Here’s the Monday linkage wrapped in a nice bow for you.
From Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand and Michael Smith, they report that ESPN will pay an average of $80 million per year to air the Rose Bowl. That more than doubles the current contract which pays $30 million.
Liz Mullen of SBJ says a noted movie studio is forming a sports talent agency further melding Hollywood and athletics.
Also from Sports Business Journal, Chris Botta notes that Brooklyn is ready and waiting if the New York Islanders can’t find a new home on Long Island
Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Bill Walton returns to national TV through ESPN as he’ll become the network’s analyst for Pac-12 basketball games.
Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that the early sign up numbers for NBC’s Olympic apps are encouraging.
Mike says NBCUniversal is looking to make the 2012 London Games a truly digital experience.
Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report talks with NBC’s Bob Costas about turning 60.
Talkers Magazine, the so-called Bible of Talk Radio, lists its 2012 Heavy 100 of Sports Talk. I agree with Mike Francesa and Dan Patrick in the Top 3, the rest I have issues with including a few in the New England area, plus why is Joe Morgan on the list? And there are only two women.
Lisa O’Carroll of the London (UK) Guardian says Britain’s oldest and largest black newspaper has been denied credentials to the Olympics Stadium for the track & field events.
George Winslow from Broadcasting & Cable notes that it’s expected that social media will be heavily used for the Olympics.
Matt Rudnitsky of SportsGrid notes that ESPN’s Captain Blowhard and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban are engaging in the next Great Twitter feud.
Brian Clapp at Sports TV Jobs wonders how NFL Network’s new morning show can sustain fresh content over a four hour period every day.
Kirk Minihane of WEEI.com tackles the question over whether the Boston Red Sox should fire advisor Bill James over his comments on ESPN Radio about Joe Paterno and the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
If it’s Monday, then it must mean that the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is in a bad mood about something.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that Syracuse has negotiated an early exit to the ACC from the Big East Conference.
Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that ESPN is starting its weekday coverage of the Open Championship earlier than previously announced.
DCRTV’s Dave Hughes writing in Press Box talks about the friendship that has developed between MASN’s Washington Nationals studio team of the great Johnny Holliday and Ray Knight.
Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog noticed that Democratic gargoyle strategist James Carville wore a Nats t-shirt on MSNBC over the weekend.
Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times has a look back at the weekend in sports television.
Mike Herndon of the Mobile (AL) Press-Register writes about the SEC releasing its early-season football TV schedule.
David Barron of the Houston Chronicle looks back at the ten years since the failed US Olympic bids for the 2012 Games.
David imagines what if Houston had been awarded the 2012 Olympics.
Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post says the Penn State scandal has been the talk of the town.
Matthew T. Hall at the San Diego Union-Tribune wants to organize a fan protest on the lack of movement on getting Padres games on local TV.
Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has your weekly sports calendar.
Sports Media Watch looks at Bill Walton making his return to ESPN.
Steve Lepore at Puck The Media suggests how the NHL Network can stop the inexorable amount of game reruns during the summer.
Cork Gaines from the Business Insider’s Sports Page says MLB Advanced Media gave a hollow apology for a system-wide outage preventing fans from watching MLB.TV online Friday.
Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest says truTV has given the go to a Shaquille O’Neal-fronted viral video show.
This is where we’ll end the links for today.
