Masters Live Returns to CBSSports.com

The Masters’ online presentation has been expanding over the years and for 2013, the tradition of presenting Amen Corner, Holes 15 & 16, and the featured group continues this year. In addition, the CBS Sports Network show, “Masters on the Range” will be shown online as well.

We have the schedule for all of the online channels provided by CBSSports.com and seen also on Masters.com.

Masters Live on CBSSports.com Returns for 2013 Masters^®

Four channels of live golf action let fans follow the Masters Tournament on CBSSports.com and Masters.com

NEW YORK, NY, and AUGUSTA, GA, April 3, 2013 – CBSSports.com, in conjunction with Masters.com, CBS Sports and the Masters Tournament, today announced that Masters Live, live full day video coverage from the Augusta National Golf Club, will return for the 2013 Masters Tournament. With four live channels of golf action, Masters Live will be presented throughout the week of the 2013 Masters, April 8-14, providing more than 90 hours of live video from Augusta National.

The 2013 Masters Live suite of video productions features a line-up of four channels of live golf action from the Masters, including:

• Masters On The Range: Now in its third year, the live show originating from the Tournament Practice Range at Augusta National will be available on CBSSports.com, Masters.com and CBS Sports Network. Presented on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Masters week on CBSSports.com and Monday through Sunday on Masters.com and CBS Sports Network, Masters On The Range will feature interviews with players and analysis of the field leading up to the start of the 2013 Masters. Brian Crowell, Billy Kratzert and Bobby Clampett will provide commentary and analysis for Masters On The Range.
• Amen Corner: Live streaming video of the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th holes from Augusta National. Grant Boone and Matt Gogel will provide commentary and analysis for Amen Corner.
• Hole Nos. 15 & 16: Live streaming video of the 15^th and 16^th holes from Augusta National. Jerry Foltz and Billy Ray Brown will serve as the announcers for 15 & 16.
• Featured Group: Live streaming video of selected groupings as they play hole Nos. 10-18 from Augusta National. Andrew Catalon and Kratzert will be providing commentary and analysis of the featured groupings.

Immediately following the conclusion of CBS Sports’ television coverage on Saturday and Sunday, CBSSports.com will present a Masters Live Weekend Recap Show. Hosted by Boone and Gogel, the Masters Live Weekend Recap Show will review all of Saturday’s and Sunday’s action and be available live and on demand.

In addition to the four channels of live golf action and the Masters Live Weekend Recap Show, CBSSports.com will present the following video highlights from the 2013 Masters Tournament:

Highlights from the Par 3 Contest: First played in 1960, the Par 3 Contest has become a beloved Wednesday tradition at the Masters. The 2013 Masters Par 3 Contest will be held on Wednesday, April 10. CBSSports.com will provide video highlights of the action.

Press Room: Video highlights of player interviews conducted in the Interview Room from Augusta National.

Tournament Highlights: Video highlights of play from each day of the 2013 Masters Tournament.

Historical Highlights on Demand: On-demand video of memorable highlights and classic moments from past Masters Tournaments.

Augusta National Aerials: On-demand video fly-overs of the Augusta National Golf Club, allowing fans to enjoy the beauty of one of the most famous golf courses in the world.

All elements of Masters Live will be available free of charge at CBSSports.com and Masters.com.

The Masters, the most renowned tournament in golf, will be broadcast on CBS Sports for the 58^th consecutive year, a record for the longest-running sporting event broadcast on one network. This year marks the 77^th Masters Tournament, one of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the year.

Schedule for Masters Live Video on CBSSports.com and Masters.com in 2013

Masters on the Range (Presented Monday-Wednesday on CBSSports.com and Monday-Sunday on Masters.com)

Tuesday, April 9: 9:00 – 11:00 AM
Wednesday, April 10: 9:00 – 11:00 AM
Thursday, April 11: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Friday, April 12: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Saturday, April 13: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Sunday, April 14: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM 

Featured Group*

Thursday, April 11:     12:00 Noon – Completion of play
Friday, April 12: 12:00 Noon – Completion of play
Saturday, April 13:      12:30 PM – Completion of play
Sunday, April 14:       12:30 PM – Completion of play

Amen Corner*

Thursday, April 11:      10:45 AM – 6:00 PM
Friday, April 12:           10:45 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday, April 13:      11:45 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday, April 14:        11:45 AM – 6:00 PM

15 & 16*

Thursday, April 11:       11:45 AM – 7:00 PM
Friday, April 12:            11:45 AM – 7:00 PM
Saturday, April 13:       12:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Sunday, April 14:       12:30 PM – 6:30 PM

* Start and end times are estimates and subject to change. All times eastern daylight.

That is all.

Super Bowl XLVII Sets Streaming Record

In just its second year of online streaming, the Super Bowl was able to increase the number of online steams from 2012. The National Football League says the stream of the Baltimore Ravens vs. the San Francisco 49ers attracted three million unique users up 46% from Super Bowl XLVI.

In addition, those users generated 10 million video streams using the various exclusive camera angles that weren’t available on television. That was more than double from last year.

And the amount of time the game was streamed online was up almost 50%.

I’m sure the numbers will go up even further next year when Fox has the game.

Here’s the press release from NFL and CBS.

Super Bowl XLVII Live Stream Sets Viewership Records

Unique Viewers Reach 3 Million, with 114.4 Million Minutes of Video Streams
Most Social Telecast Ever, According to Monitoring Services

NEW YORK – Feb. 5, 2012 – The CBSSports.com, NFL.com and NFL Mobile live stream of Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday set multiple viewership records for a single-game sporting event in the United States and also made history as the most social telecast ever, according to data provided by Omniture and third-party monitoring firms.

Online, the CBSSports.com live stream of the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens attracted three million unique viewers to the Super Bowl XLVII video player, up 43 percent from Super Bowl XLVI.  Viewers generated nearly 10 million live video streams, up more than 100 percent from last year, resulting in a record 114.4 million minutes streamed, which was up 46 percent over last year’s game.

Sunday also marked the largest recorded audience in CBSSports.com’s history, as viewers streamed the game live, watched Beyonce’s half-time performance (the first time a Super Bowl half-time performance has been streamed live online in the U.S.), viewed alternative camera angles, connected with friends and followers socially, and watched broadcast commercials again on-demand.

In addition to viewership numbers, Super Bowl XLVII smashed the record for the most-social event in the history of television, according to third-party research firms BlueFin, SocialGuide and Trendrr. Trendrr tracked more than 52.5 million social comments throughout the day, more than three times the numbers tracked for 2012’s Grammy Awards and Super Bowl XLVI, the previous top events.

“Our live stream of Super Bowl XLVII not only set online viewership and social-media records but set the standard for a second-screen sports experience,” said Jim Lanzone, president of CBS Interactive. “Our goal was to create an environment that would serve as the perfect complement to CBS Sports’ coverage of the game. We’re extremely proud of this historic experience.”

“This year’s record-setting engagement demonstrates that our fans are always looking for more ways to engage with NFL content,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL senior vice president of media strategy and development.

CBS Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl XLVII (Feb 3: 6:32-8:41 and 9:11-10:47 p.m. ET) was watched in all-or-part (at least six minutes) by a record 164.1 million viewers. Last night’s 164.1 million (persons 2+) is the highest number of viewers to ever watch all-or-part of the Super Bowl. The previous high was 2011’s 162.9 million for the Green Bay Packers-Pittsburgh Steelers game.

Official stats for Sunday’s live stream of XLVII on CBSSports.com and NFL.com:

• Unique Viewers: 3 million

• Total Minutes Streamed: 114.4 million

• Live video streams: 10 million

• Engagement: 38 minutes per-viewer

That will do it.

CBS Celebrates 75 Years of the NCAA Tournament

One of the most exciting events in the sports calendar is the NCAA Tournament. And this season will mark the 75th year that the tournament will be played. This year’s Final Four will take place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Throughout the season, CBS will air various programming celebrating the NCAA Tournament’s 75 years of existence. The celebration begins Saturday, December 29 with two shows on CBS sharing the memories of various network announcers who have called tournament games and another sharing the experiences of several coaches.

CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com will share in the act as well with on-air vignettes and online features.

Here’s the CBS press release.

CBS SPORTS AND THE NCAA^® CELEBRATE 75 YEARS OF MARCH MADNESS^®

CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com Launch Original Programming Commemorating 75 Years of One of the World’s Most Popular Sporting Events
Jim Nantz Hosts 75 YEARS: A COACH’S PERSPECTIVE, airing
Saturday, Dec. 29 (3:00-4:00 PM, ET)

CBS Sports salutes 75 years of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship with original programming celebrating the rich history of March Madness. Starting this month and through the 2013 NCAA tournament, CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com, in conjunction with the NCAA, will air a series of themed specials dedicated to the players, coaches and commentators who have made an impact over 75 memorable years of March Madness. The programming, CBS SPORTS PRESENTS 75 YEARS OF NCAA MARCH MANDESS, features CBS Sports college basketball announcers, including Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Bill Raftery, Greg Anthony, Greg Gumbel and Doug Gottlieb, as well as others.

The salute tips off Saturday, Dec. 29 with two shows on CBS Sports beginning with 75 YEARS: BEHIND THE MIC (2:00-3:00 PM, ET).  The special features a round-table discussion with on-air voices of the NCAA tournament reliving the greatest March Madness moments and sharing their memories calling the action.  Greg Gumbel hosts and is joined by Clark Kellogg, Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Dick Enberg, Greg Anthony and Gary Bender.  The show also includes a special segment with Verne Lundquist, Len Elmore and Christian Laettner reliving the legendary Kentucky-Duke regional final game in 1992.

Jim Nantz hosts 75 YEARS: A COACH’S PERSPECTIVE (3:00-4:00 PM, ET) featuring a panel of top college coaches reflecting on the greatness of the NCAA tournament and reminiscing about their own experiences. Coaches include Billy Donovan, Tom Izzo, Steve Lavin, Rick Pitino, Shaka Smart, Brad Stevens, Bill Self, John Thompson III and Jay Wright.

Greg Gumbel hosts the other specials airing on CBS Sports, including:

• TOP 10 COACHES – Saturday, Feb. 9 (12:30-1:00 PM, ET)
• TOP 10 ONE-HIT WONDERS – Saturday, Feb. 16 (12:30-1:00 PM, ET)
• TOP 10 BUZZER BEATERS – Sunday, Feb. 17 (12:30-1:00 PM, ET)
• TOP 10 UPSETS – Saturday, Feb. 23 (1:00-1:30 PM, ET)
• TOP 10 CHAMPS THAT NEVER WERE – Saturday, Feb. 23 (1:30-2:00 PM, ET)

CBS Sports Network’s programming is highlighted by a series of specials, including:

• THE ULTIMATE 75-YEAR BRACKET – Saturday, March 2 (7:00-8:30 PM, ET) – A 90-minute studio show playing out the ultimate fantasy March Madness bracket with the best teams from the past 75 years.  A panel of experts will pick the teams, determine seedings and debate the games in a single-elimination style.
• THE 75 GREATEST MOMENTS IN TOURNAMENT HISTORY – Sunday, March 3-Thursday, March 7 – Five 30-minute programs that count down the 75 greatest moments in tournament history.
• MARCH MADNESS: THE ALL-TIME TEAM – Sunday, April 7 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET) – A one-hour show selecting the top NCAA tournament all-time players.

In addition, CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com will feature a vignette series beginning Saturday, Dec. 29 that traces the history of all 75 years of the NCAA tournament. During each day leading up to the 2013 NCAA tournament, a vignette will air that features a summary of one year’s March Madness tournament from 1939 through 2012.  CBSSports.com also will provide coverage and content from its EYE ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL reporters.

CBS Sports and Turner Sports will provide live, full national coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across four national television networks – CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.

Starting in early January, fans can vote on the greatest all-time players, teams and moments at NCAA.com/MarchMadness, the official online destination for the 75 years of March Madness celebration.

And we’re done.

Doug Gottlieb Joins CBS

CBS has officially announced the signing of Doug Gottlieb into the company. He’ll join the upstart CBS Sports Radio which will begin in January. He’ll host the 3-6 p.m. ET slot.

In addition, he’ll join CBS Sports as a college basketball analyst on games and in the studio. He’ll have a role on the NCAA Tournament.

Doug will host a weekday show on the CBS Sports Network and will also be a college basketball analyst.

Gottlieb will also contribute to CBSSports.com.

So the Perpetually Angry Gottlieb will be one of the stars for CBS as it goes into a new generation of analysts. Lots of platforms where he’ll be utilized.

Here’s the CBS announcement.

CBS SIGNS DOUG GOTTLIEB TO MULTI-PLATFORM DEAL ACROSS THE COMPANY’S SPORTS PROPERTIES

FORMER ESPN PERSONALITY TO HOST AFTERNOONS ON NEWLY CREATED CBS SPORTS RADIO NETWORK
GOTTLIEB NAMED ANALYST FOR CBS SPORTS’ COLLEGE BASKETBALL,
HOST OF DAILY SHOW ON CBS SPORTS NETWORK AND CBSSPORTS.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Multi-faceted sportscaster Doug Gottlieb of ESPN has signed a multi-year deal with CBS and will contribute across CBS Sports properties, it was announced today by Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports, and Dan Mason, President and CEO, CBS RADIO.

Among the platforms that Gottlieb will be featured on are:

• CBS SPORTS RADIO – Gottlieb will host afternoons (3:00-6:00 PM, ET) on CBS Sports Radio, the newly created 24-hour, seven-day-a-week network featuring national programming from premier entities CBS RADIO and CBS Sports. He will debut on Jan. 2, 2013, the same day CBS Sports Radio launches.

Reaching an audience of close to 10 million listeners, CBS Sports Radio will be heard across nearly 90 CBS RADIO and Cumulus Media radio stations and affiliates in the U.S., including nine of the nation’s Top 10 markets.

• CBS SPORTS – Gottlieb will serve as studio and game analyst for CBS Sports’ coverage of regular-season college basketball and the Network’s joint coverage with Turner Sports of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
• CBS SPORTS NETWORK – Gottlieb will host a new show airing weekdays on CBS Sports Network beginning this fall and will be an analyst for regular-season college basketball.
• CBSSPORTS.COM – Gottlieb will be an exclusive contributor to CBSSports.com, including columns, podcasts and College Basketball 360.

“This is the first of many prominent personalities we will be adding to the CBS Sports Radio lineup,” said Mason. “Doug is well-versed in today’s sports landscape and for years has entertained audiences with his unique blend of wit, honesty and outspokenness – traits essential for creating great radio programming. We are thrilled to provide this exciting show to our new and soon-to-be announced affiliates across the country.”

“With his ability to host both radio and television shows plus his studio and courtside analysis on college basketball, Doug is a triple threat, and the perfect fit across CBS Sports’ many platforms,” said McManus. “Doug brings a wide fan base and a fresh take on sports, and we are excited to develop a unique show with him on CBS Sports Network.”

“CBS has among its portfolio the most powerful assets in all of sports and is home to arguably the greatest championship event – the NCAA Tournament,” said Gottlieb. “Thinking about the reach of CBS Sports Radio and the continued growth of CBS Sports Network, coupled with quality online reporting and the overall distinguished reputation of CBS Sports, this was an easy choice to make, and an opportunity I couldn’t resist.”

“Listeners of my radio show will enjoy a fast, highly opinionated program that will challenge and engage sports fans nationwide.  And I’m looking forward to developing a new television program, following in the steps of my former colleague and friend Jim Rome,” added Gottlieb.

Previously, Gottlieb was a college basketball analyst on ESPN and host of The Doug Gottlieb Show on ESPN Radio. Before joining ESPN, Gottlieb co-hosted a midday sports talk show at WWLS-AM in Oklahoma City, Okla. Gottlieb was a college basketball point guard at Notre Dame and Oklahoma State. He graduated with a marketing degree from Oklahoma State in 2000, holding every assists record at OSU and in the Big 12 Conference. Gottlieb is tenth all-time in assists in NCAA history.

More later.

Going For Some More Overdue Sports Media Thoughts

Thursday turned out to be quite the crazy day for those of us who follow the sports media beat. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. On any given day, you just don’t know when sports media news will break. We had two stories throw us for a loop. I’ll do the thoughts as always in bullet form.

• We knew the Michelle Beadle story was going to come to a head, we just didn’t know what direction it would take. Finally, we did hear about some movement. And it all moved around 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. Whether Michelle decides to leave ESPN and go to NBC as SportsbyBrooks tweeted on Thursday or remain at the Alleged Worldwide Leader (highly unlikely), she’s going to get paid. I do believe that she will leave, take the job at NBC and be featured on the Olympics this summer, either as a contributor on the Today show, or as a host on one of NBCUniversal’s cable networks, most likely NBC Sports Network.

  I’ve said all along that Michelle’s future is not in sports and if SportsbyBrooks’ tweet is correct, then being a co-host on Access Hollywood with Billy Bush would be right up her alley. And Michelle could always return to sports every two years during the Olympics. But as Michelle herself once told me, the truth will come out soon.

• Now the other piece of sports media news from Thursday was the surprising move by Jason La Canfora to leave NFL Network and join CBS in July to become an NFL insider at its dot com site and on television. As Michael Hiestand of USA Today discovered for Friday’s edition, not only will La Canfora replace Charley Casserly on The NFL Today, he’ll also appear on CBS Sports Network which could have its own Sunday morning NFL pregame show plus other NFL-related programming.

  I thought La Canfora did a good job on NFL Network especially in replacing Adam Schefter in 2009 after he bolted for ESPN. In regards to replacing Jason, NFL Network has recently hired a trio of on-air reporters who could conceivably take his place or it could fill the insider by committee. Whatever direction NFL Network goes in the Insider position, I’m sure it will be someone solid.

• I watched some of ESPNU’s coverage of the SEC Softball Tournament. Beth Mowins did a very good job on the play-by-play. She’s called college football, the Women’s World Cup in Germany in addition to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and she’s called each sport quite well.
• I’m looking forward to Sunday morning when Fox Sports goes all out for the final day of the English Premier League season. All ten games on Sunday will be aired on ESPN2 and nine Fox platforms including Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports Net, Fuel, FX, Speed, Fox Deportes as well as online. It’s going to be bedlam, but in a good way.

That’s going to conclude the thoughts for now.

Jason La Canfora Leaves NFL Network For NFL on CBS; Replaces Charley Casserly on NFL Today

Received this from CBS Sports, NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora is leaving to take a similar position at the Tiffany Network. Since 2009, La Canfora has been the main insider on NFL Network taking the role that Adam Schefter held previously.

Jason will join CBSSports.com in July. Then in September, he’ll be seen on The NFL Today joining James Brown, Dan Marino, Bill Cowher, Shannon Sharpe and Boomer Esiason. While it wasn’t mentioned in the CBS press release, it appears that La Canfora will replace Charley Casserly who had been in the role of NFL Today Insider and GM, getting his own segment on The NFL Today.

The move was announced today.

JASON LA CANFORA JOINS CBS SPORTS AS “NFL INSIDER” FOR “THE NFL TODAY” STUDIO SHOW, CBS SPORTS NETWORK AND CBSSPORTS.COM

Jason La Canfora joins CBS Sports as the “NFL Insider” for the CBS Television Network’s NFL pre-game show, THE NFL TODAY, the CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com.  The announcement was made today by Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports, and Executive Producer, THE NFL ON CBS.

La Canfora joins James Brown, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher on THE NFL TODAY beginning on September 9. He begins his role as “NFL Insider” for CBSSports.com in July, joining an already experienced staff of writers covering the NFL including Pete Prisco, Clark Judge, Mike Freeman and Pat Kirwan.

Before joining CBS Sports, La Canfora worked for the NFL Network and NFL.com as an NFL Insider from 2009-12.  He appeared on NFL Total Access, NFL GameDay Morning, NFL GameDay Final and Thursday Night Kickoff.  La Canfora also contributed significantly across the NFL’s digital properties including NFL.com.

La Canfora spent six years as a Redskins beat writer during his 10-year stint with The Washington Post.  He also contributed to NHL, MLB, Olympic and World Cup coverage.  During that time, La Canfora’s blog on Washingtonpost.com became one of the most frequented by readers looking for an inside scoop on the Redskins.

In addition to his print and online experience, La Canfora’s broadcast experience includes the NFL Network, as well as appearing on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic as a panelist, analyst and co-host for over a year. He also was a regular co-host on Fox 1370 Radio’s weekly afternoon drive-time sports show heard throughout the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area.

Prior to The Washington Post, La Canfora reported for the Detroit Free Press covering the Detroit Red Wings and their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship wins in 1997 and 1998.  His accolades include a 2004 Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) Breaking News honorable mention; 1998 APSE Game Story third place finish; and a 1997 APSE News Story fifth place finish.

La Canfora graduated magna cum laude with degrees in print journalism and policy studies from Syracuse University in 1996. Born April 14, 1974 in Baltimore, Md, La Canfora and his wife, Lauren, and three children reside in Towson, Md.

That’s all.

Some Leftover Linkage

I need to clear my brower of links I was hoping to get to sometime over the last few days. Since I couldn’t do the Friday megalinks or any Saturday morning linkage, I’ll do some Sunday evening leftover links.

Consider this the Sunday entrée to the beginning of the workweek. I honestly don’t know what that means.

Here’s some linkage for you to chew on.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports is not a fan of Shaquille O’Neal on TNT.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News writes that Time Warner Cable is hoping to obtain more sports properties for its new Southern California regional sports network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the first round of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most watched on record.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable reports that no talent hack Ryan Seacrest will be haunting NBC Sports as well as NBC News in an all-new, all-encompassing contract with NBCUniversal.

Tim Baysinger at B&C says ESPN’s ratings for the First Round of the NFL Draft were up double digits from the year before.

Sam Laird at Mashable writes that social media is influencing sports in many ways.

To Sean Newell of Deadspin who looks at the strange Twitter meltdown of Chicago Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley who went all-sexist on female pilots and one of his co-workers.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report writes that former CBS and ABC Sports essayist Jack Whitaker is receiving a long overdue honor from the Sports Emmys on Monday.

Ryan Yoder from Awful Announcing reviews the good and the bad of ESPN’s First Round coverage of the NFL Draft.

Joe Lucia of AA does the same for NFL Network.

Back to Matt from AA, apparently Tim McCarver fancies himself an expert on climate change

From the Tampa Bay Times, Eric Deggans reviews ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group has ESPN optimistic that its Los Angeles studios will put itself in a unique position to cover the Lakers and Clippers in the NBA Playoffs.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck can ever match Peyton Manning’s marketability.

Providence’s WJAR-TV and Cox Communications announce a new partnership that will simulcast the NBC affiliate’s local newscasts and also put Cox Sports RI’s programming on a new cable channel.

Amy Chozick and Nick Wingfield of the New York Times explore the growing world of TV mobile and tablet apps which include the soon-to-be released NBC Olympics iPad app.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times profiles actor Peter Scolari who plays three important roles in the Magic/Bird Broadway play.

Breaking a ban of linking to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News who has an interesting story regarding Yankees voices John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman and whether they’ll be leaving if the team changes flagship radio stations after this season.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has no hope for our society. Lighten up, Phil. Time to travel to Moldova or Johannesburg. Somewhere you don’t have to watch sports anymore.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says MSG Network’s ratings for Game 7 of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers series were the best since the 1994 Stanley Cup-clinching game on the network.

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the 76ers are leaving long-time home WIP and switching to ESPN Radio Philadelphia.

Crossing Broad says the Sixers’ move came as a surprise.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner talks with Jim Rome and his new CBS home.

Laura Newberry of the Orlando Sentinel says Golf Channel has become a Central Florida mainstay.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Rockets are not only moving to a new TV home next season, but are currently looking for a new radio flagship station as well.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman transcribes Mike Tirico’s call of Kevin Durant’s winning shot for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Enquirer says one local cable provider will pick up NFL Network, but it’s not Time Warner.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley may be headed towards a suspension.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business says the Bulls generated their highest regular season TV ratings since the Michael Jordan years.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says scheduling of playoff games never has the fans in mind.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says ESPN gave the Utah Jazz the benefit of the doubt in its series opener.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC got the job done in choosing its NHL Playoff series for the Conference Semifinal round.

Peter Adler from the Edmonton Journal says the Oilers’ documentary series Oil Change which runs on NHL Network should return for a third season

Howard M. Alperin of Midwest Sports Fans asks why CBSSports.com doesn’t include soccer coverage?

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy has TSN’s top hockey bloopers of the 2011-12 season.

That’s a lot of leftover linkage. Glad I was able to clear this out before Monday.

Masters Live Returns to CBSSports.com & Masters.com Next Week

The streaming webcast, Masters Live returns next week as The Masters^® comes back onto the sports scene.

For the first time, “Masters on the Range” will be seen both online and on CBS Sports Network. This will be seen on the days leading up the First Round.

When play begins, web “patrons” will be able to see the action on Amen Corner, Holes 11, 12 and 13 plus Holes 15 & 16 and the featured group in the both the morning and afternoon sessions.

Some of the announcers working for Masters Live will include Andrew Catalon, Grant Boone, Jennifer Mills, Billy Kratzert, Matt Gogel, Peter Oosterhuis and Jerry Foltz. This marks the first year that we won’t see the late Jim Huber on the coverage and the great sports essayist will be missed on this event.

We have the details plus the online schedule for each day at The Masters^®.

MARCH 29, 2012:CBSSports.com, in conjunction with Masters.com, CBS Sports and the Masters Tournament, today announced that Masters Live, live video coverage from the Augusta National Golf Club, will return for the 2012 Masters Tournament. Now with four live channels of golf action, Masters Live will be presented throughout the week of the 2012 Masters, April 2-8, providing more than 90 hours of live video from Augusta National. The 2012 Masters Live suite of video productions features a line-up of four channels of live golf action from the Masters, including:

• Masters On The Range: A live show originating from the Tournament Practice Range at Augusta National, Masters On The Range will be available for the first time in 2012 on CBSSports.com and CBS Sports Network. Presented on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Masters week, Masters On The Range will feature interviews with players and analysis of the field leading up to the start of the 2012 Masters. Jennifer Mills, Billy Kratzert and Peter Oosterhuis will provide commentary and analysis for Masters On The Range.
• Amen Corner: Live streaming video of the 11th, 12th and 13th holes from the Augusta National Golf Club. Grant Boone and Matt Gogel will provide commentary and analysis for Amen Corner.
• 15 & 16: Live streaming video of the 15th and 16th holes from the Augusta National Golf Club. Jerry Foltz and Billy Ray Brown will serve as the announcers for 15 & 16.
• Featured Group: Live streaming video of selected pairings as they play Hole Nos. 10-18 from Augusta National Golf Club. Andrew Catalon and Kratzert will be providing commentary and analysis of the Featured Groupings.

Immediately following the conclusion of CBS Sports’ television coverage on Saturday and Sunday, CBSSports.com will present a Masters Live Recap Show. Hosted by Boone and Gogel, the Masters Live Recap Show will review all of Saturday’s and Sunday’s action and be available live and on demand.

In addition to the four channels of live golf action and the Masters Live Recap Show, CBSSports.com will present the following video highlights from the 2012 Masters Tournament:

• Highlights from Par 3 Contest: First played in 1960, the Par 3 Contest has become a beloved Wednesday tradition at the Masters. The 2012 Masters Par 3 Contest will be held on Wednesday, April 4. CBSSports.com will provide video highlights of the action.
• Press Room: Video highlights of player interviews conducted in the Interview Room from Augusta National.
• Tournament Highlights: Video highlights of play from each day of the 2012 Masters Tournament.
• Historical Highlights on Demand: On demand video of memorable highlights and classic moments from past Masters Tournaments.
• Augusta National Aerials: On demand video fly-overs of the Augusta National Golf Club, allowing fans to enjoy the beauty of one of the most famous golf courses in the world.

All elements of Masters Live will be available free of charge at CBSSports.com and Masters.com.

The Masters, the most renowned tournament in golf, will be broadcast on CBS Sports for the 57th consecutive year, a record for the longest-running sporting event broadcast on one network. This year marks the 76th Masters Tournament, one of the most highly-anticipated sporting events of the year.

Schedule for Masters Live Video on CBSSports.com and Masters.com in 2012

Masters on the Range (Also airs on CBS Sports Network)

• Monday, April 2: 9:00 – 11:00 AM
• Tuesday, April 3: 9:00 – 11:00 AM
• Wednesday, April 4: 9:00 – 11:00 AM

Featured Group*

• Thursday, April 5: 12:00 Noon – Completion of play
• Friday, April 6: 12:00 Noon – Completion of play
• Saturday, April 7: 12:00 Noon – Completion of play
• Sunday, April 8: 12:00 Noon – Completion of play

Amen Corner*

• Thursday, April 5: 10:45 AM – 5:45 PM
• Friday, April 6: 10:45 AM – 5:45 PM
• Saturday, April 7: 12:00 Noon – 5:45 PM
• Sunday, April 8: 11:45 AM – 5:45 PM

15 & 16*

• Thursday, April 5: 11:45 AM – 6:45 PM
• Friday, April 6: 11:45 AM – 6:45 PM
• Saturday, April 7: 1:00 PM – 6:30 PM
• Sunday, April 8: 12:45 PM – 6:30 PM

* Start and end times are estimates and subject to change. All times eastern daylight.

That will conclude this post.

CBS Sports is Proud of Its 26 Sports Emmy Award Nominations

CBS Sports is that organization that just keeps chugging along. It was in a very bleak period from 1994-1998 when it lost the NFL, no NBA, was outbid for the NHL and seemed to heading in downward spiral. But since Sean McManus came on board as its President and now Chairman, the division not only re-obtained the NFL, became a player in college football, kept its PGA Tour commitments, kept the NCAA Tournament thanks to its partnership with Turner Sports, added Showtime Sports to its arsenal and now has CBS Sports Network.

For the 33rd Sports Emmy Awards, CBS and its affiliated networks, Showime and CBSSports.com have received 26 Sports Emmy Award nods, third among the sports network groups behind ESPN and the NBC Sports Group.

Some of CBS’ nominations include Live Sports Special (The Masters), Playoff Coverage (SEC Championship), Studio Host (James Brown), Play-by-Play (Jim Nantz and Marv Albert), Game Analyst (Gary Danielson), Sports Reporter (Tracy Wolfson), Weekly Studio Show (with Showtime for Inside the NFL) and Sports Documentary (again with Showtime for Game of Honor).

In addition, the Army-Navy game received multiple technical nominations.

Here’s the CBS Sports press release.

JIM NANTZ, JAMES BROWN, GARY DANIELSON AND TRACY WOLFSON LEAD CBS’s 26 NOMINATIONS FOR 2011 SPORTS EMMY AWARDS

SHOWTIME/CBS Sports Garner Five Nominations for Epic Army-Navy Documentary A GAME OF HONOR”
CBS Sports’ Coverage of NCAA Tournament, Masters^®, SEC Football and Army-Navy Game Also Receive Nods to Highlight Network’s Other Nominations

Jim Nantz, James Brown, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson lead the list of CBS’s 26 nominations for the 2011 Sports Emmy Awards to be presented on April 30 in New York City.  Nantz, who won the 2008 and 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality -– PLAY-BY-PLAY, once again earned a nomination in that category. Brown’s nomination also is in the category in which he won in 2007, Outstanding Sports Personality -– STUDIO HOST, for THE NFL TODAY and INSIDE THE NFL on Showtime, while Danielson earned a nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality -– SPORTS EVENT ANALYST and Wolfson gained a nod for Outstanding Sports Personality -– SPORTS REPORTER. In addition, Marv Albert (CBS/TBS/TNT) earned a nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality – PLAY-BY-PLAY.

Among the other nominations for CBS Sports include multiple nods for its collaboration with Showtime on the epic Army-Navy documentary A GAME OF HONOR. The documentary garnered five nominations:

CBS Sports, teaming up with Turner Sports, also gained multiple nominations for its coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship for Outstanding SHORT FEATURE (Human Highlight Reel – Manny Ohonme: The Great Samaritan); Outstanding LONG FEATURE (NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Amongst Friends: A Story of Loss and Healing); Outstanding TECHNICAL TEAM STUDIO (NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Road to the Final Four) and Outstanding NEW APPROACHES SPORTS EVENT COVERAGE (March Madness on Demand –- NCAA.com/CBS Sports/Turner Sports).

In addition, CBS Sports’ coverage of the Masters® earned multiple nominations for Outstanding LIVE SPORTS SPECIAL and The George Wensel TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (The Masters 3D Coverage –- CBS Sports/ESPN3D). And the Network’s coverage of the Army-Navy football game received three nominations for Outstanding OPEN/TEASE; Outstanding Post Produced AUDIO/SOUND and Outstanding MUSIC COMPOSITION/DIRECTION/LYRICS.

Rounding out CBS Sports’ nominations are Outstanding PLAYOFF COVERAGE – SEC Football Championship Game (Georgia vs. LSU); Outstanding STUDIO SHOW – WEEKLY – INSIDE THE NFL (Showtime/CBS Sports); and OUTSTANDING LIVE EVENT TURNAROUND (Tour de France -– CBS Sports/Versus).

CBS’ Showtime, along with MLB Productions, earned three nominations for its series The Franchise: A Season with the San Francisco Giants for Outstanding Post Produced AUDIO/SOUND; Outstanding MUSIC COMPOSITION/DIRECTION/LYRICS and Outstanding EDITED SPORTS SERIES/Anthology.

33rd Annual Sports Emmy Nominations Announced

We have the nominations, all 170 in 33 different categories, for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards. They just came out today. There are some surprises like massive hockey charlatan Pierre McGuire nominated in the Sports Reporter category and for some really strange reason, Skippy Bayless of ESPN2′s First Take was nominated for Best Studio Analyst. What analysis does he do besides yelling and having massive manlove for Tim Tebow?

There are some of the usual suspects are nominated, Bob Costas for Best Studio Host, Al Michaels in Play-by-Play, Cris Collinsworth for both Studio and Game Analyst.

Some of the nominations I agree with include Mike Mayock for Best Game Analyst, College GameDay and Football Night in America as Best Studio Shows and all of the movies in the Sports Documentary category. Sports documentaries were strong this year and I have trouble picking one although Catching Hell, the ESPN Films effort on Steve Bartman and the Chicago Cubs might be the weakest of the bunch, but the doc was still very good.

Ok, get ready to scroll, the entire list is below. We do need a page break so the list of nominees will after the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences press releases.

THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 33^RD ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS

Winners to be Honored During the April 30^th Ceremony At Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jack Whitaker to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

New York, NY – March 20, 2012 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 33^rd Annual Sports Emmy® Awards.

More than 170 nominees were announced in 33 categories including outstanding live sports special, live series, sports documentary, studio show, promotional announcements, play-by-play personality and studio analyst.  The Awards will be given out at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center on April 30^th, 2012 in New York City.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports will go to the Sports Commentator and Essayist, Jack Whitaker.

“This is an outstanding year for the sports community and for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” said Malachy Wienges, Chairman, NATAS. “The entries received in this year’s Sports Emmys resulted in a record 175 nominees, illustrating the quality of these entries.  We are also honoring Jack Whitaker with our Lifetime Achievement Award.  I had the pleasure of working with Jack for eighteen years at CBS, and Jack is a sports icon and a class act.”

In addition to Jack Whitaker, many of the today’s leading sports broadcasters, personalities and television professionals will be in attendance as presenters at the event.

The networks of ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D & espn.com) lead the nomination totals with 55, the NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel & nbcsports.com) garnered 32, CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) entries received 26 nominations, while Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com & truTV) have 22.

A complete list of all nominees is attached below.

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network Group

ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D, espn.com) – 55
NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel, nbcsports.com) – 32
CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) – 26
Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com, truTV) – 22
HBO Sports – 19
FOX Sports Media Group (FOX, SPEED) – 16
NFL Network – 12
MLB Network – 8
DIRECTV – 2
MLB Advanced Media (MLB.com, MLBAM) – 2
NFL.com – 2
NCAA.com – 1
PGA.com – 1

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network

ESPN – 36
NBC – 22
HBO Sports – 19
CBS – 15
FOX – 15
TNT – 15
ESPN2 – 14
NFL NETWORK – 12
SHOWTIME – 10
MLB NETWORK – 8
VERSUS – 7  
TBS – 3
ABC – 2   
DIRECTV – 2
ESPN 3D – 2
GOLF CHANNEL – 2
NBA TV – 2
NFL.COM – 2
CBSSPORTS.COM – 1
ESPN.COM – 1
MLB.COM – 1
MLBAM – 1
NBA.COM – 1
NBCSPORTS.COM – 1
NCAA.COM – 1
PGA.COM – 1
SPEED – 1
truTV – 1

BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM/SERIES NOMINATIONS

Program/Nominations/Network

24/7: 8 -  HBO
E: 60: 7 – ESPN2
A Game of Honor: 5 – Showtime/CBSSports.com
MLB on FOX: 5 – FOX
NASCAR on FOX: 5 – FOX
NBA on TNT: 4 – TNT
NBC Sunday Night Football: 4 – NBC
FIFA Women’s World Cup: 3 – ESPN/ESPN2
Outside the Lines: 3 – ESPN
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: 3 – HBO
SportsCenter: 3 – ESPN
The Army/Navy Game: 3 – CBS
The Franchise: 3 – Showtime
Winter X Games 15: 3 – ESPN/ESPN3D
2011 Open Championship: 2 – ESPN
2011 Stanley Cup Final: 2 – NBC/Versus
ESPN Monday Night Football: 2 – ESPN
Football Night in America: 2 – NBC
Grand Slam Tennis on ESPN: 2 – ESPN2
Inside the NBA on TNT: 2 – TNT
Joplin: City of Hope: 2 – ESPN2
McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice: 2 – HBO
MLB Tonight: 2 – MLB Network
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: 2 – CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV
NFL Films Presents: 2 – NFL Network
NFL GameDay Morning: 2 – NFL Network
NFL on FOX: 2 – FOX
Sports Science: 2 – ESPN/ESPN.com
Sunday NFL Countdown: 2 – ESPN
Unguarded: 2 – ESPN

And after the page break, all of the nominees for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards which will be handed out April 30 in New York City.

(continue reading…)

How To Avoid Paying The $3.99 Fee To Watch March Madness Online

There has been plenty of confusion over the $3.99 fee to watch the NCAA Tournament online, whether it be through NCAA.com or the March Madness Live app for Android, iPhone and the iPad. First, the original press release promoted the fee and did not clearly explain how you could avoid paying it.

Well after fiddling around with the app this week, I’ve finally figured this out. First download the app for free either from the Android Marketplace or the Apple App Store. Once you’ve downloaded the app, go to the settings button on upper left of the iPad app or hit “Settings” on the mobile app. Touch “My Channels” and put in your zip code, hit “go” and then choose your cable or satellite provider.

Then in “My Account” or “Login” put in your e-mail and set up your password, confirm it and you should be all set to watch all the games. One password will work for the online login at NCAA.com, the iPhone app as well as the iPad app.

You can also watch games through truTV.com, TNT.tv and TBS.com and all you have to do is put in your zip and choose your provider as well as putting in your password. Games at CBSSports.com can be viewed for free, no login is required.

And having seen the video on the March Madness Live mobile and iPad apps, the quality is excellent, however, video did not work for the early game between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State. It was up for the BYU-Iona game.

I also watched at truTV.com and again, the video stream was very good. The online ads are different from what’s shown on TV, but that’s expected.

I do expect the demand on Thursday to cause the video to lag on all online platforms, but should be rectified as the wears on.

So there is the way to watch games on the March Madness Live app without having to pay. As long as your cable or satellite company has an agreement with Turner for streaming, you should be all set.

UPDATE, 03/15/12 — 7:20 p.m.: Turner Sports says if you’re still having trouble authenticating, call 855-566-5483 and techies will walk you through it.

Cranking Out Your Tuesday Links

Since late last night, I’ve been culling linkage for today. Let’s get to them.

Terry Lefton and Daniel Kaplan at Sports Business Journal discuss how Indianapolis hotels are gouging customers for Super Bowl Week.

Anick Jesdanun of the Associated Press reviews NBC’s online presentation of the Super Bowl for this Sunday.

Sergio Non of USA Today looks at the UFC on Fox rating from Saturday.

Michael Learmonth of Advertising Age says USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter wrecked Super Bowl ads for good.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch provides his thoughts on The Big Lead’s profile of ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd.

Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter has an appreciation for The Beautiful Game.

Tim Nudd of Adweek looks at the highly successful “This is SportsCenter” ad campaign.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost says NBC is copping $4 million per Super Bowl ad.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes that a survey shows that a majority of readers feel Super Bowl XLVI will set a viewership record.

Toni gives us a media buyer’s primer on the Super Bowl.

Diego Vasquez of Media Life says advertisers want to get buzz about Super Bowl commercials weeks before the Big Game.

The Daily says it appears Madonna’s set list for the Super Bowl halftime show has been leaked.

Peter Schrager of Esquire lists 10 current NFL players who could make a second career on TV.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid notes that Jerry Seinfeld and the Soup Nazi will appear in a Super Bowl ad.

Frances Martel of Mediaite reviews the ESPN2 show, “Dan Le Batard is Extremely Crazy Highly Questionable.”

Robert Littal of Black Sports Online has details of the Mexican TV reporter who made an impression during Super Bowl Media Day.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at ESPN taking over Pan Am Plaza in downtown Indianapolis for the Super Bowl.

Karen Hogan of SVG writes that sports has entered into reality TV in a big way.

Summer Harlow of the University of Texas Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas writes about CBSSports.com’s firing of Adam Jacobi over his premature report on Joe Paterno’s death.

Karen Rosen of TV Guide talks with ESPN’s Hannah Storm about her NFL special tonight.

All Access says a new ESPN Deportes Radio affiliate will launch tomorrow in Chicago.

Mark Miller of Examiner.com says Gary Thorne makes his Pro Bowling announcing debut this Sunday on ESPN.

Larry Mahoney of the Bangor (ME) Daily News speaks with former MLB’er Matt Stairs who joins NESN as a studio analyst for the 2012 season.

Michael Hayes of the Clinton (CT) Patch says ESPN will report from the geological center in between Gillette and Met Life Stadiums on Sunday.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has an interesting story on a small Connecticut NPR station which has a sports talk show that is not your typical run-of-the-mill program.

Judy Battista of the Times notes that the NFL will address head safety in one its in-house ads during the Super Bowl.

David Hinckley of the New York Daily News says rivals WFAN and ESPN Radio New York are squaring off in their Giants Super Bowl coverage.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes the release of ESPN’s Bracketbusters schedule.

Stacy Jones of the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger says Super Bowl advertisers are hoping to hook viewers from their computers and mobile devices as well as through their TV’s.

Neal Zoren of the Delaware County Daily Times notes Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia’s countdown of the worst sports villains of all-time.

Long-time New Orleans sports anchor Jim Henderson is retiring from WWL-TV, however, he’ll remain as Voice of the Saints.

Dave Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune gets reaction Henderson on his retirement.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle discusses the busy Super Bowl week and the ads.

Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer speaks with ESPN’s Erin Andrews about sports, life and her hosting the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Annual Awards Banquet this week.

Tim Evans of the Indianapolis Star says Radio Row at the Super Bowl is the perfect place for star gazing this week.

Emily Hatton of the Indy Star gives us an inside look at ESPN’s Pan Am Plaza set.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has NBC’s Bob Costas calling for a revote if National League MVP Ryan Braun of the Brewers loses his appeal for testing positive for steroids last year.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says ESPN College GameDay visits the Missouri campus this weekend.

Brian Gomez of the Colorado Springs Gazette says ESPN may pull the Winter X Games out of Aspen after an 11 year relationship.

Jason Blevins of the Denver Post writes that ESPN has been airing this year’s Winter X in 3-D.

Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News says longtime UCLA voice Chris Roberts was honored by his peers as was Daily News sports media writer Tom Hoffarth.

And Tom writes an appreciation for being honored last night.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has videos of the Big Ten Network going behind the scenes with Gus Johnson.

Josh Tinley of Midwest Sports Fans explains how the Super Bowl got its name and why every game has Roman numerals.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes the NHL All-Star Game did really well for CBC.

And that will do it for now.

Doing Some Friday Megalinks

With a rainy day in Southern New England, it’s time to provide you with some media links. Lots of them on a Friday.

You can check out the Weekend Viewing Picks for the sports and entertainment programming suggestions.

Now to the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with NBC’s Al Michaels about calling his 8th Super Bowl and 2nd for NBC.

Mike Ozanian from Forbes says NFL TV rightsholders will be able to reap financial benefits while non-rightsholders end up holding the bag.

Sam Mamudi of Marketwatch.com says you can follow along the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter results in real time thanks to a new Facebook app.

Michael O’Connell from the Hollywood Reporter has a sneak peek at some of the Super Bowls ads.

Kelly McBride of the ESPN Poynter Review Project looks at why ESPN made so much of Tim Tebow.

Alex Klein at Romanesko looks into why the Yale Daily News sat on a story for several months and how it took the New York Times to report on former quarterback Patrick Witt’s alleged sexual assault on campus. You may remember that Witt was a candidate to become a Rhodes Scholar but then skipped his interview. Now we know why.

Todd Spangler at Multichannel News says ESPN will let viewers see additional highlights and material from the Winter X Games via the Shazam mobile app.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes that NBC Sports Network goes into the NHL All-Star Weekend with increased ratings for the games.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily also has a story on the increased NHL ratings for NBC Sports Network.

Gabriel Beltrone from Adweek says Coke will have a Super Bowl microsite where its famous polar bears will react to the game and ads in real time.

David Gianatasio of Adweek writes one local Super Bowl spot will urge you to pee during its commercial.

E.J. Schultz at Advertising Age has Anheuser-Busch’s Super Bowl plans.

Matt Hardigree at Jalopnik says he’s solved the mystery behind the advertiser behind the Ferris Bueller-themed Super Bowl spot.

Adam Jacobi, the college football writer at CBSSports.com, who put the link to Onward State’s erroneous tweet about Joe Paterno’s death last Saturday has been fired. Jacobi says he understands the decision and has apologized to the Paterno family for his mistake.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says NBC will take a lighter approach for Sunday’s NFL Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Harry A. Jessell at TV NewsCheck notes that while the national TV ratings for the NFL are good, go inside the local numbers and they’re even better.

ESPN PR man Bill Hofheimer gives you an inside look at the network’s Super Bowl studios in Indianapolis.

Sports Media Watch says college basketball ratings are up on both ESPN and ESPN2.

SMW has some news and notes on some various people in the sports media.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing goes into some of the on-screen typos on TV this week.

Jeff Pearlman gets vindication from Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.

Steven Crist from the Daily Racing Form feels returning the Breeders Cup to NBC can only help horse racing.

All Access says a Hartford, CT FM station has flipped to all-sports.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says NESN has selected the replacement for Heidi Watney on its Red Sox broadcasts.

Chad says of all of the local TV outlets, Comcast SportsNet New England will have the largest contingent covering the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

Johnny Diaz from the Globe says Boston DirecTV subscribers will see the Super Bowl after all.

Bill Doyle from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with NBC’s Rodney Harrison about Super Bowl XLII and how some present New England Patriots still remaining from the game want revenge.

Stuart Elliot at the New York Times says some Super Bowl advertisers are returning buyers.

Richard Sandomir of the Times has Joe Namath’s reaction to the HBO/NFL Films documentary on his career that premieres tomorrow.

Richard adds that Namath is right now estranged from his former team, the New York Jets.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says the Namath documentary for the most part is good.

Justin Terranova of the Post speaks with NBC NHL charlatan Pierre McGuire.

Mike Silva at Sports Media Watchdog wonders why Kim Jones left YES.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says a local sports talk show will broadcast live from the Super Bowl next week.

Pete talks with the host of that talk show who also wears other hats in the Albany market.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says NYC residents will be able to hear the local and national radio calls of the Super Bowl next Sunday.

The Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News notes the firing of a CBSSports.com writer for falsely reporting Joe Paterno’s death.

DCRTV’s Dave Hughes at Press Row has media notes from the Baltimore-DC area.

South

The Tallahassee (FL) Democrat writes that a local sports talk show host who left his former station this week will be back on the air at another station later this year.

Billy Cox of the Sarasota (FL) Herald Tribune says ESPN’s Dick Vitale will be the subject of a profile produced by ….. ESPN!

Josh Bowe of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says Fox Sports Southwest will stream Lone Star Conference football games and a highlight show over the internet.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks with a retiring local sports anchor who looks back at the 2011 Texans rather fondly.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman reviews the HBO/NFL Films documentary on Joe Namath.

Mel says ESPNU will be all over National Signing Day.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks with former Bengal Artrell Hawkins who is now co-hosting Fox Sports Radio’s national morning show.

Jeff Moss of the Detroit Sports Rag looks into the new program director and on-air host of a local sports radio station.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Wisconsin sports teams did well in the national TV ratings last year.

Dan McGrath of the Chicago News Cooperative notes the 20 year anniversary of sports talk radio in the Windy City.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says new Minnesota Twins radio voice Cory Provus has big shoes to fill.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with Bob Costas about returning to host his familiar town hall format next week.

West

Thomas Harding of MLB.com says Root Sports Rocky Mountain’s Alana Rizzo is leaving the network’s Colorado Rockies broadcast team and heading for MLB Network.

John Maffei at the North County Times says HBO’s documentary on Joe Namath is on par with previous efforts.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star also reviews the documentary.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with Kings radio analyst Daryl Evans and also lists his best/worst LA broadcast analysts.

Tom has more on Evans in his blog.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says it’s time to play the NHL All-Star Game outdoors.

And that will do it.

Jon Heyman Flees Sports Illustrated For CBSSports.com

This was reported first by The Big Lead on Friday. It was made official today. Baseball insider Jon Heyman who’s been with Sports Illustrated for the past five years will join the staff of CBSSports.com next week. It’s a big hire for CBSSports.com which has brought in Bruce Feldman from ESPN and Brett McMurphy for its college football reporting, and Jeff Goodman for college basketball.

This means CBS is probably bolstering its bench as part of a bigger expansion for its CBS Sports Network cable channel. Heyman is expected to be seen on the network. He’ll still appear on MLB Network as an insider there.

We have the official announcement from CBS Sports which I had to cull from another website.

VETERAN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL JOURNALIST  JON HEYMAN JOINS CBSSPORTS.COM

Baseball insider with a penchant for breaking news, Heyman brings over 20 years experience covering the sport
Hire the latest in an impressive string of additions  to the CBSSports.com editorial staff in 2011

DEC. 5, 2011: CBSSports.com today announced that veteran journalist Jon Heyman has joined the site to cover Major League Baseball. He will officially begin on Dec. 12.

With over two decades experience covering baseball, Heyman comes to CBSSports.com after five years working for Sports Illustrated. One of the most respected baseball insiders and most widely followed on Twitter, Heyman has established a reputation as one of the premier news breakers in the industry. From Barry Bonds signing with the San Francisco Giants in 1992, to Alex Rodriguez’s trade to the New York Yankees in 2004 and numerous news credits around the steroid scandal in baseball over the past decade, Heyman has been on top of the sport like few others.

Heyman joins an already seasoned staff of writers covering Major League Baseball for CBSSports.com including Baseball Columnists Scott Miller and Danny Knobler along with the Eye on Baseball blog written by Matt Snyder and C. Trent Rosecrans.

Heyman’s hire caps off an impressive year for the editorial staff at CBSSports.com. Over the past year, the site has bolstered its stable of award-winning writers with the addition of college football writers Bruce Feldman, Tony Barnhart, and Brett McMurphy along with college basketball writer Jeff Goodman.

In addition to writing for CBSSports.com, Heyman will continue his work as a baseball insider at MLB Network and contributor for WFAN-AM in New York where he is a regular on Mike Francesa’s afternoon drive-time show, “Mike’d Up.”

“From the latest player and personnel moves to clubhouse rumors, very few writers have the pulse of Major League Baseball like Jon Heyman,” said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com. “Jon’s hiring is the latest in a string of significant moves CBSSports.com has made which signal our dedication to produce high quality, premium sports content.”

Heyman was born in Santa Fe, NM and grew up in Cedarhurst, NY. A graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Heyman resides in Miami with his wife, Corinne, and daughter Maya.

That is it for this post. More coming up later.

A Few Sunday Morning Sports Media Thoughts

I’ll be away for most of the day as my Sunday has been planned behind my back once again. I’ll have the Sunday NFL pregame quotage later in the afternoon.

Let’s provide some sports media thoughts. As always, they’ll go in bullet form.

• In its first college football conference championship weekend, Fox Sports had a mixed bag. Not only was the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday between UCLA and Oregon not a good game, Fox’s production was very choppy. While the announcing team of Gus Johnson, Charles Davis and Tim Brewster were fine, the audio for the Pac-12 was at times muffled and the crowd sometimes overpowered Davis’ analysis. Gus went into breaks rather awkwardly and there were times the replay didn’t show the proper angle. It wasn’t until the second half when the production hit its stride, but by that time, the game was already decided and most of the audience had probably tuned out.

  For the Big Ten Championship, the regular College Football on Fox production crew that had been working with Gus, Charles and Tim all season on FX was on hand in Indianapolis and this was a much better production. Replays were sharp, the picture was much better than in Eugene for the Pac-12.

  As for the other parts of the production, the college football studio needs improvement. Lots of improvement. Kevin Frazier is an awful host. He’s bad on Tennis Channel. He’s bad on Fox. He comes off unprepared. Marcus Allen is a very weak analyst. John Lynch did a decent job at the Pac-12 and Dhani Jones when he wasn’t trying to ask questions was ok at the Big Ten. Last year, Fox utilized Darrin Horton for its college football host and I don’t know it didn’t keep him for this season. Kevin Frazier must go.

  And I want to talk about why Tim Brewster starts off every question with “talk about.” It’s almost as annoying as when Paul McGuire started off every replay with “Ha ha! I’ll tell you what!” on ESPN’s Sunday Night Football. It’s obvious Tim Brewster wants to coach again because he’s not polished on TV.

  As for Gus Johnson and Charles Davis, they were on their “A” game for both the Pac-12 and Big Ten. They’ve formed one of the best announcing teams in college football. Gus was back in his realm in the national spotlight especially with a barnburner in the Big Ten. If Gus was auditioning for Joe Buck’s spot on the NFL on Fox, he passed with flying colors. While it’s great to have Gus in college football, he really belongs back on the NFL.

• If Tennis Channel wants to be taken seriously, it really should send announcing crews to the events rather than having them call matches off a monitor in its Los Angeles studios. For tournaments like the WTA World Tour Finals and this weekend’s Davis Cup Finals between Spain and Argentina, Tennis Channel has had Brett Haber, Ted Robinson and Leif Shiras call matches off a TV. You may not notice the difference, but when the satellite picture is lost, the announcers have to vamp and act like they’re there. Tennis Channel does send crews to the Grand Slam tournaments, but it should start treating other tournaments the same way as it does the Australian, French, US Opens and Wimbledon. In addition, the announcers are held hostage to the world feeds and cannot give us a sense for the atmosphere or giving us a sense of how the players look off camera. Tennis Channel needs to step up its game or it will continue to be treated as a bastard stepchild.
• The Big Lead is reporting that Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jon Heyman is leaving to take a job with CBSSports.com. That would be a huge get for CBS which has brought in Bruce Feldman from ESPN.com and a couple of other writers. I’m thinking this is part of a bigger picture upgrade for CBS and to possibly set up content for CBS Sports Network which currently is stuck in the ghosts of its previous brand, CBS College Sports. Maybe CBS decides to bid for baseball for CBS Sports Network. It would certainly help as the channel currently doesn’t have much summer programming besides from college sports repeats.
• ESPN is trying to sell us the BCS as a major event. While the ratings for the BCS National Championship Game have been good, until the college presidents decides on a way to decide on a legitimate postseason playoff system, we’re going to be stuck with the potential of an LSU-Alabama game every year. Not the two teams, but the way the final teams for the mythical college football national championships are chosen. The NCAA has over 60 championships including college football, but not in what is called the Football Bowl Subdivision or whatever they’ll name it in the future. As ESPN has so much invested in college sports, it may be up to the Alleged Worldwide Leader to throw some money around to help develop a way for a college football tournament to come to fruition. Until then, we’ll hear BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock give infuriating explanations as to why the BCS is good for college football.
• Nothing new to report on the continuing soap opera that is NESN’s search to replace Heidi Watney. Jen Royle of 105.7 FM in Baltimore was brought in for an interview last week. I heard it went well. Erin Hawksworth of the Fox affiliate in Seattle is also in the running. I believe it’s down to these two and as you know, I’m fully behind Jen in this. If you need any further convincing, let us remind you of Erin’s most famous moment from two months ago.

  I don’t think I need to add anything more.

Enjoy your Sunday

Fans Can Interact With CBS’ Gary Danielson On the Bus As He Rides Home From Games

Yes, according to CBS, Gary Danielson will interacting with fans on a new mobile media bus that will be equipped with WiFi, Satellite TV and plenty of gadgets where he can engage people. Now I don’t know if this will be like the Maddencruiser that John Madden utilized to get to and from NFL games. I’m not sure if Gary will go home from SEC football games this way, but CBS is making it appear as if he will. And immediately following the SEC on CBS after Verne Lundquist signs off, Danielson will make a dash for the bus and take part in a new online show for CBSSports.com called, “5^th Quarter with Gary Danielson.”

The SEC on CBS crew including Uncle Verne, Tracy “The Wolf” Wolfson and “Mr. College Football” Tony Barnhart will join Gary during various points of the season and contribute to the show.

I actually want to see this on Saturday as it debuts following the season premiere of the SEC on CBS which will be Tennessee at Florida.

Take a look at the press release.

CBS SPORTS’ LEAD COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST GARY DANIELSON RIDES INTO 2011 SEASON ABOARD “SEC ON CBS CRUISER”

DANIELSON TO PROVIDE CONTENT FOR CBS SPORTS, CBS SPORTS NETWORK AND CBSSPORTS.COM FROM NEW MOBILE MEDIA BUS  ON-SITE AT “SEC GAME OF THE WEEK”
CBSSports.com to Launch New, Interactive Post-Game Show  “5^th Quarter with Gary Danielson”

CBS Sports’ lead college football analyst Gary Danielson rides into the 2011 SEC football season aboard the SEC ON CBS CRUISER, a new mobile media bus that will be on-site at every CBS Sports “SEC game of the Week.” The SEC ON CBS CRUISER will be parked outside SEC stadiums throughout the season providing various pre-game reports and interviews for CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com, including a new interactive online show, “5^th Quarter with Gary Danielson.”  The bus makes its debut this Saturday, Sept. 17 in Gainesville, Fla. as Tennessee takes on Florida.

CBSSports.com’s “5^th Quarter with Gary Danielson” provides fans an opportunity to chat with Danielson immediately following the “SEC Game of the Week” as he travels home on the bus. Danielson also will contribute on-site to various CBS platforms including CBS Sports Network’s SEC TODAY (2:00 PM, ET) and CBS Sports’ pre-game studio show COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY (3:00 PM, ET). CBS Sports announcers Verne Lundquist, Tracy Wolfson and Tony Barnhartalso will contribute to programming from the bus.

“The ‘Cruiser’ adds to CBS Sports’ leading SEC football coverage, providing our personalities the ability to further interact with fans and bring the SEC game-day experience to our various broadcast, cable and online programming,” said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports. “With the “5^th Quarter” fans now have a platform to discuss all the day’s SEC storylines and college football news with Gary.”

The all-access mobile media vehicle is fully outfitted with the latest technology and includes four televisions, two satellite feeds and WiFi. In addition to the “5^th Quarter,” Danielson will continue to interact with fans live on Twitter (@DanielsonCBS) as his weekly road trip winds through SEC country after the game.

So this should be quite interesting. Will Gary be in his smoking jacket, pipe and slippers while riding on the bus? That’s what I want to see.

Doing Some Friday Megalinkage

Now that I’ve learned that I don’t have to travel in between two offices today, I’ll do some megalinks for you.

You can check out the Weekend Sports and Primetime Viewing Picks here. Now to your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with TNT’s Steve Kerr on the similarities he sees between the Chicago Bulls teams he played on with Michael Jordan and the Miami Heat of today.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News breaks news that TNT’s Marv Albert is in talks with CBS to possibly replace Gus Johnson for the NCAA Tournament. Bob isn’t national, but it’s big enough news to be placed here.

In Sports Business Journal, John Ourand and Michael Smith report on how ESPN and Fox came together for the Pac-12 TV contract.

Kimberly Nordyke of the Hollywood Reporter says Oprah Winfrey’s booking of the United Center for her overblown farewell shows has forced the NBA to juggle the schedule for the Eastern Conference Finals.

To Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News who writes that TNT is on a fast track to have its highest-rated NBA postseason in its history.

Mike has a story on the NBC Sports Group signing Saratoga Race Course for horse racing programming in the summer.

Noted FoxSports.com basketball writer Jeff Goodman announces that he’s leaving for CBSSports.com.

Also writing his farewell column is noted hockey reporter E.J. Hradek who’s leaving ESPN.com for the NHL Network.

At the Business of College Sports, Kristi Dosh says despite what rivals’ complaints, there’s nothing unfair about the new Longhorn Network.

Matt Hinton at Yahoo’s Dr. Saturday college football blog notes that ESPN.com really messed up in reporting the death of Alabama offensive lineman Aaron Davis.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem about a faltering Tiger Woods and what it means to the Tour.

Darren explores the new magazine put forth by energy drink distributor Red Bull.

Darren notes that Nike is coming under fire again for factory conditions in Asia.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the ratings for nights 25-28 of the NHL Playoffs.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has audio of a Captain Blowhard call into the Tony Korneheiser show this week.

Dan also has video of a deeply subdued Gus Johnson talking to Dan Patrick about his move to Fox.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy notes that Versus’ Jeremy Roenick gave praise to Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks, two games after calling him “gutless”.

In Publiside, the lovely Gail Sideman advises athletes to keep using social media despite some recent incidents where some did not think before tweeting.

In Major League Programs, Dave Kohl reviews the sports media news of the week.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe quotes a WCVB-TV interview with NESN’s Jerry Remy in which he states he expects to return to analyzing Red Sox games on Monday. Remy has been out with pneumonia. Chad also breaks news that NESN’s Kathryn Tappen is being targeted by NHL Network as a possible studio host.

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen says the Bruins now have the Hub’s attention all to themselves.

NESN has Heidi Watney visiting the MLB Fan Cave.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee actually saw Tiger Woods’ implosion at the Players Championship coming before it happened.

Melissa Hoppert of the New York Times discusses NBC Sports Group bringing Saratoga horse racing into the fold.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick hates everything and everybody today, but when is that different from any other day?

Justin Terranova at the Post has five questions for NBA TV’s Kevin McHale.

Ken Belson from the New York Times writes that the famed Melrose Games may leave its Madison Square Garden home where it’s been held for almost a century.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says Siena lacrosse fans have a few ways to monitor their team’s NCAA Tournament game against Syracuse this weekend.

Ken says an NCAA Division III Lacrosse Tournament game will be online for fans to listen.

Patrick Berkery from the Philly Burbs papers talks with Comcast SportsNet Phillies analyst Chris Coste.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the Nationals’ ratings on MASN are way up from this same time last year.

Dan says the DC sports media is firing shots at each other over whether DC NFL Team quarterback Donovan McNabb refused to wear a wristband to help him calls plays because it didn’t look good.

Dan says one DC radio show is sending barbs at Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic over its reporting on the McNabb wristband.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says NBC will be all over The Players Championship this weekend.

Jim notes that NASCAR is coming to the Mid-Atlantic region this weekend.

And Jim says the NBA is heating up on both ESPN and TNT.

South

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times looks at the latest sports media news.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle talks with the man who’s spearheading ESPN’s Longhorn Network and getting it ready for launch this summer.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman has a chat with NBA TV’s Kevin McHale over Oklahoma City’s win over Memphis the other night.

Mel says the Thunder are setting local ratings records.

Mel also has his media notebook.

Midwest

Jeff Bell of Columbus Business First writes that Fox Sports Ohio will be a corporate sponsor of the local sports commission.

The Detroit News says last night’s wild Game 7 between the Red Wings and San Jose Sharks set a ratings record for Fox Sports Detroit.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks about ESPN getting all hands on deck for a special college basketball game on Veterans Day.

In Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman lists his weekly winners and losers.

Erin Meyer of the Chicago Tribune says the staff of WMAQ-TV is shocked over the death of sports anchor Daryl Hawks who was found in a hotel room as he was to cover last night’s Bulls-Hawks game.

Maudlyne Ihezjerika of the Chicago Sun-Times says another WMAQ-TV sportscaster died under similar circumstances almost a decade ago.

NBC Chicago has a slideshow of Daryl’s career not only at the station, but before he came to the Windy City.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a local sports radio executive’s tumultuous tenure is coming to an end.

West

The Phoenix Business Journal reports that the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers now have a local TV deal.

John Maffei of the North County Times talks about announcers shuffling back and forth between networks.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star says TNT’s Charles Barkley’s premonition about the Lakers ended up coming true.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News answers real sports media questions from fake readers.

Tom looks at an organization that aids reporters and writers in need of assistance.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin says golf viewership is getting out of red numbers.

We’re going to end it there. Enjoy your sports weekend

Bringing Out The Tuesday Linkage

Again, I’ve been all over the place and can’t really blog like I want to, but I do what I can. Some links while I’m free and not committed to anything.

The Pac 12 media deals with ESPN and Fox will be made official later this week, but we do know some details. First, it’s a $3 billion deal over a span of 12 years meaning the Conference will get $250 million a year to distribute to its member schools. Second, both ESPN and Fox will air primetime games on over the air TV. Third, it increases the amount of games shown on television.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says one part of the new TV world for the conference will be a new Pac 12 Network that will be fully owned and operated by the league.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News writes that NBC/Comcast was shut out of obtaining any rights at least on the cable and network deals.

Jon also has some details from the new deal.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says the new TV contract will give the University of Utah much more money than it would have made in the Mountain West Conference.

George Schroeder of the Eugene (OR) Register-Guard writes that Pac 12 schools will start to see a financial windfall thanks to increased revenue from the new TV contract.

Jon Weisman of Variety says the new contract is now the most lucrative in college sports.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the Pac 12 contract proves that sports is the engine that drives TV ratings.

To other stories now.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports says small market teams are doing their best to play with the big boys.

Eriq Gardner from the Hollywood Reporter says Miami Heat star Chris Bosh is suing the mother of his child and the producer of the VH1 reality show, “Basketball Wives” for infringing on his “life rights” and using his “mark” illegally.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable discusses the Sports Emmy Awards which were handed out on Monday.

Tim also looks at Fox Soccer Channel rebranding its MLS coverage.

The Nielsen Wire blog notes that the number of TV’s have dropped since its last survey.

R. Thomas Umstead from Multichannel News says the Manny Pacquaio-Shane Mosley fight will be made available online for the same pay per view TV price.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes TNT saw a record audience for the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Current’s Keith Olbermann writing in his MLB.com blog takes ESPN.com’s Fantasy Baseball to task for not updating its stats quick enough and throws some shots at the Mothership in the process. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

The Big Lead notes that noted FoxSports.com basketball writer Drew Goodman could be headed to CBSSports.com.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says NBA fans get angry when Ernie Johnson, Jr. takes a day off from Inside the NBA.

At ESPN’s Front Row, Sheldon Spencer profiles the network’s Senior Coordinating Producer of the NFL Draft who got his baptism-by-fire this past weekend.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred looks at new media and how the rules of covering established events apply to it.

To Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union who notes a local reporter gets a minor league baseball announcing gig.

In the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner notes that sports leagues, sports organizations team owners and athletes don’t have their priorities straight.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that a trio of CNN reporters were watching or attending Game 2 of the Tampa Bay Lightning-Capitals series when they were notified to get to work to report on the Osama bin Laden story.

Cindy Boren from the Post’s Early Lead blog says Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall tweeted about Osama bin Laden’s death and 9/11.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says the Capitals are back in action tonight with an early start on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.

Iliana Limon of the Orlando Sentinel has Conference USA rejecting ESPN’s argument that it ventured into a media rights agreement.

John Kiesewetter from the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that NBC’s Cris Collinsworth has now won an even dozen Sports Emmy Awards.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says viewership for the NFL Draft was down from last year.

Diane Pucin from the Los Angeles Times talks with ESPN’s Dan Shulman about him addressing the Osama bin Laden story on Sunday Night Baseball.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on Fox’s overnight ratings were flat compared to last year.

SMW notes that the opening game of Celtics-Heat scored for ABC on Sunday.

SMW says the series clinching win for the Memphis Grizzlies over the San Antonio Spurs did not resonate with viewers as much as last year’s comparable game.

And SMW writes that the Mavericks-Lakers opener on Monday did very well for TNT.

Ed De Rosa of the Thoroughbred Times says NBC is tapping Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli for this year’s Kentucky Derby broadcast.

Puck The Media’s Steve Lepore is happy to see Mike Emrick win the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Play-by-Play.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog feels TSN Radio should avoided politics on Election Day.

Cork Gaines at the Business Insider’s Sports Page wonders if sports leagues can survive Detroit’s declining population.

And that will conclude the links for today.

CBS Sports To Stream Selected College Basketball Games

No thanks to CBS Sports which has been slacking in sending me certain press releases, I’ve found this release and it’s quite important. CBS has announced that it will stream selected regular season college basketball games on CBSSports.com. These include Big East, Big Ten and SEC games. Take a look at the release which I managed to find at another website.

CBSSPORTS.COM & CBS SPORTS MOBILE TO STREAM LIVE BIG EAST, BIG TEN & SEC NCAA® BASKETBALL

“College Basketball Live” to stream select NCAA on CBS broadcasts starting with South Carolina at *No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday, Dec. 18 live on CBSSports.com & CBS Mobile

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, Dec. 15, 2010 - CBSSports.com and CBS Sports Mobile today announced they will again provide live streaming webcasts of select CBS Sports broadcasts of the NCAA on CBS, featuring NCAA basketball games from the Big East, Big Ten and SEC conferences during the 2010-11 season. College Basketball Live, which first premiered during the 2008-09 season, tips off this Saturday, Dec. 18 with the CBS Sports broadcast of South Carolina at *No. 2 Ohio State (2:00 p.m., ET).

College Basketball Live will stream more than 20 college basketball games free of charge on CBSSports.com over the course of the 2010-11 season. Viewers of College Basketball Live will have the ability to access a scoreboard feature with in-game statistics as well as track college basketball scores and standings from around the country. Additional options include a live chat feature, video preview segments and on-demand highlights as the game progresses.

New for the 2010-11 season, College Basketball Live allows viewers to virtually “check in” to the game, giving users the ability to share their experience and support their team with others in their social network. CBSSports.com offers users the ability to check in for all College Basketball Live games as well as Top 25 college basketball, college football bowl games, and NFL GameCenters.

Mobile users can access College Basketball Live on the CBS Sports Mobile iPhone app, providing fans free, live streaming video from the entire slate of live college basketball games on CBSSports.com. The CBS Sports Mobile iPhone app will also provide full NCAA Division I college basketball scoreboards, individual GameTrackers for top 25 matchups, polls, headlines, and standings. The CBS Sports Mobile iPhone app is available for iPhone and iPod Touch users.

“We’re thrilled to have a tremendous slate of live college basketball games on CBSSports.com,” said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com. “Over the course of 2010, CBSSports.com has streamed nearly 11,000 live sports events and press conferences and we look forward to building on that in 2011.”

(*AP Poll as of 12/15/010)

Selected highlights from 2010-11 College Basketball Live schedule on CBSSports.com & CBS Mobile

All times ET

• Sat. Dec. 18:   South Carolina @ Ohio State (2:00 p.m.)
• Fri. Dec. 31:    Kentucky @ Louisville (12:00 p.m.)
• Sat. Jan. 22:    Ohio State @ Illinois (12:00 p.m.)
• Sat. Jan. 29:    Minnesota @ Purdue (1:00 p.m.)
• Sun. Feb. 6:     Michigan State @ Wisconsin (1:00 p.m.)
• Sun. Feb 26:    Syracuse @ Georgetown (12:00 p.m.)
• Sun. Feb 26:    Florida @ Kentucky (4:00 p.m.)
• Sat. Mar. 5:      Villanova @ Pittsburgh (4:00 p.m.)
• Sun. Mar. 13:   Big Ten Tournament Championship (3:30 p.m.)

This is pretty big news. Note to CBS? Make sure you send me these so I can post them right away.

Let’s Bring You The Tuesday Linkage

Already, I’ve been all over Kent County in Rhode Island for no good particular reason so I’m hoping I can stay in one place for a bit to give you linkage.

Let’s begin with Michael Hiestand of USA Today who looks at the TV ratings from the weekend.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has his Media Power Rankings for September. 

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser writes that Richard and ESPN’s Jemele Hill had a friendly wager on last Saturday’s Michigan State-Michigan game.

Here’s something to watch. Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter says there’s a conflict brewing between the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Heat on Halloween as both claim they have priority on flagship radio station WBGG-FM and both will be playing at the same time.

Sports Business Daily notes that Game 4 of the Tampa Bay-Texas ALDS is the lowest rated MLB Postseason game in TBS’ history.

Even so, TV by the Numbers says thanks to the MLB Postseason, TBS won the cable ratings last week. 

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand and Michael Smith report that Fox Sports has emerged as the favorite to become a partner with the University of Texas for its television network. Fox has a leg up being a minority partner on the Big Ten Network.

The Associated Press reports that the ESPN NASCAR producer who was caught masturbating outside a neighbor’s window has left the network. 

The St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deggans, writing in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, fears how Deadspin handled the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger story is how the sports media game will be played from now on.

Milton Kent at Fanhouse looks at why it took two months for the mainstream media to pick up the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger story. 

Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk says Favre was not happy with Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell for disclosing to ESPN’s Michele Tafoya what the QB said during a closed door meeting.

TMZ noticed that Sterger has apparently canceled a personal appearance in Chicago this coming weekend.

It doesn’t appear Jenn will be making a statement on the story anytime soon.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says ESPN 3D will air its first Thursday night college football game later this month.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Wrangler Jeans is in a quandary over Brett Favre.

Darren says Nike will become the official NFL apparel outfitter in 2012 taking over for Reebok. 

Darren talks with a Nike official about the new NFL deal.

At TV Predictions, Phil Swann looks at who’s losing the Dish Network/Fox conflict. 

To Press Coverage (to which I owe a column), Dan Levy writes that it’s time to give ESPN its due.

NFL.com gives us an inside look at NFL Network’s NFL Gameday Morning.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes that the Deadspin postings on Brett Favre has forced the mainstream media and the NFL to play catch up.

Bob Raissman in the New York Daily News says baseball needs to learn marketing from the NFL in order to pick up its TV ratings for the League Division Series. A lot of this has to do with a few factors. One, the Red Sox which has a large following is not in the postseason this year. Two, the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds are unknown entities to the casual fans. Three, there’s also the Tampa Bay Rays as well. Now, if the Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers or Angels make it next year, those ratings shoot up and we’ll be talking how hot baseball is.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty has the NFL Week 6 TV schedule for the New York Capital Region.

Pete also has the college football Week 7 TV schedule.

Pete has the preliminary MLB LCS schedule. This will be made final after tonight’s ALDS Game 5.

In the Philadelphia Daily News, Bob Cooney talks about Eric Snow joining the 76ers TV team. 

In the Delaware County Daily Times, Bob Parent says for ESPN to report on Brett Favre’s alleged transgressions is like having to report on one of its own.

David Teel of the Newport News (VA) Daily Press reports that Eagles QB Michael Vick will make weekly call-ins to a local radio station.

Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald says the Hurricanes will appear in primetime on ESPN2 later this month.

Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says hip hop artist Birdman’s announcement that he’s about to own a piece of the Miami Dolphins comes as news to the team itself.

Sarah and Tom Jicha team up for a story on the Heat filing a suit against Clear Channel over their radio contract.

Over to Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News who writes that the Texas Rangers have decided to let TV voice Josh Lewin go after nine seasons with the team.

Robert Feder tries to determine who’s to blame for encore presentations of Sports Writers on TV  being pulled from Comcast SportsNet Chicago after just four weeks.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Rams’ debacle in Detroit led to the team’s lowest TV ratings of the season.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times speaks with former Lakers center Vlade Divac on tonight’s 30 for 30 documentary.

John Scheibe of the Times reviews “Once Brothers”.

The Big Lead goes into its archives and finds that Jenn Sterger was once available to appear at your New Year’s Eve party for a mere $600.

Jason Ankeny of Fierce Mobile Content says CBSSports.com is releasing 190 free mobile apps devoted to its college sports partners. 

Sports Media Watch says Saturday’s Alabama-South Carolina contest drew big ratings for CBS.

SMW says ABC’s primetime offering of Florida State-Miami drew higher numbers from the week before, but still were lower than last year.

SMW says Notre Dame football did not excite the masses for NBC.

SMW notes that NBC’s overnight rating for Sunday Night Football was the lowest of the season, but still outranked the competition.

Deadspin does another media roundup of the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger story.

Joe Favorito says the NHL using different ways to hype itself is not a bad thing at all.

Dave Kohl of Major League Programs talks about how radio stations try not to promote the competition.

And again, it’s taken me too long to get these together mostly due to interruptions here in Rhode Island. I hope to get back to the Massachusetts office soon so I don’t have to deal with this.

Monday’s Press Releases For Your Review

Because I have to go to bed early and be at a jobsite in Boston at 7 a.m. tomorrow (the same one as last week), I’m doing this now. Here are several press releases for you to read.

Starting with CBS Sports, it’s happy with its ratings for the last PGA Tour stop of the season, The Barclays.

CBS SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF PGA TOUR PLAYOFFS FOR THE FEDEX CUP “THE BARCLAYS” FINAL ROUND SCORES 106% RATINGS INCREASE

CBS Sports’ final-round coverage of THE BARCLAYS, the first tournament in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, on Sunday, Aug. 30 (2:00-6:15 PM, ET), scored an overnight household rating/share of 3.7/8, up +106% from last year’s 1.8/4 in the metered markets, and up +76% from a 2.1/5 in 2007.

Sunday’s final-round rating peaked at a 5.5/12 from 5:30-6:00 PM, ET.

CBS Sports’ third-round coverage of THE BARCLAYS on Saturday, Aug. 29 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET) earned an overnight household rating/share of 2.2/5, up +100% from last year’s 1.1/3 in the metered markets.

This was announced to us at the ESPN Media Workshop, but it was officially announced to the world today. Jeremy Schaap will host a new one hour show for ESPN Radio starting next Friday.

Jeremy Schaap to host The Sporting Life debuting September 11

ESPN reporter and E:60 correspondent Jeremy Schaap will host The Sporting Life, premiering Friday, Sept. 11 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN Radio.

The weekly, one-hour show will emphasize sports features, profiles and narratives in which Schaap, a five-time Sports Emmy-Award winner, will explore the stories and stars of the day in depth.

The Sporting Life reprises The Sporting Life with Dick Schaap, a Saturday morning show on ESPN Radio in which the host, an award-winning journalist, best-selling author and television commentator, discussed the week’s developments in sports with his son, Jeremy.

“The Sporting Life will be a show that emphasizes long-form journalism, not driven by talk, but by the stories we produce — profiles, investigations and more off-beat pieces, too,” Schaap says. “On a more personal level, it means a lot to me that The Sporting Life — which my father hosted and I regularly co-hosted — is being revived, albeit in a different format. I am hoping that sports fans who appreciate the in-depth stories they see on Outside the Lines and E:60 will make a point of listening to The Sporting Life on ESPN Radio.

Jeremy Schaap, who joined ESPN in 1994, is known for his exclusive one-on-one interview with former Indiana University coach Bob Knight in 2000 – the first by Knight after being fired by the university two days earlier. Schaap also broke the 2003 story concerning improprieties with the University of Georgia basketball team which led to coach Jim Harrick’s dismissal, and for authoring New York Times bestseller Cinderella Man, which in 2005 became an Emmy-winning ESPN documentary about heavyweight champion James Braddock.

Most recently, Schaap scored an exclusive, one-on-one interview with Former N.Y. Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress on August 24, just four days after Burress pleaded guilty to a weapons charge for shooting himself in the leg at a Manhattan club, leaving him facing a two-year jail sentence.

Let’s check what ESPN has in store as far as motorsports are concerned.

Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

Drag Racing’s Biggest Event, NASCAR Doubleheader at Atlanta

ESPN2 Airing 10 Hours of NHRA U.S. Nationals Coverage

The biggest event of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season will have more than 10 hours of coverage on ESPN2 this weekend with the running of the 55th annual U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Expanded qualifying and eliminations coverage will culminate with six consecutive hours on Labor Day Monday, the final day of competition.

ESPN2’s coverage begins Sunday, Sept. 6, at 11 a.m. ET with NHRA RaceDay to bring viewers up-to-date with the latest NHRA news and set up the day’s action. Immediately following at 11:30 a.m., ESPN2 will telecast 2 ½ hours of U.S. Nationals qualifying. More qualifying coverage airs for two hours starting at 5 p.m.

NHRA RaceDay returns on Monday with a special one-hour episode at noon, followed at 1 p.m. by coverage of eliminations.

Each Labor Day weekend, NHRA racers and fans descend on O’Reilly Raceway Park for the biggest, oldest, richest, and most prestigious drag race in the world. The fabled strip is regarded by many as one of the smoothest on the circuit. The event also hosts the Pro Bike Battle, the bonus event for Pro Stock Motorcycle racers, and is the last event in the Countdown to 10.

Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Reporting from the pits will be Gary Gerould, Dave Rieff and John Kernan. Rieff and Dunn also host NHRA RaceDay.

ESPN’s Backseat Drivers Return at Atlanta Nationwide Series Race

ESPN2’s live coverage of the Sept. 5 Degree v12 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will see the return of ESPN’s “Backseat Drivers,” a television concept that debuted several weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway. The telecast will prominently feature ESPN’s five NASCAR champion analysts and will be done without a traditional “play by play” announcer.

Tim Brewer, Ray Evernham, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree and Rusty Wallace will give viewers the experience of sitting at home and watching the race with NASCAR experts. With Brewer contributing reports and analysis from the ESPN Tech Garage, Evernham, Jarrett, Petree and Wallace will call the race from the booth.

In addition to the five champions, coverage will include pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, while Allen Bestwick will host. The telecast begins with Bestwick, Wallace and Evernham in the ESPN Pit Studio for NASCAR Countdown at 6:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag flies at 7:15 p.m.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Atlanta on ESPN

ESPN will have live, flag-to-flag coverage in high definition as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competes at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 6. The telecast begins with NASCAR Countdown at 7 p.m. ET and the race’s green flag is at 7:46 p.m. The race marks the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta to be scheduled as a night race, and the first on Labor Day weekend.

The final 17 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will air on the ESPN Networks, with the first six on ESPN and the final 11 on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Tech Garage.

Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

Craven, Said, Wallace on NASCAR Now Roundtable

NASCAR driver Mike Wallace will join ESPN NASCAR analysts Ricky Craven and Boris Said as panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on airing Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 1 a.m. ET (late Monday night), on ESPN2. Mike Massaro will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.

Massaro also hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing this week at later times than normal due to ESPN2’s coverage of U.S. Open Series tennis. Episodes air Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 1 a.m. (late Tuesday night), Thursday, Sept. 3, at 12:30 a.m. (late Wednesday night), Friday, Sept. 4, at 1 a.m. (late Thursday night), and Saturday, Sept. 5, at 1 a.m. (late Friday night).

The one-hour weekend edition airs Sunday, Sept. 6, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 11:30 p.m. that night. Nicole Manske hosts the Sunday shows, while Massaro and Angelique Chengelis will report from Atlanta for both programs. Said will join Manske in the studio.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.

ORC Series Action on ABC Sunday

Action from the TORC Series returns to ABC on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 4 p.m. ET with live coverage of the Crandon 40^th Anniversary of Off-Road Racing event held in Crandon, Wis. The premier short-course racing series with the top stars in off-road racing, this exciting form of door-to-door action is appearing on both ESPN2 and ABC this season.

The 2009 season features eight total rounds of racing. ESPN2 will air five rounds with three to appear on ABC. Marty Reid, lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN on ABC’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500 and selected NASCAR races, will call all of the TORC Truck Series events on ESPN2 and ABC. Joining Reid will be long-time extreme sports announcer Tes Sewell and former Miss USA Kimberly Pressler as pit reporter.

Here’s a release regarding CBSSports.com and the Sports Illustrated Group which have formed an alliance to share content.

MaxPreps.com, the leader in online high school sports, to become the

official partner of Sports Illustrated’s acclaimed “Faces In The Crowd” Franchise

A Collection of Sports Illustrated writers to be syndicated across CBSSports.com

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL & NEW YORK, August 31, 2009 – CBS Interactive’s CBSSports.com and MaxPreps.com, and The Sports Illustrated Group, including Sports Illustrated and SI.com, today announced a partnership in which both parties will share and distribute various digital and print assets, combining strengths from two of the largest brands on the sports media landscape.

MaxPreps.com, the online high school sports leader, will now be featured in SI.com’s High School section front, as well as become the engine for the iconic Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd franchise both in print and digital. Additionally as part of this agreement, select Sports Illustrated writers, including David Feherty and Seth Davis, will be syndicated across CBSSports.com.

CBSSports.com will feature direct links across its site to SI.Com’s award-winning writers, including Peter King and Tom Verducci. SI.com will promote live sports video on CBSSports.com such as SEC Live and Fantasy Football Today.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Sports Illustrated for a deal that truly highlights the strengths of two very powerful brands in sports media,” said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com.

“The increased exposure for MaxPreps.com through its association with Faces in the Crowd, as well as the content sharing with Sports Illustrated writers on CBSSports.com, should truly be a winning combination for both sides.”

“The prospect of teaming some of the assets of The Sports Illustrated Group with CBSSports.com is truly exciting,” said SI.com Managing Editor, Paul Fichtenbaum. “The combination will provide an outstanding service to users as well as shine a brighter light on our collective efforts.”

Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd is one of the most recognized franchises in sports media. Many of the greatest athletes in the last 50 years came to national attention first in this feature. Former Faces include: Lew Alcindor, Earvin Johnson, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Jack Nicklaus, Andy Roddick, Ben Roethlisberger, Emmitt Smith, Bill Walton and Tiger Woods.

High school athletes will have the opportunity to become a member of this elite fraternity through MaxPreps.com, the fastest growing high school sports site on the Internet with a 120% increase in visitors in the past year (comScore MediaMetrix, June 2009).

MLB Network and DIY Network have announced that a Chicago couple have won an MLB-themed mancave.

CHICAGO NATIVES DAVE AND BECCA ROSEMAN WIN DIY NETWORK AND MLB NETWORK “WHO WANTS A MAN CAVE?” CONTEST

Avid Chicago White Sox Fan and Die-Hard Chicago Cubs Fan to Receive the Ultimate Red Line Rivalry Man Cave; DIY Network and MLB Network to Build Baseball Oasis in Evanston, IL, Home on September 9 & 10

Special Edition of Popular Primetime Series “‘Man Caves’’ Featuring Transformation Premieres Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. ET on DIY Network and Monday, Oct. 26 at 9 p.m. ET on MLB Network

NEW YORK – August 31, 2009 — One of baseball’s biggest, most heated rivalries has taken center-field in DIY Network and MLB Network’s “Who Wants A Man Cave?” contest. Chicago natives Dave and Becca Roseman have been named winners of their very own man cave! What’s the catch? Dave is a lifelong Chicago White Sox fan, while his wife, Becca, has been a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan since birth. While they are constantly debating which ballpark is better, which bullpen is tougher and which team their first child (due this September) will worship, the couple agrees on one thing: the best place to watch their teams battle for a spot in the postseason will be in their very own man cave.

On September 9-10, DIY Network’s Man Caves hosts, former NFL player Tony “Goose” Siragusa and licensed contractor Jason Cameron, join MLB Network studio analysts and former Major League Baseball players Harold Reynolds and Mitch Williams to transform a space in the Roseman’s home in Evanston, Ill., into the ultimate man cave equipped with official MLB merchandise from the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs, high-tech toys and deluxe furnishings. Viewers can witness the fast-paced renovation from start to finish on a special edition of the smash hit series Man Caves on DIY Network on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. ET, and on MLB Network on Monday, Oct. 26 at 9 p.m. ET.

“As far as I know, Chicago is famous for three things: deep dish pizza, the Bears, and the Windy City Showdown. Dave and Becca are truly fanatics when it comes to their favorite teams, and we are psyched to build them their very own man cave where they can continue their rivalry,” said Siragusa. “Who is in charge of the remote control is up to them.”

”As a former Cubs relief pitcher, I know first-hand how intense the rivalry is between the Cubs and the White Sox,” said Williams. “As we get closer to the postseason, Dave and Becca can keep an eye on each other’s team as MLB Network covers all the pennant races down to the finish.”

The winning video submission featured Dave explaining why the couple deserves the baseball man cave and highlighting their families’ intense baseball feud. Married for four years, they recently moved out of the city of Chicago and into the suburbs to be closer to their families and to prepare for the birth of their first child. Their new home is over 110-years-old and the renovation list is long. Dave, 29, and Becca, 28, enjoy getting their hands dirty, but admit that with full-time jobs (Dave is an underwriter; Becca is an instructional coach for Glenview School District 34) and a baby on the way, their DIY time is limited.

“We’re so excited to be getting a man cave. I grew up a White Sox fan, and a Cubs hater. Then I met my lovely wife,” said Dave. “And even though marriage is about compromise and what’s mine is hers, Becca needs to remember that at the end of the day, it’s still a man cave. The number one rule is that my chair is 101 centimeters closer to the television, because it’s been 101 years since the Cubs have won a World Series.”

As the go-to destination for home improvement television, DIY Network teamed up with the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, MLB Network, to deliver one lucky viewer a man cave fit for the major leagues with their “Who Wants A Man Cave?” contest. From June 12 to July 24, viewers were invited to submit a video explaining why they want their own baseball-themed man cave to www.DIYNetwork.com or www.MLBNetwork.com. Four runners-up – Philadelphia Phillies fan Andrew Del Moore; Pittsburgh Pirates fan Kevin Dobson; St. Louis Cardinals fan Dan Koontz; and Texas Rangers fan Bruce Levinson – will receive an MLB Authentic Collection cap and jersey from the Major League team of their choice.

To Comcast SportsNet Chicago which will run almost a full day of programming over a 48 hour period to celebrate Michael Jordan’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

COMCAST SPORTSNET TO CELEBRATE MICHAEL JORDAN’S HALL OF FAME INDUCTION WITH 23 HOURS OF HIS BEST GAMES & NEW SPECIALS

’23 Hours of MJ: A Hall of Fame Celebration’ to air Thursday, September 10 & Friday, September 11

CSNChicago.com to provide Jordan video vault, photo galleries, Hall of Fame blog updates & more

Chicago, IL (August 31, 2009) – Comcast SportsNet, the television home of the Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and White Sox, will provide viewers with a two-day celebration of Michael Jordan’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with complete game telecasts of five of his greatest games in a Bulls uniform, along with a pair of original, half-hour Comcast SportsNet specials chronicling his unsurpassed basketball career. This comprehensive, two-day programming event entitled 23 Hours of MJ: A Hall of Fame Celebration begins Thursday, September 10 at 5:30 PM with a Jordan-focused edition of Chicago Tribune Live hosted by David Kaplan and concludes on Friday, September 11, also with Chicago Tribune Live at 5:30 PM, featuring SportsNite’s Mark Schanowski reporting live from the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Springfield, MA.

23 Hours of MJ: A Hall of Fame Celebration is highlighted by five of Jordan’s most memorable games with the Bulls including his 58-point effort vs. New Jersey from 1987 (Sept. 10 at 7:30 PM); his career-high game of 69 points at Cleveland from 1990 (Sept. 10 at 11:00 PM); Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals, Jordan earns Finals MVP giving Bulls their first title (Sept. 11 at 9:00 AM); in just his fifth game back from retirement, Jordan’s 55 point masterpiece at Madison Square Garden (Sept. 11 at 12 NOON) and Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals featuring MJ’s historic game-winning shot completing the Bulls second three-peat (Sept. 11 at 3:00 PM).

In addition, Comcast SportsNet will also air a pair of original, half-hour SportsNite specials entitled His Airness. Part I of His Airness will premiere on September 10 at 7:00 PM, which focuses on Jordan’s bio/background, his massive impact on the sports marketing industry, his Hall of Fame announcement, his baseball career, along with an amazing career highlights package. Part II of His Airness debuts September 10 at 10:30 PM with a focus on the key people in Jordan’s professional life highlighted by interviews with Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, long-time agent David Falk, former coach Doug Collins and former teammates John Paxson, Bill Cartwright and Steve Kerr.

Comcast SportsNet’s newly-enhanced website, CSNChicago.com, will also deliver comprehensive coverage of Jordan’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction with the following:

• Specific web page dedicated to 23 Hours of MJ: A Hall of Fame Celebration

• Video archive of past Jordan interviews

• MJ timeline (from ’85 NBA Draft to record setting game performances to Championship titles)

• MJ photo galleries (including magazine covers, Nike “Air Jordan” shoe gallery & more)

• Top 5 reasons to watch each of the 5 games we’ll air over the two-day celebration (including game screen shots)

• Detailed stats from his Top 10 game performances

• Bulls Pre/Post Game Live host Mark Schanowski will look back at covering MJ during his title years

• Schanowski to offer HOF reports from Springfield, MA on his blog, Beyond the Arc

• Opportunity for fans to share their MJ memories

“We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate Michael Jordan’s career with a two-day on-air and online celebration leading up to his unquestionable and most deserved placement in basketball’s Hall of Fame,” said James J. Corno, President of Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Note the following complete programming schedule for 23 Hours of MJ: A Hall of Fame Celebration airing Thursday, September 10 and Friday, September 11 exclusively on Comcast SportsNet:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

5:30 PM – Chicago Tribune Live (Jordan-focused edition featuring a roundtable discussion of his career)

6:30 PM – SportsNite (featuring numerous Jordan career highlights and interviews)

7:00 PM – His Airness (Part I) (Jordan bio, marketing impact, HOF announcement, baseball career and more)

7:30 PM – CHICAGO BULLS vs. NEW JERSEY NETS (from February 26, 1987) (Bulls win 128-113)

• Jordan scores 58 points, sets new Bulls regular season record

• Sets new Bulls record of 26/27 from the free throw line, including an NBA record 19 straight

• Terrific post-game interview with the late Johnny “Red” Kerr asking MJ “What’s next?”…the youthful Jordan’s response: “an NBA Championship”

10:00 PM – SportsNite (the day’s sports news, including more vintage Jordan footage & interviews)

10:30 PM – His Airness (Part II) (featuring key interviews with those individuals who helped shape his career)

11:00 PM – CHICAGO BULLS at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (from March 28, 1990) (Bulls win 117-113 in OT)

• Jordan scores his all-time regular season career best of 69 points

• MJ also grabs 18 rebounds, dishes out six assists and forces four steals in this amazing performance

1:30 AM – SportsNite (the day’s sports news, including more vintage Jordan footage & interviews)

2:00 AM – Chicago Tribune Live replay (Jordan-focused edition featuring a round table discussion of his career)

3:00 AM – CHICAGO BULLS vs. NEW JERSEY NETS (from February 26, 1987) (re-air)

5:00 AM – SportsRise (recap of the evening’s sports news/highlights, includes more Jordan career highlights and interviews)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

6:00 AM – Monsters in the Morning (Hosted by Mike North & Dan Jiggetts, features numerous interviews with Jordan’s teammates, coaches, colleagues, including career highlights and much more)

9:00 AM – 1991 NBA FINALS: CHICAGO BULLS at LOS ANGELES LAKERS, Game 5 (from June 12, 1991)

• 108-101 win clinches first NBA title for the Bulls

• Jordan scores 30 points, to go along with ten assists and five steals; named NBA Finals MVP

• Coverage includes post-game locker room coverage of MJ clutching the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy with his father James Jordan at his side

11:30 AM – His Airness (Part I)

12:00 PM – CHICAGO BULLS at NEW YORK KNICKS (from March 28, 1995) (Bulls win 113-111)

• In just his fifth game back from retirement, #45 Michael Jordan scores 55 points

• Sets up Bill Wennington for game-winning slam dunk

2:30 PM – His Airness (Part II)

3:00 PM – 1998 NBA FINALS: CHICAGO BULLS at UTAH JAZZ, Game 6 (from June 14, 1998)

• Jordan hits historic game-winning shot in 87-86 victory; Bulls clinch sixth NBA Championship

• MJ finishes with 45 points in his final appearance in a Bulls uniform, named NBA Finals MVP for the sixth time

5:30 PM – Chicago Tribune Live (Mark Schanowski provides live reports from the Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA)

That will do it for now. I may try to pull off a linkage post before I go to bed.

Some Wednesday Press Releases

I’ll post some press release action for you now. Quite a few releases have flown into my inbox.

Let’s start with CBS Sports. The main network and CBS College Sports will combine for coverage of the announcement of the 65 NCAA Tournament teams on Sunday. Plus, CBS is streaming its 6 p.m. show live across the country on CBSSports.com

CBS SPORTS TOGETHER WITH CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK BREAK DOWN THE BRACKETS WITH THREE HOURS OF NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW COVERAGE

CBS Sports Broadcasts Exclusive, Live, First-time Announcement of 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Field of 65 on Sunday, March 15

CBS College Sports Network Offers Two-hours of In-Depth Analysis of Field of 65 Following CBS Sports’ Live Bracket Reveal

CBSSports.com Streams CBS Sports’ Selection Show Live

CBS Sports, together with CBS College Sports Network, offers college basketball fans the most comprehensive coverage of Selection Sunday with the exclusive, live, first-time announcement and three hours of in-depth coverage of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship field of 65.

CBS Sports tips-off the madness with the announcement of the pairings for the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 15 (6:00-7:00 PM, ET) during the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW.

Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis host the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg will join Gumbel, Anthony and Davis via satellite from the site of the Big Ten Championship at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. In addition, Mike Slive, Chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee joins them live from Indianapolis, Ind. to discuss the bracket and the committee’s selection process.

Immediately following CBS Sports’ live bracket reveal, CBS College Sports Network takes over with BRACKET BREAKDOWN (7:00-9:00 PM, ET) featuring comprehensive analysis of the field, as well as interviews with players and coaches. CBS College Sports Network’s Adam Zucker and CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson host the show, along with analysts Pete Gillen, Steve Lappas and RPI expert Jerry Palm from their New York studio. BRACKET BREAKDOWN also features CBS Sports’ Gumbel, Anthony and Davis throughout the program.

Additionally, CBS Sports’ coverage of the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW will be streamed live on NCAA March Madness on Demand available at CBSSports.com and NCAA.com. Viewers will have the option of watching online on either the NCAA March Madness on Demand standard video player or by downloading the new high-quality player, offering an enhanced video experience free of charge. For more information on 2009 NCAA March Madness on Demand, users can visit: ncaa.com/mmod.

Of course, ESPN will have coverage of the NCAA Women’s Tournament announcements.

Exclusive Unveiling of the 64-Team NCAA Women’s Basketball Bracket on ESPN’s “Selection Monday” Special March 16

Carolyn Peck Joins Trey Wingo and Kara Lawson in Studio; ESPNU and ESPN360.com to Simulcast; Bonus Coverage on ESPNU

For the 17^th consecutive year, ESPN (also available on ESPN HD) will present the exclusive, live announcement of the women’s 64-team field on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. ET. In addition, ESPNU and ESPN360.com will simulcast the show, while supplemental women’s NCAA Championship content will be featured across other ESPN platforms, including SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN.com. Trey Wingo will host alongside Kara Lawson and first-year Selection Special analyst Carolyn Peck. The one-hour show will tip-off ESPN’s robust coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship March 21 – April 7 on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com and ESPN FULL COURT.

Following the exclusive presentation on ESPN, ESPNU will provide bonus coverage of Selection Monday with a one-hour show, NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special: Extended Coverage. ESPNU’s Mike Gleason will host the show and will be joined in studio by the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars head coach Dan Hughes and ESPNU women’s basketball analyst Brooke Weisbrod, who will give their thoughts on this year’s bracket and breakdown the first-round matchups. The show will also feature special guests from around the world of women’s basketball.

On Tuesday, March 17, Wingo, Peck and Lawson will return for a 30-minute edition of the NCAA Women’s Championship Special on ESPN at 7 p.m. This show will further examine the bracket seeds and matchups with more reaction from the women’s college basketball community.

THE NCAA WOMEN’S SELECTION MONDAY SPECIAL AT A GLANCE

(March 16, 7-8 p.m.):

· Immediate analysis and thoughts by Peck and Lawson as the brackets are announced;

· Exclusive interview with NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Chair Jacki Silar from NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis by Wingo via satellite;

· Peck and Lawson will give their predictions of the teams they think will advance from the Elite Eight through the National Championship;

· Live interviews and reactions from Connecticut, South Dakota State and Tennessee;

· Interviews (pre-recorded) with Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale and Auburn head coach Nell Fortner;

· and a special feature on Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt’s rough road this season.

SELECTION MONDAY ON ESPN.COM

· Expert analysis from Graham Hays, Mechelle Voepel and Beth Mowins, including their picks on the toughest region, best first-round game, Women’s Final Four and more;

· Bracketology predictions and breakdowns from women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme, who will also take a look ahead at the worst- and best-case scenarios for all 64 teams later in the week;

· Live chats with women’s tournament selection chair Jacki Silar (9:30 p.m., on Selection Monday), Creme and other notable guests.

ALL 63 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES ON ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com & ESPN FULL COURT

For the seventh consecutive year, the ESPN networks will combine to present all 63 games from the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. During the first two rounds, ESPN and ESPN2 will present the 48 games within 12 telecast windows in a whip-around format with home market protection. ESPN360.com will offer complete game telecasts of all 63 games, while ESPNU will offer select ESPN and ESPN2 early-round games in their entirety. The final 15 games (regional semifinals on) will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2. The complete schedule will be announced on a later date.

ESPN wants you to know how many miles Jay Bilas is driving between the Big East Tournament and ESPN’s World Headquarters in Bristol, CT.

Jay Bilas on the Road Again, Again and Again This Weekend

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas will log extra miles and time this weekend with, commuting between New York and ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Conn. — a distance of nearly 110 miles and a two hour-drive each way.

Bilas will call the men’s BIG EAST Conference Tournament semifinals on ESPN Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. from Madison Square Garden in New York before working ESPN’s 90-minute College GameDay at the network’s studios Saturday, March 14, at noon. Following the show, he will drive to back to New York to call the BIG EAST Championship at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

He will close out the weekend by heading back to Bristol to provide day-long Selection Sunday analysis March 15, at noon with a one-hour College GameDay on ESPN. He will also analyze the brackets and preview the matchups on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. (ESPN) and on a two-hour ESPNU Bracketology show at 7 p.m. (ESPN).

And the final college basketball release from ESPN for this post, it has released its college basketball postseason schedule including the NCAA Tournament Play-in Game and the NIT.

Men’s College Basketball: NCAA Tournament Starts Tuesday on ESPN and ESPN360.com; National Invitation Tournament Tips Off

National tournament time on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com starts Tuesday, March 17, as ESPN and ESPN360.com will present the NCAA Tournament Opening Round Game at 7:30 p.m. ET live from the University of Dayton Arena in Ohio. The NIT also starts Tuesday, with six first-round games and four games Wednesday, March 18, on ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com. Schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Game / Show	Network
Tue., March 17	7 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Dave Pasch, Hubert Davis	ESPN2 / ESPN360.com
	7:30 p.m.	NCAA Men’s Tournament Opening Round Game Brent Musburger, Steve Lavin, Erin Andrews	ESPN / ESPN360.com
	8 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Justin Kutcher, TBD	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Ron Franklin, Fran Fraschilla	ESPN2 / ESPN360.com
	9:30 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes	ESPN / ESPN360.com
	10 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Beth Mowins, Mike Kelley	ESPNU
	11 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Terry Gannon, Stephen Bardo	ESPN2 / ESPN360.com
Wed., March 18	7 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes	ESPN2 / ESPN360.com
	8 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Clay Matvick, Drew Barry	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Sean McDonough, Bob Valvano	ESPN2 / ESPN360.com
	10 p.m.	NIT Basketball – First Round Dan McLaughlin, Dickey Simpkins

NBC Sports previews this Sunday’s NHL Game of the Week.

RANGERS HOST RIVAL FLYERS IN NHL GAME OF THE WEEK, SUNDAY ON NBC

“John Tortorella is the perfect tonic for Sean Avery.” — NBC’s McGuire

Flyers-Penguins Flexed Into March 22 “Game of the Week”

NEW YORK – March 11, 2009 – The New York Rangers battling for a playoff berth in the tight Eastern Conference, host their fierce rival the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL Game of the Week, Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, presented in high definition. Mike "Doc" Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action. McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC's studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury on site at Madison Square Garden. 

PIERRE MCGUIRE ON THE RANGERS UNDER JOHN TORTORELLA: "Under Torts the Rangers have improved on the forecheck and also on the power play. He has made them more aggressive in all facets of the game." 

PIERRE MCGUIRE ON THE FLYERS: "Philadelphia has great leadership with Mike Richards and Simon Gagne, a quick strike offense led by Jeff Carter and a brilliant young player in Claude Giroux. The only question mark is in goal. If they sort that out they will be very tough in the playoffs."

PIERRE MCGUIRE ON SEAN AVERY: "If there's one science experiment that better work for the New York Rangers, it's Sean Avery. John Tortorella is the perfect tonic for Sean Avery. If he's going to salvage his career, it's going to be because of John Tortorella."

MIKE MILBURY ON RANGERS NEW ADDITIONS: "It's amazing what a shift in attitude can bring. John Tortorella becomes the coach, Sean Avery's added to the mix and bang you have chemistry."

INTRASTATE RIVALS FLYERS-PENGUINS FLEXED INTO MARCH 22 "GAME OF THE WEEK": The Sunday, March 22 contest between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins has been selected for the "NHL Game of the Week" on NBC. Puck drop at Mellon Arena is at 12:30 p.m. ET. 

NBCSPORTS.COM & NHL.COM PRESENT "STAR-CAM": NBCSports.com and NHL.com will offer a "Star-cam" in conjunction with NBC broadcasts, which will follow one player on each team throughout each of his shifts. Following the game, NBCSports.com will present a post-game show with game highlights and highlights from "Star-cam" and "Net-cam," along with analysis from McGuire and Milbury.

FLEX SCHEDULING & CONSISTENT 12:30 PM ET START TIME: For the first time, "Game of the Week" broadcasts have a consistent start time – 12:30 p.m. ET on Sundays (except for April 12, 2 p.m. start time). For the second straight season, the NHL and NBC will utilize flex scheduling and will be able to select from up to four games on Sunday afternoons. Thirteen days prior to the scheduled games (on Mondays), NBC, in conjunction with the NHL, will select one of those games as the "Game of the Week" to be broadcast during the NBC window. The other games will remain available to the teams' regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC's broadcast window.

NBC will also broadcast weekend games throughout the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and up to five Stanley Cup Final games (Games 1, 2, 5, 6 & 7).

REMAINING 2009 NHL GAME OF THE WEEK REGULAR SEASON FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
(All Games Announced At Least 13 Days Prior)

Sunday, March 15, 12:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia @ New York Rangers

Sunday, March 22, 12:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh

Sunday, April 5, 12:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota @ Detroit
Pittsburgh @ Florida
Atlanta @ Washington

Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m. ET
New York Rangers @ Philadelphia
Detroit @ Chicago
Boston @ New York Islanders
St. Louis @ Colorado

Here are highlights of Hannah Storm’s interview with one of the most overhyped stars on the planet, David Beckham who says he still wants to play for the MLS’ Los Angeles Galaxy. If he did, he would play the entire season, instead of splitting it with AC Milan.

David Beckham Tells SportsCenter’s Hannah Storm He Remains Committed to the Los Angeles Galaxy

In an interview this morning with daytime SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm, England National Team and AC Milan midfielder David Beckham reiterated his commitment to return to the Los Angeles Galaxy in July 2009 through the completion of the Major League Soccer season. He also addressed his interest in becoming an owner in Major League Soccer during the interview, one in a series of interviews with U.S. television outlets since reaching an agreement with the Galaxy to remain on loan with AC Milan through May 31. The interview aired on the 9 a.m. ET live edition of SportsCenter and will be reaired on subsequent editions of the program. For the entire interview available on SportsCenter.com, click here.

Highlights:

On partially funding his loan agreement between AC Milan and the Galaxy …

Beckham: “There was a commitment I had to make and it’s something I didn’t think twice about because at the end of the day, my career’s never been about the financial side or the money side. I’ve always been solely interested in the football. People may turn around and say it’s easy for me to say because the money’s always been there, but I think all through my career all I’ve cared about is football and where I play my football.”

On (former Galaxy manager) Alexi Lalas’ predicting he’ll be booed upon his return to the U.S. …

Beckham: “I’m sure I’ll have criticism and I understand that, but I want my fans to realize I’m still committed to the Galaxy. I am still committed to the MLS and being an ambassador, but like I said there will be criticism. It’s a shame certain people come out, but at the end of the day I’m bigger than that. I can only make my turnaround by the way I perform and my commitment to the team and I’ll show that when I get back. We’ll have to wait and see on the first time I play back at The Home Depot (Center) and see how that goes”

On the chance he may opt out of the last two years of his MLS contract …

Beckham: “I think leading up to the World Cup, I need to play in Europe to give myself a chance of being involved in that World Cup and after then we’ll see, but I plan on going back to America. My family is happy there. My wife is happy there. My children are settled in at school, and it’s one of the sacrifices we’ve had to make as family. My wife’s been very supportive of my career and until it ends, but as family, husband and wife, father and mother to three boys, we need to do what’s best for our children and our children are settled there.”

On owning an MLS team and what he’d do as owner to prevent similar franchise player-loan options in the future …

Beckham: “I think at the end of the day, you know, I have got the chance to own a franchise at the end of my career and I fully hope that I will be doing that at the end of my career. So that’s something that I’m excited in. This situation happens all over the world in football. Situations like this happen at Manchester United, it happens at the biggest clubs in the world and you sort of move on and you make it work. I think at the end of the day I’ve already said that I will be going back to the Galaxy and I am committed to the Galaxy and my teammates there, but at the moment I need to be playing my football here.”

On whether his time in Los Angeles is a success or failure

“On the pitch it has not been very successful because we haven’t made the playoffs in the last two years. That’s been disappointing, but on every other level it’s been an incredible experience and one that I’ve really enjoyed so far.”

College Football Viewing Picks for 12/06/08, All Times Eastern

College Gameday, live from the SEC Championship, 10 a.m.

noon
Army vs. Navy at Philadelphia – CBS

Pittsburgh at UConn – ESPN
Conference USA Championship/East Carolina at Tulsa – ESPN2
NCAA Division II Semifinal/Minnesota-Duluth at California (PA) – ESPN Classic

1 p.m.
ACC Championship/Virginia Tech vs. Boston College at Tampa, FL – ABC

3 p.m.
Washington at Cal – FSN

4 p.m.
SEC Championship/Florida vs. Alabama at Atlanta – CBS/CBSSports.com

4:30 p.m.
USC at UCLA – ABC

8 p.m.
Big 12 Championship/Missouri vs. Oklahoma at Kansas City – ABC
Arizona State at Arizona – ESPN/Fox Sports Arizona
South Florida at West Virginia – ESPN2

11:30 p.m.
West Virginia at Hawai’i – ESPN2

College Football Viewing Picks for 09/13/08, All Times Eastern

College Gameday, live from Los Angeles – ESPN, 10 a.m.

12 noon
Big Ten Network coverage map
Louisiana-Lafayette at Illinois – Big Ten Network
Iowa State at Iowa – Big Ten Network
Montana State at Minnesota – Big Ten Network
Southern Illinois at Northwestern – Big Ten Network

Cal at Maryland – ESPN
Florida Atlantic at Michigan State – ESPN2
Navy at Duke – ESPNU

NC State at Clemson – Raycom

12:30 p.m.
Washington State at Baylor – FSN
UAB at Tennessee – Raycom

1 p.m.
Stanford at TCU – the mtn.

3 p.m.
College Football Countdown – ABC
College Football Today – CBS

3:30 p.m.
ABC/ESPN Coverage Map
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech – ABC
Oregon at Purdue – ABC/ESPN
Penn State at Syracuse – ABC/ESPN

Georgia at South Carolina – CBS/CBSSports.com
Air Force vs. Houston at Dallas – CBS College Sports
Michigan at Notre Dame – NBC
UCLA at BYU – Versus
Chattanooga at Florida State – ESPNU (3:45 p.m.)

7 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard – ESPN
Auburn at Mississippi State – ESPN2

7:30/7:45 p.m.
Virginia at UConn – ESPNU
Oklahoma at Washington – ESPN (7:45 p.m.)

8 p.m.
Ohio State at USC – ABC
Arizona at New Mexico – CBS College Sports

10:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at Fresno State – ESPN2

Tuesday Night Stuffage

Thanks to the incompetence of Broadview Networks, I’m still without internet access at work. Not only did they screw up my phone lines, they also rewired the lines so it knocked out my DSL lines. This is all fucked up. If you have Broadview, cancel them and switch to another company. And if you’re considering them, don’t and go to another choice. Awful company and bad customer service. Do yourselves a favor and avoid the company at all costs.

Let’s do your links.

From the Boston Globe’s Extra Bases blog and courtesy of the Boston Sports Media Watch, Nick Cafardo breaks news that NESN has signed Red Sox TV voice Don Orsillo to a new contract. No official press release on NESN on Orsillo, but since the Globe and NESN are linked, one can assume this to be true.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes that Giants radio analyst Dave Jennings is trying to figure out what to do next as he struggles with Parkinson’s Disease. Also in his column, Neil talked with ESPN NFL analyst Cris Carter and expounds on the interview in his blog. Neil was surprised to hear Michael Kay actually criticize the Yankees on YES last night.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman says CBS’ Phil Simms did not complete his analysis during Sunday’s Jets-Dolphins game.

Keith Groller of the Allentown Morning Call says Jets fans will not be served in Eastern PA as the lone CBS affiliate will carry Steelers games.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal says one lone sports radio voice is trying to talk Browns fans off the ledge after our team’s horrible performance against the Cowboys.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the new Inside the NFL on Showtime will look at Aaron Rodgers’ debut for Green Bay.

Multichannel News says Inside the NFL will have three guests this week.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talked with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit about this Saturday’s Ohio State-USC game which he and Brent Musberger will call on ABC. Tom goes over the college games that will be available in SoCal this weekend. Tom now reviews the NFL games available in the LA market for Week 2.

Over to Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union who says all of New York State’s regional teams will be seen in the Capital Region in Week 2.

The Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the men’s final of the US Open fell as it was played on Monday. SMW has some ratings news and notes. The blog has the final weekend ratings and note that the first eight spots are filled by NFL-related programming.

ESPN says Monday Night Football killed in the ratings.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog says CBSSports.com will stream CBS’ SEC games live.

The Big Ten Network announces it will air a special “Big Ten Tonight” halftime show during the Ohio State-USC game on Saturday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Michael Phelps is now the most coveted celebrity endorser.

Michael Phelps’ appearance on the Jay Leno show led to its highest ratings since mid-June.

That will do it for now. I hope I have internet access tomorrow. If I don’t, I’ll continue to trash Broadview Networks.

It’s a Megalink Friday

Time for the Friday media links once again. Glad to be here. The NCAA Tournament will be the subject of discussion in many of the media columns today.

First round action will conclude Friday, then 2nd round action will start with a quadrupleheader on Saturday on CBS and a triple decker jones on Easter Sunday. All action can be accessed through March Madness on Demand at NCAA.com or through Mega March Madness on DirecTV.

The NCAA Women’s Tournament gets underway on the ESPN family of networks on Saturday. If your internet service provider has an agreement with the Alleged Worldwide Leader, you can watch all of the Women’s Tournament on your computer through ESPN360.

If you’re not a college basketball fan, there’s Tiger Woods going for his 6th straight PGA Tour win at the Blue Monster at Doral in Miami as the Florida Swing continues. The Golf Channel has 2nd round coverage today at 2 p.m. then NBC Sports picks up the tournament on Saturday with four hours of coverage.

For tennis fans, there’s the Pacific Life Tournament which heads to the men’s and women’s finals on FSN.

And the NASCAR Sprint Cup takes the Easter holiday off, but the Nationwide Series will be in Nashville on Saturday on ESPN2.

Let’s get to your links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks into the anti-ESPN Power Point presentation that’s been making the rounds at league offices and ad agencies. Earlier this week, John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal broke the story about the slide show that had been created by ESPN’s competitors. Hiestand notes that the author is “Fox Network Groups”. Michael has now started a blog for USA Today and I say it’s about time. Welcome to the blogosphere, Michael. And here’s the Nation Newspaper’s complete listing of sports on TV this weekend.

David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch has an interview with the always lovely Tina Cervasio who will be starting her new job at MSG Network soon.

Now let’s start out West and move eastward.

West

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News writes in his Morning Buzz blog that the NCAA Tournament is a true Made-for-TiVO event.

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times writes about CBS’ first Mixed Martial Arts primetime telecast in May. Christine Daniels talks about the NCAA Tournament being the viewing pick of the weekend.

The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth talks with the General Manager of CBSSports.com about March Madness on Demand which had some technical glitches on Thursday. Hoffarth has his extensive media notes in his Farther Off the Wall blog. And Ramona Shelburne of the Daily News has a story on Carter Blackburn who made his NCAA Tournament debut yesterday and did rather well in my opinion.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star enjoyed having games to choose from in the NCAA Tournament either through his computer or on DirecTV.

From the North County Times, John Maffei says Padres announcer Andy Masur is now more comfortable in his second year in the radio booth and gets to call tonight’s UConn-San Diego NCAA Tournament game as a bonus.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune talks with CBS Sports analyst Mike Gminski who will call the UConn-San Diego game tonight. Jay has last weekend’s TV ratings from the always classy San Diego.

Scott D. Pierce from the Deseret (UT) Morning News has a bone to pick with the Mountain West Conference’s TV coverage.

Midwest

Paul Christian of the Rochester Post-Bulletin talks about a whole range of topics including the number of entries in ESPN.com’s Tournament Challenge.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune talks with NCAA Tournament host Greg Gumbel.

In today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley feels interest going into this year’s NCAA Tournament is at an all-time low.

The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein has his viewing picks for the weekend.

South

Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman talks with CBS Sports’ Bill Raftery who will call the St. Joseph’s-Oklahoma game tonight. In his media notebook, Bracht incorrectly says March Madness on Demand is offering Westwood One radio broadcasts of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. They were offered last year as well. And Mel says there’s plenty of college action to watch this weekend.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says a local sports radio talk host is back doing what he does best.

Ray Buck from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says ESPN’s baseball analysts have had little to say about the Texas Rangers’ chances this season.

The Orlando Sentinel’s Dave Darling gives his top 10 favorite Yankee Stadium moments.

In the Miami Herald, Barry Jackson says there’s a method to CBS Sports’ madness in choosing which NCAA Tournament games go where. And Jackson has Bob Costas trying to backtrack on his anti-blogging comments from last week. Costas is still a jerk.

Let’s head to South Carolina where Doug Nye of The State says the NCAA Tournament won’t have the sporting weekend to itself.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Jim Williams in the Baltimore edition of the Examiner talks with CBS’ Billy Packer who says Georgetown could be upset today by Maryland-Baltimore County. And for the Washington edition, Williams has Packer saying Georgetown can reach the Final Four. What? And in his Watch This! blog, Williams says the NCAA Tournament can be accessed by all types of media, via TV, radio, computer, satellite TV, On Demand, etc.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun has the ESPN MLB analysts talking about the Orioles’ chances this year.

Heading to New York now, the Post’s Phil Mushnick speculates that ESPN’s Chris Berman won’t be at The Masters because Augusta National told the network not to send him. That’s a stretch. Justin Terranova has five questions for NBC Sports golf analyst Johnny Miller. And Terranova talks with ESPN’s Steve Phillips about Breakfast and Baseball as the Red Sox take on the A’s next Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

The increasingly bitter Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News lashes out at CBS for not allowing the players to be paid in the NCAA Tournament.

Neil Best of Newsday who’s not bitter, talks with CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus about his double role in leading two network divisions. From his blog, Neil has some things that didn’t make his column including comments from CBS News investigative reporter Armen Keteyian about his boss. Neil also has comments from McManus about the CBS Sports properties and trying to increase the ratings for Katie Couric. And Neil has a blurb on how WFAN’s morning and afternoon shows are playing nicey-nice for now.

Canada

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s William Houston says Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson will have a rare hockey doubleheader Saturday as they’ll call two games in two different cities for Hockey Night in Canada.

The Toronto Star’s Chris Zelkovich talks about a potential all-baseball channel in Canada. This is not to be confused with the MLB Network which launches next year.

Blogs

A couple of things from the Sports Media Watch. First, some ratings notes including TNT scoring for the Rockets-Celtics game on Tuesday. And the SMW feels CBS is entering this year’s NCAA Tournament on a low note.

The Sports Media Journal is now in the quarterfinals of the Sports Radio Madness host tournament.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball blog says Comcast will not offer the MLB Extra Innings package in HD while DirecTV will increase the number of MLB games in High Def this season.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog looks at the silly live blogging rules for the NCAA Tournament.

Joe Favorito’s Sports Marketing and Public Relations blog says the Yankees did the right PR move going to Virginia Tech this week, while the Red Sox did not in its pay protest for its coaches.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell is now in Day Ten of his Minor League Baseball Logo Contest. And Darren has some March Madness business notes.

That will do it for now. I’ll have an update tonight. I’ll give you the NCAA Tournament tip times and announcing assignments for Sunday, plus Weekend Viewing Picks and a bunch of other stuff. Keep it here.

Some Technical Problems for NCAA March Madness on Demand

As I logged into March Madness on Demand at NCAA.com, there were a few technical problems. First, there was audio for the Georgia-Xavier game, but no announcers. A note did appear underneath the video player saying the techies were aware of the problem. Then when we finally heard Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel, their voices were garbled.

Then as many people got into the viewing room, the video was constantly jumpy and had to constantly buffer. Thank goodness NCAA.com provided the audio from Westwood One so I could keep track of the game. However, some glitches for CBS and NCAA.com at the beginning.

In addition, the same audio problems occurred at the beginning of the Michigan State-Temple game and I could not enjoy Screamin’ Gus Johnson.

I am glad to see CBS provide its HD picture so we can enjoy the game in its full glory.

However, I do wish we can see the CBS halftime show with Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg and instead of having Jason Horowitz just talk about what we just saw. I’m sure Jason is a nice guy, but I’d rather not see him at the half. I’m used to having switches to other games at the half.

Anyway, I’m hoping CBSSports.com and NCAA.com will have these glitches worked out for the second window at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Late Tuesday/Early Wednesday Update

Because I was working late, I found a few more links for you.

First, Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog has a really good entry on how the Southeastern Conference stepped up during the Atlanta tornado to accommodate its media partners during last week’s SEC Tournament. Consider the undertaking to move the tournament from the massive Georgia Dome to the Georgia Tech campus in just a short few hours and you’ll appreciate what the conference did to get whole thing finished on Sunday.

Second, I rarely link to Bill Simmons’ columns at ESPN.com because many of them do not deal with the media. In fact, I think I’ve only linked to him once or twice since restarting this blog in May of last year. Many of his columns deal with the answering of his e-mail and are not justified to be linked. I respect Bill, I like his writing and remember when he was one of the first to provide links as the Boston Sports Guy, but that person is long gone. Anyway, I will link to the latest column from Bill, actually it’s written by his wife (or ESPN.com would have you think it is) and it’s kind of funny. The Sports Gal, as Bill calls her, gives her picks for the NCAA Tournament.

Wright Thompson has an excellent feature article for ESPN.com about an Alabama family coping with the death of a Marine and how they struggle to keep his memory alive for the daughter he never met.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that the local CBS affiliate and Time Warner Cable have their schedules set for Thursday and Friday for the NCAA Tournament.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says CBSSports.com has released some more VIP passes for March Madness on Demand.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Sports Illustrated tries to cover all bases by having multiple covers this week.

Some More Tuesday Links

Let’s give you some more links today.

Did you know tennis’ first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open gets underway on Sunday? Well, Monday if you’re in the Australasia region, but Sunday here in the States. Bob Larson’s Tennis News says Martina Navratilova will do color analysis for the Tennis Channel for not only the Australian Open, but the French and Wimbledon as well. Main U.S. rights holder ESPN, will offer live coverage of the event not only on ESPN2, but online as well.

Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer has a quick blurb on a story I linked to earlier today, that ESPN has pulled its radio programming from a local station.

Eleftaria Parpis from AdWeek says the latest “This is SportsCenter” ad featuring Richard Simmons is a hit.

Chip Brown of the Dallas Morning News says the Texas-Texas A&M game is close to being moved to Thanksgiving Night for ESPN.

Ryan Corazza of Chicago Sports Weekly talks about ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports poaching newspaper staffs leading to the death of the independent beat writer.

Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says University of Georgia President Michael Adams is supporting a college football playoff citing too much influence of the TV networks on the sport and the BCS.

Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post says NBC went overboard with the Sean Taylor references during the Washington-Seattle game on Saturday and Shapiro also criticizes Roger Clemens, Fox Sports for its BCS coverage and ESPN SportsCenter.

CBS Sports and CBS Sports.com won a technical Emmy for its online coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Hot chick and Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer Amanda Beard will have her own segment on the Best Damn Sports Show… Period on FSN starting on Wednesday.

Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press says CBC and FSN Detroit will show former Red Wings Steve Yzerman dropping the ceremonial first puck before the Senators-Red Wings game this Saturday.

That’s it for now. Back later.

Sunday Linkage

Good morning. Time to bring you some links from the Sunday papers.

Starting with Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News, he wonders if the YES Network will continue to use loaded questions sent from the front office to ask the manager about strategy during post game press conferences.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post must have been in a good mood when he today’s column as he gives massive praise to Fox for its use of the “Voices of the Game” segment when it caught umpire Gary Cederstrom cooling down a potentially volatile situation during Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.

In Newsday, Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman writes a piece where she fires back at the criticism for her crying during the ALDS Game 4 postgame show. I must say it’s rather well written. Neil Best writes a companion piece for the paper. And in his regular Sunday column, Best says former Yankees manager Joe Torre has a bright future and can probably have his choice of gigs. In his blog, Best has a roundup of the Torre story and also links to his friend, Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated who writes that Torre turned down an offer to join the Fox broadcast of the World Series. And the New York Daily News has that story as well.

Now some stories about ESPN College Gameday’s appearance at the University of Kentucky on Saturday which seems to have gone over quite well. Amy Wilson of the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader has an article showcasing 10 things Wildcat fans did not know about ESPN’s College Gameday. C. Ray Hall of the Louisville Courier-Journal writes about Lee Corso who didn’t make friends with his pick against Kentucky. And Hall has a companion piece about the “Gator gumbo” that was served to the ESPN crew. Finally, Hall writes that Gameday hosts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit were asked to analyze a local high school game for a Lexington TV station with little info to go on and passed with flying colors.

The Rick Reilly leaving Sports Illustrated for ESPN story is picking up some legs. The Denver Post’s Bill Husted wonders if the Denver-area native will leave for the bright lights of the East Coast with this move. And Deadspin has its take on the move.

Steve Wiseman of The State writes that ESPN.com and CBS Sports.com are engaged in a battle over site visits.

Mark Berman of the Roanoke (VA) Times writes about Marty Smith, ESPN’s NASCAR Insider.

Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that there were some key factors that led to low ratings for TBS in the National League Championship Series.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News previews the NFL on TV in the Bay Area.

And there you have it for today. Videos of the Week come up later today.