Digging Out Some Tuesday Linkage

Time for the links on this Tuesday. Lots of good stuff to get to.

Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal looks at MLB Commissioner Bud Selig rejecting the Los Angeles Dodgers’ deal with Fox which now throws Frank McCourt’s ownership of the team into jeopardy.

In Sports Business Journal, Broadcasting & Cable Editor-in-Chief Ben Grossman has some suggestions for Major League Soccer on how to grow the sport in the U.S.

From the ESPN Ombudsman, Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute says Bill Simmons’ Grantland site shows potential, but needs to do more.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has his June Media Power List.

Richard also talks with the CEO of the polarizing Bleacher Report.

Had to catch up with those last three links from last week. I was so far behind after not doing linkage Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Curtis Eichelberger of Bloomberg writes that NFL quarterback Chad Pennington is taking a year off and will work for Fox Sports when the league comes back from lockout.

Lesley Goldberg of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Comedy Central has canceled two sports-themed shows after just one season.

Marisa Guthrie of the Reporter notes that the U.S. Open’s final round ratings improved from Saturday’s numbers, but were still far below last year’s.

John Eggerton from Broadcasting & Cable has NBC being very apologetic about cutting “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance during Sunday’s coverage of the U.S. Open.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NBA’s digital platforms are all over this week’s NBA Draft.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine says Rory McIlroy has yet to prove he’s a ratings draw.

Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports.com says the Big East turned down a big payday from ESPN to risk checking the free agent market.

Sam Mamudi of Marketwatch.com notes that you may not know that Turner Sports has a rather large online presence in golf.

Alex Weprin of SportsNewser recaps Comcast CEO Brian Roberts’ comments on NBC’s successful Olympics bid.

At SportsGrid, Dave Levy writes that Grantland failed to live up to the hype.

Dave says Bill Simmons could have left ESPN to create Grantland somewhere else.

And Dave has thoughts on Grantland here, here and here.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says the Dan Patrick Show has an unusual proposal on how to end the NFL lockout.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that flamboyant tennis fashionista Bethanie Mattek-Sands (who came to Fang’s Bites’ attention in 2007) has signed a new endorsement contract for an nontraditional tennis product.

Jay Busbee of Yahoo’s From the Marbles blog looks at Fox’s proposal to move some of its NASCAR races to cable in its next contract.

At the Daly Planet, John Daly has some thoughts on what this potential move means for the future of Speed.

Diane Mermigas of the Business Insider says innovation could help NBCUniversal pay for its $4.38 billion pricetag for the Olympics.

Olympic sports beat writer John Powers of the Boston Globe finally gets to write about NBC winning the rights to four Olympic Games.

Tom Rock of Newsday has some quotes of tonight’s HBO Real Sports profile of former New York Giants running back and NBC analyst Tiki Barber.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times looks at MLB rejecting the Los Angeles Dodgers’ deal with Fox.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that Rory McIlroy doesn’t move the TV ratings meter like Tiger Woods did.

Nate Mink writing for the Philadelphia Daily News recaps an ESPN taping of a program involving legendary coaches Joe Paterno of Penn State and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke.

Joseph Santoliquito of the Marple Newtown Patch has a profile of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia anchor Ron Burke.

Greg Augman of the St. Petersburg Times notes that Jon Gruden is taping a session of his ESPN “QB Camp” series with former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an interview with Georgia Tech’s Athletic Director on a few subjects including the impact of the ESPN/SEC contract on the school.

Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes that Golf Channel is giving David Feherty a platform for his humor.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley has Keith Olbermann not impressed with the tome on ESPN.

Justin Albers at the Chicago Sun-Times chronicles ESPN’s Baseball Tonight’s visit to the Windy City on Sunday.

Robert Feder of Time Out Chicago says the local ESPN Radio affiliate is about to move to new streetside studios.

Chad Purcell of the Omaha World-Journal goes behind-the-scenes with ESPN’s crew at the College World Series.

Bill Shaikin and David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times have a story on MLB rejecting the Fox offer to Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt and putting the team into limbo.

The Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review has a profile of Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis who used to work in the area.

Kenyon Wallace of the Toronto Star responds to ESPN the Magazine ranking the Canadian city as the worst in all of pro sports.

Cathal Kelly of the Star says there are cities worse off than Toronto.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has its version of the NHL TV Awards.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing feels it’s time for Joe Buck to leave Fox Saturday Baseball. I called for this two years ago.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball writes that Frank McCourt is threatening legal action to hold onto the Dodgers.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin has video of NESN’s Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy being amused by a Red Sox fan wearing a chicken hat. I found out later that she’s the sister of writer Joe Meloni who covers the Hockey East conference for College Hockey News.

And that’s where I’ll leave it for now. Lots of links today.

Patriots Day Monday Linkage

With this being Patriots Day in Massachusetts and Maine, it’s time to give some links. It’s a day off for some in Massachusetts and Boston has the Marathon plus the 11 a.m. Red Sox game. Both of which are traditions I have come to enjoy.

Some interesting links today. We start with John Ourand and Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal who report that ESPN and the Big East Conference are talking contract extension a year before renewal talks were to begin.

John and David Broughton of the Sports Business Journal note that the Pittsburgh Penguins are on top of the local NHL TV ratings heap.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy crunches the NHL’s local TV numbers.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King in his Monday Morning Quarterback column has some interesting sports media notes. One, he talks with NFL Films President Steve Sabol about his treatment for a brain tumor. Steve is touched by the outreach of support from you.

Next, Peter talks with ESPN’s Jon Gruden about several quarterback prospects and yes, there’s even a “this guy” quote.

Also, Peter takes NFL Network to task for making Bob Papa audition for the job he currently has.

And if you would rather see the entire MMQB column on one page instead of clicking through five pages, you can go here.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today speaks with TNT’s Reggie Miller about his former broadcast partner Doug Collins and his own front office aspirations.

Hiestands notes the very good overnight ratings for six of the eight NBA playoff games over the weekend.

Tom Weir of USA Today says Michael Strahan will get his first opportunity to guest host for Regis Philbin tomorrow on “Live with Regis & Kelly”.

USA Today and Tennis Channel have announced a new online feature that will run exclusively on USAToday.com.

ESPN has published the list of announcers and analysts who have endorsement deals. A couple of names noticeably absent are Chris Berman who has deals with Applebees and Nutrisystem and Chris Fowler who has one with Nike.

ESPN Executive Vice President for Production, Norby Williamson wrote the new endorsement guidelines and they were posted on ESPN’s Front Row.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter says the NBA Playoffs took ratings away from primetime on Sunday.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable advises you to enjoy the NBA while you can before the inevitable lockout occurs in the summer.

Tom Conroy of Media Life Magazine reviews the new “Sports Show with Norm Macdonald”.

Marc Watts of the new Sports PR Blog which is headed by Pro Sports Communications lists the top five NBA television analysts.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell gives us his observations about purposely staying away from Twitter for just under a week.

Darren has estimates of fan attendance at various spring college football games.

Craig Calcaterra from Hardball Talk has a picture of ESPN’s Wendi Nix trying to get some answers from Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington.

At Deadline, the mysterious Nikki Finke wonders if it’s time to end live sports TV coverage to prevent occasional swear words from slipping through the cracks. It doesn’t happen all of the time and sports fans won’t stand for delays.

Glen Johnson of the Boston Globe says Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown visited the NESN booth today and said other members of Congress are jealous of the Bay State’s sports teams.

From Claire Atkinson of the New York Post, there’s a power struggle between NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol and NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke over the bid for the 2014/2016 Olympics and don’t forget bids are due in a month in a half.

Also from the Post, Phil Mushnick is amazed that an MLB team used common sense.

In the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that Capitals coach used a radio appearance to insult the venerable Madison Square Garden.

Dan says the Capitals’ TV ratings are far outpacing the Wizards’.

Doug Miles of the Tampa Bay Examiner wants to know why NBC dumped coverage of golf on Sunday in favor of the NHL.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times reviews the weekend that was on sports television.

The Tennessean notes that ESPN has set the date and time for this year’s Music City Bowl.

In the Houston Chronicle, David Barron says he’s going to be away for a couple of weeks.

Tom Brew of the Indianapolis Star says Chris Denari, the TV voice of the Indiana Pacers, will finally get to call his first NBA Playoff game this week.

At Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman talks with ESPN’s Michael Wilbon about making a move back to the Windy City.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post loved the opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News has the Southern California sports calendar for this week.

Randy Starkman of the Toronto Star does not like Canada’s public funding for CBC when Don Cherry makes fun of concussions.

Raju Mudhar of the Star talks with the new head of CBC Sports.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail wonders if TSN had not paid close scrutiny to an uncalled penalty, would a suspension have followed?

To the Canadian Sports Media Blog where it also tackles the controversial concussion comments by Don Cherry on Saturday.

Over to Steve Lepore at Puck The Media who says NBC did not get the job done by not producing a clear-cut replay during yesterday’s Washington Capitals-New York Rangers game during a goal review.

Steve also looks at the local ratings for this weekend’s NHL on NBC double dip.

Mocksession, headed up by the great Timothy Burke a.k.a. @bubbaprog, has a comparison of Bobby Valentine’s and Marv Albert’s very similar hairstyles. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

Sports Media Watch says TNT’s NBA tripleheader really did well on Sunday.

And this is where we’ll end it for now.

Comedy Central Greenlights “Sports Show with Norm MacDonald

Comedy Central continues to look for sports-themed programming. It adds a new show hosted by Norm MacDonald, the former Saturday Night Live castmate who did Weekend Update in the 1990′s he got fired at the insistence of NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer (that name seems familiar). Since then, Norm had his own sitcom and starred in a few movies including the underrated “Dirty Work”. Now, he’ll host the aptly named “Sports Show with Norm MacDonald” which will have a similar vein as Weekend Update where Norm will give his take on sports news. Whether this will replace Onion SportsDome or be a companion has yet to be determined.

Here’s the press release from Comedy Central.

NORM MACDONALD RETURNS TO SERIES TV AS
COMEDY CENTRAL® GREENLIGHTS “SPORTS SHOW WITH NORM MACDONALD”

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Scripted Series Picked Up For 8 Episodes And Is Slated To Premiere In April

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Executive Produced By Macdonald, Marc Gurvitz, Lori Jo Hoekstra And Jackhole’s Daniel Kellison

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“Norm Macdonald: Me Doing Stand-Up” Premieres Saturday, March 12 at 11:00 P.M.

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NEW YORK, February 9, 2011 – He made a name for himself as the anchor of “SNL’s” Weekend Update, and now Norm Macdonald is taking the same approach, but with his sights set on the sports world. COMEDY CENTRAL has picked up “Sports Show with Norm Macdonald” and placed an 8-episode order for the show, it was announced today by Kent Alterman, head of original programming and production, COMEDY CENTRAL. The new series is slated to begin production this month and is scheduled to premiere in April.

“Sports Show with Norm Macdonald” will feature Macdonald’s unique and comedic take on the most topical and controversial stories from the sports world. Taped in front of a live studio audience, the fast-paced and informative show will cover all sports – from the popular to the obscure – delivered with Macdonald’s unforgettable style, reminiscent of his hugely popular run as “SNL’s” Weekend Update anchor. The series will be executive produced by Macdonald, Marc Gurvitz, Lori Jo Hoekstra and Jackhole Productions’ Daniel Kellison. Jim Sharp and Gary Mann are the executives in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL.

“Norm has the uncanny ability to say what I didn’t even realize I was thinking,” said Alterman.

“I’m excited and look forward to doing this series,” said Macdonald. “On this show, we plan to put the central back in COMEDY CENTRAL.”

A staple in the comedy world, Macdonald is best known for his offbeat delivery of the news as a Weekend Update anchor on “Saturday Night Live.” Macdonald joined the cast of “SNL” in 1993 and remained on the show for five seasons where his impressions of Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman and Bob Dole, among others, are still talked about today.

A native of Quebec City, Canada, Macdonald began his career as a stand-up comic and made his way to Los Angeles, where he became a writer on the ABC hit series “Roseanne” and then starred in ABC’s “The Norm Show” from 1999 – 2001. Macdonald’s film credits include co-writing and starring in “Dirty Work,” voicing Lucky the dog in all three of the Eddie Murphy remakes of “Doctor Dolittle,” as well as appearing in “Billy Madison,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” and “Man on the Moon,” among others. Macdonald has a history with COMEDY CENTRAL, which released his comedy album, “Ridiculous,” in 2006 and, in 2008, Macdonald made an epic and unforgettable appearance on the COMEDY CENTRAL “Roast of Bob Saget.” In addition, his upcoming original one-hour special, “Norm Macdonald: Me Doing Stand-Up” premieres on Saturday, March 12 at 11 p.m.

And that’s it.

Bringing Some Wednesday Linkage

Ok, let’s bring you some linkage. Again, in the midst of a lot of stuff, but taking a break to do some now before work really prevents me from blogging.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today recaps Phil Simms comments to Sirius XM regarding his Super Bowl incident with Desmond Howard.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NBA is experiencing its own ratings renaissance this season just as the NFL has.

TNT’s Marv Albert held a chat with USA Today yesterday and talked about his approach to calling the NCAA Tournament this season.

If you’re a fan of the Dan Patrick Show like I am, then you’ll welcome a relaunch of his website.

Stu Hackel of Sports Illustrated says don’t expect the NHL to leave NBC/Versus anytime soon. Thanks to Steve Lepore of Puck The Media for the link.

Jeff Pearlman talks about the monotony of a postgame press conference.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse looks at CBS’ Sean McManus focusing on sports again.

The Hollywood Reporter says HomeAway’s Super Bowl ad which featured a baby doll being smashed against a window will be re-edited for future showings.

Lindsay Powers of the Hollywood Reporter says the director of the popular Volkswagen mini-Darth Vader Super Bowl ad which went viral before the game feels releasing them online will be the model for future commercials.

Philiana Ng of the Hollywood Reporter notes that Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl VII received its highest audience ever.

Jon Lafayette at Broadcasting & Cable reports that Disney showed higher earnings in the first quarter of its fiscal year thanks to ESPN and ABC.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that TNT is on pace to have its highest rated NBA regular season ever.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes that thanks to the Super Bowl and American Idol, Fox has climbed to number 1 in the all-important 18-49 ratings demographic.

Brad Cohen of SportsGrid gives his first-hand account of surviving Super Bowl Week in the Metroplex.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans from the St. Petersburg Times writes that CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus has plenty of challenges lying ahead of him.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says a Dallas radio talk show host went over the line in confronting Michael Vick last week.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the NFL is stepping up a notch in the ticket snafu that left hundreds of fans watching the Super Bowl in a bar instead of inside Cowboys Stadium.

Nellie Andreeva of Deadline says Comedy Central has given the green light to a Norm Macdonald-hosted sports show.

Josh Halliday of the London (UK) Guadian reports that ESPN is going to launch mobile apps for cricket and Formula 1 racing for the iPhone.

Alex Marvez of Fox Sports writes that NFL labor unrest could put the league’s annual game in London in jeopardy.

Ron Sirak of Golf Digest has the new president of Golf Channel talking about the new corporate synergy between NBC Sports and Golf Channel.

Stuart Elliot of the New York Times says amid complaints, Groupon is revising its Super Bowl ads.

Newsday’s Neil Best attended an event previewing an MSG Network documentary series on the 1986 New York Mets.

Brad Wellen of Fishbowl NY says ESPN The Magazine is packing up its Manhattan offices and heading to Bristol, CT.

Ken McMillan in the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record states that the New York Yankees will have 15 spring training games on TV and radio.

And Ken says the Mets will have a combined 19 exhibition games on the air this spring.

In the Buffalo News, Greg Connors praises Fox’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman for their work in the Super Bowl.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Orioles have decided to return to 50,000 watt powerhouse WBAL-AM as its radio flagship station after a three year absence.

MASN says it’s pulling a simulcast of the Scott Garceau radio show effective immediately.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner explores why the Orioles decided to return to WBAL after being on FM.

Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel has ESPN’s Dick Vitale giving some love and support to co-worker Stuart Scott who’s undergoing a second battle with cancer.

Mike Bianchi of the Sentinel says the 9 year old girl who sings the National Anthem at Magic games feels she could have done better than Christina Aguilera at the Super Bowl. Ouch!

Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas writes that Mavericks TV analyst Bob Ortegel has decided not to return to the organization after owner Mark Cuban pulled him off the broadcasts last month.

John Henry of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the city’s mayor feeling his town was the epicenter of Super Bowl Week thanks to ESPN.

Mike Bailey of the Houston Chronicle talks about a local news anchor who loves to hit the links.

David Barron of the Chronicle looks at Sean McManus’ elevation to CBS Sports Chairman.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News has an appreciation of Friday Night Lights which ends its run this week on DirecTV. I’ve never watched the show and I know my Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff and Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead are big fans. Had this show not run on NBC at a time when I was boycotting the network’s primetime schedule, I might have given it a chance. I guess I’ll have to watch the DVD’s. Yes, I know it’s been on DirecTV the last two years which I have, but I just didn’t want to pick it up in the middle of its run.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Super Bowl XLV set viewing records all over the place.

Bob also looks at the ratings in various local markets.

The Chicago Sun-Times says nearly all of the Cubs’ spring training games will be aired on TV, radio or the internet.

George Diaz of the Chicago Tribune despite the urgings of Fox Sports, NASCAR will not change its start times this season.

KSDK-TV in St. Louis says a local rapper is suing ESPN and two other parties for using his song without his permission.

Mike Sunnucks in the Phoenix Business Journal says Super Bowl XLV is the most watched TV program ever locally.

The San Francisco Business Times reports that Comcast SportsNet California is back up and running on Dish Network systems.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog reports that tennis is headed to Rogers Sportsnet.

Sports Media Watch says public indecency charges have been dropped against an ESPN NASCAR producer who was arrested last year.

SMW also looks at the ratings and viewership for each 2011 NFL postseason game.

SMW says the Super Bowl had slight increases in every key demographic from last year.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Versus’ NHL Overtime is showing slight increases in viewership on non-game nights.

Joe Favorito wonders when a sports franchise will hold a Christina Aguilera National Anthem Night.

Dave Kohl of Major League Programs writes about a new talk show on New York’s Off Track Betting channel.

That’s all for now.

Onion SportsDome Premieres On Comedy Central, Tuesday Night

The Onion’s spoof of ESPN’s SportsCenter is set to premiere on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central. We have a quick video preview of what you’ll see tomorrow night.

This could work. I hope it does.

Some Quick Monday Links

I owe you linkage since last Thursday so let’s do some.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today has ESPN’s Brent Musburger saying he’ll talk less than normal during tonight’s BCS National Championship Game.

Rupal Parekh of Advertising Age notes that social media giant Groupon has bought ads in Fox’s Super Bowl XLV pregame show.

To Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy who lists the best things about HBO’s 24/7 Penguins/Capitals.

Ryan Ballengee of Pro Golf Talk suggests HBO do a 24/7 documentary surrounding a big golf event.

Dave Shedloski of Golf Digest reports that popular CBS golf analyst David Feherty will be doing some work at Golf Channel.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says tonight’s BCS National Championship Game isn’t just a battle between two schools, but between two shoe companies as well. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times previews Comedy Central and The Onion’s parody of ESPN’s SportsCenter which kicks off tomorrow night.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick for the most part praises NBC’s efforts during Wild Card Saturday.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union did not like the way one local radio station cut away from Ravens-Chiefs for a college basketball game.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times provides his thoughts on the weekend in TV sports.

Jon Solomon at the Birmingham (AL) News writes that ESPN is ready to keep up with Auburn’s and Oregon’s high powered offenses during tonight’s BCS National Championship Game.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says Fox is going to keep the Cotton Bowl in primetime for the next three years.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Packers-Eagles drew big ratings locally.

Jim Armstrong at the Denver Post says the way fans are watching the NFL is evolving over time.

John Henderson of the Post writes that fans who don’t have cable will have to find ways to watch the BCS National Championship not only tonight, but for years to come.

The Post’s Dusty Saunders says ESPN has come a long way in its 30 plus years in business.

Chris Dufrense of the Los Angeles Times writes that both ESPN and the BCS are happy with the status quo.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN is denying claims that it helps to put undue pressure on the Canadian Jr. Hockey team that lost the gold medal to Russia in the IIHF World Under 20 Championships.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog is disappointed in CTV’s airing of the NFL playoffs.

I’ll end it there for now.

Comedy Central & The Onion Form Multiplatform Partnership

Announced earlier this month, Comedy Central and comedy website, The Onion are forging a new partnership to launch what will be known as “The Onion Sports Network”. This will be an extension of the new show from The Onion that will launch on Comedy Central in January. We have the details of this partnership in the press release that you’ll see below.

COMEDY CENTRAL AND THE ONION ANNOUNCE MULTI-PLATFORM PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LAUNCH OF ONIONSPORTSNETWORK.COM

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Site To Be Home To All New And Existing Onion Sports Content And Will Be The Digital Extension To The Onion And To COMEDY CENTRAL’s New Series “Onion SportsDome”

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OnionSportsNetwork.com Is The Online Destination For Sports News, Analysis, Arbitrary Rankings And Colorful Charts.

            NEW YORK – The Internet has given sports fans more options than ever to choose where they get their sports news.  Now, The Onion is making them all irrelevant.  “America’s Finest News Source,” The Onion, is teaming up with Comedy Central to launch OnionSportsNetwork.com, the number one online destination for sports news, analysis, arbitrary rankings, and colorful charts.  OnionSportsNetwork.com is the latest creative collaboration between the two premiere comedy brands and will be the digital extension for its new series “Onion SportsDome,” which debuts on COMEDY CENTRAL on January 11 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.  

            The ad-supported vertical expands on the popular Onion Sports franchise and the satirical network that surrounds it – the Onion Sports Network (OSN) – offering fans the opportunity to immerse themselves daily, and interact with, “Onion SportsDome” and the entire OSN world.  In addition to hosting all “SportsDome” clips, the site will feature regular topical sports editorials and columns, Web-only video exclusives, interactive features including user polls, quizzes and blogs, and direct integration with social networks, encouraging fan connectivity and community building around the “Onion SportsDome” on Facebook and Twitter. OnionSportsNetwork.com will also host Onion Sports archival content, meaning every single sports story, video and photo The Onion has ever produced, from “NFL Star Thanks Jesus After Successful Double Homicide” to “New York Marathon Winner Tests Positive For Performance-Enhancing Horse,” will be available in one place.

            OnionSportsNetwork.com adds another key vertical property to the COMEDY CENTRAL Digital portfolio which includes SouthParkStudios.com, TheDailyShow.com, ColbertNation.com, Jokes.com and Atom.com in additional to ComedyCentral.com.  This is The Onion’s first major digital extension to TheOnion.com, outside of its entertainment-focused sister Web site, The A.V. Club.  All traffic related to Onion Sports will be directed to the new site.

“With this site, we are taking the ‘SportsDome’ world and extending it beyond its Tuesday night time slot,” said Michael Greer, chief product officer at The Onion. “Building off The Onion’s unrivaled sports content and loyal fan base, we’re excited to offer daily interaction with the Onion Sports Network world.”

            “OnionSportsNetwork.com fits perfectly into the Comedy Central Digital portfolio,” said Steve Grimes, SVP, digital media, COMEDY CENTRAL.  “This is an ideal partnership – our fans are young men who are passionate about comedy and sports.  The new series, the Web site and all the social media extensions will give fans an immersive experience that only the Onion and Comedy Central could deliver.”

Users to the site will be treated to daily columns including “Fan On The Street,” which gives regular fans a chance to be as inflammatory as professional sports journalists, and “What To Watch For,” which sifts through the sports broadcasting sludge to tell you what games are worth your time.  Rotating features include “Fantasy Watch,” “Who’s Hot/Who’s Not,” “Prep Sports Watch,” “Team Of The Moment” and “Sports Superstitions,” among others.  In addition to refreshed daily content, the site will also include weekly and monthly topical news features from “Power Rankings,” a weekly look at the sports networks compulsive nature of ranking anything and everything; to “Photo Finish,” a photo illustration of current events; to the Onion Sports unique coverage of major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the Masters or World Series.

And we’ll wrap it up with that.

Putting Together Some Linkage

Ok, been busy, but I’m going to do some links while I can.

We’ve all seen the video of the Metrodome roof collapsing under the weight of heavy, wet snow. Michael Hiestand of USA Today has Fox Sports explaining how it made that video.

Michael also looks at some of the ratings from the weekend.

Sports Business Journal has its annual look at the 50 most influential people in sports.

You can get more of an in-depth look at who’s on the list starting with 41-50, 31-40, 21-30, 11-20 and finally, 1-10. SBJ also has a breakdown of the list by category.

Those are the most links to Sports Business Journal I’ve made in a long time.

Eric Fisher in Sports Business Daily has Fox Sports President Eric Shanks downplaying the role of 3-D TV.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter notes that if the NFL goes through a lockout next season, it could stand to lose some $3 billion in ad revenue. 

Broadcasting & Cable Editor-in-Chief For Life Ben Grossman notes that Fox Sports has renewed its rights deal for the UEFA Champions League.

George Winslow of B&C says ESPN will go all out for its 2011 venture, The Year of the Quarterback.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says ESPN has tapped the announcers to call its first 3-D production of an NBA game

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says Speed Channel plans to roll out some new primetime series in 2011.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the Phoenix Suns become the first team to offer a social media suite package.

Darren tells us what newly-signed Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee left on the table by refusing to sign a bigger contract with the Yankees.

Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk says the clock is ticking on whether the Vikings can use University of Minnesota’s stadium as a stopgap to host next Monday night’s game against the Bears.

Janice Podsada of the Hartford Courant reports that Connecticut’s Attorney General worked through Monday trying to get the Giants-Vikings aired in the Constitution State, only to have his appeals fall on deaf ears.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with MLB Network’s Bob Costas about viewing Game 7 of the 1960 World Series again

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman likes how SNY Jets analyst Joe Klecko doesn’t hold back when it comes to the team’s recent pitiful play.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union looks at the NFL Week 15 TV schedule in New York’s Capital Region.

Pete talks about Golf Channel’s new live morning show.

Ken McMillan at the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record takes a gander at this year’s college football bowl season.

Laura Nachman liked how Eagles radio voice Merrill Reese recognized the late basketball writer Phil Jasner.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun says ESPN’s Monday Night Football stepped up late in the Ravens-Texans game just as it was getting exciting.

David says Ravens-Texans scored big in the local ratings.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says DC is well represented on the Sports Business Journal sports most influential list.

Sarah Talalay from the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Miami Dolphins are enhancing their social media strategy.

Pete Alfano of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says ESPN the Magazine will host two events in the city during Super Bowl week.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle tallied the number of appearances by Texas media in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Pony Excess.

Wayne Peal of the Northville (MI) Patch says a local high school swimmer who became a TV sports reporter is back close to home working at Fox Sports Detroit. 

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks about how the NFL pundits are trashing Green Bay’s playoff chances.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says the Metrodome roof collapse comes at a good time for Vikings owner Zygi Wilf who’s been campaigning for a new stadium.

At the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Paul Walsh reports that the Minnesota Twins will have two familiar voices calling some games in the 2011season.

Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post notes that Screamin’ Gus Johnson will be on the call for this Sunday’s Broncos-Raiders game.

Dusty Saunders of the Post loves NFL RedZone.

Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times raves about HBO’s documentary on Vince Lombardi.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says fans noticed Fox sneaking music during replays and timeouts during Sunday’s Seahawks-49ers game. 

Noah Davis of SportsNewser says the ESPN 30 for 30 series plans a documentary on Michigan’s Fab Five which went to two NCAA Basketball Championship Games.

Also from SportsNewser, Marcus Vanderberg interviews NFL Today host James Brown. 

Joe Favorito says the NFL handled what could have been a difficult situation in Minneapolis with dignity.

Sports Media Watch notes that Pats-Bears on CBS scored the highest NFL overnight ratings of the season.

SMW says Army-Navy’s overnight ratings dropped from last year, but still finished strong.

SMW also has a few ratings news and notes.

EPL Talk prefers watching English Premier League games on ESPN2 than Fox Soccer Channel.

At Mashable, Zachary Sniderman notes that The Onion’s fake sports news show has spawned a new website on Comedy Central.

Due to various interruptions, it’s taken me four and a half hours to complete the linkage. It’s yours now.

The Onion’s Sports Series Premieres on Comedy Central in January

Just received this press release from Comedy Central about The Onion’s new series which will parody SportsCenter. The Onion has been great at poking fun at news headlines for years and got into the sports genre about three years ago. Now, it’s satirical headlines will be coming to television through Comedy Central with a new series called “Onion SportsDome”. It premieres January 11 and I look forward to this as The Onion usually does things right.

“ONION SPORTSDOME” COMES TO COMEDY CENTRAL^® PREMIERING TUESDAY, JANUARY 11 AT 10:30 P.M. ET/PT

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“Onion SportsDome” Is The Undisputed Universal Leader In Sports Coverage,

Reporting News, Analysis, Scores, Highlights, Rumor-Mongering And Petty Personal Attacks

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New Series From The Onion And COMEDY CENTRAL Follows The Third Season Premiere Of “Tosh.0“

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NEW YORK, December 1, 2010 — Sports are finally about to get the attention they deserve, courtesy of The Onion. America’s most trusted news source is teaming up with COMEDY CENTRAL to bring viewers the most intense televised sports news program in recorded human history. “Onion SportsDome,” a 30-minute rundown of the finest in sports news, analysis, scores, highlights, rumor-mongering and petty personal attacks, premieres Tuesday, January 11 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on COMEDY CENTRAL, following the third season premiere of “Tosh.0.”

“SportsDome” is the signature show of the Onion Sports Network, which has grown from a humble UHF channel purchased as a tax dodge and a way to profit from The Onion’s vast footage library of women’s beach volleyball, into the undisputed global sports leader it is today. “SportsDome” is now the number one destination for fans seeking game reports, insight from former players and theme music heavy on bell tones and bendy guitar riffs. With its total access to the inside of sports and pulse-pounding coverage, it has become impossible to be a sports fan without being a fan of the “Dome.”

The show is co-anchored by Mark Shepard and Alex Reiser. Reiser earned a seat at the “SportsDome” desk in 1995 after working his way up from the mailroom, showing the persistence needed to repeatedly knock on the office door of the VP of OSN programming and shout highlights from the night before at the top of his lungs. Mark Shepard has been with “SportsDome” since 2005, when he parlayed the suicide of a World Backgammon Championships commentator into his first on-air appearance, impressing producers enough to install him behind the storied “SportsDome” anchor desk.

Shepard and Reiser are joined by the venerable “Dome” crew, including Senior sports insider Reggie Greengrass, who needs nine Blackberries to hold the phone numbers of all the athletes he knows; update anchor Melissa Wells, who holds more journalism degrees than the rest of her colleagues put together; “Wish Zone” host Jay Woodworth, who makes terminally-ill children’s dreams come true as long as they are sports-related; analyst Doc Webb, who holds the SportsDome record for the number of athletes he’s referred to as “overpaid garbage;” and investigative reporter Marc Howell, who, mines sports’ most tragic elements for  awards and ratings gold.

Julie Smith, Will Graham and Michele Armour are the executive producers of “Onion SportsDome.” Will Graham also serves as the show’s director. Jack Kukoda is the head writer. Lisa Leingang and Sam Grossman are the executives in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL.

And that’s going to do it.