As the Northeast battens down the hatches for the impending hit of Hurricane Irene this weekend and it’s not a matter of if it’s coming, but when, I’ll probably won’t be blogging much over the next few days. I’ll do my best as long as I have power, but disaster preparation will be high on the priorities the next two days.
For those of you looking for a diversion from Hurricane Irene coverage either on the Weather Channel or local news, I do have the sports and entertainment listings in the Weekend Viewing Picks. If you’re in the projected path or far from it, this will help you find the program you’re looking for.
Let’s get to the links.
National
Bob Velin of USA Today says Floyd “Money” Mayweather is ready for his HBO close-up again as he takes part in another edition of 24/7.
USA Today’s Mike McCarthy says ESPN golf analyst Paul Azinger took a jab at President Obama for playing golf on his vacation while people are out of work.
Mike McCarthy and Michael Hiestand debate the validity of the Longhorn Network.
Sean Gregory of Time says ESPN The Magazine’s story making Michael Vick a white man was wrong on several accounts.
Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic has secured the rights to ACC sports including football and basketball.
Multichannel News says soccer-centric Gol TV will air the start of Spain’s La Liga following the resolution of a player’s strike this week.
Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes that MSG Varsity will produce local editions of its High School SportsDesk program.
Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid reports that sports media site SportsNewser will be closing up shop at the end of this month. Sad to see. The site was a very good resource for Fang’s Bites. Marcus Vanderberg and Cam Martin from SportsNewser have become good friends and I hope they land on their feet soon.
Wayne Friedman at MediaPost says the New York Jets have become an innovator in their use of social media.
Joe Favorito looks at how sports marketing powerhouse IMG redefined itself into a marketer for college sports.
John Daly in his Daly Planet blog says Hurricane Irene coverage on several local ABC stations may put a crimp for fans who want to watch NASCAR on Saturday.
EPL Talk reports that Fox will air some English Premier League matches including the Chelsea-Manchester United rivalry game live on Super Bowl Sunday.
Sports Business Daily looks at the probability of EPL games airing on Fox.
The Big Lead takes a look at ESPN’s plans for its annual all-day and all-night College Basketball Marathon coming in November.
Brady Green at Awful Announcing notes that Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis did a stab at play-by-play in last night’s game against the DC NFL team.
East and Mid-Atlantic
Chad Finn of the Boston Globe notes that fantasy sports can no longer be ignored by the mainstream media and he adds that Friend of Fang’s Bites Jen Royle is a candidate to fill one of three potential vacancies at NESN.
At SBNation Boston, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch wonders which reporter is apologizing for Patriots defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth.
Newsday’s Neil Best says Entourage tapped New York Giants owner Steve Tisch for an appearance on the HBO show.
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is back from a brief vacation to hate everything in his path.
Justin Terranova of the Post speaks with CBS’ Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason on what they expect from New York’s NFL quarterbacks this season.
Justin has five questions for ESPN2 tennis analyst Brad Gilbert on the U.S. Open.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says due to Hurricane Irene, the Jets and Giants have moved the starting time of their NFL exhibition game to Saturday afternoon.
Pete says Marv Albert is happy to be calling NFL games on television once again.
Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says Capital Region fans will have two opportunities to see the Jets-Giants on Saturday.
Ken talks with Versus horse racing host Laffit Pincay, Jr.
Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes about a former area high school athlete who’s doing overnight updates for WFAN in New York.
Richard Rys of Philadelphia Magazine blasts ESPN for airing every game ofthe Little League World Series.
Childs Walker, Jeff Zrebiec and Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Sun says Mike Flanagan’s friends including MASN’s Gary Thorne are still coming to grips with his death.
David Zurawik of the Sun writes that WBAL-TV is standing by its report as to why Flanagan took his own life.
Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that an original Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic personality said goodbye last night.
Dan has the debut Geico spot featuring DC NFL Team linebacker Brian Orakpo.
Dan says last night’s Washington-Baltimore NFL preseason game set a ratings record in the nation’s capital.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will split its feed to air pregame shows of both the Baltimore Ravens and DC NFL Team during weeks when they’re programmed simultaneously.
South
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that while Verizon FiOS signed to carry the Longhorn Network, it won’t have tonight’s launch on its system.
David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Longhorn Network is having less than an auspicious launch.
David says despite the low viewership numbers at the start, the Longhorn Network’s staff remains upbeat about its future.
Gary Dinges of the Austin American-Statesman says most Texas fans will probably miss tonight’s Longhorn Network launch barring some miracle cable and satellite pickups.
Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman also writes about the Longhorn Network’s launch.
Midwest
John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Time Warner Cable will air a slate of high school football games this fall.
Kyle Neddenriep of the Indianapolis Star notes that ESPN is in town to air a couple of high school football games this weekend.
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says NBC is going all out for the NFL regular season opener between the Saints and the Packers.
Ed Sherman has his winners and losers in sports business and media.
Paul Christan at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says don’t confuse NFL Network with DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package.
Paul says the Minnesota Vikings without Brett Favre this season won’t be primetime darlings this season.
West
Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says don’t confuse BYUtv with the Longhorn Network.
John Maffei of the North County Times says if the NFL wants a Los Angeles franchise, it shouldn’t poach the Chargers.
T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times tells fans to stay home and watch the games on TV.
T.J. can’t believe the Dodgers are asking fans to evaluate Vin Scully’s performance as a broadcaster.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that Fox Sports West will air one high school football game a week and stream a whole host of them online.
Canada
Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says buyer beware when it comes to Twitter.
That will do it for today. Be safe wherever you are this weekend.
