Fang's Bites

Away This Weekend

Since putting up the Weekend Viewing Picks, I’ve been preparing for a day trip to Ithaca, NY on Saturday and then heading to Boston Sports Blogzpalooza on Sunday. I hope to do some linkage in Ithaca at a Starbucks, provided I can find one and since I’ll be on the campus of Cornell University, I don’t think it’ll be that hard.

I also plan to do a Videos of the Week and that should be up on Sunday morning if I get motivated to do it tonight. We’ll see.

Anyway, keep your RSS feeds updated.

Weekend Viewing Picks

Saturday, May 1

Boxing
Shane Mosley vs. Floyd Mayweather – HBO Pay per view, 10 p.m.

English Premier League
Birmingham vs. Burnley – ESPN2, 7:30 a.m.
Tottenham vs. Bolton – Fox Soccer Plus, 9:55 a.m.
Manchester City vs. Aston Villa – Fox Soccer Channel, 10 a.m.
Portsmouth vs. Wolverhampton – Fox Soccer Channel, noon
Stoke City vs. Everton – Fox Soccer Plus, 4 p.m. (same day coverage)

ESPN Sports Saturday
30 for 30: Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? – ABC, 4 p.m.
Winners Bracket – ABC, 5 p.m.

Golf
PGA Tour/Quail Hollow Championship, 3rd round – Golf Channel, 1 p.m./CBS, 3 p.m.

Horse Racing
Kentucky Derby – undercard, ESPN, 11 a.m./main race, NBC, 4 p.m.

Indy Car Series
Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 – ABC, 1:30 p.m.

MLB
American League
Anaheim Angels at Detroit – Fox Sports West/Fox Sports Detroit, 1 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/YES, 1 p.m.
Oakland at Toronto – Comcast SportsNet California/Rogers Sportsnet, 1 p.m.
Texas at Seattle – Fox, 3 p.m.
Red Sox at Baltimore – NESN/MASN, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland – Fox Sports North/STO, 7 p.m.

National League
Arizona at Chicago Cubs – Fox Sports Arizona/WGN America, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at St. Louis – Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Midwest, 1 p.m.
Houston at Atlanta – Fox, 3 p.m.
New York Mets at Philadelphia – Fox, 3 p.m.
Washington at Florida – MASN2/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at San Diego – MLB Network/Fox Sports Wisconsin/Cox 4, 8:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Los Angeles Dodgers – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.

Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 9:30 p.m.
Quick Pitch Live – MLB Network, 11:30 p.m.

NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series/Heath Calhoun 400 – Fox, 7 p.m.

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 1/Boston at Cleveland – TNT, 8 p.m.

Inside the NBA – TNT, 10:30 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 1/Philadelphia at Boston – NBC/TSN, 12:30 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 1/Vancouver at Chicago – Versus/CBC, 8 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 11 p.m.

Tennis
ATP Tour/Rome Masters, semifinals – Tennis Channel, 7:30 a.m.
WTA Tour/Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, semifinals – Tennis Channel,2:30 p.m. (same day coverage)

Entertainment
Giada at Home: Lunch with Raffy – Food Network, 1 p.m.
Legend of the Seeker – WGN America, 5 p.m. or check your local listings
It’s Me or The Dog – Animal Planet, 8 p.m.
Doctor Who: Victory of the Daleks – BBC America, 9 p.m.
White House Correspondents Dinner – C-SPAN/MSNBC, 9 p.m.
48 Hours Mystery – CBS, 10 p.m.
America’s Worst Driver: Dallas – Travel Channel, 10 p.m.

Sunday, May 2

English Premier League
Liverpool vs. Chelsea – Fox Soccer Plus, 8:25 a.m.
Sunderland vs. Manchester United – Fox Soccer Channel, 11 a.m.

Golf
PGA Tour/Quail Hollow Championship, final round – Golf Channel, 1 p.m./CBS, 3 p.m.

MLB
American League
Anaheim Angels at Detroit – Fox Sports West/Fox Sports Detroit, 1 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees – TBS/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/YES, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland – WFTC/WKYC, 1 p.m.
Oakland at Toronto – Comcast SportsNet California/Rogers Sportsnet, 1 p.m.
Red Sox at Baltimore – NESN/WJZ, 1:30 p.m.
Kansas City at Tampa Bay – Fox Sports Kansas City/Sun Sports, 1:30 p.m.
Texas at Seattle – Fox Sports Southwest/FSN Northwest, 4 p.m.

National League
Washington at Florida – MASN2/Fox Sports Florida, 1 p.m.
Houston at Atlanta – Fox Sports Houston/Fox Sports South, 1:35 p.m.
Arizona at Chicago Cubs – Fox Sports Arizona/WGN America, 2 p.m.
Cincinnati at St. Louis – Fox Sports Ohio/KSDK, 2 p.m.
Colorado at San Francisco – FSN Rocky Mountain/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 4 p.m.
Milwaukee at San Diego – Fox Sports Wisconsin/Cox 4, 4 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Los Angeles Dodgers – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Prime Ticket, 4 p.m.
New York Mets at Philadelphia – ESPN, 8 p.m.

MLB Tonight Live – MLB Network, 5 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 7 p.m.
Quick Pitch Live – MLB Network, 7 p.m.

NBA Playoffs
TBD

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 2/Montreal at Pittsburgh – NBC/CBC/RDS, 2 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 2/Detroit at San Jose – Versus/TSN, 8 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 11 p.m.

Tennis
ATP Tour/Rome Masters, doubles finals – Tennis Channel, 7:30 a.m.
ATP Tour/Rome Masters, singles finals – Tennis Channel, 10 a.m.
WTA Tour/Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, finals – Tennis Channel, 2 p.m. (same day coverage)

Entertainment
60 Minutes – CBS, 7 p.m.
The Amazing Race 16: They Don’t Even Understand Their Own Language – CBS, 8 p.m.
The Pacific, Part Eight – HBO, 9 p.m.
America The Story of Us: Westward – History Channel, 9 p.m.
The Tudors – Showtime, 9 p.m.
Breaking Bad – AMC, 10 p.m.
Snapped: Annie Marie Stout – Oxygen, 10 p.m.
Treme – HBO, 10 p.m.

Versus Crows About NHL Ratings and Online Hits

Perhaps this is a post-Olympics bump or perhaps it was Versus finally hashing out an agreement with DirecTV, a combination of the two or perhaps another factor, but the channel is seeing increased viewership for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Granted, these aren’t NFL numbers or even NBA Playoff numbers, but for Versus, this is very good.

Versus says the viewership for the first round of the NHL postseason is the highest for cable in almost ten years and yes, that includes ESPN. Here’s Versus’ press release.

ON-AIR AND ONLINE VERSUS NETS ITS BEST START TO NHL PLAYOFFS EVER AND SCORES MOST-WATCHED FIRST ROUND ON CABLE IN NEARLY A DECADE

Washington/Montreal Game 7 on Wednesday Night was Most-Watched Conference Quarterfinal Game on Cable Since 2003

NEW YORK, N.Y. (April 30, 2010)- VERSUS, the fastest growing sports cable network in the country, enters the Conference Semifinals on the heels of a record-breaking Conference Quarterfinal round. VERSUS' first-round coverage averaged a .7 HH rating and 595,000 viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-watched first round on cable since 2001. The HH rating and average viewership was up 75 percent and 35 percent, respectively, as compared to last year's Conference Quarterfinals, leading to VERSUS earning its most-watched April in primetime in network history.  

Additionally, more than 50 percent of VERSUS' Conference Quarterfinal games delivered more than a half million viewers with nine of the network's top 10 most-watched first-round games all taking place over the past two weeks. This overall momentum is highlighted by Game 7 of the Washington/Montreal series on April 28, 2010, which garnered a 1.2 HH rating and averaged 1,151,000 viewers, making it VERSUS' highest-rated and most-watched first round game in network history and the most watched first-round game since 2003. The 2010 Conference Quarterfinals was also the most-watched among Men 25-54 on cable since 2000.

VERSUS.com, the online destination for extensive information about the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, also experienced double-digit growth.  n April 2010, to date, as compared to April 2009, visitor's average time on the site increased 40 percent, page views per visitor showed 20-percent growth and there has been a 10-percent spike in overall page views. Throughout the remainder of the postseason, fans will continue to have access to editorial coverage from some of the most knowledgeable hockey sources; exclusive videos and interviews as well as daily highlights from all of VERSUS' games; polls and quizzes; an interactive community section where fans can post videos and photos and join or start message boards; AccuScore game projections; and live gamecasts and scoreboards for every game. The network's recently launched hockey application on the iPhone, Android and Blackberry Storm is the ideal way for viewers to access up-to-date statistical information, expert editorial analysis and videos on the go for the Playoffs.

Weekend Viewing Picks coming up.

Baseball On Your TV This Weekend

We have plenty of baseball for you this weekend. And quite a few press releases regarding the games you’ll see on the various MLB TV partners.

As usual, we begin with Fox Sports and the games it’ll cover. Joe Buck returns to work with Tim McCarver this weekend and it’s the third game for the Buckmeister in a span of four weeks. Not bad thus far. And look at the bottom of this release as Fox announces that local announcers will be used for a half inning each for the Texas-Seattle game.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

MLB & NASCAR Doubleheader This Saturday at Special 3:00 PM ET Start Time

McCarver: Manuel Deserves Credit for Mets Impressive Turnaround

Local Broadcasting Legends Take Over The MLB on FOX Game of the Week In The Emerald City This Saturday

NL EAST RIVALS DO BATTLE IN PHILLY – The FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GAME OF THE WEEK kicks off FOX Sports’ MLB-to-NASCAR doubleheader with three enticing matchups Saturday, May 1 (3:00 PM ET). Fresh off a successful homestand, David Wright and the Mets head into Philadelphia to take on Ryan Howard and the three-time defending NL East Champion Phillies. In Seattle, one of the games best pitchers, Felix Hernandez, leads the Mariners against AL West rival Rangers. Also, rookie sensation Jason Heyward and the Braves welcome the Astros to Atlanta. This week, the pregame show originates live from Safeco Field in Seattle, WA with host Chris Rose.  Once game action begins, Rose joins the game crew including Josh Lewin and Eric Karros as a field reporter.

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX.  Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports and www.myspace.com/foxsports.

  

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal, going to 70% of USA

Citizen’s Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Hartford, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Probable Pitchers: Mike Pelfrey, RHP (4-0, 0.69 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay, RHP (4-1, 1.80 ERA)

Houston Astros at Atlanta Braves, Kenny Albert & Mark Grace, going to 19% of USA

Turner Field – Atlanta, GA

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Raleigh, San Antonio

Probable Pitchers:  Wandy Rodriguez, LHP (1-2, 3.65 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson, RHP (1-1, 3.28 ERA)

Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners, Josh Lewin & Eric Karros, going to 10% of USA

Safeco Field – Seattle, WA

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Dallas, Oklahoma City, Portland, Seattle, Tulsa

Probable Pitchers:  Matt Harrison, LHP (0-1, 5.48 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez, RHP (2-1, 2.23 ERA)

DON’T LIKE THE NL EAST STANDINGS? WAIT FIVE MINUTES, THEY’LL CHANGE – Just last week, the 2010 Mets seemed hopelessly doomed for another disappointing season. Now after ripping off seven straight wins, ‘The Amazins’ are sitting atop the NL East looking ahead to a critical series against their division rival and defending NL champion Philadelphia Phillies. MLB on FOX lead analyst Tim McCarver calls Saturday’s contest and talks about the Mets impressive turnaround. “Getting Jose Reyes back as soon as they did was very important from a physiological stand point because he is a real catalyst to their offense. Mike Pelfrey has just been sensational and Johan Santana has just been his elegant, talented self and has pitched very well. Ike Davis appears to be a young man with his head on right but you’re not going to be able to replace a whole team so the guys that are struggling have to get straightened out to be successful. Even with his troubles, you can see how much teams respect David Wright and what he can do defensively and offensively when things are right. Jerry Manuel deserves a lot of credit for getting this team back on track. New York was just waiting to lower the boom when the season started and he’s been able to right the ship for now.”

LOCAL BROADCASTING LEGENDS TAKE OVER THE MLB ON FOX GAME OF THE WEEK IN THE EMERALD CITY THIS SATURDAY – During this weekend’s Rangers/Mariners game featured on the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GAME OF THE WEEK some local legends who combined for nearly 65 years of baseball broadcasting experience take over center stage. Mariners’ radio play-by-play announcer Dave Niehaus calls the bottom of the 4^th inning and Rangers baseball voice Eric Nadel is behind the mike for the top of the 5^th inning. Each legendary broadcaster will have the game turned over during that half inning to their respective radio broadcasts. Niehaus has called Mariners games since the clubs’ inception in 1977 and is inducted in the broadcaster’s wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Nadel was hired by the Rangers in 1979 and was behind the mike for Nolan Ryan’s 5000^th career strikeout and the Rangers‘ major league record 30-run outburst in August 2007. He is a member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.

More stuff coming up after the jump.

Now, let’s take a look at what MLB Network will air this Saturday and for the week ahead.

MLB Network Live Game Schedule for May 1-8 Features St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies & New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

Secaucus, N.J., April 29, 2010 – MLB Network today announced its live game schedule for May 1 – 8. The schedule begins with Saturday Night Baseball on May 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET when the Milwaukee Brewers visit the San Diego Padres.

MLB Network will air two MLB Matinee games during the week, starting with an AL East matchup between the Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees on Wednesday, May 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET, followed by the St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Later that evening, MLB Network’s Bob Costas and John Smoltz will call the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Boston Red Sox on May 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET as part of Thursday Night Baseball.

Rounding out the week, AL East rivals New York Yankees will visit the Boston Red Sox during a special Friday night matchup on MLB Network on May 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET while AL West rivals Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim face the Seattle Mariners on Saturday Night Baseball on May 8 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

MLB Tonight, MLB Network’s Emmy Award-winning signature nightly studio show, will air live at 6:00 p.m. ET on May 3-5 and before and after Thursday Night Baseball and the Yankees at Red Sox matchup on May 7. MLB Tonight airs each weeknight until the final MLB game of the night ends, featuring live look-ins of games in progress, updates, highlights, reporting and analysis.  

Game telecasts other than Thursday Night Baseball will be carriage of local telecasts, including local announcers. Games will be blacked out in each team’s home television territory. Viewers in areas subject to blackouts will be provided with an alternate game telecast or other programming.

MLB Network’s live game schedule for May 1-8 2010 appears below.

MLB Network’s May 1-8 live game schedule:

* Indicates game produced by MLB Network

All times ET and subject to change, check MLBNetwork.com for updates

Unless otherwise announced, games will be blacked out in each club’s home television territory

Date               Time               Game

May 1           8:30 p.m.      Milwaukee @ San Diego

                    7:00 p.m.      Washington @ Florida (only in Milwaukee & San Diego markets)

May 5           1:00 p.m.      Baltimore @ New York Yankees

May 6           1:00 p.m.      St. Louis @ Philadelphia  

7:00 p.m.*     Los Angeles Angels @ Boston – Bob Costas & John Smoltz

7:00 p.m.      Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh (only in Los Angeles & Boston markets)

May 7           7:00 p.m.      New York Yankees @ Boston

                   7:00 p.m.      St. Louis @ Pittsburgh (only in New York & Boston markets)

May 8            9:00 p.m.     Los Angeles Angels @ Seattle

                   8:00 p.m.      Kansas City @ Texas (only in Los Angeles & Seattle markets)

This is what TBS is showing Sunday afternoon.

The New York Yankees host the Chicago White Sox on “Sunday MLB on TBS”

Cy Young Award Winner John Smoltz Joins the TBS Booth as an Analyst

“Sunday MLB on TBS” continues on April 25 with a match-up featuring Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees hosting Paul Konerko and the Chicago White Sox at 1 p.m. (ET).  Phil Hughes is scheduled to start for the Yankees against the White Sox probable starter Mark Buehrle. Eight-time NL All-Star and winner of the 1996 Cy Young Award, John Smoltz will join the TBS booth as an analyst for the first time during the regular season and will be joined by Brian Anderson (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst) to call the action.

“Sunday MLB on TBS” includes match-ups on TBS every Sunday afternoon throughout the regular season. The network will also exclusively televise the MLB All-Star Selection Show on Sunday, July 4. Additionally, beginning in October TBS will once again provide exclusive coverage of the Division Series and the American League Championship Series (ALCS). 

TBS has broadcast MLB coverage for more than 30 years serving as the exclusive home of the MLB Division Series (DS) and one League Championship Series (LCS) since 2007 and home of Atlanta Braves coverage from 1977 to 2007. 

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS SCHEDULE:

Sun., May 2

1 p.m.                      Chicago White Sox @ New York Yankees

Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Ron Darling (analyst) and John Smoltz (analyst)

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Sun., May 9

1:30 p.m.                 Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies

Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst)

Sun., May 16

1 p.m.                      Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees

Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Buck Martinez (analyst) and David Wells (analyst)

That will do us for the time being.

UPDATE, 11:50 a.m.: I have ESPN’s schedule for Sunday and Monday Night Baseball. Again, the Mets are involved for Sunday.

ESPN’s Sunday and Monday Night Baseball

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball will showcase a National League East rivalry when the Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Howard host the New York Mets and Jose Reyes on May 2, at 8 p.m. ET.  Jon Miller will host with analysts Joe Morgan and Orel Hershiser. The game will also be available via ESPN Radio (Jon Sciambi and Dave Campbell), ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV.

ESPN’s Monday Night Baseball on May 3 will pit Boston Red Sox and the visiting Los Angeles Angels at 7 p.m. The ESPN telecast will be available in the Los Angeles market. The game will also be available via ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV

Now we’re done.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

Golf
PGA Tour/Quail Hollow Championship, 2nd round – Golf Channel, 2 p.m.

MLB
American League
Anaheim Angels at Detroit – Fox Sports West/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.
Red Sox at Baltimore – NESN/MASN, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees – Comcast SportsNet/YES, 7 p.m.
Kansas City at Tampa Bay – Fox Sports Kansas City/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland – MLB Network/Fox Sports North/STO, 7 p.m.
Oakland at Toronto – Comcast SportsNet California/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.
Texas at Seattle – KTXA/FSN Northwest, 10 p.m.

National League
Arizona at Chicago Cubs – MLB Network/Fox Sports Arizona/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 2 p.m.
New York Mets at Philadelphia – WPIX/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Washington at Florida – MASN2/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Houston at Atlanta – Fox Sports Houston/SportSouth, 7:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at St. Louis – Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Midwest, 8 p.m.
Colorado at San Francisco – Altitude/KNTV, 10 p.m.
Milwaukee at San Diego – Fox Sports Wisconsin/Cox 4, 10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Los Angeles – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.

MLB Tonight Live – MLB Network, 10 p.m.

NASCAR
Nationwide Series/Richmond 250 – ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference
Game 6/Atlanta at Milwaukee – ESPN, 7 p.m.

Western Conference
Game 6/Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City – ESPN, 9:30 p.m.
Game 6/Denver at Utah – ESPN2, 10 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 1/Montreal at Pittsburgh – Versus/CBC, 7 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 10 p.m.

Tennis
ATP Tour/Rome Masters, Quarterfinals – Tennis Channel, 7 a.m.

Entertainment
Ghost Whisperer – CBS, 8 p.m.
Too Ugly To Love – BBC America, 9 p.m.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: R2 Come Home – Cartoon Network, 9 p.m.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lethal Trackdown – Cartoon Network, 9:30 p.m.
20/20 – ABC, 10 p.m.
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – BBC America, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Funny Or Die Presents – HBO, midnight
Zane’s Sex Chronicles – Cinemax, midnight

NBC Sports and Sirius XM Preview the 2010 Kentucky Derby

Another rite of Spring comes along this Saturday, the first one in May as the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs touches off another Triple Crown season. Hard to believe we haven’t had a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, but that’s the deal.

On Thursday, NBC Sports held a conference call involving the crew that will produce and call the Derby and we have highlights.

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS UNPRECEDENTED COVERAGE OF THE 136th RUNNING OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY THIS SATURDAY AT 4 PM ET

 “It’s an incredible piece of Americana.” – NBC’s Costas

“Of the 20 horses, I could make a strong case for about 16 of them in this race.” – NBC’s Stevens

“We could be primed for another huge upset.” – NBC’s Battaglia

“There is already a lot of drama involved in this years Derby.” – NBC’s Hammond

LOUISVILLE, KY – April 29, 2010 – NBC Sports broadcasts exclusive coverage of the 136th Kentucky Derby this Saturday starting at 4 p.m. ET. NBC Sports’ broadcast will bring the spectacle of the Kentucky Derby, the oldest continuous sporting event in the U.S. which has been contested annually since 1875, home to viewers with behind-the-scenes access, celebrities and fashion surrounding the legendary Run for the Roses. A Red Carpet will feature celebrity interviews as the stars arrive to Churchill Downs to enjoy the greatest day in horse racing.

Costas, who this week won his 21st Emmy Award, and Hammond co-host the Derby alongside Stevens, a three-time Derby winner. NBC Sports’ broadcast team also includes race-caller Tom Durkin; contributing analysts/handicappers Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier; reporter Kenny Rice and on-track reporter Donna Brothers. The Kentucky Derby on NBC Sports is produced by Sam Flood and directed by David Michaels. Additionally, the TODAY Show’s Natalie Morales will contribute reports and interview celebrities as they arrive on the red carpet. Derby weekend coverage begins Friday with Ladies First: Bravo at the Kentucky Derby at 5 p.m. ET/PT.

NBC Sports conducted a conference call Thursday with Costas, Hammond, Stevens, Neumeier, Battaglia, Flood and Michaels. Below are quotes from NBC’s talent and production staff about the Kentucky Derby and NBC’s coverage:

COSTAS ON THE BIG EVENT FEEL OF THE DERBY: “As always it’s my job to set the stage in broad strokes, do a few interviews and then turn things over to Tom Hammond and the rest of the crew which have more expertise about horse racing than I do. I’ve grown to love this event since I’ve started to be a part of our coverage in 2002. It’s an incredible piece of Americana. I don’t know what the weather is going to be on Saturday, but generally speaking it’s a beautiful piece of panorama. It’s just a magnificent piece of television even more so these days if you have HD.

STEVENS ON THIS YEAR’S DERBY: “This is one of the most wide-open Kentucky Derbys I’ve not only covered, but witnessed. It’s my job to tear this race apart, analyze it, prior to the gates opening and it’s a difficult job to do this year. It’s going to be just as difficult for the jockeys that are involved in this race. Of the 20 horses, I could make a strong case for about 16 of them in this race. With Lookin at Lucky drawing down on the inside, (jockey) Derek Gomez, who is as good a tactician in the game as there is, has got his work cut out for him. This race is really going to turn into a jockey’s race.”

BATTAGLIA ON DERBY FIELD: “Lookin at Lucky threw the rail and I do think it changed the complexion of the whole race, although there is still a lot of early speed in here.  A lot of horses want to get out there and go on that front end. The pace is going to be very quick. I don’t think we’re going to be able to see a horse go out there in front and steal this race. Now, it’s going to really set up for the stalkers and for the closers. So I’m kind of looking forward to it. The favorite down the rail, the second choice on the outside, we could be primed for another huge upset.”

HAMMOND ON LONG SHOTS WINNING THE DERBY: “When the 50-1 shot wins, like Mine that Bird did last year, it encourages everyone to take a shot at the Kentucky Derby. What that means is sometimes the best horse doesn’t win because you have to be able to overcome adversity with so many horses in a race. It seems like every year we say it’s wide open.This year it seemed like it was going to be different because Eskendereya was going to be a solid favorite and then was injured last week and taken out of the Derby so it opens it up again. This will be our tenth Kentucky Derby broadcast. It’s one of the greatest sporting events in the country and it’s one we look forward to every year.”

FLOOD ON THE BROAD AUDIENCE THAT WATCHES THE DERBY: “The Derby is it’s much more than a horse race. It’s the biggest event to kickoff spring and we are going to capture all of the elements to make this such a special day that draws 150 plus thousand people to this racetrack and millions more to the television. It was interesting for me to learn that the Derby is one of only three major sporting events that draws more female viewers than men. The Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics are the other two. So we’re making sure we cater to a broader audience.”

FLOOD ON THE DERBY BROADCAST:  “When we come on the air at 4 p.m. we’re going to be capturing all of the blend of racing, the spectacle, the pageantry and, as we get closer to race time, we transition more into traditional horse stories. There are plenty of stories of owners and trainers that will make you care beyond just the horses on the track, and we’ll take advantage of that.” 

COSTAS ON INTERVIEW WITH JOE TORRE: “One thing that will be an element of the telecast that I’ll be involved in is we’ll do an interview with Joe Torre, who owns a piece of Homeboykris. He’ll be in the Dodger clubhouse around 2:30 PT and we’ll hook up with him and talk about his love of horse racing. Even though Homeboykris is a long shot, Mine that Bird and Giacomo are a part of recent history and long shots have come in at Churchill Downs so you never know.”

HAMMOND ON FAVORITE LOOKIN AT LUCKY IN NO. 1 POST: “Lookin at Lucky drew the No. 1 post position, which is a tough post position to go a mile and a quarter in the Kentucky Derby if you don’t break out of the gate with some alacrity you’re going to get shut off and maybe lose all chance to win the race. On the other bookend, Sidney’s Candy, one of the favorites, one of the front-runners, is on the outside No. 20 post position. There is already a lot of drama involved in this years Derby. You can bet the opinions of who will win are going to be widely dispersed between maybe 15 or 16 of the 20 horses. Only a couple horses seem to be ranked outsiders.”

NEUMEIER ON THE FILLY DEVIL MAY CARE: “We have a filly in this year, called Devil May Care, that I rank in my top 5 selections and would not be particularly surprised if she won this race, essentially repeating what Rachel Alexandra did. Meaning a filly beating the boys, which happens very rarely. Now, Gary Stevens knows very well because he rode one in Winning Colors. His trainer that year was D. Wayne Lukas and he’s in the race as well with Dublin. The irony of that would be that Todd Pletcher, who is 0 for 24 and has been preeminent trainer in the country in the last five years, still looking for his first Derby win, saddles Devil May Care. She wouldn’t have been in if Eskendereya had been in the race. So imagine that scenario, if she had won, and Pletcher’s first Derby winner would be a filly, that wouldn’t have entered the race had Eskendereya been injured.”

NEUMEIER ON HIS CONVERSATION WITH BOB BAFFERT ON THE TRACK SURFACES: “Something I asked Bob Baffert the other day because I grew up, like most of us, on dirt and turf in following racing. I asked him flat out, ‘Do you know when you make the transition from synthetic to dirt that your horse will run as good or better’ and he looked at me and said ‘I’m just guessing. We’re all just guessing.’ That was his response to the question and that’s Bob Baffert who has won three Kentucky Derbys.”

STEVENS ON ALTERING THE NUMBER OF HORSES ALLOWED TO ENTER INTO THE DERBY: “I’m a purist when it comes to the Kentucky Derby. If you change it, you’re changing history. There have been suggestions that the race should be shortened up. The Kentucky Derby cannot be touched.”

HAMMOND ON ALTERING THE NUMBER OF HORSES ALLOWED TO ENTER INTO THE DERBY: “You might want to tweak the graded earnings part. A lot of times two-year-old graded earnings factor into it and some horses get into the race that perhaps haven’t done much lately. Perhaps make it a three-year-old graded earnings and tweak the criteria. So many people want to run their horse in the Kentucky Derby. It’s such a great event. It’s America’s race. It’s produced so many great upset stories that you should leave it at 20.”

STEVENS ON THE JOCKEYS AND A MUDDY TRACK: “Realistically you can see these jockey’s wearing up to 10 pairs of goggles. When you’ve got that many layers of goggles stacked up, everything becomes very distorted. Your vision is impaired significantly. Front-runners are definitely going to have an advantage with a sloppy type of racetrack and there is already an over abundance of speed in this race. There are six or seven horses that are confirmed front-runners but some of these horses are going to be taking mud for the first time and kick back for the first time.”

FLOOD ON POSSIBLE WEATHER PROBLEMS: “The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore has been called out of the bullpen. It looks to be coming into the area for Saturday, so Mr. Cantore will make sure we have the right knowledge on what might happen weather-wise. Some are saying that 3-5 inches of rain might come on Saturday but these horses run on the mud and it could make for an interesting spectacle if it all comes down that way. The weather does add some production challenges. In fact, we’ve put an airplane on hold for the blimp. Normally the blimp is above us. Last year at the Preakness we had some weather and they scrambled an airplane up for us for the overhead shot so we’ve got that plan B in place.”

MICHAELS ON THE WEATHER CHALLENGES: “It’ll be unique if the lightning comes and it kind of harkens back to what happened in 2004, when I was producing the event. My No. 1 memory was Tom Hammond jumping off the announce platform and taking shelter underneath while the rain and lightning came. We took the format for that show and basically ripped it up and just moved into a sports news operation. You have animals running on dirt, you have mud everywhere, you have cameramen who are holding pointers to the sky that are nothing more than high-tech lightening rods, so the potential for chaos is there and we run through a lot of scenarios. We have all kinds of contingency plans and one of the interesting things was the fact that now that they have the lights here at Churchill Downs they could run a race at any time, so the track assures us that the Kentucky Derby will be run on Saturday. That we know.”

One more release coming after the jump.

Also, Sirius XM has the Run for the Roses.

SIRIUS XM RADIO TO BROADCAST THE 136^th RUNNING OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY

Live race broadcast will air on SIRIUS channel 120 and XM channel 140

Special editions of SIRIUS XM talk shows “At The Races” and “Down The Stretch” to provide horse racing fans with the latest news and analysis

NEW YORK – April 28, 2010 – SIRIUS XM Radio will offer comprehensive coverage of the first jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, this Saturday, May 1.

SIRIUS and XM listeners around the country will hear the live race call of the 136^th “Run for the Roses” (5:00 pm ET) on SIRIUS channel 120 and XM channel 140.

Prior to the race broadcast and throughout the week, SIRIUS XM’s exclusive horse racing talk shows will provide listeners with the latest news and analysis leading up to horse racing’s most celebrated day.

Every weekday afternoon At The Races with Steve Byk (4:00 – 7:00 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 126 and on XM channel 243) will air live from Churchill Downs in Kentucky.  Byk will talk with handicapping experts and Derby trainers each day to give his audience and expert look at the field. 

On Saturday a special pre-Derby edition of Down The Stretch, hosted by Dave Johnson and Bill Finley, will air live from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 126 and XM channel 243.  Johnson, the acclaimed track announcer who called the Derby for 24 years, and Finley will discuss all the stakes races happening that day at Churchill Downs, provide the latest Derby news and pre-race analysis, and interview drivers, trainers and owners. 

One more post coming up and that has to do with baseball this weekend.

Westwood One Radio’s NFL Primetime Schedule

Westwood One Radio has announced its schedule for Sunday, Monday and Thursday Night Football as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas games. Here’s your schedule.

WESTWOOD ONE ANNOUNCES 2010-2011 NFL PRIMETIME BROADCAST SCHEDULE

 -- Westwood One is the NFL’s Exclusive Network Radio Partner --

New York, NY – April 29, 2010 – Westwood One announced today its primetime NFL broadcast schedule for the 2010-2011 season. Westwood One remains the exclusive network radio partner of the NFL, broadcasting the most games and the best match-ups throughout the entire NFL season. The NFL on Westwood One kicks off the regular season on Thursday, September 9, 2010, with a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game as the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings. Primetime play-by-play of week one of the 2010-2011 NFL season continues on Westwood One as the Washington Redskins host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night and culminates with a Monday Night Football doubleheader featuring the first primetime game from the New Meadowlands Stadium as the New York Jets host the Baltimore Ravens followed by an AFC West Division rivalry game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers.

KEY FACTS:

• Westwood One is the only radio network with exclusive national broadcast rights to NFL games

• Westwood One will exclusively broadcast ALL primetime NFL games, including
• Five games featuring the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints
• Seven games featuring the Dallas Cowboys
• Nine games featuring the NY Jets or NY Giants

• Westwood One owns the rights to broadcast games involving all 32 teams via the primetime NFL package and Flex Games

• Westwood One will broadcast and/or distribute two Sunday Afternoon doubleheaders (4 games) every week of the season

“The 2010 NFL Regular Season schedule is filled with spectacular games, drama, late-season divisional rivalries and significant rematches from years’ past,” said Gary Schonfeld, President, Westwood One Network. “Our fans and affiliate stations will love the intensity each and every week and all of this combines to be the perfect environment for our advertising partners to capture their consumers and deliver their message every week.”

Westwood One has been an NFL network radio partner for more than four decades and the exclusive network radio partner since 1987. As the exclusive radio partner of the NFL, the Westwood One 2010-2011 NFL broadcast schedule features 58 national games, including: the Hall of Fame game, Opening Kickoff game, 17 Monday Night games, including one doubleheader, 17 Sunday Night games, 10 Thursday and Saturday Night games (including Thanksgiving Night), Thanksgiving Day doubleheader, 12 Postseason games, including the NFL Playoffs, the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLV in North Texas.  Westwood One also delivers specialty programs, including: The NFL Today, NFL Preview, NFL Insider, NFL Sunday, and NFL Fantasy Football Forecast.

In addition to the 58 game primetime package, Westwood One will also present two weekly Sunday afternoon doubleheaders starting Sunday, September 12, 2010 and continuing each Sunday through January 2, 2011. The doubleheader match-ups will be announced as the season progresses to ensure the best possible games. All stations airing Westwood One’s NFL Football coverage can be found using the Station Finder located at www.westwoodone.com beginning Wednesday, September 8, 2010.

WESTWOOD ONE’S 2010-2011 NFL FOOTBALL PRIMETIME BROADCAST SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, 8/8/10, HALL OF FAME GAME (CINCINNATI BENGALS VS. DALLAS COWBOYS), 7:30  PM ET

THURSDAY, 9/9/10, MINNESOTA VIKINGS @ NEW ORLEANS SAINTS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 9/12/10, DALLAS COWBOYS @ WASHINGTON REDSKINS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 9/13/10, BALTIMORE RAVENS @ NEW YORK JETS – 6:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 9/13/10, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS @ KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, 9:45 PM ET

SUNDAY, 9/19/10, NEW YORK GIANTS @ INDIANAPOLIS COLTS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 9/20/10, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS @ SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 9/26/10, NEW YORK JETS @ MIAMI DOLPHINS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 9/27/10, GREEN BAY PACKERS @ CHICAGO BEARS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 10/3/10, CHICAGO BEARS @ NEW YORK GIANTS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 10/4/10, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ MIAMI DOLPHINS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 10/10/10, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 10/11/10, MINNESOTA VIKINGS @ NEW YORK JETS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 10/17/10, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ WASHINGTON REDSKINS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 10/18/10, TENNESSEE TITANS @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 10/24/10, MINNESOTA VIKINGS @ GREEN BAY PACKERS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 10/25/10, NEW YORK GIANTS @ DALLAS COWBOYS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 10/31/10, PITTSBURGH STEELERS @ NEW ORLEANS SAINTS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 11/1/10, HOUSTON TEXANS @ INDIANAPOLIS COLTS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 11/7/10, DALLAS COWBOYS @ GREEN BAY PACKERS – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 11/8/10, PITTSBURGH STEELERS @ CINCINNATI BENGALS – 8:00 PM ET

THURSDAY, 11/11/10, BALTIMORE RAVENS @ ATLANTA FALCONS, 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 11/14/10, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 11/15/10, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ WASHINGTON REDSKINS, 8:00 PM ET

THURSDAY, 11/18/10, CHICAGO BEARS @ MIAMI DOLPHINS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 11/21/10, NEW YORK GIANTS @ PHILADELPHIA EAGLES* – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 11/22/10, DENVER BRONCOS @ SAN DIEGO CHARGERS, 8:00 PM ET

THURSDAY, 11/25/10, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ DETROIT LIONS – 12:00 PM ET

THURSDAY, 11/25/10, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS @ DALLAS COWBOYS** – 3:45 PM ET

THURSDAY, 11/25/10, CINCINNATI BENGALS @ NEW YORK JETS** – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 11/28/10, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS @ INDIANAPOLIS COLTS* – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 11/29/10, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS @ ARIZONA CARDINALS – 8:00 PM ET

THURSDAY, 12/2/10, HOUSTON TEXANS VS. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 12/5/10, PITTSBURGH STEELERS @ BALTIMORE RAVENS* – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 12/6/10, NEW YORK JETS @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS – 8:00 PM ET

THURSDAY, 12/9/10, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ TENNESSEE TITANS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 12/12/10, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ DALLAS COWBOYS* – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 12/13/10, BALTIMORE RAVENS @ HOUSTON TEXANS – 8:00 PM ET

THURSDAY, 12/16/10, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS @ SAN DIEGO CHARGERS – 8:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 12/19/10, GREEN BAY PACKERS @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS* – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 12/20/10, CHICAGO BEARS @ MINNESOTA VIKINGS – 8:00  PM ET

THURSDAY, 12/23/10, CAROLINA PANTHERS @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS – 8:00 PM ET

SATURDAY, 12/25/10, DALLAS COWBOYS @ ARIZONA CARDINALS – 7:00 PM ET

SUNDAY, 12/26/10, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS @ CINCINNATI BENGALS* – 7:30 PM ET

MONDAY, 12/27/10, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS @ ATLANTA FALCONS – 8:00  PM ET

SUNDAY, 1/2/11, TBD* – 7:30  PM ET

                                                                                                            

* Tentative Sunday Night “placeholder” game - subject to change - will be confirmed (or replaced) by NFL approximately two weeks prior to the game date, so as to ensure the best possible match-ups.

** Airtime for these games is approximate and not hard start times. Actual airtimes will be ten seconds after the conclusion of the preceding broadcast.

That’s it.

Various Local NHL Press Releases

Let’s give you three press releases from various Regional Sports Networks regarding NHL coverage. We’ll begin with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic which had tremendous ratings for Game 7 of the Montreal-Washington series. Those ratings won’t go any further this postseason.

CAPITALS PLAYOFFS ON COMCAST SPORTSNET RATINGS NOTES:

Game 7 Delivers Highest-Rated Capitals Game in Comcast SportsNet History; Series Closes as Network’s Most-Watched Capitals Playoff Series Ever

• Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of Game 7 of the Capitals Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Canadiens on Wednesday, April 28, delivered an 8.1 average household rating in the Washington market, making it the highest-rated Capitals game in network history. The Game 7 rating surpassed the previous record by 40 percent, which was a 5.8 earned on Feb. 8, 2010 at Montreal, and eclipsed the all-time playoff high of 5.6, which was set in Game 6 on April 26, by 45 percent.

• In the Washington market, the record-setting 8.1 average household rating represents approximately 189,000 households. When combined with the average household rating in the Baltimore market (3.1), Game 7 earned an average audience of approximately 226,000 households on Comcast SportsNet.

• Comcast SportsNet’s coverage attracted peak viewership during the third period, delivering a 10.6 household rating in Washington and a 4.1 household rating in Baltimore during the final quarter-hour of the game, equating to approximately 297,000 combined households for that time-period.

• In the key Men 25-54 demographic, Comcast SportsNet delivered an average 8.5 rating in the Washington market,  which peaked at a 10.7 rating in that category during for the final half-hour of the broadcast. The 8.5 rating is a 20 percent increase on the previous all-time high in that demographic, which was set in Game 6 of this series on Monday, April 26 (7.1).

• During Game 7, Comcast SportsNet was the most-watched television station in the Washington market.

• With the record ratings posted for Game 7, six of the ten highest-rated Capitals games in Comcast SportsNet history have occurred since February 2010, including the top three all-time ratings.

• For Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of the 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the network earned an average household rating of 5.3 in the Washington market, surpassing the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals (4.7) as the most-viewed Capitals playoff series in network history by 13 percent. The 5.3 average rating for the seven-game series represents a 77 percent increase over last year’s first-round series against the NY Rangers (3.0).

• Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of the Capitals first-round series drew an average audience of approximately 123,000 households in the Washington market and approximately 27,000 households in Baltimore, earning a combined average household audience of approximately 150,000 for the series.

CAPITALS 2010 PLAYOFFS ON CSN – EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS

Game                  WSH HH            PEAK            M 25-54           

Game 1                     5.1                  7.4                 5.9

Game 2                     4.4                  6.1                 4.7

Game 3                     5.1                  6.4                 5.3

Game 4                     5.3                  7.0                 6.2

Game 5                     3.8                  6.2                 4.1

Game 6                     5.6                  7.1                 7.1 

Game 7                     8.1                  10.6               8.5 

AVG.                         5.3                    -                    6.0    

Game          A 25-54         BAL HH           PEAK       
Game 1             4.1                2.1                 3.2
Game 2             3.4                2.3                 3.2

Game 3             4.3                1.7                 2.9
Game 4             4.4                1.8                 2.7

Game 5             2.5                1.6                 2.4

Game 6             5.1                2.7                 3.5
Game 7             6.7                3.1                 4.1
AVG.                 4.4                2.2                  -

ALL-TIME HIGHEST-RATED CAPITALS GAMES ON CSN (WSH DMA):

1.)        8.1          APRIL 28, 2010           ECQ GAME 7 VS. MTL 

2.)        5.8          FEBRUARY 10, 2010    REGULAR SEASON VS. MTL

3.)        5.6          APRIL 26, 2010           ECQ GAME 6 VS. MTL 

4.)        5.5          MAY 13, 2009              ECS GAME 7 VS. PIT   

5.)        5.3          APRIL 21, 2010           ECQ GAME 4 VS. MTL 

            5.3          MAY 11, 2009              ECS GAME 6 VS. PIT   

            5.3          APRIL 22, 2008            ECQ GAME 7 VS. PHI  

8.)        5.1          APRIL 19, 2010           ECQ GAME 3 VS. MTL 

            5.1          APRIL 15, 2010           ECQ GAME 1 VS. MTL 

10.)       4.7          MAY 9, 2009               ECS GAME 5 VS. PIT   

We’ll look at what Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and NESN are doing for the Flyers-Bruins series after the jump.

Next, with Versus and NBC taking the first four games of the Boston-Philadelphia Eastern Conference semifinals, the local regional sports networks have to get creative so Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia will do wraparound pre and postgame coverage until it gets to produce its own games starting with Game 5.

COMCAST SPORTSNET ANNOUNCES FLYERS SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF ACTION

Live Games, Pre- and Postgame Programs and Online Exclusives Highlight Playoff Coverage

PHILADELPHIA (April 29, 2010) – Comcast SportsNet, the leader in local sports coverage, today announced the network’s Flyers programming for the NHL conference semifinals. Comcast SportsNet’s Flyers audience continues to grow through the postseason, with first-round playoff coverage averaging 152,000 households, or a 5.3 rating, a 6% increase over the 2009 conference quarterfinals and a 144% increase over the 2009-10 regular season ratings average.  Flyers Pregame Live ratings are up 75% from the regular season and Flyers Postgame Live ratings are up 127%.

The Ultimate Goal

Comcast SportsNet’s Flyers playoff special, The Ultimate Goal, continues into the second round. Local hockey experts including Rick Tocchet, Bill Clement, Al Morganti, Steve Coates, John Boruk and Chris Therien break down the game and offer their analysis on the series.  The Ultimate Goal will air on Sunday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; Tuesday, May 4 at 10:30 p.m.; Thursday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; Tuesday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and Thursday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Tocchet’s Take

Former Flyer Rick Tocchet will be hosting live chats on CSNPhilly.com during the 2^nd period of every Flyers playoff game, plus he will appear on every Flyers pre- and postgame program as well as The Ultimate Goal.  His Flyers vlog “Tocchet’s Take” is available on CSNPhilly.com.

CSNPhilly.com

Throughout the playoffs, CSNPhilly.com will have game previews, postgame recaps and feature stories from Flyers Insider Tim Panaccio, plus player and coaches’ video exclusives, live chats and much more.   Fans can follow Comcast SportsNet’s hockey experts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tpanotch (Tim Panaccio) and http://twitter.com/CSNFlyer (John Boruk).

Philly vs. Boston

Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia taps into Comcast SportsNet New England’s Bruins experts to get the New England pulse on the latest chapter of the storied and contentious Flyers-Bruins competition.  Fans can check out what they are saying in Boston on Daily News Live, SportsNite and on CSNPhilly.com.

Playoff Game Coverage

In addition to airing three second round playoff games, Comcast SportsNet will air Flyers Pregame Live and Flyers Postgame Live for all games throughout the playoffs. All Flyers second round playoff games airing on Comcast SportsNet will also replay the following day at 1:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet.

Saturday, May 1

Flyers at Bruins Game One on NBC at 12:30 p.m.

Comcast SportsNet

12 p.m.                  Flyers Pregame Live

3 p.m.                     Flyers Postgame Live

6 p.m.                     SportsNite

Monday, May 3

Flyers at Bruins Game Two on VERSUS at 7 p.m.

Comcast SportsNet	The Comcast Network
5 p.m.              Daily News Live
6 p.m.              SportsNite
6:30 p.m.        Phillies Pregame Live	6:30 p.m.  Flyers Pregame Live
7 p.m.              Phillies vs. Cardinals
9:30 p.m.      Phillies Postgame Live 10 p.m.                 SportsNite	9:30 p.m.  Flyers Postgame Live

Wednesday, May 5

Flyers vs. Bruins Game Three on VERSUS at 7 p.m.

Comcast SportsNet                                 The Comcast Network

5 p.m.                     Daily News Live

6 p.m.                     SportsNite

6:30 p.m.                Phillies Pregame Live  6:30 p.m.      Flyers Pregame Live

7 p.m.                     Phillies vs. Cardinals

9:30 p.m.               Phillies Postgame Live 9:30 p.m.      Flyers Postgame Live

10 p.m.                  SportsNite                                                                            

Friday, May 7

Flyers vs. Bruins Game Four on VERSUS at 7 p.m.

Comcast SportsNet                                  The Comcast Network

5 p.m.                     Daily News Live

6 p.m.                     SportsNite

6:30 p.m.              Phillies Pregame Live     6:30 p.m.      Flyers Pregame Live

7 p.m.                     Phillies vs. Braves

9:30 p.m.               Phillies Postgame Live 9:30 p.m.      Flyers Postgame Live

                                               

Monday, May 10

Flyers at Bruins Game Five on Comcast SportsNet at 7 p.m. *If necessary

5 p.m.                     Daily News Live

6 p.m.                     SportsNite

6:30 p.m.               Flyers Pregame Live

7 p.m.                     Flyers vs. Bruins

9:30 p.m.               Flyers Postgame Live

10 p.m.                  SportsNite

*If Flyers play Game 5, the Phillies-Rockies game will air on The Comcast Network at 8:30 p.m., with Phillies Pregame Live at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, May 12

Flyers vs. Bruins Game Six at TBD *If necessary

(Comcast SportsNet programming will be determined once game time is announced)

Friday, May 14

Flyers at Bruins Game Seven on Comcast SportsNet at 7 p.m. *If necessary

5 p.m.                     Daily News Live

6 p.m.                     SportsNite

6:30 p.m.               Flyers Pregame Live

7 p.m.                     Flyers at Bruins

9:30 p.m.               Flyers Postgame Live

10 p.m.                  SportsNite

And NESN gives us its schedule for the Bruins-Flyers series.

NESN Airing Pregame Show for Bruins’ Game 1 on Saturday

When the Bruins take to the ice to open their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with the Flyers, the game action will take place on NBC, but NESN will have Bruins fans covered before the game with Bruins Face-Off Live.

The pregame show will air on NESN at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 1.

While Versus will carry Games 2-4, NESN will be ready to take it from there. The schedule for Games 5-7 (if necessary) is below:

Game 5 — Monday, May 10

6:30 p.m.: Bruins Face-Off Live

7 p.m.: Flyers at Bruins

9:30 p.m.: Bruins Overtime Live

Game 6 – Wednesday, May 12

6:30 p.m.: Bruins Face-Off Live

7 p.m.: Bruins at Flyers

9:30 p.m.: Bruins Overtime Live

Game 7 — Friday, May 12

6:30 p.m.: Bruins Face-Off Live

7 p.m.: Flyers at Bruins

9:30 p.m.: Bruins Overtime Live

Further announcements regarding NESN and NESNplus will be made at a later date, as necessary.

Thanks to Comcast SportsNet in DC and Philly for sending the press releases.
Bad on NESN for making me find this on its website.

Thursday Linkage

Let’s do some linkage for you. Getting off to a slow start today.

David Bauder of the Associated Press writes that the NFL Draft is a hugely popular television event.

Sean Leahy of USA Today’s The Huddle blog says the NFL plans to keep the Draft at three days.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says ESPN resident moron Matt Millen gave some puzzling answers today on SportsCenter regarding a question posed to wide receiver Dez Bryant by Miami GM Jeff Ireland. 

Florio is continuing to chase the Jon Gruden not being on ESPN at the 3rd day of the NFL Draft story.

Alex Dobuzinskis of Reuters has CBS Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves not being very enthused about 3-D TV.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at Lance Armstrong’s latest endorsement. 

Jackie Majerus of the Bristol (CT) Press writes that ESPN was honored by the State of Connecticut.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union writes that a former RPI women’s basketball coach has received a promotion at ESPN.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record says the 2nd round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs get going right off the bat. 

Laura Nachman writes that with Flyers voice Jim Jackson busy with the NHL Playoffs, his Phillies pre and postgame role will be filled temporarily while he’s calling games.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner looks at the new ownership of the Washington Wizards.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times feels there are too many college bowl games. I’ll agree with that.

Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel says ESPN has announced some college bowl schedules for December.

James Pennington of the Kentucky Kernel feels the new ESPN/SEC rights deal has not delivered what it has promised.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News wonders where the Mavs fans are in the stands and watching TV.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle writes that Sporting News Radio will be moving its operations to Houston.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says Blackhawk fans get to watch local coverage of the Vancouver-’Hawks series for five games out of a potential seven.

Bob Mayhall of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat says Fox’s Tim McCarver is still talking about the 20 inning marathon game earlier this month between the New York Mets and the Cardinals.

Kevin Haskin of the Topeka Capital-Journal talks with ESPN’s Dick Vitale about the new CBS/Turner contract to air the NCAA Tournament which essentially ends any chance for him to call a Final Four.

Sports Media Watch notes that the Cavaliers and Lakers are drawing ratings for the TNT during the NBA Playoffs.

SMW says the Lakers/Thunder series is garnering good ratings for ESPN as well.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Game 6 of Blackhawks-Preds outdrew White Sox-Mariners when they were opposite each other last Saturday.

Steve says Universal Sports will air the IIHF World Hockey Championships next month.

In Major League Programs, Dave Kohl looks at one Baltimore sports radio station advertising for a talk show host.

That’s going to do it.

Versus Jumps Into the 2nd Round of the NHL Playoffs

The 1st round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs ended on Wednesday and the 2nd round begins on Thursday. I like that. Hit the ground running. Keep the momentum of a great 1st round going. And we have the Western Conference teams ready so get started as soon as they’re set to go. And Versus which had the 1st round, will be ready with one game tonight.

NHL PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL ROUND STARTS TONIGHT ON VERSUS WITH EXCLUSIVE GAME 1 COVERAGE OF DETROIT RED WINGS/SAN JOSE SHARKS SERIES AT 8:30 PM ET 

NEW YORK, N.Y. (April 29, 2010)-VERSUS, the fastest growing sports cable network in the country, continues its coverage of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Conference Semifinals commence tonight.  The network will drop the puck on its first night of second-round coverage at 8:30 p.m. ET with Hockey Central followed by exclusive coverage of Game 1 in the Detroit Red Wings/San Jose Sharks series at 9 p.m. ET. VERSUS will air another Hockey Central show at 11:30 p.m. ET following the conclusion of the game.



In the Conference Semifinal round, VERSUS will air at least two exclusive games per series (both Eastern Conference series will have three exclusive games) and the remaining games will be blacked out locally as they were during the first round. During the Conference Finals, VERSUS will air exclusive coverage of both series and the network's 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage will culminate with exclusive coverage of Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.  

VERSUS' Conference Semifinal schedule follows (All times ET, subject to change): 



Thursday, April 29 - 9 p.m., Detroit at San Jose, Game 1* - Western



Friday, April 30 - 7 p.m., Montreal at Pittsburgh, Game 1* - Eastern



Saturday, May 1 - 8 p.m., Vancouver at Chicago, Game 1* - Western



Sunday, May 2 - 8 p.m., Detroit at San Jose, Game 2* - Western



Monday, May 3 - 7 p.m., Philadelphia at Boston, Game 2* - Eastern



Monday, May 3 - 9:30 p.m. (JIP), Vancouver at Chicago, Game 2 - Western



Tuesday, May 4 - 7 p.m., Pittsburgh at Montreal, Game 3 - Eastern



Tuesday, May 4 - 9:30 p.m. (JIP), San Jose at Detroit, Game 3 - Western



Wednesday, May 5 - 7 p.m., Boston at Philadelphia, Game 3* - Eastern



Wednesday, May 5 - 9:30 p.m., Chicago at Vancouver, Game 3 - Western



Thursday, May 6 - 7 p.m., Pittsburgh at Montreal, Game 4* - Eastern



Thursday, May 6 - 9:30 p.m. (JIP), San Jose at Detroit, Game 4 - Western



Friday, May 7 - 7 p.m., Boston at Philadelphia, Game 4* - Eastern



Friday, May 7 - 9:30 p.m., Chicago at Vancouver, Game 4* - Western



Saturday, May 8 - 7 p.m., Montreal at Pittsburgh, Game 5*,** - Eastern



Saturday, May 8 - 10 p.m., Detroit at San Jose, Game 5** - Western



Sunday, May 9 - 8 p.m., Vancouver at Chicago, Game 5** - Western



Monday, May 10 - 7 p.m., Pittsburgh at Montreal, Game 6** - Eastern



Monday, May 10 - 9:30 p.m. (JIP), San Jose at Detroit, Game 6** - Western



Tuesday, May 11 - 9:30 p.m., Chicago at Vancouver, Game 6** - Western



Wednesday, May 12 - TBD, Montreal at Pittsburgh, Game 7** - Eastern



Wednesday, May 12 - TBD, Detroit at San Jose, Game 7** - Western



Thursday, May 13 - 8 p.m., Vancouver at Chicago, Game 7** - Western



Friday, May 14 - 7 p.m., Philadelphia at Boston, Game 7** - Eastern



Games with (*) denotes EXCLUSIVE game; games with (**) are subject to change as best of seven series may be over; (JIP) - joined in progress

That’s it.

Sports Media Weekly Podcast No. 32

Time for another edition of the Sports Media Weekly Podcast.

In the first segment, Keith Thibault of Sports Media Journal and I talk about the NFL Draft, coverage and the ratings, plus the move to a primetime event. Then we talk about CBS/Turner gaining the rights for the NCAA Tournament. We discuss the Sports Emmy Awards which took place earlier this week. Other subjects include the excellent ratings for the NHL on Versus and Milwaukee Brewers radio voice Bob Uecker undergoing heart surgery.

Our guest this week is Kyle Montgomery, host of The Jump on NBA.com and NBA TV. We ask him about his duties at NBA.com/NBA TV. Talk about The Jump. And we also discuss the NBA Playoffs plus what websites he visits every week.

Overall, another great podcast. You can download it at iTunes or you can listen to the podcast right here.

The Golf Tournaments On TV and Radio

This week, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see or listen to golf. Let’s go over what’s on.

First, Golf Channel will air several tournaments in the US and Europe.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: April 29-May 2

Extended News and Tournament Coverage From the Quail Hollow Championship

Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic to Debut on Champions Tour

Quail Hollow Championship

Dates: April 29 – May 2

Venue: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         2-6 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Friday              2-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Saturday:         1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 – 11:30 p.m. (CBS Replay)

Sunday            1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 – 11:30 p.m. (CBS Replay)

Golf Central

Thursday – Saturday   6-6:30 p.m. (Live)

Sunday                        6-7 p.m. (Live)

Golf Central Pre Game (90 Minutes Thursday-Friday)

Thursday – Friday       12:30-2 p.m. (Live)

Saturday – Sunday     12:30-1 p.m.; 2:30-3 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Rich Lerner (Play by Play)

Nick Faldo (Analyst)

Peter Oosterhuis (Tower)

Jerry Foltz (On Course)

Mark Lye (On Course)

Steve Sands (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

·         Extended News and Tournament Coverage – Golf Channel will air four hours of live tournament coverage Thursday and Friday from 2-6 p.m. ET, and will have live, weekend coverage from 1-2:30 p.m. ET.  Golf Central Pre Game on Thursday and Friday will deliver extended coverage and air for 90 minutes starting at 12:30 p.m. ET, preparing viewers for live tournament action with early highlights, interviews and analysis.

·         TrackMan Returns – Golf Channel will utilize TrackMan, a Doppler radar technology that provides a 3-D representation of a player’s tee shot, during live coverage of the Quail Hollow Championship.

Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic

Dates: April 30 – May 2

Venue: Fallen Oak Golf Course, Saucier, Miss.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday              6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (TD)

Saturday          6:30 – 9:30 p.m. (TD)

Sunday            7 – 9:30 p.m. (TD)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Brian Hammons (Play by Play)

Curt Byrum (Analyst)

Billy Andrade (Tower)

David Marr III (Tower)

Billy Ray Brown (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Andrade to Call First Champions Tour Event – Billy Andrade will call his first Champions Tour telecast for Golf Channel this week as a tower analyst at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic.

Open de Espana

Dates: April 29-May 2

Venue: Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Seville, Spain

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)

Friday              9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)

Saturday          8:30 – 11:30 a.m. (Live)

Sunday            8:30 – 11:30 a.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:

• Open de Espana in HD – The Open de Espana will be produced and broadcast in high definition.

More press releases come to you after the jump.

CBS will air the Quail Hollow Championship this weekend. 

WOODS, MICKELSON, WESTWOOD, FURYK, VILLEGAS AND COUPLES COMPETE IN STAR-PACKED FIELD AT QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS SPORTS MAY 1-2

The world’s top-ranked players, including No. 1 Tiger Woods and No. 2 Phil Mickelson,  compete this weekend at the PGA TOUR’s QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP.  Mickelson, 2010 Masters champion, Woods, Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk, Camilo Villegas, Fred Couples, Padraig Harrington, Anthony Kim, Vijay Singh and defending champion Sean O’Hair are among the field this week as CBS Sports broadcasts third- and final-round coverage from Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET; both days), live on the CBS Television Network.

Jim Nantz, who this week was honored with his second consecutive Emmy Award for “Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play” in addition to being named 2009 National Sportscaster of the Year, his fifth overall, serves as anchor of CBS Sports’ golf coverage. Sir Nick Faldo, winner of six majors and more-than 40 tournaments worldwide, serves as lead analyst alongside Nantz in the 18^th hole tower. Ian Baker-Finch calls the action at the 17^thGary McCord at the 16^th.  David Feherty and Peter Kostis serve as on-course reporters. Lance Barrow is Coordinating Producer and Steve Milton is Director of CBS Sports’ golf coverage.  Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports. hole and

Since the first tournament in 2003, the Quail Hollow Championship annually attracts one of the top fields in golf.   This year all of the past champions are competing except for 2004 champion Joey Sindelar, who is playing on the Champions Tour. The field includes Woods, Mickelson, Westwood,  Furyk, Villegas, Couples, Harrington, Kim, Singh, O’Hair, Geoff Ogilvy, Rory McIlroy, Angel Cabrera, Kenny Perry, Lucas Glover, Hunter Mahan, David Duval, Rickie Fowler, Nick Watney, Stewart Cink, Retief Goosen, Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Robert Allenby, Matt Kuchar, Steve Marino, Rocco Mediate, Ricky Barnes, Chad Campbell, Kevin Na, J.B. Holmes, as well local favorite Davis Love III, playing here for the eighth consecutive year.

Next, Sirius XM will air the Quail Hollow Championship where Tiger Woods will play.

SIRIUS XM RADIO TO BROADCAST QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP LIVE NATIONWIDE

PGA TOUR Network channel offers live hole-by-hole coverage April 29 – May 2 from Charlotte, NC

Quail Hollow field includes top-ranked players Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk

NEW YORK – April 26, 2010 – SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) announced today that it will offer live coverage of the Quail Hollow Championship Thursday, April 29, through Sunday, May 2, on The PGA TOUR Network, available nationwide on XM channel 146 and on SIRIUS channel 209 with the “Best of XM” programming package.

SIRIUS XM’s coverage will include live play-by-play from Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC, plus comprehensive analysis by PGA TOUR Network hosts who will cover a field of competitors that will include World #1 Tiger Woods, who won at Quail Hollow in 2007 and will be making his second start of the 2010 season, World #2 and 2010 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson, 2006 Quail Hollow winner Jim Furyk, World #4 Lee Westwood, and many others.

Gary Williams will host the live tournament coverage on the PGA TOUR Network alongside lead analyst and former PGA TOUR member John Maginnes.  From inside the ropes, listeners will hear hole-by-hole updates from on-course reporters Matt Adams, Michael Collins and Bill Rosinski.

Live coverage will start Thursday through Sunday at 12:00 pm ET and will continue until the conclusion of play.  Each day’s live on-course coverage will be followed by a wrap-up of the day’s action on PGA TOUR Replay.

In addition to the live play-by-play, SIRIUS XM listeners will hear daily talk and analysis by The PGA TOUR Network’s lineup of expert hosts. 

On Tuesday, April 27, PGA TOUR member Chris DiMarco and Greg Warmoth host a new edition of their weekly show oPINionated (5:00 pm ET).  The show replays several times throughout the week.

Each weekday morning listeners can tune in to Fairways of LIfe (7:00 – 9:00 am ET), hosted by Matt Adams, followed by Teed Off (9:00 – 11:00 am ET), hosted by Brian Katrek, then Making The Turn (11:00 am – noon ET) with Peter Kessler.  All shows will feature in-depth analysis of The Quail Hollow Championship, plus one-on-one interviews with some of the sport’s biggest personalities. 

I’ll give you a couple of more things as we go along today.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

Golf
PGA Tour/Quail Hollow Championship, 1st round – Golf CHall 

MLB
American League
Minnesota at Detroit – Fox Sports North/Fox Sports Detroit, 1 p.m.
Chicago at Texas – MLB Network/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Southwest, 2 p.m.
Kansas City at Tampa Bay – Fox Sports Kansas City/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
New York Yankees at Baltimore – MLB Network/YES/MASN, 7 p.m.
Oakland at Toronto – Comcast SportsNet California/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.

National League
Atlanta at St. Louis – SportSouth/Fox Sports Midwest, 1:30 p.m.
Arizona at Chicago Cubs – Fox Sports Arizona/WGN America, 2 p.m.
Cincinnati at Houston – Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Houston, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at San Diego – Fox Sports Wisconsin/Cox 4, 10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Los Angeles Dodgers – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.

Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
MLB Tonight Live – MLB Network, 10 p.m.

NBA Playoffs
Western Conference
Dallas at San Antonio – TNT, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Portland – TNT, 10:30 p.m.

Inside the NBA – TNT, 1 a.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Western Conference
Game 1/Detroit at San Jose – Versus/TSN, 9 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 8 p.m.

Tennis
ATP Tour/Rome Masters, round of 16 – Tennis Channel, 7 a.m.

Entertainment
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains – CBS, 8 p.m.
Bones – Fox, 8 p.m.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – CBS, 9 p.m.
True Crime with Aphrodite Jones: Michael Jackson – Discovery ID, 10 p.m.
Private Practice – ABC, 10:01 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – 2nd Round Schedules

I had to wait for the last seconds of Game 7 between Washington and Montreal to tick off before I could do this post. Man, Jaroslav Halak has stood on his head since Game 5 of the series and closed it out tonight with a 2-1 win. Ok, here is the entire schedule. I’m listing national TV only. Local broadcasts, if any, will be listed in the Primetime and Late Night Viewing Picks. In the 2nd round, exclusivity reverts back to the national broadcasters and local rightsholders could air as little as 3 games out of a potential 7 game series.

Here’s the listings plus a couple of releases thrown in.

#4 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. #8 MONTREAL CANADIENS
Game 1/Friday, April 30 – Montreal at Pittsburgh – CBC/RDS/Versus, 7 p.m.
Game 2/Sunday, May 2 – Montreal at Pittsburgh – NBC/CBC/RDS, 2 p.m.
Game 3/Tuesday, May 4- Pittsburgh at Montreal – CBC/RDS, 7 p.m.
Game 4/Thursday, May 6 – Pittsburgh at Montreal – CBC/RDS/Versus, 7 p.m.
*Game 5/Saturday, May 8 – Montreal at Pittsburgh – CBC/RDS/Versus, 7 p.m.
*Game 6/Monday, May 10 – Pittsburgh at Montreal – CBC/RDS, 7 p.m.
*Game 7/Wednesday, May 12 – Montreal at Pittsburgh – CBC/RDS, TBD

#6 BOSTON BRUINS VS. #7 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Game 1/Saturday, May 1 – Philadelphia at Boston – NBC/TSN, 12:30 p.m.
Game 2/Monday, May 3 – Philadelphia at Boston – Versus/TSN, 7 p.m.
Game 3/Wednesday, May 5 – Boston at Philadelphia – Versus/TSN, 7 p.m.
Game 4/Friday, May 7 – Boston at Philadelphia – Versus/TSN, 7 p.m.
*Game 5/Monday, May 10 – Philadelphia at Boston – TSN, 7 p.m.
*Game 6/Wednesday, May 12 – Boston at Philadelphia – TSN, TBD
*Game 7/Friday, May 14 – Philadelphia at Boston – TSN, 7 p.m.

#1 SAN JOSE SHARKS VS. #5 DETROIT RED WINGS
Game 1/Thursday, April 29 – Detroit at San Jose – Versus/TSN, 9 p.m.
Game 2/Sunday, May 2 – Detroit at San Jose – Versus/TSN, 8 p.m.
Game 3/Tuesday, May 4 – San Jose at Detroit – TSN, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4/Thursday, May 6 – San Jose at Detroit – TSN, 7:30 p.m.
*Game 5/Saturday, May 8 – Detroit at San Jose – TSN, 10:30 p.m.
*Game 6/Monday, May 10 – San Jose at Detroit – TSN, 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7/Wednesday, May 12 – Detroit at San Jose – TSN, TBD

#2 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS VS. #3 VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Game 1/Saturday, May 1 – Vancouver at Chicago – Versus/CBC, 8 p.m.
Game 2/Monday, May 3 – Vancouver at Chicago – CBC, 9 p.m.
Game 3/Wednesday, May 5 – Chicago at Vancouver – CBC, 9:30 p.m.
Game 4/Friday, May 7 – Chicago at Vancouver – Versus/CBC, 9:30 p.m.
*Game 5/Sunday, May 9 – Vancouver at Chicago – CBC, 8 p.m.
*Game 6/Tuesday, May 11 – Chicago at Vancouver – CBC, 9:30 p.m.
*Game 7/Thursday, May 13 – Vancouver at Chicago – CBC, 8 p.m.

*if necessary

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the Versus/NBC schedule through Game 5 of the Montreal/Pittsburgh series. In the second round, Versus games are exclusive and local broadcasts are not allowed.

I have the releases from CBC and TSN on their schedules and you’ll see them after the jump.

Here’s CBC’s schedule. They have the first two picks of the Conference Semifinals and with two Canadian teams, one in the East and the other out West, it’s sitting very pretty and will clean up in the ratings.

MONTREAL AND VANCOUVER IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOR CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA 2010 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO BROADCAST SCHEDULE

Penguins and Canadiens face-off in Eastern Conference Semifinal beginning April 30; Blackhawks and Canucks meet in Western Conference Semifinal beginning May 1

               

After a brilliant first round of playoff hockey, the top eight remaining teams get ready for Round Two as CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continues to provide Canadians with the best match-ups from the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Starting on Friday, April 30, CBC will have all the action from the Pittsburgh Penguins (#4)/Montreal Canadiens (#8) Eastern Conference Semifinal series, and the Chicago Blackhawks (#2)/Vancouver Canucks (#3) Western Conference Semifinal series, beginning Saturday, May 1.

The Eastern Conference Semifinal series between Pittsburgh and Montreal gets underway on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA on Friday, April 30, at 7 p.m. ET when Sidney Crosby and Mike Cammalleri continue their quest for Lord Stanley’s mug. Play-by-play man Bob Cole and analyst Garry Galley will call the series with Glenn Healy between the benches and Elliotte Friedman reporting from rinkside.

Hockey Tonight returns to CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA on Saturday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Vancouver Canucks and team captain Roberto Luongo squaring off  against Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center for the second straight season. Jim Hughson will call this Western Conference Semifinal best-of-seven series alongside analyst Craig Simpson, while Scott Oake reports from ice level.

Each night during Round Two, Ron MacLean hosts CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA coverage of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs along with Don Cherry, Mike Milbury, Kelly Hrudey and P.J. Stock. Cherry, Hrudey and Stock will join MacLean in-studio throughout the second round to provide insight and analysis of all the Conference Semifinal series.

CBC’s exclusive Punjabi broadcasts continue in Round Two, featuring the Vancouver/Chicago series, live and on demand at CBCSports.ca. The Punjabi broadcasts will be available free to Bell TV subscribers on channel 249; to Shaw Digital Cable subscribers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba on channel 333 and to Shaw Direct subscribers on channel 478. Viewers should contact their local service provider for more details. Parminder Singh, voice of CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA regular season Punjabi broadcasts will handle play-by-play duties while Harnarayan Singh, will provide analysis.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continues to go live and interactive throughout the Playoffs on CBCSports.ca/stanleycup.  Each CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA broadcast is streamed live and on-demand at CBCSports.ca/stanleycup, where hockey fans can catch up to the minute news, features, previews, highlights and analysis for every game.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA: 2010 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

ROUND TWO – CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

BROADCAST SCHEDULE

All series best of seven.  Schedule subject to change.

PITTSBURGH (#4) VS. MONTREAL (#8)

G1       Montreal @ Pittsburgh           Fri, April 30 @ 7 p.m. ET                   FULL NETWORK

G2       Montreal @ Pittsburgh           Sun, May 2 @ 2 p.m. ET                    FULL NETWORK

G3       Pittsburgh @ Montreal           Tues, May 4 @ 7 p.m. ET                   FULL NETWORK

G4       Pittsburgh @ Montreal           Thurs, May 6 @ 7 p.m. ET                 FULL NETWORK

G5**   Montreal @ Pittsburgh           Sat, May 8 @ 7 p.m. ET                     FULL NETWORK

G6**   Pittsburgh @ Montreal           Mon, May 10 @ 7 p.m. ET                 FULL NETWORK

G7**   Montreal @ Pittsburgh           Wed, May 12 – TBD                           FULL NETWORK

CHICAGO (#2) VS. VANCOUVER (#3)

G1       Vancouver @ Chicago            Sat, May 1 @ 8 p.m. ET                     FULL NETWORK

G2       Vancouver @ Chicago            Mon, May 3 @ 9 p.m. ET                   FULL NETWORK

G3       Chicago @ Vancouver            Wed, May 5 @ 9:30 p.m. ET              FULL NETWORK

G4       Chicago @ Vancouver            Fri, May 7 @ 9:30 p.m. ET                 FULL NETWORK

G5**   Vancouver @ Chicago            Sun, May 9 @ 8 p.m. ET                    FULL NETWORK

G6**   Chicago @ Vancouver            Tues, May 11 – 9:30 p.m. ET              FULL NETWORK

G7**   Vancouver @ Chicago            Thurs, May 13 – 8 p.m. ET                 FULL NETWORK

And this is the release from TSN regarding the two series it will air.

TSN’S SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF COVERAGE BEGINS THURSDAY

TSN will have live coverage of both the Boston-Philadelphia series and the San Jose-Detroit series as the network announced its complete broadcast schedule for the Second Round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  All games on TSN are available in High Definition and on-demand at TSN.ca.

TSN’s coverage of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues Thursday with Game 1 when the Detroit Red Wings visit the San Jose Sharks at 8:30 p.m. ET. TSN’s coverage of the Boston Bruins bs Philadelphia Flyers series begins on Saturday at 12 noon ET.

TSN’s Gord Miller and Pierre McGuire will be in the broadcast booth for the Boston-Philadelphia series while Chris Cuthbert and Ray Ferraro call the San Jose-Detroit series. NHL on TSN host James Duthie will once again be joined in studio for pre-games and intermissions by Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger along with analyst Darren Pang.

Three-time Stanley Cup winner Aaron Ward will be a special guest analyst on the NHL on TSN panel during the Second Round.

On Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, TSN sets the stage for the Second Round of the NHL Playoffs with the That’s Hockey Playoff Edition: Second Round Preview. Gino Reda hosts the 60-minute show featuring TSN’s team of experts and Insiders, as they preview all four Second Round playoff series with a special look at the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens.

TSN’s flagship news program SportsCentre covers every playoff series with daily highlights, reports and in-depth analysis from TSN’s correspondents and hockey experts during the Conference Semifinals. Reporter Farhan Lalji will have all the news and insights from the Vancouver-Chicago series while Brent Wallace delivers daily in-depth reports on the Montreal-Pittsburgh series.

In addition to having playoff games on-demand, TSN.ca will feature live blogs during all TSN playoff games. TSN.ca continues to deliver all the latest news, analysis, interviews from TSN’s hockey experts. Fans on-the-go can keep up with all the post-season action during the NHL Playoffs with up-to-the-minute news on TSN Mobile and the TSN App for iPhone. 

Hockey fans can also get in on daily playoff discussions on TSN’s popular Fan Page on Facebook.

See complete broadcast schedule here.

Great stuff. I’ll keep you updated as Versus revises its schedule for the week of May 9.

TNT’s and NBA TV’s Schedule for Wednesday and Thursday

Here’s what you have for tonight and tomorrow on NBA TV and TNT for the NBA Playoffs.

Teams Continue to Battle it Out as They Must “Win or Go Home” During TNT and NBA TV’s NBA Playoff Coverage

TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs continues tonight, April 28 at 8 p.m. (ET) with Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks hosting Brandon Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks at 8 p.m. (ET) in Game #5 of their best-of-seven series.  The Bucks won Game #4 in Milwaukee to tie the series at 2-2.  Matt Devlin (play-by-play), Kevin McHale (analyst) and Lewis Johnson (reporter) will call the game.  The second game of the doubleheader features Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz trying to eliminate Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets at 10:30 p.m. (ET) for Game #5 of the series, which is currently led by the Jazz 3-1.  Sitting courtside will be Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Mike Fratello (analyst) and Marc Fein (reporter).  The night will conclude with the Emmy® award-winning studio show Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley (analyst) and Kenny Smith (analyst).

The NBA action continues on Thursday, April 29 with TNT airing another playoff doubleheader with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs hosting Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks at 8 p.m. (ET) in Game #6 of their best-of-seven series.  The Spurs lead the series 3-1 and can advance with a win.  Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and Marty Snider (reporter) will call the game.  The second game of the doubleheader will see Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns attempt to eliminate Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers at 10:30 p.m. (ET) for Game #6 of the series.  Sitting courtside will be Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Doug Collins (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter).  To finish the evening’s coverage, Johnson (host), Barkley, and Smith (analyst) will break down the action on Inside the NBA.

NBA TV will also continue to provide extensive coverage of the playoffs beginning tonight, April 28 with host Rick Kamla and analysts Dennis Scott and Eric Snow recapping the night’s action beginning at 10:30 p.m. (ET).  The network will continue to air highlights, updates and live press conferences throughout the duration of the NBA Playoffs.

Exclusive content, analysis from TNT announcers and replays of Inside the NBA are available on TNT OverTime on NBA.com.  The broadband channel offers an all-access pass to the excitement and drama of the NBA Playoffs, with special features and reports being added throughout the postseason. 

That’s it.

The Mid-Week Linkage

I’m home waiting for the boiler repairman so you’re getting linkage early today which is good for you.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today who says HBO Sports continues to churn out documentaries despite increased competition from ESPN.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the movie “Jerry McGuire” needs to be updated.

Leneli Liggayu of Broadcasting & Cable says the Stanley Cup Playoffs are giving NHL.com a big boost.  

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that Versus continues to rack up the ratings for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Mike recaps the Sports Emmys from Monday.

Katy Bachman of Mediaweek says Univision Radio has signed a rights deal with the Miami Dolphins for Spanish language play-by-play of their games.

In the Sporting News’ the Sporting Blog, On The DL’s Dan Levy looks at MLB.com’s new policy of banning its beat writers from tweeting non-baseball issues. 

Aaron Gleeman of NBCSports.com who broke the original MLB.com Twitter policy story now has MLB.com denying there’s a policy in place despite evidence to the contrary.

The Nielsen Wire blog says the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s get the most positive buzz  online from their fans. 

Mark Blaudschun of the Boston Globe writes that Boston College is replacing its basketball voice.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says ESPN seems to have a love affair with the Mets.

Will Leitch of New York Magazine explains why the MLB.com Twitter policy is not good for anybody. 

Richard Huff, Kate Nocera and Corky Siemaszko of the New York Daily News say NBC News is refuting a New York Post report that Tiki Barber has been fired from his job over his infidelity.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union has the updated NBA Playoffs TV schedule for the next few days.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says DC is ready for a full day of hype for tonight’s Game 7 between the Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals.

Doug Farrar of the Washington Post enjoyed watching the NFL Network’s coverage of the Draft. 

Lisa de Moraes of the Post says ESPN’s Draft coverage was a big winner in primetime on Thursday.

Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that the Miami Dolphins are returning to their original Spanish language flagship radio station.

Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel says ESPN’s Tim Legler feels the Magic’s Dwight Howard should get more respect.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says a Metroplex sports radio producer who tweeted a slur over the weekend has been fired from his job.

Barry has more on the story.

Jeanne Jakle of the San Antonio Express-News has the story from the Alamo City’s side.

Ed Sherman from Crain’s Chicago Business writes that Blackhawks fans may not get to see much of their team on Comcast SportsNet during the 2nd round series against Vancouver.

Kyle Koster of the Chicago Sun-Times looks at MLB.com’s Twitter policy.

Tom Haudrcourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about Brewers voice Bob Uecker needing heart surgery forcing him to miss up to 12 weeks of games.

Randy Peterson and Rick Brown of the Des Moines Register get ESPN’s Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas to react to the hiring of Fred Hoiberg as the new Iowa State men’s basketball coach.

Tom O’Neil of the Los Angeles Times says HBO took in the most Sports Emmy Awards on Monday. 

From the Toronto Globe and Mail, Bruce Dowbiggin writes that TSN is happy to have a Game 7 to air tonight.

Will Brinson of Fanhouse says NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol got under ESPN’s skin by making a joke at the network’s expense during the Sports Emmy Awards.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media tries to sort out the TV possibilities for the NHL TV partners in the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Sports Media Watch has the weekend overnight ratings.

The lovely Rebecca Glass at This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes gives her thoughts on the MLB.com Twitter policy.

Emmett Jones from Sports Business Digest says the MLB.com Twitter policy sets the league back after making great strides in social media.

That’s going to do it for now.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

MLB
American League
Seattle at Kansas City – FSN Northwest/Fox Sports Kansas City, 2 p.m.
Red Sox at Toronto – NESN/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Anaheim Angels – STO/Fox Sports West, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit – ESPN/Fox Sports North/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.
New York Yankees at Baltimore – YES/MASN, 7 p.m.
Oakland at Tampa Bay – Comcast SportsNet California/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Texas – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Southwest, 8 p.m.

National League
San Diego at Florida – MLB Network/Fox Sports Florida, 12:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets – Fox Sports Prime Ticket/SNY, 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Wisconsin, 1 p.m.
Washington at Chicago Cubs – MASN/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 2 p.m.
Arizona at Colorado – Fox Sports Arizona/FSN Rocky Mountain, 3 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Francisco – MLB Network/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 3:45 p.m.
Atlanta at St. Louis – Peachtree TV/Fox Sports Midwest, 8 p.m.
Cincinnati at Houston – Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Houston, 8 p.m.

MLB Tonight Live – MLB Network, 6:30 p.m.
Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference
Game 5/Milwaukee at Atlanta – TNT, 8 p.m.

Western Conference
Game 5/Utah at Denver, TNT, 10:30 p.m.

Inside the NBA – TNT, 1 a.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference
Game 7/Montreal at Washington – Versus/TSN/RDS/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, 7 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 10 p.m.

Tennis
ATP Tour/Rome Masters, 2nd round – Tennis Channel, 7 a.m.

UEFA Champions League
Semifinal
Barcelona vs. Inter Milan – Fox Soccer Channel, 2:30 p.m.

Entertainment
Breakout: Through The Roof – National Geographic Channel, 8 p.m.
Ghost Hunters – SyFy, 9 p.m.
Inside NASCAR – Showtime, 10 p.m.
The Ultimate Fighter – Spike, 10 p.m.
In Plain Sight – USA Network, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

DEVLOPING: MLB.com Cracks Down On Its Staff Writers On Twitter

Started hearing about this tonight on Twitter and it appears to be confirmed that MLB.com has ordered its beat writers to stop tweeting non-baseball issues on their accounts. I don’t know if this has anything to do with what Peter Gammons has been tweeting in regards to politics or music, but this new policy was apparently handed down today.

This is similar to when ESPN cracked down on its staff Tweeting last year and established a new social networking policy.

Aaron Gleeman of NBCSports.com and Rotoworld.com has apparently confirmed this and says the new policy is unfortunate. However, it appears that MLB does not want non-baseball tweets to appear in its main Twitter feed. Gleeman adds that MLB has scolded players for Tweeting which is just ridiculous.

This brings writers and players closer to their fans and by not allowing them to Tweet non-baseball stuff smacks of censorship. Before the policy, we got to see writers’ personalities, their likes and dislikes and in the case of Peter Gammons, interesting musical tastes.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal says Baltimore Orioles MLB.com beat writer Britt Ghiroli is only allowed to tweet about the Orioles and nothing else. Britt had used her account to talk about her beloved Michigan State Spartans, but now all of those tweets are expunged. Too bad.

Hopefully, MLB.com will reverse this policy and realize fans like the interaction with writers through social networks. And there’s no need to crack down on players either.

It’s all very silly.

Terry Gannon Joins Golf Channel

This is an interesting hire. Terry Gannon who has worked with ESPN on college football, college basketball and golf is joining Golf Channel to call both PGA and LPGA events. I’m not sure if this is a full-time hire since Gannon would not be able to call college basketball games. And I’m also wondering if Gannon’s replacing Kelly Tilghman and/or Rich Lerner or if he’s being added to the stable. But here’s the press release.

Golf Channel Adds Terry Gannon to Broadcasting Team

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 27, 2010) – One of golf broadcasting’s most authoritative personalities, Terry Gannon, has joined Golf Channel’s live tournament team to share play-by-play responsibilities for the network’s coverage of the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour.

A veteran broadcaster of 21 years, Gannon’s partnership with Golf Channel will extend through 2013. His first Golf Channel assignment will be the LPGA Championship Presented by Wegmans, beginning June 24, where he will be paired with Hall-of-Famer Judy Rankin for the LPGA’s second major championship of 2010. He will partner with Nick Faldo for his first PGA TOUR assignment at the AT&T National, which will be contested over Independence Day weekend and will feature Tiger Woods headlining the field.

“Terry’s experience speaks for itself and his presence will allow an already great play-by-play team greater depth for a live tournament schedule that continues to grow,” said Tom Stathakes, Golf Channel senior vice president of programming, production and operations.

In addition to broadcasting golf, Gannon has hosted telecasts for a variety of high-profile sporting events, including college football, college basketball, World Cup soccer and the Olympic Games. He has been the television voice of figure skating for 14 years, is a three-time host of the Tour de France and the Little League World Series. He began his career in 1988 with ESPN after excelling in positions with sports programming syndicators Raycom Media and Jefferson-Pilot Communications.

Gannon was a two-time Academic All-American basketball player at North Carolina State University and was a member of its 1983 National Championship team coached by Jim Valvano. He currently resides in Los Angeles, Calif., with his family.

A developing story involving MLB.com and its writers coming up.

UPDATE, 4/29/10, 9:05 a.m.: Heard from a Golf Channel spokesman who says Gannon will be golf-exclusive to TGC except for the Open Championship, Women’s Open Championship and the Senior’s Open Championship, all of which are carried on ESPN. And he’ll work on ESPN for college football and basketball.

He is not replacing anyone, but is being added to Golf Channel’s stable of announcers. Thanks to Golf Channel for answering my questions.

CBC Enjoys Great NHL 1st Round Playoff Rating

Got this release from CBC talking about its ratings for its group of series including Ottawa-Pittsburgh and Vancouver-Los Angeles. While some thought CBC should have aired Montreal-Washington instead of Ottawa-Pittsburgh, the network did quite well.

Take a look.

HIGHEST ROUND ONE AUDIENCE IN SIX SEASONS FOR 2010 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ON CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

The results are in and Canadian hockey fans love what they see on CBC. According to BBM overnight data the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA resulted in the program’s highest overall average audience for Round One since 2004. Audiences to Round One in 2010 averaged 1.422 million*. In 2009, Round One on CBC had an average audience of 951,000. Round One in 2004 featured five of the six Canadian teams and had an average audience of 1.989 million.

Individually:

• The Ottawa/Pittsburgh series averaged 2 million over six games
• The Vancouver/Los Angeles series averaged 2.031 million over six games
• The Buffalo/Boston series averaged 736,000 over six games
• The Colorado/San Jose series averaged 825,000 over six games

The highest average audience to a single game was 2.948 million* for game six between Ottawa and Pittsburgh on April 24, followed closely by the 2.826 million average audience for game six between Vancouver and Los Angeles on April 25.

Live Streaming views totalled 712,144 for Round One on CBCSports.ca/stanleycup, with a single game high of 73,767 streaming views for game five between Ottawa and Pittsburgh on April 22. Game six between Vancouver and Los Angeles had 57,916 streaming views. Total streaming views in 2009 for Round One were 267,543.

*Source: 2010 television audiences are BBM overnight, A2+ (PPM measurement). Streaming numbers: CBC Research – Omniture HBX (2009) and Omniture Site Catalyst (2010)

And in the Conference Semifinal round, CBC will get the first two picks of playoffs so it could potentially have two series involving Canadian teams while TSN would have two all-American series.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Scoring With The Caps

Another press release for you. This one deals with the great ratings for the NHL in Washington. On Monday, Game 6 of the Capitals-Canadiens series gave Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic its highest ratings ever for an NHL playoff game. Impressive.

CAPITALS PLAYOFFS ON COMCAST SPORTSNET RATINGS NOTES:

Game 6 Delivers Highest-Rated Capitals Playoff Game in Comcast SportsNet History

• Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of Game 6 of the Capitals first-round playoff series against Montreal on Monday, April 26, earned an average 5.6 household rating in the Washington market, surpassing Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Pittsburgh (5.5) as the highest-rated Capitals playoff game in network history.

• In the Washington market, the record-setting 5.6 average household rating represents approximately 131,000 households. When combined with the average household rating in the Baltimore market (2.7) for Game 6, the broadcast earned an average audience of approximately 164,000 households.

• The game attracted peak viewership between 8:30 and 8:45pm, delivering a 7.1 household rating in Washington and a 3.7 household rating in Baltimore during that quarter-hour, equating to approximately 210,000 combined households.

• In the key Men 25-54 demographic, Comcast SportsNet delivered an average 7.1 rating in the Washington market and earned a 9.3 peak rating in that category during the mid-point of the game. The 7.1 rating is a 10 percent increase on the previous all-time high in that demographic, which was set in both Game 6 and Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Pittsburgh (6.5).

• During their coverage of Game 6, Comcast SportsNet was the most-watched television station in the Washington market in several key demographics, including Men 18-49 and Men 25-54.

• With the record ratings posted for Game 6, five of the ten highest-rated Capitals playoff games in Comcast SportsNet history have occurred during this year’s first-round match-up versus Montreal.

• Through the first six games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Comcast SportsNet has earned an average household rating of 4.9 in the Washington market, which is an increase of more than 63 percent compared to the first six games of the network’s coverage of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs (3.0). This season’s first round currently stands as the highest-rated Capitals playoff series in network history.

• CSNwashington.com’s coverage of the Capitals has also earned increased viewers since the beginning of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since Game 1 (April 15) of the first-round series against the Canadiens, the site has earned an increase of nearly 40 percent in unique visitors, with overall visitors and page-views up more than 37 percent and 32 percent, respectively, compared to the previous 13 day-period (April 2 to 14). Compared to the same time-period last year, the network’s website has generated a 264 percent growth in unique visitors and a 210 percent jump in page-views.

CAPITALS 2010 PLAYOFFS – ROUND ONE (MTL)

Game                  WSH HH              PEAK              M 25-54            

Game 1                     5.1                    7.4                   5.9                   

Game 2                     4.4                    6.1                   4.7                   

Game 3                     5.1                    6.4                   5.3                   

Game 4                     5.3                    7.0                   6.2                   

Game 5                     3.8                    6.2                   4.1                   

Game 6                     5.6                    7.1                   7.1                    

AVG.                         4.9                      -                     5.6                   

Game                  A 25-54          BAL HH             PEAK
Game 1                     4.1                  2.1                  3.2
Game 2                     3.4                  2.3                  3.2
Game 3                     4.3                  1.7                  2.9
Game 4                     4.4                  1.8                  2.7
Game 5                     2.5                  1.6                  2.4
Game 6                     5.1                  2.7                  3.5  

AVG.                         4.0                  2.0                    -  

That’s it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

TNT’s and NBA TV’s Schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday

TNT and NBA TV continue to pair up to air as many as four NBA playoff games a night and that is the case this evening. Reminds me of the old days when TBS and TNT would tagteam to carry games. But that was when the NBA made sense and would try to play the 1st round as quickly as possible instead of spacing it out like it does now. But I digress.

Here’s the schedule of games for tonight and tomorrow.

Extensive Coverage of the NBA Playoffs Continue on TNT and NBA TV

TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs continues tonight, April 27 at 8 p.m. (ET) with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers hosting Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls in Game #5 of the series.  The Cavaliers can advance to the second round with a win over the Bulls.  Calling the action will be Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and David Aldridge (reporter).  At 10:30 p.m. (ET), Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder visit Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game #5 of their series.  The Thunder won Games #3 and #4 in Oklahoma City to even the series 2-2.  Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Doug Collins (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter) will call the game.  The night will conclude with the Emmy® award-winning studio show Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley (analyst) and Kenny Smith (analyst).

The NBA action continues on Wednesday, April 28 with TNT airing an NBA Playoff doubleheader featuring Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks hosting Brandon Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks at 8 p.m. (ET) in Game #5 of their best-of-seven series.  The Bucks won Game #4 to tie the series at 2-2.  Matt Devlin (play-by-play), Kevin McHale (analyst) and Lewis Johnson (reporter) will call the game. The second game of the doubleheader features Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz trying to eliminate Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets at 10:30 p.m. (ET) for Game #5 of the series, which is currently led by the Jazz 3-1.  Sitting courtside will be Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Mike Fratello (analyst) and Marc Fein (reporter). To finish the evening’s coverage, Ernie Johnson (host), Barkley, and Smith (analyst) will break down the action on Inside the NBA.

NBA TV will also continue to provide extensive coverage of the playoffs beginning tonight, April 27 with a doubleheader. The night will start at 6:30 p.m. (ET) with the Pregame Show featuring host Rick Kamla and analysts Brent Barry and Steve Smith, followed at 7 p.m. (ET) by #5 between the Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics. The Celtics can advance to the second round with a victory.  Immediately following will be Game #5 between the San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks at 9:30 p.m. (ET). The Spurs can eliminate the Mavericks with a win. NBA GameTime will conclude the night’s action with full post-game coverage, including live press conferences.

The NBA Playoffs will continue on NBA TV on Thursday, April 28 with host Rick Kamla and analysts Dennis Scott and Eric Snow recapping the night’s action at 10:30 p.m. (ET).

Exclusive content, analysis from TNT announcers and replays of Inside the NBA are available on TNT OverTime on NBA.com. The broadband channel offers an all-access pass to the excitement and drama of the NBA Playoffs, with special features and reports being added throughout the postseason. 

And a bonus press release coming up after the jump.
Here’s TNT quotage from Monday night’s action.

Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA Playoffs – Monday, April 26, 2010

TNT’s coverage of the 2010 NBA Playoffs continues on Tuesday, April 27 at 8 p.m. (ET) with a doubleheader featuring the Chicago Bulls  @ Cleveland Cavaliers (Game #5) followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder  @ Los Angeles Lakers (Game #5).

CLIP OF THE DAY

(click on link below to watch)

The Charlotte Bobcats have “Gone Fishin’” on TNT’s Inside the NBA

 

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TNT NBA Tip-off

Matt Winer, Charles Barkley and Chris Webber

Webber on what the Bobcats can do to stay alive in Game #4: “Nothing; pray, try to suit up Michael Jordan, nothing. When I say nothing, I mean nothing because Dwight Howard is going to have a better game. When your best player can get 24 and 14 any night, but he’s not doing it and they are still winning, (the Bobcats) don’t have a chance.” 

Barkley on the Orlando Magic’s arsenal of scorers: “It is very simple; they (Charlotte) don’t have enough fire power. They have two players that can get 20 points in Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace. There is nobody else on that team that you can say, ‘he can get me 20 a night.’ On the Orlando team, Dwight Howard can get you 20, Matt Barnes, Jameer Nelson, Rashard (Lewis), Vince Carter. I mean they just have two many weapons for the Bobcats, plain and simple.”

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Game 1: Orlando Magic (99) @ Charlotte Bobcats (90) – Orlando won the series 4-0.  

Announcers: Matt Devlin (play-by-play) and Kevin McHale (analyst) with Cheryl Miller reporting

Devlin on the new nickname that Jameer Nelson gave teammate Dwight Howard: “He is no longer ‘Superman,’ it is ‘Foul on You’. They have been calling him ‘Foul on You’ for the last two days.” 

McHale on how jump shooting can get players off to a bad start in the playoffs: “That’s how you get yourself off to a funky start in the playoffs, taking too many jump shots. First game, get to the line and get yourself settled down.” 

McHale on how physical the playoffs used to be: “You played teams all the time. If you wanted to run down the middle of the floor and get the ball in the paint, you were going to get hit. You knew you were going to hit, you knew there was going to be a lot of contact.” 

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Charlotte Bobcats guard Raymond Felton at halftime

Felton on his aggressive defense on Magic guard Jameer Nelson: “I just tried to get up in (Nelson) and tried to be a little more aggressive with him. He was getting into his comfort zone over the last three games, getting into his rhythm. If you let any player get into his rhythm, they can get hot.  I tried to crowd him and just be a little more physical.” 

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Halftime

Winer, Barkley and Webber

Webber on Magic center Dwight Howard’s foul trouble: “I think it gets dangerous. Game #1 and Game #2 are just fouls, but I think (Dwight Howard) will have a reputation for the rest of the playoffs. He can’t cry about fouls and I think other teams are going to attack him just because they know he is foul prone.”   

Barkley on Magic center Dwight Howard abusing his strength: “(Dwight Howard) does want to prove he is the strongest man in the room. If you notice, every time someone grabbed his arm, he tried to throw them down.  You don’t always have to prove you are the strongest guy in the room and that’s what he does every single time. Those aren’t good fouls. He is a great, great player and you are going to get X amount of fouls, but he has to cut out the silly fouls.” 

Barkley on Magic center Dwight Howard’s flaws not being exposed until the Eastern Conference Finals:  “(The Magic) have a huge advantage. They are going to win this series and the next series. His flaws won’t really show up until he plays LeBron James for seven straight games because that is going to be a touch match-up. Even (Antawn) Jamison is going to be a tough match-up.” 

Webber on how Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy changes things strategically for the Blazers/Suns series: “I don’t think the coach should change anything. I think they should play (Brandon Roy) just like he did in the other game. I mean this team has already shown they can win without Roy, but they need him to continue winning. The second game is a little different. He is going to be a little sore, stiff. We don’t know how he is reacting.  I’ve played with a torn meniscus before. It is no joke the next day coming off of it.  I think he and the coach will sit down and talk and monitor his minutes. But if he needs to be in the (game in the) fourth quarter, no matter how much is leg hurts, he will be in the fourth quarter.”

Barkley: “The second game is going to be different. Your adrenaline gets you pumped and the crowd probably had a huge effect on him giving him energy and everything (in Game #4).  Tonight is going to be a big game. He has to worry about his conditioning. This is going to be a little different than it was at home in Portland.” 

Barkley on the Atlanta Hawks losing to the Milwaukee Bucks: “If you can’t beat a team without their best player (Andrew Bogut), you are a pretender not a contender.” 

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McHale on reports that Bobcats head coach Larry Brown is planning to head to the Philadelphia 76ers: “I certainly hope that is not true. If you are a player for the Charlotte Bobcats, leaving your heart and soul on that floor, you don’t want to hear that your coach is taking another job. I hope that is not true. I really like Coach Brown and I know he is committed to the Bobcats so I hope those are erroneous rumors.” 

McHale on the dedication the Charlotte Bobcats have to coach Larry Brown: “One thing you can say about Charlotte is that they may have a tough time scoring, but they play hard. Those guys give it to their coach. Larry Brown demands effort and they really give it to him, so he has to be very, very happy with his team. Like I said, if you are player bleeding on the floor for your coach, you hate to hear reports like that thinking he is leaving them.” 

McHale on Orlando Magic forward Matt Barnes: “(Matt Barnes) brings a lot of grit to that team. I like Matt Barnes, a big fan of his. He’s a tough guy. Not afraid to guard the other team’s top player, take him on one-on-one and get into a little scrimmage with him.” 

McHale on feeding your hot players: “Make sure the ball finds the hot guy – that is rule number one in the NBA.” 

McHale on Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace: “Gerald Wallace is an absolute battler and a fighter. I love that kid and he won’t go down without a fight.” 

 

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Game 2: Portland Trail Blazers (88) @ Phoenix Suns (107) –Phoenix leads the series 3-2.

Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Mike Fratello (analyst) with Craig Sager reporting

Fratello on the plan for the Portland Trail Blazers in Game #3: “(The Trail Blazers) know on the road they must keep the calmness about them and control the tempo of the game and get ready to start each quarter because Phoenix will come after you.” 

Fratello on Phoenix Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire’s comments to his teammates after their Game #3 loss: “Stoudemire is trying to show some of his leadership qualities after the last game by saying ‘we gave away the advantage that we had by not playing hard and not coming in mentality prepared, not knowing how tough that game was going to be to win.’” 

TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Phoenix Suns center Channing Frye at halftime.

Frye on what helped boost his confidence in tonight’s game: “To be honest, when we were coming back from Portland, we saw a bunch of Army guys getting on a plane probably getting ready to go back to Iraq. It kind of hit me, God gave me an epiphany; I have the best job in the world. Just relax and have fun and enjoy this moment and come out and play.” 

Frye on why he is playing better at home: “I think there are three reasons. Number one, it is hot out here, number two, my wife is here with my little baby and three, the fans are great here, they have really supported me out here and it is really great to play at home.”

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Halftime

Winer, Barkley and Webber

Barkley on Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy only playing six minutes in the first half: “That first game is a little bit different. This time (Brandon Roy) probably has swelling. If you come back from an injury, that first game your adrenaline is through the roof. That helped him play at home, but tonight you have got to feel like he is a little stiff and can’t move.” 

Barkley on the impact of Phoenix Suns guard Jason Richardson: “I think (Richardson) is that third guy. The games he played well in they win, the games he doesn’t play well in they lose. He is the barometer of the Phoenix Suns.” 

Webber on Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill: “(Grant Hill) is playing very young right now and moving his body around. He is making it really difficult for these guards to get their shots. Grant is going to have to keep doing a good defensive job and switch on anyone that gets hot. He is really the only defender that can really handle the guards on this team.” 

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Fratello on the wavering tempo of the game: “I’m not sure if you ask me what the tempo of the game is right now, I would know. The game has been distorted, you can’t get out on a run, and you can’t put a string together. There has kind of an off and on flow to it.” 

Fratello on the tenacity of the Portland Trail Blazers: “(Trail Blazers head coach) Nate MacMillan and his staff have done a great job of playing through all their player injuries. They have done a wonderful job of survival and going into tonight’s game 2-2 in the series.” 

Fratello on the surprise team of the NBA Playoffs: “I think Oklahoma City has captured everyone’s attention for the fact that they have played the Lakers even. It seems like in their mind they can beat the Lakers.” 

TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash following the game.

Nash on dictating the pace of the game:  “I thought we didn’t get hesitant because they got a bunch of shots to start. We stayed with our game and tried to push them off the court. We are not always looking for fast break points. We just want a nice rhythm to our game. I think that is important to make our team difficult to defend.” 

Nash on Channing Frye and Jared Dudley combining to score 39 points: ”I thought it was big. We are going to create open shots for each other. When we knock them down, we are making them pay for taking away other things. Those guys stepped up and had a great game. I think we have a lot of guys on our team that have confidence and can have games like that. We have to go up to Portland and have the same mentality and do the same thing. 

Nash on how important it is to win Game #6: “We always have Game #7, which is nice to have home court, but we can’t look at it like that.  We have to go up there and think this is a great way to end the series. We are going to go out there, like I said, and have a great attitude.” 

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Inside the NBA

Winer, Barkley and Webber

Webber on Suns point guard Steve Nash: “Steve Nash got his team going.  He is the quarterback (of the Suns) and the way he goes is the way his team goes.” 

Barkley on Blazers guard Brandon Roy: “(Roy) is showing tremendous heart, he’s a great kid and a great player.  But with the way the Suns played (in Game #5), he’s really got to be tired out there.” 

Barkley on the Suns winning their first round series against the Trail Blazers: “I think the Suns will close (the Blazers) out (in Game #6).  I think (the Blazers) got that initial rush when Brandon Roy came back and now I think reality is setting in.  Without Brandon Roy, the Suns are just a better team.  He gave them a great lift and the crowd is going to try to pump them up but he’s got to be getting tired physically and I think it will catch up with him.  Bottom line, without Roy at 100%, the Suns are a better team.”

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Magic guard Vince Carter following the game 

Carter on what attributes the Magic need to take into the second round of the Playoffs: “Composure more than anything.  When it’s not going our way, can we still fight?  No matter who steps on the floor, we have to bring it and we’ve shown that (we can do that).” 

Barkley on reports that Larry Brown could leave the Charlotte Bobcats to take a front office job with the Philadelphia 76ers: “It wouldn’t surprise me if he went up to the front office.  I believe him when he says he won’t coach anywhere else but that doesn’t mean he won’t take a (front office job) with the 76ers. The 76ers are in a lot of trouble, they have a long way to go and they are not a very good team so he’s definitely not going to go there to coach. If you look at the Charlotte team, they are not a contender in the next (few) years.They’ve got two great building blocks in Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson. They are not going to win the Championship in the next two or three years.”

Webber: “Philly might not make the Playoffs in the next ten years,”

Barkley: “But being upstairs (in the front office), he won’t have the stress of sitting on the bench. Let’s be realistic, Larry isn’t a spring chicken. So does he want the stress of staying in Charlotte and having a good team…”

Webber: “Or do you want the stress of getting rid of Elton Brand’s contract, getting Andre Iguodala right and getting Samuel Dalembert right?” 

Barkley on the Cavaliers and Magic being the two best teams in the NBA: “I like everything about the Magic. I picked the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the Championship but I think the Orlando Magic are the second best team in the NBA. I think the Cavaliers and the Magic are the two best teams in the NBA. When they play (each other), it’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out (fight).” 

Webber on the Bucks having the confidence to win their series against the Hawks: “The size of (your) heart doesn’t show up on paper. It’s that simple. Some teams, you know you can beat them at home. There are some teams where guys care more about scoring than they do about winning. Some teams, guys will jump up and try to fight you and then they won’t do anything. That’s just the way that it is. (Bucks head coach) Scott Skiles and his team believe that they can come into Atlanta (and win). Atlanta needs to think about, ‘what if we do win this series? We still can’t beat Orlando because we can’t win a game on the road.’ At some point, you have to show discipline. What have they done to show that they can win in Orlando.” 

Barkley on Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant being an older player: “Kobe Bryant is an old basketball player. He’s one of the greatest basketball players ever. But once you’ve been playing as long as he has, you’re going to get banged up and you’re not going to have the same explosiveness. Now he’s playing against a 20-year-old kid (Kevin Durant) who’s got some talent. People are saying, ‘Kobe Bryant doesn’t explode like he used to.’ Of course he doesn’t, he’s been in the NBA for 13 or 14 years, he’s played in the Olympics and in the Playoffs. He’s still a terrific player but age takes its toll on everybody.”

That’s going to do it.

Bringing You Tuesday Linkage

Let’s do some Tuesday linkage today. Lots of stuff to get to.

Breaking now, Tim Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that beloved Brewers voice Bob Uecker will undergo heart surgery and miss up to 12 weeks of broadcasting games.

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com says the team will announce further details at a news conference.

From John Ourand at the Sports Business Daily, he recaps the big winners at the 31st Annual Sports Emmys and tells us about an incident that left ESPN executives fuming.

Eric Fisher at SBD writes that MSG.com has relaunched to better align itself with MSG Network. 

Daniel Kaplan of SBD says NFL Vice President of Communications and PR Joe Browne is leaving his post, but will continue to advise the league.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch feels ESPN should change its NFL Draft on-air team.

To the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center and Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times who says CBS/Turner’s partnership to air the NCAA Tournament ushers in a new era in sports broadcasting.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the next big advertising space up for grabs in sports is the mic flag. Really.

Darren looks at the NFL rookie jerseys that are already on sale.

Darren says Mets fans are getting back into the collectible market again thanks to rookie Ike Davis.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand analyzes some of the TV ratings from the weekend.

The Boston Globe’s Charlie Pierce is not a fan of NESN’s Jack Edwards. While I’m not a fan of Jack either, I think this attack by Pierce is unwarranted.

Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald reports that a local sports radio host has apologized for making a Nazi reference regarding Tim Tebow.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman wonders why Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum doesn’t crack down on Twitter use by the team.

Emily Smith and Dan Mangan of the New York Post write that former Giants running back and NBC Sports analyst Tiki Barber has now been dropped from the Today show after reports about an affair with a network intern while his pregnant wife was in the hospital. Thanks to SportsbyBrooks for the link.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local basketball analyst is retiring and leaving a giant hole in the broadcast booth.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with an NHL executive about the record ratings for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times has the video of ESPN NFL analyst Jon Gruden’s appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News is noticing a downward ratings trend for the Mavericks.

Barry notes the ratings for the Mavs playoff appearances over the last four seasons. 

Barry says a local radio station has suspended a producer for making dumb remarks about the San Antonio Spurs on his personal Twitter account.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle notes the record ratings for the NFL Draft.

David talks about the Sports Emmy Awards and previews tonight’s 30 for 30 documentary on Ricky Williams.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business feels the NHL is rooting for the Blackhawks to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says ESPN and the NFL were winners with the new primetime Draft.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News says ESPN is shifting the X Games to the famed L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times looks at how big the NFL Draft was last Thursday against network primetime programming.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says while TSN has the last two games of the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, CBC is ready for the second round with Vancouver and possibly Montreal.

Chris says both Rogers Sportsnet and TSN are Canadian cash cows.

William Houston of Truth & Rumours says after a slow start, CBC eventually saw ratings success with the Ottawa-Pittsburgh series.

The Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on Fox saw its biggest ratings increase of the season to date.

SMW says MLB on Fox featuring the Yankees and Angels in an American League Championship Series rematch did not fare as well as the network would have liked.

SMW has some local NBA TV ratings.

And SMW has various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media writes that Montreal and Phoenix winning their respective 1st round NHL posteason series could lead to all-out TV chaos.

Maury Brown at the Biz of Baseball writes that Craftsman Tools has signed a deal to license MLB-logoed equipment.

Maury says MLB Network took home four Sports Emmy Awards including a big one for Bob Costas.

The Big Lead has the video of Erin Andrews’ appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the debut of that skimpy black dress. She’s not returning to ESPN.

EPL Talk has a look at ESPN’s extensive World Cup Guide.

That’s going to do it.

NHL Playoffs Steer Versus to Most Watched April in Channel’s History

We interrupt the Sports Emmy Award press release-fest for this release from Versus.

Thanks to the interest in the NHL Playoffs this month, Versus is seeing good ratings and high viewership giving it a record month and April isn’t over yet.

While the ratings aren’t earthshaking, they are very good for Versus and let’s take a look at what brought this press release.

VERSUS SCORES WITH MOST-WATCHED APRIL IN NETWORK HISTORY

NEW YORK, N.Y. (April 27, 2010)-VERSUS, the fastest growing sports cable network in the country, is averaging a .6 HH rating and 552,000 viewers for its 12 days of Conference Quarterfinal round coverage-through Sunday, April 25. The HH rating and average viewership is up 50 percent and 25, respectively, compared to the same time period of last year's postseason (.4 HH rating and 442,000 viewers). Additionally, the network is also seeing viewership increases across all key male demos over last year: Men 18-34 (up 5%), Men 18-49 (up 10%) and Men 25-54 (up 23%). Due to the momentum of NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, VERSUS garnered its most-watched April in primetime in network history.  

VERSUS' Conference Quarterfinal round coverage continues tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET with Hockey Central followed by Game 7 in the Detroit Red Wings/Phoenix Coyotes series at 9 p.m. ET. The network's first-round coverage culminates tomorrow with Game 7 between the Washington Capitals/Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET.  

Time to do some linkage.

NFL Films Won Its 100th Sports Emmy

Thanks to its multiple collaborations with HBO and CBS/Showtime, NFL Films and NFL Network combined for four Sports Emmy Awards including three for the prestigious NFL Films.

The multimedia arm of the National Football League is one of the best in-house branches that documents every game of the league and archives them. One of these days, I’d love to visit the headquarters just to see the mountains of film stored. In any event, let’s take a look at the awards NFL Films and NFL Network won in New York last night.

100^TH SPORTS EMMY FOR NFL FILMS

NFL NETWORK WINS FOR “FOOTBALL SEASON NEVER ENDS – RUN” PROMOTIONAL SPOT

HARD KNOCKS WINS FOR OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES

NFL Films and NFL Network combined to win four 2009 Sports Emmy Awards, it was announced last night in New York. 

NFL Films, the most-honored filmmaker in sports, earned three Sports Emmys to bring its total to 100. The 100^th Emmy for NFL Films came as the critically acclaimed Hard Knocks series, which airs on HBO, won its first Emmy in the Outstanding Edited Sports Series – Anthology category. 

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals was also one of two NFL Films winners for Outstanding Post Produced Audio – Sound. Inside the NFL on Showtime also earned a Sports Emmy in the category for “Sounds of the Year.”

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals will encore on NFL Network this summer.

NFL Network won in the Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Institutional for its “Football Season Never Ends – Run” spot, which featured Raiders running back Darren McFadden running through the year-round NFL season beginning with the NFL Scouting Combine and progressing through the NFL Draft, training camp, the preseason and the regular season.

(Following is a link to the spot: http://motionographer.com/theater/motion-theory-nfl-run/).

NFL Network has won seven Sports Emmys in its six-year history. 

NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log on to www.nfl.com/nflnetwork. NFL.com is the exclusive Internet home of NFL Network. 

Following is a list of the winners:

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES/ANTHOLOGY

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals (HBO Sports/NFL Films)

OUTSTANDING POST PRODUCED AUDIO/SOUND

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals (HBO Sports/NFL Films)

Inside the NFL: Sounds of the Year (CBS/Showtime/NFL Films)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT – INSTITUTIONAL

2009 Football Season Never Ends – Run (NFL Network/Mering Carson/Motion Theory)

Congratulations to NFL Films and NFL Network for their Sports Emmy Awards.

CBS Scores Seven Sports Emmys Including Outstanding Play-by-Play

CBS Sports hauled seven Sports Emmy Awards in New York last night. That includes the award for Outstanding Play-by-Play to Jim Nantz who wins for the second year in a row. Here’s the lucky seven won by CBS last night.

CBS SPORTS’ JIM NANTZ REPEATS EMMY AWARD WIN FOR “OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – PLAY-BY-PLAY” AT 31^ST ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY AWARDS

CBS Sports Garners Seven Emmy Awards Total for Coverage of NCAA Tournament; College Football and U.S. Open Tennis Championships; and with Showtime Networks for INSIDE THE NFL

CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz was honored with his second Emmy Award for OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – PLAY-BY-PLAY at the 31^st Annual Sports Emmy Awards on Monday, April 26 at the Frederick P. Rose Hall Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. 

Nantz, who won the Emmy Award in the same category last year and is in his 25^th year with CBS Sports, is the lead play-by-play voice for the Network’s coverage of the NFL, NCAA Basketball, including the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship and Final Four, and the PGA TOUR, including the Masters® and PGA Championship.

            CBS Sports won six other Emmy Awards including OUTSTANDING LONG FEATURE (The Magic of J-Mac; produced by Pete Radovich, Jr.) during its Final Four coverage; OUTSTANDING OPEN/TEASE (Army-Navy Game; produced by Radovich, Jr.) for its college football coverage; and the George Wensel TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for its use of “Flomotion” digital technology during the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.

CBS Sports also won two Emmy Awards for its combined production with Showtime Networks and NFL Films for “Inside the NFL” on Showtime: OUTSTANDING SHORT FEATURE (Fighting for #62 – The Nick Reardon Story; produced by Sarah Rinaldi) and OUTSTANDING POST PRODUCED AUDIO/SOUND (Sounds of the Year).

The Network rounded out its seventh Emmy Award of the night as CBS Mobile won for OUTSTANDING NEW APPROACHES SPORTS EVENT COVERAGE (CBS Mobile NCAA March Madness on Demand) for its coverage of NCAA March Madness on Demand.

* * * * *

On Monday, May 3, Nantz also will be honored by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association as the 2009 National Sportscaster of the Year.  This marks the fifth time, and third consecutive year, he will be honored with this prestigious award (1998, 2005, 2007 and 2008).

Congratulations to CBS for the Emmys won last night.

ESPN Platforms Take Home Seven Sports Emmys

ESPN’s networks and platforms took home seven Sports Emmys including Studio Analyst (Kirk Herbstreit), Weekly Studio Show (College Gameday), Daily Studio Show (Pardon The Interruption) and in an upset over HBO’s Real Sports which had four nominees, Outstanding Journalism for an E:60 piece fronted by Jeremy Schaap.

Again, I did not receive this press release. I’ll have to check my spam folder to see if ESPN’s press releases are landing there, but usually, the public relations department in Bristol, CT is very good in sending releases to Fang’s Bites. Lately, I’ve had to find them on the PR website.

Here’s the breakdown of awards won.

ESPN Wins Seven Sports Emmy Awards

ESPN won seven Sports Emmy Awards, presented for the 31^st year by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences last night in New York. ESPN’s commitment to innovation was recognized through honors for three of the network’s more creative series (Pardon the Interruption, E:60 and SportsNation), ESPN.com content, and the ground-breaking College GameDay weekly football road show.

E:60 won its first two Sports Emmys, in the Long Feature category for “Catfish Hunters,” a piece by Wright Thompson about fishing for catfish with bare hands, and in the Journalism category for “Wanted: Fugitive,” a Jeremy Schaap report about a former Binghamton University basketball player who fled to Serbia to avoid criminal charges in the U.S. It was the ninth consecutive year ESPN received a Sports Emmy in one of the two categories for Features and the ninth time the company was honored for Journalism.

Two other shows also won their first Sports Emmy: Pardon the Interruption in the category Studio Show Daily; and SportsNation, which debuted in July 2009, in the category Graphic Design.

College GameDay won the Studio Show Weekly Sports Emmy for the second time in three years, and the show’s Kirk Herbstreit was named the best Studio Show Analyst with the first Sports Emmy in his 15-year ESPN career.

ESPN.com was honored in the New Approaches – Sports Programming category for the feature “Super Bowl MVPs.”   ESPN has been honored with at least one award in each of the years online entries have been considered (since 2006).

ESPN has now won 135 Sports Emmy Awards in 23 years of eligibility.

ESPN’s Sports Emmy Awards (all are ESPN, except as noted):

Studio Show/Weekly                College GameDay
Studio Show/Daily                   Pardon the Interruption
Journalism                               E:60 – Wanted: Fugitive (ESPN2)
Long Feature                            E:60 – Catfish Hunters (ESPN2)
New Approaches –
Sports Programming          Super Bowl MVPs (ESPN.com)
Studio Analyst                         Kirk Herbstreit
Graphic Design                        SportsNation (ESPN2)

Congratulations to ESPN on the Sports Emmy Awards.

MLB Network Brings Home Four Sports Emmys and Claims Bob Costas As A Win

The inaugural year of MLB Network is capped off with four Emmys, most of which were technical wins, but thanks to Bob Costas being nominated as a studio host for both NBC Sports (for Football Night in America) and MLB Network, it gets to claim four trophies from the 31st Annual Sports Emmy Awards which were handed out in New York on Monday.

Here’s an obligatory press release from the fine people at MLB Network.

MLB NETWORK WINS four SPORTS EMMY AWARDS IN ITS FIRST YEAR

Network receives honors for Outstanding Graphic Design, Outstanding Technical Team Studio & Outstanding Production Design and Art Direction

MLB Network’s Bob Costas wins 20^th Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host

Secaucus, NJ, April 27, 2010 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced last night that MLB Network won four Sports Emmy Awards in its inaugural year. MLB Tonight, MLB Network’s signature nightly studio show, received three awards, including Outstanding Production Design and Art Direction, Outstanding Graphic Design, and Outstanding Technical Team Studio. Bob Costas, host of MLB Network’s Studio 42 with Bob Costas, received his 20^th Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality- Studio Host for his work on both MLB Network and NBC Sports. MLB Network tied NBC and CBS for the second-highest number of awards received by an individual network.

Upon accepting his award, Costas said “There has never been a start-up that has come out of the blocks like MLB Network.”

“We are honored to be recognized by our peers in the industry for the programming, production and on-air talent featured during MLB Network’s first year,” Tony Petitti, MLB Network President and CEO. 

The 31^st Annual Sports Emmy Awards, held on Monday at the Frederick P. Rose Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, recognize outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast throughout the 2009 calendar year. A complete list of winners will be made available at www.emmyonline.org.

MLB Network launched on January 1, 2009 as the largest debut in cable television history and is currently available in approximately 55 million cable and satellite homes. In its inaugural year, MLB Network was honored with 12 Sports Emmy Award nominations by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. With live games, original programming, highlights, classic games, and coverage of baseball events, MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans. For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to www.MLBNetwork.com. www.Facebook.com/MLBNetwork www.Twitter.com/MLBNetwork

2010 MLB Network Sports Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host: Bob Costas (MLB Network/NBC)

• Outstanding Technical Team Studio: MLB Tonight (MLB Network)

• Outstanding Graphic Design: MLB Tonight (MLB Network)

• Outstanding Production Design/Art Direction: MLB Tonight (MLB Network)

Congratulations to the MLB Network for the wins at the Sports Emmys last night.

HBO Sports Garners The Most Sports Emmys

Just completed the list of winners at the Emmy Awards and I’ll have to do some editing as the list came out a bit ragged. But it’s there.

Here is an HBO Sports press release regarding Monday night’s festivities as the network brought in the most Emmys, most of them for its acclaimed 24/7 series.

Winners were revealed tonight at the 31st Annual Sports Emmy® Awards in New York City.

HBO garnered nine Sports Emmys, the most of any single network. It is the highest Emmy total earned in a single season by HBO Sports:

HBO                            9

CBS                            4
NBC                            4

MLB Network            4                     
ESPN                          3
ESPN2                        3
CBS/SHO                   2

HBO collected nine Sports Emmy awards which includes:

OUTSTANDING SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

                ASSAULT IN THE RING (Live Star Entertainment)

           

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SPECIAL

            24/7 MAYWEATHER/MARQUEZ

           

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES/ANTHOLOGY

            HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE CINCINNATI BENGALS

                       

OUTSTANDING EDITING

            24/7 MAYWEATHER/MARQUEZ

OUTSTANDING CAMERA WORK

            24/7 PACQUIAO/COTTO

           

OUTSTANDING POST PRODUCED AUDIO/SOUND

            HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE CINCINNATI BENGALS

           

THE DICK SCHAAP WRITING AWARD

            24/7 PACQUIAO/HATTON

           

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION / DIRECTION / LYRICS

                TED WILLIAMS

           

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT – EPISODIC

            24/7 JIMMIE JOHNSON: RACE TO DAYTONA

           

For a complete list of all the nominations and wins go to www.emmyonline.org

Congratulations to my friends at HBO Sports. Great night for them.

Complete List of Winners At The 31st Annual Sports Emmy Awards

Last night, I gave you some of the winners of the 31st Annual Sports Emmy Awards which were handed out in New York. I garnered the info as best as I could. We now have the complete list of winners. A press release which was put on the Sports Emmy Awards website will be posted here shortly. The entire list of winners from Monday night’s festivities comes to you right after the break. This is a long list so I’m dong a jump.

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SPECIAL

Super Bowl XLIII – NBC

Executive Producer
Dick Ebersol

Producer
Fred Gaudelli

Director
Drew Esocoff

Replay Producers
Robert Hyland, Mark Teitelman

Sideline Producer
Michele Froman

Senior Associate Director
Charlie Vanacore

Segment Producers
Rebecca Chatman, Israel DeHerrera, Ken Hirdt, Kaare Numme

Associate Producers
Charles Dammeyer, Drew Devine, Bryan Dumas, Wade Junco, Margaret Murphy, Vinny Rao, Craig Rothberg, Michael Rothman, Russell Sprole

Associate Directors
Brigette Boginis, Pierre Moossa

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SERIES

NBC Sunday Night Football – NBC

Executive Producer
Dick Ebersol

Producer
Fred Gaudelli

Director
Drew Esocoff

Replay Producer
Charlie Vanacore

Sideline Producer
Michele Froman

Associate Director
Pierre Moossa

Segment Producers
Ken Hirdt, Wade Junco, Kaare Numme

Associate Producers
Bryant Anderson, Erin Bollendorf, Charles Dammeyer, Andrew Macchio, Ryan Meyers, Margaret Murphy, Vinny Rao, Craig Rothberg

 

OUTSTANDING LIVE EVENT TURNAROUND

Inside the Headsets/The 25th All Star Race – Speed/NASCAR Media Group

Executive Producers

Jay Abraham, Paul Brooks, Steve Craddock, Jeff Hillegass, Jim Jorden, Hunter Nickell, Frank Wilson

Producers

Quinn Collins, Nora Driscoll, Kevin Foley, Brian Goodwin, Sol Horner, Kevin Jackson, Rory Karpf, Wes Konick, Scott Leatherman, Brad Lockhart, Joel Maydak, Pete Nickell, Ben Reed, Wayne Riley, Shawn Truax

Director

Al Francesco

Associate Producers

Jeff Lotierzo, Chris Rohlfs, Katja Schwarz, Jamie Vancil, Glenn Vasko, Dawn Williams

Associate Directors

Pat Berger, Brent Buntyn, Harry Cogan, Dave Colozzi, Gina Gupton, David Harrison, Andre Ihle, Craig Johnson, Gary Johnson, Suzy Slater

 
OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SPECIAL

24/7 Mayweather?Marquez – HBO Sports/Red Line Films

Executive Producers

Rick Bernstein, Ross Greenburg

Senior Producer

David Harmon

Coordinating Producer

Scott Boggins

Producers

Abtin Motia, Thomas Odelfelt

Operations Producer

Cris DiLegge

Field Producers
Jackson Nguyen, Gabriel Spitzer

Associate Producers

Brad Buckwalter, Aaron Cohen, Peter Cooley, Jeff Fisher, Danon Hinty, Jonathan Katz, Adam Marinelli, Dan Marks, Alastair McKewitt, John Tipton, Andres Vazquez

OUTSTANDING SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

Assault in the Ring – HBO Sports/ Live Star Entertainment/Wonder Sound

Executive Producers

Rick Bernstein, Eric Drath, Ross Greenburg, Barry Murphy

Executive in Charge of Production

Fredric Cambria

Supervising Producer

Joseph M.Lavine

Operations Producers

Kenneth Clausen, Holly Peterman

Associate Producers

Aaron Cohen, Tripp Dixon, James Fideler, Brian Hartough, Zachary Heinzerling, Bill McCullough, Brian Murphy, Abby Oakes

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES/ANTHOLOGY

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals/HBO Sports/NFL Films

Executive Producers

Rick Bernstein, Ross Greenburg, Howard Katz, Steve Sabol

Coordinating Producers

David Harmon, Patrick Kelleher, Ross Ketover

Producer

Ken Rodgers

Co-Producer

Keith Cossrow

Director

Steve Trout

Segment Producers

Charlie Askew, Chris Barlow, Dave Douglas, Garrett Fittizzi, Greg Frith, hannon Furman, Rob Gehring, Jay Jackson, Jeff Larsen, Steve Lucatuorto, Nicholas Mascolo, Eric Monaco, Gerry Reimel, Margaret Ruffing?Morris, Adam Ryan, Bob Smith, Greg Smith, Angela Torma, Mike Wimmer

Associate Producers

Pamela Alexo, Heidi Bahnck, Jim Barnett, Greg Bocchetti, Tom Brant, Kevin Bushman, Chris Corbellini, Matt Curran, Matt Dissinger, Deanna Forgione, Michelle Girardi, Mike Greenwood, Jared Hilbert, Nick Kehoe, John Marsh, Leo McCafferty, Tiffany Orbin, Erik Powers, Tim Rumpff, Jeremy Saidel, Jamil Smith, David Stiles, Justin Stoll, Chris Weaver, Alicia Zubikowski, Joe Zucco

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – WEEKLY
College GameDay – ESPN

Executive Producers
Steve Anderson, John Skipper, Norby Williamson

Executive Editor

John Walsh

Managing Editor

Mark Gross

Director of News

Vince Doria

Senior Coordinating Producers

Michael Fountain, Jay Levy, David Miller

Coordinating Producer

Lee Fitting

Senior Coordinating Director

Jay Francis

Senior Director

Scott Favalora

Director

Lorenzo Lamadrid

Senior Coordinating Producer, Features

Craig T. Lazarus

Coordinating Producers, Features

Valerie Gordon, Tom McCollum, Victor Vitarelli

Feature Producers

Nancy Devaney, Joseph Disney, Tom Engle, Kory Kozak, Michael Sciallo, Richard Thomas, Benjamin Webber 

Associate Producers

Rick Allison, Elisa Aniskoff, Ben Branch, Matthew Brooks, Jenn Brownsmith, Derek Chang, Lee Clark, Dick Dorner, Justin Endres, Chris Fallica, Gregory Fonseca, Chris Fulton, Joalin Goff, Chad Hanna, Kirk Henry, Timothy Horgan, Dirk Howard, Robert J. Labay, Seth Madway, Timothy McShay, Rick Mickler, Wendy Nickson, Carolyn Rauen, Tim Richard, Marc Rowley, Chuck Samataro, Shelley Saunders, Nicholas Sciallo, Claudia Slocum, Jeremiah Swartz, Reginald Walker, Lynne West, Mike Whittaker, Jonathan Whyley, Steve Widuch, Jonathan Williams

Associate Directors

Brian Albon, Kristy Higgins

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – DAILY

Pardon the Interruption – ESPN

Executive Producers

Steve Anderson, David Brofsky, Tony Kornheiser, Erik Rydholm, John Skipper, Michael Wilbon, Norby Williamson

Executive Editor

John Walsh

Managing Editor

Mark Gross

Director of News

Vince Doria

Coordinating Producer

Matthew Kelliher

Directors

Mike Foss, Tom Howard

Associate Producers

Elizabeth Hardwick, Megan McHale, Michael Morrell, Frankie Nation, Matthew Ouano, Anthony Reali, Amy Shapiro

Associate Director

Bonnie Berko

OUTSTANDING SPORTS JOURNALISM
E:60/Wanted: Fugitive – ESPN2

Executive Producers
Andy Tennant, Bob Wallace

Director of News
Vince Doria

Coordinating Producers
Robert Abbott, Michael Baltierra, Robbyn Footlick

Feature Producer
Yaron Deskalo

Senior Producers
Ben Houser, Martin Khodabakhshian

Associate Producers
Pascal Charpentier, Timothy Horgan, Phil Iglesias, Dragana Jovanovic, Matt McCormick, Tim Spero, Hillary Wasch

Reporter
Jeremy Schaap

OUTSTANDING SHORT FEATURE

Inside the NFL/ Fighting for #62?The Nick Reardon Story – CBS/Showtime

Executive Producers
Harold Bryant, Sean McManus

Coordinating Producer
Pete Radovich, Jr.

Producer
Sarah Rinaldi

OUTSTANDING LONG FEATURE
E:60/Catfish Hunters – ESPN2

Executive Producers
Andy Tennant, Bob Wallace

Director of News
Vince Doria

Senior Producers
Ben Hauser, Martin Khodabakhshian

Coordinating Producers
Robert Abbott, Michael Baltierra, Robbyn Footlick

Associate Producers
Barry Dycus, Aaron Johnson, Matt McCormick, Tom Moore, Ray Sullivan, Warren Wolcott

Reporter
Wright Thompson

AND

NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship/The Magic of J?Mac – CBS
 

Executive Producer
Harold Bryant

Senior Producer
Eric Mann

Coordinating Producer
Stephen Karasik

Producer
Pete Radovich, Jr.

Associate Producers
Ken Bolkcom, Dave Brodsky, Anthony Cortese, Jim Karabin, Stuart Millstein, Mark Young

OUTSTANDING OPEN/TEASE

College Football on CBS/Army?Navy Game – CBS

Executive Producer
Harold Bryant

Coordinating Producers
Stephen Karasik, Craig Silver

Producer
Pete Radovich, Jr.

Associate Producers
Derek Ambrosi, Shelby Campbell, David Finch, Jim Karabin, Jon Taggart

  

OUTSTANDING NEW APPROACHES SPORTS EVENT COVERAGE

CBS Mobile NCAA March Madness On Demand – CBS Mobile

Executive Producers
Randy Ahn, Harold Bryant Robert Gelick, Curtis Kadohama, Jeff Sellinger

Coordinating Producers
Robert Dekas, Stephen Karasik

Coordinating Director
Robert Fishman

Senior Producer
Eric Mann

Producers
Victor Frank, Ken Mack, Robert H. Mansbach, Steve Scheer, Ross Schneiderman, Craig Silver, Mark Wolff

Directors
Michael Arnold, James Cornell, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Grant, J. Bryan Lilley, Robert Matina, Suzanne Smith, Christopher Svendsen

Associate Producers
Chris Burns, Ryan Dougherty, Adam Holzman, Brian Jagoda, Todd Keryc, Bryan Kosowski, Jawn Morales, Steve Murphy, Kurtis Perdelwitz, Brian Seeling, George Wishart

Associate Directors
Alex Bertsche, Alanna Campbell, Cory Fishman, Andrew Freedman, James W. Johnson,
Julie Landa, Steve Mc Kee, Kimani Morales, John Paquet, Jason Ross, Jonathan Segal, William Thayer

 
OUTSTANDING NEW APPROACHES SPORTS PROGRAMMING

Super Bowl MVP’s – ESPN.com

Executive Producers
Robert King, John Kosner, Patrick Stiegman

Producers
John Banks, Jeffri Chadiha, Sheldon Spencer

Feature Producer
Christina Houser

Associate Producers
Nisha Arleth, Peggy Coe, Sean Hintz, Alex Kimball, Steven Kudirka, Robert Labay, Nick Manning, Jason Potterton, Lara Sasaran, Juan Sichon, Aaron Talasnik, David Weiner

OUTSTANDING NEW APPROACHES SPORTS PROGRAMMING – SHORT FORMAT

Countdown to Vancouver – NBCOlympics.com

Executive Producers
Dick Ebersol, Perkins Miller, David Neal, Gary Zenkel

Senior Producer
Eric Hamilton

Coordinating Producers
Dave Gabel, Mark Levy, Jim Thompson

Producers
Israel DeHerrera, Phil Parrish

Associate Producers
Matthew Allen, Jamie Anton, Tom Davidson, Lena Glaser, Lee Ann Gschwind, Nikki Spetseris, Ryan Yeager

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – STUDIO HOST
Bob Costas – NBC/MLB Network

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – PLAY-BY-PLAY
Jim Nantz – CBS

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – STUDIO ANALYST

Kirk Herbstreit – ESPN

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – SPORTS EVENT ANALYST

Cris Collinsworth – NBC

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM REMOTE

Red Bull Air Race World Series – FOX Sports Net/G.R.A.C.E Productions

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM STUDIO

MLB Tonight – MLB Network

OUTSTANDING CAMERA WORK:

24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto – HBO Sports

Director of Photography
Thom Stukas

Camerapersons
Jeff Fisher, Alastair McKewitt, John Tipton

OUTSTANDING EDITING
24/7 Mayweather/Marquez – HBO Sports

Editors
Brad Buckwalter, Jonathan Katz, Dan Marks

THE DICK SCHAAP WRITING AWARD

24/7 Pacquiao/Hatton – HBO Sports

Writer
Aaron Cohen

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION/DIRECTION/LYRICS

Ted Williams – HBO Sports

Composer
Gary Lionelli

OUTSTANDING LIVE EVENT AUDIO/SOUND

NASCAR on FOX – FOX

Sound/Audio
Fred Aldous, Ben Altopp, Tim George Denmark, Barbara Hanford, Anthony Lomastro, Kevin McCloskey, Steve Onuska, Allen Slansky, Chip Weaver, Doug Wilson

OUTSTANDING POST PRODUCED AUDIO/SOUND

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals – HBO Sports/ NFL Films

Sound/Audio
Vince Caputo, Paul Flinton, Kyle Hartigan, Mike Kennedy, Jerry Mahler, Rich Markowitz, Steve Moseley, Geoff Pawlikowski, Paul Pizzica, Mark Ricci, Scott Scharf

AND

Inside the NFL/Sounds of the Year – CBS/Showtime/NFL Films

Sound/Audio
Scott Carter, Kyle Hartigan, Jesse Legrazie, Jerry Mahler, Debbie Markowitz, Shane McMartin, Geoff Pawlikowski, Paul Pizzica, Mark Ricci, Scott Scharf, Ron Schreier

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC DESIGN

MLB Tonight – MLB Network

Senior Graphic Designers
Chris Mallory

Graphic Designers
Alex Avdynshin, Jeff Boccia, C.J. Bottitta, Robert Brienza, Bob Brower, Dan Coldwell, David Corrado, Amanda Dunk, Michael Farris, Steve George, Santosh Isaac, Anthony Kounouklos, Premier Maldonado, David Mayzis, Jocelyne Meinert, Mike Moore, Jillian Nalasco, Oscar Navarro, Brian Perkins, Kaitlin Rose, Shannon Wong, Chung Wu

AND

SportsNation – ESPN2

Graphic Designers
Charlie Collin, Kyle Cooper, Mark DiGiovanna, Mark Groeschner, Dale Harney, Joe Hribar, Justin Linde, Scott Lodge, Chris Mantzaris, Paul Mitchell, Tim O’Shoughnessy, Rick Pavia, Alex Popkin, Danielle Robinson, Michael Ruddy, Renata Sedzimir, Heewon Sohn, Kristen Suermann, Michael Szykowny

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION
MLB Tonight – MLB Network

Production Designers
John Entz, Jim Fenhagen, Bruce Ferri, Gary Fippinger, Bryan Higgison, Joe Lamberta,Chris Mallory, Tony Petitti, Tony Santomauro, Michael Sheehan, Susan Stone, Karen Whritner

THE GEORGE WENSEL TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

US Open Tennis/Flomotion - CBS

Innovators
Ken Aagaard, Julianna Barbieri, Arturo Brena, Harold Bryant, Julie Curtiss, Shaun Dail, Robert Fishman, Joel Hahn, Stephen Karasik, Julie Landa, Robert H.Mansbach, John Paquet, Jason Ross, Moshe Samet, Eyal Stessel

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT – INSTITUTIONAL

Football Season Never Ends/Run – NFL Network/Motion Theory

Executive Producers
Kevin Balluff, Steve Bornstein, Dena Kaplan

Creative Director
Greg Carson

Producers
Javier Jiminez, Jason Myers, Anne Pierce, Liz Ross, Jason Trautwein

Director
Matt Cullen

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT – EPISODIC

24/7 Jimmie Johnson Race to Daytona/Mystical Forces – HBO/Ultrabland

Producer

Justin Joseph

Director

David Roofthooft

Here is the breakdown of winners by network.

The 30th Annual Emmy Awards for Sports

SUMMARY OF WINNERS BY NETWORK

HBO Sports/HBO (9)

            24/7 Mayweather-Marquez ………………………………………………….  2

            Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals ..  2

            24/7 Pacquiao-Cotto …………………………………………………………….  1

            24/7 Pacquiao -Hatton …………………………………………………………  1

            24/7 Jimmie Johnson Race to Daytona ………………………………  1

            Assault in the Ring ……………………………………………………………….  1

            Ted Williams …………………………………………………………………………  1

CBS (4)

            College Football on CBS ……………………………………………………….  1

            NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship ……………………………….  1

            Jim Nantz  ……………………………………………………………………………..  1

            US Open Tennis …………………………………………………………………….  1

MLB Network (4)

            MLB Tonight ………………………………………………………………………….   3

            Bob Costas ……………………………………………………………………………  1

NBC  (4)

            Cris Collinsworth  …………………………………………………………………  1

            Bob Costas ……………………………………………………………………………  1

            NBC Sunday Night Football  ………………………………………………….  1

            Super Bowl XLIII  …………………………………………………………………..  1

ESPN  (3)

            College GameDay…………………………………………………………………. 1

            Kirk Herbstreit ……………………………………………………………………..  1

            Pardon the Interruption ………………………………………………………..  1

ESPN2  (3)

            E: 60 ………………………………………………………………………………………  2

            SportsNation …………………………………………………………………………  1

CBS/Showtime  (2)

            Inside the NFL ……………………………………………………………………….  2

CBS Mobile   (1)

            CBS Mobile NCAA March Madness on Demand………………….. 1

ESPN.com   (1)

            Super Bowl MVPs ………………………………………………………………..  1

FOX  (1)

            NASCAR on FOX ………………………………………………………………….   1

FOX  Sports Net (1)

            Red Bull Air Race World Championship …………………………….   1

NBCOlympics.com  (1)

            Countdown to Vancouver  ………………………………………………….  1

NFL Network  (1)

            Football Season Never Ends ………………………………………………  1

Speed  (1)

            Inside the Headsets …………………………………………………………….  1

Good stuff.