Some Late Wednesday Night/Thursday Morning Links

My plans to provide a full set of linkage got shot to hell when the car I was riding in got stuck in a snow bank during the ice storm in RI on Wednesday. So I spent three hours trying to get the vehicle out. Eventually, I got AAA to pull it out, but also spent a lot of time chipping the ice from the driveway, so it was exactly how I wanted to spend my day. Anyway, I’ll give you a short set of links here.

Brian Costa, Matthew Futterman and Michael Rothfield says the New York Mets may sell part of its stake in SNY if can help attract a minority buyer for the club.

In a related note, CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports that the principal owners of the Met who are being sued by a Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme victim, say they don’t owe any money. Donald Sterling and Saul Katz recommended Madoff to several clients.

At Yahoo’s Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski explores any potential complications or non-complications regarding the NHL’s new US TV deals.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser feels it’ll be a long time before Dallas hosts another Super Bowl.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media speculates as to why the NHL All-Star Game saw a ratings increase from when the game was last played.

Milton Kent at Fanhouse goes over the new management structure at NBC Sports/Comcast.

Brad Cohen in SportsGrid feels Charles Barkley’s new website is just what the doctor ordered.

The Big Lead points out that the Pro Bowl did better in the ratings than Game 3 of the 2010 World Series.

Karolos Grohmann of Reuters reports that the Tour de France won’t be shown live in Germany starting in 2012 due to lack of interest and doping problems.

Kimberly Nordyke from the Hollywood Reporter has viewing alternatives for those who don’t want to watch the Super Bowl.

Have your first look at Volkswagen’s mini-Darth Vader Super Bowl ad.

And here’s the Volkswagen Black Beetle Super Bowl ad.

Michael Malone at Broadcasting & Cable reports that a group of local stations are back on DirecTV ensuring subscribers will see the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says thanks to the BCS, ESPN swept the January cable ratings.

Bill Cromwell from Media Life Magazine notes that after Pizza Hut dropped out of the Super Bowl, Fox found another advertiser to take its place ensuring a sellout once again.

Amy Austin of the Washington City Paper has written a public response to DC NFL Team owner Daniel Snyder’s threats to sue the publication after what he perceived was an unflattering profile.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner looks at the new NBC Sports management team.

Gary West from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram speaks with Friend of Fang’s Bites Michelle Beadle who’s been co-hosting ESPN2’s SportsNation live from Sundance Square.

Mitchell Schnurman of the Star-Telegram says the ESPN live productions from downtown Fort Worth have been promoting the city better than any advertising campaign.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business says a Windy City media company is busy at the Super Bowl this week.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News continues his series on asking various play-by-play men on what they can learn from Vin Scully.

First, we get answers from LA Kings Hall of Fame voice Bob Miller.

Then Tom speaks with Kings radio voice Nick Nickson.

Tom finds UCLA Bruins voice Chris Roberts to get his response.

Tom turns to Clippers voice Ralph Lawler.

Tom gets a response from USC basketball voice Chris Fisher.

Tom makes contact with minor league baseball announcer Jeff Lasky.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the Super Bowl Sunday programming from both CTV and Fox.

Sports Media Watch notes that the rematch of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final did slightly better than last year’s NHL on NBC debut.

SMW has various ratings news and notes.

Matt Yoder from Awful Announcing has a very good interview with the multifaceted Kevin Harlan who will be calling the Super Bowl on Westwood One Radio this Sunday.

And that’s going to do it. I need to sleep.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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