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Fox Sports Unveils College Football Announcing Teams For 2012 Season

Fox Sports has unveiled the announcing teams for the upcoming college football season. With Fox, FX, Fox Sports Net, Fox College Sports and Big Ten Network all carrying games, Fox has a lot of announcing teams.

Returning are Gus Johnson and Charles Davis as the main team. They’ll be on the Fox mothership calling Big 12 and Pac-12 games on the network. Joining them on the sidelines will be Julie Alexandria, formerly of SNY and the Big Ten Network.

Calling games on Fox and FX will be Craig Bolerjack and Joel Klatt. They’ll be accompanied by Petros Papadakis of the Petros and Money Show on Fox Sports Radio.

Another FX team will be Justin Kutcher, Tim Couch and Darius Walker.

The Fox Sports Net teams will include Joel Myers, Brian Baldinger and Jim Knox and Mike Morgan, JC Pearson and Laura McKeeman.

Let’s take a look at the entire Fox Sports college football announcing teams for 2012.

FOX SPORTS MEDIA GROUP ANNOUNCES 2012 COLLEGE FOOTBALL BROADCAST TEAMS

Gus Johnson & Charles Davis Joined by Newcomer Julie Alexandria On Lead CFB on FOX Team;
Sideline Analyst Petros Papadakis Teams with Craig Bolerjack & Joel Klatt;
Justin Kutcher, Heisman Trophy Winner Eric Crouch & Former Notre Dame Standout Darius Walker
Call Action on FX
Erin Andrews, Eddie George & Joey Harrington Anchor CFB on FOX Studio Coverage

Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. – FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) unveiled its broadcast teams for the upcoming 2012 college football season on FOX, FX, FOX Sports Net Regional Networks (FSN), Big Ten Network (BTN) and FOX College Sports (FCS).  Executive Producer, Co-President & COO, FOX Sports Media Group, Eric Shanks announced details today at the Group’s annual college football preseason production seminar, held in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

Play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, one of sports television’s most enthusiastic voices and analyst Charles Davis, a former Tennessee standout, FSMG’s lead college football announce team from a year ago, return in 2012 and are joined by exciting newcomer and Emmy nominee Julie Alexandria, who serves as the crew’s sideline reporter.  FOX Sports kicks off its first-ever regular season over-the-air college football package with Hawaii at #3 USC, live from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Sept. 1 (7:00 PM ET).  Alexandria previously co-hosted the BTN series TAILGATE 48, and her credits also include hosting The Seven on MTV, Mets Weekly on SNY where she was nominated for two Emmy Awards, the New York City Marathon on ABC, Slamball on CBS Sports and Weekend pregame on Spike.

In addition to calling the premier game-of-the-week during FOX Sports’ 13 consecutive weeks of regular season action, the trio calls the Pac-12 Conference Football Championship Game on Friday, Nov. 30 (8:00 PM ET) followed by the Big Ten Conference Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 1 (8:00 PM ET).  Johnson, Davis and Alexandria wrap up the 2012-13 campaign with an exciting Big 12/SEC match-up in the Cotton Bowl Classic live from Cowboys Stadium on Friday, Jan. 4 (8:00 PM ET).

FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL’s No. 2 team is led by veteran college football play-by-play announcer Craig Bolerjack and college football analyst and former University of Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt, with FOX Sports Radio personality and former USC fullback Petros Papadakis providing sideline analysis.  Bolerjack, Klatt and Papadakis call games on FOX and FX, FOX Network Group’s widely distributed general entertainment basic cable network seen in more than 99 million households.

Heisman Trophy winner and Nebraska standout Eric Crouch joins FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL as an analyst for games on FX, and he’s joined by play-by-play announcer Justin Kutcher and former Notre Dame standout Darius Walker who serves as the team’s sideline analyst.

In addition to 21 games on FOX and 20 games on FX, FSN, which reaches over 85 million homes through its owned and affiliated networks, televises dozens of games this fall and has three broadcast teams led by veteran play-by-play broadcaster Joel Meyers, with analyst Brian Baldinger and sideline reporter Jim Knox.  Other teams feature Mike Morgan on play-by-play, analyst JC Pearson and sideline reporter Laura McKeeman and play-by-play man Ron Thulin, who is joined by analyst Shaun King and sideline reporter Desmond Pernell.  Adam Alexander calls games on FCS.

Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Eddie George and former Oregon All-American quarterback Joey Harrington partner with host Erin Andrews to form the brand new FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY pregame, halftime and postgame team.  George and Harrington also team with host Patrick O’Neal for studio updates during FX’s coverage.

Kevin Frazier, co-anchor of the hit television magazine program The Insider and former Super Bowl MVP and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen return for their second season handling studio pregame, halftime and postgame coverage on FSN.

FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL rules analyst Mike Pereira is also available each week to offer perspective on rules interpretation and analysis on controversial plays live from his FOX Network Center command post in Los Angeles.

BTN’s college football schedule features more than 40 games, extensive pregame, halftime and postgame coverage on Saturdays and football-themed studio shows every weeknight. Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith anchor the network’s game-day studio coverage on BIG TEN FOOTBALL SATURDAY for the sixth straight season and contribute to additional studio shows during the week. BTN’s football broadcast teams include Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Derek Rackley (analyst); Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Chris Martin (analyst) and Matt Devlin (play-by-play) and Glen Mason (analyst).

Following are FSMG’s 2012 college football broadcast teams:

FOX
Play-by-Play – Gus Johnson
Analyst – Charles Davis
Sideline Reporter – Julie Alexandria

FOX/FX
Play-by-Play – Craig Bolerjack
Analyst – Joel Klatt
Sideline Analyst – Petros Papadaikas

FX
Play-by-Play – Justin Kutcher
Analyst – Eric Crouch
Sideline Analyst – Darius Walker

FSN
Play-by-Play – Joel Meyers
Analyst – Brian Baldinger
Sideline Reporter – Jim Knox

FSN
Play-by-Play – Mike Morgan
Analyst – JC Pearson
Sideline Analyst – Laura McKeeman

FSN
Play-by-Play – Ron Thulin
Analyst – Shaun King
Sideline Reporter – Desmond Pernell

FCS
Play-by-Play – Adam Alexander
Analyst – TBA
Sideline Reporter – TBA

BTN
Play-by-Play – Eric Collins
Analyst – Derek Rackley

Play-by-Play – Kevin Kugler
Analyst – Chris Martin

Play-by-Play – Matt Devlin
Analyst – Glen Mason

Play-by-Play – Brian Anderson
Analyst – Jon Jansen

Play-by-Play – Wayne Larrivee
Analyst – J. Leman

Play-by-Play – Josh Lewin
Analyst – Danan Hughes

Play-by-Play – Tom Werme
Analyst – Kelly Stouffer

Play-by-Play – Matt Sheppard
Analyst – Chuck Long

Play-by-Play – Chris Denari
Analyst – Justin Conzemius

And that will do it.

Checking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Let’s provide some mid-week linkage before I get too busy later on.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily writes that NBC’s overnight rating for Tuesday’s Olympic primetime was up from the comparable night four years ago.

Tripp Mickle of SBJ says NBC is about to set up a set of exhibition beach volleyball matches between the US and China later this year.

In an SBJ podcast, Tripp meets with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch to talk about the media coverage of the 2012 Olympics.

Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter will not complain about NBC’s Olympic coverage.

Daniel Miller of the Reporter says swimmer Ryan Lochte is in discussions to star in his own reality TV show.

Also from the Reporter, Marisa Guthrie has five lessons NBC should learn from the 2012 Games.

Another from the Reporter, a majority of those polled think Ryan Seacrest is doing a good job at the Olympics? Who is being polled?

And finally from the Reporter, Eriq Gardner reports that the NCAA has been ordered to hand over TV licensing revenue documents in a case involving video game manufacturer Electronic Arts which is using likenesses of student-athletes without permission from the athletes themselves.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead has video of Lolo Jones breaking down on the Today Show this morning.

Meanwhile, Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has video of medal winners Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells being rather candid about their opinions on Lolo with Michelle Beadle this morning.

Jen Floyd Engel at FoxSports.com says despite what the media says, this is not the Olympics of the Woman as the media is stating.

Graeme McMillan of Time asks if NBC should offer the Olympics as reality TV or just straight sports?

Joe Posnanski talks with former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol about working his last Olympics for American television, the 2012 London Games.

Reid Cherner of USA Today’s Game On has a look at the upcoming slate of 30 for 30 documentaries.

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated profiles ESPN’s Joe Tessitore who is getting a high profile college football assignment after years of taking on crazy schedules.

SI’s Richard Deitsch has a college football roundtable featuring writers Stewart Mandel, Andy Staples and Holly Anderson on what they expect from the TV side of the sport this season.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says NBC Sports Network is setting viewership records with Olympic programming.

Tim writes that AT&T U-Verse has signed a new agreement to carry NFL Network and RedZone.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the 2012 Olympics are on pace to become the most-watched TV event in US history.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that online sports viewers can tolerate the bombardment of ads seen during the Olympics.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says the Olympics are topping social TV sites like GetGlue, but HBO’s True Blood is showing its reach.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life looks at the winners and losers from broadcasting the Olympics.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says DirecTV may be adding five new channels including one sports network run by Al Jazeera.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report notes that a former Boston Globe college sports columnist is now on his own and got a big scoop this week.

Ed has a couple of NBC Sports-related announcements that have nothing to do with the Olympics.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at NBC’s operations at Olympic Stadium.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell notes that it’s better for sponsors that Michael Phelps remain retired instead of him being an active Olympian.

CBS Radio has officially announced that Scott Zolak will be the radio analyst for New England Patriots games starting this Thursday. He replaces Gino Cappeletti who retired last month.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that NBC is getting a mixed ratings bag for the Olympics from the last few days.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union tells readers where they can find this week’s New York Giants preseason opener.

Pete has ESPN’s schedule of MLB games for most of this month.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that former Jets and Giants coach Bill Parcells will appear on ESPN Radio NY opposite his buddy, WFAN’s Mike Francesa during NFL season.

Ken says NBC Sports Network will have Olympic reruns throughout August.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that ESPN Radio Hack Colin Cowherd is up to his old tricks again.

Eric Deggans from the Tampa Bay Times wonders if the Olympic promos for the NBC’s “Go On” might actually hurt the show in the long run.

Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald looks at last night’s Hard Knock premiere on HBO.

Izzy Gould at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that the Miami Dolphins put the team up for display on Hard Knocks.

Gould says Hard Knocks did not explore the Dolphins’ injuries.

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman says the local NBC affiliate’s ratings are down from 4 years ago.

T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times talks with Vin Scully about calling Sandy Koufax’s perfect game back in 1965.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Scully made a great argument for using instant replay in baseball during an argument on the field Monday night.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says while viewers in the Great White North are complaining about Olympic coverage, the ratings are saying otherwise.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing goes in-depth into the Turner Sports purchase of the Bleacher Report.

Matt Yoder of AA defends Lolo Jones against the very strange media backlash that began over the weekend in the New York Times.

John Koblin of Deadspin writes that even our troops stationed abroad are victims to NBC’s tape delays and can’t watch the Olympics live!

Sports Media Watch says UFC on Fox set yet another record low for mixed martial arts on network TV.

The Big Lead, in a sponsored post, speaks with CBS’ Clark Kellogg.

That is going to do it for today.

NFL on Fox Announcing Teams For 2012-13 Season

Being in Olympic mode, I’m still not quite ready for football even though the NFL preseason began on Sunday and will really get underway in earnest later this week.

Fox Sports has provided the announcing teams for the upcoming season. A few changes for this season, Erin Andrews gets her NFL shot as she’ll be added to the “A” team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver for the Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas and during the postseason going all the way to the NFC Championship.

Former Miami Dolphin and New England Patriot Heath Evans along with former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz become analysts for this season. Martz will be teamed with Ron Pitts. Evans will have Sam Rosen as his partner.

Other than that, the other announcing teams remain the same. Here’s what Fox has for you this season.

FOX SPORTS ANNOUNCES 2012 NFL BROADCAST TEAMS

Network Adds Mike Martz & Heath Evans as Game Analysts;
Erin Andrews Contributes to Thanksgiving Day & Playoff Coverage
Buck, Aikman and Oliver Return for 11^th Season as Lead Broadcast Team
FOX NFL SUNDAY Defends Position as America’s Most-Watched Pregame Show

Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. — The NFL on FOX, the primary broadcast home of the NFC, today unveils its broadcast teams for its 19^th straight season of coverage, and welcomes three new faces to its already deep roster. This year’s newcomers are former NFL head coach and Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator Mike Martz, former NFL fullback Heath Evans who both serve as game analysts, and reporter Erin Andrews. The announcement was made today by FOX Sports Media Group President & Co-COO Eric Shanks from the network’s annual NFL on FOX broadcast seminar in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. The 2012 regular season kicks off on Sunday, Sept. 9 with doubleheader coverage of seven games preceded by FOX NFL SUNDAY, America’s No. 1 pregame show.

Martz, one of the most innovative play-callers in NFL history, is credited as the mastermind behind the Super Bowl XXXVI Champion St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf,” a record setting offense feared throughout the league. He later coached the Rams from 2000 to 2005, and most recently served as offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears through the conclusion of last season. Martz is paired with play-by-play announcer Ron Pitts and debuts on Sunday, Sept. 9 when the Carolina Panthers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Evans, teamed with veteran play-by-play caller Sam Rosen, also makes his first NFL on FOX appearance Week 1 when the Seattle Seahawks battle the Arizona Cardinals. Drafted in the third round by Seahawks, Evans played fullback for Seattle from 2001 to 2004 before moving to the New England Patriots (2005-2008). Most notably, he served as fullback on the 2007 Patriots Super Bowl team that went undefeated in the regular season.

In addition to serving as host of FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY, CFB on FOX’s college football pregame show, Andrews is slated to work with the network’s top broadcast team, seven-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, NFL Hall-of-Famer Troy Aikman and the top NFL sideline reporter and pregame contributor Pam Oliver for FOX’s Thanksgiving Day coverage and throughout the network’s NFC playoff coverage.

Following are the NFL on FOX announcer pairings for 2012:

Joe Buck, Troy Aikman & Pam Oliver
Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa
Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick & Laura Okmin
Dick Stockton, John Lynch & Jennifer Hale
Chris Myers, Tim Ryan & Jaime Maggio
Sam Rosen, Heath Evans
Ron Pitts, Mike Martz

“We are primed to give our football audience the most informative and entertaining NFL coverage possible, both visually and through our pregame and game broadcasters,” said Shanks. “We’re excited to add Mike Martz, Heath Evans and Erin Andrews to what we already consider to be the best NFL broadcast team on television.”

Buck, Aikman and Oliver return as the lead NFL on FOX lead broadcast team for the 11^th consecutive season. This season marks Buck’s 19^th with FOX Sports and Aikman’s 12^th, while sideline reporter Oliver returns for her 18^th campaign. The group calls its first regular season game from Green Bay on Sept. 9 as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers host Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers. The NFL on FOX’s second longest-running team features play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert, former Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston and the NFL’s only on-field analyst, Tony Siragusa.  Kenny, “Moose” and “Goose,” who begin their sixth season together Week 1 in New Orleans when Drew Brees and the Saints host rookie phenom Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins.

Former NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira returns as FOX Sports’ rules analyst to educate and inform viewers to the complexities of the NFL rule book. Pereira monitors the day’s action from a private control room at the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles. He is available to discuss controversial calls or explain rules interpretations with the studio broadcasters or game crews, either on- or off-camera. Pereira, through his @MikePereira handle, is also interacts extensively with fans throughout the day via Twitter.

Each week, the NFL on FOX broadcast day begins with FOX NFL SUNDAY (12:00 PM ET), America’s most-watched NFL pregame show since its inception in 1994. The one-hour prelude to the day’s action is the recipient of 21 Emmy Awards and stars co-hosts Terry Bradshaw and Curt Menefee, analysts Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan and the NFL’s premier insider Jay Glazer. Bradshaw and Long have been with the show since its debut in 1994 and Johnson marks his 13^th season on the show. Glazer joined the program in 2004, Menefee in 2006 and Strahan followed in 2008 following his first Super Bowl win with the New York Giants.

In addition to Bradshaw and Long, Stockton, Pitts and Albert have the distinction of being the only members of the broadcast team to serve the network full-time for all of its 19 years of existence. Oliver, in her 18^th season as previously mentioned, is second, followed by Rosen (17), Buck (15), Aikman and Johnston (12), Tim Ryan (11), Thom Brennaman (10), Glazer and Siragusa (9), Chris Myers (8), Brian Billick (5) and John Lynch (4).

The 2011-12 NFL on FOX season was the networks’ highest-rated in 16 years (12.5/29 in 1995) and averaged 20.1 million viewers, tying 2010 as FOX Sports’ most-watched NFL season ever. It was the third straight season that the NFL on FOX enjoyed ratings growth, FOX was the only full-season NFL carrier to post a ratings increase and FOX’s NFL ratings have grown +11% from 2008 to 2011 (10.5 vs. 12.0). AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK, NFL on FOX national broadcasts on double-header Sundays, averaged a 15.1/28 with 17.3 million viewers last season, and ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched show on television in any daypart.

Eric Shanks and Randy Freer are FOX Sports Co-Presidents & Co-COO’s. Shanks along with EVP of Production, John Entz serve as Executive Producers. Bill Richards is the Coordinating Producer of FOX NFL SUNDAY and Bob Levy directs.

And that will conclude this post.

Fox Saturday Baseball Features Red Sox-Yankees; Joe Buck Returns

After taking two weeks off, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are back on Fox Saturday Baseball. Chris Myers got the assignment to be #1 guy while Joe was gone and didn’t do all that badly in his place.

With Red Sox-Yankees being the main game and being sent to 77% of the country, Joe and Tim are back on the case. And it means that Buck will have called 13 out of a 17 possible games and that us pretty good at this juncture of the season.

The other game this week will be Dodgers-Giants and that gets a mostly West Coast audience on Saturday. Here’s the regional breakdown for the two games on Fox Saturday Baseball this week.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Red Sox Battle Yankees in the Bronx; Dodgers Take on Giants in San Fran
MLB on FOX Saturday at 3:30 PM ET

EAST COAST AND WEST COAST RIVALS FACE OFF – This weekend, MLB on FOX showcases Week 17 with two afternoon matchups on Saturday, July 28th (3:30 PM ET). Another chapter of the Boston-New York rivalry takes place as Derek Jeter and the Bronx Bombers host David Ortiz and the Red Sox. Joe Buck, along with recent Ford C. Frick Award recipient Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal call of the action from Yankee Stadium. In northern California, old NL West rivals meet as Melky Cabrera and the division-leading Giants welcome the second-place Dodgers and newly acquired Hanley Ramirez to the Bay Area.

Coverage begins with the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Matt Vasgersian, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Kevin Millar.

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees — Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal, going to 77% of USA
Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, San Antonio, Seattle, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: Jon Lester, LHP (5-8, 5.46 ERA) vs. TBA

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants — Kenny Albert & Eric Karros22, going to 22% of USA
AT&T Park – San Francisco, CA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Cincinnati, Dayton, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis
Probable Pitchers: TBA vs. Barry Zito, LHP (8-6, 3.75 ERA)

ROSENTHAL: HANLEY CAN BE A SUPERSTAR IN LA – Following the surprising acquisition of Hanley Ramirez via trade with the Marlins early Wednesday, MLB on FOX insider Ken Rosenthal sees a Manny Ramirez-like renaissance in Los Angeles for the power-hitting shortstop. “This could be Manny all over again, presumably without the pharmaceutical assistance,” Rosenthal writes. “Hanley has the Hollywood good looks, and when in the mood, he can pull off the charm. It’s difficult to imagine him hitting like Manny did in the final two months of 2008. However we’re talking about one of the game’s supreme talents, assuming that he finally gets his act together.”

For more from Rosenthal on the trade and what it can mean for the Dodgers and Ramirez click here:
http://on-msn.com/Q4NtUh

That will do it.

Fox Announces Entire Cast of College Football Pregame Show

It’ll be called Fox College Football, naturally. It’ll be hosted by Erin Andrews and joining her as analysts will be former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George and former quarterback Joey Harrington. George has worked at Fox Sports as an analyst for the Bowl Championship Series. Harrington has been in the Fox family working on radio. Last season, he was an analyst for his alma mater, the University of Oregon.

During its courtship of Erin Andrews, Fox had her audition with George and found what it said was a good chemistry. So the trio will premiere on the pregame show on September 1 before the Hawaii-USC game.

The Fox College Football pregame show will air for 13 weeks throughout the season and will be based at the Fox Sports studios in Hollywood. Fox’s college football season will culminate with the Pac-12 and Big 10 Championship Games on consecutive nights on November 30 and December 1 respectively, followed by the Cotton Bowl on January 4, 2013.

Here’s the announcement.

FOX SPORTS ADDS TO STELLAR COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS

Heisman Trophy Winner Eddie George & PAC-12 Legend Joey Harrington Join Host Erin Andrews on Brand New FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL Pregame Show

New York, NY – Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Eddie George and former Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington partner with host Erin Andrews to form the FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL studio team. Andrews and the analyst duo of George and Harrington handle all pregame, halftime and postgame studio coverage live from the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles. The network’s coverage kicks-off on Saturday, Sept. 1 (7:30 PM ET) when Hawaii visits USC. The announcement was made today by Executive Producer, Co-President & COO, FOX Sports Media Group, Eric Shanks.

“We look for analysts who can break down the game while being entertaining at the same time and Eddie and Joey are the total package,” said Shanks. “Eddie is a terrific analyst using his knowledge and passion for college football to offer a unique perspective and it’s an honor to have him back in the FOX Sports family. Joey’s charisma combined with his credentials on the field as a standout quarterback at Oregon put him in position to be one of the best college football analysts in the business. The chemistry between Eddie, Joey and Erin sets this team apart. Fans are in for an entertaining and enlightening show on FOX every Saturday during the college football season.”

George, a standout running back at The Ohio State University, ranks among the top three in school history in rushing yards (3,768), rushing touchdowns (44), 100-yard games (20) and holds school records with five 200-yard outings and 12 consecutive 100-yard games. Since retiring from football, George has worked in television in a variety of roles. He served as a studio analyst during FOX’s coverage of the 2007 – 2009 BCS Championship Games alongside analysts such as Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Emmitt Smith.

As a senior, George set a single-season school record with 1,927 rushing yards en route to winning the 1995 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Doak Walker Award and Jim Brown Award while leading the nation in scoring, placing fourth in all-purpose yards and fifth in rushing yards per game and yards per carry. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and has his No. 27 retired at Ohio State.

Drafted in the first round by the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, he owns virtually every franchise rushing record. He won several NFL Rookie of the Year awards in 1996 and was considered one of the NFL’s premier running backs, possessing an explosive combination of speed, power and toughness. George earned four consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl from 1998 to 2001 and led the AFC Champion Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. He finished his NFL career in 2004 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. He is one of only 30 players in NFL history to rush for 10,000 yards.

Harrington – once nicknamed “Joey Heisman” after a well-known Times Square billboard campaign – was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. During his senior year in 2001, Harrington threw for 2,414 yards and 23 touchdowns to help lead the Ducks to a Pac-10 Conference Title and a victory in the Fiesta Bowl. Harrington was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award that season. He was also named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and first team All-American. He finished his college career with a 25-3 record.

The Detroit Lions drafted Harrington with the third overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Harrington played for the Lions through the 2005 season before stints with the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. After his days in the NFL, Harrington started his broadcast career FOX Sports Radio in 2009 as an NFL and college football analyst. In 2010, he joined the Oregon Sports Network as an analyst during Ducks football games.

In addition to broadcasting 13 consecutive weeks of regular-season action, including 12 prime time games and seven doubleheaders, FOX Sports boasts exclusive coverage of college football’s Pac-12 Conference Football Championship Game on Friday, Nov. 30 (8:00 PM ET) followed by the Big Ten Conference Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 1 (8:00 PM ET). FOX Sports wraps up its 2012-13 campaign with an exciting Big 12/SEC match-up in the Cotton Bowl Classic live from Cowboys Stadium on Friday, Jan. 4 (8:00 PM ET).

Yes, there’s more stuff coming up. Keep it here.

The Olympics Are Here; Let’s Do Some Links

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

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

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

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

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

I have my own Olympics Viewing Guide.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mel also looks at the local ratings from the weekend.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing says the Olympics going digital.

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

That’s going to do it.

Fox Sports “El Jefe del Mundo” David Hill Promoted To New Position at News Corp.

The man who helped create Fox Sports, David Hill, known on the site as “El Jefe del Mundo” or “El Presidente por Vida”, will no longer be Chairman of the Fox Sports Media Group. In a shakeup at the parent company News Corp., Hill will take a new position, Senior Executive Vice President. Back in 1993, Hill was brought in by News Corp. President and CEO Rupert Murdoch to create the Fox Sports division after the network won the rights to the NFL. During his tenure, Hill helped to obtain the rights to Major League Baseball, the NHL, NASCAR and the World Cup. He also was part of the team that transitioned the old SportsChannel into Fox Sports Net.

Prior to joining Fox, Hill worked for News Corp in the UK creating Sky Television and Eurosport. And he also launched Sky Sports which remains one of the most powerful sports networks in the UK.

This is part of an executive shakeup at News Corp. We have the press release.

News Corporation Elevates Peter Rice To Chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group

David Hill Transitions to Company-Wide Role as Senior Executive Vice president, News Corporation

NEW YORK, July 23, 2012 – News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) today announced a restructuring of the senior leadership team that oversees the Company’s media and entertainment properties. Peter Rice, who has served as Chairman of Entertainment for Fox Networks Group (FNG) since 2010, has been elevated to Chairman and CEO of FNG, where he will oversee all programming and operations for the group, which includes Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports Media Group, FX, Fox International Channels and the National Geographic Channels.

David Hill, who has served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Sports since 1999, has been elevated to Senior Executive Vice President, News Corporation. In this new role Mr. Hill will focus on programming, digital initiatives and other opportunities spanning the breadth of the Company’s operating units across Latin America, Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S. Mr. Hill will be based in Los Angeles.

In commenting on the promotions, Chase Carey, News Corporation President and COO said: “The contributions that Peter has made to News Corporation over the years are immeasurable. Peter has proven himself at both the Fox Entertainment Networks, and Fox Searchlight before, to be one of the most innovative and strategic leaders in the entertainment industry.”

David Haslingden, President and COO of FNG; and Mike Hopkins, President of Distribution for FNG, both of whom previously reported to Mr. Carey, will now report to Mr. Rice. Randy Freer and Eric Shanks, Co-Presidents of Fox Sports Media Group (FSMG), who previously reported to Mr. Hill, will also report to Mr. Rice. Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company, and John Landgraf, President and GM of FX, will continue to report to Mr. Rice.

Mr. Carey continued: “David has proven himself to be one of the true visionaries in sports and entertainment across three continents during the last three decades and most recently has helped energize our National Geographic Channels. As we continue to grow our content brands across the world, David’s unique leadership and experience will be invaluable.”

“I am honored to work closely with the excellent executive team at FNG to lead these businesses into their next phase and am grateful to Rupert, Chase and James for this amazing opportunity,” said Mr. Rice. “The talented artists, powerful brands, franchises and live events we have in place across our channels are unrivaled in the media business, and will serve as an invaluable foundation as we embark on another wave of incremental growth.”

“After 30 years spent building our sports businesses into global leaders, I’ve been eager to dive into a broader role that enables me to hunt down untapped programming, investment and digital opportunities all over the world. From sports rights in emerging markets to new overseas digital channels, this new role will allow me to explore and experiment with new programming concepts across the whole of News Corporation in a completely new way,” said Mr. Hill. “I am immensely proud of the work we’ve done to revolutionize the television business, both in the U.S. and in Europe, and I leave Fox Sports in an amazing position, with a great team in place led by Randy and Eric.”

Prior to his post as Chairman of Entertainment, Mr. Rice was President of Fox Searchlight, where he served as the driving force behind the success of the specialty film genre, bringing to the screen some of the industry’s most successful and award-winning films, including Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, Little Miss Sunshine, Sideways and Juno. Before that, as Executive Vice President of Production for Twentieth Century Fox, he worked on a wide range of films including Moulin Rouge, Romeo & Juliet and X-Men.

David Hill has been Chairman and CEO of Fox Sports since 1999, leading what has been America’s No. 1 sports network for 13 consecutive years. Previously, Mr. Hill served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Broadcasting Company from 1997 to 1999, overseeing all programming and operations for the network. In 1993, armed with Fox’s new NFL television rights deal, Hill arrived in the U.S. and served as Fox Sports’ founding President. He previously held several News Corp. posts in the U.K. In 1988, he helped launch Sky Television and Eurosport and later took charge of BSkyB Sports Channel, creating Sky Sports in 1991.

This will have a huge effect on Fox Sports. We’ll see how the relationships that Hill has built over the years will move forward.

Fox Saturday Baseball Is Back With Three Games

Fox Saturday Baseball is back with three games today. It also means that Joe Buck off for the second week in a row. He’ll have called 12 out of a possible 16 games this season.

Tim McCarver is also off, but he has a legitimate excuse with him going to Cooperstown, NY for tha Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies.

The main game will be Texas at the Anaheim Angels. Chris Myers calls the main game for the second week in a row. He will be teamed with Fox Sports West’s Mark Gubicza.

Check which games are going where today. See if your market has the game you want.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

McCarver Receives the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award This Saturday in Cooperstown
MLB on FOX Action Kicks-Off Saturday at 3:30 PM ET with Rangers/Angels
What’s the Best Fit for Cole Hamels?

TIM MCCARVER RECEIVES 2012 FORD C. FRICK AWARD IN COOPERSTOWN THIS SATURDAY
FOX Sports’ lead MLB game analyst Tim McCarver, receives the highest honor in baseball broadcasting at the Hall of Fame presentation from Cooperstown, NY this Saturday when he is presented with the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award. The award is presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.  McCarver is the only network television baseball analyst to broadcast the last 23 regular and postseasons. He called his record 22^nd World Series in 2011 and 21^st All-Star Game earlier this month which is the most by any broadcaster in the sports’ history. McCarver was selected by the 20-member electorate, comprised of the 15 living Frick Award recipients and five broadcast historians and columnists. Below some colleagues reflect on McCarver’s body of work.

MLB play-by-play partner Joe Buck: “I’m kind of conflicted. I feel almost more excited for Tim going in than I did for my dad when he went in in 1987. When you consider the length of time he caught in the big leagues, the pitchers he caught and the excellence on the mound that he received in Gibson, Carlton and many, many others, – the winning, the championships and then jumping right into the booth and broadcasting all these World Series and all these All-Star Games it’s well received. His overall contribution to the game is unmatched by anybody in that Hall of Fame. It’s different to when my dad went in. I mean, my dad went in because he was a great voice of the game. Tim has done it all, and I think it is overdue. It is so deserved and I am proud of him. I’m proud because of the work he puts in every week and I can tell you, as his partner, when I started in 1996 as a 27 year-old doing the World Series, I was scared to death. When I had him sitting to my right and I had him seconding an opinion of mine, it gave me instant credibility. I owe him a lot and I’ll be there, the proudest one there not at the podium when he goes in on Saturday.”
FOX Sports Media Group Vice-Chairman Ed Goren: “This honor is way overdue and in talking to others who have worked with Tim, three people stand out applauding this honor: Al Michaels,Bob Costas and Tony Kubek. It’s long overdue, and we are thrilled.”

MLB Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig: “Tim has represented this sport for many decades in remarkable fashion. He’s brought great dignity; great knowledge and I congratulate him on an honor that is true and well deserved.”

MLB ACTION CONTINUES SATURDAY –  MLB on FOX keeps second half action rolling with three Week 16 afternoon matchups on Saturday, July 21^st (3:30 PM ET). In Southern California, the story of the year has been the play of Angels’ outstanding rookie Mike Trout. The CF currently leads the AL in hitting as his squad hosts Josh Hamilton and the AL West-leading Rangers. Tom McCarthy, Mitch Williams & Ken Rosenthal call the action from Angel Stadium in Anaheim. In Detroit, first and second-place in the AL Central meet White Sox P Chris Sale who aims to slow down the bats of the Tigers’ Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. In Philadelphia, the NL West-leading Giants take on Cole Hamels and the Phillies.

Coverage begins with the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Matt Vasgersian, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Eric Byrnes.

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at <http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

Texas Rangers at Anaheim Angels — Chris Myers & Mark Gubicza, going to 64% of USA
Angel Stadium – Anaheim, CA
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers:  Yu Darvish, RHP (10-6, 3.96 ERA) vs. TBA

Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers — Thom Brennaman & Eric Karros, going to 21% of USA
Comerica Park – Detroit, MI
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville
Probable Pitchers:  Chris Sale, LHP (11-2, 2.11 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello, RHP (6-5, 4.66 ERA)

San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies — Tom McCarthy, Mitch Williams & Ken Rosenthal, going to 14% of USA
Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Washington
Probable Pitchers: Matt Cain, RHP (10-3, 2.56 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels, LHP (11-4, 3.07 ERA)

MOROSI: RANGERS SEEM TO BE A BETTER FIT FOR HAMELS – With the July 31^st trade deadline right around the corner, Major League Baseball general managers are in a frenzy to finalize roster decisions. Leading the headlines is the future of Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels who has been rumored to go to the Rangers or the Angels.  MLB on FOX &FOXSports.com reporter Jon Paul Morosi believes the Lone Star State is the better choice. “Of those two teams, the Rangers are the better fit for Hamels. They have a much deeper farm system and frankly, their need for starting pitching is greater,” says Morosi. “The Angels could have Dan Haren back by the end of this week if all goes well in his rehab assignment. At that point Garrett Richards or Jerome Williams will move out of the starting pitching rotation so to be honest, the Angels aren’t in that bad of a spot from a starting rotation standpoint. The Texas Rangers, trying to come off those two World Series disappointments, need Hamels much more.”

That’s all.

Fox Sports Unveils A New Original Documentary Series

Fox Sports announced today that it will be getting into the sports documentary genre with a new series called “Being”. According to Fox Sports President Eric Shanks, “Being” is “the next level of non-fiction storytelling…” The first installment of this new series will air on September 16 surrounding the NFL on Fox.

And the first documentary will focus on the Liverpool franchise in the English Premier League, thus the title will be “Being: Liverpool”, a six part series that will be produced by a veteran of the HBO 24/7 series.

Fox Soccer will air a repeat of the documentary later that evening.

Let’s take a look at what Fox Sports is saying about this new documentary franchise which we can liken to the 30 for 30 franchise on ESPN.

FOX SPORTS MEDIA GROUP INTRODUCES BEING, AN ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY FRANCHISE FOR SPORTS FANS OF TODAY

Series Launches Sept. 16 with BEING: LIVERPOOL

New York – What is “being?”

Is it the basic or essential nature of one’s personality? Is it what it means to be you right now? Is it what separates us from everyone else and makes us extraordinary? Is it what defines us? While the answer is certainly complex and different for all, the search is always fascinating, as is BEING, the original, ground-breaking new television franchise from FOX Sports Media Group. First up is BEING: LIVERPOOL coming this September.

FSMG’s new BEING franchise gives fans a deep, thoughtful look at the superstars and teams of today from their point-of-view at a critical juncture or telling moment that shows the viewer who or what they really are. It is intended to be an all-access invitation into the personal and professional lives of some of the iconic people and institutions in today’s sports universe, always asking the question, “What is it like to be you?”

“The BEING franchise is the next level of non-fiction storytelling, where we look forward, not back, and the stories unfold in front of you. We intend to provide fans a connection that humanizes sports heroes and institutions in a fresh and unique way,” said Eric Shanks. “Using brilliant cinematography and presentation, BEING has a unique and distinctive visual style which takes its lead from everything FOX Sports has done since its inception, calling on its signature, brand-defining attitude.”

BEING: LIVERPOOL, a co-production of FOX Soccer and Liverpool Football Club, was originally titled OUR LIVERPOOL: NEVER WALK ALONE when announced in April (http://bit.ly/MLgtOF). It marks the first time in history that a global football power is allowing such unprecedented insider access. The six hour-long episodes are being made available worldwide, with multiple Emmy Award-winning producer Scott Boggins (formerly of HBO’s renowned “24/7” series) leading the project.

BEING: LIVERPOOL premieres Sunday, Sept. 16 on FOX, either preceding (3:00 PM ET) or following (4:30 PM ET) local NFL on FOX singleheader coverage, with two repeats that night on FOX Soccer and MundoFOX (9:00 PM ET/PT), America’s newest over-the-air Spanish-language broadcast network which launches this summer. The program repeats throughout the week on National Geographic Channel, FSN and FUEL TV. Given the wide U.S. reach of FOX, and the anticipated international distribution, the BEING: LIVERPOOL premiere is expected to be available in well over 350 million homes around the world. Such wide distribution is fitting in that Liverpool is one of the most decorated soccer clubs in the world, with 18 topflight English titles, seven FA Cups and a record eight League Cups to its name. Future episodes of BEING: LIVERPOOL debut in prime time on FOX Soccer and MundoFOX beginning Sunday, Sept. 23 (9:00 PM ET/PT), with repeats on National Geographic Channel, FSN and FUEL TV (check local listings).

That is all.

Let’s Do Some Wednesday Linkage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SMW has some ratings news and notes.

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

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

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

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

That will do it for today.

Doing Some Tuesday Linkage

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

I have some links.

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

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

Tim says Golf Channel has made a couple of hires.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dan has video of a new Robert Griffin III commercial.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s going to end the links for today.

Some Rare Sunday Linkage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Associated Press has announced its Olympic coverage plans.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pete has NFL Network’s extensive preseason game schedule.

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

Ken has the Olympic Basketball Tournament viewing schedule.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Few Sunday Sports Media Thoughts

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

• Last Thursday’s release of Louis Freeh’s report on Penn State University’s conduct in the Jerry Sandusky scandal was the sports media’s version of the Obamacare Supreme Court decision. Unlike the Obamacare decision, no media outlet made errors in reporting. But there were a couple of errors in judgment in the aftermath.

  First was allowing Matt Millen to go solo on SportsCenter to spout freely to defend Joe Paterno and his legacy. ESPN should have had one of its legal experts like Roger Cossack to discuss the contents of the reports. To let Millen go on to defend Paterno right after the report’s release was irresponsible. If ESPN was going to have Millen on, it needed to have an opposing viewpoint accompany him. Bad decision by ESPN.

  Second was crackpot Bill James originally stating on his own site and then again on ESPN Radio’s Doug Gottlieb Show on Saturday that the Freeh Report had somehow exonerated Paterno. James currently works for the Boston Red Sox in an advisory role and while he did not make those statements representing the team, they have a conundrum knowing that the calls for James’ firing have already begun. Someone should have corralled James before he went on ESPN Radio and embarrassed himself. How James could believe the report that report exonerated Paterno is beyond belief. The Red Sox will have to take action on James. And no, this is not a First Amendment issue. Under an organization’s employe, that organization can fire someone for actions or statements it deems offensive or contrary to its values.

  The Paterno story and its effects on Penn State will be going for a while, I’m afraid.

• I’m a fan of HBO’s boxing coverage from Jim Lampley to Larry Merchant, Emanuel Steward and Harold Lederman, but when it comes to Max Kellerman, the man is abrasive, obnoxious and a charlatan. Often, he repeats what Jim Lampley has already said. Larry Merchant is much better in the third analyst role. How Kellerman has worked for ESPN, Fox Sports Net and HBO is beyond me.
• After watching a few MLS and US Soccer games on NBC Sports Network, I’ve become a fan of how Arlo White and Kyle Martino call contests. With White in the traditional commentary box and Martino down on the field, the two have very good chemistry. I look forward to having them call Olympic Soccer in the UK at the end of this month.
• If I’m on a baseball team playing on a Fox Saturday Baseball game that’s being called by Kenny Albert, I’m calling in sick. In 2010, Kenny called two marathon games, a 20 inning affair between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals and a 13 inning contest between the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers. Then on Saturday, Kenny had another 13 inning game, this time between Detroit and Baltimore. Kenny is truly a baseball Marathon Man.

That will conclude the thoughts for today.

Fox Saturday Baseball Returns To The Afternoon Without Joe Buck

After eight consecutive weeks in primetime, Fox Saturday Baseball returns to its regular time of 4 p.m. ET today. Fox has given both Joe Buck and Tim McCarver the day off. And for Joe, it means he’ll have worked 12 out of a possible 15 Fox Saturday Baseball games.

Check out the schedule.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

 

MLB on FOX’s Second Half Begins Saturday Afternoon @ 3:30 PM ET

 Rosenthal & Morosi Hand Out Mid-Season Awards

 

 

MLB SECOND HALF SWING BEGINS THIS SATURDAY – Fresh off a successful All-Star Game; MLB on FOX kicks-off its second half of the 2012 season with three afternoon matchups. The Mets and R.A. Dickey travel to Atlanta to face Chipper Jones and the Braves. Looking to put the pressure on the NL Central-leading Pirates, Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals face off with Joey Votto and the Reds in Cincinnati. In Baltimore, Buck Showalter’s Orioles look to continue their strong season in the second half as they tangle with Jim Leyland’s Tigers.

 

Coverage begins with the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Greg Amsinger, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Dan Plesac.

 

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

New York Mets at Atlanta Braves  –  Chris Myers & Eric Karros, going to 46% of USA

Turner Field – Atlanta, GA

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Mobile, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, West Palm Beach

Probable Pitchers: R.A. Dickey, RHP (12-1, 2.40 ERA) vs. Tommy Hanson, RHP (10-5, 3.71 ERA)

 

St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds — Thom Brennaman & Tom Verducci, going to 31% of USA

Great American Ballpark – Cincinnati, OH

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Albuquerque, Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tulsa

Probable Pitchers:  Lance Lynn, RHP (11-4, 3.41 ERA) vs. Mike Leake, RHP (3-6, 4.01 ERA)

 

Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles — Kenny Albert & Billy Ripken, going to 22% of USA

Oriole Park at Camden Yards – Baltimore, MD

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Providence, Seattle, Tampa, Washington

Probable Pitchers:  Max Scherzer, RHP (8-5, 4.72 ERA) vs. Wei-Yin Chen, LHP (7-5, 3.93 ERA

 

MOROSI & ROSENTHAL DELIVER FIRST HALF AWARDS – FOXSports.com MLB writers Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal discussed which MLB players through the first half of the season are their favorites to win league MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year. 

 

• Morosi on National League MVP race through first-half: “In the National League MVP race, I’ve got to go with Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. I love Joey Votto with that sweet left handed swing but Andrew McCutchen has the Pirates in first place with basically no lineup protection.” 
• Rosenthal on National League Cy Young:  “R.A. Dickey, my goodness. Not only is he throwing that knuckle ball and controlling that knuckle ball but he is getting strikeouts with it. His WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) is down. It’s incredible what he’s doing when you look at it from a statistical standpoint.  R.A. Dickey is a very worthy choice for the NL Cy Young.”
• Morosi on Rookie of the Year honors in American League:  “Ken and I are part of the BBWAA, we should actually petition the folks there to just take Mike Trout out of the American League running for Rookie of the Year because it’s so obvious that it’s going to be him. Frankly, he’s obscuring what is a very good rookie class with Will Middlebrooks,Jared Parker, Tommy Malone, and Yu Darvish. There are a lot of guys there that would be in the mix but Trout is blowing away the competition.

*For additional analysis from Morosi & Rosenthal, click here: http://on-msn.com/NmrXLG 

That’s all.

MLB All-Star Game Wins Primetime Ratings For Fox, But Turns Out To Be Lowest Rated of All-Time

The MLB All-Star Game was a blowout on Tuesday resulting in an 8-0 win for the National League. Because the game was never in doubt, the ratings were lower than what they could have been. While the overnight ratings for the Mid-Summer Classic were 3% higher than last year, the final rating still resulted in a record low.

According to Fox, the rating generated for the 2012 All-Star Game was a 6.8 with a 12 share. That’s down 1% from last year’s 6.9/12 which was also a record low.

The average viewership for the contest was 10.9 million people compared to last year’s 11 million. Overall, the total viewership was 27.7 million which was higher than last year’s total.

In the local markets, St. Louis topped the nation with a 20.5/33 with host city Kansas City next at 18.7/31.

Overall, Fox won the night over the other network competition and took the coveted 18-49 demographic.

Here’s the Fox press release.

MLB ALL-STAR GAME REAFFIRMED AS PREMIER ANNUAL TV EVENT OF SUMMER AS TOTAL VIEWERSHIP INCREASES

Ratings Surge Among Younger Viewers;
Men 18-34 & Key Adult Demographics Improve vs. ‘11
Social Media Activity on FOX Platforms Soars 262%

Kansas City, MO – As the biggest All-Star Game audience since 2009 was still settling in to watch the 83^rd MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME, the National League raced out to a five-run lead before the American League even came to bat en route to an 8-0 rout last night amidst the soaring fountains at beautiful Kauffman Stadium.

Despite the N.L. onslaught and lopsided victory in the 83rd MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME – the third-widest margin of victory ever – the game broadcast on FOX delivered 27.7 million total viewers (persons age 2+ watching all or part of the game), +7% compared to a year ago, reaffirming it as the premier annual television event of the summer. The 7% surge matches the biggest increase in total viewership for an All-Star Game since 1998. The game earned a 6.8/12 household rating/share, averaging 10.9 million viewers, narrowly missing last year’s 6.9/12 by -1% in rating and average audience (11 million). In fact, the margin between the 2012 rating and last year is razor thin, just four hundredths of a ratings point, according to figures released today by Nielsen Media Research.

Initial tune-in for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game was very strong. The game opened at a 6.5/12, +7% over last year’s 6.1/11 and was the best first-pitch tune-in for an All-Star Game since 2009, which was driven by a pregame appearance by President Obama.

 

Perhaps intrigued by the presence of blossoming young stars like Mike Trout, teammates Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, younger viewers tuned-in to this year’s All-Star Game in better numbers. Last night’s Midsummer Classic earned a 4.0 among Men 18-34, a +5% bump over last year, and FOX was also up across the key adult demographics including Adults 18-34 (+11%, 3.0 vs. 2.7), Adults 18-49 (+3%, 3.2 vs. 3.1) and Adults 25-54 (+3%, 3.8 vs. 3.7).

Riding the All-Star Game, FOX won the night effortlessly. Last night’s 8:00-11:00 PM ET primetime average made this FOX’s highest-rated night since the American Idol finale, and the highest-rated night of broadcast network television since Game 5 of this year’s NBA Finals on ABC.

St. Louis topped all markets for the All-Star Game for the sixth consecutive year with a 20.5/33, followed by host market Kansas City (18.7/31), nearly doubling the 10.6/19 earned by host market Phoenix last year. Other markets of note included Washington, whose young stars drove a +36% increase locally, and Dallas, whose eight Rangers All-Stars provided a +22% lift there.  Ratings in top ten markets include: New York – 9.7; LA – 7.0; Chicago – 8.0; Philadelphia – 9.4; Dallas – 11.6; SF – 9.8; Boston – 7.7; Washington, DC – 8.7; Atlanta – 8.6; and Houston – 5.2.

Social media metrics issued today as measured by Bluefin Labs indicate that the All-Star Game on FOX’s Facebook and Twitter platforms was up 262% in unique users (439K vs. 121K) vs. 2011, and +261% in total comments (808K vs. 224K), with each unique user averaging two comments during the broadcast.  Total comments and unique users refer to public Twitter tweets and public Facebook posts about the broadcast.

That’s it.

Let’s Do Some Wednesday Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that’s going to do it for today.

Bringing You A Few Wednesday Sports Media Thoughts And More…

Let’s do a few sports media thoughts and a couple non-sports thoughts. They’re in bullet form, of course.

• Fox did its usual good job in covering the MLB All-Star Game. The production was spot on. Joe Buck was decent. Ken Rosenthal was good in his role. Fox did not shove Erin Andrews down our throats in her Fox debut as she made just a few appearances. Tim McCarver’s analysis still is lacking and there were times when his statements were head scratchers (“Electric stuff is a new baseball term”). Basing it on the pictures and replays, Fox usually steps up and it did so on Tuesday.

  However, the postgame ceremonies with All-Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera were quite awkward as MLB Commissioner Bud Selig looked confused and wooden like he always does and MLB Nerwork’s Matt Vasgersian wasn’t helpful as Cabrera had difficulty speaking English, yet Matt didn’t try to bail him out. He just let Melky struggle. Bad spot by Matt there.

  While the game was a blowout early and there was most likely a late tune out factor, the All-Star Game’s ratings will probably be on a par with last year’s all-time record low 6.9 rating.

• On Monday night, ESPN carried the Home Run Derby and while ratings for this year’s event were up compared to 2011, one had to think the numbers increased despite Chris Berman’s presence behind the mic.

  While the Derby itself was dull, the highlight of the broadcast was Hall of Fame Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett bringing barbecue ribs to the set and seeing John Kruk demolish them.

  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Chris Berman’s act is old. ESPN puts him on the U.S. Open and Home Run Derby every year and the complaints about his performance pick up on social media. Every ball that was hit started with either a “WOW!” or an “OH!” How is that a good call? And when Berman tried to get cute with geography by saying one blast was headed to Omaha, Brett chimed in with “Wrong direction,” which made my night.

  Berman is not a play-by man and I wish he was taken off the Home Run Derby.

  The social media bashing of Berman will rise to new heights next month when he handles his first NFL play-by-play assignment.

• The Big Lead reported on Tuesday that ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball voice Dan Shulman could be in demand when his contract expires later this year.

  Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead wrote that Fox and possibly, NBC would be interested in Shulman’s services. Of course, Shulman can call baseball and basketball, both of which he calls very well. If Fox retains baseball, Shulman could easily supplant Joe Buck as lead voice, call the entire season of Fox Saturday Baseball which Buck does not do, and have a role in the MLB Postseason for the network. He could also call college basketball for either Fox’s cable entities, Big Ten Network or Fox Sports Net.

  Should NBC get a piece of the MLB contract, then Shulman again could be the lead voice and also call basketball if NBC gets Big East rights. Of course, NBC could also give Shulman an Olympic sport to call every two years.

  And there’s always the option that Dan could remain with ESPN where he calls the League Championship Series and World Series on Radio and call college basketball with a few NBA games thrown in for good measure.

  Shulman certainly has some options after the final out is recorded at this year’s World Series.

• After failing to come to an agreement, Viacom pulled 17 networks off DirecTV including MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, and Spike, among others. No one wins in these disputes. Both sides blame the other. It all comes down to money. Viacom wants more money from DirecTV, but the satellite provider says it doesn’t want to pay it. No matter what, I see a slide in the Viacom Network’s place. This is all unnecessary and avoidable, yet it happens time and time again.
• Is there a better network meteorologist than Ginger Zee of ABC’s Good Morning America and World News? I didn’t think so. She can chase storms for me any time.

And we’re done.

MLB To Debut New Spot Tonight

This comes to us directly from Major League Baseball. During tonight’s All-Star Game, MLB will unveil a spot celebrating the first half accomplishments of 2012 and then pointing us to the postseason that will air exclusively on TBS and Fox.

I’m sure ESPN will be happy to see this spot showing specifically that it’s shut out of the MLB Postseason. But anyway, you’ll see Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants, Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, Johan Santana of the New York Mets, Jared Weaver of the Anaheim Angels among others.

A :60 spot airs on Fox tonight. A :30 version will air on MLB Network after the game.

The spot was produced by the fine people at Turner Sports. Here’s the press release followed by video.

NEW SPOT DEBUTING DURING ALL-STAR GAME ON FOX TONIGHT CELEBRATES AMAZING FIRST HALF MOMENTS

Perfect games. No-hitters. Four-homer games. Rookies making history. It’s been a season filled with a full year’s worth of remarkable moments on the field already, and it’s only the All-Star break.

In a new 60-second spot debuting tonight during the 83^rd MLB All-Star Game on FOX at 7:30 p.m. ET, some of the best moments of the season are celebrated with an eye towards the Postseason in October.  A 30-second version of the spot will also run on MLB Network tonight.

Among the players and moments highlighted in the spot are the perfect games thrown by Matt Cain and Philip Humber, Josh Hamilton’s four home run game, no-hitters by Johan Santana and Jered Weaver, the great performances by rookies Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, R.A. Dickey’s consecutive one-hitters, and more.

The spots were produced by Turner Sports and after tonight’s debut will run on FOX, ESPN, TBS, MLB Network and MLB.com.

Here’s the aforementioned spot.

There you have it. Enjoy the All-Star Game.

2012 Home Run Derby’s Ratings Are Up From 2011

This in from Major League Baseball, the ratings for the Home Run Derby on Monday were up 3% from last year. The ratings were 4.81 with an average viewership of just under 6.9 million viewers. That’s up from last year’s 4.67 rating and 6.7 million viewers.

Kansas City led all markets with a stunning 15.1 rating and it was the second highest number for a host market since 2002. MLB says ratings were also strong in the nation’s two largest markets, New York and Los Angeles.

We have the press release from Major League Baseball which is quite happy about the ratings and it pimps the social media aspect for tonight’s All-Star Game in Kansas City.

HOME RUN DERBY SEES GROWTH IN VIEWERSHIP & SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ

Ratings, Viewership on ESPN Up +3% as #HRDerby Trends Worldwide 

Monday night’s Home Run Derby (#HRDerby) on ESPN, in which Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers became just the second player in history to win the event multiple times, saw an increase in TV viewership while generating extensive buzz on Twitter, a significant increase in Twitter followers for the All-Stars who actively tweeted during the event, and raising a combined $615,000 donation from Major League Baseball to multiple charities.

The Home Run Derby telecast on ESPN generated a 4.81 coverage area rating and 6.9 million viewers according to fast national data from Nielsen, both figures representing a +3% increase over the 4.67 rating and 6.7 million viewers for the 2011 Derby.  Kansas City led all markets with a 15.10 rating, the second highest for a host city since 2002 behind only St. Louis in 2009.  In addition, ratings were particularly strong in both New York and Los Angeles, the hometowns for captains Robinson Cano and Matt Kemp, respectively.  The 4.62 rating in Los Angeles – also helped by the strong showing by Mark Trumbo of the Angels – represented a +47% increase over last year, while New York’s 6.67 rating was a +10% increase over last year.

Last night’s event – the second consecutive “Social Media Derby” during which players were able to use social media live from the field during the Home Run Derby – generated 804,337 total Twitter and public Facebook comments, more than twice the volume (+158%) than last year’s Derby (312,117), based on data from Bluefin Labs.  The event was the most discussed telecast across all dayparts and networks yesterday.  The hash tag #HRDerby was the most trended term across the telecast, and trended worldwide throughout the night on Twitter.  There were 274,635 mentions of the #HRDerby, 34% of all comments during the event.  #HRDerby was one of 14 different topics related to the event to trend worldwide on Twitter during the telecast on ESPN, and as the final round between Prince Fielder and Jose Bautista began, all ten of the top worldwide trends were related to the Derby.

The players who actively tweeted from the field during the Derby significantly increased their Twitter following in the 24 hours surrounding the event (9:00am ET Monday to 9:00am ET Tuesday).  Among the players to see the most significant increase were Mark Trumbo (+73.9%, 15,771 new followers for @Mtrumbo44); Mike Trout (+21%, 11,663 new followers for @Trouty20); Andrew McCutchen (+17.5%, 11,536 new followers for @TheCutch22); Robinson Cano (+11.2%, 26,062 new followers for @RobinsonCano) and Jose Bautista (+8.9%, 19,464 new followers for @JoeyBats19).

Social media will also play a role during the 83^rd MLB All-Star Game (@MLB #ASG) tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX as for the first time ever, computer stations will be set up adjacent to each clubhouse allowing players — once they are no longer competing in the game — to quickly reach out to fans via social media while completing their other media obligations before returning to the bench.  This initiative is a collaboration between Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association (@MLB_Players) and MLB Advanced Media, with support from FOX.

Below is a list of accounts for All-Star players along with other official accounts that will be actively posting content during the event.  Players who are not active social media users will have the opportunity to participate via the official MLB/MLBPA accounts.

American League                                  National League                                     Other

Elvis Andrus (@ElvisandrusSS1)                Jose Altuve (@JoseAltuve27)                     @MLB

Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19)                    Carlos Beltran (@carlosbeltran15)               @MLB_Players

Billy Butler (@BillyButlerKC)                      Jay Bruce (@JayABruce)                            @MLB_PR

Miguel Cabrera (@ogundameyi24)            Melky Cabrera (@MelkyCabrera)                 @MLBFanCave

Robinson Cano (@RobinsonCano)             Ian Desmond (@IanDesmond20)               @AllStarGame

Ryan Cook (@ryancook_48)                      R.A. Dickey (@RADickey43)                        @Cut4

Yu Darvish (@faridyu)                              David Freese (@dfreese23)                       @MLBONFOX (#ASG)

Adam Dunn (@adamdunn_32)                 Carlos Gonzalez (@cargomedia5)               @buck (#ASG)

Curtis Granderson (@cgrand14)                Gio Gonzalez (@GioGonzalez47)                 @Ken_Rosenthal (#ASG)

Josh Hamilton (@thejoshhamilton)           Cole Hamels (@TheHamels)                      @ErinAndrews (#ASG)

Felix Hernandez (@RealKingFelix)              Joel Hanrahan (@hanrahan52)

Adam Jones (@SimplyAJ10)                     Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp)

Mike Napoli (@MikeNapoli25)                   Clayton Kershaw (@ClaytonKersh22)

Joe Nathan (@JoeNathan36)                    Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22)

David Ortiz (@davidortiz)                          Wade Miley (@wademiley36)

Chris Perez (@ChrisPerez54 )                    Yadier Molina (@Yadimolina4)

David Price (@DAVIDprice14)                   Buster Posey (@BusterPosey)

CC Sabathia (@CC_Sabathia)                    Pablo Sandoval (@KFP48)

Mike Trout (@Trouty20)                           Giancarlo Stanton (@Giancarlo27_)

Mark Trumbo (@Mtrumbo44)                    Stephen Strasburg (@stras37)

Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander)

C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer)

That’s all.

Grinding Out Some Tuesday Links For You

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

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

Michael also has the ratings on Wimbledon and NASCAR.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SportsRantz also profiles Ms. McKeeman.

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

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

Some Sunday Sports Media Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Those are the sports media thoughts.

Let’s Do The Friday Megalinks

Time for Friday linkage.

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

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MediaRantz looks at the top 5 ESPN plagiarism scandals.

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

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

East and Mid-Atlantic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

South

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

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

Midwest

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

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

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

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

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

West

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

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

Tom also links to reaction to his Erin Andrews column.

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

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

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

Jim has his Weekend Viewing Picks.

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

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

And that will conclude our links for today.

The Thursday Linkage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baseball Night in America Closes Out Its Eight Week Run With Three Games

Baseball Night in America on Fox ends its eight week run with three games. Most of the nation will see the New York Yankees taking on the Boston Red Sox and you all know that’s where Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal will be on Saturday night. A whopping 74% of the country will receive this game. And it means Joe Buck will have worked a whopping 12 out of a possible 14 games! This is a record for this point of the season for Joe. But we know after the All-Star Game next week, Joe will start taking games off to get ready for the NFL season. You know it will happen.

The other games on the docket this Saturday night will be Atlanta at Philadelphia and Minnesota at Texas. The games begin at 7:15 p.m. ET preceded by the MLB Network-produced Fox Saturday Baseball Pregame Show.

Here’s the Fox preview.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Yankees/Red Sox Showdown in Boston Wraps Up 1st Half of Regular Season Saturday on BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA

BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA – MLB on FOX sets out to close its eight-week run of BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA with a bangon Saturday, July 7 at 7:00 PM ET. The always intense Yankees/Red Sox rivalry adds another chapter as Derek Jeter and the Yanks travel to Boston. New York heads into the All-Star break leading the AL East while David Ortiz and the Red Sox have righted the ship after a slow start and appear poised to make a second-half run at a postseason berth. Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal call the action from Fenway Park before heading to Kansas City to call the All-Star Game next Tuesday. In Texas, All-Star Game No. 1 vote-getter Josh Hamilton leads the Rangers in a home encounter with Joe Mauer and the Twins. Also, the Phillies host the Braves in Philadelphia.

Coverage begins with the BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Matt Vasgersian, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Kevin Millar.

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox — Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal, going to 74% of USA
Fenway Park – Boston, MA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Hartford, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA

Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies — Kenny Albert & Eric Karros, going to 13% of USA
Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Atlanta, Birmingham, Greenville, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Philadelphia
Probable Pitchers:  TBA vs. Joe Blanton, RHP (7-7, 4.85 ERA)

Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers — Dick Bremer & Mitch Williams, going to 12% of USA
Rangers Ballpark – Arlington, TX
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Austin, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Tulsa
Probable Pitchers:  TBA vs. Yu Darvish, RHP (10-5, 3.59 ERA)

That does it.

Some 4th of July Sports Media Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  It will be nice to have Erin on the NFL.

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

Enjoy your 4th.

Jonesing For Tuesday Linkage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Darren Rovell bids farewell to CNBC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And we’re done.

Erin Andrews Makes Fox Debut at MLB All-Star Game Next Week

On Sunday when Fox Sports formally announced it had hired Erin Andrews from ESPN, your humble blogger was told that she would make her Fox debut on September 1 when primetime college football games premiere on the network.

@fangsbites Saturday, September 1 on our brand new @CFBONFOX pregame show prior to Hawaii at USC game on FOX.

— Dan Bell (@danpbell) July 1, 2012

However, Fox Sports will have Erin make her debut much sooner than that. During a media conference call to discuss the MLB All-Star Game, Fox Sports President Eric Shanks announced that she will be seen covering the American League dugout next Tuesday night when the network airs the Mid-Summer Classic live from Kansas City.

Before she signed her last contract with ESPN, Ms. Andrews covered baseball and was part of the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s team that called the MLB Home Run Derby during All-Star Game weekend.

We have that announcement plus highlights of that aforementioned conference call below. Check it out.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Erin Andrews & New and Improved Diamond Cam Make Debuts in Kansas City at 2012 MLB All-Star Game on FOX * Tuesday, July 10 – 7:30 PM ET
Transcribed Quotes from Today’s 2012 ASG ON FOX Preview Press Call Featuring Selig, McCarver, Buck, Goren & Shanks

MLB ALL-STAR GAME MARKS FOX SPORTS DEBUT FOR ERIN ANDREWS & NEW DIAMOND CAM – During FOX Sports’ MLB All-Star game preview call this afternoon, FOX Sports Media Group Co-President & Executive Producer Eric Shanks announced that newcomer, Erin Andrews, makes her FOX Sports debut during its exclusive presentation of MLB’s 83^rd Mid-Summer classic on Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET). Andrews, one of sports television’s brightest stars, reports from the dugouts and helps tell the story of players and their journey to Kansas City. Additionally, FOX Sports’ coverage of the All-Star extravaganza includes an updated and much improved version of “Diamond Cam,” a miniature camera embedded into different areas of the field. The views offered include: looking up from home plate at the batter & catcher; looking up at the pitcher; view from field to first base. First introduced at the All-Star Game in 2004, these new cameras are high-definition, creating striking images with wireless, radio frequency transmission meaning that no trenching on the field is necessary. The camera and power-source, a long-life lithium ion battery, is set up below ground at the edge of the infield grass and all that appears above ground is a tiny, specially crafted prism no larger than grains of infield soil.

Seven-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer Joe Buck serves as the event’s host as well as play-by-play announcer calling the action alongside 2012 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award and analyst Tim McCarver. Buck & McCarver are joined by MLB on FOX insider Ken Rosenthal reporting from the field during the game with an MLB on FOX analyst and the aforementioned Andrews contributing from the dugouts. MLB Network broadcasters Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds & Kevin Millar join analyst Eric Karros during the network’s pregame show from the field at Kauffman Stadium to set the scene for this special night in Kansas City. In addition to bringing fans live interviews and coverage of all the pageantry and celebration of baseball’s best, the special pregame show features a look back at the Negro Leagues through the eyes of some of its greatest living participants, MLB legends Hank Aaron, Willie Mays & Monte Irvin. The Hall of Famers reflect on the importance of the Negro Leagues in history and how they helped mold their Major League legacies. The first successful alliance, the Negro National League, was formed in Kansas City, MO in 1920.

SELIG, GOREN, SHANKS, BUCK & MCCARVER PREVIEW 2012 MIDSUMMER CLASSIC – MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, FOX Sports Vice Chairman Ed Goren, FOX Sports Co-President Eric Shanks, along with MLB on FOX’s Emmy Award-winning broadcast team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver participated in a press call to preview coverage of Major League Baseball’s 83^rd All-Star Game from Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET).

Selig on how home field advantage has changed how the All-Star Game is played:  “The fact is that years ago we ran into a period where there were a lot of players that tried to find excuses and didn’t want to play. We haven’t had any of that. There were some people who were critical of ‘this time it counts.’ It’s worked well and it worked well right from the beginning. You see players now that are happy to go.  In fact, the only people unhappy now are some people who didn’t make it.”

Buck added:  “It has had an impact on the way these guys manage games.  They’re looking for specific matchups as opposed to just trying to get everybody in the game.  It’s brought a competitive fire back to this game that for a while was lacking.  It’s been a great change for this game that is by far the best of all the all-star games of the four major sports.”

McCarver on the story lines in the first half of the 2012 MLB season: “The infusion of young talent has been extraordinary. I am a huge fan of Giancarlo Stanton. I tell Joe about him about every other week and I follow him on a weekly basis. And of course everybody has to be excited about Bryce Harper who’s got a chance to be on the team. Mike Trout, I’ve never seen him play and I am really looking forward to that. That for me is going to really be one of the highlights of the All-Star Game.”

Buck on the challenges of broadcasting an All-Star Game: “There’s so much to talk about in this All-Star Game and that’s always the frustration when you do this game, because everybody’s got an individual story. We’ve got new cameras and we’re trying out new things and we’re promoting and talking about the second half. It’s a serious juggling act and we’ll try to get to as much of it as we can.”

Selig on MLB expanding use of social media in light of players being able to tweet after they leave the All-Star Game: “It’s after players are removed from the game. It’s another contact to our fans which is important to me. It’s a reason this sport is growing as much as it is. One thing I’ve learned in this job is never to say never. I like what we’re doing in the All-Star Game and I think this will contribute to our younger fans having the kind of contact they want to have with players. I’m very comfortable with where we are now.”

Goren added: “This is really an exciting step for the All-Star Game. It’s being handled properly by baseball. The player is out of the game and now here is an opportunity to reach out, through social media, to baseball fans. This is a fun experiment.”

HAMILTON SMASHES SINGLE-SEASON ALL-STAR BALLOTING RECORD AS ROSTERS ARE ANNOUNCED – As we approach the 83^rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, airing Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET) on FOX, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has set a new single-year mark for All-Star voting with an astonishing 11,073,744 ballots recorded to his name. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter prevailed in second place in the American League. Coming from behind in the final week of voting, San Francisco Giants’ catcher Buster Posey set a new National League single-season balloting mark to round off the top spot. Posey’s teammate Melky Cabrera followed him in a close second. In record-breaking fashion, this year’s voting entered the books with an overall 40.2 million votes registered; surpassing last year’s balloting by almost 8 million votes.

And that will do it.

Doing Some Monday Linkage

Let’s bring out some Monday links today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ed also looks at Erin Andrews leaving ESPN for Fox.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Favorito talks about the growth of American soccer.

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

It’s Official: Erin Andrews Joins Fox

This story has had a weird news cycle. About 5 p.m. ET Friday was when we learned through Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated that Fox Sports was a suitor for Erin Andrews. And around an hour and a half later, ESPN’s cadre of public relations people released statements that she was no longer employed at the Alleged Worldwide Leader. Late Friday is usually when companies try to bury news, but this was different.

Now approximately 48 hours later, Fox Sports has announced that Erin Andrews will become their employee. She’ll make her debut on September 1 on the new Fox Sports primetime college football pregame show at 7:30 p.m. ET in advance of Hawaii-USC. In addition to her college football hosting duties, Ms. Andrews will have a role in MLB on Fox and on the NFL on Fox packages. And expect to see her on the any Big Ticket sporting events like the World Series, Super Bowl and perhaps the World Cup when Fox begins its contract with FIFA in 2015.

We all know what Erin did for ESPN over the past few years, so no need to rehash it.

Here’s the Fox Sports press release.

ERIN ANDREWS JOINS FOX SPORTS

Hosts New Prime Time College Football Pregame Show, Contributes to NFL and MLB on FOX Coverage & Other Marquee Events 

Erin Andrews at the 2012 NHL Awards

New York & Los Angeles – College football on FOX just became must-watch TV this fall as the popular Erin Andrews, one of sports television’s brightest stars, rejoins the FOX Sports family. A versatile broadcaster whose talent bridges sports and entertainment, Andrews’ position includes hosting the new prime time college football pregame show, making significant contributions to the network’s NFL and MLB coverage, along with other marquee sports properties. The announcement of Andrews’ multi-year agreement was made today by Executive Producer, Co-President & COO, FOX Sports Media Group, Eric Shanks.

“Opportunities to add someone of Erin Andrews’ caliber don’t come along often and we’re thrilled to welcome her back to the FOX Sports family,” said Shanks. “Erin is one of the hardest-working, most-respected individuals in sports television and we expect her to have an immediate impact. In addition to having her anchor our new college football show and studio coverage, we expect her to be a big contributor to our MLB and NFL coverage as well as other major events.”

“To have the chance to not only host the primetime college football pregame show, but cover the NFL, MLB and various other incredible FOX Sports properties is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Andrews. “I couldn’t be more excited to get to work.”

FOX Sports’ new 30-minute college football pregame show, which originates live each week from the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles, leads into FOX Sports’ first-ever regular-season over-the-air college football package. The network’s coverage kicks-off on Saturday, Sept. 1 (7:30 PM ET) as Hawaii visits USC, live from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Andrews, one of the most-followed sports television personalities on Twitter with over 1.3 million followers, returns to FOX Sports after spending eight years at ESPN. Most recently, she hosted the first hour of ESPN’s College GameDay on ESPNU and was a features reporter for the full three-hour program, a role she held since the 2010 season. Andrews also served as a sideline reporter for college football and basketball games.

Prior to ESPN, Andrews worked for Turner Sports from 2002 to 2004 as a studio host and reporter. She covered college football (reporter) and the Atlanta Braves (studio host) for TBS and the Atlanta Thrashers (studio host) and Atlanta Hawks (reporter) for Turner Sports South. From 2001 to 2002, she worked for the Sunshine Network as a Tampa Bay Lightning reporter. She got her start as a sports reporter at FOX Sports Florida in 2000.

Andrews is also known for appearing on the 10^th season of Dancing with the Stars. Andrews, who was partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, was one of three contestants to make it to the finals, where they placed third.

Andrews, a native of Lewiston, Maine, graduated from the University of Florida in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in telecommunications. She was a member of the Gators’ basketball dance team from 1997 to 2000.

In addition to broadcasting 13 consecutive weeks of regular-season action, including 12 prime time games and seven doubleheaders, FOX Sports boasts exclusive coverage of college football’s Pac-12 Conference Football Championship Game on Friday, Nov. 30 (8:00 PM ET) followed by the Big Ten Conference Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 1 (8:00 PM ET).  FOX Sports wraps up its 2012-13 campaign with an exciting Big 12/SEC match-up in the Cotton Bowl Classic live from Cowboys Stadium on Friday, Jan. 4 (8:00 PM ET).

There you have it.

Baseball Night in America on Fox Continues with Six Games

Baseball in Primetime continues on Fox. The network will send out six games to the nation with the Mets at Dodgers being the showcase game beamed to 40% of the country. Once again, Joe Buck is on the case and he’ll be in Los Angeles along with Eric Karros and Ken Rosenthal. It means Joe will have called 11 out of 13 Fox Saturday Baseball games.

Wondering where Tim McCarver will be? Wonder no longer. He’ll call Detroit at Tampa Bay with Dick Stockton.

Fox had to make a couple of substitutions in two of its games and this is regarding the Arizona Diamondbacks’ suspension of TV voice Daron Sutton. He had been scheduled to call the D’backs game against Milwaukee at Miller Park, but as he’s been off the job since last week, Fox honored the suspension and chose to remove him the game. So Eric Collins of Fox Sports West and the LA Dodgers who was scheduled to call the San Diego-Colorado game with Mark Grant, will instead do the Arizona-Milwaukee game with Brewers analyst Bill Schroeder.

And Fox has tapped Root Sports Rocky Mountain’s Drew Goodman to call Padres-Rockies with Fox Sports San Diego’s Mark Grant.

The other hybrid announcing team will be Fox Sports Kansas City’s Steve Physioc and Fox Sports North’s Bert Blyeven assigned to Kansas City-Minnesota.

We have the Fox Sports press release below.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Baseball Night in America Is Ready for Primetime with Mets/Dodgers, Tigers/Rays
Joe Buck CenterStage Premieres on YES Network

BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA – BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA returns to intraleague play on Saturday, June 30 at 7:00 PM ET. East meets west as David Wright and the Mets visit the City of Angels to take on the Dodgers. Joe Buck, Eric Karros and Ken Rosenthal call the action from Dodger Stadium. The power-hitting duo of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder lead the Tigers into St. Pete to face the Rays. All-Star leading vote-getter Josh Hamilton leads the Rangers into a matchup with the A’s. While Ryan Braun entered the season on a controversial note, he has displayed his usual prowess at the plate. The 2011 NL MVP and the Brewers welcome the D-Backs to Milwaukee. Also, Padres visit the Rockies and the Twins host the Royals.

Coverage begins with the BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Matt Vasgersian, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Kevin Millar.

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers — Joe Buck, Eric Karros & Ken Rosenthal, going to 40% of USA
Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, CA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, St. Louis, Washington, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: Johan Santana, LHP (5-4, 3.00 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (0-4, 4.04 ERA)

Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays — Dick Stockton & Tim McCarver, going to 17% of USA
Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Orlando, Providence, Tampa
Probable Pitchers:  Rick Porcello, RHP (5-5, 4.71 ERA) vs. TBA

Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers — Kenny Albert & Tom Verducci, going to 16% of USA
|Rangers Ballpark – Arlington, TX
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Austin, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, Tulsa
Probable Pitchers:  Tommy Milone, LHP (8-5, 3.83 ERA) vs. Justin Grimm, RHP (1-1, 11.57 ERA)

Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers — Eric Collins & Bill Schroeder, going to 12% of USA
Miller Park – Milwaukee, WI
MARKETS INCLUDE: Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Pittsburgh
Probable Pitchers:  Wade Miley, LHP (9-3, 2.19 ERA) vs. TBA

San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies — Drew Goodman & Mark Grant, going to 7% of USA
Coors Field – Denver, CO
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle
Probable Pitchers:  TBA vs. Christian Friedrich, LHP (4-5, 5.86 ERA)

Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins — Steve Physioc & Bert Blyleven, going to 7% of USA
Target Field – Minneapolis, MN
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Kansas City, Memphis, Minneapolis
Probable Pitchers:  Luke Hochevar, RHP (5-7, 5.07 ERA) vs. TBA

HAMILTON ON THE BRINK OF BREAKING SINGLE-SEASON ALL-STAR BALLOTING RECORD –As we enter the final week of voting for the 83^rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, airing Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET) on FOX, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is on the verge of breaking Jose Bautista’s single-season balloting record from last year. With less than 150,000 votes keeping him from reaching the milestone, Hamilton is the leading vote-getter in All-Star Game balloting by a landslide. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter continues in second place in the American League. In the National League, Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto has overtaken L.A. Dodgers’ outfielder Matt Kemp as leading vote-getter by some 300,000 votes. Votto, who has had an excellent voting week, has also surpassed Jeter and is now the second most voted player in Major League Baseball.

Fans can vote for their hometown superstar and get more information on this year’s ballots by visiting www.allstargame.com or www.royals.com/asg. Spanish-language ballots are also available at lasmayores.com.

ROSENTHAL: BRAUN LOOKING BETTER THAN EVER – Following the uproar over his positive test for elevated levels of testosterone — and successful appeal; many wondered how 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun would respond in 2012. As MLB on FOX & FOXSports.com insider Ken Rosenthal notes; “it’s as if nothing changed. Braun, 28, is almost exactly the player he was a year ago at this time,” Rosenthal writes. “The uproar over his positive test for elevated levels of testosterone — and successful appeal and avoidance of a 50-game suspension — long has subsided. Check his stats: Braun’s 20 homers, 52 RBI and .596 slugging percentage (as of 6/26) surpass his numbers in those categories after the same amount of games last season, when he was voted National League MVP.”

To read more on Braun’s 2012 from Rosenthal, click here: http://on-msn.com/MX6Ig9

MCCARVER CHANNELS HIS INNER BRYCE HARPER IN ALL-STAR GAME PROMOS SHOT AT MLB FAN CAVE – Last week, MLB All-Star broadcasters Joe Buck & Tim McCarver paid a visit to the MLB Fan Cave in downtown New York City where they signed autographs, met with the Cave Dwellers and recorded a few promotional spots for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. It is the 14^th MLB All-Star Game broadcast by Buck & McCarver (1997, 1999, 2001-12) which is a record for a broadcasting duo. The promos appear in select campaigns leading up to the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 10^th (7:30 PM ET).  To view these unique promos, visit:  http://bit.ly/LOGCwL.

JOE BUCK CENTERSTAGE PREMIERES ON YES NETWORK  – MLB ON FOX lead play-by-play announcer Joe Buck is Michael Kay’s guest on an all-new CenterStage premiered this week on YES NETWORK. Among the highlights is Buck on why the All-Star Game is his hardest to broadcast and opening up on the death of his father, legendary Cardinals announcer Jack Buck.

Buck’s opinion on the new one-game playoff in Major League Baseball: “I don’t know. I want to see it play out once before I have a real firm opinion on it…I do like sweetening the pot at the end of the year and opening the door for another team…I think it’s good to add a team…If you can replicate what happened at the end of last season—… where it’s play-in’s all over the place and this crazy day of baseball, then I’m all for it, because that’s when baseball is great.”

Buck on why the All-Star game is the hardest game to call: “I love the All-Star Game. It is—by far—the hardest game to do during the course of the year. If you are doing a World Series Game Seven, you think “Oh, that’s gonna be the most intense, the hardest one to do.” That’s the easiest one to do…Because it does itself; you just kinda get out of the way. In an All-Star Game, whoever is at the plate has got a story why they are there [and] whoever is on the mound has got a story why they are there, so it gets a little hectic. [Also] it’s more of a TV show really a game. But it’s fun because it is a celebration of the sport that we love and to be there in Kansas City this year will be a blast.”

That’s all.