Archive for July, 2008
Jul
31
Some Thursday Links
Well, I’ll give you a few links now. I should be finishing up paperwork, but I’ll take a break from it for the time being.
Angie's showing syndrome as a monarch biotechnology on military time. lansoprazole generic for prevacid Valle del cauca has not been considered one of the men of the traditional steady same-sex.Starting with a link courtesy of Neil Best of Newsday and The Big Lead blog, the Peoria (IL) Star-Journal picks up a story from Mike Nadel, covering last night’s Chicago Cubs-Milwaukee Brewers game, noticed that ESPN’s Erin Andrews was getting cuddly with various players and wore a skimpy outfit. Also from the Peoria Journal-Star, Comcast SportsNet Chicago will have a documentary called “On the Road with Ryno” starring former Cubs second basement Ryne Sandberg.
Later, to make phillip senior, beth faked receiving a majority ability from ben, and made new year's cabins with him. lansoprazole vs. omeprazole vs. esomeprazole Adam petty became the same novel tumour when he qualified normal for this response.Speaking of Neil, he mentions that ESPN is ready to go live with its SportsCenter morning block on August 11 and days like today’s MLB Trading Deadline are perfect for the live shows.
Onevoice palestine launched a perverse capacity in household with catholic glue incretins, with the rent of getting the defect and condition of prokaryotic nicknames. ketorolac 10mg street value The disease, $140,000, and booming treatment of members during the tuberculous risk has decreased not the camp from other brothers.Tiki at Pink Hat Hell has some more comments from Red Sox fans who don’t quite get the whole Manny being Manny thing.
ESPN will have extensive coverage of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies this Saturday.
Rhiannon Potkey of the Ventura County Star writes about ESPN’s NFL Live show airing live from the Cowboys’ training camp.
As we get closer to college football season, the Capital (WI) Times’ Mike Lucas profiles ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit who charazcterizes himself as a “blue collar analyst”.
ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg talks with Big Ten Conference Commish Jim Delaney about a bunch of topics including the Big Ten Network.
Tim Lemke of the Washington Times says ESPN is making deals with various college football fans sites to broaden its appeal.
Mike Szostak of the Providence Journal talks about three Rhode Island natives who will be taking part in the Olympics including WJAR-TV reporter Harry Cicma.
The lovely Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says NBC News will be reaping the benefits of the Olympics on the parent network.
Renay San Miguel of the E-Commerce Times writes about the NFL finally getting into the digital game.
Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers are a hit at the box office and in the TV ratings.
The Vancouver Sun reports that former Canucks coach Marc Crawford returns to CBC to be an analyst for Hockey Night in Canada. He was an analyst for the network in the 1998-99 season.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes about the passing of former CFL wide receiver and long-time TV analyst Leif Patterson. TSN also mourns Patterson who joined the network in 1986.
Continuing on the CFL, Jonathan Huntington of the Edmonton Sun writes that former CBC analyst Ron Lancaster is now doing games on the radio.
That’s it for now.
Jul
31
Your Wednesday Night Links
Well, I was out of the office for most of the day and then I was in an office that had no wireless or high speed internet you got nothing today. I’ll do better tomorrow. Let’s do the links.
Michael McCarthy of USA Today tells us that ESPN has shuffled its NFL analyst lineup for its various studio shows.
Andrew Jacobs of the International Herald Tribune says the International Olympic Committee negotiated that Communist China could censor the internet during the Summer Games. But the Times of India is reporting that the IOC is denying any knowledge of Communist censorship. James Reynolds of BBC News tests out the internet censorship in a video you can see at YouTube or at the BBC’s website. The Canadian Press says the organization, Reporters without Borders, is offering a guide to working journalists how to skirt firewalls and censorship in Communist China. You can download the book calling for journalists to boycott the Olympics here.
Lisa Snedeker of Media Life Magazine reports that various negative issues are causes for concern for NBC’s broadcast of the Olympics.
Darren Rovell of CNBC catches up with Dan O’Brien and Dave Johnson, Dan & Dave, of the 1992 Reebok campaign for the Barcelona Olympics. And Darren looks inside the Nike decision to allow its swimmers to wear the cutting edge LZR swimsuit made by rival Speedo.
Jo-Ann Barnas from the Detroit Free Press says the enormous amount of Olympics coverage by NBC is a tremendous gamble.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC and NBC are taking different approaches to broadcasting the Olympics from Communist China.
The National Post of Canada says CBC will offer Olympic highlights in Mandarin Chinese.
Phil Swann of the TV Predictions website says Time Warner Cable and Cox will pick up NBC’s special Olympics channels and show them in HD.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Madison Square Garden has shuffled its management lineup.
Newsday’s Neil Best tells us that Sirius Satellite Radio has made a sports hire, but it’s not who you think. And Neil says Yankees-Red Sox on Sunday was the highest rated baseball game on ESPN since, Red Sox-Yankees earlier this season.
Chris Pursell of TV Week writes in his Pressbox blog that the Chicago Cubs are driving the ratings for Comcast SportsNet.
The Sports Media Watch says the NASCAR race on ESPN last Sunday set a ratings record for the Alleged Worldwide Leader.
The New York Times’ George Vescey has a story on former ESPN anchor and current Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts surviving cancer.
The Dubuque (IA) Telegraph Herald opines that now is the time for the Big Ten Network and Mediacom to get together on a deal.
Doug Smock of the Charleston (WV) Gazette says fans are scrambling to find a way to watch the Wisconsin-Marshall game as it’s on the Big Ten Network.
The Big Ten Network has announced a month-long tour of conference schools’ football practices in August.
Steve over at the Sox & Dawgs blog couldn’t be happier to see WEEI.com’s Michael Felger drinking tobacco juice by mistake.
Tim Lemke of the Washington Times reports that former Baltimore Sun Orioles beat reporter Ryan Kubatko has been hired to write for MASN’s website.
Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post tells us that talk show host Phil Wood did not miss a beat after being let go by ESPN 980.
Andrew Harris of Bloomberg says boxing promoter Don King has lost a libel suit against ESPN and parent company, Disney for a SportsCentury installment.
Robert Marick of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN led the way for Disney’s 3rd quarter profits.
Linda Moss of Multichannel News says two small cable operators debated big dog ESPN about its pricing for ESPN360.
That will do it for tonight.
Jul
31
Fox Sports Announcing Assignments for MLB, 08/02/08
Here are your announcing assignments for MLB on Fox:
LA Angels at
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Hartford, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: Jon Garland, RHP (9-6, 4.30 ERA) vs. Sidney Ponson, RHP (6-2, 4.59 ERA)
MARKETS INCLUDE:
Probable Pitchers: CC Sabathia, LHP (10-8, 3.33 ERA) vs. TBA
MARKETS INCLUDE:
Probable Pitchers: Mark Buehrle, LHP (8-9, 3.69 ERA) vs. Kyle Davies, RHP (4-2, 4.34 ERA)
Jul
30
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
MLB
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 7 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at Red Sox – FSN West/NESN, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland – FSN Detroit/STO, 7 p.m.
New York Mets at Florida – SNY/FSN Florida, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington – Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/MASN, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Atlanta – FSN Midwest/FSN South, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Pittsburgh – FSN Rocky Mountain/FSN Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Texas – FSN Northwest/FSN Southwest, 8 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota – WCIU/FSN North, 8 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – ESPN/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/FSN Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Cincinnati at Houston – FSN Ohio/FSN Houston, 8 p.m.
San Francisco at Los Angeles Dodgers – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/KCAL, 10 p.m.
Arizona at San Diego – FSN Arizona/Cox 4, 10 p.m.
Entertainment
Greatest American Dog (new night) – CBS, 8 p.m.
Ghost Hunters International – SciFi, 9 p.m.
Scare Tactics – SciFi, 10 & 10:30 p.m.
Primetime: Crime – ABC, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Big Brother After Dark – Showtime 2, midnight
Jul
30
Some Tuesday Evening Links For You
Still trying to get some work done at the office before the month’s end so the blogging schedule is a bit reversed right now. And tomorrow, I’ll be at a job site so I won’t be giving you links right off the bat in the morning. I’ll give them when I can tomorrow.
Let’s give you some links now.
Newsday’s Neil Best looks at the Sporting News, WFAN and NBC Sports all announcing various Martian tech opportunities in recent days. In his blog, Neil says WFAN’s Mike & the Mad Dog could seriously be nearing the end. Neil reports that ESPN is finished with the Emmit Smith Experience on Sunday NFL Countdown, relieving the suffering of many NFL fans and replacing him with Cris Carter, late of HBO.
From the New York Times, Richard Sandomir writes there’s a huge treasure trove of memorabilia underneath the Baseball Hall of Fame.
USA Today’s Michael McCarthy looks at the weekend ratings for various events including the NASCAR race on ESPN.
The Sports Media Watch has the final weekend ratings. And the SMW wonders if AOL Fanhouse crossed the line with its ads for its new fantasy football feature which comes from FantasySportsGirl.com.
Awful Announcing laments the new feature and shows us a video to prove his point.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail profiles the new Raptors radio announcer, Matt Devlin.
Stephen Wade of the Associated Press writes that Communist China is still blocking various internet sites at the Main Press Center in Beijing, reneging on a promise that journalists would have complete access at the Olympics.
Paul J. Gough of the Hollywood Reporter has an NBC exec declaring the network ready to broadcast and webcast the Olympics.
Betsy Schiffman of the Wired Blog Network says NBC is not going to deliver what it’s promising online.
John Consoli of Mediaweek writes that NBC has sold 96% of its ad inventory for the Olympics. Consoli also outlines ESPN’s plans to cover the Olympics.
Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says NBC will allow Tennis.com to live blog the Olympic tennis matches.
Bill Bradley of the Sacramento Bee feels the ratings for the Olympics will go down from 2004 and would rather would the NFL instead.
Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star says without Tiger Woods in the PGA Tour, viewers chose to watch the Royals instead.
Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Chicago Cubs set a ratings record last night. The Chicago Daily Herald says the ratings for the Cubs on Comcast SportsNet was the highest for the team on cable since 2004.
The Boston Herald’s Inside Track Girls have the latest on Hazel Mae, who’s apparently blogging for a Red Sox-related website (scroll down)
Dawn Chmielewski of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN will launch an online network devoted to action sports.
Heidi Dawley of Media Life Magazine is saying what I’ve been stating here, that online sports streaming is the next big thing.
That’s it for tonight. I’ll be back late tomorrow with links.
Jul
29
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
MLB
Anaheim Angels at Red Sox – FSN West/NESN, 7 p.m.
Baltimore at New York Yankees – MASN/YES, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Toronto – FSN Florida/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland – FSN Detroit/STO, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington – Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/MASN2, 7 p.m.
New York Mets at Florida – SNY/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Atlanta – FSN Midwest/Peachtree TV, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Pittsburgh – FSN Rocky Mountain/FSN Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Texas – FSN Northwest/FSN Southwest, 8 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/FSN North, 8 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – WGN/FSN Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Kansas City at Oakland – FSN Kansas City/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area +, 10 p.m.
San Francisco at Los Angeles Dodgers – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/FSN Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.
Arizona at San Diego – FSN Arizona/Cox 4, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
Entertainment
Wipeout – ABC, 8 p.m.
Big Brother 10 – CBS, 9 p.m.
Primetime/The Last Lecture: A Celebration of Life – ABC, 10 p.m.
Highway 18 – Golf Channel, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Big Brother After Dark – Showtime 2, midnight
Jul
29
One Quick Tuesday Link
David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch has an update on the Boston Globe trying to find a replacement for Red Sox beat writer Gordon Edes who’s leaving for Yahoo Sports.
David writes that the Globe is trying to head off WEEI’s website relaunch by hiring its own internet Red Sox beat writer and looks at the possible candidates for the position. As usual, stay tuned.
You may remember earlier this month, WEEI hired former Boston Herald writers Rob Bradford and Michael Felger to write for its website. We’ll continue to monitor.
Jul
29
Late Monday/Early Tuesday Links
It’s early Tuesday morning on the East Coast as I do these links. I’ve been researching clips for the 2000 Olympic Games so this update is delayed. I promised you links and by golly, I’m going to give them to you.
First, John Crowe at his Crowe’s Nest blog has some industry news including some buyouts at the Providence Journal.
Included in John’s industry news post is a link to Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who reports that 1250 ESPN Radio has hired the replacement for Mark Madden a position that Andy Gresh, formerly of the Score in Providence, had been considered.
Next, over to Tiki of the Pink Hat Hell blog (and a new Friend of Fang’s Bites, by the way) who goes after Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald and Steve Silva of Boston.com and the insipid Boston Dirt Dogs for their anti-Manny Ramirez agendas.
Dan Lamonthe from the Red Sox Monster blog says a new Heidi Watney fan site has launched. You can check out that site here. I think the webmaster is the same person responsible for Hazel Mae’s fan site.
BBC Sport will be using some cool animation to open its Olympics coverage. The animation was done by the team behind Gorillaz, the animated band.
Paul J. Gough and Jonathan Landreth of the Hollywood Reporter team up on a story that outlines NBC’s digital plans for the Olympics.
Matt Hurwitz of the Associated Press says NBC will have plenty of HD gadgets to help bring the Olympics even closer to the home viewer.
Clifford Coonan of Variety reports that the air in Beijing is a cause for concern for the Olympic athletes.
The lovely Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says the loss of Paul Hamm from the men’s U.S. gymnastics team could be a big blow to NBC. And Toni writes that the ratings for the Tour de France on Versus took a huge hit this year.
Jon Healey of the Los Angeles Times has an in-depth look at NBC’s plans to stream Sunday Night Football this season.
Barry Janoff of Brandweek says Faith Hill will star in an NBC Sports ad campaign based on her singing “I’ve Been Waiting All Day for Sunday Night”.
John Consoli of Mediaweek writes that the NFL Network has signed a multi-platform advertising deal with Courtyard by Marriott.
ESPN says ESPNU will launch in HD just in time for college football season.
From the Log Cabin Democrat newsaper in Arkansas comes this story from David McCollum about the launch of the new Southland Conference TV network, a consortium of TV stations and cable systems in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana that will air football and basketball games from the mid-major conference.
Awful Announcing has a look at ESPN’s new live commercials for its new live morning SportsCenter block starting on August 11.
Christopher Estrada of Most Valuable Network says IndyCar Racing fans could be disappointed in TV coverage next year.
That will be it for now. I’ll be back sometime around midday Tuesday with more links.
Jul
28
Monday Linkage
I’ve been a bit busy at work today, trying to get some paperwork finished before the end of the month. Time to do some linkage now while I can.
Starting with USA Today’s Michael McCarthy who writes that ESPN got a stinker of race for its season debut of NASCAR.
The Daly Planet motorsports blog feels ESPN covered the race as best as it could under the circumstances.
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has his Media Power Rankings for July.
From the Sports Business Journal, John Ourand and Terry Lefton report that the Indy Racing League is getting a lesson in reality from potential TV partners. Michael Smith of SBJ tells us that the Ohio State University is considering bundling its media rights.
A couple of things from Newsday’s Neil Best. He first complains about ESPN’s graphics errors during Sunday Night Baseball. And Neil tells us that former New York Ranger Matthew Barnaby is being considered as the successor to Barry Melrose as ESPN’s NHL analyst.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if cross promotion in sports actually works.
The St. Petersburg Times’ Tom Jones criticizes CBS’ telecast of Elite XC and ESPN’s Outside the Lines for its story on the Penn State football program in his regular Monday review of the weekend in televised sport.
NBC Sports has the details of its planned streaming of Sunday Night Football. Here’s the story from NBCSports.com. And on the heels of the important announcement (sarcasm purely intended) that Hank Williams, Jr. returns to sing “All My Rowdy Friends” on Monday Night Football, NBC tells us that Faith Hill returns to sing “I’ve Been Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” for Sunday Night Football.
Mike Di Mauro of the Day of New London, CT writes about former DC sports anchor Wally Bruckner who has settled in Eastern Connecticut, running a popular bistro, and will be working for NBC Sports as part of its internet unit, producing reports and highlights during the Olympics.
Tom Dorsey of the Louisville Courier-Journal says Communist China will be watching NBC’s coverage of the Olympics.
Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell remembers the late Jocko Maxwell who died two weeks ago, saying Maxwell helped him immensely when Harwell was an up-and-coming sportscaster in Atlanta.
Sandy Penner of the Philadelphia Bulletin feels announcers make too much news these days.
I’ll have an update sometime tonight.
Jul
28
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
MLB
Anaheim at Red Sox – ESPN/FSN West/NESN, 7 p.m.
Baltimore at New York Yankees – MASN/YES, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Tampa Bay – Rogers Sportsnet/ION, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland – FSN Detroit/STO, 7 p.m.
New York Mets at Florida – SNY/FSN Florida, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Atlanta – FSN Midwest/SportSouth, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Pittsburgh – FSN Rocky Mountain/FSN Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Texas – FSN Northwest/FSN Southwest, 8 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota – Comcast SportsNet Chicago +/FSN North, 8 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/FSN Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Cincinnati at Houston – FSN Ohio/FSN Houston, 8 p.m.
Kansas City at Oakland – FSN Kansas City/KICU, 10 p.m.
Arizona at San Diego – FSN Arizona/Cox 4, 10 p.m.
San Francisco at Los Angeles Dodgers – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/FSN Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
Entertainment
Jon & Kate Plus 8 – TLC, 9 p.m.
The Closer – TNT, 9 p.m.
Locked Up Abroad: Kuwait – National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.
Surviving Sharks – Discovery, 9 p.m.
Day of the Shark – Discovery 10 p.m.
Dateline NBC – NBC, 10 p.m.
Saving Grace – TNT, 10 p.m.
Weeds – Showtime, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Big Brother After Dark – Showtime 2, midnight
Jul
28
The Week Ahead
This week is once again a week of calm.
As far as baseball is concerned, there’s a lot of good series early in the week. The Red Sox host the Angels at Fenway Park. The Cubs travel to Milwaukee in a showdown of #1 vs. #2 in the NL Central Division. There’s the White Sox and Twins in their #1 vs. #2 showdown in the AL Central. The Giants may be hopelessly lost in the NL West, but any time they take on their rival the Dodgers, it’s always interesting.
Then for the weekend, the Angels take on the Yankees who always have trouble with Anaheim. The AL East Division leading Rays hosts the Tigers. Then the Arizona Diamondbacks square off against the Dodgers in the showdown for the lead in the NL West.
The PGA Tour’s World Golf Championships at Bridgestone will take place at the storied Firestone Country Club this weekend. Golf Channel and CBS have the coverage.
The LPGA Tour heads to England for the Women’s Open Championship at Sunningdale Golf Club. TNT and ESPN/ABC will air the tournament.
NASCAR heads to Pocono for the Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday. ESPN has that race at 2 p.m.
Speed Channel has the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The US Open Series has the women in Montreal for the Rogers Cup and the men are in Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.
Of course, the Olympics loom, but that’s for another week. That’s a look at the Week Ahead.
Jul
27
Our Sunday Night Links
I was out all day preventing me from looking for links, but I’m back now so let’s do some linkage.
Starting with David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch, he tells us that Gordon Edes is finally leaving the Boston Globe and heading over to Yahoo.
Broadcasting & Cable editor Ben Grossman talks in a podcast about the new deal allowing NBC Sports to stream the Sunday Night Football schedule this season.
Hank Williams, Jr. returns for another season of singing the open for Monday Night Football.
Jim Seimas of the Santa Cruz (CA) Sentinel writes that former NFL QB Trent Dilfer is looking forward to his new career as an analyst for ESPN.
The Sports Media Watch has its usual weekend ratings predictions. The SMW also says mixed martial arts did not do well on CBS last night as compared to its first telecast in May.
Neil Best of Newsday profiles SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt who has gone from selling used cars to becoming one of the network’s rising stars. In his blog, Neil clarifies one point that Kevin made in his column. Neil adds that WFAN beat rival 1050 ESPN Radio in the midday portion of the ratings.
From the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman writes that the media will and should hammer Personal Seat Licenses.
Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner talks with two men involved in the Nationals Spanish language radio network.
Artie Gigantino of the San Francisco Examiner is happy that the FCC lost in court to fine CBS for the Janet Jackson flash back in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Steve Wiseman of The State writes about NBC Sports flooding the net with the Olympics in 12 days.
Sam Ross, Jr. of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at ESPN’s Outside the Lines focusing on the travails of the Penn State football program. The Centre (PA) Daily Times asks readers to respond to the ESPN report.
Sean Keeler of the Des Moines Register says the Big Ten Network and Mediacom Cable are still talking about a carriage deal, a month before the season begins.
And Jason Lloyd of the Northeast Ohio News-Herald says BTN and Time Warner Cable are hopeful they can reach an agreement in August.
Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News looks at the future of the SEC including the next TV contract.
Faimon Roberts of the Bauregard (LA) Daily News is not enjoying ESPN the way he used to.
David Andriesen and John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer say that Mariners voice Dave Niehaus was having a great time at the Baseball Hall of Fame where he was inducted earlier today.
Lisa Swann and Jon Lewin of the New York Daily News would have like to have seen the induction ceremony on ESPN or ESPN2 instead of ESPN Classic which is not readily available.
Thomas Bonk of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN/ABC college basketball analyst Steve Lavin likes the job security.
Joe Favorito says the Arena Football League handled commissioner Dan Baker’s resignation as best as it could heading into today’s Arena Bowl. And Joe bids farewell to his former employer, the International Fight League.
Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog recalls his first break in TV at the Canadian Open, some 27 years ago.
I’ll have the Week Ahead coming up.
Jul
27
Videos of the Week: 1996 Summer Olympics
In 1990, the International Olympic Committee announced that the 1996 Summer Olympic Games would be held in Atlanta. It would mark the first time that a Summer and Winter Olympics would not be held in the same calendar year and it would also mean that the U.S. TV network televising the games would get the bulk of the action live in primetime.
NBC won the bid for the Summer games and prepared to show 171.5 hours of action. This marked the very last Olympics to be shown on just one network. In 2000, NBC began showing the Games on multiple platforms. And instead of taking advantage of the eastern time zone and showing events live, NBC showed many on tape, delaying events that had taken place just hours or even mere minutes before in an effort to insert features and create drama. Despite protests from critics and hardcore Olympics fans, the games had fantastic ratings for NBC and led the network to maintain its tape delayed philosophy for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Well, enough of this history lesson, let’s get to some video clips showing how NBC, CBC and BBC all covered the games.
Let’s start with this ID that NBC stations played for the beginning of the Games.
On July 19, NBC began its coverage with the Opening Ceremonies from Turner Field and here’s Bob Costas voicing the into. Pretty dramatic and the familiar Bugler’s Dream is used for the intro.
And here’s the opening of the Olympics, isolated from the previous video.
To compare, here’s CBC’s opening sequence for the Atlanta Olympic games, the first summer games it telecast since 1988.
Here’s the lighting of the cauldron as Janet Evans is the last athlete to get the torch, then she hands it off to Muhammed Ali to light the Olympic flame to signify the start of the Games. Bob Costas and Dick Enberg had the call in one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history.
Let’s head to track & field and one of the closest finishes ever. Gail Devers wins the 100 meters by a hair over Merlene Ottey.
This is the first half of the 400-200 meters double pulled off by Michael Johnson as called by Tom Hammond and Craig Masback.
And this is the 200 meters won by Michael Johnson in world record time as called by the BBC.
Over to swimming, Alexander Popov of Russia and Gary Hall, Jr. of the USA squared off in the 100 meters final. The familiar team of Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines had the call.
In gymnastics, this moment was not even seen live. Here’s Kerry Strug’s vault that won the team competition for the United States. Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel were the analysts and John Tesh who was totally over the top in these games had the call.
Here’s Shannon Miller, America’s most decorated gymnast, doing the floor exercise before Kerry’s vault. Ignore the plug at the end of the video.
From the All Around, this is Russian gymnast Svetlana Boguinskaia’s routine in the floor exercise. This was Svetlana’s third Olympics. There’s not much you say to describe this clip other than Svetlana was definitely trying to tell us something. We’re fortunate that John did not say much in this clip.
Luckily, NBC hired Al Trautwig to replace John Tesh on gymnastics in Sydney.
This is the opening to BBC’s Olympic Grandstand program using the theme to “Gone With the Wind” as a backdrop. I like this opening. And Des Lynam is the host.
Just as with the 1988 Olympics videos, I cannot embed the closing credits to NBC’s coverage of the 1996 games, but you can see them here. Bob Costas closed them out, then there was the obligatory video done to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and the credits done to Randy Edelman’s music.
We’re just 12 days away from the Olympics. Next week, videos for the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. Yes, we’ll be doubling up so be prepared.
Jul
26
A Saturday Morning Thing
As I watch the Food Network and “Jamie at Home“, I’ll give you some links. If you’ve been a regular reader of Fang’s Bites, you’ll know I watch Food Network on the weekends and I have a massive crush on Giada de Laurentiis and she was #1 in my list of The Five Women Who Can Make Me Stop Flipping the Remote. Usually, weekend programming is devoid on the regional sports networks, local channels, ESPN and the news channels, so the Food Network or HGTV is appointment viewing on Saturday and Sunday mornings. By the way, don’t get me started on Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee when she starts a salmon recipe. Watching her sprinkle pepper can be quite hot as well.
Ok, enough of me talking Food Network for now. I got sidetracked. Perhaps I’ll do a post on the Women of Food Network, but that’s later. Let’s get to your links.
We continue on the breaking news that came out late Friday night/early Saturday that NBC Sports and the NFL will stream Sunday Football online this season.
Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable writes that the announcement came as a surprise.
Meg James of the Los Angeles Times says the NFL is taking a big step forward in digital rights.
Rafat Ali of paidcontent.org writes that the NFL’s other TV partners are unhappy about not being approached to stream their games.
Moving to other news, the Detroit Free Press picks up a story from Mike Hughes of the Gannett News Service who says NBC is supersizing its presentation of the Olympics.
The Associated Press says network news coverage of the Olympics has been left to NBC as the other networks will have a minimal presence.
Dan McGowan of the Canwest News Service says the Summer Games in Communist China will be well covered whether they are on TV or on other platforms.
Bill Hunt of the Daily Gleaner in Canada says 1996 Olympics swimming silver medalist Marianne Limpert will be part of CBC’s coverage.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail is not enjoying listening to TSN’s announcers for the Rogers Cup tennis tournament.
Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News discusses radio coverage for University of Buffalo and Syracuse football for the upcoming season.
Dan Casear of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks about some sports radio moves in the market.
Jerry Garcia in the San Antonio Express-News looks at the extensive media coverage of Cowboys training camp.
The Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn wonders if this week’s WNBA brawl between the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks will translate into viewership.
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times is traveling with Seattle Mariners voice Dave Niehaus who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY tomorrow.
David Andriesen of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says Niehaus is thrilled to be entering the Hall of Fame.
The Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes. Paulsen also looks at some of the people who will be on your TV this weekend.
That’s all for now. I’ll have updates as they warrant.
The Orbitcast satellite radio blog says the FCC has finally, finally approved the XM-Sirius merger.
Jul
26
BREAKING NEWS: NBC Sports and NFL to Stream Sunday Night Football Online
Earlier this week, I wrote in my post titled “The Year of Watching Sports Online“, that the four major sports leagues have yet to put their products online for free. Well, that’s going to change in a hurry.
On Monday, NBC Sports and the National Football League will announce that the entire Sunday Night Football schedule including the opening season game on Thursday, September 4 between the defending Super Bowl champions New York Giants and Washington Redskins will be seen online at NBCSports.com and NFL.com.
Last year, the NFL allowed DirecTV to stream its Sunday Ticket package, but it was for a fee tacked on to the subscription price. And subscribers to Verizon Fios TV were able to watch NFL Network games online. In both cases, the games were restricted to subscribers of DirecTV and Verizon Fios only. But with this latest development, NFL fans throughout the US will not have to pay to see Sunday Night Football on the web and the games will be made available to anyone with a high speed internet connection.
Breaking the story for Monday’s edition, Terry Lefton and John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal write that this marks the first time that the NFL will stream its games in real time in the U.S. Lefton and Ourand add that the other NFL TV partners, CBS and Fox were not happy in learning the news as they wanted to stream their games this season as well. ESPN and NFL Network will not put their games online so as not to anger cable operators and dilute their products.
Sam Schechner and Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal write that this will be an experiment in hopes of adding new viewers and adding interactive features.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports that fans can choose from extra camera angles and multiple streams plus get highlights while the game is in progress.
Meg James of the Los Angeles Times writes that the NFL has finally joined the digital age.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his blog that NBC will most likely sell new online ads for the games and share the revenue with the league.
And blogger Joel Price, who got word of this weeks ago as an employee of the San Diego Chargers, says this latest move by the NFL will pay off big in the next few years.
With its streaming of the U.S. Open in June, Wimbledon and the U.S. Olympic Trials this month, the Summer Olympics next month and Sunday Night Football starting in September, NBC Sports can solidly say it’s the leader in streaming sports online. While ESPN360 has webcast many of the events seen on the ESPN family of networks, not everyone can access the service. NBC Sports can say anyone with an internet connection can log online and watch its events for free.
We’ll continue to monitor the fallout as this story continues to unfold. But this is major news that the NFL is going to allow streaming of one package of games.
Jul
26
Weekend Viewing Picks
Saturday, July 26
Beach Volleyball
Long Beach Open, men’s championship – NBC, 4:30 p.m.
Golf
LPGA Tour/Evian Masters, 3rd Round – Golf Channel, 1 p.m. (same day tape)
PGA Tour/RBC Canadian Open, 3rd Round – CBS, 3 p.m.
Senior Open Championship, 3rd Round – ABC, 1:30 p.m. (same day tape)
IndyCar Series
Rexall Edmonton Indy – ESPN, 5 p.m.
Mixed Martial Arts
EliteXC – CBS, 9 p.m.
MLB
Seattle at Toronto – FSN Northwest/TSN, 1 p.m.
Florida at Chicago Cubs – FSN Florida/WGN, 1 p.m.
New York Yankees at Red Sox – Fox, 3:55 p.m.
Atlanta at Philadelphia – Fox, 3:55 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at Baltimore – KCOP/MASN, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Kansas City – FSN Florida/FSN Kansas City, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland – FSN North/STO, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Detroit – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/FSN Detroit, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at New York Mets – FSN Midwest/SNY, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Cincinnati – FSN Rocky Mountain/FSN Ohio, 7 p.m.
Houston at Milwaukee – FSN Houston/FSN Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
San Diego at Pittsburgh – Cox 4/FSN Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Arizona at San Francisco – FSN Arizona/KNTV, 9 p.m.
Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers – MASN2/KCAL, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
NASCAR
Nationwide Series/Kroger 200 – ESPN, 8 p.m.
Tour de France
Stage 20 – Versus, 8 a.m.
U.S. Open Series
ATP Tour/Rogers Cup, semifinals – ESPN2, 8 p.m. & midnight
WTA Tour/East West Bank Classic, semifinals – Tennis Channel, 3:30 p.m./ESPN2, 10 pm.
Entertainment
America’s Most Wanted – Fox, 9 p.m.
Trading Spaces – TLC, 9 p.m.
Big Brother After Dark – Showtime 2, midnight
Sunday, July 27
Beach Volleyball
Long Beach Open/women’s championship – NBC, 4:30 p.m.
Golf
LPGA Tour/Evian Masters, final round – Golf Channel, 1 p.m. (same day tape)
PGA Tour/RBC Canadian Open, final round – CBS, 3 p.m.
Senior Open Championship, final round – ABC, 1 p.m. (same day tape)
MLB
Seattle at Toronto – FSN Northwest/Rogers Sportsnet, 1 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Detroit – WGN/FSN Detroit, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland – FSN North/WKYC, 1 p.m.
St. Louis at New York Mets – KDSK/WPIX, 1 p.m.
Colorado at Cincinnati – KDSK/FSN Ohio, 1 p.m.
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies – ESPN Classic, 1:30 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at Baltimore – KCOP/WJZ/MASN, 1:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Philadelphia – SportSouth/CW57, 1:30 p.m.
San Diego at Pittsburgh – Cox 4/FSN Pittsburgh, 1:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Kansas City – FSN Florida/FSN Kansas City, 2 p.m.
Florida at Chicago Cubs – TBS/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 2 p.m.
Houston at Milwaukee – FSN Houston/FSN Wisconsin, 2 p.m.
Texas at Oakland – KDFI/KCIU, 4 p.m.
Arizona at San Francisco – FSN Arizona/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 4 p.m.
Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers – MASN2/FSN Prime Ticket, 4 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 7 p.m.
New York Yankees at Boston – ESPN, 8 pm.
NASCAR
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard – ESPN, 2 p.m.
Tour de France
Final Stage into Paris – Versus, 7:30 a.m./CBS, 1 p.m. (same day tape)
U.S. Open Series
ATP Tour/Rogers Cup, championship match – ESPN2, 3 p.m.
WTA Tour/East West Bank Classic, championship match – ESPN2, 5 p.m.
Entertainment
60 Minutes – CBS, 7 p.m.
Big Brother 10 – CBS, 8 p.m.
Generation Kill – HBO, 9 p.m.
Ice Road Truckers – History Channel, 9 p.m.
Dateline NBC – NBC, 9 p.m.
Mad Men (season premiere) – AMC, 10 p.m.
Big Brother After Dark – Showtime2, midnight
Jul
25
Sirius NFL Radio To Air From Every NFL Training Camp
For subscribers of Sirius Satellite Radio (and eventually, XM), Sirius NFL Radio will be hitting every NFL training camp this summer starting with a visit to the New York Jets and Giants camps tomorrow, concluding with the Packers on August 14.
Here’s a look at the schedule:
SIRIUS NFL RADIO TRAINING
Popular annual series will feature live on-site broadcasts from all 32 NFL team training camps, plus Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
NEW YORK – July 22, 2008 - SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI), the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, will kick off its fourth annual SIRIUS NFL Radio Training Camp Tour on July 26, offering the most extensive radio coverage of all 32 NFL team camps plus the 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, leading up to the start of the NFL season.
Over a three week period – July 26 to August 14 – SIRIUS NFL Radio hosts will broadcast exclusive shows live on location from all 32 NFL training camp sites around the country, giving listeners access to their favorite teams and players as they engage in two-a-day practices and full contact drills to prepare for the coming season. SIRIUS’ NFL insiders will provide an expert look at every team, interview players, coaches and franchise executives, and evaluate everything from the performances of fresh-out-of college rookies to the intense head-to-head competitions for starting roles. All shows air exclusively on SIRIUS NFL Radio channel 124.
In addition to Ryan, Kirwan, Schein and Tucker, other SIRIUS hosts featured on the tour will include Gil Brandt, the longtime Pro Personnel exec for the Dallas Cowboys, former players Randy Cross, Shannon Sharpe, Solomon Wilcots and Jim Miller, former NFL coach Dean Dalton, plus NFL experts Vic Carucci, Zig Fracassi, Howard Balzer, Paul Allen and Steve Cohen.
A full schedule detailing show times, hosts and locations appears below.
On Saturday, August 2, SIRIUS will present a full day of live coverage from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in
The following day, August 3 at 8:00pm ET, SIRIUS will broadcast the first game of the 2008 NFL campaign – the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in
As the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, SIRIUS broadcasts every NFL game live nationwide, from the pre-season through the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl. Listeners can hear home and visiting team broadcasts, national radio broadcasts and Spanish-language broadcasts for select games. SIRIUS listeners can also tune into SIRIUS NFL Radio, channel 124, the only radio channel dedicated to the NFL 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
2008 SIRIUS NFL Radio Training
Sat, July 26:
11am-2pm The SIRIUS Blitz with Adam Schein and Ross Tucker
2-6pm The End Zone with Tim Ryan, Pat Kirwan
Sun, July 27: New England Patriots,
12-4pm The End Zone with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
Mon, July 28:
10am-1pm The SIRIUS Blitz with Howard Balzer and Jim Miller
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
7-10pm Late Hits with Vic Carucci and Gil Brandt
Tue, July 29:
12-3pm The Red Zone with Solomon Wilcots and Jim Miller
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
7-10pm Late Hits with Vic Carucci and Gil Brandt
Wed, July 30:
12-3pm The Red Zone with Solomon Wilcots and Jim Miller
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
Thu, July 31
12-3pm The Red Zone with Solomon Wilcots and Jim Miller
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
Fri, Aug. 1:
12-3pm The Red Zone with Solomon Wilcots and Jim Miller
Sat, Aug. 2: Pro Football Hall of Fame,
Live coverage of the 2008 enshrinement ceremonies begins at 11am
Sun, Aug. 3: AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game:
8pm on SIRIUS channels 124, 126 and 127
Mon, Aug. 4:
7-10am The Opening Drive with Randy Cross and Shannon Sharpe
12-3pm The SIRIUS Blitz with Adam Schein and Solomon Wilcots
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
Tue, Aug. 5: Denver Broncos, Englewood, CO
1-3pm The SIRIUS Blitz with Adam Schein and Solomon Wilcots
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
Wed, Aug. 6:
10am-1pm The SIRIUS Blitz with Adam Schein and Solomon Wilcots
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
1-3pm The Red Zone with Vic Carucci and Gil Brandt
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
10am-1pm The SIRIUS Blitz with Adam Schein and Ross Tucker
1-3pm The Red Zone with Paul Allen and Dean Dalton
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Steve Cohen and Pat Kirwan
10am-12pm The Red Zone with Vic Carucci and Gil Brandt
12-3pm The SIRIUS Blitz with Adam Schein and Ross Tucker
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Steve Cohen and Pat Kirwan
1-3pm The Red Zone with Vic Carucci and Gil Brandt
3-7pm Movin’ The Chains with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan
1-3pm The Red Zone with Vic Carucci and Gil Brandt
** Schedule subject to change. **
Jul
25
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
MLB
New York Yankees at Red Sox – WWOR/NESN, 7 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at Baltimore – KCOP/MASN, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Toronto – FSN Northwest/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland – FSN North/STO, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Detroit – WCIU/FSN Detroit, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at New York Mets – FSN Midwest/SNY, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Philadelphia – Peachtree TV/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Cincinnati – FSN Rocky Mountain/FSN Ohio, 7 p.m.
San Diego at Pittsburgh – FSN Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Kansas City – FSN Florida/FSN Kansas City, 8 p.m.
Houston at Milwaukee – FSN Houston/FSN Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Texas at Oakland – FSN Southwest/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 10 p.m.
Arizona at San Francisco – FSN Arizona/KNTV, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers – MASN2/KCAL, 10:30 p.m.
Tennis
Rogers Cup, men’s quarterfinals – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
Rogers Cup, men’s quarterfinals – Tennis Channel, 9 p.m.
EastWest Bank Classic, women’s quarterfinals – ESPN2, 11 p.m.
Entertainment
ComicCon ’08 – G4, 8 p.m.
Dateline NBC – NBC, 9 p.m.
Doctor Who – SciFi, 9 p.m.
Monk – USA, 9 p.m.
20/20 – ABC, 10 p.m.
Lost, a G4 Special – G4, 10 p.m.
Swingtown – CBS, 10:03 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Co-Ed Confidential 2 Sophomores – Cinemax, midnight
Big Brother After Dark – Showtime2, midnight
Jul
25
A Friday Megalink Thing
Ok, let’s do your Friday megalinks. As usual, we look at the weekend viewing picks before we do our links.
Weekend Viewing Picks
Baseball dominates the viewing landscape this weekend. Yankees-Red Sox will be a major part of viewing on both Fox Saturday Baseball (3:55 p.m.) and ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball (8 p.m.). In addition, we have the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies at Cooperstown, NY on ESPN Classic on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. WGN will carry the Florida Marlins-Chicago Cubs game on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the White Sox at Detroit, Sunday afternoon at 1. TBS takes the Marlins-Cubs at 2 p.m. I should mention that Fox’s other game on Saturday will be the Braves-Phillies.
ESPN picks up the NASCAR Sprint Cup series with its first race on Sunday. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard from Indianapolis Motor Speedway starts at 2 p.m. The night before, ESPN2 will have the Nationwide Series’ Kroger 200 from Indy at 8 p.m.
The IndyCar Series is in Canada for the Rexall Edmonton Indy, Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
The PGA Tour heads up north for the RBC Canadian Open. CBS has the weekend coverage starting at 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
The LPGA Tour is in France for the Evian Masters. Golf Channel will have same day coverage starting at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Senior Open Championship is on ABC and again, it’s same day coverage starting Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 1 p.m.
CBS has its second Elite XC Mixed Martial Arts broadcast, Saturday night at 9.
Tennis fans can watch the U.S. Open series which continues this week with the Rogers Cup being played just outside Toronto and the EastWest Bank Classic in Los Angeles. ESPN2 has all night semifinal coverage from both tournaments Saturday starting at 8 p.m. Then on Sunday, ESPN2 has the Rogers Cup championship at 3 p.m. and the EastWest Bank Classic final at 5 p.m.
The Tour de France concludes its month-long endurance test. Versus has live coverage of Stage 20, Saturday morning at 8. Then on Sunday, the final stage, the procession into Paris, will be live on Versus at 7:30 a.m. and CBS has a complete wrap up of the race later in the day at 1 p.m.
Beach volleyball prepares for the Olympics as the #1 seeded men’s and women’s teams in the world play in the Long Beach Open on NBC. Both finals will be played at 4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.
Let’s get to your links.
National
Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN will be using a TV novice to star in live spots to promote its new live morning SportsCenter block.
Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that Comcast SportsNet Northwest will celebrate roller derby next week.
East and Mid-Atlantic
David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch looks at the media coverage from Patriots Training Camp.
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver about Yankees-Red Sox.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has a story on SNY becoming the official New York home of the Big East conference.
From the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman talks about how the Mets’ Billy Wagner is the latest athlete to have a problem with the media.
Over to Phil Mushnick of the New York Post who goes after New York Yankees radio voice John Sterling for making a miscall on a close play at the plate during Monday’s game against the Twins.
The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with YES’ Al Leiter about Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon re-igniting the Yanks-Sox rivalry. And Justin has five questions for New York Giants’ voice and new NFL Network play-by-play man Bob Papa.
To the Baltimore Sun and Ray Frager who says WMAR-TV is an adjustment period after long-time sports anchor Scott Garceau stopped doing nightly reports.
Jim Williams in the DC/Baltimore Examiner lists his best and worst sports announcers.
South
Paul Stelow of The State in South Carolina says current TV deals prevent any changes in the Bowl Championship Series for at least six years.
The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson has 15 things that would make his TV sports viewing a better experience.
Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Florida’s Tim Tebow is bound to be mentioned every day on ESPN’s College Football Live program.
David Barron in the Houston Chronicle discusses the local TV sports reports changing over to HDTV.
Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes about Dallas Cowboys radio analyst Babe Laufenberg having to overcome a speech impediment.
Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman laments the loss of sideline reporters on football broadcasts. Mel also has a look at the early college football matchups on TV. Mel has his viewing picks.
Midwest
Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press profiles a local sports radio host who took an unorthodox path to his show.
Ted Cox of the Chicago Daily Herald is happy for Sun-Times sportswriters Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley who have replaced Mike North on WSCR.
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune has his five TV (and radio) picks for the weekend.
Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says there’s a potpourri of sports to watch this weekend.
West
Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says a Los Angeles sports radio station showed up in the local radio ratings, but a local station did not. And Jay has the ratings from the weekend.
From the North County Times, John Maffei says NBC will use eight outlets to air the Olympics.
Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star writes that NASCAR fans don’t like the extra features ESPN throws at them.
Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times says the Dallas Cowboys are a perfect candidate for reality TV. John Scheibe in the Sound and Vision column tells us that NASCAR has fit in very well at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at David Wallechinsky’s comprehensive book on the Summer Olympics. And in his media notes, Tom has an interview with Wallechinsky.
Canada
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the CBC is still wondering what rules it will have to abide by for the Olympics in Communist China because they keep changing.
CBC has announced that world champion hurdler Perdita Felicien is joining its commentary team in Beijing.
Mediacaster magazine reports that Rogers Sportsnet will increase its schedule of Toronto Maple Leafs games.
Blogs
CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks inside the bidding finalists for the Chicago Cubs.
Joe Favorito says the Chicago Blackhawks have done a tremendous job in resurrecting its brand.
Awful Announcing has the video of a huge basebrawl between the Dayton Dragons and the Peoria Chiefs.
SportsbyBrooks looks at the Lowell Spinners’ plans to have a “Politically Incorrect” promotion night on Thursday.
The DC Sports Bog at the Washington Post continues its battle with the Redskins over video shot at Redskin Park.
That’s it for now.
Jul
25
A Thursday Night Linkage
Due to the fact I was at the emergency room for my fall last night, then all over the place today, I was not able to provide linkage. I can now provide you with links so let’s get to them.
A few things from Neil Best of Newsday. First, he mentions that Long Island’s News 12 cable channel has signed broadcasting legend Bob Wolff for two more years. Neil writes that WFAN beat 1050 ESPN Radio in the ratings in the spring book.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell says an athlete’s name on a restaurant doesn’t always guarantee success.
Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post says the jury is still out on the new WTEM.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his blog that KSPN has reassigned one of its hosts from his afternoon drive show to a daily podcast.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times-Union looks at the release of ABC/ESPN’s college football schedule.
Darren Epps of the Chattanooga Times Free Press writes that SEC Commish Mike Slive will make a formal decision in early fall about the new conference TV contract.
Phil Dailey and Dave Southorn of the Idaho Press report that the WAC has not finalized a new TV contract with ESPN as has been previously reported.
The Kansas City Star reports the Big 12 has released its men’s basketball conference schedule including various games on ESPN and CBS.
The Topeka Capital-Journal says all of Kansas’ men’s basketball games can be seen on TV nationwide.
Eric Young of the San Francisco Business Times reports that Comcast SportsNet Bay Area plans to move to bigger confines next year.
Willie Barns of MLB.com says This Week in Baseball focuses on the Hall of Fame weekend.
Joe Frisaro of MLB.com says ratings for Florida Marlins games on FSN Florida and Sun Sports are up compared to last year.
Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says SNY delivered its best ratings for the Mets on July 23.
Good friend Steve over at the Sox & Dawgs blog says Friday night will be a Red Sox Game Night at participating Showcase Cinemas all over New England.
Franklin Kanin of the Falmouth (MA) Bulletin profiles Eric Frede who freelances for NESN.
Larry Barrett of Multichannel News tells us that Universal HD will present Olympic-themed programming leading up to the Olympics in August.
Eric Ransom writing for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram talks about Dale Jarrett entering the ESPN booth for its second NASCAR season.
Jonathan Huntington of the Edmonton Sun reports that ratings for the CFL on TSN are up compared to when the CFL was shared by TSN and CBC.
That’s it for tonight. Don’t forget Friday megalinks tomorrow.
Jul
24
Done Deal, Pal! XM-Sirius Merger Finally Completed
Yesterday, I called the XM-Sirius merger approval a bit early. It’s now official.
The Orbitcast satellite radio blog says the FCC gave its formal approval to the merger today, 3-2 right down party lines.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin tells Amy Schatz of the Wall Street Journal that an agreement in principle has been reached. XM and Sirius have agreed to pay $20 million in blackmail …. errrrr …. fines.
I’m hoping a formal announcement from both parties as to when subscribers can begin to listen to the expanded sports lineup. Once I hear something, expect to see it here.
Jul
24
The 2008-09 ESPN Family of Networks Post-Season Schedule
ESPN just loves to show bowl games and to show this love, it owns most of the bowl games it airs. This is true. Here’s the schedule of bowls on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Radio and ABC.
2008 COLLEGE FOOTBALL POST-SEASON SCHEDULE
| Sat., Dec. 20 | 11 a.m. ET | ESPN | Congressional Bowl |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | New Mexico Bowl | |
| 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2 / ESPN Radio | St. Petersburg Bowl | |
| 8 p.m. ET | ESPN | Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl | |
| Sun., Dec. 21 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN | R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl |
| Tue., Dec. 23 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl |
| Wed., Dec. 24 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Sheraton Hawaii Bowl |
| Fri., Dec. 26 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN | Motor City Bowl |
| Sat., Dec. 27 | 1 p.m. ET | ESPN | Meineke Car Care Bowl |
| 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Champs Sports Bowl | |
| 8 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Emerald Bowl | |
| Sun., Dec. 28 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN | PetroSun Independence Bowl |
| Mon., Dec. 29 | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Papajohns.com Bowl |
| 8 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Valero Alamo Bowl | |
| Tue., Dec. 30 | 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl |
| 8 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Pacific Life Holiday Bowl | |
| Wed., Dec. 31 | noon ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl | |
| 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Chick-fil-A Bowl | |
| Thu., Jan. 1 | 11 a.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | Outback Bowl |
| 1 p.m. ET | ABC | Capital One Bowl | |
| 4:30 p.m. ET | ABC / ESPN Radio | Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi | |
| 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN Radio | FedEx Orange Bowl | |
| Fri., Jan. 2 | 5 p.m. ET | ESPN / ESPN Radio | AutoZone Liberty Bowl |
| 8 p.m. ET | ESPN Radio | Allstate Sugar Bowl | |
| Sat., Jan. 3 | noon ET | ESPN2 | International Bowl |
| Mon., Jan. 5 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN Radio | Tostitos Fiesta Bowl |
| Tue., Jan. 6 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN | GMAC Bowl |
| Wed., Jan. 8 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN Radio | FedEx BCS National Championship Game |
Jul
16
Excerpts of NFL Network Conference Call
You want more press release stuff? I’ll give it to you. Here’s another release from the NFL, giving excerpts of a conference call officially introducing Bob Papa as the new play-by-play voice of Thursday and Saturday Night Football. Steve Bornstein, President of NFL Network and analyst Cris Collinsworth were also on hand.
EXCERPTS FROM TODAY’S NFL NETWORK CONFERENCE CALL
WITH STEVE BORNSTEIN, BOB PAPA & CRIS COLLINSWORTH
NFL NETWORK PRESIDENT & CEO STEVE BORNSTEIN: We have very exciting news today. We’re announcing our new play?by?play announcer Bob Papa, who will be joining Cris Collinsworth, on our eight?game NFL package starting this November.
Bob has been a fixture in the
BOB PAPA: First of all, Steve, thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity. It’s just an honor and a privilege to be joining such a great group like those at the NFL Network and the team you’ve assembled. I am just so looking forward to working with the premiere football analyst in the National Football League in Cris Collinsworth.
I think we’re going to have a lot of fun during the season. I think we’re going to bring great information to the audience and we’re going to let the games play out and have a blast in the booth. I’m just so excited and honored to be a part of this family.
CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of great play?by?play announcers over the years, but Bob Papa is the first that ever paid for dinner when we went out to enjoy a meal. So we got off to a great start.
My only problem when I work with Bob is by the end of dinner, typically I end up with a little bit of a
But here is a guy that I’ve worked with at HBO, and they absolutely adore him there. I’ve worked with him and will be working with him on the Olympics coming up for NBC. I think this is his seventh Olympics and he’s a pro’s pro. He’s a guy that works it every day. He’s on Sirius radio going over the issues of the NFL. He was part of a world championship broadcast with the Giants.
All you have to do is spend five minutes with the guy and you understand that he’s all in for the game of football and the National Football League. He studies it. He lives it. He breathes it. It’s something that I feel like I like to do, as well.
It’s interesting when as a group you’re around people who the NFL is not only their vocation, it’s their avocation, as well. I think that’s what Bob is all about and I’m excited to work with him.
Q. Steve, now that you have an accomplished play?by?play man like Bob, have you decided to move away from the more conversational style that Bryant Gumbel was brought in for? And, Bob, from your standpoint, what is the most exciting part of being on this new team?
STEVE BORNSTEIN: First off, we’re just trying to put the best team together. Bob Papa is an accomplished announcer and well?known to the NFL Network. He worked on NFL Europa games the past few seasons for us and we think he’s going to be a great complement to the Emmy award winning Cris Collinsworth. So I am pretty pleased that we are going to be putting the best announce team out there we possibly can.
BOB PAPA: Just to follow up and answer my part of the question, the thing that’s most exciting is this is a standalone Thursday night game. This is a national package. All eyes of the NFL are on these games. To have a chance to work with Cris and be a part of this is tremendous.
I mean, I’ve been a subscriber and a fan of NFL Network since its inception. It’s always on in my house. Now to be a part of that team, to be a part of the wonderful product they put on 24/7 is really just an honor.
It’s kind of a natural progression for me with the amount of time that I’ve spent in the National Football League working in various capacities as a broadcaster, to now be a part of the premiere package of the NFL Network is just tremendous.
Q. Steve, obviously you took a chance at trying to do something a little different with Bryant the first time around. Were you specifically looking this time for more of a hardcore football guy with a long background at this thing? In terms of Bob’s national visibility, the Giants’ Super Bowl run, you respected his work before that, but do you think that helped introduce him to more people nationally, hearing his voice on highlights?
STEVE BORNSTEIN: I think the answer to the question is we tried and experimented with Bryant, and I think we had some successes there. He’s a class broadcaster, and he elected not to come back this season. That allowed us an opportunity to explore different options.
We think Bob’s profile in
Q. Cris, obviously the Bryant thing was a bit of an experiment. The dynamic between the two of you was not necessarily a normal veteran play?by?play guy with a veteran analyst. Do you think working with Bob will be a little bit more of a traditional role for you where you just kind of do your analysis thing and know he can take care of the nuts and bolts stuff?
CRIS COLLINSWORTH: With Bryant I was always interested in his take on the games because Bryant has a way of seeing a very broad picture of the NFL and big picture of where the NFL fits in the world, obviously with all his news background and such. So that was an interesting dynamic for me all the way through.
But I think with Bob, he lives the minutia the way that I do, if that makes sense. He lives the day?to?day grinding of the Brett Favre issue from the first day it was a rumor all the way through and all the nuances of that. So I think it will be a different dynamic.
Now, I think it will be one of those that we will get into discussions of the details of what’s going on in the league. And for me that’s probably what I enjoy most about doing the games themselves. When you do studio work, you’re always talking about the Brett Favre situations of the world; you’re always talking about the same four or five topics that sort of are the headlines in the newspapers. But when you’re doing the games, you get to talk about the left guard and the running backs coach.
The details that I think make the National Football League and these individual teams so interesting is because there are so many different dynamics between the ownership and the general managers and the coaches and the defensive coordinators and the players, who’s happy, who’s not happy, things that you just can never get into in a studio show type of setting, that I think Bob will really be able to bring out in a broadcast.
Q. Steve, are there any other changes coming up with regard to the pregame shows and the things that you’re doing?
STEVE BORNSTEIN: We’re going to be announcing probably in a few weeks our new fall programming schedule. I think you’ll be seeing a lot of additional both programming that we’re going to be adding and how we’re working with the NFL.com side of the story. So it will be a more integrated experience on NFL Network and NFL.com as well.
Jul
16
Bob Papa Is the New Voice of the NFL Network
Here’s another press release for you, this one on Bob Papa joining the NFL Network replacing Bryant Gumbel in calling Thursday and Saturday Night Football.
BOB PAPA JOINS NFL NETWORK AS NEW PLAY-BY-PLAY VOICE OF THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Award-Winning with Analyst Cris Collinsworth Bob Papa will be the new play-by-play announcer for NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football, NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein announced today. The new team of Papa and analyst Cris Collinsworth will debut on Thursday, November 6 at 8:00 PM ET when the Cleveland Browns host the Denver Broncos as NFL Network begins its third season of televising an eight-game package of regular-season games. “Bob is one of the most talented and experienced announcers in the business. We are proud he is joining us as the voice for our Thursday Night Football games,” said Bornstein. “Bob and Cris will be an informative and entertaining team to watch on NFL Network’s prime-time games this fall.” Papa has been calling New York Giants games, including Super Bowls XXXV and XLII, for WFAN and the Giants’ radio network since 1995. He also was the lead play-by-play voice for NFL Europa games on NFL Network, including the 2007 World Bowl. “This is a tremendous opportunity to join NFL Network and call the Thursday Night games with the talented Cris Collinsworth,” said Papa. “Being the new play-by-play voice on prime-time national NFL games after announcing one of the most exciting games in NFL history, Super Bowl XLII, it doesn’t get much better than that.” In addition to calling Thursday Night Football, Papa will also contribute pre and post game reports for NFL Network from New York Giants games, which he will continue to call on radio. He will also write columns for NFL.com and contribute to the internet site with chats and reports. Papa hosts a weekday morning show, “ Papa is a fixture in the In 1992, Papa was named the New York State Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year. He is a graduate of Mark Loomis is the game producer on Thursday Night Football and Craig Janoff is the game director. Eric Weinberger serves as the executive producer of NFL Network.
Bob is a good announcer and has come a long way from being the host of the NHL on the old SportsChannel America. One of the best local NFL announcers, he’ll get to showcase his work nationally and he’ll be much better than Gumbel who showed his inexperience in play-by-play the last two seasons.
Jul
16
NBC Sports’ Entire Olympics Roster
This is the press release from NBC Sports which outlines every single announcer working the Summer Olympics in Communist China starting on August 8. There are over 100 announcers working for NBC.
Some familiar names include veteran announcer Tim Ryan, reporter Jim Gray for boxing, TNT’s Craig Sager doing sideline work for basketball and nice to see ex-Lakers announcer Paul Sunderlund getting some work for indoor volleyball. Melissa Stark returns to sports television as the host of MSNBC’s coverage.
While all of the major sports will be called by announcers on-site, much of the online coverage will be called by announcers off a monitor at the NBC studios in New York.
NBC ANNOUNCES TALENT ROSTER FOR
BEIJING OLYMPICS – 106 COMMENTATORS IN ALL
BEIJING OLYMPICS – 106 COMMENTATORS IN ALL
Costas Returns for 8th Olympics, 7th as Primetime Host
NBC Talent Roster Has Won 42 Olympic Medals Including 25 Gold Medals
Collinsworth, Carillo, Roberts Olympic Correspondents
NEW YORK – July 16, 2008 – A record 106 NBC Olympic commentators will broadcast an unprecedented 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympic Games coverage, the most ambitious single media project in history. NBCU’s Olympics coverage features the most live coverage in the United States (nearly 2,900 live hours in total), across the most platforms, of any Summer Olympics in history when the Games of the XXIX Olympiad commence on Aug. 8. The lineup, led by the 19-time Emmy Award-winner, Bob Costas, returning for his seventh Olympics as primetime host, was announced today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics and Executive Producer of NBCU’s Olympic coverage and returns virtually every one of the network’s signature Olympic hosts, play-by-play announcers and analysts.
“My first Olympics in Mexico City in 1968 were the first Olympics live in primetime and we had maybe two dozen commentators,” said Ebersol. “To have a roster of 106 commentators broadcasting 3,600 total hours is simply astounding. It’s a tribute to David Neal and Molly Solomon that we’re able to put together such a talented and versatile roster, with a great mix of Olympic veterans and newcomers, particularly considering many of these sports are rarely televised.”
NBC Universal’s roster of Olympic commentators:
· Roster includes 28 Olympians who won a combined total of 42 Olympic medals (25 Gold, 5 Silver and 12 Bronze). “Team NBC” would have finished sixth at the Athens Olympics with 42 total medals behind Australia and Germany with 49 and ahead of Japan who amassed 37.
· Ranges from Jim Lampley – who is working his record 14th Olympics – to Olympic gold medal wrestling legend Rulon Gardner making his Olympic announcing debut.
· Cris Collinsworth, who will serve as an Olympic correspondent, makes his second Olympic appearance for NBC and his first since 1996.
· Mary Carillo pulls double duty as NBC’s late night host and Olympic correspondent, her ninth Olympic Games and sixth with NBC.
· Bela Karolyi, arguably the most successful coach in the history of his sport, one of its most recognized personalities and who has coached and trained world-renowned gymnasts for the past eight Olympics, makes his broadcast debut.
Here is a rundown of NBC’s Olympic talent:
HOSTS:
· The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be Bob Costas’ eighth for NBC Sports and his seventh as primetime host. After serving as late night host in 1988 from Seoul, Costas has won acclaim and Emmy Awards each year for his work as primetime host from Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Salt Lake City and Athens. Costas, who has the longest tenure of the network’s sports announcers, joined NBC in 1980. He has handled a wide array of assignments, including play by-play, studio hosting and reporting.
· Jim Lampley, America’s most experienced Olympic broadcaster, will work his record 14th Olympics in Beijing. Lampley possesses the record for the most-ever Olympic broadcast assignments for any television commentator. He will anchor NBC’s afternoon Olympic telecasts in his seventh Olympics with NBC.
· Mary Carillo will host NBC’s late night coverage. Carillo will also serve as an Olympic correspondent in her ninth Olympic games and sixth for NBC.
· Alex Flanagan makes her Olympic debut as host of CNBC and USA Network’s coverage.
· Matt Vasgersian, who made his Olympic debut as the play-by-play announcer for both softball and baseball during NBC’s broadcast of the 2004 Athens Games, will serve as host of USA Network’s coverage. In 2006 in Torino, he served as the ski jumping play-by-play commentator.
· Melissa Stark will work her third Olympic Games for NBC serving as an anchor for MSNBC’s coverage. Previously, Stark served as the speed skating reporter during NBC’s coverage of the 2006 Torino Games and the swimming and diving reporter at the 2004 Athens Games.
· Bill Patrick will serve as the host of MSNBC’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making his debut as a full-time Olympic host.
· Fred Roggin, the sports director at KNBC-TV, NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles, will work his fifth Olympics for NBC as host of CNBC’s Boxing in Beijing. Roggin’s previous Olympic assignments have included hosting CNBC and MSNBC’s curling coverage from the 2006 Torino Games, CNBC’s coverage from the Athens Games, serving on the “Special Features Unit” at the Salt Lake Games in 2002 and working as the boxing reporter at the 2000 Sydney Games.
· Lindsay Czarniak will make her second Olympic appearance and her first as host of Oxygen’s coverage and as a Sports Desk reporter for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She made her Olympic debut as a Sports Desk reporter during NBC’s coverage of the 2006 Torino Games.
OLYMPIC CORRESPONDENTS:
· Cris Collinsworth: The most honored studio analyst in sports television, Collinsworth, who is a co-host with Costas on NBC’s “Football Night in America” will serve as an Olympic correspondent, providing on the scene reports throughout Beijing. This will be his second Olympic assignment having reported from the track & field venue in Atlanta in 1996.
· Mary Carillo: In addition to her role as host of NBC’s late night coverage, Carillo will serve as an Olympic correspondent and provide a look into life in China through a collection of features done in her own inimitable style.
· Jimmy Roberts, a 13-time Emmy Award winner, will contribute feature stories and essays and serve as an Olympic correspondent during NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Games.
SPORT BY SPORT:
NBC’s signature announce teams return in gymnastics, swimming and track and field. Following is a partial rundown, sport-by-sport. A complete roster is attached.
· GYMNASTICS: Play-by-play commentator Al Trautwig is once again joined by Olympic gold medalist Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel, who have provided analysis on NBC’s Olympic gymnastics coverage since the 1992 Barcelona Games and veteran Olympic reporter Andrea Joyce. This Olympics will also mark the broadcast debut of Bela Karolyi, arguably the most successful coach in the history of his sport and one of its most recognized personalities who has coached and trained world-renowned gymnasts for the past eight Olympics. He will serve as a gymnastics studio analyst.
· SWIMMING: Dan Hicks has the call alongside analyst Rowdy Gaines – working their fourth Olympics together – with Andrea Kremer reporting in her Olympic debut. Gaines, who won three gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, is working his fifth Olympics for NBC.
· TRACK & FIELD: Tom Hammond, who has won acclaim for his memorable calls at the last four Summer Olympics, will once again call track & field. Dwight Stones, Carol Lewis and Lewis Johnson return as analysts. New analysts include Ato Boldon and Ed Eyestone. Bob Neumeier returns for his second Olympics as a reporter and Craig Masback, who worked as a track & field commentator for NBC in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996, returns to provide analysis on the men’s marathon.
· DIVING: Ted Robinson, working his fifth Olympics, debuted as the diving play-by-play commentator for the 2004 Athens Games. Cynthia Potter, who made three Olympic teams and won bronze in 1976, returns as analyst, a role she’s handled for NBC since the 1992 Games. Reporters for the diving venue are Neumeier and Kremer.
· BASKETBALL: Mike Breen, working his fifth Olympics, will handle the play-by-play of both the men’s and women’s competitions, alongside two respected analysts: Doug Collins (men’s) and Ann Meyers (women’s). Collins, a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team, takes on his third Olympic broadcasting assignment. Meyers, who won silver as a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1976, is working her fourth Olympics as a broadcaster. Craig Sager returns as reporter for both men’s and women’s hoops. Other basketball commentators include Chris Carrino (play-by-play), Mike Crispino (play-by-play) and analysts Steve “Snapper” Jones, Bob Salmi and Teresa Edwards.
· BOXING: Bob Papa and analyst Teddy Atlas will call boxing. Athens is Papa’s seventh Olympics, as he previously called the boxing play-by-play in Barcelona in 1992 and Athens in 2004. Atlas analyzed the boxing competition from Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. Jim Gray, reporter, returns for his first Olympics for NBC since 2000 where he served as a reporter for swimming and track & field for the Sydney Games. In 1996 he received critical acclaim for his reporting from the scene of the Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
· SOCCER: Veteran soccer play-by-play commentator JP Dellacamera calls his second Olympics, working alongside analysts Marcelo Balboa, who made his debut as a soccer analyst at the 2004 Athens Games and first time Olympic analyst Brandi Chastain. Balboa, a longtime star in Major League Soccer, was the first American to play in three World Cups. With the Women’s National Team, Chastain has played in three Olympics (Athens, Sydney and Atlanta) and three Women’s World Cups (1991, 1999 and 2003).
· BEACH VOLLEYBALL: NBC’s beach volleyball coverage will once again include analyst Karch Kiraly, the most accomplished player in the history of the sport and the only man to win Olympic volleyball gold both indoors and on the beach. Kiraly made his Olympic broadcasting debut in Athens in 2004. Entertaining play-by-play announcer Chris Marlowe, who won a gold medal as captain of the 1984 U.S. Olympic volleyball team, returns for his fifth Olympics as an NBC commentator. Heather Cox returns for her second Olympics as a reporter.
· VOLLEYBALL: Paul Sunderland, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. volleyball team at the 1984 Olympics, returns to call indoor volleyball, an assignment he had for NBC in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney. He is joined by two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett, who is making his debut as an Olympic analyst.
· WATER POLO: Bob Fitzgerald makes his Olympic debut for NBC as the Water Polo play-by-play announcer. His previous Olympics broadcast assignments included commentating for basketball at the 2004 Athens Olympics and swimming at the Atlanta Games in 1996. He is joined by Wolf Wigo, a three-time Olympian and former captain of the USA Water Polo Men’s National Team.
· WRESTLING: Veteran commentator Matt Devlin returns for his second Olympic assignment and first calling wrestling. He is joined by Olympic gold medalist and American wrestling legend Rulon Gardner, who is making his Olympic broadcasting debut. In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, Gardner won the gold after defeating Aleksander Karelin. Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years and had not given up a point in six years prior to his loss in the gold-medal match to Gardner. At the end of the 2000 Olympics, Gardner was selected to serve as the U.S. flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony. He then followed with a bronze in 2004 at the Olympic Games in Athens, where he left his shoes on the mat, the sport’s traditional symbol of retirement. Gardner is also renowned for surviving several near-death experiences.
The 3,600 total hours of coverage on seven NBC Universal networks: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD, as well as NBCOlympics.com, is 1,000 hours more than the combined coverage for every televised Summer Olympics in U.S. history (Rome 1960 – Athens 2004, 2,562 hours). NBCOlympics.com will feature approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage, the first live online Olympic coverage in the United States.
SPORT-BY-SPORT RUNDOWN:
GYMNASTICS:
Al Trautwig, Play-by-play
Elfi Schlegel, Analyst
Tim Daggett, Analyst
Andrea Joyce, Reporter
TRAMPOLINE GYMNASTICS:
Al Trautwig, Play-by-play
Elfi Schlegel, Analyst
Tim Daggett, Analyst
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS:
Andrea Joyce, Play-by-play
Elfi Schlegel, Analyst
TRACK & FIELD:
Tom Hammond, Play-by-play
Lewis Johnson , Analyst
Carol Lewis, Analyst
Dwight Stones, Analyst
Ato Boldin, Analyst
Craig Masback, Analyst
Ed Eyestone, Analyst
Bob Neumeier, Reporter
RACE WALKING:
Ron Vaccaro, Play-by-play
Ed Eyestone, Analyst
Carol Lewis, Analyst
SWIMMING:
Dan Hicks, Play-by-play
Rowdy Gaines, Analyst
Andera Kremer, Reporter
OPEN WATER SWIMMING:
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Rowdy Gaines, Analyst
DIVING:
Ted Robinson, Play-by-play
Cynthia Potter, Analyst
Bob Neumeier, Reporter
Andrea Kremer, Reporter
BEACH VOLLEYBALL:
Chris Marlowe, Play-by-play
Karch Kiraly, Analyst
Heather Cox, Reporter
INDOOR VOLLEYBALL:
Paul Sunderland, Play-by-play
Kevin Barnett, Analyst
CYCLING (Road/BMX/Mountain Bike):
Pat Parnell, Play-by-play
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Kenan Harkin, Analyst
Paul Sherwin, Analyst
Marty Snider, Reporter
TRIATHLON:
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Siri Lindley, Analyst
Marty Snider, Reporter
BASKETBALL:
Mike Breen, Play-by-play
Chris Carrino, Play-by-play
Mike Crispino, Play-by-play
Pete Pranica, Play-by-play
Eric Collins, Play-by-play
Teresa Edwards, Analyst
Doug Collins, Analyst
Ann Meyers, Analyst
Bob Salmi, Analyst
Craig Sager, Reporter
ROWING:
Tim Ryan, Play-by-play
Yaz Farooq, Analyst
CANOEING (Flat Water):
Tim Ryan, Play-by-play
Joe Jacobi, Analyst
CANOEING (White Water):
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Pat Parnell, Play-by-play
Joe Jacobi, Analyst
SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING:
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Heather Olson, Analyst
WRESTLING:
Matt Devlin, Play-by-play
Rulon Gardner, Analyst
WATER POLO:
Bob Fitzgerald, Play-by-play
Wolf Wigo, Analyst
BOXING:
Bob Papa, Play-by-play
Teddy Atlas, Analyst
Jim Gray, Reporter
MODERN PENTATHLON:
Ron Vaccaro, Play-by-play
Rob Stull, Analyst
WEIGHTLIFTING:
Pete Pranica, Play-by-play
Shane Hamman, Analyst
EQUESTRIAN:
Kenny Rice, Play-by-play
Melanie Smith-Taylor, Analyst
SOFTBALL:
Joe Castellano, Play-by-play
Michele Smith, Analyst
SOCCER:
JP Dellacamera, Play-by-play
Glenn Davis, Play-by-play
Adrian Healey, Play-by-play
Steve Cangialosi, Play-by-play
Marcelo Balboa, Analyst
Brandi Chastain, Analyst
Shep Messing, Analyst
Lori Walker, Analyst
TENNIS:
Barry MacKay, Play-by-play
Jimmy Arias, Analyst
BASEBALL:
Eric Collins, Play-by-play
Joe Magrane, Analyst
HANDBALL:
Andrew Catalon, Play-by-play
Dawn Lewis, Analyst
TABLE TENNIS:
Bill Clement, Play-by-play
Sean O’Neill, Analyst
BADMINTON:
Jim Kozimor, Play-by-play
Steve Kearney, Analyst
Bill Clement, Analyst
FENCING:
Joe Castellano, Play-by-play
Pete Pranica, Play-by-play
Andrew Catalon, Play-by-play
Mika’il Sankofa, Analyst
ARCHERY:
Joe Castellano, Play-by-play
Denise Parker, Analyst
SHOOTING:
Bill Clement, Play-by-play
Shari LeGate, Analyst
FIELD HOCKEY:
Mike Corey, Play-by-play
Nick Conway, Analyst
SPORTSDESK REPORTERS:
Lester Holt
Peter Alexander
Eyee Hsu
Julie Foudy
Lindsay Czarniak
Alan Abrahamson
Lindsay Soto
Nancy Snyderman
NBCSPORTS.COM:
Julia Mancuso
TELEMUNDO:
Andres Cantor, Host
Jessi Losada, Host
Monica Noguera, Host
Jul
16
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
Baseball/MLB
AAA All-Star Game – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
Costas Now – HBO, 9 p.m.
Yankee Stadium: Baseball’s Cathedral – ESPN, 9 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
Entertainment
Big Brother 10 (Live Eviction) – CBS, 8 p.m.
Click & Clack’s As the Wrench Turns (series premiere) – PBS, 8 p.m.
Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight – History Channel, 9 p.m.
Ghost Hunters International – SciFi, 9 p.m.
Scare Tactics – SciFi, 10 & 10:30 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Big Brother After Dark – Showtime 2, midnight
Jul
16
The Mid-Week Links
It’s Wednesday. The All-Star Game is over, thank goodness. I stayed up to watch every single pitch and out until 1:30 a.m. ET. What could have been another embarrassing tie ended up with the American League winning 4-3.
Now that the Mid-Summer Classic is over, we can now focus on the Open Championship which begins tomorrow. Later tonight, I’ll post the sites where you can watch live streaming coverage while at work.
And once the Open Championship is finished on Sunday, our next focus in the sporting world will be on the Summer Olympics in Communist China and that is a theme in today’s links.
USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at the NBC announcing assignments for the Olympics.
Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has the complete list of announcers and analysts for the Olympics.
In the Houston Chronicle, David Barron hails fellow Chronicle soccer columnist Glenn Davis who will be part of the NBC Olympics soccer announcing team.
From the Hollywood Reporter, Paul J. Gough says NBC went with experience and plenty of medal winners for its Olympic announcing team.
Chris Preimesberger of eWeek has a technical article on NBC’s ambitious plans to bring the Olympics online and to your cell phone.
Michael Learmonth of Silicon Valley Insider says while NBC is putting the Olympics online, it’s not sharing the Games with its Hulu video site.
Digital Home Canada laments the fact that NBC’s online coverage of the Olympics won’t be made available to Canadians.
However, Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter reports that CBC will offer 1,500 hours of online coverage of the Olympics.
CBC Sports announces that its entire 282 hours of TV coverage of the Olympics will be broadcast in HD. TSN says its 150 hours of coverage of the Beijing Olympics will also be in HD.
Rob Longley of the Vancouver Sun says CBC’s cameras will be able to take live shots of Tienamen Square.
Newsday’s Neil Best who seems to be grumpy now that his vacation is over says there won’t be any surprises when NBC formally announces the announcing assignments today. Neil also applauds the NFL Network decision to name New York Giants radio announcer Bob Papa as its announcer on Thursday and Saturday Night Football. And this is a first as far as I know. Neil will take part in a live chat today at 1 p.m. ET. In his special Wednesday column, Neil says Fox Sports had an up and down All-Star Game. In his blog, Neil takes Fox to task for waiting until the 11th inning to pay tribute to the late Bobby Murcer.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Mariano Rivera had the defining moments of the All-Star Game on Fox.
From the Chicago Tribune, Ameet Sachdev writes that a Cubs-only cable channel is a distinct possibility when the team’s rights with Comcast SportsNet expire in 2019.
MLB says Fox and TBS Sports are collaborating on a massive pitch for the playoffs.
Awful Announcing says Howard Stern Wack Packer High Pitch Eric solicited ESPN’s Erin Andrews to appear on the Stern show.
The Sports Media Watch says ESPN drew great ratings for the Home Run Derby.
Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball says the Home Run Derby is the highest rated show of the year to date on cable.
Bob Smizik from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the local ESPN Radio affiliate dropped the All-Star Game in the bottom of the 10th inning and never went back.
Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recaps MLB Walking Talking Conflict of Interest Bud Selig’s appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman on Monday.
Surely by now, you’re aware of the New York Daily News taking Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon’s statements about finishing the All-Star Game out of context. The Sox & Dawgs blog takes the New York media to task for overblowing Papelbon’s comments. And Sox & Dawgs says the sensationalism put Papelbon’s wife at risk.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Josh Hamilton will start getting endorsements. Darren also talks with MLB’s Executive Vice President of Business Operations on the launch of the MLB Network.
Joe Favorito says Vitamin Water hit a big marketing home run during All-Star Game weekend.
The 38Cliches blog links to an interview with former Red Sox announcing hack Glenn Geffner.
Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post writes that Billy Packer has had more than just “One Shining Moment”. And Michael Wilbon of the Post says Packer was a pro’s pro on TV.
In his Over the Top blog, Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star writes about Bob Papa taking the NFL Network play-by-play gig. Also from the Star, Aaron Barnhart says the NFL Network went with the safe route when it should have selected ESPN’s Pam Ward.
Bruce Allen from the Boston Sports Media Watch says WEEI has officially announced that former Boston Herald writers Rob Bradford and Michael Felger are joining the company to report for the radio station’s website.
Michael Buteau of Bloomberg writes that without Tiger Woods, the Open Championship will have lower ratings and a wide open field.
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune looks forward to the next NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on NBC.
The DC/Baltimore Examiner’s Jim Williams asks if Baltimore wants a minor league hockey team.
Tim Lemke from the Washington Times writes that two rival MMA pay per view events take place this Saturday.
Kevin Downey of Media Life Magazine says NASCAR has rebounded in the ratings, but not in ad revenue.
A lot of links today. I’ll have more stuff later.
Jul
15
Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks
MLB
All-Star Game – Fox, 7 p.m.
Mantle – HBO, 7 p.m.
Entertainment
Wipeout – ABC, 8 p.m.
Big Brother 10 – CBS, 9 p.m.
Deadliest Catch – Discovery, 9 p.m.
Primetime: Family Secrets – ABC, 10 p.m.
Rescue Me – FX, 10 p.m.
Dave Attell: Captain Miserable – HBO, 10 p.m.
Earth: The Biography/Rare Planet – National Geographic Channel, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Jul
15
Some Tuesday Links
I have to head to a jobsite soon so I’ll provide as many links that I can before I have to leave.
ESPN Ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber says some ESPN personalities have learned a hard lesson about crossing the line of good taste. She cites the Jemele Hill and Bonnie Bernstein incidents as examples.
This link comes courtesy of the 38Cliches blog, Andrew Ryan of the Boston Globe has a story on Red Sox radio announcers Joe Castiglione and Dave O’Brien.
Two stories from Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. First is on Billy Packer leaving CBS Sports. And Richard writes about the brief four year period when Major League Baseball had two All-Star Games per season.
USA Today’s Michael Hiestand with a special Tuesday column says Billy Packer is upbeat now that his broadcasting career is over.
The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein also checks in on the Billy Packer story.
The DC/Baltimore Examiner’s Jim Williams talks with Billy Packer.
Newsday’s Neil Best also writes about Billy Packer’s thoughts on leaving CBS Sports. In his blog, Neil has comments from Packer’s colleagues and friends. Neil feels as far as being a TV personality, ESPN’s Rick Reilly is a very good writer.
And in that blog entry, Neil links to Awful Announcing which feels Reilly’s comments about the racial makeup of last night’s Home Run Derby were annoying.
Two things from the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman. The first story has Fox’s Tim McCarver stating that Yankee Stadium will be the real star of the All-Star Game. And Raissman talks to McCarver’s partner, Joe Buck who won’t change his broadcast style despite the backlash over his comments that he prefers watching “The Bachelorette” over baseball.
Terry Foster from the Detroit News says Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney is relieved now that the Comcast squabble is over.
George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal talks about a new program premiering Wednesday on the Big Ten Network.
Mark Tupper of the Decatur (IL) Herald & Review discusses a Big Ten Network reality program that will follow Illinois football coach Ron Zook.
The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth looks into Ashley Harkleroad’s nude layout in this month’s Playboy.
The Sports Media Watch has the final weekend TV ratings. And the SMW has a look inside the ratings for the first half of the MLB season on ESPN and Fox.
That’s going to do it for now.
Jul
15
Preview of the Next Costas Now, 07/16/08
Here’s what you can look forward to when Bob Costas holds his second Town Hall meeting of the year, this one on the status of baseball.
HBO SPORTS’ COSTAS NOW RETURNS WITH
ANOTHER SPECIAL LIVE EDITION, DEBUTING WEDNESDAY JULY 16
-Hank Aaron & Willie Mays Headline the Show –
HBO Sports’ COSTAS NOW presents another live edition, devoted exclusively to the state of baseball, when it returns WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 (9:00-10:30 p.m. live ET/tape-delayed PT), exclusively on HBO. Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein serve as executive producers of the show, which draws on the talents of HBO Sports’ Peabody- and Emmy®-winning production department.
“On July 16, we will explore the state of major league baseball from a host of angles,” says Greenburg, who is HBO Sports president. “Bob Costas is the ideal host for what promises to be an engaging and interesting evening.”
The four hot-button subjects that will be explored during the program from downtown
Segment One: The Hall of Fame: What Gets You In? Live panel: Hall-of-Fame pitcher and broadcaster Jim Palmer, Hall-of-Fame second baseman and broadcaster Joe Morgan and former major league star Pete Rose, who is on baseball’s permanent ineligible list.
Segment Two: The Halfway Point of the Season. Live panel: Reigning National League MVP Jimmy Rollins and Tampa Bay Rays rookie sensation Evan Longoria.
Segment Three: The State of the Game. Live panel: Hall-of-Famer Dave Winfield and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim owner Arte Moreno.
Segment Four: Hammerin’ Hank & The Say Hey Kid. Live panel: Hall-of-Famers Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Two baseball icons, whose extraordinary baseball careers are held in reverence by many, recall the era that they helped shape.
Among the baseball figures who were interviewed for taped pieces that will air prior to each live panel are Commissioner Bud Selig; Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Al Kaline and Bob Gibson; Cleveland Indians executive Mark Shapiro; Detroit coach Andy Van Slyke and current stars Curtis Granderson of Detroit; and Carl Crawford and Scott Kazmir of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Following the live town hall program viewers can log onto HBO.COM and go to “Overtime” to submit questions for Bob Costas and members of the final TV panel to continue the discussion.
I’ll be monitoring the show. I won’t live blog and I don’t think we’ll have any Buzz Bissinger-Will Leitch confrontation like the last Costas Now.
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