispute is going nowhere. Darnell Mayberry of the Daily Oklahoman says the Green Bay-Dallas game will be the best game no one ever sees. Mike Copeland in the Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald says local fans are scrambling to see Thursday’s Packers-Cowboys game. And Evan Mohl of the Killeen (TX) Daily Herald writes that local cable won’t be picking up the NFL Network in time for Thursday’s game.

LaMond Pope of the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette says there’s little progress in getting the Big Ten Network on state cable systems. Also in the Journal Gazette, Mark Schultz says Comcast is greedy by shutting out its subscribers from the Big Ten Network.

Continuing on with another sports channel-cable dispute, the Orlando Sentinel says in an editorial that Bright House cable and Fox Sports Net Florida should resolve its battle.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that FSN Ohio and Sports Time Ohio have expressed interest in airing the Cleveland Arena Football League team’s games.

The Daily Oklahoman notes that the ratings for the annual Bedlam rivalry game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were down again.

Eric Fisher of the Business First of Buffalo newspaper says the NHL has struck a deal with Verizon Wireless to put highlights on its cell phones for a monthly fee.

In his Baltimore Sun blog, columnist David Steele is saddened by the speculation of sports radio talk show hosts in regards to the tragic Sean Taylor story.

CBS Sports will air a one hour special on some celebrity ski event that only those participating care about.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the Grey Cup on CBC drew big ratings despite having small markets teams. CBC Sports says 3.3 million people watched part or all of the Grey Cup.

We’ve always been intrigued by Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane ever since she wrote that saucy e-mail to NFL Network host Rich Eisen that was intercepted by his wife, Suzy Shuster. She had been going out with WCBS news anchor Chris Wragge. Now she’s apparently going out with Friend of Howard Stern, Chris Booker, morning DJ for Q102. I’m still hoping someone leaks those swimsuit pics she sent to Rich back in May.

Those are the links for now.

The Amazing Race – Ep. 4, "Let’s Name Our Chicken Phil"

A day late with his recap, only because I was working on the Ep. 1 recap of the Amazing Race Asia. Let’s go.

Eight teams remain after last week’s elimination of Marianna & Julia. We begin in the village of Bingo in the developing West African nation of Burkina Faso, the third pit stop in this season’s race.

Siblings Azaria & Hendekea who were the first to arrive at the pit stop, will be the first depart at 7:58 a.m. They find they will walk along a marked path to a nearby village and find a tribal chief who will not only give the teams their next clue, but a gift as well. They will get no money for this leg of the race.

As I mentioned last week, I like the siblings, but at the same time, I don’t like the way Azaria treats his sister. He tries to get her to walk or run faster. She’s a peanut, but Hendekea has proven she can more than hold her own. Azaria had the audacity to say “she has physical limitations and all that.” To which Hendekea replies, “Physical limitations, like I’m a retard or something.” Retard was bleeped out, but we know what she’s talking about. Azaria says, “Well, you know what I mean.” Hendekea fires back, “Like I’ve got a gimp leg.” Azaria really underestimates his sister.

Anyway, they find the Tribal Chief and he shows them their gift, a chicken which each team must catch on their own, put it into a netted bag and take it with them throughout this leg of the race to show respect to the Tribal Chief. No chicken, no check in. And they get their next clue.

Teams must take a taxi approximately 100 miles and go to the town of Bouda Pelegtanga where they will search for their next clue.

Once inside the taxi, Azaria asks, “What can I do to help you move faster?”

To which Hendekea responds, “I’m going as fast as I can, I’m telling you.” Really nice, Azaria. This is going to be your downfall. Don’t dis your sister because your sister will dis you back. I know this having two sisters of my own. And the racing gods will come down on you. Maybe not in this leg, but in the future, so be careful.

TK & Rachel are second out of the pit stop deciding not to get overemotional or too worked up. They’re followed by Nathan & Jennifer who are feeling confident after finishing in the top 3 in the last two legs.

Goths Kynt & Vyxsin are 4th out of the pit stop. They have not only surprised me with the way they’ve finished in each leg, but also with their genuine loving attitude. They’ve won me over big time. And they’ll do more in this leg to justify that.

Marianna & Julia’s favorites (if you’ve read their interviews over this past week, you’ll get that reference) Ronald & Christina are 5th out of the gate. Ronald toned down his behavior in the last leg, partly having to do with his hernia, but also knowing that yelling at Christina doesn’t help. And Christina pledges to be more patient with her dad.

Next are Nicolas & Donald who just crack me up. Actually, Donald cracks me up. Nicolas annoys me and you’ll see why as you read on.

Teams are gathering at the Tribal Chief getting their chickens. As instructed, they’re taking them in the bag. TK & Rachel are having fun with theirs. Rachel is trying to avoid it as TK swings it over to her arm. You can see that this is one of the teams to root for as they have a good attitude throughout this race. Some I know have compared them to my all-time favorite team, Kris & Jon from TAR6. They’re not quite there with me yet. But I do like them and they don’t fight unlike Nathan & Jen or Lorena & Jason.

Back with the Tribal Chief, teams for the most part are gathering their gift chickens without too much trouble. I do notice that while teams like the Goths and Ronald & Christina are working together to get their fowl, Nicolas hangs back and lets elderly Donald get his chicken. Nothing like helping your grandfather, Nick. And this is just the beginning.

Next to last out of the gate are blonds Shana & Jennifer. Last week, they came out really bad when they made their selling people for money comment as they arrived in Ouagadougou. This week, they get the villain edit again and for good reason. They reach the Tribal Chief and when they realize they have to catch the chicken themselves, Jennifer makes this really scrunched up face.

I notice when she’s irritated or bewildered, she scrunches up her forehead or nose. It’s kind of funny. Not as funny as the Jennifer Death Stare to Nathan as we get to look at it again, but close. I will use any excuse I can get to post the Jennifer Death Stare.

Anyway, the blonds get their chicken and Jennifer asks Shana what they should name it. Shana responds, “Let’s name our chicken, Phil.” And there you have the title of this episode.

Over to Bouda Pelegtanga, Azaria & Hendekea are the first to arrive. But before they can search for their clue, Hendekea has to make a pit stop of her own. This is where I truly do feel for Azaria, but when you gotta go, you gotta go and Hendekea had to go. Nothing you can do.

And the other teams quickly arrived, one by one and Nathan & Jen were the first to find their the clue box. There, they find the Detour for this leg of the race, a common African trade, Shake Your Pan or a common African art form, Shake Your Booty.

In Shake Your Pan, teams must go into a gold mining pit and use the local panning method to mine at least one ounce of gold which they can trade for their next clue. The task is physical, but the weighing is objective so teams with muscle can find themselves making up a lot of time.

In Shake Your Booty, teams must learn a traditional tribal dance, then they will perform the dance for a panel of local celebrities, but they also must include their own creative dance moves. If the judges are impressed, they will receive their next clue. However, if the judges aren’t impressed, the team will incur a 10 minute time penalty. This task is not physically demanding, but the judging is subjective and teams who can’t dance will lose time.

Jennifer who is a dancer with the Los Angeles Clippers (I can make a joke about their historically woeful performance here, but I won’t), decides to take Nathan to Shake Your Booty. TK & Rachel also decide to dance as do Azaria & Hendekea as she finishes her bathroom break.

The very last team to depart from the pit stop, almost three hours after Azaria & Hendekea are Lorena & Jason. Stuck behind the 8 ball, they never really dig themselves out, but before we get to that, we have the leg to get to. Lorena says unlike the previous leg where she had her classic meltdown, she’ll keep it cool today and hopefully they’ll move to the front. Jason says he won’t give up and that’s a good attitude to have. Although this team has had some classic blowups, they seem to be quite happy with each other and that’s half the battle.

Over to the dance detour, Nathan & Jen pick a dancer and they study his moves. TK & Rachel look over what they have to do and quickly decide to do the Shake Your Pan detour instead. Azaria & Hendekea are studying the moves and go for the dance.

Jen tries to teach Nathan the dance moves, but he doesn’t understand the lingo. But he seems to get the hang of the moves so they go first in front of the judges. After basically repeating what was shown to them and not doing any moves of their own, the panel looks at them and gives Nathan & Jen six thumbs down. Thus, they received the 10 minute penalty. Jen really was discouraged being a dancer and she knew she was going to hear it when she got back home.

Nicolas & Donald decided to do the mining as gramps had done some mining in the past. He really rocks.

Ronald & Christina opted to do the dance as she described her dad as “a wild dancer”, but translating that to the panel would be tough.

Nicolas & Donald reach the mining station and when Nick sees the water in the pit, he asks his grandfather to go in because he doesn’t want to get his shoes wet. Way go to, Nicolas. I believe in all of the physical tasks, 60+ years Donald has had to do them. You can’t be Flo and not do any, Nicolas. Don’t depend on dear ol’ granddad all of the time.

Over to the Lords of the Dance, it’s Azaria & Hendekea’s turn. They get applause as they do their moves for the judges and they get almost immediate approval. And they get their next clue.

Teams will have to make their way on foot through the village and find Pelegtanga Market where they will get their next clue and they find a new twist will be waiting for them, the Dreaded U-Turn.

As Phil tells us, this is first of only two U-Turns in this race.

A U-Turn is usually found at the end of a Detour. Teams can use the U-Turn to force another team to turn around and do the Detour that they previously did not complete. However, once they use the U-Turn, they cannot use it again so teams must decide when would be the best time to use it. Azaria & Hendekea reach the market first and decide not to use the U-Turn.

They then get their next clue and find they must take their taxi to the Tampouy Goat Market where they will find their next clue.

We cut to TK & Rachel who are woefully lost on their way to the mining pit. Nicolas & Donald are breezing through Shake Your Pan. They find the gold and decide to get it weighed. And indeed they have enough gold to get their next clue. Of course, Nicolas has to say, “That was pretty easy.” Yeah, for you.

Then we see Ronald & Christina at the dance where they try to impress the judges. After doing some strange moves, they are met with silence. And they are told their free creativity is not very good so they are slapped with a ten minute penalty and must wait on the side while Kynt & Vyxsin are next in line.

TK & Rachel finally arrive at the mining area as Nicolas & Donald are leaving. She doesn’t understand why they finished so quickly, but then again, it appeared TK & Rach were wandering for a while. But the time Nicolas & Donald made up in the mining pits will be lost when they go off the beaten path to find the clue box.

At the U-Turn, Nathan & Jen are happy they won’t be doing the other task and decide not to use it. Jen says, “We’re going to win this race like frickin men.” Ok.

Shana & Jennifer finally arrive at the Detour clue box and go for the dance. Good move on their part. And Lorena & Jason are heading to the town of Bouda Pelegtanga well back in the pack.

TK & Rachel are having a hard time doing the mining as he’s just finding mud.

Over at the dance detour, Kynt & Vyxsin are up and he declares he’s going to improv. This task is right up Kynt’s alley as he basically takes over while Vyxsin takes a back seat. And he does so well that the crowd is wowed by their performance and the judges are too. As Kynt says, no one is going to beat them in a dance competition. The Goths get their next clue and are off to the market where they decide not to U-Turn anybody (I’m tempted to write “Yield” and I’m glad to see this feature out of the race as all it did was to piss off other teams).

Kynt notes that as Goths, they look like Aliens dropped from the sky, but they’re amazed at the warmth and friendliness of the African people. Of course, they’re being nice back and they’re being treated the way they want to be treated. Did I say that I love this team?

Ronald & Christina finally get their clue after the 10 minute wait and they choose not to use the U-Turn as well.

Nicolas & Donald lose a few places, but they finally find the market and the clue. They also decide not to U-Turn anyone.

TK finally finds the gold and he gets enough to get the next clue.

Shana & Jennifer step up to the plate and they do an interpretive dance started with crawling, then they get up and do a couple of head turns, then a few foot stomps, some gyrations and finally, the big finish. Even in Africa, interpretive dance is a subjective thing, but the judges decide either it was good or they don’t want to see the blonds again so they get their next clue.

So Shana & Jennifer and TK & Rachel are the next ones heading to the U-Turn. This is where we get some much needed drama in this episode.

But the blonds seeing TK & Rachel behind them, think it’s Lorena & Jason and they put the U-Turn on the last place team, not TK & Rachel. Jennifer doesn’t like it and says it’s wrong. Shana says it’s a game. As they paste Lorena & Jason’s picture, they also put up theirs and Shana says, “That’s a real good picture of us.” That’s the least of your worries, girl.

But as TK & Rachel approach the clue box, they’re relieved it wasn’t them. Shana explains they thought they saw Lorena & Jason and fearing that they were a strong team and thinking they were next to last, used the U-Turn. As we all know, Shana couldn’t be more wrong on their placing and the team following them, but that’s Shana. TK said he felt it was the wrong strategic move to make on the blonds part. And he correctly surmised the girls will now have a target on their back for using the U-Turn.

Lorena & Jason finally reach the Detour clue box and they choose to do the dance.

We cut back to the lead teams and as Azaria & Hendekea arrive at the Goat Market, they’re asked, “Who’s ready to do a juggling act?” We’ve reached the Roadblock in which one person of each team has to load a bicycle with an unwieldy amount of supplies including a potentially uncooperative goat tied to a basket.

They’ll then take those supplies and deliver them like local delivery people to a place inside the market to a different specified vendor. They’ll unload their supplies and receive their next clue.

Azaria will take the chance to deliver the supplies. Jen will do the roadblock for her team. It will be a race between the siblings and Nathan & Jen for first place.

Each team will load three African print blankets, a plant, two yellow containers, a bundle of sticks, two tea kettles, two hoops of twine and that one potentially uncooperative goat in a basket onto their bikes. Azaria decides to put the hoops of twine over his head and Nathan barks out instructions to Jen. I felt sorry for the goats as they had to be strapped in. Awwww.

Back to the dance, Lorena & Jason strut their stuff. Lorena says she loves to dance and she says it’s what Puerto Ricans love to do. Jason says he fell in love with her watching her on the dance floor. Ok. Whatever. Move on. They finish and Jason says he feels like he’s on American Idol except it’s in Africa. After a brief consultation, the judges give them their next clue so the last place team is off hoping they can catch the others, but they have the U-Turn waiting for them.

At the Goat Market, Azaria and Jen are getting ready to head off. Azaria finds a local and pushes off. Jen tries to find someone to help, but her lack of knowledge in French hurts her here. And when Nathan yells some more, Jen shushes him telling him that she’s stressing her out. Just give him the Death Stare, Jen and he’ll shut right up. She should have turned around and glared at him. It would have been funny to see.

The next three teams arrive at the Goat Market, Kynt & Vyxsin, Ronald & Christina and Nicolas & Ronald. Not knowing that bikes are involved, Vyxsin chooses to take this Roadblock, Christina will do it for her team and in a total upset, Nicolas decides to do a challenge.

Lorena & Jason finally arrive at the U-Turn and find they’ll have to turn back and do the mining challenge. This for all intents and purposes eliminates them. But they trudge on. Lorena’s pissed and she has every right to be. The blonds mistook TK & Rachel and Lorena & Jason paid the price for it. I’m wondering after watching this episode in its entirety this week how Lorena & Jason will respond in their press interviews. It will be totally interesting to see. And unlike last week, there were no blowups from this team so they were very likable this week. But it’s not time to write that obituary yet.

In the market, Jen & Azaria are neck and neck trying to find that vendor to deliver their supplies. Jennifer said it was total culture shock for her because she didn’t speak French and had a lot of trouble finding her vendor. Azaria finds his specified vendor and starts unloading. He finally gets his next clue which tells him to go to the Pit Stop, the Hotel De Ville.

Located on the outskirts of Ouagadougou, the Hotel De Ville is actually the City Hall and home to the mayor’s office.

Azaria takes the clue and starts running. But he finds that heading back to the Goat Market rather difficult. This begins a theme of teams having difficulty finding their way back to the Goat Market.

Jennifer finally finds her vendor, unloads, gets the clue and rushes back to Nathan. It’s a race for 1 and 2 at the pit stop and it’s very close. Both teams get into their taxis and speed (not literally, but figuratively) towards the Hotel De Ville.

At the mining pit, Jason gets dirty and they get enough gold to head out.

Over to the Goat Market, Ronald is speaking Mandarin to Christina, showing signs of the bad Ronald in the second leg. However, Christina tells him to be quiet and he listens this time. Vyxsin is having trouble loading her bicycle and it topples a couple of times forcing her to start over again. Nicolas loads up properly and he heads out. Christina finally is ready and pushes off.

TK & Rachel and the blonds finally arrive at the Goat Market. Rachel and Shana will load their bikes while TK and Jennifer hang back. Jennifer and TK talk about the U-Turn and he tells her he would not have made that decision. Jennifer is looking sad. Jennifer in her confessional says she believes the U-Turn was a grave mistake.

Meanwhile, Lorena & Jason are heading from the mining pits to the Goat Market. They’re not giving up despite the situation they’re in and they actually look lovable here. No, I’m not turning around on them, but I am liking them in this leg of the race.

Back at the bikes, Nicolas is having a hard time finding his vendor. Christina is as well. Vyxsin finally gets her bike going and she sees the garbage piled up on the streets, but on the other hands, kids kept going up to her and took her to the market where she finally gets to unload her supplies. It was very touching to see and Vyxsin was moved by the whole experience.

Rachel is having a bit of trouble tying her supplies down as is Shana. Both are not liking tying up the goats and I wouldn’t either seeing how they were placed in those little laundry baskets.

Over to the race for first where Azaria & Hendekea are being chased by Nathan & Jen. Their taxis finally reach the Hotel De Ville where Phil is waiting. Both teams arrive virtually at the same time. It’s a footrace to the mat! Azaria drops something from his backpack, Nathan tells him, but there’s no stopping.

It’s here where Jen acts very strange. As she’s chasing them, she yells, “Come on, guys! You’ve got first three times!”Hendekea runs right to the mat. Azaria for some reason takes a left turn, but Hendekea yells for him and he gets to the mat with his sister just tenths of a second before Nathan & Jen get there. Wow. Great finish.Phil makes sure both teams have their chicken, because without a chicken, there’s no check in.

And officially, Azaria & Hendekea are in 1st place again, each winners of Yamaha Motorscooters. It’s the second straight time the siblings have won a leg and the third time out of four.

Nathan & Jen? You get 2nd place, but here, Jen starts crying saying “everyone should have their time and they’ve (Azaria & Hendekea) already had their time two times before this .” Meaning that the next time if Azaria & Hendekea are heading for the mat in 1st place, they should step aside so Jen can get in first?

Luckily, Hendekea speaks up. “I love Nate & Jen, but you know, we’re here to go as far as we can go and I didn’t feel comfortable like letting somebody else come in first when I knew we could run and get here first.” Good for you, Hendekea. This is a race. You’re not the Cho brothers or Marianna & Julia. You know to go to the mat and not stop. I really do hope the siblings make it to the Final 3.

On to Shana where she’s having trouble tying her supplies down. Rachel is panicking as well. Nicolas finally reaches his vendor and gets his next clue. Christina is next to find her vendor and gets her clue. Vyxsin sees the conditions and is totally floored. She reaches her vendor and unloads.

Rachel finally is set and heads off to her vendor. Shana is still tying things down. Nicolas returns and he and Donald head out. Christina finds Ronald and they go to their taxi. Vyxsin finally reaches Kynt and they can go.

Vyxsin relays to Kynt what she’s seen and is moved by the experience. After all that, I can understand it. She says the people have been wonderful and even though they don’t have a high standard of living, they’re friendly. She cries on Kynt’s shoulder. Now I usually criticize people for crying on the race, but this is something I totally understand so I give her a pass.

Over to Shana & Rachel. They’re having all types of trouble finding the market and the vendors. They’re not getting help from the locals and both are getting frustrated.

Lorena & Jason are seemingly on the longest taxi ride in the history of The Amazing Race. They appear to be riding their cab for days heading to the Goat Market. While their chances are slim, they still are hopeful that they can pass one team and stay in the race. Jennifer of the blonds was fearful that Lorena & Jason would show up and overtake her.

Back at the pit stop, Nicolas & Donald arrive before Ronald & Christina, but they take that dreaded wrong turn walking out of the taxi and the father-daughter team take 3rd while the grandfather-grandson team are in 4th.

Shana is still looking for her vendor. But Rachel finds hers and gets her next clue. But she gets hopelessly lost while trying to find her way back to TK. Shana finally finds her vendor and heads back. Rachel is walking in alleyways, dirt roads, and has no idea where she is. Shana gets to Jennifer. TK asks if Shana saw Rachel, but she tells him she was following Rachel at one time and then she didn’t see her. Speak English, Shana. Rachel is seen walking in unfamiliar territory saying she has no clue where she is.

Lorena & Jason are heading to the Goat Market and still feeling positive. But teams are slowly, but surely checking in. Kynt & Vyxsin hit the mat in 5th. Phil asks them about the reaction to them and Kynt says the people are amazingly tolerant. Vyxsin could not believe how happy the people were yet having so little. So along with Azaria & Hendekea, I’m hoping Kynt & Vyxsin also make it to the Final 3.

Jason is seen in the World’s Longest Taxi Ride saying he wants to screw over the blonds, but they arrive on the mat in 6th place.

Rachel then asks to see her vendor again and he gives her the direction to go back, something she should have done in the first place. She finally gets back to TK and they head out of the Goat Market well before Lorena & Jason arrive. Rachel said she had no idea where she was, but TK was great about it saying “It’s ok, babe.”

Lorena & Jason arrive at the Goat Market and he loads up his bike while Lorena lovingly looks on. They leave, hopelessly in last. TK & Rachel arrive in 7th as she’s blown away by it.

As Lorena & Jason get back in their taxi, they know they’re putting off the inevitable. He says to her, “We’ll make a million dollars another way.” She smiles knowing that it’s the end to their adventure. She doesn’t want it to end, but Jason is being kind to her and there’s no blowup here, just a lot of hugs and kisses.

They arrive on the mat in 8th and last place and are thus eliminated. Phil asks what their future and Lorena says she wants to stay together with Jason. In her confessional, Lorena says marriage is important to her, but after seeing the conditions in Ouagadougou, she doesn’t have to do it now. She can take it slower.

Jason for his part says he loves Lorena no matter what happens, but there’s a confinement in a marriage that you can’t have when you’re just free. He says being free, you stay in a relationship because you want to stay in it. Ok, tough guy. That’s enough of transcribing that quote.

So our final order of finish:

1. Azaria & Hendekea – First in this year’s race to get a Threepeat and winners of Honda Motorscooters
2. Nathan & Jen
3. Ronald & Christina
4. Nicolas & Donald
5. Kynt & Vyxsin
6. Shana & Jennifer
7. TK & Rachel
8. Lorena & Jason – Philiminated

Next week, Ron takes a nasty spill at the Detour.

And trouble bears down on the blonds. See you next week.

Primetime Viewing Picks

NHL/Boston at Philadelphia – NESN, 7 p.m.
NHL/Buffalo at Washington – Versus, 7 p.m.
College Football/Wake Forest at Iowa – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother – CBS, 8 p.m.
Monday Night Football/Miami at Pittsburgh – ESPN, 8:30 p.m.
Two and a Half Men – CBS, 9 p.m.
Nimrod Nation – Sundance Channel, 9 & 9:30 p.m.

Additional Monday Links

Here are some more links today.

The Sports Media Watch looks into the Packers-Cowboys game on Thursday which be available in at most, 35 million cable and satellite households. Bill Ordine of the Baltimore Sun blogs that it will be hard to find the game this Thursday. The Consumerist blog on cable TV says Comcast is fighting back against the NFL Network.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the betting favorites in both the NFL and college football went down this weekend.

Laura Nachman has some observations on NBC’s production of the Eagles-Patriots game last night.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says Sunday Night Football on NBC had its best ever overnight rating. And zap2it also says the Eagles-Pats game gave NBC the win over CBS in the ratings last night. And NBC has put out a press release on the overnight ratings as well.

Dave Goetzl of the Media Daily News looks at NBC’s flex options for the upcoming weeks of Sunday Night Football.

Rob Amen of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that the Monday Night Football theme is as synonymous with the broadcast as Howard Cosell.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star writes that CBC had a good sendoff for its last Grey Cup. William Houston in the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that CBC’s last CFL broadcast was worthy of its 55 year history.

ESPN lets us know that there will be a roast of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in Atlantic City on January 11.

That’s it for now. I’ll have the Amazing Race Ep. 4 recap later tonight. Primetime Viewing Picks coming up.

Return to Work Links

Time to give you some links as we all get back to work from a holiday weekend.

Starting with USA Today, Michael Hiestand writes about Fox Sports preparing to do the BCS games.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is still in a bad mood and he’s complaining about the length of college football games.

In his Watch This! blog, Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner reviews Sunday’s NFL pregame shows.

Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at the preparation the ESPN Monday Night Football crew undergo for their games.

Plenty of fallout with the Green Bay-Dallas game on the NFL Network this Thursday. Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic says the NFL should not shovel big games to its own NFL Network. Jeff Mullin of the Enid (OK) News and Eagle opines that the fans lose out when the NFL Network has the Dallas Cowboys as is the case this Thursday night. David Bossick of the Chippewa (WI) Herald says there are plenty of things to gripe about with the NFL Network carrying the Packers-Cowboys game. Richard Martin of New West in Montana says the NFL is ripping off the fans.

In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley talks with John Madden about Thursday’s Green Bay-Dallas game.

For those of you who care, the Aspen (CO) Daily Times previews the Winter X Games which will air on the ESPN family of networks in January.

That’s it for now. I’ll have an update later.

The Amazing Race Asia 2 – Ep. 2 Preview

The Amazing Race 12 – Ep. 5 Preview

Again thanks to Rob at the Reality Fan Forum for posting this.

The Amazing Race Asia 2 – Ep. 1 Recap

After finding the video, I can now do a legitimate recap of the first episode of the Amazing Race Asia 2. This was the premiere episode of the second season. It was quite the whirlwind. Let’s get to it now.

We start off in Singapore, the starting line for the race. As usual, lovely establishing shots set the scene for the race. Since we already did a meet the teams post, we can dispense with the introductions of all of the participants.

So all ten teams are getting ready to go. Host Alan Wu explains that the race is split into a number of legs during which everyone will have to complete various challenges on their way to each pit stop. There will be 7 pit stops where teams will be eliminated. And unlike this season of US TAR, there will be some non-elimination legs. Alan warns that this first leg very well may be an elimination leg unlike last season in which the first leg in Kuala Lampur was non-elimination. The first team to cross the finish line will win US$100,000.

Alan gives the signal for the teams to run to their packbacks where their first clue is waiting and they’re off. They all rip open the yellow envelopes and find a picture in which a taxi will have a matching souvenir on its dashboard. Teams must go to the taxi stands within a 300 yard radius of the Asian Civilizations Museum. Immediately, Sophie, of Sophie & Aurelia, who is from Singapore knows where to go. All teams receive $46 for this leg of the race.

Once teams locate the correct taxi with the right souvenir, teams will receive their next clue.

Almost immediately, we get separation of the teams. There’s confusion on where to go. Some teams go right, while others go left. This is like the first leg of TAR12 where teams left the Playboy Mansion in LA confused on where to go.

Friends Paula & Natasha realize they’re going the wrong way and turn around. So do Philippino TV hosts Marc & Rovilson. And almost immediately, this teams mugs for the camera. This will become an annoying trait for this team. They already made an audition tape that was totally over the top. I really hope they’re eliminated soon.

Most of the teams finally realize they’re going the wrong way and go in the right direction. The teams that go the right way quickly find their souvenirs and get their clues. Teams will now have to go to the Merlion at Faber Point, one of Singapore’s best known landmarks. Alan tells us teams may risk taking a lot of time finding their next clue because it’s on top of Mount Faber.

Trailing far behind is Edwin & Monica. Now if you saw Racers Revealed, this team proclaimed itself the Rob & Amber of this race. Edwin was very arrogant in that episode and will do nothing to dispel that notion in this episode. Now I happen to like Rob & Amber and they did nothing to prove that they’re even close to Rob & Amber. Please.

And look at the shirt he’s wearing. It says “0″ to show what he is. A zero. He did nothing in this episode besides whine and complain. Rob may have whined a bit, but he was always thinking. Edwin showed he had nothing. But he did take Monica’s backpack while looking for the taxis. After building themselves up, their performance in this episode was a real disappointment.

Also bringing up the rear were Henry & Terri, the married couple from the Philippines, but at least they were entertaining. They argued and yelled, but Terri was funny during the entire show.

Gym buddies Adrian & Collin managed to find the right taxi and were on their way to Mount Faber. Collin is deaf and he impressed me with his abilities in this episode. But more on them later.

Dancing Moms Ann & Diane get into their cab where Diane takes a moment and breathes a deep breath. There are very few moments in the race where one can do this and Diane takes advantage. I have to say I like these moms.

In the meantime, Terri & Henry and Edwin & Monica can’t find the taxis are way behind. This will cost them at the end.

Over to Mount Faber, sisters Vanessa & Pamela get to the clue box first. Gym buddies Adrian & Collin are next. Muggers Marc & Rovilson are in third close behind. And ex-roomies Sophie & Aurelia are fourth at the clue box.

What the teams just do is take a Nokia N95 GPS system (nice product placement) and guide their taxi driver to the next clue. The GPS barks out instructions (actually, it’s pretty nice) and the drivers follow them to the letter. Collin adeptly points out that “it’s just like you are James Bond 007 in the movies.”

Ann & Diane finally get to Mount Faber, but they lead the second wave heading to the Merlion.

We cut to Marc & Rovilson who are having fun with their GPS. Rovilson is cutting one liners that are not all that funny. Obviously, he’s trying to use TARA to get another TV gig. Stop it. You’re not funny. This is painful to watch. Go away. He says humor is a release and it’s best to use it to laugh at yourself. That’s nice. Laugh away. We the viewer suffer at your expense.

Back with Edwin & Monica, Edwin is fed up of carrying two backpacks and Monica promises to throw away some stuff. Terri & Henry are beginning to show frustration over not finding their taxi.

At Mount Faber, Brett & Kinar are getting out of their cab and finally get to the Merlion. Paula & Natasha are 7th to get their GPS and siblings Daichi & Sawaka are 8th.

The first wave of Vanessa & Pam, Rovilson & Marc and Adrian & Collin all get to their next destination, Suntec City Mall.

They all find the clue about the same time and come to their first Detour of the race, Dare or Stair.

In Dare, teams will go up to the roof of Tower Three at Suntec City in Singapore and Tyrolean Traverse to Tower Four to get their next clue. The towers are 181 meters in height so those with a fear of heights will have trouble with this task.

In Stair, teams must climb 45 floors to the rooftop of Tower 3, then go all the way back down to the lobby and then climb 45 floors of Tower 4 to receive their next clue. While it’s not as frightful as a Tyrolean Traverse, it can be physically demanding and take a long time. All three correctly choose Dare.

On the way up to the rooftop of Tower 3, gym buddies Adrian & Collin outrun Rovilson & Marc surprising the Philippinos. Sisters Vanessa & Pam get to the roof third and will traverse to the Tower 4.

On the bottom, Sophie & Aurelia and Ann & Diane decide to take the Dare. Collin finally pushes off and heads to Tower Four while Adrian pulls the rope to help get him across.

Back at the Museum, our last two teams, Edwin & Monica and Terri & Henry finally find their souvenirs and take their taxis to Mount Faber.

On the roof of Tower Three, Collin is getting close to Tower Four, while Rovilson complains about Marc saying he should have gotten a girl partner. Shut up. RAAAAAAACCCCCCCEEEEEE!!!

Three more teams, siblings Daichi & Sawaka, friends Paula & Natasha and dating couple Brett & Kinar finally make it to Suntec City and they all take Dare.

The teams on top are slowly traversing their way to Tower 4, but they’ve all chosen the correct task.

The last teams finally make it to Mount Faber. Edwin & Monica are 9th with Terri & Henry bringing up the rear.

Meanwhile, the other teams at Suntec City are traversing the Towers without any problems. Daichi says he has a fear of heights, he can’t even go over a small bridge, but he completes the Detour without any complaints.

Rovilson & Marc finish the task first and find that first destination of the race will be their home of the Philippines. They’ll fly to Manila and from the airport, they’ll take a taxi to the Asian Promenade Park, CCP Complex where they will find their next clue.

Now with the last two teams, it’s going to be between Edwin & Monica and Terri & Henry to see who will hit the mat last. Edwin is listening to his GPS and is impatient. Henry is having fun.

Vanessa & Pam are finishing their traverse as are Daichi & Sawaka and Brett & Kinar bring up the rear of this pack.

Over to Singapore Airport with Rovilson & Marc say they want the fastest flight to Paris, France, no, wait! They want to go Manila. Oh, they’re such cut-ups. No, they’re not. They’re already annoying and this is just the first episode. Can you imagine how I’ll feel if they continue deep into the race?

While the 6th, 7th and 8th teams are leaving Suntec City, Edwin & Monica and Terri & Henry are just arriving. Edwin is already fed up that Monica won’t carry her backpack. What exactly did she pack in there? Terri & Henry are arguing and this time, it looks serious. She yells “We’re already dead! Resting!” Both teams find the clue box and decide to do Dare. Nobody does the Stair as they should not.

Somehow, Terri & Henry get a fast elevator and head to the traverse in 9th. The so-called Rob & Amber, Edwin & Monica are dead last. Monica looks into the camera says, “I’m so tired.” Darling, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This is just the first leg.

While this is happening, Sophie & Aurelia and the Dancing Moms get to the airport. And eventually, Pam & Vanessa, Daichi & Sawaka and Brett & Kinar make it as well. Dating couple Brett & Kinar only have three minutes to make it to the gate, but this group all get on the flight out to Manila.

Finally, Terri & Henry and Edwin and Monica make it across and get their clues. Terri & Henry are happy to be going home to Manila. Edwin looks like he doesn’t care. Both teams finally make it to the airport, but find they’re not allowed on the flight to Manila. They will have to take a much later flight, putting them back in the pack. While Henry takes it in stride, Mr. Zero, Edwin tells Monica, “We’re done.” Good attitude, jerkoff.

So eight teams are heading to Manila (ignore the banner for “24″ on the bottom of the pic, that’s AXN doing that, not me). They arrive at the airport in the midst of a heavy rainstorm. But that’s the least of their problems.

The arrogant Rovilson & Marc take a shortcut to the park thinking that the other teams took a longer route. But the smart sisters, Vanessa & Pam ask their driver if he knows another way than taking the highway from Manila to the park and he says yes. So they head off on the backroads and they arrive right after the unfunny TV hosts.

Teams must now find a balut seller in Plaza Miranda where they will have to eat eight balut, a Philippino delicacy. These are believed by the Philippine people to be an aphrodisiac. And they’re so appealing. In essence, these are duck eggs with the fetus inside.

The producers did a nice job in focusing in on one so you could see it in all of its glory.

Looks appealing, huh? Pam & Vanessa a bit grossed out, but they carry on knowing this is a race. Marc says there will be eyes, beak, veins and possibly feathers. Rovilson recoils in the thought. For the first time in this leg, they don’t mug for the camera and it’s refreshing.

Ann & Diane get to the clue box in the rains 3rd quickly followed by Adrian & Collin. Collin is grossed out by the thought of the eggs. Ann & Diane nicely appeal to some tourists for their cab and get it. Brett & Kinar find the clue as well as Japanese siblings Daichi & Sawaka.

Heading to the plaza, Rovilson quickly gets over his revulsion mugs for the camera. He’s not funny. At. All. Pamela tells her sister to think of scrambled eggs. Collin says he’s hungry anyway so he can eat.

Over at the park, Sophie & Aurelia and Paula & Natasha get their clues in 7th and 8th, respectively. Brett explains to Kinar what an aphrodisiac is, “It gives you a bit of a sex drive” and she realizes it, but Brett has to continue, “Like oysters … or tiger penis.” Tiger penis? Kinar says, “Or lamb.” That was a very strange exchange.

At the plaza, sisters Vanessa & Pam get to the Roadblock first and start eating. Rovilson & Marc who thought they had a home court advantage are discouraged to see them eating. I was very happy to see that. And the girls thought the balut actually tasted good. They blew through this task rather easily and were first to get their clue. I was actually applauding as I was watching this. And Rovilson gagged as he tried to swallow one balut. Marc cursed as he saw the girls leave.

The girls got their clue and found they were to go to Fort Santiago, the pit stop for this leg of the race. Alan tells us that Fort Santiago was once a Spanish defense fortress when the Philippines was its colony. It’ll now serve as the 12 hour pit stop for the racers.

As Adrian & Collin get out of their cab, Pam & Vanessa quickly take it and tell the driver to head to Fort Santiago.

Rovilson & Marc finally finish their 8 balut and leave. Adrian & Collin blow through this task and head out third from the plaza. The Dancing Moms are eating their balut when Brett & Kinar arrive.

Rovilson & Marc show their true colors by saying they’re embarrassed to be in second to the girls. Vanessa says the crunchy part of the balut was the beak.

Then we see Sophie & Aurelia in their cab riding to the plaza to eat the balut. Sophie says she tried to explain what embryos were, but Aurelia wasn’t getting it. Then again, Aurelia is French so I’m sure she didn’t quite understand what Sophie was saying, but I just love this look. Finally Sophie tells her it’s a developing baby duck and Aurelia finally gets it, but it seemingly takes a while for the message to get through. I just love the dynamic between these two. These are two strong minded women who just won’t follow the other.

Ann & Diane had a little trouble swallowing the balut. Brett & Kinar tried to think of other things while eating them. Kinar mistakenly tried to drink balut sauce instead of water.

Heading to the pit stop, Rovilson & Marc change transportation on the way to Fort Santiago. They say if the clue says, “Find your way”, they will do everything they can to find their destination. Of course, seeing them in their confessional reeks of arrogance and ego.

Ooh, we’re alpha male TV hosts. Look at us. We’re pretty and we’re funny. Shut up!

Anyway, in the rain, sisters Vanessa & Pam make it Fort Santiago first ahead of the Two Twists and a Twirl Rovilson and Marc.

Seeing Pam & Vanessa finish first made me very happy. And they won the Nokia N95 GPS plus the N73 Mobile Phone for their finish.

And clowns Rovilson & Marc got to the mat, arms raised thinking they finished first, but got the news that they were in second. Couldn’t have happened to nicer guys. Jerks. They said they’ll take it, but knowing how they wanted to finish first in their homeland, it was nice to see Mr. and Mr. Perfect get knocked down a peg.

Back at Manila Airport, Terri & Henry and Edwin & Monica arrive looking for taxis. The married couple find one almost immediately while the so-called Rob & Amber have trouble. They eventually get one, but they’re definitely behind the 8 ball.

Sophie & Aurelia get to the plaza while Brett & Kinar and Dancing Moms Ann & Diane leave in 4th and 5th place respectively. Aurelia digs in as she’s hungry.

Through this entire time, gym buddies Adrian & Collin are having trouble finding a cab. When they do, the driver goes the wrong way and takes them back to Manila Airport. This costs them valuable time and several places.

Daichi & Sawaka are having trouble even finding the plaza and they’re not getting any help from the locals.

Over to Sophie & Aurelia, Aurelia is having a fun time, eating, talking, chewing and swallowing seemingly all at once. This is so funny. Aurelia asks for water so she can wash down the balut and when she’s finished, she asks for dessert. I was in hysterics! Sophie, if you’re reading, I can tell you were so focused on the race and were a little frustrated over Aurelia having fun and talking while you were eating. I look forward to seeing more of them down the line. They leave the plaza in 6th place (despite being labeled in 7th place by the producers). In their confessional, Sophie says she hopes at the end of the day Aurelia will be knackered so she’ll talk less. I love these two.

Childhood friends Paula & Natasha who started the race wearing shorts and were still wearing them as they get to the plaza realizing they should have worn something else. Daichi & Sawaka finally get to the plaza and find the girls still eating their balut.

Back at the park, Terri & Henry find their clue while Edwin & Monica are just having all types of trouble. A driver tells them where to go, but Terri & Henry have already taken the clue and are about to head to the plaza.

As they finish the balut, Paula & Natasha are now in 7th and the siblings are close behind in 8th.

At the pit stop, the second all-girl team, Ann & Diane finish in 3rd and dating couple Brett & Kinar are in 4th. Sophie & Aurelia are checked in 5th, another strong finish for an all-female team.

Terri & Henry finally arrive at the plaza and eat the balut. On their way over, Edwin says he’s ready to throw up just thinking about the balut, but Monica says she’s ready to eat, she doesn’t care what’s in the egg. That’s the spirit. It’s not whining, Edwin. Would Rob whine about what he’s going to eat? I don’t think so.

And Terri & Henry leave in 9th place just ahead of Edwin & Monica’s arrival. As they eat, Monica thinks the balut tastes good. However, Terri & Henry have trouble finding a taxi. Terri asks, no, orders Henry to go farther up the road, but he can’t separate from her, but she tells him to go. He kicks the road in frustration.

Paula & Natasha get a good taxi and get to the pitstop in 6th meaning all-female teams finish in the top six, a very strong finish for the girls. Daichi & Sawaka’s driver has no idea where he’s going and gets out to ask for directions costing them time. Adrian & Collin are finally going in the right direction, but what place will they finish? They’ll get to the pitstop in 7th place and Daichi & Sawaka get to the mat in 8th, still in it.

And this picture says it all. Terri & Henri in 9th place, but happy to still be in the race.

However, I was hoping that Edwin & Monica would be eliminated, however, this is a non-elimination leg. But Edwin & Monica are Marked for Elimination meaning they must finish 1st or incur a 30 minute time penalty. I am so hoping to see them eliminated because this team brought nothing to the table after Edwin was so arrogant in the Racers Revealed episode. It’s your time to go Edwin.

So here’s your order of finish:

1. Pam & Vanessa – winners of a Nokia N95 GPS system and a N73 Mobile Phone
2. Rovilson & Marc
3. Ann & Diane
4. Brett & Kinar
5. Sophie & Aurelia
6. Paula & Natasha
7. Adrian & Collin – could have been higher had their driver not taken them to the airport.
8. Daichi & Sawaka
9. Terri & Henri
10. Edwin & Monica – Marked for Elimination

We’ll see how they do next week.

Some Sunday Morning Links

I hope you haven’t been caught in those ridiculous shopping lines this week. I’ve been doing yard work so I don’t have to go. Anyway, let’s do some links.

The Sports Media Watch blog gives the weekend TV ratings predictions.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is in a bad mood again calling the NFL greedy by putting big games on the NFL Network.

One bad thing about the New York Daily News’ web redesign, they don’t allow for a single page option and another, when I try to give you a link to the print page, it doesn’t give me the entire column. That is something the Daily News has to rectify and they’re certainly not servicing the readers. While Bob Raissman complains about the NFL Network being greedy and not serving the fans, his parent company should do something about serving the visitors to the website.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News adds to the line of writers saying the fans lose out in the NFL Network dispute and he’s right.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post says the NFL Network is “Can’t See TV”.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says it’s a risk putting Patriots blowouts in primetime.

Jennifer Thomas of the Centre (PA) Daily Times gives a comparison of cable vs. satellite in the Big Ten Network battle. Niki Kelly and Benjamin Lanka of the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette write that the state legislature may tackle a bill requiring state mediation to get the NFL and Big Ten Networks on cable if the FCC fails to do so.

James Day of the Salem (OR) Statesman Journal writes about Comcast SportsNet not being totally available in Oregon either on non-Comcast systems or satellite TV.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star reviews what was said during College Gameday and the ABC broadcast of the Missouri-Kansas Border War yesterday. And Melodee Hall Blobaum looks at the crowd gathered during the College Gameday broadcast.

Elizabeth Jensen reviews a new series from Sundance Channel called “Nimrod Nation” which grew from ESPN’s 2004 campaign called “Without Sports, Who Would Root for the Nimrods?” Aaron Barnhardt of the KC Star also gives his review. Here’s a review from Michael Giltz of the New York Daily News. And one from Rob Owen in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Steve Wiseman of The State newspaper in South Carolina says the official Bowl Championship Series website allows for dissenting opinions of the format.

In Canada, it’s the biggest football game of the year, the CFL Grey Cup and it also marks the last game for CBC after 55 years as a TV partner. Next year, CTV/TSN will take over the contract. The Canadian Press says today, CBC will celebrate its long partnership.

That’s it. Enjoy your Sunday.

NFL Picks for Week 12

Ok, we started 3-0 for the week. Let’s try to keep the momentum going here.

New Orleans at Carolina – Fox, 1 p.m.
David Carr is starting for the Panthers. Enough said. Saints win, 21-3.

Washington at Tampa Bay – Fox, 1 p.m.
The Redskins played the Cowboys tough. The Bucs’ defense is improved. I like the Pirates of Pewter in this one, 26-23.

Minnesota at New York Giants – Fox, 1 p.m.
Adrian Peterson is out again for the Vikes. The Giants won last week in Detroit. They’ll defeat another NFC North opponent this week, 21-7.

Seattle at St. Louis – Fox, 1 p.m.
I’m crazy. I’m going with the Rams to win their third game in a row. Seattle did beat the Bears last Sunday at home, but on the road, they’re a different team. Take the Rams, 9-0.

Tennessee at Cincinnati – CBS, 1 p.m.
Go with the Titans over a horrible defensive team, 26-13.

Buffalo at Jacksonville – CBS, 1 p.m.
I like the Jags to take this one, 21-17.

Oakland at Kansas City – CBS, 1 p.m.
Why the NFL scheduled a game at Arrowhead Stadium after the Missouri-Kanas game the day before is beyond me. The field is going to be a mess. The Chiefs don’t have a running back now that Priest Holmes has retired. Take the Raiders to get a rare win, 13-3.

Houston at Cleveland – CBS, 1 p.m.
Browns all the way, 31-16.

San Francisco at Arizona – Fox, 4:05 p.m.
The 49ers are a bad football team. The Cards win, 24-14.

Baltimore at San Diego – CBS, 4:15 p.m.
The Chargers get well against the Ravens, 28-7.

Denver at Chicago – CBS, 4:15 p.m.
Denver wins, 23-20.

Philadelphia at New England – NBC, 8:15 p.m.
You’re kidding, right? Pats 23-24 point favorites depending on the Las Vegas bookie. They’ll cover, 48-20.

Miami at Pittsburgh – ESPN, 8:30 p.m., Monday
Miami will probably win one of these days, but not after the Steelers were embarrassed by the Jets. Pittsburgh keeps the Dolphins winless, 29-0.

Saturday Morning Linkage

Time for some links today. Let’s get to them.

First, David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch was supposed to be a guest on Entercom-owned WRKO Friday morning. He has been critical of sister station WEEI and Program Director Jason Wolfe. For some strange reason, WRKO officials put the kybosh on his guest spot at the last minute. Scott has his reaction to the developing story and the lovely Jessica Haslam of the Boston Herald who does a great job covering all things Entercom in Boston has her take on her blog. It’s one thing to reject a guest before he/she comes on, like in the discussion process, but it’s another to invite him/her and then cancel the appearance at the very last minute. Very strange.

Neil Best of Newsday tells us he’s not going to blog this weekend, but also gives some weekend thoughts.

Over to CNBC’s Darren Rovell who writes that there’s a shot that the NFL Network could get wider carriage thanks to two big games on its schedule.

Onto the weekly Saturday media columns now.

Jerry Garcia in the San Antonio Express-News writes an open letter to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Time Warner Cable Chief Programming Officer Melinda Witmer about resolving the NFL Network dispute.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News says local viewers will be able to watch the Green Bay-Dallas game Thursday night even though it’s on the NFL Network and he also talks with ESPN College Gameday analyst Lee Corso.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit about today’s Kansas-Missouri game.

Now to other sports media-related stories today. Rick Dean of the Topeka (KS) Capital-Journal says ESPN did not have the Kansas-Missouri Border War on its radar back in September.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star talks with former Kansas coach Glen Mason, now of the Big Ten Network and ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit about the Border War.

David Knox of the Birmingham News talks with Alabama alum Rece Davis, the excellent college football studio host for ESPN.

Jeff Yates of the Wilton (CT) Bulletin writes that ESPN has been in town to shoot a documentary on the town’s soccer campaign to honor the memory of a soldier killed in Iraq.

Ron Smith of the Brockville Recorder and Times in Canada catches up with Fang’s Bites fav, the lovely Stacey Dales of ESPN. Of course, this is an excuse to post a picture of Stacey.

In an editorial, the Saginaw (MI) News says no one wins in the Big Ten Network vs. Cable dispute. In another editorial, the Baraboo (WI) News Republic says the debate over BTN along with the NFL Network won’t end any time soon.

Up to Canada where Herb Adami of the Ottawa Citizen says viewers of a Senators PPV game were treated to some video and audio problems.

That will do it for now. I’ll have NFL Picks coming up later.

Weekend Viewing Picks

Saturday, November 24
The Skins Game – ABC, 1 p.m.
Every Man a Tiger: The Eddie Robinson Story – NBC, 1:30 p.m.
Cal vs. Stanford: 25 Years Later – Versus, 6 p.m.
NBA/Boston at Charlotte – Comcast SportsNet New England, 7 p.m.
NHL/Toronto at Phoenix – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 7 p.m.
NHL/Philadelphia at Ottawa – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 7 p.m.
NHL/Boston at NY Islanders – NESN, 7 p.m.
NHL/Chicago at Edmonton – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 10 p.m.

Sunday, November 25
The Skins Game – ABC, 3:30 p.m.
60 Minutes – CBS, after NFL, approximately 7:15 p.m.
The Amazing Race 12 – CBS, approximately 8:15 p.m.
Shark – CBS, approximately 10:15 p.m.

College Basketball Viewing Picks (All Times Eastern)

Saturday, November 24
Brown at Northwestern – Big Ten Network, noon
Loyola (IL) at Purdue – Big Ten Network, 2 p.m.
Oakland at Michigan State – Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
Georgia at Wisconsin – Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
Texas vs. Tennessee, Legends Classic Finals – Versus, 7 p.m.
Xavier vs. Indiana, Chicago Invitational Classic Finals – Big Ten Network, 8:30 p.m.
Las Vegas Invitational – ESPN2, 10:30 p.m.
Great Alaskan Shootout – ESPN2, 12:30 a.m.

Sunday, November 25
Old Spice Classic – ESPNU, 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Anaheim Classic – ESPNU, 3:30 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
Old Spice Classic – ESPN2, 4:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Arizona at Kansas – ESPN, 8 p.m.
VMI at Ohio State – Big Ten Network, 8 p.m.
Anaheim Classic – ESPN2, 9 p.m. at 11:30 p.m. (finals)

NFL Viewing Picks for 11/25/07

All Times Eastern
The NFL Today – CBS, noon
New Orleans at Carolina – Fox, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 704/721)
Minnesota at New York Giants – Fox, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 705/722)
Washington at Tampa Bay – Fox, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 707/724)
Houston at Cleveland – CBS, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 709/719)
Buffalo at Jacksonville – CBS, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 710/720)
Denver at Chicago – CBS, 4:15 p.m. (DirecTV channels 712/719)
Football Night in America – NBC, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at New England – NBC, 8:15 p.m.
NFL Gameday – NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.

NFL Coverage Maps
Fox Regional Coverage
CBS Early Games
CBS Late Games

DirecTV Channel Assignments
Sirius Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

Videos of the Week – The Amazing Race Asia 2, Episode 1

Thanks to an anonymous source, I can provide you with the first episode of The Amazing Race Asia 2 which premiered Thursday. I will keep your name in confidence so thanks.

I will recap this episode sometime over the weekend. In the meantime, enjoy. They do have Malaysian subtitles, but you can overlook that.

I already hate Edwin & Monica, the self-proclaimed so-called Rob & Amber of this race. There’s only one Rob & Amber. I like Rob & Amber. I don’t like Edwin & Monica. Please go away. And Marc & Rovilson are a team I don’t like right now. They keep mugging for the camera. Guys? Stop that. Terri and Henry are going to be an entertaining team as long as they’re in the race. Sophie & Aurelia, ex-roommates, have a very funny dynamic going. I hope they stay in for as long as they can.

But watch and enjoy while you can before Sony makes YouTube take it down.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Order of finish
1. Pamela & Vanessa – winners of Nokia N95 & N73 mobile phones and the second consecutive leg that an all-girl team has won (don’t forget about trail blazers Zabrina and Joe Jer)
2. Rovilson & Marc – grrrrrrrrr!
3. Ann & Diane – a strong finish for the moms
4. Brett & Kinar – don’t have a gauge on them yet
5. Sophie & Aurelia – yay!
6. Paula & Natasha – another strong finish for an all-girl team
7. Adrian & Collin – were it not for a wrong turn by a taxi, this team would have been 2nd or 3rd
8. Daichi & Sawaka – definite potential for a Team Who
9. Terri & Henry – got delayed looking for their first clue in Singapore and it cost them time
10. Edwin & Monica – saved by a non-elimination leg. Damn! But they are Marked for Elimination, meaning they must finish 1st or get a 30 minute penalty.