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A Look at Bruins and Blackhawks Stanley Cup Playoffs Coverage

With the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs starting tonight, let’s post a couple of hockey-related press releases in one post.

Tonight, the Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks commences with Game 1 at the United Center. Comcast SportsNet Chicago will be on the case with legendary voice Pat Foley behind the mic along with Eddie Olczyk. CSN Chicago will air three of the first four games and if necessary, Game 5. TV coverage for Games 6 and 7 will be determined at a later date.

We have coverage details below. All times listed in the CSN Chicago are Central.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ACTION RETURNS TO COMCAST SPORTSNET

First Round Coverage vs. Minnesota Wild Begins TONIGHT (Tue, Apr. 30) beginning at 5:00 PM; face-off at 7:00 PM featuring Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk with the game call!
Comcast SportsNet to Air Games 1, 2 & 4 in the Chicago Market (and Game 5 if nec.; Games 6-7 TBD);
CSNChicago.com to provide LIVE video stream of EVERY Blackhawks post-game press conference, plus exclusive behind-the-scenes video from team practices and post-game reports from Blackhawks “Insider” Tracey Myers

Chicago, IL (April 29, 2013) – Comcast SportsNet, the television home for the most games and most comprehensive coverage of the NHL Western Conference #1-seed Chicago Blackhawks (36-7-5, 77 pts. during the regular season, earning them the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best overall record), is ready to bring fans the thrilling excitement of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs with exclusive first round Western Conference Playoffs action as the Blackhawks take on the #8-seed Minnesota Wild.  Comcast SportsNet will be the exclusive television home in the Chicago market to see Games 1 and 2 from the United Center, along with Game 4 in Minnesota and Game 5 (if necessary) from the UC. Details for Games 6 & 7 are TBD. Plus, every Comcast SportsNet Stanley Cup Playoff game telecast will also be presented in a high-definition (HD) format.

Comcast SportsNet’s Blackhawks Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage gets underway with Game 1 TONIGHT – Tuesday, April 30 at 5:00 PM with a special, live remote edition of SportsTalk Live presented by Smirnoff featuring host David Kaplan and his panel from the United Center. Following SportsNet Central at 6:00 PM, fans can look forward to a live United Center edition of Chevy Blackhawks Pre-Game Live featuring hosts Pat Boyle and Steve Konroyd at 6:30 PM.  Opening face-off is set for 7:00 PM featuring Comcast SportsNet’s announcing tandem of Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk with the expert play-by-play and analysis, plus – Comcast SportsNet’s Susannah Collins will provide in-stadium reports throughout the first round for all playoff games.  NOTE: Steve Konroyd will fill in as game analyst for Olczyk for Games 2 & 6 (if nec.) of the opening round series. Immediately following all playoff games –Blackhawks Post Game Live will feature live locker room interviews, detailed analysis, along with head coach Joel Quenneville’s post-game press conference and numerous player interviews. (Comcast SportsNet’s complete First Round coverage schedule is included in this release.)

Throughout the playoffs, viewers can also look forward to SportsNet Central: Playoff Central (scheduled nightly at 10:30 PM, times may vary due to airing of live events) for the most in-depth Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage, including game recaps, previews, up-to-the-minute team/player updates, interviews and numerous playoff highlights from around the league.

Also, throughout the playoffs, Comcast SportsNet’s comprehensive website, CSNChicago.com, will provide fans with even more exclusive Blackhawks/Stanley Cup Playoffs content including the following:

• CSNChicago.com will stream EVERY Blackhawks postgame press conference LIVE providing insider access to coach Joel Quenneville addressing the media as it happens.
• CSNChicago.com Blackhawks “Insider” Tracey Myers will be on-site — for EVERY Blackhawks playoff game — filing stories and video for each game and team practices, plus Myers will provide up-to-the-second Tweets via @TramyersCSN throughout the series, as will CSNChicago.com Blackhawks reporter Nina Falcone (@NinaFalcone).
• “Blackhawks In-Game Live” — a seamless social and interactive second screen experience around Blackhawks playoff telecasts that extends the game from the TV screen to the tablet, mobile phone and PC. In Game Live combines state-of-the-art infographics and data visualization of real-time statistics and game info with rich social interactivity.

• “Blackhawks Pulse” — a one-stop social media hub that reveals the latest trending topics and player buzz from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Plus, “Blackhawks Pulse” aggregates all Blackhawks player tweets, along with fan tweets that utilize the hashtag #HawksTalk.

• Game highlights available on CSNChicago.com between period and following every game along with “Game Story,” a web-exclusive recap of each game.
• ‘Blackhawks Talk’ (@HawksTalkCSN) offers news, views and analysis from Myers, Blackhawks Pre/Post Game host Pat Boyle (@CSNBoyle), Susannah Collins (@susannahcollins),as well as other CSNChicago.com contributors.
• Additional Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage content sharing/cross-promotion via NBCSports.com & ProHockeyTalk.com.

Note the following first round schedule of games and additional coverage information on Comcast SportsNet:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS vs. MINNESOTA WILD on COMCAST SPORTSNET

* Game 1: Tue, April 30, 7:00 PM – Blackhawks vs. Wild (United Center) in HD
(NOTES: Blackhawks/Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage on Comcast SportsNet begins at 5:00 PM w/a special live remote edition of SportsTalk Live hosted by David Kaplan, which will be followed by “SportsNet Central” at 6:00 PM; “Blackhawks Pre-Game Live” at 6:30 PM & ”Blackhawks Post Game Live” after the game; followed by “SportsNet Central” with even more comprehensive Blackhawks/Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage; game replay at 1:30 AM)

– IMPORTANT WHITE SOX NOTE:  The White Sox at Texas game (originally scheduled to air on Comcast SportsNet) will now move to CSN+ (or CLTV in the Chicago market); coverage begins at 6:30 PM.

* Game 2: Fri, May 3, 8:30 PM – Blackhawks vs. Wild (United Center) in HD
(NOTES: “SportsTalk Live at 5:30 PM; “SportsNet Central” at 6:30 PM; Special encore edition of “Inside Look with Joel Quenneville at 7:00 PM, ONE-HOUR expanded United Center edition of “Blackhawks Pre-Game Live” at 7:30 PM/”Blackhawks Post Game Live” after the game; “SportsNet Central” with full Blackhawks/Stanley Cup Playoffs recap following “Blackhawks Post Game Live;” game replay at 1:30 AM)

– IMPORTANT WHITE SOX NOTE:  The White Sox at Kansas City game (originally scheduled to air on Comcast SportsNet) will now move to CSN+ (or CLTV in the Chicago market); coverage begins at 6:30 PM.

* Game 3: Sun, May 5 at approx. 4:30 PM – ‘Blackhawks Post Game Live’ on Comcast SportsNet

* Game 4: Tue, May 7, 8:30 PM – Blackhawks at Wild (Xcel Energy Center) in HD
(PRECISE COVERAGE DETAILS FOR THIS DAY ARE TBD)

* Game 5:  Thu, May 9 (Time TBD) – Blackhawks vs. Wild (United Center) (if necessary) in HD

* Game 6: Thu, May 11 (Time/Network TBD) – Blackhawks at Wild (Xcel Energy Center) (if necessary) in HD

* Game 7:  Sun, May 12 (Time/Network TBD) – Blackhawks vs. Wild (United Center) (if necessary) in HD

ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL TIME

Now let’s move to the Boston Bruins after a jump break.

(continue reading…)

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 03/09 & 03/10/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports on TV

Announcing Assignments Courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, March 9

Pregame and Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Washington, DC — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 11:30 a.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 2 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 4:45 p.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
College GameDay live from Chapel Hill, NC — ESPN, 8 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 10:30 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 10:30 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

Conference Tournaments
Men’s
Atlantic Sun Championship, Macon, GA
Mercer vs. Florida Gulf Coast — ESPN2, noon (Roy Philpott/Derek Whittenburg)

CAA Tournament, Richmond, VA
Quarterfinals
George Mason vs. Drexel — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic/New England/NorthWest)/The Comcast Network, 3:30 p.m. (John Castleberry/John Feinstein)
Delaware vs. Hofstra — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England), 6 p.m. (Al Koken/Ron Thompson)
James Madison vs. William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England)/The Comcast Network, 8:30 p.m. (Al Koken/Ron Thompson)

Horizon League Tournament, Valparaiso, IN
Semifinals
Detroit vs. Wright State — ESPN3, 6 p.m. (Jim Barber/Malcolm Huckaby)
Valparaiso vs. Green Bay — ESPNU, 8:30 p.m. (Jim Barber/Malcolm Huckaby)

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, St. Louis, MO
Semifinals
Creighton vs. Indiana State — MVC TV/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Pacific, 2:30 p.m. (John Rooney/Mark Adams)
Wichita State vs. Illinois State — MVC TV/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Pacific, 5 p.m. (John Rooney/Mark Adams)

Northeast Conference Tournament
Semifinals
Mount St. Mary’s at Robert Morris — MSG2/Fox College Sports Central, noon (Dave Popkin/Tim Capstraw/Paul Dottino)
Long Island University-Brooklyn at Wagner — MSG 2/Fox College Sports Central, 2:30 p.m. (Dave Popkin/Tim Capstraw/Paul Dottino)

Ohio Valley Conference Championship, Nashville, TN
Belmont vs. Murray State — ESPN2, 7 p.m. (Rich Hollenberg/Adrian Branch)

Patriot League Tournament
Semifinals
Lehigh at Lafayette — CBS Sports Network, 2 p.m. (Don Criqui/Vince Curran)
Army at Bucknell — CBS Sports Network, 4:30 p.m. (Bob Socci/Chris Spatola)

Summit League Tournament, Sioux Falls, SD
Quarterfinals
South Dakota State vs. IUPUI — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 7 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)
Western Illinois vs. South Dakota — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 9:30 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)

Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Hot Springs, AR
Quarterfinals
Middle Tennessee vs. Louisiana-Lafayette/North Texas — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 7:30 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)
Arkansas State vs. Florida Atlantic/Troy — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 10 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)

West Coast Conference Tournament, Las Vegas, NV
Semifinals
Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount — ESPN2, 9 p.m. (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)
St. Mary’s vs. San Diego — ESPN2, 11:30 p.m. (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)

Women’s

ACC Tournament, Greensboro, NC
Semifinals
Florida State vs. Duke — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/South/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus), 1 p.m. (Mike Hogewood/Debbie Antonelli)
North Carolina vs. Maryland — Fox Sports Net (Florida/South/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic), 3:30 p.m. (Mike Hogewood/Debbie Antonelli)

Big East Tournament, Hartford, CT
Second Round
St. John’s vs. Seton Hall — Big East Network, noon (Bob Picozzi/Brooke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
Rutgers vs. South Florida — Big East Network, 2:30 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/Broke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
DePaul vs. Marquette — Big East Network, 6 p.m. (Bog Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)
Villanova vs. Georgetown — Big East Network, 8:30 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)

Big Ten Tournament, Hoffman Estates, IL
Semifinals
Nebraska vs. Purdue — Big Ten Network, 5 p.m. (Kevin Kugler/Stephanie White/Lisa Byington)
Penn State vs. Michigan State — Big Ten Network, 7:30 p.m. (Kevin Kugler/Stephanie White/Lisa Byington)

Big 12 Tournament, Dallas, TX
Quarterfinals
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Net, noon (Ron Thulin/Brenda Van Lengen)
Baylor vs. Kansas State — Fox Sports Net, 2:30 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Iowa State vs. Kansas — Fox Sports Net, 7 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda Van Lengen)
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia — Fox Sports Net, 9:30 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda Van Lengen)

Pac-12 Tournament, Seattle, WA
Semifinals
UCLA vs. Cal — Pac-12 Network, 9 p.m. (Anne Marie Anderson/Tammy Blackburn/Krista Blunk)
Stanford vs. Colorado — Pac-12 Network, 11:30 p.m. (Anne Marie Anderson/Tammy Blackburn/Krista Blunk)

SEC Tournament, Duluth, GA
Semifinals
Tennessee vs. Texas A&M — ESPNU, 4 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)
Kentucky vs. Georgia — ESPNU, 6:30 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)

noon
Georgia Tech at Boston College — ACC Network (Dwayne Ballen/Cory Alexander)
Minnesota at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Jim Jackson)
Florida at Kentucky — CBS (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)
UAB at Memphis — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Pete Gillen)
Syracuse at Georgetown — ESPN (Sean McDonough/Jay Bilas/Bill Raftery)
Providence at UConn — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh)

1:30 p.m.
Iowa State at West Virginia — Big 12 Network (Brad Sham/Rich Zvosec)
Kansas State at Oklahoma State — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Bryndon Manzer)
LaSalle at Saint Louis — NBC Sports Network (Mike Corey/Dave Kaplan)
Mississippi at LSU — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)
South Carolina at Vanderbilt — SEC Network (Joe Davis/Barry Booker)

2 p.m.
Dayton at George Washington — A-10 Network (Todd Bell/Tony White)
Pittsburgh at DePaul — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
UCLA at Washington — CBS (Brian Anderson/Doug Gottlieb)
UMass at URI — Cox Sports RI (Mike Mancuso/Chris DiSano)
Marquette at St. John’s — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
North Carolina State at Florida State — ESPN2 (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke)
Texas A&M at Arkansas — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)

2:15 p.m.
Nebraska at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee/Shon Morris)

2:30 p.m.
Clemson at Miami (FL) — ACC Network (Tim Brant/Bobby Cremins)
Oregon at Utah — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Ernie Kent)

3:30 p.m.
San Diego State at Boise State — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Blaine Fowler)

4 p.m.
South Florida at Cincinnati — Big East Network (Mike Couzens/Sean Kearney)
Texas at Texas Tech — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Stephen Howard)
Notre Dame at Louisville — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Mike Gminski)
Missouri at Tennessee — ESPN (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
Georgia at Alabama — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Jon Sundvold)

4:30 p.m.
Arizona State at Arizona — Fox Sports Net-national (Justin Kutcher/Marques Johnson) (Clair Wyant forced me to include this)
Oregon State at Colorado — Pac-12 Network (Rich Cellini/Dan Belloumini)

5 p.m.
Oklahoma at TCU — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports Arizona Plus (Brian Estridge/John Denton)

5:30 p.m.
Auburn at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/South/Southwest) (Dave Neal/Larry Conley)
Cornell at Harvard — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Dalen Cuff)

6 p.m.
Kansas at Baylor — ESPN (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)

6:30 p.m.
Xavier at Butler — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/John Griffin)
USC at Washington State — Pac-12 Network (JB Long/Lamar Hurd)

7 p.m.
Long Beach State at Pacific — Fox College Sports Pacific/Fox Sports West (Mike Pomeranz/Jud Buechler/Cheryl Gorman)

8:30 p.m.
Nevada at Colorado State — CBS Sports Network (Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Lauren Gardner)

9 p.m.
Duke at North North Carolina — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Jay Bilas/Dick Vitale/Samantha Ponder)

Sunday, March 10

Studio Shows
ACC Sunday Night — ESPNU, 5:30 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPNU, 8 p.m.

Conference Tournaments
Men’s

Big South Championship, Myrtle Beach, SC
Charleston Southern vs. Liberty — ESPN2, noon (Mark Neely/LaPhonso Ellis)

CAA Tournament, Richmond, VA
Semifinals
Northeastern vs. George Mason — NBC Sports Network, 2 p.m. (Todd Harris/Ron Thompson/Mike Corey)
Delaware vs. James Madison — NBC Sports Network, 4:30 p.m. (Todd Harris/Ron Thompson/Mike Corey)

Missouri Valley Conference Championship, St. Louis, MO
Creighton vs. Wichita State — CBS, 2 p.m. (Tim Brando/Bill Raftery)

Summit League Tournament, Sioux Falls, SD
Quarterfinals
Oakland vs. IFPW — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 7 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)
North Dakota State vs. Missouri-Kansas City — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 9:30 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)

Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Hot Springs, AR
Semifinals
Florida International vs. Middle Tennessee — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 7:30 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)
Western Kentucky vs. Arkansas State — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 10 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)

Women’s

ACC Championship, Greensboro, NC
Duke vs. North Carolina — ESPN2, 2 p.m. (Pam Ward/Debbie Antonelli)

A-10 Tournament, Philadelphia, PA
Semifinals
Dayton vs. St. Joseph’s — CBS Sports Network, 1:30 p.m. (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)
Temple vs. Fordham — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m. (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)

Big East Tournament, Hartford, CT
Quarterfinals
Louisville vs. St. John’s — ESPNU, noon (Beth Mowins/Brooke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
Notre Dame vs. South Florida — ESPNU, 2:30 p.m. (Beth Mowins/Brooke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
UConn vs. DePaul — Big East Network/ESPN3, 6 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)
Syracuse vs. Villanova — ESPNU, 8:30 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)

Big Ten Championship, Hoffman Estates, IL
Purdue vs. Michigan State — ESPN2, 4 p.m. (Adam Amin/Stephanie White)

Big 12 Tournament, Dallas, TX
Semifinals
Oklahoma State vs. Baylor — Fox Sports Net-national, 2 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Iowa State vs. Oklahoma — Fox Sports Net-national, 4:30 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)

Pac-12 Championship, Seattle, WA
UCLA vs. Stanford — ESPN2, 8 p.m. (Roxy Bernstein/Mary Murphy)

SEC Championship, Duluth, GA
Kentucky vs. Texas A&M — ESPN2, 6 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)

noon
Wisconsin at Penn State — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Sean Harrington)
VCU at Temple — CBS (Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner/Reggie Miller)

12:30 p.m.
Illinois at Ohio State — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)

2 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest — ACC Network (Steve Martin/Cory Alexander)

4 p.m.
Indiana at Michigan — CBS (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg)

6 p.m.
Northwestern at Michigan State — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Tim Doyle)
Maryland at Virginia — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams)

Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia Rebrands Its Signature Talk Show

What used to be known as “Daily News Live” will now reflect the NBC Sports Talk brand on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. Starting in April, the daily talk program will be known as “Philly Sports Talk” which is a similar move conducted on Comcast SportsNet affiliates in Chicago and Washington which have dropped the connection with local newspapers and rebranded to “Sports Talk.”

Michael Barkann will remain the host and while Philadelphia Daily News reporters will still appear on the show, other personalities in the realm of Philly sports will be guests while CSN will also tap the NBC Sports Group for material.

We have the press release from Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

COMCAST SPORTSNET TO LAUNCH “PHILLY SPORTS TALK” ON APRIL 8

Michael Barkann to Host New Show Focusing on Trending Topics in Sports News and Entertainment
Philly Sports Talk will Tap into Resources from NBC’s Family of Companies

PHILADELPHIA- (March 4, 2013) – Comcast SportsNet, Philadelphia’s source for comprehensive local sports coverage, announces the launch of “Philly Sports Talk.” This new sports news and entertainment program will debut on Monday, April 8 at 5 p.m. and will air weekdays on Comcast SportsNet.

Hosted by Michael Barkann, “Philly Sports Talk” will engage and inform the viewers on the trending topics in Philadelphia sports and from around the globe. Philadelphia Daily News writers will continue to contribute to the program but additional guests including local and national media members, coaches, players, radio personalities and others from the sports and entertainment industry will appear on the program. Comcast SportsNet will also tap into the NBCUniversal portfolio with guests from NBC’s family of companies.

“Philly Sports Talk will match the energy and passion of Philadelphia sports fans with entertaining and informative debates on the hot topics of the day,” said Comcast SportsNet President Brian Monihan. “We have a great relationship with the Philadelphia Daily News and are thrilled that they will continue to contribute to this new program.”

“We’re excited about this dynamic, interactive show, that will focus on breaking news and hot issues that are important to Philly sports fans,” said Comcast SportsNet Vice President of News Programming Michelle Murray.

Viewers’ opinions will be incorporated into the show and they will weigh in on the topics throughout the program. Fans can join the conversation by logging onto Comcast SportsNet’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CSNPhilly) or on Twitter by following @CSNPhilly and Michael Barkann @MBarkannCSN, and by using the hashtag #PhillySportsTalk.

That will do it.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 03/02 & 03/03/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Announcing Assignments Courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, March 2

Pregame & Studio Shows
College Gameday live from Los Angeles, CA — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show 2013 — Big Ten Network, 2:30 p.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 5 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
75 Years of NCAA March Madness: Ultimate Bracket — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 7:15 p.m.
College GameDay live from Los Angeles, CA — ESPN, 8 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 10 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

11:30 a.m.
Robert Morris at Central Connecticut State — Fox College Sports Pacific (Dave Popkin/Joe DeSantis/Paul Dottino)

noon
Maryland at Wake Forest — ACC Network (Tim Brant/Cory Alexander)
Louisville at Syracuse — CBS (Ian Eagle/Clark Kellogg)
Army at Lehigh — CBS Sports Network (Bob Socci/Chris Spatola)
Old Dominion at Northeastern — Comcast SportsNet (California/Mid-Atlantic/New England/Northwest)/The Comcast Network (Gary Tanguay/Walter McCarty)
Alabama at Florida — ESPN (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
Butler at Virginia Commonwealth — ESPN2 (Carter Blackburn/Stephen Bardo/Andy Katz)

Women’s: Texas at Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Net (Detroit Plus/Southwest) (Mike Wolfe/Casey Kendrick)

1 p.m.
Jacksonville State at Belmont — ESPNU (Adam Amin/Brooke Weisbrod)
Memphis at Central Florida — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Ron Thulin/Perry Clark/Jenn Hildreth)

Women’s: South Florida at UConn — SNY (Andrew Catalon/Meg Culmo/Kerith Burke)

1:30 p.m.
Iowa State at Oklahoma — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Bryndon Manzer)
Tennessee at Georgia — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Joe Dean)

2 p.m.
UConn at Cincinnati — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
West Virginia at Kansas — CBS (Kevin Harlan/Jim Spanarkel)
UMass at Xavier — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/Steve Lappas)
Marshall at Houston — CSS/Comcast SportsNet Houston/The Comcast Network (David Saltzman/Tom Penders)
Notre Dame at Marquette — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
Wichita State at Creighton — ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg/Mark Adams)
George Mason at Delaware — NBC Sports Network (Mike Corey/Ron Thompson)

3 p.m.
Penn State at Minnesota — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Sean Harrington)
Valparaiso at Green Bay — ESPNU (Jim Barbar/Bob Valvano)
Arizona State at USC — Fox Sports Net-national (Steve Physioc/Marques Johnson)

4 p.m.
Richmond at Dayton — A-10 Network (Bob McElligott/Tony White)
TCU at Texas Tech — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Dan Hughes)
Kentucky at Arkansas — CBS (Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner)
Simon Fraser at Western Washington — CBS Sports Network (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)
Saint Louis at George Washington — CSS/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus/Fox Sports Midwest Plus (Byron Kerr/Glenn Consor/Kellie Cowan)
Texas at Oklahoma State — ESPN (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)
UNLV at Nevada — NBC Sports Network (Steve Schlanger/Blaine Fowler)
LSU at Missouri — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Jon Sundvold)

Women’s: Notre Dame at Providence — Big East Network (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson)

5 p.m.
Colorado at Cal — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)
Indiana State at Evansville — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest (Tom Ackerman/Rich Zvosec)
Mississippi at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Detroit/Florida/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Southwest Plus) (Dave Neal/Larry Conley)
Portland at Gonzaga — WCC TV (Andy Mauser/Brad Holland)

Women’s: Iowa State at TCU — Fox Sports Net-national (Chuck LaMendola/Janice Dziuk)

5:15 p.m.
Nebraska at Illinois — Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee/Tom Doyle)
North Dakota State at Nebraska-Omaha — Fox College Sports Central (Tom Niemann/Brad Newitt)

6 p.m.
James Madison at William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/Northwest) (Al Koken/John Feinstein)
Miami (FL) at Duke — ESPN (Dave O’Brien/Dick Vitale/Doris Burke)
New Mexico State at Denver — ESPN Plus (Trey Bender/Stephen Howard)
Harvard at Penn — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Calen Duff)

7 p.m.
Kansas State at Baylor — ESPN2 (Mark Neely/Bob Knight)
South Carolina at Texas A&M — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)

Women’s: Baylor at West Virginia — Fox Sports Net-national (Bob Licht/Brenda VanLengen)

7:30 p.m.
Iowa at Indiana — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Jim Jackson/Stephanie Wells)

8 p.m.
St. John’s at Providence — Big East Network (Eric Frede/Ron Perry)
Clemson at Virginia Tech — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/South/SportSouth/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN) (Mike Hogewood/Eddie Fogler)

Women’s: Kansas at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Oklahoma/Fox College Sports Pacific (Bob Carpenter/Billy Tubbs/Jessica Coody)

9 p.m.
Arizona at UCLA — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Jay Bilas/Samantha Ponder)
Vanderbilt at Auburn — ESPN2 (Dave Lamont/Kara Lawson)
Rutgers at Georgetown — ESPNU (Lou Canellis/Tim Welsh)

11 p.m.
BYU at Loyola Marymount — ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein/Danny Schayes)

Sunday, March 3

noon
Villanova at Pittsburgh — Big East Network (Kevin Connors/John Celestand)

Women’s: Michigan at Ohio State — Big Ten Network (Mike Wolf/Patricia Babcock McGraw)
Women’s: Southern Mississippi at Tulane — CBS Sports Network (Don Criqui/Amy Lawrence)

1 p.m.
Purdue at Wisconsin — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)

Women’s: Florida at South Carolina — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit/North Plus/SportSouth/Sun Sports) (Dave Baker/Elizabeth Moreau)
Women’s: Florida State at Virginia — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Carolinas/Detroit Plus/Florida/South/Prime Ticket/Tennessee/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESNplus) (Mike Hogewood/Debbie Antonelli)

1:30 p.m.
Women’s: Vanderbilt at Georgia — ESPNU (Melissa Lee/Steffi Sorenson)

2 p.m.
DePaul at South Florida — Big East Network (Rich Hollenberg/Paul Biancardi)
Florida State at North Carolina — CBS (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr)

Women’s: Wisconsin at Michigan State — Big Ten Network (Lisa Byington/Shelly Till)
Women’s: URI at Virginia Commonwealth — CBS Sports Network (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)
Women’s: St. Joseph’s at Dayton — ESPN2 (Pam Ward/Swin Cash)
Women’s: LSU at Texas A&M — SEC Network (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)
Women’s: Miami (OH) at Akron — STO (Mike Cairns/Jackie Windon)

3:30 p.m.
Washington State at Washington — Fox Sports Net-national (Justin Kutcher/Marques Johnson)

Women’s: Drexel at Delaware — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Mike Corey/Pam Roecker)
Women’s: Tennessee at Kentucky — ESPNU (Sam Gore/Maria Taylor)

4 p.m.
Virginia at Boston College — ACC Network (Tom Werme/Dave Odom)
Michigan State at Michigan — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery)

Women’s: Illinois at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Stephanie White)
Women’s: North Carolina at Duke — ESPN2 (Brenda VanLengen/Carolyn Peck)

5 p.m.
Utah at Stanford — Pac-12 Network (Paul Sunderland/Ernie Kent)

6 p.m.
North Carolina State at Georgia Tech — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)

Women’s: Penn State at Nebraska — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/LaChina Robinson)

A Late Friday Night/Early Saturday Morning Sports Media Notebook

Let’s do a notebook tonight, shall we? If I can’t do linkage and it always seems something gets in the way these days, I might as well do a notebook.

I’ll try to provide as many links and stories as possible here.

• Interesting story from The Big Lead. The daily 9 a.m.-3 p.m. ET SportsCenter block on ESPN is going to get a bit of a facelift. Jason McIntyre reports that instead of two shifts of three hours, ESPN will go to three two hour blocks. Kevin Negandhi and Hannah Storm will continue to be the combination to start off the block, but instead of going from 9 a.m.-noon, they’ll be reduced by one hour. Chris McKendry/Jay Crawford and Sage Steele/David Lloyd will be the other two weekday teams. ESPN has not confirmed the report, but The Big Lead’s confidence on this story is quite high.
• Here’s another story from The Big Lead. This upcoming season is the last year in Tim McCarver’s contract with MLB on Fox. Jason McIntyre gets comment from Fox on this.
• Add Cablevision to DirecTV and Verizon Fios to the providers tacking on a surcharge on subscribers who have packages with sports regional networks. In Cablevision’s case, it’s a $2.98 monthly fee that begins in April. Mike Farrell of Multichannel News says the surcharge is for subscribers who have the MSG Networks, SNY and YES RSN’s. This is the providers’ pushback on increasing subscriber fees from RSN’s which come as a result of high media rights for various professional teams. We’ll see if there’s any outcry from subscribers.
• ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd continues to say stupid things about the Midwest, this time about Indiana Pacers fans. This guy really needs to shut up.
• Joe Posnanski has been officially hired by NBC Sports to become its main columnist on its website and be featured on its multiple platforms. Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report wonders if this is the right move for Posnanski who left the fledgling Sports on Earth site after less than a year.
• Speaking of Ed, he speaks with Jim Romenesko about blogging for little to no money, something I’m quite familiar with.
• From David Goetzl of MediaPost comes this analysis of a lawsuit brought forth by Dish Network against ESPN. Very good background on a dispute that has been simmering for quite some time.
• To Sports Video Group where we have an interesting look at how ESPN3 produces a women’s college basketball that will be streamed on its platform.
• A few items from Paulsen at Sports Media Watch. First, NBA All-Star Saturday on TNT hit a three-year low, but still is among the best ratings ever for the event. Despite Danica Patrick, still not a good start for Fox for the Daytona 500 Speedweeks. And Paulsen has some various ratings news and notes.
• Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald has the Arena Football League schedule on CBS Sports Network for the 2013 season. CBSSN takes over the rights after the AFL had been on NFL Network from 2010-2012. CBS will have the Arena Bowl in August.
• Robert Feder at TimeOut Chicago notes that Comcast SportsNet has ended its partnership with the Chicago Tribune and will rebrand its roundtable show as SportsTalk Live.
• Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail reviews the first week of TSN’s new radio format and its new afternoon drive host.
• Could the NFL move the Draft to May into a ratings sweeps period? Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says it’s entirely possible.
• By the way, this is not necessarily sports media, but it’s related. NBC definitely misses Sunday Night Football. Since the NFL season ended, the Peacock is having a hard time attracting viewers. The network will finish in 5th place in the 18-49 demographic for the February sweeps. Dominic Patten of Deadline notes that NBC will finish below CBS, Fox, ABC and wait for it…. Univision for the first time in its history. It’s not been a good 2013 for NBC thus far.
• This week, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss passed away at the age of 80. He was first in the L.A. market to televise all of his team’s games creating the Prime Ticket regional sports network to air all of the Lakers’ home games and putting the road games on an over the air station. Before his passing, the Lakers went a step further in creating another RSN, Time Warner Cable SportsNet and doing two feeds, one in English and another in Spanish, another innovation. Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star looks at the impact Buss had on sports television.
• Media Life Magazine notes a new study which shows low recall of Super Bowl ads, something the NFL TV partners and its sponsors do not want to hear.
• Jonah Keri at Grantland says MLB has opened up the vault and released some of its old highlights.
• Formula 1′s ratings are down worldwide, a concern for the sport.

I think that’s where I’ll end things for now.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 02/23 & 02/24/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Announcing Assignments courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, February 22

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Lexington, KY — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
75 Years of NCAA March Madness: Top 10 Upsets — CBS, 1 p.m.
75 Years of NCAA March Madness: Top 10 Champs That Never Were — CBS, 1:30 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 6:30 p.m.
College GameDay live from Lexington, KY — ESPN, 8 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, midnight

BracketBusters
Iona at Indiana State — ESPNU, 11 a.m. (Doug Sherman/Sean Harrington)
Pacific at Western Michigan — ESPN3, 1 p.m. (Dan Gutowsky/Nate Ross)
Canisius at Vermont — ESPN3, 1 p.m. (Ed Cohen/Rob Kennedy)
Eastern Kentucky at Valparaiso — ESPNU, 1 p.m. (Jim Barbar/Brooke Weisbrod)
Montana at Davidson — ESPNU, 3 p.m. (Ray Philpott/Paul Biancardi)
Northwestern State at Niagara — ESPN3, 3 p.m. (Mike Gleason/Daymeon Fishback)
Detroit at Wichita State — ESPN2, 4 p.m. (Dave Lamont/Darrin Horn)
Creighton at St. Mary’s — ESPN, 6 p.m. (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
South Dakota State at Murray State — ESPN2, 8 p.m. (Roxy Bernstein/Mark Adams)
Denver at Northern Iowa — ESPN3, 8 p.m. (Mike Couzens/Rich Zvosec)
Ohio at Belmont — ESPN2, 10 p.m. (Mike Crispino/Malcolm Huckaby)

noon
Seton Hall at Louisville — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
Clemson at Maryland — ESPN2 (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams)

Women’s: Johnson C. Smith at Shaw — CBS Sports Network
Women’s: Akron at Kent State — STO (Mike Cairns/Jackie Windon)

1 p.m.
Southern Mississippi at Memphis — Fox Sports Net-national (Ron Thulin/Perry Clark/Jenn Hildreth)
Miami (FL) at Wake Forest — Fox Sports Net-regional (Carolinas/Detroit Plus/Florida/South/Tennessee/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus/NESN) (Rich Waltz/Eddie Fogler)

Women’s: Wisconsin at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (Lisa Byington/Shelley Till/Kara Lentz)
Women’s: Texas at Baylor — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox College Sports (Kris Radcliffe/Jim Haller)

1:30 p.m.
Texas Tech at Iowa State — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Stephen Howard)
Alabama at LSU — SEC Network (Joe Davis/Barry Booker)
Vanderbilt at Mississippi State — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Jon Sundvold)

2 p.m.
South Carolina at Georgia — CBS (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb)
Virginia Commonwealth at Xavier — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/Steve Wolf)
Oklahoma State at West Virginia — ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)

Women’s: Syracuse at South Florida — Big East Network (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson)

3 p.m.
Washington State at Arizona — Fox Sports Net-national (Steve Physioc/Marques Johnson)

Women’s: Indiana at Illinois — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Stephanie White)
Women’s: Iowa State at Kansas State — Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Pacific (Brian Smoller/Missy Heidrick)
Women’s: Oklahoma State at Oklahoma — Fox Sports-regional (Detroit Plus/North Plus/Oklahoma Plus/Southwest) (Mike Wolfe/Casey Kendrick)

4 p.m.
TCU at Kansas — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Reid Gettys)
Georgetown at Syracuse — CBS (Tim Brando/Bill Raftery)
George Washington at St. Joseph’s — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Chicago/Mid-Atlantic Plus)/CSS/The Comcast Network (Scott Graham/Joe Lunardi)
William & Mary at George Mason — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest/Philadelphia) (Al Koken/Ron Thompson)
North Carolina State at North Carolina — ESPN (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke)
New Mexico at Colorado State — NBC Sports Network (Steve Schlanger/Stan Van Gundy)
Tennessee at Texas A&M — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)

Women’s: Seton Hall at UConn — SNY

5 p.m.
Baylor at Oklahoma — ESPNU (Brad Sham/Bob Valvano)
Auburn at Mississippi — Fox Sports Net-regional (Detroit/Midwest/North/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Southwest/Sun Sports) (Dave Neal/Larry Conley)
Binghamton at New Hampshire — WBIN/Fox College Sports Central (Mike Murphy/Bob Lipman)
Santa Clara at Portland — WCC TV (Ari Wolfe/Brad Holland)

6 p.m.
Marquette at Villanova — ESPN2 (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
Nevada at San Diego State — NBC Sports Network (Todd Harris/Blaine Fowler)
Cal at Oregon State — Pac-12 Network (JB Long/Lamar Hurd)

7 p.m.
Arkansas at Florida — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)

8 p.m.
UConn at DePaul — Big East Network (Lou Canellis/Sean Kearney)
Harvard at Yale — CBS Sports Network (Don Criqui/Alaa Abdelnaby)
Kansas State at Texas — Longhorn Network (Paul Sunderland/Bruce Bowen/Kaylee Hartung)
Stanford at Oregon — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Ernie Kent)

8:30 p.m.
Weber State at Oral Roberts — Fox College Sports Pacific (Bob Carpenter/Mickey Michalec)

Women’s: Sacramento State at Northern Arizona — Fox Sports Arizona

9 p.m.
Missouri at Kentucky — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Samantha Ponder)
Providence at Rutgers — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh)

11 p.m.
Washington at Arizona State — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)

Sunday, February 24

noon
Pittsburgh at St. John’s — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/John Celestand)
Lehigh at Lafayette — CBS Sports Network (Bob Socci/Chris Spatola)

1 p.m.
Illinois at Michigan — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)

Women’s: Michigan at Penn State — Big Ten Network (Lisa Byington/Patricia Babcock-McGraw/Dave Leno)
Women’s: Purdue at Minnesota — ESPN2 (Jim Barbar/Maria Taylor)
Women’s: Texas Tech at Kansas — Fox Sports Net-national (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Women’s: Miami at Georgia Tech — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Carolinas/Detroit Plus/North Plus/Prime  Ticket/South/Tennessee/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic) (Mike Hogewood/Christy Winters-Scott)

1:30 p.m.
Women’s: North Carolina State at North Carolina — ESPNU (Roy Philpott/LaChina Robinson)

2 p.m.
Boston College at Duke — ACC Network (Tim Brant/Cory Alexander)
Georgia Tech at Virginia — ACC Network (Tom Werme/Debbie Antonelli)
Cincinnati at Notre Dame — CBS (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)
LaSalle at URI — Comcas SportsNet Philadelphia/Cox Sports RI (Mike Mancuso/Chris DiSano)

Women’s: St. Bonaventure at George Washington — CBS Sports Network (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)
Women’s: Georgia at Mississippi — CSS/Comcast Sportsnet California (Matt Stewart/Joe Ciampi)
Women’s: Tennessee at Arkansas — SEC Network (Melissa Lee/Nell Fortner)

3 p.m.
Women’s: Iowa at Nebraska — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Stephanie White)
Women’s: Duke at Maryland — ESPN2 (Pam Ward/Carolyn Peck)
Women’s: Arizona at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network (Ann Schatz/Kyndra de St. Aubin)

3:30 p.m.
UCLA at USC — Fox Sports Net-national (Justin Kutcher/Marques Johnson/Steve Kerr)

Women’s: Notre Dame at DePaul — ESPNU (Lou Canellis/Brooke Weisbrod)

4 p.m.
Michigan State at Ohio State — CBS (Kevin Harlan/Clark Kellogg)

4:30 p.m.
Women’s: James Madison at Delaware — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/CSS/The Comcast Network (Al Koken/Pam Roecker)

5 p.m.
Women’s: Texas A&M at Vanderbilt — ESPN2 (Adam Amin/Swin Cash)
Women’s: USC at UCLA — Pac-12 Network (Anne Marie Anderson/Tammy Blackburn)
Women’s: Oregon State at Cal — Pac-12 Network (Bay Area/Oregon/Washington) (Krista Blunk/Mary Murphy)

6 p.m.
Northwestern at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Dan Bonner)
Florida State at Virginia Tech — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)

7 p.m.
Old Dominion at Hofstra — Comcast SportsNet (California/Houston/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest)/CSS/SNY/The Comcast Network (Joe Beninati/John Feinstein)

Women’s: Oregon at Stanford — Pac-12 Network (Jim Watson/Rose Gold-Onwude)

8 p.m.
LIU-Brooklyn at Wagner — ESPNU (Bob Picozzi/Derek Whittenburg)

Spring Training TV Schedules For The Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and White Sox

I have the Spring Training TV schedules for four MLB teams. These are on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, NESN and YES.

Let’s take a look at what we have.

I’ll go in alphabetical order by teams. First, the Boston Red Sox will have 14 Spring Training games aired on NESN a.k.a. New England Sports Network. They’ll be called by Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy with Jenny Dell reporting from the field. All but three of the games will originate from the Red Sox’s Spring Training home of JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, FL.

NESN’s 2013 Red Sox Spring Training Game Telecasts

*Available on NESNplus. Visit NESN.com/nesnplus for updated channel listings

Over to Comcast SportsNet Chicago, the home of both the Cubs and White Sox. CSN Chicago will air seven games in seven days. Five games will be from the White Sox and two from the Cubs.

Ken “Hawk” Harrelson and Steve Stone will call the White Sox games with Len Kasper and new partner Jim Deshaies calling the Cubs games. The seven days of games will begin on March 22 and last through March 28.

Here’s the schedule.

COMCAST SPORTSNET
2013 Chicago White Sox & Chicago Cubs Spring Training Schedule

Composite “SEVEN GAMES IN SEVEN DAYS” White Sox/Cubs Spring Training Schedule:

1.      Friday, March 22 — 9:00 pm, WHITE SOX at Oakland, Phoenix, AZ (replay at 1:30 am)
2.      Saturday, March 23 — 9:00 pm, WHITE SOX at LA Dodgers, Glendale, AZ (replay at 12:30 am)
3.      Sunday, March 24 — 3:00 pm, WHITE SOX vs. Kansas City, Glendale, AZ (replay at 12:30 am)
4.      Monday, March 25 — 3:00 pm, CUBS vs. San Francisco, Mesa, AZ (replay at 12:30 am)
5.      Tuesday, March 26, 3:00 pm, WHITE SOX at Texas, Surprise, AZ (replay at 1 am)
6.      Wednesday, March 27, 2:00 pm, WHITE SOX vs. Cleveland, Glendale, AZ (replay at 1 am)
7.      Thursday, March 28 — 2:00 pm, CUBS vs. Seattle, Mesa, AZ (replay at 7 pm)

White Sox Spring Training Schedule:

Friday, March 22 — 9:00 pm, WHITE SOX at Oakland, Phoenix, AZ (replay at 1:30 am)
Saturday, March 23 — 9:00 pm, WHITE SOX at LA Dodgers, Glendale, AZ (replay at 12:30 am)
Sunday, March 24 — 3:00 pm, WHITE SOX vs. Kansas City, Glendale, AZ (replay at 12:30 am)
Tuesday, March 26 — 3:00 pm, WHITE SOX at Texas, Surprise, AZ (replay at 1 am)
Wednesday, March 27 — 2:00 pm, WHITE SOX vs. Cleveland, Glendale, AZ (replay at 1 am)

Cubs Spring Training Schedule:

Monday, March 25 — 3:00 pm, CUBS vs. San Francisco, Mesa, AZ (replay at 12:30 am)
Thursday, March 28 — 2:00 pm, CUBS vs. Seattle, Mesa, AZ (replay at 7 pm)

All Times Central Time
All Game Produced in High-Definition (HD)
Schedule Subject to Change

And YES will air 19 Yankees games.  Michael Kay and Ken Singleton will call February 24 contest against Toronto.  Other YES talent working the games include David Cone, John Flaherty, Al Leiter, Paul O’Neill and Lou Piniella.

And Jack Curry and Meredith Marakovits will alternate as on-field reporter.

YES Network’s 2013 New York Yankee Spring Training Telecast Schedule

Sunday, February 24 — Toronto, 1:00 pm
Wednesday, February 27 — Baltimore, 1:00 pm
Thursday, February 28 — Toronto. 1:00 pm
Friday, March 1 — Philadelphia, 1:00 pm
Saturday, March 2 — Detroit, 1:00 pm
Sunday, March 3 — @ Boston, 1:30 pm
Tuesday, March 5 — Atlanta, 7:00 pm
Wednesday, March 6 — Dominican Republic, 1:00 pm
Saturday, March 9 — Atlanta, 1:00 pm
Monday, March 11 — St. Louis, 1:00 pm
Wednesday, March 13 — Philadelphia, 7:00 pm
Friday, March 15 — Miami, 1:00 pm
Saturday, March 16 — Philadelphia, 12:00 pm
Wednesday, March 20 — Boston, 1:00 pm
Thursday, March 21 — Minnesota, 7:00 pm
Sunday, March 24 — Tampa Bay, 1:00 pm
Tuesday, March 26 — Houston, 7:00 pm
Friday, March 29 — @Washington (in D.C.), 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 30 — Army (West Point), 2:00 pm

Schedule subject to change
All times ET

That will do it.

A Fast Wednesday Sports Media Notebook

In lieu of linkage which has been sorely lacking, my sincere apologies, I give a sports media notebook which includes some links for you. Life has gotten in the way and you’ve responded by not visiting the site. It tells me you want fresh content so I’ll do my best to provide that to you as often as I can.

• John Ourand of Sports Business Journal tweeted on Tuesday that Fox Sports 1 will be unveiled to advertisers in an upfront presentation on March 5. I expect a full press release and perhaps an embeddable video to place on this site. Fox Sports 1 will take over Speed’s infrastructure on many participating cable and satellite providers in August and its companion channel, Fox Sports 2 will bump Fuel TV from existence.

  The new Fox Sports networks will certainly change the sports media landscape almost immediately.

• Also from Ourand with Michael Smith in this week’s SBJ, we find the Big East looks like it has deals in place with NBC Sports Network for football and basketball and CBS for basketball as well. ESPN does have the right to match the offers, but for now, let’s assume that NBCSN has its first pickup of a major college conference, content it desperately needs.

  I do expect NBCSN to be a major player for the second half of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season and to perhaps take the Nationwide Series. NBCSN does have some summer holes to fill and NASCAR would fit the bill.

• In the Chicago Tribune, Robert Channick reports that the Cubs have exercised a clause to renegotiate its media rights deal with WGN-TV. The Cubs and WGN have been together since 1948 and has had a national following since the 1980′s when ‘GN followed WTBS and became a Superstation on cable. Since then, WGN’s parent company, Tribune Co. has split the station into two feeds, WGN America which is on many cable and satellite providers across the country and WGN, Channel 9 in Chicago.

  Earlier this week, Paul Sullivan in the Tribune reported that the Cubs may choose to leave WGN after the 2014 season and opt to go all-cable, however, it appears the two sides will at least discuss a new contract and Tribune Co. says it wants to keep the Cubs. Major factors in these new talks are the recent megadeals by the New York Yankees, Cleveland MLB Team and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs also need money to help offset costs for renovations to Wrigley Field.

  The Cubs are also on Comcast SportsNet in a deal forged with the White Sox, Bulls and the Chicago NHL Team.

  We’ll be keeping an eye on what transpires. No matter what happens, the Cubs will be getting more money. A whole lot more.

• I’m saddened to hear that Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sara Ganim is being harassed by the Paterno “Truthers”. The Philadelphia Magazine blog, the Philly Post reports that Ganim is being subjected to sexist taunts on Twiiter by the people who refuse to believe the Freeh Report. Ganim did very solid reporting on the Jerry Sandusky case and her stories led to the downfall of the former Penn State football defensive coordinator, coach Joe Paterno and the football program, but it does not allow for people to use Twitter to harass and threaten. C’mon, now.
• A Phoenix Coyote fan who is a pediatrician for an Arizona network of hospitals got angry at Adrian Dater, the Colorado Avalanche beat reporter for the Denver Post and told him on Twitter to “go catch a movie in Aurora” and “join Jessica for all I care.” That is in reference to last year’s movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO that left 12 people dead including Jessica Ghawi and 58 others injured.

  After outrage from Dater and others, the pediatrician made his account private and then subsequently deleted his account. In addition, his employer has released a statement saying the actions are under review.

  I understand getting emotional over your team, but is it necessary to tell a reporter to get shot and wish him dead? Is this what we have become? The last two stories about trolling reporters through Twitter almost leaves me no hope for humanity. Luckily, I remain an optimist, but stories like these make it tough.

We’re done here for now.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 02/16 & 02/17/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Announcing Assignments Courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, February 16

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Lawrence, KS — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
75 Years of NCAA March Madness: Top 10 Improbable Heroes — CBS, 12:30 p.m.
College GameDay live from Lawrence, KS — ESPN, 8 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 10 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, midnight
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, midnight

11 a.m.
Kent State at Ohio — ESPNU (Joe Davis/Brooke Weisbrod)

11:30 a.m.
Central Connecticut State at Mount St. Mary’s — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Dave Popkin/Tim Capstraw/Paul Dottino)

noon
Boston College at Florida State — ACC Network (Tom Werde/Dave Odom)
Virginia at North Carolina — ACC Network (Steve Martin/Eddie Fogler)
Notre Dame at Providence — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/Bob Wenzel)
Clayton State at Montevallo — CBS Sports Network (Jason Knapp/TBD)
William & Mary at Old Dominion — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic/New England/Northwest/Philadelphia)/CSS (Brent Harris/Brian Oliver)
Villanova at UConn — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
Xavier at Dayton — ESPN2 (Mike Crispino/Stephen Bardo)

Women’s: Michigan State at Michigan — Big Ten Network (Lisa Byington/Stephanie White)

1 p.m.
Kentucky at Tennessee — CBS (Ian Eagle/Clark Kellogg)
Pittsburgh at Marquette — CBS (Spero Dedes/Greg Anthony)
Rutgers at DePaul — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh)
St. Joseph’s at LaSalle — NBC Sports Network (Dave Strader/Mike Kaplan)

Women’s: Central Connecticut State at Mount St. Mary’s — Fox College Sports Pacific (Paul Dottino/Phyllis Mangina/John Schmeelk)

1:30 p.m.
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Bryndon Manzer)
TCU at Iowa State — Big 12 Network (Chad McKee/Kevin Lehman)
Florida at Auburn — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)

2 p.m.
Army at Navy — CBS Sports Network (Bob Socci/Chris Spatola)
Purdue at Indiana — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)
Virginia Tech at North Carolina State — ESPN2 (Carter Blackburn/Fran Fraschilla)
Georgia Tech at Wake Forest — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Carolinas/Detroit/North Plus/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Tennessee/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)

Women’s: Pittsburgh at Syracuse — Big East Network (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson)

2:30 p.m.
SMU at Tulane — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Pete Pranica/Dan Bonner/Debbie Antonelli)

3 p.m.
Creighton at Evansville — ESPNU (Mitch Holthus/Mark Adams)
Northern Arizona at North Dakota — Fox College Sports Central (Dan Hammer/Greg Stemen)

4 p.m.
Texas Tech at West Virginia — Big 12 Network (Mark Neely/Rich Zvosec)
Butler at Fordham — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/Steve Lappas)
Georgia State at George Mason — Comcast SportsNet (Chicago/Houston/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest/Philadelphia)/CSS (Joe Beninati/John Feinstein)
Missouri at Arkansas — ESPN (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
UCLA at Stanford — ESPN2 (Dave Pasch/Bill Walton)
South Carolina at Alabama — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Jon Sundvold)

Women’s: UConn at Rutgers — SNY
Women’s: Western Michigan at Ohio — STO

4:30 p.m.
Houston at Tulsa — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Ron Thulin/Mike Gminski/Jenn Hildreth)

Women’s: North Dakota at Northern Arizona — Fox Sports Arizona Plus (Jordan Byrd/Sharon Falor/Heather Hodgeson)

5 p.m.
Mississippi State at LSU — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)
Western Illinois at South Dakota State — Fox College Sports Pacific (Tom Nieman/Brad Newitt)

6 p.m.
Temple at UMass — CBS Sports Network (Brent Stover/Steve Wolf)
Duke at Maryland — ESPN (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke/Jeannine Edwards)
Detroit at Valparaiso — ESPN2

6:30 p.m.
Texas A&M at Vanderbilt — Fox Sports net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit Plus/Midwest Plus/South/Southwest/West/Wisconsin/Sun Sports) (Dave Neal/Larry Conley)

7 p.m.
Baylor at Kansas State — ESPNU (Brad Sham/Bob Valvano)
Princton at Harvard — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Dalen Cuff)
Oregon at Washington State — Pac-12 Network (JB Long/Ernie Kent)

7:15 p.m.
Oakland at Missouri-Kansas City — Fox College Sports Pacific (Neil Harwell/Jaycie Pearson)

8 p.m.
Syracuse at Seton Hall — Big East Network (Mike Corey/Jim Spanarkel)
Michigan State at Nebraska — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Tim Doyle)
Memphis at Marshall — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Pete Gillen)
Georgia at Mississippi — ESPN2 (Dave Lamont, Kyle Macy)

8:30 p.m.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Oral Roberts — Fox College Sports Central (David Garrett/Mickey Michaelec)

Women’s: Utah State at New Mexico State — Fox Sports Arizona Plus

9 p.m.
Portland at BYU — BYU TV (Dave McCann/Steve Cleveland/Robbie Bullough)
Texas at Kansas — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Jay Bilas/Holly Rowe)
Arizona State at Colorado — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)
San Diego State at UNLV — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmister/Blaine Fowler)

11 p.m.
New Mexico State at Utah State — ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein/Corey Williams)
Oregon State at Washington — Fox Sports Net-national (Justin Kutcher/Marques Johnson/Laura McKeeman)
Cal State-Fullerton at Cal-Irvine — Fox Sports Prime Ticket/Fox Sports San Diego/Fox College Sports Central (Justin Alderson/Michael Cage/Kelli Tennant)

Sunday, February 17

noon
Penn State at Michigan — Big Ten Network (Tom Hamilton/Shon Morris)
Holy Cross at American — CBS Sports Network (Bob Socci/Steve Spatola)

1 p.m.
Ohio State at Wisconsin — CBS (Tim Brando/Bill Raftery)
Louisville at South Florida — ESPN (Rich Hollenberg/Bob Wenzel)

Women’s: North Carolina at Florida State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Carolinas/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Tennessee/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN) (Tom Werme/Chelsea Shine)

1:30 p.m.
Women’s: DePaul at Louisville — ESPNU (Jim Barbar/Sonya Beeler) (2013 Play 4Kay)
Women’s: West Virginia at Iowa State — Fox Sports Net-national (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Women’s: LSU at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/North Plus/SportSouth) (Dave Baker/Daymeon Fishback)

2 p.m.
Women’s: Temple at St. Joseph’s — CBS Sports Network (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)
Women’s: South Carolina at Mississippi — SEC Network (Cara Capuano/Steffi Sorensen)

2:30 p.m.
2013 Play 4Kay
Women’s: Alabama at Auburn — ESPN2 (Clay Matvick/Brooke Weisbrod)
Women’s: Georgia Tech at North Carolina State — ESPN2 (Joe Davis/Deb Antonelli)
Women’s: Notre Dame at Marquette — ESPN2 (Pam Ward/Stephanie White)
Women’s: Oklahoma at Kansas — ESPN2 (Holly Rowe/Fran Fraschilla)

2 p.m.
Minnesota at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Brian Anderson/Sean Harrington)

3 p.m.
Arizona at Utah — Pac-12 Network (Paul Sunderland/Brevin Knight)

Women’s: Wake Forest at Duke — Fox Sports Net-regional (Carolinas/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Tennessee/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN) (Mike Hogewood/Christy Winters Scott)

3:30 p.m.
Women’s: Stanford at UCLA — ESPNU (Rich Cellini/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude) (2013 Play 4Kay)
Women’s: Texas at Texas Tech — Fox Sports Net-national (Bob Licht/Dan Hughes)

4 p.m.
Women’s: UNLV at San Diego State — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Tammy Blackburn)

5 p.m.
Women’s: Towson at George Mason — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Joe Beninati/John Feinstein)
Women’s: Cal at USC — Pac-12 Network (Krista Blunk/Mary Murphy)

2013 Play 4Kay
Women’s: Cincinnati at St. John’s — ESPN2 (Bob Picozzi/Rebecca Lobo)
Women’s: Iowa at Purdue — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Nell Fortner)
Women’s: Maryland at Virginia — ESPN2 (Melissa Lee/LaChina Robinson)
Women’s: Vanderbilt at Tennessee — ESPN2 (Adam Amin/Maria Taylor)

6 p.m.
Miami at Clemson — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)

7 p.m.
Washington State at Oregon — Pac-12 Network (Ann Schatz/Ann Meyers-Drysdale)

7:30 p.m.
Illinois at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Mike Kelley)
James Madison at Delaware — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic/Philadelphia)/CSS (Mike Reghi/Brad Jackson)

8 p.m.
Wichita State at Illinois State — ESPNU (Mitch Holthus/Mark Adams)

10 p.m.
USC at Cal — Fox Sports Net-national (Steve Physioc/Corey Williams)

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 02/09 & 02/10/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Announcing Assignments Courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, February 9

Pregame and Studio Shows
College GameDay live from South Bend, IN — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
75 Years of March Madness: Top 10 Coaches — CBS, 12:30 p.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
College GameDay live from South Bend, IN — ESPN, 8 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 9 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, midnight
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, midnight

11 a.m.
Temple at Dayton — ESPNU (Jason Benetti/Bob Valvano)

noon
Georgetown at Rutgers — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
Hofstra at North Carolina-Wilmington — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England)/CSS/MSG Network/The Comcast Network (Mike Gleason/Charlie Woollum)
Michigan at Wisconsin — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)
Florida State at Wake Forest — ESPN2 (Carter Blackburn/Paul Biancardi)

Women’s: Nova Southeastern at Florida Southern — CBS Sports Network

1 p.m.
Mississippi at Missouri — CBS (Ian Eagle/Greg Anthony)
Akron at Miami (OH) — ESPNU (Adam Amin/Brooke Weisbrod)
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Carolinas/Detroit Plus/Florida/North Plus/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Tennessee/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN) (Rich Waltz/Cory Alexander)
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at Tennessee-Martin — Fox Sports Midwest/Fox Sports South (Darren Kinnard/Kelly Burke)

1:30 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Texas — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Reid Gettys)
Arkansas at Vanderbilt — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)

2 p.m.
DePaul at Marquette — Big East Network (Quint Kessenich/John Celestand)
Delaware at George Mason — CBS Sports Network (Don Criqui/Marc Jackson)
Tulane at Houston — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Northwest)/The Comcast Network (Brett Dolan/Tom Penders)
North Carolina at Miami (FL) — ESPN (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke/Jeannine Edwards)
St. Joseph’s at UMass — ESPN2 (Marc Kestecher/Stephen Bardo)

3 p.m.
South Florida at Villanova — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh)
Eastern Washington at Northern Arizona — Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox College Sports (Mitch Strohman/Dave Brown/Kara Hammer)

Women’s: Montana at North Dakota — Fox College Sports Central (Dan Hammer/Craig Stemen)
Women’s: West Virginia at Kansas — Fox Sports Net-national (Bob Licht/Brenda VanLengen)

4 p.m.
Texas Tech at Baylor — Big 12 Network (Brad Sham/Stephen Howard)
West Virginia at TCU — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Dan Hughes)
Memphis at Southern Mississippi — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Pete Gillen)
Northeastern at Old Dominion — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic/New England)/CSS/The Comcast Network
Kansas at Oklahoma — ESPN (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla/Holly Rowe)
Valparaiso at Cleveland State — ESPN2 (Mike Crispino/Darrin Horn)
Auburn at Kentucky — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Kara Lawson)
Pepperdine at Portland — WCC Network (Barry Tompkins/Dan Belluomini)

4:30 p.m.
Northwestern at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Justin Kutcher/Shon Morris)

5 p.m.
Texas A&M at Georgia — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)
Mississippi State at Florida — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Detroit Plus/Midwest/North Plus/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Southwest/Wisconsin/Sun Sports) (Dave Neal/Larry Conley)
South Dakota State at Oakland — Fox Sports Detroit/Fox Sports North/Fox College Sports Atlantic (John Keating/Mateen Cleaves)

6 p.m.
Fresno State at San Jose State — CBS Sports Network (Andrew Catalon/Andrew Lappas/Lauren Gardner)
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
Iowa State at Kansas State — ESPN2 (Mark Neely/Chris Piper)

Women’s: Cincinnati at Rutgers — Big East Network (Bob Picozzi/Steffi Sorenson)

7 p.m.
Xavier at Duquense — A-10 Network (Bob McElligott/Tony White)
Michigan State at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Jim Jackson)
St. Bonaventure at URI — Cox Sports RI (Mike Mancuso/Chris DiSano)
Stanford at Arizona State — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)

7:30 p.m.
Missouri State at Wichita State — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Central (Scott Warmann/Rich Zvosec)

8 p.m.
LSU at Alabama — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
Utah at Oregon — Pac-12 Network (Jim Watson/Ernie Kent)

Women’s: San Diego State at Fresno State — CBS Sports Network (Rich Cellini/Tammy Blackburn)
Women’s: Baylor at Texas — Longhorn Network (Fran Harris/Debbie Antonelli/Kaylee Hartung)

9 p.m.
San Francisco at BYU — BYU TV (Dave McCann/Steve Cleveland/Robbie Bullough)
Louisville at Notre Dame — ESPN (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Samantha Ponder)Penn State at Nebraska — ESPNU (Dan Gutowsky/Sean Harrington)
Seattle at New Mexico State — Fox College Sports Pacific (Jeff Matthews/Glenn Cerny)
New Mexico at UNLV — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Stan Van Gundy)

10 p.m.
Illinois State at Creighton — ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg/Mark Adams)
Washington State at UCLA — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Don MacLean)

11 p.m.
St. Mary’s at San Diego — ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein/Corey Williams)
Cal State-Fullerton at Cal-Riverside — Fox Sports Prime Ticket/Fox Sports San Diego/Fox College Sports Pacific (Just Alderson/Michael Cage/Kelli Tennant)

Sunday, February 10

11:30 a.m.
Women’s: North Carolina at Georgia Tech — ESPNU (Michele Smith/LaChina Robinson)

noon
UConn at Seton Hall — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/Bob Wenzel)

Women’s: Michigan at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Stephanie White)

1 p.m.
North Carolina State at Clemson — ACC Network (Steve Martin/Mike Gminski)
Virginia at Maryland — ACC Network (Tim Brant/Dan Bonner)
Indiana at Ohio State — CBS (Kevin Harlan/Clark Kellogg)
Tennessee at South Carolina — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit/Midwest/North Plus/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Southwest/Sun Sports) (Dave Baker/Daymeon Fishback)

Women’s: Houston at Rice — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Central (Bob Rathbun/Debbie Antonelli)

1:30 p.m.
Women’s: Georgia at LSU — ESPNU (Melissa Lee/Maria Taylor)

2 p.m.
Women’s: Minnesota at Illinois — Big Ten Network (Mike Wolf/Patricia Babcock-McGraw/Kara Lentz)
Women’s: Holy Cross at Lehigh — CBS Sports Network (Bob Socci/Amy Lawrence)
Women’s: Butler at George Washington — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic)
Women’s: Florida State at Miami (FL) — CSS (Jason Solodkin/Robin Mueller)
Women’s: Michigan State at Penn State — ESPN2 (Adam Amin/Swin Cash)
Women’s: Mississippi State at Missouri — SEC Network (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)

3 p.m.
St. John’s at Syracuse — ESPN (Dave Pasch/Dan Dakich)

Women’s: Tulane at Tulsa — Fox Sports Net-national (Bob Licht/DanHughes)
Women’s: Oregon State at Utah — Pac-12 Network (Anne Marie Anderson/Tammy Blackburn)

3:30 p.m.
Women’s: DePaul at UConn — ESPNU (Bob Picozzi/Brooke Weisbrod)

4 p.m.
Women’s: Ohio State at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (DanKelley/Shelley Till)
Women’s: Kentucky at Vanderbilt — ESPN2 (Pam Ward/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude)

4:30 p.m.
Women’s: Old Dominion at Drexel — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Al Koken/Jody Lavin Patrick)

5 p.m.
Women’s: Oklahoma State at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Net-national (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Women’s: Arizona State at Stanford — Pac-12 Network (Krista Blunk/Mary Murphy)

6 p.m.
Illinois at Minnesota — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Eddie Johnson)
Duke at Boston College — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)

7 p.m.
James Madison at Drexel — Comcast SportsNet (California/Mid-Atlantic/Philadelphia)/CSS
Cal at Arizona — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Matt Muehlebach)

8 p.m.
Drake at Evansville — ESPNU (Mitch Holthus/Mark Adams)
Washington at USC — Fox Sports Net-national (Steve Physioc/Corey Williams)

10 p.m.
Colorado at Oregon — Pac-12 Network (JB Long/Lamar Hurd)

NFL Viewing Picks For Super Bowl Sunday, 02/03/2013

All Times Eastern

Pregame Shows
NFL Matchup — ESPN, 6:30 a.m.
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
Super Bowl Live — CBS Sports Network, 9 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Face the Nation: Super Bowl Edition — CBS, 10:30 a.m.
Road to the Super Bowl — CBS, 11 a.m.
New Orleans: Let the Good Times Roll — CBS, noon
Phil Simms All-Iron Team: Super Bowl Edition, CBS, 1 p.m.
The Super Bowl Today — CBS, 2 p.m.
49ers Pregame Live — Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 5 p.m.
Ravens Kickoff Live — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, 5 p.m.
Super Bowl Kickoff Show — CBS, 6 p.m.
Super Bowl Game Center — NFL Network, 6:30 p.m.

6:25 p.m.

CBS/Dial Global Radio
Super Bowl XLVII, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms/Steve Tasker/Solomon Wilcots (CBS); Kevin Harlan/Boomer Esiason/James Lofton/Mark Malone (Dial Global)

Postgame Shows
Super Bowl Today Postgame Show — CBS Sports Network, 10:30 p.m.
NFL PrimeTime — ESPN, 10:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, 10:30 p.m.
49ers Postgame Live — Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/KNTV, 10:30 p.m.
Ravens Postgame Live — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, 10:30 p.m.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 02/02 & 02/03/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Announcing Assignments courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, February 2

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Bloomington, IN — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
College GameDay live from Bloomington, IN — ESPN, 8 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, midnight

11 a.m.
Cincinnati at Seton Hall — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh/Paul Calcaterra)

noon
Clemson at Boston College — ACC Network (Tim Brando/Cory Alexander)
Virginia Tech at North Carolina — ACC Network (Tim Brandt/Dan Bonner)
Hofstra at William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (California/Mid-Atlantic/New England/Philadelphia)/CSS/MSG Network (John Castleberry/Charlie Woolum)
Syracuse at Pittsburgh — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
Purdue at Northwestern — ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)

Women’s: Hartford at Boston University — NESN (Bill Schweizer/Billy Mecca/Jayme Parker)

12:30 p.m.
Women’s: Texas at TCU — Fox Sports Net-national (Bob Licht/Brenda VanLengen)

1 p.m.
Austin Peay at Murray State — ESPNU (Adam Amin/Brooke Weisbrod)

1:30 p.m.
West Virginia at Texas Tech — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Reid Gettys)
Auburn at Missouri — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Jon Sunvold)
Georgia at South Carolina — SEC Network (Dave Lamont/Kyle Macy)

2 p.m.
Tulsa at Memphis — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Pete Gillen/Gary Parrish)
Duke at Florida State — ESPN (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke/Jeannine Edwards)
Notre Dame at DePaul — ESPN2 (John Saunders/LaPhonso Ellis)
Wake Forest at Maryland — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Carolinas/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Tennessee/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN) (Rich Waltz/Mike Gminski)
Dayton at Saint Louis — NBC Sports Network (Dave Strader/Mike Kaplan)

Women’s: UConn at St. John’s — Big East Network (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson)

2:30 p.m.
Colorado at Utah — Fox Sports Net-national (Steve Physioc/Corey Williams)

3 p.m.
Robert Morris at Long Island — ESPNU (Mike Corey/Bob Valvano)
Western Illinois at IUPUI — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Greg Rakestraw/Bob Lovell)

4 p.m.
Duquense at St. Bonaventure — A-10 Network (Kevin Sylvester/Brendan McDaniels)
Oklahoma State at Kansas — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Chris Piper)
Miami (FL) at North Carolina State — CBS (Spero Dedes/Bill Raftery)
St. John’s at Georgetown — CBS (Ian Eagle/Clark Kellogg)
URI at Butler — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/John Griffin/Jon Rothstein)
George Mason at James Madison — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest/Philadelphia) (Al Koken/Junior Burrough)
Tennessee at Arkansas — ESPN (Brent Musburger/Bob Knight)
Wichita State at Northern Iowa — ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg/Mark Adams)
Alabama at Vanderbilt — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)

4:30 p.m.
Oregon at Cal — Fox Sports Net-national (Justin Kutcher/Marques Johnson/Laura McKeeman)

5 p.m.
Ohio at Akron — ESPNU (Dan Gutkowsky/Malcolm Huckaby)
Missouri-Kansas City at South Dakota State — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Tom Niemann/Brad Newitt)

5:30 p.m.
LSU at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/Midwest Plus/North Plus/South/Southwest) (Dave Neal/Larry Conley)

6 p.m.
Temple at St. Joseph’s — CBS Sports Network (Tom McCarthy/Steve Lappas/Jeff Goodman)
Drexel at Northeastern — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Mid-Atlantic/New England/Northwest)/CSS/The Comcast Network (Gary Tanguay/Jack Armstrong)
Kentucky at Texas A&M — ESPN (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
Kansas State at Oklahoma — ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)
Columbia at Princeton — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Dalen Cuff)

7 p.m.
Ohio State at Nebraska — Big Ten Network
Mississippi at Florida — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)

7:30 p.m.
Indiana State at Drake — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest (Scott Warmann/Kevin Lehman)

8 p.m.
Southern Mississippi at UAB — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Northwest)/The Comcast Network (Matt Stewart/Brian Oliver)
Baylor at Iowa State — ESPN2 (Mark Neely/Rich Zvosec)
TCU at Texas — Longhorn Network (Kevin Dunn/Bruce Bowen)
Nevada at New Mexico — NBC Sports Network (Steve Schlanger/Blaine Fowler)

Women’s: Baylor at Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Southwest Plus/Fox Sports Detroit Plus/Fox Sports North (Mike Wolfe/Casey Kendrick)

8:30 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana at Oral Roberts — Fox College Sports Atlantic (David Garrett/Mickey Michaelec)

9 p.m.
Santa Clara at BYU — BYU TV (Dave McCann/Steve Cleveland/Robbie Bullough)
Michigan at Indiana — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Shannon Spake)
Arizona State at Washington — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)

10 p.m.
Arizona at Washington State — Pac-12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Brevin Knight)

11 p.m.
Gonzaga at San Diego — ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein/Paul Biancardi/Paul Carcaterra)

Sunday, February 3

11 a.m.
Women’s: Dayton at Richmond — ESPNU (Melissa Lee/Christy Winters Scott)

noon
Providence at Villanova — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)

1 p.m.
Iowa at Minnesota — Big Ten Network (Brian Anderson/Eddie Johnson)

Women’s: Duke at North Carolina — ESPNU (Ray Philpott/LaChina Robinson)
Women’s: Oklahoma at West Virginia — Fox Sports Net-national (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Women’s: Georgia Tech at Virginia — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Carolinas/North Plus/San Diego/South/Tennessee/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN) (Mike Hogewood/Debbie Antonelli)
Women’s: Alabama at Florida — Fox Sports Florida Plus (Mick Hubert/Mark Wise)
Women’s: Washington at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network (Krista Blunk/Mary Murphy)

2 p.m.
South Florida at UConn — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/Ron Perry)
Marquette at Louisville — ESPN (Dan Shulman/Jay Bilas)

Women’s: Tennessee at Missouri — CSS  (Bernie Guenther/Robin Muller)
Women’s: Georgia at Kentucky — SEC Network (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)
Women’s: Miami (OH) at Northern Illinois — STO/Comcast SportsNet Chicago (Mike Cairns/Jackie Windon)

3 p.m.
Virginia at Georgia Tech — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)
Oregon State at Stanford — Pac-12 Network (Jim Watson/Don MacLean)

Women’s: UNC-Wilmington at Old Dominion — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Al Koken./Jody Lavin Patrick/Brian Jackson)
Women’s: Arkansas at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net-national (Dave Neal/Maria Taylor)

3:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at Illinois — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Shon Morris)

4 p.m.
Women’s: Stanford at Oregon State — Pac-12 Network (Ann Schatz/Kyndra de St. Aubin)

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 01/26 & 01/27/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, January 26

Pregame & Studio Hosts
College GameDay live from Raleigh, NC — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
College GameDay — ESPN, 6 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, midnight

11 a.m.
Syracuse at Villanova — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Walsh)

11:30 a.m.
Women’s: Delta State at Valdosta State — CBS Sports Network

noon
Notre Dame at South Florida — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
Louisville at Georgetown — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
Ohio State at Penn State — ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)
Farleigh Dickinson at Quinnipiac — Fox College Sports Atlantic

1 p.m.
Maryland at Duke — CBS (Ian Eagle/Clark Kellogg)
West Virginia at Oklahoma State — ESPNU (Brad Sham/Bob Valvano)
Boston College at Virginia — Fox Sports Net-regional (Detroit Plus/Florida/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)
URI at Fordham — YES

1:30 p.m.
Kansas State at Iowa State — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Chris Piper)
Arkansas at South Carolina — SEC Network (Mike Morgan/Barry Booker)

2 p.m.
Providence at Marquette — Big East Network (Mike Couzens/Sean Kearney)
Minnesota at Wisconsin — Big Ten Network
Rice at Tulane — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Northwest/Philadelphia)
Alabama at Tennessee — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
Marshall at Memphis — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Pacific
Dartmouth at Harvard — NBC Sports Network

3 p.m.
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech — ACC Network
Northwestern at Nebraska — Big Ten Network
North Dakota State at South Dakota State — Fox College Sports Atlantic

4 p.m.
Duquense at Dayton — A-10 Network
Saint Louis at St. Bonaventure — A-10 Network
DePaul at Pittsburgh — Big East Network (John Sanders/John Celestand)
Baylor at TCU — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Stephen Howard)
Bucknell at Holy Cross — CBS Sports Network (Bob Socci/Chris Spatola)
Old Dominion at James Madison — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/Northwest/Philadephia)/CSS
Oklahoma at Kansas — ESPN (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)
Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee — ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg/Mark Adams)
UCLA at Arizona State — Fox Sports Net-national
New Mexico at San Diego State — NBC Sports Network
LSU at Kentucky — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)

5 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Missouri — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)
Western Illinois at Oakland — Fox Sports Detroit/Fox College Sports Atlantic
Washington State at Oregon State — Pac-12 Network (J.B. Long/Lamar Hurd)

6 p.m.
Xavier at St. Joseph’s — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Pete Gillen)
Temple at Butler — ESPN2 (Jim Barbar/Stephen Bardo)
Georgia at Texas A&M — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit Plus/South/Southwest/West/Wisconsin/Sun Sports)

7 p.m.
North Carolina at North Carolina State — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Shannon Spake)
USC at Arizona — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)
Washington at Oregon — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Ernie Kent)

8 p.m.
LaSalle at Virginia Commonwealth — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/Steve Wolf)
Florida at Mississippi State — ESPN2 (Dave Lamont/Kara Lawson)
Mississippi at Auburn — Fox Sports Net-regional (Detroit/South/Southwest Plus/West/Sun Sports)

8:30 p.m.
McNeese State at Oral Roberts — Fox College Sports Pacific

10:30 p.m.
BYU at Portland — ESPN2 (Roxy Bernstein/Steve Cleveland)

Sunday, January 27

noon
Seton Hall at St. John’s — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/Jim Spanarkel)
Lafayette at Lehigh — CBS Sports Network (Bob Socci/Chris Spatola)

1 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Clemson — ACC Network
Michigan State at Indiana — CBS (Kevin Harlan/Greg Anthony)

Women’s: Penn State at Ohio State — Big Ten Network
Women’s: Florida at Georgia — CSS
Women’s: TCU at Texas Tech — Fox Sports Net-national
Women’s: Boston College at Duke — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Carolina/Detroit Plus/Florida/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Tennessee/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)

1:30 p.m.
Women’s: St. John’s at Louisville — ESPNU

2 p.m.
Rutgers at UConn — Big East Network (Kevin Connors/Tim Welsh)

Women’s: Xavier at Richmond — CBS Sports Network (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)
Women’s: North Carolina at Miami — ESPN2
Women’s: Vanderbilt at Alabama — SEC Network

3 p.m.
Women’s: LSU at Kentucky — CSS/Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox Sports Detroit Plus/Fox Sports Florida/Fox Sports Prime Ticket/SportSouth

3:30 p.m.
Iowa at Purdue — Big Ten Network
Cal at Colorado — Fox Sports Net-national

Women’s: Missouri at Texas A&M — ESPNU

4 p.m.
Women’s: Fresno State at Colorado State — CBS Sports Network (Rich Cellini/Tammy Blackburn)
Women’s: Purdue at Michigan State — ESPN2

5 p.m.
Women’s: Oregon at Washington — Pac-12 Network (Anne-Marie Anderson/Ros Gold-Unwude)

6 p.m.
Michigan at Illinois — Big Ten Network
Florida State at Miami (FL) — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)

7 p.m.
Women’s: Colorado at Stanford — Pac-12 Network (Krista Blunk/Mary Murphy)

8 p.m.
George Mason at Northeastern — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/New England/Philadelphia)/CSS
Creighton at Southern Illinois — ESPNU (Mitch Holthus/Mark Adams)

9 p.m.
Stanford at Utah — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Ernie Kent)

Comcast SportsNet Chicago Scores With NHL

The Chicago NHL team is back in action and Comcast SportsNet couldn’t be happier. Tuesday night’s game between Chicago and St. Louis drew the regional sports network’s best-ever ratings for a regular season NHL game.

Overall, CSN Chicago drew a 5.4 household rating for the team’s home opener at the United Center. It breaks the previous record for a game against Vancouver in 2010.

St. Louis-Chicago was the number one rated program in the market in all key demographics. It’s more evidence that hockey fans were waiting for the NHL in droves.

We have the press release from Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

COMCAST SPORTSNET DELIVERS ITS HIGHEST CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS REGULAR SEASON GAME RATING TO DATE

Last Night’s Blackhawks Home Opener vs. STL attracts over 188,000 Households on Comcast SportsNet;
#1 Highest-Rated Television Network in Chicago market from 7:30-10:15 PM for Adults 25-54

Chicago, IL (January 23, 2013) – Comcast SportsNet, the television home for the most games and most comprehensive coverage of the Chicago Blackhawks, delivered its highest Blackhawks regular season rating ever last evening (January 22) — a 5.40 household rating for its live coverage of the Blackhawks home opener against the division rival St. Louis Blues.

For last night’s thrilling 3-2 victory by the Blackhawks, Comcast SportsNet attracted approx. 188,179 households for the entire game and posted a 6.28 “peak” rating during the 10:00 PM quarter-hour (218,845 households). The 5.40 single game regular season ratings record on Comcast SportsNet shatters the previous record set on March 5, 2010 vs. Vancouver (4.35). Source for all ratings information is provided by Nielsen Media Research overnights.

Comcast SportsNet was also the #1-highest rated television network in the Chicago market last night in all key advertising demos — including Adults 25-54 — for the entire length of the game (7:30-10:15 PM).  The network was also #1 in the market for six-straight hours (5:30-11:30 PM) in the following demo categories: Men 18-34, Men 18-49, Men 25-54 and Adults 18-34.

In addition, via data obtained through CSNChicago.com’s social media hub “Blackhawks Pulse,” last night’s Blackhawks-Blues match-up garnered a solid 38,400 game-related tweets, highlighting the growing movement of in-game social media engagement with fans.

So far this season through two games, the Blackhawks on Comcast SportsNet are currently averaging a 4.26 household rating, an increase of 75% compared to last season through two telecasts, while, in the demo category of Adults 25-54, ratings are up 46%.

There you have it.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 01/19 & 01/20/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, January 19

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Indianapolis — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 p.m.
College GameDay live from Indianapolis — ESPN, 8 p.m.

11 a.m.
Virginia Military Institute at Coastal Carolina — ESPNU (Adam Amin/Brooke Weisbrod)

noon
St. John’s at DePaul — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
Maryland at North Carolina — ESPN (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke)
UConn at Pittsburgh — ESPN2 (John Saunders/Dereck Whittenburg)

12:30 p.m.
Harvard at Memphis — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic

1 p.m.
St. Bonaventure at Temple — CBS Sports Network
Nebraska at Penn State — ESPNU (Mike Crispino/Bob Valvano)

1:30 p.m.
Iowa State at TCU — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Reid Gettys)
Arkansas at Mississippi — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Barry Booker)
Vanderbilt at South Carolina — SEC Network (Dave Lamont/Kara Lawson)

2 p.m.
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech — ACC NetworkLaSalle at Xavier — A-10 Network
Kansas at Texas — CBS (Kevin Harlan/Clark Kellogg)
West Virginia at Purdue — CBS (Ian Eagle/Bill Raftery)
Drexel at William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest)/The Comcast Network/CSS
Missouri at Florida — ESPN (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
Texas Tech at Oklahoma State — ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)

Women’s: Seton Hall at Georgetown — Big East Network
Women’s: Boston University at New Hampshire — Fox College Sports Pacific

2:30 p.m.
Arizona at Arizona State — Fox Sports Net (national)
Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville State — Fox Sports South

3 p.m.
Akron at Kent State — ESPNU (Dan Gutowsky/Darrin Horn)
Columbia at Cornell — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Dalen Cuff)

Women’s: Texas at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Oklahoma

4 p.m.
Florida State at Virginia — ACC Network
Villanova at Providence — Big East Network (Don Orsillo/Ron Perry)
Oklahoma at Kansas State — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Rich Zvosec)
Oregon at UCLA — CBS (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb)
SMU at UTEP — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest/Philadelphia)
Syracuse at Louisville — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
Creighton at Wichita State — ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg/Mark Adams)
Boston University at New Hampshire — Fox College Sports Pacific
Mississippi State at Tennessee — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)

Women’s: Syracuse at UConn — SNY

4:30 p.m.
Cal at Stanford — Fox Sports Net (national)

5 p.m.
Penn at St. Joseph’s — ESPNU (Scott Graham/Carolyn Peck)
Hofstra at George Mason — NBC Sports Network (Mike Corey/Ron Thompson)

6 p.m.
Georgetown at South Florida — Big East Network (Jason Benetti/Mark Wise)
UAB at Southern Mississippi — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area Plus/Houston/Northwest)
Ohio State at Michigan State — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)
Texas A&M at Alabama — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Florida/North Plus/South/Southwest/Sun Sports)

7 p.m.
Marquette at Cincinnati — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh)
UNLV at Colorado State — NBC Sports Network (Steve Schlanger/Blaine Fowler)

8 p.m.
Rutgers at Notre Dame — Big East Network (Lou Canellis/Sean Kearney)
Wisconsin at Iowa — Big Ten Network
LSU at Georgia — CSS/Bright House Sports/Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Northwest)/Cox Sports Television (Matt Stewart/Daymeon Fishback)
Oregon State at USC — Pac-12 Network

9 p.m.
San Diego at BYU — BYU TV
Gonzaga at Butler — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Shannon Spake)
Kentucky at Auburn — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)

11 p.m.
Utah at Washington — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)
Colorado at Washington State — Pac-12 Network

Sunday, January 20

noon
Navy at Army — CBS Sports Network

Women’s: St. John’s at Notre Dame — ESPNU

1 p.m.
Indiana at Northwestern — Big Ten Network

Women’s: Iowa State at Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Net-national
Women’s: Wake Forest at Boston College — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit Plus/South/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)
Women’s: South Carolina at Florida — Fox Sports Florida

2 p.m.
Women’s: Butler at LaSalle — CBS Sports Network
Women’s: Maryland at Georgia Tech — ESPN2
Women’s: Auburn at Kentucky — SEC Network

3 p.m.
Women’s: UAB at UTEP — Fox Sports Net-national
Women’s: Florida State at North Carolina State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit Plus/South/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)

3:30 p.m.
Women’s: UCLA at Cal — ESPNU

4 p.m.
Women’s: Purdue at Iowa — Big Ten Network
Women’s: Colorado State at UNLV — CBS Sports Network

5 p.m.
Women’s: Texas A&M at Georgia — ESPN2, 5 p.m.

6 p.m.
Clemson at North Carolina State — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)

Women’s: Nebraska at Minnesota — Big Ten Network

8 p.m.
Illinois State at Southern Illinois — ESPNU (Mitch Holthus/Mark Adams)

Our Monday Linkage

Time for some Monday links. Let’s get to them.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with CBS Evening News anchorman Scott Pelley about interviewing President Obama for the network’s Super Bowl coverage and also reviews the performances of the NFL “B” analysts during the weekend.

Michael Smith and John Ourand at Sports Business Journal note that the Atlantic Coast Conference is exploring the potential of a new league-owned network.

Chris Chase of USA Today’s Game On blog reports that tennis superstar Maria Sharapova has joined Twitter.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with ESPN’s Hannah Storm about returning to SportsCenter this week after the holiday season grilling fire that left her singed.

Hiestand also talks with Michelle Beadle about her upcoming show on NBC Sports Network.

UK journalist David Walsh who was the first writer to investigate disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong after his first Tour de France “win”, has an article in the Sunday Times looking back at his long journey.

Ed Sherman in The Sherman Report notes that the Times placed an ad in the Chicago Tribune calling on Oprah Winfrey to ask certain questions to Armstrong when they tape their “interview” this week. Here’s a closeup look at the ad courtesy of Deadspin.

Ed interviews Dana Jacobson of CBS Sports Radio.

Philiana Ng of the Hollywood Reporter says USA Network and the NFL will team up for their second annual special that will air after the Super Bowl.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the NHL is back.

Christopher Heine of Adweek writes that Lincoln has shot a social media-driven spot that will air during Super Bowl XLVII.

Brian Steinberg from Advertising Age says social media might be spoiling Super Bowl advertisers’ suspense and full impact.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times talks about Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Emrick calling a girls’ 12-and-under game last week.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wants to know why Lance Armstrong thought he could cheat and get away with it.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says no one is happier about the end of the NHL Lockout than NBC.

In an upset, David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun actually has some praise for CBS’ Dan Dierdorf from Saturday’s Ravens-Broncos game.

In the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that the much-maligned Vinny Cerrato is part of CBS Sports Radio’s weekend lineup.

Dan notes that Fox Sports Radio’s Steve Czaban has quit Twitter cold turkey.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks about ESPN2′s Australian Open coverage which will run late into the night.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times has a review of the weekend in sports TV.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Texans-Patriots drew big numbers in H-Town.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says Time Warner Cable is picking up college basketball games from Sports Time Ohio.

Bob Wolfley with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the NFL playoffs played big in Sudstown.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says Comcast SportsNet is tapping a Milwaukee sports reporter to fill a position.

The Denver Post’s Dusty Saunders writes that Ravens-Broncos got big numbers in the Rocky Mountain region.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has this week’s SoCal sports calendar.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says Americans shouldn’t expect to see small market NHL teams on NBC.

Brad Gagnon of Awful Announcing has the grades for the NFL’s top broadcasting teams.

Because I’ve been in and out today, I’m finally getting the links to you after 6 p.m. I have been trying to get these up since before 11 a.m.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 01/12 & 01/13/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s schedule courtesy Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, January 12

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay — ESPN2, 10 a.m.
College GameDay — ESPNU, 11 a.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 11:30 a.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 2 p.m.
The Fab Five — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

11 a.m.
Georgetown at St. John’s — ESPN2 (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)

noon
Virginia at Clemson — ACC Network
Villanova at Syracuse — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
Minnesota at Indiana — Big Ten Network
Anderson at Lincoln Memorial University — CBS Sports Network
Delaware at Georgia State — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest/Philadelphia)/CSS
Duke at North Carolina State — ESPN (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Jeannine Edwards)
Marquette at Pittsburgh — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh)

1 p.m.
Tennessee at Alabama — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)

1:30 p.m.
Kansas State at West Virginia — Big 12 Network (Mark Neely/Stephen Howard)
Auburn at South Carolina — SEC Network (Mike Morgan/Jon Sundvold)
Mississippi State at Georgia — SEC Network (Dave Lamont/Kara Lawson)

2 p.m.
UConn at Notre Dame — Big East Network (Lou Canellis/LaPhonso Ellis)
Holy Cross at Lehigh — CBS Sports Network
Charlotte at URI — Cox Sports RI
George Mason at North Carolina-Wilmington — Comcast SportsNet (California/Mid-Atlantic)/The Comcast Network
North Carolina at Florida State — ESPN (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke)
Texas at Iowa State — ESPNU (Brad Sham/Bob Valvano)
Butler at Dayton — NBC Sports Network (Dave Strader/Stan Van Gundy)
UCLA at Colorado — Pac-12 Network (JB Long/Ernie Kent)

2:15 p.m.
Illinois at Wisconsin — Big Ten Network

2:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech — ACC Network

3 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Oklahoma — ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)

4 p.m.
VCU at St. Bonaventure — A10 Network
South Florida at Louisville — Big East Network (Jim Barbar/Darrin Horn)
Kansas at Texas Tech — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Reid Gettys)
George Washington at Xavier — CBS Sports Network
Florida at LSU — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)
Boston College at Wake Forest — Fox Sports Net-regional (North Plus/South/West/Sun Sports/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)
Drexel at James Madison — NBC Sports Network (Mike Corey/Ron Thompson)
Washington at Cal — Pac-12 Network (Roxy Bernstein/Dan Belluomini)

Women’s: West Virginia at Kansas State — Fox Sports Net-national
Women’s: UConn at Marquette — SNY, 4 p.m.

5 p.m.
Oakland at North Dakota State — Fox College Sports Central

6 p.m.
Saint Louis at Temple — ESPNU (Adam Amin/Brooke Weisbrod)
Vanderbilt at Arkansas — Fox Sports Net-regional (Midwest/North Plus/South/Southwest/West/Wisconsin)
TCU at Baylor — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox College Sports Central
Penn at Princeton — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Dalen Cuff)
USC at Utah — Pac-12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Joe Cravens)

Women’s: Villanova at Pittsburgh — Big East Network (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson)

8 p.m.
Cincinnati at Rutgers — Big East Network (Quint Kessenich/Jim Spanarkel)
Arizona at Oregon State — ESPNU (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)
Missouri at Mississippi — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/Midwest/South/Southwest)
Colorado State at San Diego State — NBC Sports Network (Steve Schlanger/Blaine Fowler)

Women’s: Texas Tech at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Oklahoma

8:30 p.m.
Women’s: Idaho at New Mexico State — Altitude 2
Women’s: Portland State at Northern Arizona — Fox Sports Arizona Plus

8:30 p.m.
Memphis at UAB — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Chicago/Houston/Northwest)Stephen F. Austin at Oral Roberts — Fox College Sports Atlantic

11 p.m.
Washington at Stanford — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Pacific

Sunday, January 13

11:30 a.m.
Women’s: Tennessee at Florida — ESPNU (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)

noon
Providence at Seton Hall — Big East Network (Quint Kessenich/John Celestand)
Penn State at Purdue — Big Ten Network

Women’s: Lafayette at Navy — CBS Sports Network

12:30 p.m.
Women’s: Oklahoma State at Texas — Fox Sports Net-national

1 p.m.
UMass at Fordham — YES

Women’s: Boston College at Clemson — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit Plus/Florida/North Plus/South/Prime Ticket/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)

1:30 p.m.
Michigan at Ohio State — CBS (Tim Brando/Clark Kellogg)

Women’s: Kentucky at Missouri — ESPNU (Melissa Lee/Maria Taylor)

2 p.m.
Women’s: Wisconsin at Michigan — Big Ten Network
Women’s: Fordham at Charlotte — CBS Sports Network
Women’s: Nebraska at Penn State — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/LaChina Robinson)

2:30 p.m.
Women’s: Baylor at Kansas — Fox Sports Net-national
Women’s: Alabama at Mississippi — Fox Sports Net-regional (SportSouth/Sun Sports

3 p.m.
Women’s: Miami at Florida State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Detroit Plus/Florida/North Plus/South/Prime Ticket/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)
Women’s: Oregon State at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network (Anne Marie Anderson/Kyndra de St. Aubin)

3:30 p.m.
Women’s: Rutgers at Notre Dame — ESPNU (Jim Barbar/Krista Blunk)

4 p.m.
Women’s: Michigan State at Illinois — Big Ten Network
Women’s: San Diego State at Colorado State — CBS Sports Network
Women’s: Cal at Stanford — ESPN2 (Pam Ward/Mary Murphy)

4:30 p.m.
Women’s: Southern Mississippi at Memphis — Fox Sports Net-national

5 p.m.
Women’s: Colorado at Utah — Pac-12 Network (Ann Schatz/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude)

5:30 p.m.
Iowa at Northwestern — ESPNU (Dan Gutowaski/Tim McCormick)

6 p.m.
Nebraska at Michigan State — Big Ten Network

8 p.m.
Maryland at Miami (FL) — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams/Allison Williams)

9 p.m.
Arizona at Oregon — Pac-12 Network (Paul Sunderland/Ernie Kent)

Oh My! It’s The Return of The Linkage!

It’s been way too long since you’ve seen linkage on this site. This has been the main mission of Fang’s Bites since the beginning, but too often, I get roped into doing family stuff and it prevents me from getting on here until late.

I hope to rectify that. So without further delay, here’s the linkage.

I’ll begin with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch who looks at tonight’s ESPN production of the BCS National Championship Game and he breaks news that former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine will co-host a daily NBC Sports Radio show.

From The Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with ESPN’s Brent Musburger about retirement.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal says thanks to its parent company buying into YES Network, Fox Sports will have the rights to as many as 18 New York Yankees games for its national MLB broadcasts (for now, subscription required).

Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Daily writes that DirecTV is dropping NASCAR Hot Pass due to the high cost and low demand.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell reports that the “Catholic 7″, the breakaway basketball schools from the Big East, is negotiating a megabucks deal with Fox Sports.

Nathan Savin Scott of USA Today lists the best sports commercials of 2012.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says tonight’s BCS Championship Game could set an all-time viewership record for ESPN and cable TV.

The extremely warped Anthony Crupi (he’ll even admit this) of Adweek writes that the NFL’s regular season ratings were down slightly from last year, but it delivers an audience unlike any other programming.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Michael McCarthy at Advertising Age notes that college football is close to passing baseball as the nation’s second most popular sport.

Natalie Zmuda of Ad Age says Pepsi wants to make you, yes you, part of its Super Bowl ad.

Mark J. Miller at BrandChannel notes how a Nike ad campaign helped to nudge the NHL into ending its lockout.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine wonders if the ratings will return for the NHL now that its lockout has been resolved.

SBNation’s Steve Lepore reports that Michelle Beadle’s new show, The Crossover, will replace NBC Sports Talk later this month.

David Rogers over at Awful Announcing scolds NHL Network for not covering one second of the end of the lockout.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Wheat Hotchkiss (I like this name) delves into ESPN’s production of the BCS National Championship Game in South Flordia.

EPL Talk reviews Fox’s first-ever broadcast of an FA Cup game.

Will Leitch at Sports on Earth says NBC Sports Network’s ratings may be low, but at least it’s trying to be the anti-ESPN.

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe writes about Bobby Valentine’s new foray into daily sports radio.

Brian Stelter at the New York Times says rising sports fees are causing cable providers to drop lower performing channels.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post needs to stop watching television.

Newsday’s Neil Best says there’s too much sports television and radio for the average fan to keep track of. Well put, Neil.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Golf Channel has had to adjust its schedule for the weather-delayed Tournament of Champions.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says CBS Sports Radio has a home in the Hudson Valley.

Keith Groller with the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks with an Eastern Pennsylvania native who’s been covering Notre Dame for the last six years.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun feels CBS did not get the job done covering yesterday’s Colts-Ravens game.

David says yesterday’s Colts-Ravens game received the highest rating in the Charm City since last year’s Super Bowl.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has the national media reaction to DC NFL Team head coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to keep quarterback Robert Griffin III on the field despite him seemingly being hurt until an injury that ended his game.

Dan says a local sports radio morning show now gets an opportunity on TV.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times has the winners and losers in the NHL Lockout.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has some info from ESPN on tonight’s BCS National Championship Game.

Mike Herndon of the Birmingham (AL) News says ESPN could not have asked for a better matchup in the BCS National Championship Game.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News looks into the behind-the-scenes for ESPN’s telecast of Alabama-Notre Dame.

David Barron with the Houston Chronicle says Saturday’s Bengals-Texans local rating matched last year’s Wild Card playoff game number.

David writes that former Houston Astros broadcaster Alan Ashby will return to the team as its TV analyst on Comcast SportsNet.

WDIV-TV in Detroit had the suspended Rob Parker from ESPN’s First Take in his first TV interview since he was taken off the air for his comments on DC NFL Team QB Robert Griffin III (starts at 6:15). h/t to Richard Deitsch for the link.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says a Rocky Mountain region sportscaster has plenty of memories that include the Broncos.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times writes that the NFL’s ratings have slipped a bit from last season, but they still remain king of all television.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the five things he learned from the weekend.

Tom also has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail asks with the NHL Lockout over, what’s in it for the fans?

Sports Media Watch notes that the overnight rating for the Cincinnati-Houston NFL Wild Card Game on NBC was up from last year.

SMW says NBC’s nightcap of Vikings-Packers was down slightly from last year.

SMW tells us that Seattle-Washington had the third highest overnight for an NFL Wild Card game since 1999.

And for Indy-Baltimore on CBS, the overnight number was very good.

And that’s going to be it for now.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 01/05 & 01/06/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, January 5

11 a.m.
Pittsburgh at Rutgers — ESPN2

noon
Virginia Tech at Maryland — ACC Network
Seton Hall at Notre Dame — Big East Network
Purdue at Michigan State — Big Ten Network
Delaware at Old Dominion — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Mid Atlantic/Philadelphia)/CSS
Wake Forest at Duke — ESPNU

12:30 p.m.
Women’s: Northwest Missouri State at Pittsburg State

1:30 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State — Big 12 Network
South Carolina State at South Carolina — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Detroit Plus/Midwest Plus/San Diego/South/Southwest/Sun Sports)

Women’s: Oklahoma at Texas — Fox Sports Net-national

2 p.m.Georgetown at Marquette — Big East Network
George Mason at William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Mid Atlantic/Philadelphia)/CSS
Texas at Baylor — ESPNU

Women’s: Purdue at Nebraska — CBS

2:15 p.m.
Ohio State at Illinois — Big Ten Network

2:30 p.m.
Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech — ACC Network

3 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State at Pittsburg State — CBS Sports Network
Stanford at UCLA — Pac-12 Network

4 p.m.
Oklahoma at West Virginia — Big 12 Network
Oakland at Alabama — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Chicago/Houston/Northwest/Philadelphia)/Cox Sports Television
North Carolina at Boston College — ESPN2
St. John’s at Cincinnati — ESPNU
Florida State at Clemson — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit Plus/Florida/North Plus/San Diego/South/Prime Ticket/Wisconsin)/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN
Bucknell at Missouri — Fox Sports Detroit/Fox Sports Midwest/Sun Sports
Long Island at Quinnipiac — SNY

Women’s: Notre Dame at UConn — CBS

5 p.m.
Southern Utah at Northern Arizona — Fox Sports Arizona/Fox College Sports PacificLehigh at VCU — NBC Sports Network
Utah at Arizona — Pac-12 Network

6 p.m.
Murray State at Southeast Missouri State — ESPNU
Texas Tech at TCU — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports North Plus/Fox College Sports Central

Women’s: Louisville at DePaul — Big East Network

8 p.m.
DePaul at Providence — Big East Network

Women’s: Iowa State at Texas Tech — Fox College Sports Pacific

9 p.m.
Southern Illinois at Evansville — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Atlantic

9:30 p.m.
Washington at Washington State — ESPNU

10 p.m.
BYU at San Francisco — BYU TV/Comcast SportsNet California Plus

11 p.m.
Cal at USC — Fox Sports Net-national

Sunday, January 6

11:30 a.m.
Women’s: St. John’s at Rutgers — ESPNU

noon
Syracuse at South Florida — Big East Network
Iowa at Michigan — Big Ten Network

1 p.m.
Women’s: Virginia at Miami — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Detroit Plus/North/South/Sun Sports/Wisconsin/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)
Women’s: Georgia at Tennessee — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Detroit/Florida/North Plus/Prime Ticket/San Diego/Southwest/SportSouth)

1:30 p.m.
Women’s: Florida State at Maryland — ESPNU

2 p.m.
Women’s: LSU at Florida — SEC Network

2:15 p.m.
Women’s: Penn State at Michigan State — Big Ten Network

3 p.m.
Women’s: Texas A&M at Arkansas — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Detroit/North Plus/Prime Ticket/San Diego/Southwest/SportSouth/Sun Sports)

3:30 p.m.
Women’s: Vanderbilt at Mississippi — ESPNU

4:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at Nebraska — Big Ten Network
Temple at Kansas — CBS

5:30 p.m.
Wichita State at Bradley — ESPNU
Florida at Yale — NBC Sports Network

Women’s: Oklahoma State at Baylor — Fox Sports Net-national

7 p.m.
Northwestern at Minnesota — Big Ten Network

8 p.m.
Tulsa at SMU — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Atlantic
Colorado at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network

10 p.m.
Oregon at Oregon State — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Pacific

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 12/29 & 12/30/12, All Times Eastern

Men’s schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, December 29

Studio Shows
ACC Basketball Pre Season Tip-Off Show — ACC Network, check your local listings
75 Years of March Madness: Behind the Mic — CBS, 2 p.m.
75 Years of March Madness: A Coach’s Perspective — CBS, 3 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 9 p.m.

Orange Bowl Classic, Sunrise, FL
Tulsa vs. Florida State — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic, 2 p.m.
Air Force vs. Florida — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic, 4:30 p.m.

noon
Santa Clara at Duke — ESPN2
Western Michigan at NC State — ESPNU

Women’s: Temple at Michigan State — Big Ten Network

1 p.m.
Presbyterian at South Carolina — CSS/Comcast Network/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Mid-Atlantic/New England/Northwest)

2 p.m.
Loyola (Chicago) at DePaul — Big East Network
NC Central at Marquette — Big East Network
UNLV at North Carolina — ESPN2
Virginia Tech vs. BYU at Salt Lake City, UT — ESPNU
Rice at Texas — Longhorn Network
Hartford at Colorado — Pac-12 Network
Coppin State at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network (Arizona)

Women’s: Cal State-Northridege at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Net Oklahoma/Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox Sports Prime Ticket

2:15 p.m.
Auburn vs. Illinois at Chicago, IL — Big Ten Network

3 p.m.
Maine at Quinnipiac — NESN

4 p.m.
Kentucky at Louisville — CBS
Florida A&M at Georgia — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Chicago/Houston/New England/Northwest)
Lafayette at Stanford — Pac-12 Network

Women’s: UConn at Stanford — ESPNU

4:30 p.m.
Chicago State at Ohio State — Big Ten Network

5 p.m.
Army at Texas A&M — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox College Sports Central

6 p.m.
Xavier at Tennessee — ESPNU
Idaho State vs. Washington State at Kennewick, WA — Pac-12 Network

7 p.m.
Alcorn State at Syracuse — Big East Network
George Mason at South Florida — Big East Network
Central Michigan at Michigan — Big Ten Network
Missouri-Kansas City at Kansas State — Fox Sports Midwest/Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox Sports West/Fox College Sports Pacific

7:30 p.m.
Washington at UConn — ESPN2

8 p.m.
Butler at Vanderbilt — ESPNU
Denver at Louisiana Tech — ESPN Plus
Ohio at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox College Sports Central
Towson at Oregon State — Pac-12 Network

10 p.m.
Cal-Santa Barbara at Cal State-Fullerton — ESPNU

10:30 p.m.
Harvard at Cal — Pac-12 Network

Sunday, December 30

1 p.m.
Wofford at Virginia — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Florida/Prime Ticket/San Diego/South/Southwest)/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN

Women’s: Marist at Kentucky — Fox Sports North Plus/Fox Sports South Plus
Women’s: Rutgers at Tennessee — Fox Sports Arizona Plus/North/South/Wisconsin

2 p.m.
Women’s: Houston at Texas Tech — Fox Sports Southwest

3 p.m.
Women’s: North Dakota State at South Dakota State — Fox College Sports Central

4 p.m.
Alabama A&M at Mississippi State — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Northwest)
Mississippi Valley State at TCU — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports North Plus/Fox Sports West/Fox College Sports Atlantic

6 p.m.
Tulane at Alabama — ESPNU
Northern Iowa at Wichita State — Fox Sports Midwest/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox College Sports Central

7 p.m.
Dayton at USC — Pac-12 Network

8 p.m.
Loyola (MD) at Memphis — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/Northwest/Philadelphia)

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 12/22 & 12/23/2012, All Times Eastern

Men’s schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, December 22

Gotham Classic, New York, NY
Syracuse vs. Temple — ESPN2, noon

Diamond Head Classic, Honolulu, HI
Quarterfinals
Indiana State vs. Mississippi — ESPNU, 4 p.m.
San Diego State vs. San Francisco — ESPNU, 6:30 p.m.
Arizona vs. Tennessee State — ESPNU, 10:30 p.m.
Miami (FL) vs. Hawaii — ESPNU, 1 a.m. (Sunday)

Virginia Governor’s Cup, Richmond, VA
Richmond vs. George Mason — NBC Sports Network, 3 p.m.
Old Dominion vs. Virginia — NBC Sports Network, 5:30 p.m.

noon
American at Georgetown — Big East Network
Murray State at Dayton — CBS Sports Network
McNeese State at North Carolina — ESPNU

1 p.m.
Coppin State at Iowa — Big Ten Network
Tennessee Tech at Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports North Plus/Fox College Sports Atlantic

Women’s: UConn at Hartford — SNY

1:30 p.m.
USC at Georgia — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Midwest/North/Prime Ticket./an Diego/South/Southwest/Wisconsin/Sun Sports)

2 p.m.
Maryland-Baltimore County at DePaul — Big East Network
Florida State vs. Charlotte at Charlotte, NC — CBS Sports Network
Georgia State at URI — Cox Sports RI
Mercer at Alabama — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Chicago/Houston/New England/Northwest)
Texas at Michigan State — ESPN2
LSU at Marquette — ESPNU
Arizona State at Texas Tech — Fox Sports Southwest Plus/Fox Sports Arizona/Fox Sports West/Fox College Sports Central

3 p.m.
Tulsa at Oral Roberts — Fox College Sports Atlantic
Houston Baptist at Oregon — Pac-12 Network (Oregon/Washington)

Women’s: Duke at USC — Pac-12 Network

4 p.m.
Wright State at Cincinnati — Big East Network
Kansas at Ohio State — CBS
Marshall at Kentucky — ESPN2
Citadel at Georgia Tech — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Florida/North/San Diego/South/Prime Ticket/Wisconsin/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN)
Southern at Texas A&M — Fox Sports Southwest Plus/Fox Sports West/Sun Sports/Fox College Sports Central

Women’s: Stanford at Tennessee — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/SportSouth)

5 p.m.
Prairie View A&M at Cal — Pac-12 Network

6 p.m.
Missouri vs. Illinois at St. Louis, MO — ESPN2

7 p.m.
Lafayette at Minnesota — Big Ten Network
Northern Illinois at Washington — Pac-12 Network

8 p.m.
Winthrop at Auburn — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Chicago/New England)
Davidson at Drexel — NBC Sports Network

8:30 p.m.
Florida vs. Kansas State at Kansas City, MO — ESPN2
Louisville vs. Western Kentucky at Nashville, TN — ESPNU

9 p.m.
Missouri State at New Mexico State — Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox College Sports Atlantic
Oregon State vs. San Diego State at Las Vegas, NV — Pac-12 Network

9:15 p.m.
Milwaukee at Wisconsin — Big Ten Network

11 p.m.
Fresno State at UCLA — Pac-12 Network

Sunday, December 23

Diamond Head Classic, Honolulu, HI
Consolation
ESPNU, 3 p.m.
ESPNU, 9 p.m.

Semifinals
ESPNU, 5:30 p.m.
ESPN2, 11:30 p.m.

Las Vegas Classic, Las Vegas, NV
3rd Place Game
CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m.

Championship Game
CBS Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

11:30 a.m.
UNH at Penn State — Big Ten Network

noon
Siena at Fordham — YES

5 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Pittsburgh — Big East Network

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 12/15 & 12/16/2012, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, December 15

Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival, Brooklyn, NY
Fordham vs. Princeton — YES, 2:30 p.m.
St. John’s vs. St. Francis — YES, 5 p.m.
Michigan vs. West Virginia — ESPN, 8 p.m.

Crossroads Classic, Indianapolis, IN
Butler vs. Indiana — CBS, 2 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Purdue — ESPN2, 4:30 p.m.

noon
Western Carolina at Georgetown — Big East Network
North Carolina-Asheville at Ohio State — Big Ten Network
East Carolina at North Carolina — ESPNU
Akron at Detroit — Fox Sports Detroit/Fox College Sports Atlantic

12:30 p.m.
Lipscomb at Kentucky — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona/Midwest/North/San Diego/South/Southwest/Prime Ticket/Wisconsin)

2 p.m.
Savannah State at Marquette — Big East Network
Cincinnati vs. Marshall at Charleston, WV — CBS Sports Network
SMU at URI — Cox Sports RI
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M at Oklahoma City, OK — ESPNU

2:30 p.m.
Big Four Classic, Des Moines, IA: Iowa vs. Northern Iowa — Big Ten Network
Louisville at Memphis — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Pacific

3 p.m.
Dartmouth at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network

4 p.m.
Alabama at VCU — CBS Sports Network

4:30 p.m.
Nebraska at Oregon — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Pacific

5 p.m.
Iona at Georgia — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Chicago/New England/Northwest)/SNY
Cal-Davis at Stanford — Pac-12 Network

6 p.m.
New Mexico State at New Mexico — CBS Sports Network

7 p.m.
Canisius at Syracuse — Big East Network
Belmont at Kansas — ESPNU
Cal-Riverside at USC — Pac-12 Network (Arizona/Bay Area/Los Angeles)
Jackson State at Washington — Pac-12 Network (Mountain/Oregon/Washington)

8 p.m.
Texas State at Texas — Longhorn Network

9 p.m.
BYU at Weber State — BYU TV
Kansas State vs. Gonzaga at Seattle, WA — ESPN2
Tuskegee at Michigan State — ESPNU
Utah State at Utah Valley — Fox College Sports Pacific
Prairie View A&M at UCLA — Pac-12 Network

10 p.m.
Florida at Arizona — ESPN

11 p.m.
Creighton at Cal — Pac-12 Network

Sunday, December 16

1 p.m.
North Carolina A&T at Seton Hall — Big East Network
New Hampshire at Boston College — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/North Plus/San Diego/South/Southwest Plus/Prime Ticket)/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus/NESN

2 p.m.
Women’s: Lipscomb at Georgia — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (California/New England)
Women’s: Tennessee at Texas — Fox Sports Net-national

3 p.m.
Women’s: Vanderbilt at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Oklahoma Plus/Fox Sports South Plus

4 p.m.
Delaware at Villanova — ESPNU
Central Arkansas at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Arizona/Fox Sports Southwest/Fox College Sports Pacific

6 p.m.
Eastern Kentucky at Illinois — ESPNU
McNeese State at Texas Tech — Fox Sports Arizona/Fox Sports Southwest/Fox College Sports Central

7 p.m.
Chicago State at Oregon State — Pac-12 Network

Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Gives San Francisco Giants Fans A Chance To Re-Live 2012 Championship

Starting tonight and lasting through New Year’s Eve, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area will give San Francisco Giants fans a chance to re-live a magical 2012 postseason with the re-airing of seven games including the entire World Series that led to the team’s second championship in three years.

The games start tonight with the original CSN Bay Area broadcast of the Giants clinching the National League West Division over the San Diego Padres. And the next six games will be postseason broadcasts including the clinchers of the National League Division and Championship Series as well as the aforementioned World Series.

All of the postseason games will mix in the calls from KNBR Radio featuring Giants voices Jon Miller, Dave Flemming, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow.

We have the press release from CSN Bay Area. All times listed below are Pacific.

COMCAST SPORTSNET BAY AREA TO AIR “GIANTS CLASSIC GAMES,” FEATURING SEVEN GAMES FROM 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP RUN

Beginning Tuesday, December 11, Network to Present “Giants Classic Games – Championship Edition” Leading Off with Giants Winning NL West Schedule Includes Giants/Reds NLDS Game 5, Giants/Cardinals NLCS Game 7 and All Giants/Tigers World Series Games Postseason Telecasts to Feature Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Jon Miller and Dave Flemming’s KNBR Radio Calls

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 6, 2012) – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, the home of “Authentic Bay Area Sports,” relives and celebrates the San Francisco Giants’ 2012 championship season this month with “Giants Classic Games – Championship Edition” – an encore presentation of seven historic games from the team’s storybook season. As an added bonus, each postseason telecast will include the KNBR radio call from the best broadcasting team in baseball – Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Jon Miller and Dave Flemming.

Comcast SportsNet Bay Area will televise the first of seven “Giants Classic Games – Championship Edition” on Tuesday, December 11 at 7 p.m. with the Giants clinching the NL West against San Diego. “Giants Classic Games – Championship Edition” also includes the Giants beating Cincinnati in the NLDS; capturing the NL pennant against St. Louis; and sweeping Detroit in four games to win the team’s second World Series in three years.

Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s “Giants Classic Games – Championship Edition” schedule is below:

Tuesday, December 11 (Giants win NL West)
7 p.m. — September 22, 2012: Giants vs. San Diego Padres (Giants 8, Padres 4)
Madison Bumgarner pitched the Giants to their second NL West title in two years, and Marco Scutaro had three hits and three RBIs in San Francisco’s 8-4 win over the Padres.

Monday, December 24 (Giants win NL Division Series)
7 p.m. — October 11, 2012: Giants at Cincinnati Reds, Game 5 (Giants 6, Reds 4)
The Giants rally to win the NLDS by defeating Cincinnati in five games after losing the first two games at home. San Francisco’s dramatic comeback was capped off by Buster Posey’s second career grand slam off Mat Latos.

Tuesday, December 25 (Giants win NL Championship Series)
10 a.m. — October 22, 2012: Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Game 7 (Giants 9, Cardinals 0)
The Giants come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NLCS to beat the reigning 2011 World Champion Cardinals in seven games.  Marco Scutaro capped his series MVP performance with three hits; adding to his NLCS record 28 hits in the series.

Tuesday, December 25 (Giants win World Series Game 1)
7:30 p.m. — October 24, 2012: Giants vs. Detroit Tigers, Game 1 (Giants 8, Tigers 3)
Pablo Sandoval hits three home runs and drives in four runs in an 8-3 victory over the Tigers in Game 1.  Barry Zito outduels reigning AL Cy Young winner and MVP Justin Verlander to get the win.

Thursday, December 27 (Giants win World Series Game 2)
8 p.m. — October 25, 2012: Giants vs. Detroit Tigers, Game 2 (Giants 2, Tigers 0)
Madison Bumgarner tosses seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over the Tigers, and San Francisco takes a 2-0 edge in the World Series.

Sunday, December 30 (Giants win World Series Game 3)
7:30 p.m. — October 27, 2012: Giants at Detroit Tigers, Game 3 (Giants 2, Tigers 0)
Ryan Vogelsong, Tim Lincecum and Sergio Romo combine for a five-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Tigers.  The Giants take a commanding 3-0 lead as they become the first team in World Series history to record back-to-back shutouts since 1966.

Monday, December 31 (Giants win World Series)
8 p.m. — October 28, 2012: Giants at Detroit Tigers, Game 4 (Giants 4, Tigers 3; 10 innings)
The Giants top the Tigers in the tenth inning for the World Series sweep and their second championship in three years.  Marco Scutaro’s RBI single in the top of the tenth, driving in Ryan Theriot, was the difference in the Giants’ 4–3 victory.  Pablo Sandoval was named series MVP, hitting .500 with three home runs, a double and four RBIs in 16 at-bats.

That is all.

College Basketball Viewing Picks, 12/08 & 12/09/12, All Times Eastern

Men’s schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

MSG Holiday Classic, New York, NY
Fordham vs. St. John’s — MSG Plus, 7 p.m.
Rutgers vs. Iona — MSG Plus, 9:30 p.m.

noon
Towson at Georgetown — Big East Network
Long Beach State at Ohio State — Big Ten Network
Arkansas at Michigan — CBS
Portland at Kentucky — ESPN2

1 p.m.
TCU at Tulsa — Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Central
Cleveland State at North Carolina State — Fox Sports Net-regional (San Diego/South)/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/Sun Sports
Austin Peay at Memphis — SportSouth/Fox Sports North Plus/Fox College Sports Pacific

2 p.m.
Maryland-Eastern Shore at Cincinnati — Big East Network
Loyola (Chicago) at Michigan State — Big Ten Network
Colorado at Kansas — ESPN2
Cal State-Northridge at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network

2:30 p.m.
Kansas State at George Washington — CBS Sports Network

3:15 p.m.
Temple vs. Duke at East Rutherford, NJ — ESPN

4 p.m.
Army At Penn State — Big Ten Network
Virginia Tech at West Virginia — ESPN2
Missouri State at Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox Sports Wisconsin/Fox College Sports Central
Vermont at Quinnipiac — NESN
Grambling at Oregon State — Pac-12 Network

5:15 p.m.
UCLA vs. Texas at Houston, TX — ESPN

6 p.m.
Central Connecticut State at Indiana — Big Ten Network
Wisconsin at Marquette — ESPN2
Northern Iowa at George Mason — NBC Sports Network
Idaho State at Oregon — Pac-12 Network

7 p.m.
Monmouth at Syracuse — Big East Network

8 p.m.
Butler at Northwestern — Big Ten Network
Arizona at Clemson — ESPN2
Villanova at Penn — NBC Sports Network
Nevada at Washington — Pac-12 Network

9 p.m.
Utah at BYU — BYU TV

10 p.m.
Illinois at Gonzaga — ESPN2

10:30 p.m.
Minnesota at USC — Pac-12 Network

Sunday, December 9

noon
women’s: Georgetown at Penn State — Big Ten Network

1 p.m.
women’s: Middle Tennessee State at Kentucky — Fox Sports San Diego/Fox Sports South/Fox Sports Wisconsin/Sun Sports

2 p.m.
women’s: Central Connecticut State at New Hampshire — Fox College Sports Atlantic

3 p.m.
Fresno State at Washington State — Pac-12 Network

women’s: South Dakota at Kansas State — Fox Sports Midwest/Fox Sports North
women’s: Furman at South Carolina — Fox Sports Wisconsin/SportSouth/Sun Sports

4 p.m.
Maine at Florida State — ESPNU

6 p.m.
UNLV at Cal — ESPNU

Various Wednesday Links

I’ll do a few links for you this evening.

I’ll start with a strange story that surfaced today from a University of Maryland journalism class during which ESPN Vice President and Executive Editor John Walsh made some rather strange statements about Deadspin’s John Koblin over the Lynn Hoppes plagiarism situation. Deadspin has raised issues of Hoppes lifting material from Wikipedia. In the journalism class, student Mark Sanchez asked Walsh about Hoppes and the plagiarism. Walsh then made puzzling statements that Koblin was angry that Hoppes stole his girlfriend. This is quite interesting except that Koblin is gay. The whole thing came out on Twitter in this very interesting thread. John Koblin later talked with Walsh who denied making the statements. One of the strangest stories I’ve ever seen this year or any other year.

A story that broke Wednesday night, Michael Hiestand of USA Today reports that CBS/Turner might get permission to use ESPN’s Dick Vitale on the NCAA Tournament and team him with Charles Barkley.

ESPN has gained the rights to air the NBA in the UK and Ireland.

Jason Howerton at The Blaze writes that Bob Costas and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly had a discussion on guns.

Dave Scott from ESPN’s Front Row public relations blog notes that Sean McDonough is recovering from surgery to correct  a rare ear condition.

Tom Van Riper of Forbes says former ESPN’er Brian Kenny brings a big network feel to MLB Network.

Reuters has a Disney executive crowing about ESPN ad sales being ahead of last year’s pace.

David Goetzl from MediaPost notes that SodaStream will advertise in Super Bowl XLVII on CBS.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age looks at the companies buying time in the Super Bowl.

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report talks with former Fox Sports Vice Chairman Ed Goren about a career that spans many decades back to his days with CBS.

Ed also has former New York Times writer Robert Lipsyte discussing Bob Costas’ halftime commentary on Sunday Night Football.

Dee McVicker from Radio World says ESPN has been studying consumers’ cross-platform habits.

SportsRantz notes that Cumulus Media has purchased radio stations that ensures that CBS Sports Radio will be heard on FM in the nation’s top three markets.

Matthew Kitchen of Esquire talks with ESPN’s Samantha Steele.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has video of a Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic anchor mocked LeBron James after the Washington Wizards defeated the Miami Heat last night.

Sports Media Watch says the SEC Championship Game on CBS did really well in the ratings.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says WBZ-TV’s Steve Burton went out on a limb to say the NHL Lockout could be resolved.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News talks about Fox’s spending spree reaching to Cleveland.

Jerry Barmash from Fishbowl New York notes that the Jets are staying with ESPN Radio NY for years to come.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Week 14 NFL TV Schedule.

Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says TV rights fees help teams spend on free agents.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner delves into a Sports Business Journal report stating that Fox Sports was interested in buying MASN.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks with former Astros analyst Jim Deshaies about leaving for the Chicago Cubs.

The Chronicle prints a press release stating that ESPN’er Steve Bunin is joining Comcast SportsNet Houston.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman has the weekend TV ratings for Oklahoma City.

Jay Miller at Crain’s Cleveland Business speculates about the sale of Sports Time Ohio to Fox Sports. Your humble blogger is quoted in the story. (subscription might be required)

Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch says the extra cash from STO’s sale may not help the Dolan family which owns the Cleveland MLB team.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN’s Samantha Steele is now engaged.

Chris Kue of the Chicago Tribune has Jim Deshaies looking forward to being the new Cubs analyst.

Lewis Lazare at the Chicago Business Journal says Comcast SportsNet Chicago has hired a new news director.

Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune writes that the Raiders are shooting down any rumors of ESPN’s Jon Gruden coaching the team once again.

Jeff Blair from the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about the late Blue Jays voice Tom Cheek being bestowed a Baseball Hall of Fame honor posthumously.

At Yahoo’s Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski speculates on how many games would be played if the NHL Lockout ever gets resolved.

I think that will end our linkage for the night.

WGN & Chicago Cubs Announce Replacement For Bob Brenly

This from WGN and the Chicago Cubs, Jim Deshaies who was with the Houston Astros as its analyst dating back to 1997, will join their broadcast booth for the 2013 season and beyond. Shortly after this past season, Cubs analyst Bob Brenly announced that he was leaving the Cubs booth after eight seasons with WGN-TV/Comcast SportsNet Chicago and becoming the analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Deshaies, a former pitcher who spent most of his major league career with the Astros, will join Len Kasper on all Cubs TV broadcasts on WGN/WCIU and Comcast SportsNet.

We have the official announcement from WGN and the Chicago Cubs.

WGN-TV AND CHICAGO CUBS AGREE TO FOUR-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH JIM DESHAIES TO BECOME TELEVISION ANALYST FOR CHICAGO CUBS GAME BROADCASTS

CHICAGO, December 3, 2012 – WGN-TV and the Chicago Cubs are pleased to announce former Houston Astros broadcaster Jim Deshaies has agreed to a four-year agreement to join Len Kasper in the booth as the television analyst for Chicago Cubs game broadcasts on WGN-TV, Comcast SportsNet and WCIU-TV.

Deshaies, a former pitcher who spent most of his career with the Astros, joins the Cubs broadcast team after serving as an analyst for Houston since 1997.

“After spending the last 16 seasons with the Houston Astros, it will be a very tough organization and fan base to leave. However, I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather move than with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field,” said Deshaies. “My family and I look forward to meeting the great, passionate fans of the Cubs and we’re excited at what lies ahead in Chicago.”

“We’re very fortunate, along with our fan base, to welcome Jim as the next television analyst of the Chicago Cubs,” said Crane Kenney, president of business operations, Chicago Cubs. “Jim expressed an incredible appreciation for Cubs baseball, the history of Wrigley Field, the strength of our fan base, his predecessors in the broadcast booth and opportunity to carry the tradition forward. He is a student of the game who incorporates his firsthand knowledge, stories and humor into the broadcast, and we’re excited to see him in the booth with Len.”

“We look forward to sharing Jim’s knowledge and experience with Cubs fans across the country on WGN and in Chicago on Comcast. We know Len and Jim will have a great partnership in the broadcast booth,” said Steve Farber, acting general manager, WGN-TV.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Jim to our Cubs telecast team beginning in 2013,” said James J. Corno, president of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. “He and Len will make a terrific on-air duo Cubs fans will embrace for years to come.”

That will do it for this post.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 12/01 & 12/02/2012, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, December 1

SEC/Big East Challenge
Mississippi State at Providence — ESPNU, noon
Rutgers at Mississippi — ESPNU, 2 p.m.
Alabama at Cincinnati — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
Villanova at Vanderbilt — ESPNU, 6 p.m.

John Wooden Classic, Anaheim, CA
San Diego State vs. UCLA — ESPNU, 10 p.m.

noon
Nicholls State at Michigan State — Big Ten Network

women’s — Mississippi Valley State at Kansas State — Fox Sports Midwest

12:30 p.m.
Baylor at Kentucky — CBS

1 p.m.
Illinois at Louisville — Big East Network
Brown at New Hampshire — Fox College Sports Atlantic

2 p.m.
Miami (FL) at UMass — CBS Sports Network
Vermont at URI — Cox Sports RI
Delaware at Duke — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Florida/North Plus/San Diego/South/Prime Ticket)/Comcast SportsNet/NESN

2:15 p.m.
Xavier at Purdue — Big Ten Network

4 p.m.
Michigan at Bradley — ESPNU
Wisconsin-Green Bay at Virginia — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/Florida/North Plus/San Diego/South/Wisconsin/Prime Ticket)/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN
Texas-Arlington at Texas — Longhorn Network

women’s — Georgetown at George Washington — Comcast SportsNet New England/Mid-Atlantic Plus

4:30 p.m.
Northern Kentucky at Iowa — Big Ten Network

6 p.m.
UAB at North Carolina — ESPNU

6:30 p.m.
Texas A&M at Houston — Fox Sports Net-national
Sam Houston State at Northern Arizona — Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox College Sports Pacific
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Oregon — Pac-12 Network

7:30 p.m.
Coppin State at Indiana — Big Ten Network

8 p.m.
Arizona at Texas Tech — ESPNU

8:30 p.m.
Sacramento State at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network

10:30 p.m.
Portland at Washington State — Pac-12 Network

Sunday, December 2

BB&T Classic, Washington, DC
Manhattan vs. George Washington — MASN/Fox Sports Net-national/Fox College Sports Atlantic, noon
George Mason vs. Maryland — MASN/Fox Sports Net-national, 2:30 p.m.

noon
Clemson at South Carolina — ESPNU

1 p.m.
women’s — North Carolina at Tennessee — Fox Sports South

1:30 p.m.
women’s — Central Michigan at Purdue — Big Ten Network

2 p.m.
South Carolina Upstate at Kansas State — Fox Sports Midwest/North Plus/Prime Ticket/Fox College Sports Central

women’s — Xavier at Cincinnati — Fox Sports Ohio

3 p.m.
women’s — Marist at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Oklahoma
women’s — Houston at TCU — Fox Sports Southwest

4 p.m.
Cal at Wisconsin — Big Ten Network

4:30 p.m.
Valparaiso at Saint Louis — Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Central

5 p.m.
Denver at Stanford — Pac-12 Network

6 p.m.
women’s — Kentucky at Louisville — ESPNU

7 p.m.
Cal State-Fullerton at Washington — Pac-12 Network

It’s A Wednesday Link Thing

Let’s do some linkage for you as we hit mid-week.

Once again, a shameless plug. Here are some Quick Wednesday Sports Media Thoughts which were written very early this morning.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with former ESPN’er Dana Jacobsen who will be part of CBS Sports Radio’s morning show when the network launches in January.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN will donate $1 million to the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.

Brian Steinberg at Advertising Age looks at which marketers have bought time for Super Bowl XLVII on CBS.

E.J. Schultz of Ad Age says ad agency powerhouse Wieden & Kennedy has won the right to produce Oreo’s Super Bowl spot.

Michael Bradley in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says regional sports networks need to spend big money for rights to local teams otherwise they’re stuck without programming.

At Fangraphs, the always lovely Wendy Thurm looks at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ megadeal with Fox plus displays what all of the MLB teams generate in local rights fees.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report says the Dodgers’ contract with Fox proves that the rich just get richer.

Ed looks at this year’s National Sporscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame ballot.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has the disturbing news that ESPN2′s First Take will be expanding to Saturday mornings after college football season.

Matt has a look at Fox Sports 1.

Bob Kennedy of the Stamford (CT) Advocate says NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus will receive a local honor next week.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times delves into why the late Marvin Miller is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Keith Olbermann pays tribute to Miller.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com has his weekly Baltimore-DC media column.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes that while the Los Angeles Dodgers’ TV rights are about to be settled, the Nationals’ through MASN still remains up in the air.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks about Marvin Miller’s impact on baseball.

Ragan Robinson of the Gaston (NC) Gazette says local entrepreneurs got the seal of approval from ESPN for their golf gadget.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald has the comments from TNT’s Charles Barkley on the Heat.

Jacques Couret of the Atlanta Business Chronicle says Fox Sports South and its affiliated regional sports networks have hired a new Executive Producer.

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman has a look at the local weekend TV ratings.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that audio of Bengals QB Andy Dalton will be aired on two national mid-week NFL shows tonight.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers apologizing to fans on his weekly radio show.

Danny Ecker from Crain’s Chicago Business notes that the Bulls practice facility could get a lot of money for its naming rights.

The Peoria (IL) Journal Star reports that four Illinois State basketball games will be picked up by Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that one weekend late night sports TV show tops the local ratings.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football suffered a ratings decline for Panthers-Eagles earlier this week.

Adam Guillen, Jr. of SB Nation’s MMA Mania reports that Fox is hoping to sign a UFC event for Super Bowl XLVIII weekend in February 2014.

Tony Manfred at the Business Insider’s Sports Page has women’s soccer star Hope Solo blaming the media for reporting on her husband’s domestic violence issues. Hope is a nut.

And I managed to squeeze out some good linkage today. Enjoy your Wednesday.

Some Quick Wednesday Sports Media Thoughts

Tuesday was an early Christmas for your humble blogger. Thanks to some Black Friday sales, I’ve been setting up a new iPad and a new laptop computer, so the posts were rather slim on Tuesday. To make up for that minimal posting, I’ll write some sports media thoughts and unlike the last sports media thoughts post where I expanded on things, I’ll do some quick hits. As usual, they come to you in bullet form.

• CBS Sports Radio appears to be on its way to providing a full 24 hour weekday schedule when it launches on January 2. I’m happy to see that former ESPN’er Dana Jacobsen will be part of the morning drive show along with Brandon Tierney and Tiki Barber. I’m not sure if Tiki will be able to provide much based on his past performance on NBC, but with Tierney and Jacobsen doing most of the heavy lifting, the show could be successful. I’m looking forward to hearing the first few weeks.
• On Tuesday, the rumors of Fox Sports potentially purchasing regional sports network Sports Time Ohio surfaced once again. Since last year, there have been rumblings that STO would be bought out by Fox. STO currently owns the TV rights to the Cleveland MLB team, but hasn’t been able to expand upon that portfolio. Ohio Media Watch’s Twitter account was burning up with speculation on STO. Should this come to fruition, this could be the third MLB team that Fox Sports could secure after the New York Yankees last week and reportedly the Los Angeles Dodgers which could close this week. We’ll keep you posted on this story.
• Still wondering when DirecTV will begin carrying Pac-12 Network and Comcast SportsNet Houston. Thus far, the satellite provider has remained stubborn in its refusal to pick up either channel. While DirecTV felt the pressure to pick up Time Warner Cable SportsNet for Los Angeles Lakers games, it appears to be in no hurry to carry Pac-12 Network or CSN Houston despite fan complaints. In these disputes, the fans are always caught in the middle.
• MLB Network’s Hot Stove new morning show format is a welcome addition to sports television. Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds are good as co-hosts. Neither have worn suits and ties as MLB Network tries to be less formal with the show. Alana Rizzo has been good as the update anchor. Having insider Ken Rosenthal on the show is a nice touch. And during Thanksgiving Week, it was good to see Keith Olbermann co-hosting the show with fellow former ESPN’er Brian Kenny. Here’s hoping that MLB Network could make this a permanent addition during the MLB season, perhaps under a different name.
• After ESPN saw the ratings for Notre Dame-USC on Saturday, you knew network executives were chomping at the bit thinking about the potential ratings for the BCS Championship Game. As Notre Dame will face the winner of the SEC, the numbers for the college football championship come January will be huge. Then again, I’m probably telling you something you already know.

Ok, I’ll end it there. Time to finish things for the night.

College Football Viewing Picks For Week 13, 11/23 & 11/24/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Friday, November 23

Pregame & Studio Shows
Best of College Football 2012 — CBS, 1:30 p.m.
Fox College Football Saturday — Fox, 3 p.m.

11 a.m.
Syracuse at Temple — ESPN2 (Tom Hart/John Congemi)
Ohio at Kent State — ESPNU (Adam Amin/Tom Luginbill)

noon
Nebraska at Iowa — ABC (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)

2 p.m.
Marshall at East Carolina — CBS Sports Network

2:30 p.m.
LSU at Arkansas — CBS (Tim Brando/Steve Beuerlein/Marty Snider)

3 p.m.
Utah at Colorado — FX (Mike Morgan/JC Pearson/Laura McKeeman)

3:30 p.m.
West Virginia at Iowa State — ABC (Dave Lamont/Kelly Stouffer)

Washington at Washington State — Fox (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)

7 p.m.
South Florida at Cincinnati — ESPN (Mark Neely/Ray Bentley)

10 p.m.
Arizona State at Arizona — ESPN (Carter Blackburn/Rod Gilmore/Jemele Hill)

Saturday, November 24

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Los Angeles, CA — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
ACC Blitz — ACC Network, noon
Fox College Saturday — Fox, 2 p.m.
College Football Special — CBS, 2:30 p.m.
BTN Football Postgame — Big Ten Network, 3 p.m.
College Football Today — CBS, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
Fox College Saturday — Fox, 6 p.m.
The Final Drive — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN, 6:30 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 6:30 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 10 p.m.
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

noon
Michigan at Ohio State — ABC (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kessenich)

UConn at Louisville — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/David Diaz-Infante/Adam Amin)

Illinois at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/Jon Jansen)
Indiana at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Josh Lewin/Chris Martin/J Leman)

Georgia Tech at Georgia — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
Rutgers at Pittsburgh — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Paul Carcaterra)
Virginia at Virginia Tech — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)

Tulsa at SMU — FX (Steve Physioc/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox)
UAB at Central Florida — Fox Sports Net-national/WLVI/KICU/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Mike Gleason/Gary Reasons/Leslie McCaslin)

Kentucky at Tennessee — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Miami (FL) at Duke — ACC Network

2:30 p.m.
Bayou Classic, New Orleans, LA: Grambling vs. Southern — NBC (Paul Burmeister/Rod Woodson/Lewis Johnson)

Baylor vs. Texas Tech at Arlington, TX — Fox (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)

3 p.m.
Idaho at Utah State — ESPN Plus (Trey Bender/Jay Taylor)

Maryland at North Carolina — Fox Sports Net-regional (Arizona Plus/North Plus/San Diego/South/Southwest Plus/Prime Ticket)/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/NESN (Rich Waltz/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)

3:30 p.m.
Florida at Florida State — ABC (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)

Michigan State at Minnesota — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Glen Mason/Rebecca Haarlow)

Auburn at Alabama — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson)

Oklahoma State at Oklahoma — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell/Maria Taylor)
Wisconsin at Penn State — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Jessica Mendoza)
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)

Tulane at Houston — Fox Sports Net-national/WDCA/KICU/Fox College Sports Central (Ron Thulin/JC Pearson/Laura McKeeman)

Air Force at Fresno State — NBC Sports Network (Todd Harris/Anthony Herron)

4:30 p.m.
Southern Mississippi at Memphis — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Mid-Atlantic Plus/Northwest)/The Comcast Network

6:30 p.m.
Stanford at UCLA — Fox (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)

7 p.m.
South Carolina at Clemson — ESPN, 7:15 p.m. (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Shannon Spake)
Missouri at Texas A&M — ESPN2 (Steve Levy/Ed Cunningham/Kaylee Hartung)
Mississippi State at Mississippi — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Allison Williams)

8 p.m.
Notre Dame at USC — ABC (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)

10:30 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at San Jose State — ESPN2 (Joe Davis/Tom Luginbill)