Fang's Bites

A Saturday Sports Media Notebook

Fridays are becoming way too busy for me. I need to find a way to stop it. Anyway, I have some links and thoughts for you in this latest edition of the notebook.

ESPN’s Sean McDonough hopes to return to the broadcast booth after undergoing surgery to correct a rare inner ear condition that caused him to hear things unusually loud. McDonough talked with Chad Finn of the Boston Globe and Michael Hiestand of USA Today about his condition and how it’s prevented him from going back to work.

Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock has this takedown of ESPN’s First Take and Rob Parker.

So ESPN is dialing back the Tebowmania? Apparently not as Awful Announcing discovered.

Ben Koo of AA found out that NFL Films is producing an edition of “A Football Life” devoted to Steve Sabol. I’m looking forward to seeing this when the documentary is finished. To be honest, just one hour on Sabol’s career will not do justice to his impact on sports television.

As the future of The Big East is still being determined, the Catholic 7 all-basketball schools that have broken away from the conference appear to be talking to both Fox and NBC Sports Network to place their games on one or the other or both. Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated has an extensive article on the Big East’s future. I would think Fox would be the favorite or perhaps, ESPN might jump in to get a package of games.

If you want to know why NBC’s Sunday Night Football is the number one show in primetime television, you have to go back to its genesis when producer Fred Gaudelli worked for ESPN and was producing Sunday night games for the Alleged Worldwide Leader. Deadspin’s John Koblin has a great article on the teamwork between Gaudelli, analyst Cris Collinsworth and director Drew Esocoff.

Another good article from Deadspin on how NFL RedZone is cannibalizing the Sunday afternoon game broadcasts.

Former US Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton admits to the Wisconsin State Journal that she was a high-priced Las Vegas escort.

While Dan Patrick is on vacation for the holidays, Fang’s Bites fave Bonnie Bernstein will sub for him on Christmas Eve, next Friday and on New Year’s Eve.

In the latest edition of the Sports Media Weekly podcast, you heard former 98.5 The Sports Hub nighttime host Damon Amendolara talking about his new gig as the overnight host for CBS Sports Radio. The Boston sports radio station has named his replacement and it’s a familiar voice to sports radio listeners in the New England area.

For the next Sports Media Weekly podcast on Wednesday, December 26, it’s going to include several sports media observers providing their stories of 2012 and predictions for 2013. I’ve been gathering the stories and predictions from previous guests of the podcast. I hope you’ll enjoy them.

Awful Announcing has Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talking about his year-end sports media awards.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner says college sports are all about the money.

And Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times provides his top sports media stories of 2012 in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

That will do it.

The Pre-Olympic Linkage

The Olympics get started tomorrow with women’s soccer action and while the Games don’t officially begin until Friday with the Opening Ceremony (live in most countries except the United States), today is really the calm before the Olympic storm. Starting tomorrow and going through August 12, this site will be awash in Olympics sports media coverage as it was in 2008 for Beijing and 2010 in Vancouver. While I’ll be covering other sports media news, I’ll be focusing on NBC’s coverage, the business of the Olympics and other news out of London. I hope you’ll continue to visit.

Ok, let’s do the linkage. It’s time to bring it back. I was doing so well last week, six straight days of links, then last Friday, I got bogged down with family stuff and wasn’t able to do what I wanted to. Sometimes that happens. Time to take life back now.

Starting with the great Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, he has his Media Power List for July.

Ed Sherman of the Sherman Report talks with Big Ten Network’s President about doing an about-face and covering the Penn State story wall-to-wall on Monday.

Ed talks with NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell who takes the reins from his mentor, former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol, for London.

Sports Business Journal interviews the President of the Jacksonville Jaguars about stadium technology and the NFL Blackout policy.

Daniel Frankel of paidContent says the next sports network carriage dispute will be between the Pac-12 Networks and the two major satellite TV providers.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says NBC will provide an Olympics “Red Zone Channel” that will be online-only.

Shira Ovide of the Wall Street Journal says NBC will delay the Olympics Opening Ceremony and it won’t be seen live on cable or online.

The Big Lead says ESPN lured Brett McMurphy away from CBSSports.com to become one of its college football insiders.

Gabriel Beltone of Adweek looks at some of the best Olympic ads thus far.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says CBS Sports Network will piggyback on CBS’ coverage of the PGA Championship and US Open tennis.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age writes that the Penn State scandal could hurt the school’s marketability down the road.

David Goetzl at MediaPost says McDonald’s has begun its Olympic marketing campaign.

Steve McClellan at MediaPost writes that the Olympics help brand awareness.

Evan Weiner of Examiner.com says the International Olympic Committee should honor the Israeli athletes who were massacred during the 1972 Munich Games.

Sports Video Group notes that the MLB At Bat mobile and tablet app had its 5 millionth download.

Merrill Knox of TVSpy says a former Washington DC sports anchor returns home to the Bay Area.

Excellent story from Jason Schwartz of Boston Magazine on the hard fall of Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios. Nothing to do with sports media, but very good reporting.

The Boston Bruins announced Monday that it has signed an extension with radio flagship WBZ-FM.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says you’ll be able to see all of NBC’s live Olympics streams, provided you sign up.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about Sports Illustrated coming to TV.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says the Open Championship received its highest overnight rating in four years.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes that NBC’s Olympic specialty channels will be picked up locally.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Comcast will be all over the Olympics on its cable platforms.

David Selig of the Baltimore Sun says an Orioles pitching prospect will be featured on tonight’s premiere of Sports Illustrated on NBC Sports Network.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that the area’s sports radio stations are getting ready for the Robert Griffin III era in DC.

Dan notes that Maryland’s field hockey coach Missy Meharg who will be an Olympics analyst for NBC.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci who will be a part of the magazine’s TV premiere tonight.

KSAT-TV in San Antonio named Jessica Ghawi an honorary member of its sports department. She was one of the 12 victims killed in the Aurora, CO movie theater massacre.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News writes about the KSAT honor for Jessica.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says MLB Advanced Media is bad for baseball.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says NBC’s Olympic coverage begins and ends with the Holy Diminutive One, Bob Costas.

Ben Fong-Torres of the San Francisco Chronicle profiles Ron Barr and his Sports Byline USA network which keeps plugging along from the Bay Area in a world dominated by ESPN Radio.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing says Big Ten Network got the job done in covering the Penn State sanctions on Monday.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says ESPN should air TSN’s SportsCentre to gain street cred with hockey fans.

Tony Manfred of the Business Insider’s Sports page notes that the Olympics helped to transform one of London’s seedier neighborhoods into a showcase.

And that’s going to do it.

Cranking Out Some Friday Megalinks

Ok, linkage has been really scarce over the last month and a half and I apologize for that. My schedules have been quite busy and it’s been tough to sit down for the time it takes to gather the links. I hope that changes over the next month or so.

I have some National links for you right now. I’ll follow up with more stuff later.

Here are the Weekend Viewing Picks for you.

National

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch speaks with the people at the Poynter Institute who are the ESPN Ombudsman.

Nate Davis at USA Today’s The Huddle has the Miami Dolphins not so enthusiastic about being on Hard Knocks this season.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with ESPN’s Sean McDonough who will undergo brain surgery later this year.

Ira Boudwell of Bloomberg Businessweek says ESPN is getting out of the high school sports business saying it’s not broad enough.

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski says this week’s blowout between David Stern and Jim Rome proves that the NBA Commissioner needs to go.

John Ourand of Sports Business Daily says Fox Sports San Diego is launching an ad campaign against Time Warner Cable which has still not picked up the regional sports network.

Good Morning America’s and former ESPN SportsCenter host Robin Roberts says she will beat the rare blood disorder that will require a bone marrow transplant.

Michael O’Connell of the Hollywood Reporter notes that the NBA Finals are pacing ABC to good ratings this week.

At Broadcasting & Cable, Tim Baysinger writes that this week’s Dream Team documentary gave NBA TV its best viewership ever.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says GolTV scored with this week’s soccer international friendly match between Brazil and Argentina.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life reports that NBC will debut two new sitcoms right smack dab in the middle of the Olympics.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report looks at the geriatric broadcasting team calling the NBA Finals for ESPN Radio.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid notes that even after the winning the Stanley Cup this week, the Los Angeles Kings still aren’t getting respect from the local media.

Former Deadspin editor A.J. Daulerio returns to his former stomping grounds to do a massive takedown of Jay “The Rat” Mariotti.

Also from Deadspin, John Koblin writes that there doesn’t seem to be a clamoring for Erin Andrews beyond ESPN.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says NBA TV and NBA Entertainment are appealing to the hardcore basketball fan for their Finals coverage.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead says Sports Illustrated could be laying off part of its staff.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has tweets from people who hated Chris Berman on the U.S. Open yesterday.

Sports Media Watch notes that this year’s Stanley Cup Final did not resonate with viewers.

SMW also has some various ratings news and notes.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Brooklyn Nets gear is selling very well.

MediaRantz tells us that Sean Salisbury will be getting a new internet radio gig.

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Time for more linkage here.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reports that May was a very good month for sports radio station WEEI as it finished ahead of 98.5 The Sports Hub.

At SB Nation, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch writes about golfer David Duval taking a turn in the broadcast tower at the U.S. Open.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette discusses Johnny Miller holding court for NBC at the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco this week.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with ESPN college baseball analyst Kyle Petersen who will be introducing many Long Islanders to the College World Series today.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after the Yankees for pricing out fans from the “Beautiful People” seats at Yankee Stadium.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY notes that SNY will unveil the all-time Mets team at a gala event on Sunday.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the US Women’s National Soccer Team will be on TV and the web this weekend.

Ken says local Time Warner Cable subscribers will have access to the new Pac-12 Networks this summer.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says NBC Sports Group has announced the 2012 Summer at Saratoga schedule.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union talks with Jim Rome who marks his 16th year in New York’s Capital Region.

Pete says one of harness racing’s famous races changes networks this year.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call profiles a local cable TV sports reporter who is filling a double role this summer.

Keith has more on her in his blog.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes that a decision on the Washington Nationals TV rights has been delayed.

South

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald has some NBA Finals Game 2 postgame reaction as well as Jon Barry saying he’s not a Miami Heat Hater.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Fox Sports Houston was well-prepared and staffed for Wednesday’s perfect game thrown against the Astros by Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman writes that ESPN on ABC was all over the non-foul call against the Thunder’s Kevin Durant during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The Oklahoman rounds up what sports reporters are saying on Twitter about the NBA Finals.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says an all-star high school football game will be shown locally this weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that ESPN is dropping its high school sports operation.

Bob criticizes Jim Rome for his questioning of NBA Communist China Sympathizer David Stern.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says Cubs announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly were silent when comedian Jeff Garlin brought up trading Alfonso Soriano.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin notes the rare occurrence of the U.S. Open and the NBA Finals going head-to-head on TV this Father’s Day.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that viewers of Fox Sports Midwest may need a scorecard to tell who’s in the Cardinals TV booth over the next few days.

Dan notes that next week will mark a decade since the passing of Jack Buck and Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile.

West

Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman says this fall’s Boise State-Southern Mississippi game will get the Fox treatment.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says Utahans are nervous about getting the Pac-12 Networkcomparing it to their experience with the ill-fated the mtn.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that Fox Sports San Diego has set its sights squarely on Time Warner Cable.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star says ESPN’s NBA Countdown show seems to work fine without a host.

Jim talks with NBC’s Johnny Miller about the U.S. Open.

Jim has his weekend viewing picks.

Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times says Game 2 of the NBA Finals drew a good overnight number for ABC.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with former Kings voices about the Stanley Cup victory.

Tom has some more in his blog.

Canada

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin blames both Jim Rome and David Stern for their ugly exchange this week.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog says the NBA and NHL Commissioners are taking it on their chins this week.

And that’s going to do it.

Bringing Out The Saturday Links

Let’s do some Saturday linkage for you today. Since Wednesday, I’ve been trying to trying catch up here.

John Ourand of Sports Business Daily/Sports Business Journal notes that the NFL and Time Warner Cable have ended carriage talks on NFL Network without an agreement.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says Time Warner Cable failed to get the job done.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch looks at the new Turner Sports documentary on the 1991 and 1992 national champion Duke teams.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writes in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center takes ESPN to task for waiting too long to make a decision on the Hank Williams, Jr. mess.

John Eggerton from Multichannel News says the FCC has agreed to allow MSG Network until November to provide HD feeds of its programming to Verizon and AT&T U-Verse.

The big story of Friday was the impromptu interview of Red Sox principal owner John Henry by 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. Apparently, Henry walked into the radio station angry over some things said by hosts Mike Felger and Tony Massarotti in the wake of the now-infamous Boston Globe article on the collapse of the Red Sox. Bruce Allen of Sports Media Watch recaps the interview.

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe also listened and has an extensive recap.

Hall of Fame announcer Jack Buck, former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol, NASCAR President Bill France, Jr. and NFL Films President Steve Sabol headline this year’s class for the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has an open letter to NBA Players Association head Billy Hunter on the so-far futile negotiations between the league and the rank and file.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir notes that HBO Sports has a new president replacing Ross Greenburg who stepped down earlier this year.

Richard writes about former Oakland Raiders coach and NFL analyst John Madden mourning the death of his friend, Al Davis.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes that HBO will have a documentary on a New Jersey high school basketball team in search of perfection.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner suggests the Big East go after schools in big TV markets to ensure the league’s survival.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the National League Championship Series is a big hit in the local markets, but not nationally.

Bob says the start time for Game 6 of the NLCS is still up in the air.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Turner Sports’ Matt Winer has had a homecoming this week in the Gateway City.

Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times says the Anaheim Angels are close to renewing a rights deal with Fox Sports West.

John Maffei of the North County Times is not a fan of Chris Berman calling play-by-play. Who is?

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

That will do it.

It’s a Mid-Week Link Thing!

It’s Wednesday already? Goodness. Seemed like I was at the Rhode Island Convention Center just this week for an all-day seminar. Oh wait! I was. Anyway, let’s get to your linkage.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today feels that ESPN should pull Hank Williams, Jr. from Monday Night Football pronto.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writes in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center that Williams gave ESPN one huge headache right from the start.

Brian Lowry from Fox Sports writes that the Hank Williams, Jr. mess shows that ESPN can’t handle controversy.

The great Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated has his Media Power List for October. A good list it is.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter writes that NBC Sports Group is now going all in on hockey as its new 10 year contract with the NHL begins on Thursday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says TBS is pulling a ratings rally as the MLB Postseason kicks into high gear.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has pictures of some of the female athletes who posed nude for ESPN The Magazine’s Body issue.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has a picture of curmudgeon Woody Paige as a young writer in the mid-1970′s.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the name of Michael Rubin should become familiar with sports fans very soon.

Darren mentions that Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers’ jersey is a high seller while Tim Tebow’s sales are crashing.

Comcast SportsNet New England’s Sean McAdam breaks the news that former Red Sox manager Terry Francona will be a guest analyst for Fox on the American League Championship Series.

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn writes that 98.5 The Sports Hub won the local sports radio wars in the latest ratings book.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with TBS analyst John Smoltz who has been hitting out of the park with his work on the Tigers-Yankees series.

Neil notes that ESPN’s E:60 is celebrating a milestone tonight.

And Neil says the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols isn’t a fan of the Yankees playing in primetime.

James C. McKinley, Jr. and Richard Sandomir of the New York Times report that Madonna is being considered as the halftime act for Super Bowl XLVI on NBC. Holiday! Celebrate!

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that the local AHL team will be carried on the ESPN Radio affiliate.

Ken reports that Versus aka NBC Sports Network will be airing Notre Dame hockey games this season.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union is not a fan of TBS covering the League Division Series.

Pete has the college football TV schedule for this weekend.

Pete notes that this is the first NFL week with the dreaded “byes” in effect.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom asks if freedom of speech even exists in sports.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that Tony Kornheiser for the most part hates his radio station’s podcast policy. Don’t ever change, Mr. Tony.

Dan finds a 1997 magazine cover of two iconic DC sportscasters.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes about the newest addition to the Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic staff.

Jim notes that the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals rank among the bottom of the local MLB TV ratings.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman has the local weekend ratings.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says a Wisconsin alum has been named as an executive with NBC Sports.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business says Big Ten Network would like to be known as something else.

Scott Dochterman of the Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette previews NFL Network’s documentary on Kurt Warner.

Tom Hoffarth has some quotes from the NHL on NBC/Versus talking what else? The NHL!

Tom says Stephen Colbert had the right idea on the ESPN/Hank Williams, Jr. controversy.

Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about a local sports radio host who has just gone public with his Parkinson’s Disease after keeping it quiet from family and friends for almost 10 years.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that CBC will have a lot of Winnipeg Jets games this season.

Sports Media Watch says the WNBA Finals saw a ratings uptick on ESPN2.

Craig Calcaterra of NBC’s Hardball Talk links to a video from Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina showing WFAN’s Mike Francesa having no clue about a Detroit Tigers pitcher.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth feels many reporters failed to get the job done as the Terry Francona story developed on Friday.

And I’m going to end it there today.

Boston Battle Lines Are Drawn with WEEI/NESN & Sports Hub/CSNNE

Just announced on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub, the city’s top rated sports radio station, its afternoon drive show hosted by Michael Felger and the Boston Globe’s Tony Massarotti will be simulcast on Comcast SportsNet New England. No date has been set, but it’s expected to start soon. Felger has been a host on CSNNE’s Sports Tonight program for several years and has been affiliated with Comcast SportsNet dating back several years.

Just this year, NESN started simulcasting WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan every morning from 6 — 9 a.m.

In Felger & Massarotti’s case, all four hours of their show will be aired on Comcast SportsNet New England from 2 — 6 p.m.

Here’s the joint press release from WBZ-FM/CSSNE.

And that’s it.

Friday Megalinks Just For You

Let’s do some linkage.

The Weekend Viewing Picks give you everything to you need for your viewing pleasure.

Let’s do this.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that primetime is the right time for college football.

Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Daily reports that ESPN has sold out its ad inventory for its new NASCAR non-stop initiative which will allow fans to see continuous race action while commercials run.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NFL Network used some creative methods in Boston to promote its Bill Belichick documentary.

If you watched the Belichick documentary, then you probably know about the best scene which was the coach yelling at the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Mason who was trash talking. Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has the video.

Brandon Costa from Sports Video Group notes that Sports Illustrated has released a new Football Rivals mobile app.

Sports Media Watch says ABC is doing well with college football in its first two weeks of the season.

SMW notes that last Saturday’s Notre Dame-Michigan game on ESPN in primetime did better than the previous week’s Fighting Irish game on NBC.

SMW says last week’s NASCAR race in Richmond garnered a four year ratings high for ABC.

Tony Manfred of the Business Insider Sports Page says sports bars got hit the hardest by DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket technical difficulties last week.

Steve Lepore from Puck The Media has NHL Network’s preseason schedule that begins next week.

Joe Favorito says sports brands are now jumping into the corn field maze craze.

Awful Announcing has this week’s network TV on-screen typos.

Parade talks with ESPN’s Erin Andrews.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe writes about some ex-Patriots players who have made the transition to TV.

Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald talks about 98.5 The Sports Hub winning the prestigious Marconi for Best Sports Station in the country over a former winner, WEEI.

Bill Doyle at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette praises the NFL Films documentary on Bill Belichick.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir looks at a rare film that followed the late Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto and other ex-Pinstripers to Austria for an exhibition game in 1994.

Daniel E. Slotnick of the Times writes that former New York Jet and broadcaster Sam DeLuca has passed away.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with statistician Steve Hirdt about his career and getting to work a “home” game for this week’s edition of Monday Night Football.

Neil says SNY is fortunate to have the Jets as a partner to help viewers forget about the Mets.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is angry at everyone.

The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for YES analyst Ken Singleton.

Jerry Barmash in Fishbowl NY writes that MSG Network brings back its signature hockey studio show for another season.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that local sports anchor Andrew Catalon gets a call-up to the NFL on CBS in October.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record talks with MLB Network’s Brian Kenny about why he left ESPN after almost a decade and a half.

Ken has more with Brian Kenny in his column.

Ken is tired of NHL Network rerunning last season’s playoffs.

South

Serena Moyle of the Tallahassee (FL) Democrat profiles ESPN’s Erin Andrews as she’s in town for the Oklahoma-Florida State game.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says you watched the NFL in droves last week.

David says ESPN is treating Longhorn Network differently than its other entities.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman writes that Longhorn Network will pick up one Oklahoma State basketball game.

Mel has some news and notes.

Gina Mizell of the Oklahoman says ESPN is keeping a close eye on Oklahoma State and Texas A&M for a potential College GameDay visit.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Fox Sports Ohio expands its pregame show tomorrow to air highlights of Johnny Bench Night.

John says a local radio station has fired a long-time sports reporter and other parts of its staff.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press talks with a long-time Division II college football radio voice.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says some local Time Warner Cable subscribers will have access to this Saturday’s Wisconsin game.

Bob explains why the Wisconsin game isn’t on TV.

Bob says the Brewers’ Prince Fielder will be seen in a profile on TBS Sunday.

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

Dan Caesar in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says all of the Blues games will be televised for the first time ever.

West

Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that ESPN’s deal with BYU has now become a recruiting tool for the school.

Matt Solinsky of the Desert (CA) Sun says the NFL Network documentary on Patriots coach Bill Belichick is definitely “must see TV”.

John Maffei from the North County Times tries to discover what the holdup is for the San Diego Padres’ TV and radio rights.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star says Time Warner Cable has signed a long-term deal for California’s high school championships.

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times talks with the Fox NFL Sunday crew.

T.J. Simers of the Times writes that Vin Scully can cause trouble at home.

Also from the Times, Eric Sondheimer has details of the Time Warner deal with the California Interscholastic Federation.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Jay “The Rat” Mariotti is determined to get the last word on his tumultuous year.

Tom has some media moves that didn’t make his column.

Tom says MLB Network will air a special on statistics.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says an 8 year delay will help Steve Moore in his lawsuit against Todd Bertuzzi and the NHL stemming from an incident in Vancouver.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada has finally made some moves to fill some personnel holes.

And that’s going to conclude the links for this Friday.

People You Should Follow On Twitter, Part 7

I continue with my mini-series, People You Should Follow On Twitter. You have all types of accounts in sports business and sports media, college basketball and football, MLB, NFL, NHL, Golf, Olympics and Soccer. And you can find the previous installments here, here, here, here, here and here. Through the first six installments, we have 107 accounts for you to follow.

Tonight, I’ll give you Sports TV & Radio. Tomorrow, it will be Sports TV PR and Tennis. Then on Wednesday to close out everything, I’ll provide the Best of the Rest in and out of sports. I’ve got to finish this sometime.

SPORTS RADIO AND TV

dpshow — The official Twitter account of the best national sports talk show in the country, the Dan Patrick Show. This account provides you with the daily guest list, behind-the-scenes pictures, show quotes plus retweets from fans and the other Dan Patrick Show accounts. DP himself does not tweet, but this is as close as you can get to him on Twitter. The Dan Patrick Show account has 69,860 followers, but I feel that should be higher.

paulpabst — A member of the Dan Patrick “Danettes”, Paul Pabst is the Executive Producer of the DP Show. He also contributes on-air thoughts and if you watch the show on DirecTV, he’ll go into “The Box” to provide background insight on the show. Off air, Paul tweets alerts on potential no-hitters, retweet accounts he follows and general show info. Paulie has 17,141 followers.

HiMyNameIsSeton — The Director of Operations for the DP Show (are you sensing a theme yet?), Seton O’Connor runs the board for the show and is the one who interacts with the fans the most through his Twitter account. Seton is very funny and also provides insights on news stories as well. Seton has 18,938 tweeps.

twoadayz –Known just as “Two-A-Days”, Dan Overlock has gone from intern to backup board operator for the Dan Patrick Show. He’s mostly been one of Dan’s whipping boys and been relegated to an off-camera area of Dan’s Mancave. But every once in a while, he’s seen and heard, but mostly to receive Dan’s wrath when something goes wrong. Two-A-Days interacts with listeners and sometimes, one of Dan’s regular guests. This account has 3,091 tweeps.

JTTheBrick — The official account of popular Fox Sports Radio night time host, JT The Brick. JT brings it on his Twitter page reacting to news of the day and also providing some good show insight. He also follows people and a retweet from him can be as good as any endorsement as it can add as many as 20 tweeps to an account. I speak from experience. JT has parlayed winning The Smackoff on the Jim Rome Show to a very successful sports radio career and one of the best radio hosts in the country. JT The Brick has 15,677 followers.

SBRadio — This is for Sports Business Radio, a nationally syndicated radio show focusing on Sports Business. Hosted by Brian Berger, the show has great guests from all over the sports business and sports media lexicon. This account not only talks about its show, but also comments on sports news of the day. It’s a very good account to follow. The show is heard across the nation on stations across the country Saturdays at noon ET/9 a.m. PT and there’s a local version heard on Sundays in Portland, OR. The show’s site also provides archived podcasts. SBRadio has 3,817 followers.

TheDAShow — This is for Damon Amendolara, the nighttime host of 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. This account interacts with fans plus DA tweets quite often. One of the better local hosts, he keeps up with blogs, mainstream reporters and other radio personalities. A good account to follow. It has 7,097 followers as of this post.

GreshandZo — Of course, if I mention The DA Show, then I have to put The Sports Hub’s midday show, Gresh & Zo here or I’ll never hear the end of it. Hosted by former Sirius XM Mad Dog Radio host Andy Gresh and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak, this account is mostly maintained by Gresh as Zo has his own account. This account has show details and some random tweets from Greshie. It has 7,487 followers.

ldrabick — This is for the lovely Liz Drabick, sports update anchor extraordinaire of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, DC. Liz reacts to sports news on her account as well as interacts with her tweeps. She’s really a delight to tweet with and very funny as well. I’m a fan as you can tell. Liz has 1,479 tweeps, but do your part to increase that, ok?

TomCaron — Tom is the studio host of Red Sox baseball on NESN. A native of Maine, Tom does a great job hosting on NESN. He also engages with followers on his Twitter account during the game, and sometimes in between breaks during the postgame show. During the game, Tom will provide statistical updates to those following along. A very good person to follow, Tom has 6,402 tweeps to date.

HeidiWatney — This is the account of Heidi Watney, the on-field reporter for Red Sox baseball on NESN. You may not know that Heidi’s cousin is PGA Tour golfer Nick Watney. I admit, I’m a fanboy. I like Heidi’s work, but there are times like when she was sampling food at ballparks made you cringe. One thing I do like is when Heidi gets feisty with someone criticizing her work. She’s not afraid to mix it up. Heidi tweets during games and uses Twitter quite often. She’s using the medium very well. She has 21,653 followers.

NaokoFunayama — Naoko is the on-ice reporter for Boston Bruins broadcasts on NESN and like Heidi, provides updates throughout the season on the team she follows. And she will also tweet during games. Another person who interacts with her followers, Naoko is another delightful person with whom to exchange tweets. Naoko gained notoriety during Daisuke Matsuzaka’s introductory press conference with the Boston Red Sox and she translated his Japanese better than the official translator hired by the team. Naoko has 5,472 followers. That should be higher.

AndrewCatalon — Andrew is the sports anchor for WNYT-TV in Albany, NY. You may be familiar with his work nationally as he has freelanced for NBC for the Olympics in both 2008 and 2010, and also worked for CBS on the U.S. Open and The Masters secondary broadcasts. And he tweets as he’s watching events or giving alerts of when he’s about to hit air. Andrew has 673 followers, but you can make that go up.

BillVoth — Sports anchor for WSOC-TV in Charlotte, NC, Bill Voth is a definite power Tweeter having accepted the medium to talk with fans and also branch out to other reporters and even yours truly. Bill has 2,673 loyal followers.

ThatSportsGirl — This is the account of sports anchor Gina Miller of KTVT/KTXA in Dallas-Fort Worth. Gina has done yeoman’s work in the Metroplex, hosting both the Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks on the CBS duopoly. And in addition, she’s expecting her first child. One of the first TV sports reporters to follow your humble blogger, she’ll react to games she’s watching, previews her postgame shows and also interacts with viewers. And Gina maintains her own blog. A very good tweeter, she has a following of 9,935.

karlravechespn — A recent addition to Twitter, Karl Ravech, the host of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, has embraced the medium by giving updates of MLB action before he goes on the air. He also interacts with fans making them feel closer to the games and program. One of the best studio hosts, Karl does a very good job in updating the tweets on nights he’s working. He has 16,119 tweeps.

AndrewSiciliano –The host of the original NFL Red Zone Channel on DirecTV, Andrew Siciliano is a definite Power Tweeter. I’ve seen him tweet during his shifts in between updates on DirecTV. He also provides non-sports tweets and links to news stories. A guy who knows every NFL player on the screen, he’s also America’s radio guest host as he has subbed for Dan Patrick and Tony Kornheiser. Follow Andrew if you haven’t already. He’s at 16,397 followers.

LindaCohn — The extremely lovely Linda Cohn of ESPN is a social media maven. Not only did she have her own social media network before the infamous ESPN Twitter crackdown two years ago, but she was an early member of Twitter. She answers questions from followers. She also tweets about her beloved Mets and NHL. Linda is a great follow. She has a solid following of 43,839 tweeps.

KennyAlbert — The MSG/Versus/Fox Sports announcer is one of the busiest men in sports, rivaling his dad, Marv in his prime. Kenny is a person who will tweet pictures of his location whether it be for Fox Saturday Baseball or his MSG assignments. Kenny tweeted his excitement when the NFL lockout ended on Monday. Follow Kenny and become one of the almost 3,200 people in his group.

LenBermanSports — The former sports anchor at WNBC-TV in New York has found a second career online through his site, That Sports and on Twitter. Len tweets his sports observations and is very accessible to followers. He responds to anyone talking to him online and that’s what makes his account a very good follow. And Len is back on TV doing guest spots on the Today Show doing his “Spanning The World” feature and assuring us that no one got hurt. Len has 2,874 followers.

CharissaT — If you’ve followed this blog dating back to 2007, then you know Fang’s Bites was one of the first sites to tout Charissa Thompson, the former Big Ten Network, Fox Sports and Versus sideline reporter and Yahoo host. She’s now heading to ESPN2 where she’ll co-host a new show, Numbers Don’t Lie, with Michael Smith this fall. Charissa is good at interacting with tweeps, but I’m not impressed with the color scheme on her Twitter page. Anyway, she has 9,013 followers. You can be one too.

So with an additional 21 accounts here, you have a total of 128 Twitter accounts you should follow. We’re not done. We have two more installments. You should have over 150 to follow when all is said and done.

Let’s Do Some Friday Megalinkage

Last week, I could not do the megalinks as I was traveling in between two offices. Yesterday, I seemed to get that out of the way so it appears that I’m free to do the megalinks today. I hope I can give you a full set.

As usual, there’s a full set of Weekend Viewing Picks for sports and primetime programming. You can take them or leave them. Choose wisely.

Now to the linkage.

National

At USA Today, Michael Hiestand and Mike McCarthy debate ESPN’s new endorsement policy. New guidelines on ESPN reporters and anchors endorsing products were issued this week.

The St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deggans writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center applauds the new ESPN policy.

Jessica E. Vascellaro and Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal report that Comcast wants to become a bigger player in cable sports through its NBC division.

Emma Bazilian of Adweek says NBC Universal’s new CEO wants to make Versus a true challenger to ESPN.

Austin Karp of the Sports Business Journal notes that the NHL’s ratings on Versus are making gains as the playoffs begin.

A story from Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated grabbed a lot of buzz yesterday. Richard reports that NFL Network’s Draft guru Mike Mayock would replace analysts Joe Theismann and Matt Millen in the Thursday Night Football booth and Gus Johnson might replace play-by-play man Bob Papa.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says having both the Knicks and Rangers in the postseason should raise the profile of MSG Network this Spring.

ESPN’s Front Row blog looks at the network’s preparation for the NBA Playoffs.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser notes that ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose returns from his suspension this Saturday.

CNBC’s Tom Rotunno says interest in the New York Knicks in the NBA Playoffs is driving the secondary ticket market.

All Access notes that a San Francisco country station has flipped to FM sports talk.

Alan Bastable of Golf Magazine talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo about last Sunday’s exciting final round of The Masters^®.

To the Biz of Baseball where the great Maury Brown says MLB’s revenues have grown significantly from 1995 through 2010.

Bob’s Blitz has the video of Comcast SportsNet New England’s Joe Haggerty pushing a Canadiens fan out of camera range during a live shot after last night’s Habs-Bruins game.

The Crossing Broad blog isn’t a fan of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia superimposing ads behind the goal during the Sabres-Flyers series. I noticed Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic doing this too during the Rangers-Caps game on Wednesday.

The great Steve Lepore from Puck The Media likes NHL Network’s pregame efforts for the playoffs, but notes they could do better.

Sports Media Watch says Versus had good ratings for the opening night of the NHL Playoffs.

SMW tells us that Versus hit an all-time viewing high for the 2010-11 NHL regular season.

SMW says NBC had a mixed bag for its NHL regular season viewership.

SMW writes that ESPN will update its graphics and opening theme for the NBA playoffs.

Elie Mystal from Above the Law rips ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson for his thoughts of the Barry Bonds trial. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

Joe Favorito explains why he’s no longer writing for The Huffington Post. I’ve been hearing strange dealings going on there since it started a relationship with AOL earlier this year.

Brian Packey at Awful Announcing says the voices of the Sacramento Kings gave a tearful goodbye as they signed off following what could be their last game in California’s capital.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs talks about MLB celebrating Jackie Robinson Day today.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes on how 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich scored a big coup by getting Charlie Sheen on their station after his Boston show earlier this week.

Bill Doyle from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with Boston Bruins radio voice Dave Goucher.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times discusses the new endorsement guidelines for ESPN personalities.

Stuart Elliot from the Times says ESPN and MasterCard are teaming up to produce a series on soccer that will be show in Latin America.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post continues his vitriol against everybody and everything in sports television.

The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for MSG New York Rangers analyst Joe Micheletti.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with MSG Rangers voice Sam Rosen.

Pete says the Rangers’ playoff opener on Wednesday scored well for MSG Plus.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that Versus and NHL Network will air the IIHF World Hockey Championships.

Laura Nachman notes that a local sports radio personality will jumping on board with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia for a midday gig.

Peter Van Allen of the Philadelphia Business Journal writes that Saturday is going to be a big day for the Delaware Valley sports fan.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that the Capitals got big ratings in their playoff opener.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner also talks about the record ratings for the Caps.

Jim says with higher expectations for the Nationals, MASN’s ratings for the DC MLB team should rise with them.

South

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times rightfully criticizes Pittsburgh personality John Steigerwald for his horrific column on Bryan Stow, the San Francisco Giants fan who was beaten into a coma by two Los Angeles Dodgers fans earlier this month.

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald says by ESPN/ABC choosing the 76ers-Heat series over Knicks-Celtics proves the drawing power of LeBron James & Co.

In the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols pays tribute to a former boss.

Steve Gorten from the Sun-Sentinel says ESPNU will air three videos produced by the Miami Hurricanes’ website.

Nate Allen from the Helena (AR) Daily World says ESPN is in town for the Arkansas spring football game.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that Hall of Fame Astros broadcaster Milo Hamilton will be speaking about his colorful career at Texas A&M.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says a new era in Oklahoma Sooners broadcasting begins on Saturday.

Midwest

Nice to have George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal in the megalinks again. He says fans without a rooting interest will have plenty of choices to watch in the NBA Playoffs starting tomorrow.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer discusses a new book on the 1961 pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds.

John says several well-known Cincinnati and national personalities were on hand last night to roast a local restaurant legend.

And John writes that from here on end, the Reds will be seen in high definition on Fox Sports Ohio.

Michael Zuidema from the Grand Rapids (MI) Press notes that a local lawyer by day also serves as  minor league baseball team’s radio analyst by night.

The Indianapolis Star notes that last Sunday’s IndyCar race on Versus barely registered in the ratings opposite The Masters^®.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business has some Windy City broadcast news and notes.

Ed says Notre Dame and Northwestern plan to meet on the gridiron again.

And Ed has this week’s winners and losers in sports business and media.

Will Buss of the Belleville (IL) News-Democrat says Fox Sports Midwest and AT&T U-Verse are haggling over 17 St. Louis Cardinals games.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says despite not making the playoffs, the St. Louis Blues still set a ratings record for Fox Sports Midwest.

Sam Mellinger at the Kansas City Star says with a new rights deal in hand, the Big 12 became a big money player.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that San Diego State University is concerned that the Mountain West Conference is falling behind in national TV exposure.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star says the national NBA television analysts like the Lakers’ chances to repeat as champs this year.

In his notebook, Jim says The Masters^® drew in the viewers.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at how quickly Kobe Bryant’s homophobic slur transcended sports.

Jon Wilner from the San Jose Mercury News looks at the bidders for the Pac 12 TV rights.

George Schroeder with the Eugene (OR) Register-Guard says the Pac 12 is going to get rich very quickly thanks to some TV network.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says a throwaway radio comment had Winnipeg laying down the welcome mat for the Phoenix Coyotes.

And we will end the megalinks there.

Some Additional Wednesday Links

Let’s provide you with some more links.

Stephen Wilson of the Associated Press says the International Olympic Committee hopes to have the US TV rights for the 2014/16 Olympics and possibly the 2018/20 Games awarded by mid-June.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand notes that without UConn in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game, ESPN did not suffer much of a ratings dropout last night.

Sports Illustrated tennis writer Jon Wertheim answers readers questions and frustrations about Tennis Channel.

Marcus Vanderberg from SportsNewser has the video of former sports anchor and boxing announcer Nick Charles talking to his former employer, CNN about his last stages of life. As you may be aware, Nick has incurable cancer and probably doesn’t have long to live. What a very poignant video.

And here’s the story from CNN.com on Nick Charles from Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk says ESPN is bringing back Jon “This Guy” Gruden’s QB camp.

ESPN’s First Take gives you a behind the scenes look at what it takes to bring a show together.

Sheldon Spencer at ESPN Front Row explains what the ESPN Car Wash means.

Robin Berger at TV Technology says ESPN wants to change the way baseball is brought into your home.

The Atlantic 10 Conference has announced that it has extended a rights agreement with ESPN for two more seasons. CBS Sports remains the main rightsholder.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reports that 98.5 The Sports Hub has reupped its afternoon drive team.

The Inside Track girls at the Boston Herald talk about Patriots running back Danny Woodhead’s visit to ESPN yesterday.

Barry Janoff of NY Sports Journalism speaks with CBS/Turner’s Clark Kellogg.

Celeste E. Whittaker of Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier Post enjoyed watching CBS/Turner’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

To the Baltimore Sun where Steve Gould says MASN is seeing significant ratings spikes for the Orioles in the young season.

Scott Claire of the Naples (FL) Daily News says ESPN’s Dick Vitale will be making an appearance at a local youth basketball league.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says this year’s viewership for the NCAA Tournament was up from last year.

Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Sean Casey made a triumphant return to the Reds last night as a member of Fox Sports Ohio.

Kari Petrie of the St. Cloud (MN) Times says Charter Communications does not have an agreement to pick up 45 extra Minnesota Twins games that will be aired on Fox Sports Net. Those 45 games came from over the air rightsholder WFTC.

The Grand Forks (ND) Herald says ESPN will have cameras at a University of North Dakota viewing party for cut-ins during its coverage of the NCAA Frozen Four on Thursday.

Anthony Gimino from the Tucson Citizen says this September’s Oklahoma State-Arizona game will be moved to a Thursday night to accommodate ESPN.

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times talks Lakers with ESPN/ABC’s Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News who has been doing a bang up job covering the Pac 12 rights negotiations says it appears the conference is seeking to sign a very lucrative deal and NBC/Comcast seems to be the frontrunner.

Kevin Lynch at the San Francisco Chronicle talks with new 49ers radio analyst Eric Davis.

Cory Wolfe of the Saskatchewan Star Phoenix talks with new TSN Sportscentre anchor Natasha Staniszewski.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog looks at the implications in the Quebec TV market if the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers pack up and leave for Canada for the 2012-13 season.

The Sports Media Watch notes that the overnight ratings for NASCAR on Fox dipped again on Sunday.

Wendy Parker notes that there are plenty of outlets for women’s basketball coverage.

And that’s where we’ll end it for linkage. I think you have plenty for now.

It’s the Sunday Links

Ok, been a crazy morning. Now that everything with New York Giants-Minnesota has been worked out, I can move on to other things. Let’s do your linkage.

At ESPN.com, Greg Garber looks back at NBC’s experiment of an announcerless NFL game 30 years ago. 

Tim Graham at ESPN.com also has a story on the experiment.

Phil Swann of TV Predictions says DirecTV could pull 30 Hearst TV stations including ones in Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Hawaii, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and several other markets if the two sides don’t come to an agreement.

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn takes a close look at the city’s sports radio war between 98.5 The Sports Hub and long-time incumbent WEEI.

Alan Schwarz of the New York Times says the NFL has an advocate on helmet-to-helmet hits in NBC’s Cris Collinsworth.

Also from the Times, Richard Sandomir says some recent film and audio finds helped to augment the new HBO Sports/NFL Films documentary on the late Vince Lombardi.

Bob Raissman from the New York Daily News says the NHL is hopeful that HBO’s 24/7 series will bring new fans to the sport.

Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News describes how the New York Giants-Minnesota Vikings game got moved from Sunday to Monday then from Minneapolis to Detroit.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has plenty of bluster today.

Newsday’s Neil Best who’s traveling to the New York Giants-Minnesota game today, breaks news that Jenn Sterger will finally break her silence to ESPN/ABC.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union notees that Giants-Vikings will be aired in New York, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester, MN, but what about the Capital Region?

Pete explains why he didn’t vote for Auburn quarterback Cam Newton for the Heisman Trophy.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says the Giants-Vikings game won’t be seen in Albany upsetting many fans in the Capital Region.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with the vice president of espnW on whether the network can appeal to women.

Jerry Garcia from the San Antonio Express-News notes that there have been times when the NFL has had to move games to Monday night.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that ESPN assigns Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit to the Rose Bowl and BCS National Championship Game.

Bob wonders if Brett Favre will play in tomorrow’s Giants-Vikings game with extra time to heal.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a photo gallery showing the Metrodome’s collapsed roof.

Dennis McGrath from the Star Tribune has a story on Giants-Vikings moving to Detroit from the Twin Cities. 

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily news writes that college football might be running out of sponsors for its bowl games.

Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times writes about the memorial service for original Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

And that will end our links for today.

Some Additional Wednesday Links

Ok, let me provide you with some additional linkage here. I got interrupted and posted my original links rather hastily. Then I had to tape this week’s Sports Media Weekly Podcast with Keith Thibault and our guest, Susan Shan so let’s bring you the rest of the linkage now.

We’re getting word that ESPN spiked an article that was posted by writer Arash Markazi. In it, Markazi follows LeBron James in Las Vegas and chronicles his night at the Venetian hotel. For whatever reason, ESPN took it down, but credit Will Leitch of New York Magazine for putting it on Google Docs where it stands right now. According to CNBC’s Darren Rovell, James’ management team denies having anything to do with pulling the story. Whatever the reason, ESPN again looks bad for apparently having a cozy relationship with James. And after the ill-advised “The Decision”, ESPN doesn’t need more black eyes. We’ll monitor this story to see if it has any legs.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today notes that next year’s MLB season will begin earlier and end earlier. 

Whitney Matheson of USA Today’s Pop Candy blog looks at the latest ESPN 30 for 30 doc on BMX.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with Pac 10/12 Commissioner Larry Scott. 

Forbes’ Great Speculations blog notes that ESPN is crucial to Disney’s success or failure.

Portada Online says ESPN Deportes Radio has found a Philadelphia affiliate.

Jessica Heslam & Thomas Grillo from the Boston Herald look into why the Red Sox ratings on NESN are way down from last year. 

D.C. Denison and Alexandra McMahon of the Boston Globe also try to figure out the Red Sox ratings slide.

Jim Shea of the Hartford Courant feels it might be NESN’s presentation that might be turning off viewers.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes MLB Network will have expanded coverage of the trading deadline this Saturday. 

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that a baby recliner designed by Leslie Gudel of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is being recalled after the death of a four month old.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner discusses the MLS All-Star Game which is being carried by ESPN2 tonight.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says Tuesday’s Oakland-Texas Rangers game was the highest rated baseball game of the year for Fox Sports Southwest.

Mike Colias of Crain’s Chicago Business says the Cubs struggles on the field are translating into lower TV ratings.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks about the possible successors to Pat Haden on NBC’s Notre Dame football telecasts.

Tom writes that Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn is now screening his media requests after being fined by the NBA.

SportsbyBrooks gets confirmation from Jay Glazer that he’s going to work at NFL Network while keeping his current position at Fox NFL Sunday.

SbyB also discovers that NFL Network was also targeting Sports Illustrated’s and NBC’s Peter King but was turned down.

The Sports Media Watch has the Weekend Overnight Ratings. 

SMW also has some ratings news and notes.

Digital Journal has the NFL anticipating its highest rated season yet.

TVbytheNumbers notes that TNT plans to produce the PGA Championship next month in 3-D.

Boston Sports Radio Watch explores the war of words and ratings between WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Rock Mamota in Chicago Now claims MLB is in need of a ratings transfusion.

That will do it for now.

Another Set of Friday Night Megalinks

I’m watching curling as we get ready to close the Olympics and get back to watching college basketball and prepare for baseball. To be honest, I never thought I would enjoy curling, but I’ve really gotten into the sport this year. Plus, it’s been on at some convenient times to watch so I’ll NBC some credit for scheduling curling live.

In the meantime, let’s provide you with some media linkage. As usual, you have your Weekend Viewing Picks which include college basketball viewing picks, Olympics viewing and English Premier League games.

To the links.

National

The Sports Business Daily/Sports Business Journal Winter Olympics site notes that NBC beat Fox’s American Idol for the second time on Thursday.

Eric Fisher of the SBD/SBJ says NBCOlympics.com and Yahoo! Sports are both claiming victory for online visitors.

The Nielsen ratings Wire blog says gold medal winners are not only on top of the podium, but also in online searches in both the US and Canada.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand and Michael McCarthy debate the validity of having NHL players in the Olympics.

Writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred says he likes covering the Olympics for the education factor. 

Etan Vlessing of Hollywood Reporter writes that the Olympic ratings in Canada have been wiping out the competition.

Glen Dickson of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN will use its Wide World of Sports complex in Florida as its testing lab for 3-D television.

Katy Bachman from Mediaweek says Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl isn’t a fan of NBC’s online Olympics strategy.

Toni Fitzgerald in Media Life Magazine writes that the Olympics lost some momentum on NBC on Wednesday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Tiger Woods’ camp acknowledges the arranging of the now-famous photo of the golfer jogging just days before his apology last week.

In other Tiger news, Darren broke the story that Gatorade is the third sponsor to drop him.

Darren has a slideshow of the 25 Most Marketable Winter Olympians from Vancouver.

And Darren notes that the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game is the hottest ticket in Canada right now.

The Big Lead reports that the sports editor of the New York Daily News is leaving for a huge gig with ESPN.

The Sports Media Watch has a good interview with ESPN Dictator George Bodenheimer about the migration of sports from ABC to the Mothership.

SMW also has an interview with ESPN Vice President of Communications Mike Soltys about the Tony Kornheiser suspension.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that the USA-Switzerland Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinal drew almost 6 million viewers on Wednesday afternoon.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy says MSNBC got punked by a fake USA goalie Ryan Miller.

Sports Radio Interviews links you to a talk that Atlanta radio station, 790 The Zone conducted with ESPN’s Linda Cohn regarding Tony Kornheiser and Erin Andrews.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald reports that a WEEI producer has been suspended for sending vulgar text messages to rival sports station, WBZ-FM.

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe talks with NBC’s Al Michaels about his Miracle On Ice call.

The Worcester Telegram’s Bill Doyle writes about the new HBO documentary on Magic Johnson and Larry Bird that premieres next week.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says ESPN will take a different approach with the Olympics if it wins the rights for the 2014/2016 Games.

Lynn Zinser of the Times notes that NBC identified the wrong man as Joannie Rochette’s father during her short program during the ladies’ figure skating competition.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News feels the media has helped to make Alex Rodriguez a sympathetic figure. Another stretch by the old, tired media critic.

Phil Mushnick in the New Yok Post waxes poetic on NBC’s Mike Emrick.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in the Baltimore-centric Press Box that Joe Angel returns this season to become the main radio voice of the Orioles.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner speaks with an NBC Sports official about the increase in traffic for NBCOlympics.com.

Jim also speaks with NBC figure skating analyst Dick Button.

Tim Lemke tries to understand the complicated figure skating scoring system.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says South Florida is at the bottom of the Olympic TV ratings.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wishes ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike a happy 10th anniversary on the air.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has the radio ratings for January in the Metroplex.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle profiles a Texan who’s helping to produce the in-house radio feed at the Vancouver Olympics.

David says the Astros will have a record amount of games on Fox Sports Houston.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman has comments from NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says a local TV station is using its news anchors to do the late sports reports.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Fox Sports Ohio will air 145 Reds games this season. 

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some observations on NBC’s coverage of the Olympics.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says in just one day, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen became a Twitter sensation.

Jim O’Donnell of the Chicago Sun-Times feels the NHL has to do something to capitalize on the popularity of Olympic hockey on the networks of NBC.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at the Gateway City’s sports radio ratings.

Dan says the newest sports radio station in town has made a significant impact in just one short year. 

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) News says despite the tape delays, the Olympic TV ratings in Salt Lake City have been among the highest in the nation.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jay Posner finally joins the chorus of Americans complaining about NBC’s tape delayed Olympics coverage.

John Maffei of the North County Times feels NBC made some bad decisions when it came to Olympic hockey.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star says the hardly-seen Universal Sports carved out a good niche for itself during the Olympics.

Jim has some various news and notes.

Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times says the Anaheim Angels have yet to name a replacement for TV play-by-play man Rory Markas who died during the offseason.

Diane Pucin of the Times looks at how people are discussing sports on Twitter and other social networks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the 2010 Dodgers TV schedule.

Tom says you can buy a new 3D TV at Sears.

Tom notes that the locally-based Universal Sports is churning out Olympics-centric programming.

Tom has his weekly news and notes.

Tom reviews the week in Olympics TV.

Canada

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says Canada’s athletes are producing compelling TV during the Olympics.

Chris is amazed at the ratings for the Olympics on CTV.

William Houston in Truth & Rumours has CBC’s Don Cherry predicting gold for Canada.

That’s going to conclude our links for Friday.

More Sunday Linkage

I have some more linkage for you on this Sunday. Some good stuff to get to while I try to forget the Yankees-Red Sox game and the fact that I still don’t have a TV right now. We’ll discuss that on Monday.

Anyway, Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable talked with Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer who has calmed down after wanting to punch a few ESPN people for mocking his Favre-to-Minnesota story last week.

Glen Dickson of B&C says the High Def super slo-mo are beginning to catch up with technology.

Wayne Friedman of Mediapost says network ad sales for the NFL have been quite slow as the season opener approaches.

Elizabeth Kim of the Connecticut Post says NBC is expanding its production into Stamford joining the NBC Sports office which have been there since 1997.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times caught up with John Madden last week.

Josh Land of the Carroll County (MD) Times feels ESPN went overboard on the Vick and Favre coverage.

David Climer in the Tennessean says former Vols coach Phil Fulmer is using TV as a springboard to get another job on the sidelines.

Kyle Veazey of the Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger writes that SEC football fans will have to be prepared for a lot more games on TV and plenty of them to be played at night.

Rich Lieberman of the San Francisco Examiner feels new 49ers voice Ted Robinson is already in mid-season form.

Joe Favorito says the Baltimore Ravens reaching out to the military helps its standing in the community.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes about the number of players who are looking to broadcasting when they retire from the game.

Staci D. Kramer of paidContent.org says NBC Sports and the NFL will stream Sunday Night Football once again this season, but no embedding will be allowed.

Chris Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media has the entire 2009 college football on TV schedule.

The Sports Media Watch reviews last week in the sports media.

Dave Warner of EPL Talk says for the most part, ESPN2′s return to the English Premier League has gone well.

The CSMB blog notices that WBZ-FM/98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston is off to a not-so-good start.

That’s the poop for now. Back with more links on Monday.

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.

An Actual Post with Links!

After spending most of yesterday and this morning at the home office, I’m now at my regular place of work and can give you some links. It always throws me off when I’m at the home office and have to behave.

A couple to tell you in the interim. I almost was a guest on Fox News yesterday as Shepard Smith was covering the whole Rick Pitino abortion mess that finally broke on Tuesday. FNC was looking for New England reaction. Unfortunately, just as I about to accept their invitation, Fox News booked another guest. Perhaps down the road, I’ll have another chance to go on. If I do, you’ll be the first to know.

I’m also trying to listen to the on-air stream for Boston’s new sports radio station, WBZ-FM, 98.5 The Sports Hub. As scheduled, the stream went on just before 1 p.m. today, but because so many people are trying to listen to the debut, the server crashed and I missed the first minutes of Michael Felger & Tony Massarotti’s debut. Around ten minutes in, the stream came back, but it cut in and out. I’m not a fan of Michael Felger, but perhaps this can be a good alternative to the 800 lb. sports radio gorilla, WEEI. We shall soon see.

Now, let’s give you some links.

Tripp Mickle of the Sports Business Daily talks about NBC extending its rights deal with USA Gymnastics.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says LeBron James has not been worth the money Nike paid him.

Darren points out that the backboard at which Michael Jordan shot his last shot with the Chicago Bulls is now up for auction.

Darren looks at the creative way the New Jersey Nets are marketing opposing players.

Last thing from Darren. In this video, Darren looks at the sign of the economic times, a local NFL game blackout in San Diego due to slow ticket sales.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about YES expanding its in-market streaming of live games to Verizon Fios. Yankees games were first streamed on Cablevision systems.

Neil says Mike Francesa and Chris Russo have completed one full year without the other.

Thomas Grillo of the Boston Herald looks at the beginning of WBZ-FM.

Johnny Diaz of the Boston Globe writes about today’s debut of 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Ben Collins of the Globe talks about one of the bigger stories in New England to happen last night, the return of Jerry Remy, albeit a short one, to Fenway Park and the NESN booth.

Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald says one of the battles for Remy this season has been with depression following his cancer surgery.

Ian Browne of MLB.com says Jerry still plans on returning to NESN this season, but is not sure exactly when.

The Sports Media Journal’s Keith Thibeault has another interview in his series of talks with NFL play-by-play men. The latest installment is with Buffalo Bills playcaller John Murphy.

Laura Nachman gives us the Eagles Television Network announcing crew.

A few articles from new Friend of Fang’s Bites, Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner.

He says the TNT and PGA.com will be all over the PGA Championship this week.

Jim says Ravens fans will be able to watch tonight’s game against the Redskins on MASN2 and WBAL.

And Jim writes that Redskins fans will also have two outlets to watch the game tonight.

Joey Johnston of the Tampa Tribune talks about former Buccaneers coach Jon Grudin making his ESPN debut tonight.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer enjoyed watching Hard Knocks.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business explores the consolidation of the Tribune Company’s sports departments in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Ed says Chicago Comcast subscribers now have access to ESPN360 online.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that the USFL is actually attempting a comeback.

Chris Dufrense of the Los Angeles Times says the Pac 10 Conference is close to an agreement with the Alamo Bowl.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star tells Canadians that English Premier League games can still be seen on Setanta Sports Canada.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media talks with an associate commissioner at the SEC about its new media and ticket holder policy.

Christy Hammond of the Sports PR Blog says it appears the SEC will tweak the media policy after some backlash.

The Sports Media Watch notes that the T.O. Show saw another increase in viewing last week.

SMW says Tiger Woods helped the Bridgestone Invitational’s ratings on Sunday.

And the SMW has some idle news and notes.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball says now that baseball won’t be in the Olympics in 2016, MLB is now focusing on the World Baseball Classic.

The lovely Kristine Leahy has The Five on WEEI.com.

Ok, you’ve missed the links long enough. I’m done for now.

BREAKING NEWS: Jerry Trupiano Returns

This afternoon on WBCN, former morning man Charles Laquidara was on with afternoon drive personality Hardy and was listing every single person with whom he had worked on the air throughout his 25 year career. In the middle of this long reading, Laquidara suddenly congratulated Hardy on his new gig at The Sports Hub, CBS Radio’s new sports radio station that premieres this Thursday.

At first, Hardy tried to stop him, but as Laquidara kept on congratulating, Hardy then announced that he will be hosting a weekend show on 98.5 The Sports Hub/WBZ-FM with former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano. It’s not known the exact timeslot, I’m efforting that right now. It’s nice to know that Jerry will be back on the local airwaves.

Jerry was let go from Red Sox radio broadcasts after the 2006 season and had been freelancing for Westwood One Radio for the College World Series and other college sports. Recently, he had begun hosting his own podcasts. Now he’ll have a larger forum for his opinions.

UPDATE, 8/11, 2:33 p.m: Hardy during a crossover with WBCN’s Adam 12 says the show with Trup premieres this Saturday at 8 a.m. I’ll be listening.

Some Breaking News in Boston

I have an interesting piece of news regarding the Boston Sports Radio War between incumbent WEEI and newcomer WBZ-FM/The Sports Hub.

Check it out at the Fang’s Bites at Boston Sports Media Watch page.

Interview with Chuck Wilson

In the wake of the news of CBS Radio’s announcement that it will create an FM sports radio station in Boston this August, I got in contact with former ESPN Radio talk show host Chuck Wilson to talk about the upcoming battle between WEEI and the new WBZ-FM (aka “The Sports Hub”). I felt Chuck could give some interesting perspective having been a long-time talk show host in the New England area and also on the national level.

Chuck is well known in New England having moved to Providence in 1981 where he first worked for news/talk WEAN where he hosted “Chuck Wilson on Sports”. His show was the first in New England to use weekly contributors such as Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan and Mel Kiper, Jr.

He moved to WICE-AM in 1986 after WEAN was sold and remained there until 1989 when he switched to WPRO-AM. In 1993, Chuck left WPRO and joined ESPN Radio full-time where he had helped to launch the national network two years earlier.

Wilson left ESPN Radio in July 2005 and joined XM Satellite Radio soon afterward as a host on its MLB Home Plate Channel. He left in November of last year, a victim of the Sirius XM merger.

Chuck is currently living in Rhode Island. He has a website that offers his opinions on sports.

We exchanged e-mails over the last two days on WEEI and WBZ-FM. The interview is seen below.

Fang’s Bites: You’ve worked in New England area, most notably Providence and you’ve observed WEEI from RI. What is it that makes WEEI the 800 lb. gorilla in the region?

Chuck Wilson: WEEI has produced compelling sports talk for a long time and become one of the most successful radio stations in the country mostly due to smart, talent-driven programing. It has a clear, consistent identity. No one has done what they’ve done any better.

WEEI has understood from the beginning the value of having hosts passionate about hot-button issues.

WFAN in New York with Mike and the Mad Dog provided the dual-host blueprint. It isn’t easy. You want hosts that approach sports from different points-of-view, but you can’t just throw two individuals together and expect magic. You need them to develop an on-air chemistry, and that is something that can’t be forced. It either happens or it doesn’t.

WEEI Program Director Jason Wolfe knows talent and he has been effective, as was Glenn Ordway, at putting together combinations of hosts that create sparks and can play off each other. That’s number one.

Second, WEEI has done an excellent job covering sports news. If there has been a breaking story in Boston sports, WEEI has been THE station to tune to for coverage. The station has also benefited by its arrangements with athletes and teams for regular appearances on the station as a means to develop on-air relationships, break news and limit the access other talk stations have to some high-profile, professional athletes. WEEI “broke” a lot of stories thanks to its relationship with Curt Schilling and the weekly exclusive appearances of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have been valuable in promoting listener loyalty and increasing TSL (time spent listening), key factors in building ratings.

FB: You’ve mentioned the strengths of WEEI such as its strong personalities and covering sports news. Is there an area where WEEI is vulnerable?

CW: The minute you think you’re the best and can’t be beat, you‘re in trouble. Any station is vulnerable to strong competition. It would be a surprise if “The Sports Hub” doesn’t mount a significant challenge. With the backing of CBS, they will have the resources. WEEI will respond and raise its game. Some listeners have formed strong attachments to particular shows and personalities but if “The Sports Hub” gets off to a good start, many listeners figure to go back and forth deciding day-to-day which station is more informative and entertaining — which station covers the teams better, has better guests, and provides smarter, more compelling talk.

FB: What can The Sports Hub do that other competitors (1510 AM/ESPN890) could not against WEEI?

CW: There has been a peculiar station ownership dynamic in the Boston media market. Until now, no station with a strong signal has challenged WEEI in the market.

That was the fundamental reason why the efforts on 1510 AM and 890 AM (ESPN Radio Boston) really were doomed from the start — weak signals.

In radio, you can’t compete if you can’t be heard.

The decision to put “The Sports Hub” on the 98.5 FM signal is a smart move. Its coverage area is excellent and FM has the advantage of “no static”. It’s easier to listen to an FM signal than an AM signal. That’s a vital first step — WBZ-FM has the signal strength to compete.

FB: Should The Sports Hub try to be a clone of WEEI or try to make itself totally different?

CW: This is an interesting question. WEEI is such an established entity that it seems logical to provide an alternative approach.

What approach?

Everything today is based on immediacy. That is a strength of radio. Take advantage of it. Cover the local sports scene better than anyone else. Take listeners inside the game as much as possible. Provide as much insight and informed opinion as you can through interviews, team coverage and expert opinion. Tell listeners something they didn’t know — inform and entertain them.

To me, THE most important challenge for “The Sports Hub” is to establish credibility with sports fans. That doesn’t just mean hiring on-air hosts with credibility. It means being everywhere, hustling for stories, interviewing athletes and being seen. It means establishing trust with the local teams and players. And when a story “breaks”, they’ll have to be all over it. You don’t have to be first with every story, but you can’t be second.

Many listeners to WEEI like what they hear but others listen even if they aren’t fans of a particular show. They listen because they know if sports news breaks, WEEI will have it. “The Sports Hub” must create the mindset with its listeners that if you tune out, you are going to miss something important.

That perception, that trust, won’t be earned overnight. It will take strong, on-site beat reporters; smart, aggressive producers and hosts asking the right questions. The attention is always paid to the on-air talent but the reporters, producers and engineers will have a significant impact on the success of the new station.

Callers can add a lot to a show if used to further the goal of providing insight and perspective in an entertaining way. Shows are best aimed at listeners, not callers. 98% of listeners don’t call in to talk shows. Keep callers focused and on topic. If callers don’t have something constructive to add to the conversation, don’t put them on-the-air. But if they have a good point, let them make it and in cases where the caller has a good point, but uses a poor example, dismiss the example but address the good point rather than just make fun of the caller . In other words, bring out the “best” of what callers have to say rather than the “worst”.

FB: Do you think The Sports Hub should use single hosts or go with a duo or trio for its shows?

CW: The dual-host approach has several advantages. Two opinions on any topic tends to spark more entertaining conversations. It gives a show two personalities to attract listeners and callers. It provides continuity in the case of illness or vacation by having at least one of the co-hosts on the air. And it usually results in better interviews. One added benefit is that it discourages monologues and solo rants that go on too long.

It sounds as if “The Sports Hub” may go with solo hosts in the mid-day and afternoon drive with a rotating co-host for each show. That can be effective, too, though on-air chemistry may differ day-to-day and there may be times when a story breaks in one sport while you have an expert in another sport as co-host.

More than two in the booth can be very entertaining depending on the mix of personalities. One dominant voice can overpower the show but it can work well, especially if the show doesn’t take calls. When you add callers to a three-person show, it tends to lead to a lot of talking over one another.

FB: Would it behoove WBZ-FM to tie in with the sports staff of WBZ-TV to help cover the local sports teams?

CW: You would think that the station will look to take advantage of every available synergy. WBZ-TV’s “Patriots All-Access” could provide some exclusive content.

FB: WBZ-FM has the Patriots game broadcasts while WEEI has Patriots Monday and other ancillary programming surrounding the team. Could the Patriots become a big battleground between the two stations?

CW: There is no question about it. When you have the broadcast rights, you make the most of it with as much team-related programing as possible, while trying to contractually limit what other stations can do. If you don’t have the contract, you try to be creative and aggressive in forging relationships with the team so that you can position yourself as a strong alternative for coverage.

What WEEI has done with the Patriots as a non-rights holder with its Patriots Monday and Friday shows featuring Tom Brady and Bill Belichick provide a textbook example of how to do it. Sponsors want to be associated with popular teams, so stations look for every way possible to tie-in sponsors to team-related programs. Much of the stations’ sales revenue is dependent on this dynamic, so look for the two stations to continue to look for ways to bring the players and teams closer to the fans.

FB: With the area pro sports teams divided between WBZ-FM (Patriots and Bruins) and WEEI/WRKO (Red Sox and Celtics), do you foresee a bidding war for the properties as long as CBS Radio and Entercom keep their stations afloat?

CW: All-Sports stations have to have Play-by-Play of local teams to be successful. Even when the rights fees are high (such as with the Red Sox and Patriots), stations have to have these anchors for programing and especially for sales. Add to it that Play-by-Play properties are more important in the Boston market than in almost any other market in the country because Boston-area fans are all about the local teams. Big national events like the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Playoffs do not rate as well in Boston as in other big markets unless a local team is playing. So, sure, the two companies will compete for local play-by-play, but it will be more of an issue down the road since the local team contracts are tied-up for right now.

FB: WEEI’s owner, Entercom has expanded the station’s brand through a radio network and a web presence. Do you think CBS Radio will have to do that with WBZ-FM?

WEEI wisely added 103.7 FM in Rhode Island to simulcast the AM product. That move increased the reach and audience numbers and effectively eliminated any on-air competition from Rhode Island while boosting coverage in parts of Massachusetts.

With its strong FM signal, “The Sports Hub” doesn’t have to be concerned about covering the metro Boston area but it would make sense to add stations and increase its regional footprint over time.

As for a strong web presence, that figures to be a goal for “The Sports Hub”.

The internet and multimedia distribution is the future. With listeners getting information instantly on-line and through hand-held devices, everyone has to take advantage of the digital platform and the emerging technologies. Websites offer stations a way to cross-promote the name brand and open up important new revenue streams. For sports fans, it’s another way to stay on top of the sports they care about. WEEI is doing it well. CBS has a strong brand name. It can use sports talent from its other network affiliates and it’s national personalities to provide exclusive insights, both on-air and on the new website. Expect CBS to use that strength on all of its owned stations. Content is king. Both WEEI and WBZ-FM will be touting their exclusivity.

FB: Do you see this as a marathon between Entercom and CBS Radio or will there be a real clear cut winner between the two?

CW: When “The Sports Hub” first hits the air next month, there will be a curiosity factor. Many sports talk listeners will check out the new station. So getting out of the blocks with few glitches is important.

It is a challenging market place with diminished national and regional advertising dollars. What level of resources will CBS devote to this new venture? How well will CBS take advantage of its national and affiliate talent to provide exclusive regular appearances on “The Sports Hub”? How quickly can the new station attract the advertising revenue needed to support what is an expensive format?

There is room for two sports station given the passion of Boston-area sports fans. The numbers WEEI has with male listeners has been coveted in the Boston market for some time. CBS has decided to go after them.

If WBZ-FM provides its own brand of compelling content, WEEI likely will respond by sharpening its approach. The competition figures to bring out the best in both — two sports stations with strong signals.

It’s a win-win for area sports fans.

I’d like to thank Chuck for taking the time to respond to my e-mails. I hope to have Chuck talk about other subjects at Fang’s Bites in the near future.

A Thursday Linkfest

Time for some linkage today.

Since we burned up our server with yesterday’s picture of ESPN’s Erin Andrews in a hot dress (thank you, Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated), we have an entire gallery of Erin in hot dresses as she was in Los Angeles yesterday (again thank you, Jimmy). If you scroll down today’s edition of Jimmy’s Hot Clicks at SI.com, you’ll see Heather Graham wearing that same dress.

If you want more Erin news, Mike Snider and Brett Molina of USA Today’s Game Hunters blog talk with EA about her being featured in a video game for EA Sports.

Newsday’s Neil Best has Erin talking to TMZ.com about her getting a ball to the chin at the Dodgers-Mets game last week.

That’s your Erin fix for the day. Now on to other links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says don’t get up late otherwise you might miss something during the Open Championship.

ESPN Plus, ESPN’s syndication arm for various conferences including the SEC, has relaunched its website today to include its schedule for SEC football.

Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald says WEEI and WBZ-FM stand to split advertising dollars for the sports listening audience.

Evans Clinchy of NESN.com reviews the HBO Ted Williams documentary.

Here’s Kristine Leahy and the latest edition of “The Five” at WEEI.com.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Ted’s daughter, Claudia, was a standout in the HBO documentary.

Laura Nachman recalls one funny story from the new Harry Kalas book that’s now available.

Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News his colleague, sports curmudgeon Bill Conlin will be inducted into the city’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says you have to get up early if you want to catch the Open Championship this week.

Jon Solomon from the Birmingham (AL) News writes that Fox Sports Net has signed a syndication deal with ESPN Regional TV to carry seven SEC football games for three of its regional networks in the conference footprint.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the June ratings f0r the city’s sports radio station are another version of wash, rinse, repeat. Barry says Dallas-Fort Worth just doesn’t seem to care about the MLB All-Star Game.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recaps Green Bay Packer WR Donald Driver’s interview on Sirius NFL Radio on Wednesday.

Ed Sherman from Crain’s Chicago Business says sports radio WSCR now has an iPhone app. Ed writes that Steve Stone is returning to WSCR as a regular guest.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times says athletes and actors like hanging out together for a certain awards show that I try to ignore.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about NBC renewing its rights deal with the NHL for the next two seasons.

The Associated Press reports that ESPN and Sky Sports have picked up the rights to air the Scottish Premier League in both the UK and Ireland. This month, ESPN has been picking up soccer TV rights in the UK this month establishing its presence with a giant boot.

Chris Byrne of Eye on Sports Media says a Comcast Sports Southeast producer is recovering from injuries suffered from a car accident.

A couple of things from The Big Lead. There’s a preliminary report on a certain awards show that I often try to ignore. Apparently, the US-Mexico World Cup qualifying match next month will be seen only on Univision.

I think that will conclude the links for now.

Mid-Week Linkage

Time to give you some linkage today. Quite a few good links today.

First, I’ll give you Kristine Leahy’s “The Five” segment from WEEI.com today. I have to admit this is a conflict of interest. Kristine and I have become Twitter buddies and we’ve exchanged Tweets so I’m giving her some love today.

To get the full effect of “The Five” linkage, check out Kristine’s page at WEEI.com.

The great Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch takes a look at what the new WBZ-FM means for WEEI.

More links on this story.

James Reed and Erin Allsworth of the Boston Globe write about the death of WBCN in favor of keeping Adult Contemporary station Mix98.5 geared towards women and creating an FM sports radio station.

Don Aucoin of the Globe writes about CBS Radio creating FM sports talk to rival the 800 pound gorilla, WEEI.

The lovely Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald has Boston Entercom General Manager Julie “Koo-Koo for Coco Puffs” Kahn boasting that WEEI and co-owned rocker WAAF are true winners in listeners minds. Maybe in Entercom’s minds, but not in listeners’. Crazy woman.

Jessica has an overview of the station format flips.

Jessica also has some rather arrogant statements from WEEI morning co-host Gerry Callahan and afternoon drive blowhard Glen Ordway.

And Jessica says the format switch is emblematic of a talk invasion on the FM dial.

SportsKat Girl asks CBS Radio to hire a woman for the new Sports Hub.

Adam Reilly and Mike Miliard of the Boston Phoenix explain why WBCN is being killed off.

Over to USA Today and Michael Hiestand who writes about ESPN hiring former TV producer Don Ohlmeyer as its new ombudsman.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at Under Armour’s new suit that helps athletes recover from their workouts.

After being gone for two weeks, Newsday’s Neil Best returns from vacation and tries to catch up on what went on.

Ray Frager of the Sports Media Journal has some thoughts on Don Ohlmeyer becoming ESPN’s new ombudsman.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union feels Fox Sports blew its live shot of President Obama’s first pitch at the All-Star Game last night. And at the end of the game, Pete had some more observations.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Ken Schott writes that the ratings for this year’s Home Run Derby were down from last year.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner reports that CBS Radio’s WJFK-FM goes all-sports on Monday.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times was at the Verizon Center on Tuesday to cover the announcement of FM sports talk arriving in the DC area.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times says a long time local sports anchor is leaving in September after his contract was not renewed.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News gets on Fox for its side angle of the Presidential first pitch at the All-Star Game last night.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says the White Sox could not have asked for better advertising with President Obama wearing their jacket last night.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says local ratings for the Home Run Derby set a record on Monday.

Dan Caesar of the Post-Dispatch says Fox recovered nicely after failing to show President Obama’s first pitch from the proper angle.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols gave the Brewers’ Prince Fielder some love during ESPN’s coverage of Monday’s Home Run Derby.

John Ryan from the San Jose Mercury News says organizers of this week’s Lake Tahoe Celebrity golf tournament were caught off guard by the breakup of Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail feels President Obama was the one and true All-Star during last night’s game. And Bruce says the alleged two year agreement between NBC Sports and the National Hockey League is expected to be announced soon. When? Inquiring minds want to know! (UPDATE, 2:15 p.m.: The announcement was made today)

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star is surprised to see the Calgary Stampede top the ratings in Canada.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News says DirecTV will offer an iPhone app for its NFL Sunday Ticket package provided subscribers paid for the SuperFan plan.

The lovely Christy Hammond of the Sports PR blog has an explanation on whom should blog and why. Very good post.

Joe Favorito says tennis failed to pick up the ball after a wonderful Wimbledon fortnight. Joe says global sports organizations continue to look for American expertise to expand their brands.

Let’s go to the Sports Media Watch for some ratings news. First, TNT’s last NASCAR race of the season fell in the ratings yet again. You get some various news and notes. And you have the weekend ratings.

The great Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says Hall of Fame announcer Mike Emrick will narrate a documentary on the Boston University-Boston College rivalry. I put BU first at the request of alumnus Kristine Leahy.

Maury Brown from the Biz of Baseball offers his thoughts on the All-Star Game telecast.

Ok, I’ll end it there. I should be doing work.

An All-Star Break Linkfest

Let’s give you some linkage today.

Adam Reilly of the Boston Phoenix tells us that CBS Radio is moving Mix 98.5 to heritage rock station WBCN’s 104.1 FM frequency and that a new FM sports radio station will be on the 98.5 frequency. Thanks to Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch for the link.

I’ve also written a story on this late breaking news at the Fang’s Bites page at Boston Sports Media Watch.

Lance Venta from Radio Insight also has a look at the Boston sports radio flip.

The lovely Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald says the Boston Bruins will be joining the new CBS Radio sports station.

Major props to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated for breaking the story on Twitter that ESPN has hired former NBC Sports Executive Producer and Monday Night Football producer Don Ohlmeyer to be its new Ombudsman. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link. I don’t like this selection seeing that Ohlmeyer really doesn’t have a journalism background, he comes from TV production. I liked Le Anne Schreiber who was not afraid to be critical and question ESPN’s policies. We’ll see how this works out.

Michael Hiestand from USA Today has the ratings of various events from the weekend.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell tells the LPGA players who ousted commissioner Carolyn Bivens that the right players need to win for the tour to get sponsors.

Darren looks at General Motors cutting its sports spending in order to get out of bankruptcy.

Darren writes that you can bet on whether President Obama’s first pitch at the All-Star Game will bounce before it crosses home plate.

Darren also looks at MLB attendance.

Wayne Friedman of Mediapost’s TV Watch blog looks into NBC’s problem with the US Olympic Network.

Boston Globe Olympics reporter John Powers feels the announcement of the USON was bad timing for the Chicago 2016 Olympics bid.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says TV is what helped to make the MLB All-Star Game special.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette tells us that HBO will honor the late boxer Arturo Gatti by replaying his trilogy with Irish Mickey Ward starting this Friday.

Keith Groller in the Allentown Morning Call says NBC and ESPN focused more on Saucon instead of the Saucon Valley during the U.S. Women’s Open.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with St. Louis native Joe Buck of Fox Sports on why the Gateway City is such a great baseball town. Jim gives us his All-Star Game viewing and listening planner.

From the Washington Times, Tim Lemke has official word on WJFK-FM’s flipping to all-sports.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News looks at the final four of 4th and Long.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says being at the Home Run Derby was better in person than watching on TV. Ed says he wasn’t surprised at the firing of Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon last night.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviews the HBO documentary on Ted Williams.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times talks about ESPN and YouTube forging an alliance.

The Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the U.S. Women’s Open were down from last year.

The University of Arkansas’ Steve Dittmore looks at a study that concludes bloggers are not sports journalists.

Maury Brown from the Biz of Baseball says the MLB All-Star Game is suffering from an identity crisis.

The Right Field Bleachers blog has evidence of Erin Andrews’ bruise from getting hit with a line drive on the chin last week.

That will do it for now. Back later with press release stuff. Because of the CBS Radio Boston and DC announcements and ESPN Ombudsman release, this post was delayed several hours. I’m happy to have it up now.