Let’s do some linkage on this last Monday before Memorial Day.
By the way, if you’re on Facebook, hit my fan page and click “Like”. It acts like an RSS feed. All posts should be there and you can click on the links to see the latest information. Already, 375 people have signed up and you should as well. Thanks for reading that paragraph.
Also, I hope to do the mailbag tonight. I said that yesterday, but for some reason, weekends have become busier than weekdays for me. Not sure why that is. Anyway, the mailbag will be posted tonight and two lucky people will get a $50 gift card from Nike.com. I hope to get one more gift for you as well.
To the links now.
Michael Hiestand of USA Today delves into the clip that went viral of ESPN’s and Rhode Island’s own Doris Burke mouthing a swear word during a report before the Oklahoma City-Dallas NBA Western Conference Finals on Saturday. For the record, ESPN taped that report and a techie in the production truck cued the tape to the wrong report. And forever being classy, Doris did not throw the technie under the bus.
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reviews the book, “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside The World of ESPN.”
David M. Shribman of Bloomberg also provides a review.
Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable notes that ESPN is using its upcoming fall shows as a vehicle for marketing and advertising.
At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Jason Fry tells sports editors that they should not be afraid to link to other sites.
Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com says NASCAR’s attendance is getting hit by the economy like many businesses across the nation.
Dr. Patrick Rishe writes in Forbes that there are many reasons to doubt Lance Armstrong’s contentions that he didn’t take performance enhancing drugs.
Bill King of Sports Business Journal writes about UFC positioning itself closer to the mainstream as it begins talks with Spike and possibly other networks to be the home of the mixed martial arts organization.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell says despite his world crumbling around him, accused PED-user Lance Armstrong continues to rake in the endorsements.
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post decides that he’ll throw darts at MLB Walking, Talking Conflict of Interest Bud Selig.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that the Preakness Stakes received its lowest overnight rating in a little more than a decade.
At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg tries to give a synopsis on Ted Leonsis’ mad diatribes on radio, blogs and Twitter.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that TNT just fell shy in setting another ratings record for Game 3 of the NBA Conference Finals.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that TNT will move its Inside The NBA postgame inside AmericanAirlines Arena after encountering some rowdy Miami Heat fans last night.
Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times reviews the weekend in sports television.
Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune notes that Game 3 of the Bulls-Miami Heat series is expected to do really well in the ratings when the final numbers come out.
Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post writes that Dick Ebersol’s resignation from NBC certainly ends an era in broadcast television.
Mike Klis of the Post reports that the Broncos are about to change flagship television stations.
Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times writes that Time Warner Cable has hired a veteran sports executive to lead its sports programming wing.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.
Matthew Fleischer of Fishbowl L.A. notes that ESPN Deportes has launched a SoCal-centric website.
Raju Mudhar in the Toronto Star looks at the tome chronicling at the history of ESPN.
Sports Media Watch has a couple of MLS-related ratings notes.
SMW says the NBA Draft Lottery failed to catch on with viewers this year.
Last week, my Twitter friend Stefanie Gordon at Not Your Typical Girl, took the picture of the Space Shuttle Endeavor that got picked up by every news outlet. She writes about her experiences and the whirlwind media tour that followed.
Noted public relations expert Gail Sideman at Publiside has some suggestions in case you’re ever caught in a similar situation as Stefanie.
Ty Duffy at The Big Lead looks at why some college football teams play in ESPN-owned or ESPN-televised bowl games that end up costing them money.
The Big Lead also has an interview with James Andrew Miller, the co-author of “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside The World at ESPN.”
Steve Lepore of Puck The Media notes that the NHL Conference Finals are trending downward on NBC.
And that’s going to do it.
