Let’s do some Friday megalinks. Haven’t done any in a couple of weeks.
The Weekend Viewing Picks have all of your sports and entertainment TV needs.
Time for the linkage.
National
Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes the rising rights fees for the college football postseason.
Michael writes about Today show Executive Producer Jim Bell coming home to NBC Sports to oversee all Olympic broadcasts.
Chris Chase from USA Today has 60 Minutes responding to Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’ complaints about a recent profile.
Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the Outdoor and Sportsman Channels plan to merge.
Will Leitch at Sports on Earth says the Rick Reilly experiment at ESPN has not worked.
Bryan Curtis of Grantland notes that last night’s Celtics-Nets game was the first game that Brooklyn native Marv Albert got to call in the borough.
Alex Weprin of TV Newser reports that Keith Olbermann will be back on sports television next week by doing a guest stint on a league-owned network.
Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing feels ESPN has lost its viewers trust.
The Big Lead speculates whether Sports Illustrated’s Peter King will remain with the magazine or leave when his contract expires.
Sports Media Watch says despite a fight, ESPN’s ratings for the next-to-last Sprint Cup race of the season finished down from last year.
East and Mid-Atlantic
Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz who’s back on the Patriots beat this week.
Chad has five questions with Nantz.
Boston Sports Media Watch Fearless Leader Bruce Allen speculates in SB Nation on who might become the Flash Boy or Girl for WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan show.
Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has NESN’s Jack Edwards becoming increasingly skeptical about playing hockey this season.
The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir notes that a new Broadway play will delve into the history of the Yankees.
Amy Chozick and Michael Cieply of the Times write about Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. buying a stake into the YES Network.
Newsday’s Neil Best talks about Mike Emrick calling college hockey tonight.
The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick conducts a character assassination on ESPN’s Dick Vitale.
The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for New York Knicks radio voice Spero Dedes.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with Dottie Pepper who’s leaving NBC Sports for a position with the PGA of America.
Ken McMillen of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Darrelle Revis’ comments to NFL Network’s Andrea Kremer about his season-ending injury for the New York Jets.
Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in Press Box that the ratings increases for the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals reflect their successes on the field.
In the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has some thoughts on the NFL Network’s documentary on John Riggins.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN’s NASCAR voice Allen Bestwick about the last race of the season.
South
David Barron of the Houston Chronicle notes that most CBS stations across the country and even in Texas have chosen to air the Dallas Cowboys over the Texans.
David has a few viewing picks for the weekend.
Midwest
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn’t agree with Aaron Rodgers’ complaints about 60 Minutes.
Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch notes that the NCAA has removed one-third of the media’s courtside seats at the Final Four™.
Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about a local sports radio host who lost his job after making remarks about African Americans.
West
Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star has his Weekend Viewing Picks.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at a new documentary on the UCLA-USC rivalry.
Tom wonders why it took so long for DirecTV and Time Warner Cable SportsNet to make an agreement.
Tom has stuff that didn’t make it into today’s sports column.
And that’s going to do it.
