Fang's Bites

HBO’s Legendary Night Boxing Documentary Series Returns This Fall

Ten years after HBO’s Legendary Nights series signed off, the pay cable channel is resurrecting the anthology with a look back at one of boxing’s greatest rivalries, Arturo Gatti and Irish Micky Ward. Gatti and Ward had three of the memorable fights between May of 2002 and June of 2003. And the two became very good friends as a result.

Legendary Nights will not only look back at those three fights, but it will use never-before-seen archival footage plus get new perspectives from Ward, Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and others. Unfortunately, we won’t be hearing from Gatti as he was murdered by his wife (allegedly).

The return of Legendary Nights will be teamed with a yet-to-be-announced fight.

We have the details from HBO Sports.

HBO SPORTS^® TO PRESENT ALL-NEW INSTALLMENT OF
EMMY^®-WINNING BOXING DOCUMENTARY SERIES LEGENDARY NIGHTS WHEN THE TALE OF GATTI-WARD,
A RETROSPECTIVE ON THE EPIC TRILOGY, DEBUTS THIS FALL

NEW YORK, March 26, 2013 – HBO Sports, honored nine times with the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast excellence in sports documentaries, will produce an all-new installment of the acclaimed LEGENDARY NIGHTS boxing documentary series, celebrating the most memorable fights in the network’s 40 years of presenting the sweet science. LEGENDARY NIGHTS, which captured the Sports Emmy^® Award for Outstanding Edited Sports Series when it debuted in 2003, will feature a retrospective on one of boxing’s greatest rivalries this fall, spotlighting the three-fight slugfest between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward.

“With June 2013 marking the tenth anniversary of the third fight of the landmark Gatti vs. Ward trilogy, we believe now is the ideal moment to revisit this classic rivalry,” says Ken Hershman, president, HBO Sports. “This retrospective will offer new perspectives and deliver revealing insights on the two ring warriors who produced this all-time great moment in boxing history. We plan to present the special on a night with a major fight on HBO, ensuring a memorable night of boxing programming.”

The one-hour exclusive HBO Sports presentation LEGENDARY NIGHTS: THE TALE OF GATTI-WARD will revisit the unforgettable three-fight trilogy authored by junior welterweights Arturo Gatti of Jersey City, NJ and Micky Ward of Lowell, Mass. Over 13 months, these two throwback sluggers engaged in 30 electrifying rounds of action, with Gatti winning both Atlantic City bouts (Nov. 23, 2002 and June 7, 2003), following Ward’s dramatic triumph in the opener (May 18, 2002) in Uncasville, Conn.

The first 2002 battle was named Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America, and the three fights have been widely celebrated as one of boxing’s greatest rivalries.

THE TALE OF GATTI-WARD will feature HBO Sports’ acclaimed blend of new interviews and thrilling fight action, highlighted by previously unseen archival footage. All three fights aired live on HBO and featured the ringside commentary of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and the late Emanuel Steward on the first and third fights. Lampley, Merchant and George Foreman called the second bout.

In a remarkable twist, Ward wound up being Gatti’s trainer for his final pro fight against Alfonso Gomez in July 2007. Gatti fought 21 times on HBO in his pro career, while Ward appeared six times on HBO.

The special will also be available on HBO On Demand^® and HBO GO^®.

LEGENDARY NIGHTS: THE TALE OF GATTI-WARD is executive produced by Rick Bernstein; senior producer, Dave Harmon; coordinating producer, Bentley Weiner; co-producer, Gabe Spitzer; writer, Aaron Cohen.

Looking forward to this. The original Legendary Nights series was done extremely well.

Floyd Mayweather Signs Fight Deal with Showtime/CBS and Leaves HBO

In a deal that has shocked the boxing world, Floyd Mayweather has signed a six fight deal that will last 2½ years with Showtime/CBS. It means that Mayweather who had been with HBO is moving to Showtime. His first fight with Showtime/CBS will occur in May in a pay per view event.

Showtime says this is a revenue sharing deal that could lead to the most lucrative contract in boxing history if all of the parameters are met.

We have details from Showtime.

That will do it.

ESPN Classic Airs All-Day Tribute To Hector “Macho” Camacho

In the wake of Hector “Macho” Camacho’s death earlier today, ESPN Classic will air his best fights all day Saturday. Camacho was shot while in his car earlier this week and slipped into a coma. He was declared brain dead on Friday.

Here’s the schedule.

ESPN Pays Tribute to Hector Camacho on ESPN Classic

ESPN will pay special tribute to former boxing titlist Hector Camacho today on ESPN Classic with eleven hours of programming beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Camacho passed away on Saturday at the age of 50. Camacho won Super Lightweight, Lightweight and Junior Welterweight world titles in the 1980’s and fought high-profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard.

The schedule below:

Date	Time (ET)	Program	Network
Sat, Nov 24	1 p.m.- 2p.m.	1989 Hector Camacho vs. Ray Mancini	ESPN Classic
	2 p.m. – 3 p.m.	1998 Hector Camacho vs. Ken Sigurani	ESPN Classic
	3 p.m.- 4 p.m.	1999 Hector Camacho vs. Patrick Goossen	ESPN Classic
	4 p.m.- 5 p.m.	1991 Hector Camacho vs. Greg Haugen-I	ESPN Classic
	5 p.m.-6 p.m.	1991 Hector Camacho vs. Greg Haugen-II	ESPN Classic
	6 p.m. – 7 p.m.	1990 Vinny Pazienza vs. Hector Camacho	ESPN Classic
	7 p.m. – 8 p.m.	1989 Hector Camacho vs. Ray Mancini	ESPN Classic
	8 p.m.- 9 p.m.	1999 Hector Camacho vs. Patrick Goossen	ESPN Classic
	9 p.m.- 10 p.m.	1998 Hector Camacho vs. Ken Sigurani	ESPN Classic
	10 p.m.- 11 p.m.	1991 Hector Camacho vs. Greg Haugen-II	ESPN Classic
	11 p.m.- 12 a.m.	1990 Vinny Pazienza vs. Hector Camacho	ESPN Classic

That is all.

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.

Looking at the Next Generation of Olympic Announcers

As we go into the second week of the 2012 London Olympics or the Games of the XXX Summer Olympiad, I thought I would take the opportunity on this middle Sunday to look ahead for the next set of Games on television.

We know that NBCUniversal will carry the Olympics through 2020, that’s two Winter and two Summer Games in that timespan. While the network has been served well by its current crop of announcers, some of whom date back as far back as 1988, it’s time to replace them with a new generation of hosts, play-by-play callers and analysts who can carry the network through 2020 and possibly beyond.

I’ll focus this post on the Summer Games since that’s what we’ve been watching for the last 8 days. I’ll do a Winter Olympics announcing post at a later date. I’ll start with hosts, then go by the glamor sports.

HOSTS

Bob Costas — Bob is 60 this year and while his youthful look betrays his age, he’ll be 64 in 2016 for Rio and 68 in 2020 at a site yet to be determined. ABC’s Jim McKay hosted his last Olympics in 1988 at age 65. Costas remains the best interviewer on sports television and should be allowed to host the Olympics on NBC for as long as he wants. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.

Dan Patrick — Dan is just four years younger than Bob, but if Costas decides to leave, DP could step into his shoes as Primetime host.

Liam McHugh — For 2016, I would think this is where NBC could tap Liam McHugh and put him in Al Michaels’ place on Daytime. Al would be 71 in Rio and while he would still be very good at calling Sunday Night Football in four years, I would not put him in the host’s chair in Rio. McHugh has proven he can be very versatile hosting the NHL Postseason, the Stanley Cup Final, the Tour de France and the Olympics over a four month span. That is not easy, but Liam has made it look easy and that’s the sign of a very good host.

Bonnie Bernstein — ESPN’s Bonnie Bernstein is the best personality not to have an Olympic gig. This is like saying she’s the Best Golfer Not To Win A Major. She has proven as a substitute host for Dan Patrick and on Twitter that she can discuss multiple sports. And Bonnie’s also a former gymnast. Watching BBC’s coverage of the London Games, the network utilizes both studio and venue hosts. Making Bonnie a venue host at Gymnastics with Nastia Liukin as her analyst would work to one of her strengths. She was a five-time host of the NCAA Gymnastics Championship when she was at CBS. I would love to see her work an Olympic Games.

Ryan Burr — Ryan will be coming to the NBCUniversal family to work at Golf Channel and at NBC Sports Network. We could see him host on either MSNBC or NBCSN.

Michelle Beadle — Michelle’s done a great job thus far in London. She has shown she can talk Olympic sports and bring some humor as well.

Kelly Tilghman — I’ve liked her work on MSNBC. I can see her on future Olympics as well.

ANNOUNCERS

Let’s do this by sport.

BASKETBALL — If the NBA continues sending players to the Olympics, then NBC could continue utilizing Bob Fitzgerald from Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Chris Carrino. This is where NBC should tap Turner Sports for a Steve Kerr or even Reggie Miller for analysts.

If basketball becomes an Under 23 tournament as speculated, NBC may have to hire college basketball announcers. Borrowing Ian Eagle from CBS and YES to call games would be a good move. Jay Bilas from ESPN would forge a strong team with Ian throughout the Games. And NBC should still utilize Craig Sager as the reporter although he looks muted with a regular wardrobe.

On the women’s side, if NBC could get Doris Burke on loan from ESPN, that would be ideal. She could work men’s games too as she’s proven over the past few years. If NBC can’t get Doris Burke, why not former ESPN’er Stacey Dales or Fox Sports Net’s Debbie Antonelli?

BOXING — Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas are a very good team and should remain, but I’d love for NBC to bring in its old friend Jim Lampley with Larry Merchant and Emmanuel Steward from HBO to call one or two bouts a day. What could be better than that? And bring in Harold Lederman for judging analysis while we’re at it.

Host Fred Roggin should be replaced with boxing fan Brian Kenny of MLB Network.

CYCLING — If it’s not Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, NBC should go announcer-less.

DIVING — Can you believe Cynthia Potter has worked every Summer Olympics on network television since 1984? She’s been solid, but it’s time to bring in some new blood. 2000 gold medalist Laura Wilkinson who worked the Diving Trials for NBC Sports Network in June is a potential candidate.

GYMNASTICS — Utilizing a favorite word of Tim Daggett’s, the announcing on this sport over the last two Olympiads has been catastrophic. Normally, I like Al Trautwig, but his calls of gymnastics in 2008 in Beijing and this year in London is reaching John Tesh disastrous proportions in 1996. Al makes everything seems at life or death levels. In addition, his penchant to focus on crying gymnasts borders on creepy.

Tim Daggett’s constant talking and use of the word “catastrophic” is annoying. Elfi Schlegel has been reduced to short sentences. NBC needs to replace this team for 2016.

This is where NBC can utilize a venue host (see Bonnie Bernstein above) with an analyst. Nastia Liukin could fill that role very nicely. Bela Karolyi has proven to be Must See TV and should be one of the studio analysts. And if his wife, Marta retires, imagine the fireworks on the set between those two.

NBC is using Terry Gannon this year to call rowing. Why not have Terry call Olympic Gymnastics in 2016? He has called the sport for ABC and did it well. And having watched the World Feed this year through NBC’s Olympics Live Extra app, I’m very impressed with Shannon Miller from 1996′s Magnificent Seven Team. She’s been the sole analyst for Olympic Broadcasting Services and has done very well in explaining certain moves, the scoring system and their implications without sounding overdramatic. Terry Gannon and Shannon Miller would make an excellent team.

GOLF — Remember, golf makes its return to the Olympics in Rio in 2016, having made its last appearance in 1904. NBC/Golf Channel has an established team with Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Nick Faldo, Roger Maltbie, Brandell Chamblee, Frank Nobilo, Rich Lerner, the aforementioned Kelly Tilghman, David Feherty, the incoming Ryan Burr and so many others who could work this event.

Some people have asked me on Twitter if Dan would stop calling swimming to do golf. I think Dan could do both especially if the IOC (with the help of NBC) decides to schedule golf in the second week of the Olympics, so that it doesn’t interfere with swimming, tennis, gymnastics and other sports in the first week. This is where a venue host would come in handy, perhaps Kelly or Ryan with one or two of the many Golf Channel analysts. And we could expect Golf Channel to have a role in picking up the first two rounds of Olympic Golf with NBC coming in for the last two rounds.

SOCCER — NBC used its MLS crew, Arlo White and Kyle Martino on the men’s games along with JP Dellacamera, Glenn Davis, Steve Cangialosi and Allen Hopkins. I’d love to see English Premier League announcers Martin Tyler and Ian Darke on US TV calling some Olympic action.

Brandi Chastain despite Hope Solo’s complaints last week is doing well on women’s games and I would keep her in the booth.

SWIMMING — Dan Hicks has made this one of his signature sports along with golf throughout his career at NBC. I can’t see him leaving the sport unless golf is scheduled in the first week, but I don’t think that would happen. Rowdy Gaines has been a good salesman for swimming and he’s doing yeoman’s work to raise money for the sport to establish a training center. However, I’ve grown tired of his screaming and his voice raising over 50 octaves. This is where NBC could bring in a plethora of gold medalists to replace Gaines. This is also a sport that could utilize a venue host and it’s where Liam McHugh could go if NBC decides to keep Al Michaels in Daytime.

While Phelps has said he’s retiring, NBC would like to see him in Rio either as a swimmer or perhaps an analyst. If the network uses him on TV, I’d prefer to see him in the studio. At first thought, I felt putting Phelps on camera would be a bad move, but this was based on his interviews in Beijing where he looked uncomfortable. During his NBC interviews in London, Michael has looked more at ease, but that does not necessarily make for a good analyst. If he wants to go the TV route, putting him in the studio for short spurts might be best for 2016.

As for the races, I’d go with Amy Van Dyken to replace Rowdy. For the past year, Amy has been co-hosting Fox Sports Tonight with Rob Dibble on Fox Sports Radio and she’s been in London analyzing the Olympic swimming for FoxSports.com. Amy is not only funny, but she speaks her mind. She knows the mind of an Olympic athlete and I think she’d be perfect with Dan in calling the races.

TENNIS — This sport finally received some glamor treatment from NBC this year. However, it was treated badly with Pat O’Brien as the venue host. Not only did Pat demonstrate a huge lack of knowledge, he conducted awkward interviews as well. Brett Haber and Andrew Catalon did very well on the play-by-play and I liked Rennae Stubbs to want her to return in Rio. Justin Gimelstob was a weak link in the crew. I’d replace him with ESPN’s Darren Cahill or have John McEnroe call more matches.

TRACK & FIELD — There’s not much I would replace here. Tom Hammond is about as classy an announcer as you will find. Ato Boldon has become a very strong analyst. And NBC has brought back Craig Masback, long a staple of track coverage in the 1980′s and 1990′s. But for 2016, I think Lolo Jones would make for a good studio analyst. And Michael Johnson who has been on the last few Olympics for the BBC would work well too. Having Bob host Primetime from the Athletics venue would be a nice change of pace from being in the studio. And he could mix it up with Lolo and Michael.

Those are my suggestions. If you have some of your own, put them in the comments below.

The Olympics Are Here; Let’s Do Some Links

Olympics start today with women’s soccer and there’s more soccer action tomorrow on the men’s side. Let’s bring you some linkage before I get distracted by the live streaming.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand reports that Erin Andrews will get some high profile NFL assignments working with the Fox Sports “A” announcing team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver on Thanksgiving and the postseason.

Roger Yu of USA Today looks at NBC’s Olympic online streaming plans.

Reid Cherner of USA Today says the Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies will not be streamed online by NBC. Both will be held for primetime broadcast. Grrrrr.

David Bauder of the Associated Press has your Olympics Viewing Guide.

I have my own Olympics Viewing Guide.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report wonders if NBC will force Bob Costas to back of his pledge to honor the slain Israeli athletes from the 1972 Munich Olympics during this year’s Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Jason Fry and Kelly McBride of the Poynter Review Project as the ESPN Ombudsman review ESPN’s coverage of the Penn State story on Monday.

Sports Business Daily Global notes that the Olympics are the second most valuable brand worldwide.

ESPN may not be the Olympics rightsholder in the US, but it does have the rights in Latin America and John Ourand at Sports Business Journal’s Olympic site looks at its sponsors for the Games.

UK Radio personality Polly James of Absolute Radio has started an Olympics blog and it’s quite good.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says Showtime and CBS will team up to show the professional debut of several Olympic boxers.

John Eggerton of Mulitchannel writes that Tennis Channel won a huge victory from the FCC in its carriage battle with Comcast.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel says Netflix feels that growth will be stunted in the current quarter due to the Olympics.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable notes that NBC News will use Storify to piece together certain stories of the Olympics.

Christopher Heine of Adweek reports that one Penn State sponsor has dropped the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY talks with former CBS News and WCBS anchor Dave Marash who covered the 1972 Munich tragedy.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that CBS Sports Network will air some US Open Tennis on Labor Day Weekend.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Fox Sports college football analyst Charles Davis talking about the Penn State sanctions.

Laura Nachman notes that ESPN SportsCenter anchor Ducis Rodgers will be joining the Philadelphia ABC affiliate.

Tim Richardson in Press Box writes that the military will continue its sports sponsorships in the mid-Atlantic region.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the DC NFL Team has already e-mailed the media on quarterback Robert Griffin III’s availability.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman talks about the Olympic streaming smorgasbord online.

Mel also looks at the local ratings from the weekend.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Bengals aren’t going to relax their requirements to ease TV blackouts.

Robert Feder of TimeOut Chicago says a popular Comcast SportsNet reporter is leaving the Windy City.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune has NBC’s Bob Costas lashing out at those who write about Olympic tape delays.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News has Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott optimistic about getting DirecTV on board for the Pac-12 Networks.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks with CTV Olympic Daytime host James Duthie.

Sports Media Watch looks at NBC Sports Network’s new highlight show.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing says the Olympics going digital.

AA’s Matt Yoder feels Fox should ditch the local announcers on its MLB broadcasts.

That’s going to do it.

It’s A Thursday Link Thing

Let’s do some linkage now. Fifth straight day! This is a record!

Michael Florek at USA Today’s Game On blog notes that Time Magazine will have six separate covers in four regions for its Olympic preview issue. For the U.S., guys will have Lolo Jones to gawk at, women get Ryan Lochte. Gymnast Gabby Douglas also adorns a cover.

To Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Journal who profiles NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell who is not only following in his mentor, Dick Ebersol’s footsteps, but still has to do his regular job of overseeing the Today show as well.

Sports Business Daily says a nightly Olympic light show in London will display colors based on the overall mood of Tweets during the Games. I kid you not.

Nick Zaccardi and Richard Deitsch at Sports Illustrated provide you with fifty Twitter feeds you should follow during the Olympics.

Speaking of SI, Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report delves into the staff cuts made this week at the fabled magazine.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age looks at where SI made its staff cuts.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes a new NFL analyst hire for ESPN.

Noreen O’Leary at Adweek writes that Cadillac has launched a new short film to target consumers just before the Olympics.

Jenny Tsao at Arbitron notes that sports radio on FM is drawing a higher and younger audience than AM.

Matt Hayes from the Sporting News reports that the college football four team playoff system could get a huge rights fee and that ESPN is a big favorite to get the whole kit and caboodle.

John Koblin of Deadspin finds more evidence of ESPN.com writer Lynn Hoppes lifting material.

Tom Ley at Deadspin had a funny battle with a horse dressage site this week. And thanks to Deadspin’s readers, the dressage site’s editor had to humbly apologize. The comments in both stories are just plain hilarious.

And Issac Rauch of Deadspin has video that has become a worldwide sensation, Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke’s pre-race dance before her heat at the IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes about Sports Illustrated’s staff cuts.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says the MLB All-Star Game drew well in New York.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says the local ESPN Radio affiliate will have a weekly show devoted to the Saratoga horse racing season starting tonight.

Adam Sichko of the Albany Business Review says a local TV studio will assist NBC in producing its summer horse racing series at Saratoga.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that a local radio station will pick up the Buffalo Bills this season.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says Fox Soccer will air over 20 college soccer gamesin the fall.

In Press Box, Tim Richardson reports that a decision is close on the MASN/Washington Natonals rights fee dispute.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog writes that DC NFL Team linebacker Ryan Kerrigan guest anchored on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic this week.

Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com talks with Kerrigan about his experiences on the TV side.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that two sports radio hosts with local ties made Talkers Magazine’s Heavy 100 list.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch talks with ESPN Chicago NBA beat writer Nick Friedell.

Jack Denker of the Fremont (NE) Tribune profiles a native who’s working behind-the-scenes at ESPN.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says NBC is hoping for big numbers from the London Olympics.

Dave Paresh of the San Francisco Chronicle says NBC and Adobe have teamed up to create two Olympic mobile apps.

David P. Greisman at Boxing Scene says NBC is seeking to increase the time in-between rounds so it can squeeze in more commercials.

Joe Favorito says the Houston Rockets should be taking a page from the Brooklyn Nets’ playbook and start reaching out the community.

We are done.

A Few Sunday Sports Media Thoughts

Let’s provide a few sports media thoughts on this Sunday. They’ll be in bullet form.

• Last Thursday’s release of Louis Freeh’s report on Penn State University’s conduct in the Jerry Sandusky scandal was the sports media’s version of the Obamacare Supreme Court decision. Unlike the Obamacare decision, no media outlet made errors in reporting. But there were a couple of errors in judgment in the aftermath.

  First was allowing Matt Millen to go solo on SportsCenter to spout freely to defend Joe Paterno and his legacy. ESPN should have had one of its legal experts like Roger Cossack to discuss the contents of the reports. To let Millen go on to defend Paterno right after the report’s release was irresponsible. If ESPN was going to have Millen on, it needed to have an opposing viewpoint accompany him. Bad decision by ESPN.

  Second was crackpot Bill James originally stating on his own site and then again on ESPN Radio’s Doug Gottlieb Show on Saturday that the Freeh Report had somehow exonerated Paterno. James currently works for the Boston Red Sox in an advisory role and while he did not make those statements representing the team, they have a conundrum knowing that the calls for James’ firing have already begun. Someone should have corralled James before he went on ESPN Radio and embarrassed himself. How James could believe the report that report exonerated Paterno is beyond belief. The Red Sox will have to take action on James. And no, this is not a First Amendment issue. Under an organization’s employe, that organization can fire someone for actions or statements it deems offensive or contrary to its values.

  The Paterno story and its effects on Penn State will be going for a while, I’m afraid.

• I’m a fan of HBO’s boxing coverage from Jim Lampley to Larry Merchant, Emanuel Steward and Harold Lederman, but when it comes to Max Kellerman, the man is abrasive, obnoxious and a charlatan. Often, he repeats what Jim Lampley has already said. Larry Merchant is much better in the third analyst role. How Kellerman has worked for ESPN, Fox Sports Net and HBO is beyond me.
• After watching a few MLS and US Soccer games on NBC Sports Network, I’ve become a fan of how Arlo White and Kyle Martino call contests. With White in the traditional commentary box and Martino down on the field, the two have very good chemistry. I look forward to having them call Olympic Soccer in the UK at the end of this month.
• If I’m on a baseball team playing on a Fox Saturday Baseball game that’s being called by Kenny Albert, I’m calling in sick. In 2010, Kenny called two marathon games, a 20 inning affair between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals and a 13 inning contest between the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers. Then on Saturday, Kenny had another 13 inning game, this time between Detroit and Baltimore. Kenny is truly a baseball Marathon Man.

That will conclude the thoughts for today.

Jonesing For Tuesday Linkage

Ok, maybe you’re not jonesing for the linkage, but at least you can read them at your leisure. Sometimes I think way too long about the title of the post and this is the case today. Anyway, let’s get to the links.

Joel Schectman of the Wall Street Journal reports that NBC and Google are preparing for possible hacking or denial of service attacks of online Olympic streams next month.

Lindsay Rubino at Broadcasting & Cable writes that NBC with U.S. Olympic Trials coverage in Track & Field, Swimming and Gymnastics won primetime on Sunday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says ESPN and ESPN2 are seeing huge ratings gains from Wimbledon.

Mike writes that NBC Sports Group has expanded its commitment to its Fight Night.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek says Fox Sports has sold out its ad inventory for the MLB All-Star Game.

Crupi says NBC scored with the U.S. Olympic Trials over the last week and a half.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost says if Sunday is any indication, NBC should do really well with the Olympics later this month.

George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter notes that BBC’s sports broadcasts of EURO 2012 and Wimbledon are leaving rival ITV in the ratings dust.

Nat Ives from Advertising Age notes that NBC and Sports Illustrated are teaming up for a monthly show.

Sam Marmudi of Marketwatch.com says NBC is getting ready for an Olympic takeover.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! writes that MLB’s antiquated blackout policy is hurting the sport.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com says the media could be allowed to see the college football playoff selection process.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans from the Tampa Bay Times writes that Erin Andrews is another example of ESPN losing another big name star.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks about why it’s important for Fox to have Erin Andrews make her debut next week at the MLB All-Star Game.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says ESPN plans to change its production model of the X Games as it expands globally.

Darren Rovell bids farewell to CNBC.

At the ESPN PR Front Row blog, Mike Humes says the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest brings back memories for college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla.

Timothy Burke of Deadspin notes that Texas Rangers TV voice Dave Barnett who had a strange on-air moment last month, will be taking a medical leave for the rest of the season.

Andy Smith of the Providence Journal writes that almost a million people watched the America’s Cup World Series races on NBC over the weekend.

To Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, who looks at the on-going MLB TV rights negotiations. Some interesting news from Richard in the article.

Newsday’s Neil Best discusses MLB All-Star voting with Commissioner Bud Selig and Fox’s Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Bob’s Blitz has video of some of the WFAN gang with CBS Radio bigwigs ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange last week.

The Albany Times-Union’s Pete Dougherty says the PGA’s AT&T National on CBS set a six year ratings high.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record reports that NESN National is available to local Verizon Fios subscribers.

Ken says NBA TV is gearing up for Summer League games.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Bog has ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian predicting good things for the Nationals.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times reviews the weekend in sports television.

Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel recaps Erin Andrews’ appearance on the Dan Patrick Show today.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says Samantha Steele of the Longhorn Network could be the beneficiary of Erin Andrews’ departure from ESPN.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman talks about Dave Barnett’s decision to take a medical leave from calling the Texas Rangers.

Gregg Tunnicliff of the Flint (MI) Journal talks with a long-time racing commentator.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has MLB Commissioner Bud Selig not having a problem with the sudden surge of fan voting from the Bay Area for the All-Star Game.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says the Pac-12 Network is set to launch in 40 million homes next month.

Michael Gehiken of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the eased NFL blackout rules probably won’t affect the Chargers this coming season.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news on the U.S. Olympic Trials and Baseball Night in America.

SMW notes that Wimbledon as an all-cable event is performing on par with last year.

Jason Lisk at The Big Lead is happy to note that ESPN blowhard Skip Bayless is wrong about racial profiling American white players in the NBA Draft.

Matt Yoder has some thoughts on ESPN’s EURO 2012 coverage.

Joe Favorito wonders if brands can make their Olympic sponsorship gambles pay off despite not having a name athlete to cling to.

And we’ll wrap up with Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth who looks back at WFAN’s 25 years in operation.

And we’re done.

NBC Expands Fight Night Boxing Series

NBC Sports Group has announced that it has extended its agreement with promoter Main Events to expand the Fight Night boxing series on NBC Sports Network. The deal which was originally for one year will now extend to 2014. In addition, the number of Fight Night cards will expand from the original six this year to a total of 16 over the life of the contract.

The Fight Night series will also air at least twice on NBC. The first Fight Night card on NBC is scheduled to air on December 22.

We have the NBC Sports Group press release for you below.

NBC SPORTS GROUP RENEWS FIGHT NIGHT BOXING SERIES

NBC Sports Network Extends Deal With Main Events For 2013-2014
Saturday Night Boxing Series To Expand From Six Telecasts To Up To 16

NEW YORK – July 2, 2012 – NBC Sports Group will partner with Main Events to produce a second season of the network’s successful primetime boxing series Fight Night. The Saturday night boxing series will expand from six telecasts to up to 16 and will showcase compelling match-ups between some of the world’s best fighters.

NBC Sports Group will continue to work with Main Events and Hall-of-Fame matchmaker J Russell Peltz, to once again feature a multi-promoter strategy for the series. Designed to produce the best quality fights, the collaboration allows any promoter the opportunity to get their boxers involved in these programs and allows viewers the ability to see world class match-ups that would not otherwise take place.

“We are once again reaching out to all promoters to get involved in the series.” said Kathy Duva, president, Main Events. “The multiple promoter format worked incredibly well during season one and we are hoping to continue to build on the momentum. All fighters who are willing to further their careers by engaging in compelling, interesting, meaningful matches are welcome.”

“This series is the best thing that has happened to boxing in years,” said Hall-of-Fame promoter/matchmaker J Russell Peltz. “In just four shows, we have seen the emergence of US heavyweight prospect Bryant Jennings and junior middleweight contender Gabriel Rosado. We have shown matches between world-rated fighters and that’s something you rarely see these days on television. On top of that, the fights have been promoted the old-fashioned way, in sold-out noisy venues in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Bethlehem and Newark. This is the way boxing was meant to be.”

“Fight Night has been a tremendous success. The unique approach to have multiple promoters competing to put fights on the NBC Sports Network has allowed us to produce compelling match-ups and incredibly exciting shows.” said Jon Miller, President of programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “The NBC Sports Group is committed to the property and we are looking forward to expanding the series from six telecasts to up to 16.”

Starting in 2013, a minimum of six Fight Night telecasts will take place each year on the NBC Sports Network. The NBC Sports Group will also look to place up to two Fight Night broadcasts on NBC.

As part of the agreement, an additional Fight Night telecast has also been added to the 2012 calendar. The show will air Saturday, December 22 on NBC, from 4-6 p.m. ET. The fight card will be announced at a later date.

2012-2013 NBC SPORTS NETWORK FIGHT NIGHT SCHEDULE
(All times ET and subject to change)

Saturday, December 22 4-6 p.m. NBC
Saturday, January 19, 9-11 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Saturday, March 9, 9-11 p.m. NBC Sports Network

Kenny Rice will continue to serve as the play-by-play commentator for all telecasts, and will be joined by Hall-of-Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach and cruiserweight contender B.J. Flores. Chris Mannix will continue to serve as the ringside reporter for each telecast.

FIGHT NIGHT 36: The NBC Sports Network will continue to use its all-access 36 series to compliment the Fight Night telecasts. In 2012, individual Fight Night 36 episodes featured fighters Zab Judah and Eddie Chambers. The collaboration between Fight Night 36 and Fight Night allowed fans a unique opportunity to go behind-the-scenes prior to each fight and see how the boxers train, spend time with their family and interact with fans.

One more NBC Sports press release coming up.

Our Monday Linkage

Let’s do some links on a rainy Monday in Southern New England.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at NFL Network’s new morning show.

Michael says ESPN has not confirmed whether Chris Berman will call a Monday Night Football game on the opening weekend of the season.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reports that CBS is about 80% sold for the Super Bowl.

Terry Lefton of Sports Business Journal says Pepsi has signed a deal to sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show.

Mike Ozanian of Forbes notes that the Miami Heat is on the verge of getting a huge deal with Fox Sports Florida.

Former ESPN First Take co-host Dana Jacobsen writes in her blog that she was molested as a child. Courageous for her to speak publicly about this.

Scott Roxborough and Stuart Kemp of the Hollywood Reporter note that yesterday’s Italy-England EURO 2012 Quarterfinal game became the highest-rated and most watched game of the tournament in Europe.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News looks at ESPN going all in at Wimbledon.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age wonders now that LeBron James has won a championship, will he reach Michael Jordan levels in marketing?

Staci D. Kramer of paidContent says ESPN’s streaming of the NBA Finals drew a decent audience.

Ed Sherman from the Sherman Report writes that sportswriter Frank Deford will appear on tonight’s Colbert Report.

The Big Lead looks at alleged bias by the HBO Boxing crew from the Manny Pacquaio-Timothy Bradley fight.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing reviews the train wreck that was Charlie Sheen’s guest appearance on Fox Saturday.

Matt analyzes the moves by CBS and NBC to create their own sports radio networks.

Dylan Murphy at SportsGrid says a French soccer player cursed out a reporter after the team’s loss at EURO 2012 last week.

Also from SportsGrid, Dan Fogarty notes that Oprah Winfrey will interview LeBron James and the Miami Heat this weekend which has train wreck potential written all over it.

Evan Weiner at Examiner.com writes that the NFL has a long way to go to get a foothold in Europe.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with some of the people who have worked at WFAN during its past 25 years.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick says college presidents’ pleas to pray for the Jerry Sandusky abuse victims ring hollow. Did Phil want them to go to Jerry Sandusky’s jail cell and shoot him dead?

And Phil goes after his favorite target, WFAN’s Mike Francesa.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY talks with WFAN Operations Manager Mark Chernoff about the nation’s oldest radio station turning 25.

Jerry says a 1010 WINS sports anchor wants to go after those who mispronounce “Wimbledon”.

Bob’s Blitz has the WFAN 25th Anniversary lineup for this Sunday.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says a New York-Penn League minor league baseball team won’t have a radio partner this year.

Greg Connors of the Buffalo News talks with Jim Rome about his CBS Sports Network show.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that ESPN will be providing a lot of tennis action over the next fortnight.

At Chicago Sports Media Watch, Paul M. Banks talks with Danica Patrick about her transition from IndyCar to NASCAR.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post writes about ESPN’s extensive Wimbledon coverage.

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

Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune says all of San Diego State’s football games will be seen on TV, the question is where?

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail suggests that the NHL expand Hockey Night in Canada to Sundays.

Raju Mudhar with the Toronto Star writes about technology and sports melding together.

At Frontstretch, Amy Henderson writes that TV is actually hurting NASCAR and turning fans off.

Back to Paul M. Banks at the Sports Bank and he has video of ESPN’s Jenn Brown taking batting practice at the College World Series.

MediaRantz reviews WFAN at 25.

MediaRantz says noted Florida sports radio bad boy Dan Sileo could be headed to the new CBS Sports Radio.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says NBC’s shuffle of the NHL Draft wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Sports Media Watch says the NBA Finals’ ratings were down from last year.

SMW writes that MLB on Fox took a hit opposite the U.S. Open.

But SMW says this past weekend, MLB on Fox did significantly better.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo’s The Dagger blog writes that ESPN expects to replace analyst Hubert Davis with Jalen Rose on College GameDay.

Paul Magno at Yahoo says boxing may return to network TV as Oscar de la Hoya tries to bring a fight to CBS.

Kris Hughes at Rant Sports asks if Time Warner Cable could purchase the Longhorn Network from ESPN?

Gaslamp Ball talks with the head of Fox Sports San Diego.

And that will do us for today.

HBO To Re-Air Controversial Pacquaio/Bradley Fight

This Saturday, HBO Sports will air the controversial Manny Pacquaio-Tim Bradley fight that ended in a split decision for Bradley. And while fans watch the fight as it airs, they’ll be able to vote at HBO’s Facebook page to determine who won. After the re-air and the live Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.-Andy Lee, HBO will deliver the results of the fan voting.

It all begins at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Take a look at the HBO announcement.

HBO SPORTS^® PRESENTS THE EXCLUSIVE REPLAY MANNY PACQUIAO VS. TIMOTHY BRADLEY, SATURDAY, JUNE 16 PLUS CHAVEZ JR. VS. LEE LIVE FROM EL PASO, TX

It’s a special edition of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® when HBO Sports presents MANNY PACQUIAO VS. TIMOTHY BRADLEY, the exclusive replay of the world welterweight title fight, SATURDAY, JUNE 16 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team, which was ringside for the live coverage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, calls all the action.  The telecast will be available in HDTV.

In his first fight of 2012, carried live Saturday, June 9 on HBO Pay-Per-View^®, Pacquiao put his 147-pound title on the line against undefeated challenger Timothy Bradley Jr. The hard-fought battle resulted in Bradley being awarded a split-decision victory, which triggered a hot debate over the three judges’ ringside scoring.

Viewers will be able to watch the fight from bell-to-bell, judge the action for themselves and cast their votes at the conclusion of the Pacquiao-Bradley replay by logging on to Facebook.com/HBOBoxing. HBO Sports will reveal the results later that evening during the previously announced WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING middleweight title showdown between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Andy Lee from El Paso (presented live ET/tape-delayed PT).

Other HBO playdates for both fights:  June 17 (9:45 a.m.) and 18 (11:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates for both fights: June 17 (4:45 p.m.) and 19 (midnight)

Following the doubleheader, a new edition of “The Fight Game with Jim Lampley” debuts (midnight-12:30 a.m. live ET/tape-delayed PT) from the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

^® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

That does it.

A Few Monday Links

I’m going to be away from a computer for most of the day so I’ll provide a few links for you now. If I can, I’ll provide more later when I’m back.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that Floyd Mayweather vs. Larry Merchant II did not materialize after Saturday’s Mayweather-Cotto fight on pay per view.

Mike says TNT is denying that Charles Barkley used a gay slur during its NBA pregame show on Sunday.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report notes that Phil Mushnick’s Sunday column was not A) posted on the New York Post’s main sports webpage, and B) did not reference the brouhaha over his Friday piece.

Sophie A. Schillaci of the Hollywood Reporter talks about Hollywood’s love affair with hockey.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable says CBS is receiving increased ad revenues for its SEC college football package due to a price increase.

R. Thomas Umstead writes that a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquaio pay per view fight could reap millions of dollars for both fighters when it finally becomes reality.

Noreen O’Leary of Adweek says a new Olympic ad is causing a firestorm in the UK for renewing old wounds from the 1982 Falklands War between the UK and Argentina.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing notes that ESPN’s Karl Ravech got his DC monuments mixed up during last night’s edition of Baseball Tonight.

Do you want to see ESPN Erin Andrews in her Kentucky Derby hat from Saturday? I think you do. It’s at The Big Lead.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post still doesn’t address his controversial Friday column today, but has time to criticize SNY for one of its graphics.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY says Mushie is still feeling the heat today.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times pays tribute to former CBS and ABC wordsmith Jack Whitaker who received a Lifetime Achievement Sports Emmy Award last week.

To David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun who reports that WJZ-TV actually cut away from yesterday’s marathon Red Sox-Orioles game in favor of 60 Minutes and a feature on local Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

John-John Williams IV of the Sun says O’s fans took to Twitter to express their anger at the move. The game was also shown on MASN in the local area, however, there are still parts of Baltimore that are still not wired for cable so you can imagine the anger.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times enjoyed NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby.

However, Sports Media Watch says the overnight ratings for the Derby dropped 7% from last year and hit a six year low.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch can’t believe White Sox TV voice Hawk Harrelson remained silent for over a minute apparently despondent over a loss on Friday.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post feels ESPN’s Doris Burke gets the job done on NBA games.

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

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC’s Bob Cole remains a polarizing figure among hockey fans.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star writes that the sale of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment to Canadian media giants Rogers and Bell is a home run.

And that’s it for now. I’ll try to do more when I return.

HBO Sports Wins Three Sports Emmy Awards

Another Sports Emmy Award press release for you. This one comes from HBO Sports which was honored for its innovative 24/7 series, one for boxing, the other for the NHL. And HBO also received one of the more prestigious awards, Outstanding Sports Journalism for its feature “The College Bowl Game Money Trail” which was aired on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel last year.

Here is HBO Sports’ press release for you.

Winners were revealed last night at the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy® Awards in New York City.

HBO collected three Sports Emmys Awards.

The wins marked the 15^th time that Real Sports has been honored with the award for “Outstanding Sports Journalism” and the two trophies for the  “24/7” franchise brings to 16 the number of Sports Emmys won by the series since its inception in 2007. “24/7” is the most honored sports series on television during that span.

OUTSTANDING SPORTS JOURNALISM –

• REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL – The College Bowl Game Money Trail (Bernard Goldberg)           

OUTSTANDING EDITING –

• 24/7 PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ
  

THE DICK SCHAAP WRITING AWARD

• 24/7 FLYERS/RANGERS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC

We’re done. Two more Sports Emmy press releases and we’re finished in the category.

TNT To Air All Four Parts of HBO’s 24/7 Mayweather/Cotto

Starting Tuesday, TNT will air all four parts of HBO’s boxing series, “24/7 Mayweather/Cotto” on consecutive nights. Recently, HBO has been using Time Warner corporate partner CNN to re-air the 24/7 series. Now it will use another Time Warner sister cable channel, TNT.

This will lead right into the HBO Pay Per View fight between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Miguel Cotto on Saturday, May 5.

The first installment of 24/7 Mayweather/Cotto airs Tuesday immediately following Inside the NBA and will do so on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The final episode airs Friday night at 11:45 ET/PT.

We have the details from TNT on the airing of 24/7 Mayweather/Cotto.

TNT Set to Broadcast HBO^® Reality Series 24/7 Mayweather/Cotto
Four-Part Series Replays Over Four Consecutive Nights on TNT, beginning May 1

HBO’s Emmy-Award^®-winning reality series ‘24/7’ is coming to TNT, which will air replays of the all-new four-part series 24/7 MAYWEATHER/COTTO on four consecutive nights, beginning Tuesday, May 1.

In the lead-up to the blockbuster HBO Pay-Per-View^® telecast on May 5 in Las Vegas when Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto battle for Cotto’s world super welterweight title, TNT will replay a different episode of 24/7 MAYWEATHER/COTTO from Tuesday, May 1, through Friday, May 4. Episodes one through three are set to air immediately following the post-game edition of the Emmy Award^®-winning studio program INSIDE THE NBA, which wraps up the evening’s NBA Playoff action.

24/7 MAYWEATHER/COTTO is the all-access, behind-the-scenes pass that allows viewers to step into the lives of the fighters before they step into the ring. Mayweather lives and trains in Las Vegas, while Puerto Rico’s Cotto is training in Orlando.

35-year-old Floyd Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) is a celebrated superstar making his sixth appearance on the 24/7 series. Cotto, 31, (37-2, 30 KOs) has reinvigorated his career by capturing the super welterweight title and successfully defending it twice in 2011. This is Cotto’s third appearance on 24/7.

Episode one of 24/7 will air on TNT on Tuesday, May 1, immediately after INSIDE THE NBA. Episodes two and three will air on subsequent nights on TNT following INSIDE THE NBA. The finale of 24/7 will air on TNT Friday, May 4, at 11:45 p.m. (ET/PT) less than 24 hours before the mega-fight in Las Vegas.

In the past four years, HBO’s 24/7 franchise has earned 14 Sports Emmys^® for production excellence. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, the fast-moving, documentary-style production focuses on the training, commitment and sacrifices that prizefighters make in order to realize their dreams. The turnaround time is among the quickest in television as the series follows the fighters and their teams, both at camp and at home, while excitement and anxiety builds for the big fight.

That is all.

Unveiling Some Thursday Links

Let’s get to some linkage. Four days in a row. Let’s keep up the momentum.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that the NFL is considering suspending the Pro Bowl.

Stuart Kemp of the Hollywood Reporter writes that BBC’s staff to cover the London Olympics will outnumber the British athletic contingent to the Games.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable says NBC Sports Network has renewed NFL Turning Point for three more seasons.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek notes that Tide is now the Official Laundry Detergent of the NFL.

To E.J. Schultz of Advertising Age who writes that UFC sponsor Anheuser-Busch gave a warning over its fighters’ racist and homophobic comments.

Ed Sherman of the Sherman Report talks with ESPN analyst Bill Polian who will spending his first NFL Draft outside of a War Room.

Ed says NBC will be rooting hard for the New York Rangers tonight in its Game 7 against the Ottawa Senators.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says despite an ugly domestic dispute involving his estranged wife this week, Deion Sanders will appear on NFL Network’s Draft coverage.

Dan Daley at Sports Video Group says audio from the Olympics will be all-digital unlike in past years.

Karen Hogan of SVG goes inside ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage.

This pains me, but I’ll post this. Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has the audio of the Washington Capitals series-winning goal by Joel Ward to defeat the Boston Bruins in Game 7 last night.  And there were some idiotic racist tweets following the game. Those Bruins fans do not represent me. Stupid fucks.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has the YES video of two Texas Rangers fans oblivious to a crying kid while they pose with a ball they caught during last night’s game with the Yankees. Luckily, the kid got another ball, but that couple should know to give the ball to the kid. Man alive.

Ty Duffy at the Big Lead looks at Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee using the “bad journalism” claim to hide behind the problems that led to the downfall of former football coach Jim Tressel.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that Jeremy Lin’s uniform now outsells Kobe Bryant’s.

Speaking of Darren, he was the guest on the 100th edition of Sports Media Weekly and the podcast is a very good listen if I do say so myself.

Hispanic Business looks at the deal between Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Fox Deportes to put more boxing on the network.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about ESPN Radio NY moving to the FM dial as early as next week.

Justin Terranova of the New York Post says ESPN confirms what the Post reported earlier this week.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says ESPN Radio takes over a legendary FM frequency.

Kieran Darcy of ESPN NY writes about the ESPN Radio move.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY also has a story on the ESPN Radio-to-FM flip.

Jerry looks at the ratings for the New York Rangers on MSG Network.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times talks with ESPN NFL Draft analyst Bill Polian.

Richard writes that the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are a ratings hit thus far.

Broadway World notes that NBC’s Al Michaels was honored by Fordham University with an award named after his idol, Vin Scully.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says a local sports anchor is leaving town next month.

Pete has the dates, but not times for the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Semifinals.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says NBC Sports Network will air the IIHF World Hockey Championships next month.

Over to Crossing Broad where it has audio of Phillies radio announcer Larry Anderson yelling at the team to appeal a play.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the last 24 hours have been great for local sports.

Dan writes that the ratings for Caps-Bruins, Game 7 were high, but not quite a record.

Dan has the newspaper front pages from DC and Boston regarding the Caps-Bruins series.

Dan has video of ESPN’s Neil Everett imitating the Caps radio call of the winning goal against the Bruins.

The Washington Examiner’s Jim Williams says it will be hard to choose either ESPN or NFL Network to watch for NFL Draft coverage.

Steven Campbell in the Tampa Tribune profiles SportsCenter anchor Sara Walsh who grew up in the local area.

Tim Griffin in the San Antonio Express-News says the NBA’s TV ratings couldn’t be any higher despite the lockout that almost wiped out the season.

David Briggs of the Toledo Blade has highlights of a talk that Fox Sports President Ed Goren gave at Bowling Green University.

In Chicagoland Radio and Media, we learn that Comcast SportsNet and WMAQ-TV will merge their sports staffs continuing what has already occurred between CSN Bay Area and KNTV in San Francisco.

At the new Chicago Sports Media Watch, Paul M. Banks talks with Ed Sherman.

The Reno (NV) Gazette Journal says the Perpetually Angry Doug Gottlieb of ESPN will be in town in July for an event.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the NHL has announced the dates for the Los Angeles-St. Louis series.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail wonders how best to approach the media in a hockey-crazy country.

Sports Media Watch looks at the ramifications if the NFL ends the Pro Bowl.

SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes solid ratings for the Devils-Panthers series.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has video of Hawk Harrelson doing what he does best, being a homer on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

TVSpy has video of a young Jim Nantz working in Salt Lake in a hot tub with Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton among others. Hello!

And that’s going to do it for supersized set of links.

The Wednesday Links

Let’s do some linkage today. Been doing pretty good in providing links this week and I don’t want to stop.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, he talks with ESPN bloviator Chris Berman who compares himself to Ted Williams, then tries not to compare himself to Ted Williams, claims he doesn’t pay attention to criticism when he clearly does and then makes no sense about cameras. Yes, I’m showing my anti-Chris Berman bias.

Tom Weir of USA Today’s Game On writes that Jose Canseco’s Twitter account is back up and running. Oh joy.

At The Sherman Report, Ed Sherman looks at some classic anti-Mel Kiper rants from ESPN’s past coverage of the NFL Draft.

Sports Business Daily notes that Los Angeles Lakers nutjob Metta World Peace was a no-show on Conan O’Brien TBS program after his 7 game suspension for elbowing Oklahoma City Thunder forward James Harden.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal writes about Fox’s deal with Golden Boy Promotions that will put live fights on Fuel and Fox Deportes.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says NHL ratings are up significantly for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which seemingly condones violence on the rink.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable notes that ABC’s ratings for the NBA are up 10% over last year despite the lockout that wiped out the first month of the season.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says the Stanley Cup Playoffs are good to the NBC Sports Network.

Multichannel News says Speed has renewed the rights to the 24 Hours of LeMans road race.

Tony Manfred of the Business Insider Sports Page has video of Chelsea’s goal that put them in the UEFA Champions League Final, but the best part was Gary Neville’s on-air orgasm for Sky Sports.

Jim Edwards of the Business Insider Sports Page looks into NBC’s reasons for an almost $1 million price tag for a 30 second ad for its Thanksgiving Night NFL game.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has Mike “Doc” Emrick in the latest edition of his podcast.

Matt has great video of some awkward banter between SportsCenter anchors Steve Weissman and Sage Steele. Poor Sage.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell tells us that Shake Shack could be in more MLB parks around the country.

Leah Michaels of GoLocal Providence says ESPN’s Chris Berman was at his alma mater to honor Brown University’s athletic director.

All Access has Fox Sports Radio’s coverage plans for the NFL Draft.

Steven Beardsley of Stars and Stripes says NFL Network will feature cutaways during the NFL Draft to a battalion of troops based in Germany.

Kevin Paul Dupont in the Boston Globe provides a brief history on the greatest tradition in sports, the hockey handshake at the end of every playoff series.

In the New York Post, Phil Mushnick reports that ESPN Radio is close to deal with the New York Yankees that would put the team on FM after ten years of being on WCBS-AM.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the ratings for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Newsday’s Neil Best says the ESPN and NFL Network made the right call in not spoiling draft picks before they’re announced.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says we’re still waiting for the start times for the NHL Games 7 on Thursday.

Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal says he listened to the radio on Saturday over waiting for Fox to switch to Philip Humber’s perfect game.

Glenn Guilbeau in the Monroe (LA) News Star has New Orleans Saints interim coach Joe Vitt blasting ESPN for its latest story on the team.

KBTX in College Station, TX says Fox Sports Southwest received record ratings for the Pudge Rodriguez retirement ceremony before Monday’s Yankees-Rangers game.

George M. Thomas in the Akron Beacon Journal tells us that the networks are all over the NFL Draft.

Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune says swimmer Missy Franklin has become of the face of NBC’s Olympic promotional campaign.

Robert Kurson at Chicagoside Sports explains why after 25 years, he no longer listens to sports radio.

Matt Solinsky of the Desert (CA) Sun writes that Time Warner Cable and Fox Sports San Diego continue carriage talks that would put Padres games back on the provider.

Jamie Sturgeon of the Financial Post has CBC vowing in an increasingly expensive world to keep Hockey Night in Canada.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media talks about NBC Sports Group’s ratings for the NHL Playoffs on Monday.

Sports Media Watch explores ABC’s second straight year for record NBA TV ratings.

Joe Favorito looks at how sports brands can tap into National Train Day next month.

And that will put a wrap on the links.

Dropping A Few Tuesday Links

Let’s provide a few links here. Don’t think I can do a full set, but I’ll try.

In Sports Business Journal, John Ourand says MLB and Sirius XM have come to terms on streaming audio of live baseball games and will eventually be able to provide both home and away feeds starting next month.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age reports NBC is seeking close to $1 million per 30-second spot for its first-ever Thanksgiving Night NFL game.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today notes that the NFL has signed Tide as its official laundry detergent.

Marlen Garcia at USA Today’s Campus Rivalry blog writes that ESPN is interested in hiring former Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg as an analyst.

Bryan Armen Graham of Sports Illustrated talks with rapper Nas about ESPN using one of his songs for the NFL Draft and Jeremy Lin.

Ed Sherman says the latest ESPN promo featuring a man named Michael Jordan has gone viral.

Todd Spangler at Multichannel News reports that Microsoft is bringing both ESPN and CBS Interactive as advertisers to its Xbox 360 platform.

Tim Baysinger of Multichannel says Fox Sports Media Group will air fights from Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Most of them will be on Fox Deportes.

Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk says the NFL has reminded teams not to leak their draft picks before Commish Roger Goodell makes the official announcement on ESPN and NFL Network.

Mike Florio of PFT says you won’t see Warren Sapp on NFL Network during the draft.

Florio looks at some potential ESPN-on-ESPN crime between reporter John Barr and analyst Bill Polian.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life writes that the NBA’s TV partners are on pace for another ratings record.

John Plunkett of the London (UK) Guardian looks at a new landmark radio deal with the English Premier League that an upstart British company could sublicense to the States.

MediaRantz says the NFL Network completely ignored the Mickey Loomis-New Orleans Saints eavesdropping story that was first reported by ESPN.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says notorious cheating website AshleyMadison.com will reportedly pay a woman $1 million for schtupping Tim Tebow.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the dying art of the newspaper sports cartoon.

Gary Myers of the New York Daily News says the Saints are vehemently denying ESPN’s reports that GM Mickey Loomis eavesdropped on gameday radio transmissions.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union has ESPN’s Big Ten Football primetime schedule.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes a local record rating for Sunday’s Game 6 of the Bruins-Capitals OT game.

The Dallas Morning News reports on a domestic dispute that turned ugly between NFL Network’s Deion Sanders and his estranged wife. Deion tweeted what happened as the drama unfolded.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman writes that Sunday’s Thunder-Lakers game on ABC set a local ratings record.

Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that it appears that Time Warner Cable may not pick up Fox Sports San Diego at all shutting out Padres fans this season.

Steve Donohue of Fierce Cable reports on one TV industry giant telling a Senate committee that ESPN and other cable TV companies should not be allowed to sell their programming directly to viewers.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing notes that Captain Blowhard is bitterly whining once again about not getting a Grantland writer credentialed.

Ryan Yoder of AA says ESPN is swinging the axe over a critique questioning its relationship with the Poynter Review Project.

Matt Yoder of AA notes that Jose Canseco has apparently deleted his Twitter account. Good riddance, Steroids Boy.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on Fox saw a drop in its overnight ratings for the Kansas Sprint Cup race on Sunday.

SMW says the NBA’s TV partners do well when they carry the Miami Heat.

Beau Denison of Sports Page Magazine asks of boxing fans if they should be angry at HBO and Top Rank promoters for the way they handle the Sweet Science.

San Diego Padres fan blog Gaslamp Ball says if Time Warner Cable won’t pick up Fox Sports San Diego, then why should Friar fans keep the cable provider?

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

Quick Monday Linkage

Don’t have much time today. I’ll do a few links for you here while I can.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand has CBS/Turner’s Clark Kellogg saying he wouldn’t be surprised if Kentucky lost in the Final Four this weekend.

Mr. College Football, Tony Barnhart of CBS Sports, remembers his former colleague at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Furman Bisher.

Tim Wood at the Bleacher Report announces some new hirings. BR has been on a hiring binge lately.

ESPN2 aired the Jets/Tim Tebow press conference today with a twist. Can you believe showing Skippy Bayless on his laptop, live tweeting the event? Yes indeed. Very bad television.

Eric Goldschein of SportsGrid notes that a SiriusXM Radio host decided to use his satellite radio show to criticize the Miami Heat for the famous picture of the entire team wearing hoodies in support of Trayvon Martin.

Doug Farrar at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner says Fox Sports is considering using suspended New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton as an analyst this season.

To Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk who says don’t expect the NFL to give the public a partial 2012 regular season schedule release this week.

Keith Thibault of Sports Media Journal catches up with CBS Sports Network/Dial Global Radio announcer Dave Ryan who’s calling the NCAA Women’s Tournament on radio this week.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group notes that Longhorn Network uses fiber optics rather than satellite trucks to transmit game action from University of Texas campus back to its broadcast facility.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life says a NCAA Tournament overrun helped CBS win the Sunday night primetime ratings.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age says the NFL and Nike are hyping their new partnership which both companies say will revolutionize the league’s apparel.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Tiger Woods’ win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this weekend might have helped his popularity.

Yesterday, we learned that legendary boxing writer and historian Bert Sugar died at the age of 75. Sugar was one of the most popular figures covering the sweet science. But in addition to covering boxing, Sugar wrote about baseball and was good at it. When I hosted a one-hour radio sports show in Groton, CT, Bert gave me one of the best interviews I ever had. He was witty, funny, brilliant and put everything into its proper perspective. And he sent me a book that he had written about boxing. One of the nicest men in the sports media you’ll ever have the chance to meet. And unfortunately, he’s gone.

Tim Smith of the New York Daily News says Sugar had been suffering from lung cancer, but typical of Bert, he kept it quiet from most of his friends.

Dan Rafael of ESPN.com says Bert will be missed.

Michael Woods of ESPN New York has an appreciation of Sugar.

Bob Velin of USA Today also has an obituary for Sugar.

Gary Mihoces of USA Today says Sugar was definitely a colorful character.

Lem Satterfield of The Ring, the digital home of Ring Magazine where Sugar once worked, has reaction to his death.

Promoter Jackie Kallen in Boxing Insider bids farewell to her friend.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun has a couple of memories of Bert Sugar.

I’ll do some more linkage tonight.

Keith Olbermann’s Tribute to Bert Sugar

You may not be a fan of Keith Olbermann considering that he’s a devout liberal, but when he discusses sports, he can be one of the best. But even then, he can be polarizing.

Well, let’s put politics aside and watch his tribute to Bert Sugar who died Sunday at the age of 75. Olbermann has a heartfelt essay in which he talks about his former boss and provides some interesting imagery about the man.

It’s 7 minutes of extremely well-written commentary.

RIP, Bert.

Fox Sports Net Airs “Connected with Jason Whitlock” Special on Muhammed Ali

The latest episode of Fox Sports Net’s “Connected with Jason Whitlock” will focus on Muhammed Ali and the impact he had on sports, politics and the black community. Whitlock’s guests will include embattled baseball star Barry Bonds, NFL legend Jim Brown, former NFL defensive lineman Warren Sapp, former NBA player John Salley, noted University of Cal-Berekley professor Dr. Harry Edwards and celebrated boxing writer Jerry Izenberg.

The show airs on your local Fox Sports Net affiliate this week and doesn’t have a set national time, but you can check the times and your local FSN channel below.

And here’s what the special will entail.

JASON WHITLOCK TALKS TO BARRY BONDS, JIM BROWN, AND WARREN SAPP FOR MUHAMMAD ALI SPECIAL

New Episode of Connected with Jason Whitlock: The Greatest on the Greatest
Recorded at Caesars Palace Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Program Airs on FOXSports.com and FSN in Honor of Black History Month

From boxing to politics, Muhammad Ali was never bashful and always spoke his mind. His impact on society and many of the athletes who followed him is immeasurable.

In a new episode of Connected with Jason Whitlock, “The Greatest on the Greatest”, the FOXSports.com national columnist is joined by two of the most prominent African-Americans in sports history—MLB home run king Barry Bonds and NFL legend Jim Brown—to celebrate Black History Month and take a look back at Ali’s life and career. Also joining Whitlock to discuss Ali are former Buccaneers defensive lineman Warren Sapp, former NBA player John Salley, UC Berkeley professor Dr. Harry Edwards and hall-of-fame sportswriter Jerry Izenberg.

The hour-long special debuts this week on FOX Sports regional networks around the country. The show is also available on FOXSports.com: (seg 1) http://ow.ly/9cuHa (seg 2) http://ow.ly/9cx0r and (seg 3) http://ow.ly/9cwSM.

Shot at Caesars Palace Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Whitlock moderates the discussion with his guests inside the original boxing ring where Ali lost to Larry Holmes in their 1980 heavyweight bout, the penultimate fight of Ali’s career.

Guests discuss memories of Ali, his burden on younger athletes, his polarizing ways, the hard work he combined with his natural ability and how Ali would be regarded if he were fighting today.

“You always have to have someone or something to look up to, and Muhammad Ali is one of those athletes we look up to,” said former Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds. “Muhammad Ali was the best promoter I’ve ever seen.”

FOX Sports thanks the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau for their support with this program. Below is a list of scheduled airtimes on FOX Sports regional networks. Check your local listings for additional airings.

FOX SPORTS ARIZONA – Friday, February 24, 3:30 PM PT
FOX SPORTS DETROIT – Friday, February 24, 4:00 PM ET
FOX SPORTS FLORIDA – Friday, February 24, 4:00 PM ET
FOX SPORTS MIDWEST – Friday, February 24, 4:00 PM CT
MSG PLUS – Thursday, February 23, 3:30 PM ET
FOX SPORTS NORTH – Friday, February 24, 4:00 PM CT
FOX SPORTS WISCONSIN – Thursday, February 23, 3:00 PM CT
ROOT SPORTS NORTHWEST – Wednesday, February 22, 3:00 PM PT
FOX SPORTS OHIO – Friday, February 24, 4:00 PM ET
ROOT SPORTS PITTSBURGH – Thursday, February 23, 3:00 PM ET
ROOT SPORTS ROCKY MOUNTAIN –  Wednesday, February 22, 3:00 PM MT
FOX SPORTS SOUTH – Friday, February 24, 4:00 PM ET
FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST – Monday, February 27, 7:00 PM CT
FOX SPORTS HOUSTON – Monday, February 27, 7:00 PM CT
FOX SPORTS WEST – Saturday, February 25, 12:00 PM PT
COMCAST SPORTSNET PHILADELPHIA – Friday, February 24, 3:00 PM ET
COMCAST SPORTSNET CHICAGO – Sunday, February 26, 11:00 PM CT

That will do it.

Wringing Out Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do your media megalinks since last week you did not get any.

Hard to believe that college baseball, college lacrosse and NASCAR seasons are starting up, but they are and they’re included in the Weekend Viewing Picks along with the regular Golf, NBA, NHL, Skiing, Soccer, Tennis and Entertainment recommendations.

To your links now.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Jeremy Lin will make his nationwide broadcast network debut this weekend.

Tim Baysinger from Broadcasting & Cable notes that Floyd Mayweather’s next pay per view fight has been set by HBO for the spring.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that Jeremy Lin continues to drive the MSG Network ratings engine.

Mike Shields of Adweek looks at CBS/Turner Sports’ plans to charge to view the NCAA Tournament online.

Ted Johnson of Variety talks with Ken Solomon of Tennis Channel on his ongoing battle to get a better footing with Comcast.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says the Jeremy Lin media coverage is over the top.

Sports Media Watch notes the increased viewership for the NHL on NBC Sports Network.

SMW says Pardon the Interruption’s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have lent their voices to a Disney XD cartoon series.

Andy Hall at ESPN Front Row PR blog celebrates the 5th anniversary of NASCAR’s return to the network.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell speaks with Jeremy Lin’s agent.

Andrew Bucholtz writing his first article for Awful Announcing looks at the reaction to Jeremy Lin in Canada.

Mat Yoder at AA says the ratings for last weekend’s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am show fans are still interested in Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Joe Favorito explores the steady growth of college lacrosse.

Mark J. Miller of Brandchannel says NASCAR fans don’t like it when drivers juggle sponsor logos throughout the Sprint Cup season.

The Big Lead has ESPN’s Erin Andrews out and about during New York’s Fashion Week.

Chris Chase at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner notes that ESPN has been coaching Jon Gruden to use his words judiciously.

Harrison Mooney of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy says Jeremy Lin’s drawing power might indirectly benefit the New York Rangers, Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils which have been missing from Time Warner Cable systems in addition to the Knicks.

David B. Wilkerson at MarketWatch wonders if the MSG/Time Warner Cable feud will eventually push sports into a premium tier.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn gets some advice for new NESN Red Sox field reporter Jenny Dell from MSG’s Tina Cervasio.

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch pays tribute to Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan who announced he’s retiring after the London Olympics.

Surviving Grady has a podcast with Jen Royle.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the new charge for viewing the NCAA Tournament online.

Richard writes about the increased ratings for Knicks games since Jeremy Lin arrived on the scene.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post is in rare form today even for him.

Brett Cyrgalis of the Post has five questions for CBS college basketball analyst Bill Raftery.

The Post’s David Seifman reports that the New York City Council is pressuring MSG Network and Time Warner Cable to work out a deal.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News writes that ESPN bumped tonight’s Hornets-Knicks game not realizing it would be another opportunity to showcase Jeremy Lin.

Jerry Barmash from Fishbowl NY has reaction from various NYC sports anchors to the death of former Mets catcher Gary Carter.

Mike Silva at the Sports Media Watchdog feels hockey coverage in New York is woefully inadequate.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that a local sports TV reporter received a New York Emmy nomination.

Pete lists his top studio analysts.

DCRTV’s Dave Hughes has the latest in Baltimore-Washington DC sports media news in Press Box.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has a clip of Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon as cartoon characters.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says talks with sports business writer Evan Weiner about the NFL’s antiquated blackout rules.

South

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald has some thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal’s rookie season at TNT and ESPN’s decision to remove Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Astros plan to bring in former players to their radio booth to celebrate the team’s 50th season.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman notes the first network appearance of Jeremy Lin is this Sunday.

Midwest

The Detroit Free Press notes that all of the Tigers games will be on TV this season.

Bob Wolfey of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Dick Enberg told a captive audience at Marquette University about the art of the pause and when to use it in broadcasting.

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

To the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin where Paul Christian writes that Fox Sports North will be all over the Minnesota Twins this season.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals have mostly put the kybosh on late afternoon games at Busch Stadium this season.

Dan says a local sports radio host is recovering after undergoing heart bypass surgery.

West

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the new Fox Sports San Diego is set to launch next month.

Jay writes the San Diego Padres stand to double their rights fees from Fox as compared to Cox a year ago.

John Maffei at the North County Times says the official announcement between Fox Sports San Diego carrying the Padres is due any time now.

At the Ventura County Star, Jim Carlisle says NBC and the NHL have become very good partners.

Jim feels ESPN should not have jettisoned Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times notes that ESPN college football analyst Ed Cunningham is up for a Best Documentary Oscar.

Bill Shakin of the Times says Frank McCourt’s legal problems are holding up Fox’s announcement with the Padres.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News recaps a lecture from three noted network broadcasters discussing TV coverage of the Olympics.

And that’s going to conclude the megalinks for today.

HBO’s World Championship Boxing Returns Saturday

After taking January off, HBO’s World Championship Boxing returns with two title fights on Saturday. And Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. will be fighting.

Luckily, Larry Merchant is back to commentate and he’ll join Jim Lampley and Emmanuel Steward at the Alamodome in San Antonio. We have the particulars below.

HBO SPORTS PRESENTS A DOUBLEHEADER OF FISTIC FIREWORKS WHEN  WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^®:  JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. VS. MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO AND NONITO DONAIRE VS. WILFREDO VAZQUEZ JR. IS SEEN LIVE SATURDAY, FEB. 4

HBO Sports’ flagship boxing series returns with an action-packed card headlined by two of the sport’s fastest-rising stars when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING:  JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. VS. MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO AND NONITO DONAIRE VS. WILFREDO VAZQUEZ JR. is seen live SATURDAY, FEB. 4 at 10:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (PT) from the Alamodome in San Antonio, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates:  Feb. 5 (8:30 a.m.) and 6 (12:25 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Feb. 5 (3:30 p.m.) and 7 (12:40 a.m.)

After standout matches on HBO in 2011, Mexico’s Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Nonito Donaire of the Philippines begin 2012 against formidable opponents at a venue known for bringing out the best in fighters.

The 12-round, 160-pound main event features Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31 KOs) defending his hard-earned middleweight title against an experienced challenger in fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio (53-5-1, 46 KOs). Only 25, Chavez Jr. will have his work cut out for him in battling a prizefighter with 59 pro bouts under his belt.

The co-feature is an intriguing 12-round junior featherweight title fight pitting fan favorite Nonito Donaire (27-1, 18 KOs) against the formidable Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (21-1-1, 18 KOs) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Budding superstar Donaire, now residing in San Leandro, Cal., scored one of 2011’s most memorable victories when he knocked out Fernando Montiel last February. Now, the engaging 29-year-old, who last lost a pro fight in 2001, moves up in weight to the 122-pound division in hopes of adding a new title belt to his collection. Vazquez Jr., who hails from a boxing family, has other plans.

The night of boxing programming kicks off at 9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 PT when an all-new edition of “2 Days: Portrait of a Fighter” debuts. The Feb. 4 installment of this revealing and intimate look at a 48-hour span in the life of a boxer in the lead-up to one of his fights will focus on lightweight Brandon Rios of Oxnard, CA. The feature is approximately 15 minutes.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Marc Payton.

^®WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

More stuff is on the way.

Your February 1st Links

It seems like last week we rang in the New Year. Now, we’re one month into 2012. Didn’t take long.

Let’s do some linkage.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, we learn that NBC has quite a bit in store for its six hour Super Bowl pregame show.

Also in USA Today, Michael Coppinger finds that new HBO Sports President Ken Hershman plans on cleaning up the network’s shaky boxing reputation.

And Reid Cherner at USA Today has a preview of the upcoming season of “Eastbound & Down” featuring Kenny Powers. I’ll admit, I don’t get the chi of “Eastbound & Down” and find it unwatchable, but the show has its fans.

John Ourand at Sports Business Daily says the NFL is issuing a tablet-only commemorative Super Bowl appl

At Bleacher Report, Dan Levy tells us that NFL Network’s Deion Sanders came out the winner at yesterday’s Super Bowl Media Day.

At Deadspin, Barry Petchesky has video of reporters leering at Televisa Deportes reporter Marisol Gonzalez during Media Day.

Barry also has a series of photos taken by perverts reporters as original Mexican bombshell Inês Sainz was traversing her way through Media Day.

The Olympic newsletter Around the Rings notes that the International Olympic Committee is in no hurry to negotiate a Canadian TV rights deal after the lone bid failed to come up to its standards.

Around the Rings also notes that broadcasters for the 2014 Winter Games including NBC are gathering in Sochi to discuss plans for that Olympiad.

To All Things D where Liz Gannes has new ESPN President John Skipper saying he wants people to see his content, just not for free.

And All Things D has the video highlights of Skipper’s comments.

Lisa Richwine of Reuters notes that Skipper is bullish on ESPN 3D. Oh great.

Lucas Shaw at The Wrap says John Skipper and ESPN are in love with Silicon Valley.

David Griner of Adweek has the Volkwagen Super Bowl ad that has been hyped for a couple of weeks. I like the teaser with the dogs barking better.

Katy Bachman at Adweek says the FCC is seeking public comment on the NFL’s antiquated TV blackout rules.

Best Buy won’t be using rock stars, but tech stars in its Super Bowl ad. Last year, Best Buy used Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber in a very lame ad.

Natalie Zmuda of Advertising Age says Pepsi will emphasize music in its Super Bowl ads.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life Magazine previews tonight’s “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials” special on CBS.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wishes advertisers wouldn’t release their Super Bowl spots before they air in the Big Game.

Kristi Dosh of ESPN.com says Super Bowl advertising has gone beyond just buying time during the game.

Alex Sherman and Andy Fixmer of Bloomberg Businessweek write that NBC is using the Super Bowl to heavily promote “Smash” in what it hopes will save its primetime lineup.

The NBC’s Sunday Night Football Facebook page has a gallery of photos from yesterday’s media event in Indianapolis.

The Nielsen Wire blog looks at whether the New England Patriots or the New York Giants do better than the other in social media.

To SportsGrid and Tom Lorenzo who has video of TSN’s Ray Ferraro throwing out an “F” bomb not once, but twice during a broadcast last night.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group writes that ESPN was technically prepared to air the Australian Open epic men’s final.

James Careless of TV Technology looks at NBC’s online streaming of the Super Bowl.

Steve Donohue of Fierce Cable says Time Warner Cable seems to be doing just fine without MSG Network.

Lou Modestino of the Quincy (MA) Patriot-Ledger says Fox Sports was mostly responsible for moving the Daytona 500 forward one week.

Bill Pennington in the New York Times looks at fans getting to attend Super Bowl Media Day for the first time.

Richard Sandomir of the Times says a new media company wants to become the ESPN for kids. Already, the NFL, several sports stars and NBC Sports Network have signed up to partner with the company.

Good story by Jim Yardley of the Times Magazine exploring how some American NBA players are faring in Communist China and how the NBA made a huge miscalculation in trying to launch a league there.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union writes that Time Warner Cable will extend its free Sports Pass option to residential customers affected by the company’s dispute with MSG Network.

Pete says NFL Network will air the Pro Football Hall of Fame announcement for the Class of 2012 on Saturday.

Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that a local TV reporter is back at work after being on suspension for prematurely tweeting that Joe Paterno had died.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner speaks with CBS Sports Network’s Tom Lemming about National Signing Day.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes a ratings record for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

Matthew Tully of the Indianapolis Star says foreign journalists covering the Super Bowl are enjoying Indy as the host city.

The Star has a roundup of what journos are saying about Indianapolis.

Bob Kravitz of the Star filed a diary with his observations of Super Bowl Media Day.

Anthony Schoette of the Indianapolis Business Journal writes that the Super Bowl has helped to focus a spotlight on IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which has been hosting  media events this week.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers will be a guest analyst on NBC’s Super Bowl XLVI pregame.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business looks at Super Bowl Week in Indianapolis and wonders “what if” had the Bears built a domed facility.

Steve Eighinger of the Quincy (IL) Herald Whig is thankful for ESPN as it helped him to endure the Great Midwest Blizzard of 2011.

Roman Augustoviz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that CBS Sports Network has signed a TV deal with the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference known in local circles as “The National.”

Eli Segall of the San Jose Business Journal says the Sharks are scoring big for Comcast SportsNet California.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the man who broke the Sidney Crosby neck injury story stands by his scoop.

Sports Media Watch says the NFL Pro Bowl’s ratings were down from last year, but still outpace the other All-Star games.

SMW has some various ratings news and notes.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth says last week was pretty slow for any kind of sports news.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing notes that Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News crime writer Sarah Ganim has been given much deserved Pulitzer Prize consideration for her reporting on the Penn State story.

Barry Janoff at The Big Lead writes that Mean Joe Greene is redoing his iconic Coke Super Bowl ad from the 1970′s for Proctor & Gamble.

And we have more links that I ever thought I would find today. That’s good for you.

Bringing Out Friday Megalinks

The last few Fridays, I haven’t been able to provide you with the megalinks. I have to do some today otherwise you’ll stop visiting me.

We begin as always with the Weekend Viewing Picks and there are quite a few for this snowy weekend in Southern New England.

Now to your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with Fox Sports’ Terry Bradshaw about Tim Tebow and the upcoming NFC Championship.

Jason Fry, part of the ESPN Poynter Review Project hears sideline reporter Holly Rowe’s side of the story regarding about her now-infamous incident where she shoved a Sugar Bowl staffer away to get an interview with Michigan coach Brady Hoke.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter looks at HBO’s new unscripted series on boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Eric Deggans has a review of the Freddie Roach series in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable says Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has written a letter to the FCC asking the agency to get involved in the Sunbeam-DirecTV dispute which could affect how viewers in Boston see the Super Bowl.

John says Comcast is seeking a reversal of a Federal decision that ruled in favor of Tennis Channel in their dispute.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says DirecTV has signed a rights deal to distribute Big Sky football and basketball games.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek says History Channel has purchased a longer ad to promote its series, “Swamp People” during Super Bowl XLVI.

Brian Steinberg from Advertising Age tells us who’s buying what in Super Bowl XLVI.

AdAge looks at the 12 ads that changed Super Bowl marketing forever. Three guesses on number one and the first two don’t count.

Brian says marketers are going longer with their Super Bowl ads this year in an attempt to stand out.

Finally, Brian writes that even though we’re not thinking about next year’s Super Bowl XLVII, CBS already is and has been working on getting an early start on ad sales for that Big Game.

Inside Radio says all of Cumulus’ Bay Area radio stations will simulcast Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

From across the pond, Amy Lawrence of The Guardian in the UK says Fox airing an English Premier League game live over the air is a big deal.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo looks into NBC Sports Network’s first foray into boxing.

Dan Levy at the Bleacher Report wonders which network can muster enough former NFL talent to drum up a flag football game.

Mac Nwulu of ESPN’s Front Row PR blog has an inside look at the preparation of Sunday NFL Countdown.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing chronicles this week’s Twitter feud between Sports Illusrated’s Richard Deitsch and CNBC’s Darren Rovell.

Speaking of feuds, The Big Lead looks at an internal ESPN squabble between college basketball analyst Jay Bilas and insider Andy Katz.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN is making a major scheduling change for the WNBA this year.

SMW has a look at some local NBA and NHL ratings.

Tennis Channel laments not being picked up by Cablevision.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group takes a look at CBS’ and Fox’s preparation for the NFL Conference Championship Games.

Sports TV Jobs has an interesting graphic of sample camera positions at various stadia and arenas.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe talks with a former Baltimore Raven who now works in Boston as a weekend sports talk show host.

Bill Doyle at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette interviews legendary Patriots radio voice Gil Santos.

Newsday’s Neil Best says local TV is gearing up for the NFC Championship.

Neil talks with former New York Giants running back and NBC analyst Tiki Barber who makes his return to TV this weekend.

George Vescey at the New York Times looks forward to seeing Sunday’s English Premier League game live on Fox.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is not a fan of the NFL replay review process.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for CBS Sports’ and WFAN’s Boomer Esiason.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty has some NFL TV analysts break down the four quarterbacks still playing for a shot in the Super Bowl.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Fox’s Troy Aikman talking about the NFC Championship.

Ken has more from Troy in his blog.

Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com notes in Press Box that last week’s Texans-Ravens game set a local ratings record.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun attempts to get answers from CBS on having Subway endorser Ndamukong Suh on last week’s NFL Today postgame show.

And David has former Ravens QB and current ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer opining on Ed Reed’s comments on current QB Joe Flacco.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says the Nationals are hoping to get more money from MASN as the sides negotiate a new contract.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with the radio voice of the Wizards about his busy schedule.

South

Keith Jarrett at the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times says the Big South may have to move its Conference Championship Game venue which could effect ESPN’s scheduling.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News says SEC partners CBS and ESPN want better scheduling for next football season.

Jerry Tipton of the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader writes that the SEC’s basketball coaches aren’t happy over the scheduling-for-TV moves this season.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Texans’ flagship radio station hopes to build on the team’s momentum when their new contract kicks in next season.

David has some news and notes that didn’t make his column.

Nancy Sarnoff of the Chronicle says NBC Sports Group is looking for a new facility to house the Comcast SportsNet Houston regional sports network which launches later this year.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman notes that the Texas Rangers will have multiple appearances on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says HBO continues its string of acclaimed sports documentaries.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says don’t expect NFL Conference Championship Sunday to change its format for the foreseeable future.

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

Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune feels Fox Sports North just cheerleads for Minnesota teams and won’t criticize them.

Paul Christian from the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin looks at Fox Sports North’s Hockey Day in Minnesota schedule.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has CBS Sports President Sean McManus wanting to keep the status quo for NFL Conference Championship Sunday.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times looks at MLB Network’s first-ever game show which premieres next week.

Jim Carlisle from the Ventura County Star says CBS was hoping to get Tim Tebow for its NFL Today pregame show on Sunday, but he declined.

At the Los Angeles Daily News, Tom Hoffarth profiles Fox Sports West host Patrick O’Neal and has his list of best and worst local sports anchors.

Tom has a bit more on O’Neal.

Canada

Bob Weeks in the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that CBC has gotten out of the curling business, a sport it has televised since 1962.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Globe and Mail says the Raptors may be suffering on the court, but not on TV.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog looks at the International Olympic Committee throwing out CTV/CBC’s joint bid to air the 2014/2016 Games.

And that is it. Glad to be able to provide the Megalinkage for you.

“On Freddie Roach” Premieres on HBO on January 20

HBO will start airing the unscripted series “On Freddie Roach” focusing on the famed boxing trainer who is now dealing with Parkinson’s Disease. The show premieres January 20 at 9:30 p.m. and will run for six weeks.

The series is directed by filmmaker Peter Berg who also directed the movie, “Friday Night Lights” and helped to adapt it for an NBC series.

We have synopses of the first two episodes and also have an overview of the series in this press release from HBO.

NEW HBO SERIES ON FREDDIE ROACH, FROM RENOWNED FILMMAKER PETER BERG, DEBUTS FRIDAY, JAN. 20
Peter Berg, Jim Lampley, Sarah Aubrey And Michael Price Executive Produce

ON FREDDIE ROACH, the all-new cinéma-vérité series from renowned filmmaker and Emmy^® nominee Peter Berg, launches its six-episode season FRIDAY, JAN. 20 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), followed by other episodes on subsequent Fridays at the same time, exclusively on HBO. Executive produced by Berg (“Friday Night Lights”), the HBO Original Programming presentation is a co-production of Film 44 and Atticus Entertainment.

The unscripted show focuses on Freddie Roach, who owns and operates the famed Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, where he has produced a host of world champions. This intensely personal look at the world-famous boxing trainer chronicles his life and career against the backdrop of Parkinson’s disease, an ailment very likely linked to his own boxing past.

A native of Dedham, Mass., Freddie Roach has an extensive amateur boxing background. He fought as a professional under the tutelage of legendary Hall of Fame trainer Eddie Futch, ending his professional boxing career in 1987 with a record of 41 wins and 13 losses. Upon retiring, Roach became Futch’s apprentice.

In 1992, Mickey Rourke financed Roach’s first gym, the Outlaw Boxing Club. He has gone on to train more than 20 world champions, including Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, Oscar de la Hoya and Mike Tyson. Roach has been honored five times as Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America and has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame. On Dec. 6, 2011, he was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced a unique partnership with Roach in an effort to ensure that America’s top amateur fighters have access to the finest training in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. This partnership will create a program allowing up to ten Olympic hopefuls to train at the Wild Card Gym, which has become synonymous with world-class performance.

The 51-year-old bachelor lives next door to his mother, just a few miles from Wild Card.

January’s episodes:

Episode #1:  “Body Blow”
Debut:  FRIDAY, JAN. 20 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)

Other HBO playdates:  Jan. 21 (10:30 a.m., midnight), 22 (10:00 a.m.), 23 (7:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 25 (6:00 p.m.) and 26 (10:45 a.m., 9:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Jan. 22 (11:50 p.m.) and 24 (9:30 p.m.)

Introduction to the life of Freddie Roach, boxing trainer and Parkinson’s patient.

Episode #2:  “The Wild Card”
Debut:  FRIDAY, JAN. 27 (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

Other HBO playdates:  Jan 28 (11:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m.), 29 (11:30 a.m.) and 30 (7:30 p.m., 11:50 p.m.), and Feb. 1 (7:30 p.m.) and 2 (9:30 a.m., 8:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Jan. 29 (11:00 p.m.) and 31 (9:30 p.m.)

A routine day at the Wild Card Gym is suddenly thrown into chaos.

On Freddie Roach is a Film 44 and Atticus Entertainment production; executive produced by Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey, Jim Lampley and Michael Price; co-executive produced by Brendan Malloy and Emmett Malloy; produced by Matthew Goldberg and Christopher G. Cowen; editors, Brian Johnson and Stephen Strout; director of photography, Niles Harrison; camera operator, Brandon Carroll; music by The Antlers; original music by Rogue Wave.

That is all.

NBC Sports Network Unveils Announcing Team For Its 1st Boxing Card

Next Saturday, NBC Sports Network will air its first boxing card. Under its old name, Versus did air boxing, but it hasn’t done so in quite some time. With the NBC Sports regime firmly in charge, we now have the men who will call the new NBC Sports Network Fight Night series that will begin airing on January 21 from Philadelphia.

Kenny Rice and trainer Freddie Roach will call the fights with Cruiserweight boxer B.J.Flores. The man known as “The Blanket”, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated will be the on-air reporter and researcher for the series.

Let’s get the full details of what NBC Sports Network has in store for boxing.

NBC SPORTS NETWORK ANNOUNCES BROADCAST TALENT FOR INAUGURAL “FIGHT NIGHT” SHOW ON JANUARY 21

Hall-of-Fame Boxing Trainer Freddie Roach and Cruiserweight Contender B.J. Flores to Provide Commentary

New York – January 12, 2012 – The NBC Sports Network today announced that Hall-of-Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach and cruiserweight contender B.J. Flores team up with NBC’s veteran broadcaster Kenny Rice to provide commentary for the network’s new NBC Sports Network Fight Night Series.

The first Fight Night broadcast will be on the new NBC Sports Network on Saturday, January 21^st beginning at 9 p.m. ET when heavyweight contenders Eddie Chambers and Sergei Liakhovich face off live from Philadelphia’s historic Asylum Arena.

Roach, the five time BWAA Trainer-of-the-Year, currently trains eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, among many others, at his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. A protégé of the late, great Eddie Futch, Roach is regarded as one of professional boxing’s best and most popular trainer. In addition to his work as a trainer, Roach owns the Wild Card Club/Gym in Los Angeles where, alongside his brother Pepper, he fosters the development of young boxers. On January 20, HBO will premiere a six-episode series on Roach that takes an intensely personal look at the world-famous boxing trainer. The series chronicles his life and career against the backdrop of his daily battle with Parkinson’s disease.

A former U.S. amateur heavyweight champion, the articulate Flores will interrupt his own boxing training – he is headlining an event on January 28^th, in Springfield, Missouri – to make his NBC announcing debut. Flores has carved out an alternate career in broadcasting, while continuing to pursue his dream of adding a professional world title to his many accomplishments. A frequent guest analyst on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, Flores fought his first two professional fights on NBC Sports broadcasts in May of 2003. His professional record stands at 24 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw.

Rice, who has served as NBC’s Olympic boxing reporter, has called boxing matches on HD Net since 2005 and has hosted a weekly Inside MMA series on HD Net since 2007. Rice has covered horse racing for NBC since 1999, reporting on the network’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup, and, in 2008, he hosted NBC’s Olympic equestrian competition. In addition, Rice covered the U.S. Olympic Trials in both triathlon and equestrian and has reported on the NFL for NBC’s Football Night in America. Rice has also done play-by-play for track and field, rugby, and basketball, as well as the Pro Bull Riders World Finals.

Additionally, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated will serve as reporter and researcher for the NBC Sports Network Fight Night Series.

More on the way as stories warrant.

Showtime Offers Free Preview in January

Received this press release from the premium TV service Showtime which says it will offer a free preview weekend to participating cable and satellite providers in the first full weekend of January. Included in the programming will be the season premiere of one of my favorite shows from last season, Shameless along with Californiation and series premiere of House of Lies. Also, Showtime will have the pay cable premiere of the Oscar-winning “The King’s Speech” during the free preview.

But for sports fans, Showtime will have boxing as well as Mixed Martial Arts with a new Strikeforce card on January 7. Both cards will be live on the East Coast on consecutive nights. If your cable or satellite provider carries Showtime, then most likely, you’ll have this free preview starting Friday, January 6.

The details are below.

SHOWTIME^® FREE PREVIEW WEEKEND AVAILABLE TO 60 MILLION HOMES STARTING FRIDAY, JANUARY 6

Viewers Nationwide Can Access The Season Premieres Of The SHOWTIME Original Series HOUSE OF LIES, SHAMELESS And CALIFORNICATION, The Primetime Premiere Of Academy Award^® Winner The King’s Speech, And Can Sample The Hit Series DEXTER^®, WEEDS, THE BIG C  And HOMELAND Among Many Others
ShoBox: The New Generation And STRIKEFORCE Mixed Martial Arts Will Air Live on Friday And Saturday, January 6-7

NEW YORK – December 12, 2011 – SHOWTIMEwill be available in 60 million households for a Free Preview Weekend from Friday, January 6 through Sunday, January 8. Viewers across the country will have the opportunity to sample the premium network’s award-winning programming on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME HD^™ and SHOWTIME On Demand^®. The Free Preview weekend will include the series premiere of the new SHOWTIME original comedy series HOUSE OF LIES, as well as the anticipated return of the critically-acclaimed hit series SHAMELESS and CALIFORNICATION, live offerings from Showtime Sports^® including ShoBox: The New Generation and STRIKEFORCE, and the primetime premium television premiere of Academy Award-winning Best Picture THE KING’S SPEECH.

Free Preview Weekend viewers will also have access to critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME original series including season one of HOMELAND, THE BORGIAS, EPISODES and SHAMELESS, season two of THE BIG C, season three of Nurse Jackie, season four of Californication, season six of DEXTER, and season seven of Weeds, all available on SHOWTIME On Demand. SHOWTIME will also air a variety of feature films and documentaries including Blue Valentine, Red, THE MECHANIC, Piranha, I Am Number Four and The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Eclipse.

Live on Friday, January 6 at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), SHOWTIME will air its celebrated, prospect-oriented boxing series ShoBox: The New Generation, featuring Luis Ramos Jr. vs. Raymundo Beltran. Then, on Saturday, January 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), SHOWTIME Sports will air the STRIKEFORCE Middleweight Championship featuring defending champ Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine, with four additional mixed martial arts bouts, live from The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On Sunday, January 8 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, THE KING’S SPEECH, Academy Award winner for Best Picture, will make its primetime premium television debut. The film features an all-star cast that includes Academy Awardwinner for Best Actor in a Leading Role Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon and Guy Pearce. After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family and his government, the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle. Based on the true story of King George VI, THE KING’S SPEECH follows the Royal Monarch’s quest to find his voice.

Then, on Sunday, January 8 from 9 to 11 p.m. ET/PT, viewers nationwide will get a taste of three critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME series, with the second season premiere of SHAMELESS (9 p.m. ET/PT), the premiere of the new comedy series HOUSE OF LIES (10 p.m. ET/PT) and the fifth season premiere of CALIFORNICATION (10:30 p.m. ET/PT).

Season two of SHAMELESS finds our favorite dysfunctional family braving the heat and humidity of summertime in Chicago, trying to keep cool…and Frank (William H. Macy) out of trouble. Bearing the de facto parent badge/burden, Fiona (Emmy Rossum) spends her nights working at a nightclub and her days keeping an eye on her siblings as they run a makeshift daycare center at the house. As usual, the motley brood somehow manages to hold down the fort and make sure the bills are paid, the lights are on and there is food on the table. Based on the long-running hit UK series, SHAMELESS is executive produced by Emmy^® Award-winning television and film producer John Wells, as well as Paul Abbott and Andrew Stearn.

HOUSE OF LIES is the new dark comedy about all the screwed up ways big business is practiced these days. The series, based on the hit tell-all book from best-selling author Martin Kihn (House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time), peels back the bull to reveal a world few know exists and fewer still have experienced. Meet Marty Kaan (Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle), the big-money earner at Galweather & Stearn, along with his hot, young team – The Pod – of big-balling power players – Jeannie (Kristen Bell), Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson). Marty and The Pod’s work life is all first-class, top-shelf, black Am Ex, the best suites at the nicest hotels. Wild nights on the town servicing the clients are all in a day’s work. Marty is the ultimate power player and under his direction, this ruthless, pull-no-punches team is here to stick it to the man by beating the corporate suckers at their own game. HOUSE OF LIES is created and executive produced by Matthew Carnahan. Jessika Borsiczky, Stephen Hopkins and Don Cheadle also serve as executive producers.

CALIFORNICATION stars David Duchovny in his Golden Globe^®-winning role as hedonistic novelist Hank Moody who struggles to raise his teenage daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin), while still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) This season, Hank is back in LA and in deep with mega-rich rap mogul Samurai Apocalypse (guest star RZA), who hires Hank to write the screenplay for his hot, new film property. Their friendship is tested by silky siren Kali (guest star Meagan Good), a singer who is Sam’s protégé. Guest stars this season include Natalie Zea, Drea de Matteo, Eric Stoltz, Peter Berg, Stephen Tobolowsky and Camilla Luddington, and Rob Lowe returns as the unpredictable Eddie Nero. Tom Kapinos is the creator and executive producer, along with Duchovny, who also serves as an executive producer.

The Free Preview Weekend is available to digital subscribers of participating providers only, on both SD and HD feeds. Select providers will offer the Free Preview via SHOWTIME ON DEMAND^®. The preview will be available across a number of distributors including Comcast, Charter, Cox, DIRECTV, Verizon, Mediacom and RCN. Previews may contain PG, PG-13, TV-14, TVMA and R rated programming. You must be a digital subscriber to receive video on demand and HD. Viewers who tune in and order SHOWTIME for the first time can get $25 cash back. For additional details on the offer go to SHO.com/order and for SHOWTIME Free Preview weekend (#SHOfreepreview), go to www.SHO.com/freepreview.

That’s it.

NBC Sports Network To Air Quarterly Boxing Series

The schedule at NBC Sports Network after January 2 is filling up rather nicely. We know about the NHL from Monday through Wednesday. There’s college hockey on Friday nights. Horse racing in the spring and summer. And just announced today, a quarterly boxing series that will air on Saturday nights beginning in January.

NBC Sports will work with Main Events to come up with four boxing cards a year. The first one will be held in Philadelphia. Subsequent boxing cards will be held in markets served by a Comcast SportsNet regional sports network. So you can expect future cards perhaps in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, DC and even Houston when that RSN begins operation.

We have the full details of the new series below.

NBC SPORTS GROUP PRESENTS FIGHT NIGHT BOXING SERIES

Quarterly Boxing Matches Saturday Nights on NBC Sports Network
Series Debuts Saturday, January 21, 2012 from Philadelphia
Main Events To Coordinate Multi-Promoter Strategy with Hall-of-Fame Matchmaker J Russell Peltz

NEW YORK – November 22, 2011 – NBC Sports Group announced today the formation of NBC Sports Network Fight Night, a boxing series featuring premier boxing talent. Fight Night will debut on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 on the NBC Sports Network (which will be renamed from VERSUS on Jan. 2, 2012), from Asylum Arena in Philadelphia, Pa. The Fight Night cards are being scheduled in cities that are served by a Comcast Sports Group regional network, and the regional networks will help promote the events and have the ability to re-air fights.

NBC Sports Group will work with Main Events and Hall-of-Fame matchmaker J Russell Peltz on a multi-promoter strategy for NBC Sports Network Fight Night designed to produce the best quality fights. It is a strategy in which any promoter can participate to get their boxers involved in these programs.

“This is a unique approach to have multiple promoters competing to put fights on NBC Sports Network,” said Jon Miller, President, programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “That, coupled with the legendary matchmaker J Russell Peltz serving as our quality control expert, ensures that boxing fans will enjoy exciting and competitive matches.”

“We are reaching out to all promoters to get involved in the series, and our priority is simply to make exciting fights. We don’t care who brings the fighters,” said Kathy Duva, president, Main Events. “We expect that multiple promoters will be involved in each of the Fight Night programs. All fighters who are willing to further their careers by engaging in compelling, interesting, meaningful matches are welcome.”

“Fights in this series will be solid, competitive and exciting,” said Peltz. “Borrowing the philosophy of the late Madison Square Garden matchmaker Teddy Brenner, my bouts will be made on the following criteria: Do the fighters’ styles mesh to make an exciting fight? Does this fight lead to something? And would I buy a ticket to it? These should be good fights for boxing fans.”

NBC SPORTS NETWORK FIGHT NIGHT SCHEDULE (All Times ET)

Saturday, January 21, 9-11 p.m. – Philadelphia
Saturday, March 24, 10 p.m.-Midnight – Site TBA
Saturday, June 16, 9-11 p.m. – Site TBA
Saturday, December 8, 9-11 p.m. – Site TBA

That’s it.

Back For Monday’s Linkage

After not being able to provide linkage for a few days, let’s get back to it. I probably won’t be able to do the links as I have to undergo a medical procedure. Nothing serious. I should be back on Wednesday.

Let’s do your links.

Sports Business Daily looks over the reviews of ESPN’s handling of Penn State’s first game since the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke.

Tripp Mickle and John Ourand at Sports Business Journal say YouTube is now entering the sports media rights landscape.

Tripp says Versus will air over 30 hours of action sports programming as NBC Sports retakes ownership of the Dew Tour

Jason Belzer and Darren Heitner of Collegiate Sports Advisors write in Sports Business Journal that colleges and universities should not force a social media blackout on their student-athletes.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy says the NFL pregame show analysts either praised or criticized Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson depending on their former positions.

Mike writes Saturday’s Nebraska-Penn State game got higher ratings for ESPN.

Ben Grossman at Broadcasting & Cable says a quick knockout in Fox’s airing of its first UFC bout wasn’t as bad as originally thought.

At Yahoo! Sports, Maggie Hendricks reviews Fox’s first production of a UFC card.

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo says UFC on Fox delivered a ratings punch.

At Yahoo’s Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski tells us what the NHL’s hiring of Ross Greenburg, formerly of HBO Sports, will mean for the league.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that Saturday’s Manny Pacquaio-Juan Manuel Marquez might have set up a big payday for the Pacman to fight Floyd Mayweather on pay per view next year.

Mike says NFL Network received the most viewers ever for a Thursday Night Football season opener.

Michael O’Connell of the Hollywood Reporter says Sunday Night Football won the ratings for NBC.

The Reporter notes that several advertisers have pulled their ads from upcoming Penn State football games on ESPN’s networks.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life says sports continues to draw viewers on what normally are dead Saturday nights.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says Gus Johnson was being Gus when USC pulled off a fake punt during its game against Washington on Saturday.

Sports Video Group says NBC will air the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials later this year.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has what former Penn State coach Joe Paterno should have said last week.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at UFC on Fox’s preliminary ratings.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post feels it’s hard to love college football.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Week 11 NFL TV schedule for the Capital Region.

Pete says Time Warner Cable will carry all local high school football regional playoff games.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes that Versus and HDNet will combine for a Thanksgiving holiday college basketball tournament.

Deborah Ann Tripoldi of the Nutley (NJ) Sun writes that Friend of Fang’s Bites Tina Cervasio was inducted into a local Hall of Fame.

Laura Nachman says a Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia reporter is now engaged.

The Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News has the remarks of ESPN’s Jon Ritchie about accused child molester Jerry Sandusky. Ritchie grew up near Penn State.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is still not a fan of CBS’ Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf especially when they call Ravens games.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with an official with NCAA.com about the streaming of over 20 championships.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times says ESPN got the job done for Nebraska-Penn State on Saturday.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says Texans fans wanting to watch yesterday’s game against the Bucs in the Rio Grande Valley of the Lone Star State were SOL.

Fang’s Bites welcomes back Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News as we have not linked to him in a very long time. Jerry reports on a sudden switch on the local CBS affiliate that left Cowboys fans angry.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that the ESPN on ABC crew assigned to Texas Tech-Oklahoma State had plenty of time to fill.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football open for tonight’s Packers-Vikings game will honor the military.

Ed Sherman from Crain’s Chicago Business writes that the Big Ten Conference has removed Joe Paterno’s name from its championship trophy.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a lengthy conversation with embattled Cardinals TV voice Dan McLaughlin about his two drunken driving arrests.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post talks with a local news anchor who would like to return to his old sports roots.

Sad story out of Reno, NV as KTVN sports anchor JK Metzker died Sunday after being hit by a car. He leaves behind a wife and three sons.

Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal rememebers Metzker as a friend outside of the newsroom.

Lenita Powers of the Gazette-Journal says Metzker was loved in the local market.

Powers writes that KTVN canceled its newscasts on Sunday to grieve over Metzker’s death.

KTVN meteorologist Mike Alger says Metzker was a true friend.

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

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says UFC isn’t leaving the sports landscape anytime soon.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says it’s time for the NHL to have a Red Zone Channel. I agree.

Sports Media Watch says NBA TV will premiere a new roundtable discussion program as the 2011-12 season looks more in doubt.

SMW says ABC’s Saturday Night Football received a record ratings low opposite LSU-Alabama on CBS.

The Big Lead has NBC’s Al Michaels talking the Penn State story with Sirius XM’s Howard Stern.

And we’ll leave it there. Lots of links for you to digest today.