Fang's Bites

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

NFL
Baltimore at Pittsburgh – ESPN, 8:30 p.m.

Entertainment
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – Fox, 8 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother – CBS, 8:30 p.m.
Prison Break – Fox, 9 p.m.
Locked Up Abroad: Lima – National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.
Raising The Bar – TNT, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

MLB Tie-Breaker Game To Be in Primetime

TBS has announced it will carry the one game playoff game between the White Sox and Minnesota on Tuesday night at 7:30. It will begin with a 30 minute pregame show followed by Minnesota-White Sox.

7 p.m. TBS MLB On Deck

Ernie Johnson (host), Cal Ripken (analyst) and Dennis Eckersley (analyst)

7:30 p.m. Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox

Announcers: Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Ron Darling (analyst), Harold Reynolds (analyst) and Marc Fein (reporter)

Post-game Inside MLB

Ernie Johnson (host), Cal Ripken (analyst) and Dennis Eckersley (analyst)

Last season, TBS had the fortune to carry the San Diego-Colorado one game playoff which gave the network momentum heading into its first year of carrying the League Division Series. If there is a one game playoff tomorrow night, expect decent ratings for TBS as well.

ESPN Radio will also have coverage.

Monday Linkage or It’s a Baseball Monday

Yesterday’s baseball action involving the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins along with the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers was absolutely compelling television. If you had the MLB Extra Innings package on cable or satellite or the MLB.TV package on the internet, you could flip back and forth between the games. I do wish the PPV package was less expensive, but for days like yesterday, it was tremendous to have.

Today, ESPN2 has the Chicago White Sox-Detroit Tigers make up game this afternoon at 2 p.m. ET and it will also be available on WGN as well as MLB.TV on the internet. Should the White Sox win, then TBS will have the one game playoff for the AL Central crown tomorrow and the right to play Tampa Bay on Thursday. This is one of my favorite times of the year along with March Madness. You can’t get better drama than baseball during the fall months.

Let’s give you some links.

We have a few links from the Sports Business Journal, Bill King looks at the change in the construction of sports facilities over the years.

John Ourand says cable industry insiders are trying to digest the management moves by Fox Cable that includes Speed and Fuel.

John Ourand and Jon Snow team up for a story on how the financial crunch could affect the PGA Tour.

Eric Fisher says Stats LLC has signed a deal with the PGA Tour to become its official provider of hole-by-hole results.

Eric, John & Terry Lefton combine on a story which focuses on advertisers and sponsors still spending on MLB despite not having the Yankees in the postseason.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today has the TBS announcing teams for the postseason.

Newsday’s Neil Best says the closing ceremonies for Shea Stadium worked. And Neil discusses the Shea memorabilia sale.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick must be bitter about the Mets’ demise because he calls out Fox Sports’ Mark Grace for flip flopping on the Wild Card.

Ken McMillan from the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record is melancholy over his Mets and says SNY took a long time to get ramped up for the Shea Stadium closing ceremonies.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Unions says Andrew Catalon who did great work on handball during the Olympics is filling in at SNY.

Jon Lafayette from TV Week says Fox’s dream World Series matchup is the Cubs-Red Sox.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune says Cubs and maybe White Sox fans have to take note that the League Division Series will be an all-cable affair.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the ups and downs of the sporting weekend involving the Brewers and the Packers.

Dusty Saunders of the Rocky Mountain News suggests you watch tomorrow’s Costas Now program with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

The MLB Network has completed its management team.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says baseball belongs to TBS for the first round of the MLB postseason. Barry also wrote his thoughts while watching yesterday’s Redskins-Cowboys game on Fox.

From the Kansas City Star, Jeffrey Flanagan looks at the commentary from TV and radio during the Broncos-Chiefs game.

Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable reports that FSN could cut back its national programming including Best Damn Sports Show Period.

Over to Christopher Byrne’s Eye on Sports Media blog and his continued look at College Gameday’s visit to the University of Georgia over the weekend, Chris goes over Lee Corso’s pick at the end of the show. Chris also noticed that mixed in the crowd of genuine hand-painted signs were some corporate-made ones. Chris tells us where the Gameday studio crew hang out before their primetime appearance. And Chris nails SI.com for misspelling Georgia’s stadium.

The Nashville City Paper says College Gameday continue its SEC tour by hitting the campus of Vanderbilt this Saturday for the Auburn-Commodores game. War Eagle.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman writes that the newly named FS Oklahoma will air 65 Oklahoma City Thunder games this season.

Jackie Majerus of the Bristol (CT) Press writes that ESPN’s cafeteria is environmentally friendly.

That does it for now.

League Division Series Schedules

Here are the American and National League Division Series listed by series and then by day. I also have the TBS and ESPN Radio announcing teams for each series. All times are Eastern.

TBS MLB On Deck pregame and post game crew
Ernie Johnson, Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Curtis Granderson

American League Division Series
Game 1/Red Sox win, 4-1 – Wednesday, October 1, 10:07 p.m.
Game 2/Red Sox win, 7-5 – Friday, October 3, 9:37 p.m.
Game 3/Anaheim wins, 5-4 (12) – Sunday, October 5, 7:17 p.m.
Game 4/Red Sox win, 3-2 – Monday, October 6, 8:37 p.m. (Red Sox win series 3-1)
TBS – Chip Carey/Buck Martinez/Craig Sager
ESPN Radio – Dan Shulman/Dave Campbell

Game 1/Rays win, 6-3 – Thursday, October 2, 2:37 p.m.
Game 2/Rays win, 6-2 – Friday, October 3, 6:37 p.m.
Game 3/White Sox win, 5-3- Sunday, October 5, 4:07 p.m.
Game 4/Rays win, 6-2 – Monday, October 6, 5:07 p.m. (Rays win series 3-1)
TBS- Don Orsillo/Harold Reynolds/Marc Fein
ESPN Radio – Gary Thorne/Chris Singleton

National League Division Series
Game 1/Dodgers win, 7-2 – Wednesday, October 1, 6:37 p.m.
Game 2/Dodgers win, 10-3 – Thursday, October 2, 9:37 p.m.
Game 3/Dodgers win, 3-1 – Saturday, October 4, 10:07 p.m. (Dodgers sweep 3-0)
TBS – Dick Stockton/Ron Darling/Tony Gwynn/Tom Verducci
ESPN Radio – Jon Miller/Rick Sutcliffe (Games 1 & 2)/Robin Ventura (Games 3 & 4)

Game 1/Phillies win, 3-1 – Wednesday, October 1, 3:07 p.m.
Game 2/Phillies win, 5-2 – Thursday, October 2, 6:07 p.m.
Game 3/Milwaukee wins, 4-1 – Saturday, October 4, 6:37 p.m.
Game 4/Phillies win, 6-2 – Sunday, October 5, 1:07 p.m. (Phillies win series 3-1)
TBS – Brian Anderson/Joe Simpson/John Smoltz/David Aldridge
ESPN Radio – Michael Kay/Steve Phillips

Wednesday, October 1
Game 1/NLDS, Milwaukee at Philadelphia – TBS, 3:07 p.m.
Game 1/NLDS, Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs – TBS, 6:37 p.m.
Game 1/ALDS, Red Sox at Anaheim Angels – TBS, 10:07 p.m.

Thursday, October 2
Game 1/ALDS, Chicago White Sox or Minnesota at Tampa Bay – TBS, 2:37 p.m.
Game 2/NLDS, Milwaukee at Philadelphia – TBS, 6:07 p.m.
Game 2/NLDS, Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs – TBS, 9:37 p.m.

Friday, October 3
Game 2/Chicago White Sox or Minnesota at Tampa Bay – TBS, 6:07 p.m.
Game 2/Red Sox at Anaheim Angels – TBS, 9:37 p.m.

Saturday, October 4
Game 3/NLDS, Philadelphia at Milwaukee – TBS, 6:37 p.m.
Game 3/NLDS, Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers – TBS, 10:07 p.m.

Sunday, October 5
Game 4/NLDS, Philadelphia at Milwaukee – TBS, 1:07 p.m.
Game 3/ALDS, Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox – TBS, 4:07 p.m.
Game 3/ALDS, Anaheim Angels at Red Sox – TBS, 7:17 p.m.

Monday. October 6
Game 4/ALDS, Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox – TBS, 5:07 p.m.
Game 4/ALDS, Anaheim Angels at Red Sox – TBS, 8:37 p.m.

Wednesday/October 8
Game 5/ALDS, Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay – TBS, 6:07 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 5/ALDS, Red Sox at Anaheim Angels – TBS, 9:37 p.m. (if necessary)

Quotes from Fox NFL Sunday and Football Night in America

Here is our weekly look at the quotes from Fox NFL Sunday and NBC’s Football Night in America. I did not watch FNIA this week as I was getting ready for the Amazing Race 13. Expect a recap either Tuesday or Wednesday.

First, Fox NFL Sunday:

NFL on FOX Insider Jay Glazer on Plaxico Burress and his history of fines: “Plaxico Burress has only been with the Giants for 50 games; I’ve learned that they have fined him anywhere between 40 and 50 times since he’s been with the Giants and about 10 times this year alone. Think about that, 40 or 50 times! The big problem they say with Plaxico is last year he did the same thing. [They] won the Super Bowl, now he says ‘Hey it worked last year. I didn’t practice; I didn’t show up, I didn’t do this and that.’ It’s kind of hard for him to go back now.”

FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst Michael Strahan on the suspension of former NY Giants teammate Plaxico Burress: “I did talk to Plaxico…Plaxico said, ‘I did talk to them on Monday, I did talk to them Tuesday so the fact that they said I did not talk to them is not right.’ But the fact of the matter is he and [head coach] Tom Coughlin are like oil and water. I was always the counselor in between. Can you imagine me being a marriage counselor? Oil and water, me and marriage just doesn’t go together.”

Analyst Jimmy Johnson asked Strahan: “Was Plaxico wrong?”

Strahan: “Plaxico was wrong by not showing up but I think the extent of it, the two weeks, [suspension] that’s a lot.”

During Co-Host Terry Bradshaw’s one-on-one interview with Dallas QB Tony Romo, Bradshaw had this to say: “You haven’t won a playoff game Tony. You need to win a playoff game.”

Johnson on Scott Linehan’s decision to bench Marc Bulger: “This is a move of a desperate football coach about to get fired. You look at them and they’re last in defense, they’re last in running the ball…Bulger is in the top-third in passer rating. And as far as Trent Green; I wouldn’t have him on my team.”

Glazer on speculation that Scott Linehan will be fired: “Scott said, ‘usually when something like this goes down, you hear all these rumors, you’re given some sort of indication, something that this is going to go down, I’ve been given nothing. Nothing has been said to me, nobody’s given me any indication. Do I think it’ll happen? If we lose, yeah I think I’ll get fired if we lose.’”

During the ‘Rapid Fire’ segment, host Curt Menefee asked Strahan & Johnson: Is today St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan’s last game?

Johnson: “Yes, because Buffalo is going to wear them out.”

Strahan: “No, because where are they going to go from here?”

FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst Howie Long explained his ties to recently fired Lions GM Matt Millen: “The record is what the record is and the proof is in the pudding. I will never, never apologize for standing up for him. Matt Millen has jumped into some fracases with me that he shouldn’t have jumped into and I appreciated it all of the time and I will never apologize for standing up for him.”

During the shows ‘Fired Up’ segment, analyst Johnson offered advice to Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford following the firing of GM Matt Millen: “Mr. Ford, I realize these are difficult times but football wise, look at it this way: it can’t be any worse than it was for the last 7 years. It’s easy to pile on Matt Millen, everybody’s doing it but he wasn’t alone in every decision. He did not negotiate some of those awful contracts. And I know how loyal you are to your employees but there are a bunch of good ‘ol boys and ‘yes men’ drawing paychecks in that front office. Now for the solution, you have time to find the best talent evaluator, one that understands how to put together a championship team. Just because someone played or coached, doesn’t mean they can evaluate and it doesn’t mean they know how to build a team. Just because someone can drive, doesn’t mean he can build a truck. Start with New England’s Scott Pioli. Pay him whatever he wants. He’ll pay for his salary with less first-round busts making millions and then let him do the necessary house cleaning. He’ll hire the right people to get the job done. If Pioli says no, give me a call. I’ve got a short list of names. And cheer up, you and your fans have brighter days ahead.”

Towards the end of his sit-down interview with Dallas QB Tony Romo, FOX NFL SUNDAY co-host Bradshaw asked Romo how he deals with being who he is.

Bradshaw: “Do you have a sports psychiatrist? Do you see a therapist?”

Romo: “Do you want to be mine?”

Bradshaw: “Ha-ha, I have enough experience!”

Now, Football Night in America:

CRIS COLLINSWORTH ON THE COWBOYS: "The Cowboys have to understand who their best players are and it's not their skill position players it is that offensive line. And for Marion Barber to only get eight touches, Felix Jones to get zero carries in this game is just a huge mistake. But you just go right down the list of the star players: Jason Campbell outplayed Tony Romo; Clinton Portis outplayed Marion Barber; Santana Moss outplayed T.O.; and everyone outplayed Terrence Newman."

COLLINSWORTH ON THE BEST TEAMS IN THE NFL: "Tennessee is undefeated. Buffalo is undefeated. It's getting weird out there."

"Right now you have to say the New York Giants. It's been a long road to get back to the world champs but it looks like that's where we are."

JEROME BETTIS ON THE BEST TEAM: "I'm thinking the Giants are the team to beat."

TIKI BARBER ON THE NFL'S BEST TEAMS: "It's going to be a team out of the NFC East that is the dominant team. They may end up just beating each other."

COLLINSWORTH ON PACKERS: "The Green Bay Packers are a team that is ready to go to the playoffs, possibly the Super Bowl but if Aaron Rodgers is out, this team is finished. They might not be able to win another game with the backup quarterbacks they have in play."

PETER KING ON STATUS OF RAMS COACH SCOTT LINEHAN AND RAIDERS COACH LANE KIFFIN: "Both teams have a bye this coming week, both coaches needed a win to survive, I believe both will be fired early this week so their teams can put a new coach in place heading into their bye weekend."

DAN PATRICK ON KIFFIN: "On to San Diego and Oakland, where Lane Kiffin is still coach but it's still early in the highlights."

KEITH OLBERMANN ON THE TEXANS BEING FOOLED ON A FAKE PUNT: "No punter on the field is usually a telltale sign."

DAN PATRICK ON THE CARDINALS' DEFENSE: "The guys in the Wrangler commercial play better defense." 

As usual, the funny one-liners from both shows. I would bring you stuff from the NFL Today, but I don’t get e-mails from CBS Sports.

The Amazing Race 13 – Ep. 1 Results

1. Nick & Starr – winners of a trip for 2 to Belize from Travelocity
2. Ken & Tina
3. Terrence & Sarah
4. Mark & Bill
5. Kelly & Christy
6. Toni & Dallas
7. Andrew & Dan
8. Aja & Ty
9. Anthony & Stephanie
10. Marisa & Brooke
11. Anita & Arthur – eliminated. Awwww. I liked them.

The Last Amazing Race Season Premiere Promo

Thanks to my sweetheart, puddin at Reality Fan Forum.

League Division Series

With the Mets choking for the second year in a row, we have an interesting look for the National League Division Series which begin on Wednesday. I have to say switching between FSN Wisconsin and SNY between 4:10 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. was quite interesting, especially when Ryan Braun hit a two run home run in Milwaukee to put the Brewers ahead of the Cubs, then the Marlins hit back-to-back home runs to extinguish the lights on the Mets.

Here is what the series will look like:

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Both series will begin Wednesday, October 1, times to be determined.

Because the American League Central Division has yet to be decided and there’s a possibility of a one game playoff on Tuesday, the schedule for the ALDS is up in the air, but we do know the following:

Boston Red Sox vs. Anaheim Angels

Chicago White Sox or Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Rays

With both the Twins and White Sox winning today, the White Sox have to play Detroit in a make up game on Monday.

Once the schedule is determined, I’ll put everything up here. All League Division Series games will be on TBS with a couple sprinkled on TNT.

Fang’s Bites NFL Picks for Week 4

Well, it appears my day has been planned for me again so my plans for blogging today are shot to hell. The things I want to do have to be finished during the overnight hours including this post, my NFL picks for Week 4. Last week, my picks improved to 12-4 bringing my overall record to 27-19 for a winning percentage of .587. With the Patriots, Giants, Dolphins, Seattle, Detroit and Indy having byes, we three fewer games to pick this week.

Let’s go.

Atlanta at Carolina – Fox, 1 p.m.
The Falcons have a bit more hope with this season as Matt Ryan looked really good, but both of his wins were at home. In week 2, the Bucs were ready and made Ryan look like the rookie he is. And now that the Falcons will be in Charlotte for this week, expect the excellent Panthers D-Line to crowd the line of scrimmage. Carolina will make Ryan beat them and I don’t think he will this week. Atlanta will try to control the ball, but with the Panthers allowing less than 4 yards a carry, don’t expect that to happen. I like Carolina to win, 23-17.

Arizona at New York Jets – Fox, 1 p.m.
The Cards want to throw, throw, throw. But Jets coach Eric Mangini has a chance to show what he has learned under Bill Belichick by shutting the Kurt Warner-led offense down. With Brett Favre wanting to show the last two weeks were aberrations and not signs of slippage, I do believe the Jets will rebound after two straight losses and take this game, 19-6.

Minnesota at Tennessee – Fox, 1 p.m.
Now that Gus Frerotte is guiding the Vikings, the team has a decent shot at winning. The Titans D will be crowding the line to stop the run and since Frerotte has a better arm than Tavaris Jackson, he will take shots down the field to loosen the defense. The Titans will also have a challenge in trying to run against the Vikings who stuff the ground game so well. And now that Kerry Collins has replaced the depressed Vince Young, the Titans have been focused on offense. This is going to be a bruising game. I’ll choose the Titans to win on a late second figgy, 23-21.

Cleveland at Cincinnati – CBS, 1 p.m.
Both of these teams were expected to be better than 0-3. I’ll choose my Browns to win this because someone has to. Final, Brownies 27-17.

Denver at Kansas City – CBS, 1 p.m.
Denver can’t stop anyone, but since the Chiefs are in contention for worst team in the NFL, the Broncos won’t have to. Broncos win, 31-0.

Houston at Jacksonville – CBS, 1 p.m.
Believe it or not, Houston has won five in a row on the road. They’re not going to win in Jacksonville. Jags, 28-20.

San Francisco at New Orleans – Fox, 1 p.m.
Mike Martz is doing wonders for the 49ers offense and it will pose problems for the Saints. I think Drew Brees will have another good day against San Francisco. Last year, he threw for 336 yards against the Niners. Take the Saints, 29-17.

Green Bay at Tampa Bay – Fox, 1 p.m.
The Bucs will offer a challenge to Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. While Brian Griese threw for 67 passes last week in Tampa Bay’s win over Chicago, don’t expect him to throw that much this week. I’ll take the Pack to win 23-20.

Buffalo at St. Louis – CBS, 4:05 p.m.
The Rams have benched Marc Bulger in favor of Trent Green causing some controversy. Expect the Bills to run over the Rams, 30-3.

San Diego at Oakland – CBS, 4:05 p.m.
Just when is Lane Kiffin going to be put out of his misery in Oakland? Al Davis hates him, but lets him twist in the wind every week. Perhaps Al will take action after the Chargers run the Raiders out of the park. This game will be close for 3 quarters, but then the Chargers will run down the Raiders, 33-20.

Washington at Dallas – Fox, 4:15 p.m.
Dallas is favored by 11, but with this NFC East battle, I like Washington to make this game a bit closer. Plus, with the Redskins getting its offense in sync, the Redskins could keep this close. In its last visit to Texas Stadium, I’m going to take the Redskins in an upset, 24-21.

Philadelphia at Chicago – NBC, 8:15 p.m.
The Eagles hope that Brian Westbrook will play on Sunday night. I keep wondering if the Bears win at Indy was an aberration because they haven’t met that same intensity on defense in their last two games. Take the Iggles to win at Soldier Field, 28-13.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh – Monday, ESPN, 8:40 p.m.
The Ravens offense is improving, but rookie QB Joe Flecco has yet to face a defense like the Steelers. Last week, Pittsburgh’s and Philadelphia’s defenses pounded each other to a pulp, leaving both teams running to the whirlpool. And with the Ravens punishing defense coming into Heinz Field, there could be more blood this week. I’ll take the Steelers only because they’re at home. This will be a battle of attrition. Take Pittsburgh to win, 13-6.

And those are your picks for Week 4 in the League Where They Play for Pay.

Saturday Links

As I’m getting ready to watch College Gameday on ESPN, I have the NFL Network on and for the second straight week, I happen to catch a new program called “Starting 11″ which combines NFL Films footage with segments hosted by the extremely lovely Michelle Beisner who is an early candidate for Five Women Who Can Make Me Stop Flipping the Remote – 2009. She’s quite good at the segments. The show usually runs Thursday nights at 9:30 p.m. then again on Saturday morning at 9:30. If you don’t have NFL Network, here’s a sample of Michelle’s work.

And she also did some work for ESPN on the Champ Car Series.

Ok, now that you’ve seen Michelle, let’s do some links.

Jerry Garcia from the San Antonio Express-News says it may be lights out for “Friday Night Lights” after this season.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News has former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson crowing over Marion Barber. In his blog, Barry previews an E:60 story on a Hawaii graduate assistant football coach with cerebral palsy who lost his job after his original employers left for SMU.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says the next installment of America’s Game: The Missing Rings may hit a bit too close to home for Bills fans.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says this is a strange season for the Yankees as they are out of the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says SNY’s Keith Hernandez has become a character in the broadcast booth.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that SNY will celebrate the final weekend of Shea Stadium.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says MLB needs to get more of its games on TV in the last week of the regular season.

The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager has one brief snippet on the NFL Today for this Sunday and has Cal Ripken, Jr.’s comments on the MLB postseason.

The Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes including an all-time season low for MLB on Fox. The SMW also looks at the NFL ratings from last week.

Mike Reynolds …. we interrupt this blog for a Charissa Thompson alert on the Big Ten Network wearing her Catwoman glasses … this is a good thing… ok, we continue … of Multichannel News returns with a story that six Comcast SportsNet regional channels will pick up a Sunday NFL pregame show aimed at gamblers.

We have some posts from Christopher Byrne’s Eye on Sports Media blog on ESPN College Gameday’s visit to the University of Georgia campus today. First, Chris looks at the brand of pencil Lee Corso constantly holds on the show. Yes, it’s a certain brand. Chris highlights a meeting between ESPN’s Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Georgia coach Mark Richt. Chris says fans start showing up at the College Gameday set on Friday. Christopher has a picture of the steadi-cam operator who has to carry 70 pounds of equipment to get thos roving shots of the crowd. And Chris says contrary to popular belief, the College Gameday crew doesn’t always want to set up at the stadium. Great stuff from Christopher and I hope we have more behind the scenes pictures from today’s show and when ESPN strikes the set.

Cosby Woodruff of the Montgomery (AL) Advertiser says a songwriter hopes a second playing of his composition on ESPN will be the charm.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN’s white space test at the stadium formerly known as Jack Kent Cooke was not encouraging.

That’s going to do it for now.

Paul Newman Dies at Age 83

My goodness. One of the greatest actors ever, Paul Newman died Friday after a long battle with cancer. He was 83.

The 24 "Redemption" Trailer

The last season of 24 was absolutely horrible and as big a fan as I am of The Amazing Race, I was even more so of 24 until Season 6. I was a huge fan of the show on the border of obsession, but Season 6 almost ruined my faith in the series. However, this trailer of the two hour movie that will run in November looks absolutely tremendous. We all know trailers are not the true indication of what will actually be shown, but this really looks cool.

If this movie is as good or even better than the trailer, I may start recommending 24 for S7. We’ll see.

Weekend Viewing Picks

Saturday, September 27

Boxing
World Championship Boxing/Sugar Shane Mosley vs. Ricardo Mayorga- HBO, 10:30 p.m.

English Premier League
Everton vs. Liverpool – Setanta Sports, 7:30 a.m.
Manchester United vs. Bolton Wanderers – Setanta Sports, 9:45 a.m.
Chelsea vs. Stoke City – Fox Soccer Channel, 10 a.m.
Fullham vs. West Ham – Setanta Sports, 2:15 p.m. (tape delayed)
Aston Villa vs. Sunderland – Setanta Sports, 4 p.m. (tape delayed)
Blackburn vs. Newcastle – Fox Soccer Channel, 8 p.m. (tape delayed)

Golf
LPGA Tour/Navistar Classic, 3rd round – Golf Channel, 6:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
PGA Tour/Tour Championship, 3rd round – Golf Channel, 10 a.m./NBC, noon

MLB
Florida at New York Mets – FSN Florida/WPIX, 1 p.m.
New York Yankees at Red Sox – Fox, 3:55 p.m.
Kansas City at Minnesota – Fox, 3:55 p.m.
Washington at Philadelphia – Fox, 3:55 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – Fox, 3:55 p.m.
Toronto at Baltimore – Rogers Sportsnet/MASN2, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Detroit – FSN Florida/FSN Detroit, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox – WKYC/WGN, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston – SportSouth/FSN Houston, 7 p.m.
Cincinnati at St. Louis – FSN Ohio/FSN Midwest, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Arizona – KTVD/FSN Arizona, 8 p.m.
Texas at Anaheim Angels – KDFI/KCOP, 9 p.m.
Los Angeles at San Francisco – FSN Prime Ticket/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 9 p.m.
Pittsburgh at San Diego – Cox 4, 10 p.m.

NASCAR
Nationwide Series/Kansas Lottery 300 – ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.

Entertainment
Cops – Fox, 8 p.m.
America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back – Fox, 9 p.m.
Primeval – BBC America, 9 p.m.
Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger – HBO, 9 p.m.
48 Hours Mystery – CBS, 10 p.m.
Trading Spaces – TLC, 10 p.m.
Saturday Night Live with Anna Faris and musical guest Duffy – NBC, 11:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 28

English Premier League
Portsmouth vs. Tottenham – Setanta Sports, 8:30 a.m.
Manchester City vs. Wigan – Fox Soccer Channel, 11 a.m.

Formula 1
Singapore Grand Prix – Speed, 7:30 a.m.

Golf
LPGA Tour/Navistar Classic, final round – Golf Channel, 6:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
PGA Tour/Tour Championship, final round – Golf Channel, 11 a.m./NBC, 1:30 p.m.

MLB
Tampa Bay at Detroit – FSN Florida/FSN Detroit, 1 p.m.
Florida at New York Mets – TBS/Sun Sports/SNY, 1 p.m.
New York Yankees at Red Sox – YES/NESN, 1:30 p.m.
Toronto at Baltimore – Rogers Sportsnet/MASN2, 1:30 p.m.
Washington at Philadelphia – MASN/CW57, 1:30 p.m.
Kansas City at Minnesota – WFTC/FSN North, 2 p.m.
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox – STO/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 2 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – WGN/FSN Wisconsin, 2 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston – SportSouth/KTXH, 2 p.m.
Cincinnati at St. Louis – FSN Ohio/KSDK, 2 p.m.
Texas at Anaheim Angels – FSN Southwest/FSN West, 3:30 p.m.
Oakland at Seattle – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Plus/FSN Northwest, 4 p.m.
Pittsburgh at San Diego – Cox 4, 4 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco – KCAL/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 4 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 6 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series/Camping RV World 400 – ABC, 2 p.m.

Entertainment
60 Minutes – CBS, 7 p.m.
The Amazing Race 13 (season premiere) – CBS, 8 p.m.
True Blood – HBO, 9 p.m.
Dexter – Showtime, 9 p.m.
Entourage – HBO, 10 p.m.
Mad Men – AMC, 10 p.m.
Californication – Showtime, 10 p.m.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

College Football
UConn at Louisville – ESPN2, 8 p.m.

MLB
New York Yankees at Red Sox – WWOR/NESN, 7 p.m. (weather permitting)
Toronto at Baltimore – Rogers Sportsnet/MASN2, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Detroit – ION/FSN Detroit, 7 p.m.
Florida at New York Mets – FSN Florida/SNY, 7 p.m. (weather permitting)
Washington at Philadelphia – MASN/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Kansas City at Minnesota – FSN Kansas City/FSN North, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox – STO/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 8 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – ESPN/Comcast SportsNet Chicago+/FSN Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston – SportSouth/FSN Houston, 8 p.m.
Cincinnati at St. Louis – FSN Ohio/FSN Midwest, 8 p.m.
Colorado at Arizona – FSN Rocky Mountain/FSN Arizona, 9:30 p.m.
Oakland at Seattle – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/FSN Northwest, 10 p.m.
Texas at Anaheim – FSN Southwest/FSN West, 10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at San Diego – Cox 4, 10 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco – FSN Prime Ticket/KNTV, 10:30 p.m.

NFL
NFL Classic Games/1994 Denver vs. Kansas City, Monday Night Football, Elway vs. Montana – NFL Network, 9 p.m.

News
Presidential Debate from Mississippi – ABC/BBC America/CBS/CNN/Fox News/MSNBC/NBC/PBS/Telemundo, 9 p.m.

Entertainment
20/20, 8 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Co-Ed Confidential 4: When Virgins Attack – Cinemax, 12:30 a.m.

A Rainy Friday Megalinks Session

With it raining heavily here in the Northeast, nothing much is going on, so it’s time to give you your regular Friday megalinks.

As usual, we go over your Weekend Viewing Picks.

Baseball’s last weekend of the regular season is going down to the wire with pennant and wild card races. ESPN has the Cubs-Brewers tonight at 8. Fox has coverage of four games on Saturday, but strangely has the meaningless Yankees-Red Sox game instead of the Marlins-Mets game. And Yankees-Red Sox isn’t even the main game, going to just one-fourth of the country. The entire slate and announcing assignments can be seen here. TBS has Mets-Marlins, Sunday at 1 p.m.

College Football has some interesting games now that #1 USC was upset on Thursday by Oregon State. One of the better matchups takes place in the SEC with Alabama visiting Georgia on ESPN at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday. The College Football Viewing Picks will help you to sort out your schedule for a rainy Saturday.

The NFL goes into its first real bye week and it leaves us with a slim picking of games. Yes, there’s the AARP Bowl between Arizona and the Jets, with a matchup of older QB’s, Kurt Warner vs. Brett Favre and the lone late afternoon game will be on Fox, as Washington travels to Dallas at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. Of course, the NFL Viewing Picks has everything you need to know about announcing teams, coverage maps, DirecTV channel assignments and Sirius Satellite Radio channel assignments.

The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup culiminates this weekend with the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Golf Channel and NBC team up for coverage on Saturday and Sunday. Golf Channel takes the morning coverage Saturday at 10 and Sunday at 11. NBC then takes over at noon Saturday and then at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Golf Channel has same day coverage of the LPGA’s Navistar Classic, Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

NASCAR’s Camping World RV 400 will be seen Sunday at 2 p.m. on ABC.

The Formula 1 circuit heads to Asia for the Singapore Grand Prix which Speed will have Sunday morning at 7:30.

Now to your links:

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says Fox has two games missing from its MLB schedule for Saturday.

The Sports Media Watch says one businessman is suggesting that Saturday’s Alabama-Georgia game be postponed. The SMW has some football names and notes. And the blog has some stuff on ESPN.

Christopher Byrne’s Eye on Sports Media blog has the first of a mult-part look at the setup of ESPN’s College Gameday at the University of Georgia campus this weekend.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell crunches the numbers from USC’s upset at the hands of Oregon State and finds that both schools may have made money on the deal.

Joe Favorito appreciates the planning behind the Montreal Canadiens’ centennial celebration for this season.

Erin Andrews Sexy Time. Deadspin is all over it.

East and Mid-Atlantic

David Scott from Boston Sports Media Watch goes in-depth into Red Sox beat reporter Sean McAdam’s departure from the Providence Journal and joining the Boston Herald.

Because of the recent migration by several Boston sports reporters, Bruce Allen of the BSMW put together a Media Movement Scorecard.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe talks with NESN Bruins voice Jack Edwards.

The great Neil Best of Newsday touches upon a bunch of subjects in his Friday column including catching up with the stenographer who does the closed captionining for the Mike Francesa show on YES. Neil has a bit more with the stenographer in his blog. And Neil says Mets manager Jerry Manuel could hold a clinic on media relations.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick remembers the late New York Giants radio analyst Dick Lynch.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with ESPN’s Jesse Palmer and ESPN/ABC’s Craig James about Alabama-Georgia. Justin has five questions for SNY’s Ron Darling.

The constantly bitter and increasingly angry Bob Raissman wonders why the Mets aren’t on Fox tomorrow.

Laura Nachman says Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy has been tapped to do the Nationals-Phillies game for Fox on Saturday.

Over to the Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager who writes that ESPN’s Ron Jaworski is impressed with the Ravens’ offense.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner writes that former DC sports radio talk show host John Riggins returns to Sirius NFL Radio starting today. And in the Baltimore Examiner, Jim writes that Fox NFL analyst Brian Billick feels his former team, the Ravens could make the playoffs.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says FSN Detroit followed Red Wings forward Dan Cleary as he took the Stanley Cup to his native Newfoundland over the summer.

Ted Cox of the Chicago Daily Herald grades the city’s baseball TV and radio announcers.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox’s Daryl Johnston likes Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the new sports radio station in town won’t stoop to low brow humor.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star says last Sunday’s Chiefs-Falcons game was the lowest in the market dating back to 2001.

South

Doug Nye from The State says the TV ratings prove that the NFL is as popular as ever.

The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson talks about TBS tinkering with its MLB postseason coverage this season.

The Orlando Sentinel’s Dave Darling talks with Tampa Bay Rays voice Andy Freed (formerly of the Pawtucket Red Sox) about the team’s amazing rise to the playoffs.

Eric Crawford of the Louisville Courier-Journal feels ESPN should end its Friday night college football games.

Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says ESPN has jumped on the Dallas Cowboys’ bandwagon.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle tells us that Astros radio voice Dave Raymond will be working on the radio during the offseason.

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman says FSN Big 12 analyst Gary Reasons will be on the field for the TCU-Oklahoma game tomorrow. Mel discusses ESPN’s plans for a 23 hour college basketball season opening marathon in October. And Mel has his weekend viewing picks.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) News says more and more Utah Jazz games are heading to cable and off free TV.

Jay Posner in the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Padres radio broadcast team will remain intact for 2009. Jay also has the ratings from San Diego over the last week.

John Maffei of the North County Times is happy that Vin Scully is returning to the Dodgers for his 60th season.

Jim Carlisle in the Ventura County Star says the TBS’ staff feels the Dodgers despite their record cannot be taken lightly.

From the Los Angeles Times, Steve Springer writes that a local sports radio host is now looking for work.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News says coming up next week, the Tampa Bay Rays won’t be hidden from the national spotlight anymore. Tom has the first part of his media notes in his Farther Off the Wall blog. And here’s part 2 of his notes.

Gary Washburn of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says ESPN/ABC college football analyst Ed Cunningham is one of a handful of former NFL lineman who have lost weight to change his quality of life.

Canada

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail looks at the Boston Globe’s new weekly sports publication.

Digital Home Canada says CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Radio returns to Sirius Satellite Radio on Monday.

The Montreal Gazette says CBC has added 10 Montreal Canadiens games to its Hockey Night in Canada schedule.

The Canadian Press says CTV/TSN has recorded a new version of the Hockey Theme which until last season, played the beginning of every CBC Hockey Night in Canada game. And a preview can be heard at the TSN.ca site.

That’s it for now.

NFL Viewing Picks for Week 4, 09/28/08

NFL Gameday Morning – NFL Network, 10 a.m.
Fox NFL Sunday – Fox, noon

1 p.m.
CBS Coverage Map
Cincinnati at Cleveland – Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon
Denver at Kansas City – Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Houston at Jacksonville – Dick Enberg/Randy Cross

Fox Coverage Map
Arizona at New York Jets – Dick Stockton/Brian Baldinger/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Atlanta at Carolina – Ron Pitts/Tony Boselli/Charissa Thompson!!!!
Green Bay at Tampa Bay – Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Minnesota at Tennessee – Chris Myers/JC Pearson/Nischelle Turner

4:05 p.m.
CBS Coverage Map
Buffalo at St. Louis – Ian Eagle/Solomon Wilcots
San Diego at Oakland – Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

4:15 p.m.
Fox Coverage Map
Washington at Dallas – Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver

7 p.m.
Football Night in America – NBC

8:15 p.m.
Philadelphia at Chicago – NBC, Al Michaels/John Madden/Andrea Kremer

11:30 p.m.
NFL Gameday Final – NFL Network

DirecTV Channel Assignments
Sirius Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

College Football Viewing Picks for 09/27/08, All Times Eastern

College Gameday, live from Athens, GA – ESPN, 10 a.m.

noon
Minnesota at Ohio State – Big Ten Network
Michigan State at Indiana – ESPN
North Carolina at Miami (FL) – ESPN2
Nortwestern at Iowa – ESPN Classic
Virginia at Duke – ESPNU
Maryland at Clemson – Raycom

12:30 p.m.
Ole Miss at Florida – Raycom
Army at Texas A&M – Versus

3 p.m.
College Football Countdown – ABC
College Football Today – CBS

3:30 p.m.
ABC Coverage Map
Arkansas at Texas – ABC
Fresno State at UCLA – ABC
Colorado vs. Florida State at Jacksonville – ABC/ESPN
Wisconsin at Michigan – ABC/ESPN

Tennessee at Auburn – CBS
Houston at East Carolina – CBS College Sports

Purdue at Notre Dame – NBC

Navy at Wake Forest – ESPNU (3:45 p.m.)

4 p.m.
Bowling Green at Wyoming – the mtn.
Florida A&M vs. Tennessee State – Versus

7 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard – ESPN
TCU at Oklahoma – FSN

7:30 p.m.
Mississippi State at LSU – ESPN2
South Florida at NC State – ESPNU
Alabama at Georgia – ESPN (7:45 p.m.)

8 p.m.
ABC Coverage Map
Illinois at Penn State – ABC
Virginia Tech at Nebraska – ABC

Central Florida at UTEP – CBS College Sports

10 p.m.
Nevada at UNLV – the mtn.

One More Amazing Race 13 Promo

I’m getting psyched for the Amazing Race premiere this Sunday. My sweetheart, puddin over at Reality Fan Forum posted this.

Can’t get any better than Phil saying, “Go!”

Thursday Evening Links

Let me provide you with a few links here. I’ll provide a bigger update later tonight.

Bruce Allen of the Boston Sports Media Watch blasts the Boston Globe’s Tony Massarotti for twisting Bill Belichick’s record.

David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch says Providence Journal Red Sox beat writer Sean McAdam is leaving to go to the Boston Herald.

New Friend of Fang’s Bites Keith Thibeault of the Sports Media Journal has part 2 of his feature on covering the Pawtucket Red Sox as a blogger.

Newsday’s Neil Best has a link to WFAN’s Top 25 Moments at Shea Stadium.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Herald writes that SNY got a big rating for Wednesday’s Cubs-Mets extra innings game. Pete says Saturday’s Yankees-Red Sox game should not have been picked up by Fox. I agree.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says SNY will celebrate the closing of Shea Stadium on Sunday.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record says after he spoke with the program director of the local ESPN Radio affiliate, the station will carry the Cubs-Brewers game on Saturday. Ken says since TBS has the Sunday afternoon MLB package, ESPN won’t be providing any live cut-ins to games on the last day of the regular season. And Ken says TBS and Fox have to be thrilled to have big market teams in the MLB postseason.

The Sports Media News site has the TBS Sports press release highligting its MLB Postseason Media Conference Call from today.

Jennifer 8. Lee of the New York Times says some realistic turf ads for ESPN’s Monday Night Football are being stolen out of New York City bus shelters.

Laura Nachman says ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown will look back at the Fog Bowl between Da Bears and the Iggles.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says ESPN Radio blowhard Colin Cowherd wants to become a relationship talk show blowhard. And Tom says SNY’s Ron Darling who will work for TBS during the postseason likes the Dodgers’ chances.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has noticed that Puma is increasing Usain Bolt’s profile recently. And Darren wonders based on the poll that was included in the last story, is Bolt more marketable than swimmer Michael Phelps?

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star writes that the Chiefs game against the Broncos will not be blacked out this Sunday despite not being totally sold out.

Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says College Gameday’s first visit to the University of Georgia in 10 years is a big deal to the Bulldogs.

Bob Thomas of the Florida Times-Union talks with Florida State and Tampa Bay Bucs radio voice Gene Deckerhoff about the recently retired voice of the Georgia Bulldogs, Larry Munson.

Multichannel News reports that CBS College Sports is being picked up by Time Warner Cable in Dallas.

Larry Barrett of Multichannel says subscribers to Broadstripe in Michigan will see the Big Ten Network as of Friday.

From Awful Announcing through SportsbyBrooks, former Monday Night Football sideline hottie Lisa Guerrero is now writing a blog for the Los Angeles Times.

Mimi Turner of the Hollywood Reporter writes that reality show producer Endemol (creator of “Big Brother”) plans to create a global sports programming division.

Those are your links for Thursday. Look for several posts on Friday starting with your College Football Viewing Picks, NFL Viewing Picks, Friday Megalinks, Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks, Weekend Viewing Picks and anything else I can think of. See you in the morning.

Fox Sports Announcing Assignments for MLB, 09/27/08

Fox has coverage of four games on Saturday. The main game will be the Cubs at Milwaukee. While NESN’s Jerry Remy will work with former Red Sox TV play-by-play man Dick Stockton on the Yankees-Red Sox, I think Mets-Marlins would have been the better choice. Red Sox are in the playoffs and unless the Tampa Bay Rays completely choke over the weekend, the game won’t have a bearing on the seedings.

Once again, we have some funky announcing combos as Josh Lewin works with Mark Grace, Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy has been tapped to work for Fox again and Best Damn Sports Show Period host Chris Rose is teamed with Twins analyst Bert Blyeven.

Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers, Josh Lewin & Mark Grace, going to 63% of USA

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Greenville, Houston, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tulsa

Probable Pitchers: Ted Lilly, LHP (16-9, 4.17 ERA) vs. Ben Sheets, RHP (13-8, 2.98 ERA)

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox, Dick Stockton & Jerry Remy, going to 25% of USA

MARKETS INCLUDE: Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Hartford, Jacksonville, Miami, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Tampa, West Palm Beach

Probable Pitchers: Sidney Ponson, RHP (8-5, 5.21 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett, RHP (12-10, 4.03 ERA)

Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies, Tom McCarthy, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal, going to 7% of USA

MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington

Probable Pitchers: Odalis Perez, LHP (7-11, 4.27 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer, LHP (15-7, 3.78 ERA)

Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins, Chris Rose & Bert Blyleven, going to 4% of USA

MARKETS INCLUDE: Kansas City, Minneapolis

Probable Pitchers: Gil Meche, RHP (13-11, 4.05 ERA) vs. Glen Perkins, LHP (12-4, 4.50 ERA)

As much as I have killed Fox in the previous weeks, I’ll give the network credit for covering four games this Saturday, but Yankees-Red Sox should have been chucked. It’s not even the main game. This will be the last we’ll see of Fox doing MLB until it covers the National League Championship Series on October 9.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

College Football
SMU at Tulane – CBS College Sports, 8 p.m.
Alabama State at Mississippi Valley State – ESPNU, 8 p.m.
USC at Oregon State – ESPN, 9 p.m.

MLB
Cleveland at Red Sox – STO/NESN, 7 p.m.
New York Yankees at Toronto – YES/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at New York Mets – Comcast SportsNet Chicago +/SNY, 7 p.m.
Florida at Washington – FSN Florida/MASN, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/FSN North, 8 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee – FSN Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Cincinnati at Houston – FSN Ohio/FSN Houston, 8 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at Seattle – FSN West/FSN Northwest, 10 p.m.
San Diego at Los Angeles Dodgers – Cox 4/FSN Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.
Colorado at San Francisco – FSN Rocky Mountain/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 10 p.m.

NFL
America’s Game: The Missing Rings/1969 Minnesota Vikings – NFL Network, 10 p.m.

Entertainment
Survivor: Gabon (season premiere) – CBS, 8 p.m.
Kitchen Nightmares – Fox, 8 p.m.
Kitchen Nightmares – Fox, 9 p.m.
Grey’s Anatomy (season premiere) – ABC, 9 p.m.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – FX, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

One More Press Release – Troy Brown Joins Comcast SportsNet NE

I didn’t mean to make this Press Release Thursday, but for those living in the New England area like me, and are Patriots fans, unlike me, here’s some news that might be of interest.

VERSATILE FORMER PATRIOT AND THREE TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION TROY BROWN JOINS COMCAST SPORTSNET AS NFL ANALYST

15-Year-Veteran Paired with Gary Tanguay and Michael Felger on Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight

BURLINGTON, MA – Selected in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL draft, Troy Brown proved to be Mr. Versatility during his 15 prosperous years as a New England Patriots wide receiver, return man and part-time defensive back. Comcast SportsNet will rely on his high football IQ to provide unmatched local NFL analysis.

Brown, 36, joins the Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight program which airs Monday through Friday live, twice-a-night at 6:30 and 10 p.m. In addition to his in-studio work, Brown will focus on feature pieces from Gillette Stadium involving the Patriots and its players during the week. Brown will make his first appearance tonight at 10 p.m.

“I have been asked to do many things during my football career and I believe that my experience in all facets of the game will provide a great foundation for providing what I hope to be expert analysis on the team,” said Brown. “It feels like my rookie year all over again. I look forward to the challenge as I embark on this new career and as I continue my fifteen year relationship with this great community and team.”

“Troy Brown is a great addition to Comcast SportsNet’s Patriots coverage. Given his on-field versatility, there is perhaps no former player more qualified to provide the type of insight and analysis that fans covet,” said Bill Bridgen, Comcast SportsNet executive vice president and general manager.

Troy just retired from the Patriots and now goes into the next phase of his career.

Three Press Releases For Your Reading Pleasure

Three press releases hit my inbox this morning. I figured I would provide them here for you.

First, HBO will air a special Costas Now featuring Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. This interview took place after the Baseball town hall aired live on July 16.

SPECIAL EDITION OF HBO SPORTS’ COSTAS NOW, DEBUTING SEPT. 30,

SPOTLIGHTS BASEBALL ICONS HANK AARON AND WILLIE MAYS

Joined by two baseball legends, Bob Costas hosts an hour-long special edition of his Emmy^®-winning HBO Sports show when COSTAS NOW WITH AARON & MAYS debuts TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 (9:00 p.m. ET/PT & 8:00 p.m. CT), exclusively on HBO. Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein serve as executive producers of the show, which draws on the talents of HBO Sports’ Peabody- and Emmy^®-winning production department.

More than 30 years after the end of their careers, Hall of Famers Hank Aaron – “Hammerin’ Hank” in uniform No. 44 – and Willie Mays – “The Say Hey Kid” with the No. 24 jersey – remain among the most beloved and respected players in baseball history. When the Alabama natives appeared together on the July 16 town hall edition of COSTAS NOW devoted to baseball, their segment was riveting. Once the TV interview ended, the pair remained onstage another 40 minutes with Costas for an hbo.com webcast. In the hour-long special drawn from that night – the majority of which has not previously been seen on the network – the two icons revisit a host of memorable moments from their extraordinary lives and express their enduring admiration for each other.

TBS will air Mets-Marlins on Sunday. That game could decide the National League East division, weather permitting.

“Sunday MLB on TBS” Features Mets Hosting the Marlins

TBS telecast will showcase final scheduled regular season game at Shea Stadium

“Sunday MLB on TBS” continues on Sunday, September 28th with a special half-hour edition of TBS MLB on Deck at 12:30 p.m. ET. Ernie Johnson (host) will be alongside Cal Ripken (analyst) and Dennis Eckersley (analyst) to preview the final day of the MLB regular season. The pre-game show will be followed at 1 p.m. ET with David Wright and the New York Mets hosting Hanley Ramirez and the Florida Marlins. The game is scheduled to be the final regular season contest at Shea Stadium. Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Harold Reynolds (analyst) will call the action.

Beginning on October 1, TBS will once again provide exclusive coverage of the Division Series and, for the first time, exclusive coverage of the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS SCHEDULE:

Sun., September 28

12:30 p.m. TBS MLB on Deck

Ernie Johnson (host), Cal Ripken (analyst) and Dennis Eckersley (analyst)

1 p.m. Florida Marlins @ New York Mets

Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Harold Reynolds (analyst)

Next, Sirius announces that John Riggins returns to Sirius NFL Radio starting tomorrow.

HALL OF FAMER JOHN RIGGINS RETURNS TO SIRIUS NFL RADIO

Redskins great will host “The SIRIUS Blitz” exclusively on SIRIUS’ 24-hour NFL talk channel

NEW YORK – September 25, 2008 - SIRIUS XM Radio the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, announced today that Hall of Fame NFL running back John Riggins, who hosted a daily show on SIRIUS NFL Radio from 2004 to 2006, will return to the channel as a regular host this Friday, September 26.

Riggins will host The SIRIUS Blitz Tuesdays through Fridays (10:00 am – 1:00 pm ET) every week exclusively on SIRIUS NFL Radio channel 124. Riggins’ co-host on The SIRIUS Blitz will be longtime SIRIUS NFL Radio personality Adam Schein.

“If you’re an NFL fan, you’re not going to find a better place to talk football than SIRIUS NFL Radio,” said Riggins. “I’m excited to be back and am looking forward to being part of a show that I hope will be as fun and engaging for the listeners as I know it’ll be for me.”

“John has always been a fan favorite and he’s as entertaining on the air as he was when he was running the football,” said Steve Cohen, SVP of Sports Programming for SIRIUS XM Radio. “We’re thrilled to have him back on SIRIUS NFL Radio, where listeners around the country will be able to call in and talk to one of the NFL’s all-time greats.”

Drafted out of the University of Kansas by the New York Jets with the sixth overall pick of the 1971 NFL Draft, Riggins went on to play 14 seasons with the Jets and the Washington Redskins. Known for his bruising, workhorse style, he finished his career with 2,916 carries for 11,352 yards and 104 touchdowns. He recorded five 1000-yard seasons and played in two Super Bowls and may be best remembered for his MVP performance in Super Bowl XVII in 1983, when he rushed for 166 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown run that gave Washington its first lead of the game and lifted the ‘Skins to a 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. He played in the 1976 Pro Bowl and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

On SIRIUS NFL Radio Riggins joins an unrivaled lineup of former NFL players, coaches and executives that includes Carl Banks, Gil Brandt, Randy Cross, Dean Dalton, Pat Kirwan, Jim Miller, Dan Reeves, Tim Ryan, Marty Schottenheimer, Shannon Sharpe, Ross Tucker and Solomon Wilcots.

That does it.

Giving You Thursday Linkage

Well, since there’s no live stream of Amazing Race Asia, I have to wait for someone to post the results on Reality Fan Forum. I know I have a loyal readership in Asia for the recaps. If anyone wants to provide a live stream of the show on a site that I will not mention here, please feel free to e-mail. My address is on the left.

Here are some links for you.

Newsday’s Neil Best remembers New York Giants radio analyst Dick Lynch who passed away on Wednesday. And Neil says Lynch was an integral part of the Giants family.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times attended an NBA refereeing media seminar.

Maury Brown’s Biz of Hockey has a look at a new broadcasting agreement the NHL has signed in Asia.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Penguins are airing 47 and possibly more of its games in HD.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Michael Beasley’s stretching of the truth about adidas continues. Darren also looks at some of the top promotional acts in Minor League Baseball.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says a new book about the Cowboys won’t be greeted warmly by the team.

Bruce Allen from the Boston Sports Media Watch says the Globe is starting up a new weekly publication devoted to sports.

Christopher Byrne’s Eye on Sports Media blog has a guest column today from an official from Idaho State University’s athletic department on why a blogger has been credentialed for its football games.

In a related note, Keith Thibeault of the Sports Media Journal talks about him being credentialed this past summer for Pawtucket Red Sox games to help cover games for a blog. I linked to this last night, but I thought it would be interesting to link to this again.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says tonight’s MLS game on ESPN begins Hispanic Heritage Month on the network.

Lauren Bertolini of the Syracuase Post-Standard writes that NBC’s Bob Costas was honored in town last night.

The 38Cliches blog isn’t too thrilled that Dave O’Brien won’t be on the Red Sox Radio Network during the postseason.

SportsbyBrooks has the video of the deflation of the Hoosier Dome roof.

I’ll end it there for now. I’ll be back later.

The Amazing Race 3 – Ep. 3 Results

I have not seen the episode, but I do have the results.

1. Henry & Bernie – winners of a Sony HD Handicam each
2. Vince & Sam
3. Ida & Tania
4. AD & Fuzzie
5. Geoff & Tisha
6. Mai & Oliver
7. Niroo & Kapil
8. Natalie & Pailin – quit the roadblock and thus, eliminated. Apparently Natalie miscalculated that this would be a non-elimination leg. Idiot.

I’ll try to find out more and look for a recap sometime during the weekend. In the interim, head over to Calvin’s Hub for a synopsis of this episode.

Some Wednesday Evening Links

Just as I’m about to open the wraps on a new set of links, Jerry Remy of NESN (who by the way will be working Saturday’s Yankees-Red Sox game on Fox) spills the beans that his partner Don Orsillo will work one of the American League Division Series for TBS. Jerry noted that Don was particularly interested in the Minnesota-Chicago game tonight. The Remdawg said Don will either be in Minnesota or Tampa next week. So we know Don will call teams that he rather familiar with. He will not be on the Red Sox series as he was not assigned them last year. In fact, TBS put Orsillo on the Colorado-Phillies series when the network started airing the MLB postseason in 2007. So a small piece of breaking news for you.

Newsday’s Neil Best says it appears likely that the Mets will renew its ties with long time flagship station WFAN.

The great Darren Rovell of CNBC says if it were up to his readers, the University of Idaho would not scrap its cheerleader outfits. Darren says Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens has some interesting timing. Finally, Darren says Michael Beasley’s business manager went overboard in announcing his new shoe contract.

Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal writes that record viewing audiences for this year’s Olympics may spark a huge bidding war for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.

Keith Thibeault of the Sports Media Journal talks about his covering the Pawtucket Red Sox as a regular beat blogger. Interesting story.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Penn State University classmate Matt Millen should have stayed in the broadcast booth.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record writes that MSG and ESPN2 will have the WNBA’s Eastern Conference finals involving the New York Liberty. Ken says Army highlights the college football viewing in the New York metro area. And Ken tells us that three of Army’s men’s basketball games will get some national exposure.

Scott Powers of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Disney is taking its name off the Wide World of Sports complex and putting ESPN’s name on.

From the Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth and his Farther Off the Wall blog, he tells us that a new book from one of the more insightful sports writers is out on the shelves. Tom says the Los Angeles Sparks will play their lone home game of the WNBA Western Conference Finals at the Galen Center on the USC campus instead of the Staples Center.

Multichannel News reports that Comcast SportsNet Chicago will use its sports announcing teams as part of its current promotional campaign.

That will do it.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

MLB
Cleveland at Red Sox – STO/NESN, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore – ION/MASN, 7 p.m.
New York Yankees at Toronto – YES/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.
Kansas City at Detroit – FSN Kansas City/FSN Detroit, 7 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at New York Mets – ESPN/WCIU/SNY, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Philadelphia – FSN South/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Florida at Washington – FSN Florida/MASN2, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/FSN North, 8 p.m.
Cincinnati at Houston – FSN Ohio/FSN Houston, 8 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee – FSN Pittsburgh/FSN Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Arizona at St. Louis – FSN Arizona/FSN Midwest, 8 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at Seattle – FSN West/FSN Northwest, 10 p.m.
San Diego at Los Angeles Dodgers – Cox 4/FSN Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.
Colorado at San Francisco – FSN Rocky Mountain/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.

NFL
Inside the NFL – Showtime, 9 p.m.

Entertainment
E:60 – ESPN2, 8 p.m.
Bones – Fox, 8 p.m.
Knight Rider (series premiere) – NBC, 8 p.m.
Ghost Hunters – SciFi, 9 p.m.
Sons of Anarchy – FX, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

TBS’ Plans for MLB Hot Corner in 2008

Last October in its first year of airing the MLB playoffs, TBS tried something new by supplying online content to compliment its postseason coverage. The result was a studio show, called “Hot Corner” co-hosted by the always lovely Heather Catlin, tool Matt D’Agostino and the equally lovely Kelly Cross. It was quite popular garnering over a million hits during the ten days it was webcast. I live blogged the shows which culminated in a live fashion show of Alyssa Milano’s Touch clothing line.

Heather and Kelly modeled some of the clothes.

Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked here. The whole reason behind this post is to inform you on what TBS has planned for this season. According to Turner Sports staffers, the online studio show will not return, however, fans will be able to click on various camera angles to make the viewing experience more interactive. This would be similar to what NBC is doing with Sunday Night Football Extra online.

Also, TBS plans to staff the games with on-site reporters. I don’t have the full roster as of yet and that will most likely be announced sometime on Thursday when Turner Sports holds a media conference call to discuss its plans.

As with last season, TBS will air all four League Division Series and this year, will carry the American League Championship Series.

When I get more information, I’ll post it here.

You Like Watching the NFL

Here’s a press release from the National Football League stating three of its games from Week 3 were the three most watched programs of the week between September 15 – 21. They say things come in threes, they definitely did for the NFL in Week 3.

NFL GAMES TOP RATINGS IN ALL MARKETS

NFL GAMES TOP 3 SHOWS ON TV LAST WEEK

NFL games topped the local ratings in 29 of 29 NFL markets last week (Houston was not measured due to Hurricane Ike).

Nationally, NFL games accounted for the three most-watched shows among all programs last week (Sept. 15-21) – all of which exceeded the viewership of the Emmy Awards by more than 50 percent.

The Sunday night Dallas-Green Bay game on NBC was the most-watched show of the week with 22.2 million viewers. The CBS doubleheader game on Sunday (mostly Steelers-Eagles) ranked second with 19.2 million viewers and was followed by last Monday night’s (Sept. 15) Eagles-Cowboys game on ESPN which drew an all-time cable record 18.6 million viewers. The Emmy Awards drew 12.3 million viewers on Sunday night.

Following are the NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of September 15-21:

* Local affiliate & ESPN combined

Source: NFL & Nielsen Media Research

The networks and advertisers know that the NFL attracts high numbers of male viewers unlike any other program and it’s one of the reasons why the rights fees are in the billions of dollars with no sign of going down.

Some Wednesday Linkage

I’m dragging this morning after writing my Amazing Race Asia, Episode 2 recap well into the wee morning hours. I’ve trapped myself into a corner writing them knowing that there’s a loyal audience from both Asia and the U.S. for them. I think because the last episode was 90 minutes, it was particularly hard to write. The next one should be easier and of course, The Amazing Race 13 premieres on Sunday and I’ll be writing recaps for that as well. I’ll definitely be sleep deprived by the end of the season.

Anyway to your links.

From Friend of Fang’s Bites, David Scott of the Boston Sports Media Watch, he tells us that noted plagiarist Ron Borges is leaving WEEI.com after a short few weeks and going to the Boston Herald full-time.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says ESPN will give college basketball lovers a huge cornucopia of games starting at midnight on November 18.

Dayton Morinaga of the Honolulu Advertiser says Hawaii will be involved in the ESPN college basketball tip-off marathon.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Kentucky-North Carolina will be the primetime showcase of the marathon on ESPN.

Newsday’s Neil Best says New York Giants radio analyst Dick Lynch has passed away after a long illness. I used to make fun of Lynch for whining on the air, but after he lost a son in 9/11 which took a lot out of him, I stopped. From what I understand, Lynch was a very nice man.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the love for Brett Favre in the local area appears to be waning.

Tierney Plumb of the Washington Business Journal says former Redskins linebacker LeVar Arrington will join Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic as an on-air studio analyst.

The Sports Media Watch has the final weekend ratings. SMW says despite not having Brett Favre, the Packers are still a national draw. And here are some various ratings notes.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media takes the NBC hyping of its ratings for Sunday Night Football with a grain of salt. And Chris wonders why a Georgia Tech game program had to take a shot at Barry Bonds.

Subscribers to Time Warner Cable in North Carolina may not be able to watch MASN, but according to the Raleigh News & Observer, they will be able to watch the Big Ten Network. The Greensboro News-Record says BTN will be available on Time Warner tomorrow.

Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says despite ties to both Minnesota and Ohio State, Big Ten Network analyst Glen Mason will be objective during Saturday’s game.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the college football TV viewing for the New York State Capital Region.

Over to Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star, he writes that Time Warner/Metro Sports is investigating the leak of some raw unaired footage of George Brett on YouTube.

The Sox & Dawgs blog has the video of Johnny Bench doing his best Harry Caray impression on NESN last night.

The great 38 Cliches blog has a link to the early days of Red Sox voice Joe Castiglione when he was in Cleveland.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun wonders why the tournament director of the PGA Senior Players Championship did not inform a sports radio talk show host that Tom Watson will not participate despite even with him being mentioned twice.

Joe Favorito says some intended goodwill by the Toronto Maple Leafs ended up being lost by the media.

Sam Schechner of the Wall Street Journal says Barack Obama and John McCain are advertising heavily on regional sports networks.

The Orlando Business Journal says Disney is adding a new event as part of renaming its Wide World of Sports complex this week.

That’s it for now. Look for an update later today on TBS’ online coverage of the MLB postseason.