Fang's Bites

HBO Sports Wins Six Sports Emmys

This from HBO Sports. The network has taken home six Emmys for its product. Three were in conjunction with NFL Films, two were for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and there was a single award for the 24/7 series.

Here’s the press release from HBO Sports.

Winners were revealed tonight at the 34^th Annual Sports Emmy^® Awards in New York City.

HBO collected six Sports Emmys Awards. The second most of any single network.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel received two Sports Emmy Awards tonight and has now been honored with 25 Sports Emmy Awards in the program’s history.

The “24/7” reality franchise took home the trophy for Outstanding Editing for the fifth consecutive year.

The Hard Knocks franchise also captured a Sports Emmy for its series featuring the Miami Dolphins.

The Outstanding Sports Documentary Emmy for NAMATH marks the seventh time HBO has captured the award, and the fifth time in the past six years.

Below are the six Sports Emmy Award wins for HBO:

OUTSTANDING SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
NAMATH (with NFL FILMS)

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES/ANTHOLOGY–
REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL           

OUTSTANDING LONG FEATURE
REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL – Steve Gleason: Tragic Hero (Jon Frankel)

OUTSTANDING EDITING
24/7 PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ 4

OUTSTANDING POST PRODUCED AUDIO/SOUND
HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION / DIRECTION / LYRICS
NAMATH (with NFL FILMS) 

HBO captured the second most of any single network:

NBC — 10
HBO — 6
NBC Sports Network — 4
ESPN — 3
MLB Network — 3
TBS — 3
TNT — 3

For a complete list of wins go to www.emmyonline.org/sports

The 34^th Sports Emmy Award winners were revealed May 7, 2013 in New York City at the Frederick P. Rose Hall in the Time Warner Center.

NBC will crow about its Sports Emmy Awards next.

34th Annual Sports Emmy Awards Nominations Announced

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

34th Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network

NETWORK — NOMINATIONS

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

BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM — SERIES NOMINATIONS

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

The nominations are coming after a jump break.
(continue reading…)

Some Wednesday Links

Can you believe it’s Wednesday already? Holiday on Monday makes the work week go faster.

To the linkage which has been too scarce on the site.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at some of the changes on the NFL’s TV partners this season.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal talks about the fierce bidding between Fox and Turner for the MLB TV contract.

Mike Ozanian of Forbes has a video interview with MLB Advanced Media’s Bob Bowman about the company’s video technology which is being used all over the internet.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says CBS Sports is adding an on-air medical consultant to its NFL coverage this season.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says CBS/CBS Sports Network’s coverage of the US Open this past Labor Day Weekend was on the mark.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek tells us that General Motors is all over the NFL season opening game.

Natalie Zmuda from Advertising Age discusses what Pepsi is doing to maximize its branding in a new 10 year contract with the National Football League.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says when it comes to the NFL on TV, it’s all about the money.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report looks at what’s new on NBC’s Sunday Night Football coverage this season.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell looks at the best of Aramark’s NFL stadium food for this season.

The great people at Awful Announcing have started an offshoot site called Awful Advertisements.

Speaking about Awful Announcing, Brad Gagnon talks about former New York Giant Shaun O’Hara joining NFL Network.

At the New York Times, Richard Sandomir notes that SNY analyst Keith Hernandez’s famous mustache is now turning grey and could actually be shaved off!

Newsday’s Neil Best looks at the new Monday Night Football booth for this season.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that a former New York Giants offensive lineman will be joining NFL Network as an analyst.

Pete says local listeners to last Saturday’s Northwestern-Syracuse game were suddenly left in limbo late in the 4th quarter.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette has your Week 2 college football schedule on TV.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says the NFL is back on TV.

Sheil Kapadia of Philadelphia Magazine reports that former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is headed to television.

Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com writes in Press Box that legendary Voice of the University of Maryland sports, Johnny Holliday will be honored in November.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with NBC’s Al Michaels who’s in his 25th year of calling the National Football League’s premier primetime game.

Adam H. Beasley at the Miami Herald recaps the season finale of HBO’s Hard Knocks.

Steve Svekis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel notes that Hard Knocks showed all of the Miami Dolphins’ warts.

Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Tribune likes that the NFL on Fox’s Michael Strahan is joining Kelly Ripa on “Live”.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle has CBS’ Jim Nantz and Phil Simms being bullish on the Texans’ chances this season.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that last Saturday’s OU-UTEP game was the lowest rated Sooners game in five years.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that NBC Sports Radio launched around the country last night, but not in the Queen City.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley looks at Dwayne Wade’s new autobiography.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch notes that Notre Dame football radio analyst Allen Pinkett has been suspended for comments he made about recruiting criminals for the program.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post profiles a long-time local sports radio host.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune tells us what we already know, that the NFL is the king of sports television.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the NHL’s Canadian TV partners have been notoriously silent about the impending lockout.

Sports Media Watch says ESPN has added a former referee to the Monday Night Football lineup.

Dave Kohl of the Broadcast Booth says Fox Sports almost lost its college football opener when its MLB games went long.

That’s going to do it for now.

Hard Knocks Season Finale Airs Tuesday Night

HBO’s Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins ends tomorrow. Other than the Chad Johnson firing and Ryan Tannehill not knowing which teams were in which divisions, this has been a lackluster season for Hard Knocks. That’s not the fault of HBO or NFL Films, they can only show us what they taped, it’s more on the Miami Dolphins, a team that doesn’t have much personality.

So Tuesday will mark the premiere of the season finale and there will be various re-airings throughout the week, plus the episode will be On Demand so you can find ways to catch up.

Here’s the preview from HBO Sports.

HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS
SEASON FINALE

 HBO Sports, in association with NFL Films and the Miami Dolphins, provides an all-access look at what it takes to make it in the National Football League in HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS. Presented in HD, the season finale of the first sports-based reality series – and one of the fastest-turnaround reality series – debuts SEPT. 4 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), followed by an encore presentation at 11:00 p.m., exclusively on HBO.

Episode #5

Debut: TUESDAY, SEPT. 4 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)

Other HBO playdates: Sept. 4 (11:00 p.m.), 5 (3:00 p.m., 1:50 a.m.), 6 (2:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m.), 7 (midnight), 8 (10:15 a.m., 1:30 a.m.), 9 (7:00 a.m.) and 10 (9:30 a.m., 2:45 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Sept. 7 (5:00 p.m.) and 9 (12:10 a.m.)

The pre-season comes to a close as the Dolphins travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys; coaches evaluate players as they prepare for final roster cuts.

A 30-person NFL Films crew lived at the Dolphins’ training camp, shooting up to 1,200 hours of video over the course of the series. Camera and sound crews were given unrestricted access to players’ and coaches’ meeting rooms, training facilities, living quarters and practice fields.

That’s it for this post.

Doing Our Friday Megalinks

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

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

Let’s do the links.

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

East and Mid-Atlantic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

South

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

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

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

Midwest

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

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

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

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

West

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

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

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

Jim says Twitter has become an Olympic event.

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

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

Tom has some Olympic TV notes in his blog.

And those are your supersized megalinks for today.

Checking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Let’s provide some mid-week linkage before I get too busy later on.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily writes that NBC’s overnight rating for Tuesday’s Olympic primetime was up from the comparable night four years ago.

Tripp Mickle of SBJ says NBC is about to set up a set of exhibition beach volleyball matches between the US and China later this year.

In an SBJ podcast, Tripp meets with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch to talk about the media coverage of the 2012 Olympics.

Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter will not complain about NBC’s Olympic coverage.

Daniel Miller of the Reporter says swimmer Ryan Lochte is in discussions to star in his own reality TV show.

Also from the Reporter, Marisa Guthrie has five lessons NBC should learn from the 2012 Games.

Another from the Reporter, a majority of those polled think Ryan Seacrest is doing a good job at the Olympics? Who is being polled?

And finally from the Reporter, Eriq Gardner reports that the NCAA has been ordered to hand over TV licensing revenue documents in a case involving video game manufacturer Electronic Arts which is using likenesses of student-athletes without permission from the athletes themselves.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead has video of Lolo Jones breaking down on the Today Show this morning.

Meanwhile, Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has video of medal winners Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells being rather candid about their opinions on Lolo with Michelle Beadle this morning.

Jen Floyd Engel at FoxSports.com says despite what the media says, this is not the Olympics of the Woman as the media is stating.

Graeme McMillan of Time asks if NBC should offer the Olympics as reality TV or just straight sports?

Joe Posnanski talks with former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol about working his last Olympics for American television, the 2012 London Games.

Reid Cherner of USA Today’s Game On has a look at the upcoming slate of 30 for 30 documentaries.

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated profiles ESPN’s Joe Tessitore who is getting a high profile college football assignment after years of taking on crazy schedules.

SI’s Richard Deitsch has a college football roundtable featuring writers Stewart Mandel, Andy Staples and Holly Anderson on what they expect from the TV side of the sport this season.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says NBC Sports Network is setting viewership records with Olympic programming.

Tim writes that AT&T U-Verse has signed a new agreement to carry NFL Network and RedZone.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the 2012 Olympics are on pace to become the most-watched TV event in US history.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that online sports viewers can tolerate the bombardment of ads seen during the Olympics.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says the Olympics are topping social TV sites like GetGlue, but HBO’s True Blood is showing its reach.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life looks at the winners and losers from broadcasting the Olympics.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says DirecTV may be adding five new channels including one sports network run by Al Jazeera.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report notes that a former Boston Globe college sports columnist is now on his own and got a big scoop this week.

Ed has a couple of NBC Sports-related announcements that have nothing to do with the Olympics.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at NBC’s operations at Olympic Stadium.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell notes that it’s better for sponsors that Michael Phelps remain retired instead of him being an active Olympian.

CBS Radio has officially announced that Scott Zolak will be the radio analyst for New England Patriots games starting this Thursday. He replaces Gino Cappeletti who retired last month.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that NBC is getting a mixed ratings bag for the Olympics from the last few days.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union tells readers where they can find this week’s New York Giants preseason opener.

Pete has ESPN’s schedule of MLB games for most of this month.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that former Jets and Giants coach Bill Parcells will appear on ESPN Radio NY opposite his buddy, WFAN’s Mike Francesa during NFL season.

Ken says NBC Sports Network will have Olympic reruns throughout August.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that ESPN Radio Hack Colin Cowherd is up to his old tricks again.

Eric Deggans from the Tampa Bay Times wonders if the Olympic promos for the NBC’s “Go On” might actually hurt the show in the long run.

Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald looks at last night’s Hard Knock premiere on HBO.

Izzy Gould at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that the Miami Dolphins put the team up for display on Hard Knocks.

Gould says Hard Knocks did not explore the Dolphins’ injuries.

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman says the local NBC affiliate’s ratings are down from 4 years ago.

T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times talks with Vin Scully about calling Sandy Koufax’s perfect game back in 1965.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Scully made a great argument for using instant replay in baseball during an argument on the field Monday night.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says while viewers in the Great White North are complaining about Olympic coverage, the ratings are saying otherwise.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing goes in-depth into the Turner Sports purchase of the Bleacher Report.

Matt Yoder of AA defends Lolo Jones against the very strange media backlash that began over the weekend in the New York Times.

John Koblin of Deadspin writes that even our troops stationed abroad are victims to NBC’s tape delays and can’t watch the Olympics live!

Sports Media Watch says UFC on Fox set yet another record low for mixed martial arts on network TV.

The Big Lead, in a sponsored post, speaks with CBS’ Clark Kellogg.

That is going to do it for today.

Bringing Out Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do some linkage for you on this Tuesday.

Earlier today, actually very early today, I wrote Some Tuesday Olympic Sports Media Thoughts. I hope it makes sense.

Austin Karp of the Sports Business Daily says NBC saw its second drop in the overnight ratings for the 2012 Olympics.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says a new poll finds that Americans want to watch their Olympics live. Well, well, NBC.

Reid Cherner of USA Today has video of someone on Fox News complaining that gold medal-winning gymnast Gabby Douglas and other US Olympic athletes aren’t being patriotic because they aren’t wearing red, white and blue. Did someone really think that was a serious complaint?

Etan Vlessing at the Hollywood Reporter says CTV received its biggest Olympic ratings to date with Usain Bolt’s gold medal-winning performance in the 100 meters dash.

Gary Holmes from MediaPost says Olympic viewers want to see the Games one way. On TV.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says a poll finds a majority pleased with NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. Really?

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News looks at NBC’s Olympic primetime ratings for Sunday.

Mike also delves into the online numbers visiting NBC’s Olympics website.

Jeannine Poggi of Advertising Age explains why Turner Broadcasting purchased the Bleacher Report.

Jeannine says people might be complaining about NBC’s tape delays, but the network and advertisers are benefiting the most.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says NBC’s viewership for the Olympics on Sunday was a triumph for the network.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has video of Vin Scully carefully translating an argument during last night’s Colorado-Los Angeles Dodgers game.

Timothy Burke has a freeze frame of NBC’s Al Michaels. This is so funny.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times goes over the sale of the Bleacher Report to Turner Sports.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes about some of NBC’s Olympic operations being handled out of New York.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says local native Joe Tessitore gets a college football promotion from ESPN.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with local sports anchor Andrew Catalon who called tennis history during the Olympics.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun interviews NBC Olympics director Bucky Gunts.

Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald says the premiere of Hard Knocks with Dolphins is set for tonight.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman goes over ESPN’s college football announcing teams for 2012.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the Olympics continue to do well locally.

The San Diego Union-Tribune says the blackout has been lifted for the Chargers’ preseason opener on Thursday.

Sports Media Watch looks at the UFC on Fox ratings on Saturday.

Guyism notes that Kelly Tilghman created a new country on MSNBC today.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog looks at the media openly rooting during the Olympics.

That will be it for now.

Your First Look at Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins

This from HBO Sports and NFL Films. Check it out.

Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins premieres on HBO in August.

Cranking Out Some Friday Megalinks

Ok, linkage has been really scarce over the last month and a half and I apologize for that. My schedules have been quite busy and it’s been tough to sit down for the time it takes to gather the links. I hope that changes over the next month or so.

I have some National links for you right now. I’ll follow up with more stuff later.

Here are the Weekend Viewing Picks for you.

National

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch speaks with the people at the Poynter Institute who are the ESPN Ombudsman.

Nate Davis at USA Today’s The Huddle has the Miami Dolphins not so enthusiastic about being on Hard Knocks this season.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with ESPN’s Sean McDonough who will undergo brain surgery later this year.

Ira Boudwell of Bloomberg Businessweek says ESPN is getting out of the high school sports business saying it’s not broad enough.

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski says this week’s blowout between David Stern and Jim Rome proves that the NBA Commissioner needs to go.

John Ourand of Sports Business Daily says Fox Sports San Diego is launching an ad campaign against Time Warner Cable which has still not picked up the regional sports network.

Good Morning America’s and former ESPN SportsCenter host Robin Roberts says she will beat the rare blood disorder that will require a bone marrow transplant.

Michael O’Connell of the Hollywood Reporter notes that the NBA Finals are pacing ABC to good ratings this week.

At Broadcasting & Cable, Tim Baysinger writes that this week’s Dream Team documentary gave NBA TV its best viewership ever.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says GolTV scored with this week’s soccer international friendly match between Brazil and Argentina.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life reports that NBC will debut two new sitcoms right smack dab in the middle of the Olympics.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report looks at the geriatric broadcasting team calling the NBA Finals for ESPN Radio.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid notes that even after the winning the Stanley Cup this week, the Los Angeles Kings still aren’t getting respect from the local media.

Former Deadspin editor A.J. Daulerio returns to his former stomping grounds to do a massive takedown of Jay “The Rat” Mariotti.

Also from Deadspin, John Koblin writes that there doesn’t seem to be a clamoring for Erin Andrews beyond ESPN.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says NBA TV and NBA Entertainment are appealing to the hardcore basketball fan for their Finals coverage.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead says Sports Illustrated could be laying off part of its staff.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has tweets from people who hated Chris Berman on the U.S. Open yesterday.

Sports Media Watch notes that this year’s Stanley Cup Final did not resonate with viewers.

SMW also has some various ratings news and notes.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Brooklyn Nets gear is selling very well.

MediaRantz tells us that Sean Salisbury will be getting a new internet radio gig.

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Time for more linkage here.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reports that May was a very good month for sports radio station WEEI as it finished ahead of 98.5 The Sports Hub.

At SB Nation, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch writes about golfer David Duval taking a turn in the broadcast tower at the U.S. Open.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette discusses Johnny Miller holding court for NBC at the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco this week.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with ESPN college baseball analyst Kyle Petersen who will be introducing many Long Islanders to the College World Series today.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after the Yankees for pricing out fans from the “Beautiful People” seats at Yankee Stadium.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY notes that SNY will unveil the all-time Mets team at a gala event on Sunday.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the US Women’s National Soccer Team will be on TV and the web this weekend.

Ken says local Time Warner Cable subscribers will have access to the new Pac-12 Networks this summer.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says NBC Sports Group has announced the 2012 Summer at Saratoga schedule.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union talks with Jim Rome who marks his 16th year in New York’s Capital Region.

Pete says one of harness racing’s famous races changes networks this year.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call profiles a local cable TV sports reporter who is filling a double role this summer.

Keith has more on her in his blog.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes that a decision on the Washington Nationals TV rights has been delayed.

South

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald has some NBA Finals Game 2 postgame reaction as well as Jon Barry saying he’s not a Miami Heat Hater.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Fox Sports Houston was well-prepared and staffed for Wednesday’s perfect game thrown against the Astros by Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman writes that ESPN on ABC was all over the non-foul call against the Thunder’s Kevin Durant during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The Oklahoman rounds up what sports reporters are saying on Twitter about the NBA Finals.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says an all-star high school football game will be shown locally this weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that ESPN is dropping its high school sports operation.

Bob criticizes Jim Rome for his questioning of NBA Communist China Sympathizer David Stern.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says Cubs announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly were silent when comedian Jeff Garlin brought up trading Alfonso Soriano.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin notes the rare occurrence of the U.S. Open and the NBA Finals going head-to-head on TV this Father’s Day.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that viewers of Fox Sports Midwest may need a scorecard to tell who’s in the Cardinals TV booth over the next few days.

Dan notes that next week will mark a decade since the passing of Jack Buck and Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile.

West

Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman says this fall’s Boise State-Southern Mississippi game will get the Fox treatment.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says Utahans are nervous about getting the Pac-12 Networkcomparing it to their experience with the ill-fated the mtn.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that Fox Sports San Diego has set its sights squarely on Time Warner Cable.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star says ESPN’s NBA Countdown show seems to work fine without a host.

Jim talks with NBC’s Johnny Miller about the U.S. Open.

Jim has his weekend viewing picks.

Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times says Game 2 of the NBA Finals drew a good overnight number for ABC.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with former Kings voices about the Stanley Cup victory.

Tom has some more in his blog.

Canada

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin blames both Jim Rome and David Stern for their ugly exchange this week.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog says the NBA and NHL Commissioners are taking it on their chins this week.

And that’s going to do it.

Bringing Out The Thursday Linkage

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

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

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

We have a number of links.

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

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

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

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

To other stories now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that’s going to do it.

HBO & NFL Films Announce Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins

After getting rejected left and right by teams and after a season’s absence, HBO and NFL Films have found a willing partner in the Miami Dolphins for Hard Knocks.

While you might think the Dolphins might be dull after the last edition of Hard Knocks with media darlings, the New York Jets in 2010, you think wrong. With a new coach in Joe Philbin and a potential quarterback controversy and an outspoken owner, the Dolphins might give HBO some juice.

The series will debut on August 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT marking the first time Hard Knocks will premiere on Tuesday each week instead of the customary Wednesday nights.

Let’s take a look at the HBO/NFL Films announcement plus a brand spanking new logo for the series.

HBO SPORTS^®, NFL FILMS AND THE MIAMI DOLPHINS JOIN FORCES FOR A NEW SEASON OF THE ULTIMATE SPORTS REALITY SERIES WHEN HARD KNOCKS:  TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHRONICLING THE RIGORS AND DAILY DEMANDS OF NFL TRAINING CAMP, DEBUTS TUESDAY, AUG. 7, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

HBO Sports, NFL Films and the Miami Dolphins team up for an all-access look at what it takes to make it in the National Football League when HARD KNOCKS:  TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS debuts in August. The first sports-based reality series – and one of the fastest-turnaround reality series – kicks off its five-episode seventh season, presented in HD, TUESDAY, AUG. 7 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Other hour-long episodes debut subsequent Tuesdays at the same time, with an encore play every Wednesday in August at 11:00 p.m., culminating in the Sept. 4 season finale.

“We are delighted that HARD KNOCKS will be returning this summer and placing the spotlight on the Miami Dolphins, a venerable franchise that had an exciting off-season activity,” says Ken Hershman, president, HBO Sports. “This marks the first time that the series has featured a first-year head coach (Joe Philbin) and we are extremely grateful to both Coach Philbin and the entire organization for agreeing to participate. As always, there will be plenty on the line for veterans, free agents and rookies.”

“On the 40^th anniversary of the greatest season in NFL history–Don Shula’s perfect ’72 Dolphins– it is perfectly fitting that Hard Knocks is heading to Miami to capture the start of a new era for one of the league’s proudest teams,” says NFL Films president Steve Sabol. “After Hard Knocks’ hiatus last summer, I know our team at NFL Films can’t wait to get back on the field.”

The cinema verité series will focus on the daily lives and routines of players and coaches as the intriguing Miami Dolphins, who compete in the ultra-competitive AFC East, prepare for the 2012 NFL season. HARD KNOCKS:  TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS will chronicle first year head coach Joe Philbin and an intriguing mix of high-profile veterans, free agents and rookie hopefuls throughout training camp and the preseason. Each week, players will experience drills, meetings and fun, while struggling to prove they have what it takes to make the team and make their mark in the NFL.

“We are excited that the premier company in sports filmmaking history, NFL FILMS, and HBO Sports have chosen the Miami Dolphins to appear on their award-winning series Hard Knocks,” said Joe Philbin, head coach of the Miami Dolphins.  “We are looking forward to connecting with our many fans across the country as the program chronicles our 2012 training camp. The series will highlight the outstanding men who comprise our team and represent our organization admirably, both on and off the field, as they compete for a coveted position on our roster.

“The Miami Dolphins have long been synonymous with success on the filed as evidenced by our five Super Bowl appearances and the only perfect season in NFL history,” added Philbin. “That heritage serves as a constant reminder to our players and staff of the great legacy that has been left for us to uphold. Our team embraces that rich past and looks confidently to the future as we begin this journey back to the top of the NFL.

“All the decisions that have been made this off-season have had one guiding principle — will it help our players and organization reach its full potential? This one is no different. We are convinced that our affiliation with NFL FILMS and HBO will allow football fans everywhere an opportunity to comprehend the significant sacrifices and demands that our players endure each day along their journey in training camp as a Miami Dolphin. We eagerly await the opening of training camp on July 26 and the 2012 NFL regular season that lies ahead of us.”

A 24-person NFL Films crew will live at the Dolphins’ training camp in South Florida, shooting more than 1,000 hours of video over the course of the series. Camera and sound crews will be given unencumbered access to the players’ and coaches’ meeting rooms, training rooms, dormitories and practice fields.

This summer’s edition of Hard Knocks marks the first time the series will premiere on Tuesday nights in prime time; previously the series debuted on Wednesdays.

HARD KNOCKS launched with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, followed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. The series resumed in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs, winning a Sports Emmy^®. In 2008, the series returned to the Dallas Cowboys, receiving a second Sports Emmy^® for production excellence. In 2009 HARD KNOCKS spotlighted the Cincinnati Bengals franchise and the show captured two more Sports Emmy^® Awards for “Outstanding Edited Series/Anthology” and “Outstanding post-produced Sound/Audio.” The most recent season of HARD KNOCKS in 2010 featured the New York Jets and the series captured three Sports Emmys^®, including the trophy for “Outstanding Edited Series/Anthology.”

Rolling Stone noted that Hard Knocks is, “A smash hit series” while Time Magazine called the program, “riveting.”

The New York Post wrote, “Hard Knocks is a hell of a show and it becomes must-see TV for football fans.”

Sports Illustrated.com said Hard Knocks is the “most entertaining reality show on TV.”

The New York Times concluded, “It is a rare glimpse into the psyche of a team,” while The Wall St. Journal notes the show is “captivating television.”

That’s it

Finally Some Friday Megalinks

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

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

Now let’s do your links.

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

East and Mid-Atlantic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Justin has five questions for TNT’s Kenny Smith.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

South

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

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

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

Midwest

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

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

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

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

West

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

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

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

Jim provides his weekend viewing picks.

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

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

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

Canada

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

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

And we are done. Enjoy your sports weekend.

Grinding Out The Monday Linkage

Let’s go for some linkage now.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN and NFL Network have agreed not to show prospects on the phone spoiling the suspense of the NFL Draft.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated goes behind-the-scenes with ESPN and NFL Network as they prepare for their NFL Draft coverage later this week.

Congrats to Jimmy Traina at SI for 10 years of Hot Clicks. The site has been very good to Fang’s Bites since first linking here in 2008.

Patrick Stiegman of ESPN.com writes a guest editorial in Sports Business Journal responding to another guest editorial from last month criticizing the network’s journalism ethics.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com says the Big Ten Conference will have a lot of say at the next BCS meetings thanks to its TV network.

In the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with NBC Sports Network programming chief Jon Miller about the channel’s lowly ratings at its outset.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Ronnie Ramos gives praise to MLB’s social media efforts.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Time Warner Cable has added ESPN and several other sports networks to its mobile and tablet apps.

Sam Laird at Mashable says ESPN is launching a social campaign to determine where the next College GameDay promo will be shot.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life Magazine writes that the NHL’s TV ratings are red hot.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing says it appears that the Atlanta Falcons have turned down HBO to go on Hard Knocks this season.

At Pro Sports Communications, Martine Charles stresses that in a crisis, hiding from the media is the worst thing to do.

Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy wonders if parity in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs could hurt the TV ratings in the long run.

The Connecticut Post says ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sara Walsh will host a business breakfast meeting next month.

Tanzina Vega at the New York Times notes that Jeep has become a USA Basketball sponsor in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post labels Yankees radio voice John Sterling a fraud. Wow.

The New York Post points out that Tennis Channel’s Mayleen Ramey is the new host of SNY’s Beer Money quiz show.

Dr. Doom & Gloom at the New York Daily News says the growing feud between the Giants and Jets is the main reason why Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning was pulled from ESPN Radio NY which is the Jets flagship radio station.

Richard Huff at the Daily News speaks with MLB Network’s Sam Ryan.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union feels Fox’s coverage of Philip Humber’s perfect game on Saturday was flawed.

Greg Connors of the Buffalo News says be prepared for an online Olympic smorgasboard.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that MASN’s Kristina Akra has been doused with Gatorade by the victorious Nationals again. This is three times by my count. In fact, here’s the video of Kristina getting doused with the bucket by Rick Ankiel and Chad Tracy. Good angle from behind the Nats dugout.

Guyism notes the first two Gatorade baths.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN NFL Draft analyst Bill Polian about former Baylor QB Robert Griffin III.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times looks back at the weekend in sports TV.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel says a local sports anchor who’s been taking heat for his reporting of the Magic’s Dwight Howard story this season responded to criticisms.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle links us to his appearance on NPR over the weekend.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune says a new BCS Championship system will be bandied about this week and get a lot of interest from the networks.

Dan Whitney of the Cherokee (IA) Chronicle Times says thanks to NBC’s blanket coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s a fan of hockey again.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post notes the increasing coverage of the NFL Draft.

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

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin says the ratings show that Blue Jays fans are being patient with the team.

Sports Media Watch says NBA TV will produce its own playoff telecasts which is a departure from the last few years.

SMW says Fox garnered good overnight numbers for its Saturday Baseball broadcast thanks to Philip Humber’s perfect game and the Yankees stunning comeback against the Red Sox.

And SMW says the NHL on NBC drew very good ratings over the weekend.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says a Western Conference Semifinal featuring Nashville and Phoenix may not be as disastrous as some observers think.

Joe Favorito has his weekly sports business roundup.

A.T. Faust III at AppAdvice says ESPN’s iPad website fails to take advantage of the tablet’s strengths.

Bike World News says Fox Sports Net will pick up the Tour of Utah cycling race again this year.

And that’s going to do us for today.

Back For Some Linkage

Yesterday, I focused on several press releases before heading out for errands. Today, it’s back to the links.

Daniel Kaplan at Sports Business Journal writes that the NFL wants to set up local zones in Super Bowl host cities similar to what Indianapolis did with a village and zip line this year.

Mike Ozanian of Forbes explores the sale of the San Diego Padres and how it contrasts greatly from the Dodgers sale.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch explores NBC’s plans for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and I liked what I saw during the first night of coverage on Wednesday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News feels NBC’s multiplatform coverage of the NHL postseason should increase ratings and open ad sale opportunities.

John Koblin at Deadspin looks at ESPN’s free agents and handicaps who stays and who goes.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable notes that one company will provide multiscreen coverage of the Olympics to computers.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing writes that HBO is interested in the Atlanta Falcons for the next season of Hard Knocks.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life explores how the NHL is expanding its brand by marketing a 21 foot tall replica of the Stanley Cup in New York’s Times Square.

Writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley says no media outlet is safe from the budget ax.

Karen Hogan at Sports Video Group looks at SNY’s studio renovations.

SVG’s Ken Kerschbaumer tells us how ESPN’s 3D production of The Masters^® has grown over the years.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Masters champion Bubba Watson is bound to be a marketing champion as well.

Ira Kantor at the Boston Herald writes that the Red Sox have chosen Comcast to provide computer networking services at their ballparks.

To Fishbowl NY and Jerry Barmash who says MSG Network saw excellent ratings for the New York Rangers this season.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says MLB Network is looking to gain “exclusive content” for the channel.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says CBS Sports Network airs a special on the Army Spring Football game this weekend.

Laura Nachman says a legendary Philadelphia sportscaster passed away over the weekend.

John F. Morrison of the Philadelphia has the obituary for late sports talk show host Steve Fredericks.

At Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com says Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic plans to expand its Baltimore Ravens offseason coverage.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner has a couple of NHL on NBC analysts handicap the Capitals chances against the defending Stanley Cup Champions Boston Bruins.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that embattled Miami sports radio host Sid Rosenberg has been fired after his latest brush with the law.

And Radio-Info says another embattled sports talk show host takes Rosenberg’s place on his former station.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says a new sports talk show will debut in the market on Monday.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says ESPN’s Skippy Bayless had to backtrack from claims about his high school basketball career on First Take this week.

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says new royals TV analyst Rex “The Wonder Dog” Hudler is hoping to win over fans in his new gig.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that NHL fans will see more postseason games on TV than ever before.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the Broadway play on Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times misses Dodgers voice Vin Scully as he’s had to miss broadcasts due to a cold.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a local sports talk show host who late last year acknowledged he has Parkinson’s Disease now finds himself without a job.

The Chronicle gets the host’s reaction to his firing.

Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News says the firing came as a surprise.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says NBC Sports Network’s NHL ratings are down from last year’s record ratings on Versus.

Martin Charles writes in the Sports PR blog says it’s important for athletes to get media training to understand how to properly handle reporters’ questions.

The Big Lead talks with multi-faceted Julie Alexandria.

And that’s going to do it for now.

Some Really Quick Wednesday Links

I’m going to try to do some Wednesday linkage here. Also have a lot of end of the month/beginning of the month crap to do at work some I’m balancing the two off.

Here are the links that I have for now.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at NBC’s plans to provide live online coverage of the 2012 London Olympics.

At MediaPost, Erik Sass looks at the New York Giants integrating Twitter into its NFL preseason broadcasts.

David Goetzl at MediaPost notes that Fox has had a 51% majority stake in Big Ten Network since last year.

The Associated Press reports that Versus is adding a whole host of original programming to its weeknight lineup.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter also writes about Versus’ new original programming.

Lacey Rose and Lesley Goldberg at the Reporter report that HBO has given the green light for a drama based on boxer Mike Tyson.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable writes that Turner Sports is expanding the exclusive content offerings at NCAA.com.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says CBS Sports Network will air a documentary on the first black college football game played in New York.

To Adweek where Anthony Crupi chronicles how NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus lured former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol back to the company just mere months after he left.

Bill Cromwell at Media Life Magazine discusses how NBC is going to provide everything from track & field to archery live at 2012 London Olympics.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid looks at the sad tenure of Fred Hickman’s days at ESPN.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has the video preview of NFL Films’ documentary on Patriots coach  Bill Belichick.

On this final day for SportsNewser, let me link to a few stories. Marcus Vanderberg writes that former Rutgers player Eric LeGrand will be joining the school’s football broadcasts on radio. You may recall LeGrand was paralyzed last year and hopes to make a full recovery.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser says fans will vote on the next nominee for the Baseball Hall of Fame Ford C. Frick Broadcaster Award.

Back to Marcus, he writes that Southwest Airlines will stream live MLB games to its passengers thanks to its in-flight internet provider. Now back to me.

Now back to SportsNewser where Marcus looks at Sports Illustrated’s Super Bowl picks.

Ok, that’s it for the SportsNewer links. The site will be missed.

Nat Ives of Advertising Age notes that a month-long sponsorship starting tomorrow, will allow the New York Times to open up five sections (including sports) in its iPad app from behind the dreaded paywall.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell couldn’t be more thrilled to be getting his own weekly show on Versus.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette talks about ESPN releasing its Big East and Big Monday basketball schedules.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog talks with former Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic original Russ Thaler about his new gig with Versus/NBC Sports Network.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that the U.S. Open will be well covered on TV and online.

Josh Robbins from the Orlando Sentinel says the Magic’s Gilbert Arenas has shut down his Twitter account.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman notes that a pair of Eastern transplants top the local sports radio ratings.

Mel says NFL preseason again led the local TV ratings.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer has a preview of tonight’s HBO/NFL Films 10 year retrospective on Hard Knocks.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that ESPN’s Jon Gruden isn’t a fan of the new NFL replay rule.

Bob says the digital Sporting News Today has ceased publication.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says the city’s high school football and basketball championships are moving to a new TV home.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says all of the Dodgers’ announcers are coming back for 2012.

Ed Tait and John White of the Winnipeg Free Press says the new Jets have signed a 10 year deal with TSN for both TV and radio.

Sports Media Watch says Hurricane Irene coverage on many local ABC stations cut into NASCAR’s ratings on Saturday.

Deadspin shows a picture of HBO’s Bryant Gumbel being “beaten up” by UFC’s Chuck Liddell and Fox’s Jay Glazer.

Joe Favorito says the hiring of former Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl by a grocery company is a good marketing move.

And we’ll end it there for today.

HBO Sports & NFL Films Celebrate A Decade of “Hard Knocks”

On Wednesday, HBO will air a retrospective looking back at 10 years of “Hard Knocks”, the reality show produced by NFL Films that looks inside various training camps. The show debuted in 2001 with NFL Films going into the Baltimore Ravens training camp with then-coach Brian Billick and linebacker Ray Lewis. The show has evolved into one of the most popular summer series. Last year’s “Hard Knocks” focusing on the New York Jets was the most watched in the history of the series.

The show has focused on the Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys (twice), Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Jets.

We have the joint press release from HBO Sports and NFL Films discussing what you’ll see on the special that premieres on Wednesday and will have multiple re-airs.

HBO SPORTS^® AND NFL FILMS TEAM UP TO PRESENT A SPECIAL EDITION OF THE ULTIMATE SPORTS REALITY SERIES WHEN HARD KNOCKS:  A DECADE OF NFL TRAINING CAMPS DEBUTS WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

Ten years after the debut of the groundbreaking HBO Sports and NFL Films collaboration on the first-ever sports reality program, one of sports television’s most enduring partnerships teams up for an all-new special when HARD KNOCKS: A DECADE OF NFL TRAINING CAMPS debuts WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31 (10:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates:  Aug. 31 (4:05 a.m.) and Sept. 2 (2:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m.), 3 (9:15 a.m., 1:00 a.m.), 5 (2:00 p.m., 1:30 a.m.), 7 (10:00 p.m.), 8 (9:00 a.m., midnight), 11 (9:45 a.m.), 13 (6:30 p.m.) and 16 (6:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Sept. 1 (9:00 a.m.), 6 (1:15 a.m.), 7 (4:30 p.m., 2:35 a.m.), 10 (6:00 a.m., 1:55 a.m.), 13 (1:15 p.m.) and 21 (9:00 p.m.)

One of the fastest-turnaround reality programs on television, the cinema-verité series debuted Aug. 1, 2001 when NFL Films and HBO Sports began chronicling rookies and free agents trying to make an NFL roster as determined veterans fought to keep their jobs at the camp of the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. An instant sensation, the show captured the heat, the hurt, the camaraderie and the humor of an NFL training camp.

In addition to revisiting memorable moments of the teams – Baltimore, Dallas (twice), Kansas City, Cincinnati and New York Jets – that have been featured on the seven-time Emmy^®-winning series, the special includes new interviews with HARD KNOCKS veterans like Brian Billick, Shannon Sharpe, Chad Ochocinco and Rex Ryan, never-before-seen outtakes and a “Where Are They Now?” segment with updates on players from past episodes.  Liev Schreiber narrates.

“We know football fans are hungry for compelling NFL programming and we think they’ll love this HARD KNOCKS special, which will have a host of new wrinkles,” says Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports.

Steve Sabol, president of NFL Films, says, “The first ten years of HARD KNOCKS have been the ultimate fly-on-the-wall NFL training camp experience.  We look forward to taking a look back at those shows and reintroducing the fans to those characters who made the decade of HARD KNOCKS so memorable.”

Embedded in an NFL training camp, the 24-person NFL Films crew would typically shoot more than 1,000 hours of video over the course of each series.  Each year, camera and sound crews were given unencumbered access to the players’ and coaches’ meeting rooms, training rooms, dormitories and practice fields.

HARD KNOCKS launched with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, followed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2002.  The series resumed in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs, winning a Sports Emmy^®.  In 2008, the series revisited the Dallas Cowboys, receiving a second Sports Emmy^®.  In 2009 HARD KNOCKS spotlighted the Cincinnati Bengals and captured two more Sports Emmy^® Awards, for Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology and Outstanding Post Produced Audio/Sound.  In 2010 the show featured the New York Jets and attracted an average of 4.6 million viewers per episode, receiving three Sports Emmys^®, including Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology.

Sports Illustrated.com said HARD KNOCKS is the “most entertaining reality show on TV,” while the St. Petersburg Times observed, “HARD KNOCKS is fascinating television,” and the Wall St. Journal noted that the show “looks great and it sounds great, too.”

That’s all.

No New Hard Knocks This Season, But A 10th Anniversary Special Coming In August

Both HBO Sports and NFL Films announced that due to the NFL lockout, there won’t be a Hard Knocks series for this season, but to help fans get their reality training camp fix, both companies have said that there will be a 10th anniversary show that will air in August. The show has featured the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys (twice), Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets over its previous incarnations. To be honest, several teams had turned down having cameras in their locker rooms this season and I think the season would have had to had been canceled anyway, but the lockout is a nice excuse. We have this joint press release from HBO Sports and NFL Films.

HARD KNOCKS UPDATE: 10th Anniversary Special Set for August 31

HBO Sports^®  and NFL FILMS have announced that the five-episode Hard Knocks reality series will not be presented this summer. The uncertainty of the NFL’s summer schedule and the incredibly expedited timetable this month made it impractical for a team to commit. The series is scheduled to return for 2012 training camp.

However, a special 90-minute edition of Hard Knocks, celebrating the past ten years of the seven-time Emmy^®-Award-winning series will premiere Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, exclusively on HBO.

“We know football fans are hungry for compelling NFL programming and we think they’ll love the 10th anniversary special,” said Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports.

Said Steve Sabol, President of NFL FILMS, “The first 10 years of Hard Knocks has been the ultimate fly-on-the-wall NFL training camp experience. We look forward to taking a look back at those shows and reintroducing the fans to those characters who made the decade of Hard Knocks so memorable.”

The special will combine flashbacks to memorable moments from the Hard Knocks seasons that featured the Baltimore Ravens (2001), Dallas Cowboys (2002 & 2008), Kansas City Chiefs (2007), Cincinnati Bengals (2009) and the New York Jets (2010); a “Where Are They Now?” element; and never-before-seen out-takes and new interviews.

Additional details and the show’s title will be announced in August.

That’s it for this post. One more press release is coming your way.

Trying To Do A Friday Megalink Session

I’m hoping to get this entire Megalink session finished in one sitting. It’s been a crazy day thus far. Of course, all of your weekend sport and entertainment programming are featured in the Weekend Viewing Picks.

Let’s get to the linkage now.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today speaks with noted baseball announcing author Curt Smith who has written another book about the subject.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy has ESPN’s Desmond Howard criticizing the current college athletics system which does not allow for students to get paid.

Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel talks with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott about the details of the conference’s new TV networks.

Mike Barnes of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Golf Channel and CBS will have the honors of airing Tiger Woods’ return to golf next weekend.

Michael Malone at Broadcasting & Cable criticizes WPRI-TV in Providence for recreating golf highlights and passing it off as it actually happened.

Thomas Umstead from Multichannel News says boxing is still a big part of HBO Sports.

Todd Spangler at Multichannel says ESPN will redesign its live streaming site for Xbox 360 users.

Timothy Burke of SportsGrid has the video of Dan Patrick joining old SportsCenter partner Keith Olbermann on Current’s Countdown program to talk about casting the potential ESPN Movie.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser notes that ESPN’s John Clayton still hasn’t grasped this Twitter thing yet.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser writes that Rory McIlroy called out a BBC golf commentator and had quite the Twitter battle.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Knicks and Rangers fans will have the opportunity to see their team’s players go from the court/ice to the locker room and vice versa.

The Big Lead speaks with actor Dan Lauria about bringing his Broadway role of coach Vince Lombardi “home” to Green Bay this weekend.

Sports Media Watch says viewership declined for the last week of Copa América on Univision as glamor teams Brazil and Argentina lost before the semifinal round.

SMW notes that the ratings jumped for the WNBA All-Star Game on ABC last weekend.

Joe Favorito says Baseball’s governing body is now using social media to its advantage.

Bob’s Blitz has an interesting story of a former cameraman and ESPN director who got a lucky cell phone and has been living the life of a celebrity.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing notes that the Pac-12 Networks will further fragment sports on cable.

Overseas, this is big news. John Plunkett of the London Guardian says BBC Sport is letting go of most of its Formula 1 contract and satellite provider Sky Sports will pick up a lion’s share of races starting next year. That would be as if Fox decided to allow DirecTV to take over most of the NASCAR contract.

Ben Gallop of BBC’s motorsports division explains why the decision was made.

East & Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe feels melancholy over the loss of HBO’s Hard Knocks, a victim of the NFL lockout this season.

At SB Nation, Kat Hasenauer Cornetta says women are still trying to get a foothold in the Boston sports media.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Derek Jeter finally opened up a bit in the HBO documentary that premiered this week.

At the New York Post, Phil Mushnick warns to be careful what you wish for in wanting replay review in baseball.

Mike Battaglino of the Post notes that there will be no edition of Hard Knocks this season.

Justin Terranova writes that the NFL TV’s partners were never worried about losing games to the lockout.

A couple of more stories from the Post. Tim Bontemps from the Post says Derek Jeter agreed to do the HBO documentary on his quest for 3,000 hits so his future children could see him at work.

Justin has five questions for the producer of the HBO Jeter documentary.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union writes that the premiere of NBC’s Summer at Saratoga series did quite well.

On Thursday, Pete, the lovely Rachel Cohen of the Associated Press and your humble blogger were invited to ESPN to talk to several of the network’s production staff and then interview Norby Williamson, the network’s Vice President of Studio and Event Production. Pete has a story on that visit.

Pete Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News writes about the contentious relationship between NFL Network and NFL Films.

To the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog and Dan Steinberg who notes that local talk show host John Riggins isn’t optimistic about DC NFL team coach Mike Shanahan’s chances this year.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says MLB Network will be all over the Trading Deadline this weekend.

South

Jared Hunt from the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail profiles CBS golf producer Lance Barrow as he helms the network’s broadcasts of the Greenbrier Classic this weekend.

Cindy Watts of The Tennessean talks about country star Kenny Chesney writing and performing the theme song for a new ESPN series.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says NFL Films founder Ed Sabol is deservedly getting the NFL Films treatment in a new documentary celebrating his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

David talks about the lack of a Hard Knocks series this season.

Rick Cantu and Kirk Bohis of the Austin (TX) American-Statesman says ESPN approached several high schools about putting their games on the Longhorn Network.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman talks with ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit about the upcoming season.

Mel finds the real reason why Herbstreit chose to move his family away from his native Columbus, OH to Tennessee.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema from the Grand Rapids (MI) Press talks with former NFL’er and current TV analyst Ray Bentley about the 1987 NFL strike.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel finds some interesting Brewers anecdotes in the new Curt Smith book.

Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune interviews ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.

Over to the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin where Paul Christian notes that ex-Minnesota Golden Gopher coaches keep finding their way to television.

West

Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune says former Utah Jazz player Matt Harpring has made the successful transition to the TV booth.

John Maffei of the North County Times understands why Mexican government ads must be played on a local sports radio station, but it doesn’t mean he has to like them.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the new batch of ESPN Films documentaries that will be released later this year.

Tom has Fox Sports/MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal still being wary of Twitter.

Tom talks with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott about his whirlwind tenure that has left the league with a pocketful of riches.

Tom has more on the Pac-12 Network announcement aftermath.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says the father of new Blue Jay Colby Ramus is using the local media to blast St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa.

And that will do it for today.

Cranking Out The Sunday Links

Let’s give you some linkage on this Sunday morning. I’m at work again. No rest for the weary here.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser writes that Sports Illustrated’s Peter King broke news this weekend about HBO’s Hard Knocks.

David Whitley of the Sporting News says there’s some hypocrisy in the Big 12′s criticism of the Longhorn Network.

John Taylor at College Football Talk says ESPN.com’s Joe Schad reported a story on a potential LSU violation without giving credit to its original source.

Timothy Burke at SportsGrid has video of NESN’s Jerry Remy trashing Mike Lowell during a commercial break, but knowing Remy during commercial breaks and him knowing that the monitors at Fenway Park can be heard, I’m 100% positive he was joking.

Awful Announcing gathered tweets from people watching Fox Saturday Baseball as Dick Stockton and Thom Brennaman were calling separate games. Let’s just say the reaction wasn’t pretty.

Joe Favorito has some tips for anyone using social media.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe says the Celtics will have a lot of green thanks to its deal with Comcast SportsNet New England.

I’ll break my boycott of Dr. Gloom & Doom, Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News for a week. Today, Gloom & Doom has a story filled with backhanded compliments and vitriol on the successful return of Stephen A. “A is for Angry” Smith to ESPN Radio New York. No quotes from Smith though.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes about college hockey games possibly being aired on Versus.

On this Baseball Hall of Fame Day, Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom states that the HOF is barren without two people who made a huge impact on the game.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner notes that ESPN’s Nicole Briscoe gets a bigger role in the network’s NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage starting next weekend.

Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes about Florida Marlins broadcaster Dave Van Horne being inducted into the broadcaster’s wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend.

Andrew Carter of the Sun Sentinel says the director of the ESPN Films 30 for 30 documentary on Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams plans to film a follow-up.

Berry Tremel of the Daily Oklahoman has former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer weighing in on the Fox Sports/Big 12 alliance.

John Klein of the Tulsa World feels the Longhorn Network controversy is much ado about nothing.

Jeff Korbelik of the Lincoln (NE) Journal-Star writes that the sports radio format is finding its niche in town with a second station launching this week.

Warren Gerds of the Green Bay (WI) Gazette talks about a local reading of “Lombardi” which recently finished its Broadway run, featuring most of the original actors who performed in the play.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the sports calendar for Southern California for the upcoming week.

In the Los Angeles Times, college football writer Chris Dufrense looks at the SEC Media Days event that has become larger-than-life.

Sports Media Watch notes the end of ESPN The Weekend at Walt Disney World.

And that will end the linkage for today.

A Full Tuesday Linkfest! Finally!

For the last week, I haven’t been able to do a full set of links. Work has been crazy, but I hope to give one today. It’s either going to the other office or heading out with the boss to various work sites or head to meetings, but today should be calmer.

I’ve started a series on People You Should Follow on Twitter in response to Sports Illustrated’s list published last week. Part 1 was posted Monday night and Part 2 came out Tuesday night. Look for more installments throughout the week.

Let’s get started.

First, ESPN Ombudsman Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute writes about the ESPN/Bruce Feldman suspension/non-suspension and for some reason, doesn’t do full due diligence on the story.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing does an excellent point-by-point takedown of the Ombudsman’s acceptance of ESPN’s company line on the Feldman suspension.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has graphic evidence of ESPN Radio Hack Colon Cowherd being a complete idiot.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand notes that ESPN is about to fully embrace Twitter and social media.

In the Business of College Sports, Kristi Dosh has a fascinating post on which sports turn a profit for BCS schools and which ones don’t.

Mike Reynolds from Mulitchannel News writes about the Women’s World Cup Final resonating with viewers.

Mike says a marketing firm is looking to package two pre-World Cup Western Hemisphere qualifying tournaments to networks.

Emma Bazilian of Adweek looks at Ross Greenburg’s departure from HBO Sports.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life Magazine goes inside the Women’s World Cup’s stellar ratings.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Jason Fry writes about the marriage between sports and Twitter.

Vinnie Iyer of AOL Sporting News has HBO being optimistic that a new edition of Hard Knocks will be filmed this summer. Thanks to Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser for the link.

Jonathan Wall of Yahoo’s Devil Ball blog critiques ESPN’s coverage of the Open Championship.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall is suing sports apparel manufacturer Champion for dropping him from endorsements after his tweets about Osama bin Laden last month.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe delves into the Boston Celtics buying a large stake into Comcast SportsNet New England.

Roger Catlin at the Hartford Courant says ESPN came out as the real winner of the Women’s World Cup Final.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says ESPN produced a fair and compelling Women’s World Cup Final broadcast.

Richard Huff at the New York Daily News looks at ESPN premiering a Spanish language-edition of E:60.

Michael Blaustein of the New York Post writes that ESPN’s miniature cameras at the World Series of Poker are giving competitors an interesting advantage.

At Fishbowl New York, Jerry Barmash reports that Len Berman is dropping his sports reports on a local radio station and will be replaced by the same man who replaced him at WNBC-TV.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Open Championship final round ratings.

Evan Weiner at the New Jersey Newsroom wonders what the UK phone hacking scandal could mean for News Corp.’s sports partners here in the US.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that NFL Today host James Brown didn’t like how DC NFL team coach Mike Shanahan handled QB Donovan McNabb.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner looks at the ratings for the Women’s World Cup Final.

Travis Sawchik of the Charleston (SC) Post & Courier says lucrative TV contracts have helped to make college football a big business.

Candace Carlisle of the Dallas Business Journal says Fox Sports Southwest has hired a veteran writer from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to beef up its online coverage.

Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle says Texas A&M Regents are concerned over Texas’ Longhorn Network and what it means for the future of the Big 12 Conference.

Ryan Sharp of the Daily Oklahoman writes that Big 12 Conference schools can’t be too happy over the Longhorn Network’s airing of Texas high school football games.

Steven Matthews of the Dayton Daily News says the Western & Southern Open will have plenty of new looks including extensive TV exposure this summer.

Tim Prahl of the Muskego (WI) Patch talks with former MLB Network reporter Trenni Kusnierek about returning home to Milwaukee to co-host a radio show.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business notes two games scheduled for the Chicago Bulls that may never get played.

Kyle Ringo of the Boulder (CO) Daily Camera says the University of Colorado is in a unique position where it can sell the TV rights to its games this season.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times goes over some of the changes in the proposed NFL collective bargaining agreement including a new TV package.

Steve Zeitchik of the Times looks at Ross Greenburg leaving HBO.

Elizabeth Salaam of the San Diego Reader says a recent Facebook poll wasn’t kind to Padres TV voice Dick Enberg.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has some thoughts on various topics.

Sports Media Watch has some news and notes.

And we have some more news and notes from SMW.

Joe Favorito looks at who will benefit when the NFL lockout finally comes to an end.

And there is your full set of links.

NFL Network To Begin Airing “Hard Knocks” With The New York Jets On July 3

On Sunday, NFL Network begins airing the Emmy Award-winning HBO/NFL “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets” this Sunday night following the finale of “The Top 100: Players of 2011″. Then on Monday, NFL Network will run a Hard Knocks marathon to include past seasons of the series which include the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. Then after NFL Networks runs various episodes separately each night, it will air the entire season of the Jets’ Hard Knocks season on Sunday, July 10. Got it? Good.

Here’s the schedule for you.

HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS MAKES NFL NETWORK DEBUT

2010 Emmy Award-Winning Jets ‘Hard Knocks’ Premieres Sunday, July 3 at 11:00 PM ET, Immediately Following Series Finale of ‘The Top 100: Players of 2011’
Daily 9:00 PM ET Primetime Airing of NFL Films-Produced Series Featuring Gang Green July 4-8
July 4th Programming Features Hard Knocks Marathon with Chiefs, Cowboys and Bengals Series Installments

The Emmy Award-winning Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets makes its NFL Network debut Sunday, July 3 at 11:00 PM ET, immediately following the series finale of The Top 100: Players of 2011.

The sixth season of the ‘Hard Knocks’ franchise chronicling the 2010 New York Jets preseason garnered NFL Films producers a trio of Emmys in 2010, including a repeat win in the Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology category as well as honors for Outstanding Camera Work and Outstanding Post Produced Audio/Sound.

There was no shortage of storylines surrounding the 2010 New York Jets who, led by head coach Rex Ryan, had high expectations heading into the preseason following a 9-7 finish in 2009 that included a run to the AFC Championship Game led by then-rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. While the Jets fell short of their charismatic head coach’s Super Bowl guarantee, their season on Hard Knocks was one of the most memorable in the series’ six seasons, becoming the most-watched season ever for the NFL Films-produced series.

Following the debut of episode one July 3 at 11:00 PM ET and encore showing July 4 at 8:00 PM ET, the remaining four Jets episodes will debut chronologically, with one episode per night beginning Sunday, July 4^th through Thursday, July 7^th, all at 9:00 PM ET. An encore of the entire season airs Sunday, July 10^th beginning at NOON ET.

The network debut of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets also kicks off the Hard Knocks 4^th of July marathon, re-airing three full seasons of the critically-acclaimed NFL Films-produced series.Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2007 kicks off the marathon Monday at 4:00 AM ET, followed by the 2008 Dallas Cowboys at 9:00 AM ET and the Cincinnati Bengals from 2009 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Hard Knocks documents the daily challenges and interactions that come with a career in professional football. Each season focuses on a specific team, giving viewers a unique and candid glance into the lives of their favorite players and coaches. Episodes offer a captivating behind-the-scenes look into the highs and lows of preseason training, all while displaying the superior film quality and sound of an NFL Films product.

Sunday, July 3
11:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 1 – NFL Network debut

Monday, July 4
4:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs – 2007, Episode 1
5:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs – 2007, Episode 2
6:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs – 2007, Episode 3
7:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs – 2007, Episode 4
8:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs – 2007, Episode 5
9:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys – 2008, Episode 1
10:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys – 2008, Episode 2
11:00 AM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys – 2008, Episode 3
12 NOON ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys – 2008, Episode 4
1:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys – 2008, Episode 5
2:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals – 2009, Episode 1
3:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals – 2009, Episode 2
4:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals – 2009, Episode 3
5:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals – 2009, Episode 4
6:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals – 2009, Episode 5
8:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 1
9:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 2 – NFL Network debut

Tuesday, July 5
12 NOON ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 1
1:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 2
8:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 2
9:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 3 – NFL Network debut

Wednesday, July 6
12 NOON ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 2
1:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 3
8:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 3
9:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 4 – NFL Network debut

Thursday, July 7
12 NOON ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 3
1:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 4
8:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 4
9:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 5 – NFL Network debut

Friday, July 8
12 NOON ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 4
1:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 5

Sunday, July 10
12 NOON ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 1
1:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 2
2:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 3
3:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 4
4:00 PM ET – Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – 2010, Episode 5

There you have it.

Bringing Out the Sunday Links

I’ll provide some Sunday links for you.

You want to see a wild ending? Dan Wheldon wins the Indianapolis 500 after rookie J.R. Hildebrand crashed into the wall at the final turn. Amazing stuff. Thanks to Bubbaprog/Mocksession for the video.

Dan Hart at Bloomberg notes that David Einhorn is on track to take a majority stake in the New York Mets

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that MSG Network will present a mixture of sports and entertainment programming this summer.

Muhammed Rahman at SportsGrid has one video of the Fox UEFA Champions League Final pregame show dumbing down soccer, insulting everyone who watched it.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says that ESPN Radio DC is now delaying the publishing of its podcasts of its live show by 24 hours. That’s always good to publish old news.

Marcus says yet another team has turned down HBO to appear on Hard Knocks.

The Sporting News says a new ESPN poll shows that LeBron James’ popularity dropped after “The Decision”.

But David C. Wilson, a political science professor at the University of Delaware notes in the Huffington Post that the results might be skewed.

In his baseball notes column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe  reports that TBS is making a run at NESN Red Sox voice Don Orsillo (scroll to the bottom).

Cafardo adds on Twitter that TBS would attempt to make Orsillo a full-timer. In addition to Red Sox baseball, Orsillo calls Big East basketball on ESPN Regional television and the Beanpot Tournament for NESN. He has called the MLB League Division Series for TBS since 2007.

Maureen Mullen at Comcast SportsNet New England writes that ESPN has allowed NESN to air tonight’s Red Sox-Tigers game after originally saying no.

Eric R. Danton of the Hartford Courant has a feature on ESPN looking for the right music to use on SportsCenter and its many studio shows.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post decides to set his target on SNY’s Keith Hernandez. Whatever, Phil.

Mark Snyder at the Detroit Free Press notes that Big Ten Network is looking to rebrand and change its logo.

The Detroit Free Press tweets that the Fox Sports Detroit will pick up tonight’s Tigers game vs. the Red Sox.

Neal Rubin of the Detroit News catches up with former ESPN’er Karie Ross who has come back into prominence thanks to the ESPN book.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has his take on the ESPN book.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune goes over the ESPN tome.

Neal Justin of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reviews the ESPN tome,  “Those Guys Have All The Fun…”

Dusty Saunders of the Denver News looks at the growth of sports talk radio in the Mile High City.

Dusty also profiles long-time Denver sports talk show host Irv Brown.

Sports Media Watch says last night’s third in three straight primetime broadcasts for Fox gave its MLB package the highest ratings in three years.

Jason Garnatz at Iowa Tube Talk feels ESPN caved into Red Sox pressure to air tonight’s Red Sox-Tigers makeup game.

Awful Announcing has the video from Bubbaprog/Mocksession of Hawk Harrelson’s typical homer call from yesterday’s Chicago White Sox-Toronto Blue Jays game.

The Big Lead recounts an interesting conversation between Dan LeBatard and ESPN.com’s Ric Bucher regarding Derrick Rose’s performance in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Steve Michaels of Sox & Dawgs looks at the potential TBS offer to NESN’s Don Orsillo.

And that’s going to do it. This Sunday, especially from 3 – 4:20 p.m. turned out to be a busy sequence for sports media news.

A Very Busy Set of Monday Links

I spent the morning away from the office and after lunch, I’ve been dealing with crazy shit so I’m just getting to the links late this afternoon. I’ll put in as many as I can. This week is shaping up to be very busy so just bear with me as you may not see links for a couple of days. I will post press releases when I can.

The sports blogosphere has been abuzz with the release of the first excerpt from the new book on the Alleged Worldwide Leader, “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside The World of ESPN” co-written by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales. I am working on getting James as a guest for the Sports Media Weekly podcast for either next week or the week following.

In any event, the excerpt published in this week’s GQ Magazine looks at the tidal wave known as Keith Olbermann and his time co-anchoring SportsCenter with Dan Patrick.

Of course, Keith already has an opinion on the excerpt and has responded on Twitter. Dashiell Bennett of the Business Insider’s Sports Page recaps so I don’t have to.

At Sports Business Journal, John Ourand and Tripp Mickle report that ESPN parent company, Disney, is looking to sweeten the pot for its bid for the 2014/16 Olympic TV rights.

Also from the SBJ, John and Terry Lefton look at the impact of the old XFL on both the NFL and on the league’s TV partners.

Terry also writes about one particular XFL technical innovation that is gone, but not forgotten.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has his Media Power List for April.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says the arrest of ESPN’s Matthew Barnaby over the weekend is another example in a long line of bad behavior among the network’s personalities.

Brian Clapp at Sports TV Jobs has some of the funniest typographical errors on sports TV.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser notes that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have turned down an invitation to appear on HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer, and say it with me, provided there is an NFL season.

Speaking of which, Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk says the NFL has confirmed that there is an option to shutdown the league if the lockout is lifted by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports that several NFL players have been told by their agents not to work out as they won’t be covered by the team if they get hurt.

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe confirms that NESN’s Jerry Remy is back in the booth tonight.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says there’s a high anticipation to read the new ESPN tome by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels YES’ Michael Kay is embellishing the truth when it comes to Yankee Stadium’s attendance.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that the NBA’ Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 outrated Red Sox-Yankees in New York.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says fans are getting the short stick.

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

Doug Demmons of the Birmingham (AL) News was surprised to see Fox go split screen during yesterday’s NASCAR coverage.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says the ESPN/ABC crew gave praise to the Oklahoma City crowd during Game 7 of the Thunder-Memphis Grizzlies series.

Bob Wolfley looks forward to the new ESPN book.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says a new charity event will carry the legacy of the late Cubs legend Ron Santo.

In the Kansas City Star, Bruce Dancis reviews the 2nd DVD box set of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series.

Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post says April 18, 2011 will live forever in the annals of the National Hockey League.

Scott Terrell of the Tucson Citizen talks about the Pac-12 TV contract and what it means for fans.

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

Tom looks at the first excerpt of the new ESPN book.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail feels CBC did not do enough reporting on Derek Boogaard’s death.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star tells aspiring sportscasters to be careful what they wish for if they want to enter a new Canadian TV contest.

Sports Media Watch talks about the record NBA ratings for TNT.

In the Huffington Post, Colorado University journalism student Weston Gentry responds to Rick Reilly’s speech to his alma mater.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the ratings for Versus throughout the NHL Conference Semifinals.

EPL Talk says with it being Survival Sunday, fans should tell both ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel what games they want to see.

I’m going to end it there.

Bringing Out The Monday Linkage

This weekend was a very lost weekend for me and for you on the blog as I was unable to do anything either Saturday and Sunday. I attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday in Massachusetts and that took most of the day, then I went to a sports bar that night to see the Manny Pacquaio-Sugar Shane Mosley fight and I’m glad I did not have to pay a cover as Mosley just did not do anything. I fought to stay awake as the fight was very boring.

And on Mother’s Day, I had several errands to run so the blog was very quiet. I was happy nothing broke because I would not have been able to do anything. But we’re back today and let’s get cracking on some overdue linkage.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says ESPN/ABC’s NBA analysts were very down on the Los Angeles Lakers’ effort in their series-ending loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Sports Business Daily has Screamin’ Gus Johnson calling reports of his departure from CBS “premature.”

SBD notes that the NBA Playoffs did very well in the weekend overnight ratings.

SBD also looks at the NFL possibly working under different rules from last year if the lockout is lifted.

Lacey Rose at the Hollywood Reporter writes that Golf Channel is giving CBS’ David Feherty his own primetime show.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says the Pacquaio-Mosley fight will most likely lead to more boxing pay per view events.

Mike goes inside the new Pac-12 Conference media rights deals.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age talks with NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins about the league and its media rights deal with Comcast/NBC.

Diego Vasquez at Media Life Magazine writes on how sponsors can get true brand activation at the Preakness Stakes.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser has video of what Oracle is doing to make the viewing of this year’s America’s Cup more enjoyable to fans at home.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid reviews the silly Captain Blowhard-Keith Olbermann renewal of their Twitter feud over the weekend.

That wasn’t the only Twitter feud this weekend, supermodel Chrissy Teigen and Jay Mohr had one also. Very silly these Twitter fights.

At Yahoo’s Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski looks at whether Versus’ Jeremy Roenick crossed the line or was being candid when he said San Jose’s Patrick Marleau was “gutless” following the team’s surprising loss to Detroit last night.

At ESPN Front Row, PR specialist Josh Krulewitz speaks with Hannah Storm on sports and Mother’s Day.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says Animal Kingdom owner Bill Irwin’s candor during NBC’s Kentucky Derby broadcast enlightened an otherwise technical glitch-filled broadcast.

Jonathan Bombulie of The Citizens’ (PA) Voice notes that ESPN’s E:60 newsmagazine will profile the young fan of a minor league hockey team, who has been battling a debilitating disease.

Mark Brown from the Baltimore Sports Report talks with legendary Maryland Terrapins voice Johnny Holliday about Gary Williams’ retirement.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that the local ESPN Radio affiliate had egg on its face for reporting a false rumor on Maryland’s coaching situation.

Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times has ESPN’s Herman Edwards giving some advice to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on enduring the filming of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” as the Bucs are a candidate for the series this summer, provided there is a season.

Rodney Page of the Times has a look at the weekend in sports TV.

Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel says the Pac-12 came out smelling like a rose in its new TV deals.

Bud Withers of the Daily Oklahoman notes that the Pac-12 can no longer be considered a college sports doormat.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business talks with Bulls radio voice Chuck Swirsky.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post writes that fans got to see the Lakers’ fatal flaws yesterday.

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

Steve Gress from the Corvallis (OR) Gazette-Times says Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott definitely delivered for the league.

Eric Degerman of the Tri-City (WA) Herald says MLB Network has a nightly tribute to the late Seattle Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail has the ratings for the Fan 590 and TSN 1050 in April.

Raju Mudhar in the Toronto Globe and Mail says the city’s courtship of the NFL through the Ford family has one glaring omission.

Paul Kennedy at Soccer America feels ESPN2′s MLS soccer highlights last Saturday did the league a great disservice.

Daniel Feuerstein at MLS Talk has his thoughts on Fox Soccer Channel’s inaugural Soccer Night in America broadcast.

Sports Media Watch notes that the camera operator is the anonymous person who is a big part of the sports broadcast you watch.

SMW says Bulls-Hawks has been a big draw for TNT.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the ratings for Night 23 of the NHL Playoffs.

Joe Favorito says boxing and horse racing are taking baby steps in getting back into the national conscience.

The Big Lead says ESPN’s Erin Andrews was among the beautiful people attending the Kentucky Derby and why not as Erin is a beautiful person.

And I’ll end the links there.

HBO Home To Seven Sports Emmy Awards

HBO Sports won seven Sports Emmy Awards including Outstanding Sports Documentary for Lombardi, Outstanding Sports Journalism for Real Sports, three for Hard Knocks on the New York Jets and one for Outstanding Edited Sports Special for 24/7: Penguins-Capitals. Some good stuff for HBO which continues to get awards for its long-form programming.

HBO SPORTS^® TAKES HOME SEVEN SPORTS EMMY AWARDS

Winners were revealed Monday night at the 32nd Annual Sports Emmy^® Awards in New York City.

HBO garnered seven Sports Emmys, tying the network for first place with NBC.

HBO                            7
NBC                            7
CBS                            6
ESPN                         5
ABC                            3
FOX                            3
MLB Network           2
ESPN2                       2

HBO collected seven Sports Emmy Awards which includes:

OUTSTANDING SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
LOMBARDI

OUTSTANDING SPORTS JOURNALISM
REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL – The Missing Link (Bernard Goldberg)

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES/ANTHOLOGY
HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS

OUTSTANDING CAMERA WORK
HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS

OUTSTANDING POST PRODUCED AUDIO/SOUND
HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SPECIAL
24/7 PENGUINS/CAPITALS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC

OUTSTANDING EDITING
24/7 JIMMIE JOHNSON: RACE TO DAYTONA

CBS Sports’ press release is next.

Complete Winner’s List of the 32nd Annual Sports Emmy Awards

Ok, I’ve listed the winners in the Sports Emmy Awards. Now time to list the people who were part of the productions that won. First, the breakdown of the networks that won awards tonight. HBO and NBC won the most awards tied with 7 as 2010 was an Olympic year. Turner Sports was shut out.

Winners by Network

And the breakdown of awards by networks:

The 32^nd Annual Emmy Awards for Sports
SUMMARY OF WINNERS BY NETWORK

HBO (7)

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets ………   3
24/7 Jimmie Johnson Race to Daytona ……………………………   1
24/7 Penguins-Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic ………..   1
Lombardi ……………………………………………………………   1
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel …………………………………………   1

NBC  (7)

XXI Olympic Winter Games  ………………………………………………..   3
Cris Collinsworth  …………………………………………………………………..   1
Bob Costas ……………………………………………………………………………   1
Mike Emrick  ………………………………………………………………………….   1
NBC Sunday Night Football  ……………………………………………….   1

CBS (6)

NFL on CBS – Super Bowl XLIV …………………………………………….   3
Golf on CBS  ………………………………………………………………………….   1
NCAA Basketball on CBS …………………………………………………….   1
US Open Tennis Championship …………………………………………..   1

ESPN  (5)

2010 FIFA World Cup ……………………………………………………………   2
College GameDay……………………………………………………………….   1
Kirk Herbstreit ………………………………………………………………………..   1
Sport Science ……………………………………………………………………….   1

ABC (3)

2010 FIFA World Cup ……………………………………………………………   3

FOX (3)

MLB All-Star Game ……………………………………………………………….   1
NASCAR on FOX …………………………………………………………………..   1
NFL ‘It’s Good to Have a Ring’ …………………………………………..   1

ESPN2  (2)

2010 FIFA World Cup …………………………………………………………….  1
E:60 …………………………………………………………………………………. 1

MLB Network (2)

Bob Costas ……………………………………………………………………………   1
MLB Tonight …………………………………………………………………………..   1

DIRECTV  (1)

NFL  Sunday Ticket Experience on DIRECTV ……………………..   1

NBCOlympics.com  (1)

XXI Olympic Winter Games  ………………………………………………..   1

NBCOlympics.com / NBCLearn.com  (1)

XXI Olympic Winter Games  ………………………………………………..   1

NFL Network  (1)

Sound FX ……………………………………………………………………………….   1

And now, the winners after the jump break.

(continue reading…)

2011 Sports Emmy Awards In Real Time. Well, Kind Of

I’ll be posting the Sports Emmy Awards as they’re being handed out. I’m not there, but thanks to live tweets from ESPN public relations maven Josh Krulewitz and Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, I’ll be posting the awards as I get them.

As I begin this post, some awards have already been handed out including a few upsets. For the complete list of nominations, you can go here.

I’ll be listing these in the order they’re handed out.

Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly
College Gameday – ESPN

Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound
NASCAR on Fox – Fox

The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award
US Open Tennis Championships: 3D at the US Open Tennis Championships – CBS

Outstanding Production Design/Art Direction
NFL on CBS/Super Bowl XLIV: Run This Town – CBS

Outstanding Short Feature
NFL on CBS/Super Bowl XLIV: Wynton Marsalis – 43 Years – CBS

Outstanding Editing
24/7: Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona – HBO

Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement/Institutional
MLB All-Star Game: Sand – Fox/The Mill

Outstanding Technical Team Studio
XXI Winter Olympic Games – NBC

Outstanding Graphic Design
TIE
Sport Science – ESPN/Base Productions
XXI Winter Olympic Games – NBC

Outstanding Sports Documentary
Lombardi – HBO/NFL Films

Outstanding New Approaches Sports Event Coverage
XXI Winter Olympic Games: Beyond the Broadcast – NBCOlympics.com

Outstanding Playoff Coverage (New Category)
NCAA Basketball on CBS: The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – CBS

Outstanding Camera Work
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – HBO/NFL Films

Outstanding Edited Sports Special
24/7: Penguins/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic – HBO

Outstanding Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics
TIE
2010 FIFA World Cup: U2 & Soweto Gospel Choir – ESPN
NFL on CBS – Super Bowl XLIV: Run This Town – CBS

Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement/Episodic
NFL ‘It’s Good To Have A Ring’: Booth; Airport; Pool Party – Fox/SMuggler

Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play
Mike Emrick – NHL on NBC

Outstanding New Approaches Sports Event Coverage
NFL Sunday Ticket Experience on DirecTV – DirecTV

Outstanding Open/Tease
XXI Winter Olympic Games: Discovery – NBC

Outstanding Post Production Audio/Sound
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – HBO/NFL Films

Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Event Analyst
Cris Collinsworth – Sunday Night Football, NBC

The Dick Schaap Writing Award
2010 FIFA World Cup – ESPN

Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst
Kirk Herbstreit – College Gameday, ESPN

Outstanding New Approaches Sports Programming – Short Format
XXI Winter Olympic Games – NBC

Outstanding Studio Show – Daily
MLB Tonight – MLB Network

More as I get them.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Al Michaels – NBC

UPDATE: 9:10 p.m. – Back to the awards now.

Outstanding Technical Team Remote
Golf on CBS – CBS

UPDATE: 9:15 p.m. – More awards being handed out.

Outstanding Long Feature
E:60: Survival 1 – ESPN2

Outstanding Edited Sports Series – Anthology
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets – HBO/NFL Films

Outstanding Live Sports Series
Sunday Night Football – NBC

Outstanding Sports Journalism
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: The Missing Link – HBO

Outstanding Live Event Turnaround
Sound FX: Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets – NFL Network/NFL Films

Outstanding Live Sports Special
2010 FIFA World Cup: Final Match – Spain vs. Netherlands – ESPN on ABC

Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host
Bob Costas – NBC/MLB Network (SHOCKER! Not really, Costas seems to win every year)

There are your awards. I’ll be posting press releases as they come in.

Slinging the Tuesday Links Your Way

Let’s do some linkage while I still can on this Tuesday. Lots of stuff to get to provided I don’t get interrupted.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today writes about Louisville coach Rick Pitino making the media rounds this week.

I may have linked to this so if I have already, I apologize. Nate Davis of USA Today’s The Huddle blog notes that NFL Films President Steve Sabol has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. To send your best wishes to Steve, you can send him an e-mail at sabol.nflfilms@nfl.com.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NCAA Tournament’s ratings on CBS/Turner have hit an 11 year high, but there are some caveats.

Sports Business Daily looks at the increased ratings for the NCAA Tournament.

Stuart Levine of Variety notes that ESPN leads all networks in Sports Emmy Award nominations.

The Wall Street Journal picks up an Associated Press story on ESPN adding jobs at its Bristol, CT headquarters.

Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a prime candidate to be this year’s subject of HBO’s Hard Knocks, if there’s a season.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes that ESPN will be all over MLB Opening Week starting at the end of this m month.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says Turner Sports’ March Madness on Demand has been a huge hit in the first week of the NCAA Tournament.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life notes the NCAA Tournament has been very good to CBS and Turner.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says WFAN’s Mike Francesa went all Wu Tang on a caller who wanted to talk about the New York Mets owners legal issues over convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser examines how a former New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year gets convicted for running a prostitution ring.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group says Verizon Fios TV is adding ESPN 3D in time for The Masters.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that LeBron James and Michael Vick have seen their positive perceptions go up while Tiger Woods still remains unchanged.

Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski has announced the subject of his latest book project.

The lovely Jayme Lamm at the Blonde Side recaps the Blogs with Balls panel on sports media at the recently completed SxSW festival in Austin, TX.

Dave Kindred at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism talks about Washington Post DC NFL Team beat writer Rick Maese doing what reporters do when extraordinary circumstances strike.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY has former WCBS-AM sports director Jared Max talking about his sendoff by his former workmates.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Women’s World Cup TV schedule.

Michael Bradley at Philadelphia Magazine says ESPN’s Jay Bilas isn’t as smart as he’s cracked up to be.

Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes that Phillies fan favorite Chris Coste will work on Comcast SportsNet this summer.

At Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com notes that MASN will launch a new baseball TV show at the end of the month.

Avi Miller of the Baltimore Sports Report says reporter Jen Royale is leaving MASN, but staying in the city to remain on radio.

C.L. Brown from the Louisville Courier-Journal has Rick Pitino explaining why he’s making multiple TV appearances during the NCAA Tournament.

Glenn Guilbeau at the Baton Rouge Daily Advertiser say the NCAA Tournament became infinitely better to watch.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says MLB Network picks up another cable TV provider.

Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press notes that viewers like the four network NCAA Tournament strategy.

However, Jamie Samuelson writing in the Free Press wishes we would go back to the old way of CBS having all of the games.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the two local teams still in the NCAA Tournament will be aired on TBS and CBS respectively.

Frank Rajkowski from the St. Cloud (MN) Times says he has ended up liking CBS/Turner’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament more than he originally thought.

Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Grand Forks (ND) Herald looks at what the announcement of a Big Ten hockey conference will mean to the WCHA and its remaining schools.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News updates us on the Pac 12 TV rights negotiations.

Congratulations to Steve Lepore of Puck The Media who announces that he’s going to be writing for Versus.com for the rest of the NHL season.

Steve’s first two efforts for Versus can be found here.

At Globe St., Jennifer LeClaire writes that Golf Channel is expanding its corporate headquarters in Orlando.

Sports Media Watch has various news and notes on some personalities.

SMW says NASCAR’s winning ratings streak ended on Sunday.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing and the new Big Ten-centric Delaney’s Dozen blog interviews Big Ten Network host Dave Revsine.

Speaking of Awful Announcing, Matt talks with EPL Talk editor extraordinaire Chris Harris, a.k.a. The Gaffer, both here and here.

And I’m going to end it there. Busy day with the Sports Emmy Award nominations.

A Friday Night Megalink Thing

Let’s provide the Friday megalinks. Lots of things to get to.

We, of course, provide the Weekend Viewing Picks for your sports and entertainment weekend programming.

Now let’s get to the linkage from across the country.

National

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age reports that NBC is already seeking $3.5 million for a 30 second spot for Super Bowl XLVI.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today writes that ESPN’s Erin Andrews will be working the red carpet during the Oscars for ABC’s Good Morning America.

Mike and fellow USA Today sport media writer Michael Hiestand debate the pros and cons of airing the NFL Scouting Combine.

George Winslow from Broadcasting & Cable writes that a tennis tournament has decided to use NeuLion’s platform to stream matches online in HD quality.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News discusses Versus’ good ratings for the NHL Heritage Classic.

Multichannel notes that Style Network will be turning a NASCAR wedding into a reality TV series.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has a video of Erin Andrews looking for that perfect dress for the Academy Awards red carpet.

Marcus Vanderberg from SportsNewser says Versus will air its next UFC MMA card in 3-D.

Sports Media Watch writes that MSG saw its highest ratings in 16 years for the New York Knicks with Carmelo Anthony’s debut.

SMW says NASCAR’s Nationwide Series got off to a slower start in the ratings from last year.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the NHL on Versus continues to be red hot in the ratings

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says outsourcing has helped smaller teams stay in contention.

Awful Announcing notices the notorious “Schwab” making a cameo in the new Hooters ad featuring ESPN’s Dick Vitale.

SportsbyBrooks gives the legendary voice of Mississippi State football and basketball Jack Cristil a very nice tribute as he had to step down immediately due to health issues.

In Examiner.com, Evan Weiner looks at the NFL lockout and what it means to the league’s TV partners.

All Access says the embattled Charlie Sheen called into a Fox Sports Radio show to once again rant against CBS, Warner Brothers and Global Warming.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn reviews the week in Boston sports media news.

Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch notes that WEEI buried the news of the naming of its new midday show late Friday.

In SB Nation Boston, Bruce has a look at the WEEI shakeups and a tumultuous week for the once-dominant sports radio station.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks about a local part-time radio reporter who has been reporting on the Red Sox for almost two decades.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times writes about MSG’s boffo ratings for Carmelo Anthony’s Knicks debut.

Richard discusses how a panel takes over as the ESPN Ombudsman.

Richard and Pat Borzi team up for a story on the NFL Players Association trying to prevent the NFL from collecting its TV rights fee during a potential lockout.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with Steven A. “A is for Amiable” Smith who’s happy to be back with ESPN.

Bob Glauber of Newsday says both New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and HBO will not be back on Hard Knocks at least this year.

It’s official. Phil Mushnick from the New York Post really hates Madison Square Garden and Cablevision Chairman James Dolan.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for MLB Network’s Al Leiter.

As of today, I’m am no longer linking to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News over his extreme hate. He went after Friend of Fang’s Bites Tina Cervasio the other night and that was it. He’s persona non grata as far as I’m concerned.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union has ESPN releasing its Big East football schedule.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says the local Fox affiliate will have an extra high school sports highlight show this weekend.

In the New Jersey Newsroom, Nicole Pride talks with an ESPN producer who felt a story on paralyzed Rutgers football Eric LeGrand really hit home.

Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates have announced their spring training TV and radio schedule.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt ripping the students of his alma mater once again.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says NASCAR is back in full swing on TV.

South

Bob Molinaro of the Virginian-Pilot says there’s too much speculating in the sports media today.

Erin Barnett of WSLS-TV in Roanoke, VA reports on College GameDay’s visit to the Virginia Tech campus.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald says like them or not, the Miami Heat are among the top of the heap in the local and national NBA TV ratings.

Carlos Frias of the Palm Beach Post talks with Pam Tebow, mother of Tim, about life after the controversial Super Bowl ad she and her son did last year.

Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speaking about how he felt Super Bowl XLV went.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks with syndicated radio host Paul Finebaum about now infamous confession from the Alabama fan who said he poisoned the Auburn tree. That confession occurred on Finebaum’s show.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman talks with the new TV voice of the Texas Rangers.

In his media notebook, Mel says the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be featured nationally this weekend.

Midwest

Kevin Bull of the Detroit Free Press has highlights of an ESPN.com chat conducted by former Michigan Fab Five standout Jalen Rose regarding the new ESPN documentary on the 1992-93 team.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press writes that a local radio host is making sure that high school sports gets its due.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has former Brewers manager Ken Macha responding on MLB Network Radio to one of his former player’s comments.

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

The Des Moines (IA) Register reports that Iowa State’s football game against UConn has been scheduled for a Friday night on ESPN2.

From Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals spring training games will be pre-empting Rush Limbaugh on KMOX.

West

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune has CBS’ Clark Kellogg looking forward to seeing San Diego State and BYU square off tomorrow.

John Maffei of the North County Times says it’s BYU and Jimmer Fredette as to why San Diego State is on national TV on Saturday.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the Poynter Institute panel that will play the role of ESPN Ombudsman.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times also looks at the new ESPN Ombudsmen.

Ben Bolch of the Times says Fox Sports Net will honor the late UCLA coach John Wooden during Pac 10 basketball games this weekend.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that TSN continues its TV rights shopping spree, this time at the expense of one of its competitors.

And that is going to do it for the megalinks. Enjoy your sports weekend

HBO To Re-Air Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the New York Jets

This Saturday, a day before the New York Jets take the field in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship, HBO2 re-airs all five episodes from this past summer’s Hard Knocks program. It was one of the most popular series of the show for Hard Knocks. In this series, we get to see coach Rex Ryan curse a lot. We also see the Jets deal with holdout Darrelle Revis. We also see quarterback Mark Sanchez being aloof during meetings. But the whole series sets the table for the season which led the Jets to the postseason and to the AFC Championship.

The season will re-air in its entirety on HBO2 starting at 3 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday.

HARD KNOCKS:  TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS ENCORE PLAY SET FOR SATURDAY, JAN. 22 AT 3:00 P.M. ET/PT ON HBO2

            HBO Sports^®, which presented the acclaimed reality series  HARD KNOCKS:  TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS last summer, will replay all five hour-long episodes back-to-back on the HBO2 service Saturday, Jan. 22 , starting at 3:00 p.m. ET/PT. The five-hour marathon (rated TV-MA) will air the day before the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh between the Jets and the Steelers.

            A 24-person NFL Films crew lived at the Jets training camp last summer, shooting approximately 1,000 hours of video over the course of the series. Camera and sound crews were given unencumbered access to the players’ and coaches’ meeting rooms, training facilities, dormitories and practice fields. The Jets trained at the SUNY campus in Cortland, NY and at the team’s Atlantic Health Training Center in Florham Park, NJ. 

You’re done here.