Fang's Bites

New Year’s Day Viewing Picks

College Football/Outback Bowl, Wisconsin vs. Tennessee – ESPN, 11 a.m.
Tournament of Roses Parade – ABC/NBC, 11 a.m.
College Football/Cotton Bowl, Arkansas vs. Missouri – Fox, 11:30 a.m.
College Football/Capital One Bowl, Michigan vs. Florida – ABC, 1 p.m.
College Football/Gator Bowl, Texas Tech vs. Virginia – CBS, 1 p.m.
NHL/Winter Classic, Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium – CBC/NBC, 1 p.m.
College Basketball/Cincinnati at Louisville – ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
College Football/Rose Bowl, Illinois vs. USC – ABC, 4:45 p.m.
NHL/Tampa Bay at Toronto – NHL Network, 7:30 p.m.
College Football/Sugar Bowl, Georgia vs. Hawai’i – Fox, 8:30 p.m.
NHL/Chicago at Los Angeles – NHL Network, 10:30 p.m.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

College Football/Music City Bowl, Florida State vs. Kentucky – ESPN, 4 p.m.
College Football/Insight Bowl, Oklahoma State vs. Indiana – NFL Network, 5:30 p.m.
NHL/St. Louis at Detroit – Versus, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Kansas State vs. Xavier – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
College Football/Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Clemson vs. Auburn – ESPN, 7:30 p.m.
Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2008 – ABC, 10 p.m.
New Year’s Eve Live – Fox, 11 p.m.
ESPN’s New Year’s Eve Special (It has a long title, hell if I’m going to write it) = ESPN, 11 p.m.
Tila Tequila’s New Year’s Eve Masquerade 2008 – MTV, 11 p.m.
Global New Year Live – Travel Channel, 11 p.m.
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2008 – ABC, 11:35 p.m.
Cathouse: The Musical – HBO, midnight

Some More New Year’s Eve Links

Let’s give you some more links today before I work on some other things.

First, Neil Best of Newsday writes that Patriots-Giants on Saturday was the most watched program of 2007. Not an easy task considering that Saturday are the least watched day of the week.

The Boston Herald’s Jessica Heslam writes in her Messenger blog that WCVB was the winner of the Patriots-Giants ratings sweepstakes easily outpacing WBZ and WHDH.

In his Medium Well blog, Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun writes his thoughts about the NFL Network production of the Patriots-Giants game.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes about the overnight numbers for Pats-Giants in his Four DVRs, no waiting blog.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell tells us the winner of the copyright infringement battle between Western Kentucky University’s mascot, Big Red and beloved Italian TV character, Gabibbo. I’m not making this up. It’s a funny story.

Drew Houff of the Winchester (VA) Star hung out at various sports bars on Saturday to watch the Pats-Giants game with sports fans (many of whom are Boston haters I might add).

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel liked the way the Fox crew called the Lions-Packers game on Sunday.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail gives us some of the more interesting sports quotes of 2007.

Glen Dickson of Broadcasting & Cable says Tennis Channel has moved into new production facilities to accommodate its High Definition broadcasts.

The Sports Media Watch blog has named Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock as the Worst of Sports Media 2007. And here are Paulsen’s runners up for Worst of Sports Media. Paulsen is working on his Stories of Sports Media for 2007 and when they’re up, I’ll link to them.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News follows up on some of the people he’s met in 2007. And Hoffarth goes even further on this in his Farther Off the Wall blog.

We have some quotes from the last Football Night in America broadcast for the season on NBC last night.

ESPN’s self promotion goes into overdrive with a new “This is SportsCenter” ad starring the always-flamboyant Richard Simmons.

And that will do it for now. Look for Amazing Race and Amazing Race Asia recaps as well as my look into the Best and Worst of Sports Media in 2007.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks coming up.

New Year’s Eve Links

Can you believe this is the last day of 2007? The year certainly went by quickly. I’ll do a Best/Worst of 2007 in the next 24 hours. Look for it.

Before I start, let me say that I discovered the movie “Elizabethtown” this year through Showtime and the Movie Channel and have been enjoying it. It’s not the greatest movie in the world, but there’s something about Cameron Crowe movies like “Almost Famous“, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High“, “Say Anything” and “Singles” that affect me. Maybe it’s the look, maybe it’s the message, but he somehow manages to hit a home run most of the time in my opinion. Yeah, “Vanilla Sky” was just plain weird, but no one can be perfect all of the time. In “Elizabethtown”, there were a few scenes that dragged including Susan Sarandon’s dance routine, but for the most part, I got into the movie and like any Cameron Crowe movie, the music is an important part of the plot. I just wanted to get that in before I forget.

Ok, to your links.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says moving the Patriots-Giants game to CBS and NBC was a very good move.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner writes in his Watch This! blog that Saturday’s game drew big numbers.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, a very angry man, lets loose on what he calls “risky behavior”, i.e., Randy Moss spiking the ball after catching a TD in the Pats-Giants game. If that’s risky behavior, spiking the ball, then I shudder to think at what he thought of the “Icky Shuffle“.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times goes after Bryant Gumbel.

Christopher Gasper of the New York Times-owned Boston Globe talks about the Pats-Giants ratings for Boston which are astonishing.

Paul Gough of the Hollywood Reporter also reports on the ratings for Pats-Giants.

Dusty Saunders in the Rocky Mountain News says fans were the winners of the Patriots-Giants game.

The Sports Media Watch says Pats-Giants were a great draw for CBS and NBC.

Joe Mandese of Mediapost Publications says the Pats-Giants “triplecast” drew very well and the Patriots were involved in four of the five most watched TV programs of 2007.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press gives his Best/Worst in Sports TV in 2007.

Chris Zelkovich writes in the Toronto Star about TSN’s coverage of the World Junior Hockey Championships. Also from the Star, Kevin McGran says the NHL Winter Classic could become an annual event and says this year’s is so big, NBC decided to get in on the action.

Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that NBC (Bob Costas included) is eager to televise the NHL Outdoor Game tomorrow.

Lori Riley of the Hartford Courant profiles college basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli who’s one of the busier broadcasters in the winter.

That does it for now. More later.

The Amazing Race 12, Ep. 9 Preview #1

Thanks to Rob at the Reality Fan Forum for posting this.

Looks like Don is on the verge of death.

NFL Divisional Playoffs Schedule (Revised)

Saturday, January 12
Seattle at Green Bay – Fox, 4:30 p.m. (called by Kenny Albert/ Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa)
Jacksonville at New England – CBS, 8 p.m. (called by Jim Nantz/Phil Simms)

Sunday, January 13
San Diego at Indianapolis – CBS, 1 p.m. (called by Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf)
New York Giants at Dallas – Fox, 4:30 p.m. (called by Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver)

Conference Championships, January 20
AFC Championship – CBS, 3 p.m. (called by Jim Nantz/Phil Simms)
NFC Championship – Fox, 6:30 p.m. (called by Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver)

NFL Wild Card Playoff Schedule

Saturday, January 5
Washington at Seattle – NBC, 4:30 p.m. (called by Tom Hammond/Cris Collinsworth/Bob Neumeier)
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh – NBC, 8 p.m. (called by Al Michaels/John Madden/Andrea Kraemer)

Sunday, January 6
New York Giants at Tampa Bay – Fox, 1 p.m. (called by Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver)
Tennessee at San Diego – CBS, 4:40 p.m. (called by Jim Nantz/Phil Simms)

Giving You Some Sunday Links

As we get some interesting football action today, it’s time for me to give you some links from the morning papers.

We start with Phil Mushnick of the New York Post who is jonesing for good football.

Newsday’s Neil Best has his Media “Best” Bets for 2007. From Neil’s blog, he mentions the Yankees’ Hank Steinbrenner being named his Sports Media Man of the Year. Best also says the Giants-Bucs Wild Card playoff game will most likely be slated for a Sunday afternoon start. In another story in Newsday, Best says WWOR was also given a deal so it would share last night’s Patriots-Giants game with two other channels. And Neil says in his blog that he was happy to be wrong that Giants fans were selling their tickets to Patriots fans for Saturday.

Randy Cordova of the Arizona Republic tells us that the NFL TV network partners plan plenty of shows from the Valley of the Sun during Super Bowl week.

Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse Blog reports that last night’s contest was the most viewed regular season game of the season beating Patriots-Colts. The Sports Media Watch also chimes in on the numbers for last night’s game.

In addition, Paulsen from Sports Media Watch writes that the NBA wants to get into the outdoor game business.

An editorial in the Lansing (MI) State Journal criticizes the Big Ten Network and Comcast for abusing fans while the basketball conference schedule is about to begin.

Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun writes that the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day is more to promote the NHL on NBC than anything else.

Those are all of the links I can find for now. Back later.

NFL Picks for Week 17

I’ve got to quickly get my picks in for this week. Last week, I missed the Jets-Titans game in the rush to finish my picks before 1 p.m. ET.

Let’s get to them. Next week, I’ll compile my regular season record and winning percentage.

San Francisco at Cleveland – Fox, 1 p.m.
Cleveland let me down again last week. I thought no way could they lose to the Bengals knowing that winning would have put them in the playoffs, but no. They found a way to blow it again. They have to win today and get some help from Indianapolis tonight. They’ll beat the Niners today at home, 28-13, and then they’ll have to wait all day and night to see if they’re in. More on that later.

Seattle at Atlanta - Fox, 1 p.m.
Seattle will rest its players but still manage to beat the Falcons, 26-20.

Detroit at Green Bay – Fox, 1 p.m.
Green Bay pulled a stinker last week against Chicago. You can bet while the Pack will rest its players, they’ll beat Detroit, 31-21.

Carolina at Tampa Bay – Fox, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay knows it will host the Giants next week, most likely in the early game on Sunday. Take the Panthers today, 21-19.

New Orleans at Chicago – Fox, 1 p.m.
The Saints can still sneak into the playoffs if they beat the Bears and get some help. The Bears still have some pride as seen last week when they blew out the Packers. The Bears will play spoiler again this week, 33-17.

Jacksonville at Houston – CBS, 1 p.m.
No one wants to play Jacksonville in the playoffs. They’re running attack is among the best in the NFL. The Texans want to get to 8-8 in the first time in their history. And Fred Taylor is not playing today to rest for next week. I’ll take the Texans today to win, 25-23.

Buffalo at Philadelphia – CBS, 1 p.m.
Both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs so they’re playing for pride. The Bills have set the future in motion and will be a contender in the AFC East for years to come. Philly? There are a lot of question marks including their QB. But right now, Philly will find a way to win today, 17-14.

Cincinnati at Miami – CBS, 1 p.m.
Again, this game is for pride. Now that Miami has won a game, I’ll pick them to win their second game today over the Bengals, 23-14.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore – CBS, 4:15 p.m.
Rivalry game. The Ravens were beaten badly earlier this season by the Steelers. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer is reporting that coach Brian Billick has lost his team which is not a good sign. I have a feeling the Ravens will lose again badly today, 38-10.

San Diego at Oakland – CBS, 4:15 p.m.
San Diego knows its in the playoffs winners of the AFC West. The Chargers will probably rest players, but it doesn’t mean that Oakland can win, far from it. I’ll take the Chargers to win, 28-17.

Kansas City at New York Jets – CBS, 4:15 p.m.
The return of Herman Edwards to the Meadowlands means nothing. I don’t think Jets fans will want to watch this game as it means the end of the Chad Pennington era in New York. While the Chiefs will clean house except for Edwards, players will play for a job next season. Take the Chiefs today, 26-14.

St. Louis at Arizona – Fox, 4:15 p.m.
The Rams won’t win today. Take the Cards, 31-10.

Minnesota at Denver – Fox, 4:15 p.m.
Minnesota can still play itself out of the playoffs if it loses to Denver today and Washington beats Dallas. Denver can play spoiler if it can stop the run for once. Denver will have some pride and defeat the Vikings, 28-27.

Washington at Dallas – Fox, 4:15 p.m.
Dallas wants to rest its players, but it can do itself a tremendous favor by knocking out the Redskins with a win today. If the Cowboys win, the Redskins are out. But if the Redskins win and the Vikings lose, the Cowboys could potentially see Washington again in the Divisional playoffs. The Cowboys don’t want that, but at the same time, knowing they have home field, they want to use today and next week to rest. But I’ll say this will be close and the Cowboys will do the Vikes a favor and win today, 21-17.

Tennessee at Indianapolis – NBC, 8:15 p.m.
Can Tennessee win? Of course they can. Will they? Only if Peyton Manning doesn’t play the entire game. But Jeff Fisher will push the entire game and may even have his players try to knock out some of the Colts today. I have to root for the Colts because the Browns are my team. I’ll take the Colts, by a Adam Vinitieri figgy, 23-20.

That’s it. Just under the wire. Enjoy Week 17.

Pats-Giants score updates

Ring announcer Tim Hughes has been giving score updates on Pats-Giants. A big roar went up when he said it was 14-10, G-men.

A lot of Blackberries

I have not seen so many Blackberries in one place, not even in an airport. Fighters' wives and families have been texting while the fights are underway. I find little things like these amusing.

One Drawback

You can get hurt in MMA. Elias Rivera was knocked out and EMT's took him out of the ring on a stretcher. He'll be okay, but there are dangers. Having a ringside seat, I can see everything going on. More later.

The IFL at Mohegan Sun

I'm at the Mohegan Sun Casino for the International Fight League 2007 World Championship Grand Prix Finals. I'll have a full report on the experience later. Just know that I'm working for you.

NFL Pick – Patriots at Giants

New England at New York Giants – NFL Network/CBS/NBC, 8:15 p.m.

This is the game everyone wanted to see. It’s the game where the Patriots go for the perfect season, to become the first team to end a regular year, 16-0. Until Wednesday, only 40% of the country was going to be able to watch the game through the NFL Network and three over the air channels. But as we all know, the NFL stepped up, caved, bowed, or seeing the writing on the wall, decided to allow CBS and NBC to simulcast the game. Now that this is out of the way, fans can watch the game without having to resort going to a sports bar, a friend’s house or listen to the radio.

So fans will be able to watch the Patriots strive for perfection. Some interesting issues in play. The Giants do want to get ready for next week’s Wild Card playoff game against Tampa Bay. They want to be healthy. They also know that the entire league is rooting for them to beat the Pats so other teams won’t have to deal the media asking questions about the Perfect Season. However, you know the Patriots will be ready for tonight’s game.

Coach Bill Belichick always has his team prepared. The question is, will the Pats take the foot off the gas if they’re comfortably ahead? They haven’t so far this season, but you know as the Pats are banged up going into this game, they would appreciate a game where they can cruise to the finish.

I don’t think it will happen because Tom Coughlin doesn’t want to lose badly. I do believe this game will be close through 3 quarters. I will take the Pats to close out their perfect season, but by 13, 39-26. Brady will break the TD record and so will Randy Moss. Brady will play three and a half quarters before being taken out.

Enjoy the game.

The Last Saturday Morning Links of the Year

Don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2008, I just felt like writing “last” as 2007 is approaching the end. I’ll do a Year Ender for you in the next couple of days, but let’s get to the links first.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News goes into the entire process to bring tonight’s Patriots-Giants game to CBS and NBC.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at the year in sports media in the Gateway City.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner writes in his Watch This! blog about how CBS and NBC were selected by the NFL to simulcast tonight’s game.

Joanne C. Gerstner of the Detroit News reports that local NBC affiliate WDIV will not carry tonight’s game due a conflict with the Pistons.

Martin Miller of the Los Angeles Times says the NFL is counting on the Patriots to increase ratings by putting tonight’s game on three outlets.

Bill Saporito writes for Time Magazine on how Cable sacked the NFL.

The lovely Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald says the NFL has found a way to appease WCVB and WMUR after the two stations lost their exclusivity to carry the Pats-Giants game.

Richard Martin of Information Week writes in his blog that the NFL should make the NFL Network an online subscription service. I agree with this.

Marianne Paskowski of TV Week says cable is the big winner in this.

David Humphreys of the Attleboro (MA) Sun-Chronicle says local sports bars are gearing up for a big crowd for tonight’s game even though fans can now watch at home.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes a column for Pro Football Weekly on the Best and Worst in NFL broadcasting. You can expect to find Bryant Gumbel’s name in this.

Evan Bevins of the Marietta (OH) Times writes that the game is now on for all to watch.

Rob Longley of the London (Canada) Free Press says the Pats-Giants game is now on for everyone to see, even in Canada.

In an editorial, the Evansville (IN) Courier & Press criticizes the NFL Network for not putting Monday’s Insight Bowl involving Indiana University on a wider platform. Matt Doyle of the Tulsa (OK) World says Cox Communications will carry the Insight Bowl locally.

Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse blog liked the work of the NFL Network’s Mike Mayock on last night’s Texas Bowl.

Jeff Brooke of the Toronto Globe and Mail has his 12 viewing picks for the holiday weekend.

Thank goodness for Awful Announcing. ESPN’s Mike Patrick was caught talking about Britney Spears again.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with former Dallas Cowboy Everson Walls about his friend, Ron Springs who’s still in a coma. You may remember the Real Sports story on Everson giving his kidney to Ron.

Former New York Yankee Jim Leyritz who was doing work with MLB.com last season is charged with DUI in a crash that killed a woman on Friday.

Those are the links for now. Check back later.

The 1st Annual Fang’s Bites NFL TV Awards

Just as I did the 1st Annual Fang’s Bites College Football TV Awards earlier this year, it’s time to do the NFL TV Awards as we go into the final weekend of the 2007 regular season.

No quirky nicknames, just the awards, Best and Worst.

Best Play-by-Play – Al Michaels, NBC. He’s still among the best at calling a game. He’s now in his 60′s, but shows no sign of slowing down. He’s always on top of trends. I do wish Al would allow John Madden to show his humor because since joining Michaels, John has been stagnant, but Al’s play-by-play is tops.

Best Game Analyst – Troy Aikman of Fox. He’s understated. Allows the game to breathe and doesn’t force his analysis. Phil Simms of CBS is a close second. Aikman is a bit better to me. Honorable mention: Ron Jaworski, ESPN.

Best Studio Show – Inside the NFL, HBO. I like this show and it has some really interesting features. Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Dan Marino and Chris Carter work very well together and Peter King does his best TV work on this show. Do you notice that he shouts on Football Night in America? Honorable mention – Fox NFL Sunday and NFL Gameday of the NFL Network.

Best Studio Host – James Brown, CBS. JB works well no matter which network he’s on. He did very well when he hosted Fox NFL Sunday and it took two years for that show to get back in the saddle after he left. JB hands off well when he works with the NFL Today crew and has helped Bill Cowher ease into the show. Plus, he’s willing to give his own opinions when warranted. Very good host and I do hope he remains at CBS for a while. Honorable mention – Bob Costas of HBO and NBC.

Best Studio Analyst – Howie Long, Fox. He continues to give pertinent analysis and still defends friend Matt Millen whenever co-hort Jimmy Johnson gets on his case. Plus, Howie is not afraid to get on Terry Bradshaw when necessary. Honorable mention – Tom Jackson, ESPN.

Most Valuable Network – CBS. It’s had two of the highest rated games this season, Patriots-Cowboys early in the season when both teams were undefeated and Patriots-Colts. It’s had the fortune to carry most of the Patriots run for perfection and it gets a bonus of the team’s final game on Saturday against the Giants. For a while, it was the only network to have significant ratings increases from the year before while the other NFL network partners saw decreases. All it needs is to have the Super Bowl to top it off, but the network won’t have the game until 2010. And it gets to air the very last Patriots game against the Giants without having to pay a rights fee. It’s a nice belated Christmas present for CBS.

Most Improved Studio Show – Football Night in America, NBC. Bringing in Keith Olbermann, who showed shades of his glory days in the 1990′s when he was teamed with Dan Patrick on ESPN, and Tiki Barber while getting rid Sterling Sharpe, has helped this show to hit its stride in the middle of the season. Keeping Cris Collinsworth away from the highlights and letting him do analysis with Jerome Bettis and Barber has improved the show dramatically from last season. Having Costas work off Olbermann was a very good idea. If NBC can have Peter King stop shouting, this would be a great show. Right now, it’s good. Not very good, just good.

Best NFL Insider – Jay Glazer, Fox. He somehow got his hands on the Patriots Spygate tape from the NFL offices in New York. He also got the video surveillance tape of Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter getting into a fight with Bengals lineman Levi Jones in a Las Vegas casino back in March. He’s had scoops galore this season giving him a much better year than Peter King. No comes close, not John Clayton or Chris Mortensen of ESPN. Not Peter. No one. Glazer knows his stuff and he’s not afraid to call his contacts to get the latest info. And he’s a MMA fighter. You want to mess with Jay? Be my guest.

Best Announcing Team – Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS. Yeah, they’ve been assigned to too many Patriots games, but that’s because they’re the team to watch this season. Jim and Phil have meshed well in their three seasons together. They don’t talk when they don’t have to. They allow the game to breathe. When CBS took Greg Gumbel off the #1 team three seasons ago, I was afraid the network was messing with chemistry, but the move has worked. Honorable mentions – Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan, Fox and Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf, CBS.

Best Sideline Reporter – Pam Oliver, Fox. I like Pam. Plus, she’s not afraid to mix it up with athletes who cross her. And I don’t want to get on her bad side. This is Pam’s until she decides to retire.

Best Feature – For those who have DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket’s Red Zone Channel, this is heaven. It takes the viewer to every scoring drive and updates games in progress. Plus, it can cut into CBS and Fox games, something neither network can do. Host Andrew Siciliano is funny and he knows his football. DirecTV has done the fans a tremendous service with this channel. Now if it can make this part of the basic package instead of making this $99 extra for what subscribers are paying, the NFL Sunday Ticket package would be perfect.

Best Game Coverage – Sunday Night Football, NBC. The crew from ABC’s Monday Night Football moved over to NBC last season. Producer Fred Gaudelli and Director Drew Escohoff have kept the look from ABC and have added a few bells and whistles. Overall, it’s a clean look and adding solid reporter Andrea Kraemer to the sidelines has helped the broadcasts.

Rookie of the Year – Ron Jaworski, ESPN. He’s been a very good studio analyst, but with the chance to move into the game broadcasts on Monday Night Football, he’s become an excellent game analyst.

Worst Play-by-Play – Ron Pitts, Fox. I have no idea what he’s calling. I’m watching at home and have no clue what he’s talking about. He was decent at analysis, but having him do play-by-play is like listening to Carrot Top do stand up. It’s a train wreck. I truly believe he’s calling the games from his house.

Worst Game Analyst – Rich Gannon, CBS. Teamed with Kevin Harlan, I truly feel bad for Kevin. Gannon was originally hired to do 8 games two seasons ago, but when Brent Jones suddenly quit CBS, the network gave him a full season pickup. Gannon might improve down the line, but I have yet to see it. He talks too much plus there are times when he talks over his play-by-play guy. Not good. I know Rich wants to show what he knows, but there are times to talk and there are times to be quiet. He has yet to grasp this concept.

Worst Studio Show – Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown, ESPN. These two shows are both a half hour too long. In fact, cut an hour off Sunday NFL Countdown and it would be perfect. And Monday Night Countdown with two hosts and two locations is too much. It seems these shows are far removed from the stellar College Gameday and the excellent Baseball Tonight that are produced by the same network. It’s as if ESPN’s NFL production unit has a totally different attitude from the college football and MLB units.

Worst Studio Host – Chris Berman, ESPN. What happened to Boomer? Either he’s resting on his laurels or he’s slipping. I don’t want to think he’s slipping because on NFL Primetime, Chris did very well. But on the Countdown shows, there are too many forced analogies and how many times can Chris say, “Nobody circles the wagons …. LIKE! The Buffalo Bills!” When Berman first did the studio show, he was on a par with Brent Musberger and Bob Costas. Now, he’s fallen way behind JB, Curt Menafee, Bob Costas and Rich Eisen. I don’t understand. And Chris has fallen back on shouting as well. There’s no need to shout in the studio.

Worst Studio Analyst – Emmit Smith, ESPN. What the hell is he talking about? Sterling Sharpe used to be the worst, but now that he’s on the NFL Network, he can’t do as much damage. Emmit seems to make things up on the fly. I hope ESPN does the public a favor and ends the Emmit Smith Experience after this season.

Least Valuable Network – ESPN. While Monday Night Football has set ratings records this season, the production is something to be desired. And the Tony Kornheiser experiment has been a complete failure. I hope ESPN makes the MNF booth a two man affair instead of three. A three man booth has only worked twice, with Frank Gifford, Don Meredith and Howard Cosell and Dick Enberg, Billy Packer and Al McGuire. Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf were ok, but since then, a three man booth has mostly been a disaster and this decade’s version is a train wreck.

Worst Game Coverage – ESPN. Monday Night Football is produced by the old Sunday Night Football crew that worked with Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and Paul McGuire. When ESPN did Sunday nights, the camera work and replays were done very well. But when the crew moved over to Monday Night, the higher ups at ESPN decided to tinker with everything from the graphics which are annoying, to using two sideline reporters which is one too many and a three man booth which I already went into. Camera shots have been too tight at times, and there is no need to distract viewers who want to watch the game with silly interviews which have nothing to do with the action. Imagine watching UFC and listening to Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan interview Christian Slater in the middle of the action. You’d hate it, right? Same thing here, but ESPN thinks the viewing public is stupid. No, we’re smarter than you take us for. Stop the interviews, please. And start covering some football for once. People are watching MNF for the game, not celebrities. Someone send Chuck Liddell into the ESPN offices to clean up.

If you have any reaction, feel free to leave your comments below.

NFL Doubleheaders for Everybody!

In a move that is welcome for every NFL fan, the league has announced that it’s relaxed its archaic rules protecting home markets and has opened up doubleheaders for all markets.

This means that every city will get four games this Sunday afternoon provided that their home team isn’t blacked out from a non-sellout.

This is the press release from the NFL.

NFL TV “DOUBLE DOUBLEHEADER” ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON

CBS & FOX Each to Show 1 PM ET and 4:15 PM ET Game in Most Markets

New York, Baltimore & Washington, DC Get Additional 4:15 PM ET Game

With 15 teams remaining in the Super Bowl race, fans will be able to follow more of the action on Sunday as an NFL “double doubleheader” airs on CBS and FOX.

Every television market other than those with a home game will receive a 1 PM ET game on CBS and FOX and a 4:15 PM ET game on each network. Fans in those markets will receive four Sunday afternoon games.

All NFL markets where there is a home game which is sold out will receive three games – the local team’s home game at 1 PM ET or 4:15 PM ET and two games at the time that the home team is not playing. In addition, New York (Dallas at Washington), Baltimore (Dallas at Washington) and Washington, DC (Pittsburgh at Baltimore) will receive an extra game at 4:15 PM ET.

The NFL introduced the “double doubleheader” last year in Week 17.

Good stuff for fans. Newsday’s Neil Best had the news first in his blog.

Weekend Viewing Picks

Saturday, December 29
College Football/Meineke Car Care Bowl, UConn vs. Wake Forest – ESPN, 1 p.m.
NCAA Fall Highlights Show – CBS, 3 p.m.
Golf/ADT Skills Challenge – NBC, 4 p.m.
College Football/Liberty Bowl, Central Florida vs. Mississippi State – ESPN, 4:30 p.m.
College Football/Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year – ABC, 5:30 p.m.
NHL/New York Rangers at Toronto – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 7 p.m.
NHL/Washington at Ottawa – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 7 p.m.
NHL/Boston at Atlanta – HDNet/NESN, 7 p.m.
College Football/Alamo Bowl, Penn State vs. Texas A&M, ESPN, 8 p.m.
Giada in Paradise/Santorini – Food Network, 9 p.m.
NBA/Boston at Utah – Comcast SportsNet New England, 9:30 p.m.
NHL/Anaheim at Calgary – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 10 p.m.

Sunday, December 30
Women’s College Basketball/Temple at Rutgers – ESPNU, 2 p.m.
PGA Tour Year in Review – NBC, 3 p.m.
Golf/ADT Skills Challenge – NBC, 4 p.m.
College Hockey/Merrimack at Boston University – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
60 Minutes – CBS, approximately 7:15 p.m.
The Amazing Race 12 – CBS, approximately 8:15 p.m.
College Football/Independence Bowl, Alabama vs. Colorado – ESPN, 8 p.m.
NBA/Boston at Los Angeles Lakers – Comcast SportsNet New England, 10 p.m.

College Basketball Viewing Picks for 12/29 & 12/30/2007 (All Times Eastern)

Saturday, December 29
UMBC at Ohio State – Big Ten Network – 11 a.m.
Wisconsin at Texas – ESPN, noon
Kentucky vs. San Diego at Lexington, KY – ESPN2, 2 p.m.
Tennessee at Gonzaga at Seattle – ESPN2, 4 p.m.
Wisconsin-Green Bay at Michigan State – Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia at Charleston, WV – ESPN2, 6 p.m.
LaSalle at Villanova – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
Chicago State at Indiana – Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Dayton – ESPN2, 8 p.m.
Southeast Louisiana at Iowa – Big Ten Network, 9 p.m.
Arizona at Memphis – ESPN2, 10 p.m.

Sunday, December 30
Tennessee State at Illinois – Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
Florida State at Georgia Tech – FSN, 5:30 p.m.
Valparaiso at North Carolina – FSN, 7:30 p.m.

NFL Viewing Picks for Week 17

All Times Eastern

Saturday, December 29
NFL Total Access on Location – NFL Network, 5 p.m.
New England at New York Giants – CBS/NBC/NFL Network, 8 p.m.
Postgame – NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 30
Fox NFL Sunday, noon
San Francisco at Cleveland – Fox, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 705/719)
Detroit at Green Bay – Fox, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 706/720)
Jacksonville at Houston – CBS, 1 p.m. (DirecTV channels 710/721)
Pittsburgh at Baltimore – CBS, 4:15 p.m. (DirecTV channels 714/725)
Minnesota at Denver – Fox, 4:15 p.m. (DirecTV channel 716)
Dallas at Washington – Fox, 4:15 p.m. (DirecTV channels 717/720)
Football Night in America – NBC, 7 p.m.
Tennessee at Indianapolis – NBC, 8:15 p.m.
NFL Gameday – NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.

NFL Coverage Maps
CBS Early Games
CBS Late Games
Fox Early Games
Fox Late Games

DirecTV channel assignments
Sirius Satellite Radio channel assignments

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

College Football/Champ Sports Bowl, Boston College vs. Michigan State – ESPN, 5 p.m.
NHL/Boston at Carolina – NESN, 7 p.m.
NHL/Montreal at Florida – TSN/NHL Network (US), 7:30 p.m.
College Basketball/UConn at Central Florida – CSTV, 8 p.m.
College Football/Texas Bowl, TCU vs. Houston – NFL Network, 8 p.m.
College Football/Emerald Bowl, Oregon State vs. Maryland – ESPN, 8:30 p.m.
Dateline NBC – NBC, 9 p.m.
College Basketball/Butler at Southern Illinois – ESPNU, 9 p.m.
College Basektball/Loyola (MD) at Illinois – Big Ten Network, 9 p.m.
20/20 – ABC, 10 p.m.
Giada’s Weekend Getaways/Charleston – Food Network, 10:30 p.m.
Co-Ed Confidential 09 – Cinemax, midnight

Giving You the Friday Megalinks

Let’s do the megalinks today.

Starting with USA Today, we get the weekend viewing picks.

We’ll do the links from East to West today.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe says Patriots fans got a huge holiday season present on Saturday.

A couple of stories from the Boston Herald. The lovely Jessica Heslam writes that the ratings winner among WBZ, WCVB and WHDH for tomorrow night’s Patriots-Giants game will depend on which local pre-game show viewers prefer to watch. Jessica and Jay Fitzgerald report that WCVB is in talks with the NFL about losing its exclusive rights to the game.

From the New York Post, Phil Mushnick rips the NFL Network. Also from the Post, Justin Terranova has five questions for ESPN’s Lee Corso. Terranova talks to the NFL Today’s Bill Cowher about the Giants.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about Giants fans selling their tickets for tomorrow’s game to Patriots fans. And Neil says in his blog that his scheduled appearance on MSNBC today was pre-empted due to coverage of the Benazir Bhutto funeral in Pakistan.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says the move by the NFL to put Saturday’s Patriots-Giants game on CBS and NBC was a lesson in humility for the league.

Brian Heyman of the White Plains (NY) Journal News writes that WWOR is still fuming over losing exclusive over the air New York rights for the Patriots-Giants game.

Laura Nachman has the Philadelphia Sports Media Year in Review.

From the Baltimore Sun, Ray Frager says the three way simulcast on Saturday is a win for fans. Bill Ordine of the Sun praises Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter for looking out for fans.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News says the ratings for the Papajohns.com Bowl were up for ESPN.

Doug Nye of The State has his Best Bet for viewing this weekend.

Dave Darling from the Orlando Sentinel has his Top 10 Sports Media stories of 2007.

Keeping up with that theme, Barry Jackson has his Best and Worst of Sports Radio and TV for the Miami Herald.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ray Buck writes about Fox Sports’ Grumpy Old Coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.

Marc Katz of the Dayton Daily News says the NFL and the NHL will be the viewing picks for this holiday weekend.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the NFL served its own interests by putting tomorrow’s Patriots-Giants game on CBS and NBC.

Paul Christian from the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin talks about the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day being telecast on NBC.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune says the NFL took a sack for this weekend.

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) Morning News says the fans win out with the Patriots-Giants being on three outlets.

Over to the San Diego Union-Tribune and Jay Posner says look up “caved” in the dictionary and the NFL’s picture will be there. Here are the ratings from last week in San Diego.

John Maffei of the North County Times says it’s tough to predict the NFL Wild Card playoff picture for next weekend.

Jim Carlisle in today’s Ventura County Star says NBC is trying to sell the NHL’s Winter Classic as a special event.

In the Los Angeles Times, Christine Daniels in her Sound and Vision column says football will be the viewing choice this weekend. Also from the Times, Greg Johnson writes that advertisers get one stop shopping with Fox Sports for the Bowl Championship Series.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News talks about the late Stu Nahan’s movie cameos. And Hoffarth talks about NBC’s preparation for the NHL Winter Classic. And in his Farther Off the Wall blog, Hoffarth has his extensive weekly media notes.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star has his Best and Worst in Canadian and U.S. Sports Media for 2007.

Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province says the NHL Network is great for American hockey fans.

The Sports Media Watch talks about the lowest ratings ever for network primetime NFL games this season. And Paulsen has some ratings news and notes.

Jon Friedman of Marketwatch.com says don’t confuse the NFL with Santa Claus on the Patriots-Giants issue.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball website shoots down the rumors that Fox Sports’ MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal is leaving to go to ESPN.

Phil Swann of TVPredictions.com reports about ESPNews’ HDTV plans. And Swann says DirecTV has added Tennis Channel and CSTV in HD today.

Lot of links today. That will do it. I’ll be back later.

The Amazing Race Asia 2 – Ep. 7 Preview

I’ll have the Episode 6 recap up sometime this weekend.

Primetime Viewing Picks

NHL/Montreal at Tampa Bay – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/Nevada at North Carolina – ESPN2, 7 p.m.
College Basketball/NC State at Seton Hall – ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.
NHL/Washington at Pittsburgh – HDNet, 7:30 p.m.
College Football/Holiday Bowl, Arizona State vs. Texas – ESPN, 8 p.m.
NBA/Cleveland at Dallas – TNT, 8 p.m.
NHL/Calgary at Vancouver – CBC/NHL Center Ice, 10 p.m.
NBA/Boston at Seattle – TNT, 10:30 p.m.

Some More NFL Network Fallout and Other Things

Let’s give you some more stuff on the NFL Network’s decision to open up distribution of the Patriots-Giants game.

First, Newsday’s Neil Best made an appearance this morning on CNBC with Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I regularly link to both of them so this is like a summit of sports media blogger superstars. LOL. I’ll provide you a link to the CNBC website which has the video of their discussion on the NFL Network.

The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron says the simulcast is evidence the NFL caved to pressure from all sides.

From the Los Angeles Times, Greg Johnson and Sam Farmer write that the fight for the NFL Network is closed for now, but it won’t end the war with cable.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that this move can be perceived as the NFL blinking first in its dispute with the cable providers.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the NFL definitely blinked first.

David Steele of the Baltimore Sun blogs that as a DirecTV subscriber and an NFL Network viewer, he now wants a refund.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times says the decision came as a bit of a surprise. Lemke writes in his sports business blog that this is a perfect ending for NFL fans.

David Heushkel of the Hartford Courant says Patriots fans in Connecticut now can watch the game on two channels.

Caroline Roberts in the Bostonist.com site says the NFL is showing its benevolent side in the holiday season.

Paul Edward Parker of the Providence Journal says Cox Communications will refund money to subscribers who had upgraded to digital cable to get the NFL Network for this Saturday.

Vinny DiTrani of the Bergen (NJ) Record says Giants fans have three channels to choose from.

One piece of news that was lost in the NFL Network simulcast announcement was that the ratings for the first 7 games on the channel are up as compared to last season as Broadcasting & Cable tells us.

David Tianen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Packers fans don’t have to go to Lambeau Field to get the in-game experience. In fact, many are going to theaters to watch the games instead.

Tim Panaccio and Mel Greenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer remember sportscaster Stu Nahan who was one of the early play-by-play men for the Flyers. Larry Stewart of the Los Angeles Times has an extensive summary of Nahan’s career in LA and Philadelphia.

Chris Pursell of TV Week also remembers Stu Nahan. Pursell also reports that Fox has sold out its spots for the Bowl Championship Series.

Greg Wyshynski of the AOL Fanhouse blog picks up on the mention by the Toronto Globe and Mail’s William Houston that the NHL plans to bring in ESPN next season and have it share the Stanley Cup Finals with Versus and NBC. What? Versus has Games 1 and 2 of the finals with NBC televising from Game 3 on. Under the proposed silly plan, Versus would do Games 1-3, ESPN would get Games 4 and 5 and NBC would do Games 6 and 7, if necessary. Three networks for the finals? Why not have NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN do one quarter each of the Super Bowl? Bad idea. But that’s the NHL for you. Split up up the Stanley Cup Finals among three networks so people will get really confused.

Anyway, here’s what CBS will cover on the NFL Today this Sunday.

That’s it for now. Primetime Viewing Picks coming.

The Amazing Race 12 – Ep. 8 Preview #2

Looks like the teams are heading to India. Thanks to puddin of Reality Fan Forum for posting this.

Thursday Links or How the NFL Network Lost Its Groove … or Maybe It Never Had It

Time to give you your links for today. I’m sure there will be plenty of stuff on the NFL contracting Saturday’s Patriots-Giants game to CBS and NBC. Let’s get to them now.

Darren Rovell of CNBC wonders who will win the ratings battle between CBS and NBC.

Gary Mihoces of USA Today writes about the move by the NFL to bring the game to the masses.

John Dempsey of Variety also has an overview of the simulcast.

John Consoli of Adweek reports on the preparations of CBS, NBC and the NFL Network for airing the Pats-Giants game.

Newsday’s Neil Best has an article about the simulcast including reaction from WWOR in New York which until yesterday, had the exclusive New York rights to air the game and now will have to share the ratings with the CBS and NBC affiliates. Neil also blogs about the story. From the New York Post, Justin Terranova and Rich Calder write that the decision had a trickle-down effect on several issues.

Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe talks about the simulcast from the Boston perspective as well as getting reaction from WCVB which has lost its exclusive rights in the market. Also from the Globe, Shira Springer writes that pressure from fans and legislators got the NFL to make this move. The Boston Herald’s Jay Fitzgerald and Jessica Heslam also discuss the simulcast.

Aaron Sanborn of the Laconia (NH) Citizen says upstate New Hampshire will now not be excluded from seeing the game. Eric Conrad of the Kennebec (ME) Journal is glad the NFL made this move. Andrew Neff of the Bangor (ME) Daily News says Maine residents went from not having the game to having plenty of outlets to watch.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post says the NFL avoided a potential backlash by bringing the game to a wider audience.

Randy Covitz writes in the Kansas City Star about the unprecedented simulcast.

Tom Jicha in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the NFL blinked.

Texas State Senator Kyle Janek writes in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that legislators should not get involved in the NFL Network vs. cable dispute.

Tim Cain of the Herald & Review (IL) compares the Big Ten Network dispute to the Hollywood Writers Strike.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says college bowls will take away TV ratings from the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks with college football analyst Pat Haden who liked the sport before the BCS. In his notebook, Bracht has stuff on Fox Sports using former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer during the Fiesta Bowl which pits the Sooners taking on West Virginia. And Bracht has his weekend viewing picks.

Jeff D’Alessio of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the five items ESPN’s Erin Andrews can’t do without on the road.

Brent Hunsberger of the Oregonian writes that the Portland Trail Blazers drew decent ratings locally on Christmas Day.

There you have it for now. Back with more later.

Your Winners and Losers for the Pats-Giants Game

As the news broke late this afternoon that the NFL was going to have CBS and NBC simulcast NFL Network’s feed of Saturday’s Patriots-Giants game, I was thinking who won and who lost. Right off the bat, you can see some obvious winners like the majority of NFL fans who now won’t have to resort to listening to radio or finding other means of finding the game. But with some time, I have thought of some not so obvious winners and losers. So let’s go over the list.

WINNERS

The Fans – Now, that CBS and NBC are on board, the game will be seen by a wide audience. The NFL Network is is 40% of the nation’s homes and while the NFL could have stuck to its guns and kept the game, the league did the right thing by making it available to over the air TV.

CBS and NBC – With a lack of original programming on Saturday nights, the networks can now promote the game and generate some ad revenue on an otherwise dead night for viewing.

CBS and NBC affiliates in New England – While stations WCVB in Boston, WMUR in Manchester, NH and WWOR in New York were contracted by the NFL to carry the game in each team’s home markets, other stations in and around the local region were about to be shut out. While stations in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont all appealed or were appealing to carry Pats-Giants, their requests would have mostly likely been denied. Now with the most recent decision, WFSB (CBS) in Hartford and WJAR (NBC) in Providence can now carry the game from their respective networks without having to pay the NFL Network a rights fee.

The NFL – Yes, while the NFL caved, it also wins here by saving face and making itself look like the hero. It not only prevents some major embarrassment from keeping the game on the NFL Network, but now raises the overall ratings.

John Kerry – I hate to give him credit, but his letter writing campaign to the NFL and threats to have hearings on the subject gave league officials some pause and led to this unprecedented three way simulcast.

Big Cable – Comcast, Time Warner, Suddenlink, Bright House, Insight and other major cable providers are smiling a wide grin tonight because not only do they keep the status quo by not being forced to carry the NFL Network this weekend, they also get to carry the game through local network affiliates for free. They’re the big winners in this along with the fans. The major providers said they wouldn’t cave and they didn’t.

LOSERS

The NFL – Yup, the NFL definitely caved after saying it would not give the game to other outlets. But the NFL Network also gets its widest audience for one of its games, granted, it took two network partners to help it along.

Sports Bars – Sports bars across the country that carried the NFL Network either through DirecTV or digital cable will not be packed. While there will be those fans who will want to go out to see the game, business will not be as good as hoped. And the NFL won’t have to send spies out to take the game off screens larger than 50 inches.

WCVB, WMUR and WWOR – Until about 4:30 this afternoon, these three stations were the only over the air outlets that were going to carry the game. But that all changed when CBS and NBC were contracted as well. Now in Boston, there will be four ways to watch the game. Not only will WCVB carry the game, but so will CBS affiliate WBZ, NBC affiliate WHDH in addition to the NFL Network on Comcast’s sports tier. In New York, WWOR will see WCBS and WNBC also carrying the game thus lowering its rating. So the ratings in New York and Boston will be divided among three to four outlets. Imagine the rates that were sold to advertisers by WCVB, WMUR and WWOR based on market exclusivity. Plus, there might have to be some give-backs to advertisers who bought time thinking they would reach a wide audience in the home markets. That totally goes out the window now.

Fox Sports and ESPN - Why CBS and NBC were chosen by the NFL to simulcast and not Fox and ESPN is not totally known. Yes, this would have been CBS’ game had it been on a Sunday afternoon and NBC’s had it been on Sunday night, but what was the official reasoning behind giving the game to CBS and NBC? Was it the fact the two networks have the longest relationship with the NFL? Or has Fox and ESPN angered the NFL in ways unbeknownst to the public. We’ll never know.

NFL Network – What would have been most likely the highest cable rating ever for the NFL Network will now be minuscule. Now, the NFL Network’s rating will be small and the shine of having the exclusive window is gone as well. But the NFL Network will still get an audience. It will just be through CBS and NBC.

So the NFL with this last minute move gets the wide audience it was seeking for Saturday’s game and also gives its network partners some ratings as well.

Let’s give you some links while we’re at it.

The Sports Media Watch also has some thoughts on this unprecedented simulcast and the potential ratings results. And Paulsen says the politicians with their hollow threats overstepped their bounds.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has some thoughts about the move in his Farther Off the Wall blog.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes that NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol helped to bring the simulcast into fruition.

Jon Lafayette and Chris Pursell of TV Week have the story on the simulcast. So does Steve Donohue of Multichannel News. And Jon Hemingway reports for Broadcasting & Cable magazine.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell correctly surmises that the NFL Network is the big loser here.

The Boston Sports Media Watch has a transcript of the NFL Network conference call with analysts Cris Collinsworth and Steve Mariucci.

Here’s the press release from NBC about the simulcast.

In a totally unrelated note, Tom Hoffarth reports the sad news that legendary Los Angeles sports anchor Stu Nahan has died at the age of 81. You may remember seeing Stu on various national NBC broadcasts as well as the Rocky movies and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

We’ll have more perspective on this story tomorrow. I’m surprised we didn’t hear from Newsday’s Neil Best on this. I’m sure we’ll get his reaction on Thursday.

From One Network and 3 Local Channels to Every Single Channel

Consider this. In one fell swoop this afternoon, the Pats-Giants game went from the NFL Network and 3 local channels to over 300 network affiliates. Had the NFL made this decision earlier, we would not have been in this mess. And why wasn't Fox awarded the game as well? More later.

BREAKING NEWS: Pats-Giants to be simulcast on CBS, NBC and NFL Network

This is totally unprecedented. The NFL has just announced that CBS and NBC will simulcast the NFL Network’s feed of this Saturday’s Patriots-Giants game.

This means that local affiliates throughout the New England area and in New York will be able to show the game without any problems.

This is the press release from the NFL:

The NFL has arranged with broadcast television partners CBS and NBC for an unprecedented three-way national simulcast of the NFL Network telecast of Saturday night’s New England Patriots at New York Giants game when the Patriots will try to become the first NFL team to go 16-0 in a regular season, NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL announced today.

“We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans,” Commissioner Goodell said. “What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever.”

CBS and NBC will carry the NFL Network feed of the game with BRYANT GUMBEL and CRIS COLLINSWORTH in the broadcast booth. The game also will be televised by WCVB-ABC (Channel 5) in Boston, WMUR-ABC in Manchester, New Hampshire (Channel 9) and WWOR (Channel 9) in New York. The telecast begins at 8 p.m. ET with kickoff set at 8:15 p.m. ET.

This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of any kind of an NFL game since Super Bowl I in 1967 when CBS and NBC both televised the first meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League. CBS was the network partner of the NFL at that time and NBC televised the AFL. In that first Super Bowl – in which the NFL Green Bay Packers beat the AFL Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 15, 1967 – Ray Scott, Jack Whitaker and Frank Gifford called the game for CBS while Curt Gowdy and Paul Christman broadcast the game on NBC.

Against the 10-5 playoff-bound Giants, the 15-0 Patriots on Saturday night will seek to become the first NFL team to complete an unbeaten regular season since the Miami Dolphins went 14-0 in 1972. The Dolphins proceeded to win three more games, including Super Bowl VII, to finish 17-0 for the only perfect season in NFL history. The NFL regular season was expanded to 16 games in 1978.

The Patriots also are aiming for their record 19th consecutive regular-season victory dating back to the 2006 season. With six points, they also will become the highest scoring team in one NFL season, breaking the Minnesota Vikings’ total of 556 in 1998. Individually, quarterback TOM BRADY (48) is in position to break PEYTON MANNING’s NFL record for most touchdown passes in a season (49 in 2004) and wide receiver RANDY MOSS (21) will set a new league mark if he catches two touchdown passes to surpass JERRY RICE’s 22 in 1987.

NFL Network is currently available on 240 cable systems, including Cox, plus satellite television providers DirecTV and Dish Network, and the telephone company TV services of AT&T U-VERSE and Verizon FiOS. But a few of the largest cable companies have refused to carry NFL Network on their most broadly distributed and affordable packages.

“NFL Network is a programming service of great interest to fans and should be broadly distributed by the cable industry,” said NFL Network President and CEO STEVE BORNSTEIN. “The only channel devoted 24/7 to America’s favorite sport is not programming that should be relegated to a poorly promoted, pay-extra sports tier that takes advantage of our fans’ passion for the NFL. A few of the biggest cable operators have refused to negotiate. We call on them to do what’s right for their consumers and negotiate agreements for NFL Network that make sense for everybody.”

The last time CBS and NBC simulcast the same game was during Super Bowl I in 1967.

More later.