Fang's Bites

Bringing Out Some Saturday Linkage

A beautiful fall-like Saturday in Southern New England. Already been out today and it’s so nice outside. I hope you enjoy your weekend if you don’t have to work.

Some linkage for you.

John Eggerton from Broadcasting & Cable writes that the NFL Films documentary on Bill Belichick scored very well for NFL Network.

Timothy Burke at his Mocksession site has a great screengrab of a “Fire Craig James”that made the air on ESPN’s College GameDay this morning. Needless to say, that sign was taken away by ESPN’s Sign Gestapo.

The St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deggans writes at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center that coverage of the alleged tryst between Sarah Palin and Michigan’s Glen Rice back in the 1980′s has led to newsroom debates.

Brandon Costa of the Sports Video Group the placement of permanent goal line cameras on SEC on CBS games could impact official reviews.

Karen Hogan of Sports Video Group discusses ESPN going with non-stop coverage of NASCAR starting Sunday.

All Access says the fans of the band Switchfoot will hear the debut of five songs from its new album tonight during the ESPN on ABC presentation of Oklahoma-Florida State.

Newsday’s Neil Best discusses actor Brad Pitt taking the role of Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane in the upcoming “Moneyball” movie.

Neil notes that Fox’s Jay Glazer will be profiled on HBO’s Real Sports this month.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty writes that the local Fox affiliate gets the Tampa Bay-Red Sox game today over the Mets game that would normally be assigned to the station.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record speaks with one of the men who will be in the broadcast booth calling today’s Northwestern-Army game.

CBS Philadelphia notes that long-time KYW-AM  sports reporter Jack O’Rourke who worked for the NBC Radio Network in the 1970′s passed away this morning while covering a game.

Jim Williams loves that Fox is offering an NFL/English Premier League doubleheader on Sunday.

Jim says baseball fans get to see the Rays and Red Sox battle it out for a Wild Card spot both today and tomorrow.

Jim looks at CBS debuting both SEC football and a new web series following the game.

Ira Schoffel of the Tallahassee (FL) Democrat was on site during today’s College GameDay remote at Florida State.

David Knox of the Birmingham (AL) News says fans can interact online with CBS’ Gary Danielson after today’s Tennessee-Florida game.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News talks with Fox’s Brian Billick about calling tomorrow’s Cowboys-49ers game.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman has ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit previewing tonight’s Oklahoma-Florida State game.

Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times has USC’s basketball TV schedule.

Ben Bolch of the Times has UCLA’s basketball TV schedule.

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times has pictures and a story on a statue of the late Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus being unveiled Friday at Safeco Field.

And that’s it.

Bringing Out the Wednesday Links

Ok, let’s do the Wednesday linkage. Quite a few things to get to.

We begin with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal who when we last saw him during the World Series last October, was wearing a bowtie despite his protests to management. Well, we find that Ken will continue wearing a bowtie this season, but rather willingly and for a very good cause.

Craig Calcaterra of NBC’s Hardball Talk applauds Ken for making this true fashion statement.

Now back to Ken, he writes at FoxSports.com that Major League Baseball has to do more to promote its game to a very tech-savvy fandom.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today has a few sports media observations in the Game On! blog.

Also in USA Today’s Game On! Steve Coogan writes that Jennifer Hudson is out from CBS’ One Shining Moment NCAA Tournament final montage.

One more from Game On! Mike McCarthy reviews Charles Barkley’s comments on truTV. It was a joke, people.

I had no idea that the former bassist for Guns ‘N Roses, Jane Addiction and Velvet Revolver, Duff McKagan had his own column at ESPN.com. Well, this is a very touching and well-written column on the late Seattle Mariners voice Dave Niehaus.

ESPN’s corporate blog, Front Row, has now launched and has been churning out pictures since midnight to show “A Day in the Life” at its various offices around the world. I have to say it’s quite fascinating. The pictures will continue to be published until late tonight.

Marisa Guthrie and Lindsay Powers at the Hollywood Reporter discuss ESPN’s Josh Elliot moving to ABC’s Good Morning America replacing the always lovely Juju Chang.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes about ESPN’s latest pickup for Baseball Tonight.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says ESPN Films will air a documentary on Jack Nicklaus’ iconic 1986 win at The Masters^®.

The great Ryan Ballengee of NBC’s Pro Golf Talk says The Masters^® iPad app will stream all four days of live TV golf coverage next week. That is very cool.

Jack Neff of Advertising Age says Vaseline Men will be unveiling an ad campaign for the NFL Draft.

In Mediaweek, Anthony Crupi says ad buyers are looking for alternatives as the NFL lockout goes longer.

Doron Levin at Fortune notes that Cadillac has quietly returned to sponsoring golf tournaments.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell examines whether the Chicago Cubs made the right call for their public address announcer.

Darren looks at the MLB Fan Cave that has two men watching every single regular season and playoff game this year.

And Darren goes inside the numbers of college football.

All Access says a Muncie, IN radio station is dropping ESPN in favor of Fox Sports Radio.

All Access also discusses Trenni Kusnierek joining a Milwaukee radio station full-time.

Richard Huff of the New York Daily News writes about ESPN’s Josh Elliot leaving SportsCenter to move to Good Morning America.

Newsday’s Neil Best takes a look at Yankees and Mets ticket prices on the resale market.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union looks at former Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer joining ESPN.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Fox’s Tim McCarver thoughts on the Mets and Yankees.

Conor Orr at the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger says ESPN’s Jay Bilas is a man of many talents.

Neal Zoren of the Delaware County Times notes that Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is ready to cover the Phillies this season.

Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog at the Washington Post is amused with a new Pimlico Raceway ad that acknowledges the infield debauchery during the Preakness Stakes.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that ESPN will be airing a prestigious high school basketball tournament live from the DC area.

Brandon Marcello of the Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger says Mississippi State University now has the announcers who will replace legendary voice Jack Cristil who retired after the basketball season.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman discusses ESPN shaking up its Sunday Night Baseball announcers and adding a new twist to Baseball Tonight.

Doug Zaleski of the Muncie (IN) Star Press notes that a Ball State-Indiana football matchup could end up on ESPN on Labor Day weekend.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox Sports Wisconsin will add some bells and whistles to its Brewers game productions.

Jon Nyatawa of the Omaha (NE) World-Journal says the Kansas City Royals won’t be heard on local radio this season.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post looks at FSN Rocky Mountain changing its name as of Friday.

Lya Wodraska in the Salt Lake Tribune says the University of Utah is open to moving its football games to Sunday in case of an NFL lockout.

Scott D. Pierce of the Tribune looks at FSN Rocky Mountain’s change of name.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times says FX’s plans to carry college football this fall might be part of a larger scheme to increase subscriber fees.

Mike DiGiovanna from the Times says while Fox Sports tested a new overhead camera during last night’s Dodgers-Angels exhibition game, players were concerned that it might be too intrusive.

Mark Hester from The Oregonian notes that ESPN is chock full of spring college football games.

Gretchen Holzang of the Portland Business Journal writes about FSN Northwest’s rebranding on Friday.

To the Toronto Globe and Mail where Bruce Dowbiggin talks with Rogers Sportsnet Blue Jays analyst Greg Zaun.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on Fox hit a ratings low for the first time this season.

The Big Lead critiques CBS/Turner’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

And we’ll end it there today.

Seattle Mariners Statement On Dave Niehaus

Just released by the Seattle Mariners is this statement on tonight’s sudden death of original voice Dave Niehaus.

Dave Niehaus, the voice of the Seattle Mariners since the team’s inception in 1977, passed away Wednesday at his home in Bellevue, Wash. Niehaus, 75, suffered a heart attack, according to his family. 

“This is truly devastating news,” said Seattle Mariners chairman Howard Lincoln.

Chuck Armstrong, Seattle Mariners president and COO, added, “Speaking for ourselves, our ownership and the entire Mariners family, our thoughts and prayers are with Marilyn, their children, Andy, Matt and Greta, and the grandchildren.

“Dave has truly been the heart and soul of this franchise since its inception in 1977. Since calling Diego Segui’s first-pitch strike on Opening Night in the Kingdome some 34 years ago, Dave’s voice has been the constant with the franchise. He truly was the fans connection to every game; to wins and losses; to great plays and heartbreaking defeats; to Hall of Famers and journeymen. With the exception of his love for his wife, Marilyn, his children and grandchildren, there was nothing Dave liked more than the game of baseball and to be at the ballpark. He was the voice of spring and summer in the Northwest.

“He was the fans’ choice to throw out the first pitch in Safeco Field history, and no one has had a greater impact on our team’s connection to fans throughout the Northwest. One of the best days we’ve ever spent was in Cooperstown in 2008, as Dave took his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.”

The Niehaus family has requested privacy at this very difficult time.

Fly away, Dave. You will be missed and there is no discounting of the impact that he had on baseball in the Pacific Northwest.

Seattle Mariners Voice Dave Niehaus Passes Away

Sad to hear about the death of original Seattle Mariners voice Dave Niehaus’ passing tonight. He was 75. Dave joined the Mariners in 1975 after being part of the California Angels broadcast team. He had called all but 100 or so of the team’s almost 5,400 games. And Dave deservedly was inducted into the Broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Last year, Percy Allen of the Seattle Times did a series on area broadcasters and the first was on Dave Niehaus.

Current Anaheim Angels announcer Victor Rojas was saddened to hear about Dave’s death.

More details when they become available.