Fang's Bites

Saturday’s Viewing Picks

Arena Football
Orlando Predators at Philadelphia Soul — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.

Australian Rules Football
Collingwood Magpies vs. Geelong Cats — Fox Soccer Plus, 5:30 p.m.
Carlton Blues vs. Port Adelaide Power — Fox Soccer, 11 p.m.

Boxing
Showtime Championship Boxing, Atlantic City, NJ
Jr. Welterweight Fight
Lamont Peterson vs. Lucas Martin Matthysse — Showtime, 9:15 p.m.

All-Access: Mayweather vs. Guerrero: Epilogue — Showtime, 9 p.m.

College Baseball
Central Florida at East Carolina — Fox Sports Net/Fox College Sports Atlantic, 11 a.m.
Pittsburgh at Louisville — ESPNU, noon
Michigan at Nebraska — Big Ten Network, 1 p.m.
Mississippi at LSU — CBS Sports Network, 1 p.m.
Baylor at Texas Tech — Fox College Sports Pacific, 1 p.m.
Texas A&M at Tennessee — Fox Sports Net, 1 p.m.
Kentucky at Missouri — Fox College Sports Central, 2 p.m.
St. Mary’s at BYU — BYU TV, 3 p.m.
Clemson at Florida State — ESPNU, 3 p.m.
Indiana at Ohio State — Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
Notre Dame at Cincinnati — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m.
Texas at TCU — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 4:30 p.m.
Oregon State at Oregon — Pac-12 Network, 5 p.m.
Oklahoma at Kansas State — Fox College Sports Central, 7:30 p.m.
Cal-Irvine at Cal State-Fullerton — Fox College Sports Pacific, 9 p.m.

College Lacrosse
NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament
Quarterfinals, College Park, MD
Ohio State vs. Cornell — ESPN2, 12:30 p.m.
Yale vs. Syracuse — ESPN2, 3 p.m.

NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament
Quarterfinal, Evanston, IL
Penn State at Northwestern — Big Ten Network, 8 p.m.

College Paintball
2013 National Collegiate Paintball Championship — CBS Sports Network, noon

College Softball
NCAA Division I Tournament
Austin Regional, Austin, TX
Texas vs. South Carolina — Longhorn Network, noon

College Station Regional, College Station, TX
Texas A&M vs. Baylor — ESPN, 3 p.m.
Arizona vs. Penn — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket — ESPNews, 8 p.m.

Tempe Regional, Tempe, AZ
Arizona State vs. Georgia — ESPNU, 6 p.m.
San Diego State vs. San Jose State — ESPNU, 8:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket — ESPNU, 11 p.m.

Cycling
Giro d’Italia
Stage 14: Derver to Bardonecchia — beIN Sport, 9:30 a.m.

Tour of California
Stage 7: Livermore to Mt. Diablo — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.

Golf
European PGA Tour
World Match Play Championship, Kavarna, Bulgaria
Round of 16 — Golf Channel, 6 a.m.

PGA Tour
Byron Nelson Championship, Irving, TX
Third Round — Golf Channel, 12:30 p.m./CBS, 3 p.m.

Web.com Tour
BMW Charity Pro-Am, Greer, SC
Third Round — Golf Channel, 3 p.m.

LPGA Tour
Mobile Bay Classic, Mobile, AL
Third Round — Golf Channel, 5 p.m.

Hockey
2013 IIHF World Championships, Stockholm, Sweden
Semifinal
United States vs. Switzerland — NBC Sports Network, 1 p.m.

Horse Racing
Preakness Stakes, Baltimore, MD
138th Preakness Stakes — NBC, 4 p.m.

Preakness Stakes Prep — NBC Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.
Preakness Post Show — NBC Sports Network, 6:30 p.m.

IndyCar
Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis, IN
Qualifying Sessions — NBC Sports Network, 11 a.m. & 4:30 p.m.

Mixed Martial Arts
UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold-Prelims — Fuel, 6 p.m.
UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold-Main Event — FX, 9 p.m.

MLB
American League
Seattle at Cleveland — Root Sports Northwest/STO, 1 p.m.
Toronto at New York Yankees — Rogers Sportsnet/YES, 1 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Angels — Fox, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore — Fox, 4 p.m.
Boston at Minnesota — NESN/Fox Sports North, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Texas — MLB Network/Fox Sports Detroit/Fox Sports Southwest, 8 p.m.
Kansas City at Oakland — Fox Sports Kansas City/Comcast SportsNet California, 9 p.m.

National League
New York Mets at Chicago Cubs — WPIX/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati Reds at Philadelphia — Fox, 4 p.m.
Arizona at Miami — Fox Sports Arizona/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta — KCAL/Fox Sports South, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at St. Louis — Fox Sports Wisconsin/Fox Sports Midwest, 7:15 p.m.
San Francisco at Colorado — MLB Network/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Root Sports Rocky Mountain, 8 p.m.
Washington at San Diego — MASN/Fox Sports San Diego, 8:30 p.m.

Interleague
Houston at Pittsburgh — Comcast SportsNet Houston/Root Sports Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

MLB Player Poll — Fox, 3 p.m.
Fox Saturday Baseball Pregame Show — Fox, 3:30 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 7 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 11 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, midnight
Quick Pitch — MLB Network, midnight

NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series
All-Star Race, Concord, NC
Race — Speed, 7 p.m.

NASCAR RaceDay: Special Edition: All-Star Preview — Speed, 4 p.m.
NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR All-Star Race — Speed, 5 p.m.
NASCAR Victory Lane: The All-Star Race — Speed, 11 p.m.

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinal
Game 6: New York at Indiana — ESPN, 8 p.m.

NBA GameTime: Knicks/Pacers, Game 6 Postgame — NBA TV, 10:30 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Western Conference Semifinals
Game 2: Detroit at Chicago — NBC/CBC/RDS, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Los Angeles at San Jose — NBC Sports Network/TSN/RDS, 9 p.m.

NHL Tonight — NHL Network, 3:30 p.m.
NHL Tonight — NHL Network, 6 p.m.
NHL Plays of the Week: First Round — NHL Network, 9 p.m.
NHL Tonight — NHL Network, 10 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

Sports Talk
Morning Drive — Golf Channel, 11 a.m.
Babe Ruth: The Man, the Myth and the Legend — ESPN Classic, 8 p.m.
The Clemente Effect — ESPN Classic, 9 p.m.
Fox Soccer News — Fox Soccer, 10 p.m.

Tennis
WTA Tour
Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italian Open), Rome, Italy
Semifinals — Tennis Channel, 6 a.m. & 8 a.m.

ATP Tour
Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italian Open), Rome, Italy
Semifinals — Tennis Channel, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m.

Track & Field
IAAF Diamond League, Shanghai, Communist China
Shanghai — Universal Sports, 8 a.m.

Entertainment
Blazing Saddles — IFC, 7:30 a.m.
Top 20 Video Countdown — VH1, 9 a.m.
Fix This Yard: Oli & Cori: Bomb Shelter by the Bay — A&E, 9:30 a.m.
Going Yard: Outdoor Bar, Fire Pit and Creativity Retreat — HGTV, 9:30 a.m.
Sell This House: Extreme: Tucker, GA — A&E, 10 a.m.
E! News — E!, 10 a.m.
Top 20 Video Countdown — VH1, 10 a.m.
Build It Bigger: London’s Olympic Aquatic Stadium — Science, 11 a.m.
Million Dollar Baby — HBO, 11:15 a.m.
Giada at Home: My Grandfather’s Favorites — Food Network, 11:30 a.m.
Full Metal Jacket — Encore, 12:15 p.m.
Hanna — HBO, 1:30 p.m.
Mecum Car Auction Live — Discovery, 3 p.m.
America’s Best Bites: Bellyq — Cooking Channel, 4:30 p.m.
Doctor Who: The Name of the Doctor (season finale) — BBC America, 8 p.m.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith — Cinemax, 8 p.m.
Collateral Damage — IFC, 8 p.m.
Behind the Music Remastered: Motorhead — VH1 Classic, 8 p.m.
Renovation Realities: The Meyer Job — DIY Network, 9 p.m.
20/20: Rock ‘n’ Royalty: Billboard’s All-Stars — ABC, 9 p.m.
Orphan Black: Entangled Black — BBC America, 9 p.m.
My Ghost Story: Caught on Camera — Biography Channel, 9 p.m.
2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony — HBO, 9 p.m.
Murder in Paradise: French Kiss of Death — Investigation Discovery, 9 p.m.
Wicked Tuna: Hooked Up: The Last Battle — National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.
Dateline: Real Life Mysteries: Deadly Connection-Part 1 — TLC, 9 p.m.
Download Festival 2012 — VH1 Classic, 9 p.m.
Sydney ER: Race Against Time — Discovery Fitness & Health, 10 p.m.
48 Hours: The War in Chicago — CBS, 10 p.m.
The Nerdist — BBC America, 10 p.m.
My Haunted House: Trapped & Retreat — Biography Channel, 10 p.m.
Zombie Preppers — Discovery, 10 p.m.
How Sex Changed the World: Sex & Power — H2, 10 p.m.
Scorned: Love Kills: Black Widower — Investigation Discovery, 10 p.m.
Outrageous Acts of Science: Power Junkies — Science, 10 p.m.
Dateline: Real Life Mysteries: Deadly Connection-Part 2 — TLC, 10 p.m.
The Fugitive — IFC, 10:15 p.m.
The Last King of Scotland — Sundance Channel, 10:15 p.m.
Sydney ER: Halloween Night — Discovery Fitness & Health, 10:30 p.m.
That Metal Show — VH1 Classic, 11 p.m.
Saturday Night Live with host Ben Affleck and musical guest Kanye West (season finale) — NBC, 11:29 p.m.
Metal Evolution — VH1 Classic, midnight

Ken Venturi, 1931-2013

We get word on this Friday night that one of the legends of golf, both on the course and in the broadcast booth, Ken Venturi has died at the age of 82.

Just less than two weeks ago, Venturi was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, but was unable to attend due to a lengthy illness.

Venturi was known to generations of golf fans as CBS’ lead analyst on its PGA Tour coverage from 1968 until 2002, a total of 35 years. He worked with a Who’s Who of Sports Broadcasting in the the 18th tower, Jack Whitaker, Vin Scully, Pat Summerall and Jim Nantz. Venturi holds the record for his tenure as the lead analyst.

For older golf fans, Venturi is remembered for winning the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD, overcoming heat stroke in extreme high heat and humidity, playing 36 holes on the final Saturday.

Venturi retired from the PGA Tour in 1967 due to what became eventually known as carpal tunnel syndrome and was hired the next year by CBS.

What you may not know is that Venturi overcame a severe stutter. His clear and concise commentary for CBS gave him a large legion of fans. And he’s also known for his role as Ken Venturi in Tin Cup starring Kevin Costner.

We have a statement from CBS Sports on Venturi’s passing.

STATEMENTS FROM CBS SPORTS ON THE PASSING OF LEGENDARY BROADCASTER AND GOLF HALL OF FAMER KEN VENTURI

Ken Venturi provided lead analysis and commentary for CBS Sports’ coverage of golf for 35 years from 1968 when he, along with Jack Whitaker, co-hosted “CBS Golf Championship” and “CBS Golf Classic,” until 2002 as the lead golf analyst for the CBS Television Network. He was the longest-running lead analyst on television for any sport.

One of golf’s elite players, Venturi won the 1964 U.S. Open Championship, and was recently inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in a ceremony on May 6.

“For the second time in a month, the CBS Sports family has lost one of its legends with the passing of Ken Venturi. Ken was not only one of golf’s greatest champions, but also the signature voice of golf for almost two generations of fans and viewers. His stature, expertise and personality working in the 18th tower alongside Pat Summerall, Jim Nantz and the rest of the CBS golf team will forever be synonymous with the greatest golf events on CBS.” – Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports

“He was one of the finest gentlemen the world will ever know and one of the greatest friends you could ever have. He was a deeply principled man with a dynamic presence. He just exuded class. Through his competitive days and unequalled broadcasting career, Kenny became a human bridge connecting everyone from Sarazen, Nelson and Hogan to the greatest players of today’s generation. Kenny faced many adversities in his life and always found a way to win. When I hear Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” I will always believe that Ol’ Blue Eyes was singing that song for his close pal, Kenny Venturi. It makes me think of him every time. On his farewell broadcast in 2002 I told him, ‘You will be, always by my side.’ Five years later I wrote a book about my Dad and father figures in my life. I named the book after that very moment.

I’m so happy he lived to know he was going to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. I will cherish my 17 years working with him. But more than that, I will treasure the rich, personal, deep friendship that we shared for nearly 30 years.” – CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz

Venturi’s impact on golf is felt to this day.

Dottie Pepper Joins ESPN’s Golf Coverage

Dottie Pepper has joined ESPN for its golf coverage. She was part of NBC/Golf Channel’s team since 2004 and left last year.

Pepper will join ESPN in time for its US Open coverage next month and also be on the network’s Open Championship team in July when it travels to Muirfield in Scotland.

Pepper left NBC/Golf Channel citing a desire to cut back on her schedule plus she took a position with the PGA of America.

In addition, she has written two golf-themed children’s books.

Here’s the ESPN announcement.

Dottie Pepper Joins ESPN’s Golf Coverage Team

Dottie Pepper, a major championship-winning golfer as well as a respected television commentator and author, has joined ESPN’s golf coverage team and will make her on-air debut at next month’s U.S. Open.

Pepper, a 17-time winner on the LPGA Tour during her career, will serve multiple roles on ESPN’s multiplatform golf coverage including analyst, on-course reporter and anchor during live play. She also will be an analyst on ESPN’s signature news and information program SportsCenter and will write for ESPN.com.

“Joining the ESPN golf team offers me the chance to cover the greatest golf events in the world,” said Pepper. “It’s a team of passionate and proven winners, dedicated to making the events they cover the best in the game.”

Pepper, who retired from the LPGA in 2004, worked for the past eight years as a golf commentator for NBC Sports and The Golf Channel and also was a contributing columnist for Sports Illustrated. She announced at the end of the 2012 season that she would be joining the PGA of America Board of Directors to work on developing junior golf in the United States.

ESPN’s championship golf schedule for 2013 includes the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship; the U.S. Women’s Open and Women’s British Open; and the U.S. Senior Open and Senior Open Championship.

“ESPN’s golf schedule is perfect for me,” said Pepper. “I love working in television and this schedule allows me to do that but also gives me time to continue my work with the PGA of America and junior golf. It’s an ideal situation.”

A three-time NCAA All-American golfer at Furman University, Pepper turned pro in 1987 and her 17 victories on the LPGA Tour included two of women’s golf’s major championships. She was LPGA Player of the Year in 1992, a six-time Solheim Cup team member and won more than $6.8 million during her career.

In addition to her work on television, Pepper also is co-author of the Bogey Tees Off and Bogey Ballton’s Night Before Christmas children’s books.

“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity for Dottie to join our team,” said Mike McQuade, ESPN vice president, production. “Her knowledge, experience and professionalism will bring another layer of strength to our golf coverage.”

ESPN will televise the first two rounds of the second men’s major championship of the season, the U.S. Open from Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., June 13-14. Coverage also will include six days of SportsCenter specials from the event beginning Tuesday, June 11.

That’s all.

Friday’s Viewing Picks

Australian Rules Football
Essendon Bombers vs. Brisbane Lions — Fox Soccer Plus, 11:30 p.m.

College Baseball
Illinois at Minnesota — Big Ten Network, 3 p.m.
Indiana at Ohio State — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
Notre Dame at Cincinnati — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
West Virginia at Oklahoma State — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 7:30 p.m.
Texas at TCU — Fox College Sports Central, 7:30 p.m.
St. Mary’s at BYU — BYU TV, 8 p.m.
Clemson at Florida State — ESPNU, 8 p.m.
Cal-Irvine at Cal State-Fullerton — ESPNU, 11 p.m.

College Softball
NCAA Division I Tournament
Austin Regional, Austin, TX
Army vs. Texas — Longhorn Network, 7 p.m.

College Station Regional, College Station, TX
Arizona vs. Baylor — ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
Penn vs. Texas A&M — ESPN2. 6 p.m.

Tempe Regional, Tempe, AZ
San Diego State vs. Georgia — ESPNU, 3:30 p.m.
San Jose State vs. Arizona State — ESPNU, 6 p.m.

Cycling
Giro d’Italia
Stage 13: Busseto to Cherasco — beIN Sport, 9:30 a.m.

Tour of California
Stage 6: San Jose (Individual Time Trial) — NBC Sports Network, 5 p.m.

Golf
European PGA Tour
World Match Play Championship, Kavarna, Bulgaria
Day Two — Golf Channel, 7 a.m.

Web.com Tour
BMW Charity Pro-Am, Greer, SC
Second Round — Golf Channel, 12:30 p.m.

PGA Tour
Byron Nelson Championship, Irving, TX
Second Round — Golf Channel, 3 p.m.

LPGA Tour
Mobile Bay Classic, Mobile, AL
Second Round — Golf Channel, 6:30 p.m.

19th Hole — Golf Channel, midnight

Horse Racing
Black-Eyed Susan Stakes — NBC Sports Network, 4 p.m.

MLB
American League
Seattle at Cleveland — Root Sports Northwest/STO, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore — Sun Sports/MASN, 7 p.m.
Toronto at New York Yankees — Sportsnet One/WWOR, 7 p.m.
Boston at Minnesota — NESN/Fox Sports North, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Texas — MLB Network/Fox Sports North/KTXA, 8 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Angels — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports West, 10 p.m.
Kansas City at Oakland — Fox Sports Kansas City/Comcast SportsNet California, 10 p.m.

National League
New York Mets at Chicago Cubs — SNY/WGN America, 2:20 p.m.
Arizona at Miami — Fox Sports Arizona/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Cincinnati at Philadelphia — Fox Sports Ohio/WPHL, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta — MLB Network/Fox Sports Prime Ticket/Fox Sports South, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at St. Louis — Fox Sports Wisconsin/Fox Sports Midwest, 8:15 p.m.
San Francisco at Colorado — Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Root Sports Rocky Mountain, 8:30 p.m.
Washington at San Diego — MASN2/Fox Sports San Diego, 10 p.m.

Interleague
Houston at Pittsburgh — Comcast SportsNet Houston/Root Sports Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

The Rundown — MLB Network, 2 p.m.
MLB Now — MLB Network, 4 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 6 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, 10 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 10:30 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, midnight
Quick Pitch — MLB Network, 1 a.m. (Saturday)

NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series
NC Education Lottery 200, Charlotte, NC
Final Practice — Speed, 10:30 a.m.
Qualifying — Speed, 4 p.m.
Race — Speed, 8 p.m.

Sprint Cup Series
All-Star Race, Charlotte, NC
Practice — Speed, 1:30 p.m.
Qualifying — Speed, 6 p.m.

Sprint Cup Series
Showdown, Charlotte, NC
Practice — Speed, noon
Qualifying — Speed, 5 p.m.

Trackside At …: Charlotte — Speed, 3 p.m.
NCWTS Setup — Speed, 7:30 p.m.

NBA
NBA Pre-Draft Camp — ESPNU, 10 a.m.
2013 NBA Combine — ESPN2, 2 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 2: Ottawa at Pittsburgh — CBC/RDS/NBC Sports Network, 7:30 p.m.

NHL Live — NHL Network, 5 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.
NHL on the Fly — NHL Network, 7 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 10 p.m.
NHL Tonight — NHL Network, 10:30 p.m.

Sports Talk
NFL AM — NFL Network, 6 a.m.
The Dan Patrick Show — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Tim Brando Show — CBS Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Sky Sports News — Fox Soccer, 9 a.m.
Morning Drive — Golf Channel, 11 a.m.
The Box Score — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, noon
Outside the Lines — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
SVP & Russillo — ESPNews, 3 p.m.
SportsNation — ESPN2, 4 p.m.
Pardon the Interruption — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
ROME — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
The Artie Lange Show — Audience Network (DirecTV), 10 p.m.
Fox Soccer News — Fox Soccer, 10 p.m.
Lead Off — CBS Sports Network, midnight

Tennis
ATP Tour
Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italian Open), Rome, Italy
Quarterfinals — Tennis Channel, 6 a.m. & 3 p.m.

WTA Tour
Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italian Open), Rome, Italy
Quarterfinals — Tennis Channel, 5 p.m. & 7 p.m. (same day coverage)

Entertainment
Shark Tank — ABC, 8 p.m.
Undercover Boss: Epic Bosses (season finale) — CBS, 8 p.m.
Dateline NBC — NBC, 8 p.m.
Nikita (season finale) — The CW, 8 p.m.
The Hangover Part II — HBO2, 8 p.m.
How Nature Works — National Geographic Channel, 8 p.m.
Garage Gold: Disaster and Dolls — DIY Network, 9 p.m.
Flea Market Flip: Flipping and Flirting — HGTV, 9 p.m.
Shark Tank (season finale) — ABC, 9 p.m.
Blood Relatives: Cradle to the Grave — Investigation Discovery, 9 p.m.
Da Vinci’s Demons: The Devil — Starz, 9 p.m.
Garage Gold: Pinball Pains — DIY Network, 9:30 p.m.
Garage Gold: The Bad Side of a Barn — DIY Network, 10 p.m.
Mystery Diners: All in the Family — Food Networ, 10 p.m.
House Hunters: San Diego — HGTV, 10 p.m.
Dates From Hell: A Date With Hate — Investigation Discovery, 10 p.m.
Best Week Ever — VH1, 10 p.m.
48 Hours: Unraveling the Lies of Jodi Arias — CBS, 10 p.m.
Anderson Cooper Special Report: Back to Boston: Moments of Impact — CNN, 10 p.m.
America’s Book of Secrets: Presidential Cover-Ups — H2, 10 p.m.
XIII: Mousetrap — Reelz Channel, 10 p.m.
The Dead Files: Death Valley-Death Valley Junction, California — Travel Channel, 10 p.m.
20/20: Work Wars — ABC, 10:01 p.m.
Rock Center with Brian Williams — NBC, 10:01 p.m.
Garage Gold: Down in the Dumps — DIY Network, 10:30 p.m.
The Jenny McCarthy Show — VH1, 10:30 p.m.
Zane’s the Jump Off: Backfield in Motion — Cinemax, 11 p.m.
Cops Reloaded — CMT, 11 p.m.
Garage Gold: Hit Pay Dirt — DIY Network, 11 p.m.
VICE: Addiction — HBO, 11 p.m.
The Moment: Choreographer — USA, 11 p.m.
The 2013 AVN Awards — Showtime, 11:30 p.m.
Jimmy Kimmel Live — ABC, 11:35 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman — CBS, 11:35 p.m.
The Half Hour: Dan St. Germain — Comedy Central, midnight
The Half Hour: Sean O’Connor — Comedy Central, 12:30 a.m. (Saturday)

Fox Soccer and ESPN Combine for Their Last EPL “Survival Sunday”

Last year, Fox Soccer gave soccer fans a true smorgasbord of English Premier League coverage on the final Sunday of the regular season. Utilizing Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports Net, Speed, FX, FoxSoccer.com, FoxSoccer2Go as well as ESPN2, fans had access to all of the games as teams positioned for European honors, cash and avoidance of relegation.

This season as Fox Soccer and ESPN end their relationship with the English Premier League at least for the next three years, games will be seen on Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, FoxSoccer.com, FoxSoccer2Go and ESPN. Most of the ten games on Sunday will be streamed online. Four of the games will be seen on TV.

In addition, we say goodbye to the excellent Goals on Sunday which really ramped up when Rob Stone joined Fox Soccer.

We have the schedule of games below.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON WRAPS SUNDAY WITH NINE LIVE MATCHES PRESENTED BY FOX SOCCER

Last-Minute Drama Expected as Chelsea, Tottenham & Arsenal Battle for European Honors Features Include David Beckham Interview & Martin Tyler Essay

Los Angeles – Every year on the final day of the English Premier League season, the 20 teams from the world’s top domestic soccer competition play each other in a frantic 10-match race for financial reward, hardware and European honors.

This year, FOX Soccer, FOX Sports Net and FOX Soccer Plus, together with digital platforms FOXSoccer.com and FOX Soccer 2Go, carry nine of the day’s 10 matches live, on Sunday, May 19 at 11:00 AM ET.  Pre-match coverage begins at 10:30 AM ET on FOX Soccer, followed by coverage of Tottenham vs. Sunderland. The Spurs’ season comes down to this: a must-win match at White Hart Lane, plus help from other match results, in order to give them the fourth-place finish and a coveted Champions League berth.  Simultaneously, FOX Soccer Plus carries UEFA Europa League champions Chelsea against Everton, who is still without a manager after former manager David Moyes replaced the retired Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

The final day of the Barclays Premier League season has drama and passion for all fans and teams involved. While Manchester United revels in glory as the League’s newly crowned champion, and the bottom three teams, Wigan Athletic, Reading and Queens Park Rangers, lament their relegation to the lower division, the battle for European qualification spots lives until the last whistle on Sunday.

The top four clubs in the Barclays Premier League earn UEFA Champions League qualification, receiving a potential reward of $75 million and the right to play in the world’s most prestigious club tournament. Pending the results of other domestic competitions, the fifth, sixth and seventh places in the Premier League also hold much significance. Once Sunday’s results are in, the holders of those spots qualify for the UEFA Europa League, a continent-wide knockout tournament with more than 40 years of history and tradition. Beginning this fall, 2013-2014 Europa League and Champions League contests air live on FOX Sports 1, America’s new sports network, launching August 17.

After the matches, the series finale of Goals on Sunday airs at 1:30 PM ET on FOX Soccer, with a feature on Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs, one of the best players to ever play in the Premier League, as well as an interview with David Beckham following his announcement to retire at the end of the season. The show also takes a look back at the English Premier League on FOX Soccer and includes a Martin Tyler essay highlighting his favorite memories.

MAY 19 MATCHES

Tottenham v Sunderland
FOX Soccer/10:30 AM ET

Chelsea v Everton
FOX Soccer Plus/10:30 AM ET

West Brom v Manchester Utd.
FOX Sports Net/10:30 AM ET

Liverpool v Queens Park Rangers
FOXSoccer.com/11:00 AM ET

Manchester City v Norwich City
FOXSoccer.com/11:00 AM ET

Southampton v Stoke City
FOXSoccer2Go/11:00 AM ET

Swansea City v Fulham
FOXSoccer2Go/11:00 AM ET

West Ham v Reading
FOXSoccer2Go/11:00 AM ET

Wigan v Aston Villa
FOXSoccer2Go/11:00 AM ET

Newcastle v Arsenal
ESPN/11:00 AM ET

That will do it.

REPORT: Michelle Beadle to Host “The Crossover” Solo

This coming from Jason McIntyre at The Big Lead. Dave Briggs, co-host of NBC Sports Network’s The Crossover is being dropped and Michelle Beadle will host a revamped show solo.

According to McIntyre’s post, Briggs and Beadle did not get along from the get-go when the show launched back in late January. The Crossover hasn’t been on this week as it’s been pre-empted for the Tour of California, a cycling event.

Michelle tweeted on Monday that the show is getting a new set and “Better vibe.”

Briggs who left Fox News for The Crossover is apparently getting his own NBC show. Admittedly, the show was quite sluggish and has had its trouble getting off the ground. Hopefully, this will be a better vehicle.

[The Big Lead]

ESPN Snatches the Rights to the US Open Starting in 2015

ESPN has made another sporting event into an all-cable affair. Starting in 2015, the U.S. Open which has been on ESPN2 since 2009 will now be seen on the Alleged Worldwide Leader from start to finish. CBS which has been the home of the Open since 1968 will end its association with the event in 2014.

ESPN’s coverage will now include Labor Day Weekend which had been part of CBS’ coverage. The women’s semifinals which had been on the second Friday afternoon of the U.S. Open will now move to the second Thursday night and the men’s semifinals from Super Saturday to Friday. The women’s final will remain on the second Saturday and the men’s final on the second Sunday. This gives a day of rest for both the women’s and men’s finals.

Having the U.S. Open, ESPN now has three of the four tennis Grand Slam finals on its air along with the Australian Open and Wimbledon. The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament in which ESPN is not a main rightsholder as Tennis Channel and NBC are.

In addition, ESPN will make available all matches on all 17 courts on ESPN3.

Here’s the ESPN/USTA press release.

ESPN Acquires Exclusive Rights to Tennis’ US Open Beginning in 2015

Adds Labor Day Weekend, the New Semis/Finals Format, plus Expanded Digital, International Rights in 11-Year Deal

ESPN will be the exclusive home in North and South America of the US Open from first ball through the women’s and men’s championships each summer from New York beginning in 2015, in a landmark agreement with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced today.  With this 11-year agreement, ESPN now will air the championship in three of the four tennis majors.

ESPN has televised approximately100 hours of live US Open matches annually since 2009, and now will air 130+  hours with the addition of day-long coverage of the “middle weekend” – Saturday, Sunday and Labor Day Monday – plus both the men’s and women’s semifinals and finals.  The new US Open schedule – previously announced to start in 2015 – places the women’s final on Saturday and the men’s on Sunday.  This creates new prime-time telecasts of the women’s semifinals on the second Thursday and the men’s semifinals the following day, giving a day of rest to the two players before each final.

“Certain sporting events become synonymous with when they are held, and there is no better – or bigger – way to celebrate the end of summer than at the US Open in New York,” said John Skipper, ESPN president.  “We look forward to capturing every match, every star, every championship and all the drama on this grand stage.”

Dave Haggerty, USTA Chairman of the Board and President, said, “This wide-ranging and broad relationship with ESPN positions tennis at the forefront of American sports.  By teaming with the world-wide leader in sports, the USTA will continue to ensure that tennis at every level thrives in the United States.”

In addition to ESPN and ESPN2, all telecasts will be available on WatchESPN.  In an expansion of offerings, over the term of the agreement ESPN will make every match on all 17 tournament courts available on ESPN3.  Presently, six of the 17 courts have coverage.  Also, ESPN3 will begin each day’s coverage the first Monday – Friday morning with two hours at 11 a.m. ET while SportsCenter on ESPN will have the right to do live cut-ins.  ESPN3 is available via WatchESPN for fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription via Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity TV, Midcontinent Communications, Cablevision, Cox, Charter or AT&T U-verse.

ESPN will continue to be the home of the entire US Open in Latin America and the Caribbean and in Canada on TSN, as it has since 2002.  The new agreement brings expanded rights and increased programming hours, as in the U.S. – both on the multiple linear TV channels throughout these regions and on digital platforms.

ESPN also will become the exclusive home to the US Open Series with 72 hours of action in the five-week summer series leading to the US Open.  In addition, ESPN will now present Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, the music and tennis festival geared to families that serves as the unofficial kick off of the two-week tournament, on the weekend prior to the main draw tournament’s Monday start.

There you have it.

NBC Sports Group All Over the Preakness Stakes

The middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, takes place this Saturday from the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Orb or as Larry Collus called in the Kentucky Derby, “OOOOORRRRRRBBBB!”, will be running for history as the only horse with a chance to win the Triple Crown.

NBC Sports Network begins the coverage Friday at 3 p.m. ET with some classic Preaknesses, then an hour later, NBCSN airs the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.

Then on Saturday, NBC’s coverage of the Preakness will be surrounded by pre and postrace coverage by NBC Sports Network beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

The usual NBC horse racing crew will be on hand to cover the Preakness Stakes. The NBC press release outlines everything.

(continue reading…)

BREAKING NEWS: ESPN To Announce 11 Year Deal for US Open

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand reports that ESPN will announce a new 11 year deal to air the U.S. Open.

Ourand reported about the potential of this deal earlier this week

CBS has aired the event since 1968 and will end its current contract with the United States Tennis Association in 2014. ESPN will take over in 2015

I’ll post the official announcement when it becomes available later today.

Thursday’s Viewing Picks

College Baseball
Illinois at Minnesota — Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
Mississippi at LSU — ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.
Baylor at Texas Tech — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 7:30 p.m.
Texas at TCU — Fox College Sports Central, 7:30 p.m.
Marshall at Rice — Fox College Sports Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
St. Mary’s at BYU — BYU TV, 8 p.m.

College Football
College Football Live — ESPNU, 3:30 p.m.

Cycling
Giro d’Italia
Stage 12: Longarone to Treviso — beIN Sport, 9:30 a.m.

Tour of California
Stage 5: Santa Barbara to Avila Beach — NBC Sports Network, 4:30 p.m.

Golf
European PGA Tour
World Match Play Championship, Kavarna, Bulgaria
Day One — Golf Channel, 7 a.m.

Web.com Tour
BMW Charity Pro-Am, Greer, SC
First Round — Golf Channel, 12:30 p.m.

PGA Tour
Byron Nelson Championship, Irving, TX
First Round — Golf Channel, 3 p.m.

LPGA Tour
Mobile Bay Classic, Mobile, AL
First Round — Golf Channel, 6:30 p.m. (same day coverage)

19th Hole — Golf Channel, midnight

Hockey
2013 IIHF World Championships, Helsinki, Finland & Stockholm, Sweden
Quarterfinals
Russia vs. USA — TSN/NBC Sports Network, 6 a.m.
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic — TSN/NBC Sports Network, 8:30 a.m.
Slovakia vs. Finland — TSN/NBC Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Canada vs. Sweden — TSN/NBC Sports Network, 2 p.m.

MLB
American League
Boston at Tampa Bay — NESN/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
Seattle at New York Yankees — Root Sports/YES, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Texas — MLB Network/Fox Sports Detroit/Fox Sports Southwest, 8 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Angels — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports West, 10 p.m.

National League
New York Mets at St. Louis — SNY/Fox Sports Midwest, 1:45 p.m.
Cincinnati at Miami — Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh — Fox Sports Wisconsin/Root Sports Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
San Francisco at Colorado — MLB Network/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Root Sports Rocky Mountain, 8:30 p.m.
Washington at San Diego — MASN/Fox Sports San Diego, 10 p.m.

The Rundown — MLB Network, 2 p.m.
MLB Now — MLB Network, 4 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 6 p.m.
MLB Tonight: On-Deck Circle — MLB Network, 7 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, 10 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 11 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, 1 a.m. (Friday)
Quick Pitch — MLB Network, 1 a.m. (Friday)

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 5: Indiana at New York — TNT, 8 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 6: San Antonio at Golden State — ESPN, 10:30 p.m.

NBA Pre-Draft Camp — ESPNU, 10 a.m.
2013 NBA Combine — ESPN2, 2 p.m.
NBA GameTime: Pacers/Knicks: Game 5 Postgame — NBA TV, 10:30 p.m.
NBA GameTime: Spurs/Warrriors: Game 6 Postgame — NBA TV, 1 a.m. (Friday)

NFL
NFL Live — ESPN, 4 p.m.
The Top 100 Players of 2013: 70-61 — NFL Network, 8 p.m.
The Top 100 Players of 2013: Reactions — NFL Network, 9 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 1: New York Rangers at Boston — NBC Sports Network/TSN/RDS, 7:30 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 2: San Jose at Los Angeles — NBC Sports Network/TSN/RDS, 10 p.m.

NHL Live — NHL Network, 5 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.
NHL on the Fly — NHL Network, 7 p.m.
NHL Tonight — NHL Network, 10 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 12:30 a.m. (Friday)

Sports Talk
NFL AM — NFL Network, 6 a.m.
The Dan Patrick Show — Audience Network (DirecTV), 9 a.m.
Tim Brando Show — CBS Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Sky Sports News –Fox Soccer, 9 a.m.
Morning Drive — Golf Channel, 11 a.m.
The Box Score — Audience Network (DirecTV), noon
Outside the Lines — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
SVP & Russillo — ESPNews, 3 p.m.
Highly Questionable (new name, no more “Dan Le Batard is …”) — ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
SportsNation — ESPN2, 4 p.m.
Pardon the Interruption — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
ROME — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
30 for 30: The Two Escobars — ESPN2, 8 p.m.
Fox Soccer News — Fox Soccer, 10 p.m.
UNITE — ESPNU, 10:30 p.m.
Lead Off — CBS Sports Network, midnight

Tennis
ATP Tour
Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy
Round of 16 — Tennis Channel, 6 a.m.

Entertainment
The Big Bang Theory (season finale) — CBS, 8 p.m.
Wipeout: Senior Citizens, Kids and Convicts — ABC, 8 p.m.
The Italian Job — AMC, 8 p.m.
Risky Business — IFC, 8 p.m.
Mountain Movers: The Meltdown — National Geographic Channel, 8 p.m.
The Mechanic — The Movie Channel, 8 p.m.
Beauty and the Beast (season finale) — The CW, 9 p.m.
Wicked Tuna: Hooked Up: The Last Battle — National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.
Monumental Mysteries: Sickness of the Brooklyn Bridge; Day the Sky Fell Down; Gram Parsons Coffin Heist — Travel Channel, 9 p.m.
Anger Management: Charlie and the Break-Up Coach — FX, 9:30 p.m.
Yardcore: Muir Woods Retreat — DIY Network, 10 p.m.
House Hunters: Montgomery, AL — HGTV, 10 p.m.
Karma’s a B-tch!: Stolen Lives — Investigation Discovery, 10 p.m.
Men at Work — TBS, 10 p.m.
The Graham Norton Show — BBC America, 10 p.m.
American Greed: Dealing in Deceit — CNBC, 10 p.m.
Giving You the Business: Sub-prise — Food Network, 10 p.m.TS
HLN After Dark — HLN, 10 p.m.
House Hunters International: Paris — HGTV, 10:30 p.m.
Karma’s a B-tch!: In the Cross Hairs — Investigation Discovery, 10:30 p.m.
Cops Reloaded — CMT, 11 p.m.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: George Packer — Comedy Central, 11 p.m.
Gigolos: Don’t Judge a Gigolo by His Cover — Showtime, 11 p.m.
Conan — TBS, 11 p.m.
The Colbert Report: Dr. Daniel Lieberman — Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.
Jimmy Kimmel Live — ABC, 11:35 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman — CBS, 11:35 p.m.

NFL Networks Airs The Super Bowl Selection Show

The National Football League will make another of its announcements into a big event. On Tuesday at the Spring Owners Meeting, the league will select the hosts for Super Bowls L and LI which will take place in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

It’s expected that Super Bowl L will go to the San Francisco 49ers new stadium in Santa Clara and the following Big Game will be played either in South Florida or Houston.

Rich Eisen hosts from the NFL Network studios in Los Angeles while reporters Albert Breer, Jeff Darlington and Desmond Purnell will be in Boston to cover the vote.

Let’s take a look at the quick NFL Network blurb.

Super Bowl Selection Show – Tuesday at 2:00 PM ET

On Tuesday, May 21 at 2:00 PM ET, Super Bowl Selection Show, a 90-minute special, will showcase the awarding of Super Bowl L and Super Bowl LI to their host cities live from the Spring Owners Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

Host Rich Eisen and NFL AM’s Steve Wyche anchor the coverage at the NFL Network studios while reporters Albert Breer, Jeff Darlington, and Desmond Purnell will be live from the Hyatt-Harborside in Boston covering the proceedings.

The San Francisco and South Florida Super Bowl Host Committees are eligible to host Super Bowl L, which will be awarded first. The committee which is not awarded Super Bowl L will then be eligible for Super Bowl LI along with the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee.

Breer will cover the San Francisco Super Bowl Host Committee, while Darlington covers South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee and Purnell the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee.

There you go.

Maple Leafs-Bruins, Game 7 Scores The Third-Highest Hockey Rating in NESN History

NESN is definitely sad about not being able to carry another Boston Bruins game this season. The last game of the season on Monday, Game 7 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Bruins received a 16.8 rating with a 26 share in Boston. That is the third highest Bruins rating in the history of the regional sports network dating back to 1984.

It was the best rating of the series, beating the previous high, a 14.3 for Game 6 on Sunday. In fact, the series averaged an 11.7 rating for the 7 games. Two of the five highest-rated Bruins games came during the Leafs-B’s series.

Here’s the NESN press release.

BRUINS-MAPLE LEAFS GAME #7 RECEIVED A 16.8 HH RATING
3^rd BEST IN NESN BRUINS HISTORY

May 15, 2013 –  NESN televised every game of the Bruins Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Maple Leafs and garnered a series-best 16.8 average household rating in the Boston DMA (26 Share) for Monday night’s game 7. The Bruins incredible third period comeback and 5-4 overtime win ranks as NESN’s third highest rated hockey game since the network’s inception in 1984.

NESN’s game coverage during the Bruins 7 game series against the Maple Leafs averaged a 11.7 HH rating, which included 2 of the top 5 highest rated Bruins games in NESN history. NESN’s highest-rated Bruins game ever was game 7 of last year’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals (4/25/12) which received a 19.6 HH rating (31 Share) in the Boston DMA.

NESN’s Top 5 Bruins Game Ratings of All-Time
Date	Opponent	Rating
4/25/12	Washington (Game 7)	19.6
4/27/11	Montreal (Game 7)	17.7
5/13/13	Toronto (Game 7)	16.8
5/6/11	Philadelphia (Game 4)	15.2
5/12/13	Toronto (Game 6)	14.3

That will do it.

Jack Edwards Gets Stabby While Calling Bruins OT Game Winning Goal

NHL fans know that NESN’s Jack Edwards loves the Boston Bruins. bleeds Black and Goal on every play. Well this season, NESN installed a camera in the TD Garden broadcast booth to show fans how animated Jack gets when he calls goals. He certainly got very excited when Patrice Bergeron scored the game winning goal in overtime to cap off a comeback for the ages.

Here’s how it looked on NESN on Monday night.

OK, you heard how Jack was excited during the goal. How about seeing how excited he became? So got so excited, he got a little stabby. Check out the video.

Notice analyst Andy Brickley giving a wry smile. He’s been through this with Jack many times. Certainly another in a long line of truly unique Jack Edwards moments.

Golf Channel and NBC See Big Numbers for the Players Championship

Thanks to a Sergio Garcia/Tiger Woods duel down the stretch of The Players Championship, NBC saw its highest numbers for the final round in 20 years. The Peacock saw a 5.0 rating and 7.6 million viewers.

For the third round, NBC garnered a 2.6 rating and 3.7 million viewers.

Golf Channel saw an average of 1.7 million viewers for first round coverage of The Players, highest for any first round on the network.

Here’s the Golf Channel/NBC press release.

MOST-WATCHED WEEK EVER FOR THE PLAYERS ON GOLF CHANNEL

NBC’s Final Round Coverage Garnered 7.6 Million Viewers, Making It the Most-Watched Final Round at THE PLAYERS in more than 20 Years
Golf Channel’s LIVE FROM THE PLAYERS and Digital Content Post Record Numbers for THE PLAYERS Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 14, 2013) – THE PLAYERS Championship’s coverage on NBC and Golf Channel last week caught the attention of America with record audiences for its tournament coverage and signature programming according to data released today by The Nielsen Company.

NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive coverage of THE PLAYERS experienced surges in viewership across the board, highlighted by:

• NBC’s final round coverage on Sunday garnering 7.6 million viewers (+59% YOY), 5.0 rating, making it the most-watched final round at THE PLAYERS in more than 20 years
• NBC’s third round coverage on Saturday pulling in 3.7 million viewers (+12%), 2.6 rating, which was the best since 2009
• Golf Channel’s first round coverage on Thursday posting the most-watched first round in the history of THE PLAYERS with 1.7 million viewers (+54% YOY)

Golf Channel posted its most-viewed week ever for THE PLAYERS on record as more than 11.5 million unique viewers (+23% YOY) tuned in to Golf Channel during the week. It also was

Golf Channel’s most-watched week ever for THE PLAYERS with 212,000 average viewers per minute for 24-hour Total Day (6AM-6AM), which represents a 25% increase year-over-year.  Contributing to this success was record numbers for Golf Channel’s news programming and digital content including:

• 96 hours of LIVE FROM THE PLAYERS – 160,000 average viewers (+50% YOY)

• Golf Channel’s LIVE FROM THE PLAYERS audience peaked on Sunday with 1.4 million average viewers for both the 15 minutes leading into and out of NBC’s coverage (1:15-1:30 PM and 7:15-7:30 PM)

• Most-watched LIVE FROM THE PLAYERS on Sunday from 8 AM to 1:30 PM – 679,000 average viewers (+20% YOY)

• Most-watched “Prime-time” LIVE FROM with Sunday’s night telecast (7:11 PM – 9:11 PM) delivering 646,000 average viewers (+339% YOY)

• GolfChannel.com drew 1.08 million unique visitors, 50% YOY, making it the website’s  most-clicked week ever for THE PLAYERS

• Golf Channel Mobile App drew 319K unique visitors, 69% YOY, making it the app’s most-clicked week ever for THE PLAYERS

That’s all.

Game 7 of Toronto-Boston Sets Ratings Record for Hockey Night in Canada

The result may not have been what CBC and Maple Leaf Nation wanted, but the viewership for Game 7 of the Toronto-Boston NHL Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinal on Monday set a record for Canada’s public broadcaster. More than 5.1 million Canadians watched the game which broke a record for an opening round playoff game and also a Toronto Maple Leafs broadcast.

The previous high was the previous night, Game 6 of the series which garnered 4.5 million viewers. During the seven game series, the viewership for CBC averaged 3.53 million people. Viewership peaked at 8.2 million people when the Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

I’m awaiting the numbers from Boston and from NESN. Heard some preliminary numbers, but can’t report them yet.

Here’s the CBC press release.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA SETS AUDIENCE RECORD WITH TORONTO VS. BOSTON GAME 7 BROADCAST

An average audience of more than 5.1 million Canadians tuned in to the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Game 7 between Maple Leafs and Bruins on Monday night
CBC’s coverage of the opening round averaged more than 2 million viewers per game overall

May 14, 2013 – A record number of Canadians tuned in to CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA Monday night to watch Game 7 of the thrilling Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Playoffs first round series on CBC. With more than 5.1 million viewers, the game shattered the previous records for both an opening round game and for any Toronto Maple Leafs playoff game broadcast on CBC-TV since metered measurement began.

“We’re thrilled at how Canadians have overwhelmingly embraced CBC’s coverage and joined the yearly tradition that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada,” said Julie Bristow, executive director, studio and unscripted programming, CBC. “These audience numbers are a reflection of the passion our country has for this great game and we’re excited to continue to fuel the excitement with two star-studded match-ups in the second round.”

The new record comes just one day after a new audience high was set by Sunday’s Game 6 of the Toronto/Boston series, with an average audience of 4.5 million viewers. The previous average audience record for an opening round game on CBC was 3.9 million for Game 6 of the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators series on April 18, 2004. Monday night’s game also broke the record for a Maple Leafs playoff broadcast on CBC of 4.27 million viewers, which was set by Game 7 of the Toronto vs. Los Angeles Kings Conference Final series on May 29, 1993.

The Toronto/Boston series as a whole set a new record with an average audience of 3.53 million viewers across the seven games making it the most-watched opening round series ever on CBC, surpassing the Montreal Canadiens/Boston Bruins first round match-up in 2011 which averaged 2.85 million viewers over seven games.

In addition to the average audience, ratings data from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM) show that last night’s game reached more than 12.9 million Canadians, or 40 per cent of the population. The audience for the game peaked at nearly 8.2 million viewers at 10:04 p.m. ET when Boston’s Patrice Bergeron scored the series-winning goal in overtime.

Monday night’s Toronto/Boston game was the most-watched game of a very strong opening round overall on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA that saw an average per-game audience of 2.03 million viewers, up 17 per cent over last season’s first round. The Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens series averaged more than 2.04 million viewers per game, bringing the average audience for series involving Canadian teams to 2.9 million viewers – an increase of 33 per cent over last year’s Canadian team match-ups on CBC.

Online coverage of the first round at CBCSports.ca experienced audience increases in several areas including a 22 per cent increase in average daily unique visitors to the website and an 18 per cent jump in average daily page views, compared to last year’s opening round.

(Television audience numbers source: NMR Mark II 1993 & 2004, BBM Canada, PPM, Total Canada, Preliminary Overnights, Ind. 2+, 2013)

(Online audience number source: 2013 SiteCatalyst)

There you have it.

Wednesday’s Viewing Picks

College Football
College Football Live — ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

Cycling
Giro d’Italia
Stage 11: Cave del Predil to Erto — beIN Sport, 9:30 a.m.

Tour of California
Stage 4: Santa Clarita to Santa Barbara — NBC Sports Network, 5 p.m.

Golf
On the Range: Byron Nelson Championship — Golf Channel, 8 p.m.

MLB
American League
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota — WGN America/Fox Sports North, 1 p.m.
Houston at Detroit — MLB Network/Comcast SportsNet Houston/Fox Sports Detroit, 1 p.m.
Texas at Oakland — Fox Sports Southwest/Comcast SportsNet California, 3:30 p.m.
Boston at Tampa Bay — ESPN/NESN/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
Seattle at New York Yankees — Root Sports Northwest/YES, 7 p.m.
Kansas City at Anaheim — Fox Sports Kansas City/Fox Sports West, 10 p.m.

National League
Atlanta at Arizona — SportSouth/Fox Sports Arizona, 3:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at Miami — Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh — Fox Sports Wisconsin/Root Sports Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Chicago Cubs — Root Sports Rocky Mountain/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 8 p.m.
New York Mets at St. Louis — SNY/Fox Sports Midwest, 8:15 p.m.
Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers — MASN/Fox Sports Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.

Interleague
San Diego at Baltimore — Fox Sports San Diego/MASN, 12:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Philadelphia — MLB Network/STO/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
San Francisco at Toronto — Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.

MLB Now — MLB Network, 4 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 6 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, midnight
Quick Pitch — MLB Network, 1 a.m. (Thursday)

MLS
Philadelphia vs. LA Galaxy — Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/Time Warner Cable SportsNet, 7:30 p.m.

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 5: Chicago at Miami — TNT, 7 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 5: Memphis at Oklahoma City — TNT, 9:30 p.m.

NBA GameTime: Bulls/Heat, Game 5 Postgame — NBA TV, 9:30 p.m.
NBA GameTime: Grizzlies/Thunder/Game 5 Postgame — NBA TV, midnight
Inside the NBA — TNT, midnight

NFL
NFL Live — ESPN, 4 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Western Conference Semifinals
Game 1: Detroit at Chicago — NBC Sports Network/CBC/RDS, 8 p.m.

NHL Live — NHL Network, 5 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.
NHL on the Fly — NHL Network, 7 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 10:30 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 11 p.m.

Sports Talk
NFL AM — NFL Network, 6 a.m.
Morning Drive — Golf Channel, 7 a.m.
The Dan Patrick Show — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Tim Brando Show — CBS Sports Network, 9 a.m
Sky Sports News — Fox Soccer, 9 a.m.
The Box Score — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, noon
SVP & Russillo — ESPNews, 1 p.m.
Outside the Lines — ESPN, 3 p.m.
Dan Le Batard is Making America Sad Highly Questionable — ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
SportsNation — ESPN2, 4 p.m.
Pardon the Interruption — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
ROME — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
SEC Storied: Abby Head On — ESPNU, 8 p.m.
Sportfolio — Bloomberg, 9:30 p.m.
Fox Soccer News — Fox Soccer, 10 p.m.
UNITE — ESPNU, midnight
Lead Off — CBS Sports Network, midnight

Tennis
ATP Tour
Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy
3rd Round — Tennis Channel, 6 a.m.

UEFA Europa League
Final, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Benfica vs. Chelsea — Fox Soccer, 2:30 p.m.

UEFA Europa League Pregame — Fox Soccer, 2 p.m.

Wrestling
The Rumble on the Rails, Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY
United States vs. Iran — NBC Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.
United States vs. Russia — Universal Sports, 6 p.m.

Entertainment
The Middle — ABC, 8 p.m.
Rescue My Renovation: Bad News Balcony — DIY Network, 8 p.m.
Dateline NBC — NBC, 8 p.m.
Arrow (season finale) — The CW, 8 p.m.
The Breakfast Club — AMC, 8 p.m.
Broken Kingdom — Showtime, 8 p.m.
Rescue My Renovation: Bankrupt Bathroom — DIY Network, 9 p.m.
MythBusters: Down and Dirty; Earthquake Survival — Discovery, 9 p.m.
Motives & Murders: Northern Nightmare — Investigation Discovery, 9 p.m.
Bomb Girls: Something Fierce — Reelz Channel, 9 p.m.
Haunted Collector: Haunted Seminary; Ghost Games — SyFy, 9 p.m.
Desperate Landscapes: Keeping Austin Weird — DIY Network, 10 p.m.
House Hunters — HGTV, 10 p.m.
I Was Murdered: Devil You Know — Investigation Discovery, 10 p.m.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (season finale) — CBS, 10 p.m.
Secrets of the Dead: Cavemen Cold Case — PBS, 10 p.m.
The Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius: Three Little Pigs — Discovery, 10 p.m.
Star Trek: Secrets of the Universe — History Channel, 10 p.m.
HLN After Dark — HLN, 10 p.m.
The Real World: Portland — MTV, 10 p.m.
Locked Up Abroad: Mexican Prison Escape — National Geographic Channel, 10 p.m.
Deep South Paranormal: Dead on the Bayou (season finale) — SyFy, 10 p.m.
House Hunters International: Aurland, Norway — HGTV, 10:30 p.m.
I Was Murdered: Backcountry Blood — Investigation Discovery, 10:30 p.m.
Cops Reloaded — CMT, 11 p.m.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Olympia Snowe — Comedy Central, 11 p.m.
Real World Aftershow — MTV, 11 p.m.
Killing Zoe — Sundance Channel, 11 p.m.
Conan — TBS, 11 p.m.
Model Employee: Taking Out the Trash — VH1, 11 p.m.
The Colbert Report: Cyndi Lauper — Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.
Jimmy Kimmel Live — ABC, 11:35 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman — CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Sexy Assassins — Cinemax, midnight

NHL on NBC Announcing Assignments Through May 23, 2013

We have the NHL on NBC announcing teams for the Stanley Cup Conference Semifinal Round through next Thursday, May 23.

Check it out in the grid below.

REPORT: Fox Sports 2 To Launch Simultaneously with Fox Sports 1

From the great Joe Flint from the Los Angeles Times, it appears that without much fanfare, the much-discussed, but barely-hyped Fox Sports 2 will launch at the same time of the highly anticipated Fox Sports 1 in August.

In March, Fox with a lot of pomp and circumstance announced Fox Sports 1, the new national sports network that will take the place of Speed on August 17. During the FS1 announcement, Fox did not make any mention of Fox Sports 2, this despite speculation that Fox would use that to replace Fuel.

Last month, your humble writer asked a Fox Sports spokesman when an announcement on Fox Sports 2 would be made and was told “not at this time.”

Flint writes that while Fox Sports 1 is getting a big marketing push on various media platforms, there will be a much softer launch for FS2. Fuel currently airs a heavy menu of UFC programming and will probably continue, but with more emphasis on other sports like NASCAR and spillover programming from FS1.

Fox Sports 1 will rely on college basketball and football, MLB, NASCAR and UFC for live events. It has already announced some of its studio programming such as Fox Sports Live, its competitor to ESPN’s SportsCenter, Crowd Goes Wild a talk show hosted by Regis Philbin and Fox Football Daily co-hosted by Curt Menefee and Jay Glazer.

No word on the programming on Fox Sports 2, but expect that to be coming down the line in the next few months. As always, we’ll continue to monitor the latest news on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2.

NHL on TSN Sails Into the Stanley Cup Conference Semifinals

TSN has exclusive coverage of two series, one from each of the Eastern and Western Conference Semifinals. It will air the Boston Bruins-New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks-Los Angeles Kings series throughout this round.

Canada’s #1 sports network will carry both series throughout this round.

Gord Miller and Mike Johnson will call Boston-New York while Chris Cuthbert and Ray Ferraro will cover San Jose-LA.

Here are details from TSN.

Original Six Match-Up Featuring Boston-NY Rangers Highlights TSN’s Live Coverage of Conference Semifinal Series

TSN’s Second Round coverage begins tonight with San Jose @ Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET
TSN recaps the opening round of the 2013 STANLEY CUP^® PLAYOFFS in the FIRST ROUND IN 60 MINUTES special airing tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET
TEAM 1200 Ottawa has live game coverage of Senators-Penguins conference semifinal series

TORONTO (May 13, 2013) – As the quest for the Stanley Cup continues, TSN tonight confirmed its broadcast schedule for the Second Round of the 2013 STANLEY CUP^® PLAYOFFS, headlined by an Original Six showdown between the Boston Bruins and NY Rangers.

TSN has live coverage of the Conference Semifinal Series – Boston-NY Rangers and Los Angeles-San Jose – featuring the following players:

• Boston: Playoff scoring leader David Krejci, Game 7 heroes Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron, and captain Zdeno Chara
• NY Rangers: 2012 Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist, playoff revelation Derick Brassard, and Rick Nash
• Los Angeles: 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick, captain Dustin Brown, and Drew Doughty
• San Jose: Vezina Trophy finalist Antti Niemi, Logan Couture, and Patrick Marleau

TSN’s coverage of the 2013 STANLEY CUP^® PLAYOFFS continues tonight with Game 1: San Jose @ Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET (see complete broadcast schedule below).

Action in the Boston-NY Rangers series kicks off on Thursday, May 16 with Game 1: NY Rangers @ Boston at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN.

TSN also takes a look back at the opening round of the NHL Playoffs with its FIRST ROUND IN 60 MINUTES special tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET, leading into live game coverage of the San Jose-Los Angeles series. The highlight show focuses on all of the biggest moments from each First Round series, with close attention paid to the match-ups featuring Canadian teams.

TSN’s live coverage of the 2013 STANLEY CUP^® PLAYOFFS runs through the third round, with games also available live nationally on TSN Mobile TV.

The network’s Boston-NY Rangers coverage features play-by-play announcer Gord Miller and game analyst Mike Johnson, while play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert and game analyst Ray Ferraro call all the action in the Los Angeles-San Jose series.

NHL ON TSN host James Duthie is in the TSN Studio for pre-game shows and intermissions alongside Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger, and analysts Aaron Ward and Darren Pang. Joining them during the Second Round are two current NHLers – Danny Briere of the Philadelphia Flyers and George Parros of the Florida Panthers.

Throughout the NHL Playoffs, TSN has comprehensive coverage of Canada’s favourite pastime on all of its properties and platforms, including TSN.ca, the TSN app for iPhone and iPad, and TSN Radio and TEAM Radio stations across the country. TEAM 1200 in Ottawa has live game coverage of the Senators-Penguins conference semifinal series, while the stations in Toronto (TSN Radio 1050), Montreal (TSN Radio 690), Winnipeg (TSN Radio 1290), and Vancouver (TEAM 1040) feature live coverage of select playoff games.

RDS delivers French-language coverage of the NHL post-season through to the end of the Stanley Cup Final.

TSN’s broadcast schedule for the Second Round of the 2013 STANLEY CUP^® PLAYOFFS is as follows:

Boston vs. NY Rangers
• Game 1: NY Rangers @ Boston – Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN
• Game 2: NY Rangers @ Boston– Sunday, May 19 at 3 p.m. ET on TSN
• Game 3: Boston @ NY Rangers – Tuesday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN
• Game 4: Boston @ NY Rangers – Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. ET on TSN
• *Game 5: NY Rangers @ Boston – Saturday, May 25 at TBD on TSN
• *Game 6: Boston @ NY Rangers – Monday, May 27 at TBD on TSN
• *Game 7: NY Rangers @ Boston – Wednesday, May 29 at TBD on TSN

San Jose vs. Los Angeles
• Game 1: San Jose @ Los Angeles – Tuesday, May 14 at 10 p.m. ET on TSN
• Game 2: San Jose @ Los Angeles – Thursday, May 16 at 10 p.m. ET on TSN
• Game 3: Los Angeles @ San Jose – Saturday, May 18 at 9 p.m. ET on TSN
• Game 4: Los Angeles @ San Jose – Tuesday, May 21 at 10 p.m. ET on TSN
• *Game 5: San Jose @ Los Angeles – Thursday, May 23 at 10:30 p.m. ET on TSN
• *Game 6: Los Angeles @ San Jose – Sunday, May 26 at TBD on TSN
• *Game 7: San Jose @ Los Angeles – Tuesday, May 28 at TBD on TSN

*if necessary

That’s all.

NHL on NBC Continues with Stanley Cup Conference Semifinal Coverage

Tonight, the NBC Sports Group steps into the NHL Stanley Cup Conference Semifinals. It will have total exclusivity in the United States and no local regional sports network blackouts to worry about. So you’ll see the national broadcasts from now into the Stanley Cup Final.

Coverage starts tonight with a doubleheader, Games 1 of Ottawa-Pittsburgh and San Jose-Los Angeles on NBC Sports Network.

The NBC Mothership will air weekend coverage of games on May 18 and 19. It has slated a primetime game for Saturday, May 25. Possible candidates would be New York Rangers-Boston or Chicago-Detroit. We’ll see.

Here’s what NBC is saying about the Conference Semifinals. This is a long press release. Get ready to scroll for a few minutes.

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ESPN FC Becomes A Daily Show

Unveiled at the ESPN Upfronts in New York City is a new daily soccer-centric show. Titled ESPN FC after the website of the same name, the show will air Sunday through Friday, mostly on ESPN2. It will premiere on August 11.

Even though ESPN will no longer air the English Premier League, the show will report on the latest information regarding the world’s most popular sport as well as offer analysis and discussion on late breaking news.

It marks the first daily show devoted to the beautiful game on the network. No word on a host as of yet, but Max Bretos and Adrian Healey would be leading candidates.

Here’s the ESPN press release.

ESPN to Launch Daily Soccer Studio Program

30-minute News and Highlights Show Debuts August 11 as Extension of ESPN FC

ESPN will extend the company’s ESPNFC.com global soccer news and information digital brand with its first highlights-driven soccer studio show airing in the United States this summer. ESPN FC on TV will air year round (Sunday through Friday, primarily on ESPN2) beginning August 11, it was announced today at the company’s Upfront presentation in New York City.

The ESPN FC program will integrate several elements of the digital platform’s content via social media, the industry-leading ESPN Stats & Information Group’s data visualization analysis, and more.  Digital versions of the program will be available on ESPNFC.com.

“Soccer’s popularity is at an all-time high in the United States as fans are now more familiar with the world’s top players, marquee clubs and national teams.  ESPN FC on TV continues our leadership role in coverage of the sport across all media,” said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice president for programming.

Planned ESPN FC TV highlights:

• A daily destination show that will offer U.S. fans “need-to-know” soccer news and information from across the globe;
• Employ ESPN FC’s global reporters, columnists and team bloggers for breaking news, rumors and player-transfer news, focusing primarily on the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Spain’s La Liga, Major League Soccer, U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team and the Mexican National Team;
• In-depth analysis and opinion-based discussion of topical issues in soccer featuring a rotation of seasoned pundits with diverse perspectives;
• Interviews with newsmakers, and timely features and profiles of key personalities in the sport;
• Previews of key matches throughout the soccer calendar year (eg. El Clásico, Manchester Derby, top-tier UEFA Champions League matchups, select FIFA World Cup qualifying matchups such as USA vs. Mexico, and more).

“ESPN FC will inform, entertain and provide hard-hitting insight on the global sport of soccer,” added Guglielmino.  “It will become ESPN’s signature program for soccer, bringing tremendous value to the company, our affiliates and the ad sales community looking to reach core and casual soccer fans in the United States.”

Sunday editions of ESPN FC will be a one-hour program – wrapping up the best highlights from the weekend’s soccer action while looking ahead to what the results mean to the teams and their respective leagues.  Monday through Friday, the program will air for 30 minutes each day.  ESPN FC on TV will replace the ESPN FC Press Pass, the global soccer discussion program on ESPNEWS, in the United States.

There you have it.

ESPN Announces New Studio Show, “NFL Insiders” to Replace “NFL32″ in August

Announced at the ESPN Upfronts in New York today, the network will unveil a new NFL studio show in August, “NFL Insiders” to be hosted by Suzy Kolber. ESPN’s NFL insiders, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen will be part of the show. Former NFL general manager Bill Polian will also take part. Other ESPN’ers who will be seen will be John Clayton and Ed Werder. Draftnik Mel Kiper, Jr. and all-around charlatan Todd McShay will appear in the offseason leading up to the NFL Draft.

The show will make its debut on August 5 and replace the horrible NFL32 on that date.

Here’s the ESPN announcement.

ESPN’s NFL Insiders to Debut in August with Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter

Suzy Kolber to Host New Daily, Weekday Show, Beginning Aug. 5

ESPN will debut NFL Insiders, a new one-hour weekday pro football-themed show, in time for the 2013 season. The year-round program will focus on the biggest NFL news stories and information each day, including front office decisions, coaching moves, trades, free agency, the NFL Draft, and more.

NFL Insiders will examine the league from the perspectives of people who make decisions and from those who are first to report the news. Scheduled to debut Monday, Aug. 5 – the day after the Pro Football Hall of Fame game – the new show will replace NFL32.

Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter, two of the most respected reporters in the NFL, will be featured prominently on NFL Insiders and will have an even greater platform for breaking league news. Fans will also gain an inside look into how teams operate from six-time NFL Executive of the Year Bill Polian, who has more than a quarter century of front office experience. Veteran host/anchor Suzy Kolber will host the show from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters.

“There is nothing more stimulating for a reporter than when you know you’re about to tell somebody something they haven’t heard until that very moment,” said Mortensen. “This is the essence of what Adam and I and this great team of contributors will bring each day to NFL Insiders, and we’re excited to get started.”

ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton and NFL insider Ed Werder will also have key roles, along with NFL Draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, who will appear regularly in the offseason during the lead-up to the NFL Draft.

“Whether it’s in season or out of season, fans crave NFL news and that’s exactly what NFL Insiders will have every day with a smart presentation and some of the most connected people in the league,” said Seth Markman, senior coordinating producer, who oversees ESPN’s NFL studio shows.

In addition to ESPN’s popular television personalities, the daily four-person NFL Insiders panel will draw from a roster of accomplished journalists, former front office executives and other league experts as regular contributors, including:

• Former Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage;
• Former St. Louis Rams general manager Billy Devaney;
• USA Today Sports NFL columnist Jarrett Bell;
• Sirius/XM radio host Adam Caplan;
• ESPN.com senior NFL writer Ashley Fox;
• ESPN.com NFC East blogger Dan Graziano; and
• ESPN Insider and ESPN Boston writer Field Yates.

NFL Insiders is the newest addition to ESPN’s comprehensive year-round NFL programming lineup. Other popular NFL-branded studio shows include Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, NFL Live, NFL PrimeTime, NFL Kickoff, NFL Matchup and Mike and Mike’s Best of the NFL. ESPN is also home to sports television’s longest running series Monday Night Football, entering its 44thseason this fall.

One more ESPN announcement is coming up.

Tuesday’s Viewing Picks

College Baseball
Louisville at Ohio State — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.

College Football
College Football Live — ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

Cycling
Giro d’Italia
Stage 10: Cordenons to Altopiano del Montasio — beIN Sport, 9:30 a.m.

Tour of California
Stage 3: Palmdale to Santa Clara — NBC Sports Network, 5 p.m.

English Premier League
Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic — Fox Soccer, 2:30 p.m.
Reading vs. Manchester City — Fox Soccer Plus, 2:53 p.m.

Golf
Big Break Academy: Bienvenidos Means Welcome — Golf Channel, 7 p.m.
Golf’s Greatest Rounds: 2008 U.S. Open — Golf Channel, 8 p.m.

Hockey
2013 IIHF World Championships, Helsinki, Finland
Group Play
Slovakia vs. United States — NBC Sports Network, 5 a.m.

MLB
American League
Boston at Tampa Bay — MLB Network/NESN/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
Houston at Detroit — Comcast SportsNet Houston/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.
Seattle at New York Yankees — Root Sports Northwest/YES, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota — WCIU/Fox Sports North, 8 p.m.
Kansas City at Anaheim Angels — Fox Sports Kansas City/Fox Sports West, 10 p.m.
Texas at Oakland — Fox Sports Southwest/Comcast SportsNet California, 10 p.m.

National League
Cincinnati at Miami — Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh — Fox Sports Wisconsin/Root Sports Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Chicago Cubs — Root Sports Rocky Mountain/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 8 p.m.
New York Mets at St. Louis — SNY/Fox Sports Midwest, 8:15 p.m.
Atlanta at Arizona — SportSouth/Fox Sports Arizona, 9:30 p.m.
Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers — MASN2/KCAL, 10 p.m.

Interleague
Cleveland at Philadelphia — STO/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
San Diego at Baltimore — Fox Sports San Diego/MASN, 7 p.m.
San Francisco at Toronto — MLB Network/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m.

The Rundown — MLB Network, 2 p.m.
MLB Now — MLB Network, 4 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 6 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN, 10 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, midnight
Quick Pitch — MLB Network, 1 a.m. (Wednesday)

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 4: New York at Indiana — TNT, 7 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Golden State at San Antonio — TNT, 9:30 p.m.

NBA GameTime: Knicks/Pacers, Game 4 Postgame — NBA TV, 9:30 p.m.
NBA GameTime: Warriors/Suns, Game 4 Postgame — NBA TV, midnight
Inside the NBA — TNT, midnight

NFL
NFL Live — ESPN, 4 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 1: Ottawa at Pittsburgh — CBC/RDS/NBC Sports Network, 7:30 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 1: San Jose at Los Angeles — NBC Sports Network/TSN/RDS, 10 p.m.

NHL Live — NHL Network, 5 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.
NHL on the Fly — NHL Network, 7 p.m.
NHL Tonight — NHL Network, 10 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports Network, 12:30 a.m. (Wednesday)

Sports Talk
NFL AM — NFL Network, 6 a.m.
Morning Drive — Golf Channel, 7 a.m.
The Dan Patrick Show — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Tim Brando Show — CBS Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Sky Sports News — Fox Soccer, 9 a.m.
The Box Score — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, noon
SVP & Russillo — ESPNews, 1 p.m.
Outside the Lines — ESPN, 3 p.m.
Dan Le Batard is a Man without a Plan Highly Questionable — ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
SportsNation — ESPN2, 4 p.m.
The Best of the Dan Patrick Show — NBC Sports Network, 4 p.m.
Pardon the Interruption — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
ROME — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
E:60 (season finale) — ESPN, 7 p.m.
Fox Soccer News — Fox Soccer, 10 p.m.
UNITE — ESPNU, midnight
Lead Off — CBS Sports Network, midnight

Tennis
ATP Tour
Internzionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy
2nd Round — Tennis Channel, 5 a.m.

Entertainment
Eat St.: In Bacon We Trust — Cooking Channel, 8 p.m.
Wipeout: Night of the Livings Big Balls — ABC, 8 p.m.
NCIS (season finale) — CBS, 8 p.m.
Deadliest Catch: The Bait: Midseason Kings — Discovery, 8 p.m.
New Girl (season finale) — Fox, 9 p.m.
Roadtrip with G. Garvin: Best of Georgia — Cooking Channel, 9 p.m.
Airport 24/7: Miami: Speed! — Travel Channel, 9 p.m.
NCIS: Los Angeles (season finale) — CBS, 9 p.m.
CONSTITUTION USA with Peter Sagal: It’s a Free Country — PBS, 9 p.m.
Crowd Rules: Specialty Foods (series premiere) — CNBC, 9 p.m.
Deadliest Catch: Judgement Day — Discovery, 9 p.m.
Nightmare Next Door: Murders Under the Mistletoe — Investigation Discovery, 9 p.m.
Polygamy, USA: The Winter Ball — National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.
War Horse — The Movie Channel, 9 p.m.
I Hate My Kitchen: Timeless & Traditional — DIY Network, 9:30 p.m.
I Hate My Yard: Fire & Wine — DIY Network, 10 p.m.
House Hunters: Charleston — HGTV, 10 p.m.
Who Gets the Last Laugh? — TBS, 10 p.m.
Dead of Night: Blood Never Lies — Investigation Discovery, 10 p.m.
Weird or What?: Paranormal Mysteries — Syfy, 10 p.m.
Body of Proof — ABC, 10:01 p.m.
Inside Amy Schumer: A Porn Star is Born — Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.
House Hunters International: Kin Kin — HGTV, 10:30 p.m.
Cops Reloaded — CMT, 11 p.m.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Nathan Lane — Comedy Central, 11 p.m.
Flip or Flop: The Moldy Mess — HGTV, 11 p.m.
Nitro Circus Live: The Big One — MTV, 11 p.m.
Conan — TBS, 11 p.m.
The Colbert Report: Dan Brown — Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.
Flip or Flop: Facelift Flip — HGTV, 11:30 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman — CBS, 11:35 p.m.

CBC to Carry Two NHL Stanley Cup Conference Semifinal Series

CBC’s hopes to ride a Toronto wave were dashed by the unbelievable Boston Bruins comeback, down 4-1 in the third period and then a furious finish that tied the game at 4, then ending in OT with Patrice Bergeron’s game winning goal. Canada’s Public Broadcaster does have a Canadian team, the Ottawa Senators taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby.

CBC’s other series will be an Original Six matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.

Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healey and Scott Oake will cover the Sens-Pens series.

Bob Cole, Kelly Hrudey, Garry Galley and Cassie Campbell-Pascall will travel between Chicago and Detroit.

We have the CBC press releases.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA CONTINUES COVERAGE OF THE 2013 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS WITH CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS, BEGINNING TUESDAY NIGHT

CBC’s coverage of the second round includes Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh and Chicago vs. Detroit

May 13, 2013 – The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continue this week with exclusive Canadian coverage of the Conference Semifinal series featuring Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh and Chicago vs. Detroit, beginning Tuesday night. Opening round coverage on CBC garnered strong audience numbers across the four series both on TV and through online streams. With every CBC playoff game available live on CBC-TV and online at CBCSports.ca, CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA has Canadians covered whenever and wherever they tune in.

The puck drops on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA for the second round as Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators head to Pittsburgh to take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in Game 1 of their series Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT). Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson (@hnicsimmer) call the action for this series with Glenn Healy providing analysis from between the benches and Scott Oake (@ScottOake) reporting.

CBC’s other match-up features Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks taking on the Detroit Red Wings led by Henrik Zetterberg. The first game of this series gets underway from Chicago on Wednesday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). Bob Cole is joined in the booth by Kelly Hrudey (@KellyHrudey) with analyst Garry Galley between the benches and Cassie Campbell-Pascall (@CassieCampbell) reporting. See attached for a complete first round broadcast schedule and distribution.

Ron MacLean and the HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA Studio 42 Team, P.J. Stock (@PJStockHNIC), Kevin Weekes (@kevinweekes), Elliotte Friedman (@friedgeHNIC) and Andi Petrillo (@andipHNIC), continue to keep viewers informed with news, insights and features throughout the games on CBC. Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) returns with Coach’s Corner, airing during the first intermission of each game of the Ottawa/Pittsburgh series. Hockey Tonight airs prior to every Senators vs. Penguins game, while the Post-Game Show is live online at CBCSports.ca following the conclusion of each CBC game night with host Andi Petrillo.

CBC’s Daryn Jones adds his unique brand of humour to the pre-game coverage throughout the second round as he joins the crowds on-site at the home team arenas to connect with fans cheering on their heroes before the teams take the ice. Exploring the tailgate atmosphere, Jones attempts to remain a neutral observer while meeting some of the most passionate fans from around the NHL. The first feature airs during Hockey Tonight ahead of Game 1 of the Chicago/Detroit series.

The engaging Hockey Night in Canada: 2^nd Screen connects users throughout the playoffs at CBCSports.ca/2ndscreen. Users continue to earn points for possible prizes through predictions, in-game trivia and online engagement. Viewers across the country can also connect with CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA online at CBCSports.ca/HockeyNightInCanada, through Twitter (@hockeynight) and Instagram using #HockeyNight, Facebook and Pinterest. Fans can also stay up-to-date with the Hockey Night in Canada app for iOS, Windows 8, Blackberry 10 and Android as well as via Xbox and Google Currents.

The Break Away Cam continues through the Conference Semifinals. This innovative online feature allows viewers to follow a single isolated camera on their computers or mobile devices each period. Fans can vote online at CBCSports.ca/Breakaway throughout the week picking what the focus of the camera will be – a superstar player, a passionate coach or a crazed fan. The camera will follow the top vote getter during special broadcasts throughout the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hockey Night in Canada Radio on SiriusXM with host Rob Pizzo (@RobPizzo) remains the source of comprehensive analysis for the entire 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs from 3-5 p.m. ET every weekday on Sirius 207 and XM 92. Pizzo welcomes the biggest names in the game for in-depth discussion and insightful interviews on the latest storylines from the NHL.

The feature match-up for Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi with Harnarayan Singh (@IceSinghHNIC), Inderpreet Cumo (@InderpreetHNIC) and Bhola Chauhan (@BholaHNIC) is Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh. The Punjabi-language broadcasts, featuring one series per round throughout the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, are available live on select television channels and online at CBCSports.ca. A complete list of channels as well as on-demand video are available at CBCSports.ca/Punjabi.

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2013 NHL Stanley Cup Conference Semifinals Schedule

Ok, I’m still coming down from the Bruins comeback against Toronto. I thought it would a Round 1 exit for the B’s, but instead, they’ll take on the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. NBC Sports Network, NBC and CNBC will be airing the series in the US. TSN will air it across Canada.

As for the other Eastern Conference semi, Ottawa and Pittsburgh, NBC Sports Network will get the first five games with CBC and RDS airing the entire series in Canada.

Out West, CBC, NBCSN and NBC air the Chicago vs. Detroit Original Six series. And for the San Jose-Los Angeles all-California series, NBC Sports Network and TSN will carry the games.

And in the Conference Semifinals mean there will be no more local broadcasts in the United States. It’s all national on the networks of NBC from now through the Stanley Cup Final.

We’ll get the announcing assignments and press releases later. But for now, here’s the schedule coming to directly from the National Hockey League offices in New York.

2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 schedule

NEW YORK — The National Hockey League announced today Game 1 dates of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinal round for the three matchups that have been determined. Round 2 starts Tuesday, May 14, with a doubleheader. Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators will be played at 7:30 p.m. ET at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh and the Western Conference Semifinal between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks will start at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Additionally, Game 1 in the series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings will be Wednesday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET at the United Center in Chicago.

All times listed are ET and subject to change.

2013 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES I	TIME (ET)	#1 Ottawa Senators vs. #7 Pitsburgh Penguins	Networks
TUESDAY, May 14, 2013	7:30 p.m.	OTTAWA at PITTSBURGH	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
FRIDAY, May 17, 2013	7:30 p.m.	OTTAWA at PITTSBURGH	NBCSN, CBC
SUNDAY, May 19, 2013	7:30 p.m.	PITTSBURGH at OTTAWA	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2013	7:30 p.m.	PITTSBURGH at OTTAWA	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*FRIDAY, May 24, 2013	7:30 P.M.	OTTAWA at PITTSBURGH	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*SUNDAY, May 26, 2013	TBD	PITTSBURGH at OTTAWA	CBC, RDS
*TUESDAY, May 28, 2013	TBD	OTTAWA at PITTSBURGH	CBC, RDS
SERIES J	TIME (ET)	#4 New York Rangers vs. #6 Boston Bruins	Networks
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2013	7:30 p.m.	NY RANGERS at BOSTON	NBCSN, TSN, RDS
SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013	3:00 p.m.	NY RANGERS at BOSTON	NBC, TSN, RDS
TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2013	7:30 p.m.	BOSTON at NY RANGERS	NBCSN, TSN, RDS
THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013	7 p.m.	BOSTON at NY RANGERS	CNBC, TSN, RDS
*SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013	TBD	NY RANGERS at BOSTON	TSN, RDS
*MONDAY, MAY 27, 2013	TBD	BOSTON at NY RANGERS	TSN, RDS
*WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013	TBD	NY RANGERS at BOSTON	TSN, RDS
2013 WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES K	TIME (ET)	#1 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Detroit Red Wings	Networks
WEDNESDAY, May 15, 2013	8 p.m.	DETROIT at CHICAGO	NBCSN, CBC
SATURDAY, May 18, 2013	1 p.m.	DETROIT at CHICAGO	NBC, CBC
MONDAY, May 20, 2013	7:30 p.m.	CHICAGO at DETROIT	NBCSN, CBC
WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2013	8 p.m.	CHICAGO at DETROIT	NBCSN, CBC
*SATURDAY, May 25, 2013	TBD	DETROIT at CHICAGO	CBC
*MONDAY, May 27, 2013	TBD	CHICAGO at DETROIT	CBC
*WEDNESDAY, May 29, 2013	TBD	DETROIT at Chicago	CBC
SERIES L	TIME (ET)	#5 Los Angeles Kings vs. #6 San Jose Sharks	Networks
TUESDAY, May 14, 2013	10 p.m.	SAN JOSE at LOS ANGELES	NBCSN, TSN
THURSDAY, May 16, 2013	10 p.m.	SAN JOSE at LOS ANGELES	NBCSN, TSN
SATURDAY, May 18, 2013	9 p.m.	LOS ANGELES at SAN JOSE	NBCSN, TSN
TUESDAY, May 21, 2013	10 p.m.	LOS ANGELES at SAN JOSE	NBCSN, TSN
*THURSDAY, May 23, 2013	10:30 p.m.	SAN JOSE at LOS ANGELES	NBCSN, TSN
*SUNDAY, May 26, 2013	TBD	LOS ANGELES at SAN JOSE	TSN
*TUESDAY, May 28, 2013	TBD	SAN JOSE at LOS ANGELES	TSN

* if necessary
TBD — To Be Determined

Any updates, I’ll make them here

NHL on NBC Announcing Assignments for May 13, 2013

Two Games 7 tonight. Toronto at Boston at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC. NBC will staff this game for the first time since Game 1. Dave Strader and Brian Engblom will call it.

Then at 8 p.m. ET, it’ll be the New York Rangers at the Washington Caps with Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire.

This will end the Conference Quarterfinals and then the Conference Semifinal round will begin tomorrow night.

Here’s what NBC is saying about the assignments for tonight.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S “NHL PLAYOFF PASS” – MAY 13

TWO GAME 7s TONIGHT

NEW YORK – May 13, 2013 – “NHL Playoff Pass” provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage. It is published weekdays to preview the evening games. On Fridays, a weekend edition is posted.

Games are being presented on NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC (in primetime), and NHL Network. In addition, more Stanley Cup Playoff games are being live streamed than ever before. For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.

All times are listed as ET and are subject to change:

Tonight	Coverage	Network	Talent
7 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Jeremy Roenick
7 p.m.	Toronto (5) at Boston (4)	CNBC	Dave Strader, Brian Engblom
8 p.m.	New York Rangers (6) at Washington (3)	NBCSN	Mike Emrick, Pierre McGuire, Eddie Olczyk

TONIGHT, May 13

NBC Sports Group presents two crucial Game 7s tonight.

At 7 p.m. ET on CNBC, the Boston Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs as they each look to progress to the Conference Semifinals with a Game 7 victory. Dave Strader will manage play-by-play alongside analyst Brian Engblom from TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Russ Thaler and Anson Carter will host CNBC’s studio coverage.

On NBC Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET, the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers are meeting in a Game 7 for the second consecutive post-season. Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will call play-by-play alongside analyst Eddie Olczyk and Emmy-Award winning analyst Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’) from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network with NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick.

That does it.

NESN Garners its 4th Best Ever Rating for the Bruins

Game 6 of the Boston Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs series registered the best rating of the series for NESN on Sunday. The game received a 14.3 rating with a 23. Through six games, the series is averaging a 10.8 rating in the Boston MMA.

Overall, the Bruins game was the 4th highest rated playoff game of all-time for the regional sports network. It marks the highest-rated playoff game of this season. Last year’s Game 7 between the Bruins and Washington Caps was the highest-rated in the network’s history.

Tonight’s Game 7 should be higher than last night’s contest. Here’s the press release.

NESN TO AIR BRUINS – MAPLE LEAFS GAME 7 TONIGHT

Game #6 14.3 HH Rating 4^th Best in NESN Bruins History

May 13, 2013 – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, will deliver live and regionally exclusive coverage of game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Quarterfinals tonight with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:00 PM. NESN, which has televised every game of the series averaging a 10.8 HH rating through 6 games, garnered a series best 14.3 average household rating (23 Share) in the Boston DMA for game 6 on Sunday night. The 14.3 rating now stands as the 4^th best rating for a Bruins game in network history.

NESN’s highest-rated Bruins game ever was game 7 of last year’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals (4/25/12) which garnered a 19.6 HH rating (31 Share) in the Boston DMA.  Four of NESN’s top six rated Bruins games of all time are game 7’s, with the only other exception being game 4 of the Bruins four game sweep of the Flyers in the 2011 Conference Semifinals.

NESN’s Top 6 Bruins Playoff Game Ratings of All-Time
Date	Opponent	Rating
4/25/12	Washington (Game 7)	19.6
4/27/11	Montreal (Game 7)	17.7
5/6/11	Philadelphia (Game 4)	15.2
5/12/13	Toronto (Game 6)	14.3
5/14/09	Carolina (Game 7)	14.1
5/14/10	Philadelphia (Game 7)	13.2

That’s it.

REPORT: US Open Close to Moving to ESPN

From Sports Business Daily’s John Ourand, we learn that ESPN is close to taking another Grand Slam tennis tournament away from network television. In 2011, ESPN wrested Wimbledon away from NBC after the network had broadcast the event dating back to 1968. The entire tournament became an all-cable event last year.

Now, ESPN appears to have convinced the United States Tennis Association to make the U.S. Open all-cable as well. CBS has broadcast the U.S. Open since 1968. In the 1980′s, USA Network signed to air the preliminary matches. In 2009, ESPN2 and Tennis Channel took over USA’s portion of the event while CBS continued to air weekend coverage and the semifinals and finals.

Ourand reports that CBS’ exclusive negotiation window with the USTA ended earlier this year allowing ESPN to make a pitch to make the U.S. Open all-cable. Under the ESPN proposal, the network would air the tournament similar to how it produces Wimbledon with ESPN and ESPN2 simultaneously airing matches during the second week. And even though ESPN and ESPN2 have college football commitments in the first week of September, ESPN has promised to air both the men’s and women’s semifinals and finals.

Over the last four years, rain delays have forced the men’s final to a Monday afternoon finish. While CBS picked up the final under its contract with the USTA, its affiliates have often moved the event to secondary channels causing ratings to drop.

Another part of ESPN’s commitment to the US Open would be TV Everywhere rights which would stream the entire tournament to authenticated cable and satellite subscribers.

CBS still is negotiating with the USTA to keep a portion of the tournament, but it appears ESPN has one foot in the door. It’s not known if Tennis Channel will continue to be part of the U.S. Open.

ESPN has rights to all four Grand Slam Tournaments and air start-to-finish coverage of the Australian Open and Wimbledon. It is the lead cable rightsholder to the U.S. Open. However, for the French, ESPN is the secondary cable rightsholder for the French Open as Tennis Channel is the lead there.

If ESPN is successful in gaining the U.S. Open, the French Open would remain as the only Grand Slam tennis tournament left on broadcast television.

Andy Katz Re-Ups with ESPN

ESPN announces that college basketball inside Andy Katz has extended his contract with the alleged Worldwide Leader. In addition, the contract will expire in 2016 meaning he’ll be with ESPN for over 20 years.

He’s happy. ESPN’s happy. Here’s the official announcement.

ESPN Extends Andy Katz Contract

ESPN has reached a contract extension with college basketball reporter Andy Katz to continue his multi-platform role for ESPN.com and ESPN networks. The multi-year agreement will see Katz to a more than 20-year career at ESPN.

Katz, who joined ESPN in 1999, will continue his daily written and video contributions as senior college basketball writer for ESPN.com, in addition to contributions for ESPN the Magazine. After the debut of his weekly show, Katz Korner, and hosting The Experts on ESPNU, his role on ESPN networks will continue to expand in both a reporting and hosting capacity for Outside the Lines on ESPN. His reporting role will also continue courtside, as well as in studio, during college basketball games.

Katz is set to continue his ESPN Audio initiatives, collaborating with college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg in a podcast series that re-airs on ESPN Radio Saturday mornings.

“Across every ESPN platform, Andy continues to be an invaluable asset to our coverage of NCAA basketball and the NBA Draft,” said Patrick Stiegman, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, ESPN.com. “No one works harder than Andy, and that shows in his work for ESPN.”

Added Katz, “This is home for me and my family now.  I put tremendous value on the people I work for and with at ESPN. This new contract gives me the chance to explore even more opportunities that simply are not possible at other places. I feel fortunate to work with so many pros from editors to producers to cameramen and everyone else involved in a show or story. The first 14 years here have been rewarding and challenging and I expect the next few years to be similar, with even more room for growth.”

That’s it.

Monday’s Viewing Picks

College Baseball
Florida State at North Carolina State — ESPNU, 7 p.m.

College Football
College Football Live — ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

Cycling
Tour of California
Stage 2: Murrieta to Greater Palm Springs — NBC Sports Network, 5 p.m.

English Championship
Semifinal
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Crystal Palace — beIN Sport, 2:30 p.m.

Golf
Big Break Mexico: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (season premiere) — Golf Channel, 9 p.m.
Feherty: Rocco Mediate — Golf Channel, 10 p.m.

Minor League Baseball
Toledo Mud Hens at Indianapolis — MLB Network, 11 a.m.

MLB
American League
New York Yankees at Cleveland — YES/STO, noon
New York Yankees at Cleveland — YES/STO, 3:30 p.m.
Houston at Detroit — Comcast SportsNet Houston/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports North, 8 p.m.
Kansas City at Anaheim Angels — Fox Sports Kansas City/Fox Sports West, 10 p.m.
Texas at Oakland — Fox Sports Southwest/Comcast SportsNet California, 10 p.m.

National League
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh — Fox Sports Wisconsin/Root Sports Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
New York Mets at St. Louis — ESPN/SNY/Fox Sports Midwest, 7 p.m.
Colorado Rockies at Chicago Cubs — Root Sports Rocky Mountain/WCIU, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Arizona — SportsSouth/Fox Sports Arizona, 9:30 p.m.
Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers — MASN/Fox Sports Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.

The Rundown — MLB Network, 2 p.m.
MLB Now — MLB Network, 4 p.m.
MLB Tonight — MLB Network, 6 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN, 10 p.m.
Baseball Tonight — ESPN2, midnight
Quick Pitch — MLB Network, 1 a.m. (Tuesday)

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 4: Miami at Chicago — TNT, 7 p.m.

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 4: Oklahoma City at Memphis — TNT, 9:30 p.m.

NBA GameTime: Heat/Bulls, Game 4 Postgame — NBA TV, 9:30 p.m.
NBA GameTime: Thunder/Grizziles, Game 4 Postgame — NBA TV, midnight
Inside the NBA — TNT, midnight

NFL
NFL Live — ESPN, 4 p.m.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Game 7: Toronto at Boston — CBC/RDS/CNBC/NESN, 7 p.m.
Game 7: New York Rangers at Washington — NBC Sports Network/TSN/RDS2/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/MSG Network, 8 p.m.

NHL Live — NHL Network, 5 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.
NHL on the Fly — NHL Network, 7 p.m.
NHL Tonight — NHL Network, 10 p.m.
NHL Live — NBC Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

Sports Talk
NFL AM — NFL Network, 6 a.m.
Morning Drive — Golf Channel, 7 a.m.
The Dan Patrick Show — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Tim Brando Show — CBS Sports Network, 9 a.m.
Sky Sports News — Fox Soccer, 9 a.m.
The Box Score — Audience Network (DirecTV)/NBC Sports Network, noon
SVP & Russillo — ESPNews, 1 p.m.
Outside the Lines — ESPN, 3 p.m.
Dan Le Batard is Extremely Volatile Highly Questionable — ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
SportsNation — ESPN2, 4 p.m.
The Best of the Dan Patrick Show — NBC Sports Network, 4 p.m.
Pardon the Interruption — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
ROME — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
Fox Soccer News — Fox Soccer, 10 p.m.
The Dotted Line — ESPN2, 11 p.m.
UNITE — ESPNU, midnight
Lead Off — CBS Sports Network, midnight

Tennis
ATP Tour
Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy
First Round — Tennis Channel, 5 a.m.

Entertainment
How I Met Your Mother (season finale) — CBS, 8 p.m.
Antiques Roadshow: Seattle — PBS, 8 p.m.
The Shining — IFC, 8 p.m.
Elizabeth — The Movie Channel, 8 p.m.
Kitchen Crashers: Tattooing the Kitchen — DIY Network, 9 p.m.
Brain Games: What You Don’t Know — National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.
Burger Land: New Mexico’s Green Chile Cheeseburgers — Travel Channel, 9 p.m.
Pizza Cuz: Neighborhoods — Cooking Channel, 9 p.m.
Bridesmaids — HBO, 9 p.m.
Hanna — HBO Signature, 9 p.m.
Sins & Secrets: Bleed All About It — Investigation Discovery, 9 p.m.
Bath Crashers: Fire and Water Retreat — DIY Network, 9:30 p.m.
Yard Crashers: Family Friendly Getaway — DIY Network, 10 p.m.
House Hunters — HGTV, 10 p.m.
Hawaii Five-0 — CBS, 10 p.m.
Bates Motel: Underwater — A&E, 10 p.m.
James May’s Man Lab: Christmas Special — BBC America, 10 p.m.
FBI: Criminal Pursuit: Taken by Force — Investigation Discovery, 10 p.m.
Bullet Points: Showdown in the Middle East — Military Channel, 10 p.m.
Going Ape: The Alpha Male — National Geographic Channel, 10 p.m.
Scam City: Bangkok — Science, 10 p.m.
The Big C: Hereafter: Quality of Death — Showtime, 10 p.m.
Rectify: Drip, Drip — Sundance Channel, 10 p.m.
Revolution — NBC, 10:01 p.m.
House Hunters International: Buenos Aires, Argentina — HGTV, 10:30 p.m.
Cops Reloaded — CMT, 11 p.m.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: J.J. Abrams — Comedy Central, 11 p.m.
Evil Dead 2 — IFC, 11 p.m.
The Colbert Report: Jessica Buchanan and Erik Landermalm — Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.
The Late Show with David Letterman — CBS, 11:35 p.m.