Fang's Bites

More Thursday Press Releases

After I did my press release post earlier today, more came into the Fang’s Bites inbox so it’s time for another post now.

Starting with NBC Sports, the network previews it’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS UNPRECEDENTED COVERAGE OF THE 135th RUNNING OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY THIS SATURDAY AT 4 PM ET

“One of the great sporting events in America...a slice of Americana” – NBC’s Hammond

“It’s a great Kentucky Derby this year, one of the best I’ve seen in 20 years.” - NBC's Stevens

NEW YORK – April 30, 2009 – NBC Sports broadcasts exclusive coverage of the 135th Kentucky Derby this Saturday starting at 4 p.m. ET.  NBC Sports' broadcast will bring the spectacle of the Kentucky Derby, which has been contested annually since 1875, home to viewers with behind-the-scenes access, celebrities and fashion surrounding the legendary Run for the Roses. The Red Carpet will feature celebrity interviews as the stars arrive to Churchill Downs to enjoy the greatest day in horse racing.

Bob Costas and Tom Hammond co-host the Derby alongside three-time Derby winner Gary Stevens.  NBC Sports' broadcast team also includes race-caller Tom Durkin; contributing analysts/handicappers Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier; reporter Kenny Rice and on-track reporter Donna Brothers, who retired in 1998 after an impressive 11-year career as a jockey.  The Kentucky Derby on NBC is produced by Sam Flood and directed by David Michaels.  Additionally, the TODAY Show's Al Roker will contribute reports, and Nancy O'Dell, co-host of "Access Hollywood" and author of "Full of Life: Mom-To-Mom Tips I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Was Pregnant," and Tiki Barber of "Football Night in America" will handle Red Carpet arrivals. 

Due to technical difficulties with our conferencing center we apologize that the conference call had to be cancelled.  Below are quotes from NBC's talent and production staff about the Kentucky Derby and NBC's coverage:

TOM HAMMOND ON WHAT MAKES THE DERBY SPECIAL: "I always look forward to the first Saturday of May because the Kentucky Derby is one of the great sporting events in America. It's really a slice of Americana where you have the raucous infield, millionaires' row and more than 150,000 people on hand, and that makes it one of the highlights of our broadcasting year.

"The thing that makes the Derby special to me too is that, aside from the Olympics, there are more stories involved in horse racing and specifically the Derby than any other sport of all the sports I cover. Not only stories about horses, but also stories about the people involved with them - the owners, the trainers, the jockeys. It's just a wealth of stories, and storytelling is part of our duties as sportscasters."

TOM HAMMOND ON ONE OF HIS FAVORITE STORIES THIS YEAR: "There's a story in the Derby this year that typifies what I think the Derby is all about. On one hand, you have Sheikh Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, coming over with two horses. He's spent billions worldwide, and the one thing he has not been able to accomplish in horse racing is to win the Kentucky Derby. There's also a horse in here named General Quarters that is owned by Tom McCarthy, who is a 75-year old retired school principal from Louisville who has been chasing his dream of having a Derby horse for 50 years. He's the owner, the trainer and the groom for a horse he claimed he bought for $20,000. So you have the man who is a one-horse stable who does all the work himself, running against one of the richest men in the world. It's what the Derby's all about. It doesn't matter how much money you have. The horses don't know who owns them, and you can't buy the Derby. The best horse on that day is going to win it, regardless of the wealth of its owners. And that's what the Kentucky Derby is all about. It's a great equalizer and the story of Tom McCarthy is one we'll tell on Saturday, and hopefully that will make the Derby special."

GARY STEVENS ON A WIDE OPEN DERBY: "It's a great Kentucky Derby this year, one of the best I've seen in 20 years as far as prospects who could win it. I've got about eight horses who, if I was still riding, I wouldn't mind sitting on their back.  It's a very contentious race this year."

EIGHT HORSES GARY STEVENS LIKES:
· I Want Revenge
· Pioneerof the Nile
· Dunkirk
· Desert Party
· General Quarters
· Regal Ransom
· Papa Clem
· Mr. Hot Stuf

BOB NEUMEIER'S TOP THREE: "I only see three possible horses that can win the race. In order of preference: Dunkirk, Pioneerof the Nile and I Want Revenge. I'll be very surprised if someone else wins the race, because I think those three are head and shoulders above the rest of the field."

BOB NEUMEIER'S PICK TO WIN THE KENTUCKY DERBY: "I like Dunkirk because he ran an incredible second in the Florida Derby to the horse that I thought was the best horse in the country, and that is Quality Road, who has been scratched for the Derby. For that reason and the fact that Pioneerof the Nile has never run on conventional dirt, makes me give the nod to Dunkirk. I don't care about historical precedents about him not running as a two-year old. I think he's the best horse in the race."

BOB NEUMEIER ON I WANT REVENGE: "Tactically, I think the race will advantage I Want Revenge, because he is kind of a frontrunner pace presser in a race that's dominated by late running horses, or closing horses. So I think he will take advantage of that. But I don't think he's any better than Dunkirk or Pioneerof the Nile, and as a favorite I'll put him third on my hit parade. So Dunkirk –1, Pioneerof the Nile- 2, I Want Revenge- 3."

MIKE BATTAGLIA ON THE DERBY FIELD: "It's a strong field of three-year-olds, much stronger top-to-bottom than the field we had last year. Big Brown was a standout last year, but I don't think the field as a whole was nearly as good as the one we have this year. 

MIKE BATTAGLIA'S PICK TO WIN THE KENTUCKY DERBY: "I personally like Pioneerof the Nile's chances. I think he will handle the dirt. This is a horse that has only raced on turf and synthetics, but he's really trained well since he got here and trainer Bob Baffert knows how to win this race.  Baffert has already won the Kentucky Derby three times and I think the fact that jockey Garrett Gomez chose this horse over Dunkirk speaks volumes for Pioneerof the Nile also, so I think he's going to be very dangerous. Wide open race, excellent race. Best trip wins. My pick- Pioneerof the Nile."

OTHER HORSES MIKE BATTAGLIA LIKES: "You can't knock I Want Revenge, the favorite and you can't knock Dunkirk. Either one of those can win and Friesan Fire could be dangerous."

MIKE BATTAGLIA'S LONG SHOT: "For a long shot I kind of think Hold Me Back will run big. He makes his third start for Bill Mott, who is very good with horses." 

SAM FLOOD ON DERBY STORYLINES: "It's a wonderful Derby because there are more stories than we've ever had before. There's a great trainer in Bob Baffert coming back to the track to Tom McCarthy, the school principal who's getting his first chance at age 75 on a $20,000 horse. Then you've got Larry Jones coming off the tragedy last year with Eight Belles, coming to his last Derby. There are human stories throughout the Derby that make it a compelling day of racing. We have all the people in place and all the equipment in place to really make this one of the great Kentucky Derby scenes of all-time."

SAM FLOOD ON BRAVO'S FRIDAY SHOW: "Doing the Oaks for the first time is very exciting for our group. In the past we have not covered that race, and now we have an hour-long special on Bravo that will include the Ladies' Day at the Derby. This will create a whole new feel and a whole new tone to Friday's telecast, so we're very excited about that and the folks at Churchill are really excited about moving the Oaks onto Bravo and showcasing the ladies."

NBCSPORTS.COM AT THE DERBY: NBCSports.com will live stream the tote board during the pre-race broadcast Saturday so fans can get up-to-the-minute information on the latest odds directly from Churchill Downs.
 
Additionally, NBCSports.com, in conjunction with Icue, will present a video-quiz application that tests knowledge of past Kentucky Derby winners and events, and is available on NBCSports.com and Facebook.

KENTUCKY DERBY ON ITUNES:  This year, for the first time, race fans can also purchase a Kentucky Derby race replay on the iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com).  Fans can buy a highlight package of the NBC Sports broadcast and "Run for the Roses: The Kentucky Derby and the Business of Horse Racing", a CNBC Original primetime program, for $1.99 each or a bundle of the two for $2.99.

SEE THE DERBY ON YOUR MOBILE PHONE: Users on the go can watch the Kentucky Derby live on their mobile phones exclusively through NBC 2Go and NBC Sports Mobile.  Plus, fans can watch exclusive video and race replays on-demand on NBC Sports Mobile Video (check your carrier for availability).
 
LUCKY U GAME: NBC Sports and Churchill Downs are joining together to present The Kentucky Derby Lucky U Game for the third consecutive year.  Last year, the Lucky U Game generated more than 500,000 entries.  Lucky U is a contest where a lucky fan can win a cash prize and a trip to the 2010 Kentucky Derby.  Once the field for the Derby is set on Wednesday, horse racing fans will be able to vote for the horse that they think will win.  The winner will receive $10,000 in cash and a 2010 Kentucky Derby VIP Experience provided by Churchill Downs, including tickets to the Derby, round-trip transportation, and accommodations. Viewers of NBC's Kentucky Derby broadcast and other horse racing fans will be invited to enter by sending a text message for their choice from their cell phone.  Standard text messaging charges apply.  Fans can also enter by going online to NBCSports.com/luckyu.

LADIES FIRST: BRAVO AT THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Bravo will feature the very best in food, fashion and the celebrity experience associated with the great spectacle of Kentucky Derby weekend including Kentucky Oaks 135 on "Ladies First: Bravo at the Kentucky Derby," a one-hour special produced by NBC Sports, LIVE this Friday at 5 p.m. ET/PT. The special, hosted by NBC's Costas, "Access Hollywood's" O'Dell, and "The Real Housewives of New York City's" Bethenny Frankel, daughter of horse trainer Bobby Frankel, celebrates a day for women and gives viewers a history on the fashion and festivities before and after the Oaks race. NBC's Barber will check-in live from the Infield Club with "Top Chef" series five finalist Stefan Richter, and season four and five "Top Chef" winners Stephanie Izard and Hosea Rosenberg. "Top Chef: The Tour," a state-of-the-art customized traveling kitchen with expansive space to accommodate cooks and fans alike, will make a special stop at the Kentucky Oaks – in the Infield Club.  

Frankel, a racing aficionado and best-selling author, will provide a female perspective to handicapping and betting at the Kentucky Oaks, and along with O'Dell will take viewers through the spectacular fashion and hats on display over the weekend.

KENTUCKY DERBY A RATINGS SUCCESS: NBC's coverage of the 2008 Kentucky Derby grabbed 11.5 million viewers, equaling its best delivery in six years. Since 2001 when the Kentucky Derby moved from ABC to NBC, average viewership has increased more than two million viewers (24 percent) over the previous eight years on ABC.  

KENTUCKY DERBY ON NBC: NBC Sports began its exclusive coverage of the Kentucky Derby, the longest continuously held sporting event in North America, in 2001.  In May 2005, NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Incorporated reached an agreement giving the network the exclusive broadcast rights to the Kentucky Derby beginning in 2006 and continuing through 2010.

NBC also looks at its NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage.

CROSBY VS. OVECHKIN, & DEFENDING CHAMPION RED WINGS HIGHLIGHT NBC SPORTS COVERAGE OF STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS THIS WEEKEND

Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals Saturday, 1 p.m. ET; Anaheim Ducks at Detroit Red Wings Sunday, 2 p.m. ET

“This series is star-power personified, just great for the game of hockey. – NBC’s McGuire

NEW YORK – April 30, 2009 – A marquee matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, plus the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings headline NBC Sports' coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs this weekend. Saturday, Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will host Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins at 1 p.m. ET in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series. On Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, the Red Wings will host the Anaheim Ducks in Game 2 of their series. 

Mike "Doc" Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass analyst) call the action (Darren Pang will fill in for McGuire Sunday in Detroit). McGuire and Pang will pull double duty, hosting NBC's studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury on site in Washington and Detroit.

MCGUIRE ON PITTSBURGH-WASHINGTON: "This series is star-power personified, just great for the game of hockey. The big question is, will the Capitals have enough balance to deal with the Penguins? The X-factor is Jordan Staal for Pittsburgh and how well [Simeon] Varlamov plays. He played well but really wasn't tested in the Rangers series but you can be sure he will here. The Penguins are vicious on the forecheck and I wonder how Washington will cope with that."

MCGUIRE ON ANAHEIM-DETROIT: "I see a lot of problems for Anaheim in this series dealing with the waves that Detroit throws at you. They're going to have to get scoring beyond their first line and from the defense in order to compete."

CBC and TSN will switch NHL Playoff games in the second round.

2009 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS PROGRAMMING ADVISORY: CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA AND TSN EXCHANGE GAMES

CBC to broadcast Anaheim at Detroit, Game One on May 1;

TSN to broadcast Washington at Pittsburgh, Game Six on May 11

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA and TSN today announced updates to their respective broadcast schedules for Round Two of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. CBC will air Game One of the Detroit / Anaheim series, live from Joe Louis Arena on Friday, May 1 at 7 p.m. ET, while TSN will broadcast Game Six of the Washington / Pittsburgh series on Monday, May 11 (time TBD). This exchange of games ensures Canadians will see all games from Round Two of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs nationally and in their entirety.

Mark Lee will handle play-by-play duties for the Anaheim at Detroit series opener on Friday, alongside analyst Garry Galley and rinkside reporter Elliotte Friedman. Ron MacLean hosts the entire evening, and will be joined by Kelly Hrudey and P.J. Stock, while Jeff Marek and Scott Morrison will be front and centre at the Stanley Cup I-Desk. Hockey fans can visit CBCSports.ca 24 hours a day, seven days a week for wall-to-wall coverage of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including live and on-demand video streaming of all games broadcast on CBC.

CBS Sports will air a NCAA Winter Championships special.

CBS SPORTS TO AIR NCAA WINTER SEASONAL SHOW SATURDAY, MAY 2 AT 2 PM ET

INDIANAPOLIS — For the seventh consecutive year, all 88 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships will receive television exposure, including 17 winter sports to be featured in a one-hour special. “CBS Sports Presents Championships of the NCAA” will air at 2 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific Saturday, May 2, on CBS Sports. The popular series continues on CBS as it features dozens of NCAA student-athletes following their dreams in fencing, ice hockey, indoor track & field, rifle, skiing, swimming & diving and wrestling. For the 2008-09 academic year, CBS Sports will feature half (44) of the NCAA’s 88 championships in its three seasonal shows.

The show focuses on the aspirations of several student-athletes pursuing their individual and team paths to various NCAA championships including:

· Senior wrestler Karl Voeck of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater details how his life experiences as a member of the United States Air Force in Iraq has had an impact on and off the wrestling mat, along with plenty of support from his wife Michaela. Voeck vies for the NCAA Division III title in the 197-pound weight class.

· Abilene Christian University (TX) senior Camille Vandendriessche, a native of Paris, France, is the defending NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field decathlon champion and a 2012 Olympic aspirant, and competes in the first-ever heptathlon at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.

· Newberry College (NC) senior Cy Wainwright looks to complete an undefeated season as a heavyweight at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.

· The three swimming Alexander sisters of Carleton College (MN), Becky, Kate and Maggie, all compete at the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships.

· University of Wisconsin-La Crosse distance runner Dallas Vincent, who lost his mother to brain cancer last fall, is seeking to help his team earn its eighth national title in the last nine years.

Through the NCAA-CBS 11-year bundled rights agreement, CBS Sports has aired 19 seasonal shows from the three NCAA championship seasons (fall, winter, spring) over the last six years. The Saturday, May 2^nd show is the 20^th edition. Each seasonal show features highlights and unique NCAA student-athlete stories from a variety of NCAA Division II and III championships.

CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson will host this edition of CBS Sports Presents Championships of the NCAA. Wolfson is CBS Sports’ lead college football reporter, working with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson. She has also served as a reporter for CBS Sports’ coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship for the past six years. For the fourth consecutive year, the winter program was produced by Emmy-award winning producer Joseph E. Zappulla. This year’s winter show will again be broadcast entirely in High Definition. The feature producers for the show are Bill Thayer and Alanna Campbell.

For more information about NCAA championships, log on to www.NCAA.com.

Here’s what Golf Channel has in store for us from May 4 through 10.

COMING UP ON GOLF CHANNEL…May 4 – 10, 2009

More than 35 Hours of Live Tournament and News Coverage of THE PLAYERS

THE PLAYERS

GOLF CHANNEL will combine exclusive live tournament coverage with Live From THE PLAYERS news reporting for more than 35 hours of THE PLAYERS programming.

Thursday and Friday beginning at 1 p.m. ET, GOLF CHANNEL will air 12 hours of live coverage of THE PLAYERS. Brian Hammons will serve as play-by-play host, joined by Nick Faldo as lead analyst. Gary Koch and Bob Murphy will report from on-course towers; Roger Maltbie, Jimmy Roberts and Dottie Pepper will report from the course and show host Rich Lerner will set the scene for viewers at the beginning of the telecasts and also will conduct player interviews. At 9 p.m. ET, PGA TOUR Primetime will air a condensed three hour prime-time replay that will include bonus coverage not seen during the initial telecasts.

Originating from the 17^th hole at TPC Sawgrass, Live From THE PLAYERS, GOLF CHANNEL’s signature news show produced in HD, will go inside the ropes throughout the week with live news reports, authoritative analysis and compelling features from a variety of angles to provide viewers a comprehensive examination of THE PLAYERS.

Tuesday: Live From the Players will air Tiger Woods’ and Phil Mickelson’s news conferences live at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET, respectively. Coverage will continue from 2-4 p.m. ET with pre-event news conferences, hosted by Rich Lerner and Charlie Rymer. Live From THE PLAYERS will return with a two-hour show from 6-8 p.m. ET.

Wednesday: Live coverage of pre-tournament news conferences will air from 2 – 4:30 p.m. ET, including defending champion Sergio Garcia at 4 p.m. ET. Live From will return for a two-hour show from 6-8 p.m. ET to recap the day’s activities and preview Thursday’s opening round.

Thursday – Friday: Two-hour preview shows beginning at 11 a.m. ET, leading into GOLF CHANNEL’s live tournament coverage at 1 p.m. ET. Live From THE PLAYERS will recap the first two rounds beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

Saturday – Sunday: 90-minute preview shows beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET, leading into NBC Sports live coverage, followed by two-hour recap shows at 7 p.m. ET.

Live From THE PLAYERS broadcast team will include Vince Cellini, Rich Lerner, Steve Sands, Kelly Tilghman, Brandel Chamblee, Frank Nobilo, Charlie Rymer, Inga Hammond, Scott Walker, Adam Barr, Alex Miceli and John Hawkins. GolfChannel.com’s team of writers – Jay Coffin, Rex Hoggard and Randall Mell – will contribute to the network’s Live From coverage as well as daily stories, blogs and features online at www.GolfChannel.com.

Talk Show and Original Programming Highlights

Big Break Prince Edward Island

Monday at 9 p.m. ET, the competition begins to heat up and the pressure might be too much to handle for the contestants on a new episode of Big Break Prince Edward Island. The episode will feature the remaining 10 contestants competing head-to-head for immunity and $1,000 cash from Dick’s Sporting Goods, all the while trying to fend off elimination. Produced in high definition, the contestants are competing for a grand prize of $100,000 in cash. Hosted by Stina Sternberg and Charlie Rymer.

The Golf Fix (Special Guest, Charles Howell III)

Monday at 8 p.m. ET, PGA TOUR professional Charles Howell III will join host Michael Breed on The Golf Fix, GOLF CHANNEL’s half-hour, fast-paced interactive instructional show featuring call-ins and emails from viewers. Howell will discuss his preparation for THE PLAYERS. The Finau Brothers, Gipper and Tony, also will provide driving tips to hit the ball farther.

Best of THE PLAYERS (Premiere)

Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET at 9 p.m. ET, GOLF CHANNEL will preview THE PLAYERS, feature 2008 champion Sergio Garcia and re-air some of the top moments at TPC Sawgrass.

The Approach with Callaway Golf (100^th Episode)

Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, Andrew Magee and Alex Miceli will tackle the top storylines in golf from different perspectives, preview THE PLAYERS in an entertaining and informative manner and celebrate the show’s 100^th episode on The Approach with Callaway Golf. Taking place at TPC Sawgrass. Kraig Kann will serve as host and moderator.

Grey Goose 19^th Hole

Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Communications and International Affairs, Ty Votaw will join the Grey Goose 19^th Hole to discuss THE PLAYERS with host Vince Cellini and analysts John Hawkins and Jeff Rude on-site at TPC Sawgrass.

Live Tournaments Programming Highlights

BMW Italian Open

2010 European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie and major champions John Daly and Paul Lawrie will headline the field at the 2009 BMW Italian Open on the European Tour. Thursday – Friday, live coverage will air from 9:30 – 11 a.m. ET, followed by three-hour coverage Saturday and Sunday starting at 9:30 a.m. ET.

And NFL Network has one reminder for us in regards to one program Friday night.

On The Road With NFL Total Access Airs Tomorrow at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

On the Road with NFL Total Access (HD) takes cameras behind the scenes for NFL Network’s coverage of Thursday Night Football, chronicling the lives, antics and off-camera preparation of NFL experts and television personalities Rich Eisen, Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Steve Mariucci and Warren Sapp. From games in Jacksonville and Dallas to every stop in between, On the Road with NFL Total Access gives viewers an inside look at what happens when the TV cameras are turned off and NFL Network personalities go off-stage.

Below is a link to a clip on NFL.com from the show of the crew sitting down for a Dec. 18 production meeting prior to the Colts-Jaguars game. In the clip, the conversation centers around Sapp and Sanders debating the unraveling of the Cowboys locker room and the truth and rumors from the situation.

Catch On The Road With NFL Total Access Friday at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT which encores airing at 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM ET.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d8100ca74/On-The-Road-With-Total-Access

Plenty of press releases today. Enjoy.

BREAKING NEWS: NFL Network Will Remain on Comcast Systems … For Now

One advantage to having Twitter and following NFL Public Relations guy Brian McCarthy is that you sometimes get breaking news. Happening now, Comcast has agreed to keep NFL Network beyond its midnight deadline while talks between the two parties continue.

Right when Brian made this Tweet,

NFL Network will continue to be carried on Comcast past 2nite’s expiration of current contract while both sides continue discussions.

An e-mail came into the Fang’s Bites inbox with the following joint statement from Comcast and the NFL.

STATEMENT FROM COMCAST & NFL NETWORK SPOKESPERSONS:

“Comcast and the NFL are engaged in productive discussions toward a new agreement for NFL Network carriage on Comcast. NFL Network will continue to be carried on Comcast systems past tonight’s scheduled expiration of the current contract while both sides continue these productive discussions. We are both working to find a solution that works for NFL fans and Comcast’s customers.”

So for those who pay extra to have NFL Network through Comcast’s Sports Tier, you will continue to have the channel on your systems for the time being.

Red Sox Hero Dave Roberts Joins NESN

I thought this was a matter of time when Dave Roberts retired from playing baseball. Roberts has a great voice and is very good in interviews and I think he’s going to be a very good TV analyst. NESN also thinks so because it’s hired Dave to be a studio analyst. He has the potential to be very good.

Of course, Dave stole second base in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees and it led to the Red Sox tying the game sending it to extra innings sparking the Sox to the greatest comeback in American sports. I say that as an unabashed Red Sox fan.

Here’s the press release.

DAVE ROBERTS JOINS NESN AS RED SOX STUDIO ANALYST

BOSTON, MA – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, announced today that former Red Sox outfielder and post-season hero, Dave Roberts, has joined NESN to serve as a Red Sox studio analyst. Roberts will join Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley and Jim Rice for the network’s popular pre and post game shows.

“We are thrilled to have Dave join our team of outstanding studio analysts,” said Joel Feld, NESN’s executive vice president of programming and executive producer. “Dave is an icon in Red Sox Nation. He has a deep knowledge of the game and understands the passion of Red Sox fans.”

Roberts will make his NESN debut this Monday from the new Yankee Stadium when the Red Sox play the Yankees. During the game, he will also join NESN’s Red Sox broadcast team of Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy in the booth for a couple of innings.

Best known to for his stolen base in the 9^th inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, Roberts recently retired after a 10 years in the major leagues. He played for 5 different teams compiling a .266 career batting average with 243 stolen bases while only being caught 58 times for a very impressive 81% success rate. He enjoyed his best year in 2006 with the San Diego Padres when he hit .293 as the team’s leadoff hitter and collected 49 stolen bases.

He’ll have some nerves at first, but once he shakes those off, Dave will be very good on TV.

Thursday’s Press Releases Thus Far

I have received quite a few press releases this morning. I’ll post what I have for you.

Starting with MLB Network, Bob Costas will on the air tonight with an interview of Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr.

BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS CAL RIPKEN JR. ON MLB NETWORK BEFORE THURSDAY NIGHT BASEBALL

Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., President & CEO Ripken Baseball, Inc., stopped by MLB Network studios for an interview that will air tonight during On Deck Circle at 6:00p.m. ET, prior to Thursday Night Baseball (Boston at Tampa Bay). Ripken sat down with Bob Costas to discuss the upcoming 70^th anniversary of Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig’s famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, as well as Ripken’s thoughts on Gehrig and his legendary record for consecutive games played.

Thursday’s segment is part of a longer interview between Costas and Ripken that will air later this summer in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s initiative to raise awareness and financial support for organizations leading the fight against ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), otherwise known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” With the new charitable campaign “4?ALS Awareness,” MLB is working with four leading organizations – The ALS Association, ALS TDI, Augie’s Quest (the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s ALS research initiative) and Project A.L.S. – whose primary goal is to find a cure for ALS. The initiative will culminate on July 4, 2009, which is the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium.

Highlights of the interview include:

ON GEHRIG SITTING OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS CAREER:

“When my streak ended after all those games, I didn’t know what to do with myself. There were other reasons, obviously for Lou, but I certainly didn’t know what to do with myself, I didn’t know how to behave. I felt like I was on the outside looking in. and I’m wondering if he thinks he’s on the outside looking in right there.”

ON RIPKEN’S CONNECTION TO GEHRIG:

“I often wonder what a conversation would be like if you had a chance to sit down and talk to Lou and kind of compare notes – why you did it, how you did it, what were your challenges, because to me, it just happened. It wasn’t ever a part of what I wanted to do – it was a sense of responsibility, it was your obligation to yourself and to your team and to your manager, and I’d love to hear those things from Lou.”

ON BREAKING GEHRIG’S RECORD IN 1995:

“I guess at the time in ‘95, I was still pushing Lou away a little bit. In some ways, I knew the comparison was necessary because of what the streak was all about, I never felt it was right, because he was one of the game’s greatest players. I never thought of myself in that same category. We had a link because of our desire to play and our resiliency in our ability to do that. But I think I was pushing him away because I didn’t want it to become an obsession.”

ON GEHRIG’S CHARACTER:

“I think everybody on the surface knows what a great man he was. He was a man of character, an iron horse in the truest sense – strong, thick, and probably a little bit stubborn as a result, but I’d love to learn a little bit more about him but really in my own time.”

ESPN’s Outside the Lines will focus on the new Selena Roberts book on Alex Rodriguez which has more steroids allegations.

Outside the Lines – First Report

Thursday, April 30, 2009

3:00pm ET on ESPN

For updates throughout the day, check the OTL webpage: http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/otl/index

FIRST REPORT: Back on the Hot Seat

After an offseason that damaged his reputation, Alex Rodriguez has even more image repair to do. According to the New York Daily News, the new book by Selena Roberts, to be released May 12, says Rodriguez may have used steroids in high school. One of Rodriguez’s former high school teammates told Roberts that Rodriguez did use steroids and the coach of the prep team knew it; however Rodriguez’s former prep coach, Rich Hoffman, denies the allegation. Also according to the report , Rodriguez is accused of tipping pitches to opponents during his years with the Rangers. According to the accusation, Rodriguez expected players he helped would do the same for him when he was having an off night and needed to get his batting average up. Also, an unnamed major leaguer told Roberts he saw Rodriguez and former Yankee pitcher Kevin Brown with human growth hormones in 2004. Rodriguez insists his steroid days ended as a Texas Ranger in 2003. Today on Outside the Lines, new accusations face Alex Rodriguez in 2003.

CENTERPIECE: Ravens’ Inspiration

70 years ago today, Lou Gehrig played his final game in the major leagues due to an illness, ALS, that would later be named after him. Today, more than 5,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease each year. One of these people is O.J. Brigance, former NFL player and current Director of Player Development for the Baltimore Ravens. Since Brigance was diagnosed with ALS two years ago, he has become an inspiration to the Ravens. “When I was diagnosed by the doctors, I was determined that we would not let that stop me from getting up every day, living life to the fullest of my ability,” said Brigance. Today on Outside the Lines, the inspirational story of O.J. Brigance.

Here’s what ESPN will cover for baseball from Sunday through Wednesday.

Upcoming MLB schedule:

Sunday Night Baseball (May 3)
Chicago White Sox at Texas
at 8 p.m. ET
(ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Radio, ESPN360.com)
Commentators: Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Steve Phillips

Monday Night Baseball (May 4)
Boston at New York Yankees*
at 7 p.m.
(ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN360.com) *available locally in both team markets
Commentators: Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser, Steve Phillips

Wednesday Night Baseball
(May 6)
Philadelphia at New York Mets
at 7 p.m.
(ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN360.com)
Commentators: Dave O’Brien, Orel Hershiser

Baseball Tonight
ESPN’s nightly destination for MLB fans seeking highlights, news and information throughout the season, generally Monday through Saturday at 10 p.m. and midnight (9 p.m. PT); Sundays at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and 7 p.m. on ESPN.

To TNT and quotage from last night’s NBA doubleheader.

Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA Playoffs – Wednesday, April 29, 2009

TNT’s “40 Games in 40 Nights” NBA Playoffs coverage continues on Wednesday, April 29^th with the Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls (Game #6) at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (Game #6).

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TNT NBA Tip-off

Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Chris Webber and Kenny Smith

Barkley on the Hawks chances with Dwyane Wade admittedly at 60%: “The Hawks are a better team than the Heat and if Dwyane Wade doesn’t play spectacularly Miami doesn’t really have a chance. I expect the Hawks to come out like gangbusters and win this game.”

Webber on the youthful Miami Heat: “It’s not (Michael) Beasley’s fault, it’s not anybody on that team’s fault. Dwyane Wade is in the same position as Chris Paul; if he doesn’t make every basket, meaning through scoring or through assists, then he can’t do it, and these guys are not one-on-one players.”

Barkley on Heat forward Michael Beasley: “I think the problem with (Michael) Beasely is the three inches he lost between the college and the NBA. Beasley was 6’10” in college and 6’7” when he entered the NBA.”

Barkley on Orlando’s chances without Dwight Howard and Courtney Lee: “They still could win that game, they’re not playing Dr. J’s 76ers.”

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Game #1: Miami Heat (91) @ Atlanta Hawks (106) – Atlanta leads the series 3-2.

Announcers: Dick Stockton and Mike Fratello; and Cheryl Miller reporting

Fratello on Miami guard Dwyane Wade playing hurt: “In talking to some of the assistant coaches on Miami they said on some of the worst nights as far as injuries by Dwyane Wade, where he’s banged up, he’s come out and put on spectacular performances when you least expect it, so don’t be surprised if he gets it going.”

Fratello on Miami forward Michael Beasley: “Beasley has to do a few more things than he has done when he comes in the game then catch it and shoot. He has to have a little variety to his game, he has to figure out the defense, mix it up and be an important part of this Miami team.”

Stockton on the Heat players quickly coming to break up a skirmish between Dwyane Wade and Hawks forward Soloman Jones: “The Miami Heat looking to protect their meal ticket.”

Fratello on the flagrant foul called on Dwyane Wade against Hawks forward Maurice Evans: “I don’t think Dwyane Wade did anything except run him down and try to block his shot…I don’t agree with that (flagrant foul call), Dick, this is a guy who has blocked over 100 shots as a 6’4” guard. You can’t let the sensitivities of the crowd wind up determining it. He’s playing ball, he’s coming from behind and his body hit him, you call the foul”

Fratello on Hawks guard Flip Murray: “(Murray) is a little too strong, a little too smart for (Mario) Chalmers.”

Fratello on Hawks All-Star guard Joe Johnson, who has struggled so far in this series: “Five-year deal for $70 million dollars, they were expecting a little bit more, but he’s helped teammates by taking on double teams…he gives himself up to give a little extra room for a teammate.”

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Halftime Report

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Webber and Smith

Johnson following the physical play in the first half of Heat-Hawks: “Why don’t you get physical with Kenny?”

Barkley: “I don’t want to hurt her.”

Smith: “You know when you got physical with me two rings came out of that.”

Barkley: “You know the trainer got a ring, too.”

Barkley on NBA EVP of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson not suspending Celtics guard Rajon Rondo for fouling Bulls center Brad Miller: “If Stu (Jackson) didn’t think that was a flagrant foul he blew that one. Number one, he went to the head and number two, he drew blood…I like Stu Jackson, but he blew that one”

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Fratello on the poor defense of the Heat’s young players allowing the Hawks to get to the basket: “(Mario) Chalmers, along with (Dequean) Cook, have to learn to keep the ball in front of them.”

Fratello on Hawks forward Josh Smith: “Josh Smith is so much better of a player when he puts the ball on the floor and attacks the front of the rim and allows himself the chance to get fouled, for the three point play, as opposed to settling for the three point jump shot.”

Fratello on how the back and forth blowouts by the Heat and Hawks in this series: “The whole thing about the playoffs is your ability to bounce back…you have to clear your mind and come back with a fresh approach to the next game, that’s the most important one, the next one.”

Fratello following a 17-point third quarter by Dwyane Wade: ‘The competitive spirit of Dwyane Wade is showing up right now as he tries to rally his team.”

Fratello on what Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra is facing following another blowout loss: “The worst thing that can happen to a coaching staff is when you feel the team hasn’t competed. It’s tough when you lose one-point games, you know Chicago and Boston with three overtimes in those games already, the coaches know those guys are laying it all out. Right now Erik Spoelstra and his staff, just like Mike Woodson after games two and three, they are trying to figure out ‘why aren’t we down to the wire, involved in a one/two/three point game. What do I have to figure out to make it right?’”

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Game #2: New Orleans Hornets (86) @ Denver Nuggets (107) – Denver wins the series 4-1.

Announcers: Marv Albert and Reggie Miller; Marc Fein reporting

Miller on the first quarter effort by the Hornets following a 58-point blowout: “You look at the rest of these games, this might be the best start for New Orleans in any of these games…Bryon Scott has to be happy so far with the start of his banged up Hornets.”

Miller on Hornets forward David West: “I like that (West) is not settling. He has been struggling. ‘Let me put my head down and take it to the rim…I like the start for David West, not settling for all jump shots.’”

Albert on Nuggets guard J.R. Smith: “J.R. Smith, a one-time Hornet, has been instant offense for Denver.”

Miller on New Orleans point guard Chris Paul, battling a knee injury: “Chris Paul is not even looking to be aggressive at the offensive end.”

TNT’s Marc Fein interviewed Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups at halftime.

Billups on the effort by the New Orleans Hornets: “I’m not surprised at all, when you face a team, that is fighting for their lives they are going to scrap and play hard. It’s going to be a hard fought game, it’s going to go down to the wire….We can’t expect a blowout in a game like this, they are fighting for their lives, they’re going to play hard.”

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Halftime Report

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Webber and Smith

Barkley on the first half effort by the New Orleans Hornets: “I’m going to take my hat off to Bryon Scott, Chris Paul and all those guys. I don’t mind teams losing, but you have to give them credited they are really competing. They are still going to lose, but they are competing.”

Barkley on the physical contact that Chris Paul is absorbing: “The New Orleans Hornets, they can not let Chris Paul get hit like that. Like Kenny said, they are hitting him with everything. …I would never let guys beat my point guard. They’ve got to defend him, and it has to be a big guy. Chris Paul is a great player, but he’s a little guy, and I am so disappointed in all these games they have physically beat up Chris Paul …and not one single time has anyone on the Hornets knocked the hell out of Chauncey Billups.”

Barkley on the Hornets needing to protect their manhood: “New Orleans whole manhood is on the line tonight. There is not one single person I’ve seen, read, talked to who hasn’t said they quit last game. If they quit tonight that’s the worst thing they can say – ‘they’re quitters.’”

Smith on a missed between the legs dunk attempt by Atlanta’s Josh Smith late in Game #5: “Sometimes you do things and they are just not smart, and this was just not smart, even if he makes the basket.”

Barkley: “Yeah, you don’t want to rile the other team up.”

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Miller following Chris Paul being knocked down again in the game: “This is like a prize fight for Chris Paul, the more jabs and jabs and jabs he keeps taking eventually he is going to get knocked out.”

Miller on Nuggets guard JR Smith after back-to-back three-pointers: “Those are really three’s; those are almost three and a half or four pointers. He is three feet behind the three-point line.”

Miller on the Denver Nuggets: “These Nuggets players are starting to have the eye of the tiger, they are starting to have that look.”

Miller on the New Orleans Hornets needing to restructure: “You have two pieces to definitely build around I Chris Paul, an All-Pro level player, and David West a two-time All-Star. But then after that, where do you go? They tried to trade Tyson Chandler, the trade was rescinded. You bring in James Posey to help the bench but after that that is all you’ve got. Chris Paul; there really is no back up point guard he’s playing nearly 42 minutes a night. There are a lot of areas that GM Jeff Bowers is going to have to address in the offseason. I really think they need a shooting guard as well as small forward. No disrespect to Peja Stojackovic but he is not the same player that was in Sacramento.”

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Inside the NBA

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Webber and Smith

Smith on the Denver Nuggets’ ability to blow their opponents out: “(The Nuggets) are the only team in the playoffs that know how to blow you out. Meaning they know how to take a 10-point lead up to a 20-point lead better than any team that’s in the playoffs. However, down the stretch they are little bit wild and wacky, they’ve got guys who will take some crazy shots. We saw Kenyon Martin, he’ll take a three, we saw J.R. Smith, he’ll take any three, so you have some guys who will take some wacky possessions and wacky shots, but from 10 to 20 (points) they get there faster than any team in the playoffs.”

Barkley on his prediction for the match-up between the Nuggets and Mavericks: “I don’t think (the Mavericks) can beat the Denver Nuggets. The Denver Nuggets are the only team who realistically has a chance against the Lakers in the West. They are talented, they are deep, they have a leader in Chauncey (Billups), they are big. Dallas to me is a finesse team, they beat San Antonio because they were the better team, but this team from Denver they are a very different animal than the Mavericks. They only thing that concerns me is (the Nuggets) have a couple of guys who are a little flakey, so what’s going to happen when they have any adversity?”

The Inside crew gave their predictions for the Mavericks/Nuggets series:

Barkley: “I like Denver in 5.”

Smith: “Denver’s tough, I’m not going to lie, they really impress me. But I’m still thinking the Mavs have a chance, so I’m going to go with the underdog and going with the Mavericks in the full seven.”

Webber: “I’m going with Chauncey Billups, he’s changes the whole direction of the team and I think it’s going to the full seven.”

Johnson: “I’m going with Denver in seven, too.”

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Hawks guard Flip Murray after they defeated the Heat.

Murray on the attempted dunk by Josh Smith late in the game: “That was silly, he wasn’t supposed to do anything like that. I talked to him after that, he was supposed to finish that, you can’t do plays like that. If you’re going to do something like that, make sure you make it. If you miss it, it’s all bad.”

Barkley on forward Josh Smith’s attempted dunk: “You don’t want to do anything to rile up the other team. Erik Spoelstra said something about it, Dwyane (Wade) said something about it. You don’t want to fire up the other team when you beat them like that.”

Webber on giving a team extra motivation during a playoff series: “I don’t believe in giving any great athlete or anyone who loves competition any fuel for the fire. Does that mean (the Heat) are going to win? I don’t know. But this is the only thing they can hang their hat on, they can ignore everything else, ‘we were hurt, we were this, we were that, but this guy is going to try to show off.’ I know if I won or lost this game I wouldn’t sleep well if you were trying to show me up like that.”

Webber on needing to stay focused during the playoffs: “We’re putting the ball all the way through the hoop; we’re getting every point because these are the best players in the world, you don’t know what’s going to happen. You want to be on point the whole way down, you have to have blinders on and keep your goal. Anytime you see guys getting off track like that you see a weakness in them.”

TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Rockets forward Ron Artest.

Artest on playing against Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy: “They are doing a good job, they are well coached. (Brandon) Roy is probably the best player I’ve played against, to me he is the best shooting guard. Not on defense now, defense is kind of suspect. He’s the best player I’ve played against.”

Sager: “He’s a better player than Kobe Bryant, better than LeBron James?”

Artest: “He’s the best player I’ve played against.”

Sager: “Are you saying that just because he’s your opponent in this series?”

Artest: “No, he is. He’s the best player I’ve played against, outside from a guy from my hood in Queensbridge, a guy named Mike Chafley. He went to jail a couple of years when he was 15 or 16 years old, but he was the best player I played against and now it’s Roy.”

Artest on what kind of player he thinks Charles Barkley was: “Charles was a bit overrated. Charles was a good player, but he was a little small, he didn’t have defense. I’m not sure how I would have fared against him. I know Michael Jordan said he wished he would have played against me in his prime.”

Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour this weekend at the Quail Hollow Championship and CBS Sports will be there.

WOODS, MICKELSON, GARCIA, OGILVY AND KIM COMPETE IN STELLAR FIELD AT PGA TOUR’S QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS SPORTS MAY 2-3

Seven of the top 10-ranked players in the world compete this weekend at the PGA TOUR’s QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP as defending champion Anthony Kim, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Geoff Ogilvy, Padraig Harrington and Vijay Singh are among the field this week. CBS Sports broadcasts third- and final-round coverage of the Quail Hollow Championship, in only its sixth year as a PGA TOUR event, from Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET; both days), live on the CBS Television Network.

Jim Nantz, the 2008 Emmy Award Winner for “Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play” and 2008 National Sportscaster of the Year, serves as anchor of CBS Sports’ golf coverage. Nick Faldo, winner of six majors and more-than 40 tournaments worldwide, serves as lead analyst alongside Nantz in the 18^th hole tower. Peter Oosterhuis calls the action at the 17^th hole, Gary McCord at the 16^th and Ian Baker-Finch at the 15th. David Feherty and Peter Kostis serve as on-course reporters. Lance Barrow is Coordinating Producer and Steve Milton is Director of CBS Sports’ golf coverage. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

The star-studded Quail Hollow field, with 19-of-the-Top 30 world-ranked players, includes Woods, Mickelson, Garcia, Ogilvy, Harrington, Singh, Camilo Villegas, Robert Karlsson, Kim, Jim Furyk, Angel Cabrera, Stewart Cink, Sean O’Hair, Retief Goosen, Martin Kaymer, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, K.J. Choi, Nick Watney, Robert Allenby, Trevor Immelman, Ian Poulter, Chad Campbell, Rory Sabbatini, as well local favorite Davis Love III. *In order of Official World Golf Ranking.

CHIP SHOTS WITH IAN-BAKER FINCH

(On Woods and Mickelson Back after the Masters®): I will be interested to see what Tiger does this week because he had a little bit of a blow up in what he is doing with his swing at the Masters and was quoted as saying he had the worst warm-up ever before the final round. I’ll be interested to see if he’s made any changes. I think he will be standing a little closer to the ball. He drove it poorly at the Masters and has been working really hard since on getting his swing back together. I’ll be interested to see if Hank Haney is beside him on the range and what he’s doing with his swing, although I do expect him to be in good form and in contention on the weekend. Phil Mickelson will be really strong and ready to go. The Masters was disappointing in one way, but also confidence-building in others. Under extreme pressure, he played really well on Sunday. He had a chance to make that Masters the most memorable ever with the way he played the first 11 holes. I expect Tiger and Phil to be high up on the leaderboard on the weekend.

(On Quail Hollow): All the players love this course and the tournament, so we always expect to see a great leaderboard at Quail Hollow.All the top players will be there. Yes it’s the week before The Players Championship so guys are trying to play themselves into form. But it’s also one of the more highly regarded TOUR events, and a feather in the cap for whomever wins. Some of the top players that didn’t play well and missed the cut at the Masters will be practicing extra hard, stressing to get back in form to make up for their poor showing at Augusta. Guys who play poorly at a major are always pushing over the next few weeks to get themselves back in form for the next one. The top players in the world gear their whole year around the major championships, so if they perform poorly in the first one, there is always a lot of hard work and second-guessing leading up to the next one.

(On Defending Champion Anthony Kim): Can he regain that high level of confidence he had last year at Quail Hollow? Kim’s win was at a time when Tiger was taking a lot of time off trying to get his knee better. He stepped up and won in a strong fashion. Later in the season he won the AT&T National, running away with it. He won a couple of big events in Tiger’s absence, so it will be interesting to see if in Tigers’ presence Kim can regain the same level of play. Camilo Villegas also played some great golf last year and looks to regain his top form. Two exciting young players to watch.

Finally, Sirius XM will put its soccer daily soccer shows, previously only available to Sirius subscribers on the XM side as of today. This also makes the English Premier League available on XM as well.

SIRIUS XM RADIO EXPANDS AVAILABILITY OF SOCCER PROGRAMMING TO XM LISTENERS

“World Soccer Daily” and “The Football Show” air nationwide on SIRIUS and now on “Best of SIRIUS” on XM

SIRIUS subscribers and XM subscribers with “Best of SIRIUS” can also hear live coverage of EPL and Champions League matches

NEW YORK – April 30, 2009 – SIRIUS XM Radio announced today that it has expanded the availability of its soccer programming to XM listeners. XM subscribers with the “Best of SIRIUS” programming package can now hear the popular soccer talk shows World Soccer Daily and The Football Show, plus live play-by-play of English Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches.

The Football Show, hosted by Giorgio Chinaglia and Charlie Stillitano, airs every Wednesday throughout the year from 5:00-8:00 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 125 and now on XM channel 102 with the “Best of SIRIUS.” Throughout the Champions League tournament, The Football Show airs live immediately following every Champions League broadcast on SIRIUS XM. Chinaglia, the famed former New York Cosmos and Italian national team striker, and Stillitano, the former general manager of the New York New Jersey Metrostars, talk one-on-one with the world’s best players and managers and offer listeners a weekly review of both the Champions League and English Premier League.

World Soccer Daily, hosted by Steven Cohen and Kenny Hassan, airs every weekday year round from 1:00-3:00 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 125 and now on XM channel 102 with the “Best of SIRIUS.” Available on SIRIUS since 2003, World Soccer Daily is the nation’s only daily English-language radio program devoted to the world’s game. The comprehensive talk show provides an in-depth look at the best leagues from Europe, South America, Africa and the U.S. with news, expert analysis and interviews with the biggest names in the game.

SIRIUS XM broadcasts matches from the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious soccer club competition in the world, on SIRIUS channel 125 and now on XM channel 102 with the “Best of SIRIUS.” Upcoming matches on SIRIUS XM include the second leg of the semifinals on May 5 and 6 as well as the Champions League final in Rome on May 27.

SIRIUS XM is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of Barclays English Premier League and carries multiple live Premiership soccer matches each week on SIRIUS channel 125 and now on XM channel 102 with the “Best of SIRIUS.” SIRIUS and XM listeners can hear the 20 best teams in the U.K. – including legendary rivals Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal – compete all season long for the league title. For a schedule of upcoming EPL matches on SIRIUS XM, please visit www.sirius.com.

Plenty of press releases today to date. I’ll post more when I get them.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

Golf
Quail Hollow Championship, 1st round – Golf Channel, 3 p.m.

MLB

American League
Oakland at Texas – Fox Sports Southwest, 2 p.m.
Toronto at Kansas City – Fox Sports Kansas City, 2 p.m.
Red Sox at Tampa Bay – MLB Network/NESN/Sun Sports, 7 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at New York Yankees – Fox Sports West/YES, 7 p.m.

National League
St. Louis at Washington – MLB Network/Fox Sports Midwest/MASN, 7 p.m.
Arizona at Milwaukee – Fox Sports Arizona/Fox Sports Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Florida at Chicago Cubs – Fox Sports Florida/WCIU, 8 p.m.
San Diego at Los Angeles Dodgers – Cox 4/Fox Sports Prime Ticket, 10 p.m.

Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
MLB Tonight: Roundtripper Final – MLB Network, 10 p.m.

NBA Playoffs

Eastern Conference
Game 6/Boston at Chicago – TNT/Comcast SportsNet New England, 7 p.m.

Game 6/Orlando at Philadelphia – NBA TV, 7:30 p.m.

Western Conference
Game 6/Portland at Houston – TNT, 9:30 p.m.

Inside the NBA – TNT, midnight

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Western Conference Semifinals
Game 1/Chicago at Vancouver – CBC/RDS/Versus, 9 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, midnight

Entertainment
Survivor: Tocantins – CBS, 8 p.m.
Bones – Fox, 8 p.m.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – CBS, 9 p.m.
Hell’s Kitchen – Fox, 9 p.m.
Run for the Roses: The Kentucky Derby and the Business of Horse Racing – CNBC, 9 p.m.
Private Practice – ABC, 10:02 p.m.
Headbanger’s Ball – MTV2, 11 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.
Zalman King’s Body Language: Dirty Little Secrets – midnight

Fox Showcases Mets-Phillies

Fox is doing fine in Spring time. I have this old Fox Sports open in my head, back to the early days of the operation when it had just the NFL and NHL. This open which had the words, “Fox is doing fiiiiiinnnne… in Cup time….” has been stuck in my head for a couple of months. Check out this clip featuring James Brown and Dave Maloney in the studio for Fox Sports.

Anyway, this is not about the NHL, this is about MLB and what Fox is covering this weekend. Note that Tim McCarver is not working with Joe Buck this week. Hmmm. Take a look.

NL EAST RIVALS DO BATTLE IN PHILLY – The FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GAME OF THE WEEK kicks off FOX Sports’ MLB-to-NASCAR doubleheader with three enticing matchups Saturday, May 2 (3:30 PM ET). This week, FOX Sports visits Citizens Bank Park for the first time since last year’s World Series when NL East rivals meet as Carlos Beltran and the Mets take on Shane Victorino and the defending champion Phillies. In Atlanta, Chipper Jones and the Braves entertain Lance Berkman and the Astros. Also, AL Central rivals meet when Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers welcome Grady Sizemore and the Indians to Detroit. Pregame originates live from Philadelphia with host Chris Rose. Once game action begins, Rose joins the game crew including Joe Buck, Eric Karros and Ken Rosenthal as a field reporter. For instant updates during the week and games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX.

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies, Joe Buck, Eric Karros & Ken Rosenthal, going to 65% of USA

Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA

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

Houston Astros at Atlanta Braves, Kenny Albert & Mark Grace, going to 21% of USA

Turner Field – Atlanta, GA

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

Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers, Thom Brennaman & Rick Manning, going to 13% of USA

Comerica Park – Detroit, MI

MARKETS INCLUDE: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Seattle

ROSENTHAL: DON’T EXPECT JOBA TO BAIL OUT YANKS ‘PEN YET – MLB on FOX’s Ken Rosenthal believes the Yankees have little choice but to stay the course when it comes to Joba Chamberlain and their bullpen. “The Yankees aren’t panicking just yet, not even after their weekend debacle in Boston. [GM Brian] Cashman is always looking to upgrade, but says that he is not being ‘uber-aggressive’ about looking for relief help, and that none of the available relievers interest him. The calls for Chamberlain to return to his original role only will grow louder if the team‘s relievers continue to struggle. One way or another, something must give.”

I’ll have another Fox press release post in the morning. I have to sleep.

Wednesday Into Thursday Linkage

Because I was at a jobsite today, I was not able to provide links so I’ll catch up on them now.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with Steven A. Smith who is leaving ESPN this week. Michael writes that Tweeting by TV announcers is gaining momentum.

Bill Griffith writing for Sports Illustrated gives his grades to ESPN and NFL Network for the Draft.

Ben Klayman of Reuters says Red Sox owner John Henry is making an offer to buy the Boston Globe.

Over to Newsday’s Neil Best who breaks news that NBC is unlikely to renew Jerome Bettis on Football Night in America. Neil says if Saturday’s Pittsburgh-Washington NHL Playoff game goes beyond one overtime, NBC will shuffle it over to Versus to make way for the Kentucky Derby. Neil says on Tuesday, the Yankees barely beat the Rangers in the ratings. Neil says the Baltimore Sun has parted ways with excellent sports media writer Ray Frager, a regular Fang’s Bites link and I certainly hope Ray finds work very soon. He is an excellent reporter and I have come to enjoy his columns. We exchanged e-mails back in February and he will be missed in the Friday megalinks.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says lost in the reporting on Under Armour’s earnings yesterday was the fact that its shoe sales are climbing fast up the charts. Darren reviews the reasoning behind the price reduction for selected Yankee Stadium premium seats. Darren says it’s one thing for Jenny Craig to own a horse running in the Kentucky Derby, but she might want to change his name. Darren says Wells Fargo was shamed into taking Wachovia’s name off of this week’s PGA Tour stop.

Tom Hererra of the AOL Fanhouse blog talks with the ravishing Erin Andrews.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union is not feeling the love for Versus and I totally agree with him.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says MLB Network will air the first round of this year’s MLB Draft. Ken also talked to local elementary school students today about his job.

Mike Kerwick of the Bergen (NJ) Record profiles ESPNews anchor Mike Yam who takes care of his grandmother when he’s not in Bristol, CT.

Laura Nachman says Wednesday was the last day for one Philly sports anchor.

Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says FSN Pittsburgh is taking some heat for back-to-back in-game blackouts last week.

Scott Brown of the Pittsburth Post-Tribune writes that Thursday could be the final day for the NFL Network on Comcast systems across the country.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times has the TV schedule for the Capitals-Penguins NHL Playoff series.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says NBC will stay with Caps-Penguins in the local markets even if the game cuts into the Kentucky Derby.

Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times says former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Grudin was comfortable in front of the cameras during the NFL Draft.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News notes that TNT’s Charles Barkley is not a fan of the Mavericks. Barry says in the series clincher with San Antonio, the ratings for the Mavs finally hit paydirt.

Jerry Garcia from the San Antonio Express-News was amused by TNT’s Spurs edition of “Gone Fishin’”.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that after Clear Channel’s bloodletting of a local sports radio station, it replaced all but one local program with Fox Sports Radio.

Speaking of the Clear Channel bloodletting, Dave Kohl of the Major League Programs blog goes into some of its other sports radio stations that let go of staff this week. Clear Channel means we’re clearing staff.

George James Malik of Michigan Live says Fox Sports Detroit will have up to four games of the Red Wings-Anaheim Ducks series.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley says the NFL Draft’s ratings were solid.

WTMJ in Milwaukee talks with MLB Network’s and Fang’s Bites fav Trenni Kusnierek. Thanks to LC over at the 38 Cliches blog for that link.

Jim O’Donnell of the Chicago Sun-Times talks with TNT’s Doug Collins who almost became coach of the Bulls before this season.

Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star says CBS/TNT’s Kevin Harlan returns to the Chiefs to call two exhibition games this summer. He was the radio voice of the Chiefs from the mid-1980′s to early 1990′s.

Samuel McKewon of the Nebraska State Paper reports that former ESPN and CBS College Sports college football analyst Trev Alberts has become the Athletic Director of Nebraska-Omaha despite not having any administrative experience.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News did play-by-play for an inning of minor league baseball today. Really. And Tom links us over to a press release on the whole thing. And Tom talks of his experience calling the game. I can’t wait to get a hold of the .mp3 file that Tom will post on Friday.

Ted Green of the Los Angeles Times writes a blasphemous blog post calling out Vin Scully?

Richard Guzman of Los Angeles Downtown News reports that Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket will get some new digs.

Chris Zelkovich from the Toronto Star says fans actually found the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts games online when its flagship radio station could not air some games due to various conflicts. Chris says thanks to having the Calgary Flames on its air, TSN’s ratings were up while CBC’s were down.

Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says May is a good month for boxing on Pay Per View.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes that TNT’s NBA ratings are solid gold.

Mike says the Chicago Blackhawks gave Comcast SportsNet Chicago its highest rated NHL game.

Kevin Downey from Media Life Magazine says TNT is seeing its best ratings ever for the first round of the NBA Playoffs while ESPN’s are sluggish.

The Sports Media Watch says the NHL Playoffs did not score for NBC last weekend. SMW says the NFL Draft’s ratings were flat with last year. Paulsen notes that Yankees-Red Sox are still a ratings draw. And SMW has some news and notes on various media personalities.

I will end it there. Good night now. Oh actually, I have one more press release to give you. I’ll say good night later.

Lost Season 5, Episode 15 Promo

I’m still coming down from Daniel being shot dead by his mother and Charles Widmore being his father. So is Heloise Faraday the mother of Penny Widmore? Why did she visit Penny at the hospital while Desmond was in surgery?

And now, it appears the 1977 Losties will finally get back together with the 2007 Losties. It’s all crazy.

But here’s the promo for next week. If I get a better quality promo, I’ll replace the one here.

Lost is back next Wednesday at 9 p.m. with a regular episode, then on May 13th, it’s back with the two hour season finale. In one of those three final hours of this season, we get our “major character” death. I’m still rooting for Jack’s death, although I’m sure it won’t be him. Can’t wait to find out.

I’m going to try this out. Here is Lost Untangled from ABC.com. This recaps the last episode.

If you like it, let me know. If not, I won’t post it anymore.

Action Packed Saturday Links

Time to give you the Saturday links. It’s NFL Draft Day. It’s Day 2 of Yankees-Red Sox and Cubs-Cardinals. The NHL and NBA Playoffs continue. There’s a lot of action today. Can’t ask for anything more on a beautiful day in the Northeast. And what do I have on? The Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Golf Channel! It’s because I can’t bear to watch pre-Draft shows and MLB won’t allow subscribers to MLB.TV to watch any of the early Saturday afternoon games because of silly Fox blackout rules. I can understand exclusivity from 4 – 7 p.m., but from 1 -4 p.m. That’s out of hand.

Ok, to your links

First, the regular Saturday columns, then to other various stuff.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says there’s plenty of draft coverage to choose from. Barry also has an NFL Draft TV guide for Dallas viewers.

The San Antonio Express-News talks with University of Texas baseball and football commentator Keith Moreland.

Three stories from the great Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner. First, he writes about the dueling NFL Draft coverage between ESPN and NFL Network. Jim writes about Yankees-Red Sox on Fox. And Jim says NBC is happy to be televising Game 6 of the Capitals-Rangers series tomorrow.

To Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News who says NFL Network’s Mike Mayock is well-respected throughout the league for his Draft expertise.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says it’s no fun to watch an NFL Draft prospect fall down from a top pick to the middle or lower first round. I have to admit it was kind of fun to watch Brady Quinn squirm two years ago.

That was the Draft I attended and all of us were screaming when the Browns first chose Joe Thomas, then Miami pick Ted Guinn, Jr. We all started to chant Brady’s name until my Browns worked out the deal for him.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes about Michael J. Fox remembering the late Jack Buck as he taped a public service announcement with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver for Parkinson’s Disease.

I don’t know how I omitted the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman from the Friday megalinks, but I did. Here’s his Friday column in which Raissman gleefully hopes that the Giants and Jets are blacked out in 2010 due to the sluggish economy and high ticket prices.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes that Yankees President and attack dog Randy Levine is certainly not shy when it comes to defending his team.

Neil links us to Newsday colleague John Jeansonne’s review of the ESPN documentary depicting Luis Tiant’s emotional return to his native Cuba.

The Nielsen ratings wire blog looks at the increased viewership for the NFL Draft.

Joe Favorito says tying Under Armour to Ripken Baseball is an excellent marriage of the two brands.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record writes that Yankees fans can listen to the team’s Triple A affiliate if they stretch their radio antennae.

Tom Coombe of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call looks at the replay of a 1993 high school Thanksgiving Day game that is looking to break the results which ended in a tie. Keith Groller of the Morning Call says the original game will be shown on local TV this weekend.

Jeff Rice of the Centre (PA) Daily Times looks at Chris Fowler’s appearance at Penn State University.

Luke DeCock of the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer says NBC was not at fault for the Carolina Hurricanes not being chosen for a Sunday afternoon slot. Thanks to Puck The Media for the link.

Speaking of PTM, Steve Lepore says Versus will air the first period of Calgary-Chicago tonight, then switch to its regularly scheduled airing of Anaheim-San Jose at 10 p.m.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks in depth with TNT’s P.J. Carlesimo about Oklahoma City’s first NBA team, the New Orleans Hornets.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News reviews his week in blogging.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says 24 Blue Jays game originally set for CBC and picked up by Rogers Sportsnet are available to fans at an extra cost.

The Sports Media Watch notes that the Blackhawks are beating the Bulls in the Chicago ratings, but is quick to point out one caveat. SMW says the ratings for the NBA Playoffs on the league’s TV partners are even with last year through Wednesday night. Paulsen says NASCAR on Fox fell to its lowest rating ever last Saturday. And SMW tells us that the NHL on NBC saw a mixed result last weekend.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News watched the right team lose in last night’s Yankees-Red Sox game.

Adweek looks at the new Peter Gammons/Baseball Tonight promo that is very well done. In case you haven’t seen it, here it is:

Michael David Smith of AOL Fanhouse says look for ESPN to expand its YouTube presence soon.

I’ll end it there for now. If anything breaks, you know I’ll be here.

Statement from Al Michaels on John Madden

NBC’s Al Michaels made a statement today on the retirement of his broadcast partner since 2002.

STATEMENT FROM AL MICHAELS ON JOHN MADDEN’S RETIREMENT

John will always have a unique place in the history of pro football.

No one has made the sport more interesting, more relevant and more enjoyable to watch and listen to than John. There's never been anyone like him and he's been the gold standard for analysts for almost three decades.

On a personal note, I'll miss working with John on many levels. As a broadcast partner, I could always count on him -- no one ever came to work more prepared. As a friend and confidante, loyalty has always been paramount to John. And all in all, he was simply just great company.

As John said today, 'it was time." That's John -- succint, pithy and right to the point. Working with John for the last seven years has provided memories I'll always treasure. My only regret is that it wasn't 27.

Over a broadcast career that spanned 30 years, you can count Madden’s broadcast partners on one hand. Gary Bender, Vin Scully, Pat Summerall, Verne Lundquist and Al Michaels. Not many people can say that.

Cris Collinsworth Joins Al Michaels on Sunday Night Football

Just confirmed by NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol in a media conference call formally announcing the retirement of John Madden.

Cris Collinsworth moves from the NBC Sports Football Night in America studio to the Sunday Night Football booth. He’ll join Al Michaels starting in August when the preseason gets underway.

We did have a taste of a Michaels-Collinsworth broadcast team last season when Madden took a week off on October 19, 2008 when they called the Seattle-Tampa Bay game.

Statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on John Madden

NFL Commish Roger Goodell has the following statement on the retirement of John Madden from broadcasting.

STATEMENT FROM NFL COMMISSIONER ROGER GOODELL

ON THE RETIREMENT OF JOHN MADDEN

There is one thing football fans have agreed on for decades: they all love John Madden.

John was a Hall of Fame coach before becoming one of the most-celebrated personalities in sports. He had an incredible talent for explaining the game in an unpretentious way that made it more understandable and fun.

John’s respect and passion for the game always stood out. He was the ultimate football fan who also happened to be an extraordinarily talented coach and broadcaster.

As namesake of the world’s most popular sports videogame, John also introduced the game of football to generations of young fans.

It is only fitting that his last game as an announcer was this year’s Super Bowl – the most-watched TV program of all-time. He is stepping down as a true Super Bowl champion.

The NFL has been good to John Madden and John Madden has been a tremendous ambassador for the NFL.

The Madden Broadcasting Timeline

1978 – Retires from coaching the Oakland Raiders

1979 – Joins CBS Sports at a color commentator and is teamed with Gary Bender on regional NFL games.

1981 – CBS Sports President Van Gordon Sauter and Executive Producer Terry O’Neil team Madden with Pat Summerall on the network’s “A” broadcasts.

1982 – Summerall and Madden call Super Bowl XVI, the first of five they would call together for CBS Sports.

1984 – Creates the All-Madden Team which became a regular network special before the Super Bowl.

1980′s & 1990′s – On Thanksgiving Day games, Madden would award turkey drumsticks to players of the winning team. Eventually, they became Turduckens, a combination of turkey and duck with eight drumsticks.

1993 – Summerall and Madden leave CBS Sports when it loses the NFL and move to Fox Sports where they would call three more Super Bowls.

2002 – Madden joins ESPN/ABC to call Monday Night Football with Al Michaels. They would call two Super Bowls for ABC.

2006 – Michaels and Madden leave ESPN/ABC to join NBC to be the announcing team for Sunday Night Football. Madden became the first man to work for all of the NFL’s network over the air TV partners.

February 1, 2009 – Michaels and Madden call Super Bowl XLIII.

April 16, 2009 – Madden announces his retirement from broadcasting.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

Golf
PGA Tour/Verizon Heritage, 1st round – Golf Channel, 3 p.m.

MLB

American League
Cleveland at New York Yankees (New Yankee Stadium opener) – MLB Network/WKYC/YES, 1 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay – Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Minnesota – MLB Network/Rogers Sportsnet/Fox Sports North, 8 p.m.
Anaheim Angels at Seattle – Fox Sports West/FSN Northwest, 10 p.m.

National League
Florida at Atlanta – Fox Sports Florida/SportSouth, noon
Houston at Pittsburgh – Fox Sports Houston/FSN Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m.
St. Louis at Chicago Cubs – Fox Sports Midwest/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 2:20 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington – Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/MASN, 7 p.m.
San Diego at New York Mets – Cox 4/SNY, 7 p.m.
San Francisco at Los Angeles Dodgers – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Plus/KCAL, 10 p.m.

NHL – Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference
Game1/Montreal at Boston – CBC/RDS/NESN, 7 p.m.

Western Conference
Game 1/Columbus at Detroit – Versus/TSN2/Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.

Game 1/Calgary at Chicago – TSN/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 8:30 p.m./Versus joins in progress, 9:30 p.m.

Game 1/Anaheim at San Jose – CBC/RDS/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 10:30 p.m./Versus joins in progress, 11 p.m.

Tennis
WTA Tour/Family Circle Cup – ESPN2, 1 p.m.

Entertainment
Survivor: Tocantins – CBS, 8 p.m.
House – Fox, 8 p.m.
Hell’s Kitchen – Fox, 9 p.m.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – CBS, 9 p.m.
Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People/New Green World – PBS, 10 p.m.
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire – Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – CBS, 11:35 p.m.

John Madden’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Speech

With John Madden retiring from broadcasting today, I thought I would post his induction speech into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, the same year he joined NBC Sports.

This is part one of his speech.

Here’s part 2.

Madden definitely made an impact on broadcasting, bringing his personality to the booth. In addition, the impact he made as a commercial pitchman for Lite Beer, Ace Hardware and Tinactin is immense. Of course, gamers love Madden as well.

BREAKING NEWS: John Madden Retires From Broadcasting

Just saw this on SportsCenter and just got the press release from NBC Sports. This shakes up Sunday Night Football. You have to believe Cris Collinsworth will be the analyst for NBC with Al Michaels. Where this leaves Collinsworth for the NFL Network is unknown, but I would think NBC would not allow him to do the Thursday Night games.

JOHN MADDEN RETIRES FROM BROADCASTING

NEW YORK – April 16, 2009 – NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol announced today that John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and the most honored broadcaster in sports television history, has decided to retire from broadcasting.

Madden issued the following statement today:

It's time. I'm 73 years old.  My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great sons and their families and my five grandchildren are at an age now when they know when I'm home and, more importantly, when I'm not...
 
It's been such a great ride... the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion – it still is.  I appreciate all of the people who are and were such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have... that great life with the teams, the players, the coaches, the owners, the League... my broadcasting partners Pat and Al... the production people and the fans...is still great... it's still fun and that's what it makes it hard and that's why it took me a few months to make a decision. 
 
I still love every part of it – the travel, the practices, the game film, the games, seeing old friends and meeting new people... but I know this is the right time. 

John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and the most honored NFL broadcaster of all time, has served as the game analyst for "NBC Sunday Night Football" since 2006. Madden, who has won an unprecedented 16 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sports Analyst/Personality, is renowned by football fans nationwide for his ability to analyze the details of the game with wit, candor and an inimitable style. Madden has been an NFL broadcaster for 30 years. On February 1, Madden earned rave reviews and critical acclaim in his final game, the 11th Super Bowl he called – Super Bowl XLIII on NBC.

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has honored Madden with 16 Outstanding Sports Analyst/Personality Emmy Awards, the most recent from this past season.  In all, Madden has been nominated for 18 Emmy Awards. In addition, the American Sportscasters Association named him Sports Personality of the Year in 1985 and 1992. In 1982, Madden became the first NFL analyst to receive the Touchdown Club of America's prestigious Golden Mike Award.  Sports Illustrated has called Madden "an American fixture" and said that he "brings an unequaled big-game buzz to the broadcast booth."

Prior to joining the broadcasting ranks, Madden had an outstanding career as head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. He guided the Raiders to an overall record of 103-32-7, leading the team to seven AFC Western Division titles and a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. Madden's .750 winning percentage is the best of any head coach in NFL history. In 2006, Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Head Coach.

A linebacker coach when he began his NFL coaching career with Oakland in 1967, Madden became the head coach in 1969 at age 33, the youngest head coach in the American Football League. Madden retired in 1979 and started his broadcasting career at CBS later that same year.  Madden was the lead NFL analyst for FOX from 1994-2002 and the analyst for ABC's "Monday Night Football" for four years before he came to NBC Sports in 2006. He is the only person to work as the lead analyst for all four broadcast networks.

Madden's EA Sports video game "Madden NFL Football" is the No. 1 selling sports video game of all-time with more than 65 million copies sold since its release 20 years ago.  Madden is also one of the leading spokesmen in the advertising world, with endorsement relationships including Ace Hardware, Outback Steakhouse, Schering Plough (Tinactin), Verizon Wireless and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Before coaching in Oakland, Madden was the defensive coordinator at San Diego State from 1964-66 where the Aztecs were ranked first among small colleges with a 26-4 record. From 1960-64 Madden coached at Hancock Junior College in Santa Maria, Calif.

Madden started on both the offensive and defensive lines as a player for California Polytechnic College at San Luis Obispo in 1957 and 1958 and was voted to the All-Conference team. He was also a catcher on the school's baseball team. Madden earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1959 and a Master of Arts degree in 1961, both from Cal Poly. The Philadelphia Eagles selected him in the 21st round of the 1958 NFL draft, but a knee injury in his rookie season prematurely ended his career.

Madden is the author of several New York Times best-selling books: Hey, Wait a Minute! (I Wrote a Book!); One Knee Equals Two Feet (and Everything Else You Need To Know About Football); One Size Doesn't Fit All; and All Madden, each written with New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson. He has also written a cookbook titled John Madden's Ultimate Tailgating.

Born April 10, 1936 in Austin, Minn., Madden was raised in Daly City, Calif. He now resides in Pleasanton, Calif., with his wife, Virginia. The couple has two sons and five grandchildren.

More to follow. Crazy week.

The Amazing Race 14 – Alright Guys, We’re At War!

It’s been a while since I did an Amazing Race 14 episode recap, but I have to catch up and since I pledged to my friends at Reality Fan Forum that I would complete the season, I’m going to do so and recap the two episodes I’ve missed. We resume from where we left off in Russia in which Christie & Jodi were saved from elimination by the always welcomed non-elimination leg.

To spare me from writing and putting up a lot of vidcaps, I’m going to cheat in this and the next recap with the help of episode videos that CBS posted. That way, I can get through the recaps and it also helps you to relive and remember what happened.

We begin in Novosibirsk, Russia, the 5th pitstop in a race around the world. Margie & Luke who were the first to arrive at the Novosibirsk Ballet and Opera Theater will leave first at 12:18 a.m.

They find they’ll leave the cold winter climate of Siberia and fly some 2,000 miles to the hot summer climate of Jaipur, India.

Once in Jaipur, they’ll take a taxi to the outskirts of town to Dhula Village and find the Sacred Peepli Ka Pedh Tree where their next clue awaits.

Luke and Margie leaves and it’s here Luke signs that he’s happy with mom as a teammate and they have good chemistry. No eye roll this time. Luke is funny when he rolls his eyes talking about Margie. He likes having his mom doing the communicating while he does the strategizing. Remember in the fourth episode, Luke pulled out the Blind U-Turn on an unsuspecting Amanda & Kris gaining him the reputation of the vengeful deaf person. I think Luke likes that!

At 12:24 a.m., it’s Tammy & Victor’s turn to leave. Victor talks about the role of what he’s supposed to be as the first born son in his Asian family. He says the Amazing Race gives him the opportunity to go outside what’s expected and he likes that. Victor notes that the teams are instructed to get to Jaipur through Moscow.

Cara & Jaime leave just six minutes behind the Asian siblings. The Miami girls are looking forward to getting out of the cold and into the warmer climate.

Just over a half an hour later, father and son Mel & Mike who have been the most delightful team on this race head out. Mel says Mike may yell at him to keep up, but he also knows that dad is doing his best to keep up. Ain’t that the truth. Battling a groin injury, Mel just keeps plodding along and is managing to stay with the younger teams. Kudos to Mel!

At 1:02 a.m., just a minute after Mel & Mike are brothers Mark & Michael.

At the Novosibirsk Airport, Margie & Luke, Cara & Jaime and Tammy & Victor all book flights to Moscow and realize they’ll all be on the same jet to Jaipur so it doesn’t matter what time they leave Siberia.

Kisha & Jen leave the mat at 1:28 a.m. Kisha notes that she and Jen are getting along better now, but she still stresses out when they fight. Kisha says she just wants to have fun!

As Mel & Mike arrive at the Airport, Mel facetiously asks if anyone would want to fly on an airline named “Kacca”. Mel is so quick and so funny. He’s right, you know. Kacca could be the best airline in the world, but I wouldn’t want to fly on it.

Finally at 3:09 a.m., stewardesses Christie and Jodi get their clue and head for the airport knowing that there will be a Speed Bump somewhere along the way, a task only they will do, the penalty for them finishing last in the last leg. Christie says she’s worried about that Speed Bump. Jodi mentions that she’s thinking about her daughter and she’s wearing her daughter’s name on her bracelet. She hopes that will bring them some luck in this leg as they will definitely need some in this leg.

So all of the teams are flying from Moscow to New Dehli and then taking a 5:40 a.m. flight to Jaipur. The teams discover that Jaipur is chaos compared to what they saw in Siberia.

Teams pile out of the Jaipur Airport to find taxis to take them to Dhula Village. Tammy & Victor are able to get out first and head towards the tree. Christie & Jodi head out next. However, Mel & Mike find a driver who has no idea where to go and they get delayed heading out of the airport.

Mark & Michael get to a cab, but as Margie & Luke try to take their cab, the brothers insist and they take the taxi to the village. Mel & Mike’s driver wants to ask for directions, but the father & son want out and try to get their luggage out, however, the driver is nowhere to be seen leaving them stranded while the other teams like Cara & Jaime, Kisha & Jen and Margie & Luke to speed ahead of them. Finally the driver learns where to go, but Mel & Mike are several minutes behind.

Christie & Jodi have the misfortune to have their cab driver get out and gas up the car. This forces them to wait as other teams pass them to the village.

Then the teams take a look at the conditions in Jaipur causing Jaime and Luke to get emotional.

Tammy & Victor are the first to arrive in Dhula Village and the tree. Tammy notices a red phone. Victor picks it up, dials one of four numbers and listens, but he doesn’t understand what the message is telling him. So Tammy summons their cab driver and he discovers they’re to go to Amber Fort, Gaura Parvati Parking. Thank goodness the cab driver got it right because Victor wrote down “valet parking” which would have been totally wrong.

Right after Tammy & Victor is a caravan of five teams, Mark & Michael, Cara & Jaime, Margie & Luke, Kisha & Jen and Mel & Mike. Christie & Jodi are nowhere to be found. And as they leave to head to the fort, Tammy & Victor see the entire convoy of cabs in a line, heading to Dhula Village. Michael says, “Alright guys, we’re at war….” and you have your title of the episode. Kind of early, but not bad.

The five teams arrive at the village and look for clues in and around the tree, but not at the phone even though it’s right in front of them. Sometimes teams have a tendency to overthink things and not see what’s right under their noses and this is a classic example.

Finally, we see Christie & Jodi heading to the village. Tammy & Victor notice them and the siblings now realize they’re in first place.

Back at the tree, teams are looking high and low, not seeing that their clue is on the phone. Come on, guys, look down instead of looking up and straight ahead. Look down! Glove to the ground! Chop! Chop!

Finally, Jen & Kisha see it, then Margie & Luke. Cara & Jaime notice another phone and use that to find their clue. All of the teams eventually find where they’re to go. Not all of them understand, and the teams just decide to follow one another. So from a convoy to Dhula Village, it’s now a convoy to Amber Fort and the Guara Parvati Parking.

Christie & Jodi then notice more taxis heading in the opposite direction as they head to the village. They realize they’re in last place again. But they notice the phone right off the bat once in the village and they’re off and running to Amber Fort.

But at Amber Fort, Tammy & Victor have arrived and they get their clue. It’s a Road Block as we all know, a Road Block is a task that only one person may perform. In this Road Block, one team member must take care of one of India’s prized animals, a camel. They’ll choose a group of camels, then using a set of traditional tools, they must load and carry enough food and water to satisfy each of the camels in their group. Once the food reaches a designated line and the water spills out the trough, the camel master will hand them their next clue. Tammy decides that Victor will do this task. Let’s see how he does in this task.

Nice to see Victor sweat in this. Tammy notices other cabs are arriving and sure enough, it’s Mark & Michael followed by the others in the caravan. Mark will do it for his team. Jaime decides to do it for the reds. Kisha wants to feed the camels. Margie chooses to do the Road Block. Mel is up to doing this task. Let’s see how the teams do this task.

One quick reaction here. Jaime has got to calm down. Her reaction to the camel master not speaking English is very bad. Yeah, she’s impatient and I want to give her the benefit of the doubt from the editing, but sometimes the behavior will slip through and you can’t edit that.

And watching Mel at this point was painful, but he did rock through this task as we’ll see. But what was really painful was watching Kisha put hay into her shirt instead of using the traditional basket and pitch to shovel the hay.

Mark, Jaime and Margie used their water buckets to gather the hay. Mel spotted the basket and used that to carry the hay. Mel is so smart. He takes the time to read the clue. This is where he picked up time on the others

Over to Tammy & Victor where they have arrived at the Puppet Shop to get their next clue. They find that they’ve hit a Detour. As we all know, a Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons.

In this Detour, the teams must decide between two tasks which will plunge them into the chaotic streets of Jaipur. The choice? Movers or Shakers.

In Movers, teams must go to Sanganeri Gate, then choose a cycle rickshaws filled high with barrels. They’ll transport their barrels by pedaling one and a half miles through the congested and confusing streets of Jaipur to another gate. Then they search the barrels to find a small metal elephant which they can exchange for their next clue.

In Shakers, the teams will travel to a busy intersection, put on traditional costumes and makeup, then join a Rajistani dance troupe. Then they’ll shake their hips for tips. Once they’ve earned 100 Rupees, they’ll take it the bandleader and exchange the rupees for their next clue.

Tammy & Victor decide their shake their bootys for a booty of cash. I’m so clever.

Both of them put on makeup, threw on a horse costume and went out into the streets of Jaipur to beg for cash. Victor said he and Tammy definitely broke the stereotype of lawyers that day.

Back to the camels, Mel is gaining time by using the bucket. The other teams are using their buckets or in the case of Kisha, stuffing hay down her shirt. But eventually, the members sitting out the Road Block notice Mel using the basket and they point it out to their teammates. Jaime can’t believe she didn’t see it. Kisha says she looked over to the baskets and didn’t think of using them. Mel just continues to be steady and he’s winning this segment.

We quickly look at Tammy & Victor who are collecting the Rupees.

Mel has finally finished his task and he’s received the clue before any of the teams that were in his caravan! Way to go, Mel! You truly rock!!!! And as they get into their taxi to head back into Jaipur Proper, Mike said, “My dad just smoked the Road Block.” He truly did.

In quick succession, Jaime, Margie and Kisha pile their hay to the proper marker and they all get their clues. This leaves Mark & Michael and Christie & Jodi vying to leave next. Christie is confident knowing they can finish tasks quickly. But it’s Mark who finishes next leaving the stewardesses in last again. As Michael reads the clue, he notices that there’s a Speed Bump ahead foreshadowing what Christie & Jodi are up against. And Jodi is able to finish and they’re off to the Puppet Shop.

Over to Tammy & Victor who have gathered the necessary 100 Rupees. They take it over to the bandleader who exchanges the money for the next clue. The siblings find that they’re to go to the pit stop, the Jaigarh Fort, a 15th Century fortress. The last team to check in may be eliminated.

Mel & Mike get to the Puppet Shop and they decide to shake for cash. They get into costume and they have fun dancing.

In the meantime, Mark & Michael have caught up to Margie & Luke, Kisha & Jen and Cara & Jaime. It’s here where Jaime says the honking of horns is driving her up the wall. There’s nothing I can say here. All I can do is shrug.

Mel & Mike were impressed with the spirit of the people in Jaipur. Mike said there was so much poverty, but people were generous and were willing to give money.

At the Puppet Shop, Mark & Michael beat Kisha & Jen to the clue box. The brothers inexplicably do the elephant in the haystack. Kisha & Jen will dance. Margie & Luke will shake as will cheerleaders Cara & Jaime.

Jen said she had no problem putting on a costume and acting the fool. Luke said even though his ears are broken, he could read people’s faces and knew how to dance and shake. The kid is amazing. Asides from using the U-Turn, I love his fighting spirit.

Mark & Michael find the rickshaws and head off to ride a mile and a half through the streets of Jaipur.

Christie & Jodi reach the Puppet Shop and lo and behold, it’s the dreaded Speed Bump! In this Speed Bump, the stewardesses will head to a temple where they will use colored paint to decorate an elephant for upcoming festival. Once they’ve decorated the elephant to the satisfaction of the Mahut, they’ll be able to resume and hope to make up their lost time.

Over to Mel and Mike who have now gathered enough Rupees to leave. Margie & Luke must continue to get the Rupees. Cara & Jaime continue to dance as do Kisha & Jen. Mark & Michael bike through the streets of Jaipur and have yet to start looking for their small metal elephant.

But at the pit stop, Tammy & Victor have arrived.

The greeter playing instruments with his nose is pretty cool.

Mel & Mike now have exchanged their cash for their clue and can now head to the pit stop.

Mike thought Margie’s lipstick was hilarious. Come to think of it, she was wearing too much.

At the Speed Bump, Christie & Jodi refuse to give up. Jodi says she wants to teach her daughter never to give and she can do whatever she puts mind to. Certainly this team did itself proud.

Over to the Shakers task, the three remaining teams there are still collecting money, but Cara & Jaime have enough to leave. But can they leave?

So Cara & Jaime and Margie & Luke are on their way to the pit stop. Kisha & Jen have now collected the 100 Rupees and they’re taking off so they can check in at the mat.

Over to Mark & Michael, they’re riding their bikes and have finally arrived at their destination to start looking for the elephant in the barrel of hay. Good luck, gentlemen. That’s not the task I would have chosen.

Finally, Christie & Jodi have arrived back at the Puppet Store and they’ll do the Shakers Detour. Kisha & Jen are leaving the task while Christie & Jodi are just beginning. And you have Mark & Michael unloading their barrels. This is nervewracking.

At the pitstop, the amazing Mel & Mike have checked in second. Mike tells Phil that Mel smoked the competition many of whom were in their 20′s. Mel says hearing that was worth more than a million dollars. He says making his kid proud was the prize for him in this race. When I grow up, I want to be just like Mel.

Over to Mark & Michael, they can’t find the small elephant. Just what were they thinking in choosing this task?

And Christie & Jodi have finished their task ahead of Mark & Michael. Can they survive another leg?

But Michael is able to find that small elephant in the hay and they can head out.

At the mat, Kisha & Jen, Margie & Luke and Cara & Jaime all arrive virtually within seconds of each other in 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. All look happy to survive to race another day.

Looking quite stressed out are Mark & Michael and Christie & Jodi. Both teams know that they could be last, but don’t know for sure.

The stewardesses say they won’t give up until they hear it officially from Phil. Mark & Michael says they’re not exactly sure where they are, but they know they’re still in the race for now.

It’s a race to the finish between the two teams, and it’s Mark & Michael who get 6th with Christie & Jodi right behind them.

And as we learn, this is an elimination leg. Damn. And Christie & Jodi become the first all-female team to be eliminated this season, but they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. They ran their own race. They rocked the tasks. Just luck of the draw and they were seconds behind Mark & Michael. Had their driver not stopped for gas earlier in this episode, they might still be racing. Oh well. I’ll miss them.

So our official order of finish:

1. Tammy & Victor – winners of Kayaks
2. Mel & Mike
3. Kisha & Jen
4. Margie & Luke – 4th again!
5. Cara & Jaime
6. Mark & Michael
7. Christie & Jodi – eliminated by seconds. Too bad.

In lieu of giving you a preview of the next episode, I’ll give you Elimination Station as Christie & Jodi are the next team to arrive and they discover there’s some tension between the teams.

Our next recap will come later today.

Friday Night Megalink Session

Time for the megalinks once again. As usual, before the linkage, there’s the Weekend Viewing Picks.

The Masters is the dominant event on the sports calendar this weekend. CBS has the weekend coverage, three and a half hours on Saturday starting at 3:30 p.m., then 18 hole coverage on Sunday beginning at 2 p.m. You can see coverage online at Masters.com or CBSSports.com throughout the weekend.

This is the first weekend of regular season baseball action. Fox has three games on Saturday at 4 p.m. including the Red Sox-Angels and Houston-St. Louis. MLB Network has the Dodgers-Diamondbacks Saturday night at 8. Then on Sunday, TBS has the Mets-Marlins at 1 p.m. and ESPN’s primetime game is the Cubs at Brewers at 8 p.m.

Saturday night, HBO will have boxing themed programming including the premiere of the documentary “Thrilla in Manila” at 8 focusing on the great 1975 fight betweeen Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier, then the premiere of another 24/7 series at 9:30 on Manny Pacquaio and Ricky Hatton, leading up to World Championship Boxing which will have the Winky Wright-Paul Williams middleweight bout at 10.

The NHL regular season comes to a close this weekend. NHL Network will carry the CBC Hockey Night in Canada doubleheader Saturday night. Pittsburgh-Montreal is the first game at 7 and Edmonton-Calgary is the nightcap at 10. NBC closes out its regular season on Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest between Detroit and Chicago.

ABC has an NBA doubleheader with Boston-Cleveland the feature game at 3:30 p.m.

ESPN has the NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Championship game between Miami (OH) and Boston University Saturday night at 7.

For more sports viewing and primetime suggestions, check out my Weekend Viewing Picks.

To the links.

National

Bob Kimball does the Friday media column for USA Today and he looks at Steve Phillips joining ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast booth.

The Nielsen Wire blog says March Madness gave the big sports websites a traffic boost. Even Fang’s Bites saw a huge uptick in March thanks to the NCAA Tournament.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Ultimate Frisbee is growing in popularity. Darren says he’s found the best tearaway pants ever. Darren says the heart attack-in-waiting Fifth-Third Burger was a hit when it was unveiled last night.

The Sports Media Watch has a long thesis on why ESPN doesn’t show hockey highlights on SportsCenter. The SMW looks at MLB Opening Day ratings in various markets. SMW says the NBA on ABC suffered another ratings setback on Sunday. Paulsen noticed that ESPN’s new Bottom Line didn’t stick around very long. SMW notes that the first round of The Masters did well on ESPN. The SMW says while the NCAA Tournament ratings were up overall this year, they still were low compared to past years. And the Women’s NCAA Tournament finished lower this year compared to last year.

Steve Lepore at Puck the Media has reaction to his Jack Edwards interview from earlier this week. Steve says the NHL Network will air an NHL Playoffs Preview Show on Monday. Steve feels ESPN just doesn’t care about hockey even when it’s actually covering hockey.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter writes that NFL Network and Dish Network have settled their differences.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NFL Network is not talking after the settlement that keeps the channel on Dish’s second tier.

Mike writes that MSG Network saw increased ratings for the New York Rangers’ playoff clincher.

Justin Kroll of Variety says the NCAA Tournament attracted the big movie studios to promote their big spring blockbusters.

Mike Shields of Mediaweek says March Madness on Demand was a big hit.

I have a column at Digital Sports Daily on Why We Love The Masters.

Dave Kohl of the Major League Programs blog looks at various regional baseball TV and radio schedules.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn at the Boston Globe talks about the impending end of the NFL Network’s contract with Comcast.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says the Mohegan Sun casino doesn’t want to be blamed for its sports bar at the new Yankee Stadium obstructing the view of two sections of outfield seats.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News tells us about Sirius XM’s Chris Russo being prevented from airing live at the Yankee Stadium and Citi Field openers by CBS Radio.

The perpetually grumpy Phil Mushnick of the New York Post blames Hip Hop artist Flo Rida for the Mets-Marlins game being pushed back to an earlier start time to where Mets fans won’t be able to watch the first hour of the game due to Fox Sports exclusivity with MLB on Saturdays.

Justin Terranova of the Post talks with ESPN golf analyst Andy North about The Masters. Justin has five questions for ESPN’s MLB analyst and former Yankees manager Buck Showalter.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says the local Fox affiliate won a prestigious Murrow Award.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says the MLB Commissioner’s Office has convinced the Marlins to start its game against the Mets 15 minutes later so SNY won’t miss too much of the action.

The great Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun says First Class Jerk (my words, not Ray’s) Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio had his facts mixed up regarding the Orioles. I can write something really mean about First Class Jerk Cowherd, but I’ll refrain.

South

Barry Jackson in the Miami Herald writes about The Masters and Mixed Martial Arts embracing the internet for online streaming.

Dave Darling of the Orlando Sentinel looks at HBO’s new documentary on the great Thrilla in Manila between Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier. For those who have never seen the fight, watch the documentary to get a feel of how brutal the bout was.

Jerry Greene of the Sentinel counts down his final columns for the paper and gives us his favorite sporting venues.

Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram looks at Fox Sports’ new MLB pregame show.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News feels the NFL regular season announcement has become a reality show. Barry is amazed that the ESPN family of networks will devote three hours in primetime to the NFL regular season release.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Astros announcer Milo Hamilton may be taking the middle innings of home broadcasts off, but he’s going to be using that time to schmooze with clients. Is that really a good thing?

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says Tiger Woods is golf’s main ratings draw. In his sports notebook, Mel looks at MLB Network adding a slate of Saturday night games to its existing Thursday night schedule. And Mel reviews HBO’s Thrilla in Manila doc.

Midwest

Michel Zuidema of the Grand Rapids Press says Tiger Woods makes The Masters Must See TV.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says HBO’s Thrilla in Manila documentary does not sugarcoat things.

Don Walker from the Journal Sentinel has the final numbers on March Madness on Demand visitors.

Ted Cox of the Chicago Daily Herald says he’ll take CBS’ referential coverage of The Masters for the low amount of commercials.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business profiles Cubs TV announcer Len Kasper.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin has CBS’ Nick Faldo’s comments on Tiger Woods and The Masters.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Fox Sports Midwest is ready to do a juggling act with Blues playoff games and Cardinals regular season games. Dan writes that Albert Pujols’ ESPN “This is SportsCenter” ad will make its debut on Monday.

West

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says it was inevitable for a local sports radio show to die.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that Tiger Woods, The Masters and CBS are a natural fit.

Jim Carlisle from the Ventura County Times says Tiger’s return to golf comes just in time for The Masters and CBS.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times writes that we’re getting an embarrassment of video riches from The Masters. Diane looks at how Angels fans and announcers grieved over the death of Nick Adenhart.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the unfortunate tragedies that have befallen the Angels over the years. In his Friday column, Tom says ESPN’s new West Coast presence put it in good position to cover the Adenhart story. Tom has his usual extensive media notes in his Farther Off the Wall blog. And Tom goes over the week in blogging.

Canada

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says just like in the United States, the NCAA Tournament scored online in Canada.

That’s it for the megalinks.

Kudos to MLB Network

I was watching the tribute to the late Anaheim Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart on NESN when I wanted to see how Fox Sports West was covering it. Knowing that it FSW was blacked out due to the fact I’m in Red Sox territory and the opposite broadcast would be knocked out on DirecTV, I went over to MLB Network. Sure enough, MLB Network picked up Fox Sports West’s feed and I was able to watch the Adenhart tribute there. That is what MLB Network is made for. To be a go-to channel when a big story in baseball occurs.

It cut away when the action was about to start which is in accordance with MLB restrictions, but overall, good job by MLB Network to pick up the Adenhart tribute video and the moment of silence at Angel Stadium.

Weekend Viewing Picks

Saturday, April 11

Boxing
Thrilla in Manila – HBO, 8 p.m.
Pacquaio-Hatton 24/7 – HBO 9:30 p.m.
World Championship Boxing/Winky Wright vs. Paul Williams – HBO, 10 p.m.

College Bowling
NCAA Division I Championship – ESPN2/ESPNU, 8 p.m.

College Football
Georgia Spring Football Game – ESPN, 1 p.m.

College Hockey
NCAA Men’s Division I Championship/Miami (OH) vs. Boston University – ESPN, 7 p.m.

English Premier League
Blackburn vs. Liverpool – Setanta Sports, 7:40 a.m.
Bolton vs. Chelsea – Fox Soccer Channel, 10 a.m.
Manchester United vs. Sunderland – Setanta Sports, 10 a.m.
Newcastle vs. Stoke City – Fox Soccer Channel, 12:30 p.m.
Tottenham vs. West Ham United – Setanta Sports, 6:45 p.m. (same day coverage)
Middlesbrough vs. Hull – Setanta Sports, 8:30 p.m. (same day coverage)
Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic – Fox Soccer Channel, midnight (same day coverage)

Golf
The Masters, 3rd round – Masters.com/CBSSports.com, 11 a.m./CBS, 3:30 p.m.

Mixed Martial Arts
UFC 94 – Spike, 9 p.m.

MLB

American League
Texas at Detroit – Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports Detroit Plus, 1 p.m.
Toronto at Cleveland – Rogers Sportsnet/STO, 1 p.m.
Red Sox at Anaheim Angels – Fox, 4:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago White Sox – Fox, 4:10 p.m.
New York Yankees at Kansas City – YES/Fox Sports Kansas City, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore – Sun Sports/MASN2, 7 p.m.

National League
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Ohio, 1 p.m.
Houston at St. Louis – Fox, 4:10 p.m.
New York Mets at Florida – 6:10 p.m. (SNY joins in progress at 7 p.m.)
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – Comcast SportsNet Chicago/WMLW, 7 p.m.
Washington at Atlanta – MASN/Peachtree TV, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona – MLB Network/Fox Sports Prime Ticket/Fox Sports Arizona, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Colorado – Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/FSN Rocky Mountain, 8 p.m.
San Francisco at San Diego – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Plus/Cox 4, 10 p.m.

Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 10 p.m.
MLB Tonight: Roundtripper Final – MLB Network, 10 p.m.

NASCAR
Nationwide Series/Pepsi 300 – ESPN, 4 p.m.

NBA
Detroit at Indiana – NBA TV, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Chicago – WGN America, 8:30 p.m.

NHL
Carolina at New Jersey – Fox Sports Carolinas/MSG Network, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York Islanders – Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/MSG Plus, 2 p.m.
Chicago at Detroit – WGN/Fox Sports Detroit, 3 p.m.
Vancouver at Colorado – Rogers Sportsnet Pacific/Altitude, 3 p.m.
Boston at Buffalo – NESN/MSG Buffalo, 4 p.m.
San Jose at Los Angeles – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Fox Sports West, 4 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Montreal – CBC/NHL Network (US)/FSN Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Toronto – CBC, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Columbus – Fox Sports North/Fox Sports Ohio, 7 p.m.
Washington at Florida – Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta – WTOG/SportSouth, 7 p.m.
Anaheim at Phoenix – Fox Sports West/KAZT, 8 p.m.
Edmonton at Calgary – CBC/NHL Network (US), 10 p.m.
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 1:30 a.m.

Entertainment
Giada at Home – Food Network, 1 p.m.
Legend of the Seeker – WGN America, 5 p.m. or check your local listings (I know it’s a repeat, but I keep giving the love to Bridget Regan)
Cops – Fox, 8:30 p.m.
America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back – Fox, 9 p.m.
Ashes to Ashes – BBC America, 9 p.m.
48 Hours Mystery – CBS, 10 p.m.
Saturday Night Live – NBC, 11:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 12

English Premier League
Fulham vs. Manchester City – Fox Soccer Channel, 11 a.m.
Aston Villa vs. Everton – Setanta Sports, 12:30 p.m. (same day coverage)

Golf
The Masters, final round – Masters.com/CBSSports.com, noon/CBS, 2 p.m.

MLB

American League
Texas at Detroit – Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports Detroit, 1 p.m.
Toronto at Cleveland – Rogers Sportsnet/STO, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore – Fox Sports Florida/MASN2, 1:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago White Sox – WFTC/Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus, 2 p.m.
New York Yankees at Kansas City – YES/Fox Sports Kansas City, 2 p.m.
Red Sox at Anaheim Angels – NESN/KCOP, 3:30 p.m.
Seattle at Oakland – FSN Northwest/Comcast SportsNet California, 4 p.m.

National League
New York Mets at Florida – TBS/SNY/Sun Sports, 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Ohio, 1 p.m.
Washington at Atlanta – MASN/Fox Sports South, 1:30 p.m.
Houston at St. Louis – KTXH/KSDK, 2 p.m.
Philadelphia at Colorado – WPHL/FSN Rocky Mountain, 3 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona – Fox Sports Prime Ticket/Fox Sports Arizona, 4 p.m.
San Francisco at San Diego – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Cox 4, 4 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – ESPN, 8 p.m.

Baseball Tonight – ESPN, 7 p.m.

NBA
Dallas at New Orleans – ABC, 1 p.m.
Boston at Cleveland – ABC, 3:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Toronto – NBA TV, 6 p.m.

NHL
Detroit at Chicago – NBC/TSN, 2 p.m.
Boston at New York Islanders – NESN Plus/MSG Plus 2, 5 p.m.
New York Rangers at Philadelphia – MSG Plus/Comcast Network, 5 p.m.
St. Louis at Colorado – Fox Sports Midwest/Altitude, 5 p.m.
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 8 p.m.

Entertainment
60 Minutes – CBS, 7 p.m.
The Amazing Race 14 – CBS, 8 p.m.
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency – HBO, 8 p.m.
World’s Funniest Commercials – TBS, 8 p.m.
Dirty Jobs – Discovery, 9 p.m.
The Tudors – Showtime, 9 p.m.
In Treatment/Mia: Week Two – HBO, 9 p.m.
In Treatment/April: Week Two – HBO, 9:25 p.m.
Breaking Bad – AMC, 10 p.m.

MLB Network Continues to Pick Up Games

MLB Network has just announced that it will simulcast the Washington Nationals home opener on Monday.

MLB NETWORK TO BROADCAST WASHINGTON NATIONALS HOME OPENER ON MONDAY AFTERNOON

MLB Network announced today it will provide a simulcast of Monday’s game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies, the home opener at Nationals Park. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:05 p.m. ET. MLB Tonight will follow the game at 6:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network also previously announced it will broadcast the New York Yankees home opener on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. ET in addition to the Blue Jays @ Twins on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET and Padres @ Phillies on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET.

So if you count the games for next week, MLB Network will carry four games including the new Yankee Stadium regular season opener on Thursday.

Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks

Golf
The Masters, 2nd round coverage – Masters.com/CBSSports.com/ESPN360.com, 10:45 a.m./ESPN, 4 p.m./CBS, 11:35 p.m.

MLB

American League
Texas at Detroit – Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports Detroit, 1 p.m.
New York Yankees at Kansas City – YES/Fox Sports Kansas City, 4 p.m.
Toronto at Cleveland – Rogers Sportsnet/WKYC, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Baltimore – Sun Sports/MASN2, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago White Sox – Fox Sports North/Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 8 p.m.
Red Sox at Anaheim Angels – NESN/Fox Sports West, 10 p.m.
Seattle at Oakland – FSN Northwest/Comcast SportsNet California, 10 p.m.

National League
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee – WGN America/Fox Sports Wisconsin, 4 p.m.
Philadelphia at Colorado – Comcast Network/FSN Rocky Mountain, 4 p.m.
New York Mets at Florida – SNY/Fox Sports Florida, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – FSN Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Ohio, 7 p.m.
Washington at Atlanta – MASN/SportSouth, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at St. Louis – Fox Sports Houston/Fox Sports Midwest, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona – Fox Sports Prime Ticket/Fox Sports Arizona, 9:30 p.m.
San Francisco at San Diego – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Cox 4, 10 p.m.

MLB Tonight: 1st to 3rd – MLB Network, 8 p.m.
MLB Tonight: Roundtripper Final – MLB Network, 10 p.m.

NBA
Miami at Boston – Comcast SportsNet New England, 7:30 p.m.
New York at Orlando – ESPN2, 8 p.m.

NHL
Nashville at Minnesota – Fox Sports Tennessee/KSTC, 8 p.m.
Columbus at St. Louis – Fox Sports Ohio/KPLR, 8:30 p.m.
Calgary at Edmonton – Rogers Sportsnet West, 9 p.m.
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 9:30 p.m.
Dallas at Anaheim – KDFI/KDOC, 10 p.m.

Entertainment
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (season finale) – Fox, 8 p.m.
Flashpoint – CBS, 9 p.m.
Mistresses – BBC America, 9 p.m.
Dollhouse – Fox, 9:01 p.m.
20/20 – ABC, 10 p.m.
Dateline – NBC, 10 p.m.
Co-Ed Confidential 3: Spring Break – Cinemax, 12:15 a.m.

The Good Friday Brawl – 25 Years Later

On this Good Friday, it’s time to look back 25 years ago at one of the greatest hockey fights ever. It’s the Good Friday Brawl that took place at the old Montreal Forum between the Montreal Canadiens and the old Quebec Nordiques in the NHL Adams Division semifinals. Until Gary Bettman corrected the Divisional playoff system, we had these silly playoffs that had four teams of the four NHL divisions squaring off to determine a division champion, then the two division winners would play for the conference championship, then the two conference champions played in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was screwed up.

But when you had the Canadiens and Nordiques, you had a true hatred since the teams were in the same Canadian province, located quite close to each other. In Game 6 of of the 1984 Adams Division semifinals, the emotions between Montreal and Quebec reached the boiling point. There were 15 different fights that had broken out on the ice. There were familiar names, Guy Lafleur, the Stasny brothers, Dale and Mark Hunter who played on opposite teams, Pierre Mondou, Chris “Knuckles” Nilan and yes, there was Chris Chelios playing for Montreal at the time.

Let’s look at the fight and how it all began. We have three clips. We start in the second period when the brawl broke out. The legendary Bob Cole and current Detroit Red Wings analyst Mickey Redmond called the game for CBC.

Here’s the second intermission hosted by CBC legend Dick Irvin (still going strong today) and Don Cherry. Grapes is classic as always.

And here’s the beginning of the third period when the brawl broke out again. Notice how the public address announcer is calling out the penalties from the second period while the fights are continuing.

It was funny to hear Bob Cole denounce the violence. Great stuff. I wonder how Jack Edwards would have called this.

Thursday’s Press Release Action

I have a few more press releases to give you.

Of course, the day would not be complete without an announcement from ESPN about something. Here’s that something. ESPN’s Chicago-centric website launches on Monday.

Opening Day: ESPNChicago.com Launches Monday, April 13

Online Destination for Chicago Sports Fans to Feature Exclusive, Original Local Coverage Including a Daily ESPN Chicago SportsCenter

Launch Marks Debut of Dynamic Geo-Targeted Audio Ad Insertion

ESPNChicago.com is set for its own Opening Day on Monday, April 13 just in time for the Chicago Cubs home opener. At launch, the Chicago-focused online sports destination will feature exclusive, original content, a stable of authentic Chicago voices, and customized content integrated from across ESPN’s multiple platforms, branded programming and award-winning contributors.

Building on the 10-year success of ESPN’s flagship owned and operated radio station (ESPN Radio 1000) and its dynamic Web presence, ESPNChicago.com offers a cleaner design and navigation schematic, with a premium on balancing the site’s breadth with ease of use. To organize all of that content, the new site includes a primary navigation bar similar to that of the new ESPN.com (with seven anchor menus, each with expandable rollover menus) and a secondary navigation bar (customized by the site’s editors to include easy access to the most timely topics and sports) on its front page. ESPN Radio 1000, ESPN’s local Chicago radio station, will be included as a subsection on ESPNChicago.com

“We’re excited to be building on the combined successes of both ESPN.com and ESPN Radio 1000 with a new platform for Chicago sports fans,” said Marc Horine, vice president of digital partnerships and sales development for ESPN. “Through a collaborative effort from ESPN Digital Media, ESPN production and ESPN Radio, fans now have a destination for their Chicago sports roundup on-air, online and on-site, and advertisers have a unique opportunity to reach a specific and passionate audience on multiple platforms.”

With the launch, ESPN Digital Media also launches new technology that allows for dynamic, geo-targeted content and ad insertion in both live audio streaming and downloadable audio. The technology will allow for locally relevant content to be delivered in live ESPN Radio streams and free ESPN podcasts (including podcasts available through iTunes), and will allow local and national advertisers to target ads in ESPN audio to Chicago and other markets nationwide.

Charter Advertisers

StubHub is the launch partner for ESPNChicago.com and will be the official ticket provider for the site. Other charter advertising partners include MillerCoors, Hiltons of Chicago, Chicago Lincoln Mercury Dealers and Hawthorne Race Course. They will be the first to take advantage of the new site’s enhanced advertising opportunities, which include more options and increased flexibility; more than double the number of advertising executions on the front page and index pages; and cleaner, bolder ad units.

Enhanced Video

ESPNChicago.com will also be the exclusive home of the daily ESPN Chicago SportsCenter, hosted by SC anchors familiar to Chicago viewers. The video series will feature all things Chicago sports including breaking news and highlights, offering local fans a rundown of their hometown teams and athletes.

The new site will prominently feature a custom Chicago Video Hub, offering a library for the latest highlights and video content about Chicago sports. Additionally, a dynamic 16×9 main engagement area will be featured on the front page, with main index pages that can deliver a rich, integrated video experience and the day’s top videos. High quality video will be integrated throughout the site.

ESPN.com already has the top sports video library online, accounting for nearly 50 percent of total minutes spent with sports video online.

Exclusive, Original Content

As ESPN’s local home for Chicago sports online, ESPNChicago.com will integrate ESPN.com’s Chicago team clubhouse pages in addition to providing top-quality coverage of both the college and professional leagues, including:

• Professional: Bears (NFL), Bulls (NBA), Cubs and White Sox (MLB), Blackhawks (NHL) and Fire (MLS)
• College: Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, DePaul, Loyola, Illinois-Chicago and Illinois State

The site will also grow to include coverage of Chicago prep sports later this year.

Content, features, highlights and tools on ESPNChicago.com include:

Columnists, Contributors and Bloggers

ESPNChicago.com will feature insights, information and reporting from a lineup of notable Chicago writers and voices, as well as contributions from ESPN’s national experts weighing in on Chicago sports topics. Regular contributors include:

• ESPNChicago.com Editors:
• Kristin Lanning – a former freelance writer for The Chicago Tribune who has spent the past five years leading sports coverage on NBCChicago.com.
• Roman Modrowski – 13-year veteran of The Chicago Sun-Times who has covered the Bulls and Notre Dame and served as the online sports editor for Notre Dame the past five years.
• Keith Sgariglia – a lifelong Chicago native who has been overseeing digital media efforts at ESPN 1000 since June 2000.
• Rahula Strohl – a former producer for ChicagoTribune.com and ChicagoSports.com, Strohl has extensive experience covering the Chicago sports scene and interacting online with fans.

• ESPN Contributors:
• Wayne Drehs –an Emmy-winning senior writer for ESPN.com, where he spent the past eight years on the features and enterprise team. His work has been honored by the Football Writer’s Association and appeared in the Best American Sports Writing. He is a 2000 graduate of the University of Iowa.
• Scoop Jackson –an award-winning journalist who has covered sports and culture for more than 15 years. Jackson, a writer for Page 2, is a former editor of Slam, XXL, Hoop and Inside Stuff magazines and a noted author.
• Gene Wojciechowski –named ESPN.com’s first-ever senior national sports columnist in June 2005. Wojciechowski joined ESPN The Magazine as a senior writer in January 1998, after serving as a college football reporter for ESPN since 1992.
• ESPNChicago.com will also feature contributions from ESPN’s John Clayton, Peter Gammons, Tim Legler and Barry Melrose.

• Columnists:
• Jerry Bonkowski – award-winning sportswriter and lifelong Chicago native returns to ESPN having previously served as NASCAR columnist/writer for ESPN.com from 2001 to 2004. He served 15 years with USA Today and spent the last 4.5 years as National NASCAR Columnist with Yahoo! Sports.
• Jon Greenberg – editor of a sports marketing newsletter and has covered Chicago sports as a freelance writer for the last six years.
• Bloggers:
• Al Cimaglia (Blackhawks) – a lifelong Chicagoan who has covered the Hawks the last three years for HockeyBuzz.com.
• Jeff Dickerson (Bears) – Bears beat reporter for ESPN 1000 and the host of Chicago’s Football Tonight.
• Nick Friedell (All Teams) –has written for MLB.com, The Orlando Sentinel and, most recently, Yahoo! Sports, contributing to their baseball, college basketball and football coverage and serving as lead editor and writer for Yahoo!’s Olympic coverage.
• Bruce Levine (Cubs/Sox) – the popular host of Talkin’ Baseball, heard Saturdays on ESPN 1000 who has also maintained a popular blog for the station.
• Matt McHale (Bulls) – TrueHoop blog network member and the voice behind the popular Bulls blog Bulls By The Horns.
• Chuck Swirsky (Bulls) – radio play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Bulls has more than 20 years of broadcasting experience including stints with University of Michigan basketball and DePaul University.
• Tom Waddle – former wide receiver for the Chicago Bears and currently co-host of Waddle & Silvy, which airs every morning from 9am-1pm on ESPN 1000.

Social Media

• Community: ESPNChicago.com will integrate and build upon the fast-growing ESPN.com community platform to connect fans of Chicago sports both locally and nationally, and will include Fan Profiles, SportsNation live chats, blogs and ESPN Conversations pages. Additionally, fans can get the latest updates on Chicago sports news via social networking platforms, including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
• Web 2.0 Tools: ESPN’s Sports Travel Passport (providing tools to chronicle sports experiences and memories), an interactive sports calendar and interactive stadium guides.

Mobile

ESPNChicago.com sports content will be integrated across ESPN’s industry-leading mobile Web site, including mobile updates for upcoming guests, press conferences or other breaking news as well as call to action campaigns, interactive polls, trivia contests and more.

Audio

The subsection for ESPN Radio 1000 on ESPNChicago.com will provide an online home for the local sports station. Featured coverage and tools available to fans include robust show pages dedicated to Mike & Mike in the Morning, Waddle & Silvy, Tirico & Van Pelt and the top-rated Afternoon Saloon. Additionally the ESPN 1000 subsection will include local podcasts, blogs, photo galleries, events, live audio/video streaming and contest information for the radio station.

Enhanced Scoreboards

With enhanced scoreboards built into the top of the ESPNChicago.com homepage, fans have immediate access to the Chicago sports scores they’re looking for. For fans that personalize their favorite teams, scores are pushed to the front of the line and highlighted in yellow for fans. Additionally, each sport features a full scoreboard page with game previews and recaps, ESPN Gamecast and more.

Chicago News, Traffic & Weather

ESPNChicago.com will feature local news coverage, video, traffic & weather provided by ABC Owned TV station WLS. The site will also provide links back to abc7chicago.com.

Two hockey-related press releases. First from NBC Sports focusing on the last regular season Game of the Week which pits Original Six rivals Detroit against Chicago.

DETROIT MEETS CONFERENCE RIVAL CHICAGO IN NHL “GAME OF THE WEEK,” SUNDAY ON NBC

“They are a model franchise.” – NBC’s McGuire on Detroit

NBC’s Emrick Receives Sports Emmy Nomination

NEW YORK – April 9, 2009 – The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks in the NHL "Game of the Week," Sunday, 2 p.m. ET on NBC, on the final day of the NHL regular season. Hockey Hall of Famer Mike "Doc" Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action. McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC's studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury on site at the United Center. Emrick last week received his second consecutive Sports Emmy nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play.

The Blackhawks qualified for the playoffs for the first time in seven years and stand in fourth place in the Western Conference. The Red Wings rank second in the conference assuring them of home ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. The teams last met on NBC on New Year's Day in the NHL Winter Classic from Wrigley Field, a 6-4 Detroit victory.

MCGUIRE ON RED WINGS: "They are still the gold standard in terms of their team play and their skill level. They are a model franchise. The big question for them, as it's been all year, is what's going on with their goaltending."

ON MARIAN HOSSA OF THE RED WINGS:
MCGUIRE: "A great young man and a special player."

MILBURY: "He's got to hoist the Cup to make it a successful season but you have to admire him for giving up a lot of cash to join Detroit."

OLCZYK ON THE BLACKHAWKS: "Chicago got a taste of the pressure last year when they came so close. I think that will help them more than people think. They've learned how to win. [Nikolai] Khabibulin has been stellar all year and he's been through this before. I think they'll go as far as he takes them."

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ON NBC: NBC Sports' coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs begins next weekend with coverage of the Conference Quarterfinals. NBC will broadcast weekend games throughout the postseason and up to five Stanley Cup Final games (Games 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7).

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada announces its annual Play On! Street Hockey Tournament.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA PRESENTS PLAY ON!
ANNOUNCES 2009 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Twelve-City Program to Culminate with 4^th Annual National Championship in October

London, Ontario, April 9, 2009 – CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Presents Play On! – The Official Canadian Street Hockey Tournament today announced the return of the national 4-on-4 street hockey tournament and hockey festival series that involved over 80,000 Canadians in 2008.

In the words of Roy MacGregor, “There is something pure and sweet about road hockey that is worth preserving for generations to come. The game has meant more to young Canadians than any other game in any form.” With the first tournament happening in May and additional events across the country throughout the summer, each Play On! event features recreational and competitive street hockey tournament divisions for boys, girls, men and women of all ages and all skill levels.

Play On! events will be held over the full course of a weekend in Halifax, NS; Moncton, NB; Montreal, QC; Ottawa, ON; Oshawa, ON; London, ON; Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK; Calgary, AB; Edmonton, AB and Vancouver, BC (please see specific event dates below*), with the first event of the tour slated to kick off in downtown Winnipeg, MB on May 23 & 24 at Memorial Boulevard. Approximately twenty-five rinks will be operated at all times over a kilometre of street during the course of each event.

Winners and finalists in Elite divisions from each event during the summer will progress to the 4^th Annual National Championship to compete for the Redwood Cup – which was recently displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame – and recognition as “Canada’s Greatest Street Hockey Players”. The National Championship event will be held in Toronto in October, with additional details on this event to be announced in the weeks to come. Winners of all divisions at every event will have a chance to win great prizes including championship t-shirts and hats provided by The Hockey News.

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Presents Play On! will also officially attempt to set a new Guinness World Record in the category of World’s Largest Street Hockey Tournament. If the national program had formally applied in 2008, it would have broken the current world record by well over 900 teams.

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Presents Play On! is also proudly sponsored by The Hockey News, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), and Sande Hockey.

Canadian street hockey enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels are invited to visit www.playon.ca for more information, rules and regulations, and to register their teams. All Captains that register teams in advance of April 15^th will be automatically entered into a draw to receive an authentic, autographed Dion Phaneuf jersey, compliments of the NHLPA.

2009 Event Dates:

WINNIPEG May 23-24, 2009 Memorial Boulevard

MONCTON June 6-7, 2009 Assumption Boulevard

EDMONTON June 6-7, 2009 Churchill Square

LONDON June 6-7, 2009 Victoria Park

VANCOUVER June 13-14, 2009 GM Place

OSHAWA June 13-14, 2009 Oshawa Downtown Core

HALIFAX June 20-21, 2009 The Commons

CALGARY June 20-21, 2009 Deerfoot Mall

OTTAWA June 27-28, 2009 Scotiabank Place

MONTREAL August 22-23, 2009 Location TBA

SASKATOON August 29-30, 2009 First Avenue North

*An event in ST. JOHN’s, NF is also expected to be announced at a later time

About CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Presents Play On!

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Presents Play On! features recreational and competitive street hockey tournament divisions for both genders, all skill levels, and all ages. Since the program’s inception in 2003, more than 180,000 Canadians have ‘taken back the streets’ from coast to coast through participation in one of the twenty-two Play On! events held to date. The events have collectively included participation from many current NHL, AHL, CHL, and CIS players. These highly organized street hockey events have a festival atmosphere and celebrate the game of hockey in a form that expresses the imagination and innocence of youth, helping kids feel like NHL professionals and helping adults feel like kids again. All interested participants can visit www.playon.ca for tournament information, to register a team, and more.

About CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, the presenting sponsor of Play On!, has been a national institution since 1952. Now in its 56^th season, CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada remains the most popular weekly sports program in Canada, averaging more than a million viewers every Saturday night. Hockey fans can visit cbcsports.ca 24 hours a day, seven days a week for live and on-demand video streaming of all games as well as comprehensive NHL coverage, including weekly columns from CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA personalities, breaking news, in-depth reports, broadcast schedules and more.

About the Redwood Cup

The Redwood Cup is awarded annually to the CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Presents Play On! national champions, who are recognized as Canada’s greatest street hockey players. From 2005-2008 it was featured at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The Cup stands 49″ (124.5cm) tall and is made of solid redwood with plated sterling silver. The five silver sticks that encompass and support the trophy are representative of the number of players on each original Play On! team. They also guard the silver plated maple leaf, symbolic of the importance of hockey to our nation. Heavier than the Stanley Cup, it weighs over 63 lbs (28.6 kg)! The Cup gets its name from Redwood Road in Kingsville, Ontario.

Finally, Sunday MLB on TBS returns with a Mets-Marlins matchup.

“Sunday MLB on TBS” Leads Off With a National League East Showdown

Johan Santana scheduled to lead Mets against Hanley Ramirez and the Marlins

“Sunday MLB on TBS” leads off its 2009 season schedule with two-time Cy Young Award winner and probable starter Johan Santana taking the mound for the New York Mets as they head south to battle 2008 All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez and the division-rival Florida Marlins on Sunday, April 12 at 1 p.m. ET. Calling the action will be Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst).

“Sunday MLB on TBS” includes match-ups on TBS every Sunday afternoon throughout the regular season. The network will also exclusively televise the MLB All-Star Selection Show on Sunday, July 5. Additionally, beginning in October TBS will once again provide exclusive coverage of the Division Series and the National League Championship Series (NLCS).

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

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS SCHEDULE:

Sun., April 12

1 p.m. New York Mets @ Florida Marlins

Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst)

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Sun., April 19

1 p.m. Cleveland Indians @ New York Yankees

Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst)

Sun., April 26

12 p.m. Philadelphia Phillies @ Florida Marlins

Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst)

That’s going to do it. Pretty quick tonight.

ESPN Counters NFL Network and NFL.com With Own NFL Schedule Show

Not to be outdone by the NFL Network and NFL.com on the announcement of the NFL regular season schedule next Tuesday, ESPN will have its own NFL regular season announcement special. In fact, the special spans two networks!

Here’s ESPN’s press release on the whole thing:

SportsCenter Special: Schedule Release

Tuesday, April 14 – 7-8 p.m., ESPN2 and 8-10 p.m., ESPN

When the National Football League announces its 2009 regular season schedule, ESPN’s SportsCenter Special: Schedule Release will review the entire slate of games Tuesday, April 14 (7-8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and continuing from 8-10 p.m. on ESPN). The three-hour SportsCenter Special will examine individual team schedules, key match-ups, Monday Night Football games, national TV games and other schedule highlights.

Trey Wingo will host the SportsCenter Special with analysts Ron Jaworski, Trent Dilfer, Merril Hoge and Tim Hasselbeck. A number of NFL players, including DeMarcus Ware (Dallas Cowboys), Joey Porter (Miami Dolphins), Brian Dawkins (Denver Broncos) and Richard Seymour (New England Patriots), are also expected to participate in live interviews.

The program will be aired in a compressed format similar to ESPN’s NFL Draft presentation with scrolling team-by-team updates.

ESPN is trying to roll out the heavy hitters on this one. I’ll be watching NFL Network on Tuesday.

The Amazing Race 14 – Episode 8 Promo

Once again, the extremely talented puddin at Reality Fan Forum has posted another CBS promo for this Sunday’s episode of The Amazing Race 14. I speculate that Kisha & Jen and Mark & Michael have lost their passports. Margie & Luke along with Tammy & Victor are racing for first place at the mat. Take a look.

Looks like a good episode. If everything breaks right, I hope to have recaps of the last two episodes up in the next two days. I hope I can do it.

NFL to Release Regular Season Schedule in Primetime

You knew this was bound to happen. The NFL has announced it will release the 2009 regular season schedule next Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Here’s the press release that I never received from the NFL and I had to copy from the NFL Media website.

EXCLUSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2009 NFL SCHEDULE IN PRIMETIME ON NFL.COM AND NFL NETWORK

SCHEDULE ANNOUNCEMENT LIVE

TUESDAY, APRIL 14 AT 7:00 PM ET

NFL.com Unveils Team-by-Team and Week-by-Week Schedules and Live Chats

NFL Network Features Analysis, Interviews With Head Coaches, Fan Reactions & More

Which team will be the Cowboys’ first regular-season opponent in their new stadium? Who will Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson, Donovan McNabb and Kurt Warner take on in their season openers with the Colts, Vikings, Eagles and Cardinals, respectively? How does the road look for the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers as they try to return to the Super Bowl?

These questions and many more will be answered when the 2009 NFL schedule is released in prime time for the first time, exclusively on NFL.com and NFL Network, on Tuesday, April 14 at 7:00 PM ET. The entire 2009 schedule will be announced and analyzed on NFL.com and NFL Network during a two-hour primetime NFL Total Access: 2009 Schedule Release.

Just as the NFL Draft and NFL Scouting Combine have grown into highly popular off-season events, the NFL Total Access: 2009 Schedule Release is another opportunity for fans to connect with the NFL and to see for the first time where, when, and what time their favorite teams will play next season, as well as to analyze and debate the schedule.

For fans who want to see their team’s entire schedule right away to plan their football season, NFL.com is the place to visit on Tuesday at 7:00 PM ET. NFL.com will be the first site to have the complete team-by-team and weekly schedules of all 256 regular-season games, listing opponents, sites and times. NFL.com will feature interactive components by giving fans a voice through chats, fan forums and poll questions.

Other features on the website will include analysis by NFL.com reporters and breakdowns of the division schedules. NFL.com will include which games will be on CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC and NFL Network. There will also be printer-friendly versions of the team-by-team and week-by-week schedules.

NFL Network’s NFL Total Access: 2009 Schedule Release will feature host Rich Eisen and in-studio analysts, Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Brian Billick, Jamie Dukes, Solomon Wilcots, and former Bucs general manager Bruce Allen, plus other special guests including former Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson.

Reporters will be spread across the country to get reaction. NFL Network reporters will be in Boston to get fan reaction on the Patriots’ schedule as Tom Brady returns from his injury, in Philadelphia for the announcement of the first regular season opponent McNabb will face without defensive leader Brian Dawkins, in Chicago for comments on Jay Cutler’s debut as he changes conferences, in Denver to talk about the new season under Josh McDaniels, and in San Diego, where the Chargers hope their impressive play to end the 2008 season translates to a fast start in 2009.

The special includes a look at the making of the schedule, plus interviews with head coaches and GM’s on how it affects their planning and preparation. Players also will also be interviewed and the top games will be debated.

Additional topics covered during the primetime special will include a look at the Steelers’ road back to the Super Bowl, which team will take on the Cowboys in their new stadium for the first time, who is playing in primetime and why, plus the most intriguing matchups of 2009.

As usual, I’ll have the schedule release here as well.

ESPN To Air First Two Regular Season Games at Citi Field

MLB Network got the first regular season game to be played at Yankee Stadium next Thursday, April 16. But ESPN does it one better by getting the first two regular seasons games ever at Citi Field. Erin Andrews will be part of the festivities as well. Here’s the ESPN press release:

ESPN to Televise First Two Regular-Season Mets Games From Citi Field

ESPN’s April 13 Monday Night Baseball telecast will feature the first regular-season game from Citi Field, the new home of the New York Mets, who host the San Diego Padres at 7 p.m. ET. Dan Shulman will call the game – also available in high definition on ESPN HD and via ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV – with analysts Orel Hershiser and Steve Phillips. During the game, reporter Erin Andrews will provide viewers a tour of the new ballpark.

The game will be available locally on ESPN in both team markets, co-existing with local coverage in New York and San Diego. In New York, the game will also be available on the ABC SuperSign in Times Square.

Additionally, Baseball Tonight – with host Karl Ravech and analysts Peter Gammons and John Kruk – will originate live from the ballpark for segments during the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter, along with a highlights, news and information show at 10 p.m.

One day earlier, April 12, ESPN’s exclusive Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the Milwaukee Brewers hosting the Chicago Cubs at 8 p.m. Jon Miller will provide commentary with analyst Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips. The game will also be available via ESPN HD, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV.

ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball telecast April 15 – on Jackie Robinson Day – will showcase the Mets hosting the Padres at 7 p.m. Dave O’Brien will call the action with analysts Joe Morgan and Rick Sutcliffe.

So ESPN will be able to crow about this. It already is.

MLB Network on the Nick Adenhart Story

MLB Network went live around 1:30 to do a special report on the death of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart who died last night after he pitched 6 innings of shutout ball against the Oakland A’s.

MLB.com is streaming MLB Network’s live coverage. We already saw what MLB Network could do during the Alex Rodriguez steroids story. It’s doing a very good job in covering this tragic story.

Three Press Releases from Wednesday to Post

I post these press releases for your approval.

First, the NFL Network gives us its schedule for the week.

NFL NETWORK PROGRAMMING NOTES (4/9-4/14)

INTERVIEW WITH FALCONS QUARTERBACK MATT RYAN ON NFL TOTAL ACCESS THURSDAY

Live Wire, Starting 11, & NFL Replay Encore 2008 Week 6 Action

Sunday Beginning at 1:00 PM ET

THIS WEEK ON NFL TOTAL ACCESS

Thursday, April 9

• Interview with Falcons QB Matt Ryan
• Dallas Morning News reporter Jean-Jacques Taylor in-studio
• ‘Draft Journey’ – An inside look at the journey to Draft Day for prospects Michael Crabtree, Matthew Stafford and Brian Cushing
• Brian Billick and Mike Mayock discuss the Rams’ and Seahawks’ draft needs

Friday, April 10

• Chargers radio announcer Hank Bauer in-studio
• Brian Billick and Mike Mayock discuss the 49ers’ and Cardinals’ draft needs

Monday, April 13

• Brian Billick and Mike Mayock discuss the Chiefs’ and Raiders’ draft needs

THIS WEEK ON PATH TO THE DRAFT

Thursday, April 9

• First Draft: Boston College DT B.J. Raji
• On the Clock: Cleveland Plain Dealer beat writer Mary Kay Cabot gives her take on the Browns’ draft needs.

Friday, April 10

• First Draft: Baylor OT Jason Smith

Monday, April 13

• First Draft: Penn State DE Aaron Maybin
• On the Clock: Al Walace, Sports Reporter for WDAF-TV in Kansas City, MO gives his take on the Chiefs draft needs.

Tuesday, April 14

• First Draft: USC LB Rey Maualuga

DAY-BY-DAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE (all times listed are ET):

Thursday, April 9

1:00 PM – NFL Follies: Legends of the Follies (2007)

2:00 PM – Path to the Draft: Wednesday edition

2:30 PM – America’s Game: 1988 San Francisco 49ers (HD)

3:30 PM – America’s Game: 1989 San Francisco 49ers (HD)

4:30 PM – NFL Film Session: Lost Treasures #18 – The Press Box

5:30 PM – NFL Follies: Legends of the Follies (2007)

6:30 PM – Path to the Draft

7:00 PM – NFL Total Access

8:00 PM – NFL’s Greatest Games: 1958 NFL Championship – Baltimore Colts vs. New York Giants

9:30 PM – NFL’s Greatest Games: 1962 NFL Championship – Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants

Friday, April 10

1:00 PM – NFL Follies: 21^st Century Follies (2000)

2:00 PM – Path to the Draft: Thursday edition

2:30 PM – NFL’s Greatest Games: 1958 NFL Championship – Baltimore Colts vs. New York Giants

4:00 PM – NFL’s Greatest Games: 1962 NFL Championship – Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants

4:30 PM – NFL Film Session: Lost Treasures #4 – The American Football League

5:30 PM – NFL Follies: 21^st Century Follies (2000)

6:30 PM – Path to the Draft

7:00 PM – NFL Total Access

8:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Most Versatile

9:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Tight Ends

Saturday, April 11

Path to the Draft – Full Week Encore

10:00 AM – Path to the Draft: Monday edition

10:30 AM – Path to the Draft: Tuesday edition

11:00 AM – Path to the Draft: Wednesday edition

11:30 AM – Path to the Draft: Thursday edition

12 NOON – Path to the Draft: Friday edition

12:30 PM – Path to the Draft: Monday edition

1:00 PM – Path to the Draft: Tuesday edition

1:30 PM – Path to the Draft: Wednesday edition

2:00 PM – Path to the Draft: Thursday edition

2:30 PM – Path to the Draft: Friday edition

3:00 PM – America’s Game: 1988 San Francisco 49ers (HD)

4:00 PM – America’s Game: 1989 San Francisco 49ers (HD)

5:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Most Versatile

6:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Tight Ends

7:00 PM – NFL Total Access: Week in Review

8:00 PM – NFL Classic Games: 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tennessee Titans (Jan. 11, 2003) (HD)

Sunday, April 12

9:00 AM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Pass Rushers

10:00 AM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Linebacking Corps

11:00 AM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Most Versatile

12 NOON – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Tight Ends

1:00 PM – NFL Replay Real Time: Week 6

2:00 PM – Live Wire: Week 6 (HD)

2:30 PM – Starting 11: Week 6 (HD)

3:00 PM – NFL Replay: Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans (2008, Week 6) (HD)

4:30 PM – NFL Replay: New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns (2008, Week 6) (HD)

6:00 PM – NFL Replay: Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons (2008, Week 6) (HD)

7:30 PM – NFL Replay: Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals (2008, Week 6) (HD)

9:00 PM – NFL Replay Real Time: Week 6

10:00 PM – Live Wire: Week 6 (HD)

10:30 PM – Starting 11: Week 6 (HD)

11:00 PM – NFL Replay: Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans (2008, Week 6) (HD)

12:30 AM – NFL Replay: New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns (2008, Week 6) (HD)

2:00 AM – NFL Replay Real Time: Week 6

Monday, April 13

6:30 AM – NFL Replay: Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans (2008, Week 6) (HD)

8:00 AM – NFL Replay: New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns (2008, Week 6) (HD)

9:30 AM – NFL Replay: Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons (2008, Week 6) (HD)

11:00 AM – NFL Replay: Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals (2008, Week 6) (HD)

12:30 PM – NFL Replay: Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans (2008, Week 6) (HD)

2:00 PM – NFL Replay: New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns (2008, Week 6) (HD)

3:30 PM – NFL Replay: Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons (2008, Week 6) (HD)

5:00 PM – NFL Replay: Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals (2008, Week 6) (HD)

6:30 PM – Path to the Draft

7:00 PM – NFL Total Access

8:00 PM – Super Bowl Classics: Super Bowl XXXIV – St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans

Tuesday, April 14

11:00 AM –Super Bowl Classics: Super Bowl XXXIV – St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans

2:00 PM – Path to the Draft: Monday edition

2:30 PM – NFL Film Session: History of the Oakland Raiders

3:30 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Top 10 Power Backs

4:30 PM – NFL’s Top 10: One Shot Wonders

5:30 PM – NFL Film Session: History of the Oakland Raiders

6:30 PM – Path to the Draft

7:00 PM – NFL Total Access

8:00 PM – Game of the Week: 2005 AFC Divisional Playoff – New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos (HD)

9:00 PM – Game of the Week: 2005 NFC Divisional Playoff – Carolina Panthers vs. Chicago Bears (HD)

You’ve probably seen this story all over the last 24 hours. TNT and NBA TV will use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to engage fans during the NBA Playoffs.

Turner Sports Engages Fans Online Through Robust Social Media Campaign for 2009 NBA Playoffs

TNT and NBA TV announcers to be featured on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

Turner Sports is unveiling a multiplatform marketing campaign that utilizes popular social media platforms YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to promote TNT’s ‘40 Games in 40 Nights’ coverage of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. TNT will have a significant presence on YouTube with a homepage takeover on Mon., April 20, featuring player-specific videos to promote the tune-in for the night’s match-ups as well as TNT messaged overlays on sports-related featured videos. Turner Sports will also feature a full court press on Facebook on Sun., April 19 with TNT NBA Playoffs messaging on sponsored ads, along with prominently placed topical promotional spots and a special promotion prompting Facebook users to ‘Become a Fan’ of the NBA on TNT Facebook page. Turner Sports will take over Yahoo! Sports’ main page on Sun., April 19, with all ads featuring TNT NBA Playoffs creative to drive fans to the network’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs.

Turner Sports will complement its robust social media marketing plan with a strong Twitter presence, featuring updates from popular announcers including TNT’s Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Craig Sager and NBA TV’s Chris Webber, Gary Payton, Steve Smith, Eric Snow and Rick Kamla. The hosts and analysts will ‘tweet’ on their individual pages beginning Tues., April 14 with regular updates, comments, thoughts and analysis that will feed to a main NBA TV Twitter profile and link to the National Basketball Association’s Twitter page. The ‘tweets’ will also feed into the NBA on TNT Facebook page. The Facebook and Twitter sites will be prominently featured on NBA.com and will receive on-air promotion on TNT and NBA TV.

Turner Sports’ NBA Playoffs marketing campaign is also supported by a comprehensive mix of advertising including heavy spot rotation by local cable operators in key markets, radio traffic sponsorships and DJ endorsements in 15 target markets, concentrated out-of-home messaging in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta and select print advertising in multiple national publications.

Did you know there’s an NCAA Bowling Championship? Now you do and ESPNU and ESPN2 will carry it this weekend!

NCAA Bowling Championship Live on ESPNU, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com Saturday

ESPNU, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will provide live coverage of the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship from Super Bowl Lanes in Canton, Mich., on Saturday, April 11 at 8 p.m. Beth Mowins and Carolyn Ballard will call the action. The eight-team field includes: Arkansas State University, Central Missouri University, Delaware State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, defending champion University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, University of Nebraska, New Jersey City University and Vanderbilt University.

The NCAA Bowling Championship begins Thursday, April 9, with a qualifying round — four traditional team games and 20 Baker-style games (each team will have five players bowling two frames a piece to complete a ten-frame game). Total pinfall is then used to seed teams for best-of-seven, double-elimination Baker match play. Matches continue until a champion is crowned.

That’s it. I’ve caught up.