Fang's Bites

Nominees for 6th Annual Fang’s Bites NFL TV Awards

Merry Christmas! Happy to provide you with the nominees for this year’s NFL TV Awards. Last year’s nominees ended up this way.

And later, this was the result for the 2011 season.

Let’s take a look at the nominees in each category.

Best Play-by-Play: Ian Eagle (CBS), Kevin Harlan (CBS), Al Michaels (NBC), Brad Nessler (NFL Network), Mike Tirico (ESPN)

Best Game Analyst: Troy Aikman (Fox), Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Dan Fouts (CBS), Rich Gannon (CBS), Mike Mayock (NFL Network)

Best Sunday NFL Pregame Show: First on the Field (NFL Network), Fox NFL Sunday (Fox), NFL Matchup (ESPN), NFL Today (CBS)

Best Studio Show, Daily or Weekly: Around the League Live (NFL Network), Inside the NFL (Showtime), NFL Live (ESPN), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), NFL Turning Point (NBC Sports Network)

Best Highlights: Football Night in America (NBC), NFL GameDay Final (NFL Network), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), The OT (Fox)

Best Studio Host: Rich Eisen (NFL Network), Curt Menefee (Fox), Dan Patrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network), Melissa Stark (NFL Network), Andrew Siciliano (DirecTV), Trey Wingo (ESPN)

Best Studio Analyst: Tony Dungy (NBC), Boomer Esiason (CBS), Marshall Faulk (NFL Network), Rodney Harrison (NBC), Kurt Warner (NFL Network), Steve Young (ESPN)

Most Valuable Network: Fox, ESPN, NBC, NFL Network

Best NFL Insider: John Clayton (ESPN), Jay Glazer (Fox), Peter King (NBC),  Jason La Canfora (CBS), Chris Mortensen (ESPN)

Best Sideline Reporter: Alex Flanagan (NFL Network), Jennifer Hale (Fox), Jaime Maggio (Fox), Lisa Salters (ESPN), Michele Tafoya (NBC)

Best Announcing Team: Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts (CBS), Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots (CBS), Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Brad Nessler/Mike Mayock (NFL Network), Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden (ESPN)

Best Game Production: Monday Night Football (ESPN), NFL on CBS (CBS), NFL on Fox (Fox), Sunday Night Football (NBC), Thursday Night Football (NFL Network)

Best Debut: Carolyn Manno on Football Night in America (NBC), First on the Field (NFL Network), Amber Theoharis on NFL Total Access (NFL Network), Hines Ward on Football Night in America (NBC)

Worst Play-by-Play: Chris Berman (ESPN), Thom Brennaman (Fox), Chris Myers (Fox), Ron Pitts (Fox), Dick Stockton (Fox)

Worst Game Analyst: Dan Dierdorf (CBS), Daryl Johnston (Fox), John Lynch (Fox), Mike Martz (Fox)

Worst Studio Host: Chris Berman (ESPN), Chris Rose (NFL Network)

Worst Studio Analyst: Michael Irvin (NFL Network), Eric Mangini (ESPN)

Fox Sports To Air UEFA Champions League Final on May 19

Coming next Saturday, Fox Sports and Fox Deportes will air the UEFA Champions League Final live from Munich, Germany.

Bayern Munich from Germany’s Bundesliga and Chelsea from the English Premier League face off in the Final to be played at Bayern’s home field, the first time that’s ever happened in CL history.

Fox Sports will air the match starting at 2 p.m. Curt Menefee will be the event host and set the scene in Munich. Rob Stone will be the on-site studio host and will be joined by Eric Wynalda and Brad Friedel. Martin Tyler and Gary Neville will call the match.

We have the details from Fox Sports.

FOX SPORTS & FOX DEPORTES TO TELEVISE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Bayern Munich & Chelsea FC Square-Off in Munich for World’s Most-Coveted Club Soccer Prize on May 19
Viewership Has Increased 10-Fold in 10 Years

Los Angeles – Only two teams and one game remain in the 2012 UEFA Champions League, the world’s most-watched elite club soccer tournament. On the grandest stage of European soccer, German club Bayern Munich and England’s Chelsea FC face off inside UEFA Fußball Arena Munchen on Saturday, May 19 in Munich, Germany. Bayern has the advantage of being the first team to play a UEFA Champions League Final in its home stadium, while Chelsea is on a quest to capture its first European Cup. For the third consecutive year, FOX Sports is broadcasting this showcase event live, with coverage beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Live from Munich, FOX Sports’ Curt Menefee serves as event host, with FOX Soccer’s Rob Stone hosting on-site studio coverage. FOX Soccer analyst and American National Soccer Hall of Famer Eric Wynalda joins Tottenham goalkeeper and former United States National Team player Brad Friedel for pre-game, halftime and post-match analysis. Legendary Sky Sports play-by-play announcer Martin Tyler calls the match with analysis from former Manchester United defender Gary Neville.

FOX Soccer’s pre-game coverage begins at 1:00 PM ET preceding FOX Sports’ over-the-air programming. FOX Deportes is carrying the match live in Spanish, and FOX Soccer re-airs the match at 8:00 PM ET on Saturday night with FOX Soccer Plus doing the same at 5:00 PM ET on Sunday, May 20.

After a week of lead-up programming, FOX Deportes, the nation’s leading Spanish-language sports cable network, begins its coverage on May 19 at 1 PM ET with UCL Final Preview, live from Munich.  Match coverage begins at 2:30 PM ET, followed by the post-match celebration at 5:00 PM ET on Lo Mejor de la UCL.  At 5:30 PM ET, FOX Deportes airs La Ultima Palabra, a special one-hour postgame show live followed later on by an encore match presentation at 10:30 PM ET.  Manning FOX Deportes’ Los Angeles studio are Mauricio Cardenas and Bruno Vain.  John Laguna, Christian Bozzo and Daniel Brailovsky are on-site in Munich with reporters Nelson Vignolles and Alejandro Blanco.

U.S. viewership of the UEFA Champions League Final has exploded in recent years. 2011 was the seventh straight year that English-language viewing increased in the U.S.  Over the last 10 years, the audience has increased almost 10-fold, from 264,000 viewers on ESPN in 2002 to 2.6 million on FOX in 2011.

The 2011 Champions League Final is the highest-rated and most watched in U.S. history.  FSMG’s coverage on FOX (1.4 HH rating, 2.6 million viewers) and FOX Deportes (0.7 HH rating, 1.6 million viewers) combined to generate a 2.1 household rating and 6 share, drawing an audience of 4.2 million viewers nationally, dwarfing the ratings and audience of 2010 by +75% (1.2) and +91% (2.2 million), respectively.  Significantly, the 2011 match on FOX and FOX Deportes also bettered the 2009 match, which featured the same Barcelona and Manchester United clubs, by +62% on rating (2.1 vs. 1.3) and +24% on viewership (4.2 million vs. 2.1 million).

Completing one of the most stunning comebacks in UEFA Champions League history, Chelsea is riding significant momentum into Munich after knocking out reigning champion FC Barcelona. After falling behind 2-0 on the road in its second-leg clash with the Catalans, Chelsea stormed back to secure a 2-2 draw, allowing the Blues to advance to the Final 3-2 on aggregate. Remarkably, Chelsea pulled off this feat down a man, after captain John Terry was red carded in the first half. In order to hoist the famed Champions League trophy, Chelsea will have to defeat Bayern without Terry and suspended teammates Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles. This is Chelsea’s first Final since 2008, when the Blues lost to Manchester United.

Bayern Munich returns home to Bavaria and has the support of is home fans in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final. The club already has four European Cups/Champions League titles to its name, having last won the competition in 2001. Managed by Jupp Heynckes, Bayern advances to the tournament’s final stage after defeating Real Madrid on penalties in the second-leg of the semifinals. Bolstered by wingers Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery, the German side has one of the most potent attacks in Europe. Bayern forward Mario Gomez is the second leading scorer in this year’s Champions League (12).

There you have it.

Sports Media Weekly Podcast No. 85 — Best of 2011 Featuring James Andrew Miller, Michelle Beadle, Ian Eagle & Curt Menefee

This is a special Year-in-Review podcast. Keith Thibault and I look back at some of our best interviews from 2011. Over the past year, we interviewed quite a few guests and some heavy hitters in the Sports Media world.

Keith and I chose four of the best podcasts and some are run again in their entirety, others we join in progress.

For this podcast, we chose interviews with James Andrew Miller, co-author of the book, “Those Guys Have All Fun: Inside the World of ESPN”; Michelle Beadle, co-host of ESPN2′s SportsNation; Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee; and Ian Eagle from CBS Sports/Tennis Channel and YES Network.

Give a listen and go back in time as Keith and I interview our guests regarding the issues that were prevalent at the time of each podcast.

Download it at iTunes or find the podcast

Fox Announces Plans For First UFC Broadcast

The first UFC on Fox telecast comes up this Saturday as the network airs the UFC Heavyweight Championship between champion Cain Valasquez and challenger Junior dos Santos. This will not just involve the main Fox mothership, but the networks under the Fox Sports Media Group umbrella, Fuel TV, Fox Deportes and Fox Sports Radio.

Fuel TV will have pre and postfight programming hosted by Jay Glazer with UFC fighters Kenny Florian and Stephan Bonnar as analysts.

On Fox, Curt Menefee will be the host and will be joined by UFC President Dana White and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Then when the fight begins, the familiar UFC announcing crew of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan will call the action.

We have Fox’s broadcast plans and schedules for its networks.

BELL SOUNDS FOR UFC ON FOX

FOX Sports Broadcasts Heavyweight Championship: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Live in Primetime on Nov. 12
FUEL TV Kicks-off Four and a Half Hours of Fight Coverage Nov. 11; Network Offers Live Prefight & Post-fight Specials
FOX Deportes, FOXSports.com on MSN & FOX Sports Radio also Blanket Event

New York — No doubt about it: FOX Sports, FUEL TV, FOX Deportes, FOXSports.com on MSN and FOX Sports Radio all come out swinging for the inaugural event of the new landmark agreement between Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC) and FOX Sports Media Group.

Two of UFC’s brightest stars battle in a highly-anticipated heavyweight championship bout as current title holder Cain Velasquez (UFC 7-0) steps into the Octagon with No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos (UFC 7-0). FOX Sports presents its coverage of the main event in a one hour prime time special: UFC ON FOX: LIVE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT – VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS, Saturday, Nov. 12 (9:00-10:00 PM ET) from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. This historic presentation marks the first UFC event ever televised by a broadcast television network.

For FOX Sports’ live coverage of the Velasquez-Dos Santos bout, UFC President Dana White joins FOX Sports’ versatile host Curt Menefee to welcome viewers to the network’s coverage and set the scene, bringing fans all the sights and sounds of this historic event. Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who Velasquez beat for the title a year ago, joins FOX Sports’ prefight coverage as an analyst, while UFC commentator Joe Rogan provides interviews as the final prefight moments count down. Once the battle begins, Rogan and long-time UFC announcer Mike Goldberg have the call.

In the lead-up to the main event on FOX, FUEL TV inaugurates its unprecedented UFC programming with four and a half hours of Velasquez-Dos Santos coverage beginning Friday, Nov. 11 (7:00-7:30 PM ET), with UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN LIVE.

Come fight night on Nov. 12, FUEL TV re-airs UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN LIVE (5:30-6:00 PM ET) and UFC PRIMETIME, a multi-dimensional look at the two fighters that first aired on FOX (6:00-7:00 PM ET). FUEL TV’s live programming sandwiches FOX’s live fight coverage, beginning with UFC ON FUEL TV: VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS PREFIGHT SPECIAL LIVE (7:00-9:00 PM ET) hosted by Jay Glazer, with UFC title contender Kenny Florian serving as an analyst and UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar reporting backstage and interviewing fighters in attendance. The prefight special features an amazing champions’ roundtable including current champion Jon “Bones” Jones and former champs Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Frank Mir discussing the fight. In addition, Nicole Dabeau, host of FUEL TV’s weekly news show ACTION SPORTS PLUS, provides exclusive interviews from the red carpet as the athlete and celebrity turnout for the fight and gala post-fight party is expected to be stellar.

Glazer, Florian and Bonnar are back analyzing the outcome of the most historic fight in UFC history at 10:00 PM ET during UFC ON FUEL TV: VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS POST-FIGHT SPECIAL LIVE (10:00-11:00 PM ET). The hour-long special features live interviews with the fighters, plus coverage of the post-fight press conference.

FOX Deportes, the nation’s No. 1 Spanish-language sports network, is no stranger to UFC programming.  In the run up to Velasquez-Dos Santos, FOX Deportes airs the third and final installment of CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE on Friday, Nov. 11 (7:00-8:00 PM ET). On Nov. 12, the network re-airs all three episodes of CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE from 3:00-6:00 PM ET, followed by UFC LO MEJOR (Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar) from 6:00-7:00 PM ET.  FOX Deportes carries several preliminary fights, including Clay Guida vs. Benson Henderson and Dustin Poirier vs. Pablo Garza, live from 7:00-9:00 PM ET, followed by the main event, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos live from 9:00-10:00 PM ET. Rodrigo Arana, Mario Delgado and Troy Santiago call the action.

In addition to television coverage provided by FOX Sports, FUEL TV and FOX Deportes, FOXSports.com plans to live stream the press conference on Wednesday, Thursday’s open workout, Friday’s weigh-in and the nine undercard bouts that precede the Velasquez-Dos Santos showdown on Nov. 12. Editorially, in the days leading up to the bout the site plans: a profile on UFC maestro Dana White by Bill Reiter; a story on the role of religion in fighting; how UFC training has helped several NFL players; profiles on Velasquez and Dos Santos; and more.

FOX Sports Radio airs five hours of live coverage on fight night, Nov. 12, starting with prefight analysis and interviews from the red carpet at 8:00 PM ET and highlighted by a simulcast of the fight from 9:00-10:00 PM ET. The fight is followed by a three-hour post-fight interviews and call-in show with host Larry Pepe from 10:00-1:00 AM ET. During fight week, FOX Sports Radio also covers Wednesday’s press conference and Friday’s weigh-in, as well as interviews from top UFC fighters.

** FULL TELEVISION SCHEDULE

DATE	TIME	EVENT	NET
Friday, Nov. 11	7:00 PM ET	UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN LIVE	FUEL TV
Friday, Nov. 11	7:00 PM ET	CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 3	FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12	3:00 PM ET	CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 1	FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12	4:00 PM ET	CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 2	FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12	5:00 PM ET	CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 3	FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12	5:30 PM ET	UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN (re-air)	FUEL TV
Saturday, Nov. 12	6:00 PM ET	UFC Primetime (re-air)	FUEL TV
Saturday, Nov. 12	6:00 PM ET	UFC LO MEJOR (Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar)	FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12	7:00 PM ET	Preliminary Fights	FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12	7:00 PM ET	VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS PREFIGHT SPECIAL LIVE	FUEL TV
Saturday, Nov. 12	9:00 PM ET	UFC ON FOX HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT – VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS	FOX
Saturday, Nov. 12	10:00 PM ET	UFC ON FUEL TV: VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS POSTFIGHT SPECIAL LIVE	FUEL TV

That will do it.

Fox Sports Wraps Up The NFL Preseason Tonight & Tomorrow

Fox Sports will be finished after Friday. It airs a double dose of games tonight and tomorrow with the Philadelphia Eagles traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the defending AFC Champ Steelers. Tonight’s game will be called by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Terry Bradshaw will join Buck and Aikman in the booth for some added analysis. Fox NFL Sunday’s Curt Menefee will also be on hand to host the pregame, halftime and postgame festivities.

And on Friday, Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa will be live from Jacksonville as the Jaguars host the Atlanta Falcons. Curt will head South and be joined by fellow NFL on Fox co-horts Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson. And both Strahan and Johnson will join Kenny and “Moose” in the booth while “Goose” will be on the field.

We have the particulars from Fox Sports as well as some added comments.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

NFL Preseason Action on FOX
Pereira on FOXSports.com’s ‘BarFly’: 8^th Official Would Be a Waste

NFL ON FOX CONCLUDES PRESEASON: EAGLES @ STEELERS & FALCONS @ JAGUARS – FOX Sports finishes its preparations for the 2011 season with two preseason clashes. On Thursday, August 18 (8:00 PM ET) the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. The broadcast team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and reporter Pam Oliver will be joined in the booth by FOX NFL SUNDAY co-host Terry Bradshaw. FOX NFL SUNDAY co-host Curt Menefee welcomes fans live from Heinz Field. Bradshaw & Menefee handle pregame, halftime and postgame coverage.

FOX Sports’ final preseason matchup takes place from EverBank Field in Jacksonville on Friday, August 19 (8:00 PM ET) as the Jaguars faceoff against the Atlanta Falcons. Play-by-play broadcaster Kenny Albert, analyst Daryl Johnston and on-field analyst Tony Siragusa will be joined in the booth by FOX NFL SUNDAY analysts Michael Strahan & Jimmy Johnson. FOX NFL SUNDAY host Curt Menefee welcomes fans live from Jacksonville. Menefee handles pregame, halftime and postgame coverage.

For instant updates during the week from the entire NFL on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NFLONFOX.

PEREIRA: 8^TH OFFICIAL WOULD BE A WASTE – During the 2011 preseason, the NFL has been experimenting with an 8th official on the field during game action. NFL on FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira doesn’t feel adding another official is necessary. “I don’t think it changes the game for the good,” said Pereira appearing on FOXSports.com’s ‘BarFly’ hosted by Mark Kriegel.  Pereira estimates that it would cost the league $1.7 million and thinks they could spend the money more wisely. “They changed to a 7th official in 1978 so we’re talking 33 years ago.  A 7th official was a great change because you had five perimeter officials to cover the five eligible receivers.” Pereira feels that this added official will add to more penalties called and make the games last longer.

For Pereira’s complete interview on FOXSports.com’s ‘BarFly’ click here:  http://tinyurl.com/67fgpyw

FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM TOURS COUNTRY – FOX College Football play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, analyst Charles Davis and sideline analyst Tim Brewster are touring a dozen campuses nationwide, bringing fans a unique 24/7, behind-the-scenes look at schools they will be covering this season.  The tour kicked off at Nevada and continues at Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Arizona State, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma and Tulsa. For updates from the road, follow FOX College Football on Twitter @CFBONFOX as well as Charles Davis @CFD22.

For the full FOX College Tour schedule and to view player and coach interviews as well as video highlights from each school, visit http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/FOX-College-Football-Tour-2011-081511

That concludes this post.

Sports Media Weekly Podcast No. 65 — Curt Menefee, Fox NFL Sunday

Ah, another podcast where we get another heavy hitter in the world of sports media. Our guest this week is Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee.

Before we get to Curt, Keith Thibault of Sports Media Journal and I discussed the news of the week. We talked about the end of the NFL lockout and it being overhyped by the media as we never really lost football during that time period.

We also talked about the Pac-12 establishing six regional networks and one national network with the help of a consortium of four cable providers, Bright House, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. We also looked at what this means for college sports.

Keith and I also talked about the one year mark to the 2012 Olympics and previewed who we could see when NBC begins its coverage in London on July 27, 2012.

Then we discussed 20th Century Fox optioning a script for the ESPN book and speculated who could play Erin Andrews (Scarlett Johansson, yes?).

With Curt Menefee, we pointed out that it was his sixth year on Fox NFL Sunday, fifth as solo host. We also talked the end of the NFL lockout and how Fox didn’t have to do any reporting on it while ESPN and NFL Network staked out the entire story.

In addition, we discussed his love for soccer and hosting the Champions League Final for the last two years. I also asked Curt about his refusal to wear socks in warm weather cities and we also brought up his recent foray into Twitter. By the way, Curt’s account was just verified so he got the Twitter checkmark rather quickly.

I enjoyed listening to Curt and I think you will too. You can subscribe to the Sports Media Weekly podcast by going to iTunes and searching for “Sports Media Journal.” Or you can go