Fang's Bites

ESPN and the SEC Unveil the SEC Network

This from ESPN and the Southeastern Conference. The two entities have partnered to form the cable-based SEC Network which will begin operation in August 2014.

The new SEC Network will air more than 1,000 conference events including 45 football games, 100 men’s and 60 women’s college basketball games, 75 baseball, as well as softball and various Olympic sports like gymnastics, track & field and other events.

All 14 member schools will be showcased on the new network. At the outset, AT&T U-Verse has signed up to carry the SEC Network. Other cable and satellite carriage agreements will be announced later.

The SEC Network will be based out of the ESPN Regional Television offices in Charlotte, NC.

ESPN will operate the SEC Network for 20 years and as a result, the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s rights agreement with the SEC will extend to 2034. So ESPN will be associated with the SEC well into the 21st Century.

We have the press release below.

The Southeastern Conference and ESPN Announce new TV Network and Digital Platform

20-Year Agreement and Rights Extension through 2034; AT&T U-verse Will Distribute the Network at Launch

The Southeastern Conference and ESPN have signed a 20-year agreement through 2034 to create and operate a multiplatform network, which will launch in August 2014, it was announced today by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and ESPN President John Skipper. The new network and its accompanying digital platform will air SEC content 24/7 including more than 1,000 events in its first year.

The network will televise approximately 45 SEC football games, more than 100 men’s basketball games, 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games, and events from across the SEC’s 21 sports annually. Programming will also include studio shows, original content such as SEC Storied, spring football games, signing day and pro days coverage. Hundreds of additional live events from various sports will be offered exclusively on the digital platform. The network and its digital extensions will connect with each SEC institution and create opportunities for each school to produce and develop content.

“The SEC Network will provide an unparalleled fan experience of top quality SEC content presented across the television network and its accompanying digital platforms,” stated Slive. “We will increase exposure of SEC athletics programs at all 14 member institutions, as we showcase the incredible student-athletes in our league. The agreement for a network streamlines and completes an overall media rights package that will continue the SEC’s leadership for the foreseeable future.”

Each weekend throughout the season, the new network will air multiple top-tier matchups from the strongest conference in college football. Since 2006, the SEC has claimed seven consecutive football national championships. In 2011-12, SEC teams won eight national championships: football (Alabama), men’s basketball (Kentucky), gymnastics (Alabama), men’s indoor track and field (Florida), women’s tennis (Florida), women’s golf (Alabama), men’s outdoor track and field (Florida), and softball (Alabama). Since 1990, the SEC has won 149 national team championships for an average of more than six per year.

Skipper said, “The SEC is unmatched in its success on the field and its popularity with fans nationwide. The new network’s top-quality SEC matchups across a range of sports will serve all sports enthusiasts including the most passionate, die-hard SEC fans. Also, it will serve the needs of our multichannel distributors and advertisers by providing extremely attractive programming options across all platforms.”

As part of the agreement, ESPN will now oversee the SEC’s official Corporate Sponsor Program. In addition, ESPN and the SEC also agreed to extend their existing media rights agreement through 2034. ESPN has televised the SEC since 1982. ESPN’s existing networks present more than 1,600 hours of SEC action each year. The new network will focus exclusively on the SEC and add another outlet to deliver sports fans more SEC content than ever.

AT&T U-verse^® has been secured as the network’s first national distributor. AT&T U-verse is the fastest growing TV provider in the U.S. and their subscribers will have access to an unprecedented amount of SEC content across all platforms. Subscribers receiving the live linear network via a multichannel subscription will also have access to the network on PCs, tablets, smartphones and select gaming devices like Xbox. Additional games and coverage will be available through an authenticated digital offering. Fans looking to learn more about how to get the SEC Network can visit GetSECNetwork.com for more information.

“We are pleased to be involved with the SEC and ESPN at the very beginning of this great alliance,” said Jeff Weber, President of Content and Advertising Sales, AT&T. “As the fastest growing and most advanced pay TV service, we want to bring our customers the highest value and most compelling product that we possibly can. Access to the SEC Network, across multiple platforms, will only increase the demand for U-verse.”

ESPN’s Justin Connolly, formerly senior vice president, ESPN affiliate sales and marketing, will oversee the network’s day-to-day operations. The network will originate from ESPN’s Charlotte, N.C., offices with additional staff located at the company’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters. Staff announcements and additional details will be made in the coming months.

There it is for you.

ESPN to Cover All NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Regionals for the First Time

Here’s our last ESPN-centric post for now. The Alleged Worldwide Leader says it will cover all of the 16 sites comprising the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Regionals. This will occur between May 31 through June 3. This marks the first time that the entire first round of the college baseball tournament will be covered either through television or online.

In addition, ESPN will launch Bases Loaded, a Red Zone Channel-type platform that will launch on Friday, May 31 and last through Monday, June 3. ESPN3 will carry all four days of Bases Loaded in its entirety. ESPN2 or ESPNU will simulcast the new service in between games or during rain delays.

This will all lead to the Super Regionals and then the College World Series in Omaha, NE in June. Let’s take a look at the ESPN announcement.

ESPN to Cover All 16 Division I Baseball Championship Regionals for First Time

Bases Loaded Platform to Provide Day & Night Whip-Around Coverage

ESPN will continue to increase its commitment to college baseball by covering all 16 sites of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship from Friday, May 31 to Monday, June 3. It will mark the first time every first-round game of the event – up to 7 games from each of the 16 locations for a total of a possible 112 matchups over four days – will be available to fans live on a national platform. ESPN provided coverage of six sites in 2012, four in 2011 and two the previous six years.

ESPN will also launch Bases Loaded, a four-day platform to update fans throughout the action. Similar to ESPN’s Goal Line and Buzzer Beater networks, Bases Loaded will provide unlimited live cut-ins and highlights from numerous games, plus up-to-the-minute commentary from ESPN analysts and experts each day of the Regionals. Bases Loaded will be available Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, from 2 p.m. ET to midnight; Sunday, June 2, from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.; and Monday, June 3, from 6 p.m. to midnight. ESPN3 will carry the network in its entirety while ESPNU and ESPN2 will simulcast at select times, including between games and rain delays when time permits. Every game will also be available on WatchESPN.

ESPN offered a network record 272 regular-season and conference championship games – 160 exclusively – across ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN2 and ESPN in the 2013 campaign. This season’s lineup marks an increase of 50 exclusive games over the 110 regular-season and conference championship matchups on ESPN platforms in 2012.

In addition to the expanded Regionals schedule, ESPN will continue to cover every Super Regional site (up to 24 games from eight sites) and all possible 17 games of the College World Series.

Selection Show

The 2013 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship field of 64 teams will be announced on May 27 at Noon on ESPNU.

And I have a couple of more posts for you, but they won’t involve ESPN.

Notre Dame To Join ACC in All Sports Except Football & Hockey

Announced today by the Atlantic Coast Conference and will be made official at press conferences both at the league offices and at South Bend, Notre Dame will join the ACC in all sports except for football (naturally) and hockey (again, naturally).

ACC Accepts Notre Dame @fightingirish as New Member. Irish to become 15th member of the league. #NDACC bit.ly/ACC-ND-091212

— The ACC (@theACC) September 12, 2012

In exchange for joining the ACC, Notre Dame has agreed to play five conference teams a year in football. So ND will leave the Big East just as the conference is negotiating with ESPN for a new TV rights deal. And the ACC has once again poached the Big East as it already will get Syracuse and Pittsburgh in addition to earlier lures, Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech. So in basketball, baseball and in Olympic sports, the ACC will increase to 15 member schools.

And a big factor in Notre Dame’s decision to remain independent in football is its contract with NBC which lasts until 2015. NBC has rights to 7-8 Notre Dame home games a year. ESPN also benefits as it will be guaranteed at one to two Notre Dame games at ACC sites.

Here’s the press release from the ACC.

ACC Accepts Notre Dame as New Member

Irish to become 15th member of the league.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to accept the University of Notre Dame as a new member. The Irish will compete as full members in all conference sponsored sports with the exception of football which will play five games annually against league programs.

“We are committed to keeping the Atlantic Coast Conference a vibrant and competitive league dedicated to ensuring the appropriate balance of academics, athletics and integrity,” said the ACC Council of Presidents in a joint statement. “The addition of Notre Dame further strengthens the rich tradition and culture of the ACC as well as allowing for future academic collaboration and we enthusiastically welcome them into the league.”

“The ACC was founded on the cornerstones of balancing academics, athletics and integrity,” said Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford. “Our partnership with Notre Dame only strengthens this long-standing commitment. Notre Dame enhances the league’s unique blend of public and private institutions that are international in scope. The collective alumni and fan bases cover the entire country with exceptionally strong roots up and down the Atlantic Coast. This is a terrific milestone in the evolution of the ACC and showcases tremendous solidarity and vision by our Council of Presidents.”

“The ACC is composed of some of the most highly respected universities in the country, and we at Notre Dame look forward to joining them,” said Notre Dame President, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. “With a mix of institutions – many of which are also private, similar to Notre Dame in size, and committed to excellence in research and undergraduate education – the ACC is an exceptionally good fit for us academically, as well as athletically.”

“We have monitored the changing conference landscape for many months and have concluded that moving to the ACC is the best course of action for us,” said Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame Vice President and Director of Athletics. “We are able to maintain our historic independence in football, join in the ACC’s non-BCS bowl package, and provide a new and extremely competitive home for our other sports.”

With the addition of Notre Dame, the ACC’s future membership includes 11 institutions ranked among the top 58 in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report survey of “America’s Best Colleges”, more than any other conference also competing at the highest level athletically.

In addition to extending an invitation to Notre Dame, the Council of Presidents voted to increase the conference exit fees to three times the annual operating budget. Currently this would equate to an exit fee of over $50 million.

Did you read that last sentence? An exit fee of $50 million? No one’s getting poached from the ACC now.

Notre Dame will stay on course joining Hockey East.

Networks of ESPN To Air 83 Games of NCAA Division I Baseball Championship

Starting this weekend, the ESPN Family of Networks will begin airing the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. In total, 83 games will be aired over ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. It begins with the regionals this weekend, then the Super Regionals the following weekend and one of college sports’ greatest events, the College World Series in Omaha, NE to be played for the second time at TD Ameritrade Park.

This is a very long press release that will require a page break so get ready to scroll if you want to take a look at the entire NCAA Baseball Championship schedule.

We’ll begin with the text of the announcement, then do the jump break.

Record-Setting 83 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Games Scheduled

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine to provide a record schedule of up to 83 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship games from June 1 to June 26, culminating with the College World Series. The addition of up to 14 games from two more Regional series surpasses the previous high of a maximum 69 games set last year.

The schedule includes complete coverage of six Regionals (up to 42 games from June 1-4), two more than the previous two championships; all eight Super Regionals sites (up to 24 games from June 8-11); and every College World Series game (up to 17 games from June 15-26) from the TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.

ESPN3 will double its exclusive coverage from last year – its first for exclusive games – offering a possible 28 contests from five Regionals sites. ESPNU will televise up to 20 games from the Regionals and Super Regionals while ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to cover a maximum 35 games from all three rounds, including the entire NCAA Men’s College World Series for the 10th straight year.

Every game will also be available via WatchESPN, which delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV.

Seven of the analysts have played in the College World Series: Chris Burke (Tennessee), Randy Flores (USC), Jay Payton (Georgia Tech), Kyle Peterson (Stanford), Nomar Garciaparra (Georgia Tech), Ben McDonald (LSU) and Paul Lo Duca (Arizona State).

Studio Coverage
Mike Rooney and Ben McDonald will provide analysis from the studio for the Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series. Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano will serve as an ESPNU guest analyst during the Regionals on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June. 2. In addition to providing pre- and post-game analysis, they will contribute on ESPNU’s SportsCenterU programs June 1 to June 3 at 3 p.m. ET, 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.

ESPNU will also provide extensive pre- and post-game studio reports during the College World Series as well as telecasts of the teams’ press conferences Thursday, June 14 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, June 23, at noon.

Regionals (June 1-4): ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will offer complete and exclusive coverage of six Regionals sites.

• Each site will feature four teams competing in a double-elimination format and each site winner (a total of 16 sites) will advance to the Super Regionals. 
• Adam Amin, Joe Davis, Justin Kutcher, Clay Matvick, Mark Neely and Ducis Rodgers are scheduled to provide play-by-play while Nick Belmonte, Chris Burke, Randy Flores, Danny Kanell, Jay Payton and Kyle Peterson will provide analysis.

And the jump break here. Then the schedules for the Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series.
(continue reading…)

NCAA.com To Stream 400 Hours of Spring Championships

NCAA.com will stream some 400 hours of live coverage of its Spring Championships starting this weekend. Most of the championships will be in Division II and III, but unlike many Division I Championships which are granted to ESPN’s networks, NCAA.com is the only way to watch the live action.

The Championships will range in sports from volleyball, track & field, golf, tennis, baseball, rowing and so much more.

Streaming begins on Friday, April 27 with the Division III Men’s Volleyball Tournament and will last until Sunday, June 3 with early coverage of the Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Tournament.

So you can see, there will be a wide range of sports covered by NCAA.com. Here’s the press release.

NCAA.com to Provide More than 400 Hours of Live Streaming Video from 2012 NCAA^® Spring Championships

NCAA.com to serve as official online and mobile destination for all 37 NCAA Spring Championships

Turner Sports and the NCAA have announced that fans can enjoy the 2012 NCAA spring championships -– with more than 400 combined hours of live streaming video from more than 200 events – on NCAA.com and the free NCAA Sports iPhone app. Live coverage begins Friday, April 27, with the inaugural Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship from Springfield, Mass., and continues through June 3. A total of 30 championships will be streamed live exclusively on NCAA.com including Division I men’s and women’s golf, Division I men’s and women’s tennis, National Collegiate men’s volleyball, National Collegiate women’s water polo and Division II and III men’s lacrosse.

To prepare fans for the upcoming championships, NCAA.com will also stream 20 selection shows to reveal the championship fields and key matchups.

“We’re thrilled to provide college sports fans with the most live video coverage of spring championships available anywhere,” said Mark Johnson, vice president and general manager, NCAA Digital. “NCAA.com continues to expand its reach within collegiate athletics and truly is the only website where fans can track and follow their schools and student-athletes across all sports.”

In addition to the live streaming coverage, NCAA.com will serve as the official online and mobile hub for the NCAA spring championships. During the seven-week period, fans will be able to experience all the action from their favorite sports, athletic programs and student-athletes through the site’s coverage of all 37 NCAA spring championships including the College World Series, Women’s College World Series and Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Championships. Coverage will include:

• Interactive Tournament Brackets:The content hub for each championship, this bracket provides quick links to all relevant content for each matchup.
• Video Highlights/Interviews/Features: Extensive video content, including game highlights from all 37 spring championships, coach and student-athlete interviews and behind-the-scenes video features.
• Live Scores and Statistics: The latest scores and schedules from each championship, as well as box scores and play-by-play
• Comprehensive Editorial Coverage: In-depth analysis from the NCAA.com editorial team including previews, on-site student-athlete and team features, and recaps from all the championship action.

“Providing fans, our membership, our student-athletes and the student-athletes’ families with the convenience of accessing our NCAA championships in real-time and on multiple platforms keeps them engaged and updated on the tournaments,” said Mark Lewis, NCAA executive vice president for championships and alliances. “We also have an opportunity to potentially increase the fan base and viewership of NCAA sports that aren’t normally televised through additional online streaming and mobile device applications, which ultimately puts more eyes on the accomplishments of NCAA student-athletes.”

NCAA.com Live Video Streaming Schedule for NCAA^® Spring Championships
(start times TBD)

Friday, April 27
	Division III Men’s Volleyball Quarterfinals (Springfield, MA)
Saturday, April 28
	Division III Men’s Volleyball Semifinals (Springfield, MA)
Sunday, April 29
	Division III Men’s Volleyball Finals (Springfield, MA)
Thursday, May 3
	National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Semifinals (Los Angeles, CA)
Tuesday, May 8
	Division III Women’s Golf First Round (Angola, IN)
Wednesday, May 9
	Division III Women’s Golf Second Round (Angola, IN)
Thursday, May 10
	Division III Women’s Golf Third Round (Angola, IN)
Friday, May 11
	National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo First Round (San Diego, CA)
	Division III Women’s Golf Fourth Round (Angola, IN)
Saturday, May 12
	National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Consolation Games (San Diego, CA)
	National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Semifinals (San Diego, CA)
Sunday, May 13
	National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo 7th Place Game (San Diego, CA)
	National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo 5th Place Game (San Diego, CA)
	National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo 3rd Place Game (San Diego, CA)
	National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Finals (San Diego, CA)
Tuesday, May 15
	Division III Men’s Golf First Round (Howey-in-the-Hills, FL)
	Division II Softball Finals (Louisville, KY)
Wednesday, May 16
	Division III Men’s Golf Second Round (Howey-in-the-Hills, FL)
	Division II Women’s Golf First Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s Golf First Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team Finals – First Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Softball Finals (Louisville, KY)
Thursday, May 17
	Division III Men’s Golf Third Round (Howey-in-the-Hills, FL)
	Division II Women’s Golf Second Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s Golf Second Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team Finals – Quarterfinals (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Softball Finals (Louisville, KY)
Friday, May 18
	Division III Men’s Golf Fourth Round (Howey-in-the-Hills, FL)
	Division II Women’s Golf Third Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s Golf Third Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team Finals – Semifinals (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Women’s Lacrosse Semifinals (Louisville, KY)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team First Round (Athens, GA)
	Division II Softball Finals (Louisville, KY)
	Division III Softball Finals (Salem, VA)
Saturday, May 19
	Division II Women’s Golf Fourth Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s Golf Fourth Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team Finals – First Round (Louisville, KY)
	Division III Women’s Lacrosse Semifinals (Louisville, KY)
	Division II Softball Finals (Louisville, KY)
	Division III Softball Finals (Salem, VA)
Sunday, May 20
	Division II Women’s Lacrosse Semifinals (Louisville, KY)
	Division III Women’s Lacrosse Semifinals (Louisville, KY)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Quarterfinals (Athens, GA)
	Division III Softball Finals (Salem, VA)
Monday, May 21
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Semifinals (Athens, GA)
	Division III Softball Finals (Salem, VA)
Tuesday, May 22
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Quarterfinals (Cary, NC)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team Finals (Athens, GA)
	Division III Softball Finals (Salem, VA)
Wednesday, May 23
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Semifinals (Cary, NC)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis First Round (Singles) (Athens, GA)
Thursday, May 24
	Division II Outdoor Track & Field Finals (Pueblo, CO)
	Division III Outdoor Track & Field Finals (Claremont, CA)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team -  3rd Place (Cary, NC)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Team Finals (Cary, NC)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Second Round (Singles) (Athens, GA)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis First Round (Doubles) (Athens, GA)
Friday, May 25
	Division II Outdoor Track & Field Finals (Pueblo, CO)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Round of 32 (Singles) (Cary, NC)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Round of 16 (Singles) (Cary, NC)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Round of 16 (Doubles) (Cary, NC)
	Division III Outdoor Track & Field Finals (Claremont, CA)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Round of 16 (Singles/Doubles) (Athens, GA)
	Division III Baseball Finals (Appleton, WI)
	Division III Baseball Finals (Appleton, WI)
	Division III Baseball Finals (Appleton, WI)
	Division I Women’s Rowing Day 1 Heats (West Windsor, NJ)
	Division II Women’s Rowing Day 1 Heats (West Windsor, NJ)
	Division III Women’s Rowing Day 1 Heats/Qualifier (West Windsor, NJ)
Saturday, May 26
	Division II Outdoor Track & Field Finals (Pueblo, CO)
	Division III Outdoor Track & Field Finals (Claremont, CA)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Quarterfinals (Singles) (Cary, NC)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Quarterfinals (Doubles) (Cary, NC)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Semifinals (Singles) (Cary, NC)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Quarterfinals (Singles/Doubles) (Athens, GA)
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
	Division III Baseball Finals (Appleton, WI)
	Division I Women’s Rowing Day 2 Semifinals (West Windsor, NJ)
	Division II Women’s Rowing Day 2 Repechage (West Windsor, NJ)
	Division III Women’s Rowing Day 2 Finals (West Windsor, NJ)
Sunday, May 27
	Division II Men’s Lacrosse Finals (Foxborough MA)
	Division III Men’s Lacrosse Finals (Foxborough, MA)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Semifinals (Doubles) (Cary, NC)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Singles Final (Cary, NC)
	Division III Men’s & Women’s Tennis Doubles Final (Cary, NC)
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Semifinals (Singles/Doubles) (Athens, GA)
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
	Division III Baseball Finals (Appleton, WI)
	Division I Women’s Rowing Day 3 Finals (West Windsor, NJ)
	Division II Women’s Rowing Day 3 Finals(West Windsor, NJ)
Monday, May 28
	Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Finals (Singles & Doubles) (Athens, GA)
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
	Division III Baseball Finals (Appleton, WI)
Tuesday, May 29
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
	Division III Baseball Finals (Appleton, WI)
Wednesday, May 30
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
Thursday, May 31
	Division I Men’s Golf First Round (Pacific Palisades, CA)
	Division I Women’s Golf First Round (Franklin, TN)
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
Friday, June 1
	Division I Men’s Golf Second Round (Pacific Palisades, CA)
	Division I Women’s Golf Second Round (Franklin, TN)
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
Saturday, June 2
	Division I Men’s Golf Third Round (Pacific Palisades, CA)
	Division I Women’s Golf Third Round (Franklin, TN)
	Division II Baseball Finals (Cary, NC)
Sunday, June 3
	Division I Men’s Golf Fourth Round (Pacific Palisades, CA)
	Division I Women’s Golf Fourth Round (Franklin, TN)

That will do it.

Churning Out Some MLK Day Linkage

Let’s do some linkage on this MLK Day, a holiday for some of you.

We’ll begin with a story from an unusual source, Newsweek/The Daily Beast. Nick Summers of Newsweek writes about how ESPN’s subscriber fees could force cable providers to place the network on pay tiers.

Michael Hiestand at USA Today reports that CBS wants Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow as a guest analyst for The NFL Today before Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Hiestand delves into the overnight ratings for NFL Divisional Playoffs Sunday.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today notes that several TV analysts and national radio hosts ripped the officiating in yesterday’s New York Giants-Green Bay Packers NFL Divisional Playoff Game.

Ben Grossman at Broadcasting & Cable says filmmaker Peter Berg who’s “On Freddie Roach” series premieres on HBO this week, wants to produce a similar series on Washington State head football coach Mike Leach.

Michael Malone from B&C tells us that Sunbeam-owned TV stations in Boston and Miami were pulled from DirecTV forcing viewers to scramble to find ways to watch yesterday’s NFL action and the Golden Globe Awards.

Alex Weprin at TVNewser says Current TV host Keith Olbermann went to visit MLB Network, which housed his former MSNBC offices and found some interesting mementos.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid has video of a Chicago Blackhawks fan professing his love for Comcast SportsNet reporter Sarah Kustok.

Brandon Costa from Sports Video Group looks at how the College of Charleston produces its own basketball telecasts for ESPN3 and local TV affiliates.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell doesn’t like how colleges and universities are restricting their student-athletes from using social media.

The Tennis Times has a video giving us an inside look at the Australian Open Media Day.

Dan Lamothe of the Springfield Republican’s Red Sox Monster blog notes that former NESN Red Sox reporter Heidi Watney returns to New England next month for a charity auction.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the Tim Tebow TV phenomenon.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is not a fan of Daryl “Moose” Johnston.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union notes that the Dial Global/Westwood One broadcasts of the NFL Conference Games will be heard locally.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local talk show host is heading to Motown.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun actually praises CBS’ production of the Houston-Baltimore game.

The Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins conducted the first interview with former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno since the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke.

Sally also answered readers questions on the interview and how she got Paterno to speak with her.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN tennis analyst Darren Cahill about the Australian Open.

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

Also from the Times, Eric Deggans wonders why news anchors were doing promos for a local Monster Truck event.

One more from the Times, Laura Keeley says Florida State fans lined up to be part of ESPN’s College GameDay’s appearance on campus on Saturday.

At the Houston Chronicle, David Barron isn’t a fan of the two minute commercial CBS gave to Subway during The NFL Today postgame show yesterday.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman reports that ESPN has settled a wrongful termination lawsuit put forth by former play-by-play man Ron Franklin.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the NFL insiders were reporting on possible Packers coaching news yesterday.

In Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman looks at the 20th anniversary of sports talk radio in the Windy City with several local personalities.

To the Denver Post where Dusty Saunders talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz about the demise of the Broncos and Tim Tebow on Saturday.

Dawn C. Chmielewski of the Los Angeles Times looks at how ESPN is trying to push 3-D on the unwanting American people.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with ESPN Radio LA host Marcellus Wiley about his acute memory loss and also has his 20th annual bests and worsts in SoCal sports talk radio.

Tom has more with Marcellus in his blog.

Tom also has his SoCal sports calendar for the week.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail notes how slow motion has revolutionized sports television.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing is echoing what I’ve been saying the last couple of weeks, and that he’s becoming a fan of Joe Buck.

Sports Media Watch also looks at the ratings of the New York Football Giants and Green Bay Packers on Fox.

The Wiz of Odds looks into ESPN allegedly taking credit for a story originally reported by someone outside of the network. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

Joe Favorito wonders what’s next for Tim Tebow both as a player and as a marketer.

And that will conclude our linkage for today.

ESPN Extends Agreement With NCAA For Championships Through 2023-24

The networks continue to lock in long-terms agreements and today, we receive this press release from ESPN regarding the NCAA Championships. With this agreement, the ESPN networks will air championships in sports including Football, Women’s Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Volleyball, Track & Field, Gymnastics, Lacrosse, Softball and Baseball.

The championships will be aired on all ESPN platforms including TV and online. ESPNU will get a huge block of programming devoted to college sports. ESPN will also get various streaming rights for ESPN3.

ESPN picks up seven NCAA Championships in this agreement including three from CBS/CBS Sports Network women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field.

Here’s the announcement from ESPN and the NCAA.

ESPN and NCAA® Extend Rights Agreement through 2023-24

Expanded Rights Secured for ESPN3 and Other Multi-media Platforms for 24 NCAA Championships;
Exclusive International Rights for NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship;
NIT^® Season Tip-Off and NIT Postseason Coverage

ESPN, Inc. and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) today announced a multiyear agreement through 2023-24 for worldwide, multi-media rights to 24 NCAA championships and exclusive multi-media rights outside the United States, its territories and Bermuda for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. The new agreement, which takes effect immediately, also provides expanded coverage of each round of the NIT Season Tip-Off and all games from the NIT Postseason Tournament across the ESPN networks.

The new agreement includes 600-plus hours and 300 telecasts of live coverage annually across more platforms than ever before. It contains rights for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN 3D, ESPN Mobile, ESPN FULL COURT, GamePlan, Buzzer Beater, Goal Line, ESPN International, ESPN Deportes, ESPN.com and WatchESPN, with many of the 24 championships produced in high definition on ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD and ESPNU HD.

Exclusive coverage of the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship and broad rights covering the NCAA Division I Football Championship, and the Men’s and Women’s College World Series, among others, will continue on the ESPN networks.

“We have enjoyed a great relationship with the NCAA that has spanned the history of ESPN,” said George Bodenheimer, President, ESPN and ABC Sports, and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks. “This is our most comprehensive agreement yet and ensures sports fans will have access to top-level NCAA athletics across ESPN networks and platforms.”

“Thousands of inspiring and compelling student-athletes make it to the championship level every year, and we at the NCAA are excited to be able to share their stories with a broader audience than ever,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “Across all sports and divisions, our primary goal is to support student-athlete success both on the field and in the classroom, and this new agreement provides us a greater ability to do so.”

ESPN expands its exclusive final round NCAA coverage with 24 NCAA championships:

• Fall – Division I women’s soccer; Division I men’s soccer; Division I women’s volleyball; Division I football (FCS); Division II football and Division III football
• Winter – Division I men’s and women’s indoor track & field; Division I men’s and women’s swimming & diving; Division I women’s basketball; Division I wrestling; Division I men’s ice hockey; National Collegiate women’s bowling; National Collegiate women’s gymnastics and National Collegiate men’s and women’s fencing.
• Spring – National Collegiate men’s volleyball; Division I men’s and women’s lacrosse; Division I men’s and women’s outdoor track & field; Division I softball and Division I baseball

ESPN is adding coverage of seven NCAA championships: National Collegiate women’s gymnastics, National Collegiate men’s and women’s fencing, Division I women’s lacrosse, Division I men’s and women’s outdoor track & field and National Collegiate women’s bowling (previously sublicensed from CBS). ESPN will also air additional preliminary round coverage of selected NCAA championships including Division I football (FCS), Division I women’s volleyball, Division I softball and Division I baseball.

ESPNU

• Additional coverage on ESPN’s 24-hour college sports network, including high-profile, preliminary-round NCAA championships exposure. ESPNU has featured original NCAA content since the network’s inception on March 4, 2005
• During the 2011-12 season, 15 NCAA national champions will be crowned on ESPNU in the following events: National Collegiate women’s bowling; National collegiate men’s and women’s fencing; Division III football; National Collegiate women’s gymnastics; Division I men’s and women’s indoor track & field; Division I women’s lacrosse; Division I men’s and women’s outdoor track & field; Division I men’s and women’s soccer; Division I men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and National Collegiate men’s volleyball
• More than 90 events and 220 hours of NCAA championship programming during the 2011-12 season

ESPN3

• ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network will feature exclusive coverage from selected rounds and sites of 16 NCAA championships including: Division I baseball; National Collegiate men’s and women’s fencing; Division I football (FCS); National Collegiate women’s gymnastics; Division I men’s and women’s indoor track & field; Division I women’s lacrosse; Division I men’s and women’s outdoor track & field; Division I women’s soccer; Division I softball; Division I men’s and women’s swimming & diving; Division I women’s volleyball and Division I wrestling
• Extensive early-round event coverage from Division I baseball, Division I football (FCS), Division I men’s ice hockey, Division I softball, Division I women’s volleyball and Division I wrestling
• 80-plus live exclusive events from NCAA championships, the NIT Season Tip-Off and NIT Postseason Tournament during the 2011-12 season

Women’s Basketball

• ESPN remains the exclusive home of the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.  ESPN has carried the championship since 1996
• 2012 marks the 10^th consecutive year of airing the entire championship with all 63 games tipping-off live on ESPN networks
• ESPN continues to feature the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special with Selection Monday on ESPN

Men’s Basketball

• International rights for the entire NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, including distribution in Latin America (Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America), the Middle East and Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Europe, Japan and Canada (via TSN)
• Selected highlight rights from the complete championship for distribution in the U.S. and international territories
• Exclusive home of the men’s basketball NIT Season Tip-Off and NIT Postseason Tournament, including expanded coverage of the tip-off event and all rounds from the postseason tournament
• Live studio coverage from inside the stadium at the Men’s Final Four^®

Studio Shows

• In addition to women’s basketball, ESPN maintains exclusive rights to selected NCAA championship selection shows. ESPNU will showcase Division I baseball, Division I football (FCS), Division I men’s ice hockey, Division I men’s lacrosse, Division I softball, and Division I women’s volleyball selection shows.

That will do it.

NESN Signs Deal To Air ACC Syndication Package

This just in from the New England Sports Network a.k.a. NESN. It has signed a deal to air the ACC cable syndication package which means a total of 14 football games and over 30 men’s basketball games. It’s similar to what Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic announced last week. And NESN will air the weekly “ACC All-Access” show. In addition to football and basketball, NESN will have the rights to air conference lacrosse, soccer and baseball games.

We have the press release direct from NESN.

NESN EXTENDS AND EXPANDS ACC MULTI-SPORT RIGHTS AGREEMENT

New Partnership Includes Live Coverage of 14 ACC Football Games Beginning September 3

BOSTON, MA – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, today announced a multi-year, multi-sport rights agreement to air Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) events. The new agreement expands on the network’s six-year partnership with the conference to include a weekly ACC football game in addition to over 30 men’s basketball telecasts. Also included as part of the agreement will be live coverage of women’s basketball regular season and conference tournament games plus baseball, softball, lacrosse, and the weekly program “ACC All-Access”.  All football and men’s/women’s basketball telecasts will be produced in HD.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with the ACC to include a weekly football game, giving New England sports fans a chance to see some of the best college football in the nation,” said Sean McGrail, NESN’s President and CEO.

NESN’s season-long coverage of ACC football will begin this Saturday, September 3 at 3:30 PM when North Carolina hosts James Madison. Additional matchups scheduled to air on NESN in September include:

September 10 – North Carolina State at Wake Forest – 3:30 PM
September 17 – Kansas at Georgia Tech – 12:30 PM
September 17 – Arkansas State at Virginia Tech – 4:00 PM

Matchups for the remainder of the schedule will be announced on a week-to-week basis.

As part of the new agreement, NESN will also feature live coverage of the 12^th ranked Boston College women’s soccer team on September 22 at 8:00 PM when they travel to 3^rd ranked Maryland.

A full schedule of all the ACC games that will air NESN will be available later this month at NESN.com.

And we have the ACC football schedule that will be aired on NESN throughout the season.

NESN’s 2011 ACC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Saturday, September 3 – James Madison at North Carolina, 3:30 PM
Saturday, September 10 – North Carolina State at Wake Forest, 3:30 PM
Saturday, September 17  – Kansas at Georgia Tech, 12:30 PM
Saturday, September 17  – Arkansas State at Virginia Tech, 4:00 PM
Saturday, September 24 – Teams TBD, 3:30 PM
Saturday, October 1– Teams TBD, 3:30 PM
Saturday, October 8 – Teams TBD, 3:00 PM
Saturday, October 15 – Teams TBD, 3:00 PM
Saturday, October 22 – Teams TBD, 3:00 PM
Saturday, October 29 – Teams TBD, 3:00 PM
Saturday, November 5 – Teams TBD, 3:00 PM
Saturday, November 12 – Teams TBD, 3:00 PM
Saturday, November 19 – Teams TBD, 3:00 PM
Saturday, November 26 – Teams TBD, 3:30 PM

That will do it.

Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Obtains Rights To ACC Sports

This coming in the last few days, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic has obtained the rights to the Atlantic Coast Conference. This is a cable syndication contract that is part of ESPN’s rights to the conference. As a result, Comcast SportsNet will be able to air a weekly conference football game, 14 in all. It will also have the rights to air up to 59 basketball games, 31 of them focusing in men’s action. And in addition, Comcast SportsNet will have the rights to air ACC baseball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and other sports. So this is a big deal and gives Comcast SportsNet some 120 conference events as programming.

We have the press release for you.

COMCAST SPORTSNET MID-ATLANTIC ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL

LONG-TERM AGREEMENT ALSO FEATURES BASEBALL, SOCCER AND LACROSSE

Bethesda, Md. (Aug. 25, 2011) – Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, the region’s leading source for multiplatform sports coverage, has acquired long-term television rights to live Atlantic Coast Conference football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse, as well as other conference events. Through the multi-sport agreement, Comcast SportsNet remains the region’s official sports network of the ACC and will televise up to 120 live conference events annually.

The comprehensive package begins this season and provides Comcast SportsNet with a weekly schedule of live ACC football for the first time since 2004 and significantly expands its lineup of other conference sporting events. The network, which obtained the rights as part of the new ACC Network sublicensed regional package, will deliver this programming exclusively to more than 4.7 million households throughout Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

“Our longstanding relationship with the ACC, its member schools and their many fans throughout the region make our network an ideal partner for the conference and a great home for their exciting product,” said Comcast SportsNet Senior Vice President and General Manager Rebecca Schulte. “This partnership represents a considerable increase in our high-quality programming and confirms our position as the region’s leader in college sports coverage.”

Comcast SportsNet will be the regional rights-holder for 14 ACC football games this season, beginning with James Madison at North Carolina on Sept. 3 at 3:30 p.m. Other match-ups scheduled to air on the network include NC State at Wake Forest on Sept. 10 at 3:30 p.m. and a doubleheader on Sept. 17 featuring Kansas at Georgia Tech (12:30 p.m.) and Arkansas State at Virginia Tech (4 p.m.) The remainder of the football schedule will be announced throughout the season.

Also highlighting the new package of ACC programming is up to 59 basketball games, including up to 31 men’s games – featuring 16 conference match-ups – and 28 women’s basketball games. In addition, Comcast SportsNet now has the rights for up to 20 conference baseball games, including ACC baseball tournament games, and a variety of soccer, lacrosse, volleyball, softball and field hockey. The network will also be home to ‘ACC All Access,’ a weekly half-hour program.

Comcast SportsNet also has established partnerships with the three ACC programs in the region, the University of Maryland, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. These school partnerships will complement the network’s robust conference programming with special team and coaches’ shows, encore game presentations and marketing and branding elements. The network also has partnerships with other colleges throughout the region, including the University of Richmond, Towson University, Old Dominion, James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The new ACC package adds to Comcast SportsNet’s already substantial live-game coverage of college athletics. As the official sports network of the Colonial Athletic Association, the network produces and airs a full schedule of conference football and basketball games and serves as the region’s exclusive provider of syndicated football, basketball and baseball games from the nation’s top conferences, including the Pac-12, Big 12 and Conference USA.

That’s all.

ESPN & ESPN2 See Increased Audience For College World Series

Received this blurb from Bristol, CT in regards to the increased viewership for both ESPN and ESPN2 during the College World Series. In addition, the two game Championship Series saw significant increases from the previous year.

ESPN & ESPN2’s College World Series Presentation Posts Audience Growth

ESPN’s Two-Game Finals Series Shows Significant Increase

ESPN and ESPN2’s complete coverage of the College World Series posted audience growth over last year, highlighted by significant increases for both telecasts of the championship finals.

The best-of-three championship, won in two games by South Carolina, averaged  2,233,000 total viewers, 1,618,000 households and a 1.6 rating, marking increases of 43% (vs. 1,558,000), 33% (vs. 1,220,000) and 33% (vs. 1.2), respectively, over last year.

Overall, ESPN’s 11 telecasts averaged 1,310,000 viewers, 994,000 households and a 1.0 rating for increases of 9% (vs. 1, 198,000), 7% (vs. 933,000) and 11% (vs. 0.9), respectively, over last year’s six contests. ESPN2 also showed growth, averaging 999,000 viewers, 771,000 households and a 0.8 rating for four games, marking increases of 26% (vs. 794,000), 28% (vs. 603,000) and 33% (vs. 0.6).

Back later.

College World Series Starts Saturday On ESPN

The networks of ESPN will carry college baseball’s signature event, the College World Series in Omaha, NE. This year, the event takes place at a new venue, TD Ameritrade Park after retiring Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010.

Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser and Robin Ventura will be the main announcing team. The Wednesday Night Baseball team of Dave O’Brien and Nomar Garciaparra will be the other announcers. Jon Sciambi will also call games from Omaha for ESPN. Jenn Brown replaces Erin Andrews as the main on-field reporter and Kyle Peterson will also be on hand as well.

Here’s the schedule of games on ESPN and ESPN2.

NCAA College World Series

Two of the eight qualifying teams are making consecutive College World Series appearances, including defending National Champion South Carolina and Florida. No team has won the national championship back-to-back in over five decades. The first four matchups:

• First-time College World Series participant Vanderbilt will take on North Carolina, playing in its fifth College World Series in the past six years.
• Texas will play in its record 34th College World Series, taking on Florida which is making its second since 2005.
• California, making its first College World Series appearance in 19 years, will take on Virginia, which earned its second berth in the event ever and finished the season with the best record in college baseball.
• Defending Champion South Carolina will take on Texas A&M, playing in its first College World Series since 1999.

* If necessary

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Matchups / Commentators	Network
Sat, Jun 18	2 p.m.	1	Vanderbilt vs. North Carolina Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	2	Texas vs. Florida Dave O’Brien, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
Sun, Jun 19	2 p.m.	3	California vs. Virginia Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	4	Texas A&M vs. South Carolina Dave O’Brien, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
Mon, Jun 20	2 p.m.	5	Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	6	Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 Jon Sciambi, Orel Hershiser & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD/ESPN3.com
Tue, Jun 21	2 p.m.	7	Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 Jon Sciambi, Nomar Garciaparra & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	8	Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
Wed, Jun 22	7 p.m.	9	Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 5 Jon Sciambi, Robin Ventura & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD/ESPN3.com
Thu, Jun 23	7 p.m.	10	Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 7 Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD/ESPN3.com
Fri, Jun 24	2 p.m.	11	Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 9 Jon Sciambi, Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	12	Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10 Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
Sat, Jun 25	2 p.m.	13 **	If necessary Jon Sciambi, Nomar Garciaparra & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	14 **	If necessary Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
Mon, Jun 27	8 p.m.	1	Series Final Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura, Kyle Peterson & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
Tue, Jun 28	8 p.m.	2	Series Final Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura, Kyle Peterson & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV
Wed, Jun 29	8 p.m.	3 *	Series Final Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura, Kyle Peterson & Jenn Brown	ESPN HD/ESPN3.com/ ESPN Mobile TV

** If only Game 13 is necessary, it will be played at 7 p.m. on ESPN2

That will do it.

ESPN Networks To Air Every Game of the NCAA Div. I Baseball Super Regionals

Yup, for the first time, ESPN’s networks, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will be all over the Division I Super Regionals, a possible 24 games from eight sites this weekend. The best two out of three series will be aired starting this Friday. This will lead up to the eight teams that will play in the College World Series in Omaha, NE later this month. Here is the ESPN press release which includes all of the games on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Super Regionals

ESPN’s NCAA Division I Baseball Championship schedule – a record possible 69 games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV – will continue with all possible 24 Super Regional games from the eight series sites June 10-13. ESPN will conclude coverage with every College World Series game (June 18-29) from the new TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.

For the first time, all of the telecasts will be produced in high definition and every Super Regionals game will be televised nationally (select games were previously regionalized).

In addition to traditional coverage, ESPN.com and other digital platforms will provide unique, original coverage of the NCAA Baseball Championship. For the third consecutive year, ESPN will use social networking sites Facebook (ESPNOmaha) and Twitter (@ESPN_Omaha) to provide fans with updates and behind-the-scenes insight into the tournament. ESPN.com content includes a behind the scenes look at Oklahoma as it attempts to return to the College World Series, bracket analysis, and writers at many of the Regional and Super Regional sites.

NCAA Baseball Super Regionals Presented by Capital One

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup / Commentators	Game	Network
June 10	Noon	Mississippi State vs. Florida  (from Gainesville) Dave Neal & Frank Thomas	1	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	3 p.m.	Stanford vs. North Carolina (from Chapel Hill) Mike Patrick & Kyle Peterson	1	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	Arizona State vs. Texas (from Austin) Carter Blackburn, Nomar Garciaparra & Jenn Brown	1	ESPN / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	8 p.m.	Oregon State vs. Vanderbilt (from Nashville) Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	1	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
June 11	Noon	Florida vs. Mississippi State (from Gainesville) Dave Neal & Frank Thomas	2	ESPN / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	1 p.m.	UC Irvine vs. Virginia (from Charlottesville) Mike Gleason & Mike Rooney	1	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
	3 p.m.	North Carolina vs. Stanford  (from Chapel Hill) Mike Patrick & Kyle Peterson	2	ESPN / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	4:30 p.m.	Texas A&M vs. Florida State (from Tallahassee) Dan McLaughlin & Jay Walker	1	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
	6 p.m.	Connecticut vs. South Carolina (from Columbia) Clay Matvick & Paul Lo Duca	1	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	Texas vs. Arizona State (from Austin) Carter Blackburn, Nomar Garciaparra & Jenn Brown	2	ESPN / ESPN3.com
	8 p.m.	Dallas Baptist vs. California (from Santa Clara) Mark Neely & Nick Belmonte	1	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
	9 p.m.	Vanderbilt vs. Oregon State (from Nashville) Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	2	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
June 12	1 p.m.	Mississippi State vs. Florida (from Gainesville) Dave Neal & Frank Thomas	3*	ESPN / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	1 p.m.	Virginia vs. UC Irvine  (from Charlottesville) Mike Gleason & Mike Rooney	2	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
	4 p.m.	Stanford vs. North Carolina (from Chapel Hill) Mike Patrick & Kyle Peterson	3*	ESPN / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	4 p.m.	Florida State vs. Texas A&M (from Tallahassee) Dan McLaughlin & Jay Walker	2	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	Arizona State vs. Texas (from Austin) Carter Blackburn, Nomar Garciaparra & Jenn Brown	3*	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	South Carolina vs. Connecticut (from Columbia) Clay Matvick & Paul Lo Duca	2	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
	10 p.m.	Oregon State vs. Vanderbilt (from Nashville) Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	3*	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	10 p.m.	California vs. Dallas Baptist (from Santa Clara) Mark Neely & Nick Belmonte	2	ESPNU / ESPN3.com
June 13	1 p.m.	UC Irvine vs. Virginia (from Charlottesville) ** Mike Gleason & Mike Rooney	3*	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	4 p.m.	Texas A&M vs. Florida State (from Tallahassee) ** Dan McLaughlin & Jay Walker	3*	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	Connecticut vs. South Carolina (from Columbia) ** Clay Matvick & Paul Lo Duca	3*	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	Dallas Baptist vs. California (from Santa Clara) ** Mark Neely & Nick Belmonte	3*	ESPNU / ESPN3.com

* If necessary
** Schedule subject to change based on availability of if necessary games

That’s all.

Going For Wednesday Linkage

If you’ve been visiting the blog throughout the morning, you may have noticed a couple of theme changes and then the return of the current theme. I’ve been trying to make a few cosmetic changes, but I screwed them up so I had to delete the theme and then reinstall it. If you were visiting and saw a different look and got confused, I apologize. Just trying to make the blog look as best as possible. I can assure you I’m done with the cosmetic changes for a while.

Let’s do some links on this Wednesday.

Sean Leahy of USA Today notes that NBC’s Cris Collinsworth is so fearful that the NFL will lose half a season that he took a non-paying high school football coaching position for the fall.

Michael Hiestand looks at the ratings for the Indy 500, primetime baseball and the UEFA Champions League Final.

Lindsay Powers at the Hollywood Reporter writes that Lance Armstrong lawyers are demanding an apology from CBS News’ 60 Minutes stating that the program did shoddy journalism in a segment on his alleged steroid use.

Philiana Ng of the Reporter says NBC has selected its blockbuster hit, “The Voice” to air after Super Bowl XLVI next February.

George Winslow from Broadcasting & Cable says the NBA has launched a Windows phone app.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News reports that ESPN and Tennis Channel have extended their multimedia alliance for the French and Australian Opens starting next year.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life Magazine writes that having a Canadian team in the NHL Stanley Cup Final won’t help NBC’s ratings.

Last night, ESPN’s Chris Berman called the San Francisco Giants-St. Louis Cardinals game for the Alleged Worldwide Leader and as expected, it turned out to be a disaster. Berman can’t call play-by-play to save his life. Two examples of this EPIC FAIL.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has the video from Bubbaprog/Mocksession of Berman not getting the concept of a walk off win.

Then Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has video of Berman trying to be edgy or most likely, not having a clue about “Tossed Salad”.

Alex Weprin of SportsNewser visited the MLB Man Fan Cave.

Joe Favorito says the NCAA College World Series is a missed opportunity for college baseball.

My Twitter Trophy Wife Amanda Rykoff has compiled a hockey glossary at espnW just in time for the Stanley Cup Final.

From the upcoming New York Times Sunday Magazine, Jonathan Mahler profiles Captain Blowhard who’s already complaining about Grantland and the site hasn’t officially launched yet. The profile is long so get ready to scroll.

Richard Sandomir of the Times reports that former Montreal Expos and New York Mets Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter has an inoperable brain tumor.

Mike Madden of the Washington City Paper notes that DC NFL team owner and bully Daniel Snyder is taking the next step in his lawsuit against the publication by subpoenaing Washington Post blogger Dan Steinberg for just linking to the City Paper column that led him to sue in court.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner reports that ABC received the best NBA Finals overnight rating since 2004.

Jim says the NBC Sports Group gets to keep the Stanley Cup Final all to itself for the next two and a half weeks.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes that a local reporter may have jumped the gun when he reported on an alleged contract extension for the Magic’s Dwight Howard.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman says Game 5 of the Dallas-Oklahoma City NBA Western Conference Finals did very well in the local ratings.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the ESPN book has some Wisconsin ties.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business wonders if the Windy City will tune into the Stanley Cup Final.

Scott Dochterman of the Iowa City Gazette notes the rebranding of Big Ten Network.

Chris Foster from the Los Angeles Times speaks with “How I Met Your Mother Star” Cobie Smulders who like her character Robin Scherbatsky is a big Vancouver Canucks fan.

Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun says CBC’s Jim Hughson and Canucks voice John Shorthouse are happy to be calling their native Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN2′s coverage of the French Open will be all live starting next year.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media predicts how the Stanley Cup Final will fare on NBC/Versus this year.

That will do it for now.

ESPNU To Air Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week in April

Here’s a release I’ve been holding for a while and the ESPN PR department will be wondering why. It’s kind of timely now and better to post it now than when I received it late last year. Anyway, as part of its landmark deal with the SEC, ESPNU will start to air weekly conference baseball games on Thursday nights. For college baseball fans who have been complaining about a lack of exposure for the sport until the College World Series, you now have a weekly primetime series. Take a look at the press release and the schedule which will comprise of seven weeks.

ESPNU to Feature Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week

ESPNU’s inaugural Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week will begin Thursday, Apr. 7, at 7:30 p.m. and will run seven-straight weeks through May 19. A Thursday night national game of the week is a first for the college sport, and features all eight conference teams that earned NCAA postseason bids in 2010.

“ESPNU is thrilled to feature a seven-week SEC Thursday night baseball series,” said Rosalyn Durant, Vice President, ESPNU. “Showcasing the vast talent of SEC baseball is great for the sport, fans, league and ESPNU. We appreciate the partnership with the SEC in creating this consistent Thursday night national package.”

SEC baseball is coming off a successful season that saw South Carolina win the 2010 National Championship Series, Florida advanced to the College World Series and eight SEC teams overall earned a NCAA postseason bid. It marked the sixth time since 2000 and the third straight year an SEC team played for the national title.

ESPNU Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week schedule highlights include:

• 2010 national champion South Carolina, SEC Tournament champion LSU and SEC regular-season champion Florida
• Top 25 teams that advanced to the 2010 NCAA Championship – Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt

“The Thursday night package of SEC games on ESPNU is a great opportunity for us to showcase the outstanding baseball that is played in our conference,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “The ESPNU package will be able to draw attention to the outstanding game-day atmosphere we have at our baseball stadiums as well as the rich tradition and history of SEC baseball.”

ESPNU SEC Thursday Night Baseball Schedule
(Schedule subject to change)

Date	Time	Game
Apr 7	7:30 p.m.	South Carolina at Tennessee
Apr 14	7:30 p.m.	Tennessee at Alabama
Apr 21	7:30 p.m.	Ole Miss at Auburn
Apr 28	7:30 p.m.	Kentucky at LSU
May 5	7:30 p.m.	Florida at Arkansas
May 12	7:30 p.m.	Mississippi State at Ole Miss
May 19	7:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt at Georgia

And that my friends, will conclude the posting for tonight.

ESPN Gets Ready For College Basketball in Earnest

The last college basketball game to air on ESPN was back on December 18 when it aired USC at Kansas. Yes, I checked. On Tuesday, ESPN gets back to the college basketball wars big time by airing conference rivalries. In fact, ESPN is calling this week Conference Tip-Off as it really goes all-out with college basketball until March Madness. This means the very familiar Big Monday, Super Tuesday and Saturday Primetime return for the next couple of months.

We have your schedule of games for this week and the start of College Gameday, the basketball edition, this Saturday.

Conference Tip-Off Capped by First College GameDay

Conference Tip-Off enters its second season highlighting the first week of ESPN’s regular weekday and Saturday conference action, including Big Monday, Super Tuesday, Wednesday Night Hoops, Thursday Night Showcase and Saturday Primetime with 41 men’s and eight women’s games. The week is capped by seven contests to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 17 (including nine teams currently ranked in the men’s or women’s USA Today/ESPN Coach’s Poll Top 25).

ESPN’s College GameDay, the popular eight-week Saturday morning and evening college basketball program originating from the site of ESPN’s Saturday Primetime telecast, will debut for the season Saturday, Jan. 15, from Knoxville, Tenn., site of a doubleheader of the men’s and women’s teams against Vanderbilt. The men will play at noon, while the women’s game will start at 8 p.m. 

College GameDay will expand to include an extra hour of analysis, news and features on ESPNU at 10 a.m. ESPN will continue to televise the show, returning for its seventh season, at 11 a.m. and a one-hour edition at 8 p.m. (except January 15 when the show will air on ESPN at 10 a.m. and ESPNU at 11 a.m.). The Saturday Primetime game-of-the-week will be aired at 9 p.m. (except for January 15 and January 29). 

Conference Tip-Off highlights:

• A BIG EAST “Road Block” on Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. – No. 5 Pittsburgh at No. 19 Georgetown (ESPN), No.17 Louisville at No. 7 Villanova (ESPN2), No. 4 Syracuse at St. John’s (ESPNU);
• Also on Jan. 12, at 9 p.m. – No. 1 Duke at Florida State (ESPN); No. 3 Kansas at Iowa State (ESPN2) and Colorado at No. 20 Kansas State (ESPNU);
• Additional men’s games include: No. 12 Wisconsin at No. 24 Michigan State (Jan. 11, ESPN); No. 8 Purdue at No. 25 Minnesota (Jan. 13, ESPN); No. 12 Missouri at No. 13 Texas A&M (Jan. 15, ESPN2); Virginia at No. 1 Duke (Jan. 15, ESPN); Nebraska at No. 3 Kansas (Jan. 15, ESPNU); No. 7 Villanova at No. 9 Connecticut (Jan. 17, ESPN); No. 20 Kansas State at No. 12 Missouri (Jan. 17, ESPN); No. 4 Syracuse at No. 5 Pittsburgh (Jan. 17, ESPN); and No. 3 Kansas at Baylor (Jan. 17, ESPN);
• Women’s games include: Vanderbilt at No. 6 Tennessee (Jan. 15, ESPN); No. 17 Oklahoma at N. 24 Texas (Jan. 16, ESPNU); and No. 2 Connecticut at No. 8 North Carolina (Jan. 17, ESPN2);
• ESPN3.com has three exclusive men’s games: Liberty at High Point (Jan. 13); Valparaiso at Wright State (Jan. 14); and Providence at South Florida (Jan. 16).

Men’s Basketball Conference Tip-Off

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Tue, Jan 11	7 p.m.	No. 12 Wisconsin at No. 24 Michigan State	ESPN
		No. 14 Texas at Texas Tech	ESPN2
		Auburn at No. 15 Kentucky	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	Florida at Tennessee	ESPN
		North Carolina State at Boston College	ESPNU
Wed, Jan 12	7 p.m.	No. 5 Pittsburgh at No. 19 Georgetown	ESPN
		No. 17 Louisville at No. 7 Villanova	ESPN2
		No. 4 Syracuse at St. John’s	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	No. 1 Duke at Florida State	ESPN
		No. 3 Kansas at Iowa State	ESPN2
		Colorado at No. 20 Kansas State	ESPNU
	11 p.m.	Nevada at Idaho	ESPN2
		UC Davis at Long Beach State	ESPNU
Thu, Jan 13	7 p.m.	No. 8 Purdue at No. 25 Minnesota	ESPN
		Providence at West Virginia	ESPN2
		Old Dominion at Drexel	ESPNU
		Liberty at High Point	ESPN3.com
	9 p.m.	Virginia Tech at North Carolina	ESPN
		Mississippi State at Mississippi	ESPN2
	11 p.m.	Loyola Marymount at Portland	ESPN2
Fri, Jan 14	7 p.m.	Fairfield at Loyola (MD)	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Valparaiso at Wright State	ESPN3.com
	9 p.m.	Butler at Detroit	ESPNU
Sat, Jan 15	11 a.m.	Marquette at No. 17 Louisville	ESPN2
	Noon	Vanderbilt at Tennessee	ESPN
		No. 19 Georgetown at Rutgers	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	No. 12 Missouri at No. 13 Texas A&M	ESPN2
	2 p.m.	Virginia at No. 1 Duke	ESPN
		Nebraska at No. 3 Kansas	ESPNU
	3 p.m.	Jackson State at Texas Southern	ESPN2
	4 p.m.	Austin Peay at Tennessee State	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	South Carolina State at Morgan State	ESPN2
	6 p.m.	Boston College at Miami	ESPNU
Sun, Jan 16	Noon	Providence at South Florida	ESPN3.com
	8 p.m.	Missouri State at Bradley	ESPNU
Mon, Jan 17	3:30 p.m.	No. 7 Villanova at No. 9 Connecticut	ESPN
	5:30 p.m.	No. 20 Kansas State at No. 12 Missouri	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Jackson State at Prairie View A&M	ESPNU
	7:30 p.m.	No. 4 Syracuse at No. 5 Pittsburgh	ESPN
	9 p.m.	Norfolk State at Howard	ESPNU
	9:30 p.m.	No. 3 Kansas at Baylor	ESPN

Women’s Basketball Conference Tip-Off

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Thu, Jan 13	9 p.m.	Louisiana Tech at Fresno State	ESPNU
Fri, Jan 14	4:30 p.m.	Fairfield at Loyola (Md.)	ESPNU
Sat, Jan 15	8 p.m.	Saturday Primetime: Vanderbilt at No. 6 Tennessee	ESPN
Sun, Jan 16	1:30 p.m.	No. 17 Oklahoma at No. 24 Texas	ESPNU
	2 p.m.	Central Florida at Southern Methodist	ESPN2
	3:30 p.m.	Marquette at South Florida	ESPNU
	4 p.m.	Illinois at Penn State	ESPN2
Mon, Jan 17	7 p.m.	Big Monday: No. 2 Connecticut at No. 8 North Carolina	ESPN2

That will do it.

Best Announcers of All-Time

Today through Saturday, I’ll be scarce on the blog. My sister is getting married and I’m not going to be blogging much. In fact, I won’t blogging at all. The Viewing Picks and the posts you’ll see for the next three days have been done ahead of time. But I don’t want to lose you the loyal reader so I’m going to provide as much original content as possible so you’ll have these to tie you over until I return, most likely on Monday.

Even if news breaks, I won’t be able to blog, but know that I’ll be thinking of you while I’m gone.

This post is going to list the best announcers of all-time. I’m going to list these by sport, then do them by play-by-play and analysts. In some cases, I’ll also list local announcers. Of course, you’ll disagree with me because that’s what people do on the internet. And you can debate away.

Let’s start with the lists and go from there.

BASEBALL

Best Play-by-Play
1. Vin Scully – Los Angeles Dodgers/NBC Sports/CBS Radio
2. Ernie Harwell – Detroit Tigers/California Angels/CBS Radio
3. Curt Gowdy – Boston Red Sox/NBC Sports/CBS Radio
4. Jack Buck – St. Louis Cardinals/CBS Radio/CBS Sports
5. Jon Miller – Boston Red Sox/Baltimore Orioles/San Francisco Giants/ESPN/ESPN Radio

At age 82, Vin has still got it. He doesn’t need a partner and continues to be the best baseball broadcaster. Ernie Harwell was a baseball historian and could weave tales with the best. Curt Gowdy was one of the first all-around broadcasters on network TV, calling baseball, football, basketball and the Olympics. Jack Buck’s call of Kirk Gibson’s home run in the 1988 World Series is one of the most iconic calls in the history of the sport. Jon Miller is one of the best announcers of his generation.

Best Analysts
1. Tony Kubek – NBC Sports/TSN/MSG Network
2. Don Drysdale – California Angels/ABC Sports
3. Jim Palmer – ABC Sports/MASN
4. Jerry Remy – NESN
5. Jim Kaat – CBS Sports/MSG Network/YES/MLB Network

Tony Kubek was the best network analyst, bar none. Tim McCarver and Joe Morgan don’t even come close and don’t hold candles to Tony. And even in the 1990′s some thirty years being removed from the game, Kubek continued to teach viewers on the game. Don Drysdale gave great insights on pitching. Jim Palmer was the better and less verbose half of the ABC analysts teamed with Al Michaels. Jerry Remy is one of the best local analysts and could be on the networks if he so chose. And Jim Kaat continues to be an excellent analyst.

Best Local TV/Radio Teams
1. Harry Kalas/Richie Ashburn/Andy Musser/Chris Wheeler – Philadelphia Phillies
2. Ned Martin/Jim Woods – Boston Red Sox
3. Skip Caray/Pete Van Wieren/Ernie Johnson, Sr./Don Sutton – Atlanta Braves
4. Ernie Harwell/Paul Carey – Detroit Tigers
5. Jon Miller/Fred Manfra – Baltimore Orioles
6. Sean McDonough/Jerry Remy – Boston Red Sox
7. Marty Brennaman/Joe Nuxhall – Cincinnati Reds
8. Chuck Thompson/Bill O’Donnell – Baltimore Orioles
9. Harry Caray/Steve Stone – Chicago Cubs
10. Dick Enberg/Don Drysdale – California Angels

I’ve listened to a lot of baseball growing up and one of my thrills was to find the 50,000 watt AM stations carrying baseball. While I loved the Red Sox, I always enjoyed listening to the Phillies team on WCAU. Ned Martin and Jim Woods were the best radio broadcasters the Red Sox have ever had. Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren were comfortable listens on Braves games on TBS.

Boxing

Play-by-play
1. Howard Cosell – ABC Sports
2. Jim Lampley – HBO Sports
3. Tim Ryan – CBS Sports
4. Marv Albert – NBC Sports
5. Bob Papa – HBO Sports/Versus/ESPN/NBC Sports

Seriously, there wasn’t anyone better than Cosell calling a heavyweight championship fight. Jim Lampley is great now. Tim Ryan was tremendous doing CBS fights in the 1980′s. Many probably don’t know Marv Albert used to call a fight every Sunday on NBC SportsWorld in the 80′s. Bob Papa is a very good announcer now for HBO.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Best Play-by-play
1. Dick Enberg – NBC Sports/CBS Sports
2. Brent Musberger – CBS Sports/ESPN
3. Curt Gowdy – NBC Sports
4. Jim Nantz – CBS Sports
5. Verne Lundquist – CBS Sports

Nothing needs to be added to this list. Enberg did UCLA basketball in its heyday when the school was winning championships and went to NBC where he was teamed with Billy Packer and Al McGuire as the one of the best broadcasting tandems ever. The others on the list can speak for themselves.

Best Analyst
1. Billy Packer – Raycom/NBC Sports/CBS Sports
2. Al McGuire – NBC Sports/CBS Sports
3. Clark Kellogg – ESPN/CBS Sports
4. Quinn Buckner – CBS Sports/ESPN
5. Len Elmore – CBS Sports/ESPN

I used to love Billy Packer on the games up until the 21st Century when he seemed to become disinterested, bitter, crotchety and cranky. During his early career, he was very good in finding the nuances to college basketball and picking up trends, but he seemed to forget that in his later years. His overall body of work was good enough to be on top.

Best Local Play-by-play
1. Cawood Ledford – Kentucky
2. Woody Durham – North Carolina
3. Bob Harris – Duke
4. Paul Keels – Ohio State University
5. Gene Deckerhoff – Florida State University

I did the same for college basketball as I did for baseball, finding games on the radio. In addition, Cawood Ledford called the Final Four on radio for NBC and CBS Radio well into the 1980′s. Excellent announcer and still beloved by old school Kentucky fans. Woody Durham is a legend among Tar Heel fans.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Best Play-by-play
1. Keith Jackson – ABC Sports
2. Ron Franklin – ESPN
3. Brent Musburger – CBS Sports/ABC Sports/ESPN
4. Verne Lundquist – CBS Sports
5. Tom Hammond – NBC Sports

Keith was the best hands down. Ron Franklin is still great. Brent can spot a big story from a mile away. Uncle Verne on SEC games is as comfortable a fit as you can get.

Best Analyst
1. Frank Broyles – ABC Sports
2. Pat Haden – CBS Sports/NBC Sports
3. Gary Danielson – ABC Sports/ESPN/CBS Sports
4. Dan Fouts – ESPN
5. Ara Parseghian – ABC Sports/CBS Sports

NBA

Best Play-by-play
1. Marv Albert – NBC Sports/TNT
2. Dick Stockton – CBS Sports/TNT
3. Mike Gorman – Comcast SportsNet New England
4. Brent Musburger – CBS Sports
5. Mike Tirico – ESPN

Marv is probably the best ever at calling the NBA.

Best Analyst
1. Doug Collins – NBC Sports/TNT
2. Hubie Brown – USA Network/CBS Sports/TNT/ESPN
3. Bill Walton – NBC Sports/ESPN
4. Charles Barkley – TNT/TBS
5. Kenny Smith – TNT/TBS

NFL

Best play-by-play
1. Al Michaels – ABC Sports/NBC Sports
2. Dick Enberg – NBC Sports/CBS Sports
3. Pat Summerall – CBS Sports/Fox Sports
4. Charlie Jones – ABC Sports/NBC Sports
5. Don Criqui – NBC Sports/CBS Sports

Al Michaels is another announcer who can call multiple sports well, except for the NBA which he seemingly didn’t care for. But the NFL has become his calling and he’s the best.

Best Analyst
1. John Madden – CBS Sports/ABC Sports/NBC Sports
2. Hank Stram – CBS Sports/CBS Radio
3. Merlin Olsen – NBC Sports/CBS Sports
4. Dan Dierdorf – ABC Sports/CBS Sports
5. Phil Simms – ESPN/NBC Sports/CBS Sports

Seriously, could anyone be ranked over Madden?

NHL

Best Play-by-play
1. Mike Emrick – ESPN/NBC Sports
2. Dan Kelly – CBS Sports/USA Network
3. Bob Cole – CBC
4. Chris Cuthbert – CBC/NBC Sports/TSN
5. Jiggs MacDonald – SportsChannel America

For the longest time, I felt the late Dan Kelly was the best in calling hockey (I never heard Foster Hewitt), but Mike Emrick has surpassed him in this decade. Four out of the five I’ve listed have been honored with Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame and deservedly so. Cuthbert should be soon.

Best Analyst
1. John Davidson – MSG Network/Fox Sports/ESPN/NBC Sports/Versus
2. Harry Neale – CBC
3. Ed Olcyzk – NBC Sports
4. Mickey Redmond – CBC/Fox Sports Detroit
5. Don Cherry – CBC

JD’s got into the Hall of Fame last year and I’m surprised it took that long. Harry Neale was very good until his later years, but is still doing decently for MSG Buffalo on Sabres games.

Best Local Play-by-play
1. Bob Wilson – Boston Bruins
2. Ron Weber – Washington Capitals
3. Chuck Kaiton – Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes
4. Mike Lange – Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Pat Foley – Chicago Blackhawks

Again, four of out of five here are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Weber being the most recent this year. Pat Foley should be honored. Bob Wilson really gave me my love for hockey while calling Bruins games. Ron Weber educated fans on hockey in DC. Chuck Kaiton had to endure some really bad teams in Hartford before finally calling a Stanley Cup in Carolina. Only Mike Lange can say, “You can scratch my back with a hacksaw,” or “Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, give me the brandy,” or “Tell Granny the bingo game is over.” Pat Foley is back with the Blackhawks after being exiled to the AHL Wolves. He should be in the Hall of Fame too.

TENNIS

Best Play-by-play
1. Dick Enberg – NBC Sports/CBS Sports/ESPN2
2. Jim Simpson – NBC Sports/ESPN
3. Tim Ryan – NBC Sports/CBS Sports
4. Cliff Drysdale – ESPN
5. Pat Summerall – CBS Sports

Best Analyst
1. John McEnroe – USA Network/NBC Sports/CBS Sports/ESPN2/7 Network/BBC Sport
2. Mary Carillo – USA Network/CBS Sports/NBC Sports/ESPN2
3. Bud Collins – NBC Sports/ESPN2/Tennis Channel
4. Tracy Austin – USA Network/7 Network/BBC Sport
5. Tony Trabert – CBS Sports

HOSTS

1. Bob Costas – NBC Sports/HBO Sports/MLB Network
2. Jim McKay – ABC Sports
3. Brent Musburger – CBS Sports/ABC Sports/ESPN
4. Ernie Johnson, Jr. – Turner Sports
5. James Brown – Fox Sports/CBS Sports
6. Howard Cosell – ABC Sports

So that will do it for this set of lists. Coming up later today, the Most Influential Sports Series of All-Time.

CBS’ Weekend Programming

CBS Sports is pretty busy this weekend. In addition to the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championships, CBS has tennis and a college football preview.

CBS SPORTS BULLETIN BOARD

CBS SPORTS’ COLLEGE FOOTBALL CREW PREVIEWS 2010 SEASON ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 21

CBS Sports’ Tim Brando, Gary Danielson, Spencer Tillman and Tony Barnhart give their expert insights into what to expect during the upcoming 2010 college football season on CBS SPORTS’ COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW on Saturday, Aug. 21 (1:00-2:00 PM, ET).  CBS Sports’ college football crew discusses everything in this hour-long warm-up to the season from which teams to watch; who will hold the Heisman Trophy; how all these new coaches in new places will do; and who they see playing for the BCS Championship.  CBS Sports’ Vin DeVito produces and Jim Cornell directs.

CBS SPORTS FOCUSES ON U.S. OPEN WITH TENNIS IN CINCINNATI ON AUGUST 22

With its eye focused on the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in a couple of weeks, CBS Sports broadcasts the men’s final of the Olympus U.S. Open Series WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS on Sunday, Aug. 22 (12:00-2:00 PM, ET) live from Cincinnati, Ohio.  Featuring a 56-player draw, the men’s tournament is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event that includes all of the top players who were automatically entered.  Among the notables in the field this year are 2009 defending Masters champion Roger Federer and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, along with No. 2 Novak Djokovic, and nine of the Top 10 players in the world.  No. 9 Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, James Blake and Sam Querrey are among the Americans competing.  CBS Sports’ Ian Eagle, Mary Carillo and Mary Joe Fernandez call the action, while Bob Mansbach produces and Bob Fishman directs.      

CBS SPORTS BROADCASTS ENCORE PRESENTATION OF COLLEGE HOME RUN DERBY ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 22

Baseball’s next generation of superstars face off in the first ever COLLEGE HOME RUN DERBY on Sunday, Aug. 22 (5:00-6:00 PM, ET; original air date, 7/11/10) from Omaha’s historic Rosenblatt Stadium. The premier sluggers of college baseball compete in one of the storied ballpark’s final collegiate competitions. Eight of the best home run hitters of the 2010 NCAA baseball season compete including Louisville’s Phil Wunderlich, Virginia’s Jarrett Parker and LSU’s Blake Dean.  National Baseball Hall of Fame members Mike Schmidt and 2010 inductee Andre Dawson serve as ceremonial hitting coaches for the participants. CBS Sports’ Adam Zucker, along with 1993 and 1994 American League Most Valuable Player Frank Thomas, and Tracy Wolfson reporting, call the action for CBS Sports. CBS Sports’ Deb Boulac serves as coordinating producer.

Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

That’s going to do it.

2010 Division I NCAA Baseball Tournament Begins On The ESPN Family of Networks

You want to talk about multiplatform coverage, then you’ve come to the right place. The ESPN family of networks will be all over the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship which leads right to the College World Series which marks the final year at its long time home of Rosenblatt Stadium before moving to a spanking brand new facility in 2011. Up to 55 games will be aired on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV.

It begins Thursday with the Regionals, then the Super Regionals and finally the CWS.

Mike Patrick is back to call the College World Series and so is Sean McDonough. Karl Ravech will also call some games in Omaha. Nomar Garciaparra who played in the event with Georgia Tech will help call the games with Omaha native and Stanford alum Kyle Peterson. And another CWS alumni doing games on ESPN will be Robin Ventura. And fresh off her 3rd place appearance on Dancing with the Stars will be Erin Andrews on the sidelines.

Here’s the press release from ESPN.

Coverage of up to 55 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Games Begins June 4

For the sixth straight year, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV will offer coverage of up to 55 games of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship from June 4 to June 30, including complete coverage from two Regional (June 4-7) and all eight Super Regional sites (June 11-14) and every College World Series game (June 19-30) from Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. ESPN3.com will simulcast every ESPN and ESPN2 telecast.

Highlights:

• ESPN baseball analyst Nomar Garciaparra will work Super Regional and College World Series game telecasts.
• ESPNU will offer complete coverage of the Regional site involving Florida International sophomore infielder Garret Wittels, who is in the midst of a 54-game hitting streak, four shy of ESPN analyst and former Oklahoma State and Major League Baseball star Robin Ventura’s NCAA record set in 1987.
• In celebration of the final year of Rosenblatt Stadium, coverage will be highlighted by special vignettes and features about the historic stadium and memorable moments of the College World Series in Omaha.
  • “Farewell to Rosenblatt” vignettes will showcase the great moments and memories since 1950, the first year the College World Series was played at the stadium.
  • “My Stadium” vignettes will feature fans and Omaha residents reliving memories of Rosenblatt Stadium.
  • Short “Omaha to Bigs” features will include Major League Baseball players discussing their experiences of playing in the College World Series in Omaha.
  • Articles, historic video moments and a Rosenblatt video essay on ESPN.com.
  • Each telecast will include a look back at the top College World Series plays.
  • ESPNU will televise The Long Home Run, a documentary on Omaha and the College World Series narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Costner, Thursday, June 3, at 9:30 p.m. ET.

For the second consecutive year, ESPNU will offer both Regional sites in high definition on ESPNU HD. For the eighth straight year, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the entire Men’s College World Series, including the best-of-three Series Finals, with every game in high definition on ESPN HD or ESPN2 HD.

Coverage will begin Friday, June 4, on ESPNU with four Regional games from two sites. The Coral Gables, Fla., site will feature Florida International vs. Texas A&M at noon and Dartmouth vs. Miami at 4 p.m. Action from the Fullerton, Calif., site will pit New Mexico vs. Stanford at 7 p.m. and Minnesota vs. Cal State Fullerton at 11 p.m.

In addition to traditional coverage, ESPN.com and other digital platforms will provide unique, original coverage of the NCAA Baseball Championship. For the second consecutive year, ESPN will use social networking sites Facebook (ESPNOmaha) and Twitter (@ESPN_Omaha) to provide fans with updates and behind-the-scenes insight into the tournament. Details include:

• ESPN.com and the ESPN Omaha Facebook page will also serve as a location for fans to post comments and photos, and play trivia games.
• ESPN analysts will provide commentary, updates, their perspective of the action and baseball news via Twitter from the Super Regionals through the conclusion of the College World Series.

Seven of the analysts working the Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series have played in the College World Series, highlighted by one who won the National Championship (Morgan Ensberg with USC in 1998), along with Robin Ventura (Oklahoma State), Kyle Peterson (Stanford), Nomar Garciaparra (Georgia Tech), Ben McDonald (LSU), Keith Moreland (Texas) and Eric Byrnes (UCLA).

• Regionals: For the sixth consecutive year, ESPNU will offer complete and exclusive coverage from two Regional sites (June 4-7), beginning with four games Friday, June 4: 
   
  • Each site will feature four teams competing in a double-elimination format and each site winner (a total of 16 sites) will advance to the Super Regionals.   
  • Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson and Eric Byrnes will work games from the Coral Gables, Fla., site while Justin Kutcher and Morgan Ensberg will call games from the Fullerton, Calif., site. 

   

• Super Regionals: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV will combine to televise every game of the eight best-of-three Super Regionals (up to 24 games) June 11-14:  
   
  • Up to eight of ESPN and ESPN2’s possible 16 windows will feature two games and will whip around to the best action from both games for viewers in most of the nation (except in the home market of the competing teams, where the game of local interest will be the primary telecast).   
  • ESPNU will televise four games exclusively. 
  • Each Super Regional winner will advance to the College World Series.   
  • Coverage will feature eight commentator teams (site assignments are to be determined): Matvick and Peterson; Kutcher and Ensberg; Mark Neely and Robin Ventura; Pam Ward and Nomar Garciaparra; Dan McLaughlin, Nick Belmonte and Jay Walker; Mike Gleason and Mike Rooney; Carter Blackburn and Keith Moreland; and Bob Wischusen and Ben McDonald.  

• College World Series: For the eighth straight year, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV will combine to televise the entire College World Series (up to 17 games), including the best-of-three College World Series Finals. ESPN’s 31st consecutive year of coverage will begin June 19 and conclude June 30.  
   
  • Every ESPN and ESPN2 game will be offered in high definition on ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD.
  • For the third year, all three games of the Championship Series will be televised live in prime time (all on ESPN Monday, June 28, to Wednesday, June 30, at 7:30 p.m.).
  • In addition to game coverage, Jenn Brown will host segments from Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha for SportsCenter June 21-23. On-site analysts Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura and Nomar Garciaparra will contribute.
  • Commentator teams include Mike Patrick with analysts Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura or Nomar Garciaparra and reporters Erin Andrews or Kyle Peterson; Sean McDonough with analyst Robin Ventura and reporter Erin Andrews; and Karl Ravech with analyst Nomar Garciaparra and reporter Kyle Peterson.
  • Patrick will call the Championship Series with Hershiser, Ventura, Andrews and Peterson.

NCAA Baseball Regionals

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Commentators	Game	Network
Fri, Jun 4	Noon	Florida International vs. Texas A&M (from Coral Gables, Fla.)	Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson & Eric Byrnes	1	ESPNU HD
	4 p.m.	Dartmouth vs. Miami (from Coral Gables, Fla.)	Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson & Eric Byrnes	2	ESPNU HD
	7 p.m.	New Mexico vs. Stanford (from Fullerton, Calif.)	Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	1	ESPNU HD
	11 p.m.	Minnesota vs. Cal State Fullerton (from Fullerton, Calif.)	Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	2	ESPNU HD
Sat, Jun 5	noon	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (from Coral Gables, Fla.)	Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson & Eric Byrnes	3	ESPNU HD
	4 p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (from Coral Gables, Fla.)	Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson & Eric Byrnes	4	ESPNU HD
	7 p.m.	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (from Fullerton, Calif.)	Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	3	ESPNU HD
	11 p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (from Fullerton, Calif.)	Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	4	ESPNU HD
Sun, Jun 6	noon	Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner (from Coral Gables, Fla.)	Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson & Eric Byrnes	5	ESPNU HD
	4 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (from Coral Gables, Fla.)	Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson & Eric Byrnes	6	ESPNU HD
	7 p.m.	Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner (from Fullerton, Calif.)	Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	5	ESPNU HD
	11 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (from Fullerton, Calif.)	Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	6	ESPNU HD
Mon, Jun 7	7 p.m.	If necessary (from Coral Gables, Fla.)	Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson & Eric Byrnes	7*	ESPNU HD
	11 p.m.	If necessary (from Fullerton, Calif.)	Justin Kutcher & Morgan Ensberg	7*	ESPNU HD

* If necessary

NCAA Baseball Super Regionals

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Network
Fri, Jun 11	Noon	Site 1 – Game 1	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com
	3 p.m.	Site 2 – Game 1	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	7 p.m.	Site 3 – Game 1	ESPN / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	10:30 p.m.	Site 4 – Game 1	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Sat, Jun 12	Noon	Site 5 – Game 1	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Site 1 – Game 2	ESPN / ESPN3.com** ^
		Site 2 – Game 2
	3 p.m.	Site 6 – Game 1	ESPNU
	6 p.m.	Site 7 – Game 1	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Site 3 – Game 2	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com**
		Site 4 – Game 2
	9 p.m.	Site 8 – Game 1	ESPNU
Sun, Jun 13	1 p.m.	Site 5 – Game 2	ESPN / ESPN3.com** ^
		Site 1 – Game 3*
	4 p.m.	Site 6 – Game 2	ESPN / ESPN3.com** ^
		Site 2 – Game 3*
	7 p.m.	Site 7 – Game 2	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com**
		Site 3 – Game 3*
	10 p.m.	Site 8 – Game 2	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com** ^
		Site 4 – Game 3*
Mon, Jun 14	1 p.m.	Site 5 – Game 3*	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com**
		Site 6 – Game 3*
	7 p.m.	Site 7 – Game 3*	ESPN2 / ESPN3.com**
		Site 8 – Game 3*

* If necessary

** ESPN or ESPN2 will showcase two games within one window and “whip around” to the best action from those games in most of the nation. Viewers in the home markets of the competing teams will receive their local game in its entirety with constant updates from the other game

^ ESPN Mobile TV will simulcast one of the two games

NCAA College World Series

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Matchups	Commentators	Network
Sat, Jun 19	2 p.m.	1	Game 1 – TBD	Karl Ravech, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD / ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	2	Game 2 – TBD	Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Erin Andrews	ESPN HD / ESPN3.com
Sun, Jun 20	2 p.m.	3	Game 3 – TBD	Karl Ravech, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD / ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	4	Game 4 – TBD	Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Erin Andrews	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com
Mon, Jun 21	4:30 p.m.	5	Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2	Karl Ravech, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	9 p.m.	6	Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2	Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser & Erin Andrews	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com
Tue, Jun 22	4:30 p.m.	7	Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4	Karl Ravech, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	9 p.m.	8	Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4	Sean McDonough, Robin Ventura & Erin Andrews	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Wed, Jun 23	7 p.m.	9	Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 5	Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com
Thu, Jun 24	7 p.m.	10	Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 7	Sean McDonough, Robin Ventura & Erin Andrews	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com
Fri, Jun 25	4:30 p.m.	11	Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 9	Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
	9 p.m.	12	Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10	Sean McDonough, Robin Ventura & Erin Andrews	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Sat, Jun 26	2 p.m.	13	If necessary	Mike Patrick, Nomar Garciaparra & Kyle Peterson	ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com
	7 p.m.	14	If necessary	Sean McDonough, Robin Ventura & Erin Andrews	ESPN HD / ESPN3.com
Mon, Jun 28	7:30 p.m.	1	Series Final	Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura, Erin Andrews & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD / ESPN3.com
Tue, Jun 29	7:30 p.m.	2	Series Final	Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura, Erin Andrews & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD / ESPN3.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Wed, Jun 30	7:30 p.m.	3 *	Series Final	Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, Robin Ventura, Erin Andrews & Kyle Peterson	ESPN HD / ESPN360.com

* If necessary

That’s it.

ESPN Family of Networks Ramps Up Its College Baseball and Softball Coverage

We have a bunch of college baseball and softball games on the ESPN platforms, ESPN2, ESPNU and the soon-to-be renamed ESPN3.com. This means a combined 53 regular season baseball and softball games. Most of them will be seen on ESPNU and a whole slew of contests will involve the SEC. Take a look at the press release.

ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPN360.com Offer Most-Ever College Softball & Baseball Schedule Beginning with Regular-Season Action

ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will televise 53 regular-season college softball and baseball games leading into the networks’ extensive postseason action of up to 110 contests. It is ESPN’s most coverage overall of the two sports and the most games scheduled of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship – up to 55 — with the addition of a Regional round.

Regular-season softball action will begin with two games from the No. 13 Florida at No. 5 Alabama series Saturday, March 27, at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD and Sunday, March 28, at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU HD. Baseball coverage will start the following weekend with three telecasts, all featuring at least one ranked team: Georgia at No. 4 LSU (Friday, April 2, at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU HD), No. 8 Texas at No. 12 Oklahoma (Saturday, April 3, at 3 p.m. on ESPNU HD) and Mississippi State at No. 23 South Carolina (Sunday, April 4, at 2 p.m. on ESPNU).

Regular-season schedule details:

• ESPNU will televise the majority of the action, with 41 of the 53 games. ESPN360.com will simulcast the 12 ESPN and ESPN2 telecasts.
• Thirty-one of the telecasts will be in high definition.
• The schedule includes 30 softball and 23 baseball games.
• The networks will combine to televise six conference title games, comprising:

• The entire SEC Softball Tournament.
• The SEC Baseball Tournament championship game.
• The SWAC softball and baseball championships.
• The baseball championships from the BIG EAST and MEAC.

ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will offer up to 55 games each from the NCAA Division I Softball Championship and NCAA Division I Baseball Championship for a potential of 110 total telecasts (the entire schedules for both will be released at a later date). Coverage for both events will include two Regional series, all eight of the Super Regionals and the entire Championships.

A minimum of 62 games will be offered in high definition, including every game from both of the softball and baseball Regional series and the entire Women’s College World Series and College World Series.

Softball and baseball commentators

ESPN’s telecasts will feature former top players and coaches providing analysis. The softball lineup will include:

• Three U.S. Olympic Medalists working softball games: two-time gold medalist Michele Smith (2000 and 1996), Jessica Mendoza, who won gold in 2004 and silver in 2008, and Amanda Freed, who won gold in 2004.
• Former Northwestern standout Garland Cooper, a three-time Big Ten Player of the Year and all-time Big Ten home runs leader.
• National Pro Fastpitch commissioner Cheri Kempf.
• Cindy Bristow, former head softball coach at Arizona State, New Mexico State and Wichita State.

The baseball telecasts will include:

• Kyle Peterson, a former Stanford All-American, participant in the College World Series and first-round MLB Draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers, entering his seventh season of college baseball analysis with ESPN.
• Morgan Ensberg who won the College World Series with USC in 1998 and played eight years in Major League Baseball (Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees).
• Former LSU All-American and Gold Spikes Award winner Ben McDonald, who also played eight years in Major League Baseball (Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers).
• Leland Maddox, a former Major League Baseball Director of Scouting for the Cincinnati Reds and Oakland A’s.

* Tape Delay

All baseball rankings are from ESPN/ USA Today Coaches Top 25

All softball rankings are from ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Women’s Top 25

Schedule subject to change; All times Eastern

Additional commentator assignments will be released as the season progresses

That does it. And yes, I now have jump capabilities so the posts won’t be so long. It’ll save you aggravation.