Fang's Bites

Some Tuesday Links

I’ll provide some links today. I hope they don’t take long because I have a lot to do.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand has a look at the ratings from various events over the weekend.

Over to CNBC’s Darren Rovell who reacts to the news regarding General Motors’ dropping of Tiger Woods as a sponsor. Darren writes that don’t expect Charlie Weis to be bought out at Notre Dame due to the size of the buyout and the state of the economy.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir writes about ESPN’s built-in advantage over the broadcast networks in bidding for sports properties.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about the Giants and Jets becoming hot ratings properties in New York. In his blog, Neil writes that the Jets are fast becoming media darlings among the NFL analysts. Neil also notes that the Jets are the second highest rated team in Wisconsin because of the team’s QB and his connection to the Dairy State.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News lobbies for the Jets to be shown in primetime.

Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant reports that Tony Danza becomes the new host of “The Contender”.

Regina Medina of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that former KYW TV anchor Larry Mendte made a dramatic apology to former fellow anchor Alycia Lane in court yesterday during his sentencing for hacking into her personal e-mail account.

Thanks to Laura Nachman for the link. Phil Heron of the Delaware County Daily Times writes that a Philadelphia sports anchor has revealed he’s battling prostate cancer for the third time in this decade.

Ted Hearn of Multichannel News reports that the administrative law judge assigned to the NFL Network-Comcast dispute is retiring.

Lori Van Ingen of the Lancaster (PA) Intelligencer-Journal says Comcast will distribute this Thursday’s Arizona-Eagles game to a wider area in Pennsylvania.

The Allentown Morning Call’s Keith Groller writes the Donovan McNabb benching on Sunday became fodder for the national media. And Keith calls Sports Illustrated’s excellent NBA writer Jack McCallum one of the good guys in sports journalism.

The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager appeals to the networks to stop speeding up NFL highlights. I agree. This is annoying.

The Sports Media Watch has some news as two writers (including Jack McCallum) have left their publications. The SMW says despite three blowouts, ABC garnered good ratings for three big college football matchups on Saturday. And the SMW says there’s a minor battle over the NBA vs. NHL.

Reuters reports that ESPN has outbid the current rights holder for the German Bundesliga. This could be a harbinger for the English Premier League rights which ESPN also covets.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that Tony Kornheiser mentioned Brett Favre a bit too much during last night’s Green Bay-New Orleans game.

Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News says despite complaints from national pundits, there are no plans by the NFL to change the traditional early game on Thanksgiving from being played in Detroit.

Kyle Veazey of the Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger says next year’s date for the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game is up in the air as Raycom leaves as SEC over the air syndicator.

Also from the Clarion-Ledger, Rick Cleveland talks to a local resident who mixes audio for ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth looks at your college football TV schedule for SoCal this week. And he has the NFL TV viewing schedule for this week as well.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star is happy that KCAL is no longer tape delaying Los Angeles Lakers games played on the East Coast.

Puck The Media has another round of its NHL Tournament of Announcers featuring NESN’s Jack Edwards vs. TSN’s Chris Cuthbert. Vote for Chris, please. Don’t allow Jack to win this round. He’s currently ahead.

That’s it. I’ll be back with Primetime and Late Night Viewing Picks, then I’ll do updates from home tonight.

The Thursday Linkage

Time to give you some links this morning.

David Scott of the Boston Sports Media Watch wonders where was the Boston Globe when the Matt Walsh/Spygate Tapes story broke last night and also what’s with the Herald’s source as no tape of the Super Bowl XXXVI St. Louis Rams walkthrough was not among the tapes turned into the NFL.

Paul Flannery of Boston Magazine’s Boston Daily blog talks with Red Sox broadcaster Dave O’Brien.

The Boston Herald’s Jessica Heslam profiles new NESN sideline reporter Heidi Watney. Lenny Megliola of the Metrowest (MA) Daily News says Heidi is worth watching. Dan Lamothe of the Mass Republican also has a story on Heidi.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says 78 year old Rene Cardenas gets a fresh start today as the Spanish broadcaster for Astros game on FSN Houston.

Danny Knobler of the Michigan Booth Newspapers writes that he’s leaving to go to CBSSports.com.

Neil Best of Newsday laments the shrinking number of sports media/business columnists across the country. Neil links to a Deadspin entry on TNT’s NBA studio show. And Neil mentions that Erin Andrews will be a guest on “The Big Idea” with Donnie Deutsch on CNBC tonight.

Mike Lucas of the Capital (WI) Times talks with ESPN’s Erin Andrews who says her dream job is sitting next to Regis Philbin.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at the difference when a CEO sells stock at Under Armour and Nike.

From the New York Times, Richard Sandomir reports that the NFL is taking its fight with Comcast to the FCC.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune looks at HBO’s Hard Knocks program returning to Dallas Cowboys training camp.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says college baseball will be broadcast on RPI’s radio station and the ESPN family of networks will telecast the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media has a look at ESPN’s broadcast schedule for the Lacrosse Tournament.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette talks with sports radio talk show host Mark Madden.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee needs a reality check on a college football playoff.

Zack Palmer of the Forest Grove (OR) News-Times says the story of the Central Washington players carrying the injured Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon so she could make it around the bases after hitting a home run has resonated across the country.

Alex Weprin of Broadcasting & Cable writes that CBS College Sports will be cablecasting in HD.

John Jackson from the Chicago Sun-Times talks about the Bulls’ changes to the broadcast booth.

Adam Adkins of the Tampa Tribune talks with former Buccaneers QB and current ESPN Arena Football League analyst Shaun King.

Bill Dries of the Memphis Daily News writes about ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson who was in town on Wednesday.

Christine Brennan of USA Today says some sports stories have transcended to the news pages.

Ed Sherman from the Chicago Tribune says Tiger Woods’ absence will have a huge impact on NBC Sports’ telecast of this weekend’s Players Championship.

Michael Roberts of the Westword (CO) says local media has a dilemma of whether to send a reporter to cover the Summer Olympics in Communist China.

This has the potential to be annoying. ESPN and Coldplay have teamed up so the Alleged Worldwide Leader can use the group’s music on Euro 2008 promos.

Paul J. Gough of the Hollywood Reporter says many of NBC’s units will be moving from its famous headquarters of 30 Rockefeller Center except NBC Sports and Saturday Night Live.

Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News says KYW-TV management is not reportedly happy that some employees attended a party thrown by former anchor Alycia Lane.

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

Beginning of the Workweek Links

As we’re back to work, let’s give you some links on this Monday.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says NBC Sports made the right call in not showing Eight Belles’ suffering after breaking down at the Kentucky Derby. Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin agrees that NBC was correct in showing restraint.

On the other hand, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post says NBC should have kept its cameras on Eight Belles. The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says NBC erred in covering Eight Belles’ injury. From the St. Petersburg Times, Tom Jones feels NBC didn’t focus enough on Eight Belles breaking down and says it’s time to abolish horse racing. Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner says NBC did not strike the right balance in covering the winner’s celebration and the death of Eight Belles. The Big Lead looks at how the media handled the story.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown has a rather large insurance policy.

TVbyTheNumbers looks at the ratings for the Kentucky Derby from 1975-2007. Paul J. Gough of the Hollywood Reporter says the overnight ratings for the Derby are down 3% from a year ago.

David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch reports that the NESN.com website relaunched over the weekend and it does look much better than its previous incarnation. And David also reports that Heidi Watney makes her debut tonight as the new sideline reporter when the Red Sox travel to Detroit to take on the Tigers. Heidi made her debut on NESN yesterday doing a guest spot with Don and Jerry. In case you missed it (as NESN likes to say), the fine Sox & Dawgs blog has the video of Heidi’s introduction. And here’s one of her reports from Fresno where she went whitewater rafting.

Andy Vogt from the Metrowest (MA) Daily News has a profile of Red Sox radio studio host Jon Rish.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun writes in his blog that Orioles radio voice Joe Angel does not pull his punches on the team’s poor play.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog says the color analyst for National Pro Fastpitch games is the league’s commissioner.

SI.com has an Associated Press story which reports that Braves TV analyst Joe Simpson is recovering after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Sunday.

Newsday’s Neil Best is enjoying his self-imposed moratorium on listening to sports radio.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle is back from vacation and has some documentary viewing picks, both sports and non-sports.

Awful Announcing has the video of Jimmy Kimmel mocking the Miguel Tejada E:60 ambush interview.

Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times looks at Disney’s internet group which also includes ESPN.com.

Some Alycia Lane news for you. Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Alycia threw a big birthday bash for her boyfriend, radio morning man, Chris Booker.

That will do it for now.

1st Anniversary of Fang’s Bites – A Look Back at the Last 12 Months

I won’t be able to give you the Saturday links as usual this morning. I’m currently away and have had to leave the house early for a get-together. I’ll give you the links later today.

As I celebrate the one year anniversary of the re-launch of this blog, I think back to some of the bigger stories of the last 12 months.

I’ll count them down in reverse order:

11. Alycia Lane’s pictures being e-mailed to Rich Eisen and having them intercepted by his wife.
10. Bethanie Mattek showing her cleavage to a ball boy at the US Open and dressing as a French Nanny.
9. The Red Sox firing Jerry Trupiano from the radio booth and using the combination of Dave O’Brien and the inexperienced Glenn Geffner to replace him in 2007 leaving Red Sox fans in despair whenever Glenn was on the air.
8. Turner Sports successfully debuting TBS Hot Corner during the MLB playoffs, mixing live coverage on TV and on the internet.
7. The NBA reups with ESPN and TNT for another 8 seasons.
6. Dan Patrick leaves ESPN Radio and then goes missing …. errrrr…. I mean, signs a weak radio syndication deal and then joins Sports Illustrated.
5. Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel was suspended for making a racial slur earlier this year and subsequently apologized upon her return.
4. Debut of the Big Ten Network to a miniscule audience.
3. NFL Network vs. Cable.
2. Media buyouts leaving newspapers and TV stations with skeleton staffs.
1. The Buzz Bissinger vs. Will Leitch segment on Costas Now.

It has been a good 12 months. I’ve enjoyed doing the links and I’ll continue doing them as long as I’m able. And thanks to the people who have sent kind words over the last 12 months including Neil Best, Ken Schott, David Scott, Richard Deitsch, Joe Favorito, Bruce Allen, Bob Glauber, Chris Pursell, Beau Estes, Vince Wladika, Darren Rovell, Andy Gresh, Curt Chaplin, Christopher Byrne, Andrew Siciliano, John Ourand, Dave Weekley, John Crowe, Rick Lacroix, Amazing Race Asia Executive Producer Michael McKay and anyone who has sent comments anonymously both good and bad. I appreciate your patronage and I hope you continue to visit over the next 12 months and beyond. This has been lots of fun.

Monday Evening Links

Let’s give you some more links this evening.

First, Newsday’s Neil Best notes in his blog that the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship on NBC with Tiger Woods outpaced the NBA game on ABC with Shaquille O’Neal on Sunday. Neil reports that NBC has passed on the Boston Bruins-New York Rangers tilt for its NHL flex game on March 9. And Neil criticizes ESPN’s Dick Vitale for getting distracted during the Tennessee-Memphis game on Saturday.

The Sports Media Watch says the rained out NASCAR race outpaced both golf and the NBA in the ratings. And the blog also notes that while the ratings for the Match Play Championships were up with Tiger winning, viewers may be getting tired of him. But Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says Tiger’s appearance last week helped the Golf Channel reach its highest ratings ever.

Craig Dolch of the Palm Beach Post reports in his blog that Golf Channel has cut its early round coverage of this week’s Honda Classic from three hours a day to two.

Steve Cameron of the Merced (CA) Sun-Star says Golf Channel analyst Nick Faldo chose the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship to take a shot at his former sponsor, Nike.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes in his blog that CBS has made its wild card selections for its last weekend of regular season college basketball.

Bruce Allen of the Boston Sports Media Watch noticed that the last two Celtics road games on Comcast SportsNet were not shown in true HD as advertised.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times writes that MASN will air 80 games of the Nationals and Baltimore Orioles in HD.

Jon Lafayette of TV Week says CBS will offer on demand highlights of the NCAA Tournament in HD. Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that Comcast and Bresnan Communications are the first two cable providers to sign up to distribute the highlights.

Daisy Whitney from TV Week says HBO has launched a YouTube channel that will feature videos from Real Sports and HBO Boxing. The link to the channel is here.

John Consoli of Mediaweek reports that ESPN is producing a civil rights-themed basketball documentary.

ESPN has reached a new two year agreement with FSN to air a handful of Big 12 football games.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports the Alleged Worldwide Leader will air one Arena Football League game involving the Utah Blaze.

Brian Bennett and Brett Lawson of the Louisville Courier-Journal write that the University of Kentucky has turned down an offer from ESPN to play in-state rival Louisville on Labor Day.

Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel reports that the city will host two black college football games, one sponsored by ESPN, but the other is in desperate need of a sponsor.

Jamison Hensley and Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun talk about former Ravens coach Brian Billick who appeared for three hours on a local radio station today.

Soccer fans will be able to watch all of FC Dallas’ games on TV through various English and Spanish outlets.

Former Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane has had her charges reduced stemming from an arrest in New York back in December.

I might have even another update later tonight. Keep checking here.

It’s the Monday Links

Back to work here and my internet is back up here so it’s nice to have right now.

USA Today’s Michael McCarthy says ESPN’s Jim Rome is not a fan of the gallery at golf tournaments yelling “You Da Man!” or “Get in the hole!”.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick says there’s a lot of crazy talk going on especially on MSG Network.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun reviews ESPN’s production of the Tennessee-Memphis game. Frager writes that MASN is getting ready to produce a handful of Orioles games in HD.

The internet is abuzz over the video of Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl demonstrating holding with ESPN’s Erin Andrews. Awful Announcing has the video, of course.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times also talks about the Bruce Pearl hug of Erin Andrews.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes in his blog that the fans who stayed to watch the Siena game on the scoreboard at the Times Union Center were not served well.

Tom Zebold of The Ledger previews some of the sports on TV this week.

Theresa Howard of USA Today writes advertisers are looking to sports to get their messsage across to viewers.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has TNT’s Charles Barkley liking the trades that the Bucks and the Cleveland Cavs made during the NBA deadline.

The Birmingham (AL) News has a special section on the SEC turning 75 and one story looks at the best announcing voices over the last 75 years. Jon Solomon and Mike Perrin look at how the SEC became a money machine and that includes TV rights revenue from CBS and ESPN.

Fox Sports is asking you to name its gopher that pops up during NASCAR coverage to show that its Gopher Cam is on.

Ron Grillo of the Rocky Mount (NC) Telegram talks with Fox Sports’ Larry McReynolds who has been part of its NASCAR coverage since 2001.

Dusty Saunders of the Rocky Mountain News remembers the late Bob Howsam, the former GM of the Cincinnati Reds who also had an impact on Denver sports and radio.

The Bradenton (FL) Herald says that the Tampa Bay Rays will have 144 games on TV this season.

Steve Wiseman of The State tells us that college basketball fans can keep up with the latest RPI rankings on various websites.

Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer says former KYW anchor Alycia Lane may go free on charges stemming from her arrest back in December.

That’s going to do it for now.

A Wednesday Afternoon Update

Let’s give you a few links this afternoon.

The Sports Media Watch gives us some ratings news from various events.

Dan Gross from the Philadelphia Daily mentions that Steven A. Smith no longer works for the Philadelphia Inquirer after the editor fired him for not showing up for work. If you scroll down in the same story, you’ll note that Gross reports that the WWE has offered former KYW anchor Alycia Lane a job. Interesting.

We’ve got a bunch of posts from Newsday’s Neil Best. First, he mentions that NFL Network public relations man Seth Palansky is leaving to take a job with a Las Vegas casino. Neil reports that regional sports network SNY is thinking about premiering a new show featuring WFAN personalities Joe Begnino and Chris Carlin, and Howard 101 host Scott Ferrall of Sirius Satellite Radio. More SNY news from Neil, he says the channel is thrilled to see Johan Santana coming to the Mets. And Neil writes a story describing how Fox Sports’ Joe Buck is not planning his call for a historic moment at the Super Bowl.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about some of the more interesting Super Bowl public relations nightmares.

The NFL has announced the officiating team for the Super Bowl.

For our friends in Canada, CTV has announced its plans for Super Bowl Sunday including the airing of the season premiere of Nip/Tuck after the Big Game.

Forbes magazine looks at the Greatest Teams of All Time.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty writes that ESPN will air a special on Buffalo Bill Kevin Everett who suffered a career ending injury early in the season. Paul Lane of the Tonawanda (NY) News says ABC will also air part of the interview with Everett tonight on Nightline and on Good Morning America.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced a deal with FSN to broadcast 125 games this season. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has the story.

Mark Harden of the Denver Business Journal reports that the Colorado Rockies have reached a contract extension with KTVD TV for the next two seasons.

Todd Holcomb of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that a local high school lost money when ESPN2 came to televise a basketball game earlier this month.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that College Gameday will air live from Freedom Hall this Saturday.

ESPN is launching an HD service in Australia.

That’s it for now.

Time For Tuesday Links

It’s Tuesday and time for some links. We have reaction to the Roger Clemens press conference and the breaking news in which Joe Gibbs suddenly resigned as coach and President of the Washington Redskins.

First, we have Richard Sandomir of the New York Times who says in just a short 24 hour period, we saw the edited and raw versions of Roger Clemens.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes that Roger Clemens has become a compelling figure. In his blog, Neil links to a SI.com story in which former Newsday reporter Jon Heyman sat with Brian McNamee while 60 Minutes was on (you can go to Heyman’s story here as well). And Neil expands on a tidbit in his column about Tony Kornheiser planning to return to Monday Night Football, at least for now.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says Giants coach Tom Coughlin has silenced his TV and radio critics.

It’s nice to have Jim Williams writing on a regular schedule again. The DC/Baltimore Examiner sports media writer blogs today that Washington TV and radio stations will be all over Joe Gibbs’ press conference later today.

The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager writes in his Medium Well blog that Cris Collinsworth worked well with Tom Hammond during NBC’s coverage of the Washington-Seattle game.

Dave Del Grande of the Oakland Tribune says the Patriots-Giants game last month was a commercial bonanza for CBS, NBC and the NFL Network.

In the Chicago Tribune, Ed Sherman gives some hope for Big Ten fans, Comcast and the Big Ten Network appear close to an agreement.

The Sports Media Watch says going into last night’s BCS Championship Game, Fox Sports has seen lower ratings for the Sugar, Fiesta and Orange Bowls.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders what affect the NCAA’s Death Penalty had on Southern Methodist University. In the mid-1980′s, the NCAA took away scholarships and bowl appearances from its football program after SMU was found guilty of multiple recruiting and other violations.

Jennifer Wielgus of the Bucks County Courier Times says ESPN has pulled its programming from a local radio station. And Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News says the format change will not affect LaSalle basketball games which are broadcast on the station.

Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star reports on a three way radio competition for sports fans during afternoon drive time.

The Providence Journal’s Paul Kenyon chronicles how the URI-Dayton game went from a non-televised game to being shown nationally and in the local markets.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the Canada-Sweden gold medal game in the World Junior Hockey Championships killed in the ratings for TSN.

Chris Pursell of TV Week says the third season of the syndicated “Whacked Out Sports” has been cleared in 75% of the country.

Laura Nachman has statements galore from KYW-TV, Alycia Lane’s attorney and from various news outlets on the firing of the lovely Alycia.

That will do it for now. Back later.

Your Monday Night Links

As I’m watching the BCS Championship Game and burning a DVD so I can do the Amazing Race Asia Episode 7 recap, I’ll give you some links this evening.

First, the Sports Media Watch blog tells us that there were some slight declines in the ratings for the NFL Wild Card playoff games. Paulsen says it appears that Paul McNamee may appear on 60 Minutes next week to rebut Roger Clemens. And the NFL playoff overrun combined with the Clemens interview on 60 Minutes helped CBS to win the night.

John Consoli of Mediaweek says the Tennessee-San Diego Wild Card playoff game’s ratings were up 8% for CBS over last year. And Consoli says the playoff doubleheader on NBC did well also.

Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star says Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen is doing some reporting work for the NFL Network during the playoffs. And Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Eagles’ Brian Westbrook is doing some work for the NFL Network as well.

The NFL has announced it will make game highlights and various NFL Network programming available for download through Amazon.com’s Unbox.

NFL PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON UNBOX

Critically Acclaimed “America’s Game” Series, “Follow Your Team” Game Highlights &

NFL Network Shows including NFL GameDay & NFL Replay Also Available

Want to re-live this past weekend’s exciting Wild Card Playoffs? Fans can now visit www.amazon.com/unbox to download highlights and more NFL video content from Amazon Unbox, Amazon’s digital video download service, including the critically acclaimed America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions series, “Follow Your Team” game highlights and select NFL Network shows, the NFL announced today.

“We are committed to bringing more NFL action to our fans,” said Brian Rolapp, NFL senior vice president of media strategy and digital media. “Amazon provides an easy way for fans to download their favorite NFL content.”

The day after each NFL postseason game, NFL and Amazon Unbox will offer fans a chance to download highlights from the playoffs and Super Bowl XLII.

From dynasties to one-shot wonders, from the undefeated to the unexpected, America’s Game tells the stories behind the story of all 41 Super Bowl champions. Each episode is a 60-minute documentary featuring key members of the winning team telling behind-the-scenes accounts from their championship season. With classic NFL Films action combined with news clips and photos, highlights from team radio broadcasts, footage from inside team meeting rooms, sideline audio and other exclusive features, America’s Game provides an epic and intimate portrait of 41 distinct championship teams, in one groundbreaking series. Episodes are available to download for $1.99.

Also available on Amazon Unbox: NFL Network programs including NFL GameDay, the ultimate Sunday night NFL highlights and recap show ($1.99 per episode), and NFL Replay, featuring the five most exciting games from the weekend presented in a fast-paced 90-minute format with exclusive audio and video extras from the sidelines and postgame ($2.99 per episode); and a “Follow Your Team” offering which allows fans to track their team on a weekly basis ($1.99 per game).

NFL video content is part of a growing selection on Amazon Unbox that now includes over 10,000 television shows, movies and other videos for rent or purchase. Customers can view their favorite movies and television shows by watching them on their PC, on portable video players, or on their TV through the Amazon Unbox on TiVo service.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes in his Best Seat in My House blog that Fox Sports is not stepping up in the BCS Championship Game (at least in the first half).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jeff D’Alessio talks with ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd about the five sports personalities he wishes would go away.

Kirk Bohls of the Austin (TX) American-Statesman says the University of Texas will play one of its football games next season on a Thursday night to accommodate ESPN. Chip Brown of the Dallas Morning News says that game is the annual Texas-Texas A&M rivalry and ESPN wants that to be played on Thanksgiving night. And one more story from Bohls who writes that ESPN is interested in bidding for the BCS when the contract is back up for bid. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.com says ESPN/ABC will work with the Rose Bowl to work on a possible “Plus One” model to get a real college football national champion. Right now, the Rose Bowl along with the Big Ten and Pac 10 are the holdouts to a BCS Plus One championship.

Fox Soccer Channel will team up with an online streaming company to offer games from the English Premier League and other international games on its website.

The Canadian Press reports that the Gold Medal game of the World Junior Hockey Championships was a ratings winner for TSN.

Some late breaking news, Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane has been fired by KYW-TV. Michael Malone of Broadcasting & Cable has the story. KYW has released a tersely worded statement. Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News is also on top of the story. And Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer also reports on Lane’s firing.

Lots of stuff on this Monday night. Keep it here for more stuff tomorrow.

Our Monday Links

I’m hearing lots of reaction to the Roger Clemens interview on 60 Minutes. Plenty of dissection and none of it good. Let’s get to the links and there will be reaction to Clemens.

But first (as he sounds like Julie Chen on Big Brother), USA Today’s Michael McCarthy says BCS and NFL Postseason allows for on-air auditions for coaches and players on the various TV networks.

David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch looks at the Boston Herald’s George Kimball ripping apart a new book on retired boxer Irish Mickey Ward.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick rips Roger Clemens. Would you expect anything less from Mushnick?

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch says Roger Clemens never broke character and Mike Wallace failed to press him during last night’s interview on 60 Minutes.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders who’s legacy took a bigger hit, Clemens’ or Martina Hingis’?

Newsday’s Wally Matthews compares Clemens’ appearance to an old used car salesman ad.

Stephen Brunt from the Toronto Globe and Mail says it was Clemens’ turn to make denials.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says Clemens did not convince anyone one way or the other based on his appearance on 60 Minutes.

Newsday’s Neil Best blogs that NBC received good ratings for Wild Card Saturday and Las Vegas which seems to be a sports hotbed lately, was in the top 10 rated markets for the Jacksonville-Pittsburgh game.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner previews tonight’s BCS Championship and more Roger Clemens stuff in his Watch This! blog.

More reason to hate ESPN, it’s expanding its relationship with MobiTV and launching what’s called ESPN Mobile TV for cell phones. More distractions while you’re driving.

Mediaweek reports that ESPN received some mixed ratings for its college bowl games.

Abbey Klaasen of Advertising Age says Microsoft will help NBC stream 2,200 hours online of Olympics coverage on from Beijing online. Alice Cuneo of AdAge writes that more people visited ESPN’s mobile website for football than the PC website.

Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel of the National Ledger talk with Howie Long of Fox Sports.

Teddy Greenstein takes over the sports media beat for the Chicago Tribune after tonight’s BCS Championship Game while Ed Sherman covers golf. Today, Greenstein talks to the Fox Sports crew calling the BCS Championship.

And Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that news anchor Alycia Lane is going to meet with KYW-TV officials in an attempt to keep her job in the wake of her December arrest in New York.

That will do it.

Time for Saturday Links

Let’s give you a quickie links thing today as I have a lot of errands to run (Christmas shopping, you may have heard of it).

Starting with Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News says the NFL Network and the cable companies continue to be Scrooge or the Grinch, whichever you prefer, during this holiday season.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan Caesar writes that St. Louis resident Bob Costas gets some New Year’s Day duties hosting the NHL Winter Classic for NBC. If you are one of the few that has the NFL Network, you may have seen Costas hosting the number retirement ceremony for the Rams’ Marshall Faulk on Thursday.

Jefferson George of the Charlotte Observer writes the usual story of the NFL Network not being available outside of the 75 mile radius of Charlotte for tonight’s Dallas-Carolina game. Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says a local station is coming through so Cowboys fans can watch tonight’s game.

Dan Frommer of the Silicon Valley Insider blog says the NFL Network is charging higher ad rates for next week’s Patriots-Giants game and is practically on its hands and knees trying to get the game on a wider distribution. Over to the Boston Herald and business writer Jay Fitzgerald who writes that many fans outside of Boston are going to be angry if they can’t watch next week’s game. Mike Donoghue of the Burlington (VT) Free Press says the NFL has refused to allow a local TV station to pick up the NFL Network’s feed despite the state’s congressional delegation making a request. John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable reports that Hartford (CT) station WFSB thinks it can carry Saturday’s game and is clearing its schedule just in case. Good luck. Boston station WCVB will pick up the game for the local market.

Pete Barth of the Sheboygan (WI) Press says it’s time to end the dispute so fans can watch the NFL and Big Ten.

Somehow I missed this story yesterday. Adam Thompson of the Wall Street Journal talks about ESPN’s recent raiding of the print world and signing reporters for its various platforms. But Jack Shafer of Slate.com says this is not a recent trend and it actually goes back more than ten years.

Adam Kuriloff and Erik Matsuzewski of Bloomberg says the NFL’s TV ratings are up this season thanks to the Patriots’ pursuit of perfection.

TV Week’s Chris Pursell has your NFL Week 16 Broadcast Preview in his Pressbox blog.

David Kiley of BusinessWeek magazine writes how the poor Notre Dame season contributed to NBC’s ad revenue slump.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner writes in his Watch This! blog that today is a big day for TV sports viewing including college basketball, bowls and capped off by the Dallas-Carolina game.

And we must cap off the links with news about Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane. If you go into the May archives when I relaunched this site, Alycia was one of the reasons why I got back into this, so I continue to cover the latest news on her whenever it breaks. TMZ.com and Perez Hilton have Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. I have Alycia Lane. Anyway, Page Six in the New York Post reports that Playboy has allegedly offered money to Ms. Lane to pose nude. That would supersede the bikini pictures that she sent to Rich Eisen we’ve been seeking since May. Of course, that would end any last semblance of creditability she had left. But youneverknow. And the Philadelphia Inquirer has an editorial comparing Lane’s latest incident to the Mel Gibson anti-Semetic rant last year.

Coming up sometime this weekend, the NFL Picks for Week 16 plus the Amazing Race Asia recap for Episode 5 and the Amazing Race 12 recap for Episode 7. Keep it here.

It’s A Wednesday Thing

Time to give you some links today.

First, David Scott from the Boston Sports Media Watch talks about changes at the top of Comcast SportsNet New England, changes to the NCAA live blogging policy and rumored changes to the Patriots radio booth.

Newsday’s Neil Best says his blog is part of a 64 sports blog tournament on Busted Coverage. And here’s the actual link to the tournament. By the way, we appreciate being on the blogroll of Busted Coverage.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand writes about ESPN’s Dick Vitale being silenced by vocal cord surgery and the passing of veteran sports announcer Don Chevrier.

Chuck Bausman of the Philadelphia Daily News also writes about Vitale’s absence.

Chris Zelkovich from the Toronto Star remembers Don Chevrier. Dave Perkins of the Star says Chevrier could practically call any sport well.

Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times says the Nationals home opener which will unveil the team’s new stadium will be shown on ESPN.

Veteran announcer Roger Twibell, currently of the Big Ten Network and who has done some time in Boston at WBZ-TV and ABC Sports has a new radio gig according to Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star.

Bob McClure of the Tampa Bay Newspapers writes that ESPN was in town to shoot a commercial for Little League Baseball.

Multichannel News reports that ESPN won the ratings on Monday for the Minnesota-Chicago game.

Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that officials from the Big Ten and NFL Networks will be talking to the Wisconsin State Legislature on Thursday.

Robert Dvorchak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says viewers outside the Pittsburgh metro area won’t be able to see the Pittsburgh-St. Louis game tomorrow night either through the NFL Network or KDKA-TV.

Rich Flowers of the Athens (TX) Daily Review says viewers in the local area will be able to watch the Dallas-Carolina game on Saturday thanks to KDFI picking up the NFL Network feed.

You want more NFL Network news? Darry Madden of BostonNOW says the Patriots-Giants game on December 29 won’t be available in the entire New England region.

Ed Bark of the Pegasus (TX) News says ratings for the Eagles-Cowboys game on Sunday were almost equal to the first matchup this season.

Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable says NBC’s Sunday Night Football will have some interactive features this week.

Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer has come out in support of Fox Sports’ Pam Oliver in the Donovan McNabb controversy.

I told you earlier this year that Peter Puck was coming back to TV. It’s now official, Peter is on Leafs TV in Canada.

Laura Nachman has an update on KYW’s reaction to Alycia Lane’s arrest.

And there you have it. Those are the links for now.

Late Tuesday Night Update

A few things for you tonight.

Sad news to report. Legendary Canadian announcer Don Chevrier who did work on ABC’s and NBC’s Olympics coverage as well as being the first Toronto Blue Jays TV announcer has passed away at the age of 69. William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail remembers his work. Peter James of the CanWest News Service also has a story on Chevrier’s passing. CBC Sports also remembers Chevrier. Alex J. Walling of TSN.ca has a nice column on Chevrier. I’m surprised there’s no mention of Chevrier on NBC Sports.com.

The Sports Media Watch quotes from a Sports Business Daily story which states that ratings for the NHL on Versus and various Regional Sports Networks are up as compared to last season.

From Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer, we find that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is denying a story from Fox Sports sideline reporter Pam Oliver that he felt his days with the Eagles are numbered. Pam stands by her story.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News blogs in Farther Off the Wall about Pete Rose’s appearance on Sports Unfiltered with Dennis Miller on Wednesday. And Hoffarth writes that KSPN host Steve Mason will do a live show Wednesday from a Veterans Affairs Hospital to bring some holiday cheer to vets who are being treated during the Christmas season.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says USA Network won the cable primetime ratings for last week riding WWE Raw over ESPN’s Monday Night Football and its matchup involving the lowly Atlanta Falcons.

Steve Kash of the Terre Haute (IN) Tribune Star says the Big Ten Network dispute has left many fans in the lurch.

The Portland (OR) Business Journal reports on FSN Northwest picking up 20 Portland Beavers minor league baseball games and five Portland Timbers soccer matches.

Phil Swann of TV Predictions.com reports that DirecTV will pick up Tennis Channel in HD when it launches on New Year’s Eve.

I don’t know if this will apply here, but with the Australian Open starting up next month, The Australian reports that the tournament will launch a broadband channel on its website. It would be nice since ESPN2 hardly covers the Open even though it owns the rights. It has outsourced some coverage to Tennis Channel.

And I know you’re starving for news about Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane. Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer who seems to be leading the reporting on Lane says she’s been taken off the air indefinitely following her weekend arrest and calling a police officer “a dyke”. Karen Heller of the Inquirer says while Lane is gorgeous, she doesn’t seem to have much common sense. Finally, Laura Nachman has the Alycia “Time-Lane”.

That will do it for tonight. See you tomorrow.

Some Monday Links

Time to give you some Monday links. One of my employees remains out so I still have to cover for him. The links will go up as soon as I get to my office or when I get home, but I’ll do my best to get them to you when I can.

Starting with USA Today, Michael Hiestand writes that the snow in Cleveland yesterday forced CBS to an old school type NFL broadcast.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post writes that the MLB Players Association is giving players who don’t do steroids and Human Growth Hormone the shaft.

Neil Best from Newsday writes in his WatchDog blog about the New York Giants Football Giants’ radio voice Bob Papa doing some work for the NFL Network.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star writes that while the Raptors aren’t getting it done on the court, they are attracting TV ratings.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Andy Pettitte admitting he took HGH was a very good public relations move.

Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune says both ESPN and the Bears enter tonight’s game with new quarterbacks at the helm.

XM Satellite Radio will air 30 college football bowl games including the Bowl Championship Series.

Katy Bachman of Mediaweek says ESPN’s Monday Night Football is setting ratings records not only on cable, but in local markets as well. Also from Mediaweek, John Consoli writes that the NFL Network is selling the Patriots-Giants game at increased ad rates.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable reports that Vermont’s Congressional Delegation wants the NFL Network to expand access for the Patriots-Giants game which it will carry on December 29.

Clay Robison of the Houston Chronicle looks into the contributions of the Jones family and its public relations firm to Texas legislators who are supportive of the fight to get the NFL Network on cable.

Dusty Saunders of the Rocky Mountain News says ratings for the NFL on CBS are up thanks to the Patriots.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star reviews yesterday’s Titans-Chiefs game on the radio and TV.

Jeff Elliot of the Florida Times-Union writes that high school football brings eyeballs to state TV sets.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated writes that ESPN is awaiting the response of its own Fernando Vina who was named in the Mitchell Report.

Laura Nachman reports that Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane was arrested in New York over the weekend. There’s never a boring moment with Alycia. And Jess Snow of the National Ledger has more on Alycia’s arrest.

If I get more info on Alycia’s arrest, you’ll see it here. In the meantime, enjoy your day.

Here Are The Tuesday Links

The links are up late as I had to be in another location this morning and someone came to my office. I hate when routines are thrown off, but I give you the links now.

Neil Best of Newsday chronicles his time spent Sunday at NBC with the Football Night in America studio crew. In his blog, Best follows up his column with some comments made by NBC’s Tiki Barber about his former teammate, Giants QB Eli Manning. Best tells us that CSTV cut corners for its broadcast of last Saturday’s Cornell-Boston University game at Madison Square Garden. And Best links to an article done by College Hockey News about CSTV.

From the Sports Media Watch blog, Paulsen has a couple of entries including one on the ratings of the college football games during the Thanksgiving Day weekend. And the other is on the record overnight ratings for Sunday Night Football.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at the ratings for some of the weekend sporting events.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner says the biggest game of the NFC is this Thursday on the NFL Network, but won’t be seen in most homes.

In the Los Angeles Times, Larry Stewart in the Morning Briefing goes over a few things like Sunday’s Eagles-Pats game and a faux pas committed by CBS’ Steve Beuerlein.

For those who have Sirius Satellite Radio and are fans of NASCAR, the Orbitcast blog has the schedule for live broadcasts during Champions Week.

Jessica Kerman of the Anderson (IN) Herald-Bulletin writes that an Indiana legislator wants the NFL Network and the cable companies to cut a deal. Kerman writes incorrectly that the NFL Network is owned by ESPN. Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) writes in the Milwaukee Small Business Times that the FCC should get involved in the NFL Network-cable dispute. Dennis Grall of the Escanaba (MI) says the NFL Network dispute has even hit the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Sinead Carew of Reuters says NFL Network games will be made available on Sprint cell phones. Nick Dettman in the Michigan City (IN) News-Dispatch says the NFL Network dispute is going nowhere. Darnell Mayberry of the Daily Oklahoman says the Green Bay-Dallas game will be the best game no one ever sees. Mike Copeland in the Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald says local fans are scrambling to see Thursday’s Packers-Cowboys game. And Evan Mohl of the Killeen (TX) Daily Herald writes that local cable won’t be picking up the NFL Network in time for Thursday’s game.

LaMond Pope of the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette says there’s little progress in getting the Big Ten Network on state cable systems. Also in the Journal Gazette, Mark Schultz says Comcast is greedy by shutting out its subscribers from the Big Ten Network.

Continuing on with another sports channel-cable dispute, the Orlando Sentinel says in an editorial that Bright House cable and Fox Sports Net Florida should resolve its battle.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that FSN Ohio and Sports Time Ohio have expressed interest in airing the Cleveland Arena Football League team’s games.

The Daily Oklahoman notes that the ratings for the annual Bedlam rivalry game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were down again.

Eric Fisher of the Business First of Buffalo newspaper says the NHL has struck a deal with Verizon Wireless to put highlights on its cell phones for a monthly fee.

In his Baltimore Sun blog, columnist David Steele is saddened by the speculation of sports radio talk show hosts in regards to the tragic Sean Taylor story.

CBS Sports will air a one hour special on some celebrity ski event that only those participating care about.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the Grey Cup on CBC drew big ratings despite having small markets teams. CBC Sports says 3.3 million people watched part or all of the Grey Cup.

We’ve always been intrigued by Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane ever since she wrote that saucy e-mail to NFL Network host Rich Eisen that was intercepted by his wife, Suzy Shuster. She had been going out with WCBS news anchor Chris Wragge. Now she’s apparently going out with Friend of Howard Stern, Chris Booker, morning DJ for Q102. I’m still hoping someone leaks those swimsuit pics she sent to Rich back in May.

Those are the links for now.

Some Saturday Links

Good morning and I’m in a bit of a rush as I’m trying to do this before I have to head out.

First, Chris Pursell of TV Week in his Pressbox blog gives us his NFL Week 7 broadcast preview.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes that the Cowboys are truly a ratings giant. And there’s an editorial in the Morning News denouncing the silly NFL rule allowing only 45 seconds of video on non-NFL approved websites.

Soon, there will one city with every radio station doing a sports format. Don’t laugh. It’s going to happen. Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Gateway City is getting its 4th all-sports station.

Long time Miami sports radio talk show host Hank Goldberg is leaving WQAM at the end of his contract according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Tom Jicha of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel also has the story. You know Hammerin’ Hank from his work on ESPN on both the NFL and horse racing.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News shares some of his thoughts on the Bills’ appearance on Monday Night Football two weeks ago (he was on vacation).

Eric Hansen (no, not the creepy reporter of Dateline NBC) of the South Bend (IN) Tribune writes that even though Notre Dame football is garnering low ratings this season, NBC is still happy with its deal to broadcast its home games.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that in a convergence of sports on both network and cable TV last Monday night, the networks won. John Consoli of Mediaweek says Game 4 of the American League Championship Series garnered 12.3 million viewers for Fox.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball website talks with Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Journal.

Alan Schmadtke of the Orlando Sentinel writes even though Monday Night Football doesn’t have as many viewers on ESPN as it did on ABC, the players still feel it’s special.

The Inside Track girls at the Boston Herald wrote a blurb on Thursday about NESN’s Tina Cervasio and her stiletto boots.

Continuing with some more gossip, Fang’s Bites fav Alycia Lane, you know the Philadelphia news anchor who sent sexy swimsuit pics to NFL Network host Rich Eisen, has split up with New York news anchor Chris Wragge.

That’s going to do it for now. I’ll have NFL Picks for Week 7 sometime today. Coming up tomorrow, your Sunday links and Videos of the Week.

Monday Update

I have to start out by saying the US Open has got to work with rightsholders CBS and whomever will hold the cable contract next year (USA Network, Tennis Channel, ESPN) to allow live streaming of its matches. Right now, trying to find streams from other rightsholders has been quite difficult. EuroSport from Spain and its regular English feed are available if you know where to look, but the commentary in Spanish is non-stop and is giving me a headache. USOpen.org only has highlights for the time being. It may stream a match or two sometime during this year’s tournament, but not at the current time.

Let’s go to the links. With this being the first day of the US Open, CNBC’s Darren Rovell finally admits that Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic is his current fav far outpacing Maria Sharapova. Rovell sits down with Ivanovic for an interview as well.

The recent stretch for the Boston Red Sox and their fans has been good. Going 6-1 for the first 7 games of a 10 game road trip is more than what the Doctor ordered. But the bad thing has been Glenn Geffner in the booth for all 7 games. First in Tampa Bay, he shrieked like a woman when a mouse, rat, skunk or whatever it was crawled near him last Tuesday. Then he went to Chicago where he was on hand for the entire White Sox massacre this past weekend. And it was at US Cellular Field where he continued to butcher his broadcasts and continued to give many a Red Sox fan ulcers. All of the links come from the 38 Cliches blog which does a great job in keeping up with the Goofster. Here’s hoping Dave O’Brien returns to do the Yankees series starting tomorrow.

Going to the Big Ten Network links, Adam Smeltz of the Centre (PA) Daily Times’ Centre Squawker blog says there has been an increased interest in D & E Communications in State College since it announced it would be picking up the BTN in time for the Thursday launch. Frank Rigas of the Sheboygan (WI) Press says chances of seeing BTN in his town are remote at best. Bob Wolfey in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says BTN is making a big play to get on basic cable.

Darrell Dickson of the Utah Daily Herald says the mtn. is going to be making a big marketing push asking fans of the Mountain West to call DirecTV and the cable companies demanding the channel gets carriage. Good luck.

Remember Philadelphia local news anchor Alycia Lane? When I restarted this blog in May, the story of her e-mailing her own bikini pics to NFL Network host Rich Eisen became fodder. Well, Alycia apparently has begun an affair with New York local news anchor Chris Wragge. Why do we care? Because Chris is married to former Playboy playmate Victoria Silvstedt and Chris was spotted walking out of Alycia’s house while Victoria is in Europe. Now unless there’s a smoking gun, this proves nothing, but it allows me to mention Alycia again. And I still want to see those bikini pics!

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

Beginning of a Short Work Week

Back on a Monday as it’s a rather strange work week. 4th of July falls in the middle of the week. Some of you have the week off and I hope you have a good vacation. In any event, I will probably not have any entries on the holiday unless something breaks.

Let’s get to our links today. In USA Today, Michael Hiestand writes about this weekend’s NASCAR race at Daytona which will have limited commercial interruptions on TNT. Only local commercials will run on the race. TNT will break only during the cautions and for gearheads, that’s great news.

Hiestand also has news that this year’s Wimbledon will most likely be the last tennis tournament for the legendary Bud Collins on NBC. Bud has been one of the great ambassadors for tennis since the 1970′s on PBS, CBS and on NBC. He would do play-by-play for all three networks. He was at the mike when John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg staged their epic battles at Wimbledon in 1980 and 1981. His role, however, has been reduced since McEnroe entered the booth. Bud still writes for the Boston Globe and has covered the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics as well as tennis. He also writes extensively for the Globe’s Travel section. One of Bud’s trademarks is his loud pants. I had the opportunity to talk to Bud at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI and as one would expect, was a joy to interview. ESPN or CBS could definitely use someone like Bud for its coverage, not only a colorful personality, but also an excellent tennis historian.

In the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman in his expanded Sunday column says boxing charlatan Max Kellerman decided to turn to down, no, make that flat out refused to take “Boxing After Dark” assignments after HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg decided to retain Larry Merchant following some negative publicity over dropping Merchant. If jerkface Kellerman is replaced on “BAD”, then I can see HBO dropping him altogether because why would they need three analysts really doing the work of one man? Stay tuned.

The New York Post has the story of Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of Alex, sitting in the Yankee Stadium stands with a t-shirt saying, “Fuck You” on the back. Nice, Cynthia.

Also in the New York Post, Phil Mushnick says if Yankee observers are expecting a full-scale blowup by owner George Steinbrenner, you may have to wait. Mushnick writes it would have happened by now.

In the DC/Baltimore Examiner, Jim Williams says Maryland Men’s Basketball coach Gary Williams will be an analyst for Comcast SportsNet this weekend for the PGA Tour event at the Congressional Country Club.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders (as do I) why the WWE is erasing all mentions of the late Chris Benoit.

It seems as if I’m getting news on the Big Ten Network every day. Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune writes that the channel will launch on August 30. In the Bucyrus (OH) Telegraph Forum, Ohio State fans are sounding off on whether they’ll get the channel or just suffer without it. Right now, DirecTV and 75 cable systems in the midwest have signed up to carry the channel, but the heavy hitters, Comcast and Time Warner cable are holding out.

Diane Werts in Newsday says watching live TV like Wimbledon on a cell phone is not as bad as she thought. And being a subscriber of V-CAST from Verizon will allow you to watch Wimbledon.

Next week, the Home Run Derby on ESPN will be known as the “State Farm Home Run Derby“.

BREAKING NEWS – I guess the word is coming out that NBC has fired Bud Collins. I mentioned up top that Bud was leaving, but this is more serious. Bud confirmed that he was fired on June 22 (!) to South Florida Sun-Sentinel tennis writer Charles Bricker.

In the Cape Cod Times, Walter Bingham complains about the inequity of coverage in the U.S. Men’s Open and the U.S. Women’s Open on NBC/ESPN.

Mark Purdy lists the Top 25 Most Powerful People in Sports in the Bay Area. That includes Ted Griggs, vice president and interim general manager of Fox Sports Net Bay Area.

Mark Cardillo in the Connecticut Post lists his favorite MLB broadcast teams.

This article on FSN Northwest says the channel has carved out a niche for sports fans.

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dan Caesar says the Cardinals’ recent slump has caused a drop in the ratings for TV partners FSN Midwest and KSDK.

The Dallas News’ Barry Horn rips the new NBA TV deal. Good.

When I restarted this blog back in May, one of my first posts was on the Rich Eisen/Suzy Shuster/Alycia Lane story in which Alycia e-mailed swimsuit pictures of herself to Rich. Eisen’s wife Suzy got hold of the pictures and sent a nasty note back to Alycia. Well, the story died down until the Philadelphia Weekly decided to get a rise out of everyone by posting this. Thanks, jerks. And you go over the entire PW archive of Alycia Lane stuff.

That’s it for now.

"It’s tough being married to such a handsome guy."

That’s the quote attributed to Suzy Shuster, wife of NFL Network host Rich Eisen. Suzy put out a statement in regards to the swimsuit controversy involving her husband and sexy Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane. Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes about how Suzy is pretty much unfazed about the whole incident. Klein cites sources saying that there’s no strain on her marriage with Eisen.

In addition, there’s a benefit for Lane. Apparently the ratings for her newscast on KYW (CBS 3) have gone up since the story broke. The story by Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News adds that the pictures came while Alycia was covering a story in California and while she was taking pics of her incredible body, producers and photogs were doing the heavy lifting in producing her package.

I don’t know how or who sent Suzy’s e-mail to Page Six (cough Suzy cough), but the next story should be about Alycia’s swimsuit pics being leaked to the media.

Rich Eisen? Rich Eisen? Where are those swimsuit pics, Rich Eisen?

It’s been talk of the internet over the last two days, the swimsuit pictures sent to NFL Network host Rich Eisen from KYW News Anchor Alycia Lane that got into the hands of Eisen’s wife, Suzy Shuster. Eisen and Shuster are a sportscasting power couple. Rich as mentioned is the main host for the NFL Network, Suzy has worked as a sideline reporter for ABC and does work on the USC pre-game show on football broadcasts.

As you may have heard by now, Lane e-mailed some sexy swimsuit pics of her to Rich. What Alicia didn’t know was that the addy was shared by Rich and Suzy. Page Six of the New York Post on Tuesday broke the story. Suzy saw them before Rich and replied:

“Boy, do you look amazing in a bikini . . . congrats! Whatever you’re doing, (Pilates? yoga?) keep doing it – it’s working for you. Anyway, sorry but those seven e-mails you sent to my husband, Rich, well, oops, they came to the e-mail address we both use from time to time, but no worries, I’ll forward the beach shots as well as the ones of you dancing with your friends on to his main address. Do you have it?

“….since you surely are trying so hard to get his attention. I mean, what better way to get a guy’s attention than with skin! Best – Suzy Shuster Eisen”

Now, Lane is trying to spin this. She spoke to Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer and said in a statement:

“Rich Eisen and I have been good friends for almost 10 years and our relationship has always been purely platonic,” Lane’s statement said.

“We regularly exchange e-mails and photos. It’s unfortunate that there was a misunderstanding over some harmless pictures of myself and my friends on vacation that I shared with him.”

She added that the pics “harmless” banter between “two old friends,” and she knew Rich and Suzy were married. Lane said the pics were of her with friends on vacation. Ok. Whatever.

Lane is twice divorced and recently split up with her second husband. And according to Gross, she’s not a stranger to Page Six which had stories of her canoodling with Prince Albert of Monaco.

Neither Rich nor Suzy have officially commented. There’s a hunt for those pics. If they do come out, they’ll be from the Eisen camp as Lane says she won’t release them.