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NBC Launches Two Olympics Mobile Apps

The last two days have been crazy for me as I’ve been dealing with family. Nothing major, but it’s taking up a lot of my time. My apologies for not posting as much as you’ve become accustomed.

Let’s get to this without further delay.

NBC announced this week that it’s released two new Olympic mobile apps, one is a result app and the other is the long-awaited streaming video app that will provide all of the events.

Both apps are available for download on Android and Apple devices. I’ve already put both apps on my iPhone and iPad and they look quite impressive.

Here’s the press release from NBC.

NBC OLYMPICS LAUNCHES TWO APPS FOR LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES

NBC Olympics Live Extra app to Live Stream 3,500+ Hours — Every Sport, Every Competition, Every Medal — to Multi-Channel Video Subscribers
NBC Olympics app to provide short-form highlights, schedules, live results, columns, athlete profiles, and new Primetime Companion feature
Both apps built and powered by Adobe

NEW YORK – July 12, 2012 – NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, has launched two apps, both built by and powered by Adobe, as part of its comprehensive coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Summer Games.

NBC Olympics Live Extra, will allow cable, satellite and telco customers to live stream more than 3,500 hours of content, including all 32 sports, every athletic competition and all 302 medal events. The second app, simply titledNBC Olympics, will provide short-form highlights, TV and online schedules, live results, columns and the newPrimetime Companion feature — the ultimate complementary, second-screen experience for NBC’s nightly primetime Olympic broadcasts.

“NBC Olympics Live Extra puts the London Olympic Games into the hands of America’s tablet and smartphone user, enabling us to once again use advances in technology to provide the broadest possible access to the thousands of hours of Olympic competition,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “The NBC Olympics app will be the definitive and most up to date source of information from the London Games, and the exclusive mobile source in the U.S. for London Olympic video highlights. It will also feature live results, dynamically served TV and online listings, and – during NBC primetime – a second screen for enhanced viewing and social interaction for when America again gathers each night for 17 nights to share in the incredible stories from London.”

NBC Olympics partnered with Adobe, which built both apps and is powering them through the conclusion of the Games. The NBC Olympics Live Extra and NBC Olympics apps are available on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play, and on the App Store for iPhone, iPadand iPod touch.

“It’s been great working with NBC Olympics to change the way live sporting events are experienced by consumers. NBC is now able to create, deliver, monetize and measure the Olympics across mobile devices – using tools and technologies that make up Adobe’s video solutions,” saidDavid Wadhwani, senior vice president, Digital Media Business at Adobe. “We’re working closely with NBC Olympics and others to ensure viewers have a seamless viewing experience with two easy-to-navigate apps.”

Zenkel added, “NBC Olympics is confident that Adobe, a proven technology leader and longtime partner, will deliver the best mobile event application experiences America has ever seen.”

The entire Olympics mobile and tablet experiences were built by and are powered by technologies that make up Adobe’s Project Primetime, enabling NBC Olympics to create, deliver, verify, monetize and measure the Games across mobile and tablet devices.

To learn more about Adobe technology powering the apps and for a behind-the-scenes video, go tohttp://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmedia.

NBC OLYMPICS LIVE EXTRA

The NBC Olympics Live Extra app will live stream every athletic competition for the first time ever. In all, the app will live stream more than 3,500 total programming hours, including all 32 sports, the awarding of all 302 medals and event rewinds. NBC Olympics Live Extra will also live stream the Olympic content that airs on the four NBCU cable channels — NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo.

In another first, NBC Olympics Live Extra will provide multiple concurrent streams for select sports, such as gymnastics (each apparatus), track and field (each event), and tennis (up to five courts). For example, during a session of track and field, instead of viewing only a single feed that moves from event to event, a user can choose to watch a stream dedicated to a specific event, such as the long jump or javelin.

The vast majority of live stream content on NBC Olympics Live Extra will only be available to verified cable, satellite or telco customers. In order to access the live stream content, existing cable, satellite and telco customers should follow these verification procedures (note: customers must subscribe to a video tier that includes both CNBC and MSNBC):
1. Download the NBC Olympics Live Extra app
2. Open the app
3. Tap the “Touch Here & Get Ready” callout
4. Select your cable, satellite or telco provider
5. Enter the username and password that corresponds with your account
6. You are signed in throughout the Games on that device!

Customers with multiple devices should repeat the procedure on each device. Access to this content is free for customers as part of their video subscription — there is no additional charge. For customers who do not have a username and password, they should contact their cable, satellite or telco provider to create one. More information about the process, including contact information for cable, satellite and telco providers, can be found at:www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help.

NBC Olympics Live Extra is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or atwww.itunes.com/appstore. It is also available for free from Google Play on select Android devices or atwww.play.google.com.

NBC OLYMPICS

While NBC Olympics Live Extra will be the mobile and tablet home for live stream content, the NBC Olympics app will be the home for everything else Olympics, including short-form highlights, event schedules, TV and online listings, results, athlete profiles, columns and the new Primetime Companion feature.

The Primetime Companion is the ultimate complementary, second-screen experience for NBC’s nightly primetime Olympic broadcast. Users can go deeper into the broadcast with trivia, polls, slideshows, videos and athlete bios all synced with what is being presented on NBC. The companion will also allow users to share the primetime experience with friends and family through a series of social tools connected through Facebook and Twitter. Synched to each device’s clock, the Primetime Companion will automatically appear when a user opens the app during NBC’s primetime broadcast.

NBC Olympics is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or atwww.itunes.com/appstore. It is also available for free from Google Play on select Android devices or atwww.play.google.com.

That’s all.

Some Back To Work Tuesday Linkage

Back to work for many of you after the Memorial Day holiday. Because of my crazy schedule, I didn’t get to enjoy it, but you don’t care about that. Let’s do links.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reports that Cox Communications has dropped the New Orleans Hornets allowing Fox Sports to swoop up the rights.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News takes a look at the US TV coverage of the French Open.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter writes that UK’s Channel 4 plans extensive coverage of the 2012 London Paralympics which will be held two weeks after the Summer Olympics.

Tim Nudd of Adweek reviews the latest WatchESPN spot.

Alex Weprin of TVNewser reports that HBO’s Real Sports host Bryant Gumbel will co-host Live with Kelly next week.

Evan Weiner at Examiner.com explains how NBC’s huge rights fee effectively ended Qatar’s bid for the 2020 Olympics.

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report interviews legendary sportswriter Frank Deford.

Ed writes that USA Today’s Sports section is changing its reporting strategy.

Media Rantz remembers the Marv Albert arrest 15 years later. Disclosure: I’m quoted in this very well-researched article.

Will Brinson at CBSSports.com writes that Showtime/NFL Films has quietly dumped Warren Sapp from “Inside the NFL”, however, he remains on NFL Network.

Evan Sporer of SportsGrid has the great video of a soldier home from Afghanistan surprising his daughters at Sunday’s Minnesota Twins game. It has nothing to do with sports media. I’m just a huge sucker for reunion videos.

Chadd Scott at ChuckOliver.net explores how TV money has led to the “Wal-Martization” of college football.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing notes that former ESPN college football crackpot Craig James is running below “Undecided” in the Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary. Always a good place to be when trying to run a successful campaign.

Bob’s Blitz says former Miami sports radio talker Sid Rosenberg has a new gig.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick actually heaps praise this morning. And he does it to Hall of Fame hockey voice Mike Emrick.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says Time Warner Cable will air some local high school lacrosse playoff games.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that the NBA Draft Lottery will air from New York’s Times Square for the first time ever.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes that apparently NFL Network will no longer air CFL games.

Ken adds that there’s no New York City radio home of the 2012 Olympics as of yet.

Ken provides the Compass Media college football schedule for the 2012 season.

And Ken has the Sports USA college football schedule as well.

Tom Jones from the Tampa Bay Times looks back at the weekend that was in sports television.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes that embattled South Florida sports radio talk show Sid Rosenberg is about to start a new gig.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a local sports radio station is about to acquire a rival FM station.

Jerry Garcia from the San Antonio Express-News says TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal spent some time talking to a local TV station and defending his co-hort Charles Barkley.

Roy Bragg of the Express-News says the Chuckster was glad to meet the peeps in San Antonio on Monday.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch has some linkage of his own to provide.

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune talks with Utah Jazz TV voice Craig Bolerjack.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post looks at the mtn.: The Final Days.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that a hockey primer from 1993 still holds true today.

Steve Ladurantaye from the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that Rogers and TSN are smelling blood and plan to bid for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada package.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Globe and Mail says Rogers Sportsnet has snatched IndyCar rights away from TSN.

The Canadian Sports Media blog looks at the silly PR hockey wars being conducted by Rogers Sportsnet and TSN.

Sports Media Watch gives us the overnight ratings for the Indianapolis 500 on ABC.

Steve Lepore at SB Nation’s Puck The Media predicts the ratings for this year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Joe Favorito says things are looking good at NBC Sports.

Jordan Golson at MacRumors talks with ESPN’s NASCAR pit reporter Dave Burns about using an iPad for his reports.

That’s going to do it for now.

Some Wednesday Night Linkage

I’ll do some more linkage for you this evening. You’re owed it. Why not?

Thomas O’Toole from USA Today reports that Laurie Fine, the wife of ex-Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, is suing ESPN for libel saying a report ruined her reputation.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin goes inside the lawsuit and notes that Fine is accusing ESPN of circling the wagons against her.

John Koblin from Deadspin says Fang’s Bites fave Charissa Thompson will replace the outgoing Michelle Beadle on ESPN2′s SportsNation.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch speaks with ESPN’s Prince of Darkness John Skipper who fires some shots at NBC Sports Network.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today has NBC’s response to Skipper.

Tom Weir of USA Today says ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw a G*d D*mned reference at Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio and ESPN2. That’s a lot of ESPN references in one sentence.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Pat O’Brien is back on the Olympic stage.

Mike Ozanian from Forbes says while sports TV advertising spending is up, the return of investment is not necessarily that good.

Andy Fixmer and Edmund Lee of Bloomberg Businessweek report that the networks are putting more sports programming in primetime to avoid DVR timeshifting.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable looks at NBCUniversal announcing Olympic coverage plans for three cable networks.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reports that NBC Sports Network will air a cable TV record amount of Olympic coverage this summer.

Mike notes that ESPN is hoping to double its subscriber numbers for its WatchESPN app.

Meanwhile, Josh Lowensohn of CNET says hold the WatchESPN to Apple TV talk.

Billy Steele of Engadget reviews the new ESPN Radio iPad app.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid notes that Fox Sports West had an interesting “Key to the Game”.

Jim Williams of the Bleacher Report talks with Fox Soccer analysts on this Saturday’s Champions League Final.

Clare Atkinson from the New York Post reports that the networks are jacking up ad rates for the NFL including CBS for Super Bowl XLVII.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that NBC Sports Network will cover the Indy 500 Time Trials this weekend.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union looks at the amount of Olympic coverage on three NBCUniversal cable networks.

Pete says NBC Sports golf reporter Dottie Pepper has co-authored a series of books bringing golf to kids.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local cable TV sports reporter is fast becoming a regular on the high school scene.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says a sports radio producer put Icy Hot on his manjunk.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald writes that TNT’s Charles Barkley is not a fan of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch can’t believe Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter stance.

Kent Youngblood at the Minneapolis Star Tribune says the new TV voice of the Minnesota Wild comes with some controversy.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News says the national media is beginning to take notice of the Kings’ playoff run.

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times writes that ESPN has moved the coaching debut of Mike Leach with Washington State to a Thursday night primetime game.

Jeff Morrow of the Tri-City (WA) Herald notes that ESPN Radio has returned to the local area.

Annie Fowler of the Herald says NHL Network will air the Memorial Cup in its entirety.

Ryan Yoder of Awful Announcing is still buzzing over Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter rant from this week.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the NHL on NBC could be moved on Saturday if Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final goes into triple overtime.

Steve says the ratings Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Final were down from last year.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth looks at various local radio ratings for baseball.

And that will be do it for tonight.

ESPN Radio Launches New App For Apple iOS Platforms

Here’s another piece of news that was released during today’s ESPN Upfront Presentation. ESPN Radio will be launching a new app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. This will be the first time ESPN Radio has optimized for the iPad. Not only will you be able to listen to ESPN Radio live at all times, you can download podcasts and get material for offline listening when you’re away from a Wifi connection.

ESPN says the app will be free for a limited time and a limited time only. When the limited time ends, the app will carry a hefty $4.99 pricetag.

Android and Windows 7 phones will have access to the new app later this year.

Check it out.

New ESPN Radio App Launches for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Now optimized for iPad and includes “build your sports station” personalization feature
Launch on Android and Windows 7 smartphones later this summer

ESPN Radio today unveils its single, most definitive ESPN Radio App optimized for iPhone, iPod touch and – for the first time – iPad. The app creates a seamless, personalized sports listening experience both live and on demand and includes a new feature that allows fans to build their own sports stations. Additionally, fans now have the option to rewind live audio streams, including ESPN Deportes Radio. Versions for Android and Windows 7 smartphones are slated to launch later this summer.

“This latest version of the ESPN Radio App builds on our promise to deliver the best sports audio content across any device,” said Marc Horine, Vice President, ESPN Digital and Print Media. “With this update, fans now have complete control over their listening experience as the app provides the functionality to customize specifically by sports, teams and athletes they care most about.”

The app is free to download and includes:

• Podcasts: Popular shows that include The BS Report with Bill Simmons, Pardon The Interruption, Around The Horn and Fantasy Focus;
• SportsCenter: The latest updates every 20 minutes;
• Offline Listening: The ability for fans to download on-demand audio content to listen offline.

Beginning today, fans can download the premium version of the app at no cost for a limited time.  After that, for a one-time fee of $4.99, fans can access the full experience of the app, complete with the new personalization features and enhancements.  These include:

• Custom Station or Playlist: Users can search tens of thousands of audio clips by a specific topic and create a station or playlist of their favorite shows, teams, players and sports;
• Live Audio Functionality: Pause and rewind up to an hour of live audio;
• myESPN Personalization: Customized audio automatically pulled into the app based on favorites;
• Top Searches: Shows popular searches and trends for easy one-click access to top audio;
• Recommendation Engine: Related audio content suggestions;
• Alerts and Push Notifications: For MLB broadcasts, breaking news and more.

Additionally, the premium app will continue to give millions of ESPN Radio listeners access to live, crystal clear radio streams from over 35 ESPN Radio stations, fan favorite shows like Mike & Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Waddle & Silvy (Chicago), The Michael Kay Show (New York) and more, select play-by-play broadcasts, live scores and text messaging.  Additional features include integrated news content from ESPN’s five local sites in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Dallas, and social media integrations via Facebook and Twitter.

ESPN Radio launched its first app in September 2009 and has since been one of the top paid sports apps in the marketplace.  Additionally, it was named Best Radio App by Radio Ink Magazine at the Digital Convergence Awards in May 2011.  The ESPN Radio App is available from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

The ESPN Radio app is the latest product from ESPN’s digital audio portfolio.  In March, ESPNRadio.com logged its best month ever since it first launched 11 years ago.  The site generated nearly 1.51 million page views from users listening between 30-60 minutes of digital audio through the ESPN Audio NOW Player, a 511 percent increase compared to the same month last year (source: Adobe/Omniture).  It also generated more than 3.22 million unique visitors (up 10.75 percent) and nearly 27 million total page views (up 35.8 percent).  Additionally, ESPN Podcasts recorded its own best month ever in March, logging 49 million downloads, up 73 percent compared to the same month last year.

That’s it.

Some Leftover Linkage

I need to clear my brower of links I was hoping to get to sometime over the last few days. Since I couldn’t do the Friday megalinks or any Saturday morning linkage, I’ll do some Sunday evening leftover links.

Consider this the Sunday entrée to the beginning of the workweek. I honestly don’t know what that means.

Here’s some linkage for you to chew on.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports is not a fan of Shaquille O’Neal on TNT.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News writes that Time Warner Cable is hoping to obtain more sports properties for its new Southern California regional sports network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the first round of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most watched on record.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable reports that no talent hack Ryan Seacrest will be haunting NBC Sports as well as NBC News in an all-new, all-encompassing contract with NBCUniversal.

Tim Baysinger at B&C says ESPN’s ratings for the First Round of the NFL Draft were up double digits from the year before.

Sam Laird at Mashable writes that social media is influencing sports in many ways.

To Sean Newell of Deadspin who looks at the strange Twitter meltdown of Chicago Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley who went all-sexist on female pilots and one of his co-workers.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report writes that former CBS and ABC Sports essayist Jack Whitaker is receiving a long overdue honor from the Sports Emmys on Monday.

Ryan Yoder from Awful Announcing reviews the good and the bad of ESPN’s First Round coverage of the NFL Draft.

Joe Lucia of AA does the same for NFL Network.

Back to Matt from AA, apparently Tim McCarver fancies himself an expert on climate change

From the Tampa Bay Times, Eric Deggans reviews ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group has ESPN optimistic that its Los Angeles studios will put itself in a unique position to cover the Lakers and Clippers in the NBA Playoffs.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck can ever match Peyton Manning’s marketability.

Providence’s WJAR-TV and Cox Communications announce a new partnership that will simulcast the NBC affiliate’s local newscasts and also put Cox Sports RI’s programming on a new cable channel.

Amy Chozick and Nick Wingfield of the New York Times explore the growing world of TV mobile and tablet apps which include the soon-to-be released NBC Olympics iPad app.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times profiles actor Peter Scolari who plays three important roles in the Magic/Bird Broadway play.

Breaking a ban of linking to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News who has an interesting story regarding Yankees voices John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman and whether they’ll be leaving if the team changes flagship radio stations after this season.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has no hope for our society. Lighten up, Phil. Time to travel to Moldova or Johannesburg. Somewhere you don’t have to watch sports anymore.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says MSG Network’s ratings for Game 7 of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers series were the best since the 1994 Stanley Cup-clinching game on the network.

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the 76ers are leaving long-time home WIP and switching to ESPN Radio Philadelphia.

Crossing Broad says the Sixers’ move came as a surprise.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner talks with Jim Rome and his new CBS home.

Laura Newberry of the Orlando Sentinel says Golf Channel has become a Central Florida mainstay.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Rockets are not only moving to a new TV home next season, but are currently looking for a new radio flagship station as well.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman transcribes Mike Tirico’s call of Kevin Durant’s winning shot for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Enquirer says one local cable provider will pick up NFL Network, but it’s not Time Warner.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley may be headed towards a suspension.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business says the Bulls generated their highest regular season TV ratings since the Michael Jordan years.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says scheduling of playoff games never has the fans in mind.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says ESPN gave the Utah Jazz the benefit of the doubt in its series opener.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC got the job done in choosing its NHL Playoff series for the Conference Semifinal round.

Peter Adler from the Edmonton Journal says the Oilers’ documentary series Oil Change which runs on NHL Network should return for a third season

Howard M. Alperin of Midwest Sports Fans asks why CBSSports.com doesn’t include soccer coverage?

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy has TSN’s top hockey bloopers of the 2011-12 season.

That’s a lot of leftover linkage. Glad I was able to clear this out before Monday.

Grinding Out The Monday Linkage

Let’s go for some linkage now.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN and NFL Network have agreed not to show prospects on the phone spoiling the suspense of the NFL Draft.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated goes behind-the-scenes with ESPN and NFL Network as they prepare for their NFL Draft coverage later this week.

Congrats to Jimmy Traina at SI for 10 years of Hot Clicks. The site has been very good to Fang’s Bites since first linking here in 2008.

Patrick Stiegman of ESPN.com writes a guest editorial in Sports Business Journal responding to another guest editorial from last month criticizing the network’s journalism ethics.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com says the Big Ten Conference will have a lot of say at the next BCS meetings thanks to its TV network.

In the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with NBC Sports Network programming chief Jon Miller about the channel’s lowly ratings at its outset.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Ronnie Ramos gives praise to MLB’s social media efforts.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Time Warner Cable has added ESPN and several other sports networks to its mobile and tablet apps.

Sam Laird at Mashable says ESPN is launching a social campaign to determine where the next College GameDay promo will be shot.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life Magazine writes that the NHL’s TV ratings are red hot.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing says it appears that the Atlanta Falcons have turned down HBO to go on Hard Knocks this season.

At Pro Sports Communications, Martine Charles stresses that in a crisis, hiding from the media is the worst thing to do.

Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy wonders if parity in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs could hurt the TV ratings in the long run.

The Connecticut Post says ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sara Walsh will host a business breakfast meeting next month.

Tanzina Vega at the New York Times notes that Jeep has become a USA Basketball sponsor in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post labels Yankees radio voice John Sterling a fraud. Wow.

The New York Post points out that Tennis Channel’s Mayleen Ramey is the new host of SNY’s Beer Money quiz show.

Dr. Doom & Gloom at the New York Daily News says the growing feud between the Giants and Jets is the main reason why Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning was pulled from ESPN Radio NY which is the Jets flagship radio station.

Richard Huff at the Daily News speaks with MLB Network’s Sam Ryan.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union feels Fox’s coverage of Philip Humber’s perfect game on Saturday was flawed.

Greg Connors of the Buffalo News says be prepared for an online Olympic smorgasboard.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that MASN’s Kristina Akra has been doused with Gatorade by the victorious Nationals again. This is three times by my count. In fact, here’s the video of Kristina getting doused with the bucket by Rick Ankiel and Chad Tracy. Good angle from behind the Nats dugout.

Guyism notes the first two Gatorade baths.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN NFL Draft analyst Bill Polian about former Baylor QB Robert Griffin III.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times looks back at the weekend in sports TV.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel says a local sports anchor who’s been taking heat for his reporting of the Magic’s Dwight Howard story this season responded to criticisms.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle links us to his appearance on NPR over the weekend.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune says a new BCS Championship system will be bandied about this week and get a lot of interest from the networks.

Dan Whitney of the Cherokee (IA) Chronicle Times says thanks to NBC’s blanket coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s a fan of hockey again.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post notes the increasing coverage of the NFL Draft.

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

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin says the ratings show that Blue Jays fans are being patient with the team.

Sports Media Watch says NBA TV will produce its own playoff telecasts which is a departure from the last few years.

SMW says Fox garnered good overnight numbers for its Saturday Baseball broadcast thanks to Philip Humber’s perfect game and the Yankees stunning comeback against the Red Sox.

And SMW says the NHL on NBC drew very good ratings over the weekend.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says a Western Conference Semifinal featuring Nashville and Phoenix may not be as disastrous as some observers think.

Joe Favorito has his weekly sports business roundup.

A.T. Faust III at AppAdvice says ESPN’s iPad website fails to take advantage of the tablet’s strengths.

Bike World News says Fox Sports Net will pick up the Tour of Utah cycling race again this year.

And that’s going to do us for today.

Some Rare Saturday Links

It’s been a long time since I was able to provide Saturday linkage. Many times, it’s due to the fact I try to sleep in or my weekend was planned for me behind my back and I have to play chauffeur. Anyway, I’m able to provide some links and since I did not do the megalinks on Friday, I’ll give you this as a replacement, although the number of stories won’t equal Friday’s usual amount.

We begin with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch who mentions that NFL Network came close to firing Warren Sapp after he tweeted that former New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey “snitched” about the team’s bounties to the NFL officials.

Can you believe Bob Costas turned 60 this week??!! Well, he did. MLB Network’s senior editorial director Elliot Kalb who has worked with Bob at NBC writes this tribute.

From the Poynter Institute, ESPN Ombudsman Jason Fry looks at why ESPN expunged a Mark Cuban gay joke from a Bill Simmons Grantland podcast.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable says smartphones and tablets helped to drive a large percentage of traffic for March Madness Live online.

Mike Reynolds from Mulitchannel News writes that the NCAA Tournament saw a ratings decline from the year before for the first night of the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel says a veteran cable TV programming exec has been promoted within the ranks of NBC Sports.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred mourns the passing of former Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Furman Bisher.

Eric Goldschein from SportsGrid has video of the Kazakhstan national anthem being played for a medalist of a shooting competition in Kuwait. Problem was that it was the version written for the movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” and not the real Kazakhstan national anthem. That’s funny.

Sports Video Group offers a review of the March Madness Live iPad app.

Busted Coverage says a Spokane, WA local sports anchor unwittingly decided to crack on Lesley Visser’s face.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the harsh punishments handed down by the NFL to the New Orleans Saints over Bountygate were likely tied to concussion lawsuits.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe speaks with CBS/Turner’s NCAA Tournament East Regional crew of Uncle Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery and Lesley Visser.

Chad has a few more things with Verne and Bill that didn’t make the column.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at MLB Network producing and staffing a pregame show for Fox Saturday Baseball.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says the local CBS affiliate has been taping its late newscast for nights it follows NCAA Tournament action.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that the WFAN Mets Radio Network is not big at all.

Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com has the latest in Baltimore-DC sports media in Press Box.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News talks with Texas A&M’s athletic director about entering the SEC and why the Longhorn Network led to the school’s departure from the Big 12.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle notes that Texans radio voice Marc Vandermeer is leaving his radio talk show to focus squarely on the NFL team.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about Fox and MLB Network collaborating on a pregame show.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with Turner Sports reporter Craig Sager who loves his job and picking out loud clothes for every game.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes about San Diego’s sports radio shuffles.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News has a story on the Brothers Waltrip who are laughing it up at Fox.

Tom has more with Darrell and Michael Waltrip in his blog.

Sports Media Watch says ESPN is seeing a ratings surge for its studio shows thanks to a busy NFL offseason.

SMW says viewership is up for the NCAA Women’s Tournament on ESPN2.

Steve Lepore has a suggestion for ESPN on how to make the NCAA Hockey Tournament more TV friendly.

Joe Favorito looks at how NFL news broke this week.

Ryan Yoder at Awful Announcing notes that Around the Horn host Tony Reali apparently had an on-the-job injury this week.

I’m going to end the Saturday links there.

Some Quickie Tuesday Links

I’ve been away from the computer again today so it led to minimal blogging. Let’s provide some links now.

We begin with some breaking news from the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman who reports that TNT will air the NBA season opening game on Christmas Day between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. ESPN/ABC usually airs the Christmas Day games, but TNT has the rights to the league’s first game and Turner Sports apparently won out here.

Jason Lisk at the Big Lead criticizes ESPN for sitting on the Bernie Fine Syracuse story for more than eight years.

Allen Barra of the Daily Beast talks about ESPN and the Syracuse Post-Standard sitting on the Bernie Fine story for way too long.

At ESPN Front Row, Vince Doria, network vice president for news content defends ESPN’s handling of the story.

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart announced on his annual Sirius XM show that the sport has extended its agreement with the satellite radio provider for another five years.

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Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that YES Network will premiere a new series providing viewers access to Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek says CBS/Turner expect big bucks from ad sales in the multiple platforms showing the NCAA Tournament.

David Goetzl of MediaPost says Paramount Pictures will incorporate NHL footage into promos for the latest Mission: Impossible movie on both US and Canadian TV.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid notes that a Tampa-St. Petersburg TV station accidentally showed a man’s schlong during a report from the Buccaneers locker room.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group notes that Big Ten Network has launched a mobile app for the Apple iPhone, iPod and yes, the iPad.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant says ESPN has signed a deal with the America East conference for 47 basketball games on the network’s various platforms.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports on the feud between Los Angeles Dodgers Frank McCourt and Fox Sports over media rights for the team.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner notes the longevity of “Inside the NFL”.

Emily Adamson of NBCMontana says the NCAA is now encouraging ESPN to find a way to air the Division I Football playoff games involving Montana and Montana State in Big Sky country. The games are only available on ESPN3.com which is not readily available in Montana.

Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic talks with NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner about Tim Tebow.

I’ll try to get some more links later on.

RIP, Steve Jobs

There aren’t too many people who can say they changed the world. Steve Jobs could.

His influence to make our world better cannot be measured. Just think of the Macintosh computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. And he also revolutionized Super Bowl ads. Jobs got major buzz for Apple by running this ad only once for the launch of the Macintosh during Super Bowl XVIII on CBS.

After that, advertisers have been trying to copy the Apple formula for getting buzz. An amazing visionary.

You can send your condolences, thoughts and reflections on Steve Jobs to rememberingsteve@apple.com. He will be missed.

Big Ten Network Offers “BTN2Go” Mobile App

This just in from the Big Ten Network, a.k.a. “BTN”, a new “TV Everywhere” service that selected cable and satellite subscribers that will offer the authenticated channel on the internet, iPad and iPhone. Thus far, three cable and satellite providers have signed up for the service. This will launch just in time for the 2011 football season. Take a look at the press release from the Big Ten Network.

BTN TO LAUNCH ‘BTN2Go’ IN TIME FOR 2011 FOOTBALL SEASON

Live BTN Games Headline an Extensive Slate of Programming Offered to Authenticated Subscribers

CHICAGO – BTN2Go, a live 24/7 multi-platform extension of BTN, is scheduled to kick off at the start of the 2011 college football season, BTN President Mark Silverman announced today.

BTN2Go features a live feed of all BTN linear network programming, including more than 40 football games, over 100 men’s basketball games and hundreds of other live events, as well as Extra Football Game Channels, on-demand programming and archived content.

BTN2Go will be offered exclusively through BTN’s participating cable, satellite and telco distribution partners as an authenticated digital service to subscribers who already receive BTN as part of their video subscription.

Once their provider agrees to carry the service, fans will be able to access BTN2Go on three platforms: the Internet; iPad and iPhone. Specific launch dates for each platform will be forthcoming.

“We’re tremendously excited to launch BTN2Go because, as mobile technology has advanced, this is something fans are asking for,” Silverman said. “Big Ten fans are frequently on the go, and would like to watch BTN while away from home. BTN2Go gives fans that option at no additional cost to them.”

“BTN2Go will deliver an innovative new experience to passionate Big Ten fans, reinforcing the conference’s and network’s desire to improve access to and exposure for all Big Ten sports,” said Michael Calderon, vice president, digital and interactive media.

BTN2Go viewers also will have on-demand access to BTN’s deep video archive, including all current season games. Original series such as The Journey, Big Ten Icons, Big Ten’s Best and The Big Ten’s Greatest Games, as well as game highlights and coaches’ shows, will be available.

There you have it.

Some Additional Friday Links

I think I’ll have to add some more linkage tonight. Not sure of my schedule this holiday weekend so I’ll take the opportunity while I can.

Scott Cacciola of the Wall Street Journal says Bristol, CT residents aren’t happy over how their town is portrayed in the new ESPN book.

Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated profiles ESPN’s Dick Vitale and his continuing effort to raise money for cancer research.

Staples also writes about the Big East looking for a big payday from a TV partner whether it be ESPN or NBC/Comcast or another network.

David Whitley of AOL Sporting News says TNT’s Charles Barkley has become Must See TV.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News notes that TNT ended its NBA coverage as having the most watched postseason on cable ever.

Multichannel says ESPN has now optimized its Watch ESPN app for the iPad.

Tim Nudd from Adweek gives us the Top 10 Soccer Commercials Ever Made.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid says Stephen A. “A is for Audio” Smith’s return to ESPN2′s First Take was loud. Very, very loud.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid writes while ESPN.com’s Howard Bryant received probation stemming from a domestic assault case against his wife, repairing his reputation may be very difficult.

Brandon Costa from Sports Video Group notes that ESPN3.com will stream SkyCam’s feed from the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship this weekend.

The Hartford (CT) Business Journal reports that ESPN Radio will be opening new facilities at its worldwide headquarters.

Justin Terranova of the New York Post speaks with MLB Network’s Al Leiter about the Phillies and Mets.

Crossing Broad says Fox Sports Radio’s Tony Bruno is ending his local Philadelphia show.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says CBS’ David Feherty won’t be working the Byron Nelson Championship this weekend.

Shawn Williams of the Dallas South News writes that John Rhadigan never had a chance to grow as Texas Rangers TV voice.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Indianapolis 500 TV coverage has advanced by leaps and bounds over the years.

Jenny Whalen from the Macomb Patch says Detroit Tigers TV voice Mario Impemba is sending out a free DVD of Opening Day to troops serving overseas.

From the Chicago Tribune, Brian L. Cox writes that an ESPN Radio Chicago host has pleaded guilty to DUI charges.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman notes that ESPN has picked up one more Boise State football game for this season.

Paul Brownfield reviews “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN” for the Los Angeles Times.

SportsbyBrooks says ESPN has confirmed that management did try to script questions to “Those Guys Have All The Fun” co-author James Andrew Miller when he made appearances on ESPN Radio shows earlier this week.

From Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy, we learn that the Casey Anthony murder trial jury will watch Game 7 of the Tampa Bay-Boston Bruins series. Interesting.

We’ll end it there.

Doling Out Tuesday Linkage

Got to work early so I figure that I’ll do linkage early and then do some what I have to do at the office.

Let’s begin with a look at some of the ratings from the weekend via USA Today’s Michael Hiestand.

Michael notes that the Cam Newton saga at the NFL Draft could bring viewers to the table for ESPN and NFL Network despite ongoing lockout drama.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today says Fox’s Howie Long blasted the NFL Scouting Combine in a taping of a Big Lead/The Experts Network Draft Special. Disclaimer: Fang’s Bites is a member of Big Lead Sports, but is an independently owned and operated blog.

A couple of interesting op-ed pieces today. First, NFL Commish Roger Goodell in the Wall Street Journal claims the end of the league as we know it if there’s no collective bargaining agreement with the players.

Next in the Washington Post, Washington DC NFL Team owner Daniel Snyder explains why he’s suing the Washington City  Paper and it certainly doesn’t help his argument.

If you want to help the Washington City Paper in its fight against Snyder, go here and lend your support.

To the Sports Business Journal and John Ourand who says ESPN’s new endorsement guidelines are just a small ointment to a bigger problem.

John writes that NBA Draft prospect Jimmer Fredette has authorized a production company to follow him for a potential documentary on his experience leading up to the Draft.

Daniel Kaplan from the SBJ says NFL teams and sponsors are getting ready for the NFL Draft.

And Terry Lefton at the SBJ notes that Michael Vick’s image is at the point where he can endorse products again.

Tom Van Riper at Forbes is in favor of Major League Baseball expanding its playoffs.

Tim Baysinger from Broadcasting & Cable notes that Comcast SportsNet Chicago garnered record ratings for Canucks-Blackhawks Game 6 on Sunday.

Mike Reyolds at Mulitchannel News says NESN received its third highest ever ratings for a Boston Bruins playoff game on Saturday.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has ESPN/ABC’s Mark Jackson calling out ESPN The Magazine for publishing an anonymous NBA player’s column.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says despite first round ousters, the Knicks and Rangers drew very good TV ratings in New York.

Also from SportsNewser, Cam Martin notes that a documentary on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is in the works.

And Alex Weprin of SportsNewser talks with ESPN personality Stephen A. (A is for Angry) Smith.

Bill Mann of Marketwatch.com says the NBC/Versus deal with the NHL will have a ripple effect in Canada.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group looks at NFL Network’s production preparation for the NFL Draft.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says all Judge Susan Nelson did in overturning the NFL lockout was to lead to massive confusion among the league and the players.

The Boston Globe notes that local athletic shoe company, Saucony is launching a new ad campaign that will air on ESPN and other sports networks starting this week.

Paul Devlin of the New Canaan (CT) Patch profiles local resident and ESPN Dictator George Bodenheimer.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union has the NFL Draft programming for both ESPN and NFL Network.

Pete says the New York Knicks delivered killer ratings for both ABC and MSG Network.

Pete has the updated NBA Playoffs TV schedule.

From the New Jersey Press, David P. Willis looks at the new Cablevision iPad app which allows subscribers to watch TV programs on their Apple tablets.

In the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner wonders why politicians aren’t speaking out against the NFL lockout.

Zach Berman from the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger has five questions for NFL Network Draft guru Mike Mayock.

Mike Jensen from the Philadelphia Inquirer profiles native Mike Mayock of NFL Network.

Joseph Santoliquito of the Marple Newtown (PA) Patch profiles Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia host Michael Barkann who is a longtime resident of the community.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that former DC NFL Team executive Vinny Cerrato will now co-host a nightly radio show in Baltimore.

The Spartanburg (SC) Herald Journal reports that the local ESPN Radio affiliate will pick up high school football games this fall.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman notes that TNT’s Mike Fratello got the job done during last night’s Denver-Oklahoma City NBA playoff game.

Bill Haisten from the Tulsa (OK) World says local native Dari Nowkhah of ESPN almost quit TV for teaching until a sudden call from Bristol, CT came his way.

Jamie Samuelsen in the Detroit Free Press says Matt Millen should expect a less-than-warm welcome to Ford Field when he makes his first return there with the Monday Night Football crew this fall.

Robert Snell of the Free Press says NFL Network’s Marshall Faulk owes the IRS a big chunk of change.

Cole Manbeck of the Manhattan (KS) Mercury says Kansas State is expecting a huge cash payment from the new Fox/Big 12 TV deal.

Jeff Wolf of the Las Vegas Journal-Review says baseball fans in town are fed up of being blacked out of six teams that claim the market as their territory.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog goes after Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail for not doing his homework.

Sports Media Watch notes that NBA ratings in Boston and Chicago are way up from last year.

SMW also looks at the local NHL ratings in various markets.

And SMW has some more NHL ratings for us.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the ratings for nights 9 and 10 of the NHL Playoffs on Versus.

And I think we’re done now. Back to work now.

Some Monday Night Linkage Which Goes Into Tuesday Linkage

I was trying to post links last night and was making really good progress when, you guessed it, I fell asleep with the computer on again. That’s not good. So I’ll combine the full set of links that I found last night with this edition so you have a pretty good set of stories to sift through. That’s good for you. So let’s give you a lot of links today.

Joe Posnanski has a very thoughtful post on Tara Sullivan’s ordeal at The Masters, plus the really sexist and ignorant comments left at her story at NorthJersey.com.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid notes that former Boston Globe columnist Jackie MacMullen weighed in on the Tara Sullivan controversy during ESPN’s Around the Horn.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today reports that Charlie Rymer of Westwood One was kicked out of Augusta National Golf Club while he was covering The Masters for violating a rule on cell phone usage.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NFL Network will have extensive coverage of the NFL Draft later this month.

To John Ourand at Sports Business Journal who writes that the NHL has three strong bids for the US TV rights including a surprising one from Turner Sports.

At MediaPost, David Goetzl writes that ESPN was wise to take a wait-and-see attitude on iPad advertising for its app.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life says The Masters pulled decent ratings despite having a no-name winner.

Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk says Fox NFL Sunday co-host Terry Bradshaw says he is feeling the effects of the six concussions and numerous blows to the head from his playing days in the 1970′s.

Mike goes over the Jenn Sterger interview on Good Morning America and she doesn’t come off too well.

Mike talks about how a potential owner of a Los Angeles NFL team is predicting a huge TV rights windfall for the league in the next network negotiation.

To Yahoo’s Puck Daddy and Greg Wyshynski who writes that NBC/Versus have some heavy competition for the NHL TV contract.

Sports TV Jobs interviews YES Network host Nancy Newman about her experiences moving from Canada’s TSN to CNN Sports to YES.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if golf’s popularity has truly returned with Tiger Woods out of contention of many tournaments.

Ian R. Rapoport of the Boston Herald says Tom Brady cries over the memory of his sixth round pick by the New England Patriots in a new ESPN/NFL Films documentary.

Newsday’s Neil Best says YES will produce postgame shows for all Yankees games no matter which network airs them.

Neil writes that the NBA’s TV partners are happy to see the Knicks in the playoffs.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times notes that The Masters saw some ratings slippage.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says MSG Network has set its studio and game announcers for Knicks playoff games.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette talks about The Masters’ TV ratings.

Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Root Sports will have the entire Penguins-Lightning series.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic has chosen its top story in the last ten years of local sports reporting.

Dan with the help of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic recaps the last Capitals-Rangers playoff series in 2009.

Dan says one local DC radio personality is mocking the Washington Nationals’ radio deal.

Rusty Ray from the Pee Dee (SC) Morning News says a big crowd turned out for a live appearance by ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike.

David Barron and Joseph Duarte from the Houston Chronicle report that the Texas Bowl has a new sponsor.

Blair Kerkhoff from the Kansas City Star talks about a few college sports issues including the NCAA Tournament on CBS/Turner and the new Big 12 TV contract.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says a local sports anchor doesn’t understand the distinction of an event airing on a local CBS affiliate while not being a network program.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News says once the Pac 12 TV contract is done, Commissioner Larry Scott will look to sign deals overseas, especially in Asia.

At Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Matt Maiocco says new 49ers radio analyst Eric Davis will have big shoes to fill.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says TSN Radio is debuting with guns locked and loaded.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail also talks about TSN Radio’s debut.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that TSN received good ratings for curling.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR in primetime on Fox scored well.

To Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says NBC ended the NHL regular season on an upnote.

Steve also has the local rightsholders which will carry first round NHL Playoff games.

Joe Favorito says cricket is gaining in popularity not just worldwide, but also in the US.

Plenty of links today. Lots of good stuff. I hope you have time to look over all of the links.

Why Doesn’t CBS Have Any Major Spring or Sports & Other Sunday Thoughts

After beginning the Sunday Thoughts two weeks ago, little would I know that I would get kicked off my server (massive Web Hub Hosting assholes) the following week. So after a one week absence, time to bring you the Sunday Thoughts again. I promise to make this weekly instead of bi-weekly. Let’s go.

A Dormant Spring & Summer Season

CBS Sports is once again on a busy streak that really began last August with the PGA Championship to the US Open, the NFL, SEC Football, college basketball to March Madness ending this weekend with The Masters^®. And after Sunday, I don’t get to blog about CBS Sports unless it’s talking about the ratings for one of its many golf tournaments it will be televising from now until August. In the 1980′s, CBS had a pretty formidable lineup every year starting in January with the Cotton Bowl, the NFC playoffs, then the NBA All-Star Game in February, March Madness, The Masters in April then the NBA Playoffs in May and ending in June with the NBA Finals and the Tour de France.

The lineup was adjusted in the early 1990′s with the Winter Olympics, Major League Baseball, losing the NBA, then the NFL, gaining it back, losing college football and signing the SEC.

Since Sean McManus was signed by CBS back in 1996 to lead its Sports Division and restore its luster, he’s worked hard to get the NFL, SEC, retain the NCAA Tournament, the US Open, PGA Championship and The Masters. But there’s a real dearth of sports for CBS from April through September. It’s mostly the PGA and whatever niche sport CBS can sign for the CBS Sports Spectacular.

From here until September, NBC with the NHL, Triple Crown and tennis along with ESPN/ABC and TNT with the NBA dominate the sports landscape.

Can CBS break into this lineup? It could if showed interest in the current bidding for the NHL, but there’s no indication of this. NBC just signed all of the Triple Crown for five years so that’s out. ESPN and TNT appear to be solidly in the NBA’s camp so CBS’ chances to re-enter the NBA market appear to be slim. And the network doesn’t seem to be interested in Wimbledon or the French Open, but then again, NBC has had them for so long that it doesn’t seem likely that it would go to another network.

So will CBS get a major Spring or Summer event to add to its inventory? Not for the foreseeable future, but it would be nice.

MLB.TV and Twitter Was Made For Nights Like These

While I was writing this morning’s post, the Toronto Blue Jays and Anaheim Angels played an extra long, extra innings game. I checked my Twitter feed which was full of tweets about the contest which did not end until the 15th inning with the Angels finally winning, 6-5. Thank goodness for my MLB.TV subscription and the MLB At Bat 11 iPad app as I joined in the 13th inning. This not only kept me awake, but kept me entertained. In addition, tweeting about the game with my friends from all over the US and Canada made the experience so much more enjoyable.

This part of the night was best summed up by my lovely Twitter friend, Rebecca Glass.

So true. Many people got to see Blue Jays-Angels thanks to MLB Extra Innings being on a free preview until today so the audience for the game was bigger than normal. Even so, this shows that if baseball can really tap into social media, it can raise its profile to the point it could leap over the NBA in popularity. There’s nothing quite like a communal tweeting experience.

Hanna is An Awesome Movie

Finally, I went to see the movie Hanna last night. Very impressed with Saoirse Ronan who in her young career has showed she can display a lot of acting range. This movie about a dad who raises her daughter, Hanna to carry out a mission is a non-stop roller coaster ride. Joe Wright directs the movie to show the unlocking of Hanna’s secrets as we find out that she’s led a very sheltered life in the Finnish Lapland with her father played so well by Eric Bana.

As we see them pursued by a CIA operative played so deliciously by Cate Blanchett, we notice that Hanna may have fighting skills, but she doesn’t know music, she’s overwhelmed by electricity and gadgets we take for granted.

After escaping from a CIA secret location in Morocco, Hanna takes up with a roving family who adopt her without question and she has her first encounter with a girl her own age. But overall, Hanna really can’t get close to anyone, but she admires how the family can be so close.

The soundtrack by the Chemical Brothers transition us from scene to scene. It’s a very good fit with Wright’s direction. I loved this movie and it’s very different from your usual cookie cutter Hollywood movie with a happy ending. There are several loose ends, but that’s done on purpose to make you decide where they should fall. Hanna is a very good weekend movie.

And we’re done with the Sunday thoughts for today.

Sounding Off On The Thursday Linkage

Let’s do the linkage on this Thursday morning. Some good stuff is already out.

The Financial Times has a look at how European TV money is now either catching up or surpassing US TV dollars for the bidding for certain global sports events.

Todd Spangler from Multichannel News reports that ESPN has released a new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch which allows Time Warner and Verizon FiOS TV subscribers to watch live TV on their devices.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel notes that SNY is now taking shots at Dish Network after being dropped by the satellite provider.

Mike says YES Network and DirecTV continue their negotiations as a deadline that was extended to today is staring them in the face.

Lindsay Rubino from Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN’s E:60 is being nominated for an award that honors diversity in communications.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life writes that Tiger Woods appears to be an afterthought for ESPN’s and CBS’ coverage of The Masters^®.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, the St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deggans feels Mark Cuban’s idea to ban all internet writers to improve sports coverage is quite silly.

Ronald Grover, Brian Womack and Andy Fixmer of Bloomberg report that YouTube is in talks with several Hollywood companies to provide original content including sports.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says DirecTV is all over The Masters^® this year.

Marcus says since ESPN’s Captain Blowhard promised not to tweet until the Red Sox won, an online betting site is taking wagers on whether he will indeed keep quiet.

Sports Video Group has provided a site that outlines how to produce live golf in the third dimension.

At the Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown says MLB isn’t serving its Extra Innings and MLB.TV subscribers well through its archaic blackout policies.

Dan Frommer of the Business Insider has a look at the new WatchESPN iPhone app.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union writes that a local sports TV anchor will be part of the online and DirecTV coverage of The Masters^®.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tells us that NFL Films visited the Steelers last week to film several interviews.

CBS Radio Baltimore’s Jen Royle talks with the Baltimore Sun’s Simon Habtemariam.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says former Nationals analyst Rob Dibble has come out stating that it was a letter from the father of pitcher Stephen Strasburg that led to him being fired from MASN last year.

Dan talks to a local man who came close to winning ESPN.com’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says CBS and Augusta National Country Club have a unique partnership for The Masters^®.

Iliana Limon in the Orlando Sentinel talks with Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky about the future of the league.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman discusses online coverage of The Masters^®.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has an update on what happened with Fox Sports Ohio’s feed of the Astros-Reds game from earlier in the week.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the Bucks will be pushed to another radio station due to conflicts with the Brewers.

Neal Justin of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says four cable and satellite providers are not carrying the full schedule of Twins games from Fox Sports North.

Tim Engstrom in the Albert Lea (MN) Tribune writes that Charter Communications is at an impasse with Fox Sports North over 45 Twins games that Fox Sports North picked up.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times says while the Lakers will not bring back TV play-by-play man Joel Myers, they will bring back analyst Stu Lantz.

That’s where I’ll end it for now.

ESPN Launches New “WatchESPN” App For Apple Platforms

Do you want to watch ESPN on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch? Well, there’s an app for that! But only if you’re a Time Warner Cable, Verizion FiOS TV or Bright House Cable subscriber. Through this app, you’ll be able to see ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU as well as ESPN3.com programming. All this provided that you’re a subscriber to one of the aforementioned cable providers. Perhaps if ESPN makes more agreements with other cable and/or satellite providers, this service would be available to you, but as for now, it’s only applicable to those services above. Down the line, the app will be made available for other smartphones and tablets.

If you’re a high speed internet subscriber to Verizon, you can see ESPN3.com, but not the other three networks, but as a Verizon FiOS internet customer, that’s good news for me.

Here are details from ESPN.

ESPN Launches New ‘WatchESPN’ App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch

App Gives Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV Subscribers Live Access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com content

NEW YORK, N.Y. – ESPN announced today its flagship network ESPN as well as ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com are now available to Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV subscribers via the new ‘WatchESPN’ App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, now available on the App Store.

In time for the early rounds of the Masters, the NBA Playoffs and the beginning of the Major League Baseball season, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV subscribers who receive the linear networks as part of their video subscription can now watch the channels from the convenience of their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

“Innovation continues to drive ESPN,” said George Bodenheimer, president, ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports. “When we launched in 1979, nobody envisioned a day when people would carry ESPN in their pockets.  But here we are.  And we’ve reached this watershed moment for the industry through tremendous collaboration with forward-thinking partners.”

The free WatchESPN App includes a simple user interface that takes the current online viewing experience to the high-resolution, Multi-Touch displays of iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Once a user downloads WatchESPN from the App Store, they will receive instructions to enter their cable subscriber credentials and access their favorite ESPN content on their device. A version of the application optimized for the Apple iPad will be available free to download in May.

Added Sean Bratches, executive vice president, sales and marketing for ESPN, “This represents the culmination of our efforts over the last five years. We strive to serve the sports fan wherever they consume sports, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than making our networks available to fans whenever and wherever they might be.”

The company first launched an online-accessible authenticated version of ESPN in October, 2010. Authenticated versions of ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN Buzzer Beater/Goal Line launched in January, 2011. Consumers can access the channels through a centralized website, ESPNnetworks.com.

The WatchESPN App is available for free from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

The App will be available on other smartphones and tablets in the near future.

That’s all.

Thursday’s Links Are Here … Finally

Been doing some work and also keeping an eye on the Detroit-Yankees game online. It’s been a joy watching games online. It has been a lifesaver when I’ve been at work bogged down with stuff in the office. And MLB.TV is free for Apple iOS users via the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

Anyway, let’s do some links.

John Ourand at the Sports Business Daily mentions that ESPN has filed suit in court his week against Conference USA for not bargaining its TV rights in good faith and awarding them to Fox instead.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid is calling MLB’s “Always Epic” ad campaign an “Epic Fail”. I have yet to figure out what the ad with San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson is all about.

However, SportsGrid’s Glenn Davis is amused at the new SportsCenter ad also featuring Brian Wilson.

Sheldon Spencer at ESPN’s Front Row talks about the launch of the corporate blog.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News explains why ESPN is not included in the Time Warner Cable iPad app.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek notes that MSG Network has reupped with the MLS’ New York Red Bulls for another three years.

Kunur Patel at Advertising Age says a sponsor is coming through to allow Apple devices to have free access to MLB.TV for a month.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the NFL’s TV partners could stand to be the biggest loser of any prolonged lockout.

Alex Weprin at SportsNewser notes that SB Nation has launched a new baseball-only blogging site.

At TVNewser, Chris Ariens says ESPN was among those honored for a prestigious Peabody Award for its 30 for 30 documentary series. HBO also received a Peabody for Magic & Bird.

The Boston Herald’s Jessica Heslam notes that two local sports radio stations brought in good ad revenue from last year.

Brian Stelter of the New York Times discusses ESPN’s Josh Elliot’s move to Good Morning America.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that YES and DirecTV’s agreement runs out on Friday if a new carriage accord is not reached soon.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union also writes about the YES/DirecTV deadline.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that a local radio station is bumping the Yankees on Saturday in favor of the Final Four^®? What happened to Most Favored Nation status for baseball on the radio?

Ken says a local NBC sports anchor is heading to Augusta to call The Masters^® on DirecTV.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record talks about MSG Network bringing the New York Red Bulls back into the fold.

Cindy Boren at the Washington Post’s Early Lead blog says a federal appeals court ruled against the DC NFL Team stating it must provide captions of all song lyrics and text public service announcements at the Stadium formerly known as Jack Kent Cooke for its hearing-impaired fans.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that it’s MLB Opening Day not only for the sport and its fans, but for TV as well.

Kristi E. Swartz, Larry Hartstein and Alexis Stevens of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution report on former Hawks star, current vice president and TV analyst Dominique Wilkins getting attacked by a former NBA referee following his broadcast spot last night.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that Fox’s MLB analysts are bullish on the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ed Sherman with Crain’s Chicago Business says the early start of the MLB season means a busy time at Wrigley Field and the Park formerly known as Comiskey.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with announcers, young and old, local and national, about what Dodgers voice Vin Scully means to them.

Sports Media Watch says ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose has apologized for getting arrested earlier this month on DUI charges.

At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore finds the tentative Stanley Cup Finals TV schedule for NBC/Versus.

The NFL Chick pays tribute to women in sportscasting.

Cee Angi at Aerys Sports’ Essence of Baseball site gets on the MLB Fan Cave for reaching to the lowest common denominator.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs likes seeing MLB Opening Day and the Final Four finally separated.

And that’s where we’ll end the links for today.

Bringing Out the Wednesday Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And Darren goes inside the numbers of college football.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And we’ll end it there today.

A Few Saturday Links

Unfortunately, I was not able to do the Friday megalinks as I was traveling in between two offices and had to hit a couple of places in between. And when I got home, I wasn’t in the mood to do links. But I may incorporate some Friday stories here in the links. Let’s take a look at what we have.

From the Wall Street Journal, Sam Schechner has a story where networks are angry with Time Warner Cable for providing their programming on iPads. This is going to be an interesting battleground because if Time Warner wins, the networks will have no control over their content on tablets. Keep an eye on this as sports is involved as well. Thanks to John Daly of The Daly Planet NASCAR blog for the link.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says despite network protests, Time Warner Cable is forging ahead with its iPad app.

Andrea Morabito from Broadcasting & Cable notes that the NCAA Tournament’s ratings continue to soar on CBS and Turner.

Joel Stein from Bloomberg Businessweek takes a look at some of the fashion faux pas made by various sports broadcasters. Yes, there’s a slideshow that goes with it.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says ESPN2 and Tennis Channel will be all over the Sony Ericsson Open starting today.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says Nasty Boy Rob Dibble has found a new radio home.

Brad Cohen from SportsGrid has the too-steamy-for-TV ad featuring Serena Williams.

The Nielsen Wire blog notes that the two most marketable MLB players are New York Yankees.

Newsday’s Neil Best has ESPN’s Jay Bilas standing by his anti-VCU comments from before theNCAA Tournament. This story came out before VCU won last night.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has your NCAA Tournament Regional Final tip times for the weekend.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that the IndyCar racing season gets underway on Sunday.

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald says Charles Barkley has added some much needed humor into the NCAA Tournament studio.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times reviews the Sports Emmy Award nominations.

At the Grand Rapids (MI) Press, Michael Zuidema discusses how ESPN’s MLB analysts see the Detroit Tigers faring this season.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer talks with Bearcats and Pawtucket Red Sox voice Dan Hoard about his very busy schedule.

In his blog, John says some of Dan’s professional goals now surprise him.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley gets responses from ESPN’s Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla to shots taken at them by former URI and Texas coach Tom Penders.

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

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that former Cardinals first baseman Jack Clark is back on the air in the Gateway City.

John Maffei of the North County Times has enjoyed the CBS/Turner coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News is not a fan of Charles Barkley on the NCAA Tournament. I disagree.

Tom has his extensive media news and notes.

Matt Clapp from Awful Announcing has video shot from my Twitter pal YankeeMegInPHL of Charles Barkley taking a swig of some mystery liquid on the CBS/Turner set last night.

Lou Clinton of 38 Cliches notes that his arch-nemesis, Florida Marlins announcer Glenn Geffner is now on Twitter.

I think we’ll end it there for this Saturday.

Shuffling Some Thursday Links Your Way

With the NCAA Tournament having started in earnest, I’ll do my best to give you links now. Let’s get cracking.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today has ESPN’s Erin Andrews denying that she’s interested in being on ABC’s “The Bachelorette”. This whole thing started when Erin, appearing on KNBR in San Francisco, said she wanted to be on the show. However, Erin is now saying she was joking.

At SportsNewser, Marcus Vanderberg says this would not have become a story had Erin not put it out there.

David Ubben of ESPN.com says the Big 12/Fox deal could be richer than originally thought.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable says Sports Illustrated is launching new mobile apps called “Front Row”. These should not be confused with ESPN’s new public relations blog also to be called, “Front Row“.

Keach Hagey of Politico notes that the Washington Times will be relaunching its sports section come this Monday.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News notes that March Madness has officially begun today.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life says the New York Times has finally set the date for putting up its dreaded paywall.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine gives media buyers what they need to know about March Madness.

Steve Smith of MediaPost looks at the new NCAA Vault unveiled this week that has archived NCAA Tournament games dating back to 1982.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus and Turner Sports president David Levy about their new 14 year partnership for the NCAA Tournament.

Darren feels ESPN should up the ante for its NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge.

Darren wonders if we’ve reached our Bracket limits.

Robert Andrews at paidContent says ESPN plans to unveil a new web-only post soccer match show for the UK as well as develop new apps for the iPad.

Andrew Brady of Connecticut Magazine notes that while ESPN is encouraging millions of people to participate in its Tournament Bracket Challenge, it doesn’t allow its own employees to fill out their own brackets for any office pools. Seriously.

Speaking of that dreaded New York Times paywall, publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. explains why the paywall is going up.

Until it goes up on March 28, we’ll try to link to as many Times articles as we can. Note that we can still have access to 20 stories a month, so I’ll do my best to keep our limit to that every month.

Bob Tedeschi of the Times says the March Madness on Demand mobile apps provide you with opportunities to watch the NCAA Tournament without a TV.

Richard Sandomir of the Times looks at NFL Network’s coverage of the lockout, but does not mention reporter extraordinaire Albert Breer who’s been keeping vigil at the negotiations and has been covering the story extremely well for the channel.

Newsday’s Neil Best explains why Monday’s Yankees-Red Sox game on ESPN2 was blacked out in New York despite YES not airing the game locally.

Amy Anderson at Manhattan Blockshopper notes that ESPN’s Rachel Nichols and her husband have bought a really nice townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says the ESPN family of networks will be all over the NCAA Women’s Tournament starting on Saturday.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that people did manage to find truTV in time for the NCAA Tournament.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says the college basketball scene in the Windy City is a rather sorry state.

Ferd Lewis of the Honolulu Advertiser notes that ESPN’s new Hawaiian soccer event will have an international flavor to it.

Chris Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media has some thoughts on truTV’s coverage of the NCAA FIRST FOUR^®.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media looks at the local NHL on NBC ratings from last Sunday.

I’ll end it there for now. I might add a few more links here so check back while you can.

Breaking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Let’s do some mid-week linkage on a very rainy Wednesday in Southern New England. Here we go.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says even with all of the NCAA Tournament games being nationally televised, CBS and Turner still have to figure out which games go where.

Sports Business Daily looks at the overnight ratings for the first two NCAA Tournament games on truTV.

Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock goes after Jalen Rose for writing revisionist history in the ESPN Films doc, “The Fab Five”.

Alex Sherman of Bloomberg News writes that DirecTV stands to lose millions in rights fees even if the NFL lockout comes to fruition.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News writes that truTV’s HD feed has been picked up by several cable and satellite providers in time for last night’s start of the NCAA Tournament.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says cable networks aren’t happy with Time Warner Cable’s new app that allow subscribers to stream content on their iPads.

At the Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown writes about MLB.TV experimenting with streaming one free Spring Training game a day on Facebook.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the NCAA Tournament hospitality business is up after a couple of down years.

Darren makes the case for you to not fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket.

At Time magazine, Sean Gregory recounts how he and his Princeton teammates upset defending NCAA Tournament champion UCLA in 1996.

Deadspin catches the leaked script for the sitcom pilot based on ESPN’s Mark Schlereth.

Newsday’s Neil Best celebrates SNY’s 5th birthday.

Toni Monkovic from the New York Times writes that DC NFL Team owner Dan Snyder continues to throw his weight around against the Washington media.

From the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record, Ken McMillan writes that Time Warner Cable will air several NY state high school basketball championship games.

Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper, the same writer DC NFL Team owner Daniel Snyder is suing, discusses how Snyder forced the Washington Post to remove the team’s name from a popular blog.

Cindy Boren of the Washington Post’s The Early Lead blog also discusses the team’s name removal.

Just so you know, I have been calling the DC NFL Team, “the DC NFL Team” for several years, not because of Snyder, but because I find the term “Redskins” offensive to Native Americans. You can consider me ahead of the curve.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner looks at the multiple ways you can watch the NCAA Tournament this year.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle is already sick of the truTV promos and it was just the first night of the NCAA Tournament.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business notes that a suspended sports talk show host remains off the air almost two weeks after being arrested on DUI charges.

Lewis Lazare of the Chicago Sun-Times says Bulls guard Derrick Rose will be the face of a global Adidas ad campaign.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that local CBS affiliates miss out on carrying area teams in the new partnership with Turner.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times looks at the new CBS/Turner partnership for the NCAA Tournament.

Diane says ESPN’s Baseball Tonight will travel to Sunday Night Baseball sites this year.

The Canadian Sports Media blog says Rogers Sportsnet has signed former Blue Jays catcher Greg Zaun as a studio analyst.

The Sports Media Watch says with Turner Sports involved and siphoning off viewers, CBS’ ratings for the NCAA Tournament could hit lower numbers.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media likes some subtle changes NBC Sports has made to Versus’ NHL Overtime overnight replay.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing talks with legendary Boston Celtics TV voice Mike Gorman about his 30 seasons with the team.

That will do it.

CBS/Turner Brings in Seton Hall Coach As Guest Analyst For March Madness on Demand

Just received this from the fine people at CBS/Turner Sports. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard will be a guest analyst for the March Madness on Demand portion of the NCAA Tournament. That means he’ll be seen during halftime and other studio segments online whether it be on the March Madness on Demand website or the MMOD mobile apps for iPad/iPhone/iPod. We have details right here.

THIS JUST IN…
…from Turner Sports and CBS Sports:

Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard will join March Madness on Demand’s coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, serving as a guest analyst for the Second Round’s afternoon and primetime games on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18. All games will be available on MMOD, which is available on NCAA.com, CBSSports.com and SI.com. In addition, every game will be available nationally on live television across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.

Willard just completed his first year in the Big East Conference as head coach of the Seton Hall men’s basketball team. Prior to that, he spent three years as head coach at Iona College, where he was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Willard also spent six years as an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Louisville, working under coach Rick Pitino. While at Louisville, the team reached the postseason in each of his six years, including the NCAA Tournament four times and a visit to the Final Four in 2005. Willard also was a coaching associate for the Boston Celtics for four years. He spent three years of his collegiate career playing at Pittsburgh, after playing one year at Western Kentucky.

The newly enhanced NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) live products will be available across multiple digital platforms, including online (http://mmod.ncaa.com), as an iPhone and iPod Touch app, and for the first time, as an iPad app. NCAA March Madness on Demand will provide live streaming video of every game of the new 68-team tournament as they are broadcast by Turner Sports and CBS Sports, starting with the First Four™ from Dayton, OH on March 15, and continuing through the Men’s Final Four^® semifinals and national championship game from Houston, TX on April 2 and April 4.

That will do it.

Shoveling Some Tuesday Links Your Way

Let’s bring you some linkage before my plate gets too full today. Lots of things to go over.

First, this story broke last night and we’re all hoping for the best for NFL Films President Steve Sabol who suffered a seizure Saturday night while in Kansas City. Greg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk says Sabol is recovering in a local hospital today.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy talks with Captain Blowhard about his new site.

John Paul of the Wall Street Journal says look for big things from the new marriage between NBC Sports and Golf Channel.

Carolyn Giardina of the Hollywood Reporter writes that this summer, Wimbledon will be seen in 3-D-ready movie theaters and offered to rightsholders around the world.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes that former ESPN and Fox Sports Net reporter Kevin Frazier has been named as co-anchor of The Insider, the companion series to Entertainment Tonight.

In the Business Insider’s Sports Page,  Mark Fidelman explains how the Bleacher Report (ugh!) is beating ESPN.com when it comes to social media.

Eric Olson of the Associated Press reports that the UFL is hoping to pick up TV exposure in case of an NFL lockout.

The Big Lead has a couple of videos showing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for all intents and purposes becoming a woman during Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wants you to vote on the next great ballpark food idea.

Jackie Kass from Examiner.com says TNT is looking at glamor NBA matchups and the NCAA Tournament for big ratings this month.

Eric Gendron from the Daily New Canaan (CT) says ESPN’s Bob Ley headlines a panel discussion featuring two other ESPN anchors at Fairfield University later this month.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with former St. John’s coach Norm Roberts who’s seeing his ex-team’s success from the SNY studios.

Mandy Housenick of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call notes the Philadelphia Phillies get two appearances in the early MLB on TBS schedule.

Bob Fernandez at the Philadelphia Inquirer says with a possible NFL lockout, the TV networks are looking at the NHL as the next rights battleground.

Matt Murschel from the Orlando Sentinel has Dick Vitale’s pick to win the NCAA Tournament.

Jeremiah McWilliams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Fox Sports South will live stream scores to area billboards so commuters can keep up to date.

Robbie Neiswanger from the Arkansas News Bureau says ESPN will air the University of Arkansas’ annual spring football game next month.

Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News notes that Fox has signed NASCAR analyst Darrell Waltrip for two more years.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Fox Sports Ohio will air most of its Reds schedule in high definition.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that NASCAR beat Big 10 basketball in the local TV ratings on Sunday.

Brian L. Cox at the TribLocal notes that a Chicago sports radio talk show host was arrested over the weekend on DUI charges.

The Chicago Sun-Times also has a story on the host who apparently was way over the legal blood-alcohol level.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business says it’s not known what will happen to the host.

Ed says the Chicago Bulls are pulling in the ratings locally.

John Henderson of the Denver Post says Versus will be airing a cycling race based in Colorado later this summer.

Las Vegas Sun editorial cartoonist Mike Smith chronicles his day following ESPN NASCAR pit reporter Jamie Little on Saturday.

Bob Young of the Arizona Republic says a current Fox Sports Net reporter got to see Charlie Sheen up close during the filming of “Major League.”

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says both the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers nixed ESPN’s idea to have their season opener at AT&T Park.

Wendy Parker sees the number of women’s college basketball games on TV growing exponentially.

Daniel Feuerstein of MLS Talk feels ESPN failed to show any loyalty to soccer voice JP Dellacamera after he showed plenty to them. I totally agree. ESPN treated JP so poorly in the last few years.

Jeremy Rapanich of Wired News looks at the March Madness on Demand iPad app.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog wonders why CBC’s Mike Milbury suddenly had a change of heart on fighting.

Sports Media Watch notes that NASCAR’s ratings are on the rise.

SMW says the NHL on NBC did not do well on Sunday.

SMW also has some random news and notes.

Dave Kohl of Major League Programs praises KSPN host Mychal Thompson for not ducking from his son’s arrest on marajuana charges.

Sox & Dawgs has a very funny NESN blooper reel involving Red Sox Hall of Famer Jim Ed Rice.

We’ll end it there.

MLB At Bat App Is Back and Live Streaming of Games Returns

We have two announcements from MLB.com. One which many of you know about already, that the MLB At Bat mobile and tablet app for the 2011 season is out. While it carries a very hefty $14.99 price tag, it’s already the number one sports app at the iTunes Stores. I’ve already downloaded it for my iPhone and iPad. It’s one of the best apps bar none especially when you combine it with your MLB.TV subscription and can watch all of the games, with the exception of ones in your home market. The one main problem is the silly MLB blackout restrictions, but to be able to watch out-of-market games has been a plus and since I bought MLB.TV, I’ve canceled my subscription to MLB Extra Innings. So to be able to watch the games on mobile devices is just tremendous and the video is getting better and better every year.

Here’s the announcement on MLB At Bat.

MLB.COM AT BAT 11 IS HERE

LIVE BASEBALL WHEREVER YOU GO, AVAILABLE EARLIER THAN EVER BEFORE

#1 Grossing App returns with first live mobile streaming for Spring Training games in February

New York, NY, February 24, 2011 – MLB.com At Bat, the top-selling, award-winning suite of mobile applications developed by MLB Advanced Media, is back for the 2011 season today and earlier than ever before will deliver a special free preview of MLB.TV live streaming video for At Bat 11 on Apple devices starting Saturday, February 26. At Bat 11, which is available now for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android and BlackBerry, also introduces a new favorite Club home screen customization functionality for select devices.

With Opening Day just five weeks away, At Bat 11 will deliver additional updates prior to the regular season, including brand new features, offers and functionalities.

Spring Training 2011
MLB.com At Bat 11 across each of these platforms offers the most comprehensive coverage of Grapefruit and Cactus League action with access to live Spring Training games, including every available radio feed and in progress statistical data. Among the At Bat 11 features available for Spring Training are:

• Customize home screen to feature a designated favorite team (iPhone, iPod touch, Android only).

• Watch live streaming of about 150 available Spring Training games with a special mobile free preview of MLB.TV (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad only).

• Listen to available radio broadcasts of Spring Training games

• Follow league-wide scoreboards and batter-by-batter action for every Spring Training game

• Enhanced video library archive, searchable by player or team

• Breaking news, schedules and interactive rosters and players stats for every team

• Full-season schedule calendars

MLB.com At Bat 11 is available to subscribers for a one-time fee of $14.99 for the entire 2011 season. For more information, visit MLB.com.

And to get you into the mood for baseball, MLB.TV will begin streaming live Spring Training games starting on Saturday with three games, two from Florida and one from Arizona. Those who have an MLB.TV subscription will able to watch the games. There are no blackout restrictions with Grapefruit or Cactus League action.

LIVE BASEBALL RETURNS TO MLB.COM ON SATURDAY

MLB.TV 2011 live streaming schedule begins with three Spring Training matchups:

Phillies-Yankees, Braves-Mets, Rockies-Diamondbacks

NEW YORK, February 25, 2011 – MLB.com will present the first of more than 150 live Spring Training games from Florida and Arizona camps beginning tomorrow with a trio of games, the Philadelphia Phillies-New York Yankees (1:05 p.m. EST), Atlanta Braves-New York Mets (1:10 p.m. EST) and Colorado Rockies-Arizona Diamondbacks (3:10 p.m. EST).

The entire allotment of select Spring Training broadcasts, along with every out-of-market game of the 2011 regular season, is available as part of a MLB.TV subscription. As one of the largest subscription video offerings on the Internet, MLB.TV has served one billion live video streams since its inception, 25% of which were delivered in 2010 alone.

Spring Training 2011
Fans again will be able to watch select live games from Spring Training on their Mac/PC and on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices with a free MLB.TV sneak preview included within the top-selling MLB.com At Bat 11 applications for each. It marks the earliest availability ever for live streaming Spring Training games on mobile devices.

Opening Day 2011
In addition to the accessible devices offered for Spring Training, MLB.TV subscribers will be able to watch every regular season game with support across select Android devices through At Bat 11, Sony PS3 and other connected devices. Additional platform offerings for MLB.TV live streaming will be announced as they become available.

Subscribers will get a host of cutting-edge features in the award-winning MLB.TV media player, including HD quality picture, alternate audio options, in progress highlights and fantasy player tracker alerts, clickable linescores, multi-game viewing options (Premium), home and away feeds (Premium) and DVR functionality (Premium).

MLB.TV and MLB.TV Premium with complete portability are available to subscribers for annual fees of $99.99 and $119.99, respectively, for the entire 2011 season. For more information, visit MLB.com.

That’ s it.

Apple Declares MLB At Bat 2010 Highest Grossing App

We have a press release from MLB.com regarding its mobile application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Apple says its highest grossing application was MLB At Bat 2010 which is tremendous, if I say so myself. Being able to watch and listen to live games on my iPhone and now iPad is great. However, the app is very pricey. At $14.99, no wonder it’s the highest grossing app. I hope the price goes down to $9.99 as it was in 2008.

Here’s the press release from MLB.com.

APPLE NAMES MLB.COM AT BAT HIGHEST GROSSING APPLICATION OF 2010

NEW YORK, December 12, 2010 – MLB.com At Bat 2010 for iPhone and iPod touch was named the highest grossing application by Apple in its second annual iTunes Rewind for the App Store. At Bat, which delivered the first full season of live video for every game and introduced the At The Ballpark mobile in-venue experience, finished first overall across all categories of paid applications for 2010. In addition, MLB.com At Bat 2010 for iPad was recognized as the highest grossing application in the sports category.

Baseball fans utilized At Bat 2010 to follow Major League Baseball games every day from the application’s debut in Spring Training through the final out of the 2010 World Series. During the 2010 MLB Postseason alone, At Bat was accessed 37 million times, a 236 percent increase over the 2009 Postseason.

Subscribers to At Bat 2010 were able to access their MLB.TV subscriptions to watch live home and away broadcast feeds for every out-of-market regular season game with enhanced features such as statistical overlays and controls to pause or rewind live action. The application also delivered every radio feed, in-game video highlights and MLB.com Gameday.

This year also marked the debut of At The Ballpark, a mobile in-venue experience within At Bat 2010 for iPhone. By utilizing the Apple device’s core location technology, fans were able to check-in to any of the 30 Major League ballparks and, subsequently, receive access to an array of exclusive features, including social media, interactive venue maps, concession menus, personal profiles and video highlights. MLB.com also partnered with Aramark and the Philadelphia Phillies to launch a pilot program in September for mobile food ordering through At Bat 2010.

During the off-season, MLB.com At Bat 2010 is available free from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch or iPad at www.itunes.com/appstore/. For more information, please visit MLB.com.

I have one more press release and that’s NBC’s quotage from Football Night in America. Expect that after 10 p.m.

NBC Sports Puts Its "Talk" Sites on One iPad App

NBC Sports has decided to embrace the iPad in one huge way by putting all of its “Talk” sites, led by Mike Florio’s Pro Football Talk, into one nice app. I’ve downloaded it, but have yet to use it. The other sides including Hardball Talk, Pro Hockey Talk and others are included so it’s a nice one stop shopping for the fan.

We have the press release.

“NBC SPORTS TALK” iPad APP DEBUTS

Mike Florio’s Pro Football Talk is Centerpiece of New App

NEW YORK – November 22, 2010 – The NBC Sports Talk App for iPad has launched and is available now for free at the App Store, it was announced today by Rick Cordella, Vice President/General Manager, NBC Sports Digital. The new App features Mike Florio’s Pro Football Talk as its centerpiece and includes all of the NBC Sports Talk platforms: Hardball Talk, Pro Basketball Talk, Pro Hockey Talk, College Football Talk, Inside the Irish and, coming soon, Pro Golf Talk.

On Sunday night, the NBC Sports Talk app was the No. 1 free sports app at the iTunes store.

“We are committed to delivering NBC Sports Talk to fans regardless of where they consume content,” said Cordella. “NBC Sports Talk is unique and represents a majority of the visits to NBCSports.com, so we felt it was vital to offer it to the powerful, ever-growing platform of the iPad.”

Said Pro Football Talk’s Florio: “Using the NBC Sports Talk iPad App makes me want to read PFT content more than write it.”

For October 2010, the NBC Sports Talk sections represented 45% of all page views on NBCSports.com, an increased of 57 percent over October 2009.

The NBC Sports Talk franchise was developed in July 2008 when NBC Sports Digital reached an agreement with Mike Florio to move his highly-trafficked and well-respected ProFootballTalk.com to NBCSports.com. Recognizing that fans value quick, frequently updated news and information with a unique perspective, NBC Sports Digital followed up on the wildly successful launch of PFT on NBCSports.com by forming the NBC Sports Talk franchise to include the aforementioned sports. Since that time, NBCSports.com has jumped No. 19 to a consistent place in the top 10 among sports websites (according to ComScore).

The NBC Sports Talk App is available for free from the App Store on iPad or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore.

That is it.

Your Thursday Links

Let’s do the Thursday links as I have to leave early to avoid Patriots traffic ahead of their preseason game against the Saints tonight.

Onto the links.

Steve Elling of CBSSports.com reports about a confrontation between Golf Channel’s Jim Gray and Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin over a quote Gray reported earlier this week. 

Stephanie Wei of the excellent Wei Under Par golf blog is reporting on the PGA Championship for the Wall Street Journal and she examines the whole Gray/Pavin shouting match which occurred after a press conference on Wednesday.

Mike Buteau of Bloomberg says Tiger Woods falling play and golf’s falling ratings could lead to more PGA Tour stops going to cable in the next TV contract. 

Golf Digest takes a tour of Golf Channel host Kelly Tilghman’s hometown of Myrtle Beach, SC.

Radio Ink Magazine reports that former CBS Sports personality/Access Hollywood/Entertainment Tonight/The Insider anchor Pat O’Brien is now joining Fox Sports Radio as a co-host of an afternoon drive show. I wonder if Betsy will be there (NSFW).

John Walters of Fanhouse says ESPN’s Pat Forde has transformed from Twitter hater to Twitter lover.

Chris Botta at Fanhouse spoke with NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins about NHL Network and other matters.

Georg Szalai in the Hollywood Reporter says Verizon will produce the first NFL game in 3-D TV in just a couple of weeks.

Glen Dickson of Broadcasting & Cable says Samsung is teaming with ESPN to produce an app for “smart TV’s”.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes about a new three year deal between ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel to air English Premier League games on ESPN2.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek reports that when the new expanded SportsCenter begins on ESPNews at the end of this month, it will have fewer ads so more content can be aired.

Ryan Berenz at Channel Guide has the outlets airing this week’s PGA Championship. 

Andrew Laughlin of Digital Spy UK says ESPN is launching an iPhone app which will provide video of all English Premier League goals scored within minutes after they occurred.

Robert Andrews in paidContent talks about ESPN’s English Premier League mobile and streaming rights in both the UK and the US.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog wonders if a “Hard Knocks”-type program would work for the NHL.

Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe writes about colleague Jackie MacMullen who’s being honored by the Basketball Hall of Fame tonight. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at Fox Sports Wisconsin going commercial-free for a Milwaukee Brewers game to raise money for charity.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union notes the passing of former Pittsburgh Pirates announcer Nellie King.

Pete says SNY’s Ron Darling will be honored by Little League Baseball.

Pete also has ESPN’s MLB schedule through Sunday, August 22.

Robert Dvorchak and Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette remember the late Nellie King.

Ron Fritz in the Baltimore Sun has enjoyed listening to Fang’s Bites fave Michelle Beadle subbing on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning.

Jamison Hedley at the Sun notes that the Ravens have formed a TV network that has similar reach to what MASN gave the team.

Fred Bowen in the Washington Post feels women’s sports is getting the shaft on the networks.

Ryan Sharrow writes in the Washington Business Journal notes that Ravens have added DC affiliates to its radio network.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says the Ravens have pieced together a new TV network after talks with MASN broke down earlier this month.

Jim says Fox picks up this Saturday’s Orioles-Rays game.

Ben Goessling of MASN says the Washington Nationals will be giving away DVD’s of Stephen Strasburg’s Major League debut during tonight’s game against the Marlins. 

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times says the NHL Network will air the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup clinching game from 2004 on Friday.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the Texas Rangers set another ratings record on Fox Sports Southwest which will probably be broken very soon.

Also from the Morning News, Mike Heika reports that Fox is dropping out of the bidding for the Dallas Stars. 

Steve Watkins in the Cincinnati Business Courier says the Reds drew great ratings on Tuesday for its brawl with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

John Kieswetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says Fox Sports Ohio will air three University of Kentucky exhibition games in Canada next week.

Ed Sherman from Crain’s Chicago Business notes that the bank wants to seize memorabilia from the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.

Ed says Bulls fans who want to get their LeBron/Miami Heat fix can also go to Milwaukee to see them.

In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley notes that Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers gave playing tips on the Whistling Straits golf course to ESPN Radio. Whistling Straits is where the PGA Championships is being played this week.

Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel looks at Turner Sports’ 3-D coverage of the PGA Championship.

Benjamin Wideman of the Sheboygan (WI) Journal goes behind the scenes with Turner Sports on its 3-D coverage of the PGA Championship.

Dan Caesear of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Tuesday’s brawl between the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds led to record ratings for Fox Sports Midwest.

St. Louis’ KMOV-TV has formed a partnership with the ESPN Radio affiliate. 

The Los Angeles Times has a reporters roundup of opinions regarding the whole Jim Gray/Corey Pavin argument.

Dave Boling of The Olympian says Ken Norton, Jr. was plucked from NFL Network to be Seattle Seahawks linebackers coach.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star notes that MLS is not striking a chord with Canadian viewers.

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN could take a ratings and advertising hit if the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats move from its English-speaking to French-dominant Quebec.

At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore wants a Hard Knocks edition for the NHL.

Joe Favorito says baseball really needs to become more global.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann remembers his friend, former Pirates announcer and pitcher Nellie King.

The great Maury Brown at the Biz of Football notes that the Madden NFL 11 video game will be made available for the iPad and iPod Touch.

That’s going to end it for us today. Lots of good links.

The Score Network in Canada Unveils Its iPad App

Known as the third all-sports network in Canada after TSN and Rogers Sportsnet, The Score has unveiled an iPad app. It’ll have plenty of scores, stats and news for the hardcore Canadian sports fan. Of course, it’ll be available in the US as well at the iTunes store.

Score Media Introduces theScore iPad Edition

Creators of leading mobile app, ScoreMobile, launches one of the first free iPad sports apps on the market

TORONTO, July 27th, 2010 – Score Media Inc. (TSX: SCR) today announces the launch of theScore iPad Edition, one of the first free sports apps on the market from the creators of the leading mobile app, ScoreMobile.  Already a leading free sports app just days after launching in Apple’s App Store, theScore iPad Edition offers the latest stats, news, scores and standings from every major sports league, while integrating the best content from The Score’s multiplatform properties – The Score Television Network, theScore.com, Hardcore Sports Radio (HSR) and ScoreMobile – all on one app.

A hybrid of Score Media’s leading sports app, ScoreMobile, and it’s newly relaunched website, theScore.com, theScore iPad Edition brings iPad users the best of both platforms while offering original video and audio content from The Score Television Network and HSR.

theScore iPad Edition is the perfect companion for watching sports on TV or sitting around with your friends discussing the latest trade and stories of the day.  It also gives users unlimited and immediate access to up-to-the-minute stats and entertaining content including:

• Real-time scores, breaking news and updates
• Original digital video segments available exclusively to iPad users  like The Score’s hit web show, The Break and The Footy Show, a news program and podcast dedicated to covering all of the latest soccer news and highlights
• Integrated social tools for sharing articles, blog posts and videos
• The Score’s entertaining television content offering unique interviews with top athletes along with iPad exclusives from The Score’s world renowned reporter Cabral “Cabbie” Richards as well as the popular, irreverent NBA web show, The Basketball Jones
• A slick interface designed specifically for the iPad with an intuitive and clean navigation  structure

“It took Apple only 80 days to sell 3 million iPads worldwide and with the exception of iPhone 4, that is faster than any other iDevice it’s sold in the past.  The iPad is yet another disruptive device that will transform how people consume and share content,” says Jonathan Savage, Vice President, Digital, Score Media Inc.  He adds, “We believe theScore iPad Edition is the best sports app for iPad on the market, period.  And just like ScoreMobile, our leading mobile property, it’s free, fast and fundamental to sports fans anywhere.”

NuLayer, one of Canada’s most innovative and reputable software development firms, worked closely with Score Media’s content team to build the iPad app for the company.

“theScore iPad Edition takes advantage of all the great features the iPad has to offer and leverages its native performance and flexible web views,” says Jeff Brenner, Co-Founder, NuLayer.  “It’s an awesome app that provides a socially-integrated way to explore the sports world. Fans are going to love it.”

Download theScore iPad Edition from Apple’s App Store and get ready for sports overload, non-stop entertainment and hardcore fandemonium!

For more information visit www.theScore.com/iPad.

We actually have some breaking news. Hold on.