Fang's Bites

Some Quick Thursday Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SMW says Golf Channel set a ratings record last Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Few Saturday Links

Unfortunately, I was not able to do the Friday megalinks as I was traveling in between two offices and had to hit a couple of places in between. And when I got home, I wasn’t in the mood to do links. But I may incorporate some Friday stories here in the links. Let’s take a look at what we have.

From the Wall Street Journal, Sam Schechner has a story where networks are angry with Time Warner Cable for providing their programming on iPads. This is going to be an interesting battleground because if Time Warner wins, the networks will have no control over their content on tablets. Keep an eye on this as sports is involved as well. Thanks to John Daly of The Daly Planet NASCAR blog for the link.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says despite network protests, Time Warner Cable is forging ahead with its iPad app.

Andrea Morabito from Broadcasting & Cable notes that the NCAA Tournament’s ratings continue to soar on CBS and Turner.

Joel Stein from Bloomberg Businessweek takes a look at some of the fashion faux pas made by various sports broadcasters. Yes, there’s a slideshow that goes with it.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says ESPN2 and Tennis Channel will be all over the Sony Ericsson Open starting today.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says Nasty Boy Rob Dibble has found a new radio home.

Brad Cohen from SportsGrid has the too-steamy-for-TV ad featuring Serena Williams.

The Nielsen Wire blog notes that the two most marketable MLB players are New York Yankees.

Newsday’s Neil Best has ESPN’s Jay Bilas standing by his anti-VCU comments from before theNCAA Tournament. This story came out before VCU won last night.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has your NCAA Tournament Regional Final tip times for the weekend.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that the IndyCar racing season gets underway on Sunday.

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald says Charles Barkley has added some much needed humor into the NCAA Tournament studio.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times reviews the Sports Emmy Award nominations.

At the Grand Rapids (MI) Press, Michael Zuidema discusses how ESPN’s MLB analysts see the Detroit Tigers faring this season.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer talks with Bearcats and Pawtucket Red Sox voice Dan Hoard about his very busy schedule.

In his blog, John says some of Dan’s professional goals now surprise him.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley gets responses from ESPN’s Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla to shots taken at them by former URI and Texas coach Tom Penders.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his winners and losers in sports business and media.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that former Cardinals first baseman Jack Clark is back on the air in the Gateway City.

John Maffei of the North County Times has enjoyed the CBS/Turner coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News is not a fan of Charles Barkley on the NCAA Tournament. I disagree.

Tom has his extensive media news and notes.

Matt Clapp from Awful Announcing has video shot from my Twitter pal YankeeMegInPHL of Charles Barkley taking a swig of some mystery liquid on the CBS/Turner set last night.

Lou Clinton of 38 Cliches notes that his arch-nemesis, Florida Marlins announcer Glenn Geffner is now on Twitter.

I think we’ll end it there for this Saturday.

Saturday’s Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that will do it for the links today.

Some Monday Night Links

Because I’ll be leaving my house at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday to be at a jobsite, I won’t be able to provide linkage while I’m there so to help tie you over, I’ll do some now. I’ve already done the Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks for Tuesday and expect to see that at 9 a.m.

Starting with USA Today’s Michael Hiestand, he has some quotes from the Erin Andrews appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show taped last week and to be aired on September 11.

Dan Levy of On the DL reviews the weekend in sports media for the Sporting News.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says time is running out for former tennis prodigy Donald Young.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times talks about the Tennis Channel’s difficulty in getting carriage in the Big Apple for the US Open.

Jerry Barmash of the New York Examiner writes about former WCBS TV sports anchor Chris Wragge now making his mark on the news side.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says golf and exhibition football were ratings winners on Sunday.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks about Sunday Night Football being a ratings hit in the exhibition season.

John also has a preview of the next episode of Hard Knocks.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the jettisoning of popular Rams analyst Jim Hanifan to pre and postgame shows has ruined a good first 8 months for a new sports radio station.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News wonders if SEC fans will welcome ESPN’s announcing crews this season.

Jon writes about Fox Sports’ extending its deal with the Cotton Bowl.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News writes that Fox plans to make the Cotton Bowl a primetime affair for the first year of a new four year contract starting in 2011.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks about Stacey Dales joining the NFL Network this season.

Wayne Friedman of Mediapost says the NFL should be worried about several key markets that will experience blackouts of local games, especially in Jacksonville which may not see any home games this season.

Maury Brown in the Biz of Football talks about the waning hours of Versus on DirecTV as the two try to hash out an agreement before the midnight deadline and several college football games that will suddenly have a smaller audience if the channel is by the satellite provider.

The Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

Christy Hammond of the Sports PR blog looks at the New Jersey Devils using social networking to promote Martin Brodeur Day.

Joe Favorito says look for ESPN/Marvel tie-ins with the Disney purchase of the famed comic book company today.

The 38 Cliches blog has some thoughts from Sunday’s Blue Jays-Red Sox game.

Ok, I’ll end it there. Gotta sleep now.

A Monday Linkage Thing

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

Let’s do your links for today.

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

Four stories from Sports Business Journal today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Mid-Week Links

It’s Wednesday. The All-Star Game is over, thank goodness. I stayed up to watch every single pitch and out until 1:30 a.m. ET. What could have been another embarrassing tie ended up with the American League winning 4-3.

Now that the Mid-Summer Classic is over, we can now focus on the Open Championship which begins tomorrow. Later tonight, I’ll post the sites where you can watch live streaming coverage while at work.

And once the Open Championship is finished on Sunday, our next focus in the sporting world will be on the Summer Olympics in Communist China and that is a theme in today’s links.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at the NBC announcing assignments for the Olympics.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has the complete list of announcers and analysts for the Olympics.

In the Houston Chronicle, David Barron hails fellow Chronicle soccer columnist Glenn Davis who will be part of the NBC Olympics soccer announcing team.

From the Hollywood Reporter, Paul J. Gough says NBC went with experience and plenty of medal winners for its Olympic announcing team.

Chris Preimesberger of eWeek has a technical article on NBC’s ambitious plans to bring the Olympics online and to your cell phone.

Michael Learmonth of Silicon Valley Insider says while NBC is putting the Olympics online, it’s not sharing the Games with its Hulu video site.

Digital Home Canada laments the fact that NBC’s online coverage of the Olympics won’t be made available to Canadians.

However, Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter reports that CBC will offer 1,500 hours of online coverage of the Olympics.

CBC Sports announces that its entire 282 hours of TV coverage of the Olympics will be broadcast in HD. TSN says its 150 hours of coverage of the Beijing Olympics will also be in HD.

Rob Longley of the Vancouver Sun says CBC’s cameras will be able to take live shots of Tienamen Square.

Newsday’s Neil Best who seems to be grumpy now that his vacation is over says there won’t be any surprises when NBC formally announces the announcing assignments today. Neil also applauds the NFL Network decision to name New York Giants radio announcer Bob Papa as its announcer on Thursday and Saturday Night Football. And this is a first as far as I know. Neil will take part in a live chat today at 1 p.m. ET. In his special Wednesday column, Neil says Fox Sports had an up and down All-Star Game. In his blog, Neil takes Fox to task for waiting until the 11th inning to pay tribute to the late Bobby Murcer.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Mariano Rivera had the defining moments of the All-Star Game on Fox.

From the Chicago Tribune, Ameet Sachdev writes that a Cubs-only cable channel is a distinct possibility when the team’s rights with Comcast SportsNet expire in 2019.

MLB says Fox and TBS Sports are collaborating on a massive pitch for the playoffs.

Awful Announcing says Howard Stern Wack Packer High Pitch Eric solicited ESPN’s Erin Andrews to appear on the Stern show.

The Sports Media Watch says ESPN drew great ratings for the Home Run Derby.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball says the Home Run Derby is the highest rated show of the year to date on cable.

Bob Smizik from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the local ESPN Radio affiliate dropped the All-Star Game in the bottom of the 10th inning and never went back.

Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recaps MLB Walking Talking Conflict of Interest Bud Selig’s appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman on Monday.

Surely by now, you’re aware of the New York Daily News taking Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon’s statements about finishing the All-Star Game out of context. The Sox & Dawgs blog takes the New York media to task for overblowing Papelbon’s comments. And Sox & Dawgs says the sensationalism put Papelbon’s wife at risk.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Josh Hamilton will start getting endorsements. Darren also talks with MLB’s Executive Vice President of Business Operations on the launch of the MLB Network.

Joe Favorito says Vitamin Water hit a big marketing home run during All-Star Game weekend.

The 38Cliches blog links to an interview with former Red Sox announcing hack Glenn Geffner.

Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post writes that Billy Packer has had more than just “One Shining Moment”. And Michael Wilbon of the Post says Packer was a pro’s pro on TV.

In his Over the Top blog, Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star writes about Bob Papa taking the NFL Network play-by-play gig. Also from the Star, Aaron Barnhart says the NFL Network went with the safe route when it should have selected ESPN’s Pam Ward.

Bruce Allen from the Boston Sports Media Watch says WEEI has officially announced that former Boston Herald writers Rob Bradford and Michael Felger are joining the company to report for the radio station’s website.

Michael Buteau of Bloomberg writes that without Tiger Woods, the Open Championship will have lower ratings and a wide open field.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune looks forward to the next NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on NBC.

The DC/Baltimore Examiner’s Jim Williams asks if Baltimore wants a minor league hockey team.

Tim Lemke from the Washington Times writes that two rival MMA pay per view events take place this Saturday.

Kevin Downey of Media Life Magazine says NASCAR has rebounded in the ratings, but not in ad revenue.

A lot of links today. I’ll have more stuff later.

Some Tuesday Links

I have to head to a jobsite soon so I’ll provide as many links that I can before I have to leave.

ESPN Ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber says some ESPN personalities have learned a hard lesson about crossing the line of good taste. She cites the Jemele Hill and Bonnie Bernstein incidents as examples.

This link comes courtesy of the 38Cliches blog, Andrew Ryan of the Boston Globe has a story on Red Sox radio announcers Joe Castiglione and Dave O’Brien.

Two stories from Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. First is on Billy Packer leaving CBS Sports. And Richard writes about the brief four year period when Major League Baseball had two All-Star Games per season.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand with a special Tuesday column says Billy Packer is upbeat now that his broadcasting career is over.

The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein also checks in on the Billy Packer story.

The DC/Baltimore Examiner’s Jim Williams talks with Billy Packer.

Newsday’s Neil Best also writes about Billy Packer’s thoughts on leaving CBS Sports. In his blog, Neil has comments from Packer’s colleagues and friends. Neil feels as far as being a TV personality, ESPN’s Rick Reilly is a very good writer.

And in that blog entry, Neil links to Awful Announcing which feels Reilly’s comments about the racial makeup of last night’s Home Run Derby were annoying.

Two things from the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman. The first story has Fox’s Tim McCarver stating that Yankee Stadium will be the real star of the All-Star Game. And Raissman talks to McCarver’s partner, Joe Buck who won’t change his broadcast style despite the backlash over his comments that he prefers watching “The Bachelorette” over baseball.

Terry Foster from the Detroit News says Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney is relieved now that the Comcast squabble is over.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal talks about a new program premiering Wednesday on the Big Ten Network.

Mark Tupper of the Decatur (IL) Herald & Review discusses a Big Ten Network reality program that will follow Illinois football coach Ron Zook.

The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth looks into Ashley Harkleroad’s nude layout in this month’s Playboy.

The Sports Media Watch has the final weekend TV ratings. And the SMW has a look inside the ratings for the first half of the MLB season on ESPN and Fox.

That’s going to do it for now.

The Tuesday Links for You

I’ve been very busy at work in fact, it’s 5:30 p.m. ET as I write this and I’m still at the office and I’ll probably be here burning the midnight oil, but I’ll still provide you with some links today.

Starting with Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, he writes about Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann reuniting at NBC after 11 years apart on TV. Dan and Keith had been together on the radio off and on over the years.

Richard Huff of the New York Daily News says Dan and Keith are looking forward to working with each other again.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal is excited to see the “Big Show” back on his TV.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun writes that the news of the Dan and Keith reunion overshadowed the announcement of the new team on Inside the NFL on Showtime.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle also talks about the Dan-Keith reunion.

You can hear Dan Patrick talking to Keith Olbermann on today’s Dan Patrick Show about working at Football Night in America.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says Dan Marino has lost a gig while Dan Patrick gained one.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says CBS’/Showtime’s Phil Simms suggests that Brett Favre should remain retired this time.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks about Cris Collinsworth remaining with Inside the NFL.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News blogs about CBS’ Dan Dierdorf being honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Newday’s Neil Best says WFAN’s Mike & the Mad Dog reunite for the first time this Friday since Neil’s story about them breaking up by Labor Day.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record says last night’s 10-9 Mets win over the Phillies reminded both Gary Cohen on SNY and Howie Rose on WFAN about a similar game called by the late Mets announcer Bob Murphy in 1990.

The Sports Media Watch has the final weekend ratings. The SMW says some lesser sports also saw some ratings gains this weekend. Ratings for the Olympic Trials did pretty well during the holiday weekend.

NBC Sports says it will have 3,600 hours of coverage from the Olympics in Communist China, most of it live.

The 38 Cliches blog shares what it learned while listening to last night’s Twins-Red Sox game.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball looks at why ratings for MLB are down this season.

Orbitcast reports that XM Satellite Radio will have extensive coverage of the All-Star Game next week.

MLB’s Walking, Talking Conflict of Interest Bud Selig will make his first late night TV appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman next Monday.

That will do it for now. Back to work now.

Wednesday Night Update or Why Joe Buck Needs to Stop Doing Baseball

Well, I leave my office for several hours and then all hell breaks loose.

We start off with Awful Announcing which goes off on Fox Sports’ Joe Buck. Buck was on the Colin Cowherd show on ESPN Radio this morning and said he doesn’t watch sports during the week and no longer enjoys doing baseball games.

I’ve contended since last year that since Buck doesn’t want to do the entire baseball season, get someone else to be the main voice of baseball. Even last year, Buck in an interview with Richard Sandomir of the New York Times said he would rather spend time with his family than do sports. Interviews like these don’t help. Imagine Mike Breen being interviewed on Cowherd and saying he doesn’t like doing the NBA. How fast would commish David Stern seek the removal of Breen from ESPN/ABC? Bud Selig should be doing the same with Fox, demanding that Buck be removed from the network’s broadcasts.

Awful Announcing can’t believe it and neither can I, but Skip Bayless on ESPN2′s First Take was actually a Voice of Reason on this and even before I watched the video clip on the AA site, Bayless says the same thing as me in the last paragraph, that Bud Selig should demand Fox take Buck off the games.

Deadspin has its take on Buck’s comments.

The Sports Media Watch also feels that Fox should replace Buck if he doesn’t want to do the games.

Keith Thibault of the Sports Media Journal says Buck should take a little more interest in the sports he covers.

Newsday’s Neil Best agrees with many of Buck’s takes on the length of baseball games. That’s fine, but Buck would rather watch “The Bachelorette” than the Red Sox-Rays series? I don’t think Joe likes doing sports anymore.

Buck is taking a beating in the blogosphere and deservedly so. If you want to spend more time with your family than cover sports, then by all means, get out of the sports business and do what you want. Don’t complain that you’d rather be doing something else and that the sport that gave you your start no longer interests you. Get out and change your focus. It’s complaining like this that make people who love sports angry. The world has turned upside down. Skip Bayless is the Voice of Reason.

Ok, moving on to other subjects, Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star writes in his TV Barn blog that FSN’s Frank White does a great job on Royals broadcasts.

Dan Lamonthe of the Red Sox Monster blog has the video of Red Sox fans flipping the bird at Tropicana Field during Tuesday’s loss to the Rays.

LC over at the 38Cliches blog says Jon Rish is doing a very good job in the Red Sox radio booth as he subs for Dave O’Brien tonight.

Chris Pursell of TV Week writes in his Pressbox blog that Tuesday’s Red Sox-Rays game was the most watched show in the Tampa market.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball writes that the Tampa Bay Rays are seeing higher TV ratings this season. Maury also has highlights of a TBS conference call involving Harold Reynolds, Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Ernie Johnson, Jr.

Over to the Biz of Football blog, Maury has a story on XM Satellite Radio picking up all of the SEC’s football schedule this fall.

Alan Schmadtke of the Orlando Sentinel wonders now that the Big Ten Network and Notre Dame have their TV deals settled, will the SEC be next? Tim Stephens of the Sentinel looks at what could be next for the major BCS conferences as far as TV and the economy are concerned.

The Detroit News has the Big Ten Conference TV schedule for the first four weeks of the college football season.

Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News writes that the popular 33 year old “Michigan Replay” will not be on the air this fall.

The Des Moines Register reports that this year’s Iowa State-Iowa game will be on the Big Ten Network which is not available in most of the Hawkeye State.

But Jenni Glenn of the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette reports that Verizon Fios will pick up the Big Ten Network in the local area.

Here’s the Big Ten Network’s schedule for the first four weeks of the college football season.

Bob Molinaro of the Virginian-Pilot says it’s amazing that the media is just figuring out that Communist China wants to control news during the Olympics.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says he would rather watch the real action of the U.S. Olympic Trials than the canned action on American Gladiators or WWE RAW.

Larry Barrett of Multichannel News writes that ESPN Deportes scored with its Euro 2008 games.

The Gaffer over at EPL Talk has some suggestions for Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta Sports and GolTV on how to attract viewers in the Premier League’s offseason.

Dave George of the Palm Beach Post writes that longtime local sportscaster Jim Gallagher has died of cancer.

Newsday’s Steven Marcus profiles Fox Sports’ Brian Baldinger who remembers his days at Nassau Community College.

And before I wrap things up, congratulations to Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch whose wife gave birth to a healthy 7 lb., 8 oz. baby boy on Monday. Best wishes, Bruce.

That’s going to do it for tonight.

Some More Wednesday Links for You

I’ll give you an evening update here. I wasn’t planning on it as I was at an event in East Greenwich, RI, but I got back earlier than expected.

One observation, Marv Albert’s toupee really looks unnatural tonight. If you’re watching the NBA Western Conference Finals on TNT, you know what I mean. What is that thing on his head? A raccoon?

From Neil Best of Newsday, he writes that Yankees radio voice John Sterling might be hinting that the Bronx Bombers are a bad team. Neil also gives a suggestion to Mets manager Willie Randolph the next time he thinks of spouting off to the media. And Neil links to an interview Randolph did with WFAN apologizing for his remarks.

The Sports Media Watch says the NHL Stanley Cup Final will be a hit, but perhaps not in the first two games as they will be on Versus.

NBC Sports gives us highlights of a conference call previewing the Stanley Cup Finals.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette writes in his blog that the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday drew its highest ratings ever on ESPN.

Darren Rovell of CNBC looks at NBA Commish David Stern’s comments about the OJ Mayo investigation before the NBA Draft Lottery. And Darren goes behind the marketing of “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble”, the famous phrase made famous by ring announcer Michael Buffer.

Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse blog notices that Bill Simmons continues to take shots at his ESPN.com editors on his own personal blog.

Charles Warner in the Huffington Post blog says it’s a bad idea for media conglamorates to own sports teams.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Jim Nantz of CBS Sports is in town to promote his new book, but it’s also a chance for him to visit his father who has Alzheimer’s Disease.

John Consoli of Mediaweek goes in-depth on the new CBS College Sports Media which will be an interactive ad network.

Bobbie Whiteman of Variety says Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports will share rights to England’s FA Cup.

Awful Announcing has the penalty kick phase of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea.

CBS Sports previews the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the next stop on the PGA Tour.

LC over at 38Cliches is wincing at the notion that Glenn Geffner is trying to stir up memories of calling Clay Buchholz’s no hitter last season.

The Sox & Dawgs blog has the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.

That’s it for tonight.

More Tuesday Links

I’ll give you some more links on this Tuesday evening. I’ve been corresponding with a couple of Friends of Fang’s Bites and it’s been quite enjoyable going back and forth with them.

We start our linkage tonight with the Sports Media Watch which says that Alex Ovechkin and the just-eliminated Washington Capitals have been setting ratings records in the District.

I’ll link to the story on Wednesday, but Michael Hiestand of USA Today reports that NBC Sports has picked up its one year option for next season on the NHL. Terms will remain the same.

Newsday’s Bob Glauber always makes me laugh and this post is no exception. His look-a-likes in his NFL blog are truly funny. Yes, the picture on the right is Neil Best.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that Danica Patrick will be a guest of her old boss, David Letterman, on the Late Show this Wednesday.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun writes in his blog that the late Orioles and Colts announcer Chuck Thompson is still revered in town. And here’s a post I wrote back in 2005 the day after Chuck passed away.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell shows us a plate of turkey testicles that a minor league team is serving this season. Ewww.

Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman lists the choices for fans to vote for in Fox Sports’ promotion of the Greatest Moments in Yankee Stadium history.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog looks at bloggers’ rights in the wake of the firing of Washington Post reporter Michael Tunison who admitted he was writing for the Kissing Suzy Kolber blog.

The 38 Cliches blog appeals to the Red Sox to stop the in-game advertising appearances by certain clients on the Shaw’s WRKO/WEEI/WEEI-FM/WVEI Red Sox Radio Network.

Barstool Sports is happy that NESN has hired Heidi Watney to be the sideline reporter during Red Sox games.

That’s it for now. Not many links tonight. But it’s quality, not quantity that counts here at Fang’s Bites. Good night.

Wednesday Night Links

I’ll give you some linkage this evening.

Earlier today, I was listening to the Red Sox-A’s game through MLB Gameday Audio and noticed that Joe Castiglione was broadcasting solo for the first two innings. Because partner Dave O’Brien was working the Blue Jays-Yankees game for ESPN2, this was one of the games where the Shaw’s WRKO/WEEI Red Sox Radio Network was to use either Dale Arnold or Jon Rish when Dave was not there. However, both Arnold and Rish were in Boston and Joe went solo with special guest appearances from two Red Sox beat reporters. LC from the 38 Cliches blog wonders how this happened. This cannot happen again.

And we already have reaction from South Florida on Glenn Geffner who’s now butchering Marlins games as badly as he did Red Sox games last season.

Neil Best of Newsday reports in his blog that the Yankees season opener scored well for YES as did the Mets for SNY.

Earlier tonight, I had a press release from Fox Sports in which Executive Producer Ed Goren talked about the bullish ad sales for the All Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable has more of Goren’s comments about the Fox Saturday Baseball Game of the Week.

MSNBC’s David Sweet says CBS and the NCAA are cashing in on the Final Four.

John Consoli of Mediaweek writes that ESPN has seen a 43% increase in the ratings for the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Bryant Gumbel will interview Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (IL) on this month’s edition of Real Sports.

Stuart Levine of Variety says Tuesday night will be movie night on ESPN2 starting April 22 as the network will air various documentaries produced by the ESPN Films unit.

Alex Weprin of Broadcasting & Cable says SoapNET has picked up the steamy CBC series, MVP: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says parents can now test their kids for steroids.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks about Jose Canseco’s interview with Howard Stern on Sirius Satelllite Radio as well as The Masters on CBS.

USA Today picks up an article written by the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson about The Masters showing more of its coverage online and going global thanks to ESPN.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune says watching an entire Blackhawks season on TV and in HD becomes reality in the fall.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with ESPN’s Julie Foudy about David Beckham playing in the Galaxy’s home opener tomorrow.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with Bob Lobel who was ousted from WBZ-TV in Boston this week. Amy Derjue of Boston Magazine’s Daily Blog has her reaction to the cuts at WBZ.

That will do it for tonight. See you in the morning.

Another Friday Update

I’ll give you a few more links before moving onto the Viewing Picks for college basketball and the weekend.

First, Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner says Comcast SportsNet and MASN are experiencing HD growing pains.

Newsday’s Neil Best has a preview of this Sunday’s New York Times Play magazine in which Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner tries to stomp on Red Sox Nation. And Neil says Bobby Mercer’s work schedule on YES will be curtailed as he undergoes a biopsy for a brain tumor this Monday.

Darren Rovell of CNBC chronicles his experience playing the Harlem Globetrotters at Madison Square two weeks ago. Darren also reveals himself wearing “Semi-Pro” gear. And Darren talks about Sprint being the big loser at the Daytona 500 two weeks ago.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes in his Best Seat in My House blog about ESPN profiling the son of Dave Hanson, one of the Hanson brothers in Slap Shot. Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has more about Christian Hanson who plays hockey himself at Notre Dame.

Chris Pursell of TV Week writes in his Pressbox blog about the increased ratings for last Saturday’s Tennessee-Memphis on ESPN.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News says Verizon Fios hopes to offer MLB’s Extra Innings PPV package to its subscribers.

Evan Benn of the Miami Herald has a story on ex-Red Sox and current Florida Marlins announcer Glenn Geffner and Friend of Fang’s Bites, LC from 38 Cliches is quoted in the article. LC has his reaction in his 38 Cliches blog. Geffner is pictured in the article giving a fist pump. What he’s doing exactly is unknown.

I’ve been meaning to link to this story, but I keep forgetting. XM Satellite Radio subscribers can listen to Spring Training Grapefruit League and Cactus League games all throughout March. The Orbitcast blog has details.

That does for now. I’ll have more coming up.

Your Saturday Linkage

Before I begin, it’s nice to have some live sports this morning. While watching match play golf isn’t the most appealing thing in the world, it’s assuring to wake up and have the WGC Match Play Championships on the Golf Channel. I’m certainly enjoying having his on my TV this morning instead of the silly infomercials that dot the cable TV landscape. And NESN has live coverage of Red Sox Spring Training as well. Seeing the Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin in the morning is very appealing also. And if I really wanted a stretch, I could turn to Fox Soccer Channel to get a glimpse the English Premier League. If the networks could somehow convince MLB or some college conference to have one early morning game a week, I would be a happy man.

To your links.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan Caesar says a feud is brewing between Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa and a sports radio talk show host.

Jerry Garcia in the San Antonio Express-News talks about HBO’s documentary on Joe Louis which premieres tonight.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the Joe Louis doc is truly must-see TV. Horn also talks with the very opinionated sports anchor Dale Hansen of WFAA-TV who doesn’t spare any barbs for ESPN’s Stuart Scott and Chris Berman.

Completing the Texas trifecta, Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says HBO’s documentary on Joe Louis kicks off a big night of boxing tonight.

Guy Limbeck of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says a local sportscaster will be involved in a marathon day of callling hockey.

Scott Wright of the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN will follow the Oklahoma basketball team leading up to the NCAA Selection Sunday for the men’s basketball tournament.

Mike Boone of the Montreal Gazette writes TSN is going to have marathon coverage of the NHL Trading Deadline on Tuesday.

The Arizona Daily Star has a Match Play Championships notebook and included is a blurb on NBC Sports golf producer Tommy Roy who scouted camera and tower positions for the tournament.

The Winston-Salem (NC) Journal reports that ISP Sports has signed a long term agreement with Notre Dame to produce its football games on radio. ISP replaces Westwood One which had carried Notre Dame football dating back to 1968.

Chip Malafronte of the New Haven (CT) Register writes about Chris Kotsopoulos, a former Hartford Whaler, who’s doing TV work for Quinnipiac College hockey games.

Michael C. Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune says the journey for the mtn. to get on DirecTV was a long, uphill climb. Sean Duff of the Daily Coloradoan says Colorado State University is happy to have its games on a national platform.

Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Scouting Combine on the NFL Network is hardly compelling TV.

The Sports Media Watch has its weekend ratings predictions.

The Eye on Sports Media blog has the winners of US Basketball Writers Association Best Writing Contest for 2007.

The 38 Cliches blog wonders if a story on Glenn Geffner in the Miami Herald was spiked.

That’s going to do it today.

Our Sunday Linkage

Let’s give you some links for today.

We’ll start off with Newsday’s Neil Best, but before that, let me me gaze at Giada De Laurentiis on Everyday Italian for a moment.

Ok, Rachel Ray is on. That’s where I draw the line.

Where was I? Oh yes, Neil Best of Newsday has a column celebrating the 100th birthday of the late, great Hall of Fame announcer Red Barber, who still has an influence on announcers today. In his blog, Neil notes that he’s doing another historical piece for next Sunday. And Neil also says that he’s cutting back on posting during the weekends. He’s made this announcement before, so let’s see if he sticks with it this time.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman says when TNT’s Kenny Smith is doing games on MSG, he’s sounding like he’s making a pitch to become the coach of the Knicks.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post picks a strange battle here, defending Big East referee Bob Donato for making a gutsy (and wrong) call in the Villanova-Georgetown game last Monday.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has a post in his blog about some Black History Month programming and books.

Shannon J. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel says ESPN’s Suzy Kolber should get a better gig now that her role has been reduced on Monday Night Football.

Jeff Rabjohns of the Indianapolis Star looks at the atmosphere in Bloomington, IN when ESPN’s College Gameday crew descended upon Assembly Hall yesterday. And Rabjohns writes the crowd was plainly against embattled Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson during College Gameday’s live show.

Steve Wiseman of The State in South Carolina says CBS Sports has begun promoting its online March Madness on Demand service.

The Washington Post has a laundry list for NASCAR’s TV partners to improve upon this season.

Eric Ransom of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes about former canoe gold medalist Joe Jacobi doing work for NBC during the Summer Olympics in Communist China this August.

The Sports Media Watch gives the weekly ratings predictions. And we have the ratings for the Daytona 500 and NBA All Star Game over the last four years.

Joseph Whip of TVPredictions.com asks Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia to provide more programming in HD.

Good friend, Joe Favorito writes in his Sports Marketing and PR blog about sports leagues’ global expansion and the English Premier League’s plans to go overseas.

The 38Cliches blog has some people who look back on the Glenn Geffner era in Red Sox broadcasting in anger.

That’s it for now.

Another Late Tuesday Night Update

I just can’t seem to stop blogging today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s it. Good night.

Time for Friday Megalinks

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

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

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

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

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

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

East and Mid-Atlantic Region

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

South Region

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

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

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

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

Midwest Region

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

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

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

West Region

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

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

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

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

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

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

Canada

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

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

Blogs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BREAKING NEWS: Boston’s One Year Nightmare Is Over

The 38Cliches blog says Glenn Geffner is leaving the Boston Red Sox radio booth and heading to Miami to become the number two announcer for the Florida Marlins.

In fact, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Goofster beat out 146 applicants for the job (?). Glenn will work next to legendary announcer Dave Van Horne who is one of the best in the game. Unfortunately, Marlins fans will be subject to Goofie for four innings which is the same amount that Red Sox fans had to endure last season.

Here’s the official press release from the Marlins.

And South Florida baseball fans will have to deal with Goofie for the entire season unlike in Boston where he called an estimated 120 games including the World Series (unfortunately Glenn is on the 2007 World Series DVD’s).

But for Red Sox fans, this is great news. So long, Glenn.

Sunday Links

I know these are late, but because I was out for the day, I wasn’t able to get to them, but better late than never.

We start with Newsday’s Neil Best who writes about former NFL player Bo Eason who has a one-man play off-Broadway. And Neil adds some stuff from his column in his blog.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick says the Knicks keeping the news of his father’s death from Stephon Marbury is par for the course for Madison Square Garden.

Bob Raisssman of the New York Daily News says the NFL should offer the Patriots-Giants game in Week 17 free of charge to everyone. And how should they accomplish this, Bob?

I don’t know if this is a theme, but Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has a story on the NHL store, two days after Neil Best had one. And Sandomir has a story of two amateur filmmakers who have the 1956 World Series perfect game thrown by Don Larsen.

The Sports Media Watch blog has the predictions of the mostly completed sports events on TV.

The 38Cliches blog notes that a West Coast-based sports blog has extended its claws on former Red Sox public relations man, Dr. Charles Steinberg and by extension, Red Sox announcing hack Glenn Geffner.

From the DC/Baltimore Examiner, Jim Willliams writes in his Watch This! blog that Redskins fans can scoreboard watch and Ravens fans can keep an eye on the Steelers before tonight’s Sunday night game.

Matt Doyle of the Tulsa World says fans of Oklahoma State and Indiana may not be able to see the Insight Bowl as the NFL Network will carry it on December 31.

LaMond Pope of the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette writes that of the first 13 games of the Big Ten regular season, only 3 have been available on outlets other than the Big Ten Network thus shutting fans out of most of the games.

I don’t think I’ve ever linked to the Financial Times, but I will today. Matthew Garrahan writes that ESPN is interested in gaining the rights to the English Premier League when the rights become available in 2009 .

Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that the new NHL Players’ Association Executive Director is urging the NHL to get his membership more exposure. Like on ESPN.

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes that ESPN has indeed apologized for a crass poll put up on its website.

Jenn Abelson of the Boston Globe reports that the New England Patriots and CBS are partnering on a theme restaurant. And Greg Gatlin of the Herald has another edition of that story.

Larry Dorman of the New York Times writes that NBC and the US Golf Association are teaming up on a reality show focusing on amateur golfers trying to get into the US Open. Really.

That’s it. The Amazing Race is coming on. See you later.

It’s a Tuesday Night Linkfest

Let’s check out the linkage for tonight.

Starting out with Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner in his Watch This! blog, he reviews the local coverage on radio, cable and local over the air TV of the Sean Taylor story.

A couple of things from Newsday’s Neil Best in his blog. First, he tells us that Mets radio announcer Tom McCarthy is leaving after two years to return to the Phillies radio booth. And he goes over the very poor commentary from Mike Francesca and Chris Russo on WFAN today on Sean Taylor.

Over on his Farther Off the Wall blog, Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News goes over the alternatives for NFL fans without the NFL Network to catch the Green Bay-Dallas game this Thursday. Meanwhile, fans in Green Bay will be able to watch the game on the CBS affiliate in town.

And here’s an NFL Media press release on the web feature on NFL.com allowing fans to see live cut-ins of the Green Bay-Dallas game this Thursday.

“NFL.COM LIVE: THURSDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”

FEATURES “LIVE LOOK-INS” OF NFL NETWORK GAMES

First-Ever Widely Available Live Online and Wireless

Video NFL Game Coverage in U.S. on NFL.com and Sprint

NFL Network’s Packers-Cowboys Game Thursday at 8:00 PM ET

For the first time ever, NFL.com and NFL Mobile on Sprint offer all fans live online and wireless video coverage of NFL Network games, it was announced today.

This Thursday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys on NFL Network at 8:00 pm ET will be featured on NFL.com Live: Thursday and Saturday Night Football presented by Sprint, offering NFL fans a unique way to experience NFL games.

For fans who don’t have NFL Network, the live broadband broadcast covers the game from all angles. NFL.com Live: Thursday Night Football will be anchored by a live, originally produced video program, complimented by various interactive applications, giving fans a look at NFL Network games (NFL Network game schedule below) and programming.

NFL.com Live is also available to fans on the go via NFL Mobile on Sprint, which will stream NFL.com’s video coverage.

The video program consists of live look-ins, a live studio show, and featured NFL Network programming:

· “Live Look-Ins” – Fans will get a live look at NFL Network game action at :15 and :45 past each hour and during select action in the “red zone” (inside 20-yard line). The NFL Network halftime show will also be shown on NFL.com.

· Live In-Studio Programming – Includes game highlights, analysis and previews of the NFL games ahead that week, in-studio guests, conversations with NFL Network talent on-site at the game, and answers to questions submitted by fans on NFL.com.

· Featured NFL Network Programming – Segments of NFL Network programs reviewing the previous weekend’s games and previewing upcoming action.

NFL Network’s DERRIN HORTON, JAMIE DUKES and ROD WOODSON quarterback the live NFL.com video coverage of NFL Network games from the network’s Culver City, CA studios.

Additional interactive features will enhance NFL.com’s live video program:

· Submit a Question – Select fan questions submitted on NFL.com will be answered by NFL Network analysts.

· Live Statistics – Real-time statistical updates accompany the video program.

· “Call the Play” – Fans can match their play calls with the teams, by “predicting” the upcoming play.

· Live Blogging – NFL.com and NFL Network experts – including those on-site at the game – provide live analysis and commentary.

· “Get NFL Network” – Allows users who want to get NFL Network to find information on how to get it.

“Our coverage complements the complete game telecast on NFL Network and will showcase everything NFL Network has to offer,” said NFL Senior Vice President of Digital Media BRIAN ROLAPP. “

As for all other NFL games, NFL.com will include live statistics and drive charts in Game Center, highlights, and extensive editorial coverage of NFL Network games.

NFL.com, the most popular sports league website, is produced by the NFL.

Andrew Krukowski of TV Week has a feature on the new NFL Network ads featuring former 49er great, Joe Montana.

Friend of Fang’s Bites, David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch talks with the outgoing Red Sox Director of Public Relations, Dr. Charles Steinberg, who’s leaving for a similar post with the Los Angeles Dodgers. One side note in his story, Scott speculates on the fate of Red Sox announcing butcher and Fang’s Bites target, Glenn Geffner. And another Friend of Fang’s Bites, LC over at 38Cliches wonders what the Steinberg move will mean for Goofner. Personally, I don’t think Goofie would go to LA right away as the Dodger radio booth is full for now (Vin Scully, Charley Steiner and Rick Monday), but as former St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Joaquin Andujar once said, “youneverknow”.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at the Alex Rodriguez contract with the Yankees and wonders if the team could ever collect its money back as A-Rod gets closer to Barry Bonds’ home run record.

Gina Keating of Reuters reports from the Reuters Media Summit that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NASCAR Chairman Brian France feel ESPN has much to improve upon.

The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager in his Medium Well blog looks at a poll conducted by the Sports Business Journal of its readership on its favorite sportscasters and sports shows. The results may surprise you.

And that’s it for tonight. See you tomorrow.

More Thanksgiving Eve Links

I did the Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks early because I thought I didn’t have enough links to warrant an update, but apparently I do.

First, Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his Farther Off the Wall blog the football viewing menu for this weekend, plus he has a tidbit that Versus will have a one hour documentary on the 20th anniversary of “The Play”, the multi-lateral kickoff return in the 1982 Cal-Stanford game. Last night marked that anniversary and apparently, ESPN Classic aired it last night without much fanfare. I really think ESPN is going to relaunch that channel because there hasn’t been much promotion for the programming asides the Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini documentary last week.

From the 38Cliches blog, LC talks about an interview that Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione did with Sports Media Guide.

Maury Brown in the Biz of Baseball reports that MLB owners are being rewarded for their investment in MLB Advanced Media, the online arm of Major League Baseball and the most successful of the four major leagues internet operations.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says it’s just a matter of time before New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas will be fired.

In a follow-up to our link on Monday over the halftime entertainment at Gate D at Giants Stadium during Jets games, David Picker of the New York Times reports that a New Jersey state senator vows to clean up the behavior displayed at halftime. By the way, the videos that were up on YouTube have now been taken down.

From the Albert Lea (MN) Tribune, Jeff Budlong talks with a representative from Charter Communications about why the company is not providing the Big Ten Network. And Jeff is part of a long line of newspapermen who are mistaken that DirecTV is owned by Rupert Murdoch. For the umpteenth time, he has sold it to Liberty Media.

Jeff Richgels of the Capital (WI) Times says the NFL Network offering cable companies an equity stake in the channel might be the carrot that brings them to the table.

Eric Kraushar of the Hutchinson (MN) Leader has details of FSN North’s Hockey Day in Minnesota broadcast coming up in February.

Coming up later, NFL Picks for Thanksgiving Day, College Football Viewing Picks for Thursday and Friday and I still have to do Videos of the Week. Keep it here.

Monday Thanksgiving Week Links

With this being Thanksgiving Week, I don’t expect to be blogging much (we do have to get ready to see our families on Thursday), but I’ll do what I can. With that said, I still have to give you Videos of the Week (The Amazing Race episode recaps are taking more time than I expected) and there are the regular posts at least through Wednesday.

We have a lot of football starting Thursday, plus the NFL Network starts its schedule so we’ll see how people are affected especially with the big Green Bay-Dallas game next week so we’ll have plenty to cover. Let’s get to the Monday Links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today reports on a new tool that will debut on the NFL Network this Thursday designed to help the officials review replay process.

From the Sports Media Watch blog, Paulsen wonders if NFL fans would really revolt over losing 8 games from the barely seen NFL Network.

Chris Isidore of CNNMoney.com writes that it’s tough to choose a side in the NFL Network vs. cable debate. Greg Johnson of the Los Angeles Times talks to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who’s leading the fight to get the NFL Network in more homes.

Frank Rigas of the Sheboygan (WI) Press tells his readers to get their radios out because that’s the only way they’ll be able to follow Wisconsin basketball games unless the Big Ten Network gets carried.

In his Four DVRs, no waiting blog, the Houston Chronicle’s David Barron struggles with ESPN’s Top 25 Players in College Football History.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick says TNT’s Charles Barkley should not comment on the Barry Bonds situation.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at the irony of Warren Buffet’s involvement in the Alex Rodriguez-New York Yankees contract talks.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley says Fox’s Dick Stockton and Brian Baldinger ran out of superlatives for the Packers on Sunday.

In his Monday column, Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star goes over what was said by both the CBS and Chiefs announcing teams during the Colts-Chiefs game yesterday.

As expected, ESPN’s College Gameday will be in Kansas City this weekend to broadcast live from the Border War between #5 Missouri and #2 Kansas.

Van Williams of the Anchorage (AK) Daily News has Great Alaska Shootout officials scratching their heads over the reduction in TV coverage by ESPN this year.

Dusty Saunders in today’s Rocky Mountain News talks to Tony Kornheiser becoming more comfortable in the Monday Night Football booth.

The Inside Track gossip column in the Boston Herald loves to write about NESN’s Hazel Mae and today is no exception. Laura Raposa and Gayle Fee write about Hazel being put in the Playboy Sexiest Sportscaster poll.

Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal has NASCAR’s President Bill France calling the sports’ sliding ratings “overrated”. The numbers are there in black and white. In the Daly Planet blog, motorsports TV critic John Daly says ESPN/ABC’s telecast of the season’s final race went rather poorly.

And friend of Fang’s Bites, LC of 38Cliches had a short blurb on Red Sox announcer Dave O’Brien calling the MLS Cup for ESPN/ABC on Sunday.

That will complete the links for Monday morning. We’ll be back with an update later in the day.

Veterans’ Day Links

Time for our links on this Veterans’ Day today. By the way, we take this moment to remember all of the fine men and women who have fought on our behalf. This is also Remembrance Day in Canada so we also recognize those who have fought on behalf of our fine neighbors to the north. If you can, take the time to honor those who have represented their country so honorably.

To the links.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman says the NFL Network is irrelevant, especially in New York. Raissman is filled with vitriol today.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post criticizes ESPN for hyping last week’s halftime ceremony honoring the 75th Anniversary Pittsburgh Steeler team, and only showing a minute of it during Monday Night Football. I do have to agree.

The Sports Media Watch blog gives its weekend ratings predictions.

From the 38Cliches blog, LC finds a very strange promotional video promoting the WRKO Red Sox Radio Network, but without any mention of its announcers.

The Chicago Tribune’s Mike Downey looks forward to watching the Blackhawks home games. Len Ziehm of the Sun-Times says Comcast SportsNet will wire one Blackhawks player for tonight’s broadcast.

From the AOL Sports Fanhouse blog, Michael David Smith points out that some racially charged remarks by Lisa Salters on E:60 were edited out from its website.

Shawn Piatek of the Johnston (PA) Tribune-Democrat says the December 20th Steelers-Rams game will not be available in the local area as it will be on the NFL Network.

Jeff Williams of Newsday says Fox Soccer Channel is making strides despite a miniscule budget.

Nice to link to Larry Stewart of the Los Angeles Times again. He has the Morning Briefing and he writes about the HBO documentary on Ohio State-Michigan and how Fox Sports’ Pam Oliver may have a hand in th New York Football Giants turnaround.

Josh Berk of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call has a story on the New York Daily News columnist and ESPN Sports Reporters contributor Mike Lupica writing a children’s book.

Joshua Lidenstein of the Boulder (CO) Daily Camera profiles Rick Reilly who’s leaving Sports Illustrated for ESPN.

That’s it for now.

The Friday Megalinks, Finally

I was at a jobsite all day and didn’t get home until after 4:30 p.m. so you didn’t get them at your regular time, but better late than never.

Starting off with a couple of posts from David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch. He first wrote Wednesday about dueling press releases from Comcast SportsNet and NESN in regards to their World Series coverage. Next, Scott has some odds and ends in his regular Friday post.

John Powers of the Boston Globe writes about the different starting times for the World Series on Fox.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes about Fox preparing for its NFL broadcast in London and what ESPN is doing to pump the Breeders’ Cup.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times isn’t enamored with the product placement in the World Series.

Bob Raissman in the New York Daily News says Hank Steinbrenner is a chip off the old block.

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post is in a hating mood. He rails against Yankees President Randy Levine and Fox Sports’ Matt Vasgerian.

Newsday’s Neil Best gives praise to SNY for its Yankees coverage, but notes that ESPN SportsCenter outrates the channel in New York. And we give you some blog posts from Best from last night into today. First, Best reports that UFC has renewed its contract with Spike TV. Best has an addendum to his column about the newsgathering operations for WFAN and 1050 ESPN Radio. Neil notes that Tennis Channel has removed “The” from its name. And Best showing his Yankees bias says Red Sox fans are the most annoying on earth. It’s the other way around, Neil.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about the ridiculous World Series Taco Bell promotion that was overplayed on Fox the last two nights. And Darren writes about the reach of Allstate Insurance with its advertising on college football through the BCS and the netting behind the goalposts.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun has a bunch of stuff in his Friday column including comments on Rick Reilly leaving Sports Illustrated for ESPN and Joe Torre’s overall popularity. In his Medium Well blog, Frager wonders why the World Series doesn’t get more play on Baltimore radio.

From The State newspaper in South Carolina, Doug Nye has some TV notes. His weekend TV Best Bet is South Carolina at Tennessee on ESPN. And Nye’s Friday column talks about Gamecock fans being angry at ESPN’s choosing not to show the South Carolina-Arkansas game on November 3.

The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson writes about the tough obstacles facing WQAM in the wake of losing the Dolphins and the soon-to-be-departed Hank Goldberg.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel picks up an Associated Press story about the challenges Fox Sports is facing by televising the first NFL regular season game in London which of course, involves the Dolphins.

Cary Estes of the Orlando Sentinel writes about the SEC college basketball media day on Thursday in which the coaches complained about a lack of TV exposure (what?). And Dave Darling of the Sentinel also writes about the “trade” of Rick Reilly for Dan Patrick between ESPN and Sports Illustrated.

From the Houston Chronicle, David Barron writes that there was more interest this year in Game 1 of the World Series than last year.

To the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley who gives us some of the things that will be shown during ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast involving Packers and Broncos.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Judd Zulgad says the Twins couldn’t be happier with first year radio flagship staion, KSTP.

Dusty Saunders of the Rocky Mountain News says Game 1 of the World Series was a hit for Fox both nationally and in Denver.

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) Morning News says the Mountain West Conference could have had a deal to put the mtn. on Dish Network in the seven states that encompass the conference’s market, but decided to hold out for a national deal and now, it’s not on Dish, DirecTV or Comcast.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune has three stories today. One we now know is outdated, but I’ll link to it anyway. Posner writes that the Texans-Chargers game would be televised into the San Diego no matter where it’s played and we now know it’ll be at Qualcomm Stadium this Sunday. Posner says the USC-Oregon game will be on FSN Prime Ticket, a channel not available to San Diego cable subscribers. And as usual, Posner gives the ratings for last weekend in San Diego.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that San Diego sports reporters turned over to news to help report on the megafires this week and Maffei also reviews the news coverage as well.

In the Los Angeles Times, Christine Daniels has her Sound and Vision column which attacks Fox for its silly virtual ads during the World Series.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News profiles FSN’s Andrew Siciliano who does a great job anchoring the DirecTV Red Zone Channel which is part of the NFL Sunday Ticket’s Superfan service. And Hoffarth gives us a story on the NHL Network which is finally making its debut in the US on Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network, Time Warner Cable, Cox and other subscription TV services.

Jim Carlisle from the Ventura County Star writes that Fox traded out less MLB postseason games in its latest TV contract and it’s paid off with hgher ratings. And in his notebook, Carlisle writes that the Lakers will open the NBA season on TNT.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail has a story on the top paid Canadian sportscasters. And Houston says Leafs TV ignored a big developing story involving the Maple Leafs. Finally, Houston writes that Greg Zaun is doing a good job analyzing the MLB Postseason on Rogers Sportsnet.

And Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star writes about Dan Schulman picking up NBA play-by-play work on ESPN which means he will drop Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio which is unfortunate.

Over to the 38Cliches blog and LC says the petition requesting WRKO and the Red Sox to dump Glenn Geffner is still going strong.

To the Sport Media Watch blog and it states that while Game 1 of the 2007 World Series had a huge ratings jump from last year, it still is low compared to other Games 1. And Paulsen notes that with Game 2 in the books, the numbers for the World Series are still trending low.

Yet, with the lower ratings for Game 2, Fox still won the night.

The Biz of Baseball website says that Comcast is extending its hours in Boston so customers can pick up HDTV boxes for the World Series.

The Orbitcast blog which covers the Satellite Radio industry says that Sirius will pick up the audio from World Championship Sports Network for the World Cup Skiing Season.

That’s it for now. The Megalinks are up and I’m happy. I’ll give you Saturday links and NFL Picks tomorrow.

A Tuesday Afternoon Update

Well, I found some linkage for this afternoon. Let’s get to them.

Good friend, LC of the anti-Glenn Geffner blog, 38 Cliches, has the news that regular listeners of the Red Sox Radio Network outside of Boston won’t be able to hear Goofner during the World Series unless they log on the internet. ESPN Radio has national exclusivity except in the home cities so only flagship station, WRKO in Boston will carry the call of Joe Castiglione and Goofie. MLB.com will also have the WRKO call through its Gameday Audio service. Everywhere else will have to listen to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan and I think that’s an upgrade even with Morgan doing the analysis.

Maury Brown from the Biz of Baseball website reports that MLB has reached an agreement to broadcast the World Series in China.

In ESPN.com’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback, Gregg Easterbrook goes after the Patriots once again and puts the Colts in iconic status. This will anger Pats fans to no end, but in every other NFL city, give fans a laugh.

From the NFL, we discover that it plans to move the kickoff of Monday Night Football up a half hour to 8 p.m. Eastern Time if the World Series reaches a Game 5. Don’t forget that the Red Sox-Colorado game would be played directly across the street from the Green Bay-Broncos game next Monday. But I do believe Fox would schedule the World Series for 7 p.m. ET as it did during the American League Championship Series when it went up against Monday Night Football.

And in an attempt at streamlining, the first round of the NFL Draft would be moved from noon ET to 3 p.m. and the time in between picks would be reduced from 15 to 10 minutes and for the second round, the time would be reduced from 10 minutes to 7.

Neil Best of Newsday is just nuts this afternoon blogging like crazy. I’ll give you some selected entries. First, he writes that the Jets’ Thomas Jones is very patient for putting up with Craig Carton of WFAN every Tuesday. Best mentioned this in his column today, and also puts it in his blog that ESPN’s Brian Kenny will join boxing charlatan Max Kellerman on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. And Best makes an impassioned plea for help after listening to WFAN’s Mike & the Mad Dog every day for 5.5 hours.

UPDATE AT 4:15 P.M. – Neil Best breaks the news that Max Kellerman was suspended from his 1050 ESPN Radio show Monday for an undisclosed disciplinary problem.

Frontier Airlines, based out of Denver, will show the World Series on its flights according to the Rocky Mountain News.

Christian Toto of the Washington Times speaks with Bernard Goldberg of HBO’s Real Sports. Speaking of Real Sports, Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News previews one story the show will air tonight, concerning former Cowboys Ron Springs and Everson Walls.

Susan Chandler of the Chicago Tribune has more on the Blackhawks allowing Comcast SportsNet to air home games starting this season. Ed Sherman from the Tribune says the home games on TV will revitalize a sleepy fan base. Lee Ziehm of the Chicago Sun-Times also writes on the increased amount of home games on TV. And bombastic Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti welcomes the Blackhawks to the 21st Century. William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the first of nine home games will air starting November 11.

So there you have it. I’ll give you the Primetime Viewing Picks next and later tonight, I’ll have my monthly real-time review of HBO’s Real Sports.

Tuesday Night Stuff

Time for some links on this Tuesday night.

Let me say The War is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It’s compelling, the footage from the front lines taken by newsreels or by official military filmmakers is amazing. And hearing how people coped at home in four cities, Waterbury, CT; Mobile, AL; Lucerne, MN; and Sacramento, CA humanized the stories. Plus, the use of letters from soldiers and their families from home helps to give the viewer a sense of what everyone went through. It’s a device Director Ken Burns has used in The Civil War so well. Great TV. Tomorrow night, The War chronicles D-Day. Watch this when you can.

Ok, to the links.

The Sports Media Watch blog looks at the drop in ratings for ESPN’s Monday Night Football through the first three weeks of the NFL season.

Neil Best of Newsday blogs that The Daily Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson has written a reply to Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s tirade against her last Saturday.

ESPN.com’s Gregg Easterbrook has his usual Tuesday Morning Quarterback column.

Not that this comes as a surprise, but a study shows that sports websites are mostly visited by males aged 18-34.

Milwaukee Bucks fans can see 70 games on FSN Wisconsin this season.

Ray Frager in his Medium Well blog at the Baltimore Sun says Fox’ Curt Menefee made a reference to “The View” to former QB Tim Hasselbeck. His wife, Elizabeth is a panelist on the show.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Frank Fitzpatrick writes that the ratings for Phillies games on Comcast SportsNet are up this season.

Darren Rovell from CNBC writes that the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the New York Knicks will not affect them at the gate.

The 38Cliches blog looks at the comments at the petition site to remove Glenn Geffner from the Red Sox radio booth. And LC celebrates the long-awaited return of Dave O’Brien to the Shaw’s/Lowe’s/TD Banknorth/Covidien Red Sox Radio Network airwaves.

Will Leitch over at Deadspin has his take on the latest chapter of the ESPN/MLB feud.

And from the great Awful Announcing blog, apparently Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban likes to hold his rod.

Have a good night. See you Wednesday.

Monday Night Links

I just finished watching the second installment of Ken Burn’s The War on PBS. Just like The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, Mark Twain, Empire of the Air, and The West, this epic is excellent. I saw bits and pieces of the first installment on Sunday and all of tonight’s and Ken Burns’ storytelling is second to none. The interviews from those who experienced World War II whether on the front lines, from the air or at the home front cannot be duplicated. Plus, the footage that Burns has found from the War in Tunisia, Sicily and Rome is amazing. The newsreels can be seen over on Burns’ The War site which is linked above. This is compelling television and I will be recommending this in the Primetime Viewing Picks for Wednesday and Thursday.

Darren Rovell of CNBC has the outcome of the bet he made with Texas oilman and big-time Oklahoma State booster Boone Pickens.

Over to the Sports Media Watch blog where Paulsen has the broadcast teams for TBS during the MLB Division Series (as I told you last week, NESN’s Don Orsillo will be involved). And here are over the overnight ratings from the weekend. An offshoot from Paulsen’s story about the weekend TV ratings is this press release from NBC Universal touting the numbers for Sunday Night Football for Dallas-Chicago.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle in his Four DVR’s, no waiting blog says the Colts-Texans cleaned up in the ratings for the CBS affiliate. And Barron reviews the Sunday NFL pregame shows.

This is the official press release from Turner Sports about the announcer assignments for the MLB Postseason on TBS/TNT.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail has his take on the latest ESPN/MLB dispute.

Newsday’s Neil Best is also blogging tonight! My goodness! He talks about the 9.9 seconds of silence viewers had to endure during the halftime of tonight’s Monday Night Football game as Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser had trouble hearing each other for their mini-Pardon the Interruption segment.

The networks have selected the games and times for October 6. The Kansas-Kansas State game will be played at noon (11 a.m. local time) on FSN. Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News reports that the Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas will played at 3:30 p.m. on ABC and FSN will pick up the Oklahoma State-Texas A&M game for 7:30 p.m. Mike Dearmond of the Kansas City Star reports that ESPN has selected Nebraska-Missouri for a primetime 9:15 p.m. ET slot. CBS will air Florida at LSU, also in primetime. From the Detroit News, Eric Lacy reports that the Big Ten Network will pick up the Michigan-Eastern Michigan game. Minnesota at Indiana will also be on BTN.

GoDaddy.com has announced that Cincinnati Bengals’ WR Chad Johnson will appear in its ads on ESPN college football games.

Bill Ordine of the Baltimore Sun blogs about the bizarre Mike Patrick comments about Britney Spears during the Georgia-Alabama game.

John Consoli of Mediaweek writes that advertisers are flocking to the NFL on the league’s TV partners’ broadcasts.

Nick Daschel of The Columbian (WA) interviews long time Pac 10 Commissioner Tom Hansen about his years as the Commish and the conference’s TV contracts with ESPN and FSN.

Jason Buhrmester of Wired magazine writes about NFL Films digitizing its extensive library and if you know the history of NFL Films, this is a huge project.

David Goetzl of Media Daily News reports that in exchange for carriage on basic, the Tennis Channel gave an equity stake to DirecTV.

Congratulations to LC who has got his old 38Cliches site back so again, adjust your bookmarks accordingly. You can put 38cliches.com in your bookmarks again and you’ll be able to see his entire site in its original glory.

A lot of links for you tonight. I’m heading to bed as it’s close to midnight, but I’ll catch a bit of Letterman before I do. I’ll see you Tuesday morning.

Saturday Morning Links

Let’s give you some links from the Saturday papers and anything I may have missed from Friday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has two blog entries about Texas oil tycoon Boone Pickens who has donated a lot of money towards his favorite school, Oklahoma State. I mean, a lot of money. We’re talking in the hundreds of millions of dollars for the Cowboys. The first is about Pickens’ investment not paying dividends yet. Following that, Pickens contacted Darren and the two entered into a friendly wager on today’s Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game. Keep us posted, Darren. I want to hear how Pickens reacts when his team loses again.

Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has Tony La Russa’s reaction to ESPN choosing Houston-St. Louis for Sunday Night Baseball. And Dan Caesar writes that an undefeated start to its season has Missouri football on ESPN’s and FSN’s radar.

From the San Antonio Express-News, Jerry Garcia says the Cowboys-Bears matchup on Sunday night won’t hurt NBC’s ratings.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News wonders why the Cowboys have been featured on Sunday Night Football two out of the first three weeks of the NFL season.

Mark Konkol of the Chicago Sun-Times writes about 10 year old Jason Krause who makes his opinions known on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News writes in his Morning Buzz blog that the San Jose Sharks and FSN may lift the blackout on 10 games that won’t be broadcast locally, but will be picked up by other out-of-town outlets. And Ryan reports that the Cleveland-Oakland game will be blacked out in the Bay Area because it wasn’t sold out.

The Capital Times (WI) reports that the Big Ten Network will pick up 13 hockey games including four from the University of Wisconsin. Ryan Meyer of the Chicago Sports Review says the Big Ten Network is destined to fail. I wonder what Meyer’s agenda on this is. Sounds like he works for Comcast.

Mike Klingaman of the Baltimore Sun talks with former Raven Rod Woodson who now works for the NFL Network.

Here’s what ESPN will show on both Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown.

Donna Ditota of the Syracuse Post-Standard goes behind the scenes with the Golf Channel at the Turning Stone Resort Championship.

Good friend, LC, reviews a letter from a reader of 38Cliches about the complaints concerning Red Sox broadcasting hack Glenn Geffner. Hack is as nice as I can put it.

That does it for this week. I’ll have Sunday links and Videos of the Week tomorrow.

Guess Who’s Back? Yes, 38Cliches is back!!!!

After six days, the 38Cliches blog is back. I received an e-mail from webmaster LC that his site went down and he’s been painstakingly trying to reconstruct it from scratch. If you go to “38Cliches.com”, you will know that the site has been taken over with a bunch of spam and banner ads.

I had posted last Thursday wondering if the Red Sox had forced 38Cliches to shut down. LC told me, “Thanks for asking. No conspiracy theory here. I am pretty beaten up by the fact that I lost 6 months of posts, and had to think about bothering to fire it back up.”

There’s a new site up now. The new address is 38clichesnew.blogspot.com so make a note of that and take the old address out of your bookmarks.

And LC has a new post christening the new site. Let him know you’ve read it by leaving a comment. He would appreciate the support.

Glad you’re back, LC.

Really Late Thursday Links

Some more links to pass to you tonight.

TV Week gives us the final national ratings for sports last week.

Paulsen notes that right after the news about Greg Oden being lost for the season, ESPN quickly dropped the Portland Trail Blazers opener from its schedule. And he adds that the ratings for the WNBA Finals on ESPN2 are quickly approaching the levels of the Stanley Cup Finals and David Beckham appearances.

Neil Best in Newsday reports in his blog that YES is cablecasting in HD again.

Ted Hearn of Multichannel News reports that in a filing to the FCC, NFL Network has accused Comcast of favoring channels it owns and giving the NFL unfavorable channel positions, and thus, unfavorable economic conditions.

ESPN tells us what features they’re going to show on Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown.

The Orbitcast blog reports that UFC Fighter Matt Arroyo will be on Bubba the Love Sponge’s show on Sirius next week.

In his Farther Off the Wall blog, the LA Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth has his take on 10 year old Jason Krause who made his debut on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown show. Most of the sports media critics I’ve read have killed the kid. Hoffarth seems to like him.

Danielle Sessa of Bloomberg News Service writes that MLB.com has signed a deal with CineSport that allows MLB highlights to be shown on other media websites. If you head over the CineSport site, you’ll notice that it just started to show MLB highlights. It also has deals with NASCAR and the NHL.

The World Series of Video Games has shut down. Believe it or not, WSVG had a deal to air four shows on CBS, MTV and CSTV. It had aired only one show on CBS earlier this summer and then, suddenly ceased operation this week. Ben Fritz of Variety tries to make sense of it all.

Ok, that’s it. I’m already seeing the Friday sports media stories being posted on the web. I’ll wait until Friday morning to give you those links.

Before I forget, I noticed this earlier today and have received a few e-mails asking me if I know anything. I don’t. The 38Cliches blog, the one that tracks Red Sox announcer Glenn Geffner is down. It’s been down all day today and I hope LC hasn’t been pressured to remove it. If anyone knows LC, please let him know I’m asking about him. He’s been a supporter of Fang’s Bites since I re-started this blog in May and I’ve linked to him regularly since. I hope he’s ok. 38Cliches has been a regular stop for me since he began his blog in February. LC, if you’re reading this, please let me know all is well.