Fang's Bites

Doing Some Thursday Linkage

Let’s provide links while I can. Trying not to make this a week where links are scarce. Let’s get this done.

First, Jessica E. Vascellaro and Darren Everson of the Wall Street Journal look at how infusions of TV rights money has changed college sports not necessarily for the better.

John Ourand at Sports Business Daily notes that Longhorn Network has picked up its first major cable provider just ahead of Friday’s launch.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable also writes about Longhorn Network’s carriage deal.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News looks at Fox Soccer signing a multiyear deal for the UEFA Europa League.

Emma Bazilian of Adweek says the Bleacher Report has raised $22 million in capital for future expansion of the site.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine explores the rich naming rights deal involving MetLife and the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Dave Kindred at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says there are not that many differences between “New School” and “Old School” writers.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says the operator of an illegal sports video streaming site was arrested by the Feds yesterday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell feels Danica Patrick’s popularity has hit the wall.

Dashiell Bennett of the Business Insider’s Sports Page notes that ESPN put up a controversial rendering (now since taken down) of Michael Vick as a white man.

Robert Littal of Black Sports Online has a problem with ESPN’s premise of making Vick a white man.

At ESPN Front Row, PR maven Mike Soltys informs us that the Alleged Worldwide Leader has revised its social networking policy.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post says any talk of the NFL and Time Warner Cable being close on a deal for NFL Network is just that. Talk.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that TBS has made a change for its Sunday MLB game due to Hurricane Irene.

Ken Schott says a local radio station will have a unique baseball-horse racing on-air schedule this Saturday.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the MSG Networks will be airing plenty of college football in the fall.

Ken adds that MSG Network will air a prospects hockey tournament next month.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says an area native is doing overnight sports reports on WFAN.

Justin Fenton and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun report that police have confirmed that former Orioles pitcher and broadcaster Mike Flanagan took his own life outside his home on Wednesday.

Peter Schmuck of the Sun says now is not the time to speculate why Flanagan chose to end his life.

The Sun’s Kevin Cowherd writes that Flanagan made people laugh as a player and as a broadcaster.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes says Flanagan’s death is still a mystery.

Matt Brooks in the Washington Post’s Early Lead blog says Flanagan’s death has hit the Orioles very hard.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that Danica Patrick’s move to NASCAR makes the Baltimore Grand Prix one of her last IndyCar races of her career.

Ken Tysiac of the Charlotte (NC) Observer says thanks to its new ESPN contract, ACC basketball will get plenty of TV exposure.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has a primer on the Longhorn Network.

Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus feeling the SEC will be standing pat for the foreseeable future.

Jimmy says Verizon FiOS will be distributing the Longhorn Network across the country.

The Houston Chronicle says a local TV station will begin airing Thursday night high school football games.

David Barron of the Chronicle writes that the Longhorn Network is ready to launch, but won’t be seen widely in Houston.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says Notre Dame has renewed a radio rights deal with WLS-AM.

Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times looks at a big reveal from ESPN Films’ documentary on the Steve Bartman 2003 NLCS inc

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has Sports Illustrated saying the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan in the Dodger Stadium parking lot earlier this year sealed the fate of the franchise.

Mason Kelly of the Seattle Times says a local high school gym got a facelift thanks to an ESPN program.

Only Deadspin. It has a spy inside ESPN’s State of the Union meeting with higher ups.

Sox & Dawgs looks at SNY’s UConn football coverage.

The Toronto Sports Media blog notes that long-time Maple Leafs voice Dennis Beyak is apparently heading to Winnipeg.

Sports Media Watch has some various football programming notes.

That is going to finish the links for today.

Unveiling The Wednesday Links For You

On Tuesday, I did the links in the evening, but today, the linkage is coming out early. Let’s get to them.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that Fox plans to use its college football sideline reporter more as an analyst on the field, rather than give injury updates.

To the Wall Street Journal where Sam Schechner and Alexandra Berzon write about poker programming falling off TV due to the recent Fed crackdown of offsite gambling sites.

The Sports Biz Miss, Kristi Dosh, writes in Forbes that the settlement of the NFL lockout does not bode well for the NBA players in their dispute with the league.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser notes that former Access Hollywood and Insider host (and Betsy admirer) Pat O’Brien returns to CBS as the host of a new poker series. Pat used to be NBA, MLB and Olympics host for CBS Sports a long, long time ago. I think he’s better known now for his entertainment work than his sports career.

Cam writes that BBC Sport has posted a rather extensive online viewing guide for the 2012 London Olympics.

Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable has Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban being bullish on cable saying it’s the best way to distribute video rather than the internet.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says Universal Sports, which is now available on DirecTV, is airing “One Year To Go” programming as we’re now a year away from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Ki Mae Heussner from Adweek says ESPN’s Erin Andrews was among those taking part in an event hosted by Marie Claire magazine.

Tim Nudd at Adweek looks at the State of MLS as it hits its All-Star Game tonight.

Timothy Burke of SportsGrid has the video of the controversial ending between the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates in the 19th inning.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group notes that ESPN.com has reworked its video player to stream 720p clips.

At Yahoo’s From the Marbles blog, Jay Busbee has ESPN’s NASCAR crew telling Dale Earnhardt, Jr. that it’s time to be a man.

The Big Lead notes that ESPN is all over football right now even though baseball is approaching one of its busier times of the season.

Awful Announcing is now at the finals of its Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament. Finalists might surprise you.

All Access says ESPN Deportes Radio has picked up another affiliate, this time in South Florida.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times the victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme are now focusing on the Mets ownership and what they knew of Madoff’s shenanigans and when they knew it.

Tom Spousta of the Times notes that Texas’ rivals in the Big 12 are seeing more than burnt orange in regards to the Longhorn Network.

Pete Tobey at the Glen Falls (NY) Post-Star says local native Dave Strader is leaving his Phoenix Coyotes post to work for the NHL on NBC/Versus.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says CBS Radio is making a hard charge at the Pittsburgh Pirates rights as Clear Channel tries to hold onto them.

Fox Sports Southwest has formally announced that Friday nights will be devoted to high school football programming.

Brent Zwerneman at the Houston Chronicle notes that the Big 12 has called a meeting on what to do about the Longhorn Network.

Steve Watkins of the Cincinnati Business Courier says Fox Sports Ohio is offering some online features as a companion to its Reds game broadcasts.

Robert Feder at TimeOut Chicago says NBC Chicago has hired the replacement for the late Daryl Hawks on its sports staff.

Vahe Gregorian at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Big 12 hierarchy is feeling that the issues surrounding Longhorn Network can be fixed.

Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star says a switching error caused the Royals-Red Sox extra inning game to go off the air on Fox Sports Kansas City late Monday night and a streetball program to go on briefly its place.

Chris Dufrense of the Los Angeles Times says Pac-12 schools remain euphoric about their $3 billion media rights contract with ESPN and Fox, but there are still some issues that hang over the conference.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News caught up with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott and spoke with him about several issues facing the league.

Robert Collias of the Maui (HI) News reports that NBC golf analyst Mark Rolfing is sounding off after being dropped as the Executive Director of a PGA Tour stop.

Susan Krashinsky of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that Rogers Sportsnet has purchased Setanta Sports Canada and will rebrand the channel under the Sportsnet name.

Erik Spanberg from Scene Daily has ESPN being hopeful that the upward trend on NASCAR’s TV ratings continue as it takes over the Sprint Cup schedule for the rest of the season.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

The Business Insider Sports Page has its suggestions as who should be cause in the ESPN Book movie.

And I’m done with the links for now.

Montreal Canadiens Change Radio Flagship Stations

Normally, I would not post an individual radio press release, but this is big. This would be similar to CBC losing Hockey Night in Canada to TSN. Today, the Montreal Canadiens announced they’re leaving their long-time home of news/talk CJAD and moving to all-sports radio The Team 990. The Canadiens and station owner, Bell Media already have an existing relationship through television rights via TSN/TSN2/RDS and ESPN Classic, so it’s only natural to extend the business to radio.

This is a seven season deal so the Canadiens are with Bell Media on radio for the long-term. Let’s check out the press release.

Bell Media’s THE TEAM 990 Becomes Official Radio Broadcaster of the Montreal Canadiens in New Seven-Year Deal

Landmark deal includes all 82 regular season games, playoff games and pre-season games
THE TEAM 990 to feature extensive pre- and post-game shows

Montreal, QC (June 22, 2011) – THE TEAM 990 is now the official voice of the Montreal Canadiens with exclusive English radio broadcast rights to all of the team’s games over the next seven seasons. The new deal makes THE TEAM 990 home to all 82 regular season games, all Canadiens playoff games and all pre-season games.

This marks the first time THE TEAM 990 will have radio broadcast rights to Montreal Canadiens games. In addition to the radio broadcasts, THE TEAM 990 also confirmed the station will complement its game broadcasts by producing extensive pre- and post-game shows.

THE TEAM 990 will also make live and on-demand audio available online at www.team990.com.

“It’s truly something special for everyone here at THE TEAM 990 to become the new radio home of the Montreal Canadiens,” said Wayne Bews, General Manager of THE TEAM 990. “As a proud member of the Montreal community, the Habs have always dominated our airwaves.  This new partnership with the Canadiens organization will enable us to give hockey fans even more coverage of our city’s team.”

“We are very pleased to have entered a new partnership with THE TEAM 990 to become the Canadiens English radio broadcaster,” stated Geoff Molson, Chairman of the Board of Directors and owner of the Montreal Canadiens. “This long term agreement with THE TEAM 990 is a testament to our commitment to provide our fans with the most comprehensive and reliable broadcast on English radio for the foreseeable future.”

THE TEAM 990 and the Montreal Canadiens will announce its game play-by-play team later this summer.

That’s it for now.

Bringing Back The Linkage

Even though I didn’t links on Wednesday, it feels I haven’t done them in ages. You’re owed a chunk of them. Here goes.

Nathan Vardi of Forbes reports that ESPN basketball writer Chris Sheridan is suing New York Post basketball chameleon Peter Vecsey for libel. Interesting. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

David B. Wilkerson at Marketwatch.com says ESPN is not worried about losing NFL programming.

At NPR, Frank Deford says there has to be a reason why ESPN didn’t bid hard for the Olympics.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter notes that Universal Sports has finally signed a long-awaited distribution deal with DirecTV.

Lindsay Rubino of Broadcasting & Cable writes that last night’s Stanley Cup Final Game 7 won the night for NBC in key demographics.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reports that CBS Sports Network picks up Comcast subscribers in three Southern markets.

Mike talks with Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s Jim Corno about running the area’s various sports networks over the years.

Emma Bazilian of Adweek writes that NBCUniversal has signed a deal with comic book creator Stan Lee’s Guardian Media Entertainment to market the NHL’s Superhero franchise which to date, no one understands. I saw the Guardians unveiled during the NHL All-Star Game earlier this year and I had no idea what it was supposed to represent.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life says Stanley Cup Final Game 7 finished rather well for NBC last night.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser has video of ESPN’s Michelle Beadle admitting on Live with Regis & Kelly that she’s watched internet porn.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has some videos from last night’s crazy riots in Vancouver that took place after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Now imagine if the Canucks had won!

Here’s today’s front page of the Vancouver Province showing what the story was last night.

The Vancouver Sun’s front page had what the story should have been.

This is the front page of the Boston Herald. I like this picture.

And the Brockton (MA) Enterprise with a classic front page.

Noah Davis at the Business Insider Sports Page says it’s obvious that tablets are the future of magazines.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Chinese tennis star Li Na has signed an endorsement deal with Mercedes Benz.

The Big Lead has tennis analyst John McEnroe calling for a Hard Knocks-type reality series to help market the sport.

All Access says the St. Louis Rams have signed a new deal to remain in their current flagship radio station.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant writes that Comcast SportsNet New England will air select Connecticut Sun WNBA games.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks about CBS signing a new six year deal with the Big Ten for basketball.

The Buffalo Sabres have announced a new broadcast team for selected road games for next season.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg in the DC Sports Bog says local ratings for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final were very good. They were certainly higher than the national number.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner talks about the NHL’s ratings for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Jim says the U.S. Open at Congressional will be covered like a wool blanket this week.

Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram talks about the launch date for ESPN’s Longhorn Network.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle has a couple of sports media notes.

Mike Finger of the Chronicle discusses the launch of the Longhorn Network plus its quest to get carried throughout the Lone Star State and beyond.

Michigan Live says the University of Detroit will name its basketball court after ESPN’s Dick Vitale. He coached there before going to the NBA and then to ESPN in 1979.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal notes that Cincinnati Bengals Dhani Jones gave NFL Network a list of the top NFL linebackers that includes himself.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says Cubs owner Ed Ricketts did not help himself by talking to the media this week.

Scott Dochterman in the Iowa City Gazette discusses CBS signing a new deal with the Big Ten for basketball.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the Wimbledon finals can be seen in 3-D at various theaters around SoCal.

In another uniformed column, the Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin feels Twitter is what ails everything in sports.

Sports Media Watch looks at the NBC’s overnight ratings for the Stanley Cup Final Game 7.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the half hour overnight ratings breakdown of Game 7.

Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski explains how NBC got good ratings for Game 7 despite having a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Final.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing can’t believe the wallpaper Don Cherry used as a suit for CBC’s Coach’s Corner last night.

SportsbyBrooks looks into yet another plagiarism charge against Denver Post columnist Woody Paige.

Chris Hadley at The Sports Tube remembers NBC’s failed Olympics Triplecast experiment for the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs feels sports radio in both Dallas and Miami failed by not having local programming immediately following the NBA Finals Game 6 to give fans opportunities to vent or celebrate.

We’ll leave it there for now.

Westwood One Radio Renews Rights with NFL

This just in from the last half hour, Westwood One Radio and the National Football League have announced a new multi-year agreement for the network to continue airing Sunday Night, Monday Night, Thursday Night as well as the entire postseason. No terms were announced. It was speculated that Westwoood One might lose the NFL after several long-time executives left the company in the last year. However, the NFL decided to remain with its radio partner that has had the rights since 1987.

WESTWOOD ONE AND NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE AGREE ON NEW MULTI-YEAR DEAL

– Westwood One to Continue as the NFL’s Exclusive Network Radio Partner –

New York, NY – December 22, 2010 – Westwood One and the National Football League (NFL) announced today a new multi-year agreement for Westwood One to continue as the exclusive network radio partner of the NFL. Westwood One has been an NFL network radio partner for more than four decades and the exclusive network radio partner since 1987.

“We are proud to extend one of the strongest partnerships in sports broadcasting history – Westwood One and the National Football League,” said Rod Sherwood, President of Westwood One. “America’s most popular sport generates a huge audience that brings great value to Westwood One, our affiliates and our advertisers, and reinforces Westwood One as the preeminent nationwide radio sports broadcaster.”

“Westwood One has been an outstanding broadcast partner and we are pleased that NFL fans will continue to enjoy the highest quality when it comes to the presentation of our games on network radio,” said Steve Bornstein, NFL Executive Vice President of Media.

Westwood One will continue to broadcast the regular season primetime package and all postseason NFL games, including Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, the NFL Playoffs, the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. In addition, Westwood One’s NFL broadcasts are streamed online at NFL.com, simulcast on Sirius/XM satellite radio and NFL Mobile on Verizon wireless devices.

As the exclusive radio partner of the NFL, the Westwood One 2010 NFL broadcast schedule features 58 national games, including: the Hall of Fame game, Opening Kickoff game, 17 Monday Night games, including one doubleheader, 17 Sunday Night games, 8 Thursday and Saturday Night games (including Thanksgiving Night), Thanksgiving Day doubleheader, 12 Postseason games, including the NFL Playoffs, the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLV in North Texas. Westwood One also delivers specialty programs, including: The NFL Today, NFL Preview, NFL Insider, NFL Sunday, and NFL Fantasy Football Forecast.

Westwood One is the leader in play-by-play sports broadcasts on radio. Westwood One’s sports lineup includes regular season NFL football, the Playoffs and the Super Bowl; NCAA Football and Basketball; the Masters, the Olympics, The Robert Wuhl Show, Westwood One Sports Prep and more.

More coming up.

Sirius XM Radio Extends Agreement With the National Football League

This came over the last hour, the National Football League and Sirius XM have extended their agreement for the satellite radio provider to continue airing NFL games through the 2016 season. As questions over Howard Stern continue, Sirius XM is signing content in hopes of keeping subscribers beyond 2010.

As part of the new agreement, Sirius NFL Radio will continue to be located on channel 124 for both Sirius and XM subscribers. And for the first time in 2011, subscribers will be able to listen to games online through Sirius’ and XM’s websites. We have the announcement below.

SIRIUS XM RADIO AND NFL ANNOUNCE EXTENSION OF SATELLITE BROADCAST AND MARKETING AGREEMENT

SIRIUS and XM listeners will continue to hear every NFL game through the Super Bowl in 2016, plus SIRIUS NFL Radio, the only 24/7 radio channel dedicated to the NFL

SIRIUS and XM will stream all NFL games online for their subscribers

NEW YORK – November 30, 2010 – SIRIUS XM Radio and The National Football League announced today a five-year extension of their satellite broadcasting and marketing agreement.

SIRIUS XM, the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL since 2004, will continue to broadcast every NFL game live nationwide from the preseason through the Super Bowl in 2016 as well as SIRIUS NFL Radio, channel 124, the first and only 24/7 radio channel dedicated entirely to the NFL.

NFL play-by-play and the SIRIUS NFL Radio channel are available to all SIRIUS subscribers and to XM subscribers who purchase the “Best of SIRIUS” programming package.

For the first time SIRIUS XM will also broadcast NFL play-by-play online for its satellite radio subscribers starting with the 2011 season.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with SIRIUS XM,” said Steve Bornstein, the NFL’s executive vice president of media. “They have been an excellent partner and have become part of NFL fans’ daily lives, not only on game day, but also throughout the year.”

“The NFL is a terrific partner and we’re very pleased to continue to work with them to provide both SIRIUS and XM listeners the kind of top-notch NFL programming that their fans have come to expect,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM. “The NFL has been and will continue to be one of the major tent poles of SIRIUS XM’s lineup. SIRIUS and XM will give fans around the country a fully portable and comprehensive way to follow their favorite team and everything happening around the league.”

SIRIUS NFL Radio features exclusive daily talk shows hosted by NFL experts, interviews with players, coaches and executives from around the league, plus in-depth coverage of the NFL Draft, training camps, NFL Network programming and more. 

As the league’s official partner, SIRIUS XM will continue to have rights to use the NFL ‘shield’ logo and collective NFL team trademarks.

For more information and a schedule of NFL games on SIRIUS XM, visit www.sirius.com/nfl or www.xmradio.com/nfl.

I’ll have more as we go along today.

A Mid-Week Link Thing

Let’s do some linkage. By the way, do you hear that? That’s the sound of your TV and radios being political ad-free today! Nice, isn’t it? Goodness, they’ve been running all summer long through the fall and they’ve been absolutely maddening. Glad to see that we get relief from the negative ads. Now we can look forward to the Christmas holiday shopping ads for the next two months!! Oh boy!

Ok, to your links.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy looks at the ratings for the World Series which tie the lowest of all-time, but still did well enough to win four out of five primetime nights for Fox.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports looks at the overwhelming gadgetry for sports viewing.

Andrew “McLovin’” Perloff recaps what NBC’s Al Michaels said on the Dan Patrick Show this morning. 

Lorraine Cwelich from the Wall Street Journal asks after this week’s media blitz by disgraced track star Marion Jones, is the country ready to forgive her?

Yahoo technology writer Ben Patterson quotes an ESPN executive who wonders if ESPN 3D can be really successful.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes that October’s cable primetime ratings were won by ESPN thanks to Monday Night Football with TBS not far behind due to the MLB Postseason.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News has the October cable numbers as well.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says sports has started to dominate cable TV in the fall.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life says the World Series might have won in primetime, but was not helped with uncompelling games. What was she watching?

Wayne Friedman says Time Warner Cable subscribers watching ESPN online can do so commercial-free, for now.

The great Darren Rovell of CNBC notes that LeBron James’ shoe salls are starting off quite briskly.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at Fox Sports’ use of former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira as an on-air rules analyst.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union talks about MLB Network airing the San Francisco Giants victory parade today.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says ESPN Radio has found a new affiliate to replace the one it will lose at the end of the year.

Adrian McCoy of the Post-Gazette has a look at what the new ESPN Radio affiliate’s lineup as of January 1.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has NFL Network’s Joe Theismann chiming in on the Donovan McNabb benching from Sunday.

Dan also has the video of Washington Wizards rookie guard John Wall doing his best Dougie dance during the pregame introductions of last night’s game. I’m not a fan of the Dougie, but Wall has done the best one I’ve seen this year.

Barry Horn at the Dallas Morning News writes about the World Series ratings.

Over to the Houston Chronicle where David Barron notes that Fox Sports Southwest is now touting the Texas Rangers as the Lone Star State’s baseball team. I wonder what the Astros think.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the World Series rated very low locally.

Bob says Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is rated high by two former quarterbacks and current NFL Network analysts.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says even at age 71, former Bears coach Mike Ditka remains relevant with fans and advertisers.

At the Chicago Sun-Times, Lewis Lazare reports that the White Sox have renewed their radio rights deal with WSCR.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune previews this Sunday’s edition of “Undercover Boss” where a member of the Cubs ownership went undercover to do grunt work at Wrigley Field.

To the Salt Lake Tribune where Scott D. Pierce shoots down rumors that this Saturday’s TCU-Utah game was going to be aired on CBS instead of CBS College Sports.

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times writes about Clippers analyst Michael Smith being acquitted on felony grand theft charges.

Brad Wheeler of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes about a song Fox aired during the World Series that was supposed to refer to San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum.

Also from the Globe and Mail, Bruce Dowbiggin says viewership for the World Series in Canada dropped as the games went along.

My Twitter Trophy Wife, The OCD Chick Amanda Rykoff, speaks with Jane Leavy, the author of a new biography on Mickey Mantle.

The Sports Media Watch has the Weekend Overnight Ratings.

SMW says ESPN finally hit a season high for NASCAR, but the ratings still trail last year’s.

SMW notes that Minnesota-New England did very well for Fox, but still is off from last year’s national window for the same week.

Our friends at Sox & Dawgs has the radio stations that encompass the UConn Radio Network for the upcoming basketball season.

Cyd Ziegler at Outsports profiles the woman whom you hear every day on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption. You know, “Drink Responsibly”?

Bob’s Blitz has pictures of Erin Andrews twisting her ankle at some event. I don’t know where the pictures are from.

The Big Lead notes that Ines Sainz is back covering sports.

O.K., I think we’ll end there. Plenty of good links for you to chew over for a bit. Press releases will be posted throughout the day.

A Lazy Thursday Linkfest

Dragging this morning. Just getting a late start on everything so let’s do linkage while I can.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says Randy Moss’ trade to the Minnesota Vikings may raise the already red hot NFL ratings.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser writes that ESPN’s Lou Holtz won’t be lending his name to political causes from this point forward after he helped a Republican fundraising effort.

Marcus talks with TBS MLB host Matt Winer. 

Erin Andrews continues to branch out. She hosts a TLC series premiering tonight.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter talks about the Tennis Channel’s dispute with Comcast heading to an FCC Administrative Law Judge.

George Winslow from Broadcasting & Cable says the Kansas City Chiefs have purchased 10 new HD cameras for their weekly TV show.

John Consoli at Mediaweek reports that the NHL has commissioned comic book author Stan Lee to create a group of superheroes based on the league and local teams.

Christine Dempsey of the Hartford Courant writes about an ESPN motorsports producer/pervert being arrested for peering in a neighbor’s window and jerking off while she was getting dressed.

In the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman enjoyed the TBS team of Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling and John Smoltz, although it wasn’t all good. I did think Ernie did a decent job of calling last night’s Yankees-Twins game, although he miscalled the Curtis Granderson triple that put the Yankees in the lead and the Mark Texeira home run. However, he was definitely an upgrade over Chip Caray. I thought people were unfairly killing Johnson on Twitter last night including MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann who hasn’t called play-by-play of a baseball game. People were calling for Chip Caray, but be careful what you wish for. I thought EJ did ok.

John Jeansonne of Newsday reviews the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Once Brothers, that airs next week. 

Neil Best at Newsday talks with TBS’ Ernie Johnson, Jr. about his calling playoff baseball for the first time.

To the Albany Times Union and Pete Dougherty and the Week 5 NFL TV schedule in the New York Capital Region.

Pete also has the college football schedule.

Ken McMillan from the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record says Time Warner Cable brings back its local high school game of the week.

Laura Nachman says the Philadelphia Phillies have renewed their radio rights deal with their longtime home.

Press Box notes that a Baltimore high school sports website will produce an annual Thanksgiving high school football rivalry game for both radio and the internet.

Over to the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog and Dan Steinberg who says the Wizards preseason TV ratings for Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic were very good.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says the DC NFL Team-Philadelphia Eagles game on Sunday topped the national ratings.

Ok, I’ll end it here for now as I have to leave the office. Check back here later as I’ll add more links.

St. Louis Cardinals Return To Their Radio Home of a Half Century

After being away for five seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals have announced that they will return to their home of 51 years, KMOX. In 2006, the Cardinals made the move to KTRS and bought half of the radio station. While the move made money for the Cardinals, the move was unpopular among fans across the Midwest who were used to listening to KMOX which has a strong 50,000 watt signal. KTRS’ signal strength has been a major issue.

This year, the Cardinals put their rights up for bid and KTRS, KMOX and FM station WXOS all expressed interest. Today, the Cards decided to return to KMOX and the move has already made fans quite happy.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cardinals decided to listen to their fans and return to KMOX.

Matthew Leach from MLB.com says the team will be on KMOX for five seasons starting in 2011.

KMOX can be heard in 38 states and into Canada and has one of the largest radio networks in baseball.

We have the joint press release from the Cardinals and KMOX.

KMOX ANNOUNCES RADIO PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

KMOX Secures Local Flagship Radio Rights for Cardinals Broadcasts Starting in 2011

The St. Louis Cardinals and CBS RADIO’s KMOX announced today that they have reached a multi-year rights agreement in principle for KMOX to become the flagship station for Cardinals Radio Broadcasts, starting with the 2011 baseball season. The team returns to longtime partner KMOX and its booming 50,000-watt signal, which at night reaches more than 40 states and parts of Canada. 

Under the terms of the agreement, the Cardinals will continue to produce the game broadcasts and veteran announcers Mike Shannon and John Rooney will continue to handle the play-by-play coverage. The Cardinals will also continue selling the advertising during the broadcast as part of the agreement. KMOX will carry all 162 regular-season games, approximately 18 spring training games, all post-season broadcasts and a variety of other Cardinals-related programming throughout the year. Listeners can also hear the games on FM through HD Radio receivers in the St. Louis area on CBS RADIO’s KEZK-HD3.

“We are very pleased that starting in 2011, Cardinals baseball will be back on KMOX, which was home to Cardinals baseball for 52 years,” said Bill DeWitt Jr., Chairman and General Partner of the St. Louis Cardinals, “KMOX is a market leader, with a rich tradition of covering the Cardinals and the ability to reach the largest number of fans in the St. Louis region and beyond.”  

Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III added, “KTRS has been a great partner and we are grateful for everything they have done over the last five years. While we explored our options, the case for going back to KMOX was very compelling,” DeWitt III said.  

“The Cardinals are among the best organizations in all of sports and we are thrilled to be able to partner again and bring the Cardinals home to KMOX for fans everywhere to hear,” said John Sheehan, Senior Vice President-Market Manager, CBS RADIO St. Louis, “While the radio business has evolved, there is something special and enduring about the tradition of Cardinals baseball on KMOX – that relationship is important to the fans. As America’s Sports Voice, KMOX remains committed to expanding the fan base of St. Louis’ sports franchises.”  

The vast majority of the Cardinals Radio Network will also stay the same under the new arrangement. The network consists of 117 stations in nine states (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee) and has the potential to reach 21.3 million people in 11 states.

The Cardinals are expected to sell their stake in KTRS.

BREAKING NEWS: St. Louis Cardinals To Return To KMOX-AM

The St. Louis Cardinals will announce later today that the team will return to its original radio home, CBS-owned KMOX-AM. The Cardinals left KMOX, its home of 51 years, in 2006 to go to KTRS and take a small 50% financial stake in the station. However, fans throughout the Midwest complained they could no longer hear the Redbirds as KMOX has a 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 38 states and in Canada while KTRS’ signal is very weak.

This summer, the team entered into a very competitive round of bidding between incumbent KTRS, an FM sports station and KMOX for a new contract and apparently, the Cardinals decided to go with tradition and return to KMOX after five seasons.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals have returned to their broadcast roots.

KMOV-TV in St. Louis says a formal announcement will be made by KMOX and the Cardinals at 5 p.m. Central time.

We’ll have more on this as the story unfolds.

Friday Afternoon Update

Let’s give you a few more links before I head out of here for the Labor Day weekend.

See this? Get ready to see a new NFL shield starting next year. The league offices have decided to streamline the NFL logo. USA Today’s Michael McCarthy writes that the new logo will be unveiled at the NFL Draft in April and is the first redesign in 27 years. Notice how the number of stars is reduced and the football now resembles the top of the Vince Lomardi trophy. Right now, I don’t like it, but perhaps I will down the road.

Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram outs ESPN for something I was about to discuss this weekend. If you watched the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s coverage of the FIBA Americas Tournament in Las Vegas this week, you may have noticed you never see John Saunders and Bill Walton, they’re always off camera especially in the opening of the telecasts. There’s good reason for that. They’re not in Las Vegas. They’re doing the games from Bristol, CT. I noticed that last week, Saunders called a game with Walton on Saturday and then hosted “The Sports Reporters” on Sunday from the ESPNZone in New York as usual. I thought to myself, “Did Saunders take a red eye from Vegas or did he call that game from Bristol? He looks good for someone who would have to fly from Vegas to New York.” I was looking for clues, but this article by Hubbard pretty much nails it as he went to Vegas to cover the tournament, but also correct something Saunders and Walton said during a broadcast, but discovered they weren’t there. This isn’t new. ESPN did this during the FIBA World Championships in China last year, doing the games from the studio and not sending announcers. ESPN also did this with two of its announcing teams during the FIFA World Cup as well. If ESPN is going to do this, it should say the announcers are watching the games just like us, off the television and not at the event.

Also from the Star-Telegram, Ray Buck talks with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit about the impact Texas and Oklahoma will have on the college football rankings.

Like David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch, Paul J. Gough of the Hollywood Reporter went to ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, CT on Thursday. ESPN execs said they would be taking a pass on scripted material and spend more time on live sporting events. Good, I say. It appears that “The Bronx is Burning” is the last scripted event on ESPN for a while.

TV Week gives you the full breakdown of the ratings from last weekend’s sporting events. And in his Pressbox blog, TV Week’s Chris Pursell talks with ESPN’s Sal Masekela.

Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post writes that the NHL’s Washington Capitals are moving radio stations from the Team 980 to 3WT.

Brandon Griggs of the Salt Lake Tribune writes about the city’s sports radio wars.

For those of you who have Sirius Satellite Radio (like me), you can plan out your college football weekend with the link to the schedule.

That’s it for now. Viewing Picks coming up later.

Late Monday Night Links

Here are a few more links for you tonight before I watch “Saving Grace” on TNT.

SI’s Richard Deitsch has a story on the San Francisco Giants announcers who have the potential to call Barry Bonds’ record breaking 756th home run. The best chances belong to Jon Miller on radio or TV or Duane Kuiper as both do the most innings on both media. But Dave Flemming, who was in the booth for Bonds’ 715th, but had a microphone problem, and Greg Papa are both long shots to call it.

From the excellent Biz of Baseball blog, Maury Brown writes that MLB has now set the rules for networks that can air game-in-progress highlights of Bonds’ record-tying and record breaking home runs.

A couple of ratings-related stories from the Sports Media Watch blog. First is on the overnights for David Beckham’s MLS debut on Saturday. Second is on overnights for the overall weekend.

The Boston Radio Watch blog writes about Entercom radio selling naming rights for the Boston Red Sox Radio Network to a well-known regional supermarket chain. And no, it’s not a first. CBS Radio sold naming rights to the Patriots Rock Radio Network and the Boston Bruins Radio Network (both TD Banknorth) two seasons ago.

If I find more links, I’ll post ‘em here.