Fang's Bites

Hard Knocks Set to Premiere This Month

Now that August is here, it means that the National Football League isn’t far behind. Training camps are underway all over the country and that’s especially true for the Miami Dolphins, the subject of this year’s edition of HBO/NFL Films’ Hard Knocks.

The premiere is set for August 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

With Chad “Don’t Call Me Ochocinco” Johnson and new coach Joe Philbin in the mix, there should be plenty of good television over the span of five weeks.

Let’s look at the HBO press release.

HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS
KICKS OFF ITS FIVE-EPISODE SEASON AUG. 7, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

HBO Sports, in association with NFL Films and the Miami Dolphins, provides an all-access look at what it takes to make it in the National Football League in HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE MIAMI DOLPHINS.

The first sports-based reality series – and one of the fastest-turnaround reality series – begins its five-episode seventh season, presented in HD, TUESDAY, AUG. 7 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Other hour-long episodes debut subsequent Tuesdays at the same time, culminating in the Sept. 4 season finale.

Episode #1

Debut: TUESDAY, AUG. 7 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)

Other HBO playdates: Aug. 8 (7:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 9 (1:30 p.m., 2:10 a.m.), 10 (9:00 p.m., midnight), 11 (11:00 a.m., 11:30 p.m.), 12 (8:00 a.m.) and 13 (10:00 a.m., 11:15 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Aug. 10 (6:25 p.m.), 12 (11:45 p.m.) and 23 (11:15 p.m.)

The new identity of the Miami Dolphins under first-year head coach Joe Philbin begins to take shape as the team assembles for the start of training camp in Davie, Fla. Coaches take the players through week one of on-field drills.

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

That’s it.

Some Olympic Media Links

I owe you some linkage and I gathered so many over the last few days that I’m slowing down by browser with so many tabs. I have to clear them so my browser can run properly.

So many things to go over. Let’s do this.

First at SportsGrid, Jordan Rabinowitz at SportsGrid notes that NBC actually spoiled itself by running a Today Show promo about Missy Franklin winning the gold medal in her 100 meter backstroke race just minutes before it aired!

Cork Gaines of the Business Insider has video of that Today promo. It’s in proper context too.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today live blogs Monday night’s NBC primetime telecast.

Michael explains NBC’s policy of holding the glamor Olympic events for primetime.

Will Oremus at Slate reviews the very strange story of NBC getting a UK reporter’s Twitter account suspended because he was critical of the network’s tape delay shenanigans and for tweeting a public e-mail address of a network producer.

Sam Masters of The Independent in the UK says that reporter is a colleague at his newspaper.

Ty Duffy of The Big Lead has NBC’s statement on the matter through Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch.

Sports Business Daily Global looks at the global Olympic TV ratings.

Sports Business Daily notes the three-day average rating for NBC for the first weekend of the 2012 Olympics.

John Ourand at SBD’s Olympic site says NBC is utilizing its Comcast SportsNet affiliates to help promote the Games.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has an interview with NBC Olympics rowing analyst Yasmin Farooq.

Matt writes that NBC’s tape delay policy continues to anger some viewers.

Steve Lepore of SB Nation says despite the tape delays, NBC has nothing to apologize for.

Jeff Jarvis at Buzz Machine is intrigued by the Twitter hashtag #nbcfail which has been popping up since the Olympics began.

ESPN’s Julie Foudy is saddened by US Women’s Soccer National Team goaltender Hope Solo’s Twitter attacks on former teammate Brandi Chastain who has been working for NBC during the Olympics.

John Clarke at Forbes SportsMoney says NBC reaped in the ratings for the Opening Ceremony last Friday, but took a beating on Twitter.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says while every Olympic event is being streamed online by NBC, not everyone can see them.

Richard says NBC may have thought putting events online would have eased complaints about tape delays, but they haven’t.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report looks at how newspapers are covering the 2012 Olympics with fewer resources at their disposal in the present day.

Ed says problems with online streaming at NBCOlympics.com should be expected.

By the way, I tried to watch the streaming of Missy Franklin in the 100 meter backstroke on Monday and this is how it looked on my iPad through the NBC Olympics Live Extra app. Actual image.

It should be much clearer than that, but I’m getting that type of quality especially when an event of high interest is on. NBC has to correct that.

Sports Media Watch says Olympic Daytime and Late Night are doing well for NBC.

SMW says the Olympics are off to a fast start on NBC.

A few links that aren’t Olympic-related.

The Big Lead reports that the Perpetually Angry Doug Gottlieb is expected to leave ESPN for CBS and a formal announcement will be made later this week.

SportsRantz got up early on Monday and took notes on the first hour of the premiere edition of NFL AM.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth says a new policy on making injuries public could hurt Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporters.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette can’t believe the latest in bad home run calls by Yankees radio voice John Sterling.

Sports Media Watch says it appears ESPN has snatched the rights to the new “Champions Bowl” that will pit teams from the SEC and Big 12.

And that’s is where we will end the linkage for now.

Rachel Nichols To Be The Sideline Reporter For Late Monday Night Football Game in Week 1

Just received from ESPN. E:60 reporter and New York-based correspondent Rachel Nichols has been tapped to be the sideline reporter for the late Monday Night Football game on September 10 between the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders at 10:15 p.m. ET.

This completes the broadcast team. Previously announced were Chris Berman and Trent Dilfer as the play-by-play man and analyst respectively. Nichols was part of the sideline reporter rotation last year that included Suzy Kolber, Ed Werder and others.

Here’s the ESPN announcement.

Reporter Rachel Nichols to Cover Chargers-Raiders Monday Night Football Doubleheader Game on Sept. 10

New York-based bureau reporter and E:60 correspondent Rachel Nichols will serve as the sideline reporter for ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader game between the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders on Sept. 10. She will work with the previously announced commentator team of Chris Berman and analyst Trent Dilfer. The game is scheduled to kick off at 10:15 p.m. ET, following the Cincinnati Bengals-Baltimore Ravens game (7 p.m.), which will feature the commentator team of Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and reporter Lisa Salters.

Nichols is a regular contributor to ESPN’s NFL coverage. She is responsible for weekly features throughout the season for SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown and other programs. She also files regular reports from team sites and stadiums on NFL Sundays.

In this Front & Center podcast, Nichols discusses the MNF assignment, her upcoming E:60 story on Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, expectations for covering the Super Bowl champion New York Giants training camp and more.

That is all.

The Olympics Are Here; Let’s Do Some Links

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

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

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

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

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

I have my own Olympics Viewing Guide.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mel also looks at the local ratings from the weekend.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing says the Olympics going digital.

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

That’s going to do it.

NFL Network’s Complete 2012 Preseason Game Schedule

As it has for the month of August since it began, NFL Network will air most or all of the NFL’s preseason games. All 65 games will be shown on the network, 11 of which will be live. This includes the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH which kicks off the preseason. Normally, NBC airs the game, but with the network committed to the Olympics, the game shifts to NFL Network. The Thursday Night Football crew of Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock will call the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals on August 5 at 8 p.m.

Let’s take a look at the schedule and what else NFL Network and NFL.com have in store for the preseason.

NFL MEDIA GETS ‘BACK TO FOOTBALL’

Tim Tebow’s Jets Debut, Andrew Luck-Robert Griffin III Matchup & Super Bowl XLVI Rematch Highlight NFL Network’s 11-Game Live Schedule
2012 NFL Preseason Kicks Off Sunday, August 5 at 8:00 PM ET with Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH
Exclusive Access to all 32 Teams with ‘Inside Training Camp Live’ Beginning Wednesday, July 25 at 10:00 AM ET
NFL.com’s ‘NFL Preseason Live’ Returns for Third Season

The home of the NFL is the place to go for the most comprehensive coverage of all 32 training camps and the 2012 preseason as the NFL gets ‘Back to Football.’ NFL Network remains the only place to see all 65 preseason games starting with the Hall of Fame Game on Saturday, August 5 at 8:00 PM ET, and NFL.com allows fans to watch every preseason game with the return of NFL Preseason Live.

Starting Wednesday, July 25, Inside Training Camp Live hits the field at 10:00 AM ET, providing nine hours of live coverage each day. As teams report to camp and take the field for the first time, NFL Network is there to provide live look-ins at team practices, interviews with players and coaches, analysis from NFL Network’s team of former players, head coaches and front office executives, and live reports from NFL Network reporters stationed across the country. Fans can gain additional insight from all 32 training camps with comprehensive reports on NFL.com.

NFL Network’s Scott Hanson provides on-location reports from the road nightly on NFL Total Access at 7:00 PM ET, beginning July 25 with the Arizona Cardinals. Hanson will also offer live reports from team practices. Beginning July 25, Hanson is scheduled to visit 10 training camps in 10 days, traveling almost 12,000 miles on 15 flights. Keep track of Hanson’s training camp journey on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access and on Twitter (@ScottHanson).

At 8:00 PM ET, a three-hour Inside Training Camp Today recaps all of the action, providing the up-to-date information and analysis NFL fans crave.

NFL Network remains the only place to see the entire slate of 65 preseason games. Additionally, NFL Network’s preseason broadcast schedule features 11 live games, beginning with quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints facing wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio Sunday, August 5 at 8:00 PM ET. NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football booth of play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler and game analyst Mike Mayock call the first game action of the 2012 preseason.

Here is a preview of the 11 live games on NFL Network:

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints • Sunday, August 5 at 8:00 PM ET
Pro Bowl WR Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals kick off the 2012 NFL preseason against QB Drew Brees, WR Marques Colston, TE Jimmy Graham and the high-powered New Orleans Saints in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals • Friday, August 10 at 7:30 PM ET
QB Tim Tebow makes his New York Jets debut live on NFL Network against QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green and a Cincinnati Bengals team looking to return to the playoffs in 2012.

Houston Texans vs. Carolina Panthers • Saturday, August 11 at 7:00 PM ET
Offensive Rookie of the Year Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers host the Houston Texans, which feature the talented trio of RB Arian Foster, WR Andre Johnson and QB Matt Schaub.

Tennessee Titans vs. Seattle Seahawks • Saturday, August 11 at 10:00 PM ET
Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck returns to Seattle when the Titans face quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson, Matt Flynn and Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.

St. Louis Rams vs. Indianapolis Colts • Sunday, August 12 at 1:30 PM ET
Number one overall pick Andrew Luck makes his preseason debut at home for the Indianapolis Colts against former number one overall pick Sam Bradford and the Rams in head coach Jeff Fisher’s St. Louis coaching debut.

New York Giants vs. New York Jets • Saturday, August 18 at 7:00 PM ET
The annual New York-New York preseason matchup takes place in Week 2 as the Super Bowl-champion Giants face the Jets.

Dallas Cowboys vs. San Diego Chargers • Saturday, August 18 at 10:00 PM ET
QB Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys travel to San Diego to take on QB Philip Rivers and the Chargers.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Redskins • Saturday, August 25 at 4:00 PM ET
The top-two picks in the 2012 NFL Draft – Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III – meet for the first time when the Indianapolis Colts take on the Washington Redskins in Week 3 of the preseason schedule.

New England Patriots vs. New York Giants • Wednesday, August 29 at 7:30 PM ET
The final week of the preseason kicks off with a rematch of Super Bowl XLVI when Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and the New York Giants host QB Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers • Thursday, August 30 at 7:00 PM ET
The Kansas City Chiefs welcome back RB Jamaal Charles, S Eric Berry and TE Eric Moeaki when they travel to face QB Aaron Rodgers and the high-powered Green Bay Packers.

Denver Broncos vs. Arizona Cardinals • Thursday, August 30 at 11:00 PM ET
QB Peyton Manning gets one final tune-up before the start of the regular season when the Denver Broncos face the Arizona Cardinals.

Throughout the preseason, NFL Preseason Live on NFL Network whips viewers around the league to provide a comprehensive recap of all of the preseason action. The three-and-a-half-hour show airs at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, August 9; Friday, August 17; Friday, August 24; and Saturday, August 25.

NFL.com’s NFL Preseason Live Returns to Give Fans Live Access to all Games
NFL.com’s NFL Preseason Live returns to offer fans live and on-demand access to preseason games online and in HD. Full DVR controls allow fans to pause, rewind and replay both live and archived game action. Additional viewing options include picture-in-picture and a quad view mode which provides fans the ability to watch four games on the same screen.

New to NFL Preseason Live this year is the Condensed Games feature, which allows fans to watch every play from an entire game – from opening kickoff to the final whistle – in 30 minutes and commercial-free. For the first time, NFL Preseason Live is available on Android and iOS tablets with a free download.

NFL Preseason Live is currently offered at $19.99. To learn more, visit www.NFL.com/preseasonlive.

NFL NETWORK SCHEDULE FOR 2012 PRESEASON GAMES

(BOLD INDICATES LIVE GAMES / FIRST AIRINGS ONLY / ALL TIMES EASTERN)

Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

Sunday, August 5
8:00 PM – Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints – LIVE

Week 1

Thursday, August 9
12 Midnight – Denver Broncos vs. Chicago Bears
3:00 AM – Baltimore Ravens vs. Atlanta Falcons

Friday, August 10
1:00 PM – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
4:00 PM – Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills
7:30 PM – New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals – LIVE
2:00 AM – Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers

Saturday, August 11
6:00 AM – Green Bay Packers vs. San Diego Chargers
12 Noon – New York Giants vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
3:00 PM – New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots
7:00 PM – Houston Texans vs. Carolina Panthers – LIVE
10:00 PM – Tennessee Titans vs. Seattle Seahawks – LIVE 
2:00 AM – Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions

Sunday, August 12
7:30 AM – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Miami Dolphins
1:30 PM – St. Louis Rams vs. Indianapolis Colts – LIVE

Monday, August 13
10:00 AM – Arizona Cardinals vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Tuesday, August 14
12 Midnight – Dallas Cowboys vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 2

Thursday, August 16
12 Midnight – Cleveland Browns vs. Green Bay Packers

Friday, August 17
12 Midnight – Miami Dolphins vs. Carolina Panthers
3:00 AM – Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons

Saturday, August 18
12 Noon – Buffalo Bills vs. Minnesota Vikings
3:00 PM – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New Orleans Saints
7:00 PM – New York Giants vs. New York Jets – LIVE
10:00 PM – Dallas Cowboys vs. San Diego Chargers – LIVE
1:00 AM – Oakland Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals

Sunday, August 19
7:00 AM – Detroit Lions vs. Baltimore Ravens
10:00 AM – Tennessee Titans vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1:00 PM – San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans
4:00 PM – Washington Redskins vs. Chicago Bears
11:00 PM – Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos

Monday, August 20
1:00 PM – Kansas City Chiefs vs. St. Louis Rams

Tuesday, August 21
3:00 AM – Indianapolis Colts vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Wednesday, August 22
10:00 AM – Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots

Week 3

Thursday, August 23
12 Midnight – Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Friday, August 24
12 Midnight – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Baltimore Ravens
3:00 AM – San Diego Chargers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Saturday, August 25
1:00 PM – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cleveland Browns
4:00 PM – Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Redskins – LIVE
12 Midnight – St. Louis Rams vs. Dallas Cowboys
3:00 AM – Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Sunday, August 26
7:00 AM – Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants
10:00 AM – Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins
1:00 PM – New England Patriots vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11:00 PM – Detroit Lions vs. Oakland Raiders
2:00 AM – Arizona Cardinals vs. Tennessee Titans

Monday, August 27
1:00 PM – Houston Texans vs. New Orleans Saints
4:00 PM – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills

Tuesday, August 28
10:00 AM – Carolina Panthers vs. New York Jets
12 Midnight – San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos

Week 4

Wednesday, August 29
7:30 PM – New England Patriots vs. New York Giants – LIVE
11:30 PM – Miami Dolphins vs. Dallas Cowboys

Thursday, August 30
3:00 PM – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Washington Redskins
7:00 PM – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers – LIVE
11:00 PM – Denver Broncos vs. Arizona Cardinals – LIVE
3:00 AM – San Diego Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers

Friday, August 31
1:00 PM – Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
8:00 PM – New York Jets vs. Philadelphia Eagles
12 Midnight – Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts

Saturday, September 1
10:00 AM – New Orleans Saints vs. Tennessee Titans
1:00 PM – Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions
4:00 PM – Baltimore Ravens vs. St. Louis Rams
8:00 PM – Carolina Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
12 Midnight – Chicago Bears vs. Cleveland Browns

Sunday, September 2
10:00 AM – Minnesota Vikings vs. Houston Texans
10:00 PM – Oakland Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks

* Live games on NFL Network will be blacked out in the participating teams’ over-the-air station markets, with the exception of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Re-airs of a non-sellout preseason game prior to the home team’s local over-the-air station re-airing the game will be blacked out on NFL Network in the home team market.

There you have it. That was another long press release from NFL Network.

NFL Gives Fans Access To Coaches Films Online

Here’s something for you. The NFL has announced that fans who love their football will now have access to the coaches films on NFL.com. Once only available to the media and to the coaches and players themselves, fans will now be able to see the films through the NFL website and through two tablet apps, NFL Game Rewind and NFL Game Pass.

The films called “All 22″ and “High End Zone” allow viewers to see plays materialize from angles not seen on TV.

And the NFL is giving fans a telestrator option so they can add their own analysis to the plays. It’s all about bringing fans closer to the game.

Here’s the NFL press release.

NFL.COM TO OFFER FANS COACHES FILM THROUGH NFL GAME REWIND & NFL GAME PASS

New Telestrator Function Lets Fans Share Their Analysis
Tablet Versions of Game Rewind & Preseason Live Available For First Time

NFL.com is bringing fans even more innovative ways to get closer to football anytime they want and anywhere they are.

For the first time, Coaches Film of every play from every game will be available to fans through NFL.com’s Game Rewind and Game Pass products.  

Two exclusive camera angles, “All-22” and “High End Zone” views, will be available for every play in 2012, as well as every play from the archived 2011 season.

The “All 22″ camera is positioned high above the NFL playing field and shows a view of the field that includes all 22 players at the same time. This All-22 camera view may be used to analyze all plays and players on any given play in a game.

The High End Zone camera is positioned on either side of a field, high above the goal posts and behind the end zone. This camera angle shows what the play looks like as game action is happening coming toward or going away from the end-zone camera.

For more information on Coaches Film go to http://www.nfl.com/coachesfilm

NFL.com also is introducing a telestrator function enabling fans to “channel their inner Mayock,” analyzing plays by drawing over a still frame with a touch of a finger and then sharing their commentary with friends.  The telestrator feature is available exclusively with the NFL Game Rewind and NFL Game Pass tablet apps.  Each app is available as a free download and lets fans take their Coaches Film and telestrations with them wherever they go.

In addition, for the first time, the full suite of NFL.com’s subscription products will be available for iPad and select Android tablets starting this season.

NFL Game Rewind delivers to fans in the United States every play of every 2012 NFL Regular Season game online in HD and commercial-free, complete with DVR controls (after the game has aired on television).  NFL Game Rewind also provides archived games from the 2009 season to present day.

NFL Game Pass offers fans outside of the United States every Regular Season game live or on-demand online in HD.  NFL Game Pass offers full DVR controls to let fans pause, rewind, and replay live and archived game action.  NFL Game Pass also provides archived games from the 2009 season to present day.

Last year, NFL.com introduced the “Condensed Games” feature to both Game Rewind and Game Pass allowing fans to watch every play, plus select replays of the biggest moments of each game in approximately 30 minutes.

In addition, NFL Preseason Live enables fans in the United States to watch live and on-demand NFL Preseason out-of-market games.  Preseason Live gives fans additional viewing options including picture-in-picture, dual and quad view modes, so fans may watch multiple games on the same screen.  Fans may pause, rewind, and replay live and archived game action with full DVR controls.  The Condensed Games feature will also be coming to Preseason Live this season, allowing fans to watch any preseason game in roughly 30 minutes. (Note: NFL Preseason Live does not include Coaches Film or telestrator option).

One more post is on the way. Keep it here.

The Pre-Olympic Linkage

The Olympics get started tomorrow with women’s soccer action and while the Games don’t officially begin until Friday with the Opening Ceremony (live in most countries except the United States), today is really the calm before the Olympic storm. Starting tomorrow and going through August 12, this site will be awash in Olympics sports media coverage as it was in 2008 for Beijing and 2010 in Vancouver. While I’ll be covering other sports media news, I’ll be focusing on NBC’s coverage, the business of the Olympics and other news out of London. I hope you’ll continue to visit.

Ok, let’s do the linkage. It’s time to bring it back. I was doing so well last week, six straight days of links, then last Friday, I got bogged down with family stuff and wasn’t able to do what I wanted to. Sometimes that happens. Time to take life back now.

Starting with the great Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, he has his Media Power List for July.

Ed Sherman of the Sherman Report talks with Big Ten Network’s President about doing an about-face and covering the Penn State story wall-to-wall on Monday.

Ed talks with NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell who takes the reins from his mentor, former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol, for London.

Sports Business Journal interviews the President of the Jacksonville Jaguars about stadium technology and the NFL Blackout policy.

Daniel Frankel of paidContent says the next sports network carriage dispute will be between the Pac-12 Networks and the two major satellite TV providers.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says NBC will provide an Olympics “Red Zone Channel” that will be online-only.

Shira Ovide of the Wall Street Journal says NBC will delay the Olympics Opening Ceremony and it won’t be seen live on cable or online.

The Big Lead says ESPN lured Brett McMurphy away from CBSSports.com to become one of its college football insiders.

Gabriel Beltone of Adweek looks at some of the best Olympic ads thus far.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says CBS Sports Network will piggyback on CBS’ coverage of the PGA Championship and US Open tennis.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age writes that the Penn State scandal could hurt the school’s marketability down the road.

David Goetzl at MediaPost says McDonald’s has begun its Olympic marketing campaign.

Steve McClellan at MediaPost writes that the Olympics help brand awareness.

Evan Weiner of Examiner.com says the International Olympic Committee should honor the Israeli athletes who were massacred during the 1972 Munich Games.

Sports Video Group notes that the MLB At Bat mobile and tablet app had its 5 millionth download.

Merrill Knox of TVSpy says a former Washington DC sports anchor returns home to the Bay Area.

Excellent story from Jason Schwartz of Boston Magazine on the hard fall of Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios. Nothing to do with sports media, but very good reporting.

The Boston Bruins announced Monday that it has signed an extension with radio flagship WBZ-FM.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says you’ll be able to see all of NBC’s live Olympics streams, provided you sign up.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about Sports Illustrated coming to TV.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says the Open Championship received its highest overnight rating in four years.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes that NBC’s Olympic specialty channels will be picked up locally.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Comcast will be all over the Olympics on its cable platforms.

David Selig of the Baltimore Sun says an Orioles pitching prospect will be featured on tonight’s premiere of Sports Illustrated on NBC Sports Network.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that the area’s sports radio stations are getting ready for the Robert Griffin III era in DC.

Dan notes that Maryland’s field hockey coach Missy Meharg who will be an Olympics analyst for NBC.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci who will be a part of the magazine’s TV premiere tonight.

KSAT-TV in San Antonio named Jessica Ghawi an honorary member of its sports department. She was one of the 12 victims killed in the Aurora, CO movie theater massacre.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News writes about the KSAT honor for Jessica.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says MLB Advanced Media is bad for baseball.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says NBC’s Olympic coverage begins and ends with the Holy Diminutive One, Bob Costas.

Ben Fong-Torres of the San Francisco Chronicle profiles Ron Barr and his Sports Byline USA network which keeps plugging along from the Bay Area in a world dominated by ESPN Radio.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing says Big Ten Network got the job done in covering the Penn State sanctions on Monday.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says ESPN should air TSN’s SportsCentre to gain street cred with hockey fans.

Tony Manfred of the Business Insider’s Sports page notes that the Olympics helped to transform one of London’s seedier neighborhoods into a showcase.

And that’s going to do it.

It’s A Thursday Link Thing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are done.

Matt Light Hired By ESPN As NFL Analyst; Brings Number of Analysts at ESPN To 9 Million and Counting

Ok, that’s being a bit facetious, but it seems that ESPN keeps hiring ex-NFL players as soon as they retire and there are few that leave so the number of NFL analysts appear to be growing, not shrinking.

Matt Light, former New England Patriots offensive tackle has been signed by ESPN to be a studio analyst. He’ll contribute to NFL Live, NFL 32, Sunday NFL Countdown and SportsCenter. I’m sure there will be ESPN Radio appearances thrown in here and there. And perhaps Light will show up on SportsNation and other programs produced in Bristol, CT.

Light makes his ESPN debut on July 23. I suggest that one day, ESPN do have a show where all of their NFL analysts will appear allowing them to say three words each in order to fit time constraints.

Here’s the press release.

Matt Light Joins ESPN as NFL Analyst

Three-time Super Bowl Champion to Appear on NFL Live, NFL32 & SportsCenter; Will Contribute Features to Sunday NFLCountdown

Three-time Super Bowl champion and former New England Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light is joining ESPN’s NFL analyst team. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Light will appear on NFL Live,NFL32 and SportsCenter. He will also contribute features to Sunday NFL Countdown.

Light played 11 NFL seasons (2001-2011), all with the Patriots. He was a part of three Super Bowl championships (2001, 2003, 2004), five conference titles and nine divisional championships. He played a total of 155 games, starting all but two of them.

A Pro Bowler in 2006, 2007 and 2010, Light was voted the Patriots offensive team captain in 2008. He was also named to New England’s All-2000s Team and the franchise’s 50^th Anniversary Team.

Light, who visited ESPN as a guest NFL analyst in May, will make his debut Monday, July 23.

“Matt is a great addition to our ESPN team because he sees the world and the game of football from a refreshingly different perspective than most,” said Seth Markman, ESPN senior coordinating producer for NFL studio shows. “He has an engaging personality and he’s unafraid to offer honest opinions, which fans will appreciate.”

Light said, “I’m really looking forward to joining the ESPN family and getting a chance to see the game from a different side. I’m obviously depending heavily on my rugged good looks and ability to avoid run-on sentences to succeed in this new role.”

Away from the football field, Light continues to make a positive impact. To provide opportunities for youth, he founded the Light Foundation, which offers camps, workshops and outdoor activities.

“Outdoor activities” meaning the guy likes to hunt. Living in New England, I hear about Light’s penchant for shooting. Anyway, that’s it.

Your First Look at Hard Knocks with the Miami Dolphins

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

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

Let’s Do Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for the links on this Wednesday. Let’s check out what we have.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter talks with NBC’s Bob Costas about the Olympics, Jerry Sandusky and being short. That’s right.

Daniel Kaplan from the Sports Business Journal writes that the NFL will not sign a telecommunications partner this season and will see how the Wi-Fi experience goes at five stadiums before deciding.

Owen Gibson of the London (UK) Guardian reports that BBC has scored the rights to the Olympics through 2020.

BBC Director-General Mark Thompson blogs about the Beeb keeping the UK rights to the Olympics.

I have the BBC press release on the new Olympics contract.

Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly says ESPNU will have its own late night entertainment/talk show premiering in late August.

Also from EW, Dan Snierson says disgraced former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose will get his own TLC reality show. The question is, who doesn’t have a TLC reality show?

Brian Moran at Broadcasting & Cable says World Team Tennis will get live national coverage this weekend on Tennis Channel and the Comcast SportsNet regional affiliates.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life writes that ratings for the Home Run Derby were up while the All-Star Game took a hit.

The SportsCasters speak with Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim about Joe Posnanski’s book on Joe Paterno.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report wonders why SI passed on printing an excerpt of Posnanski’s book.

Ed notices that the promotional video for the Paterno book has been removed from YouTube.

Ed talks with an ESPN executive on the network now using its own cameras instead of relying on the BBC to cover the Open Championship.

Reinhardt Krause of Investor’s Business Daily look at how cable providers are finding ways to drive up sports rights fees.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Eric Deggans in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center talks with Real Sports’ Frank Deford about his updated piece on marching band hazing at historically black colleges.

SportsGrid’s Eric Goldschein has video of Los Angeles Dodgers voice Vin Scully scolding the team for its failure to execute a rundown play.

Patrick Burns at Deadspin says the Joe Paterno story dominated ESPN’s news coverage last week.

Deadspin’s John Koblin notes that Sports Illustrated is beginning to use the photo sharing site, Instagram.

The London (UK) Mirror provides 100 bizarre facts about the Olympics.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN’s Paul Azinger about the Open Championship.

Brandon Marcello of the Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger says the SEC Storied documentary series will produce a film on a former Mississippi State football coach.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that with the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, USA basketball vs. Brazil on ESPN drew very well locally.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer wonders what exactly will the new TLC Pete Rose reality show be about?

John says a local internet service provider will add ESPN3 in August.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times looks at ESPN paying the Rose Bowl $80 million per year starting in 2015.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has a preview of tonight’s “The Franchise” episode on Showtime which will show the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton going under the knife.

Joe Flint of the Times has Comcast appealing to the government to butt out of its programming decisions i.e., Tennis Channel.

Sports Media Watch notes that TNT’s NASCAR season finale saw increased ratings.

SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Chinwe Nwadike at Chinwe’s Corner wonders why some in the media are angry at Fox’s Erin Andrews.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest says the WWE has established a social media hub for investors.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has a screengrab of the Longhorn Network taking one final shot at Texas A&M before it leaves the Big 12 for good.

Jason Boog at Galleycat says an NBC Sports producer has published a children’s book on the Olympics.

That will do it for today.

Doing Some Tuesday Linkage

I was expecting to be out of the office today, but with the temperatures over 90 in Southern New England, being inside with air conditioning is probably the way to go today. I hope wherever you are, you’re staying cool and away from the sun.

I have some links.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says the BBC is defending the size of its staff devoted to covering the London Olympics pointing out that NBC is bringing almost four times BBC’s number.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes that ESPN has hired an internationally-known soccer journalist to bolster its website.

Tim says Golf Channel has made a couple of hires.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable writes that the Pac-12 Networks have selected Cisco to distribute video throughout its systems.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says a US-based martial arts network is attempting to gain a foothold in Europe.

Gabriel Belton of Adweek looks at a new Olympics-themed ad from GlaxoSmithKline.

Rupal Parekh at Advertising Age says Ralph Lauren is taking a huge PR hit over its “Made in Communist China” US Olympic Opening Ceremony uniforms.

Michelle Smith of espnW profiles Lydia Murphy-Stephens who’s helping to launch the Pac-12 Networks.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin notes that NBC’s Today Show ran video of the wrong man during an interview with Philadelphia Eagles’  quarterback Michael Vick.

John Koblin of Deadspin says Sports Illustrated will not run an excerpt of Joe Posnanski’s upcoming book on Joe Paterno.

Ed Sherman in The Sherman Report says a promotional video for Posnanski’s book seems to be seriously outdated in the wake of the Freeh Report released last week.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing explores whether Baseball Night in America was a ratings success for Fox.

Matt Yoder of AA talks with ESPN tome author James Andrew Miller in a podcast.

And Matt speaks with Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel about Penn State and the BCS in a new podcast.

How about one more podcast? Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina interviews Fox’s Erin Andrews on why she left ESPN.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy explores whether the NHL’s new TV deals with NBC and HBO could prevent a prolonged lockout unlike the last one which wiped out an entire season.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says the Freeh Report shows that journalists cannot take a college football program at face value.

Also at the National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley blasts ESPN and Big Ten Network for their coverage of the Freeh Report.

Sports Video Group looks at a company that is streaming the Olympics to 70 countries worldwide.

Cork Gaines of the Business Insider Sports Page says ESPN actually censored its own Body Issue cover of New England  Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski this morning.

Newsday’s Neil Best ventures into NBC’s “Billion Dollar Lab” for the 2012 Olympics.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes that WFAN’s Mike Francesa tops the Talkers Magazine Heavy Hundred Sports Radio Talk Show Hosts.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty discusses Golf Channel’s new hires.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says the NFL is pricing out the regular fan.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning News says a former Eagles and Steelers offensive lineman is now working for NFL Films.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is telling readers that Taylor Teagarden’s inadvertent “S” bomb after the Orioles win over Detroit on Fox Saturday is not a big deal.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog looks at where the local sports radio talkers rank on Talkers Heavy Hundred List.

Dan has video of a new Robert Griffin III commercial.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner explores the Nationals’ TV and radio ratings.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that native Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be profiled on HBO’s Real Sports tonight.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has video of Charlie Sheen appearing with Joe Morgan (?) on Jay Leno’s Show of Hacks.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue included a local Olympic volleyballer.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Chris Scott says the site’s own online TV service will be live from the Del Mar Racetrack this week for Opening Day.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that the White House had trouble transcribing ESPN’s Mark Jones’ interview of President Obama during last night’s USA vs. Brazil pre-Olympic basketball exhibition game.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says NHL fans may not see hockey until at least Thanksgiving at the earliest.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

That’s going to end the links for today.

Some Rare Sunday Linkage

It used to be that I would be able to provide linkage all seven days of the week, but my schedule has been crazy lately especially on the weekends. My apologies for not being able to provide more weekend content.

But as I’m free right now, let’s not dilly-dally any longer and here are some links for you on this Sunday.

Christoper S. Stewart of the Wall Street Journal looks at NBC’s massive undertaking to provide online content for NBCOlympics.com.

Eddie Kim of Variety says it’ll be consumers, not the television networks who will decide how second screen usage in sports viewing will evolve.

Michael Malone of Broadcasting & Cable writes that NBC’s owned-and-operated will be sending reporters to cover the 2012 Olympics in London.

At The Sherman Report, Ed Sherman says ESPN Radio and Big Ten Network failed in covering the Louis Freeh report on Penn State and Joe Paterno.

Ed hears from fired San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan who landed on his feet in Louisville.

The excellent ESPN.com college basketball writer Dana O’Neill has a response to those who feel female sportscasters must be hot in order to be on television, knowledge in sports be damned. Thanks to Trenni Kusnierek of WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee for the link.

The Associated Press has announced its Olympic coverage plans.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Ronnie Ramos looks at some of the more interesting ideas in sports and social media.

Sports Video Group has looks at the Olympic venues that we’ll be seeing over the 16 days of competition starting on July 27. Actually a couple of days earlier if you count the Soccer Tournament. Here’s Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Joe Favorito looks at the return of the New York Cosmos.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe notes that despite a .500 season, NESN still drew viewers in the first half of the 2012 campaign.

Chad also has the Boston radio ratings for the Spring Arbitron book.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes about baseball stadia increasingly putting out the welcome mat for soccer exhibition games to generate new revenue.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says the Freeh Report on Penn State shows that football was above the law.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that the local NBC affiliate has a conflict with the Olympics and the New York Giants preseason opening game.

Pete has NFL Network’s extensive preseason game schedule.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says Giants fans will have to do a little searching for the team’s preseason games in August.

Ken has the Olympic Basketball Tournament viewing schedule.

Greg Connors of the Buffalo News looks forward to hearing the dulcet tones of Peter Alliss on the Open Championship this week.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner recaps the local reaction to the release of the Penn State report.

Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times wonders if the future of talk radio lies with sports rather than politics.

Stephen F. Holder of the Times writes that the Buccaneers will adhere to the new NFL TV blackouts bucking what the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers and Tennessee Titans had already announced.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Sentinel writes that the MLB All-Star Game received its lowest local ratings since 2005.

Back to Ed Sherman, he has an article in today’s Chicago Tribune on NBC’s new thinking about presenting every Olympic event live online.

Eric Zorn of the Tribune remembers a blind sportscaster who did his job so well, many listeners had no idea he was sightless. Thanks to Ed Sherman for the link.

The Reno Gazette-Journal talks with ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that reports of Heather Cox replacing Erin Andrews on the sidelines for Saturday Night Football may be premature.

Sports Media Watch has a look at Fox’s primetime MLB ratings over its eight week span.

SMW says Detroit leads all local markets in the MLB ratings.

Paul M. Banks at the Sports Bank wonders if it’s time for Matt Millen to leave ESPN.

Media Rantz looks at the NFL teams deciding not to adhere to the new TV blackout rules.

EPL Talk has the schedule for some of exhibition soccer games on TV over the next few weeks.

And that’s going to complete our links for today. I hope to have another post for you later. I hope time will allow me to do so. It’ll be good, I promise.

Let’s Do Some Wednesday Links

Lots of stuff to get to. Let’s not waste time.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reports on ESPN’s signing of four of its NFL insiders to long-term contracts.

SI’s Tom Verducci gives us some myths and truths about the MLB All-Star Game.

Tim Kenneally of The Wrap says the All-Star Game won the night for Fox in overall ratings and younger demographics.

At the Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown notes how surprised he is about the MLB All-Star Game’s overnight ratings seeing an increase from last year despite being a blowout.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes about the All-Star Game’s increased overnight ratings from last year.

To the Daily Beast where Howard Kurtz says NBC is betting that you’ll watch the Olympics despite not knowing anything about the sports inside the Games.

Andy Fixmer and Alex Sherman at Bloomberg Businessweek note that NBC expects to draw many cable viewers to watch the Olympics online.

Meg Carter at Co-Create notes how BBC is attempting to build the very first social Olympic Games.

Radio World says Fox Sports Radio will have a big presence at the London Olympics.

The Big Lead continues to break sports media stories this year. First, it breaks news that Fox and possibly NBC are interested in hiring ESPN Sunday Night Baseball voice Dan Shulman.

And then Jason McIntyre of TBL reports that CBS is making overtures at ESPN Radio’s Doug Gottlieb to work on its new radio network, become a college basketball analyst and host a show on its cable network.

Brian Clapp at Sports TV Jobs wonders if the competition is out for blood in poaching ESPN’s talent.

Barstool Sports in Boston somehow got its hands on a video featuring New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft making an audition tape with his 30 year old aspiring actress girlfriend, Ricki Noel Linder.

The video has gone viral and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says Kraft has issued a statement on that video going public.

Isaac Rauch of Deadspin has an interesting story on how ESPN.com entertainment writer Lynn Hoppes has apparently lifted several passages from Wikipedia either verbatim or with very few changes and inserted them into his features.

Patrick Burns of Deadspin sees what subjects ESPN is devoting its time covering on SportsCenter.

Glenn Davis from SportsGrid has video of Fox & Friends criticizing the U.S. Olympic team’s Opening Ceremony attire as looking too French. Seriously?

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report is still suffering from Ozzie Guillen Fatigue and isn’t enthused about tonight’s Showtime premiere of “The Franchise: A Season with the Miami Marlins.”

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at MLB International delivering the All-Star Game to a worldwide audience.

Brian Stelter of the New York Times reports on the NBC and Facebook partnership for the 2012 Olympics.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says WPIX in New York will pick up an NFL Network Thursday Night Football game involving the defending Super Bowl champs, the New York Football Giants, in September.

Bob’s Blitz notes that ESPN Radio NY despite a new powerful FM signal fell further behind WFAN in the June Arbitron ratings period.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette looks at Fox’s ratings increase for this year’s MLB All-Star Game.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says a local college will be part of ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon in November.

Keith Groller from the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local cable sports channel will be all over a Minor League Baseball All-Star Game this week.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says a former Texas native is coming home to work in the local market as a TV sportscaster.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman looks at the local weekend ratings.

Mark Alesia and Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star write that the Colts will adhere to the old NFL TV blackout rules and will not have games air in the local market unless a game is totally sold out. The NFL relaxed the rules to 85% this season.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that CBS’ Lesley Visser gets her chance to run in the Miller Park Sausage Race on Friday.

Jordan Kobritz of the Prescott (AZ) Daily Courier looks at the MLB TV rights negotiations.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail explores a popular English-language sports radio station in Montreal flipping to French leaving many fans in the cold.

Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette says English speaking sports fans have lost a voice to vent.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says the Home Run Derby had a big audience in Canada.

Sports Media Watch notes that the MLB All-Star Game had its second lowest overnight rating ever.

Joe Favorito looks at a very unique way a New York soccer team found a sponsor.

At the Broadcast Booth, Dave Kohl explores the reasons why the NFL slightly relaxed its TV blackout rules.

And that’s going to do it for today.

ESPN Signs Quartet of NFL Insiders To Long-Term Deals

This in from ESPN and also reported by Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch this morning, we learn that the Alleged Worldwide Leader is once again announcing some talent signings. After announcing Stuart Scott’s contract renewal on Tuesday, ESPN has come forward with the announcement that four of its NFL insiders, Mel Kiper, Jr., Adam Schefter, John Clayton and Ed Werder have all been kept in the fold.

Deitsch reports that Kiper will remain with the network through 2018. Schefter has been signed through the 2017 season. Clayton and Werder will be with ESPN through 2016.

The announcement helps to combat the perception that ESPN is losing talent after Erin Andrews, Michelle Beadle, Dana Jacobsen and Jim Rome left the network. Now with Scott Van Pelt, Stuart Scott, John Buccigross and the quartet of NFL insiders staying, ESPN can say more people remain with the Family of Networks than leave.

Here’s the press release.

ESPN Re-Signs NFL Experts Adam Schefter, John Clayton, Mel Kiper, Jr., and Ed Werder

ESPN has signed four of its top National Football League experts and most visible on-air personalities to multi-year contract extensions: insider Adam Schefter, senior writer John Clayton, NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper, Jr., and reporter Ed Werder.

“Adam, John, Mel and Ed are at the forefront of how we cover the NFL every day of the year across multiple networks and platforms,” said Mark Gross, ESPN senior vice president and executive producer, production. “Their knowledge and expertise is a big reason why fans turn to ESPN, and these new deals ensure that fans can look forward to seeing and hearing much more from them in the years ahead.”

Schefter is one of pro football’s leading insiders who regularly breaks top news stories. He joined ESPN in August 2009 and appears on Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, SportsCenter, NFL Live and other programs throughout the year in addition to contributing regularly to ESPN.com and ESPN Radio. He has also established a Twitter following of more than 1.6 million.

Clayton joined ESPN in August 1995 as a senior NFL writer and commentator. He is seen, heard and read across multiple platforms. A regular contributor to the company’s NFL coverage on television, including his “Inside the Huddle” segments on SportsCenter and NFL Live, he also writes for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine and frequently contributes to ESPN Radio, including co-hosting the annual NFL Draft broadcast and his own show on ESPN Radio Seattle. He was the recipient of the 2007 Dick McCann Memorial Award for distinguished service as voted on by the Pro Football Writers of America.

Kiper has served as expert analyst for ESPN’s annual NFL Draft coverage since 1984, providing in-depth scouting information on the nation’s most talented collegiate football players. His work appears on television – including SportsCenter and ESPN’s NFL shows – as well as in ESPN The Magazine and on ESPN.com. Kiper is also a frequent contributor to ESPN Radio as an analyst for College GameDay on ESPN Radio and co-host of the Dari and Mel weekend show.

Werder has served as ESPN’s Dallas-based bureau reporter since September 1998. As part of his new deal, Werder will expand his responsibilities beyond on-air NFL reporting – most notably on the Dallas Cowboys – for Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, SportsCenter and other programs to include an insider role. With Clayton, Schefter and Chris Mortensen, the addition of Werder to the insider ranks gives ESPN four of the league’s most respected sources of league-wide NFL news and information.

I hope to have links up sometime this afternoon.

Grinding Out Some Tuesday Links For You

Let’s do some links. Couldn’t get to them yesterday. Time to grind some out today.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN won’t be an oasis away from political advertising this fall.

Michael also has the ratings on Wimbledon and NASCAR.

Bill King of Sports Business Journal looks at NBC bringing back boxing to network television.

Sports Business Daily Global notes that the Wimbledon men’s final drew well in both the US and the UK.

SBD says the International Olympic Committee is under fire for renewing sponsorship deals with McDonald’s and Coke in the midst of an increasing obesity crisis.

And Eric Fisher of SBD notes that MLB will allow players to Tweet during tonight’s All-Star Game.

Jason Fry of the ESPN Ombudsman’s Poynter Review Project notes that the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s reporting has changed thanks to Twitter.

Alicia Jessop at Forbes writes that Kansas City expects a big financial windfall from the MLB All-Star Game.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at Fox’s ever-changing production of tonight’s All-Star Game.

Chris Ariens of TVNewser has a clip of Erin Andrews’ interview with Fox News’ Shepard Smith in Kansas City.

Glenn Davis from SportsGrid notes that one cover of ESPN the Magazine’s Body issue will feature a nekkid Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots.

A rare link to Grantland finds a 15,612 word oral history of WFAN written by Alex French and Howie Kahn. It’s really good, but read it at your own pace and not all at once.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable says the Gentlemen’s Final at Wimbledon drew ESPN’s best tennis ratings ever.

Tim says NBA TV is all over Summer League games in the next two weeks.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News notes that the combined TNT/truTV effort for last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race brought the highest ratings for the Daytona 400 in four years.

Ann Killion of Adweek says Olympic athletes are trying to get their piece of marketing gold in the midst of companies getting all of the sponsorship money.

Also from Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that NBC and Turner Sports appear to be fighting for the main cable rights to MLB.

Lifestyle Mirror has a fantastic photo shoot with Fang’s Bites fave Charissa Thompson.

To The Sherman Report where Ed Sherman has Part 1 of a two part series with Fox Sports MLB analyst Tim McCarver. And here’s Part 2.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times is amused that SNY, the home of the Mets, has erected a billboard at the Yankee Stadium subway train stop.

Richard says Jerry Seinfeld, a big baseball fan, will break down the iconic Abbot & Costello comedy skit, “Who’s on First?” on MLB Network.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says a local TV station has hired a new sportscaster.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says WFAN and ESPN Radio NY will split Dial Global Radio’s Olympic coverage later this month.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that new DC NFL Team QB Robert Griffin III was asked on local sports radio if he’s already more popular than the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin.

Dan says DC NFL Team radio analyst Sam Huff has worked so long on the game broadcasts that the network feels he can call his own shots now.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times writes that a local TV station has signed to air NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football Bucs-Vikings game.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says MLB Network airs a documentary on the life and death of former Astros pitcher Darryl Kile.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says ESPNU will re-air four games involving Sooner State schools in its top college football games of the season.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that despite the U.S. Women’s Open being played locally, there wasn’t much interest either on ESPN2 or on NBC.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Fox Sports Florida sideline reporter Laura McKeeman was crowned Miss Florida over the weekend.

SportsRantz also profiles Ms. McKeeman.

Sports Media Watch says last night’s MLB Home Run Derby had a slight ratings decline from last year.

SMW says Fox’s Baseball Night in America ended its 8 week run on a high note thanks to Yanks-Red Sox.

Some Sunday Sports Media Thoughts

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

• ESPN’s live coverage of Wimbledon has been a joy over the last two weeks. Most everything has been shown on the Family of Networks. And in the second week when both ESPN and ESPN2 were deployed for the Round of 16 and the Quarterfinals, viewers were able to switch in between matches on Centre Court and the outer courts for the first time. No longer did viewers have to wait through frustrating NBC tape delays or find illegal back door internet feeds. Everything was shown live.

  We’ve seen similar coverage on the U.S. Open with ESPN2 and Tennis Channel on the early rounds, but this could be a model for future Grand Slam tournaments. I’d like to see ESPN do this on the Australian and U.S. Opens for the later rounds as well.

  I’ve liked the Breakfast at Wimbledon studio shows. This has given SW19 a special big event feel on ESPN. Hannah Storm has done well as host and interviews conducted by Mike Tirico have gone smoothly.

  As far as the announcing is concerned, this is where ESPN needs some improvement. Chris Fowler talks too much and tries to steer analysts to his point of view. In addition, he attempts to do analysis which is the analysts’ job. I don’t mind if the play-by-play person challenges the analyst, but Fowler often makes loaded points and questions to ensure the analyst agrees with him. That’s not what he’s there for. During the Ladies Final between Agnieszka Radwanska and Serena Williams, there was a point in the second set with Serena leading 4-3 where Fowler asked Chris Evert if Radwanska was feeling the match was slipping away. Evert disagreed, Fowler kept pressing. Radwanska would eventually win the second set and I certainly felt Radwanska at 3-4 would not think the match was slipping from her grasp.

  I’d like for ESPN to utilize Mike Tirico in the booth in the Semifinals and Finals. While Mike is certainly a very good host as he’s proved these last two weeks, he’s also very good on tennis play-by-play. And while it’s obvious ESPN original Cliff Drysdale is being phased out, I still think he still can serve aces in the booth.

  As far as the analysts are concerned, bringing in John McEnroe was a very good move and Chris Evert has been decent, I am not enamored with Pam Shriver and she’s to the point of being very annoying.

  Also, during the first week, ESPN appears to be too much in love with the studio and doesn’t show enough action. There seems to be too many interviews and talk, and not enough play on the court.

  For the fortnight, I give ESPN a B minus for the first week and a B plus for the second week.

• Saturday night ended Fox’s eight week run of “Baseball Night in America”. While the ratings were a mixed bag, I think Fox may increase the number of primetime games next season. As Fox looks to provide sports the opportunity to program Saturday nights, why not go to primetime? And I like having the afternoons freed up for local games. Now if only Fox can provide fans with access to its out-of-market games either online or through the MLB Extra Innings package.

  Having national games starting at 7:15 p.m. ET has been quite enjoyable.

• Did you notice that NBC is airing the Tour de France live on both days this weekend? That’s to fill the holes left from losing Wimbledon to ESPN. Expect that to become a permanent fixture from now on. I just wish NBC had called it “Croissants and Cycling” or something to that effect.

Those are the sports media thoughts.

Let’s Do The Friday Megalinks

Time for Friday linkage.

The Weekend Viewing Picks have your sports and entertainment suggestions. Let’s get cracking.

National

Michael Hiestand from USA Today looks at TNT’s plans to go mostly split-screen during breaks for Saturday’s NASCAR race.

Tom Perrotta of the Wall Street Journal reports that the one Wimbledon souvenir the players want is the towel.

Alex Sherman at Bloomberg Businessweek talks with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus about the Olympics.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says enhancing the NFL fan experience might bring more people to games.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report is happy to learn that Jeremy Schaap’s ESPN Radio show is now available as a podcast.

Bob Pockrass at The Sporting News says NASCAR hopes that NBC Sports will be a bidder for the sport’s TV rights.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says ESPN Deportes scored with the EURO 2012 Final last Sunday.

Mike says Golf Channel has selected the venue for the next season of “Big Break”.

Christopher Heine of Adweek says MLB’s allowing Twitter votes for the All-Star Game for the first time may have had a hand in deciding which league hosts the World Series.

Jason Del Ray of Advertising Age says the impending Turner Sports purchase of Bleacher Report makes sense.

Wayne Friedman at MediaPost says the NFL easing requirements on local TV blackouts shows the league wants to reach the casual fan.

Dan Daley at Sports Video Group says ESPN will be utilizing plenty of microphones at the MLB Home Run Derby.

Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder has a screengrab of a Canadian TV station messing up the Steve Nash trade to the Lakers.

And Matt has found an episode of Judge Sapp. Yes, that’s Warren Sapp.

The Big Lead soaked up the latest Twitter battle between ESPN’s Darren Rovell and Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch.

MediaRantz looks at the top 5 ESPN plagiarism scandals.

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo’s From the Marbles blog wonders what is the big deal with the TNT/truTV simulcast of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race on Saturday.

Joe Favorito likes how MLS has adopted “Food Week” to get fans to explore its markets’ restaurants.

East and Mid-Atlantic

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen says it was time for Erin Andrews to leave the ESPN Mothership.

Jerry Barmsah of Fishbowl NY says CBS Radio’s WFAN could be headed to FM and could take the Yankees with it.

Yes, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, we know you hate ESPN.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the MLB Extra Innings pay per view package will be free next week.

Don Laible of the Utica (NY) Observer-Dispatch talks with the NHL on NBC’s Dave Strader about calling Olympic basketball.

Ken says a local minor league baseball team has found a new radio home.

Dave Sottile of the Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News says there are no plans to bring Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic to the local area.

Tim Richardson in Press Box looks at the differences between the Washington Nationals and MASN over the team’s TV rights fee.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with MLB Network’s Chris Rose.

South

Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal says a popular local sports radio host is changing stations.

At the Houston Chronicle, David Barron writes that the new Comcast SportsNet Houston will air Conference USA football featuring the University of Houston.

Midwest

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says MLB feels it has restored integrity to the All-Star Game. It’s an exhibition game!

Paul M. Banks of the Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders who had the best mock NBA Draft?

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says the new TV voice of the Minnesota Wild will have an exciting team to call this season.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks about Erin Andrews making her Fox debut next week.

Dan writes that Blues analyst Darren Pang turned down a full-time offer from TSN and will remain in St. Louis.

West

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has this harsh takedown of Erin Andrews.

Here’s Tom’s column which has a little more on the last post.

Tom also links to reaction to his Erin Andrews column.

Matt Rudnitsky of SportsGrid replies point-by-point to Hoffarth.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes about Erin Andrews joining Fox.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star talks with Fox’s Joe Buck on the challenges of calling the MLB All-Star Game.

Jim has his Weekend Viewing Picks.

Matthew T. Hall at the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders where’s the fan outrage in the Fox Sports San Diego-Time Warner Cable dispute leaving Padres games off TV.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News tries to clear up some confusion over the Pac-12 Network.

And that will conclude our links for today.

The Thursday Linkage

So weird to have the 4th of July in the middle of the week. You get the holiday after two work days and then have two work days afterwards. Some of you have the entire week off which is good, but for me, there’s no such thing as a vacation. In fact, I haven’t had a vacation since August 2001. That’s true. Anyway, you don’t care about that. Let’s get to the links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today lists which sports media personality has donated money to which politician.

Michael says ESPN NASCAR pit reporter Jamie Little will work her last race for a few months this weekend.

The BBC reports that a single yellow cable that will carry the Olympics from London to Europe was almost cut in Belgium.

Trefis Team at Forbes says ESPN contributes heavily to Disney’s stock price, but that could be reduced over time.

Keach Hagey of the Wall Street Journal looks at the new NBC Sports/Sports Illustrated partnership.

Mike Barnes of the Hollywood Reporter says former mustachioed Oakland Raiders defensive lineman turned pitchman Ben Davidson has died at the age of 72.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that ESPN set a viewership record for the EURO 2012 final.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life reports that NBC is close to selling out its Olympic ad inventory.

The Associated Press says the ACC has signed a 12 year deal with the Orange Bowl.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo about his two decade long partnership with WFAN’s Mike Francesa.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing writes that ESPN’s Chris Fowler gave John McEnroe a lesson about Twitter parody accounts at Wimbledon this week.

Joe tells us about reporter-on-reporter Twitter crime between ESPN’s Buster Olney and CBS’ Jon Heyman.

Melissa Jacobs at the Football Girl agrees with Erin Andrews’ assessment that sideline reporters are a necessity when used correctly.

Speaking of Erin, she speaks with Adam Silverstein of the Only Gators blog about moving to Fox.

Dave Nagle in ESPN’s Front Row public relations blog notes the network’s new broadcast position at Wimbledon.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Barclays’ recent troubles are trickling down to the Brooklyn Nets as they prepare to occupy their new home.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reports that The Whistle, a sports media company geared towards kids, will have a programming block on NBC Sports Network starting in September.

Dan Steinberg in the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that DC NFL Team radio analyst Sam Huff will work a reduced schedule this season.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman says the U.S. Olympic Trials topped the local ratings this past weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that Annika Sorenstam joins the NBC golf team this weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch urges the White Sox to calm down in asking people to do last-minute voting for the All-Star Game.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says the Pac-12 Network will be a success in Utah knowing the failings of the mtn.

Bill Mooney of the Thoroughbred Times says Fox Sports Net will air the West Virginia Derby next month.

Media Rantz notes that the NBC President who was responsible for the “Heidi Game” and forever changed how sports was aired on TV has passed away.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says CTV will bring back a few features for this year’s Olympics that were used in 2010 for Vancouver.

EPL Talk has a partial list of English Premier League games that will be aired in the States on ESPN2 and Fox Soccer.

Sports Media Watch says TNT took a ratings hit for last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest notes that the US Olympic Committee will pass on bidding for the 2022 Games dashing hopes for a couple of cities. It means the earliest an Olympics will be held in the United States will be 2024.

And those are the links that I could manage to squeeze out of the internet today.

Some 4th of July Sports Media Thoughts

On this 4th of July holiday, let’s do some All-American sports media thoughts. They’re in bullet form as always.

• The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir gave us some food for thought in his latest column this week on the MLB rights negotiations. Richard raised the possibility of MLB awarding the entire broadcast contract to one network, having the company air all five jewels, the All-Star Game, Wild Card Playoffs, League Divisional Playoffs, League Championship Series and the World Series. However, that is highly unlikely. MLB has had one broadcaster in the past to air all of its showcases, NBC from 1965 through 1975 and CBS from 1990 to 1994.

  In this current contract, ESPN and Fox share All-Star Game Week, TBS has the Wild Card Playoffs, TBS and MLB Network have the League Division Series, Fox and TBS split the League Championship Series and Fox carries the World Series.

  With NBC extremely interested in getting back into baseball needing programming for NBC Sports Network, ESPN hoping to regain a piece of the postseason, TBS and Fox wanting to keep their present packages or even expand them (Fox does have plans to launch its own cable sports network) and MLB looking for more inventory for MLB Network, this negotiation looks to be a big battleground among the networks. Someone is going to leave the bargaining table very disappointed when all is said and done.

  No matter what, Major League Baseball is bound to get very rich from the networks. As Sandomir reports, MLB currently receives $711 million per year from ESPN, Fox and TBS. Expect that to possibly reach or even surpass $1 billion when the dust settles.

• On Tuesday, Erin Andrews did what many ex-ESPN’ers do, make her first national appearance as an ex-ESPN’er on the Dan Patrick Show. While Erin didn’t trash her former employer, she did make some news by stating that she’ll be roaming the sidelines for NFL games in addition to hosting Fox’s college football studio and having a role on Fox’s MLB Postseason coverage.

  Some have speculated that Erin might replace Pam Oliver on Fox’s NFL “A” team with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. That is not going to happen. Can you imagine what would happen to the Fox executive who had to tell Pam that she was booted from the NFL on Fox? Pam takes crap from no one and is willing to fight anyone at any time. That executive’s limbs would be ripped from his/her joints, so no, Pam Oliver is not going anywhere.

  And let’s think about this realistically. Erin will host the College Football studio from Los Angeles. It would not be conducive to have Erin travel cross country especially when the Fox college football game will most likely end after 11:30 p.m. ET Saturday and then be on the sidelines for a potential 1 p.m. game on Sunday. Yes, she’ll work some NFL games, but if she does a back-to-back, it’ll be on the West Coast.

  It will be nice to have Erin on the NFL.

• Is there any way for Fox Soccer Plus to sublicense some Australian Rules Football games to ESPN2? It doesn’t seem right not to have some Aussie Footy on basic cable.
• Some of you have asked and there is still no US TV for Canadian Football League games. The 2012 season started last week and the only US outlet was ESPN3 online. NFL Network had picked up CFL games in the past, but never went beyond the regular season and never aired the Grey Cup. Unless a cable network steps up, it appears the only way to see the CFL in the US is ESPN3. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.

Enjoy your 4th.

Jonesing For Tuesday Linkage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Darren Rovell bids farewell to CNBC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And we’re done.

Doing Some Monday Linkage

Let’s bring out some Monday links today.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, he talks with Fox’s Erin Andrews (weird to write that) about her decision to leave ESPN.

A.J. Perez of Fox Sports has Erin’s reaction to joining the network.

Jane Kellogg and Alex Ben Block of the Hollywood Reporter write about Erin Andrews leaving ESPN for Fox.

As for replacing Erin at ESPN, Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead seems to be in Samantha Steele’s corner.

Back to Hiestand at USA Today, he notes that the U.S. Olympic Trials scored for NBC this past weekend.

Michael says the CBS Sports golf crew did as best as they could in a difficult situation when heavy storms ravaged the Washington, DC area and affected the AT&T National PGA Tour stop.

John Ourand at Sports Business Daily talks with NBCUniversal’s CEO on how important the Olympics are important to the company.

Ryan Wilson at CBS Sports notes that the NFL has changed its blackout policy, reducing the requirements for local teams to ensure games will be seen in local markets.

Also at CBS Sports, Dennis Dodd writes that the Big 12′s TV contract has still yet to gain approval from the league’s presidents.

To Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report and he remembers the passing of Jack Buck ten years later.

Ed also looks at Erin Andrews leaving ESPN for Fox.

Scott Roxborough of the Hollywood Reporter notes that the EURO 2012 Final racked up the ratings in Europe.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that Comcast SportsNet Chicago has entered the game show arena.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek says the broadcast networks are looking to sports and reality to attract viewers during the dead summer season.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life notes NBC’s plans for the London Olympics later this month.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost writes that NBC is mostly sold for the Tour de France.

Kevin Iole at Yahoo’s Boxing Experts Blog writes about NBC Sports expanding its boxing portfolio.

Evan Weiner of Examiner.com says no matter how you look at it, the NFL is a monopoly.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group notes the amount of cameras ESPN is using at the X Games.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after college athletics once again.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says a local minor league hockey announcer is moving on.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times-Herald Record talks with some area sports radio personalities about WFAN’s 25th anniversary.

The Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune notes that an announcer with local ties will be part of NBC’s Olympic broadcast team.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s Chick Hernandez was hit by a Tiger Woods drive this weekend.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times still yearns for the faulty BCS.

Gary Brown of the Canton (OH) Repository notes that a Golf Channel crew was in town to do a story on a local golf pro.

At the Denver Post, Dusty Saunders says the U.S. Olympic Trials serve as an appetizer for the main course later this month.

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

In the Toronto Globe and Mail, Bruce Dowbiggin pays tribute to a colleague who’s retiring this month.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing looks at the free agent frenzy among the TV networks over the last year.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has the video of gymnast Nastia Liukin doing a horrific faceplant off the uneven bars during last night’s US Gymnastic Olympic Trials.

Paul M. Banks at the Sports Bank says a popular Comcast SportsNet Chicago reporter picked up a lot of Twitter love when she joined the service a few days ago.

MediaRantz notes that WFAN’s Boomer and Carton could be nationally syndicated on CBS Sports Radio in January.

Joe Favorito talks about the growth of American soccer.

And those are all of the links I could squeeze out today.

Some Quick Monday Sports Media Thoughts

Time for some quick sports media thoughts. As always, they come in bullet form.

• The free agent frenzy at ESPN is over. Overall, ESPN lost two out of three major free agents, Erin Andrews and Michelle Beadle while keeping Scott Van Pelt. Beadle and Van Pelt were not surprises, but Andrews’ departure can be classified as a mild one. The fact that Erin decided to leave and part ways after ESPN aggressively tried to keep her shows me that the network still valued her, however, Fox stepped up wupith a role she felt comfortable with.

  As Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reported on Sunday, one of Erin’s goals was to work on the NFL, an opportunity that she was passed over at ESPN. She’ll now have that chance at Fox plus some postseason MLB work as well.

  ESPN tome co-author James Andrew Miller tweeted that one could consider that both Erin and Micelle came out winners.

• Nice to see that NBC pulled tape delayed shenanigans for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The West Coast had to wait three hours to watch the gymnastics, swimming, and track & field trials over the last week. NBC will argue that the trials were available live across the country online, but that’s not good enough in this age.
• Great job by ESPN’s soccer unit on EURO 2012. Great coverage. World Cup 2014 in Rio is next.
• Starting today and going through Wednesday, ESPN and ESPN2 will have simultaneous coverage of Wimbledon with the Mothership focusing on Centre Court and the Deuce airing outer court action. It will be a tennis smorgasbord.
• Is there a more overblown event than The ESPY’s? Who votes on the awards? Does anyone think they make any sense?
• A couple of non-sports media thoughts: Ann Curry got screwed by NBC over the Today show and I like “The Newsroom” on HBO.
• Lastly, can we get Bonnie Bernstein a role on the Olympics? Or at least have her host a major network NFL studio show? Please?

Enjoy your Monday or least try to enjoy it.

It’s A Friday Megalink Day

And can you believe I’ve been able to do linkage for most of the week? Hasn’t been like that in a long while. Glad I’ve been able to get it done.

Time for your Friday megalinks. As usual, we provide the Weekend Viewing Picks which has plenty of MLB and U.S. Olympic Trials action.

Let’s go to the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at ESPN extending its current deal with the Rose Bowl.

Michael looks at Erin Andrews’ departure from ESPN.

Sports Business Journal has a sampling of what some sports business and sports media figures addressed to the graduating Class of 2012 at the nation’s colleges and universities.

At the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman explores the strange dispute between the Arizona Diamondbacks and TV voice Daron Sutton.

Ed also notes some media bashing of Chris Berman a few months in advance of his Monday Night Football debut.

Stuart Kemp of the Hollywood Reporter writes that the BBC has launched a new Facebook app to allow UK users to watch the Olympics online.

John Eggerton from Broadcasting & Cable says the Supreme Court has let stand a lower court ruling throwing out the FCC fine against CBS for the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. Man, that was a long time ago.

Tim Baysinger of B&C says NASCAR Digital Media has hired five executives in advance of the sport’s takeover of its digital rights from Turner Sports next year.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group notes ESPN’s X Games production evolution.

The Nielsen Wire blog ponders the question of whether NBA Draft picks can do well in marketing products.

Deadline reports that ESPN’s ratings for the EURO 2012 semifinals this week are way up from EURO 2008.

One more week of writing, “CNBC’s Darren Rovell”. Today, CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that with less than a month to go until the Olympics, a major ticket dispute has erupted.

Joe Favorito notes how Delta Airlines’ sponsorship of English Premier League team Chelsea shows that the company wants to go outside of the US to gain awareness.

Sports Media Watch has a look at some of NBC’s Olympic assignments for London.

The Big Lead notes that ESPN and Bill Simmons removed a potential offensive part of his NBA Draft diary that is way too long for anyone to read.

Ryan Yoder of Awful Announcing has the winners and losers from Thursday’s night’s NBA Draft coverage on ESPN.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes about a documentary on an Olympic hopeful who is attempting to gain a spot on the US women’s gymnastics team.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette talks with the Voice of the Worcester Tornadoes minor league baseball team.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY talks with WFAN’s Mike Francesa on whether he’ll return to the station when his contract expires in two years.

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post is not happy about Chris Berman calling Monday Night Football.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that local sports anchor Andrew Catalon gets another Olympics assignment.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union notes that the NBA Draft’s ratings on ESPN were down from the year before.

Pete looks at 25 years of WFAN.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record analyzes the NBC Olympic assignments.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks about the later start time for the NFL national Sunday afternoon game.

Keith has some fun facts about WFAN’s 25th anniversary.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com says Philadelphia Union voice JP Dellacamera will be calling Olympic soccer games for NBC.

DCRTV’s Dave Hughes in Press Box says the Baltimore Orioles’ ratings on MASN are up.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has the Nationals’ radio ratings.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner speaks with NBC’s Phil Liggett about the Tour de France which kicks off this weekend.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald culls media opinions regarding the Heat’s chances to repeat.

Jimmie E. Gates of the Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger says a lawsuit against ESPN over a 30 for 30 documentary can proceed in state court.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says the Rockets are changing radio stations.

David writes the person who helped launch Houston’s original regional sports network will be part of the team that launches the city’s newest RSN.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman says a local sports radio network will be slightly affiliated with the new CBS Sports Radio.

More links later.

UPDATE, 9:20 p.m.: Time for more linkage.

Midwest

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley says Fox has replaced Daron Sutton from this Saturday’s Arizona-Brewers game.

Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune says WMAQ sports anchor Mike Adamle who’s been on leave from the station is expected to return soon.

Paul Christian in the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin goes over the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2012 series.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times talks with TBS’ Cal Ripken about the MLB All-Star Game.

Jim Carlisle in the Ventura County Star rails against the current format of the All-Star Game.

Jim reviews some of this week’s sports media news in his notebook.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times says the NFL has laid down guidelines for the league to return to the nation’s second biggest market.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News isn’t thrilled about NBC pulling tape delayed shenanigans for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Tom has more notes in his blog.

And we are finally done.

The NFL Moves The Late Sunday Afternoon Game While The Networks Clean Up The Mess

The NFL is the league that can for the most part, schedule its games whenever and wherever it wants. Out of left field on Thursday came the news that the late Sunday afternoon doubleheader game would be pushed from the customary 4:15 p.m. ET slot to 4:25 p.m. This was done to avoid the overlaps from the early Sunday afternoon games into the late contests. Often to fill time in between games, the NFL TV partners, CBS or Fox would show a 1 p.m. ET game that was heading towards a fantastic finish. But as the early game was about to come to a conclusion, the 4:15 p.m. games would be ready to start and CBS or Fox would break in, cite NFL rules and end of the early game was lost.

Now with the late games starting 10 minutes later, those overlaps can be avoided unless the early game goes into overtime.

But the new starting time will effect two NFL partners in particular. One being CBS which utilizes football to jumpstart its primetime lineup starting with 60 Minutes into The Amazing Race and then The Good Wife then finally the 10 p.m. show which last season was CSI: Miami. With the late game most likely ending past 7:30 p.m., CBS has a dilemma of whether to cut 60 Minutes on its 9 Sundays where it has a national late game, let the NFL overrun push the entire lineup back as it has traditionally done over the years, or even dramatically, cut the 10 p.m. show altogether, which will be The Mentalist starting in September. As Nellie Andreeva of Deadline writes, CBS had delays of its lineup on average of 27 minutes last season on doubleheader Sundays. I think CBS will most likely cut the 10 p.m. episode of The Mentalist for those 9 weeks as local affiliates do not like starting their newscasts too late.

The other NFL TV partner that would most likely take a hit will be NBC and Football Night in America. NBC bought the rights to have the “official” highlight show at 7 p.m. ET. By agreement with the NFL, it can’t start showing highlights until 7:15 p.m. Now with the new start time for late games, this ensures that NBC won’t get an audience for FINA until at the earliest 7:30 providing the late games end on time which they rarely do. Does NBC air a half-hour of Dateline at 7 p.m. knowing that it will be sacrificed to the NFL gods? Or does Football Night in America fill the first half-hour with features, interviews and previews of the upcoming Sunday Night Football game.

Fox comes out pretty much unscathed on doubleheader Sundays by scheduling The O.T. its NFL wrap up show that always ends at 8 p.m. allowing The Simpsons to start on time and not blowing away the entire primetime lineup.

Because of the money paid to the NFL, you won’t hear the networks publicly complain, but you know the suits at CBS and NBS can’t be happy about the NFL’s decision. While the ratings for the late games will continually draw better numbers than the Sunday Night Football game, the path of destruction on the primetime lineups will be rather heavy.

Instead of the NFL trying to fit the games into preexisting windows, the league does what it will always do, create its own rules and let the networks deal with the consequences.

The NFL could schedule a game at 3 a.m. ET and we would find a way to watch because it’s football plus America can’t go without missing a contest.

Let’s see where this new time will take us.

Drew Brees Talks “Bountygate” with David Letterman on CBS

On tonight’s Late Show with David Letterman, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees talks about “Bountygate” and the effects the scandal has had on his team.

The show airs at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

QUARTERBACK DREW BREES SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THE “BOUNTYGATE” ACCUSATIONS SURROUNDING HIS TEAM, THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS, WHEN HE VISITS CBS’s “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” THURSDAY, JUNE 28

Click Here to Watch a Preview of Brees’ Interview on Tonight’s LATE SHOW

Quarterback Drew Brees addresses the “Bountygate” controversy surrounding his team, the New Orleans Saints, when he visits the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Thursday, June 28.  Letterman and Brees discussed the “Bountygate” accusations at length:

LETTERMAN: “There’s quite a lot of stuff going on in New Orleans… the Bountygate?  What is the status of that?”
BREES:  “…You know, that’s just an extremely unfortunate deal.”
LETTERMAN: “On which side of it?”
BREES: “All sides – it’s certainly not a positive thing.  I mean, just the whole process itself and the investigation I feel like has been, you know, extremely unfair.  Unfortunately, it seems like it’s been more of a media campaign then it is actually finding the truth to the matter.”

LETTERMAN: “Was there truth to the matter?”
BREES:  “Well, I don’t know because, you know, I think our position as players has been we just want to see the facts of the investigation and just put the truth out there and let us move on.”

*     *     *

LETTERMAN: “Now, at any time during the supposed period of time this was going on, were you aware of it?  Did you know that this was happening?”
BREES:  “No, absolutely not, and that’s not something that I believe our team would be engaged in, and I think for all of us, it was a shock when we were accused of that, because that’s a pretty heinous accusation.  So the entire time for a lot of us, it’s been, you know, show us the proof, put forth the facts and, if indeed it is proved that there was a pay-to-injure program in place, then, yes, there should be punishment enforced, but unfortunately to this point, there’s been no hard evidence to show that that was indeed taking place.”

*     *     *

BREES:  “I mean, I’ll be honest with you, and I think I can speak for all fans in America for that matter, we are tired of hearing about it.  We don’t want to talk about it anymore. Put forth the facts, the truth, and if indeed there was a pay-to-injure scheme, then people will get punished, and if there’s not, then let’s exonerate these men because, at this point, it seems like it’s a smear campaign. We’re dragging them through the mud, we’re ruining their reputations and careers with no true evidence.”

LETTERMAN: “Does this experience take the shine off the Super Bowl victory a little bit, or is it not in that time frame?”
BREES: “No, I don’t think it does.  I mean, they’re talking about the 2009 season, which was our championship season, but, no… it’s not something that was affecting, I think, our success.”

LETTERMAN: “Sounds to me like you’re fed up, and I can get you a deal with the Jets.  If you’re fed up, I can get you a deal with the Jets.
BREES: “I think – they have enough quarterbacks at this point.”
LETTERMAN: “…Oh, that’s right. What could one more hurt, for God’s sakes?”

Brees’ entire interview, in which he also discusses the importance of concussion testing as well as his involvement with the World Food Programme, can be seen on the LATE SHOW tonight (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Also visiting the LATE SHOW tonight is actress Blake Lively.

The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN is a production of Worldwide Pants Incorporated. Barbara Gaines, Matt Roberts, Jude Brennan, Maria Pope, Eric Stangel, Justin Stangel and Rob Burnett are the executive producers. 

RATING: TV-PG (Rating may change on day of broadcast due to specific subject matter.)

That is all.

DEVELOPING: NFL Pushes Late Sunday Doubleheader Game To 4:25 P.M. ET

During the whole Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare, we get this strange news tidbit from the National Football League that changes things around for everyone.

The late Sunday afternoon national game which had been at 4:15 p.m. since 1998 will be moved ten minutes later to 4:25 p.m. This is being done to reduce the runovers of the early 1 p.m. contests. Fans had complained about watching bonus coverage of an exciting 1 p.m. game only to get cut off at 4:10 p.m. or 4:15 p.m. in order to join the late game on time.

With the new start time, the runovers get reduced and more fans can watch the end of the 1 p.m. However, on the back end, this ensures that 60 Minutes on CBS will never start on time at 7 p.m. on doubleheader Sunday. The network might as well push its entire primetime lineup back a half-hour so it starts at 7:30 p.m. or reduce 60 Minutes to a half-hour, but that kind of defeats the purpose of calling the show, “60 Minutes” if it’s only 30 minutes, right?

Fox doesn’t have to worry about starting its primetime late because it always runs “The O.T.” during its doubleheader Sundays and that runs to 8 p.m. so “The Simpsons” always begins on time.

The regional 4:05 p.m. game that runs opposite the late national game will remain unchanged

So this is a Brave New World for fans. Here’s the NFL’s announcement.

NFL SHIFTS CBS & FOX LATE DOUBLEHEADER KICKOFF TIMES TO ENSURE MORE FOOTBALL FOR FANS

4:25 PM ET Kickoff Time Reduces Overlap With 1:00 PM Games

The kickoff time for Sunday late afternoon doubleheader games on CBS and FOX will be moved from 4:15 PM ET to 4:25 PM ET, the NFL announced today.  The 4:05 PM ET kickoff time for games not on the doubleheader network will remain unchanged.

The 4:25 PM ET kickoff time will reduce instances in which fans miss the end of a 1:00 PM ET game telecast because they must receive the opening kickoff of their home team’s late-afternoon game. In addition, fans not in the cities of the late doubleheader opponents will be less likely to miss the beginning of the late doubleheader game.

In researching the kickoff time shift, the NFL analyzed games from the 2009-11 seasons and found that 44 games required part of the audience to be switched to a mandatory doubleheader game kickoff. With a 4:25 PM ET kickoff time, that number that would have been reduced by 66 percent to only 15 games.

Approximately 40 games over the full 2012 season will be impacted by the 10-minute kickoff time shift – with half of those moves coming in games played in Mountain or Pacific time zones with 1:25 PM or 2:25 PM local starts.

And we have some more big news coming up in the next post. Keep it here.

Providing Your Thursday Linkage

Looks like I’m going to be busy today so I’m going to do the linkage a bit early for me at least.

David Bauder of the Associated Press writes that even though he’s no longer NBC Sports Emperor, Dick Ebersol’s presence will still be felt at the London Olympics.

Michael Hiestand at USA Today says NBC will utilize Late Night’s Jimmy Fallon and Shaun White as guest commentators during the Olympics.

Reid Cherner of USA Today writes that ESPN the Magazine has released the roster for its annual “Body” issue.

Alex Sherman of Bloomberg says NBC Sports Network is the key to Comcast turning a profit when NBC’s new Olympic deal begins in 2014.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter says NBC is hoping the Olympics will give its struggling Today show a ratings boost.

Scott Roxborough in the Reporter writes that the EURO 2012 semifinal between Spain and Portugal set a ratings record in Europe.

Neil Reynolds of Sky Sports in the UK has New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft lobbying for an NFL franchise in London and increasing the amount of regular season games in the UK from one to two.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable reports NBC expects to lose money on the London Olympics.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says NBCUniversal is pushing people to authenticate in order to watch the Olympics online.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek looks at NBC’s nearly $1 billion take from Olympic ad sales.

Rocco Pendola of The Street wonders if NBC can make a run at ESPN.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report notes how polarizing Chris Berman can be.

Eric Goldschein of SportsGrid doesn’t quite understand the vitriol thrown Berman’s way.

Natan Edelsburg at Lost Remote says NBC is making the London Olympics a truly social media experience. That will make Bob Costas so happy to read Twitter and Facebook promos.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC’s going all in online at the Olympics.

Jack Bell at the Times looks at ESPN’s EURO 2012 ratings.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes that the NBA Finals beat Mets-Yankees in New York.

Jerry talks with the first voice ever to be heard on WFAN when it launched 25 years ago.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says Buffalo Sabres TV voice Rick Jeanneret will do the entire team’s schedule.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says even with a new playoff system, there will still be debates in college football.

In the Washington Examiner, Jim Williams talks with ESPN’s Jay Bilas about tonight’s NBA Draft.

Ron Green, Jr. of the Charlotte Observer also talks with ESPN’s Jay Bilas about the Bobcats’ choices at the Draft.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets have changed flagship radio stations.

W. Scott Bailey of the San Antonio Business Journal says local native Michelle Beadle has come a long way from covering Professional Bull Riding.

Ryan Sharp at The Oklahoman has proof that the Big 12 pursued Notre Dame to increase its TV value.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman reviews the weekend’s TV ratings.

Paul M. Banks in Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders what will happen to the BCS brand now that a college football playoff is firmly in place.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Fox Sports San Diego will air November’s Syracuse-San Diego State college basketball game on board the USS Midway.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the West Coast is getting screwed again with NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Trials.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the viewership for the NHL Draft and NHL Awards Show was down.

The Brothers Yoder at Awful Announcing have some random sports that ESPN should televise and I totally agree with the number one choice.

And that’s going to do it for the linkage today.

Breaking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for some Wednesday links. Won’t be a full set as I’ll be monitoring NBC’s Olympic conference call.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio discusses Chris Berman heading to the Monday Night Football booth for two games.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing says national nightmare Berman in the booth is not what NFL fans want.

Doug Farrar of Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner says it isn’t Berman who we should be worried about.

Matt writes about ESPN replacing Craig James on Thursday Night college football.

Michael Smith in Sports Business Daily writes that the PGA has a new sponsor for its developmental tour.

Scott Foxborough at the Hollywood Reporter notes the huge increase for EURO 2012′s ratings on ESPN from the last event four years ago.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable says MLB Network has upgraded its production control room for its signature MLB Tonight show.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the Sportsman Channel is gaining ground for its HD network.

Patrick Hipes of Deadline notes the TV bidding for the new college football playoff system to begin with the 2014 season will be worth beaucoup bucks.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report talks with the former owner of WFAN and how it was a risk to start an all-sports radio station 25 years ago.

Ed says no matter what you think of him, Don Imus’ move to WFAN helped save the sports radio format and sent it flying to new heights.

Ed says ESPN’s public relations blog fired salvos on behalf of ESPN Radio at CBS and NBC.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group says Fox Sports Net has developed an MLB app for second screens.

In GoLocalProv, former WBZ-TV anchor Bob Lobel gives one of the greatest moments in his career when he brought Boston legends Bobby Orr, Larry Bird and Ted Williams together for one show. I watched that when it happened. It was a great show.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY talks with WFAN 20/20 Sports update man John Minko.

Jerry also talks with another WFAN original, Steve Somers who schmoozes S-P-O-R-T-S every night.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union writes about Chris Berman and Trent Dilfer being teamed for two Monday Night Football games.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg says Nationals’ ratings on MASN are way up from last season.

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald reviews LeBron James’ appearance on Late Show with David Letterman last night.

Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic talks about the strange removal of Daron Sutton from Diamondbacks broadcasts.

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com says the Diamondbacks have suspended Sutton for “insubordination” and won’t say anything more.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that the Pac-12 won the most NCAA Championships this academic year.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail wonders if it’s soccer time to shine in Canada and the U.S.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog looks at CBC and CTV dropping their joint bid for the 2014/16 Olympics.

Sports Media Watch looks into the move to put Chris Berman into the Monday Night Football booth.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead says bitter little hedgehog Danny Sheridan is buying Twitter followers.

Dave Kohl in The Broadcast Booth talks about multiple national sports radio networks.

And that’s going to do it today. Had to cut the links short because today will be quite busy. Leaving the afternoon free for the NBC Olympics announcements.

Chris Berman WILL Call Monday Night Football… Repeat Chris Berman WILL Call Monday Night Football

Since SportsbyBrooks tweeted last week that Chris Berman would call the opening week Monday Night Football late doubleheader game, we’ve been waiting for confirmation. Instead of receiving a press release, ESPN has chosen to confirm this through its public relations website, Front Row.

Over the last few years, Berman has been polarizing. His performances on the U.S. Open and All-Star Home Run Derby have been heavily criticized on social media sites. Now with Berman going to call two games, a preseason game between Arizona and Tennessee on August 23 and then the last game on Week 1 of the 2012 regular season, San Diego-Oakland at 10:15 p.m., Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Sulia and any other site within reach of fans could explode.

Berman will be teamed with Trent Dilfer who has been the analyst for the late Week 1 doubleheader game since 2010, paired with Brad Nessler. But with Nessler on NFL Network for 13 weeks, ESPN has chosen to go with the overbearing Berman for this year. If people thought the Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic experience was bad from 2007 through 2009, they had better be ready for 2012′s edition of the late night train wreck.

So from ESPN Front Row, here’s a listing of the announcers for the Week 1 Monday Night Football late game since the doubleheaders began in 2006.

ESPN’s Season-Opening MNF Doubleheader Commentator Teams (2006-present):

If it were up to me, I’d use one of ESPN’s college football primetime teams. Why not have Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews do the late night game? Brent has an NFL background from his days at CBS and also hosted Monday Night Football for a year. Kirk has seen many of the players before. And Brent could give us a betting line reference. It would be so fun.

But as I get back to reality and realize Chris Berman will call the game, I will be watching only for the potential train wreck value. I know my friends at ESPN PR won’t like that, but they have to know how polarizing Berman can be.

UPDATE, 10:18 a.m.: Just as I hit “Publish”, ESPN comes through with the press release. Here it is.

Chris Berman and Trent Dilfer to Call Chargers-Raiders on ESPN’s Monday Night Football

Six-time National Sportscaster of the Year Chris Berman has been the face of ESPN’s NFL coverage for nearly three decades.

The 2012 season will be Berman’s 28^th as host of Sunday NFL Countdown. He’s also hosted ESPN’s NFL Draft and Super Bowl week coverage, and he continues to emcee the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s annual enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio.

In fact, Berman himself was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the Pete Rozelle Radio-TV Award recipient in 2010.

But this coming NFL season, Berman will try something he’s never done before … call an NFL game.

He and analyst Trent Dilfer have been assigned to the booth for the San Diego Chargers-Oakland Raiders game as part of ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader on September 10.

Berman will host the three-hour Countdown in Bristol on the opening NFL Sunday. After the show, he’ll fly cross country for this AFC West rivalry game the next night (10:15 p.m. ET). The west coast game will follow the Cincinnati Bengals-Baltimore Ravens opener, which will be called by the regular MNF team of Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden (7 p.m.).

In preparation for the assignment, Berman and Dilfer will also call the Arizona Cardinals-Tennessee Titans MNF preseason game on Aug. 23 (8 p.m.).

“I have worked with Boom for four years now and I’ve never been around someone who loves the NFL more than him,” said Dilfer. “I firmly believe that his passion and mine for the game of football will translate to the audience.”

That will be it.