Let’s give you some links tonight before I head to bed. I’ve been watching the primary coverage on the news channels tonight and been syncing my new iPod Touch so that has taken my time, but I’ll give you some more stuff before calling it a night.
From Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union, he gives us the first portion of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball schedule and he notes big market teams dominate the first 9 games. And Larry Barrett of Multichannel News says ESPN2 will start the MLB season by airing the first series between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s in Japan, and the first Sunday Night Baseball game will be in the new Washington Nationals stadium.
Ted Hearn of Multichannel News reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will appear before Congress Wednesday to tell them that the major cable providers discriminate against the NFL Network. This should be interesting. Also from Multichannel News, Barrett tells us that the NFL Network will show 30 hours of prorgramming devoted to Brett Favre throughout the week. R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel writes that BET will get into sports by airing two new series on poker and Mixed Martial Arts. In his Multichannel blog, Umstead says MMA is making a big inroad in the audience for boxing.
From Newsday’s Neil Best, he writes in his blog that a regular caller to sports radio WFAN is in critical condition after getting into a car accident two weeks ago.
NBC Sports.com’s Tom Curran talks with John Madden about who else? Brett Favre.
The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager writes in his Medium Well blog about ESPN’s coverage of the Favre retirement.
Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse blog is shocked like many bloggers that ESPN’s Chris Mortensen actually acknowledged that it was Fox’s Jay Glazer broke the Favre retirement story.
The Sports Media Watch notes that CBS’ double tripleheader weekend of college basketball games did not resonate with the viewers. And here are the ratings from the weekend.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his Farther Off the Wall blog that the Anaheim Angels (I refuse to go by that silly long name that they have now) will have every Spring Training game available either on the radio or on the internet.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the NBA Finals could be another losing venture for the Las Vegas sports books. And Darren wonders if two former Nike execs should be touting their credentials in marketing a new sex health drug. You can’t make this stuff up.
Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable writes that NBC has set its primetime lineup in the days and weeks leading up to the Summer Olympics in Communist China.
Steven Zeitchik from the Hollywood Reporter reports that ESPN has signed up several big directors to be part of its ESPN Films project.
Time for a couple of network press releases. ESPN says it will provide more than 150 hours of women’s sports programming in March as part of Women’s History Month. And one of ESPN’s best features, Championship Week, which is more like a week and a half, starts on Thursday.
Robert Elisberg of the Huffington Post joins the crowd by wondering why ESPN hired Bob Knight.
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports that Steve Stone now becomes a full-time radio analyst for the White Sox. Paul Sullivan of the Trib’s Hardball blog says the move was a no-brainer for both parties.
Frank Ahrens of the Washington Post says readers of the Wall Street Journal might notice something different this Friday … a sports page culled from one of owner Rupert Murdoch’s many properties.
Nick Krueger of the Naples (FL) Daily News reports that tennis analyst Mary Carillo spoke at a local school about her experiences in tennis and covering sports for CBS, ESPN, HBO, NBC and anyone else I failed to mention.
That will do it for tonight.
