I’m finally finished with the proposal and now I can move on to other stuff including the links. There’s been quite a flurry of trades in the last two hours in the NHL. The biggest surprise, the Montreal Canadiens sending goaltender Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals for a second round draft pick. Earlier in the day, Brad Richards was sent to Dallas from Tampa Bay and he was the biggest prize out there. Plenty of ways to keep track of the NHL Trading Deadline and I’ve posted the options for you earlier in the day.
Let’s do the links now.
Some Breaking News, John Ourand of the Sports Business Daily writes that the NFL is suing Dish Network’s parent company, EchoStar for moving the NFL Network off a popular tier and reducing the channel’s subscribers .
Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks inside the ratings of some of the weekend’s sporting events.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times asks if the incredibly boring Wladimir Klitschko-Sultan Ibragimov heavyweight championship fight last Saturday did more to drive fans away from boxing.
Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the critics of Joe Torre are now practicing revisionist history. Also from the Daily News, TV and radio critic David Hinckley says 1050 ESPN Radio host Steven A. Smith will host a roundtable discussion tomorrow at the ESPN Zone in New York.
Newsday’s Neil Best says FSNY is going to be rebranded. In his blog, Neil talks about the rising ratings of the Rangers, Islanders and Devils. And Neil says WFAN’s Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton are shifting away from sports on their morning show.
Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner has a column today about former Ravens coach Brian Billick’s appearance on a sports radio station to discuss his firing. Then Williams went further in his blog about Billick’s media tour on radio and TV yesterday.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in his blog that MLB is releasing the entire 1988 World Series between Oakland and Los Angeles on DVD.
From the Oakland Tribune, Dave Del Grande talks with a sports radio KNBR producer about the show he’s responsible for and producing San Francisco Giants games. And Del Grande says flex scheduling for the NBA TV partners may leave the Golden State Warriors in the dark.
Staying on the West Coast, John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News says ESPN.com jumped the gun when it said Brad Richards was heading to the Sharks.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN is the early winner in the NHL Trading Deadline coverage wars.
George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal says fans, reporters and talk show hosts all like the trades made by the Cleveland Cavs in the last week.
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks about the cost of naming rights for arenas and stadia.
Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle says ESPN has signed a two year deal to put the Texas-Texas A&M game on Thanksgiving night.
David Goetzl of Media Daily News reports that when ESPN airs a documentary on the Civil Rights Movement and college basketball, it will have two exclusive sponsors.
Keith Groller of the Allentown Morning Call likes the work of Hubie Brown on ESPN’s NBA telecasts.
The Washington Post’s John Feinstein takes another opportunity to blast ESPN in his “Johnnies Award” column. Also from the Post, Leonard Shapiro says HBO’s documentary on Joe Louis shows us what boxing has been missing over the last decade.
Rene Henry of the Huntington (WV) News profiles the only American working for the media relations department for Beijing’s Olympic Organizing Committee.
That’s it for now.
