Archive for January, 2008
Jan
31
The Fox Super Bowl Sunday Pregame Show Rundown
Here is the rundown by the half hour for the Fox Super Bowl Sunday Pregame show which will run from 2 – 6 p.m. ET.
2:00-2:30 PM ET –
- Chris Myers, assigned to cover the Patriots, reports live from the team hotel on
- Pam Oliver, assigned to cover the Giants, reports live from the team hotel on
- Myers and Oliver report on any late breaking team news
- Jimmy Johnson looks back at the first game this season between the Giants and Patriots in the State Farm Covers the Field segment. Both teams met in the regular season finale on Dec. 29 at Giants Stadium, a high-scoring affair that the Patriots won, 38-35
- Curt Menefee voices over a feature on the 1972 Miami Dolphins, to this point the only undefeated team in NFL history
- Get to Know You: Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora
2:30-3:00 PM ET –
- Ryan Seacrest Red Carpet Interviews
- Grumpy Old Coaches: Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer, the only two men to coach teams to Super Bowl victory and collegiate national championships, reprise their weekly FOX NFL SUNDAY roles and go at it over Super Bowl XLII
- Team of the Decade: 1960s
- Eli Manning feature
- Terry Bradshaw interviews former NFL QB Archie Manning, father of Giants QB Eli Manning
- Get to Know You: Patriots safety Rodney Harrison
- Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees
- Tribute to members of the NFL family that have passed away in the last year
- Comedic prognosticator Frank Caliendo makes the first of three in-character picks on the game
- Curt Menefee presents a feature on the Giants’ defensive front-four
- Get to Know You: Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce
- NFL Insider Jay Glazer discusses Super Bowl XLII with four of the NFL’s best players: Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, Denver Broncos safety John Lynch, San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten
- Feature on the ultra-competitive
- Ryan Seacrest Red Carpet Interviews
3:30-4:00 PM ET –
- Jimmy Johnson, a two-time Super Bowl champion head coach, interviews Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, already a three-time Super Bowl winner
- Team of the Decade: 1970s
- Willie Nelson and Sarah Evans perform “Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”
- Ryan Seacrest Red Carpet Interviews
- Tom Petty halftime performance preview
- Fox Business Network’s Neil Cavuto reports from
- Jillian Reynolds reports on the Super Bowl XLII party scene
4:00-4:30 PM ET –
- Team of the Decade: 1980s
- Ryan Seacrest Red Carpet Interviews
- Randy Moss feature
- Get to Know You: Patriots wide receivers Donte’ Stallworth and Wes Welker
- Frank Caliendo makes the second of three in-character picks
- Just two weeks away from the 50th Daytona 500, reigning NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson interviewed
- World premiere performance of American Idol judge Paula Abdul’s new hit single “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow”
4:30-5:00 PM ET –
- Michael Strahan Diary
- Howie Long interviews Patriots veteran linebacker Junior Seau
- Get to Know You: Patriots linebackers
- Team of the Decade: 1990s
- Making of Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercials
- Ryan Seacrest Red Carpet Interviews
5:00-5:30 PM ET –
- Alicia Keys performance
- Joe Buck and Troy Aikman provide their initial thoughts on Super Bowl XLII as kick-off approaches
- Pam Oliver interviews Giants head coach Tom Coughlin
5:30-6:00 PM ET –
- Terry Bradshaw interviews Patriots quarterback Tom Brady
- Team of the Decade: 2000s
- Bradshaw, Long and Johnson make their Super Bowl XLII predictions
- Frank Caliendo makes his final of three in-character picks
- Declaration of
*During each Team of the Decade segment, viewers will be prompted to log on to www.foxsports.com or www.nfl.com to vote for the team they think is the best of the five.
Jan
31
A Thursday Afternoon Update
Let’s give you a few links before we close out the office for the day.
First, ESPN has announced its announcing team for MLS and Euro 2008. The new main announcing team will be J.P. Dellacamera and John Harkes. The previous main team of Dave O’Brien and Eric Wynalda has been split up. Wynalda is going to be in the studio. Dave will be focusing mainly on Boston Red Sox games, working 150 games on the radio. Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has reaction to the move in his Farther Off the Wall blog. And Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune blogs about the decision to move Wynalda out of the booth.
Hoffarth has the TV lineup in Los Angeles in case you don’t want to watch the Super Bowl.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Patriots coach Bill Belichick will wear his famous/infamous hoodie sweatshirt.
Dan Lamonthe of The Republican (MA) blogs that ESPN went to visit Gisele Bundschen’s family in Brazil to talk about her boyfriend, Patriots QB Tom Brady.
Newsday’s Jim Baumbach is pleasantly surprised at the media access for this Super Bowl week.
Frank Dolson of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at Super Bowl I, broadcast by both CBS and NBC on January 16, 1967.
Ken McMillan of the Times Herald-Record (NY) has some Super Bowl TV trivia for you.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley has comments from Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy and WR Donald Driver from ESPN Radio.
Ian O’Connor of Foxsports.com talks with NBC’s Tiki Barber who says he doesn’t deserve to be shut out by his former New York Giants teammates.
I’ve got to listen to 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. So Hood.com talked with Christina Stoffo who does the traffic on Michael Kay’s show. She’s done some modeling on the side as you can see. She can describe rubbernecking for me … oh, never mind.
ESPN’s Dick Vitale talks to Ryan Fagan of the Sporting News about his return to courtside next week.
Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune writes that Rafer Weigel, the son of the late Chicago TV sports anchor Tim Weigel, will join CNN Headline News’ Morning Express with Robin Meade as a sports anchor for that program. By the way, I love Robin Meade.
Lorne Rubenstein of the Toronto Globe and Mail asks how much is too much when it comes to televising Tiger Woods.
Julianne Smolinski of TV Week writes about ESPN’s foray into HD in Australia.
This has nothing to do with the sports media, but I’m posting it anyway. Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post has a profile on former tennis star Andrea Jaeger who will be inducted into the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame this week for her work as a humanitarian in running the Silver Lining Ranch in Aspen and the Little Star Foundation for helping kids with cancer and those in poverty. I remember thinking Andrea was a spoiled brat when she was played tennis in the late 1970′s and early 1980′s and recalled she suddenly disappeared after suffering an injury. I then saw her a couple of years ago on HBO’s Real Sports as she was running the ranch and was touched by her caring. And then I saw an update in which she became a Dominican nun. Here’s a person who has done so much and deserves all of the accolades.
That will do it for now.
Jan
31
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
College Basketball/Minnesota at Michigan – 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Boston College at North Carolina – ESPN, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Providence at Notre Dame – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
NHL/Boston at Ottawa – NESN, 7:30 p.m.
College Basketball/Temple at Fordham – CSTV, 8 p.m.
NBA/Dallas at Boston – TNT, 8 p.m.
Lost (season premiere) – ABC, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Indiana at Wisconsin – ESPN, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/NC State at Duke – ESPN2/Raycom, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Arizona at USC – FSN, 10:30 p.m.
NBA/San Antonio at Phoenix – TNT, 10:30 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:30 p.m.
Jan
31
Video of the Week: Kyra Phllips, Gerri Willis and Don Lemon in a Reverse Oreo
It’s been a while since I’ve done a Video of the Week and this wins hands down.
This occurred on CNN yesterday. Gerri Willis was talking about the stock market, then mentioned running off to an island with Kyra Phillips. Then co-anchor Don Lemon chimed in and Kyra who’s a bit of a loose cannon had to go with the “reverse Oreo” reference. You may remember two years ago that Kyra’s mic was on while she was in the bathroom during a speech by President Bush.
Well, Kyra who talked about her sister-in-law being a control freak back then, talks here about the Reverse Oreo. There’s something about Kyra and we like it.
Check for an update later.
Jan
31
The Thursday Link Thing
Time to give you some links today.
The Worcester Telegram’s Bill Doyle says Fox Sports’ Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have been boning up on the Patriots the last two weeks.
Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says Fox is ready to cover the Super Bowl from every angle. Bracht also has his weekly media notebook. And here are his viewing picks for the weekend.
Neil Best of Newsday writes about his meeting with WFAN’s Craig Carton. Neil also sampled the new G2 drink being pushed by Gatorade. Neil has a column today talking about Fox’s unconventional Super Bowl pregame show.
Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic talks with Will Leitch of Deadspin. Also from the Republic, Scott Wong writes about the exclusive sponsors of the NFL seeing some big bucks this week.
Chad Jorgenson of Tailgate Crashers.com recaps the Fox Sports Super Bowl conference call from Wednesday.
Mike Mitchell of the Naperville (IL) Sun says if you’re bored with the Big Game, there’s always the commercials. Stuart Elliot of the New York Times previews this year’s Super Bowl ads.
The lovely Jessica Heslam from the Boston Herald talks about the battle between the Boston TV stations at the Super Bowl.
Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner writes that WBAL has renewed the radio rights for the Baltimore Ravens and that the radio team will simulcast preseason games on TV.
Jeff Richgels of the Capital (WI) Times writes that there is no clear cut winner in the Big Ten/NFL Network vs. Charter battle.
The Right Field Bleachers blog talks with new FSN Wisconsin reporter Trenni Kusnierek who comes home after being on FSN Pittsburgh.
The New York Times’ Charles Bagli with contributions from Richard Sandomir writes about Major League Baseball planning to build a new office tower in Harlem for its MLB Network which will debut next year.
Laura Nachman says sports radio station WPEN will not have the Tony Bruno show from Sporting News Radio any more.
ESPN has announced the lineup for the 2008 Big East/SEC Invitational.
Gary Cass, the chairman of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, jumps on the Dana Jacobsen bashing train in the New York Metro.
Guard Parfait Bitee from my 18-3 URI Rams will be part of an ESPN chat today.
Rich Hoffman of the Philadelphia Daily News talks to Flyers owner Ed Snider who praises NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and says, “Screw ESPN.”
Dan Patrick’s website has relaunched today as part of the Sports Illustrated network.
Cleeve Dheenshaw of the Victoria (Canada) Times Colonist says the proposed Canadian Olympic Committee amateur sports channel is an idea whose time has come.
That’s it for now.
Jan
31
It’s a Wednesday Night Update
Checking out the links for you tonight.
Newsday’s Neil Best wonders how Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer got his hands on the Patriots’ Spygate tape. Neil has some ammunition for Patriots fans. He writes that Fox’s Joe Buck has done a whole slew of Giants games this season while not doing a single Pats game. Neil says ESPN’s Dick Vitale will return to work next week during the Duke-North Carolina game.
The New York Post’s Justin Terranova writes in his NYP TV Sports blog that WFAN’s Mike & the Mad Dog were correct today when they said the Mets need to sign Johan Santana.
The Sports Media Watch tells us that the NBA is a prime target for advertisers.
John Consoli of Mediaweek says Fox will take in a total of $260 million in ad revenue for Super Bowl Sunday.
Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News tells us that the Big Ten Network has signed an agreement with Massillon Cable in Ohio.
The Hillsdale (MI) Daily News reports that Comcast has moved ESPN from the limited basic tier.
An editorial in Thursday’s Hartford Courant calls for forgiveness for ESPN’s Dana Jacobsen.
Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that the Colorado Rockies will have its first nationally televised regular season game on ESPN in six years.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that CTV is really promoting the Super Bowl in its first year as an NFL rights holder. CTV has its own Super Bowl website.
That will do it for tonight. See you on Thursday.
Jan
30
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
College Basketball/Richmond at URI – Cox Sports, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Iowa at Purdue – Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Virginia at Maryland – ESPN, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Cincinnati at West Virginia – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Villanova at Pittsburgh – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
NHL/Anaheim at Minnesota – Versus, 7 p.m.
NHL/Pittsburgh at Atlanta – TSN/NHL Center Ice, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Memphis at Houston – CSTV, 8 p.m.
College Basketball/Mississippi State at Arkansas – Raycom, 8 p.m.
Lost (season 3 finale) – ABC, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Illinois at Michigan State – Big Ten Network, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Texas at Texas A&M – ESPN2, 9 p.m.
NBA/Cleveland at Portland – ESPN, 9 p.m.
NHL/Chicago at Colorado – Versus, 9:30 p.m.
NHL/San Jose at Calgary – TSN/NHL Center Ice, 9:30 p.m.
In Treatment/Sophie: Week One – HBO, 9:30 p.m.
Inside the NFL – HBO, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Jan
30
A Wednesday Afternoon Update
Let’s give you a few links this afternoon.
The Sports Media Watch gives us some ratings news from various events.
Dan Gross from the Philadelphia Daily mentions that Steven A. Smith no longer works for the Philadelphia Inquirer after the editor fired him for not showing up for work. If you scroll down in the same story, you’ll note that Gross reports that the WWE has offered former KYW anchor Alycia Lane a job. Interesting.
We’ve got a bunch of posts from Newsday’s Neil Best. First, he mentions that NFL Network public relations man Seth Palansky is leaving to take a job with a Las Vegas casino. Neil reports that regional sports network SNY is thinking about premiering a new show featuring WFAN personalities Joe Begnino and Chris Carlin, and Howard 101 host Scott Ferrall of Sirius Satellite Radio. More SNY news from Neil, he says the channel is thrilled to see Johan Santana coming to the Mets. And Neil writes a story describing how Fox Sports’ Joe Buck is not planning his call for a historic moment at the Super Bowl.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about some of the more interesting Super Bowl public relations nightmares.
The NFL has announced the officiating team for the Super Bowl.
For our friends in Canada, CTV has announced its plans for Super Bowl Sunday including the airing of the season premiere of Nip/Tuck after the Big Game.
Forbes magazine looks at the Greatest Teams of All Time.
The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty writes that ESPN will air a special on Buffalo Bill Kevin Everett who suffered a career ending injury early in the season. Paul Lane of the Tonawanda (NY) News says ABC will also air part of the interview with Everett tonight on Nightline and on Good Morning America.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced a deal with FSN to broadcast 125 games this season. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has the story.
Mark Harden of the Denver Business Journal reports that the Colorado Rockies have reached a contract extension with KTVD TV for the next two seasons.
Todd Holcomb of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that a local high school lost money when ESPN2 came to televise a basketball game earlier this month.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that College Gameday will air live from Freedom Hall this Saturday.
ESPN is launching an HD service in Australia.
That’s it for now.
Jan
30
Our Mid-Week Links
I don’t think I’ll be blogging as much as I did yesterday, but we’ll keep an eye on developments from the Super Bowl. If anything happens, we’ll put it here. In the meantime, your links for today.
USA Today’s Michael McCarthy talks about the incessant coverage of Tom Brady by both the sports and entertainment media.
David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch writes about the departure of Tina Cervasio from NESN.
Here’s ESPN’s schedule for Super Bowl programming on radio and TV from Arizona today.
Newsday’s Neil Best writes that Giants coach Tom Coughlin looked like he was enjoying Super Bowl Media Day. Neil writes in his blog that he tried to get a Super Bowl pick from former American Idol participant Kellie Pickler. Neil says Ines Sainz whom I thought was the one asking questions in a wedding dress was at Media Day as well. And as a follow up to his column today, Neil says Coughlin aced his first media test this week.Finally, Neil has Fox Sports analyst Troy Aikman stating that he’s not biased against the Giants despite what Big Blue Nation thinks.
Jon Friedman of Marketwatch talks to ESPN’s Chris Berman about how the New York Football Giants could beat the Pats in the Super Bowl. Before the Patriots fans get up in arms, Friedman clearly states he’s a Giants fan so don’t kill him.
Barbara Yost from the Arizona Republic sets the scene of ESPN’s Super Bowl command post at SouthBridge. Yost also writes that there are plenty of chances for fans to get on TV during Super Bowl week.
Karen Crouse of the New York Times writes about Tom Brady having to deal with the Paparazzi.
David Bauder of the Associated Press says the ratings for the Super Bowl could set a record.
Karl Greenberg of Mediapost says Taco Bell plans to unveil a new meal deal during the Super Bowl.
The Buffalo News’ Alan Pergament talks about hack Ryan Seacrest hosting the red carpet portion of the Fox Super Bowl pregame show.
The Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier Post picks up a story from Mike Hughes of the Gannett News Service describing what Fox will air on Super Bowl Sunday.
David Thomas from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram talks about yesterday’s Super Bowl Media Day.
Bob Baptist of the Columbus Dispatch talks about CBS and ESPN adding Ohio State basketball games to their schedules.
Jeff Eisenberg from the Press-Enterprise in California says ESPN’s telecast of the USC-Arizona game this Saturday is not a precursor for the Worldwide Leader to get into the Pac 10 long term.
Morgan Unger of the Marshall University student newspaper writes that the date of the rivalry football game between Marshall and West Virginia has been changed to accommodate ESPN.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell asks what does the internment of Barbaro’s ashes at Churchill Downs means for the track.
Nancy Stockdale of the Des Moines Register writes that NBC Sports and several companies are trying to get on the train of world champion gymnast Shawn Johnson who’s expected to do well at the Olympics in Communist China this summer.
There you have it for now. More later.
Jan
30
Another Late Tuesday Night Update
I just can’t seem to stop blogging today.
By the way, I’ve been watching the re-broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVI, the game which started the Patriots Dynasty. Besides seeing what is in essence the start of the Patriots’ rise in the NFL over the last 7 years, the highlight for me was watching the performance of U2 in the halftime show. To me, it’s the best musical performance in a Super Bowl ever. I’ve seen most of them including Up with People, the creepy Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson (who didn’t see that?), Paul McCartney, etc., etc., etc. The banner of those who died in 9/11 was emotional just seeing it unfurl over the stage and all of the songs from Beautiful Day to The Streets Have No Name were done brilliantly. It was tremendous to watch.
If you missed any part of Super Bowl Media Day, you can read the live blog done by SI.com which includes the comments of Richard Deitsch.
Steven Zeitchik of the Hollywood Reporter writes that cable will have plenty of options for you to watch opposite the Super Bowl halftime show.
The Daily News Tribune (MA) reports that a church in Pembroke, MA will not air the Super Bowl on a 55 inch TV screen as planned due to potential copyright violations. No NFL game can be aired in public on a screen larger than 50 inches. This is true. And a very silly rule.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that the NHL All Star Game on Versus saw a slight uptick in the ratings as compared to last year.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail reports that a proposed CBC amateur sports channel in Canada faces several hurdles including objections from TSN and Rogers Sportsnet.
Joe Favorito has some thoughts on the Kelly Tilghman, Dana Jacobsen and Rick Majerus incidents.
Awful Announcing has a look at funny censorship over at Foxsports.com.
The 38Cliches blog laments the end of the Glenn Geffner era in Boston (kidding!).
CBS Sports gives us a preview of the PGA FBR Open which it will cover this weekend. And CBS tells us what college basketball games it’ll be airing.
Here’s ESPN’s press release on its partnership with Domino’s Pizza.
If you’re wondering what games the NHL Network will carry next month in the US, you can click here.
That’s it. Good night.
Jan
30
A Late Tuesday Night Update
Time to give you an update after all that blogging during Super Bowl Media Day.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell hands out his first annual awards to the best Super Bowl appetizers. They do look tasty.
The Sports Media Watch Blog looks at the ratings from the weekend.
Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star has a new blog called Slightly Askew and today, he looks at the circus that is known as Super Bowl Media Day.
Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post wants Fox to dig up Spygate during the Super Bowl.
John Consoli of Mediaweek says Fox has sold out its spots for the Super Bowl.
Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant looks at the plans of Hartford/New Haven TV stations to cover the Super Bowl.
Ryan Corazza of Chicago Sports Weekly wonders what the fuss over Dana Jacobsen was all about.
Barry Janoff of Brandweek says Domino’s Pizza and ESPN are teaming up for a SportsCenter marketing campaign.
Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks inside the battle between ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports.
Matt Egan of Fox Business writes that the NHL appears to have fallen below NASCAR in terms of popularity.
Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette says the NHL All Star Game was hardly a hit on TV or to the broadcasters calling the game.
That will do it until tomorrow.
Jan
29
Your Pic of the Reporter in A Wedding Dress at Super Bowl Media Day
Here’s the pic of Ines Gomez Mont from TV Azteca in Mexico City. She’s the one who asked both Tom Brady and Eli Manning to marry her. Needless to say she was turned down both times. The picture comes courtesy of Jenny Vrentas of the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger.
She’s not to be confused with the other Ines, Ines Sainz who also works for TV Azteca.
They’re both lovely.
Jan
29
It’s the Other Ines!
Leave it to Awful Announcing to get the correct Ines from TV Azteca in Mexico. It’s not Ines Sainz, it’s Ines Gomez Mont. Silly me.
Jan
29
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
College Basketball/Ohio State at Penn State – ESPN, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/VCU at George Mason – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Austin Peay at Southeast Missouri St. – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
NHL/Nashville at Boston – NESN, 7 p.m.
NHL/Buffalo at Tampa Bay – Versus, 7 p.m.
NBA/Boston at Miami – Comcast SportsNet New England, 7:30 p.m.
College Basketball/St. John’s at Seton Hall (women’s) – CSTV, 8 p.m.
Baghdad Hospital: Inside the Red Zone – HBO, 8:30 p.m.
House – Fox, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Tennessee at Alabama – ESPN, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Missouri State at Wichita State – ESPNU, 9 p.m.
NHL/San Jose at Edmonton – Versus, 9:30 p.m.
48 Hours Mystery – CBS, 10 p.m.
Nip/Tuck – FX, 10 p.m.
College Basketball/TCU at UNLV (women’s) – CSTV, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Jan
29
Here is Ines
Her name is not spelled, I-N-E-Z, it’s I-N-E-S. Inês Sainz from TV Azteca in Mexico City.
She’s the one asking marriage of Tom Brady and Eli Manning. If you’ve never seen her, you’ll definitely want to see her again after looking at this pic.
And here she is in various situations for her network and talking to Peyton Manning.
Jan
29
Inane Question from Super Bowl Media Day, Part IV
The Giants are now answering questions from the media.
Inez just asked Eli Manning to marry him. He said he’s taken.
Miss Nevada is also in the house asking questions. It’s crazy. It’s insane. It’s Media Day.
Jan
29
Tina Cervasio Is Leaving NESN
From the Boston Sports Media Watch, Bruce Allen reports that Fang’s Bites fav, Tina Cervasio is leaving NESN when her contract expires in March (scroll down). Remember earlier this month, we linked to a story in the Boston Herald that Tina was talking to New York TV station, Fox 5. Tina will be working closer to her New Jersey home.
The Boston Herald’s Jessica Heslam has the story in her Messenger blog. Eric Wilbur of Boston.com has a version of the story in the Red Sox Extra Bases blog. And the Boston Business Journal reports on Tina’s departure as well.
She’ll definitely be missed in New England.
Jan
29
The Pre-Game Show You Should Watch
If you have the NFL Network, you should watch its 6.5 hour pre-game show on Sunday starting at 11 a.m. ET and running until 5:30 p.m.
Not only do you get to avoid Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet during Fox’s pre-game show, but you also avoid seeing Paula Abdul making a complete ass of herself.
If you don’t have it, my suggestion would be avoid Fox altogether and just join the Super Bowl at 6 p.m. You don’t want to watch Fox until the Super Bowl begins.
Jan
29
Inane Question from Super Bowl Media Day, Part III
The Patriots’ portion of Super Bowl Media Day is over.
One other inane question asked to Tom Brady. How do you feel about being stud of the NFL? Whatever.
One other thing. Kevin Frazier of Entertainment Tonight, formerly of ESPN, on the NFL Network talking about the entrance of 24/7 entertainment reporting into sports. I never thought I would see Kevin Frazier on the NFL Network, but there he was.
The Giants start their portion of Media Day at the top of the hour.
Jan
29
Inane Question from Super Bowl Media Day, Part II
I believe Nickelodeon had a ten year old girl ask questions to Tom Brady.
ESPN credentialed Jason Krause, it’s 10 year snarky prognosticator from its Sunday NFL Countdown show. I don’t know what he asked, but NFL Network didn’t show him. Probably a good thing.
Jan
29
I Have to Find the Pic of Inez
NFL Network just showed Inez in her wedding dress. I should have been recording it. Man, is she hot!
I’ll look for it and when I find it, I’ll post it here.
Jan
29
Inane Question from Super Bowl Media Day, Part I
At Super Bowl Media Day at University of Phoenix Stadium, we have our very first inane question. A woman named Inez, wearing a wedding dress asked Tom Brady if he would marry her. Tom sidestepped the question and said he’s a one woman man.
We’re watching the NFL Network’s coverage of Media Day and the Patriots are up. Steve Mariucci asked the first question of Media Day to coach Bill Belichick. I’ve never liked this part of the Super Bowl because it’s a free-for-all, but the NFL wants fans to see the players and gives credentials to seemingly every media outlet like Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight.
ET gave LB Teddy Bruschi some award, but spelled his named wrong. And even the NFL spelled his name wrong on his podium.
More later.
Jan
29
It’s a Tuesday Link Thing
Time for some links now.
USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at the ratings from the weekend.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says David Cone is close to hashing out a deal with the YES Network to work as an analyst.
Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News pokes fun at Super Bowl Media Day.
Newsday’s Neil Best is with his newspaper’s large contingent in Arizona and he writes that this Super Bowl has set a record for media credentials. And Neil writes that with HDTV, he could see the stubble on Sal Paolantonio.
Jon Friedman of Marketwatch.com writes that the Giants have shut out former teammate Tiki Barber.
Stuart Crosby of the Times-Herald in Georgia writes about the circus that is known as Super Bowl Media Day.
Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News laments that Fox won’t accept political ads for the Super Bowl.
George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal says Fox is going to have a long tailgate party before the Super Bowl.
Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says FSN has sold out its sponsorships for the Super Bowl-themed Best Damn Sports Show Period.
Diego Vasquez of Media Life magazine talks to a Seton Hall professor about why Super Bowl ads use humor.
ESPN gives us the entire list of Super Bowl programming for TV and Radio from Arizona today.
The Oakland Tribune’s Dave Del Grande writes that last week’s report of Lane Kiffin’s refusal to resign as Raiders coach should have come with the words “as told by Lane Kiffin”.
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Brett Favre has been chosen as one of the 10 Best QB’s of all time by the Cold Hard Football Facts website.
Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes that the Dana Jacobsen incident may be a blessing for disguise.
By the way, here’s her apology on First Take yesterday morning. I hope this is the last time I reference this story.
Gary Eastwick of the Fresno Bee says coaches in the WAC aren’t happy with the change in format for ESPN’s BracketBuster weekend.
Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says the Liberty Bowl was the 4th most watched bowl game of the 2007-08 bowl season.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says TV analysts did not fall in love with the NHL All Star Weekend.
That’s it for now.
Jan
29
My NFL TV Lineup (If I Were NFL Commish)
If I were Roger Goodell for one day and had the power to change the TV partners to my liking, this is how the 2008-09 season would line up.
AFC – CBS
NFC – Fox
Sunday Night Football – NBC
Monday Night Football – NFL Network
Thursday & Saturday Night Football – NBC (9 games, 6 Thursday games, 3 Saturday games)
I’d throw ESPN out. The Sunday night games would begin at 8:30 p.m. ET instead of 8:20 p.m.
The playoffs would be distributed this way:
AFC playoffs to be played on Saturdays. NFC playoffs on Sundays. NBC would be involved in the Wild Card Weekend and Divisional playoffs. I would alternate primetime games among the three main partners.
Wild Card Weekend
Saturday – AFC
Game #1 – CBS, 4:30 p.m. ET
Game #2 – NBC, 8 p.m. ET
Sunday – NFC
Game #1 – Fox, 4:30 p.m. ET
Game #2 – NBC, 8 p.m. ET
Divisional Playoffs
Saturday – AFC
Game #1 – NBC, 4:30 p.m.
Game #2 – CBS, 8 p.m.
Sunday – NFC
Game #1 – NBC, 4:30 p.m.
Game #2 – Fox, 8 p.m.
Conference Championship Weekend
AFC Championship – Saturday, CBS, 8 p.m.
NFC Championship – Sunday, Fox, 8 p.m.
This way, all three networks have primetime games. Both Conference Championship Games would be played in primetime maximizing the audience. The following year, the AFC and NFC would switch days.
I would have an 18 week season, adding a 17th game to be played in Canada or Mexico (keeping the same time zones as the US) and a bye.
It’s a thought for the next TV contract. This is something that I was thinking about on Monday when I should have been working. That is all. Let me know what you think.
Jan
29
A Monday Night Update
Time to give you some links this evening.
We start out with some sad news. This link comes courtesy of the Boston Sports Media Watch, Bill Burt of the Lawrence (MA) Eagle-Tribune reports in his blog that the son of Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan has died. The Boston Globe has the story which states that Keith Ryan apparently took his life. It’s a horrible story. Bob Ryan is one of the nicest men in the sports media and I will certainly have him and his family in my thoughts tonight. Bruce Allen of BSMW gives his sympathies to the Ryan family. And David Scott does as well.
If you’re wondering why Michael Wilbon didn’t appear on “Pardon the Interruption” today, it was because he suffered a minor heart attack very early this morning. The Sports on My Mind blog has the story. Michael is ok.
Over to Newsday’s Neil Best who writes that NFL Network host Rich Eisen is frustrated with Cablevision and Time Warner cable. Neil follows that story up with a post on his blog. And Neil tells us that the Patriots’ interview session with coach Bill Belichick was a snoozefest.
Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher says this Super Bowl has the most media credentials ever. Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life magazine says Super Bowl XLII has the potential to be the most watched ever. John Consoli of Mediaweek writes that Foxsports.com will have plenty of webcasts and online coverage from Super Bowl XLII.
Ryan Sharrow of the Baltimore Business Journal writes that the Baltimore Ravens will air its preseason games on WBAL-TV which is part of the same company that has the games on radio.
Joel Sherman posts in the New York Post’s TV Sports blog that former Yankees pitcher David Cone will be an analyst on the YES Network.
Some ratings news from the Sports Media Watch blog. First, we get word that the ratings for the NHL All Star Game on Versus were up. It was a small increase, but an increase nonetheless. Next, the 4th round of the Buick Invitational featuring a Tiger Woods runaway beat the late NBA game featuring LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Paulsen also tells us that the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on NBC finished fourth on Saturday night. Fourth!
Rachel Blount of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the telecast on NBC showed that figure skating is not on life support.
In what has to be described as earth shattering news, Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his Farther Off the Wall blog that the Lingerie Bowl will be a no-show for the second year in a row. Curses!
The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty reports in his Best Seat in My House blog that NBC has chosen the Anaheim Ducks-Detroit Red Wings game for its NHL Game of the Week on February 10.
Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that the Carolina Hurricanes have signed a contract extension with FSN South to air 65 games a season for at least the next five seasons.
John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News writes that San Francisco sports radio station KNBR wants to bring Tony Bruno into the fold. Bruno who was on the air on Sporting News Radio has left due to a contract dispute.
The Ski Channel has signed a distribution deal with Cox Cable as R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel tells us.
That’s it. Back tomorrow.
Jan
28
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
College Basketball/Louisville at UConn – ESPN, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Tennessee at Duke (women’s) – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Coppin State at Howard – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 – TLC, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Oklahoma State at Oklahoma – ESPN, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Alabama State at Southern – ESPNU, 9 p.m.
NBA/San Antonio at Utah – NBA TV, 9 p.m.
In Treatment/Laura: Week One (series premiere) – HBO, 9:30 p.m.
College Basketball/Cal-Poly at Pacific – ESPN2, 11 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Jan
28
Trying to Catch Up After Being Out for the Morning
It’s already been a long morning and as I’m multitasking, doing links and some paperwork at the same time, I provide some links while I can.
First, Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse Blog chronicles the return of Dana Jacobsen to ESPN’s First Take today. However, the Christian Defense Coalition will not let the matter die.
USA Today’s Michael McCarthy goes after the common cliches spouted during NFL broadcasts.
The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick reviews a new documentary on the great boxer Rocky Marciano.
Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner in his Watch This! blog give us the entire schedule Super Bowl Week schedule for the NFL Network.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union tells us that NHL Center Ice is giving a free preview of its pay per view service this week.
Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says the NHL All Stars Skills Competition did not translate well to TV.
ESPN Radio has launched an “ESPN Xtra” channel on XM Satellite Radio.
Emily Steel of the Wall Street Journal writes that Super Bowl ads are now heading online. Mike Branom of the East Valley (AZ) Tribune writes that ESPN has set up an outdoor studio in Scottsdale, AZ as its Super Bowl headquarters. Marisa Guthrie of Broadcasting & Cable gives us an overview of the Super Bowl on Fox. And Glen Dickson of B&C talks about Fox’s production plans for the Big Game.
Carolyn Sackariason from the Aspen Times says the X Games have become a big franchise for ESPN.
NBC says ratings for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships for the Ladies Free Skate on Saturday night were 65% higher than last year when it was aired on a Sunday afternoon on ABC.
Mark Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers have had four games selected for Fox regional broadcasts.
That’s it for now.
Jan
28
Some Sunday Linkage
Been away for most of the day. Time for me to give you some links now when I can.
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is in a grumpy mood especially when he talks about network promos during NFL games.
Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News is now lecturing the New York Giants on how to answer questions before the Super Bowl.
Newsday’s Neil Best talks to ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about the Super Bowl. Neil has a quick blurb in his blog about his column.
The Sports Media Watch blog has a look at the NHL All Star Game ratings since 1991. Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable says NHL Network has tapped WorldLink to sell ads. Bob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the NHL is looking at ways to market the league on TV and elsewhere. Brian Biggane of the Palm Beach Post says the NHL All Stars need attention.
Mike Tankersley of the Montgomery (AL) Advertiser says 25 years later, the death of the late Alabama coach Bear Bryant still resonates in the state.
Dan Zieger of the East Valley (AZ) Tribune wonders how the Super Bowl got so big. Also from the Tribune, Craig Morgan writes that the Super Bowl is not so Super in other countries. Jeff Elliot of the Florida Times-Union writes that Super Bowl coverage got kicked off in a big way today. David Carr of the New York Times says there’s going to be a news/sports mash up on Super Bowl Sunday.
Scott Wong of the Arizona Republic reports that the media has started to descend upon the Super Bowl Media Center.
Robin Rose Parker of the Washington Post talks with James Brown of CBS Sports.
Chad Cripe of the Idaho Statesman tells us that the Humanitarian and Hawai’i Bowls were the two of the lower rated bowls in December.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders who should have the final say on free speech when it comes to the Kelly Tilghman and Rick Majerus stories.
That’s it for now. More on Monday.
Jan
26
More Saturday Links
First, watching NBC’s first effort for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, it’s been given a “Big Event” feel with Bob Costas and Dick Button as co-hosts. Former Olympics pairs co-champions Jamie Salé and David Pelletier who were so good on Olympic Ice last year with Mary Carillo have added a nice touch with their humor. We’ll see how the ratings are for this event which have been down recently. Tom Hammond, Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic have been good calling the event. Tracy Wilson is good at explaining how the judges score the jumps and lifts. In hosting his first figure skating event, Costas is trying to make sense out of everything but having him there gives NBC some credibility in the the first year of televising this event. Even though NBC is not paying a rights fee, it has pulled out some heavy hitters. We’ll see how it goes for the last year of its three year contract with U.S. Figure Skating.
Giving you some links now.
Chris Pursell of TV Week writes in his Pressbox blog that ESPN and NFL Network will go all out in their Super Bowl coverage.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Eli Manning needs a personality transfusion if he’s to get commercial endorsements like his brother, Peyton.
Bruce Allen of the Boston Sports Media Watch blog has an interesting exchange between Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel and 890ESPN Radio host and Boston Herald writer Mike Felger yesterday.
John Consoli of Mediaweek has the revised schedule for Fox on Super Bowl Sunday. Mike Shields of Mediaweek writes that Verizon will be the sponsor for AOL’s annual Super Sunday ad poll which will have fans rate the best and worst of the Super Bowl commercials.
Michael Malone of Broadcasting & Cable writes that Fox-owned stations in Boston and New York are experiencing an ad windfall for the Super Bowl.
The Sports Media Watch blog talks about whether the NHL is a hot television property. And Paulsen has his weekend ratings predictions.
The Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliot talks with Paul Kelly, the new Executive Director of the NHL Players Association, who wants the league to have games on ESPN now.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union wonders in his Best Seat in My House blog if the NHL renewing with Versus is a mistake.
Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News reports that Versus President Gavin Harvey won’t be moving to Philadelphia when the network consolidates its headquarters with parent Comcast later this year.
The New York Post’s Justin Terranova talks about the ESPN series on Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in his NYP TV Sports blog.
Jonathan Landreth of the Hollywood Reporter reports that Major League Baseball plans to play its first games in Communist China this March and hopes to have them televised on government-controlled TV in an attempt to grow the sport there.
Dania Bogle of the Jamaica Observer (yes, I’ll even link to Jamaican newspapers) writes that former Olympic bronze medalist Ato Bolton will be doing analysis work for NBC during the Summer Olympics in Beijing in August.
Anne Marie Somma of the Hartford Courant reports on the protest at ESPN over Dana Jacobsen.
Do you want another ESPN suspension? Rick Reeno of Boxingscene.com tells us that analyst Teddy Atlas was suspended for a week following an argument with a network executive.
Karen Lyon of the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald says next year’s Women’s Final of the Australian Open will be played at night local time which means that it will be shown at 3:30 a.m., Saturday here on the East Coast of the US. You get links to Jamaica and Australia, truly an international edition of the links tonight.
That’s it for now.
Jan
26
Friday Megalinks Combined with Saturday Links
My fault that the Friday megalinks weren’t here yesterday. Lots of issues that I don’t need to get into, but I’ll give them to you today with your weekly Saturday links.
Let’s go:
Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes about Fox’s plans for its silly Red Carpet Super Bowl pregame show.
TV Week has the sports TV ratings for the week ending January 20.
Let’s go from East to West
East and Mid-Atlantic
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe writes about WBZ-TV being the “official Patriots station”.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times tells us that Marv Albert is still learning from his mentor, the late Marty Glickman.
The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman lectures the media on how to do their jobs when asking Bill Belichick questions during Super Bowl week.
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says Boomer Esiason is going to have to make a choice soon. Mushnick’s arguments here really don’t water.
Newsday’s Neil Best says Giants fans who want Super Bowl tickets are finding the process frustrating.
Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun says Orioles fans remain interested in the team despite the recent hard times.
Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner says there’s a lot to watch this weekend even if there’s no football.
South
Doug Nye of The State says the Buick Invitational is a pick to click this weekend. And Nye says there was a lot of talk about South Carolina basketball coach Dave Odom’s retirement announcement this week.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says WQAM beat rival 790 The Ticket in the most recent Arbitron ratings.
Dave Darling in the Orlando Sentinel says there’s going to be plenty of sports to watch before the Super Bowl.
David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Fox will cover other things besides the Super Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday.
Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says former Dallas Mavericks announcer Allen Stone has found a new calling in life.
Ray Buck from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Fox Sports’ Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson share the same philosophy when it comes to the Super Bowl.
Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News asks are you ready for a lot of football?
Midwest
Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says NBC hopes to bring figure skating back into the national spotlight.
Paul Christian of the Rochester Post-Bulletin writes that NBC is pulling out all of the stops for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships this weekend.
Bob Wolfley has Fox Sports’ Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson talking about their frozen experience in Green Bay last week.
Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says KSDK hopes to resolve problems with hockey and golf conflicts when it airs the Cardinals during the spring and summer.
West
Scott D. Pierce in the Deseret Morning News writes that Versus will keep the NHL for the next three seasons.
Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says he’s relieved not to hear about LaDanian Tomlinson this week. And here are the ratings in San Diego from last week.
John Maffei of the North County Times says CBS and the Golf Channel are showcasing a lot of the San Diego area thanks to the Buick Invitational.
Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star previews the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on NBC.
Christine Daniels writes in the Los Angeles Times about the technical glitch that marred Kelly Tilghman’s apology on the Golf Channel on Thursday.
The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth says there’s a whole lot of apologizin’ going on. He has a follow up to the column in his Farther Off the Wall blog. And there’s his extensive media notes as well.
Canada
In the Toronto Star, Chris Zelkovich writes that the CBC is hoping to jump into the all-sports parade.
And William Houston writes in the Toronto Globe and Mail that CTV is charging a premium for Super Bowl spots.
I’ll have another post later. Keep it here.
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