Fang's Bites

ESPN Platforms To Celebrate Title IX’s 40th Anniversary on June 23

ESPN has begun its three month-long recognition of Title IX. It has already launched a dedicated microsite and begun some programming initiatives.

ESPN’s networks will be all over the 40th anniversary weekend in June with documentaries, espnW features and a whole host of women’s sports. Let’s see what ESPN has planned for June 23.

ESPN Networks to Offer a Variety of Women in Sports Programming Throughout Title IX Anniversary Weekend

ESPN Schedule on June 23 Includes WNBA, USA Softball and Several Studio Shows

ESPN will offer a weekend of events and studio shows June 22-24 featuring women in sports across its networks — ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Classic – highlighted by a full day of programming Saturday, June 23. The offering is part of the network’s three-month companywide initiative, The Power of IX, recognizing the 40th anniversary of Title IX, signed June 23, 1972.

The June 23 multi-network programming will be tied together, beginning at 11 a.m. ET, through studio coverage from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters. ESPN soccer analyst Julie Foudy will host from a Title IX-themed set and welcome special guests who have impacted or been affected by the law throughout the day. ESPN will also report from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., where more than 30,000 Girl Scouts will be part of the B.I.G. Celebration (Believe in Girls) and the 100th anniversary of the organization.

“I am extremely proud of ESPN for recognizing and focusing on the 40th anniversary of this legislation,” said Carol Stiff, vice president, programming & acquisitions at ESPN. “The hours of programming multiple ESPN networks are dedicating on June 23 show the company’s ongoing commitment to increasing the coverage of women’s sports.”

ABC
SEC Storied: Lolo Jones — One of the brighter stars in the history of the LSU women’s track and field dynasty is Lori “Lolo” Jones. A standout hurdler, she won three NCAA titles and 11 All-American honors. But Jones had to overcome significant obstacles to get there. “Lolo” will explore her inspiring rise from an unstable home life to national stardom that included a spot on the 2008 United States Olympic team. The film will include her stunning disappointment in the 2008 Beijing Games and her journey to make it back to the Olympics this summer. This fourth installment of SEC Storied will run at 4 p.m., and also on ESPNU at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

ESPN Sports Saturday — A weekly look at the biggest stories in sports at 5 p.m., the show will include a discussion of Title IX. The show typically consists of informative debate from ESPN programs such as Pardon the Interruption, First Take, SportsNation, and Mike & Mike In the Morning, as well as game previews and predictions from NFL Live, College Gameday, NBA Countdown, Baseball Tonight and more.

ESPN
ESPN’s coverage will kick off with segments on SportsCenter at 11 a.m., with segments previewing the day’s events and sharing special Title IX vignettes and memories.

Two WNBA games will highlight ESPN’s day — Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx at 12:30 p.m. and Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury at 9 p.m. The four teams include Olympic Gold Medalists; NCAA National Champions; NCAA Women of the Year; Naismith, John R. Wooden and State Farm Players of the Year; All-Americans; Conference Players of the Year and NCAA record holders.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series – Road America 200 from Elkhart Lake, Wis., at 3:30 p.m.features Danica Patrick, one of the most successful women in the history of American racing. She is the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series and she is the highest female finisher at the Indianapolis 500 (third).

USA Softball will take on the Canadian National Team at 7 p.m. from Oklahoma City in the Title IX 40th Anniversary Celebration Game. The teams include current and former student-athletes who are now playing at an elite level.

ESPN2
Sporting Chance is a Title IX documentary produced by the NCAA in conjunction with Creative Street Entertainment Group.

E:60 Women’s Special will take some of the top profiles, investigations and stories of the series that featured female athletes. The newsmagazine show will run at 1 p.m.

A U.S. Women’s Soccer Special will air at 5 p.m., a 30-minute program showcasing the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup gold-medal winning team in a feature, followed by a roundtable discussion about the impact of Title IX on the growth and success of women’s soccer in this country. The panel will include soccer and women’s sports notables.

ESPNU
Honda Sports Awards will showcase the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program that annually recognizes the accomplishments of top female athletes in NCAA-member colleges with a variety of prestigious awards. ESPN’s Sage Steele will host the live 60-minute special from ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center at 3 p.m.

ESPN3
National Pro Fastpitch will stage a doubleheader between the Florida Pride and Carolina Diamonds, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

ESPN Classic will have more than 50 hours of women’s programming relating to Title IX beginning Friday and running through Sunday.

Additional details will be announced at a later date.

ESPN’s Title IX – June 23 Programming (subject to change)

11 a.m. — SportsCenter, ESPN

11:30 a.m. — Women’s Athletic Programming, ESPN Classic

Noon — Sporting Chance, ESPN

12:30 p.m. — WNBA Game: Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx, ESPN

1 p.m. — E:60 Women’s Special, ESPN2
1 p.m. — National Pro Fastpitch: Florida at Carolina (Charlotte), ESPN3

2 p.m. — SEC Storied: Lolo Jones, ESPNU<

3 p.m. — NASCAR Countdown, ESPN
3 p.m. — Honda Sports Awards (ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center), ESPNU

3:30 p.m. — NASCAR Nationwide: Road America 200 (Elkhart Lake, Wis.), ESPN

4 p.m. — SEC Storied: Lolo Jones, ABC
4 p.m. — NCAA Women’s Championships Programming, ESPNU
4 p.m. — National Pro Fastpitch: Florida at Carolina (Charlotte), ESPN3

5 p.m. — Sports Saturday: Week in Review, ABC
5 p.m. — U.S. Women Soccer National Team Documentary, ESPN2

7 p.m. — USA National Softball vs. Canada (Oklahoma City),ESPN
7 p.m. — SEC Storied: Lolo Jones, ESPNU

8 p.m. — Sporting Chance, ESPNU

9 p.m. — WNBA Game: Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury, ESPN
9 p.m. — NCAA Women’s Championships Programming, ESPNU
9 p.m. — Women’s Athletic Programming, ESPN Classic

There you have it.

espnW Begins Title IX 40th Anniversary Celebration with Launch of Dedicated Microsite

Today, espnW, the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s site on women’s sports, launches a new microsite on dedicated to Title IX. In today’s launch, there’s an interview with President Obama on the impact of Title IX on women’s sports.

The site will have all types of features and stories on the influence Title IX has had with women and society.

In addition, there will be first-person accounts and interviews from athletes discussing how their lives have changed through Title IX.

We have the press release from ESPN in regards to the microsite launch and what you can expect to see over the next three months leading to the actual anniversary of the enactment of Title IX.

Multi-faceted Title IX 40^th Anniversary Microsite Launches Today on espnW.com

Site Debuts with Exclusive Interview with President Barrack Obama Reflecting on Title IX

The Power of IX dedicated microsite debuts today on espnW.com and will be the digital destination for ESPN’s examination and recognition of the 40^th anniversary of Title IX.  Today’s launch will feature an exclusive interview by ESPN.com writer Andy Katz speaking with President Obama on the history of Title IX and what it means to him personally as the father of two daughters active in sports.

“Our commitment to female fans AND elevating women’s sports makes espnW.com the natural digital hub for the company’s 40th anniversary of Title IX effort,” said Laura Gentile, vice president, espnW. “We look forward to providing a deep dive on not only what Title IX has meant to a generation of female athletes, but also what it means to our society now and in the future.”

Today’s launch of the dedicated site marks the official kick off for ESPN’s companywide initiative. espnW.com will include perspectives and participation from a number of contributors including Katie Couric, Robin Roberts, Julie Foudy, Bonnie D. Ford, Steve Wulf, Kate Fagan, Sarah Spain, Luke Cyphers, Jane McManus and Jessica Mendoza.  For the next three months, espnW.com’s efforts will drive content across multiple platforms with a mix of in-depth feature stories, first-person athlete perspectives, a series of compelling and informative lists of nine and more.

The Power of IX Content Plan for espnW.com:

• Feature stories:

Steve Wulf will start the features section with a story on the history of Title IX and the unsung heroes who helped make it a reality. ABC News’ Katie Couric will provide a personal essay reflecting on the far-ranging impact of this legislation. Additional stories will focus on athletes who helped shape Title IX in its early days including Julie Foudy, Donna de Varona and Lisa Leslie.

• Top 40 Athletes of Past 40 Years

espnW.com will partner with SportsCenter for a countdown of the top 40 female athletes of the last 40 years beginning April 30, with the top athlete revealed on June 23. espnW.com will provide an in-depth look at these athletes as chosen by an industry-wide blue ribbon panel.

• “Title IX is Mine!” Vignettes

What does Title IX mean to athletes, executives and industry leaders spanning the generations? These vignettes will provide a platform for women and men to reflect on how it affected their lives.

• The Lineup

A series of compelling, informative lists of nine that provide dimension to espnW’s coverage including nine sibling rivalries, nine women’s dynasties, nine awesome winning streaks, nine heroes and more.

• Social media:

espnW’s Title IX social media program, launching April 3, will assemble the largest collection of user-submitted female athlete photos of all time. In addition, content will be featured over Facebook.com/espnW and Twitter.com/espnW.

ESPN’s Title IX 40^th anniversary initiative will also be supported through content on the following platforms:

• Television:

The week of June 17 will feature content across various studio shows and conclude on June 23 with ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN Classic featuring women’s sports programming throughout the day.

• Print:

This issue of ESPN The Magazine will examine everything from the executives, lawmakers, trainers and athletes who are paving the way for new roles/iconography for women in sports to the groundbreaking research and reporting that are revealing counter-intuitive factors behind Title IX’s success and its limitations when it comes to female athletes.

• ESPN Films:

ESPN Films will present “9 for IX” a series of documentaries in 2013 that will highlight women in sports, all created by female storytellers. Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts and Tribeca Productions co-founder Jane Rosenthal will be executive producers of the series.

That’s all.

ESPN To Mark The 40th Anniversary of Title IX with “The Power of IX”

Starting this month and running through June, ESPN will mark the 40th anniversary of the landmark Title IX law that gave women equal opportunity in college sports. When the legislation was introduced in Congress, sports was hardly mentioned, but when the bill became law in 1972, colleges applied it to athletic programs and 40 years later, the impact on women’s sports has been enormous.

ESPN will mark the anniversary with “The Power of IX”, a company-wide initiative to show the influence of Title IX throughout the last 40 years. There will be nine ESPN Films documentaries that will be produced with Title IX as the theme. espnW, the site devoted to women will kick off the initiative on March 26 with a Title IX microsite. ESPN the Magazine will have articles pertaining to the 40th anniversary and there will be other content that will be announced in the coming days and weeks.

Here’s the ESPN announcement.

ESPN to Spotlight 40th Anniversary of Title IX with Multiple Initiatives

That will do it.

Doing Some Quick Wednesday Linkage

Lots of stuff going on here and it’s prevented me from providing links. I’ll do some now while I can.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek reports that the NFL has put the kybosh on a new Thursday Night Football package until next season.

Michael Smith and John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal report that with Pittsburgh and Syracuse joining the ACC, ESPN and the conference are reopening negotiations on the TV contract that took effect just this month.

In Media Bistro, Marcus Vanderberg has part one of his interview with embattled writer Jay “The Rat” Mariotti.

And Marcus has part two of his talk with Jay The Rat in Fishbowl LA.

Over to Michael Hiestand of USA Today who writes that a family medical emergency is preventing Ernie Johnson, Jr. from participating in this year’s MLB Postseason for TBS.

Michael looks at the ratings from some of this past weekend’s events.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today tells us about the athletes who will pose nude for ESPN The Magazine’s Body issue.

Erik Malinowski of Wired magazine profiles the great Timothy Burke of the Mocksession site and SportsGrid.

The Big Lead notes that ESPN sideline reporter Jenn Brown is now a paid endorser for GNC products.

Deadspin’s A.J. Daulerio is amazed at how Steve Bartman has managed to remain anonymous since his fateful failed attempt to catch a foul ball during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid has video of a Dallas TV sports anchor creating the word “shart” on live TV.

The aforementioned Timothy Burke in SportsGrid has video from Germany of a reporter inadvertently trying to out Chelsea soccer star Didier Drogba.

At espnW, Sarah Spain writes about attending this week’s espnW: Women + Sports Summit which had a plethora of superstars from both media and sports.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football hit its biggest audience of the season in NFL Week 3.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell (and now officially a Friend of Fang’s Bites) writes that the toning shoe market could take a substantial hit after the Feds settled a case with Reebok on one its shoe claims.

Newsday’s Neil Best wonders if this is the last season for the Yankees on WCBS-AM.

Neil says SNY’s Mets announcers were critical of the team for taking out shortstop Jose Reyes after the first inning of today’s game against the Reds.

Neil says Ron Darling closed out a TBS media conference call with a line that only he picked up.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says the Capital Region’s NFL fans should all be happy with the TV schedule this week.

Pete has this week’s college football TV schedule.

Crossing Broad has a new Philadelphia media feud for us to follow.

In the Washington Post, Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog says ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon weren’t too enthused by London Fletcher’s pregame speech before the Washington-Dallas Monday Night Football game.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Texans did well in the local ratings again.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman writes that Oklahoma State has decided against going for pay per view for one of its games next month.

Mel notes that college football topped the local ratings last weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says TBS and MLB have yet to announce a time for the Brewers League Division Series game on Saturday.

Bob says Brewers voice Brian Anderson will call the Yankees LDS series for TBS starting on Friday.

Bill Novak of the Capital (WI) Times writes that ESPN’s College GameDay has chosen its location on the Wisconsin to broadcast for this Saturday’s show.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at TBS’ announcers for the League Division Series and manages to misspell “Orsillo”

Sports Media Watch says last Sunday’s NASCAR race had better ratings than last year, but not up as it should be.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the number of games each NHL team will have televised locally.

Joe Favorito talks about how sports can be a uniter, not a divider.

Over to Yahoo’s Big League Stew where Duk has some thoughts on the ESPN Films Steve Bartman doc.

From Obsessed with Sports, we have a pic thanks to Sarah Spain of Friend of Fang’s Bites Michelle Beadle sucking rattlesnake venom from Linda Cohn at the aforementioned espnW summit. I believe this really happened.

And that will do it for today.

It’s A Monday Linkfest

For some reason, I’ve been out of the office a couple of times today and it’s pissing me off. Anyway, I’m back in the office now and barring an unforeseen interruption, I should be able to give you linkage here.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has the local MLB TV ratings for the first half of the regular season and notes that the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are in trouble.

This next story from Sports Business Daily is behind the dreaded paywall, but you can still get the gist of it as yesterday’s compelling Brazil-USA game at the Women’s World Cup received a 2.6 overnight rating for ESPN. CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the rating is better than this year’s NBA Draft!

Eben Novy-Williams of Bloomberg reports that Brazil-USA was the most watched Women’s World Cup Soccer game since the 1999 Final which the USA won over Communist China.

Lacey Rose of the Hollywood Reporter confirms what The Wrap reported over the weekend, that ESPN Classic will pick up the entire Friday Night Lights series.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that the NFL could see as much as a $600 million rights fee for a new 8-game Thursday Night Football package.

Adweek’s Rebecca Cullers has a story on sports apparel outfitter K-Swiss continuing its storyline of utilizing HBO’s Eastbound & Down’s Kenny Powers character in its ad campaign.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy talks with Fox Sports’ Joe Buck about his vocal cord troubles that have plagued his voice this year.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says cable providers could be crowing this year with some big name boxing pay per view fights.

Jon Lafayette at Broadcasting & Cable writes that Golf Channel has relaunched its website.

My good friends at SportsGrid have just launched a redesign of their excellent sports media website. Dan Fogarty explains.

SportsGrid has brought on Timothy Burke of the Mocksession site which provides vidcaps and videos. He’s been providing videos to the under the byline “SportsGrid Video”, but now can reveal himself publicly as of today. Tim has this funny post of the WGN Cubs announcers exposing their cameramen as pervs.

One more from SportsGrid. A look at how it would cast the movie based on the ESPN tome, “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside The World of ESPN.” The choices are pretty much dead on.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser has video of one of the media cars getting too close to one of the cyclists in the Tour de France and causing a horrific crash.

Also from SportsNewser, Marcus Vanderberg tells us that an estimated one billion people watched last year’s World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands. That’s a lot of people.

The London Telegraph has ESPN UK’s English Premier League schedule for the upcoming season.

Chris Fedor from Sports Radio Interviews has a link to Dan Patrick’s interview with reporting bulldog Jim Gray about “The Decision”, one year later.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about Tiger Woods “special announcement” that he made on Golf Channel, that he’ll be following his agent, Mark Steinberg to a new agency.

Paul Devlin at the New Canaan (CT) Patch talks with CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that YES cleaned up in the ratings with Saturday’s Rays-Yankees game during which Derek Jeter got his 3,000th career hit.

Neil talks with women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm who’s doing work for espnW and ESPN for the Women’s World Cup about USA-Brazil.

Neil has a review of the HBO doc on Curt Flood that airs Wednesday.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun loves baseball, but can no longer stand watching the Orioles on MASN.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg looks at the Nationals’ attendance and TV ratings at the halfway point of the regular season.

Dan has Wizards’ TV analyst Phil Chenier explaining why he shaved off his trademark mustache.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver about calling the MLB All-Star Game for the last 20 years.

In the St. Petersburg Times, Tom Jones lists some of the things in sports and sports TV that he has missed.

The Tampa Tribune notes that Rays outfielder Sam Fuld will be working for ESPN tonight during the MLB Home Run Derby.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers local ratings are amongst the highest in MLB.

Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gives praise to former Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly who pinch-hit for regular Fox Sports North analyst Bert Blyeven last week.

Jeff Korbelik of the Lincoln (NE) Journal Star says former local sports anchor Dari Nowkhah heads over to ESPNU full-time.

The Dickinson (ND) Press picks up a story from Brad Schlossman on the new college hockey superconference talking with Versus about a TV contract.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post reviews the HBO documentary on Curt Flood.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has your SoCal sports calendar.

Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle says Showtime is hoping that “The Franchise” will become a sports franchise for the network.

Cathall Kelly of the Toronto Star is an asshole.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says a CFL on TSN analyst gave a compelling interview on his post-concussion syndrome.

Matt Hartley in the Financial Post says NBC will be handling all US ad sales for the NHL.

Wayne Friedman in MediaPost also writes about the NBC Sports Group/NHL ad sales joint venture.

Sports Media Watch has some news and notes on various sports media personalities.

SMW also has some local MLB ratings news.

That’s going to do it for today.

Women’s Soccer Star Mia Hamm Joins espnW’s Women’s World Cup Coverage

ESPN has announced that legendary women’s soccer star Mia Hamm will be joining espnW as an analyst for the Women’s World Cup and she will appear on selected ESPN telecasts. Her main duties will be writing blog posts and conducting interviews for ESPN’s women’s sports website. She becomes the 3rd member of the 1999 Women’s World Cup champion team on ESPN joining Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain and Brianna Scurry. Coach Tony DiCicco is also part of ESPN’s commentary team.

We have more from ESPN and espnW.

Mia Hamm Joins espnW as Analyst for 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup

espnW to Provide Comprehensive Coverage from Germany

Mia Hamm will bring her years of international soccer playing expertise to espnW during the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.  Throughout the three-week tournament, Hamm will provide blog postings, insights and interviews for espnw.com along with select appearances on ESPN telecasts as a special contributor for espnW which is ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital business designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans.

One of the best female soccer players to ever play the game and one of the most capped players in history, Hamm led the 1999 US Women’s National Team to victory in the FIFA Women’s World Cup that year.  Hamm joins fellow US Women’s National team teammates Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain and Brianna Scurry as well as former head coach Tony DiCicco, providing analysis during ESPN’s multiplatform coverage of the tournament.

“Mia Hamm is the one of the most decorated female soccer players in history, and we couldn’t think of a better analyst to join espnW for the 2011 FIFA World Cup.,” said Laura Gentile, vice president, espnW.  “Mia brings a wealth of knowledge about international soccer play as well as what it takes to win at any level.  Her expertise will be invaluable for our fans as they watch the tournament proceed.”

espnW Coverage Plans:
Throughout the 2011 FIFA World Cup, espnW will provide comprehensive coverage from Germany, including:

• Focused international coverage featuring stories by Joanne Gerstner, Michelle Smith, Beau Dure and Jacqueline Purdy
• Daily player blogs from the United States’ Heather Mitts, Canada’s captain Christine Sinclair, New Zealand’s Ali Riley and Sweden’s Caroline Seger
• espnW embeds with Team England to chronicle their tournament run
• Feature stories on Equatorial Guinea’s run to its first World Cup, the history of women’s soccer in Germany, and the Top 10 Women’s World Cup Moments
• The espnW HERoics documentary film series will also be available on the site in its entirety

Mia Hamm
Hamm is widely recognized as the world’s best all-around women’s soccer player of all-time.  She was the youngest player ever to play for the US Women’s National Team  at age 15 and went on to play for 17 years, retiring in 2004.  She won two FIFA World Cup titles as part of the national team (1991 and 1999) as well as two Olympic gold medals (1996 and 2004). She is the first-ever three-time US Soccer athlete of the year (1994-1996) and was named the women’s FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002).  She is also listed as one of FIFA’s 125 best living players.

Hamm played collegiately at the University of North Carolina where she led her team to four consecutive NCAA championships.  She was an All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year for her last three years.  She graduated with a degree in political science.

Currently, Hamm devotes her time to the Mia Hamm Foundation which focuses on providing support for raising funds and awareness for families needing marrow or cord blood transplants and continuing the growth in opportunities for young women in sports.

ESPN & the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 (June 26 – July 17) will be ESPN’s fifth straight, having televised the quadrennial event since 1995.  ESPN and ESPN2 will air all 32 matches live and in high definition. ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network in 70 million homes, will offer simulcasts of all matches, and ESPN’s mobile platforms will also provide coverage of 26 matches.  All programming on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be available online through ESPNnetworks.com which is accessible to fans who receive their video service from an affiliated provider.

For the first time, ESPN will present all of its’ FIFA Women’s World Cup studio programming from host nation Germany.  The comprehensive news, highlights and information coverage of the quadrennial tournament featuring the top-16 women’s national teams in the world will include, for the first time, pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, as well as World Cup-branded segments on SportsCenter, First Take and ESPNEWS.

That does it.

Going For Wednesday Linkage

If you’ve been visiting the blog throughout the morning, you may have noticed a couple of theme changes and then the return of the current theme. I’ve been trying to make a few cosmetic changes, but I screwed them up so I had to delete the theme and then reinstall it. If you were visiting and saw a different look and got confused, I apologize. Just trying to make the blog look as best as possible. I can assure you I’m done with the cosmetic changes for a while.

Let’s do some links on this Wednesday.

Sean Leahy of USA Today notes that NBC’s Cris Collinsworth is so fearful that the NFL will lose half a season that he took a non-paying high school football coaching position for the fall.

Michael Hiestand looks at the ratings for the Indy 500, primetime baseball and the UEFA Champions League Final.

Lindsay Powers at the Hollywood Reporter writes that Lance Armstrong lawyers are demanding an apology from CBS News’ 60 Minutes stating that the program did shoddy journalism in a segment on his alleged steroid use.

Philiana Ng of the Reporter says NBC has selected its blockbuster hit, “The Voice” to air after Super Bowl XLVI next February.

George Winslow from Broadcasting & Cable says the NBA has launched a Windows phone app.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News reports that ESPN and Tennis Channel have extended their multimedia alliance for the French and Australian Opens starting next year.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life Magazine writes that having a Canadian team in the NHL Stanley Cup Final won’t help NBC’s ratings.

Last night, ESPN’s Chris Berman called the San Francisco Giants-St. Louis Cardinals game for the Alleged Worldwide Leader and as expected, it turned out to be a disaster. Berman can’t call play-by-play to save his life. Two examples of this EPIC FAIL.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has the video from Bubbaprog/Mocksession of Berman not getting the concept of a walk off win.

Then Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has video of Berman trying to be edgy or most likely, not having a clue about “Tossed Salad”.

Alex Weprin of SportsNewser visited the MLB Man Fan Cave.

Joe Favorito says the NCAA College World Series is a missed opportunity for college baseball.

My Twitter Trophy Wife Amanda Rykoff has compiled a hockey glossary at espnW just in time for the Stanley Cup Final.

From the upcoming New York Times Sunday Magazine, Jonathan Mahler profiles Captain Blowhard who’s already complaining about Grantland and the site hasn’t officially launched yet. The profile is long so get ready to scroll.

Richard Sandomir of the Times reports that former Montreal Expos and New York Mets Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter has an inoperable brain tumor.

Mike Madden of the Washington City Paper notes that DC NFL team owner and bully Daniel Snyder is taking the next step in his lawsuit against the publication by subpoenaing Washington Post blogger Dan Steinberg for just linking to the City Paper column that led him to sue in court.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner reports that ABC received the best NBA Finals overnight rating since 2004.

Jim says the NBC Sports Group gets to keep the Stanley Cup Final all to itself for the next two and a half weeks.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes that a local reporter may have jumped the gun when he reported on an alleged contract extension for the Magic’s Dwight Howard.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman says Game 5 of the Dallas-Oklahoma City NBA Western Conference Finals did very well in the local ratings.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the ESPN book has some Wisconsin ties.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business wonders if the Windy City will tune into the Stanley Cup Final.

Scott Dochterman of the Iowa City Gazette notes the rebranding of Big Ten Network.

Chris Foster from the Los Angeles Times speaks with “How I Met Your Mother Star” Cobie Smulders who like her character Robin Scherbatsky is a big Vancouver Canucks fan.

Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun says CBC’s Jim Hughson and Canucks voice John Shorthouse are happy to be calling their native Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN2′s coverage of the French Open will be all live starting next year.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media predicts how the Stanley Cup Final will fare on NBC/Versus this year.

That will do it for now.

ESPN Presents HERoics; 6 Short Films on Women & Soccer

Debuting on both ESPN2 and espnW, the network that brought us the critically acclaimed 30 for 30 series, will do it again with six short films on women and how soccer shaped their lives. HERoics will be a series of six documentaries from six different directors. It will premiere on ESPN2 on June 25 on the eve of the Women’s World Cup and also air on ABC a week later on July 2. The series will also air on ESPN’s International networks around the globe. We have a look at the stories you’ll see on HERoics and the directors.

ESPN to Present HERoics Documentaries

Six Short Films on Women and Soccer During the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011

ESPN will present HERoics, a series of six short documentaries chronicling women’s courage, perseverance, breaking through barriers, failure and redemption, as part of its unprecedented coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011, it was announced today.  The series, an ESPN global content development project, will live on www.espnW.com, the company’s first dedicated content and digital hub designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans, beginning Saturday, June 25 – the eve of the Women’s World Cup.

The short films will offer in-depth profiles of FIFA Women’s World Cup players Marta (Brazil), Kelly Smith (England), and Lisa De Vanna (Australia); and highlight unique stories about a group of grandmothers and senior citizens on a team in Jerez, Spain, who continue to play into their 70s and 80s; a woman referee in the Republic of Congo who earned accolades from FIFA while working through the stress of abuse from fans; and a probation officer who uses soccer to steer troubled teens away from gangs in a Central California town.

In the United States, HERoics will debut on television as a one-hour program on ESPN2 on Saturday, June 25, at 7 p.m. ET, the same day it goes live on espnW.  The series will air on ABC in the middle of the Women’s World Cup on Saturday, July 2, at 4 p.m.  Hannah Storm, award-winning sportscaster and director of the HERoics profile of England’s Kelly Smith, will host both one-hour programs.  (Air dates on ESPN International networks are TBD.)

Much like the award-winning ESPN “30 for 30” documentary series, each short film will feature a different director.  ESPN is collaborating with six different documentary filmmakers – all women – from diverse cultural backgrounds and countries, and from various genres of television and film storytelling.

HERoics will mirror the 2010 FIFA World Cup series “I Scored a Goal,” the ambitious, critically acclaimed project by ESPN that featured interviews with all but three of the living players who scored a goal in a World Cup final.

The Stories:
Dois Riachos to Umeå (Director: Adriana Yanez)

Born in the small town of Dois Riachos in the Brazilian State of Alagoas (population 11,000), Marta Vieira da Silva, simply known as Marta, has transcended her humble beginnings to become one of her country’s legendary one-name soccer stars.  Hers is the newest set of feet (97^th) immortalized in cement outside the famed Maracana Stadium, along with the likes of Pele, Garrincha, Zico and Ronaldo.  But in 2004, at the age of 18, Marta moved from Dois Riachos to Umeå, Sweden, on a professional contract with Umeå IK.  She left her mother and siblings behind in Brazil to begin a journey into a world so different from the place of her birth and a world where she could play women’s soccer as a profession.  Through Marta’s eyes and words, and through the family members she left behind, HERoics explores the social milieu between the two countries that helped Marta become the current and record five-time FIFA Player of the Year, a distinction no other male or female player has ever achieved.

El Chiquitín Fútbol Club (Sara Lozano)
In Spain, home of the reigning FIFA World Cup and European champions, arcane laws and old mores still pose strong barriers against women who seek to play the sport.  But the El Chiquitín Fútbol Club deviates from the norm.  Since 1995, the players, grandmothers and senior citizens in the old town of Jerez, suit up in the locker room, talk trash and play hard for their coach.  The oldest player, an 85-year-old known by friends and teammates as La Trini, and her teammates share the love of playing soccer.

Kelly Smith (Hannah Storm)
At 32, Smith is undoubtedly the greatest female soccer player ever in the country that invented the sport.  At Seton Hall University, Smith shattered numerous records and her number was retired, the first non-basketball athlete to have a number retired.  She missed the 2003 season due to a torn ACL.  When the WUSA women’s pro soccer league ceased operations in 2004, frustrations mounted for Smith.  She returned home to Watford, England, and began “numbing [herself] with alcohol.”  Smith has returned to her old goal-scoring and is poised to lead England’s to the Women’s World Cup.

The Save (Amanda Micheli)
Gina Castañeda, a deputy probation officer in Watsonville, Calif., is best known for coaching youth soccer to steer her players away from the rising gang turf wars among the largely Hispanic, immigrant population in her community.  Castañeda was abandoned by her mother.  Soccer saved her life, providing her some normalcy as she parlayed a high school career into an athletic scholarship at San Francisco State University.  Through her work with the Aztecas, a team of mostly 20 teenage boys on probation, Castañeda seeks to make a difference in her community.

L’ Arbitre (Ruhi Hamid)
Marie Agnès Makengi Kapinga, otherwise known as Mere Malou, was the first international female soccer referee in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Her career began in 1997 when her then husband and professional soccer player, Pierre Mtumbula Mulamba Ndaye (former player for The Leopards of Zaire), abandoned her and their four children to pursue his career in South Africa.  In a 15-year refereeing career with numerous accolades from FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and CAF (the Confederation of African Football), Marie Agnès endured physical and verbal abuse from fans, but remains dedicated to passing the torch on to present and future generations of female referees in her country.

Lisa De Vanna (Safina Oberoi)
Lisa De Vanna is an explosive player.  Coaches refer to her as “the kind of player who changes the game.”  Arguably one of Australia’s best female players, she is also the Matildas most troublesome – known to get into fights with her teammates and opposing players.  While many question why she’s still with the team, others contend the mercurial striker evokes both hostility and compassion.  As the Matildas prepare for the Women’s World Cup, the tempestuous but generous player is set for a showcase on the sport’s biggest stage.

I hope to get an advance DVD to review this series. We have a preview of the series right here.

That’s it.

Unveiling The Mid-Week Linkage

Let’s do some linkage. Before I get into the stories of the day, you may have noticed that I have instituted a comment system using Intense Debate. If you were with me at my old Blogger site, you will know I used it over there, but then got rid of it as it was slowing down my site. Here with WordPress, it’s much faster and quicker. In addition, having an account with Intense Debate makes it easier to bring that here instead of using Disqus or another system. And for some reason, no matter how hard I tried, using WordPress’ comment system allowed for too many spammers to come in. Under Intense Debate, I can control that and also block people. You don’t have to create an Intense Debate account, you can sign in with your Facebook and Twitter accounts to comment. You can tell me I’m wrong and you can discuss posts, but one thing I don’t want is nasty, negative comments. No bashing of other commenters and don’t go overboard on negativity. So the comment system is up and feel free to talk about what I’ve posted.

To the links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that NFL Draftniks have their choice of two channels for coverage starting Thursday night.

Anthony Kaufman of the Wall Street Journal looks at the new ESPN documentary on Steve Bartman.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports says with TV solidly in bed with sports leagues, it can sometimes lead to some awkward moments when it comes to covering stories.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News notes that ESPN and ABC’s NBA TV ratings are up significantly over last year.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek says the Fox Sports-owned Fuel TV is looking for a new Executive Vice President and General Manager.

At TVSpy, Andrew Gauthier says the lone remaining sports reporter at a Dallas TV station is leaving.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser has CBS’ Phil Simms slamming NFL Network. I think Phil is getting crotchety in his old age.

Toby Carrig at the Associated Press Sports Editors talks about the Washington Times re-establishing its sports section after dismantling it last year.

ESPN Front Row takes us behind the scenes at a Day In The Life of ESPN2′s SportsNation.

Jason Dachman at Sports Video Group says ESPN is taking a “less is more” approach at the NFL Draft.

To SB Nation where Puck The Media’s Steve Lepore wonders why NHL fans are cynical about the new TV contract with NBC/Versus.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell speaks with StubHub’s CEO about what’s next in sports ticketing.

Mary Ellen Fillo of the Hartford Courant says a couple of UConn stars attended the relaunch of the espnW website.

Newsday’s Neil Best has a review of the upcoming ESPN documentary on Chicago Cubs scapegoat Steve Bartman.

The New York Times’ Jeremy Egner speaks with the director of said ESPN doc.

Joe Drape of the Times writes about horse racing announcer Tom Durkin ending his career with NBC Sports.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty wants to know what’s going on with Versus’ NHL coverage for the Western Conference Semifinals.

Crowing Philadelphia Flyers fan Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette notes that the local Fox affiliate is moving a June NASCAR race to its secondary digital channel due to a local commitment.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says legendary Baseball and Basketball Hall of Fame Announcer Bob Wolff will be making a local appearance this week.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says Tony Kornheiser has finally weighed in on the Dan Snyder lawsuit against the Washington City Paper. Kornheiser hosts a show on Snyder’s radio station.

And Dan talks about the departure of the DC NFL Team’s Editorial Director of Media.

Jeff Darlington and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald mourn the passing of former Miami Dolphins tight end Jim Mandich who became the team’s radio analyst and a beloved personality in South Florida. Mandich died Tuesday at the age of 62 after a battle with bile-duct cancer.

Greg Cote of the Herald says Mandich epitomized the Dolphins more than anyone.

Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says Mandich was a larger-than-life figure.

And the Sun-Sentinel has Mandich’s radio station, WQAM, paying tribute through some of best radio calls.

The Miami Dolphins website has tributes from former teammates.

Jimmy Burch at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says the Big 12 has scheduled Texas A&M for the Sunday night before Labor Day for Fox Sports Net.

Brandon Chatmon from the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN has moved an Oklahoma State football game to a Friday night in the fall.

Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman talks with an ESPN.com NBA statistics expert.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley has Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy hating on the media.

Bob notes that the Brewers get a national showcase on MLB Network next week.

Larry Bohannan of The Desert (CA) Sun says the premiere of Golf Channel’s Big Break will occur in May.

David Reardon of the Honolulu Star Advertiser says the NFL Draft vs. the Royal Wedding is a true battle for our TV remotes. It’s really no contest and they won’t be on against each other to begin with.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on Fox set a six year ratings high for its coverage at Talladega.

SMW says Saturday’s NBA games fared really well on TNT.

Joe Favorito says Indy Car is looking to get more fans to the oval.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the NHL Western Conference Semifinal schedule for CBC and TSN.

I think we’ll end it there.

espnW To Launch A New Enhanced Site

ESPN’s website geared towards women, espnW, is about to launch the second phase of its operation with an enhanced site. This will feature more articles, videos and provide cleaner navigation. espnW launched in December of 2010 and hopes to gain a foothold in women’s sports coverage. The site has Amanda Rykoff, Sarah Spain and Julie Foudy as contributors. We have details of the relaunch of espnW.

Enhanced espnW Web Site for Female Athletes and Fans Debuts April 26

Top 10 Performances in Women’s Sports Featured

On April 26, espnW, ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital business designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans, will unveil its enhanced web site, which will feature more in-depth content, an enhanced user interface, increased social interaction and cleaner navigation.

The content featured on the enhanced site will:

• shine a spotlight on women’s sports, and offer broader coverage;
• provide a unique take and added perspective on the mainstream sports stories of the day;
• offer training information for the active, competitive woman.

espnW vice president Laura Gentile also touches on a variety of other topics in the videos, including the espnW target audience (sports-minded women 18-34) and espnW’s extensive research.

Gentile stated: “ESPN has served women for decades… espnW takes it to the next level providing additive content and truly being that complement to all that ESPN already does.”

“We’ve been developing espnW for…three years. We spoke to 2000 girls and 2000 women in extensive research to gain insight into girls’ and women’s experiences with sports and how we can improve that experience. A lot of the work you’re seeing and a lot you will see is based on those insights and really listening to women around the country about what they…want from us.”

Enhanced Web Site:

On April 26, espnW will unveil an enhanced web site at espnW.com. The site has expanded from a blog-format to a more robust online presence, continuing to cover women’s and men’s sports while offering several expanded sections across News & Information, Features & Profiles and Training. Some events that will receive in-depth coverage include the Women’s College World Series, the NBA and NHL Playoffs and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011.

As part of the enhanced site, espnW will count down the list of the Top 10 Performances in Women’s Sports over the past 30 years. Michelle Beadle will host.

Tina Johnson, editor-in-chief of espnW.com, explains some key areas on the site and discusses the editorial vision of espnW, from elevating women’s sports while providing relevant coverage of men’s sports and the key sports stories of the day, to a greater focus on training information for the everyday athlete.

Key Web Site Enhancements:

• More robust News & Opinion section will bring together top athletes, writers and newsmakers in a way that is authentic to ESPN but unique to espnW’s audience. Chatter Box will feature a topic of the moment in the sports world and allow for ongoing dialogue; Ask the Pros will let readers ask questions of espnW’s panel of pro athletes; extensive coverage of the Women’s College World Series, the NBA and NHL Playoffs, Wimbledon and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011.
• New Features & Profiles section will provide in-depth stories surrounding issues in sports as well as compelling stories about athletes. London Calling will follow Kathryn Bertine’s quest to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic cycling team; Pioneer, Present, Future will be an ongoing column that selects a sport and looks at an athlete that helped shape it as a pioneer, current athlete or future star; Pro’s Questionnaire will be an abridged personality test of key figures in sports based on the Proust Questionnaire.
• Expanded Training section designed to help athletes achieve their goals. Give Me 10 will show the best way to use 10 minutes; Feast on This will provide information on nutrition that works best with training routines; Sideline Report will offer information on common sports-related injuries.
• Current popular espnW content such as Things to Do Near You, What We’re Reading, Games We’re Watching, and About Last Night will carry over to the enhanced site.
• 20,000 Active.com® Trainer plans will be distributed free on a first-come, first-served basis to individuals who sign up on the site. The Active.com Trainer plans help users plan, log and share their results as they train for a range of fitness activities including 5K and 10K races, half and full marathons, and triathlons.

About espnW:

espnW’s mission is to serve, inform and inspire today’s female athlete and fan. The site provides an engaging environment where women are an integral part of the sports conversation, can share their perspective on the news of the day and find motivation and support for their athletic goals. Both men’s and women’s sports are covered on espnW.com.

Founded in July 2009, espnW, [espnw.com], is a developing business that consists primarily of a digital product suite including pc web, mobile web, and social media. The espnW blog launched in Dec. 2010 with an enhanced web site debuting on April 26, 2011. The Women’s Sports Foundation is espnW’s official charity of choice.

More stuff coming up.

Enhanced espnW Web Site for Female Athletes and Fans Debuts April 26

Top 10 Performances in Women’s Sports Featured

On April 26, espnW, ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital business designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans, will unveil its enhanced web site, which will feature more in-depth content, an enhanced user interface, increased social interaction and cleaner navigation.

The content featured on the enhanced site will:

 
• shine a spotlight on women’s sports, and offer broader coverage;
• provide a unique take and added perspective on the mainstream sports stories of the day;
• offer training information for the active, competitive woman.

 

 

 

espnW is supported by Nike and Gatorade, founding partners who are both committed to supporting female athletes worldwide.  Nike provides content through the voice of its athletes as well as training tips and tools and other support. Gatorade provides content, access to athletes and events, and sports nutrition education focused specifically on the female athlete.

espnW vice president Laura Gentile also touches on a variety of other topics in the videos, including the espnW target audience (sports-minded women 18-34), espnW’s extensive research and founding partners NIKE and Gatorade.

Gentile stated:  “ESPN has served women for decades… espnW takes it to the next level providing additive content and truly being that complement to all that ESPN already does.”

“We’ve been developing espnW for…three years.  We spoke to 2000 girls and 2000 women in extensive research to gain insight into girls’ and women’s experiences with sports and how we can improve that experience.  A lot of the work you’re seeing and a lot you will see is based on those insights and really listening to women around the country about what they…want from us.”

Enhanced Web Site:

On April 26, espnW will unveil an enhanced web site at espnW.com.  The site has expanded from a blog-format to a more robust online presence, continuing to cover women’s and men’s sports while offering several expanded sections across News & Information, Features & Profiles and Training.  Some events that will receive in-depth coverage include the Women’s College World Series, the NBA and NHL Playoffs and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011.

As part of the enhanced site, espnW will count down the list of the Top 10 Performances in Women’s Sports over the past 30 years.  Michelle Beadle will host.

Tina Johnson, editor-in-chief of espnW.com, explains some key areas on the site and discusses the editorial vision of espnW, from elevating women’s sports while providing relevant coverage of men’s sports and the key sports stories of the day, to a greater focus on training information for the everyday athlete.

Key Web Site Enhancements:

 
• More robust News & Opinion section will bring together top athletes, writers and newsmakers in a way that is authentic to ESPN but unique to espnW’s audience.  Chatter Box will feature a topic of the moment in the sports world and allow for ongoing dialogue; Ask the Pros will let readers ask questions of espnW’s panel of pro athletes; extensive coverage of the Women’s College World Series, the NBA and NHL Playoffs, Wimbledon and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011.

 

 

 

 
• New Features & Profiles section will provide in-depth stories surrounding issues in sports as well as compelling stories about athletes.  London Calling will follow Kathryn Bertine’s quest to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic cycling team; Pioneer, Present, Future will be an ongoing column that selects a sport and looks at an athlete that helped shape it as a pioneer, current athlete or future star; Pro’s Questionnaire will be an abridged personality test of key figures in sports based on the Proust Questionnaire.

 

 

 

 
• Expanded Training section designed to help athletes achieve their goals.  Give Me 10 will show the best way to use 10 minutes; Feast on This will provide information on nutrition that works best with training routines; Sideline Report will offer information on common sports-related injuries.

 

 

 

 
• Current popular espnW content such as Things to Do Near You, What We’re Reading, Games We’re Watching, and About Last Night will carry over to the enhanced site.

 

 

 

 
• 20,000 Active.com® Trainer plans will be distributed free on a first-come, first-served basis to individuals who sign up on the site. The Active.com Trainer plans help users plan, log and share their results as they train for a range of fitness activities including 5K and 10K races, half and full marathons, and triathlons.

 

 

 

About espnW:

espnW’s mission is to serve, inform and inspire today’s female athlete and fan.  The site provides an engaging environment where women are an integral part of the sports conversation, can share their perspective on the news of the day and find motivation and support for their athletic goals. Both men’s and women’s sports are covered on espnW.com.

Founded in July 2009, espnW, [espnw.com], is a developing business that consists primarily of a digital product suite including pc web, mobile web, and social media. The espnW blog launched in Dec. 2010 with an enhanced web site debuting on April 26, 2011. Founding partners Nike and Gatorade provide content to espnW.com. The Women’s Sports Foundation is espnW’s official charity of choice.

 

Stirring Up Some Linkage

I’ll provide some linkage for you today.

This has nothing to do with sports media, just a very well written article by Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski who shares his thoughts on Bob Feller who passed away Wednesday night at the age of 92.

At the Wall Street Journal, Jason Gay facetiously writes that ESPN will have to cancel some shows now that Brett Favre is not playing football. 

Etan Vessing of the Hollywood Reporter says Canadian Olympic broadcaster CTV has been cleared of repeatedly airing the video of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s death despite numerous complaints.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that Versus saw its biggest audience ever for a regular season NHL game this week.

At Mediapost, David Goetzl also writes about Versus’ ratings.

David notes that ESPN will be airing 3-D ads during its first NBA game to be produced in the third dimension.

David says CBS will be streaming live part of its college basketball schedule online.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with an inventor who hopes his 1st and 10 line will be seen inside NFL stadiums, not just on TV.

Darren is surprised to see boxing equipment manufacturer Everlast team up with Sears and Kmart.

At the National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times lists his top 10 Sports Media stories of 2010.

Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy recaps the premiere episode of HBO’s 24/7 Penguins/Capitals.

Ron Siwak of GolfWorld breaks news that the LPGA is not happy with its 10 year deal with Golf Channel that leaves it with tape delayed coverage even on weekend.s

Jessica Heslam at the Boston Herald says 98.5 the Sports Hub host Michael Felger is coming under fire from women’s groups for touting his wife in a hottest local news anchor online poll. Felger’s wife is Sara Underwood who works for WFXT-TV.

From the New York Times, Richard Sandomir says the NHL couldn’t be more pleased over the premiere episode of 24/7 Penguins/Capitals.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that 24/7 Penguins/Capitals was well-produced.

Sad story. You may not have known Steven Smith, but 578 people on Twitter did. I learned of his passing through several Yankee tweeps. Steven was a diehard Yankees fan, and from what I’ve learned of him, he could not have been nicer person. His dream was to work in sports. Pete Iorizzo of the Times Union writes that Steven’s untimely death earlier this week shook many of his Twitter friends.

Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says 24/7 was a compare and contrast session between the Penguins and Capitals. 

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun notes that ESPNU will carry plenty of Charm City schools in its lacrosse schedule.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg loved the premiere episode of 24/7 Penguins/Capitals.

Add Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times to those who loved 24/7 Penguins/Caps.

Kathy Vetter from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says ESPN will be using the City Where The West Begins as its Super Bowl headquarters over Dallas and Arlington.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the Rose Bowl from January 2011 on, will be an all-cable affair.

Bob has Fox’s Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long discussing the end of Brett Favre’s consecutive start streak. 

Ed Sherman from Crain’s Chicago Business says a Comcast SportsNet host gets an expanded role on the channel. 

Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times talks with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

Eric Degerman of the Mid-Columbia Tri Cities (WA) Herald says it was local legend Bing Crosby who unknowingly helped to preserve a piece of baseball history.

Sports Media Watch says ESPN saw low ratings for the Heisman Trophy Presentation.

SMW also has some various news and notes.

Steve Lepore from Puck The Media liked 24/7 Penguins/Capitals.

Wendy Parker discusses the real purpose of espnW.

Joe Tetreault at Maury Brown’s Biz of Baseball talks about the new digital partnership between Fox Sports and NESN.

EPL Talk says ESPN2 drew the largest US TV audience ever for an English Premier match for Manchester United-Arsenal on Monday.

And we’re finally done. 

It’s the Sunday Links

Ok, been a crazy morning. Now that everything with New York Giants-Minnesota has been worked out, I can move on to other things. Let’s do your linkage.

At ESPN.com, Greg Garber looks back at NBC’s experiment of an announcerless NFL game 30 years ago. 

Tim Graham at ESPN.com also has a story on the experiment.

Phil Swann of TV Predictions says DirecTV could pull 30 Hearst TV stations including ones in Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Hawaii, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and several other markets if the two sides don’t come to an agreement.

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn takes a close look at the city’s sports radio war between 98.5 The Sports Hub and long-time incumbent WEEI.

Alan Schwarz of the New York Times says the NFL has an advocate on helmet-to-helmet hits in NBC’s Cris Collinsworth.

Also from the Times, Richard Sandomir says some recent film and audio finds helped to augment the new HBO Sports/NFL Films documentary on the late Vince Lombardi.

Bob Raissman from the New York Daily News says the NHL is hopeful that HBO’s 24/7 series will bring new fans to the sport.

Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News describes how the New York Giants-Minnesota Vikings game got moved from Sunday to Monday then from Minneapolis to Detroit.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has plenty of bluster today.

Newsday’s Neil Best who’s traveling to the New York Giants-Minnesota game today, breaks news that Jenn Sterger will finally break her silence to ESPN/ABC.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union notees that Giants-Vikings will be aired in New York, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester, MN, but what about the Capital Region?

Pete explains why he didn’t vote for Auburn quarterback Cam Newton for the Heisman Trophy.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says the Giants-Vikings game won’t be seen in Albany upsetting many fans in the Capital Region.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with the vice president of espnW on whether the network can appeal to women.

Jerry Garcia from the San Antonio Express-News notes that there have been times when the NFL has had to move games to Monday night.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that ESPN assigns Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit to the Rose Bowl and BCS National Championship Game.

Bob wonders if Brett Favre will play in tomorrow’s Giants-Vikings game with extra time to heal.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a photo gallery showing the Metrodome’s collapsed roof.

Dennis McGrath from the Star Tribune has a story on Giants-Vikings moving to Detroit from the Twin Cities. 

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily news writes that college football might be running out of sponsors for its bowl games.

Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times writes about the memorial service for original Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

And that will end our links for today.

Doing Your Friday Megalinkage Early

At least early for me. Hoping to get these done to free myself for the evening. Lots of stuff to get to.

Your Weekend Viewing Picks give you sports and entertainment viewing suggestions.

Let’s do your links now.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with NFL Films president Steve Sabol about the new HBO Sports documentary, Lombardi which premieres Saturday night.

Mike Snider of USA Today got an inside look at the Madden NFL video game development meetings.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch says if you’re looking for some drama during ESPN’s Heisman Trophy Presentation regarding Auburn QB Cam Newton, then you’ll be looking in the wrong place.

Joshua Weinstein of Variety looks back at sports television’s biggest rights deal in 2010, the CBS/Turner agreement with the NCAA for the men’s basketball tournament.

Michael Malone at Broadcasting & Cable mentions some changes in the Univision news and sports divisions.

John Eggerton at B&C writes that a March hearing date has been set for the carriage dispute between Tennis Channel and Comcast.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that four US cable and satellite providers will carry CBC’s first 3-D presentation of Hockey Night in Canada tomorrow.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine writes that the Foxwoods sponsorship deal with MSG Network could have far reaching effects throughout sports.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will be profiled on Sunday’s edition of 60 Minutes.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid gets behind the mystery of why Chris Berman had a mustache earlier this year.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the NFL’s doctors are nervous about the league having an official helmet.

Darren talks with the chair and CEO of sports powerhouse IMG. 

Sports Media Watch notes that ABC’s college football ratings and viewership were down from last season.

SMW says on the other hand, ESPN says it had its highest viewership for college football in more than a decade.

SMW says the ACC Championship Game’s ratings were up on ESPN, but still very low overall.

And SMW tells us that the Big 12 Championship Game’s ratings suffered a drop from last year.

My Twitter Trophy wife, Amanda Rykoff, a.k.a. The OCD Chick, has some observations from her first Baseball Winter Meetings in espnW.

Amanda also notes that the Winter Meetings aren’t an Old Boys Club anymore.

Awful Announcing notes that the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett is keeping an eye on the wardrobe of TNT’s Craig Sager.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe notes that the Red Sox’s offseason moves will pay off for NESN’s ratings in the summer.

Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald notes how Patriots coach Bill Belichick has his weekly segment down pat on the team’s weekly in-house TV show.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has his take on the ESPN production of Jets-Patriots on Monday Night Football.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times recaps Auburn QB Cam Newton’s interview on ESPN which aired Thursday.

At the New York Post, Phil Mushnick reminds us that we watch the game for the event, not the announcers. Thank you for that, Phil.

The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for Fox Sports’ Jimmy Johnson.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says Bills fans in New York’s Capital Region won’t be able to watch their team on Sunday.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun asks readers which announcers seem to have a bias against the Charm City.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says Capitals analyst Craig Laughlin was not swearing on live TV the other night and explains why.

Dan says the Caps are just barely beating the Wizards in the local TV ratings.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner speaks with the producer of the joint NFL Films/HBO Sports documentary, “Lombardi”.

South

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald feels it could make for interesting TV when Bill Simmons joins ESPN’s team to call tonight’s Heat-Golden State game.

Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes that the Miami Heat have launched their own store on Facebook.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times has some various sports media stories in today’s column.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News has a quick preview of Jerry Jones’ appearance on 60 Minutes this Sunday.

Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says Fox won’t be using Pat Summerall to call January’s Cotton Bowl and will use it as a dry run for the following month’s Super Bowl XLV.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks with ESPN’s Tom Jackson about the Texans as his Super Bowl pick.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman discusses the end of ESPN’s critically acclaimed 30 for 30 documentary series.

Mel also has his sports media notebook.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes the Queen City will be getting a live local sports morning show in January.

Mike Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Gazette talks with the man who will call the Michigan State-Michigan outdoor hockey game on Fox Sports Detroit on Saturday.

Jeff Arnold of AnnArbor.com says Fox Sports Detroit plans to give the outdoor game a big event feel.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some thoughts on Don Meredith’s passing.

Bob has Fox’s announcing assignment for this Sunday’s Green Bay-Detroit game.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business has his weekly winners and losers in sports business and media.

The Chicago Tribune live blogged the funeral services for Cubs third baseman and radio announcer Ron Santo.

At the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dan Caesar notes that the NHL likes being on Versus despite some huge warts.

Dan says the St. Louis Billikens are preparing for what they believe is their first nationally televised over the air broadcast against Duke.

West

Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune points out that the Chargers narrowly averted another blackout this weekend.

John Maffei at the North County Times says two sports documentaries tomorrow are definitely “Must See TV”.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star says Don Meredith helped to make color analysts, colorful.

Jim notes that the Miami Heat have helped the NBA’s TV ratings.

Mike Perrault of the Desert Sun (CA) writes about a new Golf Channel series that will chronicle the comeback of a former homeless man who was once a prominent golf instructor.

Diane Pucin from the Los Angeles Times notes that Dodgers announcer Charley Steiner will receive an honorary doctorate.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Steiner will also be the mid-term commencement speaker at his alma mater this month.

Tom has a look at the new espnW site.

Tom has more on espnW in his media column.

Tom also has his extensive news and notes in his blog.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail has a look at the local sports radio ratings.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star looks at CBC’s first foray into 3-D TV with Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.

Kimiya Shokoohi of the Vancouver Metro also writes about the CBC’s 3-D production.

And that will conclude the megalinks. They’re actually done before 3 p.m.! That’s bonus for you and me.

Expect some press releases tonight. Actually more than some, lots of them.

Some Tuesday Night Links

Let’s do some additional linkage since I had to cut the regular Tuesday links short earlier today.

Bill Krueger of the Poynter Institute looks at how Yahoo! Sports has made a name for itself in sports investigations.

Jason Humphries of Reuters has International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge hopeful that the US TV rights for the 2014/16 Olympics will exceed what NBC paid for the 2012/14 Games.

Also from Reuters, Steve Keating says the NHL is bullish that a new US TV deal could put the league on equal footing with the other major sports leagues.

Craig Custance at the Sporting News has NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman optimistic over the negotiations for a new US TV contract.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the last bastion of sports sponsorship is time.

From Fox Sports, Brian Lowry says it’s no coincidence ESPN scheduled the Heisman Trophy Presentation and its 30 for 30 documentary on SMU football back-to-back on Saturday.

Dylan Stableford of The Wrap takes a look at the launch of espnW. 

With Newsday free to all for a month, I’m taking advantage. Neil Best has a story on ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series which for all intents and purposes ends on Saturday.
From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg recaps how a local radio station landed the volatile interview with DC NFL team defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth this week.

Leonard Shapiro of the Post notes that the Daniel Snyder-owned sports radio station hasn’t pulled any punches on the DC NFL team.

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that the local ratings for the Falcons are on fire.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Texas Rangers are changing flagship radio stations. 

Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer says Don Meredith may have helped to make Monday Night Football a party, but not in his private life.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the 30 for 30 DVD boxed set is LA-heavy.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times remembers Don Meredith. 

Eric Young at the San Francisco Business Times says Comcast is urging Dish Network customers to cut the cord over the satellite provider’s decision to pull its SportsNet California channel. 

Sports Media Watch mentions that Captain Blowhard will be on the live call of an NBA game for ESPN this week.

SMW says that the Big 12 Championship scored a four year ratings low.

SMW notes that the SEC Championship’s ratings for CBS were down from last year, but still held its own.

Joe Favorito says George Mason University is going all-21st Century by developing a smartphone app so fans can listen to basketball games and keep up with the school’s sports.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says MLB Network wants to gain carriage on Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse.

Dave Kohl at the Major League Programs blog isn’t happy over Marvin Miller’s exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says ESPN’s Michelle Beadle’s attire is burning up the internet.

And that will do it for tonight. Maybe a press release or two and if I get motivated, an original post. Keep your RSS feeds updated.

Quick Tuesday Linkage

Been all over the place today and I have a free moment to do some links for you. Let’s get to them.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand remembers the late Don Meredith.

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

The Baseball Writers Association of America has announced that Philadelphia Daily News writer Bill Conlin has won the J.G. Taylor Spink Award and will be inducted into the writers wing of Baseball Hall of Fame next year.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch wonders if ESPN threw Derek Anderson under the bus by showing him laughing on the sidelines during the San Francisco-Arizona game two Monday nights ago.

Writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, the St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deggans has high hopes for espnW.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says Super Bowl XLV is proving to be a car adfest.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says LeBron James’ return to Cleveland may have proven to be a dud on the court, but it was a ratings winner.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says retired manager Joe Torre is considering a return to broadcasting.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell feels the NBA taking over the New Orleans Hornet would not be worth it for the league.

Janice Prodaska of WTIC-TV and CTNow.com says Foxwoods Casino is increasing its advertising on MSG Network.

Neil Best sighting! Neil Best sighting! Newsday’s Neil Best tells us that the dreaded pay wall at Newsday.com is down! Temporarily.

Neil writes that the ratings for Monday Night Football in Boston for Jets-Patriots were higher than in New York.

Neil says Dandy Don Meredith was a one-of-a-kind personality.

Douglas Martin and Bill Carter of the New York Times also write about Meredith.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has Frank Gifford’s thoughts on Meredith’s passing.

To the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog and Dan Steinberg who says one DC radio station is expanding its coverage of the Capitals.

Michael Wilbon writes his last column for the Post and bids farewell to his readers. Wilbon will join ESPN full-time.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says the ratings for the PGA’s Chevron World Challenge with Tiger Woods in contention were decent against the NFL.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News tells us that the Texas Rangers may be changing radio stations.

Tim Colishaw of the Morning News says ranks Don Meredith among the greatest Cowboys quarterbacks.

Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram doesn’t want the party to end with Don Meredith’s passing.

Ray Buck of the Star-Telegram also writes about Don Meredith.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says Meredith wanted football to be fun.

John McClain of the Chronicle says Meredith was a giant on the field and off.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business shares a personal story about Ron Santo.

I will end it there for now. I’ll have more linkage tonight.

Some Monday Links

I’ll do a few Monday links. Can’t believe how quickly this day is moving. I’ve already been to three places today. It’s been quite crazy.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand writes about this season’s BCS not being all that sexy.

Rupal Parekh and Brian Steinberg from Advertising Age discuss the logjam of auto advertisers in Super Bowl XLV.

Jason Fray at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center tells us that Gawker is looking to reinvent the sports blog and sports departments should take note.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News has an obituary of original Monday Night Football analyst Don Meredith who died Sunday.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says Sunday Night Football won the network primetime ratings again.

David Kaplan from paidContent notes that ESPN has launched its women’s sports website today. 

Brian Stelter of the New York Times cites a new ESPN study which finds that a small number of cable TV subscribers are “cutting the cord”.

Toni Monkovic of the Times looks at how Howard Cosell broke the news of John Lennon’s death on Monday Night Football some 30 years ago. Goodness. It’s been 30 years?

From the New York Post, Mike Rubin has his theories as to why the NFL is killing in the ratings this year.

Phil Mushnick from the Post finds two letters that show that Ron Santo almost did not become a Chicago Cub.

Newsday’s Neil Best has a short blurb on Don Meredith’s passing.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes Fox’s high ratings for Dallas-Indianapolis yesterday.

Pete says Don Meredith leaves a big legacy behind.

Pete has the NFL Week 14 & 15 TV schedules for New York’s Capital Region.

Laura Nachman passes her condolences to the family of legendary Philadelphia basketball writer Phil Jasner who died last week at the age of 68.

The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik says NBC came up big during the Pittsburgh-Baltimore game on Sunday night.

David says Pittsburgh-Baltimore drew big ratings for NBC.

And David writes that Pittsburgh not only beat Baltimore on the field but in the ratings battle as well.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog noticed that Vanity Fair had a photo shoot and video with Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby and Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin in advance of next month’s NHL Winter Classic.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes the ratings for Steelers-Ravens on NBC.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times has a look back at the weekend in sports TV.

Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel says the big Lee Corso head was stolen from the College Gameday set in Corvallis, OR over the weekend. 

Tim Colishaw of the Dallas Morning News shares some memories of Don Meredith.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reviews ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on the SMU football program.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wonders if Brett Favre will escape penalty from the NFL over the Jenn Sterger issue.

Bob talks about Fox’s Brian Billick’s analysis of the Packers.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says high school football fans were gypped with tape delayed coverage over the weekend.

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

Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times says the Don Meredith he remembers endorsed Lipton Tea.

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin says CBC’s Ron MacLean went after Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke over his embattled coach.

Sean Leahy at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy isn’t thrilled over NBC’s new NHL Winter Classic promo.

Barry Rothbard at SportsGrid notes that ESPN’s Erin Andrews broke the story of the Case of the Stolen Lee Corso Mascot Head.

UPDATE, 4:09 p.m.: Erin Andrews has tweeted that the Lee Corso head has been found. 

David Krough of KGW-TV in Portland reports that an Oregon State University employee found the head. We can sleep now.

That’s where we’ll end it.

espnW Is Up And Running WIth The OCD Chick A Featured Writer

The new ESPN site devoted to women’s sports, espnW is now live. It launched this morning and there are several columns written by women for women. I think this can work if marketed right. Even among women, there was heavy debate over the concept, but ESPN forged ahead and let’s see if this will be one of the many success stories out of Bristol, CT.

I notice that my Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff a.k.a. The OCD Chick, is going to be part of this so right there, ESPN has made one good move for site. We have the press release for you.

espnW.com Launches Today, December 6

Michelle Beadle, Tamika Catchings, Julie Foudy, Wendi Nix, Summer Sanders, Sage Steele, Hannah Storm and More to Contribute

ESPN’s new content and digital business initiative for women, espnW, launches espnW.com today, Dec. 6. Presented in a blog format, espnW.com will offer fan- and athlete-centric content geared toward female athletes and sports fans aged 18+. The site, supported by a Twitter and Facebook presence, will incorporate posts by top female sports columnists and bloggers, pro athletes, expert contributors and news from a variety of ESPN and non-ESPN news outlets. This 1.0 version of espnW.com will serve as a precursor to a more robust web site with mobile applications and personalized content that will launch in Spring 2011.

“espnW.com represents our commitment to serving female fans and athletes on a dedicated platform. After more than two years of research and preparation, we are excited to create a specific community for women to talk sports and be inspired both as a fan and as a participant,” said Laura Gentile, VP espnW and ESPN RISE digital and publishing. “We are bringing together top athletes, writers and newsmakers in a way that is authentic to ESPN but will be unique to espnW’s audience.”

Contributors such as Adena Andrews (formerly NBA.com), Melissa Jacobs (TheFootballGirl.com), Jane McManus (ESPNNewYork.com), Amanda Rykoff (OCDChick.com) and Sarah Spain (ESPNChicago.com) will write daily posts offering insight on the day’s biggest sports stories across the entire sports landscape – encompassing men’s and women’s sports. Guest contributors such as Val Ackerman, Gretchen Bleiler, Tamika Catchings, Julie Foudy, Jessica Mendoza, Summer Sanders and Diana Taurasi will weigh in on a variety of issues as will ESPN’s own Michelle Beadle, Sage Steele, Wendi Nix and Hannah Storm.  Special posts will be made throughout the year by Jemele Hill.

Foudy said, “Having worked with the espnW team and experienced their passion and energy for this business, I am ecstatic to be part of this breakthrough effort. ESPN now has a dedicated business focused on elevating women as participants and as sports fans. I look forward to celebrating many wonderful athletes and stories.”

Also, espnW.com will provide content for athletes from Gatorade (exclusive sports nutrition partner) and Nike (exclusive apparel and footwear partner), two founding partners of espnW. The two companies will have a multi-layered presence in the spring rollout of espnW.com. Additional partners that will provide content to espnW.com include Active.com (for active, athletic women), WomenTalkSports.com (focused on women’s sports news and commentary), GoTribal.com (focused on endurance sports for women), and The Women’s Sports Foundation (espnW’s official charity).

Additional features:

• What Matters – Links to top stories curated from ESPN.com and around the web
• Games We’re Following – Games from across the sports landscape – including the NFL, NBA, college sports, WNBA, WPS, WTA and others – with editorial comment from the espnW perspective
• This Week in Women’s Sports – A key moment or event each week from sports history
• Things To Do Near You – A geo-based sport and activity guide, powered by Active.com, for athletes

We’re done.

Let’s Do Some Saturday Linkage

Time to provide some linkage on this Saturday. Lots of stuff going on.

Tom Van Riper of Forbes.com notes that Cablevision and Fox are now acting like spoiled little children. 

John Simon from Bloomberg reviews the Broadway play, “Lombardi”.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred wants to see the wall of ethics return in sports journalism.

Mandi Bierly of Entertainment Weekly writes that TBS has hired “Bull Durham” director Ron Shelton to create a minor league baseball comedy. 

The Lalate blog notes that the TOcho show on Versus garnered really low ratings on Tuesday. Really, really low. 

To SB Nation Boston, where Boston Sports Media Watch’s Bruce Allen discusses the local media and fan reaction to Patriots cheap shot artist Brandon Meriweather.

Dan Mangan of the New York Post reports that Brett Favre tried to contact Jenn Sterger a year after texting pictures of his manjunk. According to the Post, Favre allegedly called her when he was in New York for the premiere episode of HBO’s Joe Buck Live. Thanks to Robert Littal of Black Sports Online for this link.

New York Magazine chronicles Week One of the Cablevision/Fox dispute. 

Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper notes that a group of former ESPNZone restaurant workers in Baltimore and DC is forming a class action lawsuit saying the the closing of the theme establishments was handled illegally.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call notes that the son of the late Phillies announcer Harry Kalas will sing “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch of tonight’s Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

Tim Guidera of WTOC-TV in Savannah, GA is angry over the NFL not allowing his station to air the Falcons and requiring it to show the Jaguars instead. Thanks to the506.com for the link.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News talks with ESPN’s Jon Gruden.

Victor Godinez of the Morning News has Fox skeptical of restoring its cable networks including its Sports Net affiliates to Dish Network anytime soon. 

Jim Ingraham of the Morning Journal (OH) assesses the MLB Postseason announcers.

Patricia Babcock McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald notes that there are mixed opinions on the new espnW.

Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes that the Timberwolves have finally released their TV schedule. 

The Boulder (CO) Daily Camera reports that FSN Rocky Mountain will be all over University of Colorado sports over the next four months. 

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times says the FCC wants proof from Cablevision and Fox that they’re bargaining in good faith. Certainly does not appear to be the case.

The Los Angeles Wave looks at the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on former Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.

The Eugene (OR) Register-Guard notes that Versus is picking up the Oregon-Cal game on November 13.

Sports Media Watch says CBS is seeing its highest NFL ratings in over a decade.

SMW points out that Fox garnered a season low for its early NFL window last week and wonders if that was a result of not having Cablevision subscribers.

And SMW says NLCS Game 5 got the highest ratings of this year’s MLB Postseason.

We’re done with the linkage for today. We’ll be on top of any breaking news if it happens.

Back To Linkage

Ok, work has been a bear and it’s time to give you some much missed linkage. I hate when I can’t get things done for you, but I hope you can understand when I’m not here.

Let’s get cracking for you.

Mike Farrell at Multichannel News talks about the breaking news from today, that Fox local stations and a couple of its cable networks were pulled from Cablevision systems in New York and Philadelphia leaving sports fans potentially in the dark.

Nat Worden of the Wall Street Journal, owned by Fox parent company News Corp., looks at the dispute.

Brian Stelter and Bill Carter of the New York Times write that Cablevision and Fox will meet today in an attempt to end this dispute.

Samuel Goldsmith of the New York Daily News says fans could miss the opener of the National League Championship Series if an agreement is not reached in time tonight.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post, owned by Fox’s parent company News Corp., also writes about the Cablevision/Fox dispute.

David Whitley of Fanhouse opines on Ines Sainz’s declaration that she won’t be going back into NFL locker rooms.

Brett McMurphy of Fanhouse has an interview with a very candid and angry Erin Andrews.

Back to the New York Times, Katie Thomas has a story on the new espnW.

Greg Connors of the Buffalo News profiles WFAN’s Craig Carton who paid his dues in Western New York.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner looks at Comcast being the 800 lb. gorilla in Texas as it forced Fox Sports to possibly overpay to keep the Rangers.

Jim says the NHL is fast becoming an important global brand.

Barry Horn at the Dallas Morning News has TBS’ Ernie Johnson, Jr. knowing that he won’t be popular in the Metroplex.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer wonders when ESPN3.com will be showing up for Time Warner Cable customers.

Over to Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune who mentions that Comcast SportsNet reporter Jen Patterson has been let go by the regional sports network.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business remembers a former Tribune colleague.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

SportsbyBrooks notices that Dr. Seuss was going to write a sports book.

That will do it for our links today. We’ll monitor the Fox/Cablevision talks for any developments.

Giving You The Friday Megalinks

Ok, let’s do the Friday megalinks. Getting a late start as I’ve been all over the place today, but better late than never.

Check out the Weekend Viewing Picks for information on the sports and entertainment programs for the first weekend in October.

Now to the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks about ESPN creating a new brand that will target women and could eventually become a dedicated TV channel. This was already scoffed at on Twitter. We’ll see how this evolves. Asides from ESPN Mobile, the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s ill-fated cell phone brand, when the network commits to an idea, it will usually work so we’ll see.

Eleanor Barkhorn from The Atlantic shares her thoughts, pro and con, on the new ESPN women’s brand. 

A Girl’s Perspective on a Boy’s Game blog has some thoughts on ESPNW.

Dylan Stableford at The Wrap notes there are many women who aren’t in love with ESPNW.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser has more on the new ESPN venture.

Joe Posanaski of Sports Illustrated has a very good tribute to Los Angeles Dodgers voice Vin Scully.

Noah Davis of SportsNewser says the Boston Globe will put all of its web content content except sports and breaking news behind a pay wall. 

Dave Kindred at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center looks into the history of one of his favorite leads and finds it doesn’t quite measure up to its legend.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse notes that weather delays at the Ryder Cup will force NBC to go live with its coverage on Saturday instead of planned taped coverage.

Fanhouse’s Brett McMurphy has a facetious look at the first televised college football game.

Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports says the Ryder Cup has to move to an earlier date to avoid inclement weather.

Spencer E. Ante of the Wall Street Journal notes NFL games are about to be seen on tablets.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter notes that Fox has pulled 19 of its channels including several sports regional networks off Dish Network over, what else? A carriage dispute.

Andrea Morabito from Broadcasting & Cable says in addition, MSG Network and MSG Plus were pulled from Dish over a pricing dispute.

John Consoli of Mediaweek looks at Fox making Game 3 of this year’s World Series an extra early start.

Mike Freeman of CBS Sports says LeBron James can’t call racism over criticism over “The Decision” when he’s never taken a stand in his life.

The Huffington Post has TNT’s Charles Barkley ripping James for his comments. 

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says US Ryder Cup team outfitter Sun Mountain Sports is getting heat over its non-waterproof raincoats.

And we have more in this video featuring Darren on CNBC.