Fang's Bites

Doing Our Friday Megalinks

Haven’t been able to provide the Friday megalinks in a while. Let’s do an edition today.

Normally I include a link to the Weekend Viewing Picks, but I’ll be doing that tonight so you can find it on my site when it’s posted. If you follow me on Twitter or have an RSS feed, you’ll be updated as soon as it posts. If not, you can find it later.

Let’s do the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand wonders what effect the gold medal win by the US Women’s Soccer National Team will have on the sport in the long run.

Michael also live blogged Thursday’s Olympic Primetime on NBC.

Jeffrey Martin of USA Today looks at the grand experiment that’s known as the Pac-12 Networks.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus about the NBCUniversal’s handling of the 2012 Olympics.

At the Sports on Earth blog, Joe Posnanski chronicles his day in covering the Olympics.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily says with NFL preseason games airing in many local markets on Thursday, NBC Olympic overnight ratings took a hit.

Bill King of SBD says CBS Sports is forging ahead with a show featuring the professional debut of several US Olympic boxers despite their poor performance in London.

Ryan Baucom of SBD writes that several Olympic athletes are getting a boost in Twitter followers after their success in the London Games.

Tripp Mickle of SBD says Universal Sports broke out an ad on NBC Thursday trying to promote its Olympic sports programming. Good luck with that.

Eric Fisher of SBD says Yahoo is declaring victory over NBCOlympics.com for unique pageviews.

Sohrab Amari of the Wall Street Journal reviews an NBC News documentary fronted by Tom Brokaw which will air on NBC’s Olympic coverage on Saturday.

Sarah Kwak of Sports Illustrated talks with Lolo Jones about the media firestorm that swelled just before she ran her 100 meters hurdles race.

In the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with outgoing Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan about his first job. Ryan will be missed in the pages of the Globe.

Sports Media Journal’s Keith Thibault and I have an Olympic-themed podcast with Richard Sandomir of the New York Times and Bruce Beck of WNBC-TV.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Today Show host Matt Lauer had an icy reunion with former co-host Ann Curry on NBC’s London Olympics set.

John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable writes that the FCC has already denied a Comcast request to stay its decision requiring the cable provider to give space to the Tennis Channel.

Christopher Heine of Adweek says Olympic marketers have failed to medal in their social media campaigns.

But Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age looks at the Olympic sponsors that managed to get a boost through social media.

Michael Learmonth of Advertising Age says NBC and the International Olympic Committee have to fix the Olympic business model before it breaks down.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life notes that NBC’s ratings for Wednesday Olympic Primetime show drew better viewership numbers than Atlanta in 1996.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says CBS Sports is preparing for all type of weather conditions for this weekend’s PGA Championship.

Karen Hogan of SVG looks at NBC New York Olympic operations.

Ken Kerschbaumer at SVG says Denmark TV has a floating barge studio for the London Olympics. Now that’s pretty cool.

And Birgit Heidsiek of SVG says Eurosport TV is producing the Olympics in 3-D.

Jason Fry of the Poynter Institute and writing as the ESPN Ombudsman investigates a plagiarism incident at the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that the Pac-12 Conference is readying an aggressive digital strategy that will go along with its television distribution.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead goes after former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol for being out of touch in defending the tape delayed Olympics.

The Big Lead looks at the Pac-12 being in the forefront of digital distribution after being marred for years of being behind the curve.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says the Miami Dolphins will take advantage of the NFL’s relaxed TV blackout policy this weekend.

Emmett Jones of Sports Business Digest notes that Buffalo Wild Wings has purchased naming rights for a college bowl game. Looks like it will be going to overtime every year.

Sports Media Watch says with NBC committed to the Olympics this year, the NFL Hall of Fame preseason game was aired on NFL Network and naturally suffered a big viewer dropoff.

SMW reports that NBC got another ratings increase for the Olympics.

TVNewsCheck says Gannett is declaring victory saying three of its stations are the top-rated local NBC affiliates in key demographics.

Alex Weprin of TVNewser looks at NBC’s Today Show operations in London.

At TVSpy, Alex tours NBC’s operation center for its local affiliates in London.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with Celtics TV voice Mike Gorman who’s been calling Olympic handball off a monitor for NBC.

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen discusses Golf Channel’s meteoric rise and its plans to cover the PGA Championship this weekend.

Jane L. Levere of the New York Times writes about ESPN’s new ad campaign for Monday Night Football.

Verne Gay at Newsday notes that a long-time NBC Sports director is retiring after the Olympics.

Newsday’s Chris Serico wonders if NBC’s Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera will be a bit more subdued during the Olympic Closing Ceremony on Sunday than their talkative performance during the Opening Ceremony two Fridays ago.

Neil Best of Newsday catches up with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski who’s filling a new role at the network after being in the Monday Night Football both.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is in another one of his moods today.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes a local radio station’s high school football schedule.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says Pac-12 Networks will be seen on Time Warner Cable locally.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says despite a lost season, the Philadelphia Phillies TV crew still has plenty to talk about during games.

Tim Richardson in Press Box looks at the business of fantasy football as leagues get ready to hold their drafts soon, if not already.

Sarah Kogod of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that more people were watching the DC NFL Team in area sports bars last night as compared to the Nationals.

Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog says the Nationals radio team tried to explain the term “ball bag”.

South

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald reviews HBO’s Hard Knocks on the Dolphins.

Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Dolphins have announced their TV blackout policy today.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says a local high school sports TV show expands to a new market.

Midwest

The Cincinnati Enquirer says ESPN’s College GameDay could be visiting the Queen City in February.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at Dick Ebersol’s latest comments on tape delaying Olympic events.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with a local sports radio host who’s perturbed at a former employer.

Dan notes that the Olympics and the St. Louis Cardinals ratings have been hurt by each other.

West

Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star says the Pac-12 Networks are ready to launch next week, but without a few major cable and satellite providers.

John Maffei of the North County Times talks with a former NBC Olympics analyst who was fired on the spot after calling a race.

To the Ventura County Star where Jim Carlisle talks about the increased spotlight on the Pac-12 through its new TV networks.

Jim says Twitter has become an Olympic event.

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times has the Irish radio call of boxer Katie Taylor’s victory giving the country its first gold medal of the Olympics.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says this is a critical time for beach volleyball as the sport is in transition now.

Tom has some Olympic TV notes in his blog.

And those are your supersized megalinks for today.

Looking at the Next Generation of Olympic Announcers

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

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

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

HOSTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANNOUNCERS

Let’s do this by sport.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big Break Atlantis Cast Back For A Catty Reunion

The latest season of Big Break wraps up tonight with what appears to be quite a catty reunion show among the cast. Golf Channel has released two videos showing some tension as cast members open up about the show.

Last week, Marcela Leon won the opportunity to play in an LPGA event later this year and get all of her entry fees to the Symetra Tour waived for next year plus plenty of cash and prizes.

Tonight, Golf Channel gathers the entire cast one last time and has co-hosts Tom Abbott and Stephanie Sparks question each woman about her experience on the show and what it’s meant to them. And we do get some fireworks.

As a fan of The Amazing Race, I’m always entertained by conflict and there wasn’t much of that in Big Break Atlantis, but there appears to be some in tonight’s reunion show, so I’ll be looking forward to that.

Here’s the preview from Golf Channel.

CAST REUNITES MONDAY FOR BIG BREAK ATLANTIS – REUNION

Open and Candid Discussion with all 12 Competitors on Various Topics and Situations that Occurred on Big Break Atlantis Reunion Show Filmed at Universal Orlando CityWalk
Big Break Atlantis Champion Marcela Leon to be Awarded LPGA Kingsmill Championship Exemption and Full Exempt Status for 2013 Symetra Tour
Big Break Atlantis Fan Favorite to be Revealed
“I don’t have any regrets, but sometimes I feel angry because I feel some people were on the show longer that don’t care about golf as much as me.” – Meghan Hardin
“It didn’t surprise me that Zakiya didn’t want to go into elimination against the four of us because I think that she knew we were going to hit better shots than her.” – Shannon Fish
Video Preview: Meghan Hardin’s Bold Statement
Video Preview: Shannon Fish Responds to Zakiya Randall Questioning Her Teammates

ORLANDO, Fla., July 27, 2012 – Marcela Leon defeated Selanee Henderson in a pressure-packed season finale on Monday to be crowned winner of Big Break Atlantis. On Monday at 9 p.m. ET, the entire cast will reunite for the first time since the series concluded filming in January.

Hosted by Stephanie Sparks and Tom Abbott, Big Break Atlantis – Reunion will take place before a studio audience at Universal Orlando CityWalk. The special will feature open, candid and surprising discussion on various topics and situations that occurred during the taping of the series, including how the competitors handled the pressure, meeting World No. 1 Yani Tseng, facing elimination and clashes between the contestants.

“I don’t have any regrets, but sometimes I feel angry because I feel some people were on the show longer that don’t care about golf as much as me. I’m here for my golf career. I’m out playing and practicing every day. I’m not doing anything else. There are people who still aren’t playing in tournaments…I wasn’t here to get my 15 minutes of fame.”— Big Break Atlantis competitor Meghan Hardin.

“I don’t really know what to say to that, because everyone comes from different circumstances in life. You cannot judge if someone is playing in tournaments. Maybe there is a reason why they are not playing in tournaments. That is just a bold statement to make, really bold.” – Big Break Atlantis competitor Aubrey McCormick, in response to Hardin’s comments.

When asked by Abbott and Sparks if anything shown on the series surprised them, Zakiya Randall questioned her fellow competitors about some remarks made during a team challenge in one of the early episodes.

“It didn’t surprise me that Zakiya didn’t want to go into elimination against the four of us because I think that she knew we were going to hit better shots than her.” – Big Break Atlantis competitor Shannon Fish.

Following the statement and during a commercial break, Fish placed her hand up to her mouth in the shape of a gun and pretended to blow out smoke.

The show also will reveal the winner of Big Break Atlantis Fan Favorite Poll, a season-long online fan poll where fans and viewers voted for their favorite competitor on the series. The winner will receive a potential career-changing prize during the show.

As champion of Big Break Atlantis, Leon receives one of the most valuable prize packages in Big Break series history, highlighted by an invitation to compete in the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship in September and $50,000 in cash. In addition, Leon receives an endorsement contract, which includes $10,000 in cash; $10,000 shopping spree; $10,000 car rental credit and a return trip for two to Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas.

The 11-part Big Break Atlantis series unfolded on the Tom Weiskopf-designed Ocean Club Golf Course, a picturesque par-72 championship layout featuring breathtaking signature holes, and seaside greens and tees stretched over 7,100 yards of coastline.

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. One contestant was eliminated each week during Big Break Atlantis. The last player standing was awarded her Big Break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship and more than $80,000 in cash and prizes.

Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Canadian Tour. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, caught the world’s attention in 2011 with three top-five finishes, and Big Break Ireland champion Mark Murphy made the cut in both of his 2012 events on the European Tour he received as a result of winning the series (Trophee Hassan II and The Irish Open).

Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties (Web.com Tour), Kim Welch and Sara Brown (Ladies European Tour); and Gerina Piller, 2011 Solheim Cup team member Ryann O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour).

That is all.

Big Break Atlantis Finale Airs Monday Night

Big Break Atlantis’ finale airs on Monday night. I’ve watched every show this season and have been quite impressed with the production.

The last two contestants, Selanee Henderson and Marcela Leon will vie for a chance to gain an exemption on the LPGA Tour’s Kingmill Championship and all entry fees waived for an entire LPGA’s Symetra Tour season. There are other prizes including $10,000 cash plus other loot.

Check out the Golf Channel announcement below.

INVITATION TO COMPETE ON THE LPGA TOUR AND MORE THAN $80,000 IN CASH AND PRIZES UP FOR GRABS ON MONDAY’S BIG BREAK ATLANTIS FINALE

Temecula, Calif., Resident Selanee Henderson and Orlando, Fla., Resident/Mexico Native Marcela Leon to Compete in a Singles Match to Determine Big Break Champion
Exemption to LPGA Kingsmill Championship, Entry Fees Waived for Full Symetra Tour Season and $50,000 Cash on the Line, Among Other Prizes

ORLANDO, Fla., July 20, 2012 – In a season that started with 12 competitors, Golf Channel’s Big Break Atlantis reality competition series has narrowed the field to the final two –Selanee Henderson and Marcela Leon– who will grind it out in an 18-hole singles match on the series season finale, Monday at 9 p.m. ET.

Henderson and Leon will compete for the opportunity to make their lifelong dreams of playing alongside the world’s top golfers a reality. The winner of Big Break Atlantis on Monday will be awarded one of the most valuable packages in series history: Tournament exemption to compete in the LPGA Tour’s 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9); an endorsement contract, which includes an additional $10,000 in cash; $10,000 shopping spree; $10,000 car rental credit; full exempt status and all entry fees waived for a full Symetra Tour season; all-expense paid return trip for two to Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas and $50,000 in cash.

The finalists are:

Selanee Henderson (25, Temecula, Calif.) – A tough competitor on and off the course, Henderson is looking to capitalize on her success on the 2011 Cactus Tour (one win and one runner-up finish) to Big Break Atlantis. A natural athlete, Selanee also is the younger sister of former Olympic wrestler and current MMA fighter Dan Henderson.

Marcela Leon (31, Orlando, Fla./Monterrey, Mexico) – The most experienced competitor in the series, Leon has competed on the Symetra Tour for the past nine years, with five career top-10 finishes and one runner-up finish. She is competing a full-schedule on the 2012 Symetra Tour.

Shot in January at the Bahamas resort, the 11-part series unfolds on the Tom Weiskopf-designed Ocean Club Golf Course, a picturesque par-72 championship layout featuring breathtaking signature holes, and seaside greens and tees stretched over 7,100 yards of coastline.

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. One contestant has been eliminated each week during Big Break Atlantis. The last player standing will be awarded her Big Break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in an LPGA Tour event.

Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Canadian Tour. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, caught the world’s attention in 2011 with three top-five finishes, and Big Break Ireland champion Mark Murphy made the cut in both of his 2012 events on the European Tour he received as a result of winning the series (Trophee Hassan II and The Irish Open).

Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties (Web.com Tour), Kim Welch and Sara Brown (Ladies European Tour); and Gerina Piller, 2011 Solheim Cup team member Ryann O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour)

That’s all.

Golf Channel’s Live Tournament Action This Week

While the Open Championship is taking place now at Royal Lytham, the PGA Tour still charges ahead with the True South Classic in Mississippi. Those golfers who chose not to cross the Atlantic or didn’t qualify for the Open Championship will be taking part in the True South Classic.

Golf Channel will have four round coverage and Mike Crispino will be the man in the 18th tower along with analyst Curt Byrum.

In addition, Golf Channel will air the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship from Daly City, CA. Coverage will include the quarterfinal round on Friday and the championship match on Saturday. Brian Hammons and Kay Cockerill will be the main announcers.

GOLF CHANNEL TOURNAMENT AIRTIMES AND NOTES: TRUE SOUTH CLASSIC AND U.S. GIRLS’ JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

PGA TOUR Heads to Mississippi for the True South Classic
Quarterfinal and Championship Match Coverage of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship

True South Classic
Dates: July 19-22
Venue: Annandale Golf Club, Madison, Miss.

Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Mike Crispino (Play-by-Play)
Curt Byrum(Analyst)
John Mahaffey (Tower)
Peter Oosterhuis (Tower)
Billy Ray Brown (On-Course)
Scott Walker (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:-

• Aimpoint featured – Aimpoint, Golf Channel’s Emmy Award-winning graphics technology that predicts the line of the putt and where players must aim to hole out, will be featured this week on holes 14 and 17 at Annandale Golf Club.
• Defending Champion Chris Kirk returns to Annandale – Defending champion Chris Kirk headlines the field that includes Boo Weekley, Bud Cauley, Jerry Kelly, Rocco Mediate, Shaun Micheel, Lee Janzen, Tommy Gainey, Erik Compton and Stuart Appleby.

U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
Dates: July 20-21
Venues: Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, Calif.

Airtimes (Eastern):
Friday 1-3 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-9:30 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 6-8 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-9:30 a.m. (Sunday replay)

Golf Channel Tournament Broadcast Team
Brian Hammons (Play-by-Play)
Kay Cockerill (Analyst)
Steve Burkowski (Tower)
Val Skinner (On Course)
Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Live Coverage of Quarterfinal Round and Championship Match – Golf Channel will air live coverage of the quarterfinal matches on Friday and the 36-hole championship match on Saturday.

There you have it.

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.

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.

NBC Airs The U.S. Women’s Open This Weekend

This from the NBC Sports Group. The U.S. Women’s Open has begun and both ESPN2 and NBC will share coverage under their contracts with the US Golf Association. NBC will have weekend coverage from Blackwolf Run in Kohler, WI. Dan Hicks will be at the tower on the 18th green with Dottie Pepper. Joining them will be Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam who makes her NBC debut. Assisting NBC in the coverage will be tower reporter Gary Koch, on-course reporters Roger Maltbie, Kay Cockerill and Jane Crafter.

Golf Channel will provide studio coverage for the event, but there will be no live golf action from the U.S. Women’s Open on the network.

Here’s the NBC Sports press release.

NBC SPORTS GROUP TO AIR MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN PROGRAMMING

Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam to Join Tournament and News Coverage
Six Hours of Weekend Tournament Coverage on NBC
Golf Central Team to Broadcast On-Site
Golf Central to Air on NBC Saturday and Sunday
“It will be a test of patience and perseverance.” – Annika Sorenstam
“Highlight of my season to cover the greatest championship in women’s golf.” – Dottie Pepper

ORLANDO, Fla., / NEW YORK – July 3, 2012 – NBC Sports Group will present more than 30 hours of combined, live tournament and wraparound news coverage of this week’s 2012 U.S. Women’s Open Championship – the third major championship on the women’s schedule this year – on both Golf Channel and NBC

“Golf Channel on NBC’s” weekend coverage on NBC will include three hours of live tournament action each day, which, for the first time, will be complemented by Golf Channel’s Golf Central pre-game show. Golf Channel’s wraparound coverage will originate from the tournament site throughout the week, featuring news, talk and instructional programming. GolfChannel.com also will provide comprehensive online coverage of the championship.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM TO MAKE NBC DEBUT – Hall-of-Famer and three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Annika Sorenstam will make her NBC on-air debut, joining analyst Dottie Pepper and play-by-play host Dan Hicks for a portion of the weekend tournament coverage. Sorenstam also will contribute to Golf Channel’s news shows throughout the week, including Golf Central, Golf Central Pre Game and Morning Drive.

TOURNAMENT BROADCAST TEAM – Host Dan Hicks and lead analyst Dottie Pepper will anchor coverage from the 18^th tower. They will be joined by tower reporter Gary Koch and on-course reporters Roger Maltbie, Kay Cockerill and Jane Crafter. Sorenstam will join Hicks and Pepper in the booth for a portion of the coverage each day.

ON-SITE NEWS COVERAGE – Golf Channel will provide the most extensive news coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open in its history, featuring live news reports, inside analysis, player interviews, special guest appearances and compelling features from the women’s third major championship of 2012.

Golf Central will broadcast live and on-site from Blackwolf Run throughout the week and will originate from a dedicated set near the 13th green – delivering news coverage before and after tournament play. Morning Drive, the network’s live, weekday morning show, will feature daily special guests from the tournament site. The Grey Goose 19^th Hole (Thursday night at midnight ET and Friday night at 2 a.m. ET) will feature news, highlights and interviews from the U.S. Women’s Open. Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Tom Abbott will anchor Golf Central and will be joined by contributors Annika Sorenstam, GolfChannel.com senior writer Randall Mell and other NBC analysts throughout the week.

GOLF CENTRAL ON NBC – For the first time at the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel will prep NBC’s weekend tournament action with a 30-minute Golf Central on NBCpre-game show, airing exclusively on NBC from 2:30-3 p.m. ET. Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Tom Abbott will host the shows, and will be joined by NBC analysts and contributors.

U.S. Women’s Open Programming

Show	Network	Airtime (all times ET)
Thursday, July 5
Morning Drive	Golf Channel	6:30-8:30 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	ESPN2	4-8 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	7-7:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m.-Midnight
Grey Goose 19th Hole	Golf Channel	Midnight-12:30 a.m.
Friday, July 6
Morning Drive	Golf Channel	6:30-8:30 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	ESPN2	4-8 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	7-7:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	1:30-2 a.m.
Saturday, July 7
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1-2:30 p.m.
Golf Central on NBC	NBC	2:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	NBC	3-6 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	6-6:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m. – Midnight
Sunday, July 8
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1-2:30p.m.
Golf Central on NBC	NBC	2:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	NBC	3-6 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	6-7 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

DIGITAL COVERAGE – GolfChannel.com senior writer Randall Mell will contribute daily columns, news articles, features and breaking news from the U.S. Women’s Open throughout the week.

That does 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.

Coming On Golf Channel This Week… Yes, Golf, But Besides That….

Yes, golf. But Golf Channel has more than golf, its original programming that fill the days until Thursday when the live golf action hits.

There’s the return of Feherty this week, Big Break Atlantis of which I’m totally hooked this season and other shows. Check out the lineup below.

COMING UP ON GOLF CHANNEL: CHUBBY CHANDLER ON ‘FEHERTY’; BIG BREAK ATLANTIS DOWN TO SIX COMPETITORS

Feherty Visits with Old Friend Chubby Chandler to Discuss Their Early Lives on Tour, Clarke and McIlroy on ‘Feherty’
Head-to-Head Matches In-Store for Six Remaining Competitors on Pressure-Packed Big Break Atlantis
Re-Live Tiger Woods’ Victory at the 2005 Open Championship
The Golf Fix On-Site at the PGA Professional National Championship

Original Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

Feherty (New)
Host: David Feherty
Guest: Chubby Chandler
Airtime: Monday, 10-11 p.m.

On Monday’s new episode, David Feherty will take a ride to the Florida coast to interview golf super-agent Andrew “Chubby” Chandler. Founder of International Sports Management and based in England, Chandler manages a stable of golfers including World No. 3 Lee Westwood, Open Championship winners Darren Clarke and Louis Oosthuizen and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. Feherty and Chandler’s relationship spans nearly four decades when both men played on the African Tour and were “sunburned and penniless.” Their conversation will include the origination of his “Chubby” nickname, early life on tour, Chandler’s decision to start a management company, the significance of signing Darren Clarke as an amateur in 1990 and the departure and shock of losing Rory McIlroy as a client following McIlroy’s U.S. Open victory in 2011.

Big Break Atlantis (New)
Hosts: Stephanie Sparks, Tom Abbott
Airtime: Monday, 9-10 p.m.
Eliminated:
Meghan Hardin (Episode 1)
Shannon Fish (Episode 2)
Zakiya Randall (Episode 3)
Aubrey McCormick (Episode 4)
Natalia Ghilzon (Episode 5)
Allison Micheletti (Episode 6)

With Big Break Atlantis crossing the midway point of the season, the competition will get stronger and more intense, with the six remaining players focused on the grand prize of competing on the LPGA Tour. On Monday’s new episode, the six competitors will discover the importance of their seeding based on championship points won during the previous episodes when they compete in head-to-head matches and try to stave off elimination.

The participants on Big Break Atlantis are competing for one of the largest grand prizes in series history – an exemption to the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9) and more than $80,000 in cash and prizes.

2005 Open Championship – Final Round
Airtime: Tuesday, 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

Golf Channel will look back at the final round of the 2005 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews, when Tiger Woods pulled away from the field and captured the championship by five strokes over Colin Montgomerie.

Instruction Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

The Golf Fix (New, On-site at the PGA Professional National Championship)
Host: Michael Breed
Airtime: Monday, 7-8 p.m
Guests: PGA of America Professionals David Hutsell (2011 PPNC Champion), Scott Erdmann (2011 Runner-Up) and U.S. Open qualifier Denniss Miller

In a special episode of The Golf Fix, host Michael Breed will be on-site at the PGA Professional National Championship in Seaside, Calif., to provide instruction and drills from the nation’s top PGA Professionals competing in the championship.

Big Break Academy (New)
Host: Michael Breed
Guest: Big Break Atlantis eliminated contestant from Monday’s episode
Airtime: Tuesday, 8:30-9 p.m.

Host Michael Breed will meet with the seventh eliminated player from Big Break Atlantis to provide tips and instruction to viewers.

School of Golf (New)
Chapter 19: Hitting it Pure
Host: Martin Hall
Contributor: Holly Sonders
Airtime: Wednesday, 7:30-8 p.m.

School of Golf host Martin Hall will share a formula for hit chips, pitches and approach shots purse. Tips from one of legendary instructor Bob Toski’s books will be revealed during the episode. Co-host Holly Sonders will help answer viewer questions and assist with instruction during the episode.

News and Talk Show Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

On the Range (New)
Hosts: Gary Williams, Billy Harmon and Tripp Isenhour
Contributors: Alex Miceli (AT&T National) and Billy Kratzert (Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS)
Airtime: Wednesday, 8-9 p.m.

On the Range will take viewers through the tournament preparation of the top players in the field at the AT&T National and the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship. Gary Williams hosts as Billy Harmon, Tripp Isenhour, Billy Kratzert and Alex Miceli take viewers to the driving ranges at both tournaments, featuring an in-depth look at the practice routines, swing analysis, interviews and mic’d up players.

Grey Goose 19^th Hole (New)
Host: Lara Baldesarra
Panelists: Tripp Isenhour, Jason Sobel
Airtime: Thursday-Friday, Midnight-12:30 a.m.

Host Lara Baldesarra and panelists Jason Sobel and Tripp Isenhour will take a look back at the entire day’s action in the world of golf Thursday and Friday. Discussion will be provided in a round-table format, with Win McMurry also contributing throughout the show.

Golf Central
Live Airings: Monday, 6-7 p.m.
Tuesday-Wednesday, 7-7:30 p.m.
Thursday-Friday, 6-6:30 p.m.; 11:30 p.m.-Midnight
Saturday- Sunday, 7-7:30 p.m.; 12:30-1 a.m.

Golf Central Pre Game
Live Airings: Saturday-Sunday, 12:30-1 p.m.

Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game will deliver the latest news, analysis and highlights from the world of golf throughout the week, including the PGA Professional National Championship, the AT&T National, Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, United Leasing Championship, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and the Irish Open.

That’s all.

Golf Channel To Cover “Golf’s Longest Day”

While many of you will be heading to work on this Monday, more than 1,000 golfers will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot in New York. Today is the day for U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying at sites all over the country. Only 79 slots are open for the qualifiers and you have over 1,000 men hoping to gain one of those open spots.

It’s like a megadose of Indianapolis 500 Bump Day as the golfers will be waiting for their scores and hoping to hear their named called.

Golf Channel’s coverage of what it’s calling “Golf’s Longest Day” will begin at 7 a.m. ET today during a special four hour edition of Morning Drive hosted by Gary Williams. It will continue with special editions of Golf Central sprinkled throughout the day.

We have the announcement from Golf Channel.

GOLF CHANNEL PREPARES FOR MAJOR TV FEAT AND ‘GOLF’S LONGEST DAY’

June 4 to be Golf’s Version of ‘Super Tuesday’
Reporters at 14 U.S. Sites Will Follow More Than 1,000 Hopefuls Attempting to Qualify for the U.S. Open Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. — Dreams of playing on one of golf’s brightest stages either will be realized or dashed on June 4 for nearly 1,000 golfers who will attempt to qualify for a mere 79 slots available in the final field of 156 players for the 2012 U.S. Open Championship. Through a first-of-its-kind golf television undertaking, Golf Channel will devote an entire day of programming and updates in order to follow these compelling stories during what the network is calling Golf’s Longest Day, or more commonly known as U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying.

Starting at 7 a.m. ET and lasting until Midnight (or when final results are in), Golf Channel will feature interviews, analysis and scoring updates delivered by a team of more than 50 reporters and production professionals embedded at 14 locations throughout the United States. In addition to the 11 USGA Sectional Qualifying sites, the network also will have reporters located at The Olympic Club in San Francisco – site of next month’s U.S. Open – and at USGA headquarters in Far Hills, N.J. All of the content throughout the day will be hosted by Steve Sands and Kelly Tilghman from Golf Channel’s Orlando studios.

Golf’s Longest Day will begin with an expanded, four-hour version of Morning Drive, hosted by Gary Williams. The telecast will include live and taped reports from the 11 sectional qualifiers, as well as interviews with USGA members past and present. Mark Hill, former executive director of the Kentucky Golf Association who ran USGA qualifiers for many years, will serve as a special in-studio expert and will be featured on Golf Channel throughout the day. Hill now serves as USGA senior director of competitions, overseeing the Association’s 12 national amateur events.

Three Golf Central special presentations (1-2 p.m. ET; 6-8 p.m. ET; and 10 p.m.-12 a.m. ET) will cover emerging stories, interviews with medalists and other qualifiers, and studio analysis from Tripp Isenhour (who has qualified for the U.S. Open three out of seven attempts in the past) and Hill. In between, frequent news updates throughout the day will keep viewers up to date on all the news and scores.

GolfChannel.com also will serve as a source for U.S. Open qualifying news and information, with feature stories written by correspondents in the field, scoring updates and posting social media content from Golf Channel reporters covering the Sectional events.

Golf’s Longest Day
News Team and Featured Guests

Gary Williams, host, Morning Drive
Holly Sonders, co-host, Morning Drive
Steve Sands, host, Golf Central
Kelly Tilghman, co-host, Golf Central
Tripp Isenhour, analyst, Golf Central
Tim Rosaforte, Golf Channel Insider (San Francisco)
Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director
Jeff Hall, USGA Managing Director of Rules and Competitions
Tom O’Toole, USGA Executive Committee Member
Mark Hill, USGA Senior Director of Competitions
Jerry Foltz, Golf House (USGA Headquarters)
Whit Watson (Columbus, Ohio)
Scott Walker (Memphis, Tenn.)
Rex Hoggard (Lecanto, Fla.)
Win McMurry (Suwanee, Ga.)
Kay Cockerill (Daly City, Calif.)
Jeff Rude (Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
Alex Miceli (Rockville, Md.)
John Hawkins (Summit, N.J.)
Jason Sobel (Springfield, Ohio)
Steve Burkowski (Creswell, Ore.)
David Marr III (Houston, Texas)

One more post before we move on to something else.

Original, Instructional Plus News & Talk Programming This Week on Golf Channel

Headlined by the second installment of Big Break Atlantis, Golf Channel will be airing plenty of original programming this week. Not only will fans of Big Break see LPGA superstar Yani Tseng take part in one of the challenges, the original talk program, Feherty will show David Feherty talking with Donald Trump.

There’s also other programming including The Golf Fix hosted by Michael Breed plus a look back at the 2002 U.S. Open.

Take a look at what Golf Channel will be airing throughout the week starting on Monday.

COMING UP ON GOLF CHANNEL: YANI TSENG SPECIAL APPEARANCE ON BIG BREAK ATLANTIS; FEHERTY SITS DOWN WITH ‘THE DONALD’

LPGA World No. 1 Yani Tseng Makes Surprise Appearance on Big Break Atlantis
David Feherty Talks Golf, Politics and Real Estate with Donald Trump on ‘Feherty’
Final Round Replay of Tiger Woods’ Victory at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage

Original Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

Big Break Atlantis (New)

Hosts: Stephanie Sparks, Tom Abbott
Airtime: Monday, 9-10 p.m.
Guest: Yani Tseng
Eliminated: Meghan Hardin (Episode 1)

Monday’s new episode of Big Break Atlantis will feature LPGA World No. 1 Yani Tseng making a special guest appearance on the series. Tseng will compete alongside the contestants in the challenges, including the popular Flop Wall Challenge. During the episode, a twist will change the course of the series, and another competitor will be eliminated at the end of the show.

The participants on Big Break Atlantis are competing for one of the largest grand prizes in series history – an exemption to the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9) and more than $80,000 in cash and prizes.

Feherty (New)
Host: David Feherty
Guest: Donald Trump
Airtime: Monday, 10-11 p.m.

Taking place in New York City at the Trump Tower, David Feherty sits down with millionaire mogul and entrepreneur, Donald Trump. Trump discusses with Feherty his hit television show, The Apprentice, and also his views on sports and politics. Trump also reveals a career path he almost took before deciding to dive into real estate. The interview touches on Trump’s family and the legacy the highly successful businessman will leave behind.

2002 U.S. Open – Final Round
Airtime: Tuesday, 8-11:30 p.m.

Golf Channel will look back at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park in New York, when Tiger Woods captured his second U.S. Open title and eighth major championship. Woods withstood a boisterous New York gallery, leading the tournament wire to wire and finishing as the only player under par at Bethpage.

Top 10 – Press Conferences
Host: Lauren Thompson
Airtime: Monday, 11-11:30 p.m.

Lauren Thompson will count down the top 10 most memorable, candid insightful press conferences given on the world’s professional golf tours.

Instruction Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

The Golf Fix (New)
Host: Michael Breed
Guests: Rick Murphy, Jordan Babineaux
Airtime: Monday, 7-8 p.m.

The Golf Fix host Michael Breed will welcome PGA Professional Rick Murphy in-studio as a part of the PGA of America’s “Welcome to Golf Month.” Murphy earned his appearance on the show by winning the 2011 PGA Free Lesson Month contest for having the most validated PGA Free Lesson Month cards. Murphy and his staff provided a free 10-minute lesson for the 7,561 attendees at a local minor league baseball game in 2011. Also joining the show in-studio will be Jordan Babineaux, a safety for the Tennessee Titans. Breed will examine Babineaux’s golf swing and provide tips and instruction to improve his game.

Big Break Academy (New)Host: Michael Breed
Guest: Big Break Atlantis Eliminated Contestant from Monday’s episode
Airtime: Tuesday, 7-7:30 p.m.

Host Michael Breed will meet with the second eliminated player from Big Break Atlantis to provide tips and instruction to viewers that will focus on the driver and iron-play.

School of Golf (New)
Chapter 15: Get Your Timing Right
Host: Martin Hall
Contributor: Holly Sonders
Airtime: Wednesday, 7-7:30 p.m.

School of Golf host Martin Hall will teach viewers how to correct bad timing in the golf swing for consistent contact. Hall also will break down the swing of Lee Westwood to show viewers how to improve the impact position. Holly Sonders will help answer viewer questions and assist with the instruction.

News and Talk Show Programming Premieres and Highlights
(All Times Eastern)

On the Range (New)
Hosts: Gary Williams, Billy Kratzert, Billy Harmon
Contributor: Alex Miceli, Tripp Isenhour
Airtime: Wednesday, 8-9 p.m.

On The Range will take viewers through the tournament preparation of the top players in the field at the Champions Tour’s first major of the season – the Senior PGA Championship – and the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Gary Williams hosts as Billy Kratzert, Billy Harmon and the network’s team of experts will take viewers to the driving ranges at both events, featuring an in-depth look at practice routines, swing analysis, interviews and mic’d up players.

Grey Goose 19^th Hole (New)
Host: Lara Baldesarra
Panelists: Tripp Isenhour, Jason Sobel
Contributor: Win McMurry
Airtime: Thurday-Friday, 1-1:30 a.m.

Host Lara Baldesarra and panelists Jason Sobel and Tripp Isenhour will take a look back at the entire day’s action in the world of golf Thursday and Friday. Discussion will be provided in a round-table format, with Win McMurry also contributing throughout the show.

Golf Central
Live Airings: Monday and Sunday, 6-7 p.m.
Tuesday-Saturday, 6-6:30 p.m.
Thursday-Friday, 12:30-1 a.m.
Saturday, 11:30 p.m.-Midnight
Sunday, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

Golf Central Pre Game
Live Airings: Saturday-Sunday, 1-1:30 p.m.

Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game will deliver the latest news, analysis and highlights from the world of golf throughout the week, including the Senior PGA Championship, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the BMW PGA Championship.

That is all.

Let’s Get Some Linkage Out

I’ve accumulated a lot of links. They’re slowing down my browser so let’s clear them so I can let my computer get back some memory. Lots of stuff going on.

Let’s start with ESPN stuff as it dominated the news today with its network upfront presentation to advertisers and also confirmed personnel moves.

First, Sports Media Watch talks about Scott Van Pelt reupping with ESPN.

The ESPN Front Row blog has a Q&A podcast with Van Pelt in which he explains why he decided to remain with the Bristolians.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today recaps today’s ESPN upfront presentation in New York.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today notes that with Michelle Beadle leaving ESPN, the network is now focusing on keeping Erin Andrews in the fold.

The Hollywood Reporter goes over some ESPN upfront news including its plans to bring back the 30 for 30 documentary series.

Stuart Levin from Variety also has a story on the new set of 30 for 30 docs.

Jeannie Poggi of Advertising Age also reviews ESPN’s upfronts.

Alex Weprin from TVNewser says ESPN and ABC News will co-produce an interview series to be fronted by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.

Mike Shields from Adweek says ESPN.com will now partner to sell ads.

ESPN’s Vice President of College Sports Programming, Burke Magnus responds to a Dan Wetzel/Yahoo Sports article on the new ACC TV contract.

Chad Scott at ChuckOliver.net explains how third tier media rights work in college sports.

Andy Fixmer and Alex Sherman at Bloomberg report on how ESPN may expand its WatchESPN app to Apple TV platforms.

Andy Fixmer of Bloomberg says CBS is ready to take the coveted 18-49 ratings title from perennial winner Fox with the airing of Super Bowl XLVII next season.

The great SportsbyBrooks tweets that Erik Kuselias’ move to NBC Sports Network from Golf Channel’s Morning Drive is being considered a demotion by network higher-ups. I had a feeling this was the case. Do you consider this tweet inane, Mike Francesa?

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report enjoyed watching Survival Sunday on the Fox Sports platforms, but wondered why the most important English Premier League game was on another network.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has four different calls of the same moment when Manchester City won the EPL title on Sunday.

John Ourand from Sports Business Journal writes about a now-defunct Twitter account that got under the skin of several sports network executives.

Earlier today, WFAN’s Mike Francesa ranted on how much he hates Twitter.

If you want to see Mike’s veins popping out during this rant, you can see it here on the YES Network website.

And while Francesa seemingly hates Twitter, Media Rantz points out that Francesa has an app where he does something similar to Twitter.

Bruce Jenkins from Sports Illustrated says Tennis Channel failed to serve the WTA Tour’s Madrid Open like it did with the ATP’s side of the same tournament.

Phil Allaway at Front Stretch looks at ESPN’s coverage of this past weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Race.

BBC Sport has announced it will have 24 live HD streams dedicated to the Olympics this summer.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says NBCUniversal has set the Olympics programming lineup for Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC.

John Eggerton at Multichannel News notes that a Federal Appeals Court has upheld an FCC ruling that Time Warner Cable did not discriminate against MASN when it refused to put the regional sports network on its North Carolina systems.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the college conference realignment game won’t be settled for at least another decade.

Matt Boutwell of Maine Sports Media looks at a case I wrote about three years ago, about the mysterious tweeter, BrianAdExec.

NESN goes behind the scenes with Jenny Dell and the network’s production team on what goes on during a typical Red Sox gameday.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post has SNY’s president talking about the regional sports network’s plans to air UConn Women’s basketball next season.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with NBC Sports’ Mike Emrick about calling his old team, the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

In the New York Times, Jay Schreiber talks about the last time the Devils and the New York Rangers met in the Eastern Conference Final and how he had to monitor the series without smartphones back then.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports on ESPN’s plans to bring back 30 for 30.

Jerry Barmash from Fishbowl NY writes that MSG Network will provide of wraparound coverage of the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says YES Network will air a Yankeeography on David Wells this week.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that MSG Network will begin airing the WNBA’s New York Liberty starting this weekend.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says two local global conglomerates including Comcast expect to make some big money from the London Olympics.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com Sports goes behind-the-scenes with ESPN’s MLS production.

Jeff Barker from the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles and the Washington Nationals are waiting word from MLB on a decision on how much MASN should pay the Nats.

Over to Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog who writes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is making a change in its DC NFL team beat reporter.

Dan talks about former Post columnist Howard Bryant ranting against Washington Nationals ownership.

Mike Finger at the Houston Chronicle says the Longhorn Network may offer more Texas football games in another attempt to get carriage from state cable providers.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman writes that the Oklahoma City Thunder on TNT set another local ratings record.

In Chicago Sports Media Watch, Paul M. Banks goes over some hate mail.

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune writes that Utahans should be able to see the Running Utes thanks to wider distribution of the Pac-12 Networks than the soon-to-be defunct the mtn.

Tuesday night, KNBC-TV did a story on the busy postseason in Los Angeles, but aired the wrong graphic for the Kings and showed the Sacramento Kings instead of the LA Kings. C’mon, man!

Martin Miller of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN upfront presentation showed the network was ready for some football.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media is telling everyone that a New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Final might not mean boffo ratings as some NHL observers are saying.

Jay Koot of Busted Coverage is disgusted by Erik Kuselias’ engagement to Morning Drive news reader Holly Sonders.

And that’s where we’ll end the links tonight.

Looking at Some Sports Media Personnel Moves and Non-Moves

I have accumulated a lot of links today, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to get to them right now. I’ll save them for Tuesday, but I can get to a couple of sports media personnel moves. Lots of stuff to get to. This will be done in bullet form.

• It was broken earlier tonight by Jim Miller, the co-author of “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN“:
  

  Staying. @notthefakeSVP has just finished telling colleagues he has renewed his deal with ESPN.

  — James Andrew Miller (@ESPNBook) May 14, 2012

  And it was later confirmed by Scott Van Pelt himself:

  Appreciate the interest and support here.Feel very fortunate to have gone through process but glad it’s over. Ultimately, ESPN is my home

  — Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) May 15, 2012

  It’s a good move. SVP had a couple of suitors, NBC and Fox, but chose to stay where he’s most comfortable. Van Pelt has his radio show which he has enjoyed doing plus the early SportsCenters. While he could have left to go to NBC and return to his old stomping grounds of Golf Channel, ESPN is the best place for him. I told you throughout that I thought he would stay in Bristol and he did.

• Speaking of Golf Channel, the co-host of Morning Drive, Erik Kuselias is leaving the show and heading up the East Coast to become a host of NBC SportsTalk on sister network, NBC Sports Network. Stephanie Wei of the Wei Under Par golf blog had the story and some interesting gossip that I was not aware of. I’m not enamored with this move as I’m not enamored with Kuselias. He comes off as smug and pompous and I’m sure he’ll come off as smug and pompous on NBC Sports Talk. I’m not sure what anyone sees in him as he’s worked at ESPN on both radio and television, then moved to Golf Channel to launch its morning show with Gary Williams and Holly Sonders.

  Apparently during his time on Morning Drive, he became friendly with Sonders and they began dating. According to Stephanie’s story, the two are now engaged.

  Kuselias was one of the subjects of A.J. Daulerio’s Scorched Earth Policy on ESPN in 2009 after he felt the network deliberately misled Deadspin on a couple of stories.

  Anyway, it seems Kuselias will move back up north and make guest appearances on NBC Sports Talk. I don’t think NBC will use Kuselias to replace regular host Russ Thaler. At least I hope not.

• A couple of other ESPN notes, Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated reports that SportsCenter anchor and celebrated puckhead John Buccigross has reupped with ESPN:
  

  Source tells me @Buccigross has also re-upped with ESPN. No doubt he’ll be fighting the good fight for NHL love at the Empire.

  — Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 15, 2012

  I’ve followed Buccigross since he was in Providence and felt he was very solid. He remains so to this day and along with Linda Cohn, continues to hold the torch for hockey at ESPN. Here’s hoping he’ll be back hosting the sport one day.

  Richard also reported yesterday that Michelle Bonner is leaving.

  Longtime ESPNNews/SportsCenter anchor Michelle Bonner and ESPN have parted ways. Another work-a-day, no-shtick anchor. Wish her well.

  — Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 13, 2012

  I liked Michelle. Too bad about her departure.

• Now that ESPN has decisions on Dana Jacobsen, Michelle Beadle and Scott Van Pelt, the network can now focus on its last major free agent, Erin Andrews. Look for her to remain with the network and keep her hosting position on College GameDay during college football season.

That is it for tonight.

“Big Break Atlantis” Premieres Tonight on Golf Channel

One of Golf Channel’s most popular series, “Big Break” returns tonight. With an all-female cast this season, the dramatics may be ratcheted up a notch. The show goes from the cold and wind of Ireland last season to the beautiful tropics of the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas.

The 12 member cast will be seeking a spot in the LPGA Kingsmill Championship in September. In addition, there will cash prizes along the way. The women range in age from 19-31 and all are in various stages of their golf careers.

Golf Channel has tweaked Big Break to make the show a cumulative points format. You’ll see what that means in the press release.

BIG BREAK ATLANTIS TEES OFF MONDAY WITH POPULAR AND PRESSURE-PACKED ‘GLASS BREAK CHALLENGE’

New Format and Challenges in Store for the 12 Competitors
More than $80,000 in Cash and Prizes on the Line for Ultimate Champion
All-Female Cast at Different Career Stages Looking for a Big Break to the LPGA Tour

ORLANDO, Fla., -– Golf Channel’s Big Break Atlantis reality competition series starts off with a bang on Monday’s premiere episode (9 p.m. ET) which will feature a new format, new twists and challenges that will test the 12 competitors’ mental and physical toughness on the course. With one of the largest prizes in the history of the series on the line, the pressure will be high from the start when the competitors face off in one of the most popular challenges on the series – The Glass Break.

The Big Break Atlantis series format this season will rely on points. Winners of each challenge will receive points, with the first player accumulating 100 points automatically advancing to the championship match in the season finale. The ultimate champion will have the opportunity to put her golf career on the fast track with an invitation to compete in the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9) on the LPGA Tour and $50,000 in cash. In addition to the tournament exemption and cash, the winner also will receive an endorsement contract, which includes an additional $10,000 in cash; a $10,000 shopping spree; a $10,000 car rental credit, full exempt status and all entry fees waived for a full Symetra Tour season and an all-expense paid return trip for two to Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Big Break Atlantis will showcase a cast of 12 women at different stages of their golf careers. Several are currently playing on the Symetra Tour (LPGA developmental tour), while others either turned professional for the series or are giving professional golf a second try. The series also will feature special guest appearances from Women’s World No. 1 Yani Tseng and LPGA Tour professional Gerina Piller, a former Big Break competitor from the series’ 11^th season taped on Prince Edward Island. Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott and Stephanie Sparks return as co-hosts for the series.

The competitors on Big Break Atlantis are:

Anya Alvarez, 22, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Shannon Fish, 23, Spring, Texas
Natalia Ghilzon, 21, Windsor, Ontario
Meghan Hardin, 19, Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
Selanee Henderson, 25, Temecula, Calif.
Marcela Leon, 31, Orlando, Fla. / Monterrey, Mexico
Aubrey McCormick, 29, Arlington, Va.
Allison Micheletti, 24, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Zakiya Randall, 20, Atlanta, Ga.
Gloriana Soto, 25, Windermere, Fla. / San Jose, Costa Rica
Christina Stockton, 24, Rocklin, Calif.
Kelly Villarreal, 29, Birmingham, Ala.

Shot in January at the Bahamas resort, the 11-part series will unfold on the Tom Weiskopf-designed Ocean Club Golf Course, a picturesque par-72 championship layout featuring breathtaking signature holes, and seaside greens and tees stretched over 7,100 yards of coastline.

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. One contestant will be eliminated each week during Big Break Atlantis, with the last player standing awarded her Big Break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in an LPGA Tour event.

Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Canadian Tour. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, caught the world’s attention in 2011 with three top-five finishes, and Ryann O’Toole, competitor on Big Break Sandals Resorts in 2010 competed on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team as a Captain’s Pick during her rookie year in 2011.

Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties (Nationwide Tour), Kim Welch and Sara Brown (Ladies European Tour); and Piller, 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour).

I’ll have more throughout the day. Keep it here.

Finally Some Friday Megalinks

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

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

Now let’s do your links.

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

East and Mid-Atlantic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Justin has five questions for TNT’s Kenny Smith.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

South

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

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

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

Midwest

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

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

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

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

West

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

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

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

Jim provides his weekend viewing picks.

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

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

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

Canada

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

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

And we are done. Enjoy your sports weekend.

Some Leftover Linkage

I need to clear my brower of links I was hoping to get to sometime over the last few days. Since I couldn’t do the Friday megalinks or any Saturday morning linkage, I’ll do some Sunday evening leftover links.

Consider this the Sunday entrée to the beginning of the workweek. I honestly don’t know what that means.

Here’s some linkage for you to chew on.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports is not a fan of Shaquille O’Neal on TNT.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News writes that Time Warner Cable is hoping to obtain more sports properties for its new Southern California regional sports network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the first round of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most watched on record.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable reports that no talent hack Ryan Seacrest will be haunting NBC Sports as well as NBC News in an all-new, all-encompassing contract with NBCUniversal.

Tim Baysinger at B&C says ESPN’s ratings for the First Round of the NFL Draft were up double digits from the year before.

Sam Laird at Mashable writes that social media is influencing sports in many ways.

To Sean Newell of Deadspin who looks at the strange Twitter meltdown of Chicago Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley who went all-sexist on female pilots and one of his co-workers.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report writes that former CBS and ABC Sports essayist Jack Whitaker is receiving a long overdue honor from the Sports Emmys on Monday.

Ryan Yoder from Awful Announcing reviews the good and the bad of ESPN’s First Round coverage of the NFL Draft.

Joe Lucia of AA does the same for NFL Network.

Back to Matt from AA, apparently Tim McCarver fancies himself an expert on climate change

From the Tampa Bay Times, Eric Deggans reviews ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group has ESPN optimistic that its Los Angeles studios will put itself in a unique position to cover the Lakers and Clippers in the NBA Playoffs.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck can ever match Peyton Manning’s marketability.

Providence’s WJAR-TV and Cox Communications announce a new partnership that will simulcast the NBC affiliate’s local newscasts and also put Cox Sports RI’s programming on a new cable channel.

Amy Chozick and Nick Wingfield of the New York Times explore the growing world of TV mobile and tablet apps which include the soon-to-be released NBC Olympics iPad app.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times profiles actor Peter Scolari who plays three important roles in the Magic/Bird Broadway play.

Breaking a ban of linking to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News who has an interesting story regarding Yankees voices John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman and whether they’ll be leaving if the team changes flagship radio stations after this season.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has no hope for our society. Lighten up, Phil. Time to travel to Moldova or Johannesburg. Somewhere you don’t have to watch sports anymore.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says MSG Network’s ratings for Game 7 of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers series were the best since the 1994 Stanley Cup-clinching game on the network.

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the 76ers are leaving long-time home WIP and switching to ESPN Radio Philadelphia.

Crossing Broad says the Sixers’ move came as a surprise.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner talks with Jim Rome and his new CBS home.

Laura Newberry of the Orlando Sentinel says Golf Channel has become a Central Florida mainstay.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Rockets are not only moving to a new TV home next season, but are currently looking for a new radio flagship station as well.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman transcribes Mike Tirico’s call of Kevin Durant’s winning shot for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Enquirer says one local cable provider will pick up NFL Network, but it’s not Time Warner.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley may be headed towards a suspension.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business says the Bulls generated their highest regular season TV ratings since the Michael Jordan years.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says scheduling of playoff games never has the fans in mind.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says ESPN gave the Utah Jazz the benefit of the doubt in its series opener.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC got the job done in choosing its NHL Playoff series for the Conference Semifinal round.

Peter Adler from the Edmonton Journal says the Oilers’ documentary series Oil Change which runs on NHL Network should return for a third season

Howard M. Alperin of Midwest Sports Fans asks why CBSSports.com doesn’t include soccer coverage?

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy has TSN’s top hockey bloopers of the 2011-12 season.

That’s a lot of leftover linkage. Glad I was able to clear this out before Monday.

Knocking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for some linkage again.

Starting with Sports Business Daily which gauges media reaction to last night’s extravagant NFL regular season schedule release on both ESPN and NFL Network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reviews both the Monday Night and expanded Thursday Night Football schedules.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report has your potential hits and misses in the 2012 NFL regular season schedule for all of the league’s TV partners.

Dan Levy of the Bleacher Report talks with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch about Skippy Bayless, ESPN’s free agents and Twitter.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that NBC is now going all in to provide a live online Olympic experience.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today says the NFL Schedule Release Shows on ESPN and NFL Network filled fans’ thirst for football news.

Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press says thanks to a NASCAR-less Sunday, IndyCar’s race on NBC Sports Network got a ratings bump.

Stuart Kemp and George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says London is hoping to build buzz for the XXX Olympic Summer Games in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable notes the FCC is appealing to the Supreme Court, the ruling from a lower court throwing out its decency complaint over CBS’ airing of Janet Jackson’s nekkid boob during Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Sarah Mahoney of MediaPost’s Marketing Daily says advertisers are jumping on the Olympics 100 Day Countdown.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that cable provider Comcast is proving to be a very good broadcast competitor.

Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead says a lawsuit brought forth by a former ESPN.com writer against New York Post NBA big mouth Peter Vescey has been settled out of court.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid talks with ESPN’s Michelle Beadle about what her next move is.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group notes that NBCOlympics has tapped AT&T to manage private networking systems for the London Summer Games.

Zac Wassink in Yahoo! says MLS on NBC Sports Network is doing decently in the ratings.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe has the local sports radio ratings and CBS Radio continues to be on top.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC will stream all Olympic events live online, but there’s a bit of a catch.

Richard says the NBA is looking at allowing jersey sponsorships.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes the passing of a former Yankees, Islanders and Nets radio announcer.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette notes the good ratings for the NHL on NBC.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has a viewing primer for the upcoming NFL season.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call discusses and dissects NBC’s Sunday Night Football schedule.

Keith says the NHL’s Battle of Pennsylvania is drawing big ratings in the Keystone State.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com’s Goalkeeper blog says a Spanish League soccer game on ESPN2 beat MLS on NBC Sports Network in the ratings last weekend.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has pictorial proof of the Space Shuttle Discovery passing various local sports venues on its last flight to the Smithsonian yesterday.

Tom Robinson at the Virginian-Pilot reports that the United Football League could have a TV contract with CBS Sports Network.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the Texas Rangers’ ratings on Fox Sports Southwest are way up this season.

Mike Bailey of the Houston Chronicle talks with a local golfer who took part in the upcoming season of Golf Channel’s Big Break reality show.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman says a local sports radio show moves from middays to afternoon drive.

Mel has the local weekend TV ratings.

Berry Tremel of The Oklahoman writes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football is the NFL’s premier TV package.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer remembers a former NBA announcer.

Bill Shea at Crain’s Detroit Business says the Tigers are looking at a big payday for their TV rights.

Robert Channick in the Chicago Tribune profiles Comcast SportsNet Chicago head man Jim Corno.

Eric Goodman at Mile High Sports feels he wasted three hours of his life watching ESPN’s NFL regular season schedule release special.

Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic says Phoenix Coyotes TV analyst Tyson Nash is feeling the wrath of Chicago Blackhawks fans for comments he made about a hit on ‘Hawks star Marian Hossa.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News mourns the passing of a former Kings radio voice.

Tom Cheredar of Venture Beat talks about NBC’s extensive plans to stream the Olympics online.

Sports Media Watch notes the rise of NHL ratings for a couple of regional sports networks.

SMW talks about CBS passing on broadcasting this upcoming season’s Pro Bowl.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says NBC may air both Bruins-Capitals NHL Playoffs games this weekend.

Joe Favorito says sometimes, it’s a little idea at a major network that could catch fire elsewhere.

And that is all for now.

Golf Channel Airs Live Four Round LPGA Coverage

Starting tonight, Golf Channel will carry the LPGA LOTTE Championship from the Ko Olina Golf Club on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii. The four round coverage will be live in primetime starting at 6:30 East tonight and going through Sunday evening.

Tom Abbott will be the main at the 18th tower along with Judy Rankin. Mark Rolfing will also be on hand at the 17th.

LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan is expected to join Tom and Judy at the 18th sometime during tonight’s coverage to discuss the future of the LPGA and where it’s headed.

We have the Golf Channel press release for you.

GOLF CHANNEL/LPGA AIRTIMES AND NOTES: LPGA LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP (AIRTIMES EXTENDED)

Live Tournament Broadcast Airtimes Extended Wednesday-Sunday

LPGA LOTTE Championship
Dates: April 18-21
Venue: Ko Olina Golf Club, Oahu, Hawaii

Airtimes: Wednesday 6:30-11 p.m. (Live)
Thursday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Live)/1-4 p.m. (Saturday Replay)
Saturday 7-10 p.m. (Live)/10 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Tom Abbott (Play by Play)
Judy Rankin (Analyst)
Mark Rolfing (Tower)
Jerry Foltz (On Course)
Jane Crafter (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Wednesday-Saturday Tournament – The LPGA LOTTE Championship will take place Wednesday-Saturday, with live coverage in primetime on Golf Channel.
• I.K. Kim and Karin Sjodin Featured Wednesday for LPGA Unplugged -– LPGA professionals I.K. Kim and Karin Sjodin will be featured participants on Wednesday on “LPGA Unplugged,” a new feature airing on Golf Channel during LPGA tournament coverage where players discuss all aspects of golf, the tour and their everyday lives.
• LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan to Join Broadcast Booth Wednesday -– LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan is scheduled to join Abbott and Rankin in the broadcast booth during Wednesday’s live tournament coverage.
• 2011 U.S. Women’s Open Champion So Yeon Ryu Rookie Spotlight –- 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion So Yeon Ryu will be Golf Channel’s rookie spotlight player during Thursday’s live tournament coverage.
• Walk and Talks Featured – Golf Channel on-course reporters Jerry Foltz and Jane Crafter will interview players as they are walking the fairways during all four rounds of tournament coverage.
• Headlining the field: World No.1 Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Ai Miyazato, Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Azahara Munoz, Beatriz Recari, Christina Kim and Brittany Lincicome.

So far, it’s been quite the NBC Sports Group morning. Back later.

Golf Channel’s Live Tournament Action This Week

Now that golf’s first major tournament is done, the next one won’t be coming for a couple of months. This week, the PGA Tour is in Hilton Head, SC, the Champions Tour will be in Florida and the European Tour continues its Asian swing in Malaysia.

It’s all on Golf Channel this week.

GOLF CHANNEL TOURNAMENT AIRTIMES AND NOTES: RBC HERITAGE, ENCOMPASS INSURANCE PRO-AM OF TAMPA BAY, MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN

PGA TOUR Returns to Hilton Head for RBC Heritage
Celebrities Headline Field at Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay
European Tour Heads to Malaysia for Malaysian Open

RBC Heritage
Dates: April 12-15
Venue: Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Airtimes:
Thursday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (CBS Replay)
Sunday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (CBS Replay)

Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Brian Hammons (Play-by-Play)
Peter Oosterhuis (Analyst)
Matt Gogel (Tower)
Phil Parkin (On Course)
Todd Lewis (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• Four-Round Coverage on Golf Channel – Golf Channel will air live coverage of all four rounds this week, including 90-minute early coverage on the weekend at 1 p.m. ET.
• Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III to Join Broadcast Booth on Friday — Ryder Cup Captain and five-time RBC Heritage Champion Davis Love III is scheduled to join the broadcast booth during Golf Channel’s live tournament coverage on Friday.
• ProTracer to Make Golf Channel Debut – Yellow ProTracer will be featured during Golf Channel’s Thursday and Friday tournament coverage of the RBC Heritage. ProTracer’s technology tracks the flight of the golf ball and applies graphics to the flight to give viewers a richer experience.
• Headlining the Field – World No. 1 Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, Padraig Harrington, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Trevor Immelman, Jason Dufner, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover, Jose Maria Olazabal, John Huh, Rocco Mediate, Mark Wilson and John Daly.

Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay
Dates: April 13-15
Venue: TPC Tampa Bay, Lutz, Fla.

Airtimes:
Friday 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 12:30-2:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay) / Midnight-2 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 7-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay) / 12:30-2:30 a.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Bob Papa (Play-by-Play)
Curt Byrum (Analyst)
John Mahaffey (Tower)
David Marr III (Tower)
Phil Blackmar (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Celebrities Headline Pro-Am Field: The celebrity line-up for the Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay includes Rick Pitino, Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Craig T. Nelson, John O’Hurley, Joe Theismann and Tampa Bay Lightning Founder Phil Esposito.
• Kirk Triplett Making Champions Tour Debut: Multiple PGA TOUR winner Kirk Triplett, who turned 50 on March 29, is scheduled to make his Champions Tour debut this week in Tampa.
• Headlining the Field: Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price, Mark O’Meara, Mark Calcavecchia, Corey Pavin, Loren Roberts, Jay Haas, John Cook, Peter Senior, Dan Forsman, Russ Cochran, Gary Koch, Larry Mize, Hale Irwin and Craig Stadler.

Malaysian Open
Dates: April 12-15
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Airtimes:
Thursday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Friday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Saturday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)

Golf Channel Tournament Broadcast Team
Tom Abbott (Studio Host)
Dougie Donnelly (Play-by-Play)
Dom Boulet (Analyst)
Jay Townsend (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Headlining the Field: Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Matteo Manassero, Alvaro Quiros, Nicolas Colsaerts, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Alexander Noren, Thongchai Jaidee, Thorbjorn Olesen, Todd Hamilton and Peter Uihlein.

That’s it.

Golf Channel Has Masters Week Covered

Now that college basketball is winding down, we can shift to other sports and with the first week of April comes The Masters^®. While ESPN and CBS will provide the live coverage on-course, Golf Channel will be at Augusta to provide coverage of the news conferences, do live interviews and provide analysis. Coverage began on Golf Channel on Monday through Morning Drive with Gary Williams, Erik “I’m in Mensa and I’m Way Smarter Than You” Kusilias and Holly Sonders and Live From The Masters.

Overall, Golf Channel will have 60 hours of Masters coverage, most through “Live From.”

We have the Golf Channel press release.

GOLF CHANNEL HAS THE MASTERS COVERED

Sixty Hours of Live News Coverage from Augusta and Orlando
Palmer, Player, Floyd, Nicklaus, Watson, Crenshaw and Norman Among Daily Special Guests
Begay, Goydos, Browne and Flesch Guest Analysts Throughout the Week
Morning Drive Expands Through Weekend During Masters Week

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 2, 2012) – Golf Channel is primed to deliver 60 live hours of news coverage from this week’s Masters tournament – the most-anticipated major championship in golf -– with live news reports, inside analysis, player interviews, special guest appearances and compelling features throughout the week.

Sixty Hours of Coverage: Headlining the 60 hours of news coverage will be the network’s franchise news program -– Live From the Masters – providing more than 42 hours of live wrap-around news coverage throughout the week from Augusta, Ga., and Golf Channel’s Orlando studios, beginning Monday and concluding Sunday following tournament coverage. Morning Drive, the network’s live weekday morning show, will expand to seven days, with daily guests from Augusta. The 19th Hole will broadcast live from Golf Channel’s Orlando studios on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, and on Monday at 7 p.m. ET, Michael Breed will host a special Golf Fix from Augusta Country Club.

Live From the Masters Broadcast Team and Special Guests: PGA TOUR professionals Notah Begay, Paul Goydos and Steve Flesch and Champions Tour professional Olin Browne are scheduled to join Golf Channel this week as contributing analysts on Live From. Begay will contribute from Augusta, with Goydos, Flesch and Brown in Orlando. Legends of the game also are scheduled to make special guest appearances on the Golf Channel set throughout the week, including Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Ray Floyd and Greg Norman.

Golf Channel’s Live From the Masters broadcast team will include Rich Lerner, Steve Sands, Todd Lewis, Whit Watson, Nick Faldo, Frank Nobilo, Brandel Chamblee, David Feherty, Charlie Rymer, Billy Andrade, Ken Schofield, John Feinstein, Alex Miceli, Tim Rosaforte, Jason Sobel, Rex Hoggard and Jay Coffin reporting from Augusta, Ga. Kelly Tilghman, Mike Ritz, Tripp Isenhour and Randall Mell will report and contribute from the network’s Orlando studios.

News Conferences: Live From the Masters news coverage will feature pre-tournament news conferences Tuesday and Wednesday from Augusta National, including top-ranked players Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and defending champion Charl Schwartzel. Tuesday’s news conference coverage airs from 1-4 p.m. ET, and Wednesday’s coverage airs from 12-1 p.m. ET.

Live From the Masters News Coverage: Live From the Masters will provide more than 42 hours of comprehensive wrap-around news coverage of the Masters, including player interviews, analysis, up-to-the-minute leaderboard updates and daily features from Golf Channel’s team of anchors, reporters and contributors. Live From the Masters will air Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. ET; Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. and 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET; Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. ET, and Sunday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. ET.

Live From the Masters Scheduled Features:

• Defending Champion Charl Schwartzel Recalls Masters Victory – Tim Rosaforte visits with Charl Schwartzel to recount his 2011 Masters victory.
• Fred Couples on 20^th Anniversary of Masters Victory – Fred Couples will sit down with Rosaforte to discuss his Masters victory in 1992 and what it meant to him.
• Mickelson on the Masters – Steve Sands will sit down with three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson to discuss his success at Augusta National and why the tournament has a special place in his heart.
• Rory McIlroy Discusses Masters Heartbreak – Sands visits with Rory McIlroy to discuss his 2011 Masters heartbreak and what he gained from that experience that helped him elevate to World No. 1.
• Larry Mize on the 15^th Anniversary of his Memorable Masters victory – In one of the more memorable playoffs in Masters history, Larry Mize defeated Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman when Mize chipped in from well off the green to claim his lone Green Jacket. The shot is widely known as one of the most memorable shots in tournament history. Rich Lerner will visit with Augusta native Mize, who will take a look back at his remarkable victory.
• World’s Top-Ranked Amateur Patrick Cantlay Talks About his First Masters – UCLA golfer and the world’s top-ranked amateur Patrick Cantlay will visit with Steve Burkowski to discuss his successful 2011 season, resisting the pressures on turning professional and preparing for his first Masters.

Morning Drive Expands to Seven Days: Kicking off Golf Channel’s Masters coverage will be Morning Drive, hosted by Gary Williams and Erik Kuselias. Golf Channel’s popular weekday morning show will expand to seven days during Masters Week and will include special expanded bonus coverage throughout the week, featuring daily guests from Augusta. (Complete airtimes appear below)

Wall-to-Wall Coverage on GolfChannel.com: GolfChannel.com will feature expanded editorial content and interactive capabilities with fans timed to the Masters this week, including:

Live Blogs & Chats
Jason Sobel and John Hawkins will host live chats Thursday-Sunday to keep fans up to date as the action unfolds.

Editorial Coverage
Jason Sobel, Rex Hoggard, Randall Mell, Jay Coffin and John Hawkins and Ryan Ballengee will contribute daily to the Golf Talk Central blog, along with daily columns, news articles, features and breaking news.

Exclusive Online Video Content
Morning and evening updates from Golf Channel’s Live From the Masters team will be available each day.

Live From the Masters Programming (all times ET)

Tuesday, April 3
Live From the Masters 1-4 p.m. (news conferences)
Live From the Masters 6-8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 4
Morning Drive 7-9 a.m.
Live From the Masters 12-1 p.m. (Billy Payne news conference)
Live From the Masters 6-8 p.m.
Grey Goose 19th Hole 8-9 p.m.

Thursday, April 5 and Friday, April 6
Morning Drive 6-8 a.m.
Live From the Masters 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Live From the Masters 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 7
Morning Drive 7-9 a.m.
Live From the Masters 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Live From the Masters 7-9 p.m.

Sunday, April 8
Morning Drive 7-9 a.m.
Live From the Masters 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Live From the Masters 7-9 p.m.

And that is all.

Golf Channel Announces Extension To Air LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship

The first major tournament on the LPGA calendar, the Kraft Nabisco is this week and Golf Channel has announced a three year extension to air the Championship beginning in 2013.

Golf Channel took over the rights to the Kraft Nabisco, formerly known as the Dinah Shore Invitational from ESPN2/CBS in 2011. Before last year, three rounds aired on ESPN2 and the final round on CBS. Since then, Golf Channel has given the major four round coverage and increased viewership in each of the two years it has aired the tournament.

It also marks the first of two major LPGA tournaments on Golf Channel, the LPGA Championship being the other.

We have the announcement regarding the rights extension.

GOLF CHANNEL ANNOUNCES THREE-YEAR TV RIGHTS EXTENSION TO KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

LPGA Tour’s First Major of the Year Exclusively on Golf Channel
Golf Channel to Air 35 Hours of Coverage Beginning with Wednesday’s LPGA Majors Golf Central Special

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 27, 2012) – Golf Channel and the LPGA Tour have agreed to an exclusive three- year extension of the network’s exclusive rights to the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the season’s first major championship. The joint announcement was made this week by LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan and Golf Channel President Mike McCarley.

“Based on the strong promotional advertising, the incredible tournament coverage and ‘storytelling,’ and the record-high viewership results that occurred in 2011, we’re excited to partner with Golf Channel and continue showcasing the LPGA’s first major,” Whan said.

Golf Channel viewership for its inaugural coverage of the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2011 kicked off with the tournament’s highest-rated and most-watched first round in 18 years, which was followed by a second round that was the highest in 17 years. Golf Channel also aired 280 percent more hours of coverage than the previous year when the event aired on CBS and ESPN2 (34 hours in 2011 versus 9 hours in 2010). Average viewers for the entire tournament increased 29 percent from 2010 (511,000 on Golf Channel versus 395,000 on CBS/ESPN2).

Overall ratings for the LPGA Tour on Golf Channel in 2011 were up 30 percent over the previous year, helping fuel Golf Channel to its most-watched year in its 17-year history.

“Extending our exclusive partnership with the LPGA Tour and the Kraft Nabisco Championship is great for fans of the game and the excitement that the season’s first major championship brings,” McCarley said. “We’re looking forward to showcasing these compelling stories for our viewers and providing a home for the tournament for years to come.”

The Kraft Nabisco Championship is one of two LPGA Tour major championships airing exclusively on Golf Channel in 2012, also including the LPGA Championship (June 7-10). This week’s event will host an elite field, headlined by defending champion Stacy Lewis and current World No. 1 Yani Tseng, who already has won three times in 2012 and is seeking her sixth major title. Golf Channel will begin its coverage with a one-hour Golf Central Special Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on the eve of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, kicking off the LPGA Majors season.

Golf Channel will air six hours of daily, live coverage Thursday and Friday from Noon-3 p.m. ET and 6:30-9:30 p.m. ET. Weekend coverage will air live from 4:30-8:30 p.m. ET. Kelly Tilghman will serve as Golf Channel host of each day’s telecast, while also conducting one-on-one interviews with players. Terry Gannon will handle play-by-play, joined by lead analyst and LPGA Hall-of-Famer Judy Rankin. Tom Abbott will call the action from a tower position on the golf course, with Jane Crafter, Phil Parkin and Jerry Foltz reporting from the ground. Scott Walker will conduct post-round interviews and report for Golf Central throughout the week. Golf Central also will precede all four rounds of the Kraft Nabisco Championship with half-hour preview shows featuring highlights, interviews and analysis.

Kraft Nabisco Championship Live Airtimes (all times Eastern)

Wednesday
Golf Central Special — 10-11 p.m. Live

Thursday and Friday
Golf Central Pre Game — 1:30 a.m.-Noon Live
Rounds 1/2 — Noon-3 p.m. Live
Golf Central — 6-6:30 p.m. Live
Rounds 1/2 — 6:30-9:30 p.m. Live
Rounds 1/2 — 1:30-4:30 a.m. Replay

Saturday and Sunday
Golf Central Pre Game — 4-4:30 p.m. Live
Rounds 3/4 — 4:30-8:30 p.m. Live
Rounds 3/4 – Midnight-4 a.m. Replay

That will do it.

NBC Sports Group Boasts About 33 Sports Emmy Award Nominations

Overall, the NBC Sports Group has the second highest amount of Sports Emmy Award nominations after ESPN’s 52. Combined with NBC Sports, Golf Channel, Versus (now NBC Sports Network) and NBCSports.com, the Group has a whole slew of nominations.

Some of the more notable nominations include Studio Host (Bob Costas & Dan Patrick), Play-by-Play (Al Michaels & Mike Emrick), Game Analyst (Cris Collinsworth), Game Analyst (Mike Mayock), Sports Reporter (Michele Tafoya & Pierre McGuire), Live Sports Special (NHL Stanley Cup Final on both NBC/Versus), Live Sports Series (Sunday Night Football), Playoff Coverage (NFL Wild Card Saturday) and Weekly Studio Show (Football Night in America).

So as you can see, the Group has been nominated in several major categories. We have the NBC Sports Group press release crowing about its nominations.

NBC SPORTS GROUP GARNERS 33 SPORTS EMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Total Nominations for NBC Sports Group Up from Last Year
NBC Leads All Broadcast Networks with 23 Nominations
Sunday Night Football & Football Night in America Nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Series & Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly
NBC/VERSUS* Nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Special for 2011 Stanley Cup Final
On-Air Personalities Costas, Michaels, Emrick, Collinsworth, Mayock, Patrick, Tafoya & McGuire Nominated
Bob Costas’ Halftime Essays Nominated for Dick Schaap Writing Award

NEW YORK – March 20, 2012 – The NBC Sports Group received 33 total Sports Emmy Award nominations for 2011, the first year it produced programming as a single sports media company. The 33 nominations received by NBC Sports Group is the second-highest number of nominations for any sports media company or network. NBC led all broadcast networks with 23 nominations. The announcement was made today by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The winners will be announced by the Academy on Monday, April 30.

Highlights of NBC Sports Group’s nominations include:

• Once again, Sunday Night Football on NBC was nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Series.
• Football Night in America was nominated for the second consecutive year for Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly.
• NBC’s NFL Wild Card Saturday received its first nomination for Outstanding Playoff Coverage.
• For the first time as a joint production team, NBC/VERSUS* was rewarded with a nomination for Outstanding Live Sports Special for the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
• Golf Channel was nominated for Outstanding Live Event Turnaround for Inside the PGA Tour.
• The newly created show, NFL Turning Point, which debuted on VERSUS* in the fall of 2010, received the nomination for Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology in its premiere season.
• NBCSports.com was again nominated for Outstanding New Approaches Sports Programming for its live stream platform, Sunday Night Football Extra.
• Along with co-writer Aaron Cohen, Bob Costas, a 22-time Emmy Award winner, who is again nominated for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host, was nominated for the Dick Schaap Writing Award for his halftime essays on Sunday Night Football.
• Nominations in individual talent categories:

o Bob Costas (Studio Host)
o Al Michaels (Play-by-Play)
o Mike Emrick (Play-by-Play)
o Cris Collinsworth (Event Analyst)
o Mike Mayock (Event Analyst)
o Dan Patrick (Studio Host)
o Michele Tafoya (Reporter)
o Pierre McGuire (Reporter)

*VERSUS was rebranded NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.

“I am incredibly proud that the NBC Sports Group has earned an impressive 33 nominations for the work done in our first year together as a company,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “Aligning our assets to produce the highest-quality programming across our national broadcast, cable and digital platforms has clearly made a difference.”

All of the national platforms of NBC Sports Group — NBC Sports, VERSUS*, Golf Channel and NBCSports.com — received a nomination. Most notably, NBC, VERSUS* and NBCSports.com received 16 nominations related to NFL coverage, and NBC/VERSUS* received four nominations for its coverage of the NHL. Golf Channel earned two nominations and NBCSports.com was honored with one.

The complete list of NBC Sports Group nominations are as follows:

• Outstanding Live Sports Special: 2011 Stanley Cup Final (NBC/VERSUS*)
• Outstanding Live Sports Series: Sunday Night Football
• Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: 2011 Track & Field World Championships
• Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: 2011 Tour de France (VERSUS*)
• Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: The USA Pro Cycling Challenge (VERSUS*)
• Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: Inside the PGA Tour (Golf Channel)
• Outstanding Playoff Coverage: NFL Wild Card Saturday
• Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology: NFL Turning Point (VERSUS*)
• Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology: World of Adventure Sports
• Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly: Football Night in America
• Outstanding Short Feature: Football Night in America – “The Greatest Gift”
• Outstanding New Approaches Sports Programming: Sunday Night Football Extra (NBCSports.com)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host: Bob Costas
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host: Dan Patrick
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play: Al Michaels
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play: Mike Emrick (NBC/VERSUS*)
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Cris Collinsworth
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Mike Mayock
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Michele Tafoya
• Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Pierre McGuire (NBC/VERSUS*)
• Outstanding Technical Team Remote: US Open Championship (Golf Channel/NBC)
• Outstanding Camera Work: 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship
• Dick Schaap Writing Award: NBC Sunday Night Football – Bob Costas Essays
• Dick Schaap Writing Award: The Kentucky Derby
• Outstanding Graphic Design: Sunday Night Football
• Outstanding Production Design/Art Direction: Sunday Night Football
• George Wensel Technical Achievement Award: America’s Cup Highlight Show – Live Line (VERSUS*)
• Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Episodic:
  • NFL Kickoff
  • 2011 Stanley Cup Final – No Words

A complete list of nominees is available here.

*VERSUS was rebranded NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.

That’s all for this post. One more Sports Emmy-related post tonight.

33rd Annual Sports Emmy Nominations Announced

We have the nominations, all 170 in 33 different categories, for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards. They just came out today. There are some surprises like massive hockey charlatan Pierre McGuire nominated in the Sports Reporter category and for some really strange reason, Skippy Bayless of ESPN2′s First Take was nominated for Best Studio Analyst. What analysis does he do besides yelling and having massive manlove for Tim Tebow?

There are some of the usual suspects are nominated, Bob Costas for Best Studio Host, Al Michaels in Play-by-Play, Cris Collinsworth for both Studio and Game Analyst.

Some of the nominations I agree with include Mike Mayock for Best Game Analyst, College GameDay and Football Night in America as Best Studio Shows and all of the movies in the Sports Documentary category. Sports documentaries were strong this year and I have trouble picking one although Catching Hell, the ESPN Films effort on Steve Bartman and the Chicago Cubs might be the weakest of the bunch, but the doc was still very good.

Ok, get ready to scroll, the entire list is below. We do need a page break so the list of nominees will after the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences press releases.

THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 33^RD ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS

Winners to be Honored During the April 30^th Ceremony At Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jack Whitaker to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

New York, NY – March 20, 2012 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 33^rd Annual Sports Emmy® Awards.

More than 170 nominees were announced in 33 categories including outstanding live sports special, live series, sports documentary, studio show, promotional announcements, play-by-play personality and studio analyst.  The Awards will be given out at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center on April 30^th, 2012 in New York City.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports will go to the Sports Commentator and Essayist, Jack Whitaker.

“This is an outstanding year for the sports community and for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” said Malachy Wienges, Chairman, NATAS. “The entries received in this year’s Sports Emmys resulted in a record 175 nominees, illustrating the quality of these entries.  We are also honoring Jack Whitaker with our Lifetime Achievement Award.  I had the pleasure of working with Jack for eighteen years at CBS, and Jack is a sports icon and a class act.”

In addition to Jack Whitaker, many of the today’s leading sports broadcasters, personalities and television professionals will be in attendance as presenters at the event.

The networks of ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D & espn.com) lead the nomination totals with 55, the NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel & nbcsports.com) garnered 32, CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) entries received 26 nominations, while Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com & truTV) have 22.

A complete list of all nominees is attached below.

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network Group

ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D, espn.com) – 55
NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel, nbcsports.com) – 32
CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) – 26
Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com, truTV) – 22
HBO Sports – 19
FOX Sports Media Group (FOX, SPEED) – 16
NFL Network – 12
MLB Network – 8
DIRECTV – 2
MLB Advanced Media (MLB.com, MLBAM) – 2
NFL.com – 2
NCAA.com – 1
PGA.com – 1

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network

ESPN – 36
NBC – 22
HBO Sports – 19
CBS – 15
FOX – 15
TNT – 15
ESPN2 – 14
NFL NETWORK – 12
SHOWTIME – 10
MLB NETWORK – 8
VERSUS – 7  
TBS – 3
ABC – 2   
DIRECTV – 2
ESPN 3D – 2
GOLF CHANNEL – 2
NBA TV – 2
NFL.COM – 2
CBSSPORTS.COM – 1
ESPN.COM – 1
MLB.COM – 1
MLBAM – 1
NBA.COM – 1
NBCSPORTS.COM – 1
NCAA.COM – 1
PGA.COM – 1
SPEED – 1
truTV – 1

BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM/SERIES NOMINATIONS

Program/Nominations/Network

24/7: 8 -  HBO
E: 60: 7 – ESPN2
A Game of Honor: 5 – Showtime/CBSSports.com
MLB on FOX: 5 – FOX
NASCAR on FOX: 5 – FOX
NBA on TNT: 4 – TNT
NBC Sunday Night Football: 4 – NBC
FIFA Women’s World Cup: 3 – ESPN/ESPN2
Outside the Lines: 3 – ESPN
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: 3 – HBO
SportsCenter: 3 – ESPN
The Army/Navy Game: 3 – CBS
The Franchise: 3 – Showtime
Winter X Games 15: 3 – ESPN/ESPN3D
2011 Open Championship: 2 – ESPN
2011 Stanley Cup Final: 2 – NBC/Versus
ESPN Monday Night Football: 2 – ESPN
Football Night in America: 2 – NBC
Grand Slam Tennis on ESPN: 2 – ESPN2
Inside the NBA on TNT: 2 – TNT
Joplin: City of Hope: 2 – ESPN2
McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice: 2 – HBO
MLB Tonight: 2 – MLB Network
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: 2 – CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV
NFL Films Presents: 2 – NFL Network
NFL GameDay Morning: 2 – NFL Network
NFL on FOX: 2 – FOX
Sports Science: 2 – ESPN/ESPN.com
Sunday NFL Countdown: 2 – ESPN
Unguarded: 2 – ESPN

And after the page break, all of the nominees for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards which will be handed out April 30 in New York City.

(continue reading…)

A Couple of Early Thursday Sports Media Thoughts

I’m writing this past midnight on a Thursday. I want to sleep, but I’ll pound this out to get these off my chest. This will be in bullet form as always.

• It seems every sports media writer and blogger has offered thoughts and potential landing spots for ESPN’s Big Three Free Agents, Michelle Beadle, Erin Andrews and Scott Van Pelt. All are coveted within ESPN circles and while the Alleged Worldwide Leader has in the past stepped up to keep their free agents from flying the coop, the network may be hard pressed to keep all in the Bristol nest this time around. Let’s handicap all three and give a prediction on where each could possibly sign.

  Starting with Michelle Beadle, the co-host of ESPN2′s SportsNation, she has made it no secret that she’d like to branch out from sports. While she has enjoyed co-hosting with SportsNation with Colin Cowherd, he has said he wants to leave that show by next year. Could that influence Michelle’s thinking? Absolutely. Michelle is not the typical ESPN’er. She speaks her mind. She’s not afraid to mention or talk to ESPN’s arch-enemy, Deadspin. Michelle has a block of ESPN higher up’s solidly in her corner, but even with that said, I think she leaves Bristol and heads to New York or LA to host an entertainment show or become a panelist on a talk show.

  Erin Andrews has become a rock star at the Alleged Worldwide Leader and to be honest, I was a little surprised when she signed a contract to return to ESPN back in 2010. I don’t think she’ll stay this time around. I think she could go to NBC which can give her a combination package of Access Hollywood, the Today Show, the Olympics, other major sporting events like the Super Bowl and maybe a special or two every year on NBC Sports Network. Erin’s days as a sideline reporter are over.

  Scott Van Pelt was lured to ESPN from Golf Channel and while NBC can offer him a role on his old home and on the PGA Tour, a possible hosting job on the Olympics, a regular show on NBCSN and even more if The Group gets more inventory, I think he stays in Bristol. Van Pelt likes hosting his radio show and I predict he’ll get an expanded role on SportsCenter plus host ESPN’s big events.

• Can we get Bonnie Bernstein a major radio or TV gig soon? She deserves it.
• Lastly, I want to do a mailbag soon so if you have a sports media question, send it to kzf1@fangsbites.com. One e-mailer at random will get the first season DVD of VH1′s Mob Wives courtesy of Klout. I’ll be happy to answer your questions.

I’m done.

The 2012 LPGA Tour Starts in Earnest on Golf Channel on Thursday

There have been a couple of LPGA Tour events so far this year, however, they’ve taken place in Asia. Now the LPGA comes back to America starting this weekend with the LPGA Founders Cup. It kicks off 23 events on the calendar including four round coverage of tour major tournaments such as the Kraft Nabisco (formerly known as the Dinah Shore) and the LPGA Championship.

Most of the events will be seen live on the weekends while some tournaments will have tape delayed coverage on weekdays.

Rich Lerner, Terry Gannon and Tom Abbot will share the play-by-play. Kelly Tilghman will be host at three events. We have the entire list of the LPGA Tour on Golf Channel.

GOLF CHANNEL DOMESTIC LPGA TOUR SEASON BEGINS THURSDAY

Two Major Championships Headline 23-Event Schedule
Exclusive Golf Channel Coverage of Kraft Nabisco Championship Marks Season’s First Major, March 29-April 1

ORLANDO, Fla., (March 13, 2012) – Golf Channel’s domestic coverage of the 2012 LPGA Tour season is the most anticipated in the network’s history, featuring full coverage of the first two major championships and unique storytelling of the game’s current and rising stars, all kicking off Thursday in Arizona with the LPGA Founders Cup.

Golf Channel’s live coverage of the LPGA Founders Cup will take place Thursday-Friday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. ET, followed by live weekend coverage from 4-7 p.m. ET. The tournament coverage will include features on the LPGA’s Founding Members and Pioneers, Hall-of-Fame players and the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Program.

Headlining the 2012 broadcast schedule will be live coverage of the Kraft Nabisco Championship (March 29-April 1), golf’s first major championship of the season. Golf Channel will broadcast 20 hours of live coverage throughout the tournament, including six hours of live coverage on Thursday and Friday. The season’s second major of the year, the LPGA Championship, will air on Golf Channel June 7-10, when World No. 1 Yani Tseng will look to defend her 2011 title.

In total, Golf Channel will broadcast 23 LPGA Tour events -– the majority produced in high definition –- in 2012.

Golf Channel is entering the third year of a 10-year partnership with the LPGA Tour as the exclusive cable home. In 2010, the network introduced and featured several unique production elements to enhance the telecasts and showcase the personalities of LPGA Tour players, most notably fitting players with microphones during competition. “Mic’d Up” now also is featured on PGA TOUR telecasts.

Golf Channel will continue to provide viewers with its signature production elements for LPGA Tour telecasts, beginning this week with the LPGA Founders Cup. During the opening rounds, Golf Channel will feature “LPGA Unplugged,” where two LPGA Tour players will discuss all aspects of golf, the tour and their everyday lives. During Friday telecasts, a player in the field will join the network’s announcers as a player analyst. Other popular elements also will return, including rookie and player profiles, interviewing players as they are walking the fairways (“Walk and Talks”), and weekly tips from players. Throughout the year, LPGA players will be “mic’d up” during their opening rounds of play.

Golf Channel also will expand its LPGA broadcast team in 2012. Rich Lerner will join Terry Gannon and Tom Abbott as play-by-play hosts, with Kelly Tilghman joining the team as show host for the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Championship and the CME Group Titleholders. Scottsdale resident Brandel Chamblee will serve as lead analyst this week for the LPGA Founders Cup, and Matt Gogel and Curt Byrum will make guest appearances throughout the year as tower reporters. Hall-of-Famer Judy Rankin, Jane Crafter, Kay Cockerill, Val Skinner, Jerry Foltz and Phil Parkin all return to Golf Channel’s LPGA broadcast team in 2012.

Golf Channel will continue to provide enhanced news coverage of the LPGA Tour and will produce several programs with LPGA stars throughout the year.

3/15-3/18 — RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup LIVE
3/22-3/25 — Kia Classic LIVE
3/29-4/1 — KRAFT Nabisco Championship LIVE
4/18-4/21 — LPGA LOTTE Championship
4/26-4/29 — Mobile Bay LPGA Classic LIVE
5/17-5/20 — Sybase Match Play Championship TD/LIVE
6/1-6/3 — ShopRite LPGA Classic LIVE
6/7-6/10 — LPGA Championship LIVE
6/21-6/24 — Manulife Financial LPGA Classic LIVE
6/29-7/1 — NW Arkansas Championship TD/LIVE
7/26-7/29 — Evian Masters TD/LIVE
8/17-8/19 — Safeway Classic LIVE
8/23-8/26 — Canadian Women’s Open TD/LIVE
9/6-9/9 — Kingsmill Championship LIVE
9/20-9/23 — Navistar LPGA Classic TD/LIVE
10/11-10/14 — Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia TD
10/19-10/21 — LPGA Hana Bank Championship TD
10/25-10/28 — LPGA Taiwan Championship TD
11/8-11/11 — Lorena Ochoa Invitational LIVE
11/15-11/18 — CME Group Titleholders LIVE

Number of events, schedule and times subject to change

That does it.

Golf Channel Announces Cast of Big Break Atlantis

Golf Channel has sent out a press release unveiling the cast of Big Break Atlantis. This upcoming season will be an all-female affair. The 12 golfers are vying for a chance to receive an exemption in an LPGA event and an undetermined (thus far) amount of cash.

I love watching Big Break as each show’s locale is filmed so beautifully. And this season with the series stopping at the Atlantis Golf Resort at Paradise Island in the Bahamas, I expect nothing less when the show premieres on May 14 at 9 p.m. ET.

Unlike previous all-female casts, there isn’t anyone over the age of 31. Tom Abbott and Stephanie Sparks return to co-host Big Break.

The show was filmed in January so the cast already knows the results. No one is talking, of course. The press release.

CONTESTANTS REVEALED FOR BIG BREAK ATLANTIS

All-Female Cast Heads to the Bahamas for Series 17^th Season, Premiering May 14
World No. 1 Yani Tseng and Fellow LPGA Tour Professional Gerina Piller to Make Special Guest Appearances

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 12, 2012) – Golf Channel’s popular Big Break reality series returns May 14 with an all-female cast ready to use serious golf skills, beauty and brains to take that next step in their golf careers. Big Break Atlantis, the series’ 17^thseason, will premier May 14 at 9 p.m. ET.

Shot on location at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas, Big Break Atlantis will showcase a field of 12 women at different stages of their golf careers – several are currently playing on the Symetra Tour (LPGA developmental tour), while others turned professional for the series – who will compete against each other in an attempt to make their lifelong dream of playing alongside the world’s top golfers a reality. In addition to other prizes, the winner will receive an exemption to a to-be-announced 2012 LPGA Tour tournament and cash.

The contestants are:

Anya Alvarez (22, Pittsburgh, Pa.) – A fiery competitor on the course, Alvarez has overcome enormous odds off the course. A rookie on the Symetra Tour in 2012, Alvarez qualified and made the cut in the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open in her first attempt. She is an outspoken activist and public speaker on raising awareness of sexual abuse.

Shannon Fish (23, Spring, Texas) –Fish turned professional in 2011 following graduation from the University of Texas, posting four top-4 finishes on the Cactus Tour in her rookie year. An intense competitor, she was introduced to the game as a child by her mother and one of the game’s all time greats – Jackie Burke.

Natalia Ghilzon (21, Windsor, Ontario) – One of the most athletic competitors on the series, Ghilzon will look to follow in the same footsteps as fellow Windsor native David Byrne, who won the series 15^th season – Big Break Indian Wells. After overcoming wrist injuries, Ghilzon enters 2012 healthy and with a new found confidence.

Meghan Hardin (19, Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) – The youngest female competitor in the history of Big Break at age 19, Hardin turned professional just prior to the filming of the series, foregoing her final two years of collegiate golf. A part-time model, Hardin will begin her professional golf career in 2012, competing in Cactus Tour and mini-tour events.

Selanee Henderson (25, Temecula, Calif.) – A tough competitor on and off the course, Henderson is looking to capitalize on her success on the 2011 Cactus Tour (one win and one runner-up finish) to Big Break Atlantis. A natural athlete, Selanee also is the younger sister of former Olympic wrestler and current MMA fighter Dan Henderson.

Marcela Leon (31, Orlando, Fla./Monterrey, Mexico) – The most experienced competitor in the series, Leon has competed on the Symetra Tour for the past nine years, with five career top-10 finishes and one runner-up finish. She is competing a full-schedule on the 2012 Symetra Tour.

Aubrey McCormick (29, Arlington, Va.) – A free spirit, McCormick hung up the golf clubs in 2011 after struggling on the Symetra Tour and other mini-tour circuits. After working in an office environment, McCormick rediscovered her passion for the game and is beginning 2012 with a fresh outlook on golf.

Allison Micheletti (24, Scottsdale, Ariz.) – Daughter of former professional hockey player and current New York Rangers television analyst Joe Micheletti, Allison is a late bloomer to the game of golf, switching to the game at age 17 following a knee injury that sidelined her basketball career. Currently dating professional golfer Martin Kaymer, Micheletti will compete on the Cactus Tour and select Symetra Tour events in 2012.

Zakiya Randall (20, Atlanta, Ga.) – Golfer, model and music producer, Randall turned professional just prior to the filming of Big Break Atlantis, and is determined to make a name for herself in professional golf. Nicknamed “Z,” Randall will look to make a statement on the series with her golf game and her fashion.

Gloriana Soto (25, Windermere, Fla./San Jose, Costa Rica) – The first female professional golfer from Costa Rica to compete in the United States, Soto turned professional immediately following graduation from Texas Tech in 2010, and is scheduled to play a full schedule on the Symetra Tour in 2012.

Christina Stockton (24, Rocklin, Calif.) – Daughter of LPGA teaching professional Becky Herbert Stockton, golf was introduced to Christina at a young age. A four-time all conference player at the University of San Francisco and a part-time model, she turned professional in 2011 and will compete on the Symetra Tour, Cactus Tour and Canadian Women’s Tour in 2012.

Kelly Villarreal (29, Birmingham, Ala.) – Nicknamed “The Real Deal,” Villarreal is anticipating Big Break Atlantis to be her comeback story. She is giving professional golf another go after giving up on her dreams to compete on the LPGA Tour for a medical sales career five years ago.

The series also will feature special guest appearances from Women’s World No. 1 Yani Tseng and LPGA Tour professional Gerina Piller, who also was a competitor on Big Break Prince Edward Island, the series 11^th season. Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott and Stephanie Sparks return as co-hosts for the series.

Produced in January at the Bahamas resort, the 11-part series will unfold on the Tom Weiskopf designed 18-hole championship course – Ocean Club Golf Course – a picturesque par-72 layout featuring breathtaking signature holes and seaside greens and tees stretched over 7,100 yards of coastline.

The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. During Big Break Atlantis, one contestant will be eliminated each week, with the last player standing awarded her Big Break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in an LPGA Tour event.

Past Big Break champions have won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Canadian Tour. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Big Break VII: Reunion champion and PGA TOUR professional, caught the world’s attention in 2011 with three top-five finishes, and Ryann O’Toole, competitor on Big Break Sandals Resorts in 2010 competed on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team as a Captain’s Pick during her rookie year in 2011.

Several other past Big Break competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours, including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties (Nationwide Tour), Kim Welch and Sara Brown (Ladies European Tour); and Gerina Piller, O’Toole and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy McPherson (LPGA Tour).

That is all.

NBC & Golf Channel To Provide Unique Coverage of Honda Classic

This weekend, NBC Sports and Golf Channel will air simultaneous coverage of the Honda Classic. While NBC will air its traditional shot-by-shot coverage of the PGA National Resort Championship Course, Golf Channel will focus on holes 15, 16 & 17 with its own production crew and commentators. This trio of holes known as “The Bear Trap” is said to be the most difficult three hole stretch on the PGA Tour. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course is supposed to challenge the world’s best golfers and last year, “The Bear Trap” averaged two shots over par for the three holes.

We have the details from NBC Sports/Golf Channel on what the coverage will entail.

GOLF CHANNEL AND NBC OFFER A NEW WAY TO WATCH GOLF

Traditional Coverage of The Honda Classic on NBC and ‘The Bear Trap’ Spotlight on Golf Channel Begin at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday & Sunday
Complementary Coverage Just One of the New Ways NBC Sports Group is Offering More Golf to Fans
NBC Sports Group Airing 22 Hours of Live Coverage of The Honda Classic

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 1, 2012) –The NBC Sports Group introduces a new way to watch the PGA TOUR this weekend when it presents live traditional coverage of the third and final rounds of The Honda Classic on NBC and “Spotlight” coverage of the three signature holes known as “The Bear Trap” on Golf Channel at the same time, both beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday. This first-of-its-kind experience for golf represents the NBC Sports Group’s commitment to super-serve golf fans across multiple platforms for many years to come.

While NBC is on the air live from 3-6 p.m. ET this weekend with traditional coverage of The Honda Classic – which will showcase a stellar international field, including Tiger Woods, who will be playing this event for the first time since turning pro – Golf Channel’s Spotlight coverage will air live from the same tournament, but offering viewers an exclusive look at the signature holes of the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA National Resort Championship Course and one of the toughest three-hole stretches on the PGA TOUR. In 2011, “The Bear Trap” proved the toughest of any three-hole stretch on the PGA TOUR, with the field averaging nearly two strokes over par for the three holes.

Nicklaus, nicknamed the “Golden Bear,” redesigned the Championship Course in 1990, which led to the origin of “The Bear Trap” name for holes 15, 16 and 17. Nicklaus has said that playing his signature three-hole stretch is all about precision, adding, “That stretch is about guts.”

Designed to complement NBC’s traditional coverage, Golf Channel will provide curious viewers a chance to see how some of the best in the game fare through Nicklaus’ signature three-hole gauntlet, which can make or break a golfer’s quest for victory. At the 1994 Senior PGA Championship, Raymond Floyd entered “The Bear Trap” with a one-shot lead. He then went five-over par on three holes and lost by five shots to Lee Trevino.

Golf Channel will provide its usual Thursday and Friday early round coverage and weekend lead-in/early coverage, but on the weekend the network will undertake an entirely separate production for its telecast of “The Bear Trap,” utilizing its own equipment, crew and commentators. Throughout the week, Golf Channel will be gathering player reaction to “The Bear Trap,” and will roll those interviews into the telecast, as well as video of past, dramatic moments. The coverage also will feature graphics and statistics exclusive to playing “The Bear Trap,” past and present.

On-air commentators will include Gary Williams calling the action at the 15^th and 17^th holes, Jerry Foltz at 16, Phil Parkin on the course and Todd Lewis conducting player interviews. Frank Nobilo, a 14-time winner on professional tours around the world and a three-time member of the International Presidents Cup team, will serve as the main analyst.

“We are committed to innovation and this unique approach is designed to bring renewed interest to the game of golf,” said Golf Channel President Mike McCarley. “The Spotlight coverage of one of the most demanding stretches on the PGA TOUR will not only showcase these signature holes, but also build more interest in the traditional coverage on NBC.”

“I’m delighted to be part of an initiative to give viewers a special look of one of the most devilish stretches of holes in golf, The Bear Trap,” said Nobilo. “The Bear Trap has provided some exciting and compelling golf over the years, and we will have the luxury of showcasing to viewers how it is playing throughout the weekend and how it might impact the outcome.”

Golf Channel’s Spotlight coverage test at The Honda Classic this week – part of NBC’s extended agreement with the PGA TOUR announced in August – will provide the NBC Sports Group with valuable feedback to plan future innovations for golf viewers. The new agreement, which officially commences in 2013, will allow the NBC Sports Group to better serve fans in new and innovative ways, such as complementary coverage and online streaming.

The Honda Classic – Golf Channel and NBC Live Tournament Airtimes

Thursday — 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live traditional coverage)
Friday — 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live traditional coverage)
Saturday — 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live traditional coverage)
Saturday — 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC live traditional coverage)
Saturday — 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live complementary coverage)
Sunday — 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live traditional coverage)
Sunday — 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC live traditional coverage)
Sunday — 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live complementary coverage)

That will do it.

Two Golf Channel Releases Wrapped in One Post

We have two Golf Channel press releases. I figured why not?

First, Golf Channel will air the Honda Classic, the beginning of the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing. Golf Channel and sister network NBC will combine for complete four round coverage starting today from the PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens. Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III as well as all of last year’s Major champions including McIlroy are in a star-studded field.

We have Golf Channel’s skinny on the whole thing.

THE HONDA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT AIRTIMES AND BROADCAST NOTES

NBC Sports Group to Broadcast 22 Hours of The Honda Classic
Woods, Poulter and Westwood Featured Grouping for Thursday’s Coverage

The Honda Classic
Dates: March 1-4
Venue: Champion Course, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

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

NBC Airtimes
Saturday 3-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 3-6 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel/NBC Broadcast Team
Rich Lerner (Golf Channel Play-by-Play)/Dan Hicks (NBC Play-by-Play)
Frank Nobilo (Golf Channel Analyst)/Johnny Miller (NBC Analyst)
Gary Koch (Tower)
Mark Rolfing (Tower)
Roger Maltbie (On Course)
Dottie Pepper (On Course)
Jimmy Roberts (Tower/Interviews)
Todd Lewis (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• Tiger Woods Returns to PGA National – Former World No. 1 Tiger Woods returns to The Honda Classic field at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
• Woods, Westwood, Poulter Thursday’s Featuring Grouping – Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter will be Thursday’s featured grouping during Golf Channel’s live tournament coverage. The trio is scheduled to tee-off at 12:30 p.m. ET.
• Morning Drive Extended to Seven Days -– Morning Drive will extend to seven days this week, with Saturday and Sunday shows airing at 10 a.m.
• Headlining the Field – Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington, Rickie Fowler, Y.E. Yang, Darren Clarke, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Bjorn, Retief Goosen, Keegan Bradley, Kyle Stanley, Camilo Villegas, Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson, Angel Cabrera, Johnson Wagner, Mark Wilson, Kenny Perry, Rory Sabbatini and Jose Maria Olazabal.

And our next Golf Channel release is a major announcement on a new Executive Producer for the network. Long time NBC Olympics producer Molly Solomon will become the first female executive producer of a national sports network. Solomon who is currently preparing to work the 2012 London Olympics will continue in that capacity. She has worked on NBC’s golf production team prior to her Olympics assignment. She’ll oversee all aspects of Golf Channel’s on-air look.

Congratulations to Molly on this momentous achievement.

MOLLY SOLOMON NAMED EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF GOLF CHANNEL

First woman to be named executive producer of a national sports network
Nine-time Emmy Award-winner and longtime Olympic producer to bring storytelling philosophy to Golf Channel

NEW YORK – Feb. 29, 2012 – Nine-time Emmy Award-winner and longtime NBC Olympics coordinating producer Molly Solomon has been promoted within the NBC Sports Group to Executive Producer and Senior Vice President, Production and Operations, Golf Channel. The promotion marks the first time that a woman will serve as executive producer for a national sports network. Solomon will report directly to Mike McCarley, President, Golf Channel.

In her new role, Solomon will oversee all aspects of production for programming on Golf Channel, including tournament coverage, news, original productions and operations. She will re-locate from the NBC Sports Group’s New York and Stamford, Conn., offices to Golf Channel’s Orlando Studios.

“I look forward to leading a talented production team that shares my passion for the game as we build on the tremendous momentum Golf Channel and NBC Sports have experienced since coming together in January, 2011,” said Solomon, who won one of her nine Emmys during her six-year stint as a member of NBC Sports’ golf production team before moving to her Olympic role. “I’m excited to continue the focus on high-quality production in all of our programming.”

“Molly is not only one of the most talented storytellers in sports television, but she’s also a leader who is held in very high regard by the army of production personnel she leads at every Olympic Games,” said McCarley. “Her ability to lead a team that is focused on high-quality production is what first led us to discuss this role with her, but her connection and passion for golf is what convinced us that she is the perfect person for this job.”

Although Solomon will begin at Golf Channel immediately, she will continue to perform many of her duties as coordinating producer for NBC Olympics through the 2012 London Games, which begin July 27. As previously scheduled, she will co-produce the Opening Ceremony and primetime show broadcasts from London, and will continue to work on future Games for NBC Olympics.

Solomon began her NBC Olympic career in 1990 as a researcher for the 1992 Barcelona Games. She has worked on eight Olympic Games overall – London will be her ninth – while being nominated for 21 Sports Emmy Awards, winning nine. In her most recent role as coordinating producer, NBC Olympics, Solomon was involved in every facet of production and planning, including program development, operational planning and the hiring and assigning of on-air talent and production staff. She also worked extensively on NBC Sports’ golf production for six years (1993-99), which produced one of her nine Emmy Awards.

That will conclude this post. We have a CBS News press release next and it involves a familiar name.

Late Monday Afternoon Links

This week is going to be busy for me. I was cleaning out an office for most of the day and it looks like that will be on the agenda for the rest of the month. I’ll do my best to post what I can here. But just know that I may be scarce. I’ll do what I can to post breaking news when I can.

Let’s do some linkage.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NBA on ESPN/ABC crew did not go overboard in covering Sunday’s Dallas-New York Knicks game.

Irving DeJohn and Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News speak with the ESPN editor who lost his job over the Jeremy Lin headline slur that was seen on the network’s mobile site.

Ole Skaar and Helen Kennedy of the Daily News have Jeremy Lin forgiving and forgetting about the ESPN.com headline.

Ty Duffy from The Big Lead feels ESPNews anchor Max Bretos who was suspended for a month by the Alleged Worldwide Leader in reference to Jeremy Lin, got too harsh a punishment.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times also writes about ESPN’s actions in the wake of the Jeremy Lin headline.

Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo has Lin appealing to the Taiwanese media to leave his relatives alone.

Patrick Burns at Deadspin has ESPN SportsCenter going way overboard in Jeremy Lin mentions last week. That’s not good at all.

Paul Bond of the Hollywood Reporter has Glen Beck going after ESPN and ABC for the Max Bretos suspension.

Mike Silva at Sports Media Watchdog feels ESPN overreacted.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch interviews Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel and ESPN’s Michelle Beadle in the latest edition of his podcast.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has the full joint statement from MSG Network and Time Warner Cable in regards to their agreement.

In this week’s SBJ issue, John writes that NBC Sports Network’s ratings are off to a slow start.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says MSG Network will take viewers inside the World’s Most Famous Arena’s Phase I renovation.

Tim Nudd of Adweek writes that M&M’s won the YouTube 2012  Super Bowl Ad Blitz.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age writes that sponsors are knocking on Jeremy Lin’s door, hoping he will endorse their products.

Ryan Berenz from Channel Guide magazine talks with CBS/Golf Channel’s David Feherty.

It’s no secret that the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick hates the WWE.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman speculates that ESPN jettisoned Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football in case Peyton Manning becomes available.

Jaworski speaks with Philadelphia sports radio host Mike Missanelli about being taken off Monday Night Football.

Thanks to Sports Radio Interviews for the link.

The Washington Examiner’s Jim Williams talks with TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal and ESPN’s Jon Barry about the Wizards.

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

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speaks with Frank Deford about his new memoir.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post notes the rise of Linsanity.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News has the sports schedule for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail explores the policy of NHL teams that allow reporters to fly on their private planes with the players.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star looks at the ugly side of Linsanity.

Sports Media Watch notes the overnight ratings for the NASCAR Budweiser Shooting on Fox were up from last year.

SMW says the first half of NBC’s Hockey Day in America did well.

And that will do it.