Fang's Bites

Fang’s Bites Medals For 2012 London Olympics Coverage, Part I — Studio Hosts & Analysts

Time to hand out the medals for NBC’s coverage for the Games of the XXX Summer Olympiad in London. This was a largely successful Olympics for NBC as it outdid its own expectations for ratings, profits and viewership. I’ll do the same as I did back in 2008 for Beijing and 2010 in Vancouver. For those not getting on the medal stand, they will get a horrid Bowl of Haggis. I guess some people in the UK like Haggis, but looking at that recipe, I don’t think I could eat it and I would challenge those who fail to medal here to eat it.

I will do hosts in this segment. I will follow up with play-by-play and analysts in the next installment.

So let’s do the medals for 2012. You may agree, you may not agree. Comment below.

HOSTS

Gold Medal

Bob Costas, NBC Primetime – I know, it’s easy to put him in this category, but even if there’s slippage, which there wasn’t, you can’t put him in any other place. Unlike in Beijing where he had live events to handle, London’s primetime was all taped including Costas’ own transitions in and out of events. His interviews mostly went well except when he tried a 1975 World Series Carlton Fisk home run reference on 19 year old gymnast Aly Raisman who had no idea what he was talking about. This year, Bob was more sarcastic and caustic in his comments. Maybe it was the hour he was taping, but overall, Costas was back in his element as host.

Michelle Beadle, NBC Sports Network Daytime — Michelle was an Olympic rookie, but she did a great job on the anchor desk. Quite often, she opened NBC Sports Network’s coverage and sent us right to live events. In addition, her interviews on the set gave us food for thought, especially when women’s 100 meter medalists Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells made news with Beadle criticizing Lolo Jones. Michelle showed her humor during the Olympics and it came across very nicely on the anchor desk. Here’s hoping we’ll see her in Sochi in 2014.

Dan Patrick, NBC Daytime – After appearing for just four days in Vancouver, Dan stayed for the entire duration of the London Games and did a spectacular job. As I previously wrote, Dan could step in for Bob if Costas ever chose to leave the primetime desk. Dan was very good on interviews, had very good chemistry with Al Michaels on the transitions and was very good as a nuts and bolts host. Patrick has firmly established himself as an upper echelon studio host with the 2012 Olympics.

Liam McHugh, NBC Sports Network Late Afternoon – Here’s a guy who has had a busy four month stretch for NBC Sports and he’s going to be busy again in September as he transitions to college football. Once part of The Daily Line on Versus, one of the few people to continue to NBC Sports Network under the Comcast transition, Liam has become one of the best young studio hosts on sports television. He’s gone from the NHL Postseason to hosting the Stanley Cup Final to the Tour de France and then the Olympics. In each case, he made hosting look easy when having to transition from sport-to-sport is hardly that way. Well done, Liam.

Silver Medal

Mary Carillo, NBC Late Night – The late night show is perfect for Mary. It’s a mix of events, humor and interviews and Mary was up to the task. Unlike the daytime and primetime shows, Late Night was able to stretch its wings. Plus John McEnroe made a few appearances and it made for some funny moments. Mary gets a well deserved silver.

Al Michaels, NBC Daytime – A much better showing from Vancouver. Al was more relaxed on the set this year as compared to Vancouver where he looked uncomfortable. Perhaps it was having his new BFF Dan Patrick around to loosen thing up, but Al was quite good. He mixed anecdotes, Olympic factoids and one liners where he could. Overall, a good job by Al and he’s on the podium in London.

Willie Geist, NBC Sports Network Midday — I wanted to dislike Willie as his shaky performances in Vancouver didn’t give me much hope for hosting duties, but I have to admit, he showed some humor and some strong interviewing skills in London. He and Michelle Beadle had some funny transitions on the set and they showed some decent chemistry. Willie gets a surprising silver.

Bronze Medal

Kelly Tilghman, MSNBC Daytime – After a strong start, Kelly faltered a bit like in the second week where she made up countries. I’d like to see Kelly in Sochi and Rio. She’s on the podium. As she was in New York, she was able to speak with several NBC analysts who didn’t make the trip to London. Interviews went well for the most part.

Rob Simmelkjaer, MSNBC Daytime – He’s on the podium.

BOWL OF HAGGIS

Pat O’Brien, Bravo Tennis – There was a time when having Pat O’Brien at your event meant a heavy hitter who could write, quip and conduct interviews. While Pat has been back in sports on Fox Sports Radio after his long stint covering entertainment news, he was amazingly unprepared to host Olympic tennis on Bravo. He made numerous mistakes, conducted awkward interviews and despite being on every day for the first week, he did not improve. Here’s a guy who brought us Rock ‘n Roll Highlights and irreverence to Olympic Late Night in the 1990′s, but instead, gave us nothing in 2012. Sad to see.

Fred Roggin, CNBC Boxing – Fred was based in New York after being a venue host in 2008 and 2010. Fred has not been a fave since his stint hosting boxing in Beijing and curling in Vancouver. He received an #NBCFAIL in 2010 and a bronze in Beijing. NBC gave Fred a studio complete with analysts BJ Flores and Laila Ali. It appeared both Flores and Ali wanted to hit Fred at various points. The studio transitions between Fred in New York and the boxing crew of Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas were awkward at times. Fred gets a Bowl of Haggis. Down it with some warm British beer while you’re at it.

ANALYSTS

Gold Medal

Bela Karolyi, Gymnastics – Was Bela hard to understand at times? Yes. But is he enthusiastic about his sport and does it come across on TV? Yes and yes. Once again, the Bela and Bob Show was entertaining television. His analysis was very biased, but Bela is not a journalist and we know this from the outset. The night his wife came on set to talk with Bob was quite funny as Bob tried to determine if both were going to be in Rio in 2016. And an interview on late night between Mary Carillo, Bela and Nastia Liukin turned out to be The Bela Show. We need more Bela in Rio.

Doc Rivers, Basketball – The Boston Celtics coach was once an analyst for TNT and ESPN and he stepped into the studio on NBC Sports Network/NBC and was fantastic. Doc explained replays and strategy concisely and he even stepped in during the transition between the women’s soccer semifinal and men’s basketball game last week. Liam McHugh asked him as a coach how he would handle the USA and Canada soccer squads after their emotional game and Doc gave great answers. And as the speculation grew for Doc as 2016 Olympic basketball coach, he answered the questions as best as he could. In addition, it was nice to see an NBA on ABC reunion between Doc and former partner, Al Michaels.

Silver Medal

Laila Ali, Boxing – Laila did an adept job in analyzing women’s boxing with Fred Roggin (see above). Like her dad, Laila is charismatic and if she ever decided to become an analyst, I’d watch.

Bronze Medal

BJ Flores, Boxing – The analyst for NBC Sports Network’s boxing coverage was ok. I couldn’t understand him at times, but maybe that was me.

REPORTERS AND CONTRIBUTORS

Gold Medal

John McEnroe, NBC Primetime and Late Night – John wanted to go outside his traditional tennis role and stretch his wings. I thought John did great. He filled two roles, one with NBC and another with BBC. McEnroe showed a general interest in the sports he attended whether it was track & field or swimming. I noticed that John’s feature on Usain Bolt ran on both networks over the weekend. And on Saturday, a feature on the proper way to behave was right up his alley.

Jimmy Roberts, NBC Daytime – Jimmy is a masterful writer and can find stories where others cannot. I would have liked to have seen him in primetime, bu we got to see Ryan Seacrest instead (more on him later).

BOWL OF HAGGIS

Ryan Seacrest, All-Around Hack – I know why NBC had him at the Olympics, he was there to draw viewers who don’t normally watch the Olympics. He had primetime segments where he talked with Michael and Debbie Phelps or discussed social media trends. On the Today Show, he interviewed athletes. Throughout, Seacrest showed a general lack of knowledge in sports and sometimes in the people he was interviewing. Then again, Seacrest is not a sportscaster nor does he pretend to be. I’m not a fan of Seacrest and I thought his primetime segments brought the proceedings to a halt. However, during the Closing Ceremony, he kept his talking to a minimum, introducing the musical acts and letting the pictures do the talking. For Sochi and Rio, let’s keep his Olympic appearances to the Today Show and off primetime where he can do the least damage.

Coming tonight, the medals for the play-by-play commentators, analysts and venue reporters.

Bringing Out Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do some linkage for you on this Tuesday.

Earlier today, actually very early today, I wrote Some Tuesday Olympic Sports Media Thoughts. I hope it makes sense.

Austin Karp of the Sports Business Daily says NBC saw its second drop in the overnight ratings for the 2012 Olympics.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says a new poll finds that Americans want to watch their Olympics live. Well, well, NBC.

Reid Cherner of USA Today has video of someone on Fox News complaining that gold medal-winning gymnast Gabby Douglas and other US Olympic athletes aren’t being patriotic because they aren’t wearing red, white and blue. Did someone really think that was a serious complaint?

Etan Vlessing at the Hollywood Reporter says CTV received its biggest Olympic ratings to date with Usain Bolt’s gold medal-winning performance in the 100 meters dash.

Gary Holmes from MediaPost says Olympic viewers want to see the Games one way. On TV.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says a poll finds a majority pleased with NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. Really?

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News looks at NBC’s Olympic primetime ratings for Sunday.

Mike also delves into the online numbers visiting NBC’s Olympics website.

Jeannine Poggi of Advertising Age explains why Turner Broadcasting purchased the Bleacher Report.

Jeannine says people might be complaining about NBC’s tape delays, but the network and advertisers are benefiting the most.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says NBC’s viewership for the Olympics on Sunday was a triumph for the network.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has video of Vin Scully carefully translating an argument during last night’s Colorado-Los Angeles Dodgers game.

Timothy Burke has a freeze frame of NBC’s Al Michaels. This is so funny.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times goes over the sale of the Bleacher Report to Turner Sports.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes about some of NBC’s Olympic operations being handled out of New York.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says local native Joe Tessitore gets a college football promotion from ESPN.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with local sports anchor Andrew Catalon who called tennis history during the Olympics.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun interviews NBC Olympics director Bucky Gunts.

Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald says the premiere of Hard Knocks with Dolphins is set for tonight.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman goes over ESPN’s college football announcing teams for 2012.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the Olympics continue to do well locally.

The San Diego Union-Tribune says the blackout has been lifted for the Chargers’ preseason opener on Thursday.

Sports Media Watch looks at the UFC on Fox ratings on Saturday.

Guyism notes that Kelly Tilghman created a new country on MSNBC today.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog looks at the media openly rooting during the Olympics.

That will be it for now.

Looking at the Next Generation of Olympic Announcers

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

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

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

HOSTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANNOUNCERS

Let’s do this by sport.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your US Olympics Viewing Guide

With the Games of the XXX Summer Olympiad in London starting this week, it’s time to provide you with a breakdown of coverage that you’ll see on the networks of NBCUniversal. While the Opening Ceremony will officially start the Games on Friday, soccer action will begin on Wednesday. MSNBC starts the coverage Wednesday morning with women’s soccer.

Let’s breakdown how many hours each network will carry and what they’ll show.

BRAVO

Bravo is back in the Olympics picture. It last carried the Olympics for NBCUniversal in 2004 in Athens. The channel will be the home of Olympic Tennis at the fabled grounds of Wimbledon and NBC gets to return to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club after being kicked out last year. Altogether, Bravo will carry 56 hours of tennis live mostly from early morning to mid-afternoon from July 28 through August 3.

Pat O’Brien will be the venue host. Tennis Channel’s Brett Haber and Andrew Catalon will call the bulk of the play-by-play. They’ll be joined by analysts Justin Gimbelstob and Rennae Stubs both of Tennis Channel. Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim will be the on-site reporter.

CNBC

As it was for 2008 Olympics in Communist China, CNBC will be the home of Olympic boxing. With the debut of women’s boxing in London, CNBC will be quite busy carrying 73 hours of boxing from July 28 through August 12. A bulk of the coverage will be delayed and shown from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. ET on weekdays. Six hours of live boxing will be aired on weekends.

Fred Roggin will host from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Center studios in New York. Calling the boxing will be Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas. This will be the third consecutive Olympics for Papa and Atlas at the boxing venue known as the ExCel. Papa has also called Olympic boxing for NBC in Barcelona in 1992 and in Atlanta in 1996 as well as in Athens in 2004 and Communist China four years ago. Russ Thaler will be the reporter.

MSNBC

The network will put aside its daytime programming and air a plethora of Olympic sports, 20 overall including archery, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, handball, indoor volkeyball, soccer, table tennis, water polo, weightlifting and six other sports.

MSNBC will lean forward with 155½ hours of coverage starting with women’s soccer between the host country, Great Britain and New Zealand on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET.

On weekdays, MSNBC will air Olympic coverage between 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. ET with expanded coverage on weekends. The coverage runs from July 25 through August 12 with no Olympic programming on Friday due to the Opening Ceremony.

Kelly Tilghman of Golf Channel and Rob Simmelkjaer will host MSNBC’s coverage from the NBC Saturday Night Live studios in New York.

NBC SPORTS NETWORK

Now under the NBCUniversal umbrella, the network formerly known as Versus and Outdoor Life Network before that, takes USA Network’s place on the Olympic broadcasting roster. NBC Sports Network will get the bulk of the programming on the cable side, airing a total of 292½ hours.

NBC Sports Network will carry a similar menu of sports as MSNBC, carrying 22 Olympic sports and it will also be the home of USA basketball, women’s soccer and field hockey.

NBCSN’s day will be busy, starting at 4 a.m. ET and running until 8 p.m. making way for NBC’s primetime coverage.

Your hosts will be Michelle Beadle, Liam McHugh and Willie Geist. All three will be based in the International Broadcast Center in London.

NBC Sports Network kicks off its Olympics coverage with the US Women’s National Soccer Team taking on France at 11:30 a.m. ET this Wednesday. It will air the Games continuously until August 12.

TELEMUNDO

NBCUniversal’s Spanish language network will air over 170 hours of the Olympics. Its coverage will most focus on boxing, basketball, soccer and swimming. It will air the Opening Ceremony and will be the only NBCU network that will air a full 20 days of Olympics programming between July 25 through August 12.

NBC

Bolstered by a broadcast network record of 272½ hours, the National Broadcasting Company will focus on the glamor sports of the Olympics, beach volleyball, diving, gymnastics, swimming and track & field.

Due to the five hour difference between the Eastern time zone and London, all of primetime will be delayed. However, action in daytime will be live at least for the Eastern half of the country. Once again, the Mountain and Pacific regions will be forced to wait for three hours to see Olympic action in the morning.

NBC’s coverage will begin with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 27, delayed in all time zones, airing at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. Unlike the sports action, you won’t be able to find the Opening Ceremony online as NBC is going back to its old tape delay shenanigans for that part of the Olympics even though CTV in Canada will be airing it live at 4 p.m. ET. But I digress.

NBC’s coverage will begin at 10 a.m. ET/PT weekdays and as early as 5 a.m. ET/PT on weekends lasting until 5 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on weekends. Primetime begins at 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sundays. Late night coverage will last from 12:35 a.m. until 1:35 a.m.

Your hosts on NBC will be Al Michaels and Dan Patrick on daytime, Bob Costas, of course, in primetime, and in late night, it will be Mary Carillo.

ONLINE

This is where Olympic fans finally get their chance to see everything. NBC says 3,500 hours of Olympic programming will be made available either on NBCOlympics.com or through the NBC Olympics Live Extra app for mobiles and tablets. Not only will the TV coverage of CNBC, Bravo, MSNBC and NBC Sports Network will be streamed, but also every event including the glamor sports that NBC used to hold for primetime.

The individual sports that will be streamed will not have the NBC announcers and the NBC production. In all cases, the world feed will be used and there could be occasions where the event will not have announcers.

The catch here is that you will have to authenticate meaning that you will have to sign in through your cable provider, but unlike the process for March Madness, it’s rather easy.

NBC hopes that providing everything online, it will not cannibalize its TV product and actually encourage people to watch later in primetime. We shall see how this Brave New World in Olympics broadcasting takes shape.

NBC is also providing separate channels for basketball and soccer. Check with local cable provider for channel number assignments. And for the 63 people across the country who care, NBC is also providing 3-D coverage.

So this is how the Olympics will be handled this year. Let the Games Begin.

2012 NBC Olympics Hosts and Commentators

Ok, NBC’s press release on its 2012 Olympics hosts and announcers has yet to arrive. Thanks to an alert reader, I was tipped off to NBC Sports Group’s press release website which has the talent bios of its announcers for London. I’m not sure if NBC wants to make that site public, so I won’t link to it for now. But through this website, I’ll be able to piece together the announcing teams for you.

We already know the hosts for NBC and the hosts for Bravo (tennis), CNBC (boxing) and MSNBC. And this week, we learned the hosts for NBC Sports Network.

Ok, let’s list everything I’m able to compile. This is not complete as some sports are missing analysts and one is missing a play-by-play person, but it’s based on what I’ve been able to piece together from NBC’s PR site. I’ll provide reactions to the announcers later.

Randy Moss and Steve Schlanger will call multiple events during the Olympics. There are a couple of analysts who will provide color on multiple sports.

And when NBC finally sends its official press release with the complete announcing teams, I’ll publish that in a separate post.

Here we go.

STUDIO HOSTS

NBC
Today at the Olympics: Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, Ann Curry, Al Roker
Weekdays/Weekend: Al Michaels, Dan Patrick
Primetime: Bob Costas
Late Night: Mary Carillo

Correspondents: Mary Carillo (primetime), Jimmy Fallon (primetime), Bela Karolyi (primetime) John McEnroe (primetime), Jimmy Roberts (daytime), Ryan Seacrest (primetime),  Shaun White (primetime)

MSNBC
Kelly Tilghman

NBC Sports Network
Morning: Michelle Beadle
Midday: Willie Geist
Afternoon: Liam McHugh

Olympic Sports Desk Reporters
Tamron Hall
Marshall Harris
Lester Holt
Carolyn Manno
Pierre McGuire
Carolyn Peck
Dr. Nancy Snyderman
Michele Tafoya

VENUE COMMENTATORS

Badminton
Jim Kozimor (play-by-play)
Steve Kearney (analyst)

Basketball (men’s & women’s)
Chris Carrino (play-by-play)
Bob Fitzgerald (play-by-play)
Dave Strader (play-by-play)
Doug Collins (analyst)
Lisa Leslie (analyst)
Ann Meyers (analyst)
Craig Sager (reporter)

Beach Volleyball
Chris Marlowe (play-by-play)
Kevin Wong (analyst)
Heather Cox (reporter)

Boxing (CNBC)
Fred Roggin (venue host)
Bob Papa (blow-by-blow)
Teddy Atlas (analyst)
Russ Thaler (reporter)

Canoe
Randy Moss (play-by-play)

Cycling
Todd Harris (play-by-play)
Steve Schlanger (play-by-play)

Diving
Ted Robinson (play-by-play)
Cynthia Potter (analyst)
Alex Flanagan (reporter)

Equestrian
Tim Ryan (play-by-play)
Melanie Smith Taylor (analyst)

Field Hockey
Mike Corey (play-by-play)
Missy Meharg (analyst)

Gymnastics
Al Trautwig (play-by-play)
Tim Dagget (analyst)
Elfi Schlegel (analyst)
Andrea Joyce (reporter)

Handball
Mike Gorman (play-by-play)
Dawn Allinger Lewis (analyst)

Judo
Leo White, Jr. (analyst)

Open Water
Steve Schlanger (play-by-play)
Rowdy Gaines (analyst)

Race Walk
Randy Moss (play-by-play)
Chris Maddocks (analyst)

Rowing
Terry Gannon (play-by-play)
Yasmin Farooq (analyst)

Shooting
Shari Legate (analyst)

Soccer
Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play)
Glenn Davis (play-by-play)
JP Dellacamera (play-by-play)
Arlo White (play-by-play)
Marcelo Balboa (analyst)
Brandi Chastain (analyst)
Allen Hopkins (analyst)
Cobi Jones (analyst)
Kyle Martino (analyst)
Shep Messing (analyst)

Swimming
Dan Hicks (play-by-play)
Rowdy Gaines (analyst)
Andrea Kremer (reporter)

Synchronized Swimming
Randy Moss (play-by-play)
Heather Olson (analyst)

Table Tennis
Ari Wolfe (play-by-play)
Sean O’Neill (analyst)

Tennis (Bravo)
Pat O’Brien (venue host)
Andrew Catalon (play-by-play)
Brett Haber (play-by-play)
Ted Robinson (play-by-play)
Justin Gimelstob (analyst)
Rennae Stubbs (analyst)
Jon Wertheim (reporter)

Track & Field
Tom Hammond (play-by-play)
Ato Boldon (analyst)
Craig Masback (analyst)
Dwight Stones (analyst)
Tim Hutchings (analyst -Marathon)
Lewis Johnson (reporter)

Trampoline
Al Trautwig (play-by-play)
Tim Dagget (analyst)

Triathlon
Steve Schlanger (play-by-play)
Julie Swail (analyst)

Volleyball
Paul Sunderland (play-by-play)
Kevin Barnett (analyst)

Water Polo
Mike Emrick (play-by-play)
Julie Swail (analyst)
Wolf Wigo (analyst)

Weightlifting
Jim Watson (play-by-play)

White Water
Randy Moss (play-by-play)

Wrestling
Jason Knapp (play-by-play)

That is your list for now. As stated above, when NBC provides the press release with the complete teams, I’ll put that on the site.

UPDATE, 1:35 a.m.: Through a check of Twitter and hearing from sources, I’ve added NBC MLS voice Arlo White to soccer, and through Drea Avent’s account and in particular, her tweet to me directly, she’ll be a reporter during the Games, in what capacity, we have not been able to confirm just yet. More to follow when it becomes available.

NBC To Offer 800 Million Hours of Olympic Coverage

Ok, maybe that’s being facetious, but NBCUniversal between its cable, over the air and online platforms will offer over 5,500 hours of coverage of the 2012 London Olympics, or known to the International Olympic Committee as the XXX Olympic Summer Games.

For NBC, it’s the seventh consecutive Summer Olympics dating back to 1988 in Seoul, Republic of Korea and the seventh consecutive Olympiad it will broadcast Winter or Summer since 2000 in Sydney. It seems to be forgotten that CBS aired all three Winter Olympiads in the 1990′s.

The 5,535 combined hours to be offered this year surpass the number from the Communist China Games of 2008 which totaled 3,600. Here’s a breakdown of what the platforms of NBCUniversal will offer.

• NBC will air a record 272½ hours including daytime coverage beginning at 10 a.m. ET on weekdays, as early as 5 a.m. on weekends. Expect to see the glamor events that traditionally do well on NBC like Gymnastics, Swimming & Diving, Track & Field (a.k.a. Athletics) and Beach Volleyball. Hosts will be Bob Costas (primetime), Mary Carillo (late night), Al Michaels (daytime) and Dan Patrick (weekend & daytime).
• Bravo will carry 56 hours of tennis from the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon. Pat “You are so f&*kin’ hot!” O’Brien hosts.
• CNBC will provide 73 hours of men’s and women’s boxing coverage from the preliminary fights to the medal round. Fred Roggin is the host.
• MSNBC will offer 155½ hours of coverage with Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman as the host.
• NBC Sports Network will get the bulk of the cable coverage airing a total of 292½ hours focusing on basketball, soccer and other U.S. team sports. Hosts have not been announced, but expect to see NHL on NBC’s Liam McHugh and Bill Patrick to be part of the coverage.
• NBCOlympics.com will stream every event including medal rounds totaling 3,500 hours. Events to be aired on NBC in primetime will be archived after they air on the network.
• Telemundo will provide 173 hours focusing on boxing, swimming and soccer.
• NBC will also provide specialty channels on basketball and soccer to cable and satellite providers. And there will also be coverage in 3-D.

Got that? There will be a test later. Here’s the 2,555-word press release that adds to my 367-word wraparound.

NBCUNIVERSAL TO PROVIDE UNPRECEDENTED COVERAGE OF 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

Record 5,535 Hours across NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, Two Specialty Channels & 3D
NBC to Broadcast 272.5 Hours, Most-Ever for an Olympic Broadcast Network

NEW YORK – May 23, 2012 – NBCUniversal will provide 5,535 hours of coverage for the 2012 London Olympics across NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, two specialty channels, and the first-ever 3D platform, an unprecedented level that surpasses the coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by nearly 2,000 hours. It was also announced today that NBC will broadcast 272.5 hours of coverage, the most ever for an Olympic broadcast network, largely attributable to an increase in daytime coverage.

“We are only able to provide this level of coverage to U.S. viewers because of the unmatched array of NBCUniversal assets,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “Whether on television or online, on broadcast or cable, in English or in Spanish, NBCUniversal has the London Olympics covered, providing the American viewer with more choices than ever to watch the Games.”

Following are highlights of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2012 London Olympics (some of the following information has been previously announced):

· NBCUniversal is presenting its 13^th Olympic Games and seventh consecutive, both the most by any U.S. media company. ABC is second with 10 and four (twice), respectively.

o London will be NBCUniversal’s seventh consecutive Summer Games, having presented each one since Seoul in 1988.

· The 5,535 hours of Olympic coverage are the most ever and surpass Beijing’s coverage (3,600 hours) by nearly 2,000 hours.

o The 5,535 hours more than double the total amount of coverage of every Summer Games combined prior to Beijing (2,562 hours from 1960 Rome on CBS to 2004 Athens on NBC).

o The 5,535 hours are the equivalent of 231 days of coverage.

o NBCUniversal will average 291 hours of coverage per day over London’s 19 days (including two days of soccer competition prior to the Opening Ceremony).

· The networks of NBCU will provide coverage of all 32 sports and all 302 medal competitions.

· NBC will broadcast 272.5 hours of London Olympic coverage over 17 days, the most extensive coverage ever provided by an Olympic broadcast network, and nearly 50 hours more than the 225 hours for Beijing in 2008.

o Daytime coverage has increased significantly for London. Coverage will begin on most weekdays at 10 a.m. ET/PT, immediately following NBC News’ TODAY, which is originating from London.

o On weekends, NBC’s daytime coverage will begin as early as 5 a.m. ET/PT.

· NBC Sports Network will serve as the home to U.S. team sports, with 292.5 hours of total coverage from 2012 London Olympics this summer, including 257.5 hours of original programming – an average of more than 14 hours per day – the most-ever for an Olympic cable network.

· MSNBC will carry 155.5 hours of a wide variety of long-form Olympic programming over 19 days.

· CNBC will serve as the home of Olympic boxing this summer, including the debut of women’s boxing. The channel will televise 73 hours of boxing coverage over 16 days — from elimination bouts to the men’s and women’s finals.

· Bravo will act as the home of Olympic tennis this summer, televising 56 hours of long-form tennis coverage from July 28-August 3.

· NBCOlympics.com will live stream every event and sport for the first time ever. In all, the site will live stream more than 3,500 total programming hours, including the awarding of all 302 medals.

o NBCOlympics.com will live stream NBCU cable channels NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo, which will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers.

o Two apps – one focused on live streaming, one on short-form highlights, schedules, results, columns, and more – will be available for mobile and tablet users. The vast majority of content will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers.

· NBCUniversal announced the most extensive Spanish-language Olympic coverage in the company’s history, offering more than 173 hours of the upcoming London 2012 Olympics on Telemundo, “The U.S. Home of the Olympic Games in Spanish.”

o The 173 hours of Spanish-language coverage by Telemundo nearly equals the total coverage broadcast by NBC for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (176.5).

· Specialty channels for basketball and soccer are available to cable, satellite and telco providers, and will total 770 hours of coverage.

· Panasonic Corporation of North America and the NBC Sports Group announced in January that they will partner to make the London 2012 Olympic Games available in 3D to all U.S. distributors who carry Olympic coverage on cable, satellite and telco — nearly 100 percent of the multichannel industry.

o The effort will produce 242 hours of coverage and mark the first time that the Olympic Games will be distributed in the U.S. in 3D.

NBC

NBC will broadcast 272.5 hours of London Olympic coverage over 17 days this summer, the most extensive coverage ever provided by an Olympic broadcast network, and nearly 50 hours more than the 225 hours for Beijing in 2008. Swimming — including Michael Phelps’ quest to become the most decorated Olympian ever — track and field, gymnastics, diving, and beach volleyball, among other sports, will serve as the centerpieces of NBC’s coverage, which begins with the Opening Ceremony at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, July 27.

Olympic coverage on NBC will again be divided into three day parts: daytime, primetime and late night. NBC’s primetime program, featuring the traditional, award-winning Olympic storytelling coverage that viewers have come to expect, will air 8-11:30 p.m. or Midnight ET/PT on most nights.

Daytime coverage has increased significantly for London. Coverage will begin on most weekdays at 10 a.m. ET/PT, immediately following TODAY, which is originating from London. On weekends, NBC’s daytime coverage will begin as early as 5 a.m. ET/PT. A one-hour late night show will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the primetime program. Primetime will be replayed following the late-night show.

It was announced in April that Bob Costas, a 22-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, returns as the primetime host for NBC’s coverage. For Costas, London marks his 10^th Olympic broadcast assignment and his ninth as the primetime host (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Salt Lake City, 2002, Athens 2004, Turin 2006, Communist China 2008, Vancouver 2010).

Al Michaels, who hosted daytime coverage at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, and Dan Patrick, making his Olympic hosting debut, will host NBC’s weekday and weekend daytime coverage, and Mary Carillo will once again host the NBC late night show.

Additionally, top TV broadcaster Ryan Seacrest, tennis legend John McEnroe, famed gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi, and Carillo, broadcasting her 11^th Olympic Games, will serve as Olympic correspondents during primetime coverage on NBC.

The majority of the following information about NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, NBCOlympics.com and Telemundo, has been previously announced:

NBC SPORTS NETWORK

NBC Sports Network will serve as the home to U.S. team sports, with 292.5 hours of total coverage from 2012 London Olympics this summer, including 257.5 hours of original programming – an average of more than 14 hours per day – the most-ever for an Olympic cable network. Coverage will begin on Wednesday, July 25, at 11:30 a.m. ET, two days before the Opening Ceremony, when Team USA takes on France in women’s soccer, live from Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland.

NBC Sports Network coverage, originating from Olympic Park in London, will air up to 20 medal rounds and 22 Olympic sports, including Team USA basketball, women’s soccer and field hockey.

NBC Sports Network, distributed in nearly 80 million homes – an increase of three million homes in the last year – will also carry soccer qualifying on Thursday, July 26. There will be no coverage on July 27 as there are no events scheduled on the same day as the Opening Ceremony. Coverage will conclude on NBC Sports Network on Sunday, August 12, the final day of competition. On most days, coverage will air from 4 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET, which covers the live Olympic day in London.

MSNBC

MSNBC, NBCUniversal’s 24/7 cable news channel that is fully distributed in roughly 100 million homes, will carry 155.5 hours of a wide variety of long-form Olympic programming over 19 days. The channel will air up to 18 medal rounds and 20 Olympic sports, from badminton to basketball to soccer to wrestling.

NBCUniversal’s 2012 London Olympic coverage begins on MSNBC on Wednesday, July 25 – two days before the Opening Ceremony — when Great Britain faces New Zealand in women’s soccer, the first official competition of the Games, live from Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Coverage begins at 10:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. PT.

The channel will also carry soccer qualifying on Thursday, July 26, but there will be no coverage on July 27 as there are no events scheduled on the same day as the Opening Ceremony. Coverage will conclude on MSNBC on August 12, the final day of competition.

On most weekdays, coverage will air from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET. There will be longer programming windows on Saturdays and Sundays.

Longtime Golf Channel commentator Kelly Tilghman will serve as MSNBC’s Olympic host, with London being her first-ever Olympic assignment. MSNBC has aired Olympic coverage for every Summer Games since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

CNBC

CNBC — NBCUniversal’s fully distributed cable business channel — will serve as the home of Olympic boxing this summer, including the debut of women’s boxing. The channel will televise 73 hours of boxing coverage over 16 days — every day from July 28-August 12 — from elimination bouts to the men’s and women’s finals. Same-day coverage will air from 5-8 p.m. ET during the week, with six hours of live coverage airing each day on the weekends. This marks the fourth consecutive Summer Games that CNBC has featured Olympic boxing.

Fred Roggin, the longtime lead sports anchor at NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles, KNBC, will reprise his Beijing role as Olympic boxing host. This will be his seventh Olympics working for NBC and fourth working on Olympic boxing in some capacity.

BRAVO

Bravo, NBCUniversal’s fully distributed lifestyle cable channel, will act as the home of Olympic tennis this summer. The channel will televise 56 hours of long-form tennis coverage over seven days, from July 28-August 3. Live coverage will air from early morning until mid-afternoon (ET) on most days.

Pat O’Brien, a veteran of five Olympic Games as a commentator, will serve as host. London will be O’Brien’s fourth Olympics for NBC and sixth overall. He last worked for NBCUniversal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the same year Bravo last carried Olympic competition.

NBCOLYMPICS.COM

NBCOlympics.com will live stream every event and sport for the first time ever. In all, the site will live stream more than 3,500 total programming hours, including the awarding of all 302 medals. By comparison, NBCOlympics.com live streamed 25 sports and 2,200 hours for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The site will also feature rewinds of all event coverage, a steady stream of athlete profiles, event highlights, a tour of London as the host city, and more.

NBCOlympics.com will live stream the Olympic content that airs on the four NBCU cable channels — NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo. In addition, two apps – one focused on live streaming, one on short-form highlights, schedules, results, columns, and more – will be available for mobile and tablets users. The vast majority of content will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers.

In another first, NBCOlympics.com will provide multiple concurrent streams for select sports, such as gymnastics (each apparatus), track and field (each event), and tennis (up to five courts). For example, during a session of track and field, instead of viewing only a single feed that moves from event to event, a user can choose to watch a stream dedicated to a specific event, such as the long jump or javelin.

TELEMUNDO

NBCUniversal announced the most extensive Spanish-language Olympic coverage in the company’s history, offering more than 173 hours of the upcoming London 2012 Olympics on Telemundo, “The U.S. Home of the Olympic Games in Spanish.” Telemundo’s comprehensive coverage will feature marquee disciplines such as boxing, swimming, basketball and soccer, which will be a major broadcast highlight.

Telemundo will deliver a complete 360° Olympic experience across its multiple platforms including its broadcast network, www.NBCOLYMPICS.COM.com/TELEMUNDO and its cable network mun2, which will offer a daily half-hour special featuring behind-the-scenes from the Games. Also, for the first time in the network’s history, Telemundo will offer live streaming of broadcast coverage together with exclusive digital-only content of Olympic events, news, announcements and information via www.NBCOLYMPICS.COM/TELEMUNDO, totaling more than 200 hours of digital content.

Deportes Telemundo’s Olympic team, headed by internationally acclaimed sportscaster Andrés Cantor, will include Jessi Losada, Mónica Noguera, Sammy Sadovnik, Edgar Lopez, René Giraldo, Karim Mendiburu, Kaziro Aoyama, Oscar Guzmán, Leti Coo and Verónica Contreras, as well as several former Olympic champions.

Coverage will be live from both London and the network’s studios, bringing the stories of Hispanics participating in the Olympics and the main events both on the field and around the Games to the homes of millions of U.S. Hispanic viewers. With soccer being one of the biggest passion points for U.S. Hispanics, the Olympics’ soccer tournament will represent a major focus of Telemundo’s broadcast, as already-qualified Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Spain and Honduras vie for the gold.

Features and storytelling will be a centerpiece of Telemundo’s Olympic programming, detailing the journey of Hispanic athletes on their quest for Olympic glory. Some of the top Hispanic hopefuls include Mexican diver and 2009 world champion Paola Espinosa, Cuban American multi-medal threat gymnast Daniel Leyva, Mexican American female boxer Marlén Esparza and Argentine NBA basketball player Manu Ginobili.

SPECIALTY CHANNELS

Specialty channels for basketball and soccer are available to cable, satellite and telco providers, and will total 770 hours of coverage. More information about these channels will be released soon.

3D

Panasonic Corporation of North America and the NBC Sports Group announced in January that they will partner to make the London 2012 Olympic Games available in 3D to all U.S. distributors who carry Olympic coverage on cable, satellite and telco — nearly 100 percent of the multichannel industry. The effort will produce 242 hours of coverage and mark the first time that the Olympic Games will be distributed in the U.S. in 3D. Panasonic is NBC’s exclusive Flat-Panel HDTV and Blu-ray Disc Player advertiser for the London Olympic Games.

Last year, Panasonic Corporation, a long time Official Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Audio and Visual Equipment category, announced it would partner with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to make the London 2012 Olympic Games the first ever 3D Olympic Games.

The 3D broadcasts, which will be produced by OBS and shown on next-day delay, will span multiple competitions throughout the London 2012 Olympic Games, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, gymnastics, diving and swimming. OBS will produce more than 200 hours of 3D coverage during the London 2012 Olympic Games by utilizing Panasonic’s state-of-art 3D production technologies including the AG-3DP1, a P2HD professional fully-integrated twin-lens Full HD 3D camera recorder. Cable, satellite, and telco providers who receive the Olympics package may distribute the 3D broadcast via the Comcast Media Center.

That is all.

Some Monday Morning Sports Media Thoughts

Let’s do some sports media thoughts for you on this back to work Monday. As usual, they’re in bullet form.

• Last week’s news that TBS would pick up the new single elimination MLB Wild Card Playoff games for this year and next was not a surprise. TBS has pleased MLB with its postseason coverage since 2007, gaining all of the League Division Series and one League Championship Series, sharing that round with Fox. Not only would TBS pay an extra $10 million for the new playoff games on top of its current fee, but it would also give two LDS games to MLB Network. Now that was a surprise.

  It gives MLB Network its first foothold into postseason games after increasing the amount of regular season game telecasts steadily over the network’s first four years of existence. As Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reported on Friday, MLB Network will have Bob Costas and Matt Vasgersian call the LDS games with yet to be named analysts (expect to see Jim Kaat and Mitch Wiiliams or even John Smoltz). It’s a big move for MLB Network. Just as with TBS’ postseason package, the games will be exclusive with no local simulcasts. However, it does give MLB Network some leverage with cable and satellite providers to spread its reach beyond the current 69 million households.

• Also last week, NBC Sports Group announced coverage plans for NBC Sports Network, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. With each NBCUniversal channel assigned to certain carry certain sports, it will be a virtual feast for viewers to see the athletes compete. Add this to the live streaming that will be provided on NBCOlympics.com, fans should not miss anything from London this summer.

  Now the hosting assignments give us some interesting food for thought. Fred Roggin hosting boxing on CNBC shows consistency from 2008. I was quite surprised about the return of Pat O’Brien to the Olympics. While he really hasn’t been on the national radar since losing his job at Entertainment Tonight and The Insider due to his personal problems, it hasn’t stopped him from working at Fox Sports Radio and making regular appearances on Fox News Channel. I’ll be happy to see Pat make his puns and illiteration attempts from the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon during Olympic tennis.

  And I’ll be interested to see how Kelly Tilghman does on MSNBC as she’ll be hosting events there. Kelly has been host and done play-by-play for Golf Channel. I hadn’t seen her as an Olympic host and while she’s been polarizing to golf fans during her stint on GC, I think she’s been pretty decent as a studio host and interviewer, although she sometimes has her strange moments.

  We’ll be waiting to see who else will be hosting on NBC Sports Network and on NBC in London.

• And who would have thunk that Al Jazeera, the network known for ruffling feathers in the Middle East could be a player for soccer rights? It’s been steadily obtaining rights to soccer in the Middle East and is about to start networks in France and in the United States. Al Jazeera has the US rights to Spain’s La Liga, France’s La Ligue, and Italy’s Serie A. These had been previously on Gol TV as well as Fox Soccer. Some games were sublicensed to ESPN throughout the years. Now with Al Jazeera obtaining the games, it will create two networks called beIN Sport as Multichannel News’ Mike Reynolds reports. The whole issue is if beIN Sport’s channels, one in English, the other in Spanish can gain wide distribution. If Al Jazeera gets the English Premier League US rights over Fox Soccer and ESPN, then expect plenty of cable and satellite carriage pickups before the summer is out.

That’s going to do it.

NBC Unveils Olympic Coverage For 3 Cable Networks

This from NBC. We have some more info on NBCUniversal’s Olympics coverage on cable.

CNBC as it was in 2004 and 2008 will be the home of Olympic boxing. Fred Roggin will host.

Bravo will air Olympic tennis from the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon. Pat O’Brien is the host for Olympic tennis.

And MSNBC will have a bunch of Olympic events. Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman gets her first Olympics hosting assignment.

We have the press release.

MSNBC, CNBC & BRAVO TO CARRY 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS COVERAGE

MSNBC to Offer Wide Variety of Olympic Programming
Bravo to Televise Olympic Tennis; CNBC to be Home of Boxing

NEW YORK – May 16 – Fully-distributed NBCUniversal cable channels MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo will again serve as Olympic platforms when they combine to televise 284.5 hours of coverage of the 2012 London Olympic Games this summer.

MSNBC will host 155.5 hours of a wide variety of Olympic sports, CNBC will carry 73 hours of Olympic boxing coverage — including the debut of women’s Olympic boxing — and Bravo will serve as the home of Olympic tennis with 56 hours of coverage. All three channels have previously televised Olympic programming.

MSNBC’s, CNBC’s and Bravo’s Olympic coverage will complement the programming airing on NBC and the NBC Sports Network, the details of which will be released shortly. It has already been announced that Telemundo will provide the most extensive Spanish-language Olympics coverage in NBCUniversal history by offering more than 173 hours of programming, and that NBCOlympics.com will live stream every event and sport for the first time ever, more than 3,500 hours. The vast majority of live streaming on NBCOlympics.com will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers.

MSNBC

MSNBC, NBCUniversal’s 24/7 cable news channel that is fully distributed in roughly 100 million homes, will carry 155.5 hours of a wide variety of long-form Olympic programming over 19 days. The channel will air up to 18 medal rounds and 20 Olympic sports, from badminton to basketball to soccer to wrestling.

NBCUniversal’s 2012 London Olympic coverage begins on MSNBC on Wednesday, July 25 – two days before the Opening Ceremony — when Great Britain faces New Zealand in women’s soccer, the first official competition of the Games, live from Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Coverage begins at 10:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. PT.

The channel will also carry soccer qualifying on Thursday, July 26, but there will be no coverage on July 27 as there are no events scheduled on the same day as the Opening Ceremony. Coverage will conclude on MSNBC on August 12, the final day of competition.

On most weekdays, coverage will air from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET. There will be longer programming windows on Saturdays and Sundays.

Longtime Golf Channel commentator Kelly Tilghman will serve as MSNBC’s Olympic host, with London being her first-ever Olympic assignment. MSNBC has aired Olympic coverage for every Summer Games since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

CNBC

CNBC — NBCUniversal’s fully distributed cable business channel — will serve as the home of Olympic boxing this summer, including the debut of women’s boxing. The channel will televise 73 hours of boxing coverage over 16 days — every day from July 28-August 12 — from elimination bouts to the men’s and women’s finals. Same-day coverage will air from 5-8 p.m. ET during the week, with six hours of live coverage airing each day on the weekends. This marks the fourth consecutive Summer Games that CNBC has featured Olympic boxing.

Fred Roggin, the longtime lead sports anchor at NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles, KNBC, will reprise his Beijing role as Olympic boxing host. This will be his seventh Olympics working for NBC and fourth working on Olympic boxing in some capacity.

BRAVO

Bravo, NBCUniversal’s fully distributed lifestyle cable channel, will act as the home of Olympic tennis this summer. The channel will televise 56 hours of long-form tennis coverage over seven days, from July 28-August 3. Live coverage will air from early morning until mid-afternoon (ET) on most days.

Pat O’Brien, a veteran of five Olympic Games as a commentator, will serve as host. London will be O’Brien’s fourth Olympics for NBC and sixth overall. He last worked for NBCUniversal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the same year Bravo last carried Olympic competition

That’s it.

Some Sunday Linkage

Ok, I have some free time to do some linkage now. I was hoping to get this posted in the morning, but recently, weekends have become busier than my workweek. I really don’t understand how this happened. However, with the next few hours free, I should be able to give you some good posts here.

Edvard Pettersson of Bloomberg notes that Fox Sports has objected to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ hiring of a firm to help the team  gain a new cable TV rights deal. Fox agreed to a long term deal with the Dodgers and lent money to the team which has led to MLB taking over the operations.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News notes that the Pac-12 will be adding channels to your cable and satellite universe in 2012.

Mike says NFL Network and NFL.com received record numbers for free agent frenzy last week.

Craig Harris at the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism talks about the importance of sports business reporting.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser says universally hated Mike Lupica will now target 8-12 year olds as he will write books for that age group.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post sets his hate on in-game reporters Kim Jones of YES and Kevin Burkhardt of SNY.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that the Buffalo Bills won’t be heard on local radio this season.

Pete discusses Curt Smith’s new tome on baseball announcers.

Pete wonders why NFL Network dumped live Arena Football and CFL action for free agent frenzy programming.

David Walsh of the Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch talks with Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman about her visit to the Greenbrier Classic this week.

Jim Kleinpeter of the New Orleans Times-Picayune talks with ESPN’s Desmond Howard about the season opening LSU-Oregon game.

The Cleveland-centric Waiting For Next Year blog says Sportstime Ohio, the home of the Indians and Browns could be sold to one of two potential suitors.

Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times writes about Fox Sports attempting to block the Dodgers of hiring a firm to help secure a new cable TV rights deal.

John Daly at The Daly Planet writes about Allen Bestwick’s return to the NASCAR broadcast booth this weekend after being screwed over by NBC seven years ago.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing looks at some of the grammatical and typographical errors on ESPN last week.

Sports Media Watch looks at the big ratings increase for last week’s Canadian Open on CBS.

SMW has some various ratings news and notes.

SMW has a few more notes.

That will do it.

Tiger Woods To Make “Special Anouncement” on Golf Channel Monday

I did not receive a press release on this, but did see on Twitter various posts on the fact that Tiger Woods will appear Monday on Golf Channel with Kelly Tilghman to announce something. What that is exactly has come under plenty of scrutiny. Ryan Ballengee of Pro Golf Talk has his speculation.

Shane Bacon at Yahoo’s Devil Ball blog would like to know what Tiger is up to.

Golf.com thinks it may have to do with a Canadian doctor who pleaded guilty on drug smuggling charges to whom Tiger has been linked.

Tiger’s fireside chat interview or statement or whatever this is will air at 11 a.m. ET on Golf Channel.

Golf Channel & NBC Sports Kick Off PGA Tour’s Florida Swing

On Thursday, the PGA Tour comes East after spending the first two months in Hawaii and the West Coast. Now the Florida swing begins with the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens. This marks the second tournament where Golf Channel and NBC Sports will collaborate. Kelly Tilghman returns to the 18th tower this weekend for Golf Channel for Thursday and Friday coverage. She’ll be joined by Frank Nobilo. Of course, Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller will have the call for the weekend. And that will be the only tournament for Golf Channel this weekend.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: March 3-6

Golf Channel and NBC Sports Kick Off PGA TOUR’s Florida Swing at The Honda Classic

The Honda Classic

Dates: March 3-6
Venue: Champion Course, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday                     3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday                          3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m.. (Replay)
Saturday                      1-3 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (NBC Replay)
Sunday                        1-3 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (NBC Replay)

Golf Channel Tournament Broadcast Team:
Kelly Tilghman (Play by Play)
Frank Nobilo (Analyst)
Gary Koch (Tower)
Mark Rolfing (Tower)
Dottie Pepper (On Course)
Roger Maltbie (On Course)
Todd Lewis (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• Golf Channel on NBC: The Honda Classic will be the first full-field PGA TOUR stroke-play event combining the resources of Golf Channel and NBC Sports under the newly formed NBC Sports Group. In addition to Thursday and Friday coverage, Golf Channel will air two hours of live action Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, leading in to NBC Sports’ live coverage at 3 p.m. ET.
• Aimpoint and Srixon Protracer Featured: Aimpoint, Golf Channel’s Emmy-award winning putting line technology that predicts the line of the putt and where players must aim to hole out, will be featured on holes 7 and 15 at PGA National.  Also featured will be Srixon Protracer, a graphics technology that measures the flight and trajectory of a golf shot using superimposed graphics to show the ball flight.
• Headlining the Field: Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Luke Donald, Camilo Villegas, Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar, Anthony Kim, Y.E. Yang, Vijay Singh, Louis Oosthuizen and U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III.

We’re done. That was quick.

Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman Speaks With Arnie

I wished I received this earlier. Golf Channel airs an interview that host Kelly Tilghman conducted with Arnold Palmer. They discussed a whole array of topics. Take a look.

Golf Central – Arnold Palmer One-on-One Interview
Airdate: Tonight (Friday), 6-6:30 p.m.

Dec. 17 – Arnold Palmer sat down with Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman earlier this week for a one-on-one interview, portions which will air within Golf Central, tonight (Friday) at 6 p.m. ET. In the wide-ranging interview, Palmer discusses with Tilghman his thoughts on the European dominance in 2010 and how it is affecting the PGA TOUR brand, as well as keys to Tiger Woods having a successful 2011. Following Golf Central, the entire interview will be available online at www.GolfChannel.com.

2008 U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain Paul Azinger also joins Golf Central tonight via satellite to discuss his thoughts on Davis Love III as the 2012 U.S Ryder Cup Captain. Azinger also will address whether he is interested in returning to captain the 2014 U.S. Team. Full interview also will be available online at www.GolfChannel.com immediately following Golf Central.

Good stuff.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First Work Week Links

I was out of the office yesterday which prevented me from doing linkage. And I had to catch up on paperwork today so I’m giving you linkage for the first time during this work week. You’re owed big time so let’s get right to them.

Writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times says the Tiger Woods interviews on ESPN and Golf Channel were ways for Team Tiger to show it can still control the media.

The Nielsen ratings Wire blog notes that web talk regarding Tiger Woods is leaning back towards golf instead of his sexual conquests.

Ben Grossman at Broadcasting & Cable reports that MLB Network is pursuing Fox Sports host Chris Rose. I still see Rose as a co-host of Best Damned Sports Show Period and not a serious studio host.

Alex Weprin of B&C looks at the networks and sports leagues trying to follow the success of baseball and college basketball in streaming live games.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News explores the increasing amount of high school sports available on local and even national cable TV.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life Magazine says while ratings for the NCAA Tournament on CBS are down slightly from last year, online views on March Madness on Demand are way up.

Toni writes that ambush marketers won big at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver last month.

Also from Media Life, Diego Vasquez says minor league hockey is becoming red hot for family entertainment.

Diego also looks at a guerrilla marketing campaign conducted by DirecTV for its NFL Sunday Ticket pay per view package.

Mike Shields at Mediaweek says 6 million people checked out March Madness on Demand for the first four days of the NCAA Tournament.

BusinessWeek picks up an Associated Press story from Tali Arbel which states that March Madness can actually improve office morale and is seen as a positive by company bosses. 

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes about ESPN launching a major research viewing initiative regarding this year’s World Cup.

Karlene Lukovitz of Mediapost says Jim Beam will be sponsoring a new ESPN web series starring Scoop Jackson that launches next month.

Jean DePlacido of the Salem (MA) News talks with Comcast SportsNet New England anchor Chris Collins who’s happy to come over from sister network New England Cable News.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the contrasting styles of Tiger interviewers Kelly Tilghman and Tom Rinaldi.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News spreads hate for an expanded NCAA Tournament by claiming lower ratings for smaller colleges.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the ESPN family of networks’ schedule for the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament.

Pete also has the Thursday NCAA Tournament schedule on the local CBS affiliate’s main and secondary channels.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette also has Friday schedule for the same CBS affiliate.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes that Lehigh got some nice exposure during its game with Kansas last week.

Laura Nachman wonders who will replace Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia anchor Leslie Gudel.

From the Washington Post, Leonard Shapiro feels Kelly Tilghman should not have been assigned to interview Tiger Woods.

To the Dallas Morning News, Barry Horn has the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen TV schedule for the Metroplex.

Barry also has the local ratings for the NCAA Tournament.

Barry says the Manny Pacquaio-Joshua Clottey fight was a pay per view hit.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg will be in Houston this weekend.

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the entire Reds schedule on Fox Sports Ohio will be seen in crystal clear, 21st Century HDTV. 

Alan Babbit of the Holland (MI) Sentinel speaks with native Jim Kaat who’s been nominated for a Sports Emmy for his work on the MLB Network.

To the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where Bob Wolfley says perpetually angry ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb was critical of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan.

Kelly Beaton of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls (IA) Courier says Northern Iowa got a lot of national attention on Monday for their upset of Kansas over the weekend.

Vlae Kershner of the San Francisco Chronicle says MLB Network didn’t give much love to the Oakland A’s last night.

Lori Gilbert of the Stockton (CA) Record profiles a Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/California reporter who’s happy to be working close to home.

Paige Dickerson of the Peninsula (WA) Daily News looks at one of the contestants to host a reality show on Comcast SportsNet Northwest.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star notes that college basketball just doesn’t play in Canada. 

William Houston of Truth & Rumours says a new cable TV regulatory decision on distribution fees leaves CBC out in the cold.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse says CBS’ NCAA Tournament studio analysts Greg Anthony and Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis could not be more enthused about the start to March Madness.

Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the NCAA Tournament are down from last year, but CBS still won each of the four nights the games were on.

SMW says ratings were flat for the PGA Tour’s Transitions Championship on NBC.

And SMW says Sunday’s New York Rangers-Boston Bruins game drew a season low for the NHL on NBC.

Sox & Dawgs has the video of the new ESPN Sunday Night Baseball promo featuring Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz and Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher.

Joe Favorito explores the cost of growing a college sports brand.

We’ll end it there. We came back with the links with a vengeance today.

Transcript of Golf Channel’s Interview with Tiger Woods

Golf Channel was the first to air its interview with Tiger Woods right at 7:30 this evening. ESPN followed at 7:45 p.m. This is the transcript of the interview conducted by Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman.

Interview Transcript with Tiger Woods and Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman

ORLANDO, Fla., (March 21) –The first televised interview with Tiger Woods since November aired on Golf Channel tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, during a special, 30-minute edition of Golf Central, and will be replayed by the network throughout the night and in its entirety on www.GolfChannel.com.  Kelly Tilghman sat down with Woods today at the world number-one golfer’s home course, Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla., just outside Orlando.

Kelly Tilghman: Tiger, you’ve been a master of control your entire life, how did things get so out of control?

Tiger Woods: Going against your core values, losing sight of it. I quit meditating, I quit being a Buddhist, and my life changed upside down. I felt entitled, which I had never felt before. Consequently, I hurt so many people by my own reckless attitude and behavior.

KT: Were there moments you thought you should stop, but didn’t?

TW: Yeah, I tried to stop and I couldn’t stop. It was just, it was horrific.

KT: For a man who’s so disciplined physically and psychologically, why couldn’t you say no?

TW: I don’t know, now I know. It’s part of what I learned in treatment, being there for 45 days you learn a lot. You strip away the denial, the rationalization and you come to the truth and the truth is very painful at times and to stare at yourself and look at the person you’ve become…you become disgusted.

KT: The Masters is a demanding stage on its own, let alone for a return of this magnitude, how do you know you’re mentally prepared for this?

TW: I’m excited to get back and play. I miss the game. I miss playing, I miss competing. I wasn’t ready to play in Tavistock or play in Bay Hill, I expressed that to Joe as well as Arnold. I want to play in these events but I just wasn’t ready. I started too late with my preparation. Hank and I are starting to work now and start to get it going.

KT: How do you know you’ll be ready for the Masters?

TW: I’m starting to get my feel back. I know how to play the golf course and that helps a lot, I just got to, play it.

KT: How will your therapy affect your 2010 schedule? I’m assuming you’ll have more in-patient therapy ahead.

TW: Yeah, I will have more treatment, more therapy sessions. As far as my schedule going forward, I don’t know what I’m going to do Kelly. Last year I didn’t know because of my knee it was still uncertain, and this year, with all the things that I’ve done I don’t know what I’ll be doing either. That to me is a little bit bothersome too in a sense that I don’t like not knowing what to do.  But what I know I have to do is become a better person and that begins with going to more treatment.

KT: You went from becoming recognized as the greatest golfer in the world to becoming a punch line. How did that make you feel?

TW: It was hurtful, but then again you know what, I did it. I’m the one who did those things and looking back on it now with a more clear head, I get it. I can understand why people will say these things because you know what, it was disgusting behavior. As a person, it’s hard to believe that was me looking back on it now.

KT: America was concerned when the world’s greatest golfer was lying on the ground with no shoes at 2:30 in the morning, bleeding, what happened that night?

TW: It’s all in the police report, they investigated it and they have it on public record, there’s a lot of stuff between Elin and I that will remain private and that’s about it.

KT: How did you crash the car?

TW: I wasn’t going very fast, but unfortunately, I hit a few things.

KT: It’s been reported that members of your team, your inner circle were involved in your misdoings, is it true?

TW: That is not true, it was all me. I’m the one who did it, I’m the one who acted the way I acted, no one knew what was going on. I’m sure if more people would have known in my inner circle they would’ve, they would’ve stopped it…or tried to put a stop to it but I kept it all to myself.

KT: What is the state of your marriage with Elin right now?

TW: We’re working on it and it’s a process that will remain private between her and I.

KT: If your father were here today and looked back on these last 4 months, what would he say to you?

TW: He’d be very disappointed in me. We’d have numerous long talks. That’s one of the things I miss, I miss his guidance, wish I could have had his guidance through all this to have him help straighten me up, I know he would’ve done it.

KT: What do you think he would say?

TW: Can’t say it on air but he would’ve been very direct. Basically said, you need to get your life headed in the right direction again.

KT: For the 12 year olds and the parents out there who looked at you as a role model, what do you have to say to them to make them believe in you again?

TW: It’s going to be over time. It’s going to be my actions over time. I’m trying to become a better person each and every day. The proof in the pudding is over time and that’s what I’m trying to do. I will continue to do that.

KT: How will you explain this to your children, one day when they’re old enough to understand?

TW: I will have that sit down talk and it won’t be just one time, I know that. It will be numerous times and I take full ownership of it, I did it. No one else did, it was just me and that’s a responsibility that I will have. I will talk to my kids , for however long they want to talk about it. That is a conversation that will need to be had.

KT: Based on all that has transpired, what do you want your legacy to be when all is said and done?

TW: Just like I wanted before. I felt that golf was a vehicle for me to help a lot of people. My dad had always said something that I never really quite understood until these times. In order to help other people, you first have to learn how to help yourself. Going into a treatment center for 45 days I learned a lot. I learned how to help myself and that’s the way I can help others down the road.

KT: I noticed you’re wearing a bracelet, can we see it?

TW: Yeah.

KT: What does it mean?

TW: It’s Buddhist, it’s for protection and strength and I certainly need that.

KT: When did you start wearing it?

TW: Before I went into treatment.

KT: Will you be wearing it during the Masters?

TW: Absolutely.

KT: For the rest of your life?

TW: Absolutely.

KT: Tiger thank you.

TW: Thanks Kel.

That’s it. When ESPN’s transcript becomes available, I’ll post it.

Golf Channel Speaks With Tiger Woods

Not to be outdone by ESPN, Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman also procured an interview with Tiger Woods which will also air at 7:30 p.m.

GOLF CHANNEL TALKS TO TIGER WOODS 1-ON-1; FIRST PUBLIC INTERVIEW SINCE THANKSGIVING- NIGHT CAR CRASH

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 21, 2010, 6:30 p.m.ET) – The first televised interview with Tiger Woods since November will air tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on a special, 30-minute edition of Golf Central on Golf Channel, and will be replayed by the network throughout the night and in its entirety on www.GolfChannel.com.  Kelly Tilghman sat down with Woods today at the world number-one golfer’s home course, Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla., just outside Orlando.

During the emotional interview, Woods discussed what happened the night of his infamous car crash, and talks about how he has lost touch with his roots. “Today was a unique and special opportunity,” said Tilghman.  “I was able to ask the tough questions that have been on everyone’s mind for the past three months and Tiger’s answers were from the heart.”

Woods will return to competitive golf at the Masters, April 8-11. Golf Channel’s Live From the Masters will televise more than 34 hours of live news coverage during the week, beginning Tuesday, April 6.  The network’s team of reporters and analysts, as well as guest experts, will cover all the major storylines, break down tournament play and feature daily interviews with key players.

Golf Central Special – 1-on-1 with Tiger Woods

7:30 p.m. ET (replays throughout evening)

If I get excerpts, I’ll post it here.

1st Anniversary of Fang’s Bites – A Look Back at the Last 12 Months

I won’t be able to give you the Saturday links as usual this morning. I’m currently away and have had to leave the house early for a get-together. I’ll give you the links later today.

As I celebrate the one year anniversary of the re-launch of this blog, I think back to some of the bigger stories of the last 12 months.

I’ll count them down in reverse order:

11. Alycia Lane’s pictures being e-mailed to Rich Eisen and having them intercepted by his wife.
10. Bethanie Mattek showing her cleavage to a ball boy at the US Open and dressing as a French Nanny.
9. The Red Sox firing Jerry Trupiano from the radio booth and using the combination of Dave O’Brien and the inexperienced Glenn Geffner to replace him in 2007 leaving Red Sox fans in despair whenever Glenn was on the air.
8. Turner Sports successfully debuting TBS Hot Corner during the MLB playoffs, mixing live coverage on TV and on the internet.
7. The NBA reups with ESPN and TNT for another 8 seasons.
6. Dan Patrick leaves ESPN Radio and then goes missing …. errrrr…. I mean, signs a weak radio syndication deal and then joins Sports Illustrated.
5. Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel was suspended for making a racial slur earlier this year and subsequently apologized upon her return.
4. Debut of the Big Ten Network to a miniscule audience.
3. NFL Network vs. Cable.
2. Media buyouts leaving newspapers and TV stations with skeleton staffs.
1. The Buzz Bissinger vs. Will Leitch segment on Costas Now.

It has been a good 12 months. I’ve enjoyed doing the links and I’ll continue doing them as long as I’m able. And thanks to the people who have sent kind words over the last 12 months including Neil Best, Ken Schott, David Scott, Richard Deitsch, Joe Favorito, Bruce Allen, Bob Glauber, Chris Pursell, Beau Estes, Vince Wladika, Darren Rovell, Andy Gresh, Curt Chaplin, Christopher Byrne, Andrew Siciliano, John Ourand, Dave Weekley, John Crowe, Rick Lacroix, Amazing Race Asia Executive Producer Michael McKay and anyone who has sent comments anonymously both good and bad. I appreciate your patronage and I hope you continue to visit over the next 12 months and beyond. This has been lots of fun.

Quick Wednesday Linkage

Some links for you here.

From his blog, Neil Best of Newsday says “The Odd Couple” is not eligible for his “Best Sports-Themed TV Show” column. And like me, Neil is watching the Par 3 Contest at The Masters on ESPN and notes the Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman is caddying for Arnold Palmer.

Speaking of The Masters, Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times-Union is at Augusta and he’s a bit leery of statements that ESPN leaving Chris Berman out of its coverage was a network decision.

From Justin Terranova of the New York Post, ESPN will bring Buck Showalter back to Baseball Tonight and use Hall of Famers as guest analysts on occasion.

Wayne Friedman of Mediapost’s TV Watch blog speculates that Olympic advertisers might be helped with the negativity surrounding the torch run.

The Sports Media Watch has some idle notes on this Wednesday.

The NHL has launched its NHL Network Online with seven channels and I must say it looks good.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the schedule for Versus and NBC for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says the CBC will provide a call in Mandarin Chinese for the Boston-Montreal series.

The Boston Sports Media Watch continues its Approval Ratings series and today’s candidate is the lovely Hazel Mae of NESN.

Awful Announcing has the video of Dick Vitale breaking down during his interview with Jim Nantz after being officially named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ira Teinowitz of TV Week says college presidents are appealing to the NCAA to reduce the number of alcohol ads during the Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Todd Wallack of the Boston Globe writes about the increased TV ratings for the Celtics on Comcast SportsNet New England.

The Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch reports that the movie, “We Are Marshall” has been nominated for a fan award at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival later this month.

Don Coble of the Florida Times-Union says ESPN’s coverage of a NASCAR is controlled chaos.

I might have an update tonight. Keep your RSS feeds updated.

Thursday Update

Time to give you an afternoon update.

North Myrtle Beach, SC police say someone placed a noose the sign of the former home of Golf Channel host Kelly Tilghman.

In the wake of today’s announcement of CBS picking up four Mixed Martial Arts events, David Meltzer of Yahoo Sports says this move could change MMA one way or the other.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has a tongue-in-cheek look in his blog at how the network would broadcast the sport, although his comparing MMA to the XFL is a bit harsh. And Hoffarth reports that long-time sports anchor Fred Roggin returns to radio as of next week.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News writes in his Morning Buzz blog that former Sporting News Radio host Tony Bruno is back on KNBR, but for a limited run.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star says long-time Royals announcer Fred White appears to be out of the mix for the second time.

Laura Nachman reports that Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will appear with a soap opera star in an ESPN promo for Fantasy Baseball.

A couple of things from CNBC’s Darren Rovell. First, Darren says Will Farrell’s new movie about the American Basketball Association has hit a marketing home run, but has also made a mistake as far as sports gear is concerned. And Darren says UFC’s signing of Budweiser as a sponsor is a big move for both companies.

Joe Favorito’s blog talks about the merger between the Indy Racing League and Champ Car and Tom Izzo’s statements about the Big Ten Network.

Speaking of Tom Izzo’s comments, Steve Grinczel of the Michigan Live website has the transcript of the interview that contained his criticism of the Big Ten Network.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog has an interesting photo feature on the huge production truck used at last night’s Florida-Georgia basketball game.

The Sports Media Watch has some news and notes including some early season college football matchups.

Rob Amen and Adam Brandolph of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review talk about the city’s sports radio talk show hosts who have followed in Myron Cope’s footsteps. Kevin Cope of the Tribune-Review says Cope’s personality came through on the radio. And the Tribune-Review lists some of Cope’s more popular expressions.

Multichannel News reports FSN’s Sports Science show returns for a second season in March.

That’s it for now.

Another Late Tuesday Night Update

I just can’t seem to stop blogging today.

By the way, I’ve been watching the re-broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVI, the game which started the Patriots Dynasty. Besides seeing what is in essence the start of the Patriots’ rise in the NFL over the last 7 years, the highlight for me was watching the performance of U2 in the halftime show. To me, it’s the best musical performance in a Super Bowl ever. I’ve seen most of them including Up with People, the creepy Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson (who didn’t see that?), Paul McCartney, etc., etc., etc. The banner of those who died in 9/11 was emotional just seeing it unfurl over the stage and all of the songs from Beautiful Day to The Streets Have No Name were done brilliantly. It was tremendous to watch.

If you missed any part of Super Bowl Media Day, you can read the live blog done by SI.com which includes the comments of Richard Deitsch.

Steven Zeitchik of the Hollywood Reporter writes that cable will have plenty of options for you to watch opposite the Super Bowl halftime show.

The Daily News Tribune (MA) reports that a church in Pembroke, MA will not air the Super Bowl on a 55 inch TV screen as planned due to potential copyright violations. No NFL game can be aired in public on a screen larger than 50 inches. This is true. And a very silly rule.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that the NHL All Star Game on Versus saw a slight uptick in the ratings as compared to last year.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail reports that a proposed CBC amateur sports channel in Canada faces several hurdles including objections from TSN and Rogers Sportsnet.

Joe Favorito has some thoughts on the Kelly Tilghman, Dana Jacobsen and Rick Majerus incidents.

Awful Announcing has a look at funny censorship over at Foxsports.com.

The 38Cliches blog laments the end of the Glenn Geffner era in Boston (kidding!).

CBS Sports gives us a preview of the PGA FBR Open which it will cover this weekend. And CBS tells us what college basketball games it’ll be airing.

Here’s ESPN’s press release on its partnership with Domino’s Pizza.

If you’re wondering what games the NHL Network will carry next month in the US, you can click here.

That’s it. Good night.

Some Sunday Linkage

Been away for most of the day. Time for me to give you some links now when I can.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is in a grumpy mood especially when he talks about network promos during NFL games.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News is now lecturing the New York Giants on how to answer questions before the Super Bowl.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks to ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about the Super Bowl. Neil has a quick blurb in his blog about his column.

The Sports Media Watch blog has a look at the NHL All Star Game ratings since 1991. Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable says NHL Network has tapped WorldLink to sell ads. Bob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the NHL is looking at ways to market the league on TV and elsewhere. Brian Biggane of the Palm Beach Post says the NHL All Stars need attention.

Mike Tankersley of the Montgomery (AL) Advertiser says 25 years later, the death of the late Alabama coach Bear Bryant still resonates in the state.

Dan Zieger of the East Valley (AZ) Tribune wonders how the Super Bowl got so big. Also from the Tribune, Craig Morgan writes that the Super Bowl is not so Super in other countries. Jeff Elliot of the Florida Times-Union writes that Super Bowl coverage got kicked off in a big way today. David Carr of the New York Times says there’s going to be a news/sports mash up on Super Bowl Sunday.

Scott Wong of the Arizona Republic reports that the media has started to descend upon the Super Bowl Media Center.

Robin Rose Parker of the Washington Post talks with James Brown of CBS Sports.

Chad Cripe of the Idaho Statesman tells us that the Humanitarian and Hawai’i Bowls were the two of the lower rated bowls in December.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders who should have the final say on free speech when it comes to the Kelly Tilghman and Rick Majerus stories.

That’s it for now. More on Monday.

Friday Megalinks Combined with Saturday Links

My fault that the Friday megalinks weren’t here yesterday. Lots of issues that I don’t need to get into, but I’ll give them to you today with your weekly Saturday links.

Let’s go:

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes about Fox’s plans for its silly Red Carpet Super Bowl pregame show.

TV Week has the sports TV ratings for the week ending January 20.

Let’s go from East to West

East and Mid-Atlantic

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe writes about WBZ-TV being the “official Patriots station”.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times tells us that Marv Albert is still learning from his mentor, the late Marty Glickman.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman lectures the media on how to do their jobs when asking Bill Belichick questions during Super Bowl week.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says Boomer Esiason is going to have to make a choice soon. Mushnick’s arguments here really don’t water.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Giants fans who want Super Bowl tickets are finding the process frustrating.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun says Orioles fans remain interested in the team despite the recent hard times.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner says there’s a lot to watch this weekend even if there’s no football.

South

Doug Nye of The State says the Buick Invitational is a pick to click this weekend. And Nye says there was a lot of talk about South Carolina basketball coach Dave Odom’s retirement announcement this week.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says WQAM beat rival 790 The Ticket in the most recent Arbitron ratings.

Dave Darling in the Orlando Sentinel says there’s going to be plenty of sports to watch before the Super Bowl.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Fox will cover other things besides the Super Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says former Dallas Mavericks announcer Allen Stone has found a new calling in life.

Ray Buck from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Fox Sports’ Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson share the same philosophy when it comes to the Super Bowl.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News asks are you ready for a lot of football?

Midwest

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says NBC hopes to bring figure skating back into the national spotlight.

Paul Christian of the Rochester Post-Bulletin writes that NBC is pulling out all of the stops for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships this weekend.

Bob Wolfley has Fox Sports’ Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson talking about their frozen experience in Green Bay last week.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says KSDK hopes to resolve problems with hockey and golf conflicts when it airs the Cardinals during the spring and summer.

West

Scott D. Pierce in the Deseret Morning News writes that Versus will keep the NHL for the next three seasons.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says he’s relieved not to hear about LaDanian Tomlinson this week. And here are the ratings in San Diego from last week.

John Maffei of the North County Times says CBS and the Golf Channel are showcasing a lot of the San Diego area thanks to the Buick Invitational.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star previews the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on NBC.

Christine Daniels writes in the Los Angeles Times about the technical glitch that marred Kelly Tilghman’s apology on the Golf Channel on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth says there’s a whole lot of apologizin’ going on. He has a follow up to the column in his Farther Off the Wall blog. And there’s his extensive media notes as well.

Canada

In the Toronto Star, Chris Zelkovich writes that the CBC is hoping to jump into the all-sports parade.

And William Houston writes in the Toronto Globe and Mail that CTV is charging a premium for Super Bowl spots.

I’ll have another post later. Keep it here.

Thursday Night Linkage

I was out at a job site all day preventing me from giving you links today. I’ll give them to you tonight. I did get back in time to give you video of the Kelly Tilghman apology on the Golf Channel and I just saw the re-air as the 1st Round of the Buick Invitational and it’s contrite and short. Hopefully, that will be the end of the story. But as Kelly returns, we find the Dana Jacobsen controversy just won’t go away.

The Big Lead blog contacted Scott Cronick of the Atlantic City Press who covered the Mike & Mike Celebrity Roast earlier this month. He tells the blog that Jacobsen never said “F*ck Jesus!” as the Catholic League and Christian Defense Coalition have said. The Sports Media Watch blog reports that the Christian Defense Coalition will hold a demonstration and prayer vigil outside ESPN headquarters demanding that Jacobsen be fired. Here’s the press release from the Christian Defense Coalition on the protest. The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty writes in his Best Seat in My House blog that Jacobsen’s suspension should be longer than a week. Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his Farther Off the Wall blog that Jacobsen is paying the price in more ways than one. Michael Hiestand of USA Today in a rare Thursday column chimes in on the Jacobsen controversy.

Moving onto other subjects, Hoffarth has the text of Kelly Tilghman’s apology. In his golf blog, the Chicago Tribune’s Ed Sherman says there was an audio glitch when Tilghman was stating her apology (which was corrected in the primetime airing). World Golf News has a press release from Golfweek announcing a new editor replacing David Seanor who was fired after the noose cover controversy last week.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes in his blog that WFAN’s Mike Francesca has signed a long term deal with the station.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner writes in his blog that the NFL has 13 of the 15 most watched TV shows this season. That’s impressive.

Joanne C. Gerstner of the Detroit News is bored with the Big Ten Network/Comcast dispute.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks with ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla who will call the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game with Ron Franklin on Monday night. Bracht has his weekly media notebook. He also lists the TV ratings for the past week. And Bracht gives his viewing picks for the next few days.

Shawn Courchesne of the Hartford Courant says ESPN will run a five part series on Dale Earnhardt, Jr. moving to a new racing team for the upcoming NASCAR season.

Robert Crow from the Southern Illinoisan writes that ESPN’s College Gameday will be broadcasting live from the SIU Arena in advance of the game against Creighton Saturday night.

John Eggerton from Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports that CSTV.com and USAToday.com are teaming up to form an online alliance.

The NCAA is proud of TV ratings and attendance for college football during the regular season and college bowls.

Greg Stiles of the Mail Tribune (OR) writes that a new sports radio station will pop up in the local area and will include Dan Patrick in its programming.

That will do it for tonight. Friday megalinks coming up in the morning.

Kelly Tilghman Returns to Golf Channel and Apologizes

During her return to the Golf Channel today in the 1st round of the Buick Invitational, Kelly Tilghman issued this apology for her words about Tiger Woods during the Mercedes-Benz Championships two weeks ago.

The Wednesday Stuffage

Time for some links on this Wednesday.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes about the changes in the ESPN production of NASCAR for this upcoming season. The Daly Planet motorsports blog talks about the lovely Wendy Venturini returning to Speed this week.

Newsday’s Neil Best has Tiki Barber picking his former team to win the Super Bowl on his Sirius Satellite Radio show.

Christine McConville of the Boston Herald says the Patriots in the Super Bowl will bring a huge windfall for Fox and local station, Fox25. Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life magazine has a primer for the Super Bowl. Megan Manfull (I’ll let you make the joke there) of the Houston Chronicle writes about two Houston Texans players who will be in Super Bowl ads for the NFL.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at NBC/TSN NHL analyst Pierre McGuire who is usually located between the benches during games.

Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune reports that ESPN has suspended First Take co-host Dana Jacobsen for her behavior at the Mike & Mike Roast in Atlantic City earlier this month. Deadspin has more including an apology from Jacobsen on the matter. Apparently, the Catholic League got invovled after Dana made some disparaging remarks about Notre Dame where Mike Golic attended.

Ed Sherman also writes about WMVP’s afternoon drive show which is now the number one rated sports radio talk show in Chicago.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times writes about ESPN2′s extended coverage of the Australian Open from Friday morning into Saturday afternoon.

Mike Lucas of the Capital (WI) Times says it’s not the same without Dick Vitale on a college basketball broadcast.

Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Bowl Championship Series just doesn’t compare to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Macleans magazine from Canada talks with Deadspin’s Will Leitch about his new book.

Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press says the Golfweek noose cover was wrong, but the message it was trying to convey was correct. And Monarrez talks with a crisis expert on what’s the best course for Kelly Tilghman to take when she returns to the Golf Channel tomorrow.

That will do us for now. Check back later for more stuff.

It’s your Saturday Linkage

Let’s give you some links today. Just to let you know, there will be no posts on Sunday. I will be attending the 12th TARCon in New York to meet some of my fellow Amazing Race fans plus I have learned there will be a few racers there as well. Most of the teams will be in California for the West Coast Viewing Party, however, the winning team will be in New York for the check presentation The Early Show on Monday (the e-mail campaign worked) and host Phil Keoghan will be there as well. Looking forward to it. Look for pictures here on Monday and Tuesday.

Also, wanted to thank former Fox Sports Public Relations guru Vince Wladika for sending me a nice note over the last few days. He’s a fan of Fang’s Bites and e-mailed me. It was much appreciated.

So without further delay, here are your links.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that many fans in both Kansas and Missouri won’t be able to see tonight’s basketball game because ESPNU picked it up and it’s not available in most of St. Louis.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News says perhaps the NFL Conference Championship Games should be carried by the Weather Channel instead of CBS and Fox.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says network executives don’t think snow is a four letter word when it comes to ratings.

Johnny Diaz of the Boston Globe looks at the Boston TV stations all vying for ratings based on their relationships with the New England Patriots.

Jim Williams writes in his DC/Baltimore Examiner Watch This! blog about the return of Tony Kornheiser to radio on Monday.

William Houston in today’s Toronto Globe and Mail writes that NBC is going to focus on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby in its NHL schedule.

David Abramowicz of the Wall Street Journal previews the week ahead in Sports TV including Kelly Tilghman’s scheduled return to the Golf Channel.

The Canadian Press has golfer Jim Thorpe ripping Golfweek for its noose cover.

Patrick Sauer of Fast Company magazine looks into the strides Yahoo has made against ESPN.com.

Joey Johnston of the Tampa Tribune talks with ESPN’s Jay Bilas about the college basketball version of College Gameday which will air live from Gainesville today.

Paul Grimaldi of the Providence Journal writes about the number of reporters and NFL officials staying in Providence over Boston for the AFC Championship Game (if you don’t know, Providence is closer to the Patriots’ home of Foxboro, MA than Boston and it’s cheaper to stay in Providence than Boston).

Alan Siegel of the Gloucester (MA) Daily Times or as they say in Massachusetts, Glaw-sta, talks with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about the Patriots’ Tom Brady.

Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World talks with Fox Sports’ Troy Aikman about the NFC Championship Game.

Newsday’s Neil Best has some positive words about Will Leitch’s new book.

Dick Harmon of the Deseret (UT) Morning News blogs that there may be hope for the Mountain West Conference’s TV deals which are probably the worst in the country.

Radar Online, a radio newsletter, looks at some of the gaffes sports announcers have made over the years.

Jo-Ann Barnas of the Detroit Free Press writes about NBC hoping to get some juice out of the US Figure Skating Championships which begin in St. Paul, MN next week. USA Today picks up an Associated Press story written by Nancy Armour which talks about figure skating in transition and US Figure Skating using NBC to promote its sport.

Tennis fans in Australia were irate at Channel 7 for not showing the thrilling five set match between Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic.

That will do it.

Time for Friday Megalinks

Last night I took a break from the blog and my computer and watched my URI Rams inexplicably lose to St. Louis, the same team that scored just 20 points against George Washington a week ago, then watched some Australian Open coverage.

I am happy to see Tennis Channel pick up early evening coverage at 7 p.m., then hand off to ESPN2 whenever the Worldwide Leader is ready to pick up after its commitments. It makes for better comprehensive coverage of the first Grand Slam of the Year. Perhaps when Tennis Channel picks up more cable systems, it can get the entire tournament instead of just two to three hours a night. It’s been enjoyable.

Ok, let’s get to your Friday links now.

First, from the “This Is Not A Surprise” Department, Golfweek has replaced Dave Seanor, the editor responsible for putting a hangman’s noose on the cover of this week’s issue in regards to the Kelly Tilghman controversy. I had a feeling this was going to be incendiary and it was.

Next, USA Today’s Michael Hiestand writes about how CBS analyst Phil Simms’ advice during a 2005 radio interview still resonates with Brett Favre today.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Under Armour is seeing a huge stock price fall today after news about its Super Bowl ad was released.

East and Mid-Atlantic Region

Let’s go East to South and then head West today. Starting with Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe, she says local TV stations will be rolling out the cameras for pregame coverage for the AFC Championship this weekend.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NFL analysts Troy Aikman, Boomer Esiason and Dan Marino can all relate to Eli Manning’s maturity as a quarterback. And Sandomir writes about the controversial Golfweek magazine cover.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News who has been in a rotten mood for the first three weeks of 2008 informs us that the NFL cares about ratings and not about “ideal playing conditions.” He says the NFC Championship should be played in a dome. So we never would have had the 1967 Ice Bowl if Raissman had his way. Whatever.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post remembers former New York Met Don Cardwell who died earlier this week. The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson. And he talks with former Giants coach and current Westwood One Radio analyst Jim Fassell about the change in the team throughout the season. In his blog, Terranova writes that a Wisconsin TV station will pre-empt its normal airing of Seinfeld so Eli Manning won’t be able to watch his favorite show the day before the game.

Neil Best always has a bunch of stuff for readers on Fridays and today is no exception. Let’s start with his column in Newsday which focuses on Fox Sports’ Pam Oliver who made the comment in Week 2 that the Giants defense was listless on the sidelines. Neil also has a story on the Golfweek cover. From his blog, Neil adds a couple of paragraphs that were dropped from his column. And he adds a few things about Pam Oliver including her comments that she’s not speaking to Eagles QB Donovan McNabb after he threw her under the bus earlier this season.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes in his Best Seat in My House blog about the healthy dosage of coverage for the Australian Open this year.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun has a news and notes column starting with the Eli Manning-Seinfeld story.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner writes in his blog that Ravens fans have forgotten about Jason Garrett and are now focusing on Martyball.

South Region

From The State in South Carolina, Doug Nye has some TV news and notes.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald talks about the hiring of former Red Sox radio announcing hack Glenn Geffner by the Florida Marlins.

Dave Darling in today’s Orlando Sentinel writes about Deadspin’s Will Leitch who’s new book is being released on Tuesday.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the NFL playoffs are the 800 lb. gorilla of the airwaves.

Midwest Region

Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune writes that Golfweek’s cover only exacerbates the Kelly Tilghman controversy.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox Sports’ Troy Aikman is surprised with the NFC Championship matchup.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Judd Zulgad says the CBS and Fox production crews are preparing for cold weather this Sunday.

West Region

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) Morning News writes that Fox is getting up to $3 million per 30 second ad for the Super Bowl.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Chargers could really foul things up and be a Super Bowl spoiler for Fox. Here are the ratings for the last weekend in San Diego. Note the ratings for the Chargers-Colts game.

In the North County Times, John Maffei writes about the cold weather preparation for the network crews in the AFC and NFC Championship games.

The Ventura County Star’s Jim Carlisle says Packers QB Brett Favre is always fun to watch.

In her Sound and Vision column, the Los Angeles Times’ Christine Daniels previews the viewing weekend including the NFL Conference Championships.

The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth says the networks would love to see snow in the Conference Championship games. And he has a healthy helping of media notes in his Farther Off the Wall blog today.

Canada

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the Patriots’ pursuit of perfection is the main storyline for the AFC Championship.

The Toronto Star’s Chris Zelkovich says boxing is picking itself off the canvas as a viable television sport.

Blogs

The Sports Media Watch has the story that Golfweek has fired editor David Seanor over the noose cover. Paulsen has some various notes as well.

The 38Cliches blog has reaction to Glenn Geffner going to Florida to butcher four innings a game for the Marlins this coming season.

Awful Announcing notices that Versus is going to have The Karate Kid movies on this weekend.

The Biz of Baseball notes that veteran writer Hal Bodley will be covering the sport for MLB.com.

John Crowe of The Crowe’s Nest blog (and Executive Producer of 790/99.7 The Score in Providence) has some Friday musings.

And Joe Favorito has some tips for those wanting a job in sports marketing and PR.

That’s it. We have more things to do today so keep it here.

Golfweek is Stirring the Pot

The Golfweek cover story on the Kelly Tilghman controversy is definitely legitimate since it became Golf’s biggest story and transcended the sport. However, the cover of a hangman’s noose is something that certainly fanned the flames especially when the controversy was beginning to die down.

Now, the cover has not only caught the eye of bloggers, journalists, but PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem who calls the cover “outrageous”.

Having read the story from Scott Hamilton on the Golfweek website, the content itself covers all angles and it’s very solid. In fact, an editorial from the Golfweek board explains why it chose to make the controversy its top story and that’s fine. The comments by Tilghman made news and deserved coverage by Golfweek.

But the cover of the noose (and I have chosen not to show it here, but you can see it on other sites) has brought the controversy back into the forefront. In fact, the choice of the noose rather than have Kelly on the cover has led to even more debate.

Golfweek wants to sell magazines, but putting a noose can only lead to negative results. Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News reports in his blog that PGA officials plan to meet with Golfweek today to talk about the cover.

Magazine editor David Seanor tells USA Today that the cover was meant to spur “intelligent dialogue”, but does it have to be a noose which has negative connotations to the African American community?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders if the cover went too far. Bill Ordine of the Baltimore Sun says instead of spurring dialogue, the cover has spread the flames. The San Diego Union-Tribune says the magazine is courting controversy instead of covering it. Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel says Golfweek is making sure the controversy remains on the frontlines. Dan Shanoff blogging for The Sporting News says the cover was a play for attention (scroll down).

We’ll see what ramifications will come to Golfweek and its editor. This is only the beginning.

More Thursday Linkage

Let’s give you a few more links on this Thursday.

It appears the Kelly Tilghman controversy isn’t going away. Newsday’s Neil Best who broke the story isn’t too pleased that Golfweek magazine is fanning the flames with an incendiary cover showing a hangman’s noose. Jerry Potter of USA Today talks with the magazine’s publisher who claims it was done to spark dialog and debate. I can think of better ways than a noose. And Justin Terranova of the New York Post wonders if the cover was necessary.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his Farther Off the Wall blog that cable channels are announcing their plans to counter program against the Super Bowl halftime show. And Hoffarth looks into Jose Canseco’s plans to find another publisher for his sequel to his first book on steroid use in baseball.

The DC/Baltimore Examiner’s Jim Willliams says the Baltimore media is now focusing on another candidate for the Ravens coaching job after Jason Garrett turned them down.

NBC Sports has a press release on its NHL flexible schedule which begins this Sunday.

Here’s a press release detailing TNT’s coverage for NBA All Star Weekend next month.

Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about NBA TV and NBA.com moving to CNN Center as Turner Sports will manage both for the NBA. And R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News also has the story of Turner managing the NBA’s digital properties.

Continuing on the Turner Sports bandwagon, here’s another press release touting the relaunch of PGA.com which is managed by Turner.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reports that FSN North will air three games of the Houston Aeros, the Minnesota Wild’s minor league affiliate.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley talks about the Longest Day, the 1962 NFL Championship Game involving the Giants and Packers, which was the first time NFL Films shot a game.

Jason McMahon of the Capital (WI) Times writes that Madison radio stations which are part of the Packers Radio Network cannot carry the NFC Championship Game unless they pick up the Westwood One broadcast.

Jon Hemingway of Broadcasting & Cable reports that Verizon Fios customers in Portland will now be able to see Comcast SportsNet Northwest. However, the channel is still not available on DirecTV and other non-Comcast cable providers in the area.

That’s it. Primetime and Late Night Viewing Picks coming up.

It’s the Thursday Links

Trying to get these out while my talkative employee is out. He just won’t shut up. Anyway, let’s get you the links.

First, Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette says the analysts calling the AFC and NFC Championship games feel the cold weather will play a factor in both games.

The lovely Joanne C. Gerstner of the Detroit News writes about FSN Detroit anchor Mickey York who gets to move back to Detroit after working out of FSN’s Seattle hub, but still doing shows for FSN Detroit from the Pacific Northwest. Eric Lacy of the Detroit News says Comcast and the Big Ten Network are trying to hash out a deal.

The Daily Oklahoman’s Mel Bracht has a story on Fox Sports’ Troy Aikman getting ready for the cold in Green Bay. Mel then has his media notebook. And we get his weekend viewing picks.

Langston Wertz, Jr. of the Charlotte Observer says the Kelly Tilghman controversy shows the pitfalls of live TV. Steve Elling of CBSSports.com wonders what Golfweek magazine was thinking by putting a hangman’s noose on its cover in regards to the Kelly Tilghman story.

Dallas TV critic Ed Bark writes in his blog about Belo8 sports anchor Dale Hansen not adhering to a company policy of criticizing the co-owned Dallas Morning News.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Hall of Fame broadcaster Myron Cope is back in the hospital. Cope was the color analyst for the Pittsburgh Steelers for many years and created the Terrible Towel that is waved during the games. Also from the Post-Gazette, Dev Meyers has a story of a 19 year college student who’s already working NFL games for various networks.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell gives us an update on the Gabibbo/Big Red controversy.

From the Best Seat in My House blog, Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has a story on ESPN+ college basketball analyst Bucky Waters being suspended for making a racially charged remark during the St. John’s-UConn game last week. And Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has the original story on the suspension.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes in his blog that WFAN’s Chris Russo will fulfill a lifelong dream by seeing Sunday’s NFC Championship at Lambeau Field. Best also chronicles his visit to NFL Films and talking with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks about Fox mixing politics and football on Super Bowl Sunday. The New York Times’ David Stelter talks about Fox’s plans on the TV Decoder blog.

The Boston Herald’s David Exum talks with ESPN Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions Julie Sobieski about the upcoming NASCAR season.

Radio Ink magazine reports that 1050 ESPN Radio in New York has signed an agreement with legendary Long Island rock station WLIR to carry its signal to Eastern Long Island. Katy Bachman of Mediaweek has the story as well.

Paul Gough of the Hollywood Reporter tells us that the National Basketball Association will turn over the day-to-day operations of NBA TV and other digital media to Turner Sports while still owning the properties.

Michael Roberts of the Denver Westword News writes about former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly cooling his heels as he waits to join ESPN this year.

The Orbitcast satellite radio blog says Tony Kornheiser was seen in the XM Satellite Radio headquarters in DC earlier this week. His show returns to XM next Monday.

MLB.com has hired former USA Today baseball columnist Hal Bodley as a senior correspondent.

The Lincoln (GA) Journal talks about Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell’s induction into the Georgia Hall of Fame next month.

The Kansas City Star’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports that FSN Midwest will change its name to FSN Kansas City today.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN has announced its Executive Producer for Olympic coverage in 2010.

That’s all for now.

Our Wednesday Linkage

Let’s give you the links during this midweek.

We start with Michael Hiestand of USA Today who writes about ESPN’s Dick Vitale who underwent vocal cord surgery last month and has experienced some other health issues in the last week or so.

Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch talks about a strange story that broke late last night out of Orlando about an alleged dating violence incident involving the Patriots’ Randy Moss. Here’s the interview with WDBO reporter Rozzie Franco on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan show from this morning.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes in his blog about meeting new Tribune company (and Newsday) owner Sam Zell. Neil says Tiki Barber picked his Giants on his Sirius Satellite Radio show last night.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports that David Justice, named in the Mitchell Report, will not be used by the YES Network as a studio analyst this season. Justice says he wants to use the time to rebuild his house which was destroyed in the San Diego wildfires last year.

Justin Terranova in his New York Post TV Sports blog writes that FSN’s Best Damn Sports Show Period has booked a bunch of Giants players during Super Bowl week.

From the DC/Baltimore Examiner, Jim Williams writes in his blog about the media coverage of Jason Garrett leaving town this morning after meeting with the Ravens about its head coaching position.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun writes in his Medium Well blog about Billy Packer’s comments during the Maryland-Wake Forest game last night.

The Sports Media Watch has some ratings news for us today. First, the weekend ratings and second, other ratings news and notes.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley writes about Packers guard Daryn Colledge’s comments during a radio interview about the Cowboys’ loss to the Giants.

ESPN wants you to know it had a record year for growth for its video and multimedia sites.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star writes that Saturday’s Kansas-Missouri game will be on ESPNU forcing many fans to scramble to watch it as the channel is not carried on many cable systems throughout the two states. Chuck Woodling of the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World is not enamored with putting the Border War on ESPNU. And Mark Berman of the Roanoke Times says fans in Virginia aren’t happy having tonight’s Virginia Tech-Virginia game on ESPNU.

This was broached in Michael Hiestand’s story in USA Today, and here’s a statement from NBC about Bob Costas and Dick Button co-hosting the U.S. Figure Skating Championships later this month. Olympics writer Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune suggests that Michelle Kwan be used on NBC’s broadcasts instead of the lovely Sandra Bezic. I like Sandra and she does a great job on analysis. I think Michelle would be better as a studio analyst.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail reports that CBC will make the Pittsburgh-Montreal game its main broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada this Saturday and delegate the Toronto Maple Leafs to a local regional telecast.

Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press says Golf Channel never should have put Kelly Tilghman in the main play-by-play position. I don’t agree with that, but Monarrez is entitled to his opinion. On the other hand, Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Golf Channel is receiving a lot of e-mail support for Tilghman. And missed in the Kelly Tilghman controversy is the news that one of its popular anchors, Vince Cellini, has returned to Golf Channel after leaving late last year.

Lots of links on a Wednesday. Not bad. Check back for updates throughout the day.