Fang's Bites

Doing Some Tuesday Linkage

I was expecting to be out of the office today, but with the temperatures over 90 in Southern New England, being inside with air conditioning is probably the way to go today. I hope wherever you are, you’re staying cool and away from the sun.

I have some links.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says the BBC is defending the size of its staff devoted to covering the London Olympics pointing out that NBC is bringing almost four times BBC’s number.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes that ESPN has hired an internationally-known soccer journalist to bolster its website.

Tim says Golf Channel has made a couple of hires.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable writes that the Pac-12 Networks have selected Cisco to distribute video throughout its systems.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says a US-based martial arts network is attempting to gain a foothold in Europe.

Gabriel Belton of Adweek looks at a new Olympics-themed ad from GlaxoSmithKline.

Rupal Parekh at Advertising Age says Ralph Lauren is taking a huge PR hit over its “Made in Communist China” US Olympic Opening Ceremony uniforms.

Michelle Smith of espnW profiles Lydia Murphy-Stephens who’s helping to launch the Pac-12 Networks.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin notes that NBC’s Today Show ran video of the wrong man during an interview with Philadelphia Eagles’  quarterback Michael Vick.

John Koblin of Deadspin says Sports Illustrated will not run an excerpt of Joe Posnanski’s upcoming book on Joe Paterno.

Ed Sherman in The Sherman Report says a promotional video for Posnanski’s book seems to be seriously outdated in the wake of the Freeh Report released last week.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing explores whether Baseball Night in America was a ratings success for Fox.

Matt Yoder of AA talks with ESPN tome author James Andrew Miller in a podcast.

And Matt speaks with Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel about Penn State and the BCS in a new podcast.

How about one more podcast? Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina interviews Fox’s Erin Andrews on why she left ESPN.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy explores whether the NHL’s new TV deals with NBC and HBO could prevent a prolonged lockout unlike the last one which wiped out an entire season.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says the Freeh Report shows that journalists cannot take a college football program at face value.

Also at the National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley blasts ESPN and Big Ten Network for their coverage of the Freeh Report.

Sports Video Group looks at a company that is streaming the Olympics to 70 countries worldwide.

Cork Gaines of the Business Insider Sports Page says ESPN actually censored its own Body Issue cover of New England  Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski this morning.

Newsday’s Neil Best ventures into NBC’s “Billion Dollar Lab” for the 2012 Olympics.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes that WFAN’s Mike Francesa tops the Talkers Magazine Heavy Hundred Sports Radio Talk Show Hosts.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty discusses Golf Channel’s new hires.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says the NFL is pricing out the regular fan.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning News says a former Eagles and Steelers offensive lineman is now working for NFL Films.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is telling readers that Taylor Teagarden’s inadvertent “S” bomb after the Orioles win over Detroit on Fox Saturday is not a big deal.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog looks at where the local sports radio talkers rank on Talkers Heavy Hundred List.

Dan has video of a new Robert Griffin III commercial.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner explores the Nationals’ TV and radio ratings.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that native Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be profiled on HBO’s Real Sports tonight.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has video of Charlie Sheen appearing with Joe Morgan (?) on Jay Leno’s Show of Hacks.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue included a local Olympic volleyballer.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Chris Scott says the site’s own online TV service will be live from the Del Mar Racetrack this week for Opening Day.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that the White House had trouble transcribing ESPN’s Mark Jones’ interview of President Obama during last night’s USA vs. Brazil pre-Olympic basketball exhibition game.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says NHL fans may not see hockey until at least Thanksgiving at the earliest.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

That’s going to end the links for today.

On NBC’s Football Night in America, Bob Costas Interviews Michael Vick

Before tonight’s primetime NFL game between Philadelphia and Atlanta, NBC’s Football Night in America features a Bob Costas interview with Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. As you’re aware, Vick played in Atlanta before being convicted on federal charges of dog fighting. Costas and Vick don’t discuss that issue at least in the excerpt we have here, but they do address Vick’s time in Atlanta. Here’s the press release from NBC Sports.

BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS MICHAEL VICK

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” PREVIEW – WEEK 2
The game still seems hard to me.” – Michael Vick to Bob Costas
“Sometimes I have to go back and watch what I do.” – Vick to Costas on his athleticism

NEW YORK – September 18, 2011 – Bob Costas interviewed Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick for tonight’s Week 2 edition of Football Night in America, which will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to Week 2’s afternoon games, as well as a feature on Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET with Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. In addition to his interviews, Costas is joined on site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst) for reaction to the afternoon games.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com. Alex Flanagan will report from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on the Chargers-Patriots game.

Last week, Football Night drew 10.6 million viewers and a household rating of 6.4/11 (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET), up 15 percent and 19 percent, respectively, from last year’s opening Sunday night. The Adult 18-49 demo was a 4.3, up 26 percent from last year’s Week 1.

INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interview with Vick.

Costas on when a play breaks down and Vick uses his athletic ability: What’s happening there?
Vick: “This may sound crazy to everybody, but sometimes I have to go back and watch what I do. It happens so instinctively. I’ve been blessed with abilities that very few are blessed with. I’m thankful for that…The game still seems hard to me so I think that’s a good thing because it will keep me striving to be my best.”

Costas: How are things different for you even from a year ago?
Vick: “More settled…Basically, content…Just happy…(I’m) willing to put in the work now. I see things from a different perspective. That has definitely helped me to become the person that I want to become.”

Costas: You’ve mentioned that you feel like you let the Falcons down regarding preparation.
Vick: “The way I work now, as far as preparation, if did it back then and put forth the effort, things probably would have been different. (I) wish I could have done more. You can’t turn back the hands of time. You can only move forward.”

And the next post will be NBC’s Football Night in America quotage sometime tonight.

A Pre-Hurricane Friday Megalinks Edition

As the Northeast battens down the hatches for the impending hit of Hurricane Irene this weekend and it’s not a matter of if it’s coming, but when, I’ll probably won’t be blogging much over the next few days. I’ll do my best as long as I have power, but disaster preparation will be high on the priorities the next two days.

For those of you looking for a diversion from Hurricane Irene coverage either on the Weather Channel or local news, I do have the sports and entertainment listings in the Weekend Viewing Picks. If you’re in the projected path or far from it, this will help you find the program you’re looking for.

Let’s get to the links.

National

Bob Velin of USA Today says Floyd “Money” Mayweather is ready for his HBO close-up again as he takes part in another edition of 24/7.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy says ESPN golf analyst Paul Azinger took a jab at President Obama for playing golf on his vacation while people are out of work.

Mike McCarthy and Michael Hiestand debate the validity of the Longhorn Network.

Sean Gregory of Time says ESPN The Magazine’s story making Michael Vick a white man was wrong on several accounts.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic has secured the rights to ACC sports including football and basketball.

Multichannel News says soccer-centric Gol TV will air the start of Spain’s La Liga following the resolution of a player’s strike this week.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes that MSG Varsity will produce local editions of its High School SportsDesk program.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid reports that sports media site SportsNewser will be closing up shop at the end of this month. Sad to see. The site was a very good resource for Fang’s Bites. Marcus Vanderberg and Cam Martin from SportsNewser have become good friends and I hope they land on their feet soon.

Wayne Friedman at MediaPost says the New York Jets have become an innovator in their use of social media.

Joe Favorito looks at how sports marketing powerhouse IMG redefined itself into a marketer for college sports.

John Daly in his Daly Planet blog says Hurricane Irene coverage on several local ABC stations may put a crimp for fans who want to watch NASCAR on Saturday.

EPL Talk reports that Fox will air some English Premier League matches including the Chelsea-Manchester United rivalry game live on Super Bowl Sunday.

Sports Business Daily looks at the probability of EPL games airing on Fox.

The Big Lead takes a look at ESPN’s plans for its annual all-day and all-night College Basketball Marathon coming in November.

Brady Green at Awful Announcing notes that Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis did a stab at play-by-play in last night’s game against the DC NFL team.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe notes that fantasy sports can no longer be ignored by the mainstream media and he adds that Friend of Fang’s Bites Jen Royle is a candidate to fill one of three potential vacancies at NESN.

At SBNation Boston, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch wonders which reporter is apologizing for Patriots defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Entourage tapped New York Giants owner Steve Tisch for an appearance on the HBO show.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is back from a brief vacation to hate everything in his path.

Justin Terranova of the Post speaks with CBS’ Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason on what they expect from New York’s NFL quarterbacks this season.

Justin has five questions for ESPN2 tennis analyst Brad Gilbert on the U.S. Open.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says due to Hurricane Irene, the Jets and Giants have moved the starting time of their NFL exhibition game to Saturday afternoon.

Pete says Marv Albert is happy to be calling NFL games on television once again.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says Capital Region fans will have two opportunities to see the Jets-Giants on Saturday.

Ken talks with Versus horse racing host Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes about a former area high school athlete who’s doing overnight updates for WFAN in New York.

Richard Rys of Philadelphia Magazine blasts ESPN for airing every game ofthe Little League World Series.

Childs Walker, Jeff Zrebiec and Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Sun says Mike Flanagan’s friends including MASN’s Gary Thorne are still coming to grips with his death.

David Zurawik of the Sun writes that WBAL-TV is standing by its report as to why Flanagan took his own life.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that an original Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic personality said goodbye last night.

Dan has the debut Geico spot featuring DC NFL Team linebacker Brian Orakpo.

Dan says last night’s Washington-Baltimore NFL preseason game set a ratings record in the nation’s capital.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will split its feed to air pregame shows of both the Baltimore Ravens and DC NFL Team during weeks when they’re programmed simultaneously.

South

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that while Verizon FiOS signed to carry the Longhorn Network, it won’t have tonight’s launch on its system.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Longhorn Network is having less than an auspicious launch.

David says despite the low viewership numbers at the start, the Longhorn Network’s staff remains upbeat about its future.

Gary Dinges of the Austin American-Statesman says most Texas fans will probably miss tonight’s Longhorn Network launch barring some miracle cable and satellite pickups.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman also writes about the Longhorn Network’s launch.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Time Warner Cable will air a slate of high school football games this fall.

Kyle Neddenriep of the Indianapolis Star notes that ESPN is in town to air a couple of high school football games this weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says NBC is going all out for the NFL regular season opener between the Saints and the Packers.

Ed Sherman has his winners and losers in sports business and media.

Paul Christan at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says don’t confuse NFL Network with DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package.

Paul says the Minnesota Vikings without Brett Favre this season won’t be primetime darlings this season.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says don’t confuse BYUtv with the Longhorn Network.

John Maffei of the North County Times says if the NFL wants a Los Angeles franchise, it shouldn’t poach the Chargers.

T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times tells fans to stay home and watch the games on TV.

T.J. can’t believe the Dodgers are asking fans to evaluate Vin Scully’s performance as a broadcaster.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that Fox Sports West will air one high school football game a week and stream a whole host of them online.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says buyer beware when it comes to Twitter.

That will do it for today. Be safe wherever you are this weekend.

Doing Some Thursday Linkage

Let’s provide links while I can. Trying not to make this a week where links are scarce. Let’s get this done.

First, Jessica E. Vascellaro and Darren Everson of the Wall Street Journal look at how infusions of TV rights money has changed college sports not necessarily for the better.

John Ourand at Sports Business Daily notes that Longhorn Network has picked up its first major cable provider just ahead of Friday’s launch.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable also writes about Longhorn Network’s carriage deal.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News looks at Fox Soccer signing a multiyear deal for the UEFA Europa League.

Emma Bazilian of Adweek says the Bleacher Report has raised $22 million in capital for future expansion of the site.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine explores the rich naming rights deal involving MetLife and the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Dave Kindred at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says there are not that many differences between “New School” and “Old School” writers.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says the operator of an illegal sports video streaming site was arrested by the Feds yesterday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell feels Danica Patrick’s popularity has hit the wall.

Dashiell Bennett of the Business Insider’s Sports Page notes that ESPN put up a controversial rendering (now since taken down) of Michael Vick as a white man.

Robert Littal of Black Sports Online has a problem with ESPN’s premise of making Vick a white man.

At ESPN Front Row, PR maven Mike Soltys informs us that the Alleged Worldwide Leader has revised its social networking policy.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post says any talk of the NFL and Time Warner Cable being close on a deal for NFL Network is just that. Talk.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that TBS has made a change for its Sunday MLB game due to Hurricane Irene.

Ken Schott says a local radio station will have a unique baseball-horse racing on-air schedule this Saturday.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the MSG Networks will be airing plenty of college football in the fall.

Ken adds that MSG Network will air a prospects hockey tournament next month.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says an area native is doing overnight sports reports on WFAN.

Justin Fenton and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun report that police have confirmed that former Orioles pitcher and broadcaster Mike Flanagan took his own life outside his home on Wednesday.

Peter Schmuck of the Sun says now is not the time to speculate why Flanagan chose to end his life.

The Sun’s Kevin Cowherd writes that Flanagan made people laugh as a player and as a broadcaster.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes says Flanagan’s death is still a mystery.

Matt Brooks in the Washington Post’s Early Lead blog says Flanagan’s death has hit the Orioles very hard.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that Danica Patrick’s move to NASCAR makes the Baltimore Grand Prix one of her last IndyCar races of her career.

Ken Tysiac of the Charlotte (NC) Observer says thanks to its new ESPN contract, ACC basketball will get plenty of TV exposure.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has a primer on the Longhorn Network.

Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus feeling the SEC will be standing pat for the foreseeable future.

Jimmy says Verizon FiOS will be distributing the Longhorn Network across the country.

The Houston Chronicle says a local TV station will begin airing Thursday night high school football games.

David Barron of the Chronicle writes that the Longhorn Network is ready to launch, but won’t be seen widely in Houston.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says Notre Dame has renewed a radio rights deal with WLS-AM.

Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times looks at a big reveal from ESPN Films’ documentary on the Steve Bartman 2003 NLCS inc

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has Sports Illustrated saying the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan in the Dodger Stadium parking lot earlier this year sealed the fate of the franchise.

Mason Kelly of the Seattle Times says a local high school gym got a facelift thanks to an ESPN program.

Only Deadspin. It has a spy inside ESPN’s State of the Union meeting with higher ups.

Sox & Dawgs looks at SNY’s UConn football coverage.

The Toronto Sports Media blog notes that long-time Maple Leafs voice Dennis Beyak is apparently heading to Winnipeg.

Sports Media Watch has some various football programming notes.

That is going to finish the links for today.

Some Thursday Linkage

Being out of the office certainly kills any momentum for blogging and I’ve been out for most of the morning and trying to catch up ever since. Let’s get some linkage in as tonight will be busy for me as I do the Friday morning features the night before.

The big story for today, Hall of Fame hockey voice Mike “Doc” Emrick announcing he’s leaving the New Jersey Devils and focusing on calling national NHL games for NBC/Versus. We have several links.

First, Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy gives his thoughts on Doc’s departure from the Devils.

Joe Yerdon of Pro Hockey Talk writes that Doc will work full-time for NBC/Versus in hopes of cutting down his travel schedule.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says Doc is a true friend of hockey.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union notes that NBC/Versus now has two full-time play-by-play announcers for the NHL.

On to other links. Stuart Levine of Variety speaks with ESPN Executive Vice President of Content John Skipper who says the Alleged Worldwide Leader is in a buying mode for events.

To Ben Kercheval of College Football Talk who says ESPN’s Longhorn Network may have committed an NCAA violation.

In the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred says sports newsrooms are usually the last to break down racial and gender barriers.

Marcus Vanderberg says the NBA 2K12 video game has gone massively retro for its covers.

Dave Levy of SportsGrid says an academic study of bloggers vs. sports journalism was published with plenty of hidden agendas.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has scored another endorsement deal.

From ESPN Front Row, Taylor Henriques looks at the very first intern hired at ESPN who’s now working in the network’s public relations department.

Also at Front Row, Bill Hofheimer goes behind-the-scenes at the shoot for this season’s Monday Night Football open once again featuring Hank Williams, Jr.

At Deadspin, Tommy Craggs got his hands on the ESPN Editorial and Advertising Guidelines. Quite interesting.

To Tech Crunch and Leena Rao who tells us that there’s a new mobile app that allows anyone to become a sports reporter.

Over to the Boston Globe and character assassin Dan Shaughnessy who thinks after five years, Twitter is just a fad (scroll down to the paragraph starting with “Pardon me if I sound like Larry King ….”). Shaughnessy or as all of New England calls him, “CHB” is a hack. Thanks to Tony Manfred of the Business Insider Sports Page for the link.

To Richard Sandomir of the New York Times who writes that the Open Championship’s ratings fell for the third year in a row.

Richard goes over the ESPN Ombudsman’s critique of how ESPN handled the Bruce Feldman affair.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says NHL fans will have to wait until next month to find out the national TV schedules.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that ESPN’s Michael Wilbon has fired back at Wizards star JaVale McGee in round 2 of their Twitter fashion feud.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the planned high school football broadcasts on Longhorn Network are off for now pending talks with the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference.

Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star Telegram suggests that Texas A&M launch its own sports channel instead of whine about the Longhorn Network.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says there’s no need to cancel the NFL Hall of Fame Game just yet.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News is angry at San Diego Padres fans who want Dick Enberg out from calling their games because he’s not a homer.

Jeff Blair of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that Dave Van Horne may be known as the voice of the Florida Marlins, but he was Voice of the Montreal Expos long before that. Dave is going to be inducted into the Broadcasters Wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend.

Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press reports that TSN has won the rights to air the Jets games this coming season. Thanks to Steve Lepore at Puck The Media for the link.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that TSN will air coverage of the Rugby World Cup later this year.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

Awful Announcing continues its Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament and today’s matchup is Colin Cowherd vs. Skip Bayless. Oh that’s a tough one.

I’ll end it there.

Bringing Out Some Saturday Links

I started to do the Megalinks last night, but I fell asleep at my computer while doing them. I was out for most of the Friday so it prevented me from sitting down and pounding out the linkage yesterday. I’ll do it now to get you going for the 4th of July weekend. There’s a lot of sports happening so the Weekend Viewing Picks provides you with the programming that you may want to watch.

Let’s do the linkage.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with multiple network tennis analyst John McEnroe on how to spice up tennis’ ratings.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that an extended NBA lockout will hurt TV partners ESPN and TNT.

Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk didn’t like Jon Gruden’s gushing over former Ohio State quarterback Tyrelle Pryor during ESPN’s QB Camp.

Brooks Peck of Yahoo’s Dirty Tackle blog notes that ESPN.com lifted some of his fictitious quotes over Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi.

At Baseball Digest, Jerry Milani profiles MSG Network’s and Friend of Fang’s Bites Tina Cervasio.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser notes that a Southern California radio host’s firing from the Anaheim Angels was racially motivated.

Dave Levy from SportsGrid looks at the future of the Pac-12 Conference.

Adam Watson of Yahoo’s The PostGame talks with Renée Herlocker who will be the sideline reporter for the Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group notes that TSN wants to bring CFL viewers even closer to the game.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group says distributing Wimbledon in 3-D to movie theaters shows the need for one standard for the format.

Beth Healy of the Boston Globe writes that the newspaper’s parent company, the New York Times has sold part of its 17% stake in the Red Sox for a sizable profit.

Taryn Luna of the Globe says watering holes in the vicinity of the TD Garden are worried about losing business in the wake of the NBA lockout.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that sports radio talk in New York actually turns 90 years old today.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has Lindsay Czarniak saying when she’ll be moving to ESPN and what her duties for the Alleged Worldwide Leader will be.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune notes that the Big Ten Network came to fruition thanks to an ESPN lowball bid back in 2004.

And Jessica Guyin and Dawn C. Chmielski of the Los Angeles Times look at Google’s potential bid to buy Hulu which has NFL Films videos.

Sports Media Watch has news and notes on some media personalities.

SMW notes that Nike has re-signed Michael Vick.

I’m going to end it there.

Doling Out Tuesday Linkage

Got to work early so I figure that I’ll do linkage early and then do some what I have to do at the office.

Let’s begin with a look at some of the ratings from the weekend via USA Today’s Michael Hiestand.

Michael notes that the Cam Newton saga at the NFL Draft could bring viewers to the table for ESPN and NFL Network despite ongoing lockout drama.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today says Fox’s Howie Long blasted the NFL Scouting Combine in a taping of a Big Lead/The Experts Network Draft Special. Disclaimer: Fang’s Bites is a member of Big Lead Sports, but is an independently owned and operated blog.

A couple of interesting op-ed pieces today. First, NFL Commish Roger Goodell in the Wall Street Journal claims the end of the league as we know it if there’s no collective bargaining agreement with the players.

Next in the Washington Post, Washington DC NFL Team owner Daniel Snyder explains why he’s suing the Washington City  Paper and it certainly doesn’t help his argument.

If you want to help the Washington City Paper in its fight against Snyder, go here and lend your support.

To the Sports Business Journal and John Ourand who says ESPN’s new endorsement guidelines are just a small ointment to a bigger problem.

John writes that NBA Draft prospect Jimmer Fredette has authorized a production company to follow him for a potential documentary on his experience leading up to the Draft.

Daniel Kaplan from the SBJ says NFL teams and sponsors are getting ready for the NFL Draft.

And Terry Lefton at the SBJ notes that Michael Vick’s image is at the point where he can endorse products again.

Tom Van Riper at Forbes is in favor of Major League Baseball expanding its playoffs.

Tim Baysinger from Broadcasting & Cable notes that Comcast SportsNet Chicago garnered record ratings for Canucks-Blackhawks Game 6 on Sunday.

Mike Reyolds at Mulitchannel News says NESN received its third highest ever ratings for a Boston Bruins playoff game on Saturday.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has ESPN/ABC’s Mark Jackson calling out ESPN The Magazine for publishing an anonymous NBA player’s column.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says despite first round ousters, the Knicks and Rangers drew very good TV ratings in New York.

Also from SportsNewser, Cam Martin notes that a documentary on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is in the works.

And Alex Weprin of SportsNewser talks with ESPN personality Stephen A. (A is for Angry) Smith.

Bill Mann of Marketwatch.com says the NBC/Versus deal with the NHL will have a ripple effect in Canada.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group looks at NFL Network’s production preparation for the NFL Draft.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says all Judge Susan Nelson did in overturning the NFL lockout was to lead to massive confusion among the league and the players.

The Boston Globe notes that local athletic shoe company, Saucony is launching a new ad campaign that will air on ESPN and other sports networks starting this week.

Paul Devlin of the New Canaan (CT) Patch profiles local resident and ESPN Dictator George Bodenheimer.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union has the NFL Draft programming for both ESPN and NFL Network.

Pete says the New York Knicks delivered killer ratings for both ABC and MSG Network.

Pete has the updated NBA Playoffs TV schedule.

From the New Jersey Press, David P. Willis looks at the new Cablevision iPad app which allows subscribers to watch TV programs on their Apple tablets.

In the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner wonders why politicians aren’t speaking out against the NFL lockout.

Zach Berman from the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger has five questions for NFL Network Draft guru Mike Mayock.

Mike Jensen from the Philadelphia Inquirer profiles native Mike Mayock of NFL Network.

Joseph Santoliquito of the Marple Newtown (PA) Patch profiles Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia host Michael Barkann who is a longtime resident of the community.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that former DC NFL Team executive Vinny Cerrato will now co-host a nightly radio show in Baltimore.

The Spartanburg (SC) Herald Journal reports that the local ESPN Radio affiliate will pick up high school football games this fall.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman notes that TNT’s Mike Fratello got the job done during last night’s Denver-Oklahoma City NBA playoff game.

Bill Haisten from the Tulsa (OK) World says local native Dari Nowkhah of ESPN almost quit TV for teaching until a sudden call from Bristol, CT came his way.

Jamie Samuelsen in the Detroit Free Press says Matt Millen should expect a less-than-warm welcome to Ford Field when he makes his first return there with the Monday Night Football crew this fall.

Robert Snell of the Free Press says NFL Network’s Marshall Faulk owes the IRS a big chunk of change.

Cole Manbeck of the Manhattan (KS) Mercury says Kansas State is expecting a huge cash payment from the new Fox/Big 12 TV deal.

Jeff Wolf of the Las Vegas Journal-Review says baseball fans in town are fed up of being blacked out of six teams that claim the market as their territory.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog goes after Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail for not doing his homework.

Sports Media Watch notes that NBA ratings in Boston and Chicago are way up from last year.

SMW also looks at the local NHL ratings in various markets.

And SMW has some more NHL ratings for us.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the ratings for nights 9 and 10 of the NHL Playoffs on Versus.

And I think we’re done now. Back to work now.

Slinging the Tuesday Links Your Way

Let’s do some linkage while I still can on this Tuesday. Lots of stuff to get to provided I don’t get interrupted.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today writes about Louisville coach Rick Pitino making the media rounds this week.

I may have linked to this so if I have already, I apologize. Nate Davis of USA Today’s The Huddle blog notes that NFL Films President Steve Sabol has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. To send your best wishes to Steve, you can send him an e-mail at sabol.nflfilms@nfl.com.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NCAA Tournament’s ratings on CBS/Turner have hit an 11 year high, but there are some caveats.

Sports Business Daily looks at the increased ratings for the NCAA Tournament.

Stuart Levine of Variety notes that ESPN leads all networks in Sports Emmy Award nominations.

The Wall Street Journal picks up an Associated Press story on ESPN adding jobs at its Bristol, CT headquarters.

Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a prime candidate to be this year’s subject of HBO’s Hard Knocks, if there’s a season.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes that ESPN will be all over MLB Opening Week starting at the end of this m month.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says Turner Sports’ March Madness on Demand has been a huge hit in the first week of the NCAA Tournament.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life notes the NCAA Tournament has been very good to CBS and Turner.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says WFAN’s Mike Francesa went all Wu Tang on a caller who wanted to talk about the New York Mets owners legal issues over convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser examines how a former New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year gets convicted for running a prostitution ring.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group says Verizon Fios TV is adding ESPN 3D in time for The Masters.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that LeBron James and Michael Vick have seen their positive perceptions go up while Tiger Woods still remains unchanged.

Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski has announced the subject of his latest book project.

The lovely Jayme Lamm at the Blonde Side recaps the Blogs with Balls panel on sports media at the recently completed SxSW festival in Austin, TX.

Dave Kindred at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism talks about Washington Post DC NFL Team beat writer Rick Maese doing what reporters do when extraordinary circumstances strike.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY has former WCBS-AM sports director Jared Max talking about his sendoff by his former workmates.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Women’s World Cup TV schedule.

Michael Bradley at Philadelphia Magazine says ESPN’s Jay Bilas isn’t as smart as he’s cracked up to be.

Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes that Phillies fan favorite Chris Coste will work on Comcast SportsNet this summer.

At Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com notes that MASN will launch a new baseball TV show at the end of the month.

Avi Miller of the Baltimore Sports Report says reporter Jen Royale is leaving MASN, but staying in the city to remain on radio.

C.L. Brown from the Louisville Courier-Journal has Rick Pitino explaining why he’s making multiple TV appearances during the NCAA Tournament.

Glenn Guilbeau at the Baton Rouge Daily Advertiser say the NCAA Tournament became infinitely better to watch.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says MLB Network picks up another cable TV provider.

Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press notes that viewers like the four network NCAA Tournament strategy.

However, Jamie Samuelson writing in the Free Press wishes we would go back to the old way of CBS having all of the games.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the two local teams still in the NCAA Tournament will be aired on TBS and CBS respectively.

Frank Rajkowski from the St. Cloud (MN) Times says he has ended up liking CBS/Turner’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament more than he originally thought.

Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Grand Forks (ND) Herald looks at what the announcement of a Big Ten hockey conference will mean to the WCHA and its remaining schools.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News updates us on the Pac 12 TV rights negotiations.

Congratulations to Steve Lepore of Puck The Media who announces that he’s going to be writing for Versus.com for the rest of the NHL season.

Steve’s first two efforts for Versus can be found here.

At Globe St., Jennifer LeClaire writes that Golf Channel is expanding its corporate headquarters in Orlando.

Sports Media Watch has various news and notes on some personalities.

SMW says NASCAR’s winning ratings streak ended on Sunday.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing and the new Big Ten-centric Delaney’s Dozen blog interviews Big Ten Network host Dave Revsine.

Speaking of Awful Announcing, Matt talks with EPL Talk editor extraordinaire Chris Harris, a.k.a. The Gaffer, both here and here.

And I’m going to end it there. Busy day with the Sports Emmy Award nominations.

Some Mid-Week Linkage

Ok, time for some links on this Wednesday. Let’s provide some for you while I can.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that former CBS college basketball analyst Billy Packer is not enthused about the new TV arrangement for the NCAA Tournament.

I’ve written a story for Dan Levy’s Press Coverage site on what the Los Angeles Lakers’ new regional sports networks will mean for viewers.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports is not a fan of excess sports coverage like the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Milton Kent at Fanhouse recaps the strange, but very interesting appearances by embattled actor Charlie Sheen on the Dan Patrick Show.

Mark Cina of the Hollywood Reporter also recaps Sheen’s call to DP on Wednesday.

Etan Vlessing of the Reporter notes that ESPN’s new Sunday Night Baseball voice Dan Shulman will return to Canada to provide some baseball commentary for his original network, TSN.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News reports that Cartoon Network is tapping stars from the sports world to take part in its inaugural awards show.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel takes a look at the new Time Warner Cable/Lakers regional sports networks.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser recaps Jay Mariotti’s first public appearance since his arrest on domestic assault charges and the subsequent loss of his jobs from ESPN and Fanhouse.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell takes a closer look at St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols and his contract demands.

Darren says Sports Illustrated did a great job marketing this year’s Swimsuit Issue.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe has the comments from outgoing WEEI midday host Dale Arnold who is the odd man out in a lineup shuffle.

Chad also writes about the WEEI lineup changes that smack of desperation.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that ESPN has apparently dropped out of the bidding for the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner wonders if NBC will pick up the Belmont to reunite the race with the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

Press Box says WBAL-AM will pick up a slew of Baltimore Orioles spring training games.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle takes a look at two of the bigger sports media stories from the week.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Cheryl Burke admitting she had a fling with Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. I know, it’s not a sports media story, but it fascinates me and I like Cheryl Burke, ok?

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel discovers that the Brewers are not on the MLB on Fox schedule.

Paul Sullivan at the Chicago Tribune says the Cubs have found a replacement for the late Ron Santo on their radio broadcasts.

Steve Rosenbloom of the Tribune wants to know if Cubs fans are ready to hear a traditional radio broadcast from now on.

Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times talks with new Cubs radio analyst Keith Moreland.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business writes that the Blackhawks have extended their deal with WGN-TV.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says the new Time Warner Cable deal with the Lakers may end up hurting the team in the long run.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail says one local sports radio station might be left behind in a battle of media titans.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog speculates what the 2012 Olympics will look like on the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Consortium.

Dashiell Bennett from the Business Insider sports page notes that ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons has hired Deadspin contributer Katie Baker (and a Friend of Fang’s Bites) for some unknown project at the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing notes that many people were none too happy over ESPN’s experimentation during the Mississippi State-Kentucky game.

Deadspin has obtained a copy of the Colin Cowherd sitcom script. It’s not pretty, let me tell you.

Brad Cohen at SportsGrid tells us how the extremely overrated Oprah Winfrey got the Michael Vick interview.

Dave Kohl of Major League Programs talks about the new Time Warner Cable/Lakers deal.

I’ll leave it there for now.

Breaking Out the Tuesday Linkage

I hope to get these links done without interruption. I hate working from the RI main office because I get bogged down, but that’s what happens when you don’t have a car like I do. I have to depend on others to get me where I’m going and I can’t get to my MA office as often as I would like. But you don’t care about that so let’s do as much linkage as I can.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy says ESPN has had to issue apologies for recent inappropriate behavior by employees.

Also from USA Today, Reid Cherner from the Game On blog notes that Fox News analyst Tucker Carlson has retracted his earlier sentiment that Michael Vick should be executed.

Again from USA Today, Mike McCarthy looks at some of the TV ratings from the past weekend.

Finally from the Nation’s Newspaper, Mike notes that CBS’ Jim Nantz is the voice of Tiger Woods’ new EA video game.

Richard Deitsch from Sports Illustrated explores the off-air spat between announcer Ron Franklin and sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards.

Sports Business Daily says the NHL would be hard-pressed to match this year’s record ratings for the Winter Classic in 2012. 

And SBD notes the final ratings for Sunday Night Football which ended up being the best for NBC since it started airing the package in 2007.

David Goetzl from MediaPost wonders why more women aren’t in the broadcast booth.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes about ESPN’s record ratings for the Rose Bowl. 

Noah Davis at SportsNewser says the Rio 2016 Olympics Committee has silently unveiled its logo.

Brad Cohen from SportsGrid has the video of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh snubbing Michele Tafoya after the Cardinal won the Orange Bowl last night.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says the New York Daily News is having too much fun with the latest chapter in the sad Brett Favre saga.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest notes that after settling a dispute, Anheuser-Busch is back sponsoring MLB for 2011.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times talks about ESPN disciplining Ron Franklin.

And Richard discusses the increased ratings for the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Night.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post discusses ESPN’s behavior towards women in the workplace.

From the Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg highlights three moments from Sunday’s radio broadcast of the Washington-New York Giants game.

Dan notes that there were plenty of Caps fans making their influence felt during the NHL Winter Classic’s singing of the national anthem.

Crain’s Chicago Business’ Ed Sherman has some various Windy City sports media notes.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the Rams-Seahawks game from Sunday night drew the biggest regular season audience locally for an NFL game in recent memory.

Scott Collins from the Los Angeles Times says under 21 million people watched the Rose Bowl on ESPN.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has ESPN’s new promo involving tennis doubles partners, Bob and Mike Bryan.

Eric Degerman from the Mid-Columbia (WA) Tri Cities Herald notes that FSN Northwest will undergo a name change in the spring. 

Carol Walker at the CawsnJaws blog found that ESPN ran the most ads during its NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage than any other network.

Some college football bowl ratings news from Sports Media Watch:

Fiesta Bowl hit a 13 year ratings low.

The Outback Bowl did well on ABC.

The Sun Bowl dropped on CBS.

And we have ratings news on three more bowls.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing lists the sports media stories he’ll be watching in 2011.

And that will finish the links for today.

Some Quick Wednesday Linkage

Ok, this may turn out to be a busy day for me so I’m going to try to sneak some links in. You may see this in multiple parts so here goes.

We’ll begin with Tom Weir in USA Today’s Game On blog discussing Tucker Carlson of Fox News wanting Michael Vick executed?

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN is not anticipating too much of a ratings hit as it takes over the BCS from Fox this season.

Kimberly Nordyke of the Hollywood Reporter notes that the Monday Night Football finale was the most watched program on cable this year.

We continue with more links.

This is a shameless plug, but how many of these do I make in a year? Head on over to BallHyped and vote for me for Sports Blog of the Year. I have no shot to win, but make my results respectable. I greatly appreciate it. You can vote for as many as three so if you feel there’s another blog that’s just as deserving, vote for that one too.

Sports Business Daily says some weak matchups could hurt the BCS’ ratings on ESPN.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable writes that Sunday Night Football on Tuesday night did very well in the ratings.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the 2010 Monday Night Football finale helped ESPN to set a ratings record.

Mike says the Outdoor Channel is set to premiere some new series including four picked up from ESPN’s now-canceled Outdoors block.

From Fox Sports, Brian Lowry says in 2010, sports and sports media had their fill of scandal.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell speaks with the CEO of New Era about sponsoring the Pinstripe Bowl and its sponsorship deal with the NFL.

Darren talks about the Coors Light NFL coaches ads which end their run after this season. 

Jon Bershad of SportsGrid has Los Angeles sportswriter Kevin Ding accusing an ESPNews anchor of lifting his material verbatim. Uh oh.

We continue with SportsGrid’s Top Sports Media Gaffes of 2010 and #4 is the Karen Owen Duke Sex List. Who could forget that?

And #3 is Ines Sainz and the alleged harassment by the New York Jets.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times talks about the weather which could wreak havoc on the NHL Winter Classic.

Also from the Times, George Vescey says while Mike Singletary is no longer coach of the San Francisco 49ers, the David Letterman sketch featuring a faux Singletary will continue.

Newsday’s Neil Best has Kenny Albert’s adventure getting from St. Louis to Newark, NJ in the midst of this weekend’s Great Blizzard.

Neil says his appearance along with three other sports media critics on SNY last week did respectively well in the sports cable ratings in New York.

I’ve been interrupted again. I’ve been trying to start the links up again since lunch time and I just can’t get it done. Too many starts and stops. I hope to finish up tonight.

Providing Some Wednesday Links

Yesterday, my attempts at providing links kept getting interrupted. I hope today is going to be more stable.

Today has been a strange day. People on Twitter and the sports blogosphere are abuzz about the foot fetish videos that may or may not have come from Michelle Ryan, the wife of New York Jets coach Rex Ryan. Deadspin broke it. The New York Daily News for some reason picked it up. Since this morning, people have been tweeting and blogging away on the story. Rex Ryan himself may or may not have shot one of the videos in question. This is not a sports media story so unless we discover that a reporter somehow got involved in the videos or has a foot fetish him or herself, then we’re not going to be pursuing it. I’ve never had a foot fetish. I’ve always felt feet are disgusting, but I’m not judging those who like them. I’m acknowledging story and letting you know I’ve seen the story. Let’s move on.

Starting with this week’s Sports Illustrated issue, Jon Wertheim takes a look at the effects of a possible NFL lockout including those on the networks and surrounding businesses that depend on professional football.

To Pro Football Talk and Mike Florio who says yesterday’s meeting between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and former Florida State Cowgirl Jenn Sterger got heated at times.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter notes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football topped all programming on both broadcast and cable.

Some bad news for MASN and baseball fans in North Carolina, the FCC has reversed a decision that required Time Warner Cable to pick up the regional sports network in the Tobacco State as John Eggerton of Multichannel News reports.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel looks at the stellar Monday Night Football ratings for ESPN.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel says ESPN and ABC will provide five, count ‘em, five NBA games on Christmas Day.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has the first of the Top Ten Sports Gaffes of 2010 and it begins with Chris McKendry of ESPN.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes about Michael Vick signing an autograph endorsement deal. 

Michael O’Keefe of the New York Daily News has a story on the contentious meeting between NFL Commish Roger Goodell and former Playboy bombshell Jenn Sterger.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette tells us that CBS College Sports college hockey analyst and NHL Network analyst for the IIHF World Junior Championships Dave Starman will be his guest on his radio show in New York’s Capital Region.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says the NBA’s TV partners could be subsidizing a lockout next season.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with a Texas Tech beat reporter on former coach Mike Leach who’s a candidate to take the Maryland job.

Sarah Talalay at the South Florida Sun Sentinel says a new Charles Barkley/Dwayne Wade ad will be unveiled on Christmas Day.

John Kiesewetter from the Cincinnati Enquirer discusses the departure of Steven A. Smith from Fox Sports Radio.

And I was interrupted again. I’ll try to provide more links later.

Some Frakking Linkage

Ok, I’ve been accumulating links when I finally got ready to provide them for you and I have enough that it’s time to bring them to you now.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand goes into two sports specials which are Pittsburgh-heavy.

Austin Karp at Sports Business Daily notes that for the more part, college football ratings were down this season. 

Fox Sports’ Brian Lowry feels ESPN failed to find Cam Newton’s flaws during the Heisman Trophy presentation. 

Fanhouse’s Milton Kent says the star of tonight’s MLB Network rebroadcast of Game 7 from the 1960 World Series is the restored Kinescope that was recently found in Bing Crosby’s archives.

Rupal Parekh of Advertising Age writes that Pizza Hut will make its first Super Bowl ad.

David Goetzl of Mediapost says for NBC to retain the Olympics, new owners Comcast have to show that they love the games just as much as or more than previous owner General Electric.

Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk notes that NBC garnered record ratings for Sunday night’s Eagles-Cowboys game.

Noah Davis at SportsNewser notices that ESPN is a featured player in Sports Illustrated’s annual Year in Sports Media issue.

Andrew Wallenstein of paidContent says ESPN is refuting a study that shows as many people watch programs online as they do on TV.

In the Hollywood Reporter, Eriq Gardner reports that a rabbi is suing ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel for using his YouTube video without permission in a comedy bit about LeBron James.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News writes that Best Buy is seeing poor sales for 3-D TV sets.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life Magazine says the NFL appears to be on its way to setting a record Super Bowl viewership.

The Hartford Business Journal reports that ESPN will be donating $5 million to a development project. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at MLB Network’s reairing of the deciding game of the 1960 World Series.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says expect plenty of swearing in tonight’s premiere of 24/7 Penguins/Capitals.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner speaks with HBO Sports head honcho Ross Greenburg about the 24/7 series on the Penguins and Capitals.

The Florida Times-Union’s Gary Smits notes that the Gator Bowl has a new sponsor.

Sarah Talalay at the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the history of South Florida sports dating back to 1966 is the subject of a new documentary.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the local CBS affiliate is already making alternative plans for Sunday not confident that the Bengals will sell out by Thursday.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says NFL TV audiences are growing by leaps and bounds.

Bob tells us that fans do not like the new Division names in the Big 10.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business delves into why “Legends” and “Leaders” were chosen for Big 10 division names instead of “East” and “West” or “North” and “South”.

Phil Rosenthal at the Chicago Tribune says Comcast SportsNet has given an expanded role to one of its hosts.

Chris Dignan of Chicago Now feels with increased coverage of Michael Vick, ESPN should increase its coverage of dogs.

The San Diego Union-Tribune notes that the Chargers avoided a blackout for Thursday night’s game against the 49ers.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says Canada is harping on a molehill about the Winter Olympics opening ceremony instead of another issue.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch lists his Worst of Sports Media 2010.

Paulsen has the Weekend Overnight ratings as well.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy has a producer of the HBO series 24/7 Penguins/Capitals talk about the swearing in tonight’s episode.

We’re going to end it there.

Let’s Do Some Sunday Linkage

With the NFL games underway, it’s time to bring you some linakge today.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says the NFL Network’s Thursday game between Houston and Philadelphia garnered just under 5.5 million viewers.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that the BBC is coming under fire for undermining Britain’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Ben Klayman from Reuters reports that MLB Network is aiming to be available in 70 million homes by next season.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser notes an open letter written to ESPN.com from Bruce Springsteen E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren about its coverage on Michael Vick.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir has an appreciation of the late Chicago Cubs radio analyst Ron Santo.

To Bob Raissman from the New York Daily News says the public feud between Derek Jeter and the Yankees (most likely over now) will hurt the shortstop and not the team.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post plays with the conspiracy theory that the NFL did not suspend Houston’s Andre Johnson because he would be playing in the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football game.

Mike Battaglino from the Post has a survey of the paper’s columnists and writers of best and worst NFL TV analysts. Thanks to Bob’s Blitz for the link.

Virginia Rohan from NorthJersey.com profiles former sportscaster and Entertainment Tonight reporter Chris Wragge who will become the co-host of CBS’ The Early Show in January.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says ESPN’s Outside the Lines failed to get the job done today on a story about Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.

The Baltimore Sun talks with NBC’s Al Michaels about calling primetime football for 25 years.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner is thrilled to see two tasty NFL primetime matchups for tonight and tomorrow.

Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News shares his thoughts on Outside the Lines look back at how Monday Night Football announced John Lennon’s death some 30 years ago. 

Mike Baldwin of the Daily Oklahoman has Big 12 Commissioner Don Beebe talking about the conference’s future on TV and in several other issues.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the late Vince Lombardi remains to be an intriguing subject so many years later.

The Chicago Tribune has Cubs radio voice Pat Hughes’ thoughts on the passing of his partner, Ron Santo.

Dave Van Dyck of the Tribune says Santo may finally make the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Phil Rosenthal of the Tribune writes that Santo may not have been the best broadcaster, but the fans identified with him.

The Chicago Sun-Times has an editorial remembering what Santo meant to Chicago.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News describes one of the more bizarre moments in the SEC Championship involving CBS’ Tracy Wolfson.

Tom notes that Fox Sports Net Pac 10 football analyst Petros Papadakis can’t please everyone when he’s in the broadcast booth.

Nancy Raskauskas from the Corvallis (OR) Gazette-Times looks at how College Gameday became a huge party for the Oregon-Oregon State Civil War game.

Bob Clark from the Eugene Register-Guard says former Oregon basketball coach Ernie Kent will be a Pac 10 basketball analyst for Fox Sports Net.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

Awful Announcing has Gus Johnson’s call of Kentucky’s half court buzzer beater attempt yesterday.

And we’ll end it here for now.

A Few Tuesday Links

Let do some linkage for you on this Tuesday. Short week for many of you so this is like a Thursday. Not me, but this is good.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that Bright House subscribers have begun to access the authenticated ESPN and ESPN3.com online.

Multichannel News notes that Fox Soccer Channel will be all over the World Cup 2018 and 2022 announcement next week.

SportsNewser’s Marcus Vanderberg says Michael Vick is on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the first time in five years.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse previews tonight’s HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the longer the NFL takes, the more likely Brett Favre won’t be suspended for allegedly sexting Jenn Sterger. 

Darren writes that any talk of an NBA or NFL lockout now is way premature.

From Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, he reports that San Francisco Giants voice Jon Miller has rejected ESPN’s offer to call Sunday Night Baseball games on radio.

In the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman praises CBS’ Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf for not burying the Jets before they came back to win against Houston on Sunday.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette talks about ESPN3D being picked up by Time Warner Cable in New York’s Capital Region.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says NASCAR’s ratings continue to be dwarfed by the NFL. 

Pete has the NFL Week 12 TV schedule for the Capital Region.

Pete also has the college football TV schedule for Week 13.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg in the DC Sports Bog has some highlights from HBO’s preview of 24/7 Capitals/Penguins.

Dan finds some old TV ads featuring former DC NFL team running back John Riggins.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times says despite low attendance, the Tampa Bay Rays’ TV ratings were high.

Scott Rabalais of the Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate says LSU football coach Les Miles received an offbeat question about being interviewed by ESPN’s Erin Andrews.

Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News says for the first time since joining the Giants, Jon Miller will be available to call a full season with the team.

Ferd Lewis in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser writes that the University of Hawaii is optimistic its local TV rights will be protected once the school joins the Mountain West Conference from the WAC.

Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the CBS and NBC NFL pregame shows are up.

SMW notes that Notre Dame saw decent ratings for its primetime game on NBC last Saturday.

Johnnie L. Roberts of The Wrap talks about how Turner network executives are known to spend and fly in excess, something totally different from the Ted Turner era.

I’ll end it there.

Quick Monday Links

I’m traveling in between two offices this morning and I want to get some linkage in while I can. Let’s get it started.

First, a rare moment when Sports Business Daily opens up its Morning Fix feature and it has a couple of sports media notes including what’s happening at the new Comcast/NBC Sports division and a new Sports Science promo for SportsCenter.

Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen speaks with NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith who’s not optimistic about a new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL.

John Ourand at the SBJ notes that a survey of college students finds that ESPN’s NBA coverage is catching up with TNT’s. 

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says the NFL TV analysts were singing the praises of Michael Vick on Sunday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says NASCAR has too many problems for it to return to national prominence. 

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Jason Fry has his take on the New York Islanders revoking the media credentials of noted hockey blogger Chris Botta.

Adam Gretz of Fanhouse has the video of Islanders TV voice Howie Rose getting frustrated during a commercial timeout.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News asks if Time Warner Cable will be charging extra for ESPN3D.

Jim Romanesko at the Poynter Institute notes that the Washington Times is bringing its sports section back. This after the sports section was cut down a year ago.

Staci D. Kramer at paidContent looks at NBC Sports putting an app that puts its “Talk” blogs on the iPad.

Bill Carter at the New York Times looks at the new NBC corporate structure under Comcast.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post asks who’s holding the TV analysts accountable? Wouldn’t that be you, Dr. Doom and Gloom?

Ginger Adam Otis from the Post looks at the NFL going high-tech to try and solve the alleged Brett Favre pictures to Jenn Sterger.

John Gonzalez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Michael Vick has caught the attention of the national media.

Patrick Berkery at the Philly Burbs papers notes that Comcast SportsNet will air the live demolition of the Spectrum on Tuesday. 

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun wasn’t thrilled with CBS’ work during the Ravens-Carolina game yesterday.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times has a look at the weekend on sports TV.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel recaps ESPN’s Mark Schereth’s comments about last Thursday’s Chicago Bears-Miami Dolphins game. 

Pete Alfano from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says ESPN will make downtown Fort Worth its center of operations for Super Bowl XLV.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says the Texans are making it easy for the Football Night in America crew.

Brandon Chatmon of the Daily Oklahoman writes about College Gameday coming to Stillwater, OK this Saturday. 

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks about the carnival sideshow that is Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business says despite the 11th hour change for the Illinois-Northwestern game, the Cubs still want more football games at Wrigley Field.

Paul Banks writing for Chicago Now has a recap of College Gameday’s stop at Wrigley Field.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post notes that the Broncos are a big part of the history of Monday Night Football.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has your SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times profiles local sports talker Joe McDonnell who’s lost a lot of weight, but can’t find a full-time gig. 

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Giants voice Jon Miller appears to be leaning against accepting ESPN’s offer to call Sunday Night Baseball on radio. 

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail says Montreal Canadiens rookie defenseman P.K. Subban is drawing the attention of CBC for various reasons.

Dave Kohl at the Major League Programs blog says reporters who speculate without the facts should have their media credentials revoked.

We will end it there.

NBC’s Football Night in America Previews Week 11′s Interview

Tonight, Bob Costas talks with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick before tonight’s Giants-Eagles. We have a partial transcript.

BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS MIKE VICK; TONY DUNGY REACTS

“Just having a year to sit was probably the biggest thing to ever happen to me.” – Mike Vick to Bob Costas

“I feel like I cheated the organization.” – Vick to Costas on the Falcons

NEW YORK – November 21, 2010 – Bob Costas interviewed Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Vick for a two-part segment of tonight’s Week 11 edition of “Football Night in America,” which will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to Week 11’s afternoon games. Tony Dungy, who visited Vick in prison and has mentored him, is expected to provide his unique perspective.

“Football Night” airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET with Costas, who won the outstanding studio host Emmy last year, hosting the program live from inside the stadium. In addition to his interviews, Costas is joined on site by SNF commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst) for reaction to the afternoon games.

Dan Patrick co-hosts “Football Night” from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach and Emmy-nominated Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. Alex Flanagan will report from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., on the Colts-Patriots game.

BEST VIEWERSHIP EVER: “Football Night” (7:30-8:15 pm) is averaging 8.1 million viewers through its first 10 weeks, its most ever for that time frame and up eight percent vs. 2009’s 7.5 million viewers.

INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interview with Vick.

MIKE VICK 

Costas on Vick’s time away from the game: It turns out your better than ever. What’s the reason?

Vick: I was one of the ones who was thinking, man, am I still going to have it? Am I still going to have the elusiveness, the speed, the mobility? Just having a year to sit was probably the biggest thing to ever happen to me.

Costas: What was the darkest moment for you at Leavenworth?

Vick: The darkest moments were just not being able to go home every day…It’s like you’re trapped. There’s nowhere to go. Every night before I went to bed, I always prayed that something would happen that would expedite the process of me getting out. But it never did and I think that taught me patience.

Costas: Was there some pivot point where the light went on in your head? You’re in the midst of this experience because of your own actions but where you said to yourself, ‘Wait a minute. I get it now or at least I think I get it now.’

Vick: I said that about four or five months of being there and then I realized I wasn’t going home for another 13 months…Even after the first day I felt like I had learned my lesson. It only takes for them to slam the doors on you one time for you to know that ‘Look, this is serious. I can’t live my life this way. I’m not supposed to be here. I’ll do better.’ After four or five months, I started to get comfortable in that environment and I had to pinch myself and say ‘I’m not supposed to be here.’ I should be at home with my family or in somebody’s training camp right now. That really put things in perspective of what I had done and the consequences I had to suffer. It cut me deep and it hurt. I had to get through that to make me the person I am today.

Costas: What was it like when Tony Dungy walked through the doors?

Vick: When Tony first walked through the door, I just wanted to give him the biggest hug…We had an open dialogue about everything. I left that meeting with a sense of security that I could go home and feel positive about certain things that were going to take place in my life.

Costas: We know the way sports and celebrity in America work at least for some people. If you play well and stay out of trouble, at least conspicuous trouble, that’s redemption. But real redemption may mean something more than that. What does it mean to you?

Vick: Redemption is doing the right thing all across the board. It’s easy to talk the talk and say, ‘Yeah. I’m going to be here speaking to this group of kids or I’m going to work with the Humane Society.’ You’ve got to do it and you’ve got to be consistent about it. You just can’t be doing it just for perception. It takes time. I think my life was always going to be a work in progress. I’m just going to continue to chase success, on and off the field. I think if I do that, I think redemption will come.

Costas: In Atlanta, your reputation was last guy in the building, first guy out. You had a lot of talent. You probably didn’t do all you could have to maximize that talent.

Vick: Yeah. This time around, I just wanted to work harder than I ever worked before, not shortchange myself. I didn’t put in the hard work and the time and the effort. I didn’t dedicate myself the way I do now.

Costas: Do you feel like you cheated the Atlanta organization?

Vick: In so many ways, I do. I feel like I cheated the organization. I didn’t give them my all. I gave them everything on the field, 100 percent, but sometimes that’s not enough.

Costas: The Giants have knocked five quarterbacks out this year. Are you mindful of that?

Vick: I’m very mindful of it which is more the reason why I’m going to try and stay away from those guys. We know the type of pressure they bring. We know how ferocious they can be on third downs. We just have to take care of those guys up front.

Costas: Even I can see, when you step up in the pocket, the linebackers are in that moment of hesitation.

Vick: Nine times out of 10 now, I don’t feel like running the ball. I’d rather get it out of my hands, get it downfield. Back in the day, four or five years ago, I felt like I rushed everything. Now, I’ve learned patience. I think it helped me tremendously.

That will do it for now. I’ll have the Football Night in America quotage later tonight.

Quick Sunday Links

Let’s do some linkage on this Sunday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News mentions that Tennis Channel has begun coverage of the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals this week.

Stu Hackel of Sports Illustrated looks at the New York Islanders’ silly ban of blogger Chris Botta.

Doug Farrar of Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner blog says NFL Network’s Matt Millen is not winning any popularity contests among viewers.

Martin Peers of the Wall Street Journal writes about Time Warner Cable’s plans to offer a cheaper cable tier without mainstay ESPN.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the NFL pregame shows will devote plenty of time to canonizing Michael Vick.

Ethan Sacks of the Daily News writes that the NFL is using electronic forensics in the Brett Favre-Jenn Sterger case. 

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels the NFL is still promoting violence.

In SB Nation New York, Puck The Media’s Steve Lepore talks about the Islanders revoking Chris Botta’s media credentials.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that ESPN2′s crew tried to keep its audience interested in the Oklahoma-Baylor blowout. 

The Tulsa World says ESPN’s College Gameday is headed to Stillwater, OK this Saturday. 

Steve Daniels of Crain’s Chicago Business says the stalker convicted of secretly taping Erin Andrews is being sued by another woman.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the NFL is going high-tech on its investigation into Brett Favre’s alleged sexting to Jenn Sterger.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

SMW has some NBA ratings notes.

SMW has more ratings news and notes.

Joe Favorito looks at college football hitting some non-traditional sites yesterday.

And we’ll end it there.

Some Tuesday Night Linkage

Since I had to cut the Tuesday links short, I’m going to add some linkage this evening.

After I finished the links, the big story was the revelation from the Sports Media & Technology Conference in New York today that the combined CBS/Turner team for the 2011 NCAA Tournament will include TNT’s NBA announcers including Marv Albert, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

Marv used to call college basketball on NBC including the NCAA Tournament until 1981 when it lost to the rights to CBS. He continued calling college hoops on NBC, most notably with the late Al McGuire until 1991 when the Peacock obtained the rights to the NBA.

The Associated Press was on hand and gave us this story on TNT’s NBA crews teaming with CBS’ familiar announcers for the tournament.

Sports Business Daily says CBS and Turner will combine for a whole new look for the Tournament.

Royce Young at CBSSports.com looks forward to seeing TNT’s announcers on the NCAA Tournament.

Noted writer Dan Shanoff writes a guest column for CNBC’s Darren Rovell on his reaction to seeing TNT’s announcers during the Big Dance.

In Press Coverage, Dan Levy doesn’t share the optimism of having Charles Barkley on the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA.com provides an interview with Tournament chair Gene Smith about the changes in this season’s Big Dance plus what we might see with the new CBS/Turner entity. 

I’m sure we’ll have more reaction from other sports media writers on this story on Wednesday. Let’s move to other stories now.

Eric Deggans from the St. Petersburg Times writing at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center has some suggestions for CBS on its proposed sitcom based on ESPN Radio Hack Colon Cowherd.

The Big Lead speculates on how Cowherd got his sitcom deal. 

Fox Sports’ Brian Lowry says the BCS makes for plenty of hot air among college football analysts.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with one of Michael Vick’s creditors.

James Hibberd from the Hollywood Reporter notes that AMC is looking at doing a docudrama series on boxing based at trainer Freddie Roach’s gym.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable has News Corp. President Chase Carey warning Congress that a change in retransmission laws could have big ticket sports events moving from broadcast to cable TV.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News talks about the viewership for Monday Night Football.

To Mediaweek where Anthony Crupi notes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football held off AMC’s The Walking Dead for most watched program on cable.

Wayne Friedman over at Mediapost says football on NBC and Fox really killed in the ratings on Sunday.

Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun Sentinel recaps Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross’ comments at the Sports Media & Technology conference including those regarding the NFL Network possibly gaining carriage on Time Warner Cable.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times says ESPN’s Jon Gruden will join Mike Tirico in calling the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day. 

Steve Moss from WKYT-TV in Lexington, KY notes that Jacksonville and Cincinnati are in danger of being blacked from NFL home games on Sunday.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the local CBS affiliate is blowing out the network primetime lineup on Saturday to pick up Bearcats football.

John says an N-bomb was dropped on a live local sports show.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says ESPN Radio’s Mike Golic got on Wisconsin for running up the score on Indiana last Saturday.

Sports Media Watch talks with IndyCar’s CEO about the sport’s future and its relationship with Versus.

SMW says Sunday Night Football’s ratings were down from Week 10 last year.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that the premiere episode of NHL Overtime on Versus finished well below “The Daily Line” levels which is not good.

The MLS Talk blog has a good explanation on how ESPN’s ratings for MLS are down across the board this season.

Jason Clinkscales of A Sports Scribe speaks with Mia Jackson of the Sideline Pass site.

And that will do it for the night linkage.

Time for Monday Linkage

It feels like last week since I last did linkage. And well, it’s true. The last time I did links for you was on Thursday. My apologies. Time to do some now.

From the Nation’s Newspaper, Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Michael Vick’s return to the football field hardly generated controversy.

In Sports Business Journal, Tripp Mickle writes that Pittsburgh Penguins will become the first sports franchise to get their own dedicated 24/7 HD radio station.

The SBJ talked with several business marketers on the changes they’ve had to make and will have to make to get returns on their sports sponsorships.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated says despite a TV blackout in Detroit, Lions fans listened to the team’s first win since the Bush Administration.

Tom Van Riper of Forbes.com calls the 2009 NFL season, the Year of the Blackout.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says with the Yankees back in the MLB postseason, advertising dollars are coming in for Fox and TBS for their coverage of the playoffs.

Elsa Keslassy of Variety says San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker is developing a French cartoon series using his likeness.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News writes that Cox Communications is picking up ESPN360 as of Wednesday.

Amanda Bruno from the Batter-up with Bruno blog notes that Boston.com is losing a key employee to ESPN Boston.

Neil Keefe of NESN.com says the Boston Bruins will honor former TV and radio voice Fred Cusick posthumously next week.

Juliet Macur of the New York Times reports that President Obama will make an appearance at the International Olympic Committee vote for the 2016 Summer Olympics next month.

Newsday’s Neil Best says the baseball tradition of champagne locker room celebrations is now an anachronism.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is incredulous that the Rev. Al Sharpton is appearing on WWE Raw tonight. Lighten up, Phil.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty looks forward to a matchup of 3-0 teams on Sunday.

And Pete has your college football TV schedule for this week.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that the AHL’s Albany River Rats have a new radio home.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times reviews the weekend of sports on television.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun feels the NFL Sunday pregame shows glossed over Michael Vick’s dogfighting past.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes that Cowboys voice Brad Sham has a very busy day today.

Barry says there will be plenty of pregame programming before a local station’s simulcast of tonight’s ESPN production of the Panthers-Cowboys game.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some highs and lows from yesterday’s Fox production of the Packers-Rams game.

Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star gets on MLB Network for not providing live cut-ins on Sunday afternoon.

Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post writes that Colorado Rockies radio voice Jeff Kingery is leaving at the end of this season.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has your planning guide for sports on TV this week.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times is a fan of NFL Network’s RedZone.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says much of Canada’s media gave Wayne Gretzky a pass for resigning from the Phoenix Coyotes last week.

Chris Zelkovich from the Toronto Star feels some sportscasters are too dependent on the yucks.

From the Biz of Football, Maury Brown says Verizon FiOS will offer a free preview of NFL Network’s RedZone on Sunday.

Comcast will also offer a free preview this Sunday as well.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog has a guest column from former NBC Sports and Raycom Sports analyst Dave Rowe.

Chris noticed that Brent Musburger was quoting Blue Oyster Cult songs during Saturday’s Iowa-Penn State game.

The Sports Media Watch has its usual weekend ratings predictions.

Steve Lepore from Puck The Media says the NHL has finally taken a stand in the DirecTV/Versus dispute.

Steve has your North American NHL TV schedule for October.

Steve notes that NHL Network won’t be carrying the full compliment of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada games, but tells us it’s for the good.

That’s going to do it for today.

Friday Megalinks

I’m trying something new to get the Friday megalinks in during the day. I hope it works.

As always, we highlight the Weekend Viewing Picks and there are quite a few this weekend.

The PGA Championship, golf’s last major of the year is taking place at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. CBS is hoping to see Tiger Woods in contention as he has helped raise the network’s golf ratings over the last few weeks. If he’s at or near the top throughout the weekend, then you’ll see the ratings rise significantly. If not, then it’ll be a long weekend for CBS. TNT has early 3rd and final round coverage at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. CBS then joins at 2 p.m. for full 18 hole coverage.

Baseball continues to head towards the pennant races. Fox has three games highlighted by Philadelphia at Atlanta. Neither Joe Buck nor Tim McCarver are working on Saturday meaning that this is not a major showcase weekend in Fox’s mind. Phillies-Braves will also be the ESPN Sunday Night game. MLB Network and TBS will air Boston at Texas for their Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games respectively. And WGN has Pirates at Cubs on Sunday. MLB this weekend including regional splits and announcing assignments for Fox and ESPN are located right here.

The English Premier League returns this weekend and ESPN2 is an addition to the U.S. rightsholders. It will carry a Saturday morning and Monday afternoon game every week. This is part of the deal that ESPN signed with the EPL to carry games in the UK. Setanta Sports and Fox Soccer Channel will continue to carry games here as well. ESPN2′s debut will be Chelsea vs. Hull City at 7:30 a.m., Saturday.

NASCAR heads to Michigan International Speedway and the Carfax 400 which ESPN carries Sunday at 2 p.m.

If you need your football fix, NFL Network has a live exhibition game tripleheader on Saturday. It will carry both the home and away feeds of each game.

NBC has Olympic sports including the VISA Gymnastics Championships where gold medalist Nastia Liukin will participate Saturday night at 8. And there’s the World Track & Field Championships from Berlin which NBC carries Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Versus also has coverage Saturday night at 7.

And in primetime, the season premiere of Mad Men is on AMC, Sunday night at 10.

Check out the Weekend picks in full right here.

Now to the links.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand notes some changes to the Fox Sports NFL announcing lineup.

Mike Florio of Pro Football talk speculates that CBS’ Jim Nantz knew all along that Michael Vick was going to sign with an NFL team this week.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at the winners and losers in the Michael Vick signing.

Darren takes a gander at the ticket sales for various games involving Michael Vick.

And Darren asks readers for the potential signs Vick will see this season.

Christopher Byrne at the Eye on Sports Media looks at whether Louisville coach Rick Pitino faces excommunication from the Catholic Church for paying for an abortion.

Chris also looks at the NIT Tip-Off field.

Chris feels the promo for the Baseball World Cup in Nettuno, Italy stepped over the line.

The Sports Media Watch notes that former ESPN’er Steven A. Smith has become a go-to guy on the cable news networks.

Alex Weprin of Broadcasting & Cable says Spike hopes to take some MMA thunder away Showtime’s Strikeforce by showing highlights from UFC 100.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that CBS College Sports has made some new hires for college football season.

Mike reports that Telemundo and Mun2 scored in their simulcast of the US-Mexico World Cup soccer qualifying match on Wednesday.

Mike adds that ESPN Deportes also did well in its wraparound programming for US-Mexico.

And Joe Favorito says by going on HBO’s Hard Knocks this season, the Cincinnati Bengals are not only helping their brand, but their practice jersey sponsor as well.

East and Mid-Atlantic

From the Boston Globe, Chad Finn feels the new 98.5 The Sports Hub had a decent debut and needs some work.

But Christine McConville of the Boston Herald wasn’t impressed.

Kristine Leahy has Friday’s edition of The Five at WEEI.com.

Amanda Bruno from Batter-up with Bruno gives Chad Finn’s new Maple Street Press Patriots annual a plug.

Newsday’s Neil Best learns that Frank Gifford will be doing taped vignettes for ESPN to celebrate Monday Night Football’s 40th anniversary.

In his column, Neil talks with New York Yankees radio voice John Sterling. Neil lists some of Sterling’s famous home run calls. Neil has some more on Sterling in his blog.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman urges all of us to watch James Brown’s 60 Minutes interview of Michael Vick with a critical eye. Whatever you say, Bob. Go eat your oatmeal now.

Richard Huff from the Daily News writes that WCBS-TV sports anchor Sam Ryan is leaving to focus on duties for CBS College Sports as well as CBS Sports.

Over to Phil Mushnick from the New York Post and Phil is in a very bad mood today judging from the hate he spews at ESPN for its live game coverage.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger about the Jets’ and Giants’ quarterbacking situation.

Justin has five questions for CBS golf analyst Sir Nick Faldo about the PGA Championship.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union speaks with local native Dottie Pepper who will be Golf Channel’s analyst for next week’s Solheim Cup.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette feels Michael Vick deserves a second chance.

Dave Hughes from DCRTV writes in the Baltimore-centric Press Box about the happenings in DC and Baltimore sports media.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says Redskins fans will be covered on the radio throughout the season.

South

Rodney Page of the St. Petersburg Times feels Jon Gruden got better as he went along during his ESPN debut on Thursday.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says former Astro Craig Biggio will be on Fox Sports Net this weekend analyzing a high school baseball All-Star Game.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News is amazed at the ratings for the Cowboys’ exhibition game opener.

Barry also looks at the local sports radio ratings.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer gets the first word on Hard Knocks’ second episode.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley feels James Brown won’t be soft on Michael Vick.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business has his weekly winners and losers in sports business and media.

Ed tells us that he’ll be taking over hosting duties for a local golf show on WSCR.

To Paul Christian of the Rochester Post-Bulletin who says Tiger Woods is very good for golf ratings.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cardinals are dispelling rumors that they’re changing radio stations.

Dan says former Rams QB Trent Green will be in the booth for two of the team’s exhibition games.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that the Chargers will be blacked out Saturday.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times says Tiger Woods is helping out TNT and CBS during the PGA Championship this week.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail says a big name needs to step and win the PGA Championship to help the tournament’s ratings.

Those are your links. Not as many as previous weeks as some media writers are on vacation.

Some Late Thursday Night/Early Friday Morning Linkage

I’ll give some linkage tonight before I sleep.

Newsday’s Neil Best reports that CBS Sports reporter Sam Ryan is giving up her gig as sports anchor at WCBS-TV in New York to focus on her national duties.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says there will be a lot of pressure on Michael Vick to say the right thing during his Friday press conference to announce his signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Darren wonders how many NFL blackouts there will be this season.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says Golf Channel will leave coverage of the Solheim Cup for two hours next Friday due to PGA Tour commitments.

The great Keith Thibeault of the Sports Media Journal continues his series of interview with NFL play-by-play men and the latest talk is with legendary New Orleans Saints voice Jim Henderson.

Ray Frager writing for the SMJ has some inside stuff on the first season of HBO’s Hard Knocks which focused on the Baltimore Ravens.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times notes that a big tenant is signing up to lease space near the Nationals ball park.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says one cable provider is pulling the plug on running Hard Knocks because of the language. I just shake my head. It’s HBO, not ESPN.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Clippers are changing radio stations for next season.

Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says Roku is becoming a content provider player by nabbing the MLB.TV subscription package.

The Sports Media Watch says the Phillies set another ratings record for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Steve Lepore at Puck the Media looks for clues at the Versus schedule by checking at the Columbus Blue Jackets TV grid.

The 38 Cliches blog notes that WEEI’s Dale Arnold was in the Red Sox radio booth on Wednesday but he wasn’t there to call the game.

The great Amanda Bruno of Batter-up with Bruno caught an addition error on MLB.com on Thursday.

Sumner Widoes of Sports Fan Live wraps up his extensive interview with ESPN’s Kenny Mayne.

That will include the late night linkage. Get ready for the regular Friday features. Lots of stuff coming.

Michael Vick Speaks to 60 Minutes

Right as ESPN’s Chris Mortensen breaks the news that Michael Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles tonight, you wonder if the interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that airs Sunday will be rendered obsolete, but you would think they’ll get Vick’s reaction to add to the interview that James Brown conducted on Monday.

Here’s a quick preview sent by CBS News:

MICHAEL VICK BLAMES HIMSELF: “I WASN’T A LEADER,” HE SAYS, VOWING TO HELP PUT AN END TO DOGFIGHTING – “60 MINUTES” SUNDAY

Former NFL Star Appears in his First Interview Since his Dogfighting Conviction and Reinstatement to the League

Michael Vick, the former pro quarterback, says he alone is to blame for not stepping up to end the illegal dogfighting that resulted in a prison sentence and his suspension from the NFL.

Vick tells CBS Sports “NFL TODAY” anchor James Brown the dogfights were “wrong” and he feels badly about participating in them and that he deserves to have lost all he did. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last month conditionally restored Vick to the league, after meeting with Vick and hearing his apology. Vick says he has reflected on his actions, missed the game and is ready to start playing again. The interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, Aug. 16 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Vick also talks about his time in prison, where he says he had time to think about what he had done, realized what he had lost and often cried at night in his cell.

The following excerpt from this Sunday’s 60 MINUTES interview appeared on tonight’s CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC. Watch an excerpt of Vick’s interview.

JAMES BROWN:

And the operation, Michael, that you pleaded guilty to bankrolling, to being a part of, engaged in barbarous treatment of the animals– beating them, shooting them, electrocuting them, drowning them– horrific things, Michael– what about the dogs? What about the dogs?

MICHAEL VICK:

It’s wrong, man…I feel, you know, some tremendous hurt behind what happened. And, you know, I should have took the initiative to stop it all…I didn’t– I didn’t step up. I wasn’t a leader.

JAMES BROWN:

So for the cynics who will say, “You know what? I don’t know. Michael Vick might be more concerned about the fact that his career was hurt than dogs were hurt.”

MICHAEL VICK:

I mean, football don’t even matter.

The 60 Minutes interviews airs this Sunday on CBS at 7 p.m.

Bringing You Tuesday Links

Here are some links for you today. Time to give you linkage. I was busy earlier compiling the list of NFL flagship TV stations for exhibition season. I’ll do a list of NFL radio networks as we get closer to the regular season. Right now, it’s the links so let’s get to them.

Bob Kimball of USA Today looks at the ratings of various events from the weekend.

ESPN.com offers a preview of tonight’s E:60 in which Cleveland Browns WR Donte Stallworth talks about his DUI arrest.

Lou Kesten of the Associated Press says EA Sports is teaming up with ESPN to promote the release of the Madden NFL 10 video game.

Newsday’s Neil Best says the Patriots’ Tom Brady acquitted himself well during an appearance on HBO’s Entourage on Sunday.

Neil reviews a new book on baseball icon “Moonlight” (Doc) Graham. If you saw Field of Dreams, then you know why Doc Graham is an icon.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at a series of Tank McNamara comic strips regarding Michael Vick and NFL Commish Roger Goodell that caused the Washington Post to drop two installments this week.

Richard writes an appreciation of Eunice Shriver who died today at the age of 88.

Bob Raissman from the New York Daily News wonders where was the overboard coverage from ESPN on David Ortiz?

CNBC’s Darren Rovell feels Michael Vick is taking the wrong approach to the media.

Darren writes that the owners of a $16 million horse are still hoping to make money from their investment.

Evan Weiner writing for MCN Sports warns that hockey could be falling in popularity in Toronto of all places.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks about Donte Stallworth and Michael Vick starting their media apology tours this week.

Pete has the TV schedule for this week’s PGA Championship.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says the Terrell Owens VH-1 reality show is distorting present day reality.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call liked NBC’s halftime tribute to John Madden.

If you didn’t see it, this is the tribute that ran during the Hall of Fame game:

Ed McGranahan of the Greenville (SC) News looks at the new media restrictions imposed by the SEC.

Tommy Hicks of the Mississippi News writes that thanks to the new SEC media contracts, Mississippi and Mississippi State will be on TV a lot more.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News looks at a rare NFL double-dip coming up this week.

Mike Pryson of the Jackson (MI) Citizen Patriot says NASCAR nor Michigan International Speedway are worried about the TV ratings for this season’s races.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business pays tribute to the editor of Chicagoland Golf who passed away Monday.

Ed also looks at the commercial and media fallout from the arrest of Chicago Blackhawk star Patrick Kane.

Kevin Druley from the Dekalb (IL) Daily Chronicle profiles Golf Channel analyst Dottie Pepper.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says an ESPN publication has rated Packer Charles Woodson in the top 5 of all cornerbacks in the NFL.

Gieson Cacho of the San Jose Mercury News tells us that Monday Night Football will be all over the release of Madden NFL 10.

Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee says a former sports radio talk show host has landed on his feet with a hot girlfriend and a high profile gig on Comcast SportsNet California.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that ESPN Deportes gets its first “SportsCenter” ad campaign.

Mike writes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is broadening its programming with its new media rights agreement with the Washington Redskins.

Tristan O’Connor of Media Week UK talks with the woman in charge of putting ESPN on the air in time for the English Premier League season this week.

The Sports Media Watch has the weekend ratings.

The Slashgear blog notes that the Roku media player has added MLB.TV to its TV offerings.

Steve Donohue from Contentinople talks about Turner Sports’ multiplatform coverage of this week’s PGA Championship.

Kristine Leahy of WEEI.com has the latest version of The Five.

Ok, that’s it. I’m going to be watching the Red Sox and listening to WBCN’s final farewell tonight.

Late Night Linkage

Here are some links for you on this late night Monday going into early Tuesday.

First a favor to ask. My lovely friend, Steelergurl, is asking you to fill out a survey on NFL and new media. It won’t take more than five minutes of your time. If you’re an NFL fan, she wants to know how you get your NFL news, what news sites you visit, what blogs you read, which players you follow on Twitter, that type of thing. I appreciate if you could fill out the survey. Steelergurl thanks you in advance.

Now to the links.

Sports Illustated’s Richard Deitsch gives us his Bucket List, the list of sporting events he would like to witness before he passes. Richard is one of 16 SI writers who provided their lists for a special feature on the magazine’s website.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has video of two interviews he conducted while at one of the nation’s largest horse sales.

The Sports Media Journal’s Ray Frager looks at the merits of inducting cockroach Art Modell into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If Modell ever gets in after he moved my beloved Browns to Baltimore, I vow never to mention the Pro Football Hall of Fame on this blog again.

Speaking of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggests changing the format of the induction ceremonies.

From the Boston Sports Media Watch, Bruce Allen learns that the Boston Globe has filled the vacancy left when NBA beat writer Marc Spears left for Yahoo! Sportts.

Newsday’s Neil Best caught up with Luis Tiant on the night before the ESPN documentary, “The Lost Son of Havana” on his trip to Cuba aired Monday. Neil also reviews the documentary.

Neil says Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees 15 inning classic was a ratings bonanza for YES.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that the NFL and PGA scored in the ratings on Sunday.

Brian Kaminski of the Tarentum Valley (PA) News Dispatch writes about a fan winning a one year contract to be on the air for a Pittsburgh sports radio station.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner goes over Michael Vick’s interview on 60 Minutes this Sunday.

Jim talks about Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic extending their exclusive content deal with the Washington Redskins.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times reports that the deal allows CSN to exclusively air the Redskins’ exhibition games in HD.

Andrea Adelson from the Orlando Sentinel writes about the first two stops of the college football season for ESPN’s College Gameday.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the local Fox affiliate is expanding its high school football coverage.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business debunks a SportsbyBrooks report that Jay the Rat is moving to the Chicago Tribune.

In the Chicago Daily Herald, Ted Cox has Jay The Rat saying the deal has yet to be finalized.

But SportsbyBrooks is standing by its story.

I’m at the point where I just don’t care about Jay the Rat.

Vince Horiuchi of the Salt Lake Tribune writes the local NBC affiliate will not air a poker game show because of the owner’s stand on gambling.

MLB Network airs its second minor league game ever next Monday.

Golf Channel says it will stream coverage of Day 1 of the Solheim Cup which is the women’s version of the Ryder Cup.

Chris Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media has scanned the SEC’s media policy for your perusal.

Holly Anderson of Yahoo! Sports also looks at the new relationship between ESPN and the SEC that forged the new media policy.

Owen Gibson of the Guardian writes about ESPN’s entry into the UK airing English Premier League games.

Matt Eley in The Publican says ESPN has won the rights to air Italy’s Serie A league soccer in the UK.

That will do it for the late night links.

A Sunday Grind

Now that I’m recovered from my night at Mohegan Sun, I’m back and ready to give you some linkage.

Before I provide the links, I’ll tell you that my experience at Bobby’s Burger Palace was really disappointing. I went because someone recommended the place to me and I decided to break my personal ban from hamburger joints for this one night (trying to lose weight). Number one, I’m not a fan of Bobby Flay, I think he’s arrogant and a self-promoter. Number two, the person who recommended the place is someone I trust. Number three, the burger I had, “Bobby’s Blue Burger” with blue cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato was not only not hot, but it was too salty (most likely the blue cheese) and his sweet potato fries were not that good. Very disappointed, but not too surprised since Bobby Flay is all-talk. I’ll never go there again. I’ll just head to the trusty buffets at Mohegan Sun.

To your links now.

Newsday goes over the best of Neil Best’s blogs from the last week.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman is already plotting to bring John Madden back to the broadcast booth .

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post admits that he missed WFAN’s Mike Francesa.

Alan Pergament from the Buffalo News caught up with Shaquille O’Neal who begins his reality show later this month.

Jason Lewis from the Tuscaloosa (AL) News writes that the SEC is instituting a new media policy thanks to its new contract with ESPN. Thanks to the Big Lead for the link.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley mentions that former Packer WR Sterling Sharpe is mentioned in an NFL Network program and the Packers brought in NBC’s Cris Collinsworth to talk about their media duties.

Phillip B. Wilson of the Indianapolis Star says ESPN’s Chris Mortensen took a side trip from his bus ride across the country to visit Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The daughter of Chicago sports radio personality Dan Jiggetts got married yesterday.

Artie Gigantino of the San Francisco Examiner says ESPN’s Chris Mortensen has a dream gig this summer.

The Los Angeles Times’ Diane Pucin profiles NBC’s Cris Collinsworth who begins his first season as game analyst on Sunday Night Football tonight.

Diane urges the Tennis Channel to update some of their features that have been taped as many as two years ago. Diane and I exchanged Tweets about this last night.

The Tri-Cities (WA) Herald says Washington State and FSN Northwest have extended their rights deal for the next 8 years.

John Eggerton of Multichannel News writes that MASN appears to have lost a huge battle to get carried on Comcast systems in PA and VA.

The Sports Media Watch notes that the ratings for last week’s Pennsylvania 500 fell, but coverage of last Sunday’s rain delay drew the highest sports TV ratings.

SMW has some news on some various names including where Mike Vick will grant his first interview.

SMW has more ratings odds and ends.

And the Sports Media Watch has its usual ratings predictions for the weekend.

Joe Favorito says a public relations stunt done correctly can help expand a “global” brand.

The AfterDawn blog says NBC Sports is moving its HD programming online using Microsoft’s Silverlight technology. That includes the 2010 Winter Olympics.

That will do it. Expect a review of “The Lost Son of Havana” sometime today.

You Thought Brett Favre Coverage was Overboard? Wait for Michael Vick…

ESPN is booking satellite time, getting ready for the release of Michael Vick from prison. I would not be surprised if ESPN booked the Goodyear Blimp to be above Leavenworth Prison where Vick will be brought back into society following his time behind bars. Check out this blurb from ESPN.

Feeding the beast, ESPN will all over this story. Where is the ESPN Ombudsman on this?

Tuesday Afternoon Links Update

Time for some new links today.

CBS Sports is crowing about its college football ratings. The South Carolina-LSU game on Saturday was way up from last year at the same time.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at the ratings of selected events from the weekend.

Looking at the weekend overnight ratings listed by the Sports Media Watch, Fox may have stemmed the tide for the NFL pregame shows. Fox NFL Sunday registered a 3.3/9 while the NFL Today on CBS mustered a 2.6/7. We’ll see what the final ratings register later in the week.

From the Daily Cardinal, the University of Wisconsin’s school newspaper, Charles Brace writes that two state legislators are calling on the state’s two major cable companies to provide the Big Ten Network to consumers.

John Ryan in his Morning Buzz blog at the San Jose Mercury News says it was quite an interesting weekend on the college football front for ESPN (Erin Andrews kissing West Virginia QB Pat White and Mike Patrick talking about Britney Spears). And Ryan notes that the San Jose Sharks are bringing back “Rock ‘n Roll, Part II” for goal celebrations after a one year absence.

Is the Commonwealth of Virginia piling on? A state grand jury has indicted suspended Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick on dogfighting charges. He faces 10 years if convicted.

In the Washington Post, Leonard Shapiro criticizes Comcast SportsNet for allowing Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to be interviewed by his close friend, George Michael, formerly of George Michael’s Sports Machine.

The Biz of Baseball’s Maury Brown writes that NBC’s Tim Russert will host the Red Sox Nation Presidential Debate that will air on NESN Friday night. Don’t ask. I’m a Red Sox fan and I’m embarrassed about this.

Tom Hoffarth of the LA Daily News has some stuff in his Farther Off the Wall blog on the Mike Gundy-Jenni Carlson incident from the weekend.

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

Friday Update Time

Let’s give you some links before the weekend officially arrives.

Randell Mell of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Big Ten Network chose the right year to launch.

Scott Pierce of the Deseret (UT) News says TV is a major reason for a conference to expand and it’s not a good enough reason for the Mountain West Conference to add Boise State as has been rumored recently.

Michael Zuidema of the Grands Rapids Press looks at Mike Tirico who did his first two shows for ESPN Radio this week.

I keep forgetting to link to Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin. This week, Christian writes that Packer fans in the local area won’t be able to watch their team this Sunday because the Vikings are on opposite them and Rochester is a Vikings secondary market.

David Goetzl of the Media Daily News writes that ESPN will hold a town meeting on Michael Vick next Tuesday.

Jackie Majerus of the Bristol (CT) Press writes that ESPN officials are happy that a busy street that intersects its campus has been shut down to traffic.

Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that SEC fans aren’t happy about CBS Sports’ scheduling perks that allows the network to choose a game, on occasion, six days in advance.

Mike Kays of the Muskogee (OK) Phoenix says the only reason why Tulsa is playing Oklahoma tonight on what usually is a high school football night is money.

TV Week’s Chris Pursell has a new entry in his Pressbox blog and it’s concerning Sugar Ray Leonard talking about boxing and Mixed Martial Arts on TV. One is gaining popularity while the other is not.

The Buffalo Business First newspaper reports that the Sabres will have 71 games on MSG and seven on Versus.

Christine Daniels of the LA Times has her first Sound & Vision column after Larry Stewart left the media beat last week.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times writes in his Sports Business blog about Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic starting a new overflow channel.

The Sports Media Watch blog gives the weekend rating predictions. And Paulsen notes that college football on ESPN/ESPN Classic and ABC all did well last weekend. Thank you for the links, Paulsen.

Tom Hoffarth of the LA Daily News reports in his Farther Off the Wall blog that DeMarco Farr has left his radio job in an attempt at an NFL comeback. Farr was last played in the NFL in 2000.

That’s it for now. Coming up for tonight are Primetime Viewing Picks, Weekend Viewing Picks, College Football Viewing Picks, NFL Viewing Picks, NFL Picks for Week 3 and even more links for Saturday morning. Keep it here.

Tuesday Morning Stuff

After watching the finish of the evening session of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan, it’s time to give you some links.

Let’s head over to Boston Sports Media Watch where Bruce Allen transcribed some rather idiotic comments made by former Boston Globe writer Ron Borges. He appeared on WEEI yesterday as substitute co-host for Dennis & Callahan and said that he got screwed by the Globe when he was fired for plagiarizing an NFL notes column from Mike Sando. Remember that, Ron? You don’t plagiarize other people’s work and pass it off as your own. And you don’t play yourself off as the victim in this either. Don’t make me go back to the Cold Hard Football Facts website which compares the two columns side by side. Dave Scott of BSMW has his take on the Borges debacle yesterday and also has an update on the Dennis & Callahan/WEEI negotiations. Ron, you may think you got screwed, but the only person who screwed you was yourself.

Paulsen from the Sports Media Watch blog has a look at the weekend ratings for the sporting weekend and the thing that sticks out is the fact that viewers are ready for football. MLB on Fox slipped for the 9th straight week.

In the New York Times, Richard Sandomir says Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson should not whine about the prize money from the PGA’s FedEx Cup which will be deferred and invested for the winner. Talk about a nice perk. But Woods and Mickelson apparently want the money now.

Checking your links on the Big Ten Network, Bob Baptist of the Columbus Dispatch says Time Warner, Insight nor WOW cable expect to pick up the channel in Ohio. George M. Thomas from the Akron Beacon Journal says with the launch on Thursday, fans may still be left out in the cold. Jim Sabin of the Newark (OH) Advocate says Time Warner Cable is still negotiating down to the wire in hopes of coming to an agreement. The story is the same from Shawn Piatek from the Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat where Comcast and Atlantic Broadband are the cable providers.

The NFL Network has been picked up by Grande Communications in San Antonio.

Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic spends five minutes with Pat Summerall.

Jean DePlacido of the Salem (MA) News profiles the lovely Michelle Bonner of ESPNews and anchors an occasional SportsCenter, who hails from nearby Marblehead, MA.

Mike Battaglino of the New York Post says the popular “Two-A-Days” show is moving from MTV to ESPN where it will get a new name.

ESPN has a big-ass press release hailing its coverage for college football including a weekly game of the week on radio. And the Alleged Worldwide Leader tells us that the last 11 races of the NASCAR Nextel series will be on ABC.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the NHL’s San Jose Sharks won’t have 10 games on TV this season.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the Michael Vick story received all types of coverage.

Those are your links for now. Check back later for updates.