Fang's Bites

Finally Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do some Friday megalinks. You’ve been owed some and I haven’t been able to do links for most of the week.

Of course, you have the Weekend Viewing Picks which provide plenty of college sports, soccer, baseball and the NBA and NHL postseason action.

Now let’s do your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today explores Jason La Canfora’s decision to leave NFL Network and bolt to CBS.

Media Rantz looks into the potential departure of Michelle Beadle from ESPN to NBC.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch says E! will produce a special on New York Jets QB Tim Tebow.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report hears from a Fox Soccer executive on why the Fox Sports Media Group chose to air so many English Premier League games on the final day of the season.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk writes that despite reports to the contrary, it appears that the New York Jets won’t make another appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer.

Eriq Gardner at the Hollywood Reporter says a group of fans have filed a class action lawsuit against MLB and its TV partners on the antiquated and silly blackout policy.

Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel says while the Minnesota Vikings will finally get their long-awaited stadium, one state legislator attempted to sneak a bill ending all local NFL blackouts. I think that was a great idea.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable writes the long-anticipated Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Lakers-centric regional sports network will launch in October.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that Fox has sold out its ad inventory for the UEFA Champions League Final.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says social media is changing the way we watch sports.

In the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says there are times when the N-word should to be published in full.

Eric Goldschein at SportsGrid says CBC Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean stretched his analogy too far in comparing the 9/11 First Responders to NHL players this week.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group looks at NBC/Golf Channel’s joint production of this week’s Players Championship.

Brandon Costa of SVG explores ESPN’s expanded multiplatform rights for NCAA Championships.

And SVG tells us about the Big East Conference’s in-house production of the league’s Baseball Tournament.

Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com looks into the dollars and cents of the major college sports TV rights contracts.

Patrick Rishe at Forbes says while the ACC signed a rich contract with ESPN, it still doesn’t compare to the Pac-12′s huge megadeal.

My Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff chronicles her day spent at the MLB Fan Cave for espnW.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch crunches the numbers behind the ratings rise for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and the lower for the NBA Playoffs.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing also looks into the ratings for the NBA and NHL Postseasons.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead notes the disturbing arrest of the PA Announcer for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth looks at some of the sports media stories that are irking him this week.

East and Mid-Atlantic

I haven’t been able to address the death of Carl Beane, the Red Sox public address announcer. Carl was a radio reporter in Western Massachusetts and also free-lanced for ESPN Radio, CBS Radio, Fox Sports Radio to report on various NFL and college games. He died this week when he suffered a heart attack and crashed his car. He was 59. It seemed everyone in New England had some connection to Beane. I’ll give you some of the stories that have been written about him this week.

David Scott at ESPN’s Front Row PR blog gets reaction from people at the network who knew him.

Gordon Edes at ESPN Boston says Beane felt he was born to be the Fenway Park public address announcer.

WEEI’s Mike Petraglia writes about his personal connection to Beane.

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox paid tribute to Beane at last night’s game by not having anyone do the PA.

Amanda Bruno of the Springfield Republican writes that Beane was a role model and mentor to her.

To other stories now, heading back to the Globe, Chad Finn says the ACC got its huge deal and it will affect member school Boston College in many ways.

Chad says former Red Sox voice Jerry Trupiano is getting some familial help in trying to get the Houston Astros radio gig.

Desmond Connor of the Hartford Courant says the Big East’s interim commissioner is hopeful his conference can cash in on the recent big spending by ESPN and other networks.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir talks with the legendary Vin Scully.

Richard profiles the person behind a fake Walt Frazier Twitter account.

Jack Bell of the Times interviews Fox Sports President Eric Shanks about Sunday’s unprecedented English Premier League coverage.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Times rails over player unions defending their membership for the wrong reasons.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with NBC’s Pierre McGuire.

Justin has five questions for TNT’s Kenny Smith.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says a former local sports reporter is returning to her roots with Time Warner Cable’s Southern California network.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says technical difficulties plagued a local radio broadcast of the Yankees.

Pete says many of NBC/Golf Channel’s cameras will be focused squarely on one hole at the Players Championship this week.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record explores the new SNY deal to air UConn women’s basketball games.

At the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner asks if high school football is doomed.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call watched the train wreck of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens appearing on Dr. Phil this week and being confronted by his multiple baby mommas.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post says MLB Network compared the swings of the late Mickey Mantle and the Nationals’ Bryce Harper.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a new local sports radio morning host comes with some baggage from his old job.

David says Comcast and ESPN cut a deal this week for subscribers to watch the network online.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that Fox Sports Oklahoma will air specials next week on the state’s two major college football programs.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds TV and Radio ratings are up this season.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch explores the Cubs’ Kerry Wood blowing up at the local media this week.

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin looks at NBC’s coverage of The Players Championship.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that a local sports anchor gets to talk news on the radio.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times says the local media plans to cover Junior Seau’s public memorial today.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star notes that outgoing flagship TV station KCAL gave another farewell to the Los Angeles Lakers this week.

Jim looks at the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass which will get plenty of attention on NBC/Golf Channel at the Players Championship.

Jim provides his weekend viewing picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at Time Warner Cable’s new sports channels.

Tom tries to give Kings fans missing their local TV voices a silver lining.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News goes over the latest developments at the Pac-12 Networks.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC’s Ron MacLean had to clarify his 9/11 remarks before Game 6 of the New York Rangers-Washington Capitals series.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the announcing assignments for both CBC and TSN in the NHL Conference Final round.

And we are done. Enjoy your sports weekend.

Some Quick Thursday Links

Ok, going to attempt some linkage here. Quite busy, but I’ll try to sneak some stuff for you.

Eric Fisher of Sports Business Daily looks at the new $3.99 charge for the new March Madness Live app for the NCAA Tournament.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable also writes about the new March Madness Live app.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about being removed from the Monday Night Football booth.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has the impression that ESPN’s Jon Gruden didn’t agree with the decision to take Jaws out of the MNF booth.

Former New York Times columnist George Vecsey is now on Twitter and he’s a bit apprehensive about it.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid is confused about yesterday’s Colin Cowherd interview with Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit cover girl Kate Upton.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has audio of CNBC’s Darren Rovell explaining his Valentine Day’s proposal to Kate Upton.

Maury Brown at the Biz of Baseball says not every local MLB deal is equal and fair.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek notes that CBS El Capo di Tutti Capi Les Moonves predicts record ad rates for Super Bowl XLVII which will be aired on the Tiffany Network next year.

Adweek has a video with NASCAR CEO Brian France on the upcoming Sprint Cup season.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says thanks to the Super Bowl, NBC leads the February sweeps by a 2-1 margin over CBS.

Sam Eifling of The Big Lead talks with a Memphis sports radio host who kept grinding and has been rewarded with national recognition.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Ronnie Ramos talks about how to maximize your Facebook and Twitter strategies.

Also at the National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times cautions traditional media about falling into prejudicial traps when writing about Jeremy Lin.

Karen Hogan of Sports Video Group explains the logistics for CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says one sporting goods chain is going all in for Jeremy Lin.

Kevin Lincoln at the Business Insider’s Sports Page notes that Time Warner Cable is sending out small refund checks for those missing MSG Network.

WEEI’s Kirk Minihane lists the best and worst Boston TV announcers.

The Boston Herald’s Inside Track found Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez going through the ESPN “Car Wash” yesterday.

To the Worcester Telegram & Gazette where Bill Doyle gets Comcast SportsNet Celtics sideline reporter Greg Dickerson to talk about epilepsy and Tourette syndrome which have plagued him.

Over to the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir who looks into ESPN’s Monday Night Football personnel move.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the New York Mets Spring Training TV schedule.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record posts the Yankees Spring Training TV and Radio schedules.

Ed Barkowitz at the Philadelphia Daily News says Jaws being taken off Monday Night Football doesn’t mean the end for him at ESPN.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg says DirecTV has added Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s overflow channel in HD, finally.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says a two man booth will benefit Monday Night Football.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times writes that local sports radio talk show host is out of a job today.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Astros voice Milo Hamilton may be retiring after this season, but the team won’t be losing him altogether.

The Houston Astros website has an entire section devoted to Hamilton’s career including some of his most famous radio calls.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers will be featured at least six times on Fox’s Saturday baseball package.

Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times says the NHL finally has a TV partner which is fully promoting the league.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has reaction to Bob Ryan’s announced retirement from the Boston Globe.

Barry Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News gets some details of the new Pac-12 Network from league commissioner Larry Scott.

Blogs and reporters are constantly receiving public relations pitches. Here’s one regarding Jeremy Lin and it’s a bit over the top.

Sports Media Watch notes that the 2012 MLB on Fox schedule is reduced from last year due to the 2012 Olympics.

SMW says Golf Channel set a ratings record last Sunday.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the sports TV viewership numbers for last week.

Mike Silva of the Sports Media Watchdog has a review of the new CBS Radio Mike Francesa Show app.

Joe Favorito says the Phoenix Suns are using the Samsung Galaxy tablet on the sidelines.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the numbers for the NHL on NBC Sports Network from early this week.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing notes that ESPN is not tiring of the Jeremy Lin overkill.

Lou Clinton at 38 Cliches is rooting for former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano.

And that’s where we’ll end it. Enjoy your Thursday.

Saturday’s Links

Let’s provide some linkage for you on this Saturday. Haven’t done links on a Saturday in a while.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter notes that the NFL lockout could cause the networks to lose billions of dollars in ad revenue should games be canceled.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Ilustrated has your NCAA Tournament Viewing Primer.

The Associated Press says NBC’s Cris Collinsworth was among 83 people who had to be rescued when a floating seafood restaurant broke from its moorings on the Ohio River.

Marcus Vanderberg from SportsNewser has a preview of tonight’s HBO documentary on the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV.

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe gets NESN’s explanation as to why it doesn’t show more Red Sox Spring Training games.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times talks with four New York sports TV anchors about their diminishing role on local newscasts.

Newsday’s Neil Best says you’re now in control of how you view the NCAA Tournament.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog talks with college basketball curmudgeon Billy Packer.

From the Dallas Morning News, Barry Horn looks at the new way the NCAA Tournament will be seen by viewers.

Ed Sherman from Crain’s Chicago Business says a local sports talk show who was arrested on DUI charges and suspended from his job, is not returning as expected.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News reviews two college basketball sports documentaries premiering this weekend.

Christopher Estrada of Indy Racing Revolution says IndyCar is ending its online streaming of its races leaving many fans in the dark.

Lou Clinton at 38 Cliches notes that former Red Sox radio voice Jerry Trupiano now has a new website in hopes of landing a new full-time gig.

The Sports Media Watch says the NHL on NBC received a subpar rating last Sunday.

And that will do it for the links today.

BREAKING NEWS: Jerry Trupiano Returns

This afternoon on WBCN, former morning man Charles Laquidara was on with afternoon drive personality Hardy and was listing every single person with whom he had worked on the air throughout his 25 year career. In the middle of this long reading, Laquidara suddenly congratulated Hardy on his new gig at The Sports Hub, CBS Radio’s new sports radio station that premieres this Thursday.

At first, Hardy tried to stop him, but as Laquidara kept on congratulating, Hardy then announced that he will be hosting a weekend show on 98.5 The Sports Hub/WBZ-FM with former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano. It’s not known the exact timeslot, I’m efforting that right now. It’s nice to know that Jerry will be back on the local airwaves.

Jerry was let go from Red Sox radio broadcasts after the 2006 season and had been freelancing for Westwood One Radio for the College World Series and other college sports. Recently, he had begun hosting his own podcasts. Now he’ll have a larger forum for his opinions.

UPDATE, 8/11, 2:33 p.m: Hardy during a crossover with WBCN’s Adam 12 says the show with Trup premieres this Saturday at 8 a.m. I’ll be listening.

More Monday Links

Some links on a Monday.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with several members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who are in favor of making their votes public.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NBC Universal pans to make its rarely seen mun2 channel available on August 12 for free just in time for that day’s USA-Mexico World Cup qualifying game. This includes DirecTV, Dish Network and other providers.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes that tickets can be had at Citi Field for cheap!

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says Scott Garceau and Anita Marks are cleaning up in the afternoon drive timeslot for MASN and 105.7 FM in Baltimore.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer wishes ESPN’s Chris Mortensen would pay a visit to the Queen City.

Stacy Straczynksi of Mediaweek writes Sports Illustrated and Nissan are teaming up for a 10 city tour of the Heisman Trophy.

Len Berman’s Top 5 is in the Huffington Post.

The Sports Media Watch says ratings for the WNBA All-Star Game on ABC weren’t good.

And SMW says despite having Michael Phelps in the pool for the World Aquatics Championships, the ratings weren’t worth the hype.

The 38 Cliches blog links to two podcasts from former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano.

Chris Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media is happy to see an Atlanta Journal-Constitution news reporter back in the sports fold.

I’ll end it there for now.

A Monday Linkage Thing

Call me crazy, but I have both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon streaming video on my computer today. And thanks to backdoor sites, they are not taking up memory. I was watching the U.S. Open on NBCSports.com, but it was eating up my memory as the video player was slowing things down. I’ve also found a site that is streaming BBC’s Wimbledon coverage so right now, I’m in sports heaven on this back to work Monday. The streaming quality of both are good and there’s no lagging.

Let’s do your links for today.

Reid Cherner of USA Today writes that rain gave NBC an opportunity to mix in weather reports during the U.S. Open.

Four stories from Sports Business Journal today.

John Ourand writes that ESPN is using podcasts to expand its audio, online and print brands.

Daniel Kaplan says the new roof over Centre Court at Wimbledon makes its official debut today.

Terry Lefton reports on the new management team at Madison Square Garden overseeing the building’s renovation.

Liz Mullen & Jon Snow write that the powerful IMG agency is looking to buy all or part of Gaylord Management whose clients include Phil Mickelson.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell gives you some of the storylines he’s rooting for at today’s U.S. Open.

Michael Amon and Patrick Whittle of Newsday write about the beer policy being changed at the U.S. Open in the wake of drunk heckling on Saturday.

Neil Best of Newsday says while the Phil Mickelson charge at the Open is great for NBC, the network must be wondering what could have been if this had happened on Sunday.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is really reaching when he says NBC is apologizing for Tiger when he plays poorly.

Alan Pergament from the Buffalo News says the producers of the new version of “The Superstars” praise Terrell Owens for his cooperation during the series tapings.

Mark Kram of the Philadelphia Daily News previews HBO’s Real Sports piece on Lenny Dykstra which airs tomorrow.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says a Rafael Nadal-free Wimbledon raises more questions than answers about the tournament.

Jim says it’s a Manic Monday at the U.S. Open and that is so true as we’re watching Phil Mickelson tie for the lead at Bethpage Black.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times says NBC’s U.S. Open broadcasts were definitely marathons thanks to the rain.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has a great video of Joanna Krupa swearing up a storm at Terrell Owens in a preview of “The Superstars”. Barry previews tonight’s “4th and Long” episode.

Ed Sherman from Crain’s Chicago Business recaps his encounters with the acused co-founder of the now-defunct Chicago internet sports radio station.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post writes that NBC was all wet throughout the weekend at the U.S. Open.

Artie Gigantino of the San Francisco Examiner talks about CBS/Golf Channel’s Nick Faldo being knighted and the debut of Joe Buck Live.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star gets on NBC for focusing on Tiger and Phil during the U.S. Open.

Peter Bart and Michael Fleming of Variety report that Columbia Pictures has scrapped the “Moneyball” movie based on the book about Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s.

LC at the 38Cliches blog tells us that former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano has now started a podcast. You can find that podcast right here.

Wrap Around Curl at Puck The Media has some suggestions on how to improve the NHL Awards.

Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy says Commissioner Gary Bettman remains defiant on the NHL Players Association’s request to get games on ESPN.

That’s going to do it for the Monday links for now.

Some Wednesday Night Links

I’ve got to get up really early on Thursday so I won’t have the links for you right off the bat so you’ll have to make due with my Wednesday night links for now.

I’ll start with the NBA since the Association released its schedule today. I’m not a huge NBA fan so I was not into posting schedule-related links this afternoon. But I’ll give you some stuff now so you can peruse the games and plan your viewing accordingly.

I’ll go West Coast first as Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that the Lakers and Celtics have the maximum amount of national appearances on ESPN, ABC and TNT.

Awful Announcing has the ESPN/ABC schedule for 2008-09.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record notices that the Knicks and Nets have been omitted from TNT’s schedule. And Ken tells us the Knicks aren’t on ESPN/ABC’s schedule either.

The Sports Media Watch says there are five, count ‘em, five NBA games on Christmas Day, all to be shown nationally. And the SMW breaks down the national appearances for each team.

And the Crowe’s Nest has a link to the defending champions Celtics schedule.

Moving from the NBA to the Olympics, where we go back to Ken McMillan who writes that WFAN will have hourly updates from Westwood One Radio. And Ken says 1050 ESPN Radio will air Westwood One’s nightly Olympics show.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a guide of NBC’s hosts and announcers for the Olympics.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times says despite what you heard about live coverage, a lot of NBC’s primetime Olympics programming will be delayed.

The following link comes courtesy of Awful Announcing. Ina Fried of CNET goes into the huge effort NBC is undertaking to bring you the Olympics from its New York headquarters to your computer.

Pip Bulbeck of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Australia’s 9 Network is being banned from filming in and around Olympic venues at Beijing after rightsholder 7 Network caught a 9 Network photographer at the Water Cube and complained to the International Olympic Committee.

Stephanie Levitz of the Canadian Press says CBC is going all out for its last Olympics games for at least six years.

Scott Greczkowski of Multichannel blogs that both DirecTV and Dish Network have signed up to provide NBC Universal’s HD Olympic Networks as well as having foreign language coverage.

Lisa Snedeker of Media Life Magazine reports that ad buyers are nervous about protests at the Olympics.

Variety’s Brian Lowry and Clifford Coonan write that the Olympics are shrouded in secrecy over the Opening Ceremonies.

Broadcasting & Cable reports that the Daily Show will be sending Rob Riggle to Communist China to file reports from the Olympics.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail feels the start of the English Premier League on Setanta Sports later this month will hold its own against the Olympics on CBC.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says an FCC test of white spaces using unlicensed mobile devices will take place at the August 9th Bills-Redskins game.

Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch remembers the time when the Boston Globe’s Will McDonough punched out Raymond Clayborne of the New England Patriots. True story.

And speaking of the Patriots, WBCN, the flagship of the Patriots Rock Radio Network has listed the four games it will stream for free at its website.

John Consoli of Mediaweek reports that Gillette will sponsor ESPN’s college football Kickoff Week which begins on August 28.

Back to Awful Announcing which shows that ESPN’s Erin Andrews is undaunted after being criticized for wearing a quote-unquote revealing dress last week.

Here’s a transcript of a chat Hannah Storm conducted on ESPN.com in advance of the premiere of the live morning SportsCenter block next week.

Barstool Sports was happy to see the lovely Tina Cervasio back on NESN covering the Little League World Series Regionals.

The 38Cliches blog finds a video of former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano being interviewed on local access cable.

Joe Favorito says it’s important for an athlete to be involved in their own branding and marketing campaign.

Britt Braudo of the Detroit News talks with CBS’ Ian Baker-Finch who’s part of the crew calling the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills this week.

Barry Silverman of the Maryland Press Box site looks at the week in sports media from the Baltimore perspective.

That’s it until Thursday links later in the day. See you then.

Some Saturday Linkage

I was out earlier today so it’s time to give some links on this Saturday night.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette writes that a local sports anchor is very deserving of a recent promotion.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says fans are hoping the news about the NFL Network games moving to ESPN Classic is true.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that a local sports radio host has won a seat in the World Series of Poker.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes about properly using the term “legendary” for certain sports broadcasters.

From the San Antonio Express-News, Jerry Garcia reports that a local Sporting News Radio affiliate is giving way to country music.

Neil Best of Newsday writes that the Mike & the Mad Dog saga turned up to be a topic of conservation on SNY. And Neil reports that the producer of a minor league baseball show has pulled the series from SNY.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Chicago Cubs owner Sam Zell has a dilemma whether to sell now or later. And Darren writes that the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul may have pulled off the best sports promotion ever.

Joe Favorito says the Soul’s move is a bit risky, but a good idea nonetheless.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner reports that Baltimore TV sports anchor Scott Garceau will no longer report five nights a week. Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun spoke with Garceau about his decision.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says Canadians have been watching the Euro 2008 soccer tournament.

The Sports Media Watch has its weekend ratings predictions. The SMW says the ratings for the College World Series were up for ESPN. And Euro 2008 has been a hit for the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

Jeff Hash of the EPL Talk blog says Spain-Italy was the highest rated match for ESPN’s Euro 2008 coverage.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes ESPN and ESPN2 scored their best ratings ever for the College World Series.

Scotty Thompson of the Dublin (GA) Courier-Herald feels ESPN’s Mike Patrick did not do a good job during the College World Series.

From the “I’m Permanntly Scarred for Life” Department, the Sox & Dawgs blog has the video of three guys streaking at a recent Cape Cod League Summer League game. From the “This is Much Better” Department, Sox & Dawgs has the farewell video NESN put together for Hazel Mae’s last sportscast.

The 38 Cliches blog keeps track of former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano’s trip to Houston this weekend.

Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse blog has the transcript of Bonnie Bernstein’s apology for statements she made on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike show. Awful Announcing has the actual video of Bonnie saying Palestinian kids want to grow up to be suicide bombers. Bonnie was actually making a good point before she brought suicide bombers into the equation.

Mike DiMauro of the Bleacher Report says ESPN needs to showcase all MLB teams, not just a selected few. And in part 2 of his column, Mike writes that ESPN does not need to schedule games months in advance.

Bob Sassone of the TV Squad blog hates ESPN’s Wimbledon scoreboard graphic and I totally agree. It’s very confusing.

Craig Dolch of the Palm Beach Post says NBC did not show the U.S. Women’s Open much respect by not cutting away from Wimbledon coverage this afternoon and cutting into golf coverage. And what Dolch did not write is that NBC then cut away from the golf again at 6 p.m. ET, jettisoning the Open to ESPN2.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says NBC would love to have another U.S. Open playoff this Monday.

David Bauder of the Associated Press writes that NBC Sports is diving in head first into online streaming and live blogging for the Summer Olympics in Communist China.

Speaking of which, I’m watching the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials live on NBC Olympics.com while the Red Sox are on my TV. The picture quality through Microsoft Silverlight is excellent. If this is how the Olympics are going to look on my computer, then I have seen the future of sports television.

That will do it for now. I’m back tomorrow.

Thursday Night and More Links

After being at a jobsite for the afternoon and spending time away from a computer in the early evening, it’s time to provide some links now.

Neil Best of Newsday will be listening to WFAN’s Mike Francesa on Friday just in case he goes off like Chris Russo did on Monday. And Neil has video of ESPN/ABC’s Jeff Van Gundy criticizing New York Knick coach Isiah Thomas on SNY.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has an update on the Tiger Woods apple core story.

The Schenectady Gazette’s Ken Schott is fed up of listening to whining Yankees radio announcers John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

The 38 Cliches blog says it appears that former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano may have a reunion in Houston this weekend.

Deadspin’s Will Leitch is getting melancholy as he approaches his day as editor of the website.

Bob Kimball of USA Today talks with Andy Gray who has garnered rave reviews in his work during Euro 2008 for ESPN.

The following link comes from Awful Announcing. Graham Smith of the Daily Mail in London says the BBC is thinking of suing UEFA for the outage during the Germany-Turkey game that left viewers scrambling to the radio or the internet.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that ESPN may use its Axis virtual replays on other sports. It has been used extensively during Euro 2008.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable writes that the NFL and ESPN are offering to conduct a white space test using unlicensed devices during actual football games.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says ESPN turned into NBA TV during the NBA Draft tonight.

Julianne Smolinski of TV Week writes that ESPN has promoted two of its long-time employees of its communications department.

Ron Judd writes in his Olympics insider blog at the Seattle Times is fed up of NBC tape delaying events on the West Coast.

Chad Haynie of the Bleacher Report writes that the future of TV rights of the Southeastern Conference will be interesting to watch.

Matt Hayes of the Sporting News says the SEC TV rights will be a battle between CBS and Fox.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that the Big Ten Network’s next target is Time Warner Cable now that a deal with Comcast is in place.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports that BTN will follow Illinois football coach Ron Zook for its second season of “The Journey”.

Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel says a winning bidder can have ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike broadcast their syndicated morning show from his/her house.

The Boston Herald’s Inside Track girls bid adieu for now to Hazel Mae who leaves NESN after Friday.

Eric Wilbur of the Boston Sports Blog at Boston.com complains that NESN is force feeding interviews and promotions during Red Sox home games and I have to agree with this.

Amy Derjue posts in the Boston Daily blog that Roush Fenway Racing Day at Fenway Park and on NESN the other night was too much.

The Canadian Press has a story about TSN taking over the entire CFL TV contract tonight after sharing it with CBC.

And that’s going to do it for tonight.

Comparing Goofner to Trup

Last night, I was able to listen to both former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano and one of his replacements, Glenn “3 x 5″ Geffner. Thanks to Sirius Satellite Radio, I was able to listen to the College World Series from Westwood One’s NCAA Radio Network. Kevin Kugler and Trup were on the call. For about half an hour, the Oregon State-North Carolina broadcast overlapped with the Red Sox-Padres game on WEEI-FM. The College World Series game was in the 7th inning and the Red Sox-Padres game broadcast was just starting with Goofner and Joe Castiglione at the mike.

Trup was doing color and doing his usual corny jokes, but it was like listening to old friend. Trup was comfortable behind the mike. He was able to pick up certain nuances like pitcher’s arm slots (comes with experience). And it appeared that he meshed well with Kugler who usually works for 1620 The Zone in Omaha.

In the first two innings of the Red Sox-Padres game, Geffner was able to bring some insight into the trading of Doug Mirabelli from the Padres to the Red Sox last season. Instead of reading off 3 x 5 notecards (hence the nickname, “3 x5″), Goof actually sounded authoritative, something he had been lacking all season. But to this blogger, Joe Castiglione went on with his call of the game, not really responding to Geffner (lack of respect perhaps?).

Back to the College World Series, Trup was looking into the possibility of a North Carolina comeback. Down 10-3, the Tar Heels got a home run in the 8th inning and had two men on. Trup said the last thing North Carolina needed was a double play and the next pitch was indeed a 5-4-3 twin killing. Kugler and Trup said for all intents and purposes, the night was done for UNC. Both looked forward for Game 2 and discussed what the Tar Heels had to do to remain in the series. And their chemistry made it sound as if they had been working together for several years. In fact, I enjoyed Kugler and I think he has a potential to make it to the bigs someday.

Over to the Red Sox and the 3rd inning, it seemed Joe decided to take it off and let Geffner do the inning solo. This is where any goodwill that I had for Goof left the building. His play-by-play was weak. He was not strong and did not identify pitches. In fact, he was behind several plays. This is where I could see San Diego Padres lead announcer Jerry Coleman not having any respect for him.

By the time I switched back to the College WS, the game was over, but Westwood One was replaying highlights. One was Trup’s call of a Oregon State rally. There were no home runs so I could not hear, “Way back! Way back!”, but maybe tonight. If you don’t have Sirius Satellite Radio or have a radio station near you that carries the CWS, you can listen to live streaming from NCAA Sports.com, so you can listen to Trup once again.

I finally decided to turn on NESN to get a quality call of the game rather than subject myself to listening to the Goof. While the game turned out to be a downer, at least I could enjoy Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy without having to worry whether I would hear information read off a 3 x 5 notecard.