Fang's Bites

Some Monday Linkage

I’ll do some quick linkage on this Monday.

In USA Today, Michael Hiestand talks with NFL on Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira.

In his extensive Monday Morning Quarterback column, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King remembers NFL Films’ Steve Sabol.

John Ourand at Sports Business Journal notes that MLB will be increasing its haul from ESPN, Fox and Turner in the latest TV contract.

Rick Porter at zap2it says NBC’s Sunday Night Football and CBS beat the Emmys on ABC like a drum on Sunday.

Anthony Crupi of AdWeek writes that the NHL lockout is putting NBC Sports Network in a huge bind.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life says NBC’s Sunday Night Football scored an overnight ratings win over the network competition.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen.

ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell says the next big thing is putting team logos on food.

Mike McCarthy at Sports Biz USA tells us that the Brooklyn Nets cheerleaders will stress more of the sizzle in their uniforms.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes that not every Time Warner Cable customer had access to NFL Network and NFL RedZone yesterday.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is the reason why Americans can’t have nice things.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Notre Dame’s resurgence has NBC executives doing backflips at its headquarters.

David Zurawik in the Baltimore Sun says NBC’s Hines Ward still doesn’t feel the love from Ravens fans.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that Sunday’s Texans-Broncos game received a big rating in H-Town.

David says former Red Sox and Astros voice Jerry Trupiano called two recent games for MLB.com.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has the channel numbers for NFL Network and NFL RedZone for Insight customers.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tells us that Texans-Broncos did really well locally.

Paul M. Banks at the Chicago Sports Media Watch reports that Comcast SportsNet has replaced the popular Sarah Kustok with a new reporter.

The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth has five things he learned from the weekend.

Tom has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that Blue Jays analyst Greg Zaun may be facing some disciplinary action after criticizing the team culture following Yunel Escobar’s homophobic incident.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing looks at how a DirecTV error made Lions fans miss a key touchdown during Sunday’s game against Tennessee.

Sports Media Watch notes the overnight ratings for Sunday Night Football.

SMW says IndyCar finished its worst rated season ever.

That’s all.

Sirius XM Becomes Official Internet Radio Partner of MLB

This was announced yesterday by MLB, but the official press release just arrived in the Fang’s Bites inbox.

It’s great news for subscribers of SiriusXM Radio who also access the platform through online and mobile. All MLB games will be made available on SiriusXM.com or through the SiriusXM mobile and tablet apps. This means that those who subscribed through Sirius can now listen via the internet. Previously, only those on the XM side could listen to MLB games through their satellite radio receivers and this remains the case.

But Sirius subscribers are no longer shut out of MLB games and they’ll be able to listen to games immediately all the way through the World Series.

We have the official SiriusXM/MLB press release.

SiriusXM Becomes the Official Internet Radio Partner of MLB.com

SiriusXM signs multi-year deal with MLB Advanced Media to stream all Major League Baseball games on SiriusXM App and online
All SiriusXM subscribers will have access to live radio broadcasts of every MLB game on smartphones, mobile devices and online; Games will continue to air on XM satellite radios
Listeners get all regular season games, the All-Star Game and every Postseason game

NEW YORK – April 5, 2012 – Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) today announced a multi-year agreement with MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, to stream live radio broadcasts of every Major League Baseball game on smartphones, mobile devices and online for SiriusXM subscribers nationwide. With this agreement, SiriusXM becomes the Official Internet Radio Partner of MLB.com.

Available immediately, SiriusXM subscribers can listen to live broadcasts of every MLB game through the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at siriusxm.com. Listeners get all regular season games, the All-Star Game and every Postseason game. Spring Training games will be available starting next year. Select Spanish-language broadcasts are also available.

MLB games will continue to be available on satellite radios for XM subscribers. Listeners can find channel assignments for games at www.siriusxm.com/mlbschedule.

“We’re thrilled to be able to deliver every MLB game to all of our SiriusXM subscribers,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer.  “Throughout the sport’s history, fans have connected with America’s pastime through radio calls. With those broadcasts now available on SiriusXM Internet Radio, coupled with the satellite radio broadcasts on XM, SiriusXM subscribers across the country have the most extensive audio listening experience with which to follow any MLB team from their cars, homes or anywhere.”

“SiriusXM has been a valuable partner in connecting its subscribers with the tradition of baseball on the radio and this agreement adds an important distribution platform, alongside our own products including Gameday Audio and At Bat, for fans to enjoy listening to the radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball games via the Internet,” said Kenny Gersh, Senior Vice President, Business Development, MLBAM.

That is all.

MLB Productions Receives Five Sports Emmy Nominations; MLB Media Gets 15 Overall

MLB Productions had a busy year producing a reality series for Showtime and a documentary for HBO. Thanks to these efforts, the company received a record five Sports Emmy Award nominations. Combined with the nods for MLB Network, MLB Advanced Media and MLB.com, MLB entities received a total of 15 Sports Emmy Award nominations. That’s quite impressive.

Here is the press release from MLB Productions and Major League Baseball.

MLB PRODUCTIONS EARNS ALL-TIME BEST FIVE SPORTS EMMY NOMINATIONS FOR WORK ON “THE FRANCHISE” AND “DEREK JETER 3K”

MLB Media Entities Earn Combined 15 Nominations

Major League Baseball Productions collected an all-time high of five nominations for the 33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards, including nominations for its critically acclaimed work on The Franchise: A Season with the San Francisco Giants on Showtime and DerekJeter3K on HBO. The Franchise earned three nominations, including Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology, while DerekJeter3K was nominated for Outstanding Edited Sports Special.

Overall, Major League Baseball media entities (MLB Productions, MLB Network and MLB Advanced Media) earned a combined 15 nominations, which were announced earlier today by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

MLB Network earned eight nominations, including two for MLB Tonight, the 2011 winner for the Outstanding Studio Show. MLB Tonight is once again nominated in the category along with a nomination for Outstanding Technical Team Studio. Bob Costas, a 22-time Sports Emmy Award winner, earned a nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality-Studio Host for his work on both MLB Network and NBC. In addition, Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds each earned a Sports Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst, and Jim Kaat also received a nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Event Analyst.

MLB.com At Bat 11, the mobile phone and tablet application developed by MLB Advanced Media, again earned a nomination in one of the two categories representing digital media, Outstanding New Approaches to Sports Event Coverage. Since its 2008 debut, MLB.com At Bat has been the top grossing sports application and one of only two iOS apps inducted into the Halls of Fame for iPhone, iPad and Macworld.

In addition, MLB Productions, MLB Network and MLBAM were collectively nominated for the prestigious George Wensel Technical Achievement Award for The DIAMOND Platform, a media management tool. DIAMOND is utilized daily to research and produce broadcast quality programming for both MLB Network and MLB Productions, and to archive, search and retrieve video content for use by Major League Baseball. The Baseball Archives, managed by the DIAMOND Platform, contains over 300,000 hours of content, which is easily retrievable within minutes from the data tape robotic library.

Below is a complete list of Major League Baseball’s Sports Emmy Award Nominations:

Outstanding Edited Sports Special – Derek Jeter 3K (MLB Productions/HBO)                                                                                                                                 

Outstanding Edited Sports Series /Anthology – The Franchise: A Season with the San Francisco Giants (MLB Productions/Showtime)                                                                                                                                 

Outstanding Music Composition/ Direction / Lyrics – The Franchise: A Season with the San Francisco Giants (MLB Productions/Showtime)                                                                                                                                 

Outstanding Post Produced Audio/Sound – The Franchise: A Season with the San Francisco Giants (MLB Productions/Showtime)

Outstanding Studio Show – Daily: MLB Tonight (MLB Network)

Outstanding Technical Team Studio: MLB Tonight (MLB Network)

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

Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Event Analyst: Jim Kaat (MLB Network)

Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst: Al Leiter (MLB Network)

Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst: Harold Reynolds (MLB Network)

Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Institutional: All in One Place (MLB Network)

Outstanding New Approaches Sports Event Coverage – MLB Advanced Media

The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award: The DIAMOND Platform (MLB Productions/MLB Network/MLB.com)

And that will conclude the Sports Emmy Award posts. Coming later will be some sports media thoughts.

33rd Annual Sports Emmy Nominations Announced

We have the nominations, all 170 in 33 different categories, for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards. They just came out today. There are some surprises like massive hockey charlatan Pierre McGuire nominated in the Sports Reporter category and for some really strange reason, Skippy Bayless of ESPN2′s First Take was nominated for Best Studio Analyst. What analysis does he do besides yelling and having massive manlove for Tim Tebow?

There are some of the usual suspects are nominated, Bob Costas for Best Studio Host, Al Michaels in Play-by-Play, Cris Collinsworth for both Studio and Game Analyst.

Some of the nominations I agree with include Mike Mayock for Best Game Analyst, College GameDay and Football Night in America as Best Studio Shows and all of the movies in the Sports Documentary category. Sports documentaries were strong this year and I have trouble picking one although Catching Hell, the ESPN Films effort on Steve Bartman and the Chicago Cubs might be the weakest of the bunch, but the doc was still very good.

Ok, get ready to scroll, the entire list is below. We do need a page break so the list of nominees will after the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences press releases.

THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 33^RD ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS

Winners to be Honored During the April 30^th Ceremony At Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jack Whitaker to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

New York, NY – March 20, 2012 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 33^rd Annual Sports Emmy® Awards.

More than 170 nominees were announced in 33 categories including outstanding live sports special, live series, sports documentary, studio show, promotional announcements, play-by-play personality and studio analyst.  The Awards will be given out at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center on April 30^th, 2012 in New York City.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports will go to the Sports Commentator and Essayist, Jack Whitaker.

“This is an outstanding year for the sports community and for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” said Malachy Wienges, Chairman, NATAS. “The entries received in this year’s Sports Emmys resulted in a record 175 nominees, illustrating the quality of these entries.  We are also honoring Jack Whitaker with our Lifetime Achievement Award.  I had the pleasure of working with Jack for eighteen years at CBS, and Jack is a sports icon and a class act.”

In addition to Jack Whitaker, many of the today’s leading sports broadcasters, personalities and television professionals will be in attendance as presenters at the event.

The networks of ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D & espn.com) lead the nomination totals with 55, the NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel & nbcsports.com) garnered 32, CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) entries received 26 nominations, while Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com & truTV) have 22.

A complete list of all nominees is attached below.

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network Group

ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D, espn.com) – 55
NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel, nbcsports.com) – 32
CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) – 26
Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com, truTV) – 22
HBO Sports – 19
FOX Sports Media Group (FOX, SPEED) – 16
NFL Network – 12
MLB Network – 8
DIRECTV – 2
MLB Advanced Media (MLB.com, MLBAM) – 2
NFL.com – 2
NCAA.com – 1
PGA.com – 1

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network

ESPN – 36
NBC – 22
HBO Sports – 19
CBS – 15
FOX – 15
TNT – 15
ESPN2 – 14
NFL NETWORK – 12
SHOWTIME – 10
MLB NETWORK – 8
VERSUS – 7  
TBS – 3
ABC – 2   
DIRECTV – 2
ESPN 3D – 2
GOLF CHANNEL – 2
NBA TV – 2
NFL.COM – 2
CBSSPORTS.COM – 1
ESPN.COM – 1
MLB.COM – 1
MLBAM – 1
NBA.COM – 1
NBCSPORTS.COM – 1
NCAA.COM – 1
PGA.COM – 1
SPEED – 1
truTV – 1

BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM/SERIES NOMINATIONS

Program/Nominations/Network

24/7: 8 -  HBO
E: 60: 7 – ESPN2
A Game of Honor: 5 – Showtime/CBSSports.com
MLB on FOX: 5 – FOX
NASCAR on FOX: 5 – FOX
NBA on TNT: 4 – TNT
NBC Sunday Night Football: 4 – NBC
FIFA Women’s World Cup: 3 – ESPN/ESPN2
Outside the Lines: 3 – ESPN
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: 3 – HBO
SportsCenter: 3 – ESPN
The Army/Navy Game: 3 – CBS
The Franchise: 3 – Showtime
Winter X Games 15: 3 – ESPN/ESPN3D
2011 Open Championship: 2 – ESPN
2011 Stanley Cup Final: 2 – NBC/Versus
ESPN Monday Night Football: 2 – ESPN
Football Night in America: 2 – NBC
Grand Slam Tennis on ESPN: 2 – ESPN2
Inside the NBA on TNT: 2 – TNT
Joplin: City of Hope: 2 – ESPN2
McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice: 2 – HBO
MLB Tonight: 2 – MLB Network
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: 2 – CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV
NFL Films Presents: 2 – NFL Network
NFL GameDay Morning: 2 – NFL Network
NFL on FOX: 2 – FOX
Sports Science: 2 – ESPN/ESPN.com
Sunday NFL Countdown: 2 – ESPN
Unguarded: 2 – ESPN

And after the page break, all of the nominees for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards which will be handed out April 30 in New York City.

(continue reading…)

Some Black Friday Sports Media Links

I hope you survived the Black Friday experience if you went out today. If you decided to shop online, better to do that than wait outside in the cold especially in the Northeast where the temperatures dropped below freezing overnight. No fun.

Anyway, I’ll provide the links. The Weekend Viewing Picks are here.

To the linkage.

National

At USA Today, Michael Hiestand and Mike McCarthy debate whether it’s appropriate to mention religion and faith in sports television.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that HBO will give viewers a 12 minute sneak peek on its new NHL-themed 24/7 series tonight.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has the picture of Thanksgiving Day in which a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader got the start of her 15 minutes.

Tom Lorenzo at SportsGrid has a funny vidcap of a kid fast asleep during the Miami-Dallas game. Too much turkey, I guess.

Joe Favorito says hockey hopes to fill a void left by the NBA.

Sports Media Watch has the ratings for all NASCAR Sprint Cup races this season.

SMW notes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football saw a ratings increase for Chiefs-Pats.

SMW says NBC’s Sunday Night Football suffered a rare ratings and viewership drop in Week 11.

And SMW writes that last week’s Thursday Night Football gave NFL Network some early Thanksgiving treats.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the ratings of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada to date.

The Awful Announcing staff lists the announcers it’s thankful for.

Overseas, BBC Sport, once a UK powerhouse, is now cutting back and it’s only doing half a schedule of one of its signature sports, Formula 1. It explains how it’s covering Formula 1 in 2012.

Owen Gibson of the London (UK) Guardian says BBC has won back the rights to the IAAF World Athletic Championships, an event it lost for the first time this year.

Jackie Pepper writes about a Kansas City Royals MLB.com beat reporter who received a life-saving transplant and then went to cover every single game this past season.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes that NBC is looking to carve out a Thanksgiving niche for the NHL with a new Black Friday game.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post actually gives praise today! Stop the presses!

Justin Terranova of the Post has 5 questions for Sirius XM college football analyst Eddie George.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says ex-coaches don’t always make for the best broadcasters.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun thoroughly enjoyed NFL Network’s coverage of last night’s 49ers-Ravens game.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with an NHL official about its new “Thanksgiving Showdown”.

South

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle waxes poetic about losing the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry.

Chris Baldwin at CultureMap Houston says ESPN reminded Texas A&M fans why the school’s rivalry with Texas is ending when it promoted the Longhorn Network.

Midwest

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that Ndamukong Suh’s stomp on Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith got plenty of play on Fox yesterday.

Paul Christian of the Rochester Post (MN) Bulletin also writes about the TV reaction to Suh’s stomp.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says embattled Cardinals TV voice Dan McLaughlin might be returning next season after all despite two arrests for DWI.

West

The Salt Lake Tribune’s Brian T. Smith says the Utah Jazz’s glory days can be seen on TV as fill for the NBA Lockout.

John Maffei at the North County Times reports that the San Diego Padres still have yet to sign a TV deal for next season.

Jim Carlisle in the Ventura County Star notes that LSU is playing another big game today on CBS.

Bill Shaikin from the Los Angeles Times says Fox is asking a judge for the Dodgers to throw in the parking lots in the team’s sale price rather than try to boost it and block its bid for the team’s media rights.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at some of the most dubious moments in sports media this year.

Joshua Myers of the Seattle Times notes that NBC is tapping Sounders voice Arlo White to be its MLS announcer.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says a new TSN documentary on the 20th anniversary of the Argonauts winning the CFL Grey Cup shows how far the team has sunk.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog goes inside the numbers of TSN’s coverage of this Sunday’s Grey Cup.

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.

Turner Sports and MLB.com Bring Back Postseason.TV for MLB Postseason

Think of this as MLB’s online companion similar to NASCAR’s Race Buddy. While it’s not the actual game, it’s an online companion that will compliment the TV coverage on TBS. Like Race Buddy which is also run by Turner Sports, Postseason.TV will have camera angles and be made available for a fee for both the League Division and League Championship Series. They’ll also be seen on MLB.com’s mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. They’re available in the US and Canada only.

We have the joint press release from Turner Sports and MLB.com.

 Postseason.TV Returns as TBS and MLBAM Team Up Throughout the 2011 Division Series and National League Championship Series

Online companion product to feature 10 live camera angles to give fans unique perspectives to Division Series and NLCS action

TBS and MLB Advanced Media are collaborating to bring fans additional access to this year’s Division Series (LDS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS) beginning Friday, September 30, with the return of Postseason.TV, a digital product that complements TBS’ exclusive presentation of each series. The subscription-based Postseason.TV package will once again stream alternate camera angles live for every LDS and NLCS game, allowing fans to customize their own online viewing experiences. Postseason.TV will be available on MLB.com and its mobile app platforms.

Postseason.TV will complement TBS’ coverage with up to 10 different camera angles available throughout each game, which viewers can navigate for different vantage points from their computers or handheld devices. Subscribers can watch one camera angle or view up to four different cameras simultaneously through a multi-screen option. Fans also will be granted access to live batting practice coverage from multiple camera angles, in-progress box scores, video highlights and streaming Tweets from MLB, TBS and fans.

“Postseason.TV gives baseball fans the opportunity to enhance their television viewing experience on TBS with extensive interactive live video on their laptops, tablets and smart phones,” said Matthew Hong, Turner Sports senior vice president and general manager of sports operations. “As more and more fans watch baseball using multiple screens at once, TBS and Postseason.TV combine to provide an immersive and all-access experience which is second to none.”

Postseason.TV is live and blackout-free and available to residents in the U.S. and Canada only. Subscriptions to Postseason.TV are available for a one-time fee of $5.99 for the complete package of LDS and NLCS games or individually for the Division Series ($3.99) and NLCS ($2.99). In addition to the web-based product, Postseason.TV also is available on mobile devices via MLB.com At Bat 11 for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android.

“These offerings embody our collective efforts to ensure baseball fans have access across a variety of distribution points to those emotionally-charged moments that define our Postseason,” said Kenny Gersh, senior vice president, business development, MLBAM. “As enhancements to Turner’s broadcasts, these products will continue to deliver October baseball is a unique way, leveraging the power of interactive media to drive fan engagement.”

There you have it.

It’s A Slowly Getting Back To Normal After Irene Linkfest

Yesterday about 2 p.m., I got the power back at the Fang’s Bites abode and after walking around the neighborhood, I saw that I was quite lucky in not getting any tree limbs falling on my house or any leaks in the basement. So while Hurricane Irene was quite deadly and caused major damage up and down the East Coast, I consider myself very lucky in being able to get through the storm without any major interruptions and I thank National Grid for getting the power back to my house within a day after being knocked offline.

Let’s do some linkage. Already a couple of major sports media stories breaking today.

First, Bill Carter of the New York Times writes that NBC has tapped Today show Executive Producer Jim Bell and former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol protégé as the Executive Producer of the 2012 London Olympics.

Tim Malloy at The Wrap says NBC feels Bell is uniquely qualified to helm the Olympics for the network.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Bell will continue to oversee the Today show while working on the Olympics.

The lovely Rachel Cohen of the Associated Press writes that NBC will show all Olympic events live in one platform or another.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette is happy to see NBC airing events live.

In a related note, Meredith Galante of the Business Insider notes that the aforementioned former Emperor is selling his Colorado home for a huge pricetag.

And maybe this is why Ebersol is selling his house, Bill Carter and Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports that the former Emperor is returning to NBC Sports as a senior adviser. You can’t make these things up.

Our other big sports media story involves the University of Kentucky revoking the school newspaper’s media credential for playing by its rules.

Scott Sloan of the Lexington Herald-Leader looks into why this occurred.

And from the Kentucky Kernel, the school newspaper’s managing editor Becca Clemons gives the publication’s response. This now is becoming a First Amendment issue and had the school’s Sports Information Department had handled this differently, this would not have blown up. Instead, the SID reacted poorly and this is the result.

To other stories now.

USA Today notes that there are a few changes coming to NFL Network including the hiring of Andrew Siciliano full-time and the shuffling of anchors for NFL Total Access.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek says advertisers are flocking to Fox’s UFC package knowing they can reach large numbers of young males.

To the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center and Jason Fry whose final column for the site provides sportswriters with the five changes in digital sports they need to look for in the very near future. Also, Jason has collected 19 of his National Sports Journalism Center columns into a eBook and it’s available for download at Amazon or at Smashwords. Jason has been a great resource here and I hope to let you know where he’ll be landing soon.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser says syndicated radio host Paul Finebaum will be writing a column for SI.com.

Glenn Davis in SportsGrid has the latest Alec Baldwin-John Krasinski Yankees-Red Sox rivalry New Era ad that premieres tonight. It’s very funny.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group looks at Big Ten Network’s programming schedule to reflect the new football season.

Brandon writes about the launch of Kansas State’s new KStateHD.TV.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch takes to TwitLonger to ask why ESPN’s new social media policy is not being applied equally.

David Whitely of AOL Sporting News wonders if airing the Little League World Series on TV is too much pressure on the kids.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the addition of Texas A&M to the SEC won’t add much value to its TV contracts.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post writes that the US Tennis Association is considering charging viewers for watching the U.S. Open online.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union wishes ESPN would lighten up.

David N. Dunkle of the Patriot-News (PA) writes a long-time Harrisville R&B radio station flips to ESPN Radio this week.

Mark Berman of the Roanoke (VA) Times says ESPN’s new contract with the ACC means more Virginia Tech sports on TV.

Dave Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that former CNN/ESPN/YES/Fox Sports South host Fred Hickman has signed with a local TV station to become its sports director.

Susan Blaskovich of the Pegasus (TX) Times says Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban gets his chance to pick games on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday.

The Grand Rapids (MI) Press notes the passing of long-time Detroit Lions beat writer Tom “Killer” Kowalski.

The Ann Arbor News has reaction to Kowalski’s passing.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Sentinel looks at how WTMJ radio will handle conflicts between the Brewers, Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers.

Bob has some interesting tidbits from the NFL Films America’s Game documentary on the 2010 Packers that airs next week.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business feels the number of documentaries released now focusing on the Cubs is bad timing.

Mike Imrem of the Chicago Daily Herald says he might be part of the problem in ESPN’s airing of the Little League World Series.

Josie Becker of LA Galaxy Confidential suggests that NBC use the ESPN model for hiring announcers for MLS instead of the Fox Soccer way of doing things.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball says the MLB At Bat for iPhone and iPod Touch underwent a nice upgrade in time for the pennant races.

Brady Green at Awful Announcing enjoys Gus Johnson reenacting his famous Brandon Stokley call.

And I think that will do it for the links today.

A Few Late Night Links

Due to the fact that I had to go in and out of the office five times for various errands and meetings during the day, I was not able to provide linkage. And due to the fact that there are some good stories lingering, I don’t want to leave you without some links. So I’ll do a quick set of links now and hopefully will be able to do a full set on Wednesday.

Let’s start with Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated who talks with ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit who sets the record straight about why he moved away from his beloved Columbus to Tennessee.

Matthew Belloni of the Hollywood Reporter says a federal judge has shot down Comcast’s request to block a DirecTV ad campaign on offering “free” NFL games.

Jon Lafayette at Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News says ESPN helped to steer parent company Disney to higher earnings in the 3rd quarter of its fiscal year.

From Mike Reynolds from Multichannel, ESPN saw its highest viewership for an MLB contest dating back to 2007 thanks to Yankees-Red Sox on Sunday.

Mike writes that NFL Network saw its best Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony audience ever since it began airing the event in 2003.

Bill Cromwell at Media Life Magazine writes that media buyers are skeptical that the 2011-12 NBA season will begin on time if it’s played at all.

Writing for Forbes, the SportsBizMiss, the always lovely Kristi Dosh says revenue sharing might be how the NBA solves its labor problems.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser says two MLB.com writers were robbed outside the Great American Ball Park after a Cincinnati Reds game.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Mike Tyson’s autograph is a hotter commodity now than it was when he was in his boxing prime.

Jeré Longman of the New York Times says despite increased attendance and TV ratings for Women’s Professional Soccer since the Women’s World Cup, the league’s future is very much in doubt.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union has the Syracuse football schedule and the networks airing the games.

Ken McMillan in the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that Red Sox fans in the Catskill Mountains have a radio station to listen to their favorite team.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes NASCAR drama is truly reality TV.

Dan Steinberg in the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is expanding its relationship with the Baltimore Ravens. This comes a year after the Ravens severed its relationship with MASN just before last season.

Dan discovers that two DC-area natives co-anchored ESPN’s SportsCenter last weekend.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner also writes about CSN Mid-Atlantic taking in more Ravens programming.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman looks at the local ratings for sports.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says four Brewers originally not scheduled for air will be picked up for TV.

The Cleveland Frowns blog wonders why CBS Radio is bringing in an outsider to be part of its daily lineup for its new FM sports radio station.

Bob writes that a local TV station is teaming up with the local ESPN Radio affiliate to produce a weekly show.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business reports that Tiger Woods has lost another sponsor and Ed also wants Tiger’s former caddie to shut up.

David Zahniser of the Los Angeles Times writes that a deal to build an NFL stadium at the Staples Center site received unanimous approval on Tuesday.

Times NFL writer Sam Farmer talks about what the deal approval means.

The Canadian Sports Media blog has some thoughts on what’s been happening in the Great White North.

CSMB notes that TSN is no longer airing the UEFA Champions League.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog wonders if anyone would buy Rogers’ attempt at a sports magazine in this day and age.

Sports Media Watch says Yankees-Red Sox had ratings drawing power during this past weekend.

And SMW notes that three of MLB’s TV partners saw ratings gains for Yanks-Red Sox.

Brian Packey at Awful Announcing refuses to call the hair on top of Bill Simmons’ lip that was seen on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, a porn mustache. Brian may not, but I will. That thing is hideous.

Dave Kohl at his renamed “Broadcast Booth” blog looks at sports radio ratings for various markets.

Ok, that’s going to do it. I found more links than I thought I would and it’s approach 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. I need sleep. Back later today.

Fans Can Vote For The Top MLB All-Star Game Moment

Major League Baseball has just unveiled a new All-Star Game site in which you can watch videos of some of the greatest moments in the contest’s history and then vote for which one you feel is tops. A total of 16 moments, 8 for both the American and National Leagues, are on the site. Then as the votes are totaled and the winners are determined, another round of voting will begin and continue until we get our top moment revealed during this year’s All-Star Game in Arizona on Fox. This year’s MLB All-Star Game takes place on Tuesday, July 12. Bob Costas narrates all of the videos. Here’s the MLB press release.

FANS TO CHOOSE TOP ALL-TIME MLB ALL-STAR MOMENT IN MIDSUMMER CLASSIC BRACKET TOURNAMENT ON MLB.COM

MLB Network’s Bob Costas Narrates Each Video
Former All-Stars and MLB Network Analysts Al Leiter, Harold Reynolds, and Mitch Williams Determined the Moment Match-Ups

Cal Ripken Jr. will take on Babe Ruth.  Bo Jackson’s bomb in Anaheim will try to overcome Reggie Jackson’s titanic blast that hit a transformer on the roof at Tiger Stadium.  And John Kruk’s hilarious at-bat against Randy Johnson will try to beat out Stan “The Man” Musial’s walk-off home run in a new bracket tournament called Midsummer Classics on MLB.com.

Fans now have the opportunity to vote for their favorite Midsummer Classic moment from a total of 16 (eight American League and eight National League) in a bracket format to determine the greatest moment in the history of the All-Star Game.  Starting on Saturday each week, fans will vote at MLB.com/moments until one AL and one NL moment square off in the final week leading into the 82^nd MLB All-Star Game, which will be broadcast on FOX on Tuesday, July 12 starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Narrated by MLB Network’s Bob Costas, each moment will be captured in a short video that will be available on MLB.com and shareable and embeddable online and through social media.  The bracket match-ups were determined by former All-Stars and MLB Network analysts Al Leiter, Harold Reynolds and Mitch Williams.

Here is a link to the brackets.  Following are the first round match-ups:

American League

• Ted Williams Honored at All-Century Team Ceremony/Pedro Martinez Strikeout Performance (1999)vs. Fred Lynn Hits Only All-Star Game Grand Slam (1983)
• All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium’s Last Season Ends in 15^th Inning Walk-Off (2008) vs. Ted Williams Hits Walk-Off Home Run (1941)
• Babe Ruth Hits First Ever All-Star Game Home Run (1933) vs. Cal Ripken Jr. Moves Back to Shortstop and Hits Home Run in His Final All-Star Game (2001)
• Reggie Jackson Hits Rooftop Home Run (1971) vs. Bo Jackson Does It All in Anaheim (1989)

National League

• Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden Strikeout Six Straight All-Stars (1984) vs. Johnny Callison Hits Walk-Off Home Run (1964)
• Carl Hubbell Strikes Out Five Consecutive Hall of Famers (1934) vs. Dave Parker Guns Down Brian Downing at Home From Deep Right Field (1979)
• Pete Rose Runs Over Ray Fosse (1970) vs. Moises Alou Knocks In Tony Gwynn to Win the Game (1994)
• Stan Musial Hits Walk-Off Home Run (1955) vs. John Kruk Survives At Bat Against Randy Johnson (1993)

The voting periods will be as follows:

• Round One (16 Midsummer Classics): Saturday, June 11 – Saturday, June 18
• Round Two (8 Midsummer Classics): Saturday, June 18 – Saturday, June 25
• Round Three (4 Midsummer Classics): Saturday, June 25 – Saturday, July 2
• Round Four (2 Midsummer Classics): Saturday, July 2 – Saturday, July 9

And there you have it.

It’s True! MLB.com IS Allowing Embeddable Video!

In a piece of news that’s just short of the second coming of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, MLB.com has quietly allowed blogs and websites to embed their videos. Not all of their videos can be embedded, but some. Deadspin just found out about this in the last hour. I went to the Red Sox official website and decided to check it out for myself and I’m able to embed these videos for you.

And this one.

But they’re not allowing us to embed game recaps and highlights. I hope that comes in time. The fact that we can embed some videos is definitely a start.

Providing You With Tuesday Linkage

For some of you, it’s a back to work Tuesday after a three day weekend. Not for me as I was at the office until late on Memorial Day. But you don’t want to read my complaining, you want linkage so I’ll get it to right away.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek says expect LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki to draw viewers to the NBA Finals starting tonight.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes about TNT’s record NBA ratings and the potential for a blockbuster NBA Finals for ABC.

Jeff Neff and E.J. Schultz of Advertising Age say NFL advertisers are getting nervous as the lockout is starting to effect grocery in-store displays.

Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell gives readers an introduction to investigative reporter George Dohrmann who wrote the expose on former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.

Sergio Non of USA Today says UFC’s Dana White is looking to put more cards on over the air TV.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says soccer-centric Gol TV will air another edition of its signature reality show.

Carolyn Braff of Sports Video Group writes that Versus had to overcome massive mud puddles in order to bring the Tour of California to viewers.

Paul Meehan at ESPN Front Row says the network’s NBA Marketing team is spending a lot of late nights creating TV and radio promos for the Finals.

Over at Mocksession, a very interesting post on how Fox Sports Net and ABC deceived viewers in various ways.

Maggie Hendricks at Yahoo’s Cagewriter blog wishes the media would stop giving MMA fighter Quintin “Rampage” Jackson the time of day. It’s all over this video as Jackson pretends to motorboat reporter Karyn Bryant’s breasts.

The Big Lead goes into why Jackson is such a lightning rod with reporters.

MMA reporter Karyn Bryant who was the subject of Jackson’s attention last weekend tweets that she wasn’t offended.

I’ve now been told I have to run an errand. More later.

Some more links now.

Tripp Mickle and John Ourand from the Sports Business Journal report on the latest on the bidding for the US Olympic TV rights now that NBC’s Dick Ebersol is out of the picture.

Tripp teams with Terry Lefton on a story about sports marketers who plan to stay in Brazil after the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics are finished there.

And Kevin Sullivan of SBJ instructs athletes on how to tweet the right way.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser notes that ESPN/ABC NBA analyst Mark Jackson is a finalist for the Golden State Warriors coaching job.

Cam says the Sports Illustrated story on Jim Tressel caused a Twitter spat among sportswriters.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports says the NBA’s TV partners should send thanks to LeBron James and the Miami Heat for increased ratings this season.

Gordon Cox of Variety notes that ESPN and the Tribeca Film Festival are teaming up to put three movies on Video on Demand.

Tony Barnhart of CBS Sports talks with SEC Commissioner Mike Slive about the BCS, college football TV contracts and his contract.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell cautions fans who think college football will change with Jim Tressel’s resignation.

Bill Gorman at zap2it’s TVbytheNumbers notes that Fox’s NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 zoomed past all network competition on Sunday.

Newsday’s Neil Best says former Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill will now double his workload for YES.

Neil says NBC/Versus NHL host Liam McHugh appears to be on a fast track to stardom.

Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at the ESPN book.

Former ESPN Radio host Mark Madden in the Beaver County Times feels the ESPN book doesn’t cover any new ground. How about bringing up your firing, Mark?

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has his take on DC NFL team owner Dan Snyder making the local media rounds last week.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says ABC expects to garner good ratings with the NBA Finals.

Shannon J. Owens at the Orlando Sentinel wonders why Urban Meyer would leave ESPN for Ohio State, especially at this juncture.

Ben Thomas of the Mobile (AL) Press-Register says a local station is dropping ESPN Radio programming in favor of Sporting News Radio.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says national announcers have to deal with fans who feel they root against their teams.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN/ABC’s NBA crew denies that it was rooting against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.

WLWT-TV in Cincinnati notes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth has taken a job coaching high school football until the NFL lockout ends.

And at his website, Football Pros Live, Cris explains why he took the job.

The Big Lead says it appears that ESPN2 First Take buffoon Skip Bayless was forced to apologize to Chris Broussard after yelling at him on Monday.

EPL Talk says the UEFA Champions League Final drew a 1.8 overnight rating for Fox, a 64% increase from the year before.

EPL Talk notes that Fox dumbed down its Champions League pregame show.

Sports Media Watch notes that Charles Barkley will be back in Miami for the NBA Finals working the games for NBA TV.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media looks at how Boston and Vancouver have fared in the ratings throughout the NHL Postseason.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin notes that MLB.com is actually allowing some videos to be embedded! Hallelujah!!!

And we’re going to end it there for today.

Doing The Tuesday Links

I need to get these up quickly as the NBC/NHL conference call will occur at 1 p.m. today. I won’t be able to monitor it, but I do hope to provide details as they become available. Lots of links to get to.

The major news of the day thus far is NBC’s renewal of its agreement with the NHL. It means NBC and Versus will keep the rights to the league and it’s for 10 years/$200 million. Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy tells us what it all means.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand who has been tremendous in reporting this story has the full details of the new agreement between NBC/Comcast and the NHL.

Anthony Crupi says NBC/Comcast has won its first battle in what should be many against Disney/ESPN.

Barry Pachesky of Deadspin puts the NBC/Comcast contract with the NHL into perspective.

Keara Dowd of Aerys Sports says ESPN really wanted to get the NHL back.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says NBC/Comcast will have increased rights to the NHL with the new 10 year deal.

And in a related note, PBS’ Nightly Business Report had a segment on Comcast’s purchase of NBC and wanting to gain a big foothold in sports.

Back to Wyshynski, he gives us the best of NESN’s Jack Edwards from last night’s Game 3 of the Boston Bruins-Montreal Canadiens series. Jack was more over the top than usual.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says for Generation Y, sports is about getting together, not necessarily competing against each other.

Also from USA Today, Sean Leahy notes that despite the lockout, the NFL is pressing ahead with plans to release its 2011 regular season schedule tonight.

Sean speculates on some of the NFL’s marquee games for this season.

Sean says Joe Theismann has tweeted (since removed) that he is indeed out of the NFL Network Thursday Night Football booth.

Back to the Sports Business Journal and Terry Lefton who notes that the NFL continues with its Draft even as the lockout continues.

John Ourand and David Broughton of Sports Business Journal report that San Antonio reigns over the local TV ratings for the league.

Over at Multichannel News, Mike Reynolds says the NBA on TNT’s opening Sunday NBA Playoff tripleheader drew 36% more viewers than the year before.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek says the big TV ratings for the opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs means more revenue for ESPN and Turner Sports.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life writes that the NBA’s postseason ratings could set a record.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with someone in the know about the Feds’ crackdown on offshore poker websites.

Sports Business Daily looks at ESPN’s decision to drop all poker advisertising.

Cam Martin from SportsNewser says ESPN is going to be dropping all poker advertising and related programming for the foreseeable future.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing tells us what ESPN’s decision on poker advertising and programming means to the niche sport.

Russell Scibetti from the Business of Sports shares his thoughts on the Feds’ crackdown on poker websites and what it means for the networks that air poker.

Emmett Jones of Sports Business Digest notes that Pittsburgh is on top of the local NHL TV ratings heap.

The great Maury Brown from the Biz of Baseball says MLB’s TV partners are bullish about ad revenue for this season.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir writes about ESPN posting the endorsement deals made its announcers and analysts.

ESPN has announced that the extremely insufferable Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News will host a one hour daily show for ESPN Radio in New York. I refuse to link to any stories about this. You’ll thank me later.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes the early postseason ratings for both the NBA and NHL.

Dejan Kovacevic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks about the Penguins being number one in the local NHL TV ratings.

John Steigerwald of the Washington (PA) Observer-Reporter who wrote the incendiary column last week about Giants fan Bryan Stow who is still in a coma after being beat up by two Los Angeles Dodgers fans, tries to explain himself this week and claims everyone across the country is to blame for misunderstanding his original incendiary column.

To Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner who says the NBC Sports Group outdueled three other networks for the NHL.

Jerry Ratcliffe of the Charlottesville (VA) Daily Progress writes about the bond between Fox NFL Sunday co-horts and odd couple Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long.

Rick Bozich from the Louisville Courier-Journal feels ESPN owes the University of Kentucky an apology.

Ryan Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that ESPN’s Bob Knight should be fired for remarks he made about the Kentucky basketball program.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman previews one segment on tonight’s HBO Real Sports program.

Mark Dawidziak of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer says a local man will get a shot at his dream to work for ESPN.

Diane Pucin from the Los Angeles Times looks at the new NBC/NHL deal.

TV Sports Jobs looks at 10 Worst Acting Performances in sports movies.

The great Bob’s Blitz blog has the ratings for WFAN and ESPN Radio New York for last month.

Pressdog notes the ratings for ESPN2′s airing of last weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide race.

The Canadian Sports Media blog feels CBC’s curling coverage ain’t what it used to be.

Sports Media Watch says TNT is off to its best start ever for an NBA postseason.

SMW says ESPN had good numbers for its NBA Playoffs opening tripleheader.

And SMW notes ABC had really good numbers for its opening two games of the NBA Playoffs.

Another post from Russell Scibetti, this time in the Business Insider Sports Page, where he noticed that MLB.com has stopped its free streaming of a game a night on Facebook.

Joe Favorito says in addition to promoting team pride, NBA and NHL Playoff teams might want to attach a worthy cause as well. I like this idea.

OK, lots of links and lots of stories. I think we’ll end it there.

MLB At Bat ’11 Updated For Mobile Apps Today

From MLB.com and MLB Advanced Media, we have the news and MLB At Bat ’11, the mobile app for the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, Android and Blackberry has been updated in time for Opening Day. Plenty of features for you and lots of good stuff for those who have either platform. In addition, MLB.TV will be free for those using MLB At Bat on an Apple device.

Let’s take a look at what’s in store for At Bat users.

AT BAT 11 OPENING DAY RELEASE AVAILABLE NOW

Free MLB.TV trial offers free live games in April on Apple iOS mobile devices

MLB.TV access for watching live regular season games debuts on select Android devices

New York, NY, March 31, 2011 – MLB.com At Bat, the top-selling, award-winning suite of mobile applications developed by MLB Advanced Media, has issued its Opening Day application updates which include a host of new features, offers and functionalities. The highlights of the latest release are a free trial of MLB.TV for the month of April – on Apple iOS mobile devices, a re-designed Gameday experience with realistic ballpark images for iPad and the first live streaming of regular season baseball games on Android with access to MLB.TV.

In addition to these enhancements, MLB.com At Bat 11 will introduce the following capabilities for each respective mobile device, intended to further enrich the fan experience this season:

At Bat 11 for iPad

• Watch every out-of-market game during April with a free MLB.TV trial (NEW)
• Enhanced, re-designed Gameday pitch-by-pitch features, including realistic ballpark renderings from all 30 MLB parks in partnership with MLB^® 11: The Show™, available exclusively on PlayStation^® (NEW)
• See key plays and pivotal moments from every game with Live Looks-Ins, blackout free (NEW)
• Archived games to watch every game from 2011 on-demand (NEW)
• MLB.TV subscription access to watch live out-of-market games all season
• Home and away radio broadcasts
• In-progress video highlights
• Condensed Games
• Breaking news, standings, schedules, rosters and statistics

At Bat 11 for iPhone, iPod touch

• Watch every out-of-market game during April with a free MLB.TV trial (NEW)
• See key plays and pivotal moments from every game with Live Looks-Ins, blackout free (NEW)
• Archived games to watch every game from 2011 on-demand (NEW)
• At The Ballpark with check-in, interactive venue maps, expanded video highlights, my profile, social media with Twitter and Facebook, exclusive offers and rewards and more (NEW)
• Customizable home screen to feature a designated favorite team (NEW)
• MLB.TV subscription access to watch live out-of-market games all season
• Home and away radio broadcasts
• In-progress video highlights
• Condensed Games and video library archive, searchable by team and player
• Breaking news, standings, schedules, rosters and statistics
• Customizable push notifications for game start and end and video highlight availability

At Bat 11 for Android

• MLB.TV subscription access to watch live out-of-market games (NEW)*
• At Bat.tv Free Game of the Day to watch one live out-of-market game free every day (NEW)*
• See key plays/pivotal moments from every game with Live Look-Ins, blackout free  (NEW)*
• At The Ballpark with check-in, expanded video highlights, my profile, social media with Facebook, exclusive offers and rewards and more (NEW)
• Customizable home screen to feature a designated favorite team (NEW)
• Favorite team icon launcher widget for one-click access to a team’s homepage (NEW)
• MLB.com widget for one-click access to a live league-wide scoreboard (NEW)
• In-progress video highlights
• Home and away radio broadcasts
• Gameday pitch-by-pitch tracker
• Video library archive, searchable by team and player
• Breaking news, standings, schedules, rosters and statistics

* Technical requirements for live video on Android: To access live video, the minimum OS is 2.2, supporting Flash with at least an ARMv7 processor. Note that not all 2.2 devices support Flash and users may experience other unexpected device constraints.

At Bat 11 for BlackBerry

• Home and away radio broadcasts
• In-progress video highlights
• Gameday pitch-by-pitch tracker
• Customizable push notifications for game start and end and video highlight availability
• Breaking news, standings, schedules, rosters and statistics

MLB.com At Bat 11 is available to subscribers for a one-time fee of $14.99 for the entire 2011 season. For more information, visit MLB.com.

The $14.99 is quite high and I hope it doesn’t go up to $19.99 because that is where I will draw the line for a mobile app.

It’s The MLB Fan Cave!

After scouring the country and receiving thousands of applications, MLB has selected two men to watch every single game, that’s right, every single regular season game, to the postseason right down to the final out of the World Series. They will chronicle their experiences at MLB.com, be taped for an MLB.com web series produced by reality TV company, Endemol, and also make appearances on MLB Network throughout the season. They’ll be in an apartment that will be seen at street level in New York so passersby can take a look at what they’re doing.

This will be quite interesting. We have details in this press release from MLB.com.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL INTRODUCES THE MLB FAN CAVE, AN UNPRECEDENTED FAN ENGAGEMENT EXPERIENCE

Winner of MLB Dream Job, Mike O’Hara, to Watch Every Game of 2011 MLB Season in MLB Fan Cave and Star in New Web Series Produced by Endemol USA

Major League Baseball today introduced the MLB Fan Cave (@MLBFanCave on Twitter), a first of its kind immersive fan experience that will take place in a vibrant location in New York City hosting the winner of the MLB dream job, who was chosen from a pool of nearly 10,000 applicants. Starting on Opening Day, the winner, Mike O’Hara, will inhabit the Fan Cave every day for the entire 2011 MLB season along with his Wingman, Ryan Wagner, and will watch all 2,430 regular season games plus every Postseason game while chronicling their experiences and sharing their viewpoints on baseball and pop culture through Facebook, Twitter, a blog on MLB.com, custom videos and regular appearances on MLB Network.

The MLB Fan Cave, located at the corner of 4^th and Broadway (map) in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, will play host to interactive fan activities; regular visits from MLB players, baseball personalities and celebrities; parties; musical performances; and other events throughout the baseball season. With 32 14-foot windows, O’Hara and Wagner’s every move and all of the events at the MLB Fan Cave will be visible to fans out on the street as well as fans online.

The concept was created by MLB, its new marketing and advertising agency of record Hill Holliday, and production company Endemol USA. Endemol USA will produce a web series, that will be distributed on MLB.com (www.MLBFanCave.com) and sharable through social media, which will chronicle the activities and events at the MLB Fan Cave, as well as O’Hara and Wagner’s daily interactions. Bobby Maurer (The Tom Green Show) will serve as Executive Producer. MLBFanCave.com will be live today with some introductory photos and video and will officially launch on baseball’s Opening Day, March 31.

The MLB Fan Cave was designed and created in consultation with one of the leading designers on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Paul DiMeo. The MLB Fan Cave is a 15,000 square foot space which will be fully equipped with an array of state-of-the-art media and entertainment technologies.

The centerpieces of O’Hara’s unprecedented attempt at baseball consumption will be 15 LCD HDTV televisions (three 60” screens surrounded by a dozen 32” TVs) that will broadcast every MLB game. In addition to the windows allowing fans to look in, the MLB Fan Cave will feature interactive elements for fans at street level and will be open to the public for free on certain days throughout the season. The MLB Fan Cave schedule of events will be available on MLBFanCave.com and special content will be available within the top-selling mobile application MLB.com At Bat 11.

In addition to the televisions, the MLB Fan Cave will have numerous baseball-inspired elements including a Porch modeled after the Porches that are featured in three MLB ballparks. A list of MLB Fan Cave features is below.

“The MLB Fan Cave will give fans a creative new way to experience Major League Baseball,” said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business, Major League Baseball. “This is going to be a real-time experience which brings to life how people consume entertainment in 2011 with baseball at the center of it all. The MLB Fan Cave will be a convergence of baseball with pop culture, social media, technology, celebrity, entertainment, music and art.”

O’Hara (@mikeyoh21 on Twitter), was born in Yonkers, N.Y. and is relocating to Manhattan from Los Angeles, where he has pursued a career in entertainment while performing as lead singer in a punk band, The Mighty Regis, named after Regis Philbin. O’Hara graduated from Syracuse University and decided to move to Los Angeles instead of pursuing a law degree. He has guest starred on multiple television shows, including Parks & Recreation, The Foxx/Crocket Show and the Jo Koy Show, and has been a guest star/writer for MTV’s Punk’d and Short Circuitz and NBC’s The Real Wedding Crashers, among others. His band was part of the 2010 Vans Warped Tour lineup and has been featured on FuseTV and Live! With Regis & Kelly.

Wagner (@rwags614 on Twitter) will serve as O’Hara’s Wingman at the Fan Cave throughout the season. A Baltimore native, Wagner was most recently acting in a touring production of The Wizard of Oz (as Dorothy’s uncle as well as the understudy for the Cowardly Lion). Wagner has seen almost every MLB stadium and has a degree in sports broadcasting from the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland. In 2009, he left his acting career to take an internship at Fox Sports 1370 AM in Baltimore, where he covered the Orioles and conducted pre- and post-game interviews.

Fans will have the opportunity to interact with O’Hara and Wagner on Facebook, Twitter and at the public Fan Cave events. The MLB Fan Cave will feature a wide variety of activities and technologies that will provide visitors and fans with an eclectic, multi-faceted entertainment experience that includes:

• A manual scoreboard atop the entrance on Broadway that will be updated daily to reflect how many MLB games O’Hara has watched along with how many he still has to go.
• A performance window on Broadway that will be host to a variety of live acts for fans.
• Screens facing the street that will display for fans real-time highlights and photos from the day’s games as well as a digital ticker broadcasting real-time tweets from O’Hara, Wagner and others.
• An 18-foot statue depicting Willie Mays’ famous catch in an artistic silhouetted form.
• The windows will feature clings that contain QR codes that fans will be able to scan using their smart phones taking them to various areas of MLBFanCave.com.
• A Music Section that will include a DJ booth, graffiti wall and window displays that will include music playlists of current Major Leaguers.
• A Steiner Sports Collectibles area that will house obscure relics from baseball history including a can of bug spray used on Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain during the infamous “Midge Game” in Cleveland during the 2007 Postseason. The MLB Fan Cave will regularly schedule times for fans to bring in baseball collectibles to have them appraised by Steiner Sports Collectibles founder Brandon Steiner.
• A Personal Style Section that will be highlighted by a barber chair and tattoo chair where fans, by appointment only, will have the opportunity to receive haircuts and get inked by special guest barbers and tattoo artists, respectively. Directly across from the chairs is a closet featuring the latest New Era caps, authentic MLB jerseys by Majestic Athletic and fashionable MLB apparel.
• A Café styled after a 1950’s diner for O’Hara and Wagner to dine in during their stay.
• A Game Room that will include a billiards table, shuffle board and other bar games.
• A pitching alley with a radar gun for visitors to test their pitching speed.
• A Fantasy Baseball Corner where O’Hara and Wagner will stay up-to-date with their fantasy teams.
• An artistic display of home plates for celebrity MLB Fan Cave guests to sign their names.  There will also be an area for visitors to leave mementos during their visit.
• A Google Earth-style map will hang near the TVs with oversized versions of the 30 ballparks.  While games are in-progress, the fields playing host to those games will be illuminated.
• Six PlayStation 3 consoles featuring both MLB ‘11 The Show and Major League Baseball 2K11.

One of the first events at the MLB Fan Cave will be The MLB 2K 11 Perfect Game Challenge on Friday, April 1, where gamers will have the chance to compete to win $1 million if they are the first person to throw a perfect game while playing this season’s MLB 2K11.

O’Hara and Wagner were selected for the MLB dream job through a process that included a video submission, writing samples, interviews on-camera with MLB Network talent, and interviews with MLB executives.

And that is all. Quite a bit of information there.

MLB At Bat ’11 Is A Big Success

Just out only 24 hours for the Android and iOS platforms, MLB At Bat ’11 has become the top-selling non-gaming app for both the iPad and iPhone. That’s despite a hefty $14.99 pricetag. It would be nice if MLB stopped the annual money grabs and allowed current subscribers to get the new app for a discounted price instead of charging $5 more than last year. Let’s see what happens next year, but I would hate to see this very good app reach the $20 mark in 2012. Anyway, here’s the press release from MLB.com.

MLB.COM AT BAT 11: A RECORD-SETTING DEBUT

At Bat 11 believed to be first non-gaming App to simultaneously rank as #1 grossing for iPhone and iPad

New York, NY, February 25, 2011 – Baseball fans again have raised the bar for mobile applications with yesterday’s record-setting debut of MLB.com At Bat 11. Believed to be an App Store first for a non-gaming mobile application, At Bat 11 for iPhone and iPad simultaneously rank as the overall highest grossing applications for each respective device. At Bat 11 also ranks in the overall top five for paid applications across each of its four available platforms – iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry.

“We’re delighted with the fans’ response to our best release yet, At Bat 11,” said Dinn Mann, EVP Content, MLB.com. “The At Bat 11 app’s features optimize the presentation of baseball on any mobile device, making it convenient to watch or listen to hundreds of live Spring Training games.”

In 2010, At Bat for iPhone was named the highest grossing application by Apple, finishing first overall across all categories of paid applications, and At Bat for iPad was recognized as the highest grossing sports application. A year earlier, At Bat for iPhone finished ranked second among all App Store paid applications.

MLB.com At Bat 11 is available to subscribers for a one-time fee of $14.99 for the entire 2011 season. For more information, visit MLB.com.

That’s it.

MLB At Bat App Is Back and Live Streaming of Games Returns

We have two announcements from MLB.com. One which many of you know about already, that the MLB At Bat mobile and tablet app for the 2011 season is out. While it carries a very hefty $14.99 price tag, it’s already the number one sports app at the iTunes Stores. I’ve already downloaded it for my iPhone and iPad. It’s one of the best apps bar none especially when you combine it with your MLB.TV subscription and can watch all of the games, with the exception of ones in your home market. The one main problem is the silly MLB blackout restrictions, but to be able to watch out-of-market games has been a plus and since I bought MLB.TV, I’ve canceled my subscription to MLB Extra Innings. So to be able to watch the games on mobile devices is just tremendous and the video is getting better and better every year.

Here’s the announcement on MLB At Bat.

MLB.COM AT BAT 11 IS HERE

LIVE BASEBALL WHEREVER YOU GO, AVAILABLE EARLIER THAN EVER BEFORE

#1 Grossing App returns with first live mobile streaming for Spring Training games in February

New York, NY, February 24, 2011 – MLB.com At Bat, the top-selling, award-winning suite of mobile applications developed by MLB Advanced Media, is back for the 2011 season today and earlier than ever before will deliver a special free preview of MLB.TV live streaming video for At Bat 11 on Apple devices starting Saturday, February 26. At Bat 11, which is available now for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android and BlackBerry, also introduces a new favorite Club home screen customization functionality for select devices.

With Opening Day just five weeks away, At Bat 11 will deliver additional updates prior to the regular season, including brand new features, offers and functionalities.

Spring Training 2011
MLB.com At Bat 11 across each of these platforms offers the most comprehensive coverage of Grapefruit and Cactus League action with access to live Spring Training games, including every available radio feed and in progress statistical data. Among the At Bat 11 features available for Spring Training are:

• Customize home screen to feature a designated favorite team (iPhone, iPod touch, Android only).

• Watch live streaming of about 150 available Spring Training games with a special mobile free preview of MLB.TV (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad only).

• Listen to available radio broadcasts of Spring Training games

• Follow league-wide scoreboards and batter-by-batter action for every Spring Training game

• Enhanced video library archive, searchable by player or team

• Breaking news, schedules and interactive rosters and players stats for every team

• Full-season schedule calendars

MLB.com At Bat 11 is available to subscribers for a one-time fee of $14.99 for the entire 2011 season. For more information, visit MLB.com.

And to get you into the mood for baseball, MLB.TV will begin streaming live Spring Training games starting on Saturday with three games, two from Florida and one from Arizona. Those who have an MLB.TV subscription will able to watch the games. There are no blackout restrictions with Grapefruit or Cactus League action.

LIVE BASEBALL RETURNS TO MLB.COM ON SATURDAY

MLB.TV 2011 live streaming schedule begins with three Spring Training matchups:

Phillies-Yankees, Braves-Mets, Rockies-Diamondbacks

NEW YORK, February 25, 2011 – MLB.com will present the first of more than 150 live Spring Training games from Florida and Arizona camps beginning tomorrow with a trio of games, the Philadelphia Phillies-New York Yankees (1:05 p.m. EST), Atlanta Braves-New York Mets (1:10 p.m. EST) and Colorado Rockies-Arizona Diamondbacks (3:10 p.m. EST).

The entire allotment of select Spring Training broadcasts, along with every out-of-market game of the 2011 regular season, is available as part of a MLB.TV subscription. As one of the largest subscription video offerings on the Internet, MLB.TV has served one billion live video streams since its inception, 25% of which were delivered in 2010 alone.

Spring Training 2011
Fans again will be able to watch select live games from Spring Training on their Mac/PC and on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices with a free MLB.TV sneak preview included within the top-selling MLB.com At Bat 11 applications for each. It marks the earliest availability ever for live streaming Spring Training games on mobile devices.

Opening Day 2011
In addition to the accessible devices offered for Spring Training, MLB.TV subscribers will be able to watch every regular season game with support across select Android devices through At Bat 11, Sony PS3 and other connected devices. Additional platform offerings for MLB.TV live streaming will be announced as they become available.

Subscribers will get a host of cutting-edge features in the award-winning MLB.TV media player, including HD quality picture, alternate audio options, in progress highlights and fantasy player tracker alerts, clickable linescores, multi-game viewing options (Premium), home and away feeds (Premium) and DVR functionality (Premium).

MLB.TV and MLB.TV Premium with complete portability are available to subscribers for annual fees of $99.99 and $119.99, respectively, for the entire 2011 season. For more information, visit MLB.com.

That’ s it.

MLB.TV is Back For 2011

This in from MLB.com, the out-of-market online pay service, MLB.TV is back for the 2011 season. It’s available on the internet as well as the iPhone and iPod through the MLB At Bat app. Roku and Sony PlayStation 3 also have it through your internet connection. In addition, MLB.com says there have been one billion video streams since the service began.

For details on what’s available this season, check out the press release below.

MLB.TV: ONE BILLION SERVED
INTERNET’S MOST PROLIFIC LIVE VIDEO PRODUCT ON SALE NOW AT MLB.COM

Fully portable to iPad, iPhone, Android, PS3 and additional connected platforms

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 10, 2011 – As one of the largest subscription video offerings on the Internet, MLB.TV has served one billion live video streams since its inception, 25% of which were delivered in 2010 alone. The 2011 season packages for MLB.TV are on sale now at MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball.

“Fans have continued to demonstrate, in record numbers, their desire to consume live baseball in the most convenient ways possible,” said Noah Garden, Executive Vice President, Revenue, MLB.com. “We remain committed to expanding MLB.TV for our subscribers by leveraging emerging technological platforms and partnerships that deliver a rich experience.”

In 2011, fans will be able to follow every game wherever they are with MLB.TV support across a variety of mobile and connected platforms, including iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android devices through the top-selling MLB.com At Bat apps for each and Sony PS3 and other connected devices. Additional platform offerings for MLB.TV live streaming will be announced as they become available.

Along with portability, this year’s product offers subscribers a host of cutting-edge features in the award-winning MLB.TV media player, delivering a dynamic live viewing experience for every out-of-market regular season game. Those include:

• HD Quality Picture – Speed detection technology delivers live high definition video at the industry standard of 720p on any size monitor.

• Home and Away Feeds – Watch either the home or away teams’ broadcasts.

• Alternate Audio Options – Overlay the home or away teams’ radio broadcasts over the live video or use the “Park” option to include the ballpark’s natural sounds.

• Live Game DVR Functionality – Pause and rewind or fast-forward live games.

• Clickable Linescores – Go directly to any at-bat or half-inning of a game.

• Multi-Game Viewing Options – Watch up to four games simultaneously.

• Picture-in-Picture – Choose one game and track another or watch in-game highlights simultaneously in a secondary window.

• Live Game Highlights – Real-time highlights and player stats automatically load into the media player. With one click, the clip instantly launches in a picture-in-picture window.

• Player Tracker – Customize a list to feature entire fantasy rosters and receive on-deck notifications to watch live at-bat look-ins for each player.

That will do it.

Spring Training – Watch about 150 live games from Florida and Arizona.

Apple Declares MLB At Bat 2010 Highest Grossing App

We have a press release from MLB.com regarding its mobile application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Apple says its highest grossing application was MLB At Bat 2010 which is tremendous, if I say so myself. Being able to watch and listen to live games on my iPhone and now iPad is great. However, the app is very pricey. At $14.99, no wonder it’s the highest grossing app. I hope the price goes down to $9.99 as it was in 2008.

Here’s the press release from MLB.com.

APPLE NAMES MLB.COM AT BAT HIGHEST GROSSING APPLICATION OF 2010

NEW YORK, December 12, 2010 – MLB.com At Bat 2010 for iPhone and iPod touch was named the highest grossing application by Apple in its second annual iTunes Rewind for the App Store. At Bat, which delivered the first full season of live video for every game and introduced the At The Ballpark mobile in-venue experience, finished first overall across all categories of paid applications for 2010. In addition, MLB.com At Bat 2010 for iPad was recognized as the highest grossing application in the sports category.

Baseball fans utilized At Bat 2010 to follow Major League Baseball games every day from the application’s debut in Spring Training through the final out of the 2010 World Series. During the 2010 MLB Postseason alone, At Bat was accessed 37 million times, a 236 percent increase over the 2009 Postseason.

Subscribers to At Bat 2010 were able to access their MLB.TV subscriptions to watch live home and away broadcast feeds for every out-of-market regular season game with enhanced features such as statistical overlays and controls to pause or rewind live action. The application also delivered every radio feed, in-game video highlights and MLB.com Gameday.

This year also marked the debut of At The Ballpark, a mobile in-venue experience within At Bat 2010 for iPhone. By utilizing the Apple device’s core location technology, fans were able to check-in to any of the 30 Major League ballparks and, subsequently, receive access to an array of exclusive features, including social media, interactive venue maps, concession menus, personal profiles and video highlights. MLB.com also partnered with Aramark and the Philadelphia Phillies to launch a pilot program in September for mobile food ordering through At Bat 2010.

During the off-season, MLB.com At Bat 2010 is available free from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch or iPad at www.itunes.com/appstore/. For more information, please visit MLB.com.

I have one more press release and that’s NBC’s quotage from Football Night in America. Expect that after 10 p.m.

MLB Network & MLB.com Simulcast Two Arizona Fall League Games

This month, MLB Network provides coverage of the Arizona Fall League giving baseball fans a look at some of the top prospects for the upcoming season. To top it off, MLB.com will webcast the games as well. We have your press release.

 

MLB NETWORK, MLB.COM TO AIR ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE GAMES LIVE ON NOVEMBER 6 & 20

Greg Amsinger, Daron Sutton and Dave Valle to Call Games Featuring Major League Baseball’s Elite Prospects

Secaucus, N.J., November 3, 2010 – Some of Major League Baseball’s top prospects will be featured in Arizona Fall League matchups on MLB Network and MLB.com. MLB Network’s Dave Valle and Daron Sutton, who calls play-by-play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, will call the fifth annual Rising Stars Game on Saturday, November 6 at 9:00 p.m. ET at Surprise Stadium. Valle will be joined by MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger in the broadcast both for the 19^th annual AFL Championship game on Saturday, November 20 at 3:00 p.m. ET live from Scottsdale Stadium. MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, will co-produce and provide free live and on-demand video streams of the two games.

The Rising Stars Game is a showcase pitting elite prospects from each Major League Baseball organization in an East Division vs. West Division format. The East Division squad will feature prospects from the Angels, Athletics, Braves, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rockies and Yankees. The West Division will field players from the Astros, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Indians, Mariners, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Reds, Royals, Tigers, Twins and White Sox. The Arizona Fall League annually pits its two division winners in a championship game. The Peoria Javelinas were the 2009 champions, breaking the Phoenix Desert Dogs’ five-year championship streak.

Eighteen former first-round Draft picks are on the rosters for this year’s Rising Stars Game, including 2009 second overall pick Dustin Ackley (Mariners), fourth overall pick in 2009 Tony Sanchez (Pirates) and third overall pick in 2008 Eric Hosmer (Royals). Several current MLB standouts have appeared in the previous four Rising Stars Games, including 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, 2010 National League Central Division Champion Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mike Leake, Gordon Beckham (White Sox), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox), Phil Hughes (Yankees), Jed Lowrie (Red Sox) and Ike Davis (Mets).

The Arizona Fall League, known throughout professional baseball as a “finishing school” for Major League Baseball’s elite prospects, is a six-team league owned and operated by Major League Baseball that plays six days per week in five Cactus League stadiums (Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Surprise) in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The AFL began its 19^th season on October 12, 2010. For more information, go to www.MLBFallBall.com.

And we’ll have more soon.

Some Thursday Linkage

Yesterday ended up being quite busy and I think today will as well, but at least I can provide you with the linkage that was lacking on Wednesday.

Here we go.

Sean Leahy at USA Today notes that the NFL’s skyrocketing ratings are putting pressure on the league in its collecting bargaining with the Players Association.

In the USA Today’s The Huddle blog, Sean writes that the NFL is facing multiple local blackouts this weekend.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has your NBA viewing guide for 2010-11 including interviews with ESPN and Turner Sports execs. 

We’re getting word that the overnight ratings for Game 1 of the World Series were quite good and high for a Fall Classic not involving the Red Sox and Yankees. Last night’s overnight rating was 10.4, lower than last year’s 13.8 for Yankees/Phillies, but higher than the 10.3 pulled by Phillies/Rays in 2008.

Locally, the San Francisco-Oakland market pulled a 35.9 rating and the Metroplex, Dallas-Fort Worth had a 33.9 for Game 1. Those are very good numbers. We’ll see how the rating does tonight against a very strong CBS Thursday lineup.

James Hibberd of the Hollywood Reporter says Game 1 beat all primetime programming. 

And we now have the final rating, 8.9 with 15 million viewers, down from last year.

The Hollywood Reporter has this story on a group of Cablevision subscribers filing a class action lawsuit over the loss of Fox.

Mike Farrell of Broadcasting & Cable says Cablevision will reimburse subscribers who have to watch the World Series online through MLB.TV due to its ongoing dispute with Fox.

Jon Lafayette of B&C reports that long-time CBS Sports spokesperson LeslieAnne Wade is leaving the network.

Ben Grossman of B&C has CBS Tyrant Leslie Moonves saying the network won’t be bidding on sports properties that lose money i.e., the Olympics.

Back to Mike Farrell, this time writing for Multichannel News telling us that Cablevision offered Fox to pay what Time Warner Cable was compensating the network. 

Katy Bachman from Mediaweek says Cablevision’s reimbursement offer could backfire on the company.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the NBA season openers on TNT delivered record ratings.

Austin Karp at Sports Business Daily writes that MLS saw its ratings go down on ESPN2 this season.

David Goetzl of MediaPost has CBS Sports declaring it won’t produce a 3-D sports broadcast unless it gets a sponsor. Well, ok! 

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes that the Dallas Cowboys and LeBron James are helping to pace the cable primetime ratings.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions feels Fox doesn’t deserve to broadcast the World Series or other big ticket sports events.

Phil says forget about HDTV or 3-D TV, get ready for ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION TV!

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser has the funny video of a Dallas sports anchor smelling something fishy along McCovey Cove at AT&T Park before Game 1 of the World Series.

Kevin Baumer at SportsGrid notes that the World Series has helped the San Francisco Giants turn a profit this season.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if he has actually found the 1988 World Series Kirk Gibson home run ball.

Reuters picks up a story from Tanya Roth of FindLaw.com regarding a group of former ESPNZone workers suing over the lack of notice before losing their jobs.

Brian Lowry at Fox Sports compares the approaches radio hosts Jim Rome and Dan Patrick take to TV.

David B. Wilkerson of Marketwatch says the recent find of a pristine copy of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series is leading to a new hunt for lost baseball footage. 

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with beloved Celtics TV analyst Tommy Heinsohn who can certainly get worked up during games. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Cablevision subscribers have had to resort to the old school outdoor antennae and indoor rabbit ears to pick up Fox.

Newsday’s Neil Best took a gander at MLB.com’s Postseason TV which some Cablevision subscribers have had to access to watch the World Series.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says the University of Albany will have some of its games aired on local cable.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says TNT received record ratings for its NBA season opening twinbill.

Ken McMillan at the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record has the MLS postseason TV schedule.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says area native Meredith Marakovits gets the call up to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Keith also notes another area native who works for NFL Films and is gaining a YouTube following for recapping each NFL week through song parodies.

Peter Van Allen at the Philadelphia Business Journal says Comcast SportsNet has tweaked its 76ers broadcast team.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says MLB will host a gala showing of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, a month before MLB Network airs the footage.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says TNT and the local DC media will provide extensive coverage of rookie guard John Wall as he makes his first NBA rounds with the Wizards.

Larry Vaught of the Danville (KY) Advocate talks with ESPN’s college basketball analyst Mark Gottfried about the SEC.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal, we learn that horse racing network TVG will begin to air Breeders’ Cup daily programming starting this weekend.

Dave Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune says NBC will attempt to set a Guiness World Record during the Sunday Night Football game between the Steelers and Saints. 

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News notes that the Cowboys’ season is sinking fast in both the standings and the ratings.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Giants-Cowboys Monday night game received high ratings locally.

At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley notes that Suds City loves watching Sunday Night Football.

Chicago Tribune media writer Phil Rosenthal says Bears fans are in risk of losing out on watching their team as Fox may be pulled from Dish Network as of Monday.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says five Kings games will be seen on over the air TV meaning all of the team’s regular season contests will be televised.

Cecil Conley of the Rocklin (CA) Placer Herald profiles Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/California program director Ky Bell who got her start as a volleyball player in town.

Sports Media Watch says there’s no need to panic, the World Series ratings will be fine.

Dave Kohl at the Major League Programs blog says legendary Cleveland Cavs radio announcer Joe Tait is missed as a new NBA seaon starts.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest writes that TNT is way ahead of last year’s NBA ad sales pace thanks to increased interest from social media.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann remembers a sportswriting colleague who was a fixture at New York City’s baseball stadiums.

And this is where I’ll end it for today. This took way too long.

MLB.TV Adds Two New Features & Lowers Price For Rest Of The Season

MLB.TV has added two new features to its video player just in time for the pennant race. One feature which I truly welcome is adding the radio calls and overlaying them over the video calls. So, if you’re watching a Yankee game and don’t want to listen to Michael Kay on YES, you can click and listen to John Sterling on WCBS. Well, that’s a bad example. So you’re watching a Dodger game and you want to hear what Charlie Steiner has to say over Vin Scully…. Ok, that’s another bad example, but you get the idea. If you’d rather not hear any announcer, you can choose the natural ambient sound from the park as well. Here’s what the concept would look like if you’re watching on your computer.

And there’s another feature that allows you check highlights of a certain batter.

Let’s get the details from MLB.com.

MLB.TV DELIVERS NEW FEATURES, LOWER PRICES AS PENNANT RACES INTENSIFY

NEW YORK, AUGUST 2, 2010 – As the 2010 Major League Baseball regular season enters the pennant race push, MLB.com is debuting a pair of new interactive features to its MLB.TV media player, natural sound audio selection and batter-by-batter highlight navigation, while lowering the prices for new subscribers.

Within the award-winning MLB.TV media player, subscribers can utilize the current clickable linescore functionality to jump to any half inning of a live or on-demand game. This latest enhancement to the MLB.TV player allows users to navigate directly to any key at-bat in an easy-to-use scrollable batter-by-batter interface. In addition, subscribers now can choose to overlay alternate audio feeds over the live video, including only the ballpark’s natural sounds with the “Park” option.

Over the final two months of the regular season, MLB.TV Premium subscribers can watch live HD broadcasts of every game, subject to blackout restrictions, with access to home and away broadcast feeds, DVR functionality to pause or rewind live action and multi-game viewing options (quad view, p-i-p and split screen) as well as the standard set of MLB.TV features for a one-time fee of $44.95. MLB.TV, which is now $39.95, delivers up-to-the-minute statistical information, Twitter integration, in-game highlights, fantasy player tracker, full game archives, and portability to access their accounts through a variety of interactive media platforms, including Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, Sony PS3, Roku and Boxee.

Plenty of stuff to absorb there.

The Mid-Week Linkage

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

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

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

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

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

Mike recaps the Sports Emmys from Monday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Barry has more on the story.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sports Media Watch has the weekend overnight ratings.

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

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

That’s going to do it for now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s all very silly.

MLB Network Picks Up MLB.com’s Fantasy 411

MLB Network picks up one of MLB.com’s longest running programs, Fantasy 411 and will put it on its programming schedule throughout the summer. This also marks a commitment to fantasy leagues which have become extremely popular. Here’s the release:

MLB NETWORK & MLB.COM TO PARTNER ON FANTASY PROGRAMMING THROUGHOUT THE 2010 REGULAR SEASON

MLB.com Fantasy 411 Draft Preview to Air March 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET

MLB.com’s Fantasy 411 to Air Daily on MLB Network and MLB.com Starting April 6

March 15, 2010, New York & Secaucus – With 2010 fantasy baseball drafts underway, MLB Network today announced it will air the MLB.com Fantasy 411 Draft Preview on Sunday, March 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger and Harold Reynolds along with MLB.com’s Cory Schwartz and Mike Siano, the two-hour show will provide detailed analysis and insight on the topics fantasy baseball enthusiasts will be focusing on as fantasy draft days continue before Opening Day, including:

·         Position-by-position analysis and player rankings

·         Discussion of strategy for draft day and in-season transactions

·         “Breakout, bargain and bust” picks for the 2010 season

·         Top picks for prospects expected to be called up during the 2010 season

Continuing with the fantasy programming, throughout the 2010 regular season MLB Network will simulcast MLB.com’s Fantasy 411, the site’s longest-running hosted program, on weekdays at 5:00 p.m. ET, beginning Tuesday, April 6. The program, hosted by MLB.com’s Jeremy Brisiel, will provide key insights from analysts Schwartz and Siano to help further fans’ enjoyment and knowledge in their respective fantasy leagues.

Schwartz, the Director of Stats for MLB.com and a regular contributor to MLB.com’s fantasy baseball section, has been competing in fantasy baseball since 1989, including expert competitions such as the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) and Tout Wars. Siano, the Director of Multimedia Production for MLB.com, has been competing in fantasy baseball for more than 10 years, including the highly-competitive Tout Wars league. The MLB.com Fantasy 411 can be found on its blog at http://fantasy411.mlblogs.com and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fantasy411.  

NBA TV also runs a regular fantasy program and I would think that the other league-owned channels would follow suit on this. 

Wrap Up of The Bloomberg Sports Baseball Launch

Today, I had the opportunity to attend the unveiling of a new statistical program developed by Bloomberg, the same people behind the financial network which helps clients analyze stocks and trends. The unveiling took place at Bloomberg headquarters in New York and representatives from the company as well as MLB.com were on hand to describe the program and to show those of us in attendance what we can expect when the product goes public on February 18.

Bloomberg has taken the same approach for financial markets and applied this to statistical analysis for baseball. The program will help fantasy owners choose players for their leagues and also give them real-time stats for their drafts as well as provide updated information so they can decide on trades, cuts and pick-ups.

In addition, teams have a powerful version of the program which gives them more information and can allow for prediction of pitches, analyze swings and arm slots. Currently, teams are using Bloomberg Sports Baseball on a trial basis for the offseason and Spring Training. I learned the program is being tweaked throughout the trial period to give teams exactly what they want. We’ll see if this is a gamechanger in both fantasy and in MLB overall. This certainly has the potential.

For fantasy league owners, Bloomberg has complete access to MLB databanks and can tap into real-time information. What this program can do is marry all of your leagues together. You can draft your teams from whatever league your team is based, ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, Yahoo, it doesn’t matter. You can manage them in Bloomberg Sports, make changes from there and apply them to your leagues. You don’t have to go to each website to make changes. That’s a big advantage.

Your Draft Kit looks like this and players are shown like a baseball card. You can also make them appear in a grid if you wish.

What’s interesting is that if you click on a player, statistical information will appear like a baseball card and you can choose from certain views to see batting average, on-base percentage, ERA, WHIP, etc. Where you might have had to buy a fantasy magazine to get this information, you now have Bloomberg Sports as a one stop shopping destination for the stats you need.

If you’re considering a certain player, you can call him up to find the latest information. Let’s say you want to know what’s going on with Jason Bay of the New York Mets, you do a search and you will get articles, not only from Bloomberg and MLB.com, but from blogs, newspapers and other websites. Bloomberg will not only gather this information, but also link back to the original source driving traffic to the site.

Now, let’s go from the draft kit to the actual in-season program. You can do a side-by-side comparisons of players with charts, graphs, and plenty of bells and whistles which you can access to make the right decision on which one to keep and which one to drop.

For instance, if you want to look at Ryan Braun’s statistics, you can do a search and this will give you his offensive production and if you click on the pic here, you will also find fielding information. It’s quite fascinating what Bloomberg has done here to bring all of this information.

And the interface seems to be user-friendly from all appearances. Now this may change once people start using it, but the format seems easy on the eyes and doesn’t scream or force you to squint.

The information for pitchers is in similar format to batters, and you can find charts showing trends plus statistical data to assist in your assessment of whether to keep, drop or trade, if you league allows you to do so.

We also learned that writer Jonah Keri will become of the Head of Content for Bloomberg Sports. He’ll lead a staff of writers which will provide fresh content for MLB.com and for subscribers. That staff will be announced in the coming days.

Teams have been using a souped-up version since the Winter Meetings in December and the Biz of Baseball’s Maury Brown reviewed the program when it was officially unveiled at that time.

MLB.com is already taking orders for the program, which comes in three categories, Draft Kit, In-Season Tools or both. The Draft Kit is $19.95, In-Season Tools is $24.95 while getting both will cost you $31.95.

Quite a fascinating program and I thank Bloomberg Sports for inviting me to watch the demonstration. It was also a great opportunity to meet baseball bloggers and also meet up with my trophy wife, Amanda Rykoff, the OCD Chick, with whom I have conversed extensively on Twitter, but didn’t have the chance to formally talk in person until today.

Thanks to Joe Favorito for inviting me and thanks to Bloomberg for feeding us. That goes a long way.

Live from Bloomberg Headquarters, Part 5

We’re now in a question and answer period of the Bloomberg Sports/MLB presentation. I will ask to see if I can get some screen grabs of the program.

Some good stuff was demonstrated. You can get more info about the program from The Biz of Baseball.

Live from Bloomberg Headquarters, Part 4

We’re now getting a demonstration of the pro product for the Bloomberg/MLB program and to sign in, one has to use fingerprint verification. Biometric identification! That’s cool.

Hitters can be broken down into averages in certain areas in the strike zone. The program can show where hitters hit the best. It also shows where a certain pitcher’s strength against the hitter lies.

For pitchers, you can see which pitches are best used against a certain hitter and really break down the hitting zone. It’s a fascinating program.

You also get info from a pie chart that shows every pitch and can even predict what will be thrown next based on the statistical data. 

Teams are using this on a trial basis right now, but when the season starts, there will be a fee, but this really gives scouts and general managers a great tool to chart hitters and pitchers.

Live from Bloomberg Headquarters, Part 3

After being fed lunch and commiserating with the always lovely OCD Chick, Amanda Rykoff, we’re finding more about the Bloomberg Sports/MLB product.

Writer Jonah Keri is going to be the head of content for Bloomberg Sports and provide articles for MLB.com for those subscribers to the fantasy program. You’ll be able to compare players stats and make a projection of his stats. In addition, you can find real-time stats and news. The program will have a real-time scrolling ticker.

Bloomberg’s site will also cull from blogs and newspapers and provide links to the articles that will bring even more content to subscribers.

Check out more at the Bloomberg/MLB site for subscription information.

More later.

Live from Bloomberg Headquarters, Part 2

I’m live Tweeting from the MLB.com/Bloomberg launch event so if you want some full reactions, you can go to twitter.com/fangsbites to read my reactions, plus if you search #BBGSports on Twitter, you’ll see various bloggers and others who give their reactions as well.

The program has a lot of bells and whistles. The fact that MLB has given total access and cooperation for this program is big. Plus, it’s quite cheap for fantasy players in its first year: Draft kit is $19.95 and in-season service is $24.95. Entire package costs $31.95.

More later.