Fang's Bites

A Few Tuesday Sports Media Thoughts

Time for some sports media thoughts. These have been percolating in my head all day Monday. It’s fine time to pour them out and have you peruse through them. As always, they’re in bullet form.

• Monday’s announcement from NFL Network regarding its new morning show could be a game changer for sports television. If “NFL AM” is successful, it could lead other sports networks to follow NFL Network’s lead. But if the show fails to catch on, then it will be back to the status quo with repeats of the previous night’s highlights program. With “NFL AM” set to launch on July 30 from 6-10 a.m. ET, one wonders if there will be enough content to fill the time, but as a director once told me when I was working at a Providence TV station, “Have no fear. We’ll find a way to fill the show. I’ve never had a half-hour of black,” meaning he never had to show a blank screen. That will have to be the philosophy of NFL Network for “NFL AM”. Plus with people going to work and school, not everyone will see the entire four hours.

  If the show works, I can see other league-owned channels attempting similar ventures. MLB Network’s Quick Pitch airs on a loop on most days from 1 a.m. – noon ET. That’s too long. An MLB Network morning show could work as would a morning NBA program.

  But before we get to the point of multiple live morning sports programs, “NFL AM” has to get off the ground successfully. By this time next year, we’ll have an idea whether NFL Network’s “NFL AM” is a success or a failure.

• When I began this site five years ago, Erin Andrews was the darling of the sports blogosphere. Any picture or even a slight mention of her would increase a site’s traffic. There was a reason why she was nicknamed “Erin Pageviews”. Before she re-signed with ESPN in 2010, Erin seemed to be in demand. Her star never shone brighter and it appeared that she could have the pick of any job.

  Now cut to 2012 and it appears Erin is no longer the darling of sports bloggers. Others like Michelle Beadle, Jenn Brown, Charissa Thompson and Molly Qerim et.al. have become favorites as well. This isn’t to say that the Internet is ignoring her, TMZ still pays attention even speculating that she had a boob job. And she was referenced twice in the premiere of the new HBO series, “The Newsroom”.

  Deadspin which once championed her (and was the first to link to the infamous hotel room video in 2009) came out with an article this month pointing out that Ms. Andrews seemingly has no place to go other than ESPN.

  Deadspin reported that Erin is no longer working for Good Morning America and she’s removed the reference to GMA from her Twitter bio.

  Does this necessarily mean that Erin has no other place to go than ESPN? If you believe the speculation from Deadspin and The Big Lead, the answer is yes. But does it mean that she hasn’t had any other offers or couldn’t get work if she decided to walk away from Bristol, CT?

  She can still attract viewers and page views. The NHL thought Erin had enough star power to invite her to its annual awards show last week and present two trophies. Could a league-owned channel like NHL Network find room for Erin? I’m sure it could if the opportunity was presented. But we have not heard of any offers asides from her present employer.

  Overall, I still think Erin can move the meter on the Internet and she’ll continue to so for a while. Just for how long she’ll be at ESPN is anyone’s guess.

• Without any EURO 2012 action until Wednesday’s semifinal game between Spain and Portugal, I went into soccer withdrawals. International soccer is a sport that ESPN continues to excel. Understated coverage with Bob Ley heading the studio and Ian Darke the main play-by-play man, I can easily say this is a Golden Age for soccer on American television. Couple this with having Martin Tyler calling English Premier League games on Fox Soccer and fans have been hearing some of the best announcing of the sport.

  Granted, we get hiccups like Fox’s silly dumbing down of the Champions League Final last year, but overall, the coverage on ESPN, Fox Soccer and Gol TV has been good.

  With ESPN having just the FIFA World Cup in Brazil left to broadcast, it is setting the bar very high. Fox will have a long ways to go to match ESPN’s coverage and while this year’s Champions League Final was an improvement over 2010, the network will have a big hill to climb to equal or surpass the Alleged Worldwide Leader on soccer.

• Count me as one who loved the premiere of “The Newsroom” on Sunday. I enjoyed Jeff Daniels as the erascible anchor Will McAvoy and Emily Mortimer as his idealistic Executive Producer MacKenzie McHale. Yes, in typical Aaron Sorkin fashion, some of the dialogue was overwritten, but I enjoyed the show and I hope it has a long life on HBO. As long as Sorkin doesn’t go overboard on preaching, I think the show will do just fine.

I went longer than I expected on the thoughts. That’s to your benefit.

Attempting A Friday Megalink Post

This week has been hellish for me and I apologize for not being able to post as much as I would like. I’ve been away from my computer for most of the day and by the time I get home, I’m tired and don’t want to update the blog.

Well, with me already done my errands for today, I’ll give you some linkage that has been seriously lacking this week.

Of course, there’s the Weekend Viewing Picks which you can peruse.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Jim Rome is hoping to make a splash as he prepares to launch his new daily show on CBS Sports Network.

Reid Cherner of USA Today’s Game On! blog says perpetually angry ESPN college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb is throwing his hat into the Kansas State coaching ring.

The Associated Press was on hand to witness Root Sports Northwest’s production of the Seattle Mariners-Oakland A’s regular season openers in Japan without actually traveling to the Far East.

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim has more thoughts on the numerous conflicts of interest in tennis broadcasting.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has Fox Sports’ statement on its carriage dispute with Time Warner Cable over Fox Sports San Diego.

John profiles legendary sports television producer Don Ohlmeyer.

Around the Rings has the press release regarding the European Broadcasting Union obtaining the rights to the World Cups in 2018 and 2022.

ESPN Ombudsman Jason Fry of the Poynter Institute says college basketball analyst Bob Knight should not be allowed to live by his own rules when he’s on TV.

Scott Soshnick and Steven Church of Bloomberg Businessweek says the Los Angeles Dodgers sale was sparked by media rights.

Alex Ben Block of the Hollywood Reporter says former Sony Pictures head Peter Gruber who’s part of the new Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group could bring a new attitude towards marketing the team.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable has Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott calling rights fees for college football are undervalued.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NESN National is being launched in Indianapolis.

Tim Nudd at Adweek says Chrysler is unveiling four new follow ups to its “Halftime in America” Super Bowl spots during various events this weekend including the NCAA Final Four and Mad Men.

Adweek’s Mike Shields writes ESPN.com is partaking in Facebook’s Open Graph, but with some restrictions.

Jason Del Ray at Advertising Age notes that CBS/Turner brought in its highest sales revenue ever for March Madness Live.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says March Madness has been enhanced by social media and the digital experience.

The Brothers Yoder at Awful Announcing cast the upcoming Anchorman sequel using ESPN’ers. This is good.

Ben Koo at AA is not a huge fan of the overhead shots employed by CBS/Turner for the NCAA Tournament.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says the Los Angeles Times feels there’s one person who could spoil the new ownership for the Dodgers.

Ahmed Yussuf at EPL Talk gives a first-hand account of following the English Premier League from Australia.

Sports Media Watch says last weekend’s rain-shortened NASCAR on Fox event did not do well in the ratings.

Joe Favorito asks if ‘The Hunger Games” could give archery a boost in time for this summer’s Olympics.

Jason McIntyre at The Big Lead reports that Joe Posnanski is leaving Sports Illustrated.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead says the potential Fox cable sports network may not knock down ESPN, but could give it a run for its money.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about two rival Hollywood agencies representing Tim Tebow simultaneously.

Bob’s Blitz says WFAN’s Craig Carton browbeat former Tiger Woods swing coach Hank Haney to the point where he hung up.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says CBS returns to New Orleans where it began its Final Four journey 30 years ago.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says ESPN MLB analyst Curt Schilling is facing hypocrisy calls after he criticized his former Red Sox team this week.

Chad adds some thoughts on Schilling and on NESN’s Jenny Dell that didn’t make his column.

Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch writes in SB Nation that a Tiger Woods in contention is good for The Masters^® and its TV partners.

Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times reviews this year’s edition of the MLB At-Bat app.

Richard Sandomir from the Times examines the Dodgers sale.

Anthony Riemer of Newsday looks at Jeremy Lin’s lunch with the sacked ESPN.com editor who unwittingly made a racial slur last month.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels Fox Sports’ Jimmy Johnson should not be advocating violence. I don’t think he did, Phil, but continue to hate everything, ok?

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for former Tennessee and current Sirius XM analyst Bruce Pearl on the Final Four.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty has the ESPN MAC football schedule.

Pete has CBS excited about this year’s Final Four.

Jane Kwiatkowski of the Buffalo News says this is a tough time for the local TV sportscast.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call looks at a local PBS documentary on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Laura Nachman says Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is ready for Phillies baseball.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the Fox sitcom “Raising Hope” gave another of many Capitals references.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with MLB Network’s Mitch “Wildi Thing” Williams.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle writes that the Houston Open should be helped by a lot of interesting storylines.

David says Jim Rome is getting ready for his CBS Sports Network closeup.

David writes that Texans running back Arian Foster is taking his show to the team’s radio flagship station.

In The Oklahoman, Mel Bracht has ESPN’s MLB analysts predicting the upcoming season.

Mel says there will be plenty of baseball available in the Oklahoma City market.

Mel reports a local radio station has flipped to being a full-time ESPN Radio affiliate.

Mel writes that a local radio sports director has been laid off thanks to Clear Channel.

Midwest

Elton Alexander of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer says New Orleans has provided CBS with plenty of Final Four excitement.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says a local TV station plans to ride the Kentucky train for as long as possible.

John says a couple of long-time local radio veterans got the ax due to Clear Channel cost cutting.

John writes that a radio documentary on late Cincinnati Reds voice Waite Hoyt airs this weekend.

The Indianapolis Star says Butler coach Brad Stevens will be a guest analyst for CBS on the Final Four.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes the Brewers have extended their radio rights deal with their long-time flagship station.

Bob says a local sportscaster is back to work after a long illness.

Bob tells us that Marquette coach Buzz Williams will also be a guest analyst on CBS this weekend.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes that CBS loves New Orleans at Final Four time.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says 20 Cardinals games won’t be seen by AT&T U-Verse subscribers this season.

Dan writes that the defending champions Cardinals will be in the national spotlight quite a few times this season.

West

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Fox Sports San Diego is not optimistic of getting a deal with two cable providers in time for Padres opening day.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star has ESPN’s MLB analysts praising Magic Johnson’s presence with the Dodgers.

Jim was surprised that Kentucky-Louisville wasn’t the nightcap for the Final Four.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Lakers fans are enjoying having guest analysts on radio broadcasts this season.

Tom talks with Jim Rome about his CBS Sports Network show.

Tom has more on Rome in his blog.

Canada

The usually uninformed Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC Sports appears to be rudderless as it heads into a new NHL negotiation.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the viewership numbers for Canadian sports television from last week.

And that will conclude the megalinks.

The Big Dozen Sports Media Stories of 2011

Time for the Fang’s Bites Sports Media Year in Review. The year isn’t big enough for a Top Ten, but it is big enough for a Big Dozen. Let’s get to the list and we’ll count down from 12 and also have some Honorable Mentions.

12. ESPN The Book

One of the most anticipated books of the year for the sports media was “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN” co-authored by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller. Some of the more salacious and sensational stories were leaked and released before its publication. But when all was said and done, the tome was more of a detailed history lesson of how ESPN was created and rose to become the biggest content provider in sports media. The book became a New York Times best seller and is being made into a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox.

11. ESPN vs. NBC

The battle lines have already been drawn between the two networks, but with owner, Comcast, merging its cable sports properties of Versus, Golf Channel and the Comcast SportsNet regional affiliates under the NBC Sports Group, the Peacock is positioning itself to become a major competitor to ESPN. NBC Sports has already obtained Major League Soccer and horse racing, increased NHL content, announced an Olympic presence and will create a Sunday NFL pregame show for Versus which will be rebranded this weekend.

ESPN is not sitting back aggressively expanding its college sports portfolio and keeping Monday Night Football.

With MLB, NASCAR and the BCS up for bid in 2012, NBC Sports could be strengthened with more content for its cable properties or ESPN could continue its monolithic path to World Domination.

10. UFC Signs With Fox

Mixed Martial Arts went mainstream with the Ultimate Fighting Championships signing an 8 year, multi-million dollar contract with Fox. The first UFC bout on Fox in November didn’t last very long, but it did do well in the key male demographics. Starting in January, UFC programming will be seen on various Fox platforms including FX and Fuel. Both sides expect to reap huge benefits and I would not doubt to see UFC get big bids for its second network contract in eight years.

9. Long-time Executives Leave Their Respective Networks

Just before NBC Sports was about to present its bid for the Olympics, Emperor Dick Ebersol resigned over a contract dispute. While observers thought it would leave NBC Sports vulnerable, it still won the rights for four Olympiads and kept Sunday Night Football. While he may have clashed with the new Comcast administration, Ebersol’s legacy on the network over two decades cannot be diminished. He is still working for NBC as a consultant on Sunday Night Football and will assist on the 2012 London Olympics.

HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg resigned in July after being with the network for 33 years. Under his tenure, Greenburg increased HBO’s commitment to documentaries and created the successful 24/7 reality series, not just focusing on the network’s signature sport of boxing, but reaching out to NASCAR and the NHL. Greenburg is now producing content for both NBC Sports and the NHL.

And George Bodenheimer announced late this year that he would leave as President and become Chairman of the Alleged Worldwide Leader. He’ll be succeeded by Vice President of Content John Skipper. Bodenheimer steered ESPN into high definition and helped to create ESPN 3D. Plus, he was able to make Monday Night Football into a cable series after 35 years as a network TV mainstay. Bodenheimer, who I’ve jokingly labeled the ESPN Dictator will no longer be in a day-to-day role with ESPN.

8. NBA/NFL Lockout Coverage

Two sports leagues stressed out their fans by making them wait out negotiations over collective bargaining agreements with their players. Instead of anticipating the draft or schedule releases, coverage over labor talks dominated sports media. As negotiations dragged on, reporters were camped out waiting for the latest news which came out as quickly as toothpaste being pushed out of a tube.

NFL Network and ESPN went wall-to-wall with non-stop coverage as a deal neared. The same for NBA TV.

Both leagues finally hashed out agreements and brought labor peace. Eventually, the NFL only lost a preseason game after a ten year CBA with its union. The NBA wasn’t as lucky as almost two months of its schedule was lost and it had to proceed with a reduced 66 game schedule.

7. ESPN/Univision Lose the World Cup to Fox/Telemundo

Honestly, who saw this coming? ESPN’s signature global sports event has been the World Cup. It’s been carrying the event since 1994. Univision’s history with the World Cup dates back to 1978. Both networks have been known for carrying the World’s biggest soccer games. However, that will change in 2015 when Fox and Telemundo take over the English and Spanish language US rights respectively  for two Men’s and Women’s World Cups through 2022.

ESPN and Univision were simply outbid by Fox and NBC, the owner of Telemundo. One could argue that the World Cup whose ratings have been steadily going up became a desired property thanks to ESPN’s and Univision’s coverage.

ESPN and Univision get one more World Cup to bid farewell to FIFA and that will be in Rio in 2014.

6. NBC Sports Group Keeps The NHL

Fending off a spirited bid by ESPN, NBC signed a 10 year deal to keep the NHL in the fold in a combined network and cable bid. After pledging to increase games on cable and also give fans national access to all postseason games on its platforms, NBC Sports Group was able to keep the NHL rights. Now the NHL has a permanent place to call its home and NBC has firmly committed to hockey which pleases the sport’s fans to no end.

And please, let’s not mention that ESPN would be better for the NHL.

5. ESPN’s Influence on College Sports including The Longhorn Network

It’s amazing to see how much inventory ESPN has collected in college sports. Not only has it signed the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC, several non-BCS conferences and a few individual schools to long-term contracts, it also has created the Longhorn Network for the University of Texas. The whole concept of the Longhorn Network has led to massive upheaval among the BCS conferences with Texas A&M leaving the Big 12 and heading to the SEC, the Big East’s Pittsburgh and Syracuse leaving for the ACC and other schools wanting to leave their leagues for bigger exposure and more ESPN cash.

And not only does ESPN have a hand in these chess games (despite massive denials), it has to cover all of this leading to conflicts of interest. And while ESPN pays megabucks for the NFL, its roots are firmly entrenched in college sports as we have seen with its new contract with the NCAA to air several championships.

ESPN also owns a whole host of bowl games and college basketball tournaments all of which are needed inventory for programming. By owning the games, ESPN doesn’t have to pay a rights fee. Crowds aren’t needed because ESPN makes money once the ads are sold and fees are paid by the cable and satellite providers.

ESPN’s influence in college sports will be a story that will followed for several years to come.

4. #freebruce

This story became a story thanks to SportsbyBrooks and social networking. Without these two combinations, an ESPN internal suspension might not have been noticed, reported and scrutinized. This all began with then-ESPN.com college football writer Bruce Feldman co-authored a book with former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach. In the book, Leach alleged that then-ESPN college football analyst Craig James had a hand in his firing from the school over treatment of James’ son.

Feldman says he informed his bosses that he was writing a book with Leach and got their blessing. When the book was released, ESPN suspended Feldman. It was there that blogs and social networking got involved. SportsbyBrooks reported that Feldman was suspended. ESPN denied it. Other college football writers who follow Feldman on Twitter noticed he wasn’t tweeting. The story boomeranged on ESPN. It didn’t end until Feldman left ESPN for CBS Sports.

But this whole story made observers wonder why ESPN chose to hang its hat with James.

3. CBS, ESPN, Fox and NBC Renew the NFL at a Hefty Price

Starting in 2014, the NFL will receive an estimated $5 billion in rights fees from its TV partners. That’s a huge increase from the current amount from the four networks. In addition, all of the current packages will remain with the current networks so there will be no upheaval as in the past three NFL TV contracts.

All of the networks except for ESPN have signed on for 9 years. ESPN reupped for 8. ESPN looks like it will enter the postseason with a Wild Card Playoff game. NBC gains a Thanksgiving Night game, a Divisional Playoff game and more flex scheduling. CBS and Fox also get some flex scheduling to boost their ratings.

And with CBS, Fox and NBC paying on the average of $1 billion each, the NFL has fattened its war chest. Expect another partner for a Thursday Night Football package to be announced sometime in 2012.

The NFL is the ratings king and the money is proof.

2. NBC Keeps the Olympics at a Hefty Price

There were indications before the bidding for the 2014/16 Olympics that NBC was vulnerable (see #9 above). Long-time NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol had left. ESPN and Fox showed indications that they wanted to take the Games away from NBC which had been broadcasting the Olympics since 1988. It looked like the International Olympic Committee was poised go with another TV partner. But when all was said and done, NBC had ponied up $4.38 billion for four Olympiads from 2014 through 2020 and the Olympics were firmly under the NBCUniversal umbrella.

What happened? ESPN bid for only one set of Olympics, 2014/16 and Fox made two separate bids and came close at $3.4 billion. However, when it came time to step up, NBC did and kept the Games in a very spirited bid to the IOC.

After losing money on the 2010 Winter Olympics, NBC’s parent company, Comcast claims it will be profitable on the four set of Games. That remains to be seen.

1. Penn State/Syracuse Media Coverage

Scandal once again dominated the sports media. However, in the case of Penn State, it wasn’t sports writers who uncovered the alleged molestation of young boys by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Taking the lead in the coverage was the Harrisburg Patriot-News and in particular, crime reporter Sarah Ganim. Also, Penn State’s student newspaper, the Daily Collegian didn’t sit tight either reporting the story. The national media finally caught up and Bob Costas’ interview of Sandusky on NBC’s Rock Center raised eyebrows. And while ESPN tried its best to report the story, it was way behind. The Sandusky scandal will continue as it goes to trial and it won’t be going away any time soon.

As for the Syracuse story on the alleged molestations by former Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine, ESPN had a tape of Fine’s wife, Laurie, talking to one of the accusers. The problem was, it was 8 years old and ESPN gave the appearance that it sat on the story. While network bosses tried to explain their decision, some accused ESPN of not giving what they had to the police. No matter of the explanations, ESPN’s role in this story will be debated and whatever it says won’t be enough for some critics.

There were lessons learned in the reporting of both scandals. We learned that local reporters on the ground will always have an advantage over national correspondents. And we learned that while ESPN has a good stable of reporters, it can’t be everywhere.

Honorable mentions:

• ESPN Fires Ron Franklin
• CBS/Turner 1st Partnership on the NCAA Tournament is Successful
• NFL Films Founder Ed Sabol Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• ESPN Nabs Wimbledon from NBC
• Los Angeles Lakers Sign Long-Term Deal to Create a Regional Sports Network With Time Warner Cable
• Los Angeles Dodgers Fight with Fox Over Media Rights
• Gus Johnson Leaves CBS for Fox
• Women’s World Cup Scores For ESPN
• Hank Williams, Jr. Pulled From Monday Night Football
• Matthew Barnaby Loses ESPN Gig

Coming up before the year is over, Best and Worsts in Sports Broadcasting in 2011 and Predictions for 2012.

Doing The Wednesday Links

Let’s provide some mid-week linkage for you.

Sports Business Daily recaps how ESPN’s SportsCenter handled NBA highlights on what should have been the Opening Night of the regular season.

SBD also looks at Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s agreement to sell the team at auction.

Paul Thomasch with Reuters says MLB is looking to hit the motherlode in a new round of negotiations for network TV partners.

Michael Hiestand from USA Today talks with SEC on CBS analyst Gary Danielson on LSU-Alabama.

Steve Wieberg and Steve Berkowitz of USA Today explore ESPN’s role in the realignment in college sports.

Tom Weir of USA Today says ESPN’s Jenn Brown tweeted about her experience being locked in a hotel bathroom today.

In Outkick The Coverage, Clay Travis looks into the conflicts regarding CBS’ Tony Barnhart’s reporting of Missouri to the Southeastern Conference.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch delved into ESPN’s coverage of Tim Tebow and found it bordering on the excessive.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter says singer Cee Lo “Eff You” Green will be performing on the NHL float during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. Of course, the NHL and NBC are partners as well. Green also is a judge on NBC’s “The Voice” so there’s synergy all around here.

Georg Szalai of the Reporter has Comcast’s CEO saying Telemundo’s reported $600 million deal for the World Cup will be profitable for the company.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable reports that an appeals court has again thrown out the FCC fine against CBS for airing Janet Jackson’s nipple during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life Magazine says cable had a ratings downturn in October led by ESPN’s Monday Night Football and TBS’ MLB Postseason coverage.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin notes that ESPN’s Erin Andrews had a little problem with a math concept with LSU coach Les Miles.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says ESPN.com’s comment section went haywire thanks to those writing about Tim Tebow.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Fox will buy the Dodgers again.

Darren tells us that secondary ticket prices for Saturday’s LSU-Alabama game are reaching astronomical levels.

In the Boston Globe, Bruins beat reporter Fluto Shinzawa writes about being a foodie when he travels on the road with the team.

Edward Wyatt of the New York Times looks at the Third Circuit Appeals court throwing out the FCC fine against CBS.

Mike Tanier of the Times says NFL TV analysts now have to find ways to stand out above the crowd even if it means being confrontational.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette looks at NBC Sports Network’s college hockey schedule.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union has the Week 10 College Football TV schedule.

Pete also has the Week 9 NFL TV schedule.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that Seton Hall basketball will air on ESPN Radio New York this season.

Laura Nachman says Sunday Night Football featuring the Philadelphia Eagles won primetime for NBC.

David Salter in the Patriot-News (PA) writes about the progression and in some cases, regression of women covering sports.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says Rob Dibble can’t let his 2010 firing from MASN go without firing another shot.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that the first part of the Big East’s expansion is complete. Now comes the next step.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News says the ESPN Films documentary on the Alabama-Auburn rivalry is top notch.

Dennis Pillion of Al.com notes that ESPN will go inside the Alabama football program leading up to its big game against LSU on Saturday.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle notes that DirecTV has come to terms with another local station group.

John Kiesewetter from the Cincinnati Enquirer says Time Warner Cable will air four local high school football games.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the NFL is about to release the Green Bay Packers championship DVD package.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business writes that Comcast SportsNet is trying to survive without the Bulls.

Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes that Air Force is happy to be playing on “an easy to find” TV channel this week and possibly be moving to the Big East where games are also easily found.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the Week 10 NFL TV schedule for SoCal.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times wonders if media rivals Fox and Time Warner would put forth a bid to buy the Dodgers.

Sports Media Watch has a look at the Week 8 NFL overnight ratings. First, CBS. Then Fox. To Sunday Night Football. And finally, Monday Night Football.

And SMW notes that ESPN is filling programming holes left by the NBA lockout.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the national college hockey TV schedule.

Joe Favorito says the baseball season may be over, but the sport continues to keep its brand active in the offseason.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing feels ESPN’s presentation of the MLB Gold Glove Awards did not need to be watched.

And that will do us for now.

Back With The Friday Megalinks

Due to a crazy schedule for most of this week and then having a medical procedure done yesterday, I have not been able to blog like I’ve wanted to. Links have been scarce, but I’m available to do them now and hopefully, won’t be interrupted.

Your Weekend Viewing Picks have your sports and entertainment programming for Halloween weekend. Let’s get to the links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that Tim McCarver has been broadcasting for a very long time and reports that Ron Franklin makes a return to the broadcast booth next week.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter writes that if the NBA loses an entire season, corporate partners Time Warner and Disney would take some hits in the short term, but see moderate profits in the long term.

Philiana Ng of the Reporter says Game 6 of the World Series dominated the primetime ratings on Thursday.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says DirecTV is crying foul to the FCC about Fox’s ad in their carriage dispute over several networks including FX, 19 Fox Sports Net affiliates, Fox Soccer and Speed.

George Winslow of B&C notes that NASCAR.com has developed the first app for Google TV.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says MSG Varsity will stream high school games for co-owned Cablevision subscribers.

Mike says last week’s bidding for US World Cup media rights doesn’t help FIFA’s corrupt reputation.

ESPN Ombudsman Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute delves into ESPN’s role in the college sports realignment game.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writes in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center that baseball’s problems are magnified when a historic moment as in last night’s World Series Game 6 comes so late for East Coast viewers.

Ben Koo from Awful Announcing criticizes MLB.com for its silly policy of not allowing websites like mine to embed certain videos.

Awful Announcing gives praise to Joe Buck for his plagiarized call of David Freese’s walk off home run in last night’s Game 6 World Series.

Deadspin’s AJ Daulerio exchanged e-mails with Buck on his call.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid notes that a Dallas TV station jumped the gun in saying the Texas Rangers won the World Series last night.

Sports Video Group reports that CTV/TSN has won the Canadian rights to the FIFA World Cups from 2015 through 2022.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell explains why we’re suddenly closer to an NBA deal and a complete 82 game season.

Sports Media Watch writes about the World Series Game 6 ratings.

Dave Kohl in the Broadcast Booth looks at the reporting on Dan Wheldon’s death.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe looks at the World Series ratings vs.the NFL this season.

Bill Doyle from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with Fox 25′s Kristine Leahy.

Newsday’s Neil Best looks at MLB Network’s latest Bob Costas special with Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

Neil says ESPN2′s SportsNation will do an ode to LIVE with Regis and Kelly on Monday.

Over to the New York Post where Phil Mushnick is again filled with hatred.

Justin Terranova of the Post has 5 questions for Sirius XM MLB Network Radio co-host Jim Duquette.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Fox finally got a ratings payoff for the World Series.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com has the latest on the Baltimore-Washington, DC sports media.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner interviews the host of Bloomberg’s weekly “Sportfolio” program.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says former Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder gets the opportunity to talk about his former team twice a week on local sports radio.

Barry Horn at the Dallas Morning News writes that Game 6 of the World Series is now the most watched baseball game in the history of the Metroplex.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle says the Texans continue to top the local TV ratings.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes ESPNU will air a basketball fundraiser for the Joplin, MO tornado victims.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter from the Cincinnati Enquirer talks with local website owners who want businesses to help ensure the Bengals won’t be blocked out in the local market.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press writes that viewers are the losers in the DirecTV/Fox carriage dispute.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tells us that Week 7′s Vikings-Packers game was the most watched TV program of last week, topping all network programming.

Bob notes that Milwaukee and surrounding towns are part of a rare TV marketplace where a significant amount of viewers still don’t have cable or satellite.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business notes that classic Bulls games will be aired on Comcast SportsNet during the winter.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan Caesar writes that Fox has hit the megaload with a long World Series.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that last week’s brawl with Arizona gave UCLA some TV time, but for the wrong reasons.

Jim Carlisle in the Ventura County Star says Christmas doesn’t need NBA games.

Jim notes that ESPN took a big hit when it lost the World Cup bidding to Fox.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News talks with ESPN’s College GameDay’s Lee Corso.

Tom talks with SoCal broadcaster Steve Physioc.

Tom says people are confused over the battlelines in the DirecTV/Fox carriage dispute.

Tom talks with Dan Patrick about the #occupygameday movement.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that CTV/TSN has wrested the World Cup rights away from CBC.

Let’s Do Some Monday Linkage

Ok, I won’t be in all day on Tuesday, although I will have my iPad and I’ll try to post any breaking news from a conference in Taunton, MA tomorrow. But while I’m in the office now, it’s time for some linkage.

Starting with Sports Business Daily, we learn that Game 4 of the World Series soundly beat Sunday Night Football, but the rating was still the lowest Game 4 overnight ever.

SBD talks with ESPN’s Michael Wilbon about working ten years on “Pardon The Interruption”.

To SBD’s sister publication, Sports Business Journal and John Ourand who looks at NBC Sports’ move to pack up its operations and move to Connecticut.

Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated says Tim McCarver is no longer useful as an analyst. I totally agree.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says a unique four-way trade between three networks allowed CBS to air the November 5th LSU-Alabama game in primetime.

Soccer writer extraordinaire Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated has some thoughts and concerns on Fox’s winning bid for the FIFA World Cups from 2015 through 2022.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that Fox’s and Telemundo’s winning World Cup bids definitely upset the soccer TV apple cart.

Bill Cromwell from Media Life Magazine says Fox’s and Telemundo’s bids show soccer has truly arrived on the big stage in the United States.

Multichannel News looks at MLB Network’s offseason studio show schedule.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball looks at the final ratings for Game 4 of the World Series on Fox.

A couple of media moves.

Congratulations to Timothy Burke, the owner of the 30fps.Mocksession and Gifulmation sites. He becomes the Video/Assignment Editor for Deadspin. Timothy had been with SportsGrid.

And a heartfelt congrats to Kristi Dosh, the Sports Biz Miss, who now becomes ESPN’s Sports Business reporter. Kristi’s site which she founded, the Business of College Sports will be headed up now by Alicia Jessop.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders why Tim Tebow has so many haters.

Keith Thibault from Sports Media Journal feels the Red Sox media coverage during the postseason is a teaching moment for journalism students.

Sheldon Spencer of ESPN’s Front Row PR blog looks at the 200 head gear picks Lee Corso has made on ESPN College GameDay.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick wishes he can listen to the World Series on radio.

Newsday’s Neil Best looks at the World Series ratings.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union explores the CBS move of LSU-Alabama into primetime.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says Army-Air Force now gets a network TV timeslot.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner asks if the Big 12 will poach other conferences in order to survive.

Tom Jones in the St. Petersburg Times has a look back at the weekend in sports television.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says World Series Game 4 outrated the Cowboys in the Metroplex on Sunday.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says the Texans are receiving praise from the national media.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Carson Palmer’s debut for the Raiders did well locally, but not enough to make the KC-Oakland game #1 in the market.

John says HBO’s Boxing After Dark will be in town next month.

Bob Wofley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has Fox’s Jimmy Johnson warning the Packers about a couple of tough games coming up.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch feels ESPN should have given Albert Pujols historic night more play over the Michigan State Hail Mary pass.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post says Broncos QB Tim Tebow remains under the national media’s microscope.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Times has your sports calendar for this week.

Raju Mudhar from the Toronto Star feels the NHL has a chance to gain some ground on the NBA during the league’s extended lockout.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has some Monday thoughts.

Sports Media Watch says ratings were flat for the only Chase for the Sprint Cup NASCAR race on network television.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media speaks with ESPN’s John Buccigross.

Bob’s Blitz has the video of ESPN’s Hannah Storm helping out Josina Anderson during a live spot during Sunday’s SportsCenter.

Robert Littal of Black Sports Online has the video of CBS’ Greg Gumbel dissing wrestler Hulk Hogan for his diss of Broncos QB Tim Tebow. Man, Tim Tebow is such a lightning rod.

And that’s where I’ll end it for today.

Providing Some Sunday Linkage

Let’s do some linkage on this Sunday morning. Some good stuff to get to.

TVbytheNumbers says World Series Game 3 easily won the primetime ratings last night over college football and repeats on NBC.

The Associated Press has an in-depth story on how Fox and Telemundo won the rights to the 2015-22 World Cups.

Marisa Guthrie and Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter report on NBCUniversal’s all-in bid for Telemundo for the rights to FIFA’s World Cups from 2015 through 2022.

R. Thomas Umstead from Multichannel News writes on the winning bids by Fox and Telemundo for the US media rights to the World Cup.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel says a Cox Cable employee in Arizona has pleaded guilty to inserting a brief clip of a porno movie during the Super Bowl in 2009.

Also from Multichannel, Mike Reynolds writes that Golf Channel is adding five international tournaments to close out 2011.

Oh here we go again. There’s another silly carriage dispute and it involves Fox again. Remember last year’s Cablevision/Fox dispute that left the network off cable systems in New York and Philadelphia? Well, this time Fox is having a dispute with DirecTV and among the channels that could be pulled: FX, Fox Soccer & Fox Soccer Plus, Speed, Fuel and 19 Fox Sports Net regional channels. That’s just great. We get the latest from Alex Weprin from TV Newser.

John Ourand from Sports Business Daily also looks at the Fox/DirecTV dispute.

Phil Swann of TV Predictions has a suggestion on how to prevent these disputes in the future.

Richard Pagliaro of Tennis Magazine writes that ESPN has obtained the online rights of several women’s tennis tournaments.

Glenn Davis from SportsGrid has the video of Michigan State’s amazing Hail Mary pass to win last night’s game against Wisconsin.

At the Sox & Dawgs blog, good friend Ian Bethune has the full page ad former Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein placed thanking Red Sox fans.

Jeré Longman of the New York Times looks at Fox and Telemundo winning the World Cup bids.

Newsday’s Neil Best looks back at the 25th anniversary of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series from NBC’s point of view.

The great Bob Glauber of Newsday has a story on several NFL teams showing concern about being miked up for games and having their signals heard not only on TV, but by opposing teams.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has the preposterous theory that the World Series is watered down.

Paul Tharp of the Post says the lure of tax breaks led NBC Sports to move its headquarters to Connecticut.

Harvey Zucker of the Jersey Journal reviews ESPN’s documentary on boxer Chuck Wepner, affectionately known as “The Bayonne Bleeder” and one who knocked down Muhammed Ali.

Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post says the Nationals deserve a better TV deal.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Navy’s associate athletic director about allowing Showtime to film a year-long documentary on its rivalry with Army.

Mike Mooneyham from the Charleston (SC) Post & Courier looks at E:60′s profile of WWE wrestler Scott Hall.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times notes that Florida State and Tampa Bay Bucs radio voice Gene Deckerhoff is pulling off a unique double dip this weekend.

David Knox of the Birmingham (AL) News talks with ESPN college football analyst Ed Cunningham who is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Doug Demmons of the News says ESPN is pleased with its NASCAR Non-Stop Coverage.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN’s Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge got the job done during last night’s Texas Tech-Oklahoma game.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says CBS has relented and the market will get today’s Oakland-KC game and Carson Palmer’s Raiders debut.

John notes that Joe Morgan’s syndicated radio show has changed from a nightly program to weekends-only.

Kathleen Lavey from the Lansing (MI) State Journal writes about the crowd that showed up for ESPN’s College GameDay on the Michigan State campus yesterday.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks with ESPN College GameDay’s Lee Corso about how elaborate his headgear picks have become.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with MLB Network host and Gateway City native Greg Amsinger.

Dan says Joe Buck’s voice rose to the occasion in last night’s World Series Game 3.

The Los Angeles Times’ Lisa Dillman says some soccer fans fear the Fox cross promotion for the World Cup.

Sports Media Watch says the SEC on CBS fell to near season-low ratings.

SMW says college football on ABC is way up this season.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Versus is having an up-and-down start to the NHL season.

Joe Favorito says Dan Wheldon’s death should not halt IRL’s initiatives to be more transparent with the public.

And we’ll end it there for today. The Sunday NFL pregame quotage will be posted throughout the day.

Telemundo Crows About World Cup Rights

We have the official announcement from NBC Universal’s Telemundo obtaining the rights to the FIFA World Cups starting in 2015 and running through 2022. Under the agreement announced Friday by FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, Fox and Telemundo will air the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019 and the Men’s World Cup in 2018 and 2022. Telemundo will take the US Spanish language rights away from Univision. This marks the first time that Telemundo will air the World’s most popular event.

Famed soccer announcer Andres Cantor will become the Voice of the World Cup for Telemundo and be used extensively for FIFA events on the network.

In addition, NBC Universal will utilize sister Spanish language network mun2 to compliment Telemundo’s coverage. We have the press release from Telemundo.

TELEMUNDO ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE SPANISH LANGUAGE U.S. MEDIA RIGHTS TO FIFA WORLD CUP

NBCUNIVERSAL’S TELEMUNDO ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE SPANISH LANGUAGE U.S. MEDIA RIGHTS TO FIFA WORLD CUP SOCCER FROM 2015 THROUGH 2022
Historic Deal Makes Telemundo Media Home to FIFA World Cup

NEW YORK – Oct. 21, 2011 – For the first time in its broadcast history, NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Media has acquired the exclusive Spanish language U.S. media rights to FIFA World Cup Soccer across all platforms (except radio) from 2015 through 2022, which includes the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, among other FIFA events. The joint announcement was made today by NBCUniversal and FIFA.

The agreement includes exclusive U.S. Spanish language all platform media rights (excluding radio) for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada – the year before NBCUniversal broadcasts the 2016 Rio Olympic Games – the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, FIFA Confederations Cup and all Under-20 and Under-17 FIFA World Cup matches in this time period. Additionally, the all-encompassing media agreement includes exclusive coverage and promotion of FIFA soccer events across multiple NBCUniversal properties including Spanish-language broadcast and cable television, Internet, broadband, wireless and Video-On-Demand.

“This landmark deal for Telemundo represents perhaps the greatest milestone in its history,” said Lauren Zalaznick, Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media. “The acquisition of the FIFA World Cup, one of the world’s great sporting events, speaks directly to the commitment NBCUniversal has made in the future of Telemundo and to our diverse U.S. Hispanic communities that we serve.”

“We are extremely honored to be the Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup Soccer from 2015-2022 and bring this powerful property to our viewers with the high-production value they have come to expect from Deportes Telemundo,” said Emilio Romano, President of Telemundo. “Soccer is much more than a sport; it is a cultural phenomenon that inspires billions around the world and unites every community in a single language, the language of soccer. We are delighted to partner with FIFA to continue to grow the game of soccer in the United States.”

As part of the largest programming acquisition in its history, Telemundo – the fastest growing network in any language – becomes, for the first time ever, the exclusive U.S. Spanish language home of the FIFA World Cup. With the full promotional support of NBCUniversal, the Telemundo broadcast network and its local stations, cable network mun2, and all of Telemundo Media’s associated online platforms will feature coverage of all FIFA Men and Women’s World Cup games from 2015 through 2022. Additionally, both Telemundo and mun2 will provide extensive coverage of the FIFA Confederations Cup, FIFA Men’s and Women’s U-17 World Cup, FIFA Men’s and Women’s U-20 World Cup as well as live coverage of the official draws and ceremonies.

Andres Cantor, Telemundo’s Emmy-award winning sports anchor known as the “voice of soccer” around the world, will now become the play-by-play “face of soccer” for Telemundo’s FIFA World Cup coverage. Deportes Telemundo has produced soccer events for over two decades.

In addition to the FIFA events, Telemundo currently owns the exclusive U.S. broadcast and online rights to certain away FIFA World Cup qualifying matches of The Mexican National Team and the home of Mexico’s most popular club team Las Chivas de Guadalajara making Deportes Telemundo the premiere destination to the most comprehensive Spanish-language soccer coverage in the United States starting in 2015.

And I’ll post a few more press releases before calling it a night.

Official FIFA Announcement On Fox & Telemundo

We have the official announcement from FIFA awarding the US media rights to the Men’s and Women’s World Cups ranging from 2015 through 2022. Fox gets the English language rights for TV and radio. Fox reportedly paid a total of $450-$500 million to wrest the rights from ESPN which had aired the event consecutively dating back to 1994.

NBCUniversal’s Telemundo won the Spanish language TV rights at a reported price of $600 million. It takes the World Cup away from long-time incumbent Univision.

Of course , ESPN and Univision still have the rights to the 2014 Men’s World Cup in Brazil and will air that event in the summer of tat year.

We have the press release from FIFA.

FIFA Awards US TV Rights for 2015-2022

The FIFA Executive Committee today (21 October 2011) ratified the bids from two US media companies for the TV rights for the period 2015-2022.

Fox (including radio rights) and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Media (Spanish-language, excluding radio rights) have acquired the exclusive U.S. media rights to FIFA World Cup football across all platforms from 2015 to 2022, which includes the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and other FIFA events.

Fútbol de Primera Radio has acquired the Spanish-language radio rights.

And Fox Sports El Jefe del Mundo David Hill has issued this statement.

“We are truly honored for FIFA to award the Fox Sports Media Group these extremely important rights. The FIFA World Cup and Women’s World Cup are two of the world’s biggest competitions. It is our privilege to be entrusted with these rights in the United States from 2015 through 2022.”

This was a surprise for Fox to win this bid. I expected FIFA to go back to ESPN/Univision or turn to NBC if it wanted a change. Normally, FIFA would award World Cup rights to the network also airing MLS and with Fox losing them after this season, I considered Fox to be a longshot.

However, FIFA decided to go with Fox based on its commitment to the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. I’m sure we’ll see Fox using FX, Fox Soccer and to a lesser extent, Fox Sports Net affiliates to air games. We’ll find out more as the days progress.

Fox & Telemundo Win Rights to FIFA World Cups in 2018/2022

Fox won with a bid around $500 million. Telemundo took Spanish rights for $600 million. Both ESPN and Univision said they were outbid. More to follow.

Putting Together A Few Thursday Links

I’ll give you some linkage. Won’t be able to give you a whole set, but I’ll give you what I can as I have to do the Friday features, Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks, College Football Viewing Picks, NFL Viewing Picks and Weekend Viewing Picks tonight. I won’t be able to blog extensively on Friday as I’ll be away from my computer, but I will have my iPad to post any important press releases and breaking news as necessary.

But for now, this is what we have.

Sports Business Daily notes the lower ratings for Fox for World Series Game 1 on Wednesday, but more importantly, it won the night for the network.

SBD also looks at the media fallout from Bryant Gumbel’s comments on HBO’s Real Sports earlier this week in regards to NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today wonders if the 2011 World Series is on track to become the lowest rated World Series ever.

The Big Lead notes that Fox’s Tim McCarver knew how to spell S-T-R-I-K-E, but didn’t know how many letters there were.

Lindsay Rubino of Broadcasting & Cable notes that Fox won the night in the 18-49 demographic thanks to the World Series.

Phil Swann of TV Predictions says Fox’s HD picture of World Series Game 1 was much improved from the American League Championship Series.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter writes that the NHL has signed a rights deal to have all of its games streamed in Scandinavia. This is after ESPN America lost the rights to air NHL games across Europe.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that the NFL is the king of the TV ratings heap.

Dan Shanoff writes a guest column for CNBC’s Darren Rovell about the NFL’s new Venture Capital fund.

The U.S. Open and the United States Tennis Association are looking to add another day to the tournament and ending it on a Monday. CBS is considering the change.

Brandon Costa from Sports Video Group notes that NBC is putting the infrastructure in place to ensure a smooth brand transition from Versus to NBC Sports Network.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call can’t believe Two and a Half Men actually beat the NFL in the ratings thus far.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says Fox is concerned about winning the night, not low ratings projections for the World Series.

The Orlando Sentinel has a primer on how fans can watch tonight’s Central Florida-UAB game.

From the Dallas Morning News, Barry Horn writes that local ratings for the World Series were not as good as St. Louis’.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that E:60 did a piece on a local woman whose husband had to work on her after a bicycle accident.

George Hesselberg at the Wisconsin State Journal notes that outgoing MLB Commissioner Bud Selig got a sweetheart deal from the University of Wisconsin to use an office to write his memoirs and so he can also watch MLB Network which is usually not available on campus.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Game 1 of the World Series ended too quickly for Fox’s liking.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the US TV bidding for the 2018/’22 World Cups.

Tom has your football schedule for the weekend complete with pictures of his new sweetheart, ESPN’s Jenn Brown.

Sports Media Watch has the final ratings of this year’s League Championship Series.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Versus got low viewership for Colorado-Toronto on Monday.

Steve has some ideas for NHL Overtime on Versus.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has video of Joe Buck apologizing to America before last night’s World Series Game 1. Joe Buck is such as a jerk.

I have to end it there. I keep getting interrupted and I can’t anything done. Back later.

Bringing Out The Thursday Links

Wednesday was a lost cause for me as I was away from the office all day and spending time with my week old nephew in Boston. I helped my sister out with a few things as she’s dealing with her first child. There will be days like that on the blog for the next few weeks so please be patient. For the next time that occurs, I’ll do my best to write features ahead of time so the blog won’t be completely bare like it was Wednesday.

Let’s do the links.

Sports Business Daily addresses the fallout of the Boston Globe article on the Red Sox September swoon authored by Bob Hohler, but seemingly came directly from the Red Sox front office on the collapse of the team and the sullying of former manager Terry Francona.

Current’s Keith Olbermann, a friend of Terry Francona, comes to the ex-Red Sox manager’s defense and fires back at Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino.

Nate Davis of USA Today writes that CBS NFL analyst Phil Simms once talked with the late Raiders owner Al Davis to become a coach of the team.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand has Fox Sports less than bullish on using Hank Williams, Jr. on any of its programming.

From the ESPN Ombudsman, Jason Fry and Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute give their take on ESPN’s handling of the Hank Williams, Jr. mess.

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated says soccer insiders are very interested in seeing whether ESPN or NBC Sports Group wins the bidding for the 2018/2022 World Cups.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand handicaps the World Cup rights race.

Lindsay Powers of the Hollywood Reporter says a rain delay in the American League Championship Series last night ended up hurting Fox in the primetime ratings.

Timothy Burke at SportsGrid notes that Tim McCarver was proven tremendously wrong during Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says a dominant Jimmie Johnson is not good for NASCAR.

ESPN PR man Nate Smeltz in the ESPN Front Row blog tells us how the network will replace NBA games in the first two weeks of the canceled regular season.

Patrick Bernard of the Stamford (CT) Patch wonders if NBC Sports will move its operations to Stamford, CT.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir feels the NBA season could stand to lose some more games.

From the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record, Ken McMillan says Army’s basketball season opener will be aired live on CBS Sports Network.

Paul J. Gough of the Pittsburgh Business Times writes that the Pirates will have a new radio flagship next season.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says the Nationals have hired a consultant to help them get fair market value from MASN for their TV rights.

Dan Kausler, Jr. of the Birmingham (AL) News talks with ESPN’s BCS guru about Alabama and LSU.

Greg Auman at the St. Petersburg Times speaks with ESPN’s Urban Meyer about his coaching future and his work at the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

In the Daily Oklahoman, Mel Bracht says this year’s renewal of the annual Red River Shootout did monster ratings in Oklahoma City.

The Indiana Pacers and Fox Sports Indiana have announced that Brooke Olzendam (Collins) will be the team’s new host/sideline reporter of its broadcasts if and when the season gets underway.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that Fox Sports Wisconsin is keeping mostly mum on losing Bucks games.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Times has a look at the football TV schedule, both college and pro for this week.

Tom quotes Lakers legend Jerry West on the late broadcaster Chick Hearn.

J.J. Fidler of the Grunion (CA) Gazette writes about a local woman who has hit the big time with Fox.

The Oregonian reports that ESPN has chosen the spot on the University of Oregon campus from where ESPN’s College GameDay will air live this Saturday.

The Thoroughbred Times notes that ESPN will air a documentary on ill-fated Triple Crown candidate Charismatic.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR seems to be finally picking up from its 2010 ratings woes.

SMW notes that this year’s American League Championship Series got a ratings boost from Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Tuesday’s edition of NHL Overtime on Versus almost became Fight Night.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing says Terry Francona’s too brief gig with should have taught the networks something staying about the status quo.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth notes that three Midwestern radio stations had interesting local baseball-football doubleheaders over a two day span last week.

And that’s where we’ll end things for now. I’ll do my best to catch up with the press releases.

The Complete Friday Megalinks

Friday’s have become maddening. I was out of the office earlier today and expect to be out again later, but I’m doing the Megalinks early so I can be done with them and be free for other stuff tonight.

As always, check out the Weekend Viewing Picks for the sports and entertaining programming.

National

We’ll begin with Andy Staples from Sports Illustrated who writes that the Longhorn Network has suddenly created a big problem for Big 12 Conference schools not named “Texas.”

Gavin J. Blair of the Hollywood Reporter says one of Japan’s networks will begin airing women’s soccer in the wake of the country’s win in the Women’s World Cup last week.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says MSG Network will celebrate Baseball Hall of Fame Weekend with a marathon of Halls of Fame specials.

Jessica Shambora of Fortune says ESPN succeeds where other cable channels don’t.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid notes that NFL Players Association Executive DeMaurice Smith snuck up on ESPN reporters George Smith and Chris Mortensen during a live shot on Thursday.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser has former Howard Stern Show castmember Artie Lange confirming that he’s in talks to do a Fox Sports Radio show.

Karen Hogan of the Sports Video Group mentions that ESPN Films will premiere a new documentary on famed Georgia running back Herschel Walker in September.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell tells us that he’s going to sing the national anthem before a selected MLB game next month.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media waxes poetic about Mike Emrick’s departure as Voice of the New Jersey Devils.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has the site’s next matchup in its Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament, Joe Buck vs. Jim Gray. That’s a tough choice.

Ryan Yoder from AA says ESPN is taking a chance on airing live poker.

Joe Favorito asks who really benefits from the World Cup?

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs has a review of the week in sports media.

Dom Cosentino of Deadspin notes that San Francisco Giants announcer Jon Miller is still bitter about his firing by ESPN.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with Sunday Night Baseball analyst Bobby Valentine about his first year in the broadcast booth.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir talks with Mike Emrick about his decision to leave the New Jersey Devils.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes that the Derek Jeter 3,000 hit chase has put a famous memorabilia company into the spotlight one again.

Neil talks about New Jersey announcers departing their teams after long runs.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post admits that he loves to hate WFAN’s Mike Francesa.

Justin Terranova of the Post writes about Hall of Fame announcer Mike Emrick leaving the New Jersey Devils after 21 seasons.

Justin has five questions for ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with an NBC Sports executive about how its summer horse racing series from Saratoga came to fruition.

Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com writes in Press Box that one Baltimore TV station is cutting back on its sports coverage.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg revels in an on-air argument on one of the local sports radio stations in the DC Sports Bog.

South

At the Houston Chronicle, Brent Zwerneman writes that Texas A&M officials are very concerned about the Longhorn Network and what it means for the future of the Big 12 Conference.

The Chronicle’s David Barron has statements from Big 12 Commissioner Don Beebe and Longhorn Network owner ESPN about the conference’s temporary cease-and-desist order on airing high school football games and a Texas conference game.

David says the Longhorn Network saga could make for good reality TV.

David says while Longhorn Network is prevented from airing high school football for now, Fox Sports Southwest will have an NFL Red Zone Channel-like high school football block on Friday nights.

Suzanne Halliburton of the Austin Statesman-American says Longhorn Network programming is currently in limbo.

From the Daily Oklahoman, Mel Bracht writes that ESPN will document the Oklahoma football program as it prepares for the 2011 campaign.

Midwest

John Erardi of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that ESPN’s Barry Larkin is coming back to the Queen’s City this Sunday.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press writes that a local TV sports director is back on the job after corrective neck surgery.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business has this week’s winners and losers.

Roman Augustoviz says WNBA star Maya Moore will give viewers an inside look at the WNBA All-Star Game tomorrow.

West

John Maffei at the North County Times says there’s too much money being left on the table for an extended NFL lockout.

Bill Shakin of the Los Angeles Times writes that court documents show MLB was very skeptical of how Fox’s money for an extended rights deal could have helped the Dodgers remain competitive.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Minnesota Twins analyst Bert Blyeven credits Dodgers voice Vin Scully for helping him to become a Hall of Fame pitcher.

Jeff Faraudo of the San Jose Mercury Times reports that ESPN Deportes now has an affiliate in the Bay Area.

Jon Wilner of the Mercury Times tries to handicap what will happen next with the Pac-12 Network.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail looks at Bryant Gumbel’s closing comments on the US Women’s soccer team on HBO’s Real Sports.

And that’s going to do it. Stay cool on this scorcher of a day.

Cranking Out Some Mid-Week Linkage

Time for some Wednesday links. Let’s get to them.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has his reaction to the ESPN Ombudsman column on the Bruce Feldman suspension or non-suspension depending on whom you choose to believe.

Sports Business Daily looks at the media reaction to the death of Myra Kraft, the wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Mrs. Kraft had cancer and died this morning at the age of 68.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at why the NBA an entire regular season TV schedule in the wake of its lockout.

Gavin J. Blair of the Hollywood Reporter writes that the Women’s World Cup Final got huge ratings in Japan even with the game starting at 3:45 a.m. in Tokyo.

At Broadcasting & Cable, R. Thomas Umstead writes that HBO has set a premiere date for its new documentary on Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

R. Thomas Umstead has an article in Multichannel News talking about the NBA going all in with full TV schedules for ESPN and TNT despite an ongoing lockout.

In Radio Ink, Chadd Scott speaks with Atlanta sports radio duo Chuck and Chernoff about moving to a new timeslot.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine looks at the drop in viewership for the ESPY’s.

Over to Timothy Burke at SportsGrid who notes that while ESPN is now embracing Twitter, it still doesn’t understand the service.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says MLB isn’t happy over the use of the Giants logo in an alternative weekly newspaper ad.

Cam Martin of SportsNewer notes that CBS’ Lesley Visser will be marrying for the second time this weekend. Her previous marriage to Dick Stockton ended in divorce last year following 28 years together.

To Ryan Yoder of Awful Announcing who tries to determine when ESPN lost its journalistic integrity.

Stuart Elliot of the New York Times writes that McDonald’s will be walking a fine line with its sponsorship of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times-Union breaks news that the Versus brand will be retired by the end of the year.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that NBC begins airing its horse racing series, “Summer at Saratoga” this weekend.

At the Allentown (PA) Morning Call, Keith Groller agrees with HBO’s Bryant Gumbel commentary on the US Women’s Soccer team.

To the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog where Dan Steinberg has video of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s Chick Hernandez losing it on the air after co-anchor Julie Donaldson made a funny.

Dan says the Washington Wizards’ JaVale McGee is having a Twitter fashion feud with ESPN’s Michael Wilbon.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes that the Magic’s Dwight Howard must feel slighted as the NBA’s TV networks fawn over Florida’s other team.

Don Kausler, Jr. of the Birmingham (AL) News says the University of Alabama is part of Fox Sports Net’s early SEC football schedule.

The University of Texas’ official sports site interviewed ESPN’s Stephanie Druley who’s in charge of getting the Longhorn Network off the ground.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that Women’s World Cup Final on Sunday topped the local ratings on Sunday.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business says it’s a good thing the Bulls’ schedule is backloaded with marquee games in case the NBA lockout is settled midway through the 2011-12 season.

From the Arizona Republic, Jim Gintonio writes that Phoenix Coyotes TV voice Dave Strader is leaving to take a full-time position with NBC/Versus. Thanks to Steve Lepore of Puck The Media for the link.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News wasn’t sure exactly when Lesley Visser divorced ex-husband Dick Stockton. If you were with me in March, you’ll remember this story from Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post in which Lesley mentions her divorce.

The Los Angeles Times’ TJ Simers talks with Angels analyst Mark Gubicza about his daughter who’s 2 years removed from having brain surgery to end seizures.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says a local sports talk morning drive host understands why he’s losing his show as his station undergoes a format change.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog notes that the format change means one reporter is leaving for TSN Radio.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has some suggestions for CTV as it counts down to one year until the 2012 Olympics in London.

Andrew Bucholtz at The Good Point looks at ESPN’s struggle with ethics in the wake of the Bruce Feldman suspension or non-suspension. I have some quotes in the story.

To The Daly Planet where John Daly leaves clues on a potential new TV partner for NASCAR.

Wendy Parker at Extracurriculars says it’s time to take off the kid gloves when it comes to women’s sports.

Sox & Dawgs looks at a new movie focusing on former Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee.

That is where we’ll end the linkage for today.

Sunday Was A Big Day On ESPN

Sunday was the type of day ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen had to be dreaming about when he created the all-sports network back in 1979. It started with the final round of the Open Championship from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. Then transitioning to the Women’s World Cup Final between the USA and Japan, the epic game that ran until just about 5:30 p.m. And it was all capped off by Sunday Night Baseball between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, a 16-inning marathon that ended at 1:57 a.m. early Monday.

Thanks to the fine people at ESPN for getting me the numbers for what turned out to be an epic sports day. We have the ratings and the viewership

Open Championship, Final Round: 8 a.m. — 1:36 p.m.: 2.6 rating/3.2 million viewers

Women’s World Cup Final, USA vs. Japan: 2:30 p.m. — 5:30 p.m.: 7.4 rating/13.458 million viewers

Sunday Night Baseball, Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays: 7:59 p.m. — 1:57 a.m.: 2.0 rating

Average rating: 2.8 rating

Average viewership: 3.861 million viewers

Overall, a busy day for ESPN and you can also factor in that World Cup Live postgame for USA-Japan also received an astonishing 5.9 million viewers so people stuck with the network for the aftermath.

Thanks to Bill Hofheimer at ESPN’s public relations department for helping me with the ratings and viewership.

A Full Tuesday Linkfest! Finally!

For the last week, I haven’t been able to do a full set of links. Work has been crazy, but I hope to give one today. It’s either going to the other office or heading out with the boss to various work sites or head to meetings, but today should be calmer.

I’ve started a series on People You Should Follow on Twitter in response to Sports Illustrated’s list published last week. Part 1 was posted Monday night and Part 2 came out Tuesday night. Look for more installments throughout the week.

Let’s get started.

First, ESPN Ombudsman Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute writes about the ESPN/Bruce Feldman suspension/non-suspension and for some reason, doesn’t do full due diligence on the story.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing does an excellent point-by-point takedown of the Ombudsman’s acceptance of ESPN’s company line on the Feldman suspension.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has graphic evidence of ESPN Radio Hack Colon Cowherd being a complete idiot.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand notes that ESPN is about to fully embrace Twitter and social media.

In the Business of College Sports, Kristi Dosh has a fascinating post on which sports turn a profit for BCS schools and which ones don’t.

Mike Reynolds from Mulitchannel News writes about the Women’s World Cup Final resonating with viewers.

Mike says a marketing firm is looking to package two pre-World Cup Western Hemisphere qualifying tournaments to networks.

Emma Bazilian of Adweek looks at Ross Greenburg’s departure from HBO Sports.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life Magazine goes inside the Women’s World Cup’s stellar ratings.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Jason Fry writes about the marriage between sports and Twitter.

Vinnie Iyer of AOL Sporting News has HBO being optimistic that a new edition of Hard Knocks will be filmed this summer. Thanks to Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser for the link.

Jonathan Wall of Yahoo’s Devil Ball blog critiques ESPN’s coverage of the Open Championship.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall is suing sports apparel manufacturer Champion for dropping him from endorsements after his tweets about Osama bin Laden last month.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe delves into the Boston Celtics buying a large stake into Comcast SportsNet New England.

Roger Catlin at the Hartford Courant says ESPN came out as the real winner of the Women’s World Cup Final.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says ESPN produced a fair and compelling Women’s World Cup Final broadcast.

Richard Huff at the New York Daily News looks at ESPN premiering a Spanish language-edition of E:60.

Michael Blaustein of the New York Post writes that ESPN’s miniature cameras at the World Series of Poker are giving competitors an interesting advantage.

At Fishbowl New York, Jerry Barmash reports that Len Berman is dropping his sports reports on a local radio station and will be replaced by the same man who replaced him at WNBC-TV.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Open Championship final round ratings.

Evan Weiner at the New Jersey Newsroom wonders what the UK phone hacking scandal could mean for News Corp.’s sports partners here in the US.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that NFL Today host James Brown didn’t like how DC NFL team coach Mike Shanahan handled QB Donovan McNabb.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner looks at the ratings for the Women’s World Cup Final.

Travis Sawchik of the Charleston (SC) Post & Courier says lucrative TV contracts have helped to make college football a big business.

Candace Carlisle of the Dallas Business Journal says Fox Sports Southwest has hired a veteran writer from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to beef up its online coverage.

Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle says Texas A&M Regents are concerned over Texas’ Longhorn Network and what it means for the future of the Big 12 Conference.

Ryan Sharp of the Daily Oklahoman writes that Big 12 Conference schools can’t be too happy over the Longhorn Network’s airing of Texas high school football games.

Steven Matthews of the Dayton Daily News says the Western & Southern Open will have plenty of new looks including extensive TV exposure this summer.

Tim Prahl of the Muskego (WI) Patch talks with former MLB Network reporter Trenni Kusnierek about returning home to Milwaukee to co-host a radio show.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business notes two games scheduled for the Chicago Bulls that may never get played.

Kyle Ringo of the Boulder (CO) Daily Camera says the University of Colorado is in a unique position where it can sell the TV rights to its games this season.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times goes over some of the changes in the proposed NFL collective bargaining agreement including a new TV package.

Steve Zeitchik of the Times looks at Ross Greenburg leaving HBO.

Elizabeth Salaam of the San Diego Reader says a recent Facebook poll wasn’t kind to Padres TV voice Dick Enberg.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has some thoughts on various topics.

Sports Media Watch has some news and notes.

And we have some more news and notes from SMW.

Joe Favorito looks at who will benefit when the NFL lockout finally comes to an end.

And there is your full set of links.

US Women Soccer Team’s Hope Solo On SI Cover

In the wake of Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to Japan in the Women’s World Cup Final, Sports Illustrated has goaltender Hope Solo on this week’s cover. I would have preferred seeing the Women’s Soccer team on the cover last week, but SI was fearful that the US would lose to France on Wednesday.

It marks the first time since 2003 that a women’s soccer player has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. We have SI’s blurb on the cover and the pic of said cover.

Hope Solo Graces the Cover of This Week’s Sports Illustrated On Newsstands Tomorrow

First Women’s Soccer Player to Appear on the Cover Since Mia Hamm Eight Years Ago

(NEW YORK – July 19, 2011) – Team USA goalkeeper Hope Solo graces the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, dated July 25 and on newsstands tomorrow. Solo is the first women’s soccer player to appear on the cover since Mia Hamm on the September 22, 2003 issue. 

Explaining the selection of this week’s cover photo, Time Inc. Sports Group editor Terry McDonell says: “The U.S. had just lost one of the greatest games ever played, and the emotions of that are complicated. And it’s reflected in the cover shot of Hope Solo, a nuanced mix of sadness and courage. She is looking back, thinking what might have been, but she is also looking to the future.”

As the cover caption indicates, the U.S. performance at the 2011 Women’s World Cup was filled with Heart and Heartbreak. After capturing the nation’s attention with a stunning comeback vs. Brazil in the quarterfinals, Team USA twice surrendered leads against Japan in the final. Midfielder Carli Lloyd said afterward (page 34): “I’m kind of in shock. I had no doubt [about winning].  When we went up a goal in regulation time, I’m like O.K., we’ve got 10 more minutes I knew we’d close it out. Then we score in overtime and I’m like O.K, we’ve got five minutes left. Then they equalize again.  Even when we were stepping up taking penalty kicks, we’re like, We’ve got this. Maybe it just wasn’t our time.”

That’s all. More on this week’s SI issue tomorrow.

US Women’s Soccer Team To Appear On GMA

The US Women’s National Soccer Team is back in the United States after losing in penalty kicks to Japan. But it will not stop a media tour for the women. They’ll begin in New York with a stop at the Good Morning America studios in Times Square. This is our first ABC News press release and I’m happy to post it.

USA WOMENS NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM ON“GOOD MORNING AMERICA” TUESDAY, JULY 19

Just back from Frankfurt, Germany after their defeat to Japan in the Women’s World Cup finals, the Women’s National Soccer Team will appear live on ABC News “Good Morning America” tomorrow, July 19. Hope Solo, Abby Wombach, and Megan Rapinoe, along with the rest of the team, will discuss their experience, plus reaction to setting a new record for global Twitter volume, and respond to criticism for losing to Japan for the first time, and how this was an especially poignant time for Japan to get their first win.

“Good Morning America” is a two-hour, live program anchored by Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos. Josh Elliott is the news anchor, Lara Spencer is lifestyle anchor and Sam Champion is the weather anchor. The morning news program airs MONDAY-FRIDAY (7:00-9:00 a.m., EDT), on the ABC Television Network. James Goldston is the senior executive producer and Tom Cibrowski is the executive producer of ABC News’ “Good Morning America.”

One more press release post before I work on Part 2 of the Twitter accounts you should follow.

Abby Wambach & Hope Solo of US Women’s Soccer Team To Appear On Letterman

Two key members of the US Women’s National Team will be guests on the Late Show With David Letterman on Tuesday. Striker Abby Wambach and goaltender Hope Solo will talk with Dave about the month-long competition in Germany which ended on Sunday. While the end result wasn’t desired, the reception for both of them should be very warm at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.

Dave has been a fan of the women’s soccer team as he had Mia Hamm and several members of the 1999 squad on the show shortly after they won the Final against Communist China. In fact, he made that team a regular feature on the show throughout the summer.

We have details of the program from CBS Entertainment.

U.S. WOMEN’S SOCCER STARS HOPE SOLO AND ABBY WAMBACH TO VISIT CBS’S “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” TUESDAY, JULY 19

U.S. Women’s soccer stars Hope Solo and Abby Wambach talk about Sunday’s riveting final in the Women’s World Cup against Japan when they visit the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Tuesday, July 19 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The U.S. women’s team ended their incredible run in the FIFA World Cup, after being upset by Japan in Sunday’s final.  The Japanese team won their first World Cup title, 3-1 on penalty kicks, after coming from behind twice in a 2-2 tie.

Also featured on the LATE SHOW, Tuesday, July 19 are actor Steve Carell, star of the new film “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and a performance by the Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN is a production of Worldwide Pants Incorporated.  Barbara Gaines, Matt Roberts, Jude Brennan, Maria Pope, Eric Stangel, Justin Stangel and Rob Burnett are the executive producers.

Official CBS website:  http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/

On Twitter:  @late_show

That’s all.

USA-Japan Becomes 2nd Most Watched Women’s World Cup Game in History

Riding a wave that began with USA-Brazil last Sunday and again with USA-France on Wednesday, the Women’s World Cup Final on Sunday gave ESPN its highest ratings for a World Cup game either men’s or women’s. Overall, the game received a final 7.4 rating with an average viewership of 13.458 million. Of course, that only trails the 1999 Final between the USA and Communist China for the women. Overall, it’s the 6th most watched soccer game in the US.

That’s a very impressive rating on a day which was a very busy one for ESPN starting with the Open Championship followed by the Women’s World Cup Final and then the nightcap with Sunday Night Baseball between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

Here’s the press release from ESPN.

2011 Women’s World Cup Finals: ESPN’s Most-Viewed and Highest-Rated Soccer Match

Sixth Most-Viewed Soccer Telecast in U.S.; Second Most-Watched Daytime Program in Cable History;
Record Audience for a Women’s Sports Event on ESPN3.com

Sunday’s 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals between the United States and Japan – which crowned Japan as tournament champion on a penalty shootout after the match ended in a 2-2 tie – was seen by an average 13.458 million viewers, based on a 7.4 U.S. household rating (8.58 million household impressions), making it the most-watched and highest-rated soccer telecast on an ESPN network, based on fast nationals by the Nielsen Company.

The USA-Japan thriller bests the USA-Algeria men’s match (June 23, 2010) from last summer’s FIFA World Cup, which set the previous ESPN records for both ratings and viewership – 6.16 million viewers, based on a 4.0 household U.S. rating (4.58 million households).

The match also ranks as the sixth most-viewed soccer telecast ever in the United States.

Most-Viewed Soccer Events in the United States:

Date	Match	Network	U.S. Rating	P2+ (Viewers)
Sat., July 10, 1999	USA vs. China – Final	ABC	11.4	17,975,000
Sun., July 11, 2010	Netherlands vs. Spain – Final	ABC	8.4	15,905,000
Sat., June 26, 2010	USA vs. Ghana – Round of 16	ABC	8.5	15,193,000
Sun., July 17, 1994	Italy vs. Brazil – Final	ABC	9.5	14,510,000
Mon., July 4, 1994	Brazil vs. USA – Round of 16	ABC	9.3	13,694,000
Sun., July 17, 2011	USA vs. Japan – Final	ESPN	7.4	13,458,000
Sun., July 9, 2006	Italy vs. France – Final	ABC	7.0	11,961,000

Additional highlights from yesterday’s Finals:

• The second most-watched daytime telecast (Monday – Sunday, 6 a.m. – 6 p.m.) in cable history, behind the Rose Bowl on ESPN (20.557 million viewers on Jan. 1, 2011).
• The sixth most-watched cable telecast of the year;
• Excluding NFL games, the fifth most-watched sports telecast on ESPN, trailing only the 2011 BCS games.

Baltimore was the top market for yesterday’s Women’s World Cup Finals, delivering a 12.3 rating.  Rounding out the top five were: San Diego (11.8), West Palm Beach (11.7), Washington, D.C. (11.5), and Norfolk, Va. (11.1).

Digital – USA-Japan Delivers Record Audience for Women’s Sports on ESPN3.com:
The thrilling Women’s World Cup Finals delivered over 548,000 unique viewers on ESPN3.com, the most ever for a women’s sporting event, and the second largest audience for a non-2010 FIFA World Cup event on the broadband sports network. Additionally, it ranks eighth overall among all events on ESPN3.com.

Across ESPN3.com, ESPNnetworks.com and the WatchESPN app, the game logged a total of 38.6 million minutes consumed, ranking third overall for all non-2010 FIFA World Cup events. The iPad logged the highest average time spent viewing an event via the WatchESPN app at 38 minutes on ESPN3.

From June 26 to July 17, Women’s World Cup content across ESPN.com, ESPNsoccernet and espnW.com generated 16 million page views and 12 million visits.  On ESPN Mobile, fans followed the championship game live via Gamecast, which was visited 739,000 times yesterday.

I’ll have another Women’s World Cup-centric press release coming up.

Some Quick Monday Links

Don’t know how work turned out to be so busy, but it’s cutting into blogging which I hope hasn’t discouraged you from visiting. The weekend also turned out to be unnecessarily busy as well. Anyway, this won’t be a whole set of linkage. I’ll do what I can.

Sports Business Daily looks at the 8.6 overnight rating the Women’s World Cup Final received on ESPN.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand and John Lombardo break news that the Boston Celtics will purchase a 20% stake in Comcast SportsNet New England and keep its rights on the regional sports network for many years to come.

While Peter King is on vacation, NBC’s Al Michaels guest writes the Monday Morning Quarterback column in Sports Illustrated and raises some tremendous points. Someone should give Al a weekly or monthly column. I love this.

SI’s Richard Deitsch evaluates ESPN’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today praises ESPN for not cheerleading during yesterday’s Women’s World Cup Final.

The Hollywood Reporter looks at one of the big sports media stories to break over the weekend, that HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg is out.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports analyzes what led to Greenburg’s  ouster from HBO after 33 years.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid is amazed at the Women’s World Cup ratings.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser says the Women’s World Cup set a record on Twitter.

Advertising Age says yesterday’s loss in the Women’s World Cup cost the US Women’s Soccer Team millions in endorsements.

SportsbyBrooks says ESPN irrevocably harmed Bruce Feldman’s reputation.

At SBNation, Rob Neyer explains how he was suspended from ESPN.

The Sportscasters Talent Agency of America notes that Kathryn Tappen has left NESN for the NHL Network. She will be missed on NESN. Very good host.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has the interesting audio of a minor league baseball announcer quitting his job on the air noting the bad ownership of the team.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at how the #freebruce story snowballed on Twitter and forced ESPN to respond.

Bobby Cassidy at Newsday has HBO’s official statement on the Ross Greenburg departure.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about the Women’s World Cup ratings.

I will have to end it there for now. I hope to have more links later.

Women’s World Cup Final Really Scores For ESPN

The final between the United States and Japan which was won by Japan in penalty kicks after an emotional 120 minutes gave ESPN a stellar overnight rating. The numbers will definitely hold and it will become the 2nd most watched Women’s World Cup, just below the 1999 Final between the USA and China which garnered an 11.4 rating on ABC.

The overnight rating beat out the MLB All-Star Game which got a 6.3 rating earlier this month. That shows you how the country got behind the US Women’s Soccer team.

With Sunday’s Final on ESPN, the overnight rating turned out to be very good. ESPN PR maven Bill Hofheimer tweeted the overnights this morning.

That’s a very good rating. And the top five cities for overnights included:

And the overnight gives ESPN another reason to crow.

Sunday was a big day for ESPN airing the Open Championship starting in the morning to the Women’s World Cup Final in the afternoon, finishing off with the marathon Red Sox-Rays game on Sunday Night Baseball. I wonder what the rating for the entire day was.

Three Women’s World Cup Press Releases

ESPN is really pumping the Women’s World Cup so I’ll oblige and post three different press releases into one post. Let’s check out what ESPN is saying.

First, the USA-France semifinal game which propelled the Americans into the final received a 2.2 rating, just below Sunday’s USA-Brazil contest which got a 2.3 rating. With the final against Japan being on Sunday, I would think that rating would go up. Here’s the ESPN press release.

USA vs. France:  Most-Viewed Weekday FIFA Women’s World Cup Match

Fourth Most-Viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup Match Ever
U.S. Ratings for 30 Matches on ESPN Networks up 200% vs. 2007

The FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal match between the U.S. Women’s National Team and France – a 3-1 U.S. victory in Moenchengladbach, Germany, on Wednesday, July 13 – was seen by an average of 3.35 million people according to the Nielsen Company, based on a 2.2 U.S. household rating on ESPN (2.57 million household impressions), making it the most-viewed weekday Women’s World Cup match in the U.S.

The match also ranked as the fourth most-viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup match ever and the second match from Germany 2011 to rank among the top five Women’s World Cup matches.  The other three are from 1999 when the tournament was held in the U.S.

Top-five most-viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup matches:

Date	Match	Network	U.S. HH RTG/HH IMPS/P2+
Saturday, July 10, 1999	USA vs. China – Title Match	ABC	11.4/11,307,000/17,975,000
Sunday, July 4, 1999	Brazil vs. USA – Semifinal	ESPN	2.9/2,879,000/4,924,000
Sunday, July 10, 2011	Brazil vs. USA – Quarterfinal	ESPN	2.3/2,704,000/3,890,000
Wednesday, July 13, 2011	USA vs. France – Semifinal	ESPN	2.2/2,567,000/3,354,000
Thursday, July 1, 1999	USA vs. Germany – Quarterfinal	ESPN	1.7/1,667,000/2,627,000

Baltimore was the top market for yesterday’s U.S. match, delivering a 4.6 rating. Rounding out the top five were: Cincinnati (4.4), Las Vegas (4.4), San Diego (4.1), and Washington, D.C. (3.9).

Through Wednesday, July 13 (30 matches), Women’s World Cup 2011 is averaging a 0.6 U.S. rating on ESPN and ESPN2 – up 200% from 2007 (0.2) in China.  Household impressions are up 164% (from 272,000 to 718,000) and P2+ impressions are up 218% (from 294,000 to 934,000).

Through 30 matches, the top five local markets for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup are Baltimore (1.2), Cincinnati, (1.2), Washington, D.C. (1.1), San Diego (1.1), and Greensboro, N.C. (1.1).

ESPN3.com
The USA’s semifinal win over France delivered over 450,000 unique viewers on ESPN3.com, the second most viewed non-2010 FIFA World Cup event behind on the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, and the most ever for a women’s sporting event on the network (source: Adobe Omniture). The semifinals on Wednesday combined to deliver over half a million unique viewers on ESPN3.com.

Across ESPN3.com, ESPNnetworks.com and the WatchESPN app, the game logged a total of 25 million minutes consumed, ranking third overall for non-2010 FIFA World Cup events. Additionally, Gamecast for both semifinal matches generated 681,000 visits on ESPN.com and 478,000 visits on ESPN Mobile.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals on Sunday
The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany continues on ESPN and ESPN3.com with Sweden vs. France in the third place match on Saturday, July 16, at 11 a.m. ET, in Sinsheim.

The title match on Sunday will feature No.1-ranked USA vs. Japan in Frankfurt beginning at 2 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN3.com, ESPN Radio, ESPN3.com, as well as extensive coverage on ESPN’s digital media platforms, including ESPNnetworks.com, the WatchESPN App, and ESPN Mobile TV.  Highlights:

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Match	Site
Sat., July 16	11 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Sweden vs. France Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Sinsheim
Sun., July 17	2 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com/ESPN Radio	Japan vs. USA Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Frankfurt

After the break, you’ll see two more ESPN Women’s World Cup press releases.

(continue reading…)

Coming Out With Thursday Links

I’ve been out of the office for most of the day as this week has been a bear for some reason. I’ll do some linkage and do as much as I can before being booted out for the day.

Mike McCarthy of the USA Today says the MLB All-Star Game on Fox received its lowest ratings ever.

Mike says Shaquille O’Neal has officially joined Turner Sports as an NBA studio analyst.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter also writes about Shaq joining Turner.

Etan Vlessing of the Reporter says Canadian French language network TVA Sports has signed a deal to become the official broadcaster of Montreal Impact MLS games.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says ratings for the 18-49 demographic for the MLB All-Star Game fell precipitously from last year.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch writes about Shaquille O’Neal shuffling to Turner Sports.

On this 5th anniversary of Twitter, SI lists its 100 must follow Sports Twitter accounts. I discount it because I wasn’t listed. I’m joking. Maybe. Maybe not.

SI’s Jon Wertheim writes about Twitter’s huge impact on sports.

Terry Lefton of Sports Business Journal reports that an Under Armour executive died suddenly last night.

Brian Lowry from Fox Sports has some thoughts on how Fox handled the All-Star Game.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center provides a review of Showtime’s “The Franchise”.

Big news from the IU National Sports Journalism Center, the man who help found the center and also establish its journalism focus, Tim Franklin is leaving for Bloomberg News in Washington.

Ben Axelrod of SportsGrid has a funny video showing the BBC misidentifying and then interviewing the wrong writer.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser writes that Fox Sports President Eric Shanks has been named to the board of a sports statistics company.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says Sony has extended its sponsorship of ESPN 3D which about 35 people across the country have access to.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has 100 Twitter rules to live by. I admit, I don’t follow all of them which is probably why he doesn’t follow me. He used to.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes about the city’s sports radio ratings.

Chad has a story on Shaquille O’Neal going to TNT.

Earlier this week, Newsday’s Neil Best reported that WFAN’s Mike Francesa was dropping his WNBC-TV Sunday night show effective immediately.

Neil says the show will have a new host, but keep the same name.

And Neil writes about Shaquille O’Neal heading to TNT.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun looks at the incredible shrinking TV sportscasts during the late local news.

David talks with former sports TV anchor Scott Garceau about whether Baltimore is as passionate about sports as other cities.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says All-Star Game viewership has hit its nadir.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has video of Lindsay Czarniak’s emotional farewell to DC market.

Dan says the extremely bitter John Feinstein is changing radio stations.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that the Open Championship presents logistical challenges to ESPN.

Jim says DC and Baltimore pace the country in the ratings for the Women’s World Cup.

Jim notes that TNT’s NASCAR ratings are up this year.

John Kieswetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks about Fox Sports Ohio’s high school football schedule.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Suds City loves the long ball.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business shares his thoughts on the All-Star Game.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has parts one, two, three, four, five, six and an epilogue from his interview with CBS/Golf Channel golf analyst David Feherty.

Tom also talks with ESPN Women’s World Cup analysts Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy about having the 2011 USA team being compared to their 1999 champion squad.

The incredibly uninformed Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about Rogers Sportsnet looking to bring in additional talent and not fire its staff.

But then Toronto Sports Media reports that Rogers fired Calgary Flames voice Peter Loubardias.

The Canadian Sports media blog reacts to the Rogers move as well as looking at the Winnipeg Jets broadcast rights.

The Big Lead talks with The Extra 2% author and baseball writer extraordinaire Jonah Keri.

Joe Favorito says the sport that wins on the movie screen is NASCAR.

Sports Media Watch says the USA-France Women’s World Cup semifinal set another high mark for this year’s games.

SMW looks at the top 100 most viewed sporting events on broadcast and cable TV to the halfway point of 2011.

That will do it.

Strong Overnights For Women’s World Cup

As I’m outside the office and at remote location, I can still provide some ratings news. This comes from the fine people at ESPN’s public relations department.

Yesterday’s Women’s World Cup semifinal between USA and France which propelled the Americans to the Final garnered a strong 2.6 rating. Keep in mind that the game started at noon in the East while many people were at work.

And the second semi between Japan and Sweden got a 1,7 overnight rating. Again, quite good. Don’t have a press release yet, but I do expect one. I’ll post it when I’m back at my computer.

I’ll be back with you later. You don’t get this type of dedication from anyone else.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

USA-Brazil on Sunday Most Watched Women’s World Cup Game Since 1999

In proving the theory that Americans love watching Americans do well no matter what the sport, ESPN’s ratings for the USA-Brazil Women’s World Cup quarterfinal game were the highest for the event since 1999 when Team USA won the whole kit and caboodle. In fact, Sunday’s game is the third highest-rated Women’s World Cup contest in history. Sunday’s game garnered a 2.3 rating with an audience of just below 4 million viewers. Now, I don’t think the record of and 11.4 rating and 17.975 million viewers for the 1999 Final on ABC will ever be reached, but perhaps this year’s final could beat 1999′s semifinal game vs. Brazil if the US advances against France today.

Let’s take a look at the ratings in the press release put forth by ESPN this week.

ESPN Grows Audience for FIFA Women’s World Cup

USA – Brazil: Third Most-Viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup Match Ever
U.S. Ratings for 28 Matches on ESPN Networks up 150% vs. 2007 in China

The FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match between the U.S. Women’s National Team and Brazil – a thrilling 2-2 tie, won by the USA in a penalty shootout in Dresden, Germany, on Sunday, July 10 – was seen by 3.89 million people according to the Nielsen Company, based on a 2.3 U.S. HH rating on ESPN (2.70 million household impressions), making it the third most-viewed Women’s World Cup match ever in the U.S.

Sunday’s quarterfinal also delivered ESPN’s largest audience for Women’s World Cup since 1999.  The previous audience high was USA vs. Colombia in a Women’s World Cup 2011 group stage match in Sinsheim on Saturday, July 2, seen by 1.87 million people, based on a 1.2 U.S. HH rating (1.38 million household impressions).

Top-five most-viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup matches:

Date	Match	Network	U.S. HH RTG/HH IMPS/P2+
Saturday, July 10, 1999	USA vs. China – Title Match	ABC	11.4/11,307,000/17,975,000
Sunday, July 4, 1999	Brazil vs. USA – Semifinal	ESPN	2.9/2,879,000/4,924,000
Sunday, July 10, 2011	Brazil vs. USA – Quarterfinal	ESPN	2.3/2,704,000/3,890,000
Thursday, July 1, 1999	USA vs. Germany – Quarterfinal	ESPN	1.7/1,667,000/2,627,000
Saturday, July 16, 1999	USA vs. Denmark – Group Stage	ABC	1.7/1,717,000/2,457,000

Washington, D.C., was the top market for Sunday’s U.S. Women’s National Team match, delivering a 4.4 HH rating.  Rounding out the top five were: San Diego (4.2), Baltimore (4.0), Cincinnati (3.8), and Albuquerque (3.8).

Through Sunday, July 10 (28 matches), the Women’s World Cup 2011 is averaging a 0.5 US rating on ESPN and ESPN2 – up 150% from 2007 (0.2) in China.  Household impressions are up 148% (from 249,000 to 617,000) and P2+ impressions are up 200% (from 268,000 to 804,000).

Through 28 matches, the top five local markets for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup are: Baltimore (1.1), Washington, D.C. (1.0), San Diego (1.0), Cincinnati (1.0) and Greensboro, N.C. (1.0).

ESPN3.com
In addition, ESPN3.com delivered the most unique viewers ever for a women’s sporting event on the broadband sports network with USA vs. Brazil on Sunday, logging 220,000 unique viewers for nearly an hour of time spent watching the match per unique viewer.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Semifinals: U.S. vs. France and Japan vs. Sweden; Finals on Sunday
The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany continues on ESPN and ESPN3.com with two semifinal matches on Wednesday, July 13, with the No. 1-ranked USA vs. France at 11:30 a.m. ET, in Moenchengladbach, followed Japan vs. Sweden in the second match in Frankfurt at 2:15 p.m. France and Japan are both appearing in the World Cup semifinals for the first time.

The winners of Wednesday’s matches will play in the Women’s World Cup Finals in Frankfurt on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m.  The Third Place match will be played in Sinsheim on Saturday, July 16, at 11 a.m.  The schedule and commentators:

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Match	Site
Wed.,  July 13	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	France vs. USA Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Moenchengladbach
	2:15 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Japan vs. Sweden Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Frankfurt
Sat., July 16	11 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	3rd Place Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Sinsheim
Sun., July 17	2 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Finals Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Frankfurt

espnW.com Continues Extensive Coverage of Germany 2011
www.espnW.com, ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital hub designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans, will continue its Women’s World Cup coverage with stories, analysis and insight, leading up to the semifinal and final matches.  Highlights:

• Writers Michelle Smith and Jacqueline Purdy will analyze the top five most important goals in US Women’s World Cup history
• Video blogs from Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, both two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winners and former teammates on the U.S. Women’s National Team
• Top storylines to watch for during the semifinals – USA vs. France and Sweden vs. Japan
• An examination of why U.S. and France teams are the best conditioned in the Women’s World Cup
• With most French players currently in the Women’s Professional Soccer league, playing alongside their club teammates from the United States, espnW reviews the connections, familiarity and friendships that could loom large in the semifinals.

That’s all.

A Few Tuesday Links

Got bogged down with a bunch of paperwork so I can’t do a full set of links. I’ll do my best to give you what I can plus catch up with any press release posts. To be honest, I really haven’t seen any releases come in today, but I’ll do some posting for you tonight during the All-Star Game.

Steve Gardner of USA Today spends some time with ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst John Kruk.

Great story from the Wall Street Journal’s Reed Albergotti and Cameron McWhirter on how Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium has become a huge tax burden for the city and its residents.

A couple of things from Awful Announcing. First, it has the video of ESPN’s Bobby Valentine saying “fagged out” on Baseball Tonight and then backtracking.

Then Matt Yoder from AA has angry tweets targeted at Chris Berman’s performance at the Home Run Derby.

The Big Lead also found people who just could not stand Berman’s play-by-play and frankly, I could not either.

Crossing Broad had the patience to live blog the Home Run Derby.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin notes that ESPN photoshopped Hope Solo’s nipple out of a shot. Don’t go crazy, guys, it’s not what you think.

Tom Scocca of Deadspin fires a shot at Captain Blowhard’s Deadspin site for some questionable quotes in an article written by noted plagiarist Mike Barnicle.

At the Business of College Sports, Kristi Dosh explains why the NCAA doesn’t go after a school’s bowl or TV money when it imposes sanctions.

The Lost Lettermen explore the lawsuit filed by ESPN against Ohio State for the school’s failure to release records pertaining to the NCAA’s investigation into the Jim Tressel era.

Elizabeth Haldane at ESPN Front Row talks with Women’s World Cup analyst Julie Foudy about the people she follows on Twitter.

Sports Media Watch says the NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at the Kentucky Speedway received solid numbers on TNT.

SportsbyBrooks looks at the new book by former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach who claims ESPN was part of a conspiracy to force him out from the school.

And that will tie you over for links for now.

Women’s World Cup Semifinal Announcing Assignments Set

ESPN has set the announcing assignments for the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup on Wednesday as well as Sunday’s Final. Ian Darke & Julie Foudy will call USA-France starting at 11:30 a.m. ET and then the final on Sunday. Adrian Healey & Kate Markgraf have the call of the other semifinal on Wednesday, Japan vs. Sweden in the afternoon as well as the third place match.

Here are the details.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Semifinals: U.S. vs. France and Japan vs. Sweden; Finals on Sunday

The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany continues on ESPN and ESPN3.com with two semifinal matches on Wednesday, July 13. Led by goalkeeper Hope Solo and forward Abby Wambach, the No. 1-ranked U.S. team — coming off its dramatic quarterfinal win on Sunday over Brazil on penalty kicks — returns to the field against France at 11:30 a.m. ET, in Moenchengladbach. After its stunning overtime win over two-time defending champion and host Germany, Japan plays Sweden in the second match in Frankfurt at 2:15 p.m. France and Japan are both appearing in the World Cup semifinals for the first time.

The winners of Wednesday’s matches will play in the Women’s World Cup Finals in Frankfurt on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN3.com. The Third Place match will be played in Sinsheim on Saturday, July 16, at 11 a.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Commentators Ian Darke and Julie Foudy will call both the U.S.-France semifinal and the Finals, while Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf will call Japan-Sweden and the Third Place match. The schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Match	Site
Wed, July 13	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	France vs. USA Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Moenchengladbach
	2:15 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Japan vs. Sweden Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Frankfurt
Sat, July 16	11 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	3rd place Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Sinsheim
Sun,July 17	2 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Finals Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Frankfurt

That will do it.

It’s A Monday Linkfest

For some reason, I’ve been out of the office a couple of times today and it’s pissing me off. Anyway, I’m back in the office now and barring an unforeseen interruption, I should be able to give you linkage here.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has the local MLB TV ratings for the first half of the regular season and notes that the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are in trouble.

This next story from Sports Business Daily is behind the dreaded paywall, but you can still get the gist of it as yesterday’s compelling Brazil-USA game at the Women’s World Cup received a 2.6 overnight rating for ESPN. CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the rating is better than this year’s NBA Draft!

Eben Novy-Williams of Bloomberg reports that Brazil-USA was the most watched Women’s World Cup Soccer game since the 1999 Final which the USA won over Communist China.

Lacey Rose of the Hollywood Reporter confirms what The Wrap reported over the weekend, that ESPN Classic will pick up the entire Friday Night Lights series.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that the NFL could see as much as a $600 million rights fee for a new 8-game Thursday Night Football package.

Adweek’s Rebecca Cullers has a story on sports apparel outfitter K-Swiss continuing its storyline of utilizing HBO’s Eastbound & Down’s Kenny Powers character in its ad campaign.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy talks with Fox Sports’ Joe Buck about his vocal cord troubles that have plagued his voice this year.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says cable providers could be crowing this year with some big name boxing pay per view fights.

Jon Lafayette at Broadcasting & Cable writes that Golf Channel has relaunched its website.

My good friends at SportsGrid have just launched a redesign of their excellent sports media website. Dan Fogarty explains.

SportsGrid has brought on Timothy Burke of the Mocksession site which provides vidcaps and videos. He’s been providing videos to the under the byline “SportsGrid Video”, but now can reveal himself publicly as of today. Tim has this funny post of the WGN Cubs announcers exposing their cameramen as pervs.

One more from SportsGrid. A look at how it would cast the movie based on the ESPN tome, “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside The World of ESPN.” The choices are pretty much dead on.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser has video of one of the media cars getting too close to one of the cyclists in the Tour de France and causing a horrific crash.

Also from SportsNewser, Marcus Vanderberg tells us that an estimated one billion people watched last year’s World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands. That’s a lot of people.

The London Telegraph has ESPN UK’s English Premier League schedule for the upcoming season.

Chris Fedor from Sports Radio Interviews has a link to Dan Patrick’s interview with reporting bulldog Jim Gray about “The Decision”, one year later.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about Tiger Woods “special announcement” that he made on Golf Channel, that he’ll be following his agent, Mark Steinberg to a new agency.

Paul Devlin at the New Canaan (CT) Patch talks with CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that YES cleaned up in the ratings with Saturday’s Rays-Yankees game during which Derek Jeter got his 3,000th career hit.

Neil talks with women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm who’s doing work for espnW and ESPN for the Women’s World Cup about USA-Brazil.

Neil has a review of the HBO doc on Curt Flood that airs Wednesday.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun loves baseball, but can no longer stand watching the Orioles on MASN.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg looks at the Nationals’ attendance and TV ratings at the halfway point of the regular season.

Dan has Wizards’ TV analyst Phil Chenier explaining why he shaved off his trademark mustache.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver about calling the MLB All-Star Game for the last 20 years.

In the St. Petersburg Times, Tom Jones lists some of the things in sports and sports TV that he has missed.

The Tampa Tribune notes that Rays outfielder Sam Fuld will be working for ESPN tonight during the MLB Home Run Derby.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers local ratings are amongst the highest in MLB.

Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gives praise to former Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly who pinch-hit for regular Fox Sports North analyst Bert Blyeven last week.

Jeff Korbelik of the Lincoln (NE) Journal Star says former local sports anchor Dari Nowkhah heads over to ESPNU full-time.

The Dickinson (ND) Press picks up a story from Brad Schlossman on the new college hockey superconference talking with Versus about a TV contract.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post reviews the HBO documentary on Curt Flood.

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

Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle says Showtime is hoping that “The Franchise” will become a sports franchise for the network.

Cathall Kelly of the Toronto Star is an asshole.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says a CFL on TSN analyst gave a compelling interview on his post-concussion syndrome.

Matt Hartley in the Financial Post says NBC will be handling all US ad sales for the NHL.

Wayne Friedman in MediaPost also writes about the NBC Sports Group/NHL ad sales joint venture.

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

SMW also has some local MLB ratings news.

That’s going to do it for today.

Bringing You Sunday Linkage

I’m at work again, but I’m trying to cope by flicking on the Watch ESPN for the Women’s World Cup game against Brazil. I’ll give you what linkage I can find today.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today says Turner Sports has reportedly hired Shaquille O’Neal for its NBA coverage. Still no official comment from Turner.

John Eggerton of Multichannel News reports on an FCC Enforcement Bureau recommendation to an administrative law judge about carriage for Tennis Channel.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel recaps YES’ special postgame show on Yankees shortshop Derek Jeter after he achieved baseball immortality on Saturday.

Mike writes that YES saw a ratings season high for the Jeter 3,000th hit game.

From Advertising Age, Brian Steinberg asks if Wimbledon is willing to put its matches all under one TV roof, will other sporting events follow its lead?

Yahoo Sports’ Michael Silver talks with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen about how the channel is handling the lockout.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead wonders if the LPGA should be selling sex to help market its stars.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser says Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has issued a statement about berating a caller with a gay slur late last month.

Marcus points out that CNN is no longer into sports.

Jesse Sawyer from the Avon (CT) Patch notes that ESPN’s Kenny Mayne will be hosting a football skills clinic this week. Before ESPN, Kenny was the starting quarterback at UNLV. The story also reveals that Kenny is moving back to Seattle, WA where he lived before hitting it big with ESPN.

Newsday’s Neil Best has the transcripts of both the radio and TV calls of the Jeter 3,000th hit.

Neil talks about a new era of TV coming into Wimbledon for next year.

George Vescey of the New York Times says the best way to view the Tour de France is from your TV.

Karen Crouse of the Times talks with an LPGA Tour rookie Ryan O’Toole who prepared for life on the tour through Golf Channel’s Big Break reality show.

Brent Briggeman of the Colorado Springs Gazette also spoke with O’Toole about her time on Big Break.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says ESPN2 will have the replay of today’s dramatic USA-Brazil Women’s World Cup game which had a lot of twists and turns.

Adam Sichko of the Albany (NY) Business Review notes that a local company will help produce live horse racing from nearby Saratoga for NBC.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks about Showtime getting into the sports reality TV realm with the new MLB TV series, “The Franchise”.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks with ESPN’s Nomar Garciaparra about the Home Run Derby.

From the Dallas Morning News, Barry Horn discusses the Longhorn Network making some on-air hires.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle tries to reassure readers about the availability of the Longhorn Network.

Kevin Benz at Culture Map Houston wonders if ESPN is making the Longhorn Network all about ESPN instead of University of Texas sports.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Bengals talks with ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden about the NFL lockout.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says TBS and MLB Network analyst John Smoltz still has a dream to be a professional golfer.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with Fox’s Joe Buck about his recovery from an ailment that affected his voice. And many of you have either tweeted or e-mailed me about this and have noticed how he has sounded since the Super Bowl. Dan’s story pretty much explains what happened.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Joe Buck didn’t mince words when it came to the Dodgers ownership debacle.

That’s going to do it for today.