Fang's Bites

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009

Bob Hayes – Dallas Cowboys wide receiver
Randall McDaniel – Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Bucs guard
Bruce Smith – Buffalo Bill defensive end
Derrick Thomas – Kansas City Chiefs linebacker
Ralph Wilson – Buffalo Bills founder and owner
Rod Woodson – Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens defensive back

Congratulations to all. They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 8.

Twenty Seven Hours Before the Big Game, NBC Has Finally Sold Out the Super Bowl

NBC announces that the network has finally sold out its spot availabilities for Super Bowl XLIII.

NBC SELLS OUT SUPER BOWL & SETS NEW RECORD

All-Time Super Bowl Record $206 Million in Advertising Revenue

Also Sets New Full-Day Super Bowl Revenue Mark of $261 Million

TAMPA – January 31, 2009 – Super Bowl XLIII on NBC is sold out. NBC has sold all game advertising for tomorrow's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII and set a Super Bowl record of $206 million in advertising revenue, NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker announced today. NBC's $261 million in revenue for the full Super Bowl day, especially impressive in the current economic downturn, also sets a new Super Bowl milestone.
 
"These advertising milestones show the power of the NFL brand and the strength of the Super Bowl as a TV property in this economic climate," said Zucker. "The Super Bowl has become one of our country's biggest holidays, a uniquely American day, and advertisers recognized the value in being a part of it, as their commercials are nearly as big a part of the day as the football itself. This is an extraordinary story for NBC against the backdrop of this economy." 

"The plan to aggressively sell the majority of our advertising early in the process at the record unit price of $3 million showed tremendous foresight," said Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. "To finish selling out the Super Bowl in these last two weeks, in this economy and at record levels, is a testament to the dogged determination of Seth Winter [SVP, Sales & Marketing, NBC Sports]."

A total of 32 advertisers have taken time in Super Bowl XLIII across a broad spectrum of categories. 

Fans of the advertisements featured in this Sunday's Super Bowl will be able to view those ads almost immediately after they air, on popular websites NBC.com, Hulu.com and Superbowl.com. In addition, users will be able to post their favorite ads on a blog or webpage through both the NBC.com and Hulu.com widget applications.  Hulu will allow users to vote on their favorite ad, with the winner announced on Tuesday.

I’ll be here during the game with my grades for the ads like I did last year.

ESPN’s Programming for Super Bowl Sunday

Here are ESPN’s plans for Sunday. Lots of people spread all over the place.

ESPN Super Bowl Sunday Programming Notes

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on ESPN Radio at 7:40 a.m.; Country Music Star

Faith Hill on SportsCenter at 9:45 a.m.; NFL Analyst Steve Young to Appear on ABC’s

Good Morning America; and Rapper Snoop Dogg on Sunday NFL Countdown

Programming highlights for Super Bowl Sunday involving ESPN shows and commentators (all times ET):

• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (via phone at 7:40 a.m.) will be interviewed by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic on a special edition of Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio (simulcast on ESPN);
• ESPN NFL analyst and Super Bowl XXIX MVP Steve Young will appear on ABC’s Good Morning America Weekend (airs in most markets at 8 a.m.). Young was interviewed Saturday by correspondent Marysol Castro for an NFL story about logos and mascots;
• ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com columnist Rick Reilly will appear on NBC’s Weekend Today (9:30 a.m.), where he will discuss his experience playing fantasy football with President Barack Obama this fall on the campaign trail;
• Country music star Faith Hill, who will perform America the Beautiful at Super Bowl XLIII, will appear live from Raymond James Stadium on SportsCenter (9:45 a.m.) where she will be interviewed by host Bob Ley;
• ESPN’s four-hour Sunday NFL Countdown at 10 a.m. will include interviews with three special guests – Arizona Senator John McCain (from Washington, DC, at 12:40 p.m.), former Steelers running back Rocky Bleier (1 p.m.), and rapper/record producer/actor Snoop Dogg (1:20 p.m.).

Rick Reilly played fantasy football with then-Senator Obama? What’s up with that? That’s not right.

I don’t expect anything else from the networks today, but if I do get something, you can expect that it will get posted here.

Saturday Morning Links

Let’s give you some links this morning. They should be the last links before Super Bowl Sunday, but we’ll see.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Bob Glauber of Newsday writes that the Pro Football Writers of America have elected their first female president. Thanks to Neil Best for linking to Bob.

In the New York Times Book Review, Joe Queenan takes a look at the new book, “Billion Dollar Game” by Allen St. John. The book goes behind the scenes in the preparations of Super Bowl XLII.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says no one saw an Arizona-Pittsburgh Super Bowl matchup.

Alan Pergament from the Buffalo News says a sports radio talk show host will be going up against his former mates this on Monday.

Jackie Majerus of the Bristol (CT) Press writes about ESPN instituting a long-term hiring freeze.

David Dorsey of the Fort Myers (FL) News-Press talks with the NFL Network’s Deion Sanders.

Jerry Garcia in the San Antonio Express-News has a Super Bowl guide for beginners.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News looks into NBC’s Super Bowl broadcast and also talks with the venerable Verne Lundquist about the late Cowboys receiver “Bullet” Bob Hayes. Barry has a little more on yesterday’s incident on Radio Row at the Super Bowl.

Jason Singer of the Sandusky (OH) Register profiles ESPN First Take co-host Jay Crawford.

Bill Khan of the Flint (MI) Journal writes about a local sports talk show host who lost his job yesterday.

Mark Dawidziak of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the real winner of the Super Bowl is NBC.

Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic talks with Fox Sports Arizona reporter Jody Jackson.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that no one would have watched a Pittsburgh-Arizona matchup during the regular season, but now, about 100 million people will watch.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that U2′s “Get On Your Boots” will be the soundtrack to NFL Network’s Super Bowl ad.

Claire Atkinson of Broadcasting & Cable has some figures on last year’s Super Bowl ads.

Speaking about Super Bowl ads and you can keep track of them during the game at SpotBowl.

Ok, those are all of the links I could find this morning. If I find any more, I’ll add them to this post. And I think there’s a Musical Interlude coming. Keep your RSS feeds updated.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

College Basketball
Canisius at Marist – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
Cleveland State at Youngstown State – ESPNU, 9 p.m.
San Francisco at Santa Clara – ESPNU, 11 p.m.

Golf
PGA Tour/50th Bob Hope Classic, 3rd Round – Golf Channel, 3 p.m.

NBA
Dallas at Detroit – ESPN, 7 p.m.

Tennis
Australian Open, Early Round coverage – ESPN2, 7 p.m., 3:30 a.m.

Entertainment
Ghost Whisperer – CBS, 8 p.m.
Flashpoint – CBS, 9 p.m.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Cartoon Network, 9 p.m.
Monk – USA Network, 9 p.m.
Psych – USA Network, 10 p.m.
20/20 – ABC, 10 p.m.
Dateline NBC – NBC, 10 p.m.
Battlestar Galactica – SciFi, 10 p.m.
Forbidden Science – Cinemax, 11:45 p.m.

All Over The Place

I’m mobile blogging as I’m on the road once again. When I’m able to get to a wireless hot spot, I’ll at least give you the Viewing Picks and then go from there. See you then.

Sent from my iPhone.

Review of Real Sports for 01/20/2009

On Inauguration Day, HBO aired a new edition of Real Sports, the first for 2009 and its 14th season of its Emmy Award-winning sports news magazine.

In this edition, there were three new stories and one update from 2006. Let’s look at the segments.

Segment #1 – Guns & The NFL

This story is on the debate over NFL players who carry guns. Bernard Goldberg looks into the story.

We start with Bernard talking with former defensive end Marcellus Wiley who grew up in the violent streets of South Central Los Angeles. Wiley says he saw people getting shot. He saw people shoot others and he saw people who were killed after getting shot. Wiley says not even the football field was safe. He says in 9th grade, shots were fired at the football field from a building across the street. Wiley said he had to hit the deck to avoid getting shot.

Wiley says he never touched a gun during that time. He never looked at a gun and didn’t buy one until he joined the National Football League. But Wiley says eight seconds after he was drafted into the NFL, he bought one.

This is not uncommon in the National Football League. Players feel invincible on the field, but once they leave the sanctity of the stadium, they feel they’re huge targets. Daunte Robinson of the Houston Texans did not have a gun until his home was invaded which was situated in a gated community. The invaders stuck a gun in his face, right in front of his two children, then tied him up with duct tape and robbed him.

New York Giants receiver Steve Smith was held up at gunpoint outside his New Jersey home which was also in a gated community.

Richard Collier of the Jacksonville Jaguars lost his leg after he was shot 14 times and is paralyzed.

But the two incidents that hit closest to home for NFL players were the senseless murders of two young players. First it was the drive-by shooting of Derek Williams of the Denver Broncos outside a nightclub. Then the killing of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor in his Miami home really caused players to think about protecting themselves.

Marcellus Wiley says he now knows he’s a target. He went from having zero in his bank account to having two commas and several zeroes. Wiley says being a millionaire made him a big target in the eyes of some people. And it also stems from where he came from. Compton in South Central Los Angeles. Wiley says many players came from rough neighborhoods and it’s there where they become marked men because people know how much money they make. It’s for that reason why many of them have gravitated to guns.

And his African American friends come from New Orleans, Southeast DC, places Wiley calls “murder capitals”. And he says his white friends come from places like Palo Alto, affluent neighborhoods. Wiley says his Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are spent in the murder capitals and that is what he has to deal with.

Adewale Ogunleye of the Chicago Bears says you have to be crazy to think that you’re not a target. Ogunleye lives in South Florida in the offseason, not far from where Sean Taylor was murdered. He believes Taylor might be alive today had he had a gun and not a machete. Ogunleye says players around the league talk about incidents like Taylor and are careful. Even when encountering a fan with the best intentions, players feel they still have to be on the alert in case someone is looking at them in a negative light.

It’s for that reason why Ogunleye owns a gun and keeps it in his house. Ogunleye bought that weapon from a former teammate on the Miami Dolphins, Jay Williams. He tells Bernard that he doesn’t go anywhere without a gun. Williams played in the NFL for ten years and since his retirement, he’s become a seller of guns. When he retired, Williams sent out a mass mailing to players letting them know he was in the gun business and said he knew what they were going through and would help to keep them safe.

There are no hard statistics on the number of NFL players who owns guns, but Williams says it’s a lot. He thinks the numbers are close to 85% of all NFL players who own a weapon. The NFL tells its players that any handguns must be registered and cannot be anywhere near a league facility. But Williams said he brought a gun to practice every day against the rules. He says when he leaves practice, he’s in the real world and if he stops for gas, goes to the store or just gets out of his car for anything, he’s going to have his gun on him.

Williams says the fear factor for athletes is not crazy paranoia, it’s for real. He says criminals want to get near the athletes for their money and possessions. But Bernard argues that anyone in society can make that argument. Williams counters that the criminal element sees NFL players as the alpha males in the trenches playing a physical sport who make a lot of money, so the element wants to go after them and take what they have.

While the player may feel safer, in reality, he may not be. Marcellus Wiley was asked if someone comes up to him pointing a gun, would he pull out his gun? Wiley replied that once a gun is at your head, it’s too late, but players don’t like the element of surprise. They like to see the play materialize in front of them and then take action. Adewale Ogunleye he understands by having two people with a gun in a confrontation, things could go horribly wrong, but he says having a gun at least gives him a chance of survival.

And sometimes owning a gun puts the player in more danger than any potential assailant. Witness what happened to Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress who shot himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub last fall. That gun was never registered. Because of that, Burress faces a potential prison sentence. Williams says that incident gave players who carry guns legally a bad name because it was obvious to him that Burress was not mature enough to handle a gun.

The incident made Wiley think that it could have happened to him. That the gun could have slipped from its holster and cause it to go off. Like most players, Wiley carried his weapon for peace of mind. But it snowballed from peace of mind to paranoia. He says the gun changed his perspective and what he saw. Instead of seeing a person who wants directions, Wiley was wondering if the person was a carjacker. And when he went to clubs, he would see people staring at him possibly looking for an autograph as people who would want to rob him.

But then Wiley began to ask questions that many players may not. Would he be ready to pull a gun if confronted? Could he handle a potential attempted murder charge? Could he handle a murder charge? Even if he pulled the gun and didn’t use it, could he handle the legal ramifications? Could he handle if he pulled the gun on the streets, the person he pointed the gun at was coming back? So when he was with the Buffalo Bills, Wiley decided he no longer wanted to own a gun. As he was driving near Niagra Falls, he felt something bad was going to happen the longer he held possession of the weapon. So he threw the gun into the falls and Wiley says he felt a 270 pound gorilla lift off his shoulders. But even with his revelation, Wiley feels the trend is more guns in the NFL. Mostly because of the Sean Taylor incident and because players are making more money and getting more attention.

While there’s a war mentality on the field, there’s one off the field as well. Jay Williams says it’s down to who has the biggest advantage, the criminal or him? If the criminal has the gun, he has the advantage, but with Williams and his training, he feels he has the advantage.

In the transition, Bryant and Bernard had a lengthy discussion on guns. Bryant asked Bernard if there was any evidence of players being attacked and Bernard replied you don’t hear about NHL or baseball players feeling this type of pressure. Perhaps some NBA players do, but it’s mostly with the NFL.

Bryant wants to know if this is an NFL athlete problem or a black athlete problem. Bernard says it’s an economic problem and players come from murder capitals. And in those neighborhoods, guns are a normal part of life.

Bryant says the athletes are rich enough to hire bodyguards so why not use them? Bernard says if they do that, the prevalent feeling is that the players are not taking care of their own problems and they’re a punk.

Crazy story. But as Wiley says, the trend is more guns. Grade – A+. Very disturbing.

Segment #2 – Miracle Man

In a Sports Illustrated/Real Sports story and reported by Jon Frankel, this is a profile of NBC Sports broadcaster Al Michaels. He has called many of the greatest sporting events in history from Super Bowl XXV in which Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood missed a game winning field goal, to being the man to chronicle the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake interrupting the Bay Area World Series to the event he’s most known for, the 1980 Miracle on Ice where the USA hockey team upset the Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, NY. He was also the voice of Monday Night Football for 19 years on ABC before moving to NBC to call Sunday Night Football where he’s been since 2006.

Al said since he was a kid, he loved going to the games and he thought wouldn’t it be great to get a job where he could get in for free? Well, he has that job and at age 64 (!), he’s still going strong. He’s getting ready to call his 7th Super Bowl and 1st for NBC. He’s been a constant in an industry that thrives on chaos, Michaels wants to simply get the story right. It’s a quality that led NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol to hire Al. Dick says Al is the best play-by-play man, bar none.

Ebersol says Al knows the rules so well, he could referee a game (I would not go so far to say that, but Al does have tremendous knowledge of the rules). In days leading up to a game, Michaels meets with the players and coaches from both teams to go over injuries and possible storylines, anything he could possibly use on the air.

In the booth, Al has spotters and statisticians in the booth, a producer and director talking to him in his headset, and standing next to him is his partner, John Madden. Al is basically the conductor trying to make beautiful music. For his part, Madden says no matter where he goes, Al is there to bring him back to the game and he’s comfortable working with him.

As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, NY, Al practiced calling his favorite teams, the Dodgers and the New York Football Giants. While going to college at Arizona State, Al was the sports editor for the school newspaper and called baseball and football games on the campus radio station. Upon graduation, Al tried to get a play-by-play job, but was rejected by every Minor League Baseball team. One local TV station in Hawai’i gave him a shot.

Al said over the next three years, if it was moving, he was calling it. He did minor league baseball, University of Hawai’i football, high school football sometimes doing as many as six high school games a weekend.

But in 1971, the Cincinnati Reds called him to try out as their announcer and he got in at the right time. Just as the Reds were becoming The Big Red Machine, Al says he got his Ph.D. in baseball watching Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, manager Sparky Anderson, and Joe Morgan all come into their prime. In 1972, Al joined NBC’s coverage of the World Series, sitting next to Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek.

Then ABC Sports came a’calling. But he didn’t get to call the traditional sports right away. He joined ABC’s Wide World of Sports and got to call motorcycle racing on ice, the World Wrist Wrestling Championships, the high diving championships, and plenty of events that ABC sent him to.

But it was in 1980 at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid where Al really got his big break and put himself on the map. He was tapped to call ice hockey and only got the assignment because he had an advantage over the other ABC announcers. Al had called one hockey game at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan for NBC. Al said because Keith Jackson, Frank Gifford, and Howard Cosell had never called a hockey game and he had done one game, he got the assignment. Al said it was pure dumb luck. Al said if he didn’t have that one game under his belt, would he get that hockey assignment? No, he would be calling biathlon and there were no miracles on the biathlon course that year.

And Al says when the puck goes out to center ice with the clock counting down in the USA-USSR semifinal game in 1980, it gives him the chance to come up with his famous line. Al first thinks the 4-3 upset is miraculous, he then turns it into a question, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” Al says he still thinks to this day, “What if he had just counted the clock down?”

It was from that line that Al had arrived and he went on to have an illustrious career. He then found himself at the crown jewel of ABC Sports, Monday Night Football.

But nothing prepared him for what happened in October 1989 just before the Game 3 of the World Series, the San Francisco Earthquake. It happened just as Tim McCarver was voicing over some taped highlights and Al knew right off that it was an earthquake, saying so right as ABC was knocked off the air. For that night, Al worked with the news division and won a News Emmy for his reporting having knowledge of San Francisco from his days with the baseball Giants in the mid-1970′s.

It was that grace under pressure that led to a 30 year career at ABC, but that came to an end when Monday Night Football moved to ESPN. Al moved to NBC in exchange for ESPN obtaining the rights to Oswald the Rabbit to call Sunday Night Football.

It wasn’t an easy move because Al is a creature of habit. You see, Al has lived in the same Los Angeles home for 23 years, married to his wife, Linda for more than 40. When Al goes out on the road, Linda goes too. She sits in the booth and listens to the broadcast.

Al is just as much as a celebrity as the athletes he covers, often riding limos to games and getting recognized by fans.

Al also likes to have fun by getting around an NFL taboo, mentioning the betting lines in an offhand way, either by a pun or just saying something about the over-under line. Al says he doesn’t bet on games because it’s in his contract and also that he knows more about the game because of the access he has. However, he says there’s a lot he doesn’t know. But Al says the NFL would not sponsor a law banning gambling because they know of the interest in the game through gambling.

While he gets ready to call the game that has the most bets placed, Al’s personal gamble to move to NBC has already paid off. Sunday Night Football received some of its highest ratings this season. Al says he has no plans to leave and when he does, John Madden says he won’t work with another partner. John says when Al leaves, he leaves.

Al says he’s been often in the right place at the right time and he continues to have fun at what he does.

In the transition, Bryant and Jon talk about Al. Bryant asks if Al feels the Miracle on Ice is the defining moment in his career. Jon says for a guy who does not have a catchphrase, he understands that his call added to that moment and history of the game.

Bryant mentions that Al is generally known as one of the good guys in the business, but also walked out of his deal at ESPN and was never tainted by it. Jon replies that the Michaels-Madden team was seen as a good one and the goodwill Al has generated over the years went a long way. Jon then went into the Al-for-Oswald the Rabbit trade.

Bryant asks if Al and John socialize outside the booth and Jon says they do have dinner, but Madden points out that Al never eats vegetables, a well-known story in the business.

Then Bryant points out that Al only works half the year for NBC, what does he do for the other half? Jon says he spends the time with his grandchildren, watches his stocks and the Weather Channel. Then Bryant says, “He plays bad golf.” Ok.

Grade for this segment – A. Al definitely gives good interview.

Segment #3 – Disunity

In this segment reported by Frank Deford, we look at the growing divide between the NFL Players Association and its retired players. We go back to Super Bowl XV which should have been the greatest moment in Dave Pear’s life. In 1980, Pear won a Super Bowl ring with the Oakland Raiders, but now, he can’t bring himself to watch a tape of that game. Pear says that game brings up a lot of unpleasant times. What is Pear talking about? Pear played that game with a broken neck and had seven spinal surgeries since. In addition, Dave says he is in constant, excruciating pain.

Dave is also bitter over the 25 years of the NFLPA denying him disability benefits. It forced his wife to work two jobs to help make ends meet. But six years ago, Pear received a letter from the union which he hoped would help. The NFLPA wrote him asking him to join a program that would sell retired players’ names and images to companies. Pear says he thought it was an opportunity for the retired players to make some money.

But then he was told the players were not going to make this money, it was going to be withheld. Pear says he thought he was swindled. Dave said he thought he would be paid a fair share. He says the NFL told him he was family and he was until it was time to split the money up. Pear says when it was time to split the money up, the retired players were shut out.

This has been an ongoing battle between the NFLPA and the retired players. It first started over disability benefits and what the retired players thought they deserved. Now, it’s over the images and likenesses of retired players that have been used in video games and other products which they say have made money, but have been shut out from by the NFLPA.

Former players Herb Adderley, Bruce Laird and Joe DeLamielleure say they were all encouraged by the NFLPA to sign something called “Group Licensing Agreements” or GLA’s. They’re used by the union to license large groups of NFL players, usually the entire league, to companies for use in apparel, trading cards, and most lucratively, video games. The players signed the GLA’s thinking they would get a fair share of the $80 million that have been made from these products. The retired players felt they would get a fair share because the GLA states if and when six or more players are used, everyone would get paid. It didn’t matter what combination, it could be three retired players and three active players, as long as six were used, everyone would get paid.

Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer for the NFLPA, says no matter what the retired players thought, the union always meant to have two separate GLA programs, one for current players and one for retired players. And since only current players are being used in video games and other products, they’re the ones who got paid. The union said it tried to market the retired players, but because superstars like Bart Starr or Joe Montana refused to sign the GLA, companies were not interested in a group of relatively unknown retirees. Kessler says letters were sent to Starr and Montana saying if they didn’t sign, they would be hurting the other retired players and Kessler adds that the NFLPA tried to get them to take part so everyone could benefit.

But Adderley says the union hardly did anything to market the retired players. Adderley says it wasn’t that they considered the retired players unmarketable, it was because the union considered them worthless. Adderley points to a quote from the late NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw who was once a Hall of Fame player with the Raiders, and started the GLA program in 1994. Upshaw played with Dave Pear and against Herb Adderley. Upshaw was asked about marketing the retired players and Upshaw said, “We could have the greatest dog food in the world but if the dogs don’t like it, we can’t sell it.” Nice. Real nice.

Adderley said Upshaw forgot where he came from and it proved to him that Upshaw didn’t care about the retired players. Laird says the union made it sound like the NFLPA needed them, they solicited the retired players over and over again. And Laird said they believed the union because they trusted the union.

It wasn’t just Pear, Adderley, DeLamielleure and Laird who listened. More than 2,000 retired players signed the GLA thinking they were going to be paid from the licensing of their images. After a decade of receiving nothing, not even a dime, the retired players hired attorneys Peter Parcher and Chad Hummel to ask the union to do what it should have done all along, look after their best interests.

Hummel says the NFLPA exploited the players by having them sign the GLA’s then did nothing in return. Hummel says there were opportunities to market the retired players and provide some much needed revenue. Last November, the 2,000 players sued their own union in federal court accusing the NFLPA of intentionally shutting them out of its biggest licensing deal.

That’s with EA Sports which makes the popular Madden NFL video game. EA pays the union $25 million for the right to use players in its game. Players of Madden can not only use current and active athletes, but those from vintage teams like the 1970 Minnesota Vikings that have gone to a Super Bowl or even teams from the 1950′s that have numerous Hall of Famers on their rosters.

When Adderley calls up his position on the 1967 Packers or 1971 Cowboys, the Madden game doesn’t show his face or even the correct jersey number, but it does have his correct weight, height and even the correct number of years that he played in the NFL! But the union says that’s not Adderley since the player shown does not have his likeness. Adderley says the union did not want to pay him for using him in the Madden game so to get around that, they put a generic face and different number.

The retired players uncovered a smoking gun from an NFLPA lawyer to EA Sports stating “For all retired players that are not listed … their identity must be altered so that it cannot be recognized.” Adderley says EA Sports did this at the union’s suggestion so the company would not have to pay him for his likeness. Adderley says it was heartbreaking to find this out. He says he felt stabbed in the back especially for all the players who are scrambled in the Madden game.

In the Madden ’07 game, nearly 600 retired players had their images scrambled including Pear, former Giants quarterback Phil Simms and former Eagles and Vikings QB Randall Cunningham.

But union lawyer Jeffrey Kessler says they weren’t trying to avoid paying them, but actually protect the retired players rights! Kessler says EA was paying for a small handful of retirees who they made deals with, but not for anyone else.

However, the retired players say when EA deal paid any retired player, it was much smaller than what he could have received. In 2006, the union negotiated a different deal with EA that was exposed in e-mails during the trial.

Union executives crow about the amount EA paid to the players, $400 thousand per year “significantly below market rate” according to one e-mail which could have been more than $1 million “without the union’s involvement”.

NFLPA snake Kessler says there’s no evidence that the deal was below market value. However, retired players’ attorneys Parcher and Hummel say it was not the lawyer’s job to make a deal, it was his job to protect the players.

For his part, Kessler says the union tried everything it could to protect the retired players. But a federal jury did not agree. On November 10 after hearing three weeks of testimony, it found the NFLPA guilty of breach of contract and breach of feduciary duty. The retired players were awarded $28.1 million. But when divided evenly among the 2,000 players, it works out to an amount of about $10,000 apiece after legal fees. It won’t make the players rich.

But Dave Pear says that’s not the point. He says it’s about the union treating the retired players fairly and making the NFLPA live up to its bargain.

The union is appealing the award and hopefully, we’ll hear an update about this soon.

Bryant and Frank are definitely siding with the retired players on this issue. During the transition, Bryant asks why does the union cut out retirees? Frank says it’s like mistreating orphans and widows. Frank points out the union makes money from the current players and not the veterans. The union makes 63% from every dollar made on licensed products. And Frank cannot understand why the current players go along with the union’s stance to cut out the retired players.

Bryant wants to know if the retired players feel the NFLPA will be nicer to them now that Gene Upshaw has passed away. Frank says the veterans have been disappointed for so long that they’re relunctant to get excited. But they’re hopeful there’s a change in attitude with a change in leadership.

Bryant asks if the veterans will continue on as enemies with the NFLPA or friends? Frank says the jury decision was a big victory for the retirees and it gives them more confidence to speak out and gives them confidence that whomever comes in will realize what a big loss in court this was for the union and to treat the veterans much nicer.

Overall grade – A+. Grade to the NFLPA for stabbing the retired players in the back – F.

Segment #4 – Outbreak

An update from a story done in 2006, Frank Deford is back to tell us what has gone on since the original airing.

We begin with former Washington Redskins player Brandon Noble who described his condition as a staph infection that got into his body and progressively got worse. Noble played in the NFL for seven seasons. He knew how to deal with pain, but nothing prepared him after he had knee surgery some three years ago. Noble says he had fever, chills, a really deep sick feeling. Luckily for Noble, his mother-in-law was a nurse and told his wife to get him to a hospital immediately.

Doctors found that Noble was suffering from a mysterious skin infection called MRSA. It stands for (and thank goodness I have the press release to write this) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This was not just a regular staph infection, this was a strain that was resistant to most antibiotics and potentially life threatening.

Noble says the doctor informed him he had MRSA and was looking at possible death or at least losing his leg. Staph infections are common among athletes who get skin cuts and abrasions where staph germs can easily get in.

Minor staph infections are tough enough to treat and both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady suffered from them. MRSA is what can be called a Super Staph. A mutation from ordinary staph bacteria to one that can resist even the most powerful drugs. MRSA was once found only in hospitals, but it began showing up all over the NFL.

Dr. Matthew Matava says some players needed surgical drainage of MRSA infections. He says a regular staph infection would show as a reddened area on the skin. But MRSA can show up as a boil as big as a golf ball. Dr. Matava is the head physican for the St. Louis Rams. In 2003, he saw five players on the team develop staph infections. The usual drugs that normally cured staph did not work. Fearing that the infections could spread, Dr. Mutava and the Rams invited the National Centers for Disease Control to study the field turf in the Rams home stadium.

Jeff Hageman of the CDC identified MRSA as the culprit of the Rams’ staph infection. And St. Louis was not alone. There were over 70 MRSA infections in the NFL in 2006. In addition to Noble on the Redskins, four of his teammates were infected. The Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers all suffered multiple infections.

Hageman says the football environment lends itself to multiple outbreaks because of the close quarters and there’s a lot of skin contact. Hageman says MRSA can start off as a simple boil or a puss-filled lesion, then staph could get into the bloodstream and cause high fever, get into different organs and in extreme cases, lead to death.

Andrew McCollum was a lineman with the Rams when he developed MRSA in 2006. The CDC recommended the Rams do a better job in cleaning the open wounds. However, MRSA can flourish outside game conditions. In fact, the CDC saw players sitting on a bench and wipe open wounds with a towel that was potentially infected with the MRSA strain.

And the locker room is where MRSA can thrive where sweaty players go into the whirlpool without showering despite signs warning players to do so. And the CDC says the whirlpool could spread MRSA if the bacteria got in there.

If MRSA could spread in an NFL facility, it could surely be spread in a high school or college football locker room. And if that is the case, then it could lead to disastrous results.

Back in 2003, Ricky Lanetti was a star receiver for Division III Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA. But the night before a big game during his senior year, he called his mother, Theresa Drew, in a panic. She said when she got to his dorm room, Ricky could not walk and was vomiting. Soon after he went to the Emergency Room, he was admitted to intensive care. Doctors could not determine was making Ricky’s body shut down. That night, Ricky died leaving his mother and teammates devastated. When she was told Ricky contract MRSA, she had no idea what it was. Had Ricky been administered some antibiotics early on, he might have survived.

For Brandon Noble, an intense antibiotic treatment saved his life, and he got ready to play again, but he hurt his knee and noticed something familiar on his skin. He got the same burning, sickening feeling. The doctor at Redskin Park diagnosed his condition as MRSA and this time when he went to the hospital, he went into isolation. The problem was that Noble had no idea where he contracted MRSA the first or second time. While he was recovering from his second knee surgery, Noble got blood clots in both lungs and realized his playing career was over. Noble says of all the things he went through to play football, it was just one small thing to stop him.

Over the last three years, the NFL has taken an aggressive approach to the problem. Teams are now educating their players on keeping clean, like washing hands, not sharing personal items, and doing an extensive program to remind players about the strain. However, MRSA continues to infect players. There have been 33 documented cases of MRSA since 2006.

The Redskins have spent $300,000 improving their facilities, spraying equipment with anti-staph disinfectant, installing jacuzzis with high-tech filters and giving players individual towels and stools. However, since their multiple outbreak, the Redskins have had one MRSA infection and the Rams after the CDC’s visit, still had to two infections.

Noble says since his infections, he washes his hands more and has become a germophobe. He still is connected to football, coaching at West Chester University in Pennsylvannia. He is more cautious than ever thanks to his own family. Brandon says when his kids get cuts, they’re quick to clean them and go to the doctor to treat them. He says while he was tough as player, MRSA was the most painful thing he had to deal with and he doesn’t want his children to go through that.

Bryant points out that the NFL recently hired an infectious disease expert to visit teams and to monitor efforts in preventing MRSA. A study will be presented to the NFL next month.

Another A for this segment. One of the strongest shows for Real Sports.

Final Segment – Bryant’s commentary

“Finally tonight, a few words about change we’d like to believe in. Today’s inauguration of Barack Obama has all Americans excited including those in sports who understandably view the new President as one of their own.

“The fact that Obama plays basketball, often wears a White Sox cap and has expressed his opinion about a college football playoff has left many sports enthusiasts thinking they have a friend in the Oval Office and that’s a good thing.

“But aside from the obvious, I’m hoping the President’s influence is felt in ways that have more lasting impact. Here’s hoping the fact that Obama has made smart the new cool is not lost on young athletes who long thought it wasn’t. Here’s hoping the manner in which he values his wife and two daughters registers with those jocks who think it’s hip to objectify women or ignore the babies they’ve fathered.

“Here’s hoping his quiet dignity registers. That inclusiveness he calls for doesn’t fall on deaf ears and that the pride he takes in his manner of speech influences those who have long opted for street cred.

“If that all seems Pollyanna-ish and old fashioned, then so be it. It’s time to stop urging young athletes to be like Mike. Here’s hoping instead, they have the courage to be like Barack.”

I like this commentary. I’ll give him an A minus.

Overall grade – A. Excellent program.

Quick Late Night Update

It looks like this will be a late night for me. I’m going to finish my review of Real Sports from Tuesday and I want to give you some links before the night is finished. Here we go.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell is into his Elite Eight in his “As Seen On TV” products tournament.

Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball has the apparent winner of the Chicago Cubs sweepstakes. Maury reports that the Houston Astros have announced a deal to remain on Clear Channel flagship KTRH for at least four more seasons.

Shane Bacon of the AOL Fanhouse blog talks with A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin about ESPN quoting Deadspin as a source about Mark McGwire’s brother injecting him with steroids.

Thanks to Bob Ekstrom at the Boston Sports Media Watch for this link. Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com explains that the CBS Scene restaurant next to Gillete Stadium played a big role in the Patriots moving its programming from ABC affiliate WCVB to CBS-owned WBZ and WSBK.

Thanks to Friend of Fang’s Bites Ian Bethune of the Sox & Dawg blog, the great Art Martone of the Providence Journal has the list of Red Sox Spring Training games to be carried by both NESN and radio flagship WRKO.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News talks with former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin about his new reality show.

LeAnna Kosub of the San Antonio Express-News has another sports radio victim of the Clear Channel nationwide personnel purge.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the Diamondbacks has cut its Spanish language TV broadcasts for the time being.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that Versus plans to ride Lance Armstrong’s coattails during the Tour of California next month. Tom has a preview of his Friday column which is about his tagging with the TNT crew during its telecast of the Cavs-Lakers game on MLK Day.

Kevin Dunleavy of the DC Examiner went inside the TNT truck for the Celtics-Wizards game on Monday.

Steve DeClue of the Baltimore Sports Examiner is not happy to have Anita Marks back for one more year.

Despite my requests for college basketball press releases from CBS Sports, I still don’t receive them and I have to depend on the CBSSports.com site to link you to the network’s coverage for this weekend.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times has an in-depth look at the Capitals’ TV ratings.

Steve Lepore’s Puck The Media blog has the highlights of a Versus media conference call about the channel’s coverage of Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game. And Steve has CBC’s press release about its All-Star Game coverage.

From the Nielsen TV blog, it shows that moving the NHL All-Star Game away from direct competition from football turned out to be a good idea for the ratings.

Ron Judd of the Seattle Times writes that Universal Sports is picking up coverage of one of alpine skiing’s most famous events this weekend.

Larry Barrett of Multichannel TV says GolTV has acquired the US and Canadian rights to the top Brazilian Soccer League.

Alex Marvez of the Scripps Howard News Service talks with former WWE personality-turned ESPNews anchor Jonathan “Coach” Coachman.

Peter Svensson of the Associated Press has some tips for you in case you want to buy that HDTV set in time for the Super Bowl.

Andy Scheidler of the Franklin (NC) Press suggests you watch the Australian Open to help your warm up during this cold winter.

Ok, that’s going to do it. Back tomorrow with more links. In the meantime, look for the Real Sports review up in about a couple of hours.

ESPN’s Plans for the Super Bowl

I told you earlier today that ESPN would announce its plans for Super Bowl Week programming. I guess the fine people in ESPN PR’s department read my mind or blog and put out a release outlining its plans for next week in Tampa for its multiple platforms on TV, the internet and in print. It’s a long release and can certainly stand on its own.

ESPN at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa

ESPN will provide week-long comprehensive coverage of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., across its multimedia platforms Monday, Jan. 26 – Monday, Feb. 2, including:

• Super Bowl-related content across 16 ESPN platforms: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPN International, ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNRadio.com, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPNdeportes.com, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Mobile properties;
• More than 90 hours of Super Bowl-related programming on domestic television from Tampa;
• More than 65 hours of Super Bowl-related programming on ESPN Radio from Tampa;
• ESPN International will bring the Super Bowl to some 40 million households in 117 countries/territories;
• More than 25 on-air commentators (hosts, analysts, reporters and contributors) covering on-site;
• Live programming from Tampa kicks off Monday, Jan. 26 at 6 a.m. ET with Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio (simulcast on ESPN2). ESPN’s coverage will peak with more than 21 hours of TV and radio coverage on Super Bowl Sunday.
• ESPN’s weeklong coverage will originate from the main set location at Cotanchobee Park in Tampa (across from the St. Pete Times Forum). Select ESPN Radio programs will also originate from nearby Channelside Bay Plaza.

Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 1):

• Covering his 27^th Super Bowl, Chris Berman will host the four-hour Sunday NFL Countdown (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) with analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Tom Jackson and Chris Mortensen. Monday Night Football play-by-play voice Mike Tirico and ESPN’s triumvirate of Super Bowl quarterbacks – Trent Dilfer, Ron Jaworski and Steve Young – will also appear on Countdown from a set at Raymond James Stadium. Post-game coverage will include two hours of SportsCenter and NFL Primetime beginning at 10 p.m. Reporters Suzy Kolber (Cardinals) and Ed Werder (Steelers) will also provide updates on the teams.
• ESPN Radio’s “Super Sunday” program lineup will feature popular weekday shows Mike & Mike in the Morning (6 a.m./simulcast on ESPN2 at 6:30 a.m.) and The Herd with Colin Cowherd (10 a.m./simulcast on ESPN2 and ESPNU), as well as a five-hour “Countdown to Kickoff” pre-game show (1-6 p.m.) hosted by Ryen Russillo and Freddie Coleman, all originating from Bristol, Conn. Tirico will host a two-hour post-game show from Tampa.

ESPN INTERNATIONAL
ESPN will deliver Super Bowl XLIII to some 40 million households in 117 countries and territories outside the U.S.
ESPN International will provide exclusive live coverage of Super Bowl XLIII throughout Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Israel, Europe and the Pacific Rim, while RDS will provide non-exclusive coverage in Canada. Commentary and analysis will be provided in English, French-Canadian, Portuguese and Spanish.

New in 2009:

• ESPN will be the exclusive cable/satellite home of Super Bowl XLIII throughout Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Israel, and the Pacific Rim (38 million homes in 116 countries and territories).
• ESPN’s first live sports network in Europe, NASN, will be re-branded ESPN America on Super Bowl Sunday.
• ESPN HD (Australia) will feature the first high definition Super Bowl broadcast in that country.
• ESPN’s International SportsCenter production team will provide reports throughout the week to Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and throughout the Pacific Rim;
• Live coverage on Super Bowl Sunday in Latin America begins at 3:30 p.m. with Cronometro Super Sunday Special, followed by a one-hour edition of SportsCenter: Super Bowl Special and NFL Esta Noche Super Bowl Special.

Spanish-language coverage in the U.S. and Latin America will feature Spanish-language Emmy nominee Álvaro Martín (play-by-play), analyst and former New York Giants Super Bowl-winning kicker Raul Allegre, and reporters John Sutcliffe and Ciro Procuna, who will offer daily reports from Tampa on Spanish-language editions of SportsCenter and Radio Formula programs throughout Super Bowl week. Live coverage on Super Bowl Sunday in Latin America begins at 3:30 p.m. with Cronometro Super Bowl Special and continues throughout the day through the exclusive telecast of Super Bowl XLIII featuring the Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at 6 p.m. Everaldo Marques, Paulo Antunes and sideline reporter Andre Kfouri will offer Portuguese-language commentary of the game for ESPN Brasil.

ESPN – ESPN2 – ESPNEWS
ESPN’s primary host location throughout Super Bowl week in Tampa will be an outdoor set — open for public viewing — at Cotanchobee Park (located on St. Pete Times Forum Drive). Planned highlights:

• SportsCenter (Monday, Jan. 26 – Sunday, Feb. 1) with anchors Greenberg, Steve Levy and Stuart Scott, joined by reporters Mortensen, Kolber and Werder;
• Berman, joined by analysts Carter, Dikta, Jackson, Johnson and Mortensen, will host a special four-hour Super Bowl XLIII preview edition of Sunday NFL Countdown, Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. Tirico, Dilfer, Jaworski and Young will also report live from Raymond James Stadium, while Kolber and Werder will cover the teams;
• Each weekday on ESPN, Trey Wingo will host a daily 30-minute SportsCenter Special at 3:30 p.m. followed by a 30-minute NFL Live at 4 p.m.;
• State Farm NFL Matchup, hosted by Sal Paolantonio with Merril Hoge and Jaworski (Sunday, Feb. 1, at 3 and 6:30 a.m., ESPN);
• Sports Reporters hosted by John Saunders (Sunday, Feb. 1, at 8:30 a.m., ESPN);
• Rome is Burning (M-F, 4:30 p.m., ESPN) will air live from Tampa as current and former NFL players join host Jim Rome to discuss the Super Bowl;
• Around the Horn (M-F, 5 p.m., ESPN) will feature host Tony Reali with some of the show’s daily panelists opining from Tampa;
• Pardon the Interruption (M-F, 5:30 p.m., ESPN) will feature co-host Michael Wilbon and guests for the ‘Five Good Minutes’ segment in Tampa, as well as Kornheiser in the Washington, D.C., studio;
• ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, will be simulcast live on ESPN2 (M-F, 6-10 a.m.). Greenberg and Golic will host from Cotanchobee Park in Tampa with in-person guests and entertaining discussions of the day’s top sports events;
• First Take (M-F, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., ESPN2) will include NFL-related interviews and previews segments from Tampa all week;
• ESPNEWS will offer expanded live coverage of Super Bowl week, including every minute of the team media availability sessions – 20 hours of live news conferences. Coverage begins Sunday, Jan. 25 when the teams arrive in Tampa and continues Tuesday, Jan. 27 with four hours of live Media Day coverage from Raymond James Stadium, including the media sessions – 10-11 a.m. (Cardinals) and 12-1 p.m. (Steelers). On Friday, Jan. 30, head coaches Ken Whisenhunt and Mike Tomlin will make their final comments preceding NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s State of the NFL address. ESPNEWS will once again be the destination for post-game press conferences, including every podium and locker room interview available. NFL analysts Qadry Ismail, Eric Allen and Floyd Reese will share their insights and expertise on ESPNEWS throughout the week.

ESPN CLASSIC
ESPN Classic’s Super Bowl Marathon line-up will feature 23 consecutive hours of NFL-related programming (Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7 a.m. – Sunday, Feb. 1 at 6 a.m.) that will get fans ready for the biggest game of the year by celebrating the top players, teams and moments in Super Bowl history. NFL sports legends Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Al Davis, Dick Butkus, Peyton Manning, Terrell Owens and Tom Brady are among those who will be featured. The lineup will kickoff with eight consecutive episodes of SportsCentury, followed by episodes of Top 5 Reasons You Can’t Blame …, Who’s #1?: Biggest NFL Draft Busts and Best NFL Post-Season Performances, additional SportsCentury episodes, a primetime showing of The Greatest Game Ever Played (8 p.m.) and finally three back-to-back episodes of Who’s #1 culminating with Who’s #1: Best Teams to Never Win a Title (5 a.m.).

ESPN RADIO – ESPNRADIO.COM
ESPN Radio’s “Super Week” 2009 will offer on-site broadcasts of regularly scheduled weekday programs, special shows and reports from team headquarters and Media Day, and comprehensive analysis and post-game interviews.

Beginning Monday, Jan. 26, Mike & Mike in the Morning (6-10 a.m., M-F/simulcast on ESPN2) with co-hosts Golic and Greenberg will kick off ESPN Radio’s on-site coverage from Cotanchobee Park in Tampa. The Herd with Colin Cowherd (10 a.m. – 1 p.m., M-F) and Tirico & Van Pelt (1-4 p.m. M-F) hosted by Tirico and Scott Van Pelt will originate from the ESPN Radio set at Channelside Plaza Courtyard in Tampa all week.

“Super Sunday” will include a special lineup featuring Mike & Mike in the Morning (6-10 a.m./simulcast on ESPN2 starting at 6:30 a.m.), followed by The Herd (10 a.m. – 1 p.m./simulcast on ESPN2 and ESPNU (10 a.m. – noon)) and a special five-hour “Countdown to Kickoff” pre-game show (1 – 6 p.m.) hosted by Russillo and Coleman from Bristol, Conn. Tirico will anchor ESPN Radio’s post-game coverage from Tampa beginning at 10 p.m.

ESPNRadio.com will provide live audio and video streaming of ESPN Radio programs throughout Super Bowl week, as well as on-demand highlights of every show and every interview.

ESPN.COM
ESPN.com is providing complete coverage and analysis of the game, teams, players, coaches and the entire Super Bowl scene from Tampa on both the redesigned NFL homepage (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/index) and the 2009 edition of Super Bowl Central (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/superbowl). The site features interactivity through daily chats with writers and other personalities on SportsNation, video reports on Countdown Daily and live blogging throughout the week, including Tuesday’s Media Day and Game Day.

ESPN’s award-winning roster of contributors will be part of Super Bowl coverage, including NFL Hall of Famers John Clayton and Len Pasquarelli, as well as Mortensen, Wright Thompson, Gene Wojciechowski, Jeffri Chadiha, Greg Garber, Elizabeth Merrill, Pat Yasinskas, James Walker, Mike Sando, Michael Weinreb and Scouts Inc., who will provide insight, commentary, breaking news and analysis of all facets of the Super Bowl XLIII match-up. Other coverage highlights include:

• Behind-the-hero stories highlighting one player from each of the 42 teams that have earned Super Bowl rings;
• Video, essays and pictorials from 10 Super Bowl MVPs, including Arizona’s Kurt Warner and Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward, who tell stories about pivotal moments in their path to being named MVPs;
• In-depth analysis, scouting reports and rankings of all 106 players on the Cardinals and Steelers’ Super Bowl rosters from Scouts Inc.;
• Additional video features, interviews, news and analysis on the ESPN Video hub (http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/).

Jeremy Green will host the ESPN Football Today podcast live from Tampa. He will be joined by some of the biggest names in football, including Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Dennis Green and more. Play Ball with Amanda and Melissa will offer a female perspective of the big game as the podcast debuts on Thursday, January 29 with a special guest, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs.

ESPN DEPORTES – ESPN DEPORTES RADIO – ESPNDEPORTES.COM
ESPN Deportes will offer the most comprehensive coverage of Super Bowl XLIII on Spanish-language television in the U.S. The network will have a team in Tampa all week, providing nightly segments for its edition of SportsCenter. NFL Semanal, ESPN’s signature Spanish-language NFL news and analysis program, hosted by Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega will be produced from Bristol, Conn., Fri., Jan. 30 (6 p.m.) with on-site contributions from Allegre, Martín and Sutcliffe in Tampa.

ESPN Deportes Radio, the only around-the-clock national Spanish-language sports radio network in the U.S., will feature NFL commentary throughout Super Bowl week. ESPNdeportes.com, the company’s Spanish-language Web site, will provide complete coverage all week, including chats with ESPN Deportes experts, daily blogs and ESPN Motion video.

ESPN MOBILE PRODUCTS
ESPN Mobile products will provide fans with up-to-date information via its mobile web and MVP applications. Super Bowl week highlights will include game updates, news, analysis, team and player profiles, chats and more.

ESPN THE MAGAZINE
ESPN The Magazine is hosting its fifth annual NEXT Big Weekend Presented by Ford F-150 during Super Bowl weekend in downtown Tampa to celebrate its annual NEXT issue, featuring who and what to watch in 2009. The Magazine will convert the parking lot located at 202 South Morgan St. into the hottest Super Bowl party under a one-of-a-kind 22,000 square foot quad-saddle tent. Multi-Platinum, Grammy Award-winning musician/producer Wyclef Jean will headline The Magazine’s fifth annual NEXT party Fri., Jan. 30 at 9 p.m. This private, VIP party will showcase what’s NEXT in sports, technology, lifestyle, and, of course, what’s NEXT from ESPN. The NEXT party will also feature celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson and guest DJ/ESPN NFL analyst Marcellus Wiley. The Magazine’s NEXT Big Weekend Presented by Ford F-150 will continue Sat., Jan. 31 (noon-5 p.m.) with ESPN The Magazine’s NEXT Day Tailgate – a free fan event at the same location – featuring a live performance by Sean Kingston, the University of South Florida Marching Band and Tampa-based reggae band Impulse.

Samantha Ronson? Does that mean Lindsay Lohan is far behind? Oh wait, I believe they broke up. Anyway, I’m getting distracted from the release. I told you this was a long release. Compare this with the plans for NFL Network and you have overkill coverage.

Press Release Delight

I have some press releases for you once again. Depending how late it is, I hope to give you some linkage because there’s quite a bit of news since I last posted. This is going to be CBS Sports heavy since I received the most press releases from the Tiffany Network on Tuesday.

I have the highlights of a conference call CBS conducted regarding the AFC Championship between Baltimore and Pittsburgh:

“THE NFL ON CBS” TRAVELS TO PITTSBURGH FOR 2009 AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AS STEELERS HOST BALTIMORE RAVENS LIVE ON CBS ON SUNDAY, JAN. 18

AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS” LEAD ANALYST PHIL SIMMS AND “THE NFL TODAY’S” DAN MARINO, BILL COWHER AND SHANNON SHARPE

THE NFL ON CBS concludes its 49^th season covering the National Football League when it travels to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the 2009 American Football Conference Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 18 (6:30 PM, ET) as the AFC North champions and No. 2-seeded PITTSBURGH STEELERS (13-4) host division rival and the No. 6-seeded BALTIMORE RAVENS (13-5), live on CBS.

CBS Sports’ lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action, along with Steve Tasker reporting, from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Lance Barrow is coordinating producer of THE NFL ON CBS and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director.

CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS begins with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game studio show, on Sunday (6:00 PM, ET) with host James Brown and analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher, as well as NFL TODAY “General Manager” Charley Casserly, and Lesley Visser and Sam Ryan reporting, live from THE NFL TODAY studio at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.

Eric Mann is senior producer and Bob Matina is director of THE NFL TODAY.

Following are excerpts from the AFC Championship Game conference call on January 13.

(On unique situation of being in charge of CBS News and Sports during a historic week with AFC Championship on Sunday and the Presidential Inauguration on Tuesday)

SEAN McMANUS: It’s about compartmentalizing your day and compartmentalizing your attention. When we are talking about the Inauguration I am completely focused on that. And when we are talking about the AFC Championship I’m focused on that game. It’s a lot of fun but I do find myself sometimes mixing up words and mixing up descriptions. I don’t want to talk to the CBS News folks about blitzes and everything else, then talk to the Sports guys about security for our correspondents down there (in Washington). So it’s fun, but the two do sometimes get mixed up a little bit.

(On years of experience covering live sports being applied to coverage of Inauguration)

McMANUS: Overall, not just the Inauguration, we’ll have further emphasis on really descriptive graphics and trying to do as much live bouncing around. I think we have eight live correspondents down in Washington in every conceivable location. The approach that I’ve always taken is the more you can do live, and the more you can do immediate in news is probably better assuming you can add the right perspective. I approach a big production like the Inauguration the exact same way I approach a production like the football game, which is you’re there to tell the story and set up your on-air talent in the most advantageous possible way. And, look at it as a live event, which is basically storytelling. [There are] a lot of similarities.

(On Baltimore-Pittsburgh rivalry in AFC Championship Game)

BILL COWHER: It’s a rivalry that goes way back from the time that ClevelandBaltimore. And it really probably started right around when they started getting pretty good. Any rivalry has to do with the attitude of the football teams. This rivalry is very simple – it’s based on two teams that think they have the best defense. That has been the very beginning of the talking that has taken place. Then when you have two teams that win, and play the type of football where they pride themselves on being physical, pride themselves on being tough, it makes for a very physical football game. moved to

(On which quarterback is under most pressure to win this weekend)

COWHER: I would probably say Donovan McNabb only from the standpoint of when you look at (Joe) Flacco, anything he has done to this point he has surpassed it (expectations). Even with Kurt Warner, he has surpassed expectations…There has been so much scrutiny on Donovan, and the talk about the benching and what he has done from that standpoint.

PHIL SIMMS: I say Donovan McNabb. Anytime you ask a question like this, I say, ‘Well, Philadelphia quarterback no matter what the year, what the scenario is.’ And if the Philadelphia Eagles lose, no matter what happens…it will be bitter disappointment and all the good feelings that a lot of people have will turn right around the other way and they will point out all the faults that happened during the game that caused them to lose. Nothing but a Super Bowl championship right now is going to satisfy a lot of people across the country, and especially in the Philadelphia area, when it comes to Donovan McNabb.

(On Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco)

DAN MARINO: The question I always ask about a young quarterback is, can the guy really throw it? When you have a young guy, does he have a big arm? Can he make all the throws? That’s the one thing to me that is so impressive about Joe Flacco – his arm strength and his ability to put it on the line, use the outside of the field where he can throw outs and comebacks. It seems effortless. Also his movement in the pocket. For a rookie, he has a really good sense of the pocket presence and how to move to keep his body in position to be able to throw the ball…I think he is excellent that way.

(On Donovan McNabb – is he a revived player?)

SIMMS: I don’t know if he’s a revived player. Everything he is doing I’ve seen him do so many times and we all get a little jaded. We got tired of the “Donovan McNabb story” so we wrote him off and let’s move on to the next guy. Then you really sit back (and think)…He’s big and strong, there is no question about that. He can still move around even though he’s been in the NFL a long time. And without question he has one of the most powerful throwing arms there is. He is a leader in the locker room. The players like him. So why do we doubt him? And why are we surprised at the way he is playing now? Maybe it is his motivation. Maybe it is Andy Reid’s ability to rally his players a little bit, get them a little more organized and hopeful. He (McNabb) focused in. Maybe it was the benching, the way he was treated. There are a lot of reasons. I don’t know what he is doing mentally, if he is angry? If he is, keep it up. But the focus seems to be there. They really seem like they believe in what they’re doing. And Donovan McNabb – a lot of confidence, and especially of late, throwing the football as well as you can throw it. His game against the New York Giants, in those elements against that team, the numbers lie. His numbers were not great but his performance was borderline spectacular.

(On Baltimore’s Ed Reed)

COWHER: As I’m looking at that team (Baltimore), the one guy you have to be aware of is Ed Reed. Ben (Roethlisberger) will be looking at him from the time he steps under center until the time he gets rid of the ball. He’s going to have to move him and be aware of him at all times. This guy is a ball hawk and he will jump patterns. If he (Roethlisberger) starts staring someone down he (Reed) will leave where he is supposed to be and will go to the ball. You have to be very careful playing against him.

(On Baltimore’s Ray Lewis)

SHANNON SHARPE: Most great players have passion…Ray has put the time in the film room because he wanted to be great. When he’s done with the game and you talk about linebackers, when you talk about defensive players, he wants you to mention his name. He is very conscious of his place in history as far as a defensive player, and as a player in the National Football League. The biggest thing about him, some guys are born to lead. Ray is a born leader. When he talks, they listen.

CBS also previews what it will show on The NFL Today. If you remember last year, CBS did not send their studio show to the Final Four and once again, the NFL Today is not going to the site of the AFC Championship as in the past to save money.

DAN MARINO SITS DOWN WITH PITTSBURGH STEELERS QUARTERBACK

BEN ROETHLISBERGER AS “THE NFL TODAY” PREVIEWS AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ON SUNDAY, JAN. 18 LIVE ON CBS

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms Report Live From Pittsburgh on AFC Championship Game; Lesley Visser Reports Live From Glendale on NFC Championship Game

THE NFL ON CBS concludes its 49^th season covering the National Football League when it travels to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the 2009 American Football Conference Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 18 (6:30 PM, ET) as the AFC North champions and No. 2-seeded PITTSBURGH STEELERS (13-4) host division rival and the No. 6-seeded BALTIMORE RAVENS (13-5), live on CBS.

CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS begins with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game studio show, on Sunday (6:00 PM, ET) live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.

THE NFL TODAY’s Dan Marino sits down with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as he prepares for his third AFC Championship Game in his first five years in the NFL. Just three years ago, he became the youngest Super Bowl-winning quarterback in NFL history. Since then, he has been seriously injured in an off-season motorcycle accident and had an emergency appendectomy. However, Roethlisberger has returned strong and has 51 regular-season wins, which is a record for a starting quarterback in his first five seasons. Can “Big Ben” and his Steelers beat the Ravens for the third time this season and get Pittsburgh one step closer to a record sixth Super Bowl title?

THE NFL ON CBS’s lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, along with Steve Tasker reporting, report live from Pittsburgh on the Ravens-Steelers game. And Lesley Visser reports live from Glendale, Ariz. in previewing the Philadelphia Eagles-Arizona Cardinals NFC Championship Game.

If you missed it, the newest inductees into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice presented the Top Ten on the Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday.

THE “LATE SHOW” TOP TEN

“Highlights of My Hall of Fame Baseball Career”

Presented by New Inductees Ricky Henderson and Jim Rice*

10. Winning the MVP in 1978, and a Tony in 1983.

9. I designed the first vibrating jock strap.

8. During the 1981 season, I lost my glove and played an entire west coast road trip using a small box.

7. All the free gum.

6. I caught a squirrel in the outfield and the umps let me eat it.

5. Being a Met, a Blue Jay, a Padre, a Dodger…hell, even I can’t remember all the teams that I played for.

4. Before every game, I ate the same meal: pancakes smothered in pine tar.

3. Sleeping with Madonna.

2. Sleeping with Madonna.

1. I played with Jose Canseco and never got to inject anything in his ass.

*Jim Rice presented the even numbers and Ricky Henderson presented the odd ones.

The MLB Network will show live baseball for the first time in February with the Caribbean World Series.

MLB NETWORK TO TELEVISE CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES

Full Live Coverage to Begin with 2009 Winter Championship

SECAUCUS, N.J. – MLB Network announced today that it will televise live the 51st annual Caribbean World Series from February 2 through February 6, 2009 scheduled to be played in Mexicali, Mexico. The telecast of the Caribbean World Series will mark the first live games telecast on MLB Network.

In addition to televising 12 games of the winter tournament, otherwise known as “La Serie del Caribe,” MLB Network will air game highlights and recaps of tournament play, preview match-ups and provide extensive coverage as part of its studio show “Hot Stove.”

“MLB Network is proud to join the long, historic tradition of the Caribbean World Series,” said Tony Petitti, MLB Network President and CEO. “We are excited to make this great international event available to a broad audience of baseball fans.”

“The Caribbean World Series offers baseball fans the opportunity to experience competitive play combined with national pride. We are pleased that the tournament will reach its largest distribution ever through the MLB Network,” said Sara Loarte, Cultiva Entertainment.

Since 1949, the Caribbean World Series, a 12-game round robin tournament between the best teams from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela, has crowned a champion within this group of nations, and has served as a platform to showcase the best competition of Winter League Baseball. Major League players who have participated in the Caribbean World Series include legends such as Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt and Fernando Valenzuela; and active Major League players such as Pedro Martinez, Rafael Furcal, Carlos Beltran, Ivan Rodriguez, and Miguel Cabrera, among others. The Caribbean World Series is sanctioned by Major League Baseball. Cultiva Entertainment is the exclusive agent for the Caribbean World Series.

Here’s Westwood One Radio’s announcing assignments for the NFL Conference Championship Games. This might mark the last time Westwood One broadcasts NFL Championship Sunday.

WESTWOOD ONE

PRESENTS THE

NFL PLAYOFF BROADCAST SCHEDULE

FOR CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY

– January 18, 2009 --

New York, NY – January 13, 2008 -- Westwood One (WWON:OB) proudly presents the 2008-2009 National Football League post-season with the following schedule and announcers for the Conference Championship Games:

NFC Championship

Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals, 2:00 p.m. ET, Marv Albert, Jim Fassel, Mark Malone

AFC Championship

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers, *6:15 p.m. ET, Dave Sims, Dennis Green, John Dockery

*broadcast of game two begins when broadcast of game one ends

Our first press release from HBO Sports in 2009 regards this Saturday’s Boxing After Dark.

HBO BOXING AFTER DARK^®: ANDRE BERTO VS. LUIS COLLAZO

IS PRESENTED SATURDAY, JAN. 17 ON HBO

An undefeated young titleholder looks to start the new year off with a bang versus a battled-tested veteran in the 2009 premiere of the network’s hit late-night boxing franchise when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: ANDRE BERTO VS. LUIS COLLAZO is presented SATURDAY, JAN. 17 at 9:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Undefeated Florida native Andre Berto (23-0, 19 KOs) enjoyed a splendid 2008, winning all three of his fights and serving notice he is on the verge of becoming one of the elite stars of the talented welterweight division. Now he gets to test his game against a rock-solid opponent in former welterweight champion Luis Collazo (29-3, 14 KOs) of Brooklyn. The winner gets a head start on sorting out the crowded 147-pound division in 2009.

The co-feature of Sergio Martinez vs. Joe Greene has been cancelled due to Greene withdrawing for medical reasons.

There you have it.

Ratings May Have Been Down, But NFL Playoffs Were Most Watched Programs of the Week

The ratings for the four divisional playoff games from last weekend were down compared to last year, but they were still ratings winners according to the National Football League.

The NFL Divisional Playoffs and college football’s BCS Championship Game accounted for the five most-watched shows on TV last week.

Each of the NFL Divisional Playoff games had nine million more viewers than the annual Golden Globe Awards (14.9 million) and 11 million more viewers than the season debut of “24″ (12.6 million).

Most-Watched Shows on Television, Week of Jan. 5-11, 2009

1. CBS AFC Divisional Playoff (Chargers-Steelers) 34.1 million

2. FOX NFC Divisional Playoff (Eagles-Giants) 31.4 million

3. BCS Championship Game (Florida-Oklahoma) 26.8 million

4. CBS AFC Divisional Playoff (Ravens-Titans) 25.5 million

5. FOX NFC Divisional Playoff (Cardinals-Panthers) 23.8 million

6. The Mentalist 19.6 million

7. NCIS 19.1 million

8. Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Texas-Ohio State) 17.1 million

9. 60 Minutes 15.0 million

10. Golden Globe Awards 14.9 million

Source: NFL & Nielsen Media Research

With Arizona in the NFC Championship, the ratings for that game might be down, but we’ll see.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

College Basketball
Indiana at Ohio State – ESPN, 7 p.m.
Florida State at NC State – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Tulsa – ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.
Kansas State at Kansas – Big 12 Network/ESPN Plus, 8 p.m.
Kentucky at Tennessee – ESPN, 9 p.m.
Georgia State at Old Dominion – ESPNU, 9 p.m.
TCU at BYU – the mtn., 10 p.m.

MLB
Ken Burns’ Baseball, Inning 2: Something Like A War – MLB Network, 8 p.m.

NHL
Montreal at Boston – Versus/RDS, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Columbus – Altitude2/Fox Sports Ohio, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Washington – Rogers Sportsnet West/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, 7 p.m.
New York Rangers at New York Islanders – MSG Network/MSG Plus, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia – FSN Pittsburgh/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Carolina at Ottawa – Fox Sports Carolinas/Rogers Sportsnet East, 7:30 p.m.
Nashville at Toronto – Fox Sports Tennessee/Leafs TV, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Minnesota – Fox Sports Arizona/KSTC, 8 p.m.
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 9 p.m.
St. Louis at Calgary – Fox Sports Midwest/Rogers Sportsnet West, 9:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Vancouver – MSG Plus, 10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Jose – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 10:30 p.m.

Entertainment
NCIS – CBS, 8 p.m.
Dirty Jobs – Discovery, 9 p.m.
Whatever, Martha – Fine Living, 9 p.m.
Primetime: What Would You Do? – ABC, 10 p.m.
Nip/Tuck – FX, 10 p.m.
Leverage – TNT, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

Mayne Street, Part 14

In the next to last webisode of the series, Kenny and the gang go out for a meal and as usual, things don’t go as well as planned when more people latch onto their table. There are cameos by chef Bobby Flay and former cast members of “The Sopranos”, Dominic Chianese, Steve Schirippa and Tony Sirico.

Not too bad. Not as funny as the last episode. The last webisode of the series runs on Friday. We’ll post it then.

UPDATE – Apparently, this is the last episode of the series.

If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Linkage

Time for some linkage on this Tuesday.

I did listen to the debut of Andy Gresh on Sirius XM Radio last night. It was good. Gresh knows how to generate calls and get people to talk. I listened from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and he had a good interview with former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart in regards to Rickey Henderson’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was typical Gresh and he was able to get some good stories from Stewart on Rickey. Overall, I’d give Greshie a B plus for his debut. If you want more info on the show, you can head to the official website which launched yesterday.

On to the linkage.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today looks at the ratings of selected weekend events.

The Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the Arizona-Carolina NFL playoff game were down from last year. The SMW writes the ratings for the Eagles-Giants game were also down despite having the #1 and #4 media markets. But the ratings for San Diego-Pittsburgh were the highest of the weekend, but were also down from last year. The SMW has some random ratings news. Finally, the blog says T-Mobile has pulled its ads featuring Charles Barkley.

Newsday’s Neil Best does not give Giants unofficial spokesman Antonio Pierce a pass for not talking to reporters on Sunday and Monday, and speaking only to WFAN which is a paid appearance. Neil says it’s only fair to call out Pierce because he himself appointed himself as team spokesman. Neil has posted video of one of the reasons why older Giants fans don’t like attending games in person.

Bill Hutchinson of the New York Daily News writes that Fox Sports’ Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Tim McCarver all received illegal U.S. Marshal escorts to the 2007 World Series in Boston and Super Bowl XLII in Tampa thanks to a Fox staffer who was also a U.S. Marshal. The Smoking Gun has the Report of Investigation into the matter.

Also from the Daily News, Bob Raissman says Fox got the short ratings straw by drawing the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with the outgoing commissioner of the National Lacrosse League. Darren asks for your vote on the greatest TV product. Darren says it’s a good thing that Jim Rice got elected to the Hall of Fame. And Darren writes that FIFA may need a new information technology sponsor for the 2010 World Cup in the wake of Satyam’s economic troubles.

Keith Groller of the Allentown Morning News says Donovan McNabb’s phone antics during the Eagles-Giants game were subject of debates.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun talks about some changes in local sports radio. And Ray talks with host Rob Long about why he changed stations.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Cleveland sports radio station WKNR has made a change to its lineup.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune was not enthused over Mike North’s and Dan Jiggetts’ debut on Comcast SportsNet on Monday.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business has a quick sports business round-up. Ed wonders if the Washington Redskins cutting 20 positions is going to be a trend around the NFL.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the Eagles-Giants playoff game was the most watched of the four NFL playoff games locally (scroll down).

Billy Packer and Bob Knight are teaming up for five shows on Fox Sports Net to analyze the NCAA Tournament from the Wynn Las Vegas casino.

Walt Belcher of the Tampa Tribune writes that CBS will have another Super Bowl Commercials special at the end of the month broadcast from Randall James Stadium.

SJ Munoz of the York (NE) News-Times says there was a time when ESPN was actually known for giving sports news.

The Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn feels the Super Bowl is ratings-proof no matter which teams are participating. Barry handicaps the Dallas Cowboys radio rights sweepstakes.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball says Vin Scully has been named as Best Sportscaster of All-Time.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has the entire list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All-Time.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times says Washington-Oregon will not be on FSN this week.

Starr Begley of the Maui (HI) News goes behind the scenes of Golf Channel’s production of the Mercedes-Benz Championship last weekend.

Michael David Smith of AOL Fanhouse is not enamored with NBC’s hiring of Matt Millen for the Super Bowl.

Steve Lepore in the Puck The Media blog says the Anaheim Ducks have ended their ice level camera broadcasts on Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket. Steve has the final three of the NHL Tournament of Announcers after clearing up some shenanigans with the Jack Edwards-Sam Rosen vote. And Steve has a look at the NHL if it were on The CW.

And I’ll end the links here for now.

A Giant Pile of Press Releases to Clear From My Inbox

Ok, plenty of press releases to clear from the inbox tonight. Let’s give you the releases without further delay.

First, the comments from the NFL Gameday Final crew on Sunday night.

Divisional Weekend (Jan. 11, 2009) – Quotable from NFL GameDay Final

on NFL Network

“This Arizona team reminds me of the Colts of a couple years ago (in 2006). You have the Super Bowl-type quarterback and they are now playing very good defense. All of a sudden they are making some noise.” – Steve Mariucci

“In the first matchup, they didn’t even try to run the ball. Edgerrin James was in witness protection.” – Deion Sanders on Cardinals’ regular-season meeting with Eagles

“The only reason McNabb started on Thanksgiving Night is because it was a short week [after he was benched]. If there was a full week, Kevin Kolb would have started.” – Sanders on playing schedule helping the Eagles on their regular season and playoff run. The Eagles have won six of their past seven games.

“Asante Samuel is one of the most exciting cornerbacks in the game.” – Sanders on Eagles CB Samuel, who has an interception in each of Philadelphia’s postseason wins

“That’s where Plaxico Burress would have been prevalent.” – Sanders on Giants third-down offense, which converted three of 13 attempts

“To the letter, the game plan was perfect and they executed it beautifully.” – Mariucci on Steelers’ win in Divisional Playoff

“36 minutes of possession time. That’s Pittsburgh Steelers football.” – Sanders

“The running game and the play-action pass…this is why they are such a dangerous team.” – Mariucci on Pittsburgh Steelers

“The key is the comfort level of Big Ben. If you can get him moving to the level where he is uncomfortable, it is going to hurt the Steelers.” – Sanders on Baltimore Ravens defensive game plan for AFC Championship Game

Continuing with the NFL Network, Warren Sapp gave his thoughts on his former coach Tony Dungy who retired today from the Indianapolis Colts.

NFL Network Analyst Warren Sapp Shares his Thoughts on Tony Dungy and his Retirement on NFL Total Access

On Dungy’s best quality…

“He’s consistent. It didn’t matter what it was or how the day was going or the lows we had in Tampa. When I first got to Tampa, we had 13 consecutive losing season and 12 were double-digit loss seasons, so when you talk about turning around something like that, you need a rock and that’s what he was every single day.”

On Dungy being an example outside of football…

“He’s an example that you want to live your life by. It never mattered what the situation was, Tony was always there. I was very fortunate, I lived three houses down (from Dungy in Tampa) and his daughter Tiara would babysit for my wife and I so we could have date night. The man is something special because I know the children that he raised and you just can’t say enough about that.”

On Dungy’s temperament…

“Any time he had to get a point across, it didn’t take many word from Tony to tell you exactly what time it was. I watched him say a word that I would have never thought he’d say only twice in the years that I spent with him, but when he said it, it was something profound and he didn’t need to say it again.”

On winning the Super Bowl in Tampa for Dungy…

“All the guys that were there in the beginning – me, Derrick Brooks, Mike Alstott, John Lynch, Warrick Dunn – we would sit around and tell each other, ‘remember the lessons that Tony taught us, no matter what situation we were in.’ We spent so many difficult times with Tony playing that ‘Bucs ball’ with ugly 9-3 wins and just playing our way, doing whatever was necessary to win.”

On Dungy’s potential impact outside of football…

“Have you heard of a guy named Billy Graham? Well, put Tony Dungy right beside him because that’s just how powerful and strong he is. He commands respect everywhere he goes.”

Over to Comcast SportsNet New England which will air the Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice joint Baseball Hall of Fame press conference on Tuesday.

COMCAST SPORTSNET TO CARRY LIVE COVERAGE OF JIM RICE & RICKEY HENDERSON HALL OF FAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Live Coverage Begins Tuesday, January 13 at 12 p.m.

BURLINGTON, MA – Comcast SportsNet will present live coverage of the Hall of Fame press conference introducing Class of 2009 inductees and former Red Sox outfielders Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson.

The press conference will air live Tuesday, January 13 at 12 p.m. from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

Comcast SportsNet is picking up MLB Network’s coverage of the press conference. The replay of the Celtics-Raptors game will air immediately after the press conference.

NBC says the ratings for the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day were better than originally reported.

MOST VIEWED NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME IN 34 YEARS

Viewership for NHL Winter Classic on NBC Best Since 1975; Shows 17% Gain Over Inaugural Winter Classic

NEW YORK – January 12, 2009 – NHL Winter Classic 2009, broadcast New Year's Day on NBC, was the most-viewed NHL regular season game in almost 34 years. An average of more than 4.4 million Americans watched the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 from historic Wrigley Field, a 17 percent increase over last year's inaugural Winter Classic (3.75 million) and the biggest audience since Feb. 23, 1975 (5.4 million, Philadelphia-New York Rangers on NBC), according to Nielsen Media Research.
 
The game earned a 2.5 national rating and a 5 share (1-4:15 p.m. ET), a 14 percent increase over last year's inaugural event (2.2/4, 1-4:45 p.m. ET). 

"GAME OF THE WEEK" RETURNS TO NBC ON SUNDAY: The "Game of the Week" makes its 2009 debut on NBC this Sunday with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the New York Rangers, 12:30 p.m. ET.

For the first time, "Game of the Week" broadcasts have a consistent start time – 12:30 p.m. ET on Sundays (except for April 12, 2 p.m. start time). For the second straight season, the NHL and NBC will utilize flex scheduling and will be able to select from up to three games on Sunday afternoons. Thirteen days prior to the scheduled games (on Mondays), NBC, in conjunction with the NHL, will select one of those games as the "Game of the Week" to be broadcast during the NBC window. The other games will remain available to the teams' regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC's broadcast window.

Next, ESPN goes over its multi-platform coverage of tennis’ first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, which begins Sunday. It’s a long release. Get ready to scroll.

ESPN’s Year of Grand Slam Tennis Begins Down Under

ESPN’s 25^th Australian Open Begins Sunday on ESPN2 & ESPN360.com

Nearly 100 Live Hours on TV; 430+ Hours Live on Broadband

Starting Sunday, Jan. 18, ESPN will do something no U.S. network has ever done: televise all four of tennis’ Grand Slam events in a single year. The tennis season begins with ESPN’s 25^th Australian Open: nearly 100 hours of primetime and overnight coverage on ESPN2 plus 57 more in afternoon reairs. In addition, broadband ESPN360.com will offer more than 430 hours – all live from Melbourne, with users choosing between action on six courts. Play will begin on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. ET and will continue through the women’s and men’s finals live Saturday, Jan. 31, and Sunday, Feb. 1, respectively. ESPN has televised the Australian Open since 1984 (there was no event in 1986), the French Open since 2002 (and 1986 – 1993), Wimbledon since 2003 and is adding the US Open this year.

“To be involved with all four Grand Slam events is a major moment in ESPN history and we are proud to begin the year with our silver anniversary in Australia, one of the longest relationships in sports television,” said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president, content. “Tennis fans can sit back and enjoy all the sport’s premiere events all year on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, brought to you by the people they know well, respect and enjoy.”

Reflective of ESPN’s new role carrying all four Grand Slam tournaments, the coverage will feature new animation, graphics, music and scoreboard. In addition, new on-air promos spotlight ESPN’s Grand Slam coverage and each event.

In addition, where appropriate ESPN’s SportsCenter – including the new live weekday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. editions – and ESPNEWS will endeavor live look-ins to the action. Also, ESPN Deportes will present Spanish-language coverage in the U.S. and ESPN International will bring the event to viewers around the world.

Before the action begins, the random selection of the men’s and women’s brackets will be available on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.

TV: IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD

ESPN2’s tennis team is the best in the business with veteran experts who are well-known to tennis fans for their insights and camaraderie. Cliff Drysdale – who has been with ESPN since its first tennis telecast in 1979 – and sportscasting legend Dick Enberg lead the team, along with Hall of Famer Bud Collins as analyst and essayist. Chris Fowler will again host and call select matches, with returnees former Australian star player-turned coach Darren Cahill, Mary Carillo, Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe, and Pam Shriver, who will primarily serve as a courtside reporter. In addition, reporters Tiffany Cherry of ESPN International, a Melbourne native, and Tom Rinaldi will contribute features, news and interviews during event coverage and on SportsCenter.

———————————————

DID YOU KNOW?

ESPN’s Bud Collins, Cliff Drysdale and Dick Enberg have worked — or, in Drysdale’s case, played — in approximately 286 Grand Slam events as of the end of 2008.

——————————————-

ESPN2’s Australian Open programming will generally consist of three shows each day: live coverage in the evening starting Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., live matches at 3:30 a.m., and at least three hours of same-day action the next afternoon at 3 p.m. As with the French Open, ESPN2 is working with Tennis Channel to bring fans virtually round-the-clock coverage during the Australian Open. ESPN2 is producing all Australian Open coverage for both networks, with each channel utilizing its own commentators.

ESPN Deportes – the fulltime Spanish-language U.S. network – will televise 55 hours (including re-airs), January 19 through the finals. The commentators will be Luís Alfredo Álvarez, Eduardo Varela and former players José Luís Clerc and Javier Frana.

ESPN Interactive TV, exclusive to DIRECTV, will present the Australian Open for the first time, using a six-screen “mixed channel.” For 7-8 hours per night during the first eight days of the tournament, viewers will be able to watch the ESPN2 feed or one of five other courts, all with commentary. In addition, the women’s and men’s final will be available for one month after the conclusion of the tournament.

ESPN VOD (Video On Demand) is offering the 2009 Australian Open Preview Show up to the beginning of the tournament. The Women’s Finals will be edited to a 30-minute summary and offered for a month starting Sunday, Feb. 1. The Men’s Finals will be offered as a 30-minute highlight and be offered for a month starting Monday, Feb. 2.

In Latin America, ESPN International will provide two weeks of extensive live coverage over three different networks. The pan-regional ESPN networks in Latin America (in South and Central America) will showcase the biggest names in tennis along with players of local relevance in 100 hours, including the women’s and men’s finals. In the Southern Cone, ESPN+ (pronounced “mas”) will air a minimum of 30 hours of complementary coverage in primetime throughout the early rounds. Additionally, ESPN Brasil will also show another 20+ hours of live coverage in the early morning hours.

SPORTSCENTER IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD

In the U.S., throughout the tournament ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPNEWS – the 24-hour all-sports news network – will look to show live “look-ins” to play in progress, as storylines dictate. Miguel Simón will provide reports from onsite for ESPN Deportes’ SportsCenter.

Other SportsCenters from ESPN International’s editions around the world will have reporters on site. Simón will provide reports for the Spanish-language SportsCenter aired in Latin America. Melbourne native Tiffany Cherry will offer updates for SportsCenter editions aired in Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Israel, and Anthony Howard will provide updates for international editions of SportsCenter.

PREVIEWING 2009

Novak Djokovic will defend his crown against a strong men’s field led by Roger Federer, who has won the Australian Open three times. Federer will be seeking to tie Pete Sampras’ record of 14 career Grand Slam titles. The women’s side is wide open upon the recent withdrawal of defending champion Maria Sharapova.

Patrick McEnroe: “It’s a phenomenal time in men’s tennis.”

McEnroe says the Big Two is now the Big Four, and that the level of play at the top has never been better:

“This has the makings of one of the most competitive years ever in men’s tennis. Four guys have separated themselves at the top, with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray joining the Big Two, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Maybe each of them will win one slam this year. Murray is off to a great start, and on hard courts he has as good a game as anyone. As for Roger, he is healthy, had a good offseason and is eager. Having lost his long standing at #1, the week-to-week pressure is off and he is more concerned with another number – 15, what would be a new record for career Grand Slam titles. With 13 now, I expect he’ll at least tie Sampras at 14 this year.

“It’s a phenomenal time in men’s tennis. Years ago we had players with certain weapons or strengths. Now our top players have all-around games. Yet they possess different styles and distinct personalities. This year it is going to be very competitive to be ranked #1.”

Mary Carillo: “The storylines are intriguing.”

Carillo says that despite the recent withdrawal of defending champion Maria Sharapova, the women’s field is filled with legitimate title contenders, both familiar and new.

“On the women’s side the storylines are intriguing. Sharapova’s shoulder is keeping her from defending her title, which was as good and commanding a performance as she’s ever given. Last year she won her third major without dropping a set – her serve was the dominant factor. After the glorious start to her season, Maria injured her shoulder, required surgery, and has decided she’s not ready for Melbourne. This is a bad blow indeed….

“The good news is that no. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic has worked very hard in the offseason and should be in very good form as she tries to win her first major. That she’s beefed up her physical regimen means that she should end rallies quicker and save herself for the latter rounds of a the majors – that could be the deciding factor for her. Ana Ivanovic followed up her Australian Open finalist effort with her first major at Roland Garros, before pressure and injuries got to her. But she’s been practicing hard and is probably better equipped emotionally to handle the demands of her status. And the Williams sisters are coming into Melbourne with more experience and understanding of the changing seasons than anyone. They were both Grand Slam titlists last year, and either one of them can win this thing.

“Other contenders: Dinara Safina, absolutely. Very powerful and keen after last year’s breakthrough. She copes well in hot weather and has truly grown up. And though Elena Dementieva has never yet brought her best form to Melbourne, she should be feeling pretty good after her US Open semifinal run and her gold in Beijing.

“This should be fun.”

Over the years, the Australian Open has provided ESPN viewers many wonderful memories:

• In the 1984 semifinals, Helena Sukova upsets Martina Navratilova 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, ending Navratilova’s record 74-match win streak and thwarting her attempt at a seventh consecutive Grand Slam title.
• In the 2003 quarterfinals, Andy Roddick wins an epic 21-19 fifth set vs. Younes el-Aynaoui.
• In 2008, ESPN2 sticks with live coverage through two scheduled breaks, resulting in 14 hours, 43 minutes of consecutive live tennis (Friday at 9:54 p.m. – Saturday 12:37 p.m.), no doubt the longest live sports telecast in U.S. history. It is followed by a scheduled reair until 5 p.m., resulting in 19+ straight hours of tennis. The action is highlighted by three five-set matches: James Blake winning 4-6, 2-6, 6-0, 7-6, 6-2 over Sebastien Grosjean; Roger Federer outlasting Janko Tipsarevic 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 10-8; and Lleyton Hewitt ousting Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in a match that ended at 4:32 a.m. in Melbourne. The fifth sets are aired commercial-free.

GREAT MATCHES FROM THE PAST ON ESPN CLASSIC

On Sunday, Jan. 18, the day the tournament starts, ESPN Classic will get fans ready with a quintet of memorable matches from a quarter century of coverage, as well as a one-hour preview show, starting at 7a.m.:

7 – 9 a.m.: 1996 Australian Open Finals, Anke Huber vs. Monica Seles – Monica Seles 6-4, 6-1 victory over Germany’s Anke Huber was her first Grand Slam title since her comeback began in 1995. It was also her first Grand Slam title as a U.S. citizen and it also proved to be the final Grand Slam title of her career.

9 – 11 a.m.: 1995 Australian Open Quarterfinals, Pete Sampras vs. Jim Courier – Defending champion Pete Sampras, troubled by the health problems of his coach Tim Gullickson, wept in the middle of his Australian Open match with Jim Courier. Sampras would come back from two sets down for the second straight match and win 6-7 (7-4), 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in a four-hour marathon to reach the semifinals.

11 a.m. – 1 p.m.: 2000 Australian Open Semifinals, Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras – Agassi and Sampras put on a show for the film archives, Agassi winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (5), 6-1 to become the first man to reach four straight Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver swept them all in 1969.

1 – 3 p.m.: 2003 Australian Open Finals Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams – Serena Williams survived an error-filled match to beat older sister Venus 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open for her fourth straight major championship.

3 – 6 p.m.: 2003 Australian Open Quarterfinal: Andy Roddick vs Younes El Aynaoui - Andy Roddick wins a marathon Quarterfinal in a 5th set tie-break. In a battle of wills, the American Roddick out dueled the Moroccan 4-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 21-19. The match lasted 4 hours and 59 minutes and they walked off the court hand in hand.

6 – 7 p.m.: Australian Open Preview Show

DIGITAL MEDIA, AT HOME AND ABROAD

After the selection of the bracket draw Thursday, Jan. 15 (see above), ESPN360.com will expand its broadband coverage to include no fewer than six live feeds from various courts – including the women’s and men’s semifinals and finals – plus a simulcast of ESPN2’s live coverage, totaling more than 430 hours. For the first eight days (Jan. 18 – 25), coverage will commence at 7 p.m. (11 a.m. in Melbourne, when play begins). The courts to be included are the “TV courts,” the ones most likely to have top matches: Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Margaret Court Arena, plus Courts 2, 3 and 6. For the remainder of the tournament, ESPN360.com will continue the ESPN2 simulcast, and will carry the women’s (Jan. 31) and men’s (Feb. 1) finals.

Each window of coverage will be available for on-demand replay following its completion. With ESPN360.com’s dynamic interface, tennis fans will be able to fast-forward, rewind and pause action – during both on-demand replay and live action coverage.

ESPN360.com is ESPN’s broadband sports television network, a 24/7 online destination delivering more than 3,000 live, global sports events annually. It is available at no cost to fans with a high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated service provider. In 2008, distribution grew to more than 24 million homes, up 40 percent year-to-year and more than triple just two years ago. It is available via more than 20 Internet service providers nationwide, including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Insight, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and many more. It is also available at no cost to approximately 18 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks (those with “.edu” and “.mil” domains).

ESPN.com will debut Slam Central, featuring video highlights, original podcasts from the ESPN PodCenter and news and analysis from ESPN.com and Tennis.com. Other contributors: ESPN.com’s senior tennis writer Bonnie D. Ford, as well as additional coverage from Ravi Ubha, Kamakshi Tandon and Sandra Harwitt.

ESPNdeportes.com, the leading sports Web Site for Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. and Latin America, will provide unmatched coverage with the latest news and results, high-quality video, chats and columns, daily polls and more.

Outside the U.S., for the first time ever, ESPN will transmit live multiple court coverage via its broadband service ESPN360.com Mexico – over 600 hours of live coverage from the first day all the way through to the finals, while ESPN360.com Chile will air the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals live via broadband.

ESPN MOBILE TV

ESPN Mobile TV, a 24/7 channel for wireless, will provide more than 80 hours of live coverage, starting with the bracket draw Friday, Jan. 16. ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN’s first 24/7 wireless channel that is not a simulcast of any existing ESPN network, offers full-length live events including college football and basketball, NBA, NASCAR, MLS and more. It also offers content from Mike & Mike in the Morning, First Take and Pardon the Interruption. ESPN Mobile TV is available through MobiTV and on MediaFLO USA’s mobile entertainment service.

Also, fans on the go can follow the action on their mobile phones via ESPN MVP with highlights and analysis as well as one touch access to their favorite ESPN.com columnists.

One more release from ESPN. This one deals with the US men’s soccer team which plays arch-rival Mexico in a World Cup qualifier next month.

ESPN2 to Air U.S.-Mexico Match February 11

Contest kicks off the final round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying series for both teams

ESPN2 will televise the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team vs. Mexico Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. ET, live from Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The telecast, available in high definition on ESPN2 HD, will feature the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) regional rivals in their first match of the final round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying series.

ESPN’s lead team of play-by-play commentator JP Dellacamera and analyst John Harkes will call the game with sideline reporter Pedro Gomez, who is fluent in English and Spanish and has handled several sideline reporting duties for U.S. Soccer and MLS events, including the 2008 MLS Cup on ABC.

The February 11 match will mark the third straight final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying matchup between the two CONCACAF powerhouse teams in Columbus. In the first meeting Feb. 28, 2001 – dubbed the “Guerra Fria” (‘Cold War’) because the game-time temperature topped out at 29 degrees – for the 2002 World Cup, the U.S. won 2-0. Four years and six months later, Sept. 3, 2005, the U.S. team earned a place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany with another 2-0 victory over Mexico.

The U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Trinidad & Tobago are the six nations competing in the 10-game home-and-away series, Feb. 11 – Oct. 14. The top three teams will automatically advance to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The fourth-place team will compete in a two-game playoff to be held Nov. 14 and 18 against the fifth-place team in the South American (COMNEBOL) World Cup qualifying series.

Fang’s Bites’ Grade for 24, Season 7, Hour 4, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Chloe taking over all computer systems – A.

The White House and FBI confused over the situation – D.

Jack and Chloe seeing each other again – B.

Tony’s explanation returning from the dead – C.

Tony explaining he was working with the terrorists – B.

Jack agreeing to work with the underground CTU – B minus.

Tony getting Jack in with the terrorists – C.

Henry Taylor meeting with his late son’s girlfriend – F.

Sean Hillinger’s wife on the plane storyline – F.

Janis going out in the field with Agent Walker – D.

Jack & Tony meeting with the terrorist – C.

Jack getting the trust of the terrorist and killing a red shirt – A.

Sean Hillinger moving his wife’s plane up so it can land – F.

President Taylor telling former Prime Minister Motobo that his country may be abandoned – F.

Ethan Kanin acting like a jerk – F.

Jack earning the trust of the terrorist – C.

Bill eager to sacrifice Motobo for the greater good – B minus.

Henry Taylor meeting his late son’s girlfriend – F (despite this being Carly Pope).

(One aside, I greatly miss Nina Myers. Having her back would rock)

Henry Taylor finding out someone in his wife’s administration is dirty – F minus.

Agent Walker and Janis interrogating Tanner in his hospital bed (actually it was unintentionally funny) – D.

Agent Walker imposing Janis to help her like Chloe – B.

Agent Walker torturing Tanner – A.

Walker knowing she turned to the dark side – A.

Walker killing Tanner – A+++

Jack and Tony going in to get Motobo – A.

Overall grade – C

Fang’s Bites’ Grade for 24, Season 7, Hour 3, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Opening sequence at the White House – B (President Taylor finally shows some backbone).

Agent Moss skeptical of Jack’s actions – F.

Janis lifting up Tony’s shirt – D (I’m sure it’s higher for the women).

Agent Moss not trusting Jack despite knowing it’s best – D.

Tony in interrogation all cleaned up after being bloodied – F.

Tony and Jack referencing Michelle – A.

Jack choking Tony – A.

The reappearance of Bill Buchanan!!! – A+++

The reappearance of Chloe!!!!!! – A++++

Bill and Chloe working rogue with Tony undercover in an underground CTU organization!!!! – A++++++

Henry Taylor storyline again bogging down the action – F.

Storyline of corrupt government – A.

Chloe being awkward saying she was sad at how Jack was treated at the Senate, but he looked good – A.

Jack back with Bill and Chloe – A++++

Seeing Rhys Coiro from Entourage – B.

Moss being ineffective with Tony in interrogation – C.

Moss being stubborn with Agent Walker – D.

Sean Callery’s music when Janis Gold walks into the mainframe room – A.

Jack knocking out Agent Walker – A.

Bill and Chloe working to get Jack and Tony out- A.

Tony smirking knowing Jack is on his side – A.

Jack and Tony working together again – A+++.

Janis and Chloe’s computer war – A.

Bill driving off with Jack & Tony – A.

Overall grade – B

The Basebal Hall of Fame Announcement As Seen on MLB Network

This comes courtesy of Awful Announcing. This is the video of MLB Network’s announcement of Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Notice Greg Amsinger, formerly of CBS College Sports, anchoring then throwing it to Hazel Mae and Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson with the announcement, followed by the first interview with Jim Rice.

For good measure, here are highlights of the Rice interview.

MLB NETWORK GETS FIRST INTERVIEW WITH NEWEST BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER, JIM RICE

As part of the first-ever live television broadcast of the Baseball Hall of Fame announcement, MLB Network was the first media outlet today to speak with former Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice, who was elected to the Hall of Fame today in his final year of eligibility.

Less than 10 minutes after the announcement was made live on MLB Network, Rice was on the phone live with Greg Amsinger, Harold Reynolds, Barry Larkin, Tom Verducci and Jon Heyman. Here is a sampling of Rice’s comments to MLB Network:

ON GETTING INDUCTED IN HIS 15^TH AND FINAL YEAR ON THE BALLOT:

“Well, you know, what can you say? I don’t think you can go back and look at the past. You look at the numbers, that some of the guys that talk about the numbers have not changed, but you leave all that in the past. I’m looking forward to the future.”

ON PLAYERS WHO INSPIRED HIM:

“I would probably say more like Henry Aaron, a man from South Carolina. Atlanta was pretty close to South Carolina and of course I met him when he played with Milwaukee. And the writer in South Carolina was pretty good friends with Hank, and so probably I looked at Hank more than anybody else.”

ON WAITING 15 YEARS TO BE ELECTED:

“Well that, I mean, you have no control over. I heard you guys talk about Andre Dawson. This guy’s a tremendous baseball player. I mean, look at the numbers that he put up. And, you just take it with a grain of salt because there’s nothing you can do. You just wait and wait and hope that somewhere down the line that they realize that you were special.”

ON WHO INFLUENCED HIM THE MOST PERSONALLY:

“Well, personally, I have to go back and look at my father. My father was a very strong man and, coming from a family of 9, you know, he was very strict and taught you right from wrong. But as far as baseball-wise, you have to look at guys like Johnny Pesky, a guy like Don Zimmer. When I came up in ’75, we had a lot of guys that had baseball knowledge. And, of course, my high school coach, I mean the things I learned in high school, I had already picked that up when I got to the big leagues. So you look at guys like Don Zimmer, Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams around, Tommy Harper, I mean, you look at all the guys that you associate with the Red Sox organization. That’s a lot of knowledge. And those are the guys that influenced me more than anything else.”

Good to see this type of programming right off the bat from MLB Network. As the Aussies like to say, “Good on ya!”

Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2009

Rickey Henderson – 94.8% of the writers vote
Jim Rice – 76.4% of the writers vote
Joe Gordon
Tony Kubek

Happy to see Jim Ed get in. Finally.

Quick Monday Midday Update

A few more links for you.

Here are some links from the Sports Business Journal.

John Ourand writes that ad time for the NFL Conference Championship Games are sold out and the Super Bowl is 90% sold out.

John says cable providers and several regional sports networks held off their carriage battles for yet another year.

John and Tripp Mickle combine for an article on the NHL Network being picked up by AT&T U-Verse.

And Tripp reports that Fox’s Fuel TV has come to an agreement with ESPN to promote the Winter X Games later this month.

Crain’s Chicago Business’ Ed Sherman gives his impressions on the “Monsters in the Morning” premiere on Comcast SportsNet this morning.

The Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn actually kept track of the Jim Johnson mentions during yesterday’s Eagles-Giants game.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog goes over who skated for the late Paul Newman in the greatest hockey movie ever, “Slap Shot”.

The Big Lead reviews the NFL on TV from the weekend.

I forgot that the Golden Globe Awards were on last night, not that I would have watched, but my friend, Linda Dias has some thoughts on the show.

Two things we’re monitoring today. The streaming of the Baseball Hall of Fame announcement on MLB.com (hopefully Jim Rice gets in) and Billy Packer and Bob Knight making some March Madness-related announcement (scroll down) in Las Vegas. When we get news from both camps, I’ll post it here.

Our Monday Linkage

Let’s give you linkage today. Plenty of things going on including the live streaming of the Baseball Hall of Fame Announcements which I may live blog.

Let’s do some links while I can.

USA Today’s Michael McCarthy picks apart the NFL prognosticators’ playoff predictions.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell doesn’t like the new Blackberry spot. And Darren wonders if Florida’s Tim Tebow will take out an insurance policy for next season.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is particularly grumpy today.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News goes over yesterday’s Eagles-Giants game on Fox.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record says the MLB Network showed the last five games incoming Hall of Fame broadcaster Tony Kubek called for NBC.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun has a few notes on the Ravens-Titans AFC playoff game.

Tierney Plumb of the Washington Business Journal says a new show devoted to the Capitals debuts on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic next month.

Randy King of the Roanoke (VA) Times says he’s not the only one who didn’t watch the Orange Bowl.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News asks his readers to list their favorite local broadcasting teams.

Dusty Saunders of the Rocky Mountain News feels Dick Vitale talks about everything except the game on the court.

Aaron Smith of CNNMoney.com writes that Super Bowl ads are selling well despite the recession.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News tries to make sense of Adam “Hit Man” Jones’ interviews. And John writes while Charles Barkley and Matt Millen are good on TV, they have proven to be bad at stuff away from TV.

The Toronto Star’s Chris Zelkovich wanted to hit the mute button during the NFL playoffs.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says Don Cherry may be softening his stance on fighting.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that Michael Phelps will be a guest on YES’ Centerstage program tonight.

Diego Vasquez of Media Life Magazine says the Arizona-Carolina game won the overnight ratings Saturday for Fox.

Marc Berman of Mediaweek says thanks to the AFC playoff overrun last night, CBS beat the Golden Globes and 24.

The Biz of Baseball talks about the Hall of Fame announcements being aired on MLB Network today.

That’s going to do it for now. I’ll be back later.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

College Basketball
Notre Dame at Louisville – ESPN, 7 p.m.
Hampton at Florida A&M – ESPNU, 7 p.m.
Texas at Oklahoma – ESPN, 9 p.m.
Southern at Jackson State – ESPNU, 9 p.m.

MLB
Baseball Hall of Fame Election Announcement Special – MLB Network/MLB.com, 1:30 p.m.
Baseball Hall of Fame – Class of ’09 – MLB Network, 9 p.m.

NBA
Toronto at Boston – Comcast SportsNet New England/NBA TV, 7:30 p.m.

NHL
Detroit at Dallas – Versus/TSN2, 8 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Los Angeles – Sun Sports/Fox Sports West, 10:30 p.m.
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 11 p.m.

Entertainment
24 – Fox, 8 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother – CBS, 8:30 p.m.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 – TLC, 9 p.m.
The Story of India: The Spice Routes & Silk Roads – PBS, 9 p.m.
The Story of India: Ages of Gold – PBS, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

Quotage from Sunday NFL Countdown

Again, bad job by CBS, Fox and NFL Network for not sending over quotage from their pregame shows today. I waited late to see if anything came through and only ESPN sent over quotage today. So they get this post all to themselves. I hope quotage will be readily available for Conference Championship Sunday.

“SUNDAY NFL COUNTOWN” NEWS AND NOTES

ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown’s” Chris Berman, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Cris Carter and Tom Jackson, were joined by Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen to review yesterday’s and preview today’s NFL Divisional Playoff games. Some excerpts:

Key quotes of the day:

· “Cris (Carter), don’t you dare ever mention Jake’s (Delhomme) name in the same line with (Joe) Montana and (Bart) Starr” – Johnson on the performance of the Carolina quarterback vs. Arizona

· “This is a 10-6 football without Chris Johnson and that’s what they looked like yesterday. It’s not a No. 1 seed without that explosive player in that offense.” – Carter on Tennessee’s loss to Baltimore

· “Cheez Whiz, off of cheese steaks. When it gets in there, it takes forever to get out” – Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid on the most annoying thing about growing playoff beards

Knowing blitzes are coming, which quarterback will handle pass rush better: McNabb or Manning?

Keyshawn Johnson: “In this football game, it will be Donovan McNabb. Donovan has played against this team before. You’re looking at a quarterback in Eli Manning, without Plaxico Burress, who will rely on the running game. He’s not a mobile quarterback. That can create some problems and he’s prone to make more mistakes than Donovan … They have three guys in that secondary, the Eagles, I don’t know that the New York Giants have three capable receivers to match up with them.”

Tom Jackson: “Donovan McNabb is healthy, and when he’s healthy, he’s close to superman. You look at his ability to extend plays along with Brian Westbrook and his ability to bring a big play. And that’s the thing you want from your quarterback this time of the year.”

Cris Carter: “One thing you guys have failed to mention is the running back of the Giants, Brandon Jacobs, and he’s going to help Eli out. It’s not a matter of which quarterback is better. The Eagles blitz 40% of the time. So Eli is used to this, but being assisted by that running game … I believe Eli handles the situation better.”

Mike Ditka: “McNabb must be doing something right. Last 66 attempts, the Giants have not sacked him. What I see him doing, I see him buying time, I see him making good decisions … This guy is really playing his best football right now.”

Can big Ben (Roethlisberger) continue to absorb big hits?

Tom Jackson: “Big Ben is a big tough kid. He’s used to getting sacked 40-plus times a year. When it comes time to play, he’s always playing. You’ve heard Ed (Werder) talk about Philip Rivers and statistics. Well, statistically right now, Ben Roethlisberger is about the worst quarterback left in this playoffs – getting sacked more than anybody else, throwing more interceptions than anybody else, quarterback completion percentage, a little bit worse than (Ravens) Joe Flacco. But his strength is winning games at the end. He really knows how to do that. And that’s the main thing I want from my quarterback. I want him to be able to win games. I’m not worried necessarily about whether he can take the beating, I’m worried about the fact that statistically he has a problem on the field right now.”

Cris Carter: “People think football is a contact sport. But on the offensive side of the ball, sometimes, it is ‘avoid the contact.’ It is hard to continue playing football that way. One excuse for Ben: Why does he hold it? Because, his best receiver Hines Ward is not the fastest and not the best route runner, but it takes him a little more time sometimes on that muddy field to get open. So, I understand why he’s holding it.”

Keyshawn Johnson: “Ben holds on the football because he likes the drama. He likes the attention that he gets. He’s a great football player, he’s a solid football player, like you said Tom, he’s a tough guy, but he’s a bit of a drama queen. I like that about him. He gives the crowd thumbs up, a little bit of a wink, goes off the field, comes back, boom! Touchdown, late game heroics and the whole time, we’re sitting in our room watching the game saying ‘he’s hurting, something is wrong with Ben.’ Next thing you know, he’s back in the game, he’s fine for the next week, he loves that attention.”

Mike Ditka: “He’s going to last four quarters. Can he last four years? I don’t know playing the way he is … It is who he is. It is Big Ben, he’s the leader of this football team.”

Tom Jackson: “The reason that he does that, he is not great at his second and third read. He’s better at extending plays with his legs. His college coach told me that he’s the guy who extends plays and makes plays by getting out of the pocket.”

Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen

On being satisfied with the Vikings’ performance: “Our very first step was to win the division. We were able to do that. Me personally, it took a little while getting used to adjusting to new stadium, new bunch of teammates. The biggest adjustment was learning how to play with two beasts in the defensive tackles inside. I was just trying to stay out of the way for the first few weeks. Then we got on the same page and things took off.

“Overall, successful season. We would love to still be playing. I thought we played well enough, except for one play, to win that Philadelphia game.”

On Philip Rivers: “He has the tendency to hold the ball just a little bit too long to make those big plays down the field. I really like the way he plays the ball. His ‘moxie,’ if you will – just don’t ask me to spell that guys. But again, sometimes that works against him because he tries to make that big play down the field and you can get to him as a pass rusher.”

Biggest reason for the Titans loss vs. the Ravens

Keyshawn Johnson: “When Chris Johnson went out, you cannot get to the second wave of defenders, which is the secondary – the corners and safety of the Baltimore Ravens are poor tacklers. If you get there, they miss tackles, then they can score touchdowns. That did not happen. It changed the entire scope of the football team.”

Cris Carter: “When Chris Johnson got hurt, this team reverted back to last year’s team without a scrambling quarterback … This is a 10-6 football without Chris Johnson and that’s what they looked like yesterday. It’s not a No. 1 seed without that explosive player in that offense.”

Tom Jackson: “Those fumbles are not happenstance. The physicality that Ray Lewis and that front seven bring, the reason they get the turnover is because they hit harder than the other football team. You look at the hit on (Alge) Crumpler, you look at the hit on LenDale White, that ball is coming out. And they are depending on it coming out two or three times a football game, you tell (Joe) Flacco, ‘protect the football, we’ll take you to Tampa Bay.’”

Mike Ditka: “You’ve got to give Baltimore all the credit, and you’ve got to feel a little sorry for Tennessee. But don’t say Tennessee is not a good football team. They are a heck of a football team.”

Chris Berman: “They just put it out there {on-screen graphic}, here’s Miami plus-17, Ravens win the turnover 5-1, here’s Tennessee plus-14, Ravens win the turnover 3-0. One is an accident, eight is what?”

Lasting impression of Cardinals win vs. the Panthers

Cris Carter: “I thought I was watching the NCAA Tournament and I had UNLV as the number one seed, or whatever the seed was, going against a team like Princeton, at team that is going to slow it down. The Arizona team that is not going to run the ball ended up adopting the Princeton style, slowing them down. I was amazed to see how they adopted the physicality all of a sudden.”

Tom Jackson: “And Boom (Berman) used the work thumping, and that’s what it was. What coach (Ken) Whisenhunt has done is made them physically tougher than their opponents on both sides of the football. The 43 carries for 145 yards vs. the 15 carries for Carolina. They dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage. I think it has a lot to do with taking them back to training camp. At the end of the year, we are going to get back in pads, we’re going to work hard to be a different football team when we get to the playoffs. They are right now.”

Keyshawn Johnson: “{Turning to Carter} Cris, don’t you dare ever mention Jake’s (Delhomme) name in the same line with (Joe) Montana and (Bart) Starr … I think when you look at the game plan put together by offensive coordinator Todd Haley, a mix of run and pass, getting the football to (Larry) Fitzgerald was extremely important. Being able to adjust on-the-fly – that long ball that he (Fitzgerald) went up to get, they actually put that play in on the plane coming from Arizona watching the film of the New Orleans Saints against the Carolina Panthers and realizing we can hit something here against this team. Making those types of adjustments, I think that speaks a lot to what Whisenhunt and their offensive staff are capable of doing.’

Mike Ditka: “This football team, if they play the way they played the last two weeks, and this is Ken Whisenhunt’s stamp on them, they play that way, this team can go all the way.”

Chris Berman: “They are geniuses. Two months, very ‘Parcellian,’ into a code of silence. No one is really going to know we can run the ball, no one is really going to know we have a good line, no one is going to know we have an opportunistic defense: ‘Shhh!, shhh!, we won’t show you until January.’ Look where they are, and they could host the championship game.”

Can the Eagles be this season’s team of destiny?

Cris Carter: “The good news is, there’s no New England sitting out there as the unbeatable team. If they do make it through, that’s the good news. The bad news is, I’m a forgiving person, I can’t forget about that tie with Cincinnati. You think a team is going to tie the Cincinnati Bengals and go on to make NFL history, I just can’t forget that.”

Tom Jackson: “I’m going to make the argument that it is how you are playing at the end of the season … I know that the Giants will be committed to running the ball and stopping the run. They have no choice. I still don’t know that the Eagles are going to be committed to running the football. That’s the way to get yourself sent home. If we’re looking for a team of destiny, last year’s Giants, I think it will be the Baltimore ravens.”

Keyshawn Johnson: “They have an opportunity to be that team. If they win this football game today, they are going to go to the Super Bowl.”

Mike Ditka: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. They are playing good now. It doesn’t matter what they did against anyone. All they are preaching right now is one thing, three games and we get the Lombardi Trophy.”

Will the Giants miss Plaxico Burress?

Cris Carter: “Whatever the numbers say, they don’t matter – 6’5”-230, it can’t be replaced. I don’t care what they want to do. And just say, for instance, if the Giants were a good running team, would they want a 5’-11” guy, 180 (lbs) blocking you or do you want a 6’5”? Forget about the past, would you want a big dude blocking you? Men, it’s a big dude’s game.”

Keyshawn Jackson: “Yes, they are going to miss him. You’re going to miss the double-teaming, you’re going to miss him taking people out of the box, and the threat down in the red zone with that size and strength. But it is a moot point. As you said, he’s gone. And I just add this as a caveat – He cannot win in this situation. If they win the Super Bowl, he’s Jeremy Schokey. And if in fact they don’t win the Super Bowl, then ‘the drama that you put us through helped us not get what we came out to achieve.”

Mike Ditka: “I give up. I said they won’t miss him. Okay, they’ll miss him. I say this honestly, I think everything they are preaching in that locker room right now – ‘if we think we’re going to miss him, we can’t win this football game.’ We are going to go out there, we’re going to play with what we’ve got.”

That’s it.

2009 NFL Conference Championship Schedule

NFC Championship
Philadelphia at Arizona – Fox/Westwood One Radio, 3 p.m.
Fox – Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver/Chris Myers

AFC Championship
Baltimore at Pittsburgh – CBS/Westwood One Radio, 6:30 p.m.
CBS – Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

Fang’s Bites’ Grade for 24, Season 7, Hour 2, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Hearing “Previously on 24″ Again – A.

Opening Sequence in Air Traffic Control – C.

Seeing the airplanes miss each other – B.

Seeing FBI Supervisor Larry Moss stall – D.

Seeing FBI Agent Renee Walker finally believe Jack – A.

Seeing Janis Gold be “Chloe-Lite” – F.

White House sequences – D.

Seeing Henry Taylor’s storyline – F.

Sean Callery’s Music – A.

Having another storyline with a mole inside a government agency – D.

Seeing Carly Pope in 24 – A.

Seeing Jack give the dreaded heart punch then a kick to the head for good measure – A.

Seeing Agent Walker imitate Jack by shooting one of Tony’s henchmen – B.

Seeing Agent Walker and Jack shoot one of Tony’s henchmen – A.

Watching Tony use his Krav Maga skills on Jack – A.

Seeing Jack wonder what happened to Tony – B.

Overall grade – B minus.

Fang’s Bites’ Grade for 24, Season 7, Hour 1, 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.

Hearing Kiefer say “The events occur in real time” again – A+

Opening sequence, Kidnapping – A.

Questioning of Jack in the Senate – C.

Introducing characters at the FBI – C.

White House sequences – D.

Seeing Evil Tony Almeida for the first time – A.

Hearing Evil Tony whisper like the Good Tony – A.

First confrontation between Jack and the FBI – C minus.

Seeing Jack go into the field again – B.

Seeing Jack threaten to put a pen in someone’s eye – A.

Seeing suspect get shot – A.

Overall grade – B.

Sunday’s Linkage

Let me tell you, digging out is never fun, especially when the snow has been tamped down by ice. First, I slept in, second, I took my time getting to dig out the driveway and third, it took over an hour to do it. I always tell myself my next house I live in will have a short driveway and that’s definitely going to happen. But right now, I deal with what I have. It’s never fun dealing with a long sloped driveway, but anyway, time to give you some links.

Before I do that, the one thing that helped me pass the time was listening to the Philadelphia call of the Eagles-Giants playoff game on Sirius Satellite Radio. Merrill Reese and Mike Quick are a very good team giving Iggles fans a good picture of what’s going on. But my only problem was Sirius’ airing of one promo which began with “The AFC Divisional Playoffs”, then playing highlights of last night’s NFC Divisional playoff game between Arizona and Carolina with the Cardinals announcer saying, “and Arizona heads to the NFC Championship Game!” I don’t know who produced that, but it’s been playing throughout the afternoon and it should be corrected. I hope I’m wrong, but that’s what I’ve been hearing. Kind of strange for an official NFL media partner.

To your links.

Renee Nadeau of the Boston Herald writes that Gil Santos will remain as Voice of the New England Patriots even as he retires from WBZ Radio at the end of this month. Thanks to Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch for the link.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says CBS’ Bill Cowher is keeping his options open even as he returns to the NFL Today for another season in 2009.

Newsday’s Neil Best has the transcript of CBS’ interview with Adam “Hit Man” Jones on Saturday.

Just citing one example, the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman says there’s plenty of hate spewed at NBC for hiring Matt Millen for the Super Bowl. If you’ve read the stories I’ve linked to, the hate is coming from Detroit (understandably), and nowhere else.

Believe it or not, the voice of reason in the Matt Millen issue is Phil Mushnick of the New York Post.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that Hit Man Jones unsuccessfully tried to play the sympathy card on CBS.

Laura Nachman feels Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia’s newest sportscaster tried a bit too hard on her first day, but says she’ll be fine.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner speaks with Brian Billick about his rookie year in broadcasting.

Jay Adams from the Macon (GA) Telegraph writes that Fox went overboard in praising Florida’s Tim Tebow during the BCS Championship Game.

The Houston Chronicle has a video of the Rockets’ new radio broadcasting team.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has the video and transcript of CBS’ interview with Adam “Hit Man” Jones. But Barry says Hit Man came off a bit more sympathetic on ESPN today.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business has a story on Comcast SportsNet’s new morning show which begins tomorrow.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the 3-D telecast of the BCS Championship Game came off as spotty.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has some words he’d like to 86 from the English language. In his blog, Tom has more words.

The Sports Media Watch gives its weekend ratings predictions.

The Biz of Baseball says YES Network completed 2008 as the most watched regional sports network in the nation.

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com says Cubs fans will have plenty of chances to watch or listen to Spring Training games.

That will do it for now. I hope to get some NFL pregame quotage today. If I do, I’ll make sure to post it.

Videos of the Week – B.J. Fletcher Private Eye

Time for another four episodes of B.J. Fletcher: Private Eye. Last week, I posted the first four episodes of Season 1. Time for four more.

Episode 5 – In the case of “Mr. Christie and his Wandering Aperture”, Fletch (Lindy Zucker) and George (Dana Puddicombe) go undercover at Dominic Christie’s photography studio. Once there they set to work to uncover proof on Marilyn’s cheating husband (Stuart Dowling). Unfortunately for our intrepid investigator, things don’t go quite according to plan.

In episode 6, Fletch sends George undercover at Dominic’s studio. With the help of her good pal Joe Magnum (Karim Morgan) Fletch sets into motion a plan that’s sure to entrap the cheating husband.

To episode 7 in which Fletch while trying to wrap up the case of “Mr. Christie and his Wandering Aperture”, ends up putting her best friend George in harms way when the undercover mission goes awry!

And our last episode for today, “The Little Lost Lesbian: Run, Jenna, Run”, Fletch and her assistant Georgia Drew are drawn into the seedy underbelly of municipal politics when they help a local politician’s wife find her missing daughter. Little does Fletcher know a dark figure from her past will thwart her at every turn!

Next week, the last episodes of Season 1. For more information on B.J. Fletcher: Private Eye, head to the official website.

I Think I Know Who Kills Jenny On The L Word

I’m not going to write it here, but after watching Showtime’s preview of the new and last season of The L Word, I think I know who killed Jenny.

There’s a proposed spinoff of The L Word that could be picked up when the series ends. If you’ve been reading up on your L Word stories in the media, then you know who’s starring in that series. If you don’t know, I’m not going to say it, but it clicked in for me tonight.

Suffice to say the proposed spinoff is going to take place in a prison. Famke Janssen is rumored to star in that spinoff and one of the characters of The L Word is heading to the spinoff to be incarcerated for killing Jenny.

If you’ve read which actress is heading to that series, then put two and two together and you have your killer. I hope I’m wrong, but if the premise of the spinoff is truly in a prison, then Showtime may have inadvertently spoiled the entire season. I hope the character is going to prison for something other than killing Jenny. Anyway, my brain is spinning on something it should not be. That is all.

Quotage from NFL Gameday Morning

Well, it’s 11:10 p.m. ET. The Arizona Cardinals are blowing out the Carolina Panthers. And I guess CBS, ESPN and Fox are not going to send NFL pregame quotage so NFL Network’s NFL Gameday Morning will stand alone today.

Lots of stuff from the two hour show so get ready to scroll.

News and Sound Bites from the Divisional Playoff Saturday Edition of NFL GAMEDAY MORNING

“THE SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR US TO GO PLAY THE BEST 60 MINUTES WE CAN PLAY. IF WE DO THAT, WE’RE A VERY DIFFICULT TEAM TO BEAT.” – Ravens LB Ray Lewis

“I LOVE TO HEAR WHAT I CAN’T DO.” – Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams

“THAT’S THE ULTIMATE GOAL. I’VE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT OF THINGS THAT I’VE SET OUT TO DO, BUT THAT’S THE ONE THING THAT I HAVEN’T ACCOMPLISHED YET AND I’D CERTAINLY LIKE TO GET BACK THERE.” – Titans QB Kerry Collins on winning a Super Bowl title

“THIS IS A SECONDARY THAT HAS MADE A LOT OF INTERCEPTIONS (THIS SEASON) AND HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED ALL WEEK.” – Player correspondent Trent Green on the Titans defense

NFL GameDay Morning is the longest, most comprehensive NFL pregame show on TV airing Saturday at 2:00 PM ET and Sunday at 9:00 AM ET on Divisional Playoff weekend. Warren Sapp, Marshall Faulk and Steve Mariucci alongside hosts Spero Dedes and co-host Alex Flanagan with news reports by Adam Schefter, bring fans the latest news, injury reports, pregame analysis and game previews on NFL Network. Special player correspondents Trent Green and Keith Brooking provided additional analysis from Saturday’s Division Playoff game sites. In addition Ty Law and Antwaan Randle El previewed Sunday’s games.

Warren Sapp 1-on-1 with Ravens LB Ray Lewis: NFL Network’s Warren Sapp sat down with Ravens LB Ray Lewis for a candid discussion on what keeps him at the top of his game after 13 years in the league:

“Rex (Ryan) gives us a lot of flexibility in playing football.” – Lewis on defensive coordinator Rex Ryan

“That’s why a lot of people don’t realize that we play better on the road. We can hear.” – Lewis on the Ravens defense, which receives tremendous crowd support at home making it difficult to hear.

“Rookies only get caught if everything is put on their shoulders. Everything isn’t on his shoulders. I told him, ‘Just go be Joe. We got your back.’” – Lewis on Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco.

“The sky’s the limit for us to go play the best 60 minutes we can play. If we do that, we’re a very difficult team to beat.” – Lewis on the Ravens preparation to win.

“It’s not about the wins and losses. It’s about the opportunity of someone challenging me.” – Lewis on his motivation to play.

“I would never want to go back to my 20s. Never.” – Lewis on embracing being a 13-year veteran in the NFL.

“Every day I see (Ravens Director of Player Development) O.J. Brigance and I say, ‘Wow. You can smile and go through ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and talk about a game.’ There’s nothing I’ll give up, there’s no play I’ll take a break on. If a man can fight for life, then I can go out and fight for a game.” – Lewis on his perspective and motivation.

Marshall Faulk sits down with Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams: NFL Network’s Marshall Faulk sat down with Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams to discuss his playing style, the success of the Panthers two-back system with Jonathan Stewart and sharing the company of NFL legend Jim Brown.

“I can’t do the spin moves that Barry (Sanders) did and break guys down. I don’t have the hips that you did (Marshall). I just took the simpler things that each one of you guys had and use it to my advantage.” – Williams on being compared to Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk

“All year I’ve been hit with ‘he’s too small to be an every-down back’ or ‘he’s not strong enough in the passing game to hold up; he’s a third down back.’ I just use that as motivation because I love to hear what I can’t do.” – Williams on what motivates him.

“I know you’re going to ask about Jonathan Stewart being drafted as the 13^th pick, so after they drafted him, I thought, ‘I’m going to do the same thing that DeShaun did to me. I’m going to welcome him in with open arms and work with him and we’re going to make this thing work.’” – Williams on the Panthers acquisition of Jonathan Stewart.

“I guess it’s patience. It gives you an extra set of eyes out there. That’s what I really like about Jonathan – we talk all the time.” – Williams on the advantages of a two-back system with Stewart.

“I just want to win. Whatever it takes to win. If I need to fill water bottles and we win, I’ll fill water bottles.” – Williams on his desire to win.

“I didn’t know about it until a couple of people mentioned it. I don’t really keep up with stats. My mom said something, although she didn’t really know what was going on. She said, ‘so you’re hanging out with Jim Brown?’” – Williams on being mentioned in the same conversation as Jim Brown.

Jennifer Allen sits down with Titans QB Kerry Collins: NFL Network’s Jennifer Allen sits down with Titans QB Kerry Collins to discuss the ups and downs of his career that have brought him full circle:

“I had to check the football player at the door and work on me as a person. Obviously I had some issues I needed to address and I think I did.” – Kerry Collins on his stint in a rehabilitation clinic.

“I opened the door for him to blame other people and blame circumstances, but he didn’t do that. He accepted responsibility for everything.” – Former Giants head coach Jim Fassel on bringing Kerry Collins to New York in 1999.

“I have been able to learn from my mistakes.” – Collins on the ups and downs early in his career.

“I am more confident because of the things I’ve gone through.” – Collins on his success this year.

“That’s the ultimate goal. I’ve accomplished a lot of things that I’ve set out to do, but that’s the one thing that I haven’t accomplished yet and I’d certainly like to get back there.” – Collins on winning a Super Bowl title.

Schefter’s News Reports:

· Former Lions head coach Rod Marinelli agreed to become the assistant head coach/defensive line of the Chicago Bears. In Chicago, Marinelli will be reunited with his former roommate in Tampa Bay, Bears head coach Lovie Smith. While there is excitement in Chicago, there is disappointment in Seattle and Houston, which also had interest in hiring Marinelli.

• Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan garnering a lot of attention for vacant coaching spots. Schwartz is a viable candidate for the Detroit Lions job and Ryan is expected to interview for the St. Louis Rams head coaching position Friday. The New York Jets also are looking to speak with Ryan as soon as possible.

• The Kansas City Chiefs have done a great job of keeping things very quiet in regards to their General Manager search. The Chiefs have interviewed at least six candidates for the position and Patriots VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli is the headliner. The talks between the Chiefs and Pioli are still going on, but nothing is immediate. The Chiefs have also spoken to former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist, Floyd Reese, Marty Schottenheimer and Jimmy Raye.

• On Thursday, Broncos COO Joe Ellis spent 5 ½ hours with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in Massachusetts. This is the second interview for McDaniels with the Broncos, who are narrowing down their list and McDaniels is near or at the top. Denver should have a decision by early next week.

• This could be the final game for RB Edgerrin James with the Arizona Cardinals. If the Cardinals release James during the offseason, which he has requested, it will free up $5 million worth of salary cap room for Arizona. Speaking of money, this is the million-dollar game for QB Kurt Warner. Warner had an incentive in his contract that if he got the Cardinals to the Divisional Playoffs, he would get $1 million.

• Gus Bradley, the Buccaneers former linebackers coach, will be named Seattle’s new defensive coordinator, a league source said Saturday. Seattle also had spoken with former Lions coach Rod Marinelli, but he agreed Saturday to become Chicago’s assistant head coach/defensive line.

Quotes from NFL GameDay Morning:

“Philadelphia at the Giants is the most evenly match contest of the weekend…these are two teams that are built for the Playoffs.” – Steve Mariucci on Eagles vs. Giants.

“Philadelphia has to come into this game with a lot of confidence…they know (the Giants).” – Warren Sapp on Eagles vs. Giants.

“When you can run the football, you can play-action, and when you can play-action with Kurt Warner, you can get the ball down the field.” – Marshall Faulk on the Arizona Cardinals offense.

“Very quietly Steve Breaston is becoming one heck of a player.” – Steve Mariucci on the Cardinals second year WR.

“It’s the maturation of a man and a process that this league can do for you…He can lead my team, I’ll put him on my team. I got to spend some time with him in Oakland and he’s an absolute treasure to have on your ball club.” – Sapp on Kerry Collins.

“The guy is a survivor and maybe this example of him fighting through can be an example for Vince Young, who was also a high draft pick and has had some ups and downs in his life.” – Mariucci on what Kerry Collins can do for Vince Young.

“It’s amazing how they become so offensive minded when they get a turnover on defense.” –

Faulk on Ravens defensive players picking up return yards and scoring touchdowns after a takeaway.

“This is a secondary that has made a lot of interceptions (this season) and has been overlooked all week.” – Player correspondent Trent Green on the Titans defense.

“The four man defensive line pressure – That’s why Tennessee is an awesome defensive team.” – Mariucci on the Titans defense.

“Their defense is much better with Ron Rivera calling the plays.” – Faulk on the Chargers defense.

“It’s not just the plays he makes in the passing game, but the physicality he brings as a run-blocker. He’s a warrior.” – Player correspondent Keith Brooking on Panthers WR Mushin Muhammad being the ex-factor against the Cardinals.

“Steve Smith may be the most complete wide receiver in the National Football League.” – Mariucci on the Panthers WR.

“He believes he can make every throw. You’ll never see the ball thrown out of bounds with Kurt Warner in the game.” – Faulk on Cardinals QB Kurt Warner.

“He throws one of the best deep balls in the game.” – Sapp on Titans QB Kerry Collins.

“Joe Flacco will be the first rookie to win two playoff games.” – Faulk

Sunday’s Divisional Playoff edition of NFL GameDay Morning expands to 4 ½ hours starting at 9:00 AM ET for a recap of Saturday’s games and a preview of Sunday’s matchups that will determine this season’s Championship Sunday matchups. NFL GameDay Morning Sunday includes Kara Henderson’s discussion with Giants RB Brandon Jacobs and analysis from special player correspondents Ty Law and Antwaan Randle El.

– NFL NETWORK –

There you have it . Many of you don’t have NFL Network so enjoy the reading.