Attempting A Friday Megalink Post

This week has been hellish for me and I apologize for not being able to post as much as I would like. I’ve been away from my computer for most of the day and by the time I get home, I’m tired and don’t want to update the blog.

Well, with me already done my errands for today, I’ll give you some linkage that has been seriously lacking this week.

Of course, there’s the Weekend Viewing Picks which you can peruse.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Jim Rome is hoping to make a splash as he prepares to launch his new daily show on CBS Sports Network.

Reid Cherner of USA Today’s Game On! blog says perpetually angry ESPN college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb is throwing his hat into the Kansas State coaching ring.

The Associated Press was on hand to witness Root Sports Northwest’s production of the Seattle Mariners-Oakland A’s regular season openers in Japan without actually traveling to the Far East.

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim has more thoughts on the numerous conflicts of interest in tennis broadcasting.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has Fox Sports’ statement on its carriage dispute with Time Warner Cable over Fox Sports San Diego.

John profiles legendary sports television producer Don Ohlmeyer.

Around the Rings has the press release regarding the European Broadcasting Union obtaining the rights to the World Cups in 2018 and 2022.

ESPN Ombudsman Jason Fry of the Poynter Institute says college basketball analyst Bob Knight should not be allowed to live by his own rules when he’s on TV.

Scott Soshnick and Steven Church of Bloomberg Businessweek says the Los Angeles Dodgers sale was sparked by media rights.

Alex Ben Block of the Hollywood Reporter says former Sony Pictures head Peter Gruber who’s part of the new Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group could bring a new attitude towards marketing the team.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable has Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott calling rights fees for college football are undervalued.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NESN National is being launched in Indianapolis.

Tim Nudd at Adweek says Chrysler is unveiling four new follow ups to its “Halftime in America” Super Bowl spots during various events this weekend including the NCAA Final Four and Mad Men.

Adweek’s Mike Shields writes ESPN.com is partaking in Facebook’s Open Graph, but with some restrictions.

Jason Del Ray at Advertising Age notes that CBS/Turner brought in its highest sales revenue ever for March Madness Live.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says March Madness has been enhanced by social media and the digital experience.

The Brothers Yoder at Awful Announcing cast the upcoming Anchorman sequel using ESPN’ers. This is good.

Ben Koo at AA is not a huge fan of the overhead shots employed by CBS/Turner for the NCAA Tournament.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says the Los Angeles Times feels there’s one person who could spoil the new ownership for the Dodgers.

Ahmed Yussuf at EPL Talk gives a first-hand account of following the English Premier League from Australia.

Sports Media Watch says last weekend’s rain-shortened NASCAR on Fox event did not do well in the ratings.

Joe Favorito asks if ‘The Hunger Games” could give archery a boost in time for this summer’s Olympics.

Jason McIntyre at The Big Lead reports that Joe Posnanski is leaving Sports Illustrated.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead says the potential Fox cable sports network may not knock down ESPN, but could give it a run for its money.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about two rival Hollywood agencies representing Tim Tebow simultaneously.

Bob’s Blitz says WFAN’s Craig Carton browbeat former Tiger Woods swing coach Hank Haney to the point where he hung up.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says CBS returns to New Orleans where it began its Final Four journey 30 years ago.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says ESPN MLB analyst Curt Schilling is facing hypocrisy calls after he criticized his former Red Sox team this week.

Chad adds some thoughts on Schilling and on NESN’s Jenny Dell that didn’t make his column.

Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch writes in SB Nation that a Tiger Woods in contention is good for The Masters^® and its TV partners.

Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times reviews this year’s edition of the MLB At-Bat app.

Richard Sandomir from the Times examines the Dodgers sale.

Anthony Riemer of Newsday looks at Jeremy Lin’s lunch with the sacked ESPN.com editor who unwittingly made a racial slur last month.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels Fox Sports’ Jimmy Johnson should not be advocating violence. I don’t think he did, Phil, but continue to hate everything, ok?

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for former Tennessee and current Sirius XM analyst Bruce Pearl on the Final Four.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty has the ESPN MAC football schedule.

Pete has CBS excited about this year’s Final Four.

Jane Kwiatkowski of the Buffalo News says this is a tough time for the local TV sportscast.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call looks at a local PBS documentary on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Laura Nachman says Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is ready for Phillies baseball.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the Fox sitcom “Raising Hope” gave another of many Capitals references.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with MLB Network’s Mitch “Wildi Thing” Williams.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle writes that the Houston Open should be helped by a lot of interesting storylines.

David says Jim Rome is getting ready for his CBS Sports Network closeup.

David writes that Texans running back Arian Foster is taking his show to the team’s radio flagship station.

In The Oklahoman, Mel Bracht has ESPN’s MLB analysts predicting the upcoming season.

Mel says there will be plenty of baseball available in the Oklahoma City market.

Mel reports a local radio station has flipped to being a full-time ESPN Radio affiliate.

Mel writes that a local radio sports director has been laid off thanks to Clear Channel.

Midwest

Elton Alexander of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer says New Orleans has provided CBS with plenty of Final Four excitement.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says a local TV station plans to ride the Kentucky train for as long as possible.

John says a couple of long-time local radio veterans got the ax due to Clear Channel cost cutting.

John writes that a radio documentary on late Cincinnati Reds voice Waite Hoyt airs this weekend.

The Indianapolis Star says Butler coach Brad Stevens will be a guest analyst for CBS on the Final Four.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes the Brewers have extended their radio rights deal with their long-time flagship station.

Bob says a local sportscaster is back to work after a long illness.

Bob tells us that Marquette coach Buzz Williams will also be a guest analyst on CBS this weekend.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes that CBS loves New Orleans at Final Four time.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says 20 Cardinals games won’t be seen by AT&T U-Verse subscribers this season.

Dan writes that the defending champions Cardinals will be in the national spotlight quite a few times this season.

West

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Fox Sports San Diego is not optimistic of getting a deal with two cable providers in time for Padres opening day.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star has ESPN’s MLB analysts praising Magic Johnson’s presence with the Dodgers.

Jim was surprised that Kentucky-Louisville wasn’t the nightcap for the Final Four.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Lakers fans are enjoying having guest analysts on radio broadcasts this season.

Tom talks with Jim Rome about his CBS Sports Network show.

Tom has more on Rome in his blog.

Canada

The usually uninformed Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC Sports appears to be rudderless as it heads into a new NHL negotiation.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the viewership numbers for Canadian sports television from last week.

And that will conclude the megalinks.

Doing The Wednesday Links

Let’s provide some mid-week linkage for you.

Sports Business Daily recaps how ESPN’s SportsCenter handled NBA highlights on what should have been the Opening Night of the regular season.

SBD also looks at Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s agreement to sell the team at auction.

Paul Thomasch with Reuters says MLB is looking to hit the motherlode in a new round of negotiations for network TV partners.

Michael Hiestand from USA Today talks with SEC on CBS analyst Gary Danielson on LSU-Alabama.

Steve Wieberg and Steve Berkowitz of USA Today explore ESPN’s role in the realignment in college sports.

Tom Weir of USA Today says ESPN’s Jenn Brown tweeted about her experience being locked in a hotel bathroom today.

In Outkick The Coverage, Clay Travis looks into the conflicts regarding CBS’ Tony Barnhart’s reporting of Missouri to the Southeastern Conference.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch delved into ESPN’s coverage of Tim Tebow and found it bordering on the excessive.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter says singer Cee Lo “Eff You” Green will be performing on the NHL float during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. Of course, the NHL and NBC are partners as well. Green also is a judge on NBC’s “The Voice” so there’s synergy all around here.

Georg Szalai of the Reporter has Comcast’s CEO saying Telemundo’s reported $600 million deal for the World Cup will be profitable for the company.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable reports that an appeals court has again thrown out the FCC fine against CBS for airing Janet Jackson’s nipple during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life Magazine says cable had a ratings downturn in October led by ESPN’s Monday Night Football and TBS’ MLB Postseason coverage.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin notes that ESPN’s Erin Andrews had a little problem with a math concept with LSU coach Les Miles.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says ESPN.com’s comment section went haywire thanks to those writing about Tim Tebow.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Fox will buy the Dodgers again.

Darren tells us that secondary ticket prices for Saturday’s LSU-Alabama game are reaching astronomical levels.

In the Boston Globe, Bruins beat reporter Fluto Shinzawa writes about being a foodie when he travels on the road with the team.

Edward Wyatt of the New York Times looks at the Third Circuit Appeals court throwing out the FCC fine against CBS.

Mike Tanier of the Times says NFL TV analysts now have to find ways to stand out above the crowd even if it means being confrontational.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette looks at NBC Sports Network’s college hockey schedule.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union has the Week 10 College Football TV schedule.

Pete also has the Week 9 NFL TV schedule.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that Seton Hall basketball will air on ESPN Radio New York this season.

Laura Nachman says Sunday Night Football featuring the Philadelphia Eagles won primetime for NBC.

David Salter in the Patriot-News (PA) writes about the progression and in some cases, regression of women covering sports.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says Rob Dibble can’t let his 2010 firing from MASN go without firing another shot.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that the first part of the Big East’s expansion is complete. Now comes the next step.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News says the ESPN Films documentary on the Alabama-Auburn rivalry is top notch.

Dennis Pillion of Al.com notes that ESPN will go inside the Alabama football program leading up to its big game against LSU on Saturday.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle notes that DirecTV has come to terms with another local station group.

John Kiesewetter from the Cincinnati Enquirer says Time Warner Cable will air four local high school football games.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the NFL is about to release the Green Bay Packers championship DVD package.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business writes that Comcast SportsNet is trying to survive without the Bulls.

Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes that Air Force is happy to be playing on “an easy to find” TV channel this week and possibly be moving to the Big East where games are also easily found.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the Week 10 NFL TV schedule for SoCal.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times wonders if media rivals Fox and Time Warner would put forth a bid to buy the Dodgers.

Sports Media Watch has a look at the Week 8 NFL overnight ratings. First, CBS. Then Fox. To Sunday Night Football. And finally, Monday Night Football.

And SMW notes that ESPN is filling programming holes left by the NBA lockout.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the national college hockey TV schedule.

Joe Favorito says the baseball season may be over, but the sport continues to keep its brand active in the offseason.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing feels ESPN’s presentation of the MLB Gold Glove Awards did not need to be watched.

And that will do us for now.

BREAKING NEWS: Fox & DirecTV Reach Agreement; No Networks Pulled

Just getting word that DirecTV and Fox have come to a carriage agreement which will prevent any networks from being pulled. Reports are coming from various sources that this will keep the 19 Fox Sports Net affiliates plus Speed, Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus and FX along with National Geographic Channel and NatGeo Wild on the satellite provider. Earlier in the day, I was hearing that all channels would have been pulled at midnight Pacific time had an agreement not been reached.

We’ll provide details as soon as they become available. So DirecTV subscribers like yours truly won’t have to resort to other means to watch the programming on the affected channels.

Here’s the joint statement from DirecTV and Fox:

Fox Networks and DIRECTV have reached an agreement for DIRECTV to continue carrying all Fox Networks (including FX, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, SPEED, FUEL TV, FOX Soccer, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes), Fox’s regional sports networks, Fox Broadcasting (FOX), the FOX local stations, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. We both know the past ten days have been challenging, but we’re pleased that both sides could eventually come together to ensure our viewers continue to enjoy Fox programming.

That is it for now.

UPDATE, 6:30 p.m.: John Ourand from Sports Business Journal tweets that the agreement includes the main Fox network, its 10 owned and operated affiliates plus Fox News Channel. Carriage agreements would have expired by the end of the year, so this new deal includes all Fox networks.

[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/Ourand_SBJ/statuses/131134737946386433"]

More information as it becomes available.

Doing A Few Sunday Links

Let’s some linkage on this Sunday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that the NBA lockout has forced the cancellation of the rest of its November games forcing ESPN, TNT, NBA TV and regional sports networks to fill huge programming holes.

Michael Malone at Multichannel notes that some Hawaiian viewers lost part of Thursday’s Game 6 of the World Series due to a transmission error with Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

Zak Keefer at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center recaps a lecture given to students by ESPN Sr. VP for Print and Digital Media Rob King.

Dan Fogarty from SportsGrid notes that the ESPN Sign Police failed to do their job during yesterday’s College GameDay.

The Dan Patrick Show has some more signs that slipped through the Sign Police that referred to the show’s #occupygameday effort.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has video of some possibly drunk Steelers fans bombing Albert Breer’s live shot on NFL Network today.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions looks at DirecTV’s FCC complaint over Fox’s ads regarding their carriage dispute which is fast approaching Tuesday’s drop dead date.

And Phil says now DirecTV has been caught lying.

SportsFans.org have a column in the Business Insider Sports Page criticizing the DirecTV/Fox dispute.

Dave Wedge of the Boston Herald interviews former NBA star Chris Herren, the subject of ESPN Films’ latest documentary.

Alexander Soule at the Fairfield County (CT) Business Journal writes about NBC Sports’ move to Stamford, CT.

Martin B. Cassidy of the Stamford (CT) Advocate says NBC Sports coming to town will be beneficial for neighboring businesses.

Stuart Elliot of the New York Times notes that a new scripted series on ESPN Deportes will have many  products woven into the storyline making for a lot of product placement.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with former New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer taking on his second career as a broadcaster.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post gets on Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News reports that the Yankees have signed a new deal to remain on WCBS for another season.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union has late, breaking news from CBS’ Bill Cowher.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner feels the Big East has some options even as other conferences are picking on its bones.

Gary Smits of the Florida Times-Union says golf’s ratings are up across the board this fall.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times speaks with former Florida State QB and current ESPNU analyst Danny Kanell.

David Knox from the Birmingham (AL) News talks with CBS Sports Network analyst Rich Rodriguez.

The Daily Oklahoman reports that the long-time voice of the Oklahoma Sooners, Bob Barry has passed away.

Jim Benson at the Bloomington (IN) Pantagraph feels Lee Corso adds laughs to ESPN’s College GameDay.

Robert Feder at TimeOut Chicago says popular local sportscaster Paula Faris is leaving at the end of the year to become an anchor with ABC News.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Game 7 of the World Series drew big ratings for Fox both nationally and locally.

Dan also has a ratings chart for the entire World Series for this year.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that Lee Corso did a tree dance on College GameDay.

Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times looks at a new genre of sports movies which includes ESPN’s “Unguarded” that premieres on Tuesday.

Sports Media Watch notes that the ratings for the World Series ended being up from last year.

SMW looks at the World Series Game 7′s ratings from Friday.

Joe Favorito says two events, Pro Bull Riding and the New York City Marathon need to tap into their fanbases who can’t attend live in person.

And we’ll end the linkage there.

Back With The Friday Megalinks

Due to a crazy schedule for most of this week and then having a medical procedure done yesterday, I have not been able to blog like I’ve wanted to. Links have been scarce, but I’m available to do them now and hopefully, won’t be interrupted.

Your Weekend Viewing Picks have your sports and entertainment programming for Halloween weekend. Let’s get to the links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that Tim McCarver has been broadcasting for a very long time and reports that Ron Franklin makes a return to the broadcast booth next week.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter writes that if the NBA loses an entire season, corporate partners Time Warner and Disney would take some hits in the short term, but see moderate profits in the long term.

Philiana Ng of the Reporter says Game 6 of the World Series dominated the primetime ratings on Thursday.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says DirecTV is crying foul to the FCC about Fox’s ad in their carriage dispute over several networks including FX, 19 Fox Sports Net affiliates, Fox Soccer and Speed.

George Winslow of B&C notes that NASCAR.com has developed the first app for Google TV.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says MSG Varsity will stream high school games for co-owned Cablevision subscribers.

Mike says last week’s bidding for US World Cup media rights doesn’t help FIFA’s corrupt reputation.

ESPN Ombudsman Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute delves into ESPN’s role in the college sports realignment game.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writes in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center that baseball’s problems are magnified when a historic moment as in last night’s World Series Game 6 comes so late for East Coast viewers.

Ben Koo from Awful Announcing criticizes MLB.com for its silly policy of not allowing websites like mine to embed certain videos.

Awful Announcing gives praise to Joe Buck for his plagiarized call of David Freese’s walk off home run in last night’s Game 6 World Series.

Deadspin’s AJ Daulerio exchanged e-mails with Buck on his call.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid notes that a Dallas TV station jumped the gun in saying the Texas Rangers won the World Series last night.

Sports Video Group reports that CTV/TSN has won the Canadian rights to the FIFA World Cups from 2015 through 2022.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell explains why we’re suddenly closer to an NBA deal and a complete 82 game season.

Sports Media Watch writes about the World Series Game 6 ratings.

Dave Kohl in the Broadcast Booth looks at the reporting on Dan Wheldon’s death.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe looks at the World Series ratings vs.the NFL this season.

Bill Doyle from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with Fox 25′s Kristine Leahy.

Newsday’s Neil Best looks at MLB Network’s latest Bob Costas special with Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

Neil says ESPN2′s SportsNation will do an ode to LIVE with Regis and Kelly on Monday.

Over to the New York Post where Phil Mushnick is again filled with hatred.

Justin Terranova of the Post has 5 questions for Sirius XM MLB Network Radio co-host Jim Duquette.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Fox finally got a ratings payoff for the World Series.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com has the latest on the Baltimore-Washington, DC sports media.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner interviews the host of Bloomberg’s weekly “Sportfolio” program.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says former Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder gets the opportunity to talk about his former team twice a week on local sports radio.

Barry Horn at the Dallas Morning News writes that Game 6 of the World Series is now the most watched baseball game in the history of the Metroplex.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle says the Texans continue to top the local TV ratings.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes ESPNU will air a basketball fundraiser for the Joplin, MO tornado victims.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter from the Cincinnati Enquirer talks with local website owners who want businesses to help ensure the Bengals won’t be blocked out in the local market.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press writes that viewers are the losers in the DirecTV/Fox carriage dispute.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tells us that Week 7′s Vikings-Packers game was the most watched TV program of last week, topping all network programming.

Bob notes that Milwaukee and surrounding towns are part of a rare TV marketplace where a significant amount of viewers still don’t have cable or satellite.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business notes that classic Bulls games will be aired on Comcast SportsNet during the winter.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan Caesar writes that Fox has hit the megaload with a long World Series.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that last week’s brawl with Arizona gave UCLA some TV time, but for the wrong reasons.

Jim Carlisle in the Ventura County Star says Christmas doesn’t need NBA games.

Jim notes that ESPN took a big hit when it lost the World Cup bidding to Fox.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News talks with ESPN’s College GameDay’s Lee Corso.

Tom talks with SoCal broadcaster Steve Physioc.

Tom says people are confused over the battlelines in the DirecTV/Fox carriage dispute.

Tom talks with Dan Patrick about the #occupygameday movement.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that CTV/TSN has wrested the World Cup rights away from CBC.

Providing Some Sunday Linkage

Let’s do some linkage on this Sunday morning. Some good stuff to get to.

TVbytheNumbers says World Series Game 3 easily won the primetime ratings last night over college football and repeats on NBC.

The Associated Press has an in-depth story on how Fox and Telemundo won the rights to the 2015-22 World Cups.

Marisa Guthrie and Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter report on NBCUniversal’s all-in bid for Telemundo for the rights to FIFA’s World Cups from 2015 through 2022.

R. Thomas Umstead from Multichannel News writes on the winning bids by Fox and Telemundo for the US media rights to the World Cup.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel says a Cox Cable employee in Arizona has pleaded guilty to inserting a brief clip of a porno movie during the Super Bowl in 2009.

Also from Multichannel, Mike Reynolds writes that Golf Channel is adding five international tournaments to close out 2011.

Oh here we go again. There’s another silly carriage dispute and it involves Fox again. Remember last year’s Cablevision/Fox dispute that left the network off cable systems in New York and Philadelphia? Well, this time Fox is having a dispute with DirecTV and among the channels that could be pulled: FX, Fox Soccer & Fox Soccer Plus, Speed, Fuel and 19 Fox Sports Net regional channels. That’s just great. We get the latest from Alex Weprin from TV Newser.

John Ourand from Sports Business Daily also looks at the Fox/DirecTV dispute.

Phil Swann of TV Predictions has a suggestion on how to prevent these disputes in the future.

Richard Pagliaro of Tennis Magazine writes that ESPN has obtained the online rights of several women’s tennis tournaments.

Glenn Davis from SportsGrid has the video of Michigan State’s amazing Hail Mary pass to win last night’s game against Wisconsin.

At the Sox & Dawgs blog, good friend Ian Bethune has the full page ad former Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein placed thanking Red Sox fans.

Jeré Longman of the New York Times looks at Fox and Telemundo winning the World Cup bids.

Newsday’s Neil Best looks back at the 25th anniversary of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series from NBC’s point of view.

The great Bob Glauber of Newsday has a story on several NFL teams showing concern about being miked up for games and having their signals heard not only on TV, but by opposing teams.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has the preposterous theory that the World Series is watered down.

Paul Tharp of the Post says the lure of tax breaks led NBC Sports to move its headquarters to Connecticut.

Harvey Zucker of the Jersey Journal reviews ESPN’s documentary on boxer Chuck Wepner, affectionately known as “The Bayonne Bleeder” and one who knocked down Muhammed Ali.

Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post says the Nationals deserve a better TV deal.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Navy’s associate athletic director about allowing Showtime to film a year-long documentary on its rivalry with Army.

Mike Mooneyham from the Charleston (SC) Post & Courier looks at E:60′s profile of WWE wrestler Scott Hall.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times notes that Florida State and Tampa Bay Bucs radio voice Gene Deckerhoff is pulling off a unique double dip this weekend.

David Knox of the Birmingham (AL) News talks with ESPN college football analyst Ed Cunningham who is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Doug Demmons of the News says ESPN is pleased with its NASCAR Non-Stop Coverage.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN’s Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge got the job done during last night’s Texas Tech-Oklahoma game.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says CBS has relented and the market will get today’s Oakland-KC game and Carson Palmer’s Raiders debut.

John notes that Joe Morgan’s syndicated radio show has changed from a nightly program to weekends-only.

Kathleen Lavey from the Lansing (MI) State Journal writes about the crowd that showed up for ESPN’s College GameDay on the Michigan State campus yesterday.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks with ESPN College GameDay’s Lee Corso about how elaborate his headgear picks have become.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with MLB Network host and Gateway City native Greg Amsinger.

Dan says Joe Buck’s voice rose to the occasion in last night’s World Series Game 3.

The Los Angeles Times’ Lisa Dillman says some soccer fans fear the Fox cross promotion for the World Cup.

Sports Media Watch says the SEC on CBS fell to near season-low ratings.

SMW says college football on ABC is way up this season.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Versus is having an up-and-down start to the NHL season.

Joe Favorito says Dan Wheldon’s death should not halt IRL’s initiatives to be more transparent with the public.

And we’ll end it there for today. The Sunday NFL pregame quotage will be posted throughout the day.

NFL’s “Back To Football: The Ball” Ad

The NFL usually doesn’t run ads hyping the season until the first preseason games are underway, but as the league finally gets into action with the collective bargaining agreement officially approved, it will air an ad this weekend on all of the league’s TV partners.

The ad features one football being thrown around in different scenes from a high school to an office eventually to a living room to a football field and finally to an NFL stadium. The NFL says this is the earliest an ad promoting the new season has been aired, normally they don’t start until the preseason is underway, but this is no ordinary offseason having the lockout take over the time when training camps would be underway.

So take a look at the ad and you can see where this is taking us.

The Back To Football: The Ball ad will premiere in primetime programming starting this weekend on CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC and NFL Network.

Monday’s Links

Plenty of things going on as we have hit November. In addition, we’re getting reports on the ratings from last night’s head-to-head matchup between Sunday Night Football and the World Series. For the night, Fox won the overall ratings, but with the NFL up directly against the World Series, it appears NBC has won that battle. Both Fox and MLB are claiming victory, but I’m sure I’ll receive dueling press releases from both NBC and Fox about this later today. When I do, you’ll see them here.

Ok, to the links.

From Mike McCarthy of USA Today, he writes that the Sunday NFL pregame shows were full of vitriol towards Brett Favre.

Mike also looks at the World Series ratings from Saturday and Sunday.

Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock wants to know where’s the outrage surrounding Notre Dame student Declan Sullivan’s death. He’s the student told to go up in a scissor lift last week in the midst of heavy winds to video tape a football practice and died when the lift came crashing down.

To the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center where Jason Fry has a few suggestions where newspaper websites can continue to lead the way in innovation and experimentation.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter has several analysts saying that Fox won in the dispute over Cablevision.

John Eggerton at Multichannel News writes that U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is happy over the resolution of the Cablevision/Fox dispute, but says government intervention may be needed in future carriage fights.

In The Sports Commentary, Melinda Travis gives us some of the reasons why sports public relations works for athletes and clients.

Noah Davis at SportsNewser shoots down a theory that ESPN is getting out of the 3-D business. 

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid has video from CBS’ The NFL Today of insider Charley Casserly talking about Jenn Sterger ready to file lawsuits over the Brett Favre affair.

Phil Mushnick from the New York Post says Fox’s NFL analysts speak out of both sides of their mouths.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union has the NFL Week 9 TV schedule for the New York Capital Region.

Pete also provides the college football TV schedule for Week 10. Week 10!

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says DC NFL team coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to bench QB Donovan McNabb during yesterday’s game against Detroit drew plenty of criticism from local analysts.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times shares his thoughts on the weekend in sports television.

Barry Horn at the Dallas Morning News writes that San Francisco is not only beating the Texas Rangers on the field, but also beating Dallas in the head-to-head ratings battle.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that Fox Sports Ohio returned to Dish Network over the weekend.

John notes that a Kentucky exhibition basketball game will be aired locally tonight.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel likes Fox’s hiring of Mike Pereira as an NFL rules analyst.

Bob also talks about Jenn Sterger ready to file a lawsuit against anyone who has a living pulse.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business talks with the Sun-Times’ Rick Telander about his new book with former Bears coach Mike Ditka to commemorate the 1985 Super Bowl team.

Ed says the 1985 Bears will get together this week to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of winning Super Bowl XX.

Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post says Brett Favre had a rather tumultuous week. 

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

Awful Announcing notes that Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal doesn’t need to be told that he’s diminutive.

Sports Media Watch looks inside the first time the NFL has beaten the World Series head-to-head.

SMW says ESPN got good numbers for the Miami Heat home opener on Friday.

I got bogged down with work in the midst of doing the links so I’ll give you what I have for now.

Providing Some Sunday Links

Yesterday was busier than I expected both personally and sports media-wise. I was out most of the day which prevented me from providing links, but then the Cablevision/Fox story broke and I give tremendous kudos to Brian Stelter of the New York Times who tweeted the news just as Game 3 of the World Series was about to air on Fox. And he was able to get statements from both companies and in particular, the extremely bitter statement from Cablevision that it acquiesced to Fox’s demands. Thanks to you, the traffic to Fang’s Bites was quite heavy for a Saturday and it’s much appreciated.

I published that statement up while I was in a movie theater, about to see “Red” with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren and Richard Dreyfuss. Good movie, but blogging during the previews wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but it was important to get the news out as fast as possible. Here I am, trying to shade my iPhone so people won’t see the light in the dark theater and copying and pasting the press release from Cablevision. Thank goodness for the BlogPress iPhone app which allows me to blog at a moment’s notice.

Ok, to your links.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News says the Cablevision/Fox accord was hashed out minutes before World Series Game 3.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes that Cablevision and Fox could not kiss and make up after firing off terse statements about the agreement.

Minutes after the Cablevision/Fox deal was announced, New York Times reporters Brian Stelter and Bill Carter gave an overview of how the agreement was reached.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says Cablevision came to an agreement with Fox, then fired a shot across the company’s bow.

Richard Huff and Rich Schapiro of the New York Daily News says the agreement came in time for today’s Jets game against Green Bay which is airing on Fox.

Andy Edelstein of Cablevision-owned Newsday writes about the end of the carriage dispute.

In SB Nation New York, Steve Lepore at Puck The Media looks at how the Cablevision/Fox dispute affected the network’s ratings. 

Ok, we’re moving on from Cablevision/Fox and on to other sports media stories. I’m tired of these carriage dispute stories.

Bill Reynolds of the Providence Journal talks with legendary Boston Celtics TV voice Mike Gorman who got his start on WPRO-AM in Providence. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes that a reluctant Sandy Koufax agreed to take part in a new documentary on Jews in baseball.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the opening segment of Football Night in America with Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels is must see TV.

Phil Mushnick from the New York Post is blaming ESPN for everything that’s bad in society. He does make a good opening point, then sours into extreme bitterness.

Dan Mangan of the Post says brunette bombshell Jenn Sterger will likely meet with the National Football League to talk Brett Favre. Just get it done and over with, honey. And maybe help your dead show, The Daily Line, with a statement or two about the story instead of clamming up. I was on your side on this earlier, but stonewalling the NFL hasn’t helped you.

Chuck Gormley of the Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier-Post profiles the Vice President and General Manager of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. 

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s Wizards reporter about the team’s chances this season.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News reports that Fox Sports Houston will lose the Astros and Rockets in 2012-13.

Barry writes that the NFL TV partners don’t want to kill off the Cowboys despite their pitiful record.

Mitchell Schnurman of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram profiles the real owners of the Texas Rangers, the team behind front men Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan.

Bud Kennedy of the Star-Telegram says Fox is showcasing the Ballpark at Arlington in a way similar to how it showed AT&T Park in San Francisco during the World Series. 

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says Dish Network subscribers could lose the local CBS affiliate later tonight.

David says Comcast SportsNet Houston will become a reality in the 2012-13 season.

The Daily Oklahoman has a video clip from an upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on former Oklahoma University running back bust Marcus Dupree.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says the ESPN on ABC crew gushed over Oklahoma’s quarterback last night. 

Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has video of a new ESPN NBA promo featuring Stuart Scott and the Bucks mascot, Bango.

Michael Rand in the Minneapolis Star Tribune talks with Dan Patrick. 

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Dish subscribers get Fox Sports Midwest back on their systems.

Matt Solinsky of the Desert Sun (CA) answers a reader’s question on the chances of seeing NFL Network on Time Warner Cable this season. 

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with disgraced track star Marion Jones about the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on her and her new book.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says Rogers Sportsnet has chosen to reject Fox’s feed of the World Series and take MLB International’s.

Joe Favorito says NBC is choosing to put the Fright in Fright Night tonight.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

SMW speaks with PromaxBDA President Jonathan Block-Verk about the upcoming Sports Media Marketing Awards.

Jonathan Stein at CultureMob would like to see Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia on DirecTV and so would I.

A good amount of links today. Enjoy your Sports Sunday.

Fox Statement On Agreement With Cablevision

In a more conventional press release, Fox makes this statement on its new carriage agreement with Cablevision. Fox’s signal returned just before Game 3 of the World Series.

Fox Networks and Cablevision Reach Agreement in Principle to Carry WNYW FOX5, WWOR My9, WTXF FOX29, FOX Deportes, FOX Business Network, and Nat Geo WILD

Viewers to see Game 3 of Major League Baseball World Series and
Sunday’s NFL on FOX with New York Jets against the Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles and Bethpage, NY – Fox Networks and Cablevision announced today that they have reached an agreement in principle for a new distribution agreement to provide more than 3 million households with programming from WNYW FOX 5 and WWOR My 9 in New York, WTXF FOX 29 in Philadelphia, and the cable channels FOX Deportes, FOX Business Network, and Nat Geo WILD. The signals for all stations and cable channels were restored Saturday prior to the first pitch of World Series Game 3 on FOX.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

This brings an end to one of the nastiest, bitter and rancorous disputes. It was fun to cover, but also tedious.

Cablevision remains bitter and we’ll see if the feelings linger in the next negotiation.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cablevision’s Harsh Statement

You want to read a rather bitter statement? Check this out from Cablevision in regards to its agreement with Fox. Wow.

FOX PROGRAMMING RETURNS TO CABLEVISION

BETHPAGE, NY, October 30, 2010 – Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) today reached agreement with News Corp. to return Fox programming to Cablevision. The channels will return to Cablevision immediately and in time for tonight’s World Series game and tomorrow’s NFL match-up between the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers.

The company released the following statement:

“In the absence of any meaningful action from the FCC, Cablevision has agreed to pay Fox an unfair price for multiple channels of its programming including many in which our customers have little or no interest. Cablevision conceded because it does not think its customers should any longer be denied the Fox programs they wish to see.

Cablevision thanks its customers for understanding the reasons for the dispute and for staying with us. We are also grateful to the 175 government leaders who raised their voices to urge government intervention and binding arbitration to prevent this blackout. It is clear the retransmission consent system is badly broken and needs to be fixed.

In the end, our customers will pay more than they should for Fox programming, but less than they would have if we had accepted the unprecedented rates News Corp. was demanding when they pulled their channels off Cablevision.”

The channels returning to Cablevision are Fox 5 (WNYW), Fox 29 (WTXF), My9, Fox Business Network, National Geographic Wild and Fox Deportes.

This is quite interesting. Back later.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

BREAKING NEWS: Cablevision and Fox Strike Deal

Happening now, Brian Stelter of the New York Times is reporting that Cablevision and Fox have ended their two week dispute and have hashed out a deal.

Fox’s signal was being restored to Cablevision systems just before Game 3 of the World Series this evening.

This ends a rather hostile dispute that led to Fox pulling its signal from Cablevision systems in New York and the Philadelphia metro area two weeks ago and caused a war of words between the two companies.

If I get a statement, I’ll put it up. I’m at the movie theatre so expect more later.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Doing A Late Night Friday Megalink Thing

Time to do the megalinkage on this Friday. Lots of things going on today into this evening and let’s get cracking. Of course, we have the Weekend Viewing Picks.

Now let’s do the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael McCarthy wants to know who’s your favorite NFL announcer.

Mike says this year’s World Series ratings are down 26% from last year’s.

David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal says there’s too much laughter on the Sunday NFL pregame shows.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News looks at Dish and Fox coming to a new carriage agreement which restores several of its cable networks and prevents the broadcast network from being pulled.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says the FCC Chairman is pleased over the Dish/Fox agreement.

In Multichannel News, John says Cablevision is accusing Fox of conducting intimidation tactics.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell speaks to a sports executive who feels the Tampa Bay Rays should give away their all of their tickets next season.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred shares memories that shaped him as a sportswriter.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser says Game 2 of the World Series steered Fox to another primetime ratings win.

The Big Lead notes that not everyone at ESPN was thrilled with Hannah Storm’s ensemble on Tuesday.

Deadspin says The Daily Line’s cancellation really had nothing to do with the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger story.

Jon Weisman of Variety says a long time CBS Sports Communications and PR person is leaving the network.

Sports Media Watch has an interview with HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg.

SMW says this year’s World Series is barely above 2008′s record low ratings pace.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media notes that Versus will continue to carry UFC events.

Joe Favorito compares and contrasts the marketing approaches of the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn talks with NESN’s Heidi Watney.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says ESPN will make a decision on the fates of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan after the World Series.

Richard wonders if the World Series can continue a head-to-head winning streak against the NFL this Sunday.

Stuart Elliot from the Times notes that Fox has sold out its inventory of Super Bowl XLV ads three months early.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath who’s embracing new and social media.

And Neil gives us some of his week in blogging and tweeting.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman says the viewers are the losers in the Cablevision/Fox battle.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says Jets fans are the next victims in the Cablevision/Fox dispute.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says the World Series is now dependent on market size than actual matchups. I totally disagree with this.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the DC NFL Team’s flagship radio station will add a delay so fans can sync up the TV broadcasts.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says a CBS College Sports sideline reporter also pulls duty for CBS News.

South

Anne Blythe of the Raleigh News & Observer says several North Carolina news organizations are suing the University of North Carolina in regards to the NCAA’s investigation into the school’s football program.

The Dallas Morning News notes that ESPN Radio Hack Colon Cowherd blasted the Metroplex as a baseball area.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle previews the Monday Night Football matchup involving the Texans with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski.

The Daily Oklahoman’s Mel Bracht talks with ex-Oregon coach Mike Bellotti who will be with ESPN2 calling the Colorado-Oklahoma game.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike will be in town next month.

Mike Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press likes the early start time for Game 3 of the World Series.

At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley says MLB Walking, Talking Conflict of Interest Bud Selig isn’t worried about the World Series ratings.

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

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune says a huge crisis was averted when Dish Network and Fox came to a deal on Friday.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says Halloween is perfect for a primetime NFL game.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan Caesar wonders if the World Series can beat the NFL head-to-head on Sunday.

Dan says Dish subscribers will be able to watch the St. Louis Blues and Missouri sports once again.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times says Saturday’s Armed Forces college football tripleheader on CBS College Sports could go a long way in deciding bowl games in December and January.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star writes that local Time Warner Cable customers can now watch ESPN online.

Jim notes that the World Series gets some direct NFL competition this Sunday.

Meg James at the Los Angeles Times looks at the Dish/Fox resolution.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with director John Singleton about his new ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on disgraced track star Marion Jones.

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

Tom says with tickets unsold for Saturday’s Oregon-USC game and Sunday’s Chargers contest, can the NFL really consider re-entering the L.A. market.

And that’s going to do it for tonight. 

Dish and Fox Hash Out A Deal

To avoid another embarrassing situation with another content provider, Fox hashed out a deal today with Dish Network restoring its regional sports networks and various cable channels back and also avoiding the pulling of several owned and operated local channels on Monday. Fox still is off Cablevision in New York and New Jersey, but it prevents the network from having to explain to Dish Network subscribers on another carriage dispute.

We have the press release from Fox and Dish.

DISH Network and Fox Networks

Reach Comprehensive Programming Agreement

   

Viewers Ensured Continued Fox Broadcasting

and Fox Television Stations Programming in Major Cities FX, National Geographic Channel, and Fox’s 19 Regional Sports Networks Immediately Restored to DISH Network Lineup 

Los Angeles and Englewood, Colo. — DISH Network L.L.C., a subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) and Fox Networks, an operating unit of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS), today announced a wide-ranging distribution agreement to provide the third-largest video distributor in the United States with continued access to programming from Fox Broadcasting and Fox local television stations in major cities. The agreement also included carriage of FX, National Geographic Channel, and Fox’s 19 regional sports networks, which were restored for DISH Network viewers Friday.

“After prolonged negotiations to reach a fair deal, we’re pleased to enter into a long term agreement with Fox and to assure our customers that they can continue to enjoy these channels,” said Dave Shull, Senior Vice President of Programming for DISH Network. “We thank our customers, our retail and channel partners, and our employees for their support through these negotiations, which we believe resulted in a fair deal that reinforces DISH Network’s position as the best value in television.”

“I want to thank our partners at DISH Network who worked tirelessly to help us reach a successful conclusion,” said Mike Hopkins, President, Fox Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing. “This agreement provides a strategic partnership between Fox and DISH to bring the best programming to DISH subscribers.”

The agreement ensures that DISH Network viewers will continue to have access to Fox’s live national and regional coverage of major sporting events including Major League Baseball’s World Series, the NFL on FOX, the NBA, the NHL, college football and basketball, as well as popular entertainment programming on FOX, such as Glee, House, and The Simpsons; Sons of Anarchy and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX; and the Border Wars and the upcoming Great Migrations on National Geographic Channel.

DISH Network will continue to provide programming from the local Fox and MyNet television stations in the following markets: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore (MyNet 24 only), Boston, Chicago, Cleveland/Akron, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Gainesville (FL), Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Tampa, and Washington D.C.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

I’ll be back with more.

Fox Seems Happy With World Series Game 1 Ratings

We have the press release of the final ratings for Game 1 of the World Series. Final rating was 8.9 with a 15 share and a total of 15 million viewers. It’s down from last year, but that involved the Yankees. This is pretty respectable with a non-Yankees, non-Red Sox Fall Classic. Plus you still have two top ten markets involved so it’s quite good.

Here’s the release.

It’s A Hit! World Series Game 1 Dominates All Primetime Programming

Network Earns 15 Million Viewers To Win The Night

San Francisco, CA – Game 1 of the 2010 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers earned an 8.9/15 household/rating share (15.0 million viewers) last night on FOX, allowing the network to cruise to victory as the top-rated program of the night. 

Wednesday night’s broadcast ranked as the #5 program of the week-to-date in prime time broadcasts, on track to deliver ratings equal to a top ten prime time hit. Among Adults 18-49, last night’s game averaged a 4.7 rating to give FOX its best night of prime time television in this key demographic among households and average audience since the network’s American Idol finale in May. CBS was second with a 3.0.

Compared to last year’s World Series Game 1 (Yankees-Phillies) Wednesday night’s 8.9/15 (15.0 million viewers) is down -25% on rating (vs. 11.9/19) and down -23% on average audience (vs. 19.5 million viewers). When compared to the last non-Yankees World Series Game 1 (Phillies-Rays, ‘08) the network is up +3% on viewership (vs. 14.6 million viewers).    

The showdown between San Francisco flame-thrower Tim Lincecum and Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee opened at a 5.2/10 and built an audience nicely through the first five innings, peaking at a 10.4/16 at 9:30pm ET before the Giants blew open the game with a six-run fifth inning.

San Francisco topped all markets with a 35.9/60, a superb rating for a west coast team where the game started before 5pm local time. Dallas posted a 33.9/51 for the Rangers’ first ever appearance in the World Series.    

I’ll be back with more. Keep it here.

Some Thursday Linkage

Yesterday ended up being quite busy and I think today will as well, but at least I can provide you with the linkage that was lacking on Wednesday.

Here we go.

Sean Leahy at USA Today notes that the NFL’s skyrocketing ratings are putting pressure on the league in its collecting bargaining with the Players Association.

In the USA Today’s The Huddle blog, Sean writes that the NFL is facing multiple local blackouts this weekend.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has your NBA viewing guide for 2010-11 including interviews with ESPN and Turner Sports execs. 

We’re getting word that the overnight ratings for Game 1 of the World Series were quite good and high for a Fall Classic not involving the Red Sox and Yankees. Last night’s overnight rating was 10.4, lower than last year’s 13.8 for Yankees/Phillies, but higher than the 10.3 pulled by Phillies/Rays in 2008.

Locally, the San Francisco-Oakland market pulled a 35.9 rating and the Metroplex, Dallas-Fort Worth had a 33.9 for Game 1. Those are very good numbers. We’ll see how the rating does tonight against a very strong CBS Thursday lineup.

James Hibberd of the Hollywood Reporter says Game 1 beat all primetime programming. 

And we now have the final rating, 8.9 with 15 million viewers, down from last year.

The Hollywood Reporter has this story on a group of Cablevision subscribers filing a class action lawsuit over the loss of Fox.

Mike Farrell of Broadcasting & Cable says Cablevision will reimburse subscribers who have to watch the World Series online through MLB.TV due to its ongoing dispute with Fox.

Jon Lafayette of B&C reports that long-time CBS Sports spokesperson LeslieAnne Wade is leaving the network.

Ben Grossman of B&C has CBS Tyrant Leslie Moonves saying the network won’t be bidding on sports properties that lose money i.e., the Olympics.

Back to Mike Farrell, this time writing for Multichannel News telling us that Cablevision offered Fox to pay what Time Warner Cable was compensating the network. 

Katy Bachman from Mediaweek says Cablevision’s reimbursement offer could backfire on the company.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the NBA season openers on TNT delivered record ratings.

Austin Karp at Sports Business Daily writes that MLS saw its ratings go down on ESPN2 this season.

David Goetzl of MediaPost has CBS Sports declaring it won’t produce a 3-D sports broadcast unless it gets a sponsor. Well, ok! 

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes that the Dallas Cowboys and LeBron James are helping to pace the cable primetime ratings.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions feels Fox doesn’t deserve to broadcast the World Series or other big ticket sports events.

Phil says forget about HDTV or 3-D TV, get ready for ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION TV!

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser has the funny video of a Dallas sports anchor smelling something fishy along McCovey Cove at AT&T Park before Game 1 of the World Series.

Kevin Baumer at SportsGrid notes that the World Series has helped the San Francisco Giants turn a profit this season.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if he has actually found the 1988 World Series Kirk Gibson home run ball.

Reuters picks up a story from Tanya Roth of FindLaw.com regarding a group of former ESPNZone workers suing over the lack of notice before losing their jobs.

Brian Lowry at Fox Sports compares the approaches radio hosts Jim Rome and Dan Patrick take to TV.

David B. Wilkerson of Marketwatch says the recent find of a pristine copy of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series is leading to a new hunt for lost baseball footage. 

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with beloved Celtics TV analyst Tommy Heinsohn who can certainly get worked up during games. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Cablevision subscribers have had to resort to the old school outdoor antennae and indoor rabbit ears to pick up Fox.

Newsday’s Neil Best took a gander at MLB.com’s Postseason TV which some Cablevision subscribers have had to access to watch the World Series.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says the University of Albany will have some of its games aired on local cable.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says TNT received record ratings for its NBA season opening twinbill.

Ken McMillan at the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record has the MLS postseason TV schedule.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says area native Meredith Marakovits gets the call up to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Keith also notes another area native who works for NFL Films and is gaining a YouTube following for recapping each NFL week through song parodies.

Peter Van Allen at the Philadelphia Business Journal says Comcast SportsNet has tweaked its 76ers broadcast team.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says MLB will host a gala showing of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, a month before MLB Network airs the footage.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says TNT and the local DC media will provide extensive coverage of rookie guard John Wall as he makes his first NBA rounds with the Wizards.

Larry Vaught of the Danville (KY) Advocate talks with ESPN’s college basketball analyst Mark Gottfried about the SEC.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal, we learn that horse racing network TVG will begin to air Breeders’ Cup daily programming starting this weekend.

Dave Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune says NBC will attempt to set a Guiness World Record during the Sunday Night Football game between the Steelers and Saints. 

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News notes that the Cowboys’ season is sinking fast in both the standings and the ratings.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Giants-Cowboys Monday night game received high ratings locally.

At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley notes that Suds City loves watching Sunday Night Football.

Chicago Tribune media writer Phil Rosenthal says Bears fans are in risk of losing out on watching their team as Fox may be pulled from Dish Network as of Monday.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says five Kings games will be seen on over the air TV meaning all of the team’s regular season contests will be televised.

Cecil Conley of the Rocklin (CA) Placer Herald profiles Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/California program director Ky Bell who got her start as a volleyball player in town.

Sports Media Watch says there’s no need to panic, the World Series ratings will be fine.

Dave Kohl at the Major League Programs blog says legendary Cleveland Cavs radio announcer Joe Tait is missed as a new NBA seaon starts.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest writes that TNT is way ahead of last year’s NBA ad sales pace thanks to increased interest from social media.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann remembers a sportswriting colleague who was a fixture at New York City’s baseball stadiums.

And this is where I’ll end it for today. This took way too long.

Cranking Out The Tuesday Links

Let’s do some linkage on this Tuesday. Don’t know if I can get everything done today as I’ll be all over the place later today so I don’t know if this will be a complete set of links or an abbreviated edition. Time to get started.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today has the ratings from various events over the weekend.

Stuart Levine at Variety has Fox Sports Vice Chair Ed Goren hoping for an extended World Series. Thanks to Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser for the link.

Let the media vultures swarm over the World Series now. Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter has the angle that this year’s Fall Classic could be the lowest rated ever.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse confirms what I reported two weekends ago, that Fox is now using its football theme as the official music of Fox Sports. 

I’ll say this. The World Series always finishes 1 or 2 in primetime programming every year. It’ll win most of the nights it’s on. It does well in the 18-49 demo. While the ratings may fluctuate from year-to-year depending on the matchup, the World Series does get people to watch. It may not be NFL numbers, but what does? The NFL is rare programming that is communal and brings people together to watch. If you look on Twitter and Facebook, people constantly talk about the NFL when the games are on.

The same goes for the World Series, but not in the same manner of the NFL. The NBA doesn’t have that same appeal as the NFL, the only other sports that can do this are the Olympics and the World Cup and they’re not on every week like the NFL. And people are forgetting that with Dallas and San Francisco involved, these are Top 10 markets. Many of the so-called “experts” who are saying that this year’s World Series will be low-rated are on the East Coast. I have a feeling this World Series will do better than some are saying. I’m getting off my soapbox now.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable writes that there are only two spots left to be sold for Super Bowl XLV on Fox.

John Eggerton of Multichannel News says Fox is defending itself to the FCC in its dispute with Cablevision.

John has Cablevision’s side of the argument.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life Magazine looks at tonight’s TNT NBA season opener.

The Smoking Gun has obtained the tape of the prank call made by an online vandalism group to ESPNU’s Elizabeth Moreau. Thanks to Barry Rothbard of SportsGrid for the link.

Some sad news, BBC News reports that Paul the Octopus, the cephalopod that became famous for correctly predicting eight World Cup matches including Spain’s win in the final, has died. I’m actually saddened by this. I actually liked the little fella. Actually, he wasn’t so little, but you get the idea. The Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany where Paul was housed has a statement.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says it’s unlikely the Feds will get involved in the Cablevision/Fox fight.

Phil says Cablevision is reportedly telling subscribers to watch Fox off an supposedly illegal website.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell likes the new Nike LeBron James ad, but wonders if it will help sell shoes?

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says the very first rules of basketball, written by sport creator Dr. James Naismith, will be sold at auction in December.

Newsday’s Neil Best says TNT’s Charles Barkley is already in midseason form. 

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News goes after the NFL for selling violence, while trying to crack down at the same time.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union is another East Coast critic who wonders if the World Series is doomed for ratings disaster.

Pete notes that Time Warner Cable subscribers can now access ESPN and ESPN3 online.

Pete has the entire national NBA television schedule for 2010-11.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that Fox and ESPN Radio are set to air the World Series.

Jim says TNT and ESPN Radio will be all over NBA Opening Night.

The Orlando Business Journal notes that the Magic will broadcast a handful of games in Spanish. 

Julie McGowan of the Daily Oklahoman writes that Oklahoma Baptist University will be teaching a course on the inner workings of ESPN and Google. 

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Bengals matched their season ratings average on Sunday.

Michael Rothstein of AnnArbor.com writes that a University of Michigan wide receiver will be profiled on this week’s College Gameday about his Twitter use. 

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune writes that a member of the Ricketts family which owns the Cubs taped an episode of Undercover Boss that will air in November.

Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman notes that Boise State’s move to the Mountain West next year will curtail its appearances on ESPN. 

Jimmy Bramlett in the LAist reviews tonight’s 30 for 30 documentary on former Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.

Ferd Lewis of the Honolulu Advertiser says ESPN needs Boise State to sign off on its intentions to air the November 6th game with Hawaii.

Sports Media Watch says Fox saw a big increase for its Week 7 NFL regional coverage.

SMW also has some ratings news and notes.

I’ll end it there. I have to get ready to leave the office. I’ll be back later with more.

Our Monday Linkage

Now that I’ve returned to the regular office, it’s time to bring you the linkage as it’s a back to work day for most of us.

Let’s go.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that the NFL’s TV partners took a close look at the hard hits on Sunday.

Nat Worden of the Wall Street Journal looks at the experiment that puts the authenticated ESPN programming online for Time Warner Cable subscribers.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse talks with NFL Films President Steve Sabol on the issue of violence.

John Ourand and Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal tell us that ESPN has joined Fox Sports as a bidder to operate the University of Texas sports network.

James Hibberd of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Sunday Night Football dominated the ratings for NBC last night.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable says Turner Sports will offer one price for the NBA’s pay per view package on TV, computers and cell phones.

Anthony Crupi and Katy Bachman of Mediaweek look inside the numbers in the Cablevision/Fox dispute.

Aaron Kuriloff of Bloomberg says NFL Network is urging Cablevision to go to binding arbitration to  settle their dispute.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life Magazine says NBC’s Sunday Night Football took out the viewing competition.

And Toni says TBS saw huge gains for the American League Championship Series over last year’s MLB Postseason.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell catches up with former Auburn star Bo Jackson. 

Noah Davis at SportsNewsers wonders why Sports Illustrated chose a notorious soccer hater (the Boston Globe’s blowhard Dan Shaughnessy) to explain the sale of the English Premier League’s Liverpool to Red Sox principal owner John Henry.

In Fishbowl New York, Jerry Barmash writes that ESPN Radio New York’s Seth Everett is joining
the New Jersey Nets radio broadcast team. 

Jerry also writes about the arrangement between the New York Islanders and Hofstra University to air their games on the student radio station.

Brian Stelter and Bill Carter of the New York Times write that the Cablevision/Fox dispute now threatens World Series viewing for subscribers.

In the New York Post, Phil Mushnick picks on Yankees postseason ticket prices.

Claire Atkinson from the Post talks about the NFL Network doing a surprise ploy on Cablevision. 

In the Albany Times Union, Pete Dougherty has the Week 9 college football schedule for New York’s Capital Region.

And Pete points out the NFL games that will be seen locally for Week 8.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is not a fan of CBS’ Steve Beuerlein who called the Bills-Ravens game with Don Criqui.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg noticed signs referencing the DC NFL Team and the DC Sports Bog at Saturday’s College Gameday appearance in Missouri.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times reviews the weekend in sports TV.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the ALCS could not have ended better for Texas Rangers fans.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that ESPN3.com makes its debut today on Time Warner Cable.

Barb Berggoetz of the Indianapolis Star talks with Indiana Pacers TV host and sideline reporter Stacy Paetz who survived an abusive relationship.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Cris Collinsworth got the job done on Sunday Night Football

Bob says Vikings-Packers got a huge rating in Milwaukee.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business notes that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen will be working for Fox during the World Series.

Dale Bowman of the Chicago Sun-Times looks at Dan Patrick’s debut on the Comcast SportsNet affiliate.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post says former Bronco offensive lineman Mark Schlereth became a voice of reason in the illegal tackle debate.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News has the sports calendar for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail poo poos cynics who feel the World Series has teams from small markets.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that CBC, NBC and NESN NHL analyst Mike Milbury makes his Versus debut next month.

Sports Media Watch says the National League Championship Series did pretty well for Fox, but still finished below 2009 levels.

SMW says CBS garnered good overnight numbers for NFL Week 7, but the ratings were still down from last year.

The National Sports Daily noticed that WFAN’s Craig Carton chose to hit Jenn Sterger below the belt this morning.

Johnny Crowe at The Crowe’s Nest discovered that Comcast SportsNet New England is not picking up The Dan Patrick Show.

On that note, a Comcast SportsNet New England spokesman told me that the original press release listing CSN New England was incorrect. The channel may pick up the show at a later date.

Here’s the current list of Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet affiliates that are airing the Dan Patrick Show.

Joe Favorito wonders if Pro Bull Riding can become a viable and breakout sport.

That will complete the linkage for today.

Bringing The Sunday Links

Let’s get busy with the Sunday linkage. Some good stuff to get to.

On Fox NFL Sunday, Jay Glazer reported that Vikings quarterback Brett Favre denied sending pictures of his shlong to Jenn Sterger, but did admit to leaving voicemails on her cell phone. I’ll have video of that segment during the Fox NFL Sunday quotage later today.

Speaking of which, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk says the NFL is ready to move on from the Favre/Sterger story. a

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has video of Saturday Night Live entering the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger fray.

Mike also shoots down Jenn Sterger’s manager’s denials that she’s not looking for a payoff from Favre to keep quiet.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the American League Championship Series ended up being the most watched LCS in cable TV history.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel writes that there was no progress made in the Cablevision/Fox dispute on Saturday.

Back to Mike Reynolds who tells us that CBS College Sports will use a free preview to honor the Service Academies this week.

Bob Raissman from the New York Daily News isn’t surprised that MSG Network jettisoned Gus Johnson from Knicks games.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says MLB Postseason announcers don’t realize how things can change from pitch-to-pitch.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has your World Series starting times.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that ESPN’s Trent Dilfer is a Green Bay Packers critic.

The Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent notes that CBS’ Greg Gumbel will be the keynote speaker at the annual Red Smith Banquet early next year. 

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the attendance at ESPN’s College Gameday stop at the University of Missouri set a record for the show. 

David Briggs of the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune says Missouri students turned out en masse for College Gameday’s first appearance at the school.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News looks into the background of Fernandomania which is the subject of the latest ESPN 30 for 30 documentary.

Tom also reviews the documentary.

Tom has a more extensive review here.

Tom wonders what local NFL viewing would be like if Los Angeles actually had a team in place.

The Sports Media Watch says TBS had a good audience for the ALCS.

SMW also has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

That will do it.

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.

Time For Some Friday Megalinks

I haven’t given you a full set of Friday megalinks since October 1, so it’s time to do some now. Let’s get to them.

The Weekend Viewing Picks has your sports and primetime viewing.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand and Mike McCarthy debate what can be done to improve baseball’s ratings.

Fanhouse says Jenn Sterger appears to be ready to talk with NFL Security about Brett Favre.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says the FCC is urging Cablevision and Fox to talk in good faith on Monday.

John Eggerton from Broadcasting & Cable says the FCC is calling both Cablevision and Fox on the carpet.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News looks at how Time Warner Cable customers can legally watch Monday Night Football and other ESPN programming online.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel says Fox is telling Cablevision subscribers to buy an HD antenna so they can watch network programming.

Kelly Ridell of Bloomberg says the Cablevision/Fox dispute is heading into its second weekend with no apparent end in sight.

Noah Davis at SportsNewser says ESPN Boston will webcast the Head of the Charles event this weekend.

Wayne Friedman at MediaPost explores the story that won’t go away, Timeoutgate, from the Monday Night Football game in Jacksonville.

SportsbyBrooks looks at Jay “The Rat” Mariotti deleting his Twitter account. Good riddance, Jay.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that TSN has picked up 24 Montreal Canadiens games.

The Sports Media Watch notes that former NBA star Chris Mullin has apparently joined ESPN’s roster of analysts.

SMW says NLCS Game 5 received its highest ratings in three years.

Joe Favorito says a former New York Giant understands the value of a publicity stunt.

Emmett Jones of Sports Business Digest says NBC is asking in excess of $400,000 per 30 second spot for Sunday Night Football, up significantly from last year.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe profiles Celtics TV duo Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn who have worked together for 30 years starting with two seasons calling Providence College basketball.

Thomas Grillo of the Boston Herald says a Tweet from the New England Patriots helped to prevent a blackout of the team’s game in San Diego this weekend.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has TNT’s Reggie Miller singing the praises of the Boston Celtics.

Ken Belson and Richard Sandomir from the New York Times says former Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks is seeing his former team’s success as an outsider.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with polarizing New York Yankees voice John Sterling.

Neil has his weekend viewing picks.

Bob Raissman at the New York Daily News feels YES’ and ESPN Radio New York’s Michael Kay has been speaking out of both sides of his mouth.

As expected, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post takes his newspaper owner’s side in the Cablevision/Fox dispute. News Corp. owns both the Post and Fox.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says NBA fans will overdose on seeing the Miami Heat this season.

In the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that DC sports icons got to tape new “This is SportsCenter” ads.

Andrew Beaujon at the DC-centric TBD.com notes that co-author of the new ESPN book, Tom Shales is leaving the WaPo after 39 years as its television critic.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with NFL RedZone host and former Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic anchor Scott Hanson.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the Heat have terminated their agreement with their flagship radio station and are now looking for a new home.

The Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn finds a way to jab Newsday’s Neil Best. A couple of years ago, Horn and Best had a friendly war of words in their respective blogs.

The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron talks with NBC’s Rodney Harrison about his statements about hard hits in the NFL.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press talks about the Dan Patrick Show premiering on Fox Sports Detroit on Monday.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley notes that the Big Ten Network will profile a Wisconsin defensive end tomorrow.

And Bob says Joe Namath on his Sirius XM show likes Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his weekly winners and losers.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune writes that ESPN has postponed the airing of a 30 for 30 documentary on the infamous Steve Bartman.

Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports that Jenn Sterger won’t talk to the NFL if Brett Favre pays her off. Thanks to Robert Littal of Black Sports Online for the link.

Dan Caesar in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says ESPN’s College Gameday loves being at the University of Missouri.

Dan says the Missouri Attorney General has weighed in on the Dish Network/Fox Cable Networks flap.

West

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune has CBS’ Phil Simms previewing this Sunday’s Patriots-Chargers game.

John Maffei of the North County Times gets Jim Nantz’s favorite San Diego sports moments.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News writes that even without a home team, LA still loves watching the NFL.

Tom has his extensive media news and notes.

I’m going to end it there.

Filling Out The Wednesday Linkage

Let’s do some linkage. I had to catch up on paperwork in the morning and I’ll provide some links now. Lots of good stuff today.

We begin with Sports Business Daily and a story on ESPN starting a three part series on how the public views LeBron James? Does this require three days? The Alleged Worldwide Leader continues to provide fodder for its critics with stuff like this.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand notes how a less than stellar Monday Night Football game beat the ALCS in the ratings.

Sean Leahy at USA Today’s The Huddle blog has Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher clarifying statements that ESPN asked him to call timeouts to get its commercials run during Monday Night Football. 

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports says it’s time for baseball to bring fans closer to the action through technology.

Amir Efrati of the Wall Street Journal watches his San Francisco Giants on delay and chronicles the silly ways he prevents from finding out the score until he watches the games some 8 hours later. Thanks to Barry Pachesky of Deadspin for the link.

Jon Wertheim at Sports Illustrated says tennis needs to improve its TV coverage. 

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times says the NFL needs to relax its TV blackout policy.

At Pro Football Talk, NFL Security wants to speak with Deadspin’s AJ Daulerio. 

Alex Weprin at SportsNewser says the Rose Bowl has a new presenting sponsor.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the NFL Players Association had no sense of humor and took a Twitter handle away from a group of fans. 

Darren notes that a shoe banned by the NBA is now bringing its manufacturer increased business.

Darren wonders what Magic Johnson’s intentions are after the former Lakers star sold his share in the team and also liquidated his Starbucks franchises.

John Eggerton and Mike Farrell of sister publications Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News say the Cablevision/Fox dispute rolls on.

In Multichannel News, John has the FCC Chairman unhappy over the Cablevision/Fox fight. 

John of B&C says Tennis Channel and Comcast are heading to arbitration.

John writes that MSG Network is willing to go to arbitration to settle its dispute with Dish Network.

Mike Shields of Mediaweek tells us that the NBA has a new social network app.

Anthony Crupi from Mediaweek says thanks to Monday Night Football, ESPN overtook TBS as the top network in the cable primetime ratings.

Mediaweek’s Katy Bachman has Massachusetts Senator John Kerry willing to step in to get the Cablevision/Fox dispute resolved.

Diego Vasquez at Media Life Magazine says nothing is new in the Cablevision/Fox dustup.

To gossip publication OK Magazine where ESPN.com and Comcast SportsNet Northwest personality Lindsay McCormick denies that she’s dating Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. 

In the New York Times, Brian Stelter and Bill Carter say Cablevision and Fox are intensifying their war of words.

Brian looks at how Fox extended this fight over TV carriage to Hulu.com.

Richard Sandomir in the Times says sports fans are a huge loser as the fight between the two parties drag on.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman says TBS was on top of Bengie Molina’s home run power before he hit a huge bomb against the Yankees last night.

Newsday’s Bob Glauber notes that Jenn Sterger’s attorney has had contact with the NFL in regards to the Brett Favre sexting investigation.

Newsday’s Neil Best says the ratings for the ALCS have been very good despite the Yankees being beaten to a pulp in Games 2-4.

Brendan Prunty of the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger finds the Yankees fan who was caught by TBS cameras flipping off Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz after the fan interfered with a fly ball that eventually became a home run. Thanks to Matt Sebek of Joe Sports Fan for the link.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner writes that the Ravens and DC NFL Team dominated the TV ratings in their respective local markets.

Jim says the NFL may use regional rivalries to help promote a new 18 game schedule.

Jeff Elliot of the Florida Times-Union spent time in the ESPN Monday Night Football production truck for the Tennessee-Jacksonville game.

Jim notes that the American League Championship Series is bringing in the ratings for TBS.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times looks at the NFL’s impressive TV ratings.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN/ABC made a mistake regarding a trivia question that should have included former Sooner running back Adrian Peterson.

Mel notes that an Oklahoma football game got beat by the NFL in the local TV ratings.

The Detroit Free Press is giddy over Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio ripping of ESPN analyst and former Lions GM Matt Millen. 

Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne (IN) News-Sentinel speaks with ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen. 

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the insufferable Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News was included in a book dedication by mystery author Elmore Leonard.

George Diaz in the Chicago Tribune writes that ESPN and NASCAR are searching for reasons why TV ratings are down significantly this year. 

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says ESPN is making the College Gameday appearance at Missouri a big event. 

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls (IA) Courier notes that ESPN Dictator George Bodenheimer will be making an appearance in the Hawkeye State this week.

Bob Young in the Arizona Republic talks with Dan Patrick about Fox Sports Net simulcasting his radio show.

Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star previews tomorrow’s Pac 10 meetings which will also include talks on its TV contacts.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has a look at the NFL ratings in SoCal.

From the Fairbanks (AK) Daily News-Miner, we learn that Fox Sports Northwest will be picking up 9 Great Northwest Athletic Conference NCAA Division II basketball games.

MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez speaks with the TBS cameraman who had a close call with a broken bat during the ALCS last night. 

Sports Media Watch has the Weekend Overnight Ratings.

SMW says while the media is harping on the ALCS being beat by Monday Night Football, Paulsen notes that MNF had its smallest audience since 2008.

SMW has the local ratings for the LCS.

Susan Shan asks just what is the truth in the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger story.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that Christine Simpson joins the New Jersey Devils TV crew.

Yardbarker’s Pete Vlastelica writes an open letter to explain what the Fox purchase of the blogging network means.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs talks about some upcoming sports radio show TV simulcasts.

Mike Silva’s New York Baseball Digest has ESPN Radio New York’s Don LaGreca calling out WFAN’s Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton for being Yankee suckups.

And that will conclude our linkage for today.

Some Tuesday Linkage

Ok, I was trying to work out some e-mail issues at the home office and now I’m back at the Massachusetts office so it’s time to give you some linkage today.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that the NFL continues to rule the ratings roost over baseball.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says with Monday Night Football beating Game 3 of the American League Championship Series last night, it’s obvious that the NFL is king in the United States. 

Chris Chase of Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner blog says we should not be surprised that football beat baseball in the ratings.

Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk is not surprised that a less than stellar MNF game beat baseball in the ratings.

Gregg says ESPN asked Tennessee and Jacksonville coaches to take late timeouts to extend the Monday Night Football game so it could run more commercials.

Craig Calcaterra from NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk says don’t worry about the NFL beating MLB. 

Back to Darren who says a Wrangler Jeans official is denying that the company pulled ads featuring Brett Favre on NFL games.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says sports programming is saving primetime TV ratings and notes that the NBA’s popularity could supplant MLB as the country’s second most popular sport.

Mike Farrell and John Eggerton from sister publications Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News note that the Cablevision/Fox dispute is now in its 4th day with no end in sight.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News notes that Time Warner Cable customers will be able to access the regular ESPN TV channel, not just ESPN3.com, online and through cell phones.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life Magazine says TBS is off to a strong start with the ALCS.

The Bleacher Report which is full of fan blogs and has a bad reputation in the blogging community has signed a new content agreement with the Washington Post.

Leena Rao of TechCrunch reports that Fox Sports has purchased the sports blogging network, Yardbarker. Interesting.

Jay Busbee at Yahoo’s From The Marbles blog notes that NASCAR’s TV ratings fell again on Saturday, but not as much as the season average.

Yahoo’s Kelly Dwyer says ESPN has hired a former NBA Deputy Commissioner to analyze the upcoming league labor negotiations that could lead to a lockout.

Andrew Neff of the Bangor (ME) Daily News writes that long time sports radio station WZON is flipping to a sports-politics hybrid format.

The lovely Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald talks about WEEI’s morning show heading to TV and being simulcast on NESN. 

Eric Wilbur from the Boston Globe wants to know why Patriots quarterback Tom Brady isn’t listed higher on the NFL’s Top 100 players. Please. I can name 10 quarterbacks better than Brady.

Bill Carter of the New York Times writes that New Jersey’s Governor is threatening to get involved in the Cablevision/Fox dispute.

Bob Raissman at the New York Daily News says the Cablevision/Fox dispute could get unstalled if the Yankees make the World Series.

Bob wants the TBS announcing to cater to his needs.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post writes that talks between Cablevision and Fox broke down again on Monday.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with TBS’ John Smoltz who’s analyzing the American League Championship Series along with Ron Darling.

Neil has a little more on John in his blog.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the college football TV schedule in the Capital Region.

Pete also has the NFL TV schedule for Week 7.

Peter Van Allen at the Philadelphia Business Journal says Fox Sports had a busy weekend in the City of Brotherly Love. 

Shannon Owens at the Orlando Sentinel says the NFL’s hiring of supermodel Marisa Miller as a Super Fan spokesperson is an interesting choice.

Shannon says ESPN’s E:60 magazine will profile a three-way football friendship that has Orlando ties.

The Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune says Missouri will have to conduct its homecoming parade later than usual on Saturday after College Gameday wraps up its show.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman says Dish Network subscribers are in danger of not seeing the Thunder’s season opener on Fox Sports Oklahoma next week.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that CBS’ Boomer Esiason was adamant about Green Bay’s quarterback Aaron Rodgers being allowed to play after having a concussion. 

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Sunday’s ratings for the Rams were slightly below the season average.

Randy Peterson from the Des Moines Register reports that Iowa State has turned down a Fox College Sports request to air its October 30th game against Kansas. 

Ferd Lewis of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser says if ESPN picks up the November 6th Hawaii-Boise State, it would cause the University and its TV partners to take a hit on pay per view revenue.

Susan Krashinsky of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that the Canadian Olympic Broadcasting Consortium of CTV/TSN and Rogers Sportsnet that successfully bid for the 2010/2012 Games plans to bid for the 2014/2016 Olympics as well.

Dashiell Bennett of the Business Insider looks at ESPN influencing Jacksonville and Tennessee to call late timeouts during last night’s Monday Night Football game.

Sports Media Watch notes that Hannah Storm will return to the NBA as a host on ESPN’s coverage.

SMW says the NBA’s other TV partner, TNT, will be sending its Emmy-award winning Inside The NBA show on the road to start the season.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that the ratings for the NLCS are approaching Stanley Cup levels as far as the younger demographic is concerned.

The Big Lead says New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is apparently dating a reporter from Comcast SportsNet Northwest.

That will complete the links for today.

No Fox on Cablevision For 3rd Day

The two sides met again on Sunday and just like on Saturday and the days before it, failed to come to an agreement to put Fox stations in New York and Philadelphia back on Cablevision systems in both markets. It means that an entire weekend of sports programming was lost to viewers in the 1st and 4th largest TV markets in the country. The National League Championship Series nor an NFL doubleheader were not seen by Cablevision subscribers and now, other primetime programming is in danger. This week, Fox is slated to show the NLCS on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday if necessary.

Let’s take a look at some of the stories from today.

Brian Stelter and Bill Carter of the New York Times report that the two sides met today and no progress was made.

Brian and Bill say this battle is far from over as Fox faces a potential dispute with Dish Network. 

Michael Grynbaum of the Times found disgruntled Giants fans who aren’t happy with either party at this juncture. 

Kelly Riddell of Bloomberg writes that talks did not resolve the impasse between the two companies.

Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News says the dispute has left Cablevision customers in the dark.

Jason Molinet of the Northport (NY) Patch says Cablevision customers all over Long Island had to scramble to find a sports bar to watch the New York Giants.

Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York talked to some Giants fans who were not happy about not being able to watch today’s game from home.

Jim McConville of the Asbury Park (NJ) Press says Giants fans were shut out from seeing today’s game against the Lions.

The Jersey Journal says a New York Congressman wants the FCC to intervene.

And Lew Leone, the Vice President and General Manager of WNYW (Fox5) and WWOR (My9) in New York writes this letter to Cablevision customers stating the Fox point of view in the dispute.

AN OPEN LETTER TO CABLEVISION SUBSCRIBERS FROM WNYW

MYFOXNY.COM – AN OPEN LETTER TO CABLEVISION SUBSCRIBERS FROM WNYW FOX5/WWOR My9

October 17, 2010

Dear Cablevision Subscriber:

We understand that the loss of FOX5 and My9 is frustrating and probably has you feeling angry at both companies. We, too, are profoundly disappointed that, despite working hard for many months to avoid this, Cablevision has declined torenew our agreement.

But it is important for you, our viewers, to understand why this is happening.  We offered Cablevision the exact same price that other companies are paying for our stations.

But for some reason, Cablevision thinks that it deserves special treatment.

Instead of negotiating like a responsible business, Cablevision decided to make this your problem in the hope that if they caused you, the viewer, enough inconvenience, then politicians would intervene.

That is what Cablevision’s call for “arbitration” is all about. But ask yourself – do you think Cablevision would be ok with someone else stepping in to decide the price you pay them for cable and broadband service?

And the Cablevision family certainly doesn’t allow arbitrators to set the rates for their cable channels like MSG and AMC. In fact, just a few weeks ago, MSG and MSG Plus went off the dial for millions of DISH Network subscribers – and MSG did not ask for arbitration.

Cablevision has called us greedy. It’s an interesting charge, given the fact that the price we’ve offered Cablevision for FOX5 and My9 is more than 70% lower than what the Cablevision family charges other cable operators for MSG and MSG Plus.

Frankly, it is hard to believe a company like Cablevision is accusing anyone else of greed. Cablevision customers pay an average of $149 per month including up to $18 for broadcast stations – and that earned them an average profit of over $795 per subscriber last year. Yet, they have only offered to pay less than a penny a day for FOX5 and My9.

Cablevision has stated that they intend to provide you with a rebate. But if the rebate is  equal to what they offered Fox for our stations, you can look forward to a credit of less than 30 cents on your next bill.

Fortunately you have options. All other providers in the New York area carry FOX5 and My9, and of course our stations remain available over the air and can be accessed with an antenna.

We’ll continue to talk to Cablevision in hopes of restoring FOX5 and My9 on your lineup. In the meantime we hope you’ll understand that it is no accident that Cablevision keeps getting into these fights over and over and over again.

For some reason, Cablevision simply feels it doesn’t have to play by the same rules as everyone else. And you shouldn’t be the ones to pay the price. You might consider letting Cablevision know that you believe your right to see the NFL on FOX, the Major League Baseball National League Championship Series and World Series, “Glee,” “House” and all the other shows you love are worth more than a penny a day.
Sincerely,

Lew Leone
Vice President and General Manager
WNYW FOX5 and WWOR My9

We’ll be monitoring this story as long as it runs as this affects sports viewing. This could even affect the World Series if the dispute lasts that long.

A Sunday Linkage Grind

Let’s do some linkage for you on this busy Sports Sunday. NFL Week 6 and Game 2 of the NLCS. We also have the Cablevision/Fox talks that affects 3 million households in the nation’s largest media market. And there’s the Mad Men season finale tonight so I may have to hire a blimp to fly over my house, today is so big.

Let’s get busy.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News looks at TBS’ great ratings for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel notes that fans in New York have to scramble to watch today’s Lions-Giants game due to the Cablevision/Fox dispute. 

George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says Cablevision subscribers in New York and Philadelphia are looking at blank screens again today when they turn to their local Fox stations this morning.

David Ubben of ESPN.com’s College Gameday blog says the show is heading to Missouri for Mizzou’s game against Oklahoma.

Nancy Armour of the Associated Press says the NFL’s broadcasters are walking a fine line in praising a big hit and talking about concussions.

Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk notes NBC’s Alex Flanagan’s interview of NFL Commish Roger Goodell who broke news of Brett Favre going to be interviewed this week over the Jenn Sterger issue. While Favre will speak with the NFL on Tuesday, let it be noted despite saying she would cooperate with the NFL, Sterger has said nothing regarding this story making her word look very bad right now.

Mike Florio at PFT says NFL Network will bring back its “Official Review” segment to Total Access with new league head of officiating Carl Johnson.

Alan Greenwood of the Nashua (NH) Telegraph says ESPN is going all-Miami Heat, all the time.

Dave Ruden from the Stamford (CT) Advocate has ESPN’s Bobby Valentine in no rush to leave the network.

From last week, Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes that legendary Big Apple sportscaster Sal Marchiano is suing his former TV station in an age discrimination lawsuit.

Brian Stelter and Bill Carter of the Times say consumers have to sit on the sidelines and watch Cablevision and Fox duke it out until someone blinks. 

Brian says it appears fans won’t be able to watch today’s Lions-Giants game on Cablevision.

Also in the Times, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann reviews the new biography on Mickey Mantle.

John Branch of the Times looks at how Major League Baseball is digitizing its extensive archives.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News feels the TBS crew should have been more pro-Yankees in Game 2 of the ALCS.

Without any evidence, Raissman says this will be the last season for Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on ESPN. He also said this in 2008 without any evidence.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is a bit too giddy about a man who pleaded guilty in a mortgage fraud scheme and was the Jets’ point man in selling Personal Seat Licences.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says this year’s ALCS Game 1 on TBS was down slightly from last year’s opener on Fox.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says the Cablevision/Fox dispute exposes the hypocrisy on both sides of the argument.

Kate Wheeler at MASN says Orioles TV voice Gary Thorne is calling the ALCS and World Series for MLB International.

The Washington Examiner’s Jim Williams talks with NBC’s Tony Dungy about DC NFL Team coach Mike Shanahan.

Dan Steinberg in the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has John Riggins feeling that this is the last season for DC NFL Team radio analysts Sam Huff and Sonny Jurgensen. Again, no evidence.

Steve Kaminski at the Grand Rapids (MI) Press reviews ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on the late NASCAR driver Tim Richmond. 

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says Fox Sports Net got the job done for both the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State games.

Brandon Storlie of the Wisconsin State Journal looks at College Gameday’s visit to Madison.

The Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

SportsGrid has the video of HBO’s Bill Maher picking on Brett Favre.

We’ll end it there.

No Fox on Cablevision For 2nd Day

As we mentioned earlier tonight, Fox and Cablevision failed to hash out an agreement in time for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series affecting a small amount of subscribers in Delaware County. The real test is on Sunday in New York and Long Island where Cablevision has a huge subscriber base of 3 million homes. Fox has the Detroit Lions-New York Giants game scheduled at 1 p.m. and if the game is not on, there will be angry calls to the Cablevision switchboard.

Brian Stelter of the New York Times writes that the two sides met on Saturday and are far apart on an agreement.

At midnight Saturday, Fox pulled its New York stations, WNYW (Fox 5) and WWOR (My9), WTXF (Fox 29) in Philadelphia as well as a few of its cable networks. Cablevision says Fox is demanding too much money for its programming. Fox says Cablevision is the one that is removing programming from consumers.

Whatever the reason, the subscribers are the losers and they are blacked out from programming like MLB, the NFL, Glee (ugh!), Bones, House and other shows.

Cablevision subscribers who tried to access Hulu of which Fox is a partner found that they could not this afternoon. Peter Kafka of All Things Digital noted that at first, Fox shut off access, but later turned it back on.

Kelly Riddell of Bloomberg chronicles the history of this dispute.

Tony Romm of Politico says Capitol Hill may get involved in the dispute sooner than later.

Industry watcher Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times says the dispute could get ugly if this extends to the World Series and the New York Yankees are involved.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says Congress is calling for FCC intervention.

Talks between Cablevision and Fox are expected to resume on Sunday, but not before the beginning of the Lions-Giants game so fans may have to scramble for radios or find a sports bar to access the contest.

Looks Like No NLCS On Cablevision

After talks in Manhattan, going on since noon today, it appears there will not be an agreement made in time between Cablevision and News Corp. to restore three local stations in New York and Philadelphia plus a few Fox cable networks.

At midnight, the stations were pulled then this afternoon, Fox pulled access to Hulu.com from Cablevision subscribers.

While Cablevision doesn’t have a heavy penetration in Philadelphia as it used to, the big test is tomorrow when the New York Giants host Detroit at 1 p.m. East. If Fox stations aren’t restored by then, there will be backlash in New York.

But as John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal points out, Cablevision was willing to take a hit by keeping the YES Network and the New York Yankees off its systems for a full season.

Cablevision says Fox is asking for too much money for its programming. Fox says Cablevision is making unreasonable demands. Cablevision says it’s willing to go to binding arbitration. Fox has refused.

We’ll be following this story again on Sunday.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Cablevision Pulls Fox Stations in New York and Philly

The two sides have been bickering for the last few weeks and right at midnight Saturday, Cablevision pulled Fox’s owned and operated stations, WNYW and WWOR in New York and WTXF in Philadelphia off its systems. Fox has been locked in rather contentious negotiations not only with Cablevision, but with Time Warner and Dish Network over price and carriage. Fox narrowly averted being pulled off Time Warner Cable systems, but earlier this month, had its regional sports networks and FX taken off Dish Network.

And now in the third of three rather prolonged negotiations, Fox finds itself losing a rather large audience in two of the largest markets in the country.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand was following the story Friday night on Twitter and got Fox’s statements regarding Cablevision’s actions. John also received Cablevision’s statements blaming Fox (of course) and we have it here for you.

NEWS CORP. PULLS THE PLUG ON FOX 5 AND MY9 FOR CABLEVISION CUSTOMERS

Cablevision Demands News Corp. Return Fox 5 and My9 to Cablevision Customers and Submit to Binding Arbitration to Reach a Fair Agreement

BETHPAGE, NY, October 16, 2010 – At midnight on October 16, News Corp. pulled the plug on Cablevision customers, blacking out Fox 5 and My9 in more than 3 million NY-area households. Cablevision is calling on News Corp. to immediately put Fox 5 and My9 back on Cablevision and submit to binding arbitration under a neutral third party to reach a fair agreement.

Charles Schueler, Cablevision’s executive vice president of communications, said:

“News Corp.’s decision to remove Fox programming from three million Cablevision households is a black eye for broadcast television in America. News Corp has refused to negotiate in good faith and rejected calls from dozens of political leaders to not pull the plug and join Cablevision in binding arbitration. We demand that News Corp. put the viewers ahead of its own greed and immediately restore these channels to our customers and agree to binding arbitration to reach a fair agreement. What is News Corp. afraid of?”

News Corp.’s pattern of destructive tactics has become clear. First, they terrorized Time Warner Cable customers for weeks; then they pulled regional sports and cable channels off Dish Network; and now they have pulled the plug on Fox 5 and My9 for 3 million Cablevision households. Further, they are now threatening to pull their broadcast stations away from Dish Network’s 14 million customers in two weeks. It is clear that News Corp. will pull the plug on any viewer, served by any cable, satellite or phone company, to get the money they want.

On Friday, News Corp. even flatly rejected the FCC’s call for independent mediation. More than 100 political leaders called upon Cablevision and News Corp. to keep the channels on while they continued to negotiate, and 36 elected officials called upon Cablevision and News Corp. to submit to binding arbitration, to ensure no disruption of programming for customers. Cablevision agreed, but News Corp. rejected this fair approach.

Cablevision already pays News Corp. more than $70 million a year for its channels, and News Corp. is demanding more than $150 million a year for the same exact programming. Cablevision has reached agreements with every other major broadcast station in the market – NBC, ABC, CBS and Univision – and offered News Corp. as much or more for Fox 5 as it pays any of those stations. But News Corp. is continuing to demand more for Fox 5 than Cablevision pays all of the other broadcast stations combined.

Cablevision is employing a variety of direct-to-consumer tactics to alert customers to News Corp.’s decision to pull Fox 5 and My9 off its system. Cablevision customers should urge News Corp. to return the channels immediately by calling 877-NO-TV-TAX, visiting www.cablevision.com/fox, joining its Facebook group “Cablevision Viewers Say: No New Fox Fees” or following on Twitter @No_New_Fox_Fees.

John seems to think with the dispute gets resolved before Sunday’s game between the Detroit Lions and New York Football Giants, but with the rancor between News Corp. and Cablevision, this may last a while.

And of course, there’s Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between San Francisco and the Phillies on Saturday and if this dispute isn’t resolved by then, there are going to be some very angry fans. 

A Full Set of Sunday Linkage

Ok, I don’t have to go anywhere today so I can provide you with a full set of links without being interrupted. Let’s get to the sports media stories today.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Versus’ NHL season opener became the most watched regular season hockey game on cable since the ESPN days.

Mike mentions that Fox Deportes takes the Spanish language rights for Formula 1 racing.

Ian Gallagher and Andy Whelan of the London (UK) Daily Mail have finally found “Cigar Guy”, the infamous person seemingly mugging for the camera behind Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup.

Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk says the NFL investigation into the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger situation could move very quickly. 

Mike reports that ESPN’s exclusive negotiating window to extends its rights for Monday Night Football will begin very soon. Mike also writes that the NFL is expected to expand Thursday Night Football to the entire season.

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe talks with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about his new book on the games that changed the NFL.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe has one former Pawtucket Red Sox voice and one current voice remembering owner Ben Mondor who passed away last week. Ben was a giant in Minor League Baseball and Rhode Island and will be missed.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the TBS crew didn’t give viewers a reason to stick around as the Yankees blew out the Twins last night. Whatever, Bob.

Bob feels the NFL pregame shows will treat Brett Favre with kid gloves today. NFL Network and ESPN already broached the subject today.

In the New York Post, Phil Mushnick writes about a bunch of subjects that don’t make any sense.

The Orlando Business Journal says Sun Sports/Fox Sports Florida has a new General Manager.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle notes that NFL Network’s list of Top 100 players has Earl Campbell of the old Oilers placed with the Tennessee Titans.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has ESPN’s Cris Carter praising the Minnesota Vikings re-obtaining his former teammate, Randy Moss.

Jeff Potrykus of the Journal Sentinel says ESPN’s College Gameday will visit Wisconsin on Saturday. 

Mark Heisler in the Chicago Tribune says ESPN has gone way too far in obsessing over the Miami Heat.

Judd Zulgad in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the NFL will no longer comment on the Favre/Sterger story which means the investigation is being conducted in earnest.

Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune writes that the Dish Network/Fox carriage dispute is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. 

Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star says key decisions about the Pac 10/12′s future will be influenced by its TV rights fees.

Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee talks about former Kings center Vlade Divac being part of this week’s ESPN 30 for 30.

Toronto Sports Media laments that Chris Zelkovich is no longer on the sports media beat for the Toronto Star.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.

SMW has the final ratings for the 2010 MLB on Fox season.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media has some observations on Versus’ NHL season opener ratings.

At SB Nation NY, Steve says TBS’ ratings in New York for Yankees-Twins are not as good as they should be.

Terez Owens says Deadspin paid $75,000 for the Brett Favre pics and voice mails to Jenn Sterger.

That’s going to do it for the links today. Keep your feeds updated. I’ll have plenty of stuff posted.