Fang's Bites

Golf Channel To Air LPGA Championship And Terry Gannon Makes His Debut

Golf Channel will air the second major championship on the LPGA Tour, the LPGA Championship this week. It’ll be start to finish coverage of the tournament with 9 full hours of coverage. In addition, Terry Gannon will in the 18th tower with Judy Rankin, both of whom have worked together at ESPN/ABC. Here’s the press release from Golf Channel.

Golf Channel to Air Exclusive Coverage of

LPGA Championship

Terry Gannon to Make Golf Channel Debut

                ORLANDO, Fla. (June 22, 2010) – Golf Channel returns to the Rochester area this week to deliver live, exclusive coverage of the LPGA’s second major of the year, the LPGA Championship.

Defending champion Anna Nordqvist will attempt to defend her title against a field headlined by new World No.1 Ai Miyazato, who overtook Jiyai Shin for the top spot following Miyazato’s victory at last week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic.  Shin, who had an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago, is scheduled to return to action this week. Paula Creamer, fresh off her seventh place finish last week after returning from a thumb injury, also is in the field, joining the likes of Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, two-time LPGA Championship winners Laura Davies and Juli Inkster and three-time winners Se Ri Pak and Nancy Lopez.

Golf Channel’s live coverage of the LPGA’s second major of the year will air Thursday-Friday from 12:30-2:30 p.m. ET, with weekend coverage from 4-7 p.m. ET. Terry Gannon will make his Golf Channel debut as play-by-play host of the telecast, joined by LPGA Hall-of-Famer Judy Rankin as lead analyst. Phil Parkin and LPGA veteran Kay Cockerill will call the action from on-course tower positions, with Val Skinner and Jane Crafter reporting from the course. Rich Lerner will serve as show host and will conduct post-round interviews.

Produced in high definition, Golf Channel’s tournament coverage is scheduled to feature its signature production elements, including mic’ing up a player during Thursday’s round and conducting on-course interviews with players as they are walking the fairways and making the turn.

We’re done with this post.

Golf Channel’s One and Only Tournament This Weekend

With the U.S. Open taking place at Pebble Beach, only the LPGA is in action and that is what Golf Channel has this weekend. To be honest, it’s a bad time for the LPGA to play opposite the U.S. Open. Here are the details.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: June 18-20

LPGA Tour Returns to New Jersey for the ShopRite LPGA Classic

ShopRite LPGA Classic

Dates: June 18-20

Venue: Seaview – A Dolce Resort, Bay Course, Galloway, N.J.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday                         3-6 p.m. (Live)

Saturday                     4:30-7:30 p.m. (Live)

Sunday                       3-6 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Brian Hammons (Play by Play)

Michelle McGann (Analyst)

Kay Cockerill (Tower)

Charlie Rymer (Tower)

Val Skinner (On Course)

Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

·         Paula Creamer and Alexis Thompson will be Golf Channel’s spotlight players during Friday’s telecast.  Thompson will make her LPGA debut as a professional this week.

·         “Walk and Talk” Featured - Golf Channel will feature “Walk and Talk” this week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic during all three rounds of coverage.  On-course reporters Val Skinner and Vicki Goetze-Ackerman will interview players as they are walking the fairways.  Golf Channel currently features “Walk and Talk” during its Champions Tour coverage.  “Walk and Talk” made its LPGA debut in May at the Bell Micro Classic.

·         “At the Turn” Featured on Sunday – Golf Channel’s Vicki Goetze-Ackerman and Val Skinner will interview players as they are making the turn during Sunday’s final round of coverage.

We’re done for now. Good night.

Golf On Television This Week

We have the tournaments that will be on the air thanks to Golf Channel and CBS. As usual, Golf Channel goes first.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: June 10-13

PGA TOUR Heads to Memphis for St. Jude Classic

LPGA Tour Rookie Beatriz Recari Mic’d Up at the LPGA State Farm Classic

Team U.S.A vs. Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup

St. Jude Classic

Dates: June 10-13

Venue: TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday                     3-6 p.m. (Live)

Friday                          3-6 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Jerry Foltz (Play by Play)

Curt Byrum (Analyst)

Peter Oosterhuis (Tower)

Matt Gogel (On Course)

Billy Ray Brown (On Course)

Mike Ritz (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

·         The field includes: Padraig Harrington, Rory Mcllroy, Camilo Villegas, Lee Westwood, Retief Goosen, Zach Johnson, Justin Leonard, John Daly, Robert Karlsson and Jordan Spieth.

·         The 53rd annual event is one of the oldest stops on the PGA TOUR. Past winners include Jack Nicklaus, Hal Sutton, Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman, Nick Price, David Toms, Justin Leonard and defending champion Brian Gay.

 LPGA State Farm Classic

 Dates: June 10-13

 Venue: Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Ill.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday                     6:30-8:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)

Friday                          6:30-8:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)

Saturday                      6:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)

Sunday                         7-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Tom Abbott (Play by Play)

Beth Daniel (Analyst)

Kay Cockerill (Tower)

Charlie Rymer (Tower)

Val Skinner (On Course)

Stephanie Sparks (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

·         Beatriz Recari Mic’d Up - LPGA Tour rookie Beatriz Recari will be fitted with a microphone during Thursday’s opening round of play and will be the network’s “Spotlight Player” during tournament coverage. 

·         “Walk and Talk” Returns - Golf Channel will feature “Walk and Talk” this week at the LPGA State Farm Classic during all four rounds of coverage. On-course reporters Val Skinner and Stephanie Sparks will interview players as they are walking the fairways.  Golf Channel currently features “Walk and Talk” during its Champions Tour coverage.  “Walk and Talk” made its LPGA debut in May at the Bell Micro Classic.

·         “At the Turn” Featured on the Weekend – Golf Channel’s Stephanie Sparks and Val Skinner will interview players as they are making the turn during weekend tournament coverage.

·         Scheduled in the field includes Michelle Wie, Yani Tseng, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Karrie Webb, Christina Kim, Juli Inkster, Se Ri Pak, Anna Rawson and Amanda Blumenherst.

·         The tournament celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2010. Past champions of the event include: Nancy Lopez, Beth Daniel, Cristie Kerr and Annika Sorenstam.

Curtis Cup

Dates: June 11-13

Venue: Essex Country Club, Manchester, Mass.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday                        11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live)

Saturday                    11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live)

Sunday                      2-4 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Steve Sands (Play by Play)

Jane Crafter (Analyst)

Steve Burkowski (Tower)

Donna Caponi-Byrnes (On Course)

Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

·         Golf Channel’s Steve Sands will make his play-by-play debut for the network’s live coverage of the Curtis Cup.

·         The 36th Curtis Cup match will take place at the home of Harriot and Margaret Curtis, Essex Country Club, and will feature Team U.S.A. against Team Great Britain and Ireland.

·         Team USA: Noreen Mohler (captain), Jennifer Song, Alexis Thompson, Kimberly Kim, Jennifer Johnson, Stephanie Kono, Jessica Korda, Tiffany Lua, and Cydney Clanton.

·         Team GB & I: Mary Mckenna (captain), Hannah Barwood, Holly Clyburn, Rachel Jennings, Leona Maguire, Lisa Maguire, Pamela Pretswell, Danielle Mcveigh, and Sally Watson.

·         This will be the first Curtis Cup match in the United States under the three-day format, which was introduced at St. Andrews in 2008.

Estoril Open de Portugal

Dates: June 10-13

Venue: Penha Longa GC, Sintra, Portugal

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday                     10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live)

Friday                          9-11 a.m. (Live)

Saturday                      9-11 a.m. (Live)

Sunday                         9 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:

·         The field includes: Chris Wood, Michael Campbell, Simon Khan, Darren Clarke, David Howell, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Ross McGowan, Pablo Larrazabal, Richie Ramsay and Thomas Bjorn.

After the jump, CBS’ weekend coverage and one more Golf Channel note.

CBS has coverage of the PGA Tour’s St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

WESTWOOD, POULTER, McILROY, HARRINGTON, VILLEGAS AND GAY LEAD FIELD AT “ST. JUDE CLASSIC” ON CBS SPORTS, JUNE 12-13

Lee Westwood, the No. 3-ranked player in the world and No. 10-ranked Rory McIlroy are making their first appearance at the ST. JUDE CLASSIC this week as they take on defending champion Brian Gay and many of the world’s top-ranked players preparing for next week’s U.S. Open, including Robert Allenby, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington, Camilo Villegas, Zach Johnson and Retief Goosen.  

The St. Jude Classic will be played at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., for the 22nd consecutive year.  CBS Sports will cover all the action from the TPC Southwind with third and final-round coverage of the St. Jude Classic on Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET, both days), live on the CBS Television Network.

Bill Macatee and Ian Baker-Finch provide commentary and analysis from the 18^thGary McCord calls the action at the 17^th hole and Peter Kostis at the 16^th hole.  David Feherty serves as on-course reporter. tower.

Lance Barrow is Coordinating Producer, CBS Sports’ Golf. Jim Rikhoff will produce and Chris Svendsen will direct CBS Sports’ coverage of the St. Jude Classic.

Last year, Gay ran away from the field with a five stroke victory over Bryce Molder and two-time St. Jude Classic winner David Toms. Gay is looking to become the first player to successfully defend here since Toms in 2004 as he takes on a field that includes Toms in his 19^th career start at the St. Jude Classic, Westwood, McIlroy, Allenby, Poulter, Harrington, Villegas, Johnson, David Duval, Ricky Barnes, Paul Goydos, J.B. Holmes, Chad Campbell, Scott McCarron, Boo Weekley, Kevin Stadler, Steve Elkington, Tim Herron, Charley Hoffman, Tom Pernice, Jr., John Daly and former Vanderbilt All-American and 2007 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Brandt Snedeker, and other past St. Jude Classic winners Justin Leonard, Woody Austin and Bob Estes.

And on Monday, Golf Channel airs a documentary on caddy Bruce Edwards who led a courageous fight against ALS. It’s based on the book, “Caddy for Life” written by John Feinstein.

Golf Channel’s ‘Caddy for Life: The Bruce Edwards Story’ Goes Beyond the Game

Documentary provides platform to raise ALS awareness

ORLANDO, Fla. (June 9, 2010) – The June 14 premiere of the Golf Channel documentary, Caddy for Life: The Bruce Edwards Story, not only will recall the inspirational life of one of golf’s pioneers, but also will shed light on the disease that tragically took his life and how his family and closest friends continue to fight for a cure.

Based on The New York Times best-selling book by John Feinstein, Caddy for Life is an amazing and emotional remembrance of the extraordinary relationship between one of history’s greatest golfers, Tom Watson, and his longtime friend and caddy, Bruce Edwards.  It also recounts Edwards’ battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, until his untimely and tragic death in 2004.

Watson and Feinstein were inspired to tell their stories to remember a great man, but they knew that participating in the documentary also would provide a great platform to raise awareness for a disease that afflicts one in 100,000 people every year – and one that has no cure.

“This gives me the bully pulpit to speak about ALS,” said Watson when interviewed about the documentary.  “It took his (Edwards’) life, and still is taking people’s lives.  We need to continue this battle and make sure we’re doing everything we can to slow this deadly disease down.”

Says Feinstein, “A lot of people aren’t aware of the story and we can educate them about ALS.  If we are able to raise awareness and funds for research, then the documentary has done a major thing.”

As part of the Caddy for Life documentary project, Golf Channel has donated $25,000 to The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins.  The Packard Center is the world’s leader in aggressive, collaborative ALS research. The Bruce Edwards Foundation donates 100 percent of its proceeds to the Packard Center, aiming to provide more tomorrows to today’s ALS patients.

Caddy For Life:  The Bruce Edwards Story premieres June 14 at 9 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.

That’s it.

Golf on Your Television This Week

We have the golf tournaments on Golf Channel and CBS over the last part of the week. Let’s take a look at the Golf Channel’s schedule first.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: May 20-23

Top 64 Women in the World at Sybase Match Play Championship

PGA TOUR Heads to Dallas for the HP Byron Nelson Championship

European Tour’s Flagship Event – BMW PGA Championship

Sybase Match Play Championship

Dates: May 20-23

    Venue: Hamilton Farm Golf Club, Gladstone, N.J.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday                    1-3 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-8:30 p.m. (TD)

Friday                         1-3 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-8:30 p.m. (TD)

Saturday                     2-5 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Sunday                       2-5 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Brian Hammons (Play by Play)

Michelle McGann (Analyst)

Tom Abbott (Tower)

Jerry Foltz (On Course)

Val Skinner (On Course)

Stephanie Sparks (On Course / Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• The Sybase Match Play Championship will feature the top-64 players in the world.
• Thursday and Friday’s coverage will feature morning matches in the 1-3 p.m. ET window and afternoon matches in the 6:30-8:30 p.m. ET window.
• LPGA Tour professional Michelle McGann will make her Golf Channel on-air debut as lead analyst, working in the booth with play-by-play host Brian Hammons.
• The four brackets are named for Kathy Whitworth (88 wins), Mickey Wright (82 wins), Annika Sorenstam (72 wins), and Patty Berg (60 wins), all of whom are members of both the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame.  The tournament’s No. 1 seed will be placed in the Whitworth Group, while the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds will be placed in the Wright Group, Sorenstam Group and Berg Group, respectively.

HP Byron Nelson Championship

Dates: May 20-23

Venue: TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas, Irving, Texas

 Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Friday              3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Kelly Tilghman (Play by Play)

Nick Faldo (Analyst)

Peter Oosterhuis (Tower)

Gary McCord (Tower)

Billy Ray Brown (On Course)

Mike Ritz (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• Aimpoint Featured at Byron Nelson Championship: Aimpoint, Golf Channel’s Emmy-award winning technology that predicts the line of a putt and where a player must aim to hole out, will be featured on holes 9 and 15 at TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas.
• The field includes: Kenny Perry, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, 2010 Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin, Rory Sabbatini, Sean O’Hair, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Hunter Mahan, Justin Leonard and Ben Crane.

BMW PGA Championship

Dates: May 20-23

Venue: Wentworth Club, Surrey, England

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday        10 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live)

Friday             10 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live)

Saturday         9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Replay)

Sunday           9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 7-9:30 p.m. (Replay)

Broadcast Notes:

• The field includes: Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Retief Goosen, Luke Donald, Charl Schwartzel, Alvaro Quiros, Ross Fisher, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Matteo Manassero and Shaun Micheel.
• The flagship event on The 2010 European Tour International schedule, the PGA Championship returns to a newly remodeled West Course at Wentworth Club for the 27^th consecutive year.
• Past Champions of the event include: Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Angel Cabrera and Paul Casey.

CBS’ coverage plans for the Byron Nelson Classic comes to you after the break.

“TEXAS SWING” CONTINUES WITH SECOND LEG IN LONE STAR STATE AT “HP BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP” ON CBS SPORTS, MAY 22-23

The PGA TOUR’s “Texas Swing” continues this weekend at the BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP, a tournament with one of the richest traditions in the game of golf, as CBS Sports broadcasts the third and final rounds on Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET, both days), live from TPC Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.

 The first tournament was played in 1944 at Lakewood Country Club where Byron Nelson won by 10 strokes. His victory that year was the start of a two-year run in which the World Golf Hall of Famer won 26 tournaments, including his PGA TOUR record-streak of 11 consecutive wins in 1945. Nelson has had his name attached to this tournament since 1968. He was a fixture at this event, greeting players on the first tee and watching from the porch behind the 18^th green where many of the players would stop after completing their round.

No player has ever won the Texas Grand Slam (Shell Houston Open, Valero Texas Open, HP Byron Nelson Classic and Crowne Plaza Invitational) although several have won three titles. This week Corey Pavin shoots to become the first to win all four.  

Defending champion Rory Sabbatini aims to become the first player to win back-to-back titles here since Tom Watson won three straight from 1978-80. Sabbatini defends his title in a strong field that includes Vijay Singh, J.B. Holmes, Y.E. Yang, Justin Leonard, Hunter Mahan, Kenny Perry, Rickie Fowler, Rocco Mediate, Chad Campbell,  Dustin Johnson, Charley Hoffman, Sean O’Hair, Stuart Appleby, Chez Reavie, Rod Pampling, Mark Calcavecchia, Charles Howell III, Ricky Barnes, Corey Pavin, Scott Verplank, Tim Herron and Chris DiMarco.

Jim Nantz, the 2009 Emmy Award Winner for “Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play” and 2009 National Sportscaster of the Year, serves as anchor of CBS Sports’ golf coverage. Sir Nick Faldo, winner of six major championships and more than 40 tournaments worldwide, serves as lead analyst. Ian Baker-Finch calls the action at the 17^th hole and Gary McCord at the 16^th hole. David Feherty and Peter Kostis serve as on-course reporters. Lance Barrow is Coordinating Producer and Steve Milton is Director of CBS Sports’ golf coverage.  Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

* * * * *

2010 CBS GOLF  SCHEDULE

May 22 (3:00-6:00 PM) HP Byron Nelson, TPC Las Colinas

May 23 (3:00-6:00 PM) Championship       Irving, TX

May 29 (3:00-6:00 PM) Crowne Plaza Invitational, Colonial Country Club

May 30 (3:00-6:00 PM) at Colonial                          Fort Worth, TX

June 5 (3:00-6:00 PM) The Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village Golf Club

June 6 (1:30-6:00 PM)                                             Dublin, OH

June 12 (3:00-6:00 PM) St. Jude Classic, TPC Southwind

June 13 (3:00-6:00 PM)                            Memphis, TN

June 26 (3:00-6:00 PM) Travelers, TPC River Highlands

June 27 (3:00-6:00 PM) Championship Cromwell, CT

                                                                                            

July 3 (3:00-6:00 PM)  AT&T National, Aronimink Golf Club

July 4 (2:00-6:30 PM)                             Newtown Square, PA

July 10 (3:00-6:00 PM) John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run

July 11 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                  Silvis, IL

July 24 (3:00-6:00 PM)  RBC Canadian Open, St. Georges Golf and CC           

July 25 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                     Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

July 31 (3:00-6:00 PM) The Greenbrier Classic, The Old White Course

Aug. 1 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                        White Sulphur Springs, WV

Aug. 7 (2:00-6:00 PM)   WGC-Bridgestone, Firestone Country Club

Aug. 8 (1:00-6:00 PM)   Invitational             Akron, OH

Aug. 12 (12:37-1:07 AM)  PGA Championship, The Straits Course, Whistling Straits

Aug. 13 (12:37-1:07 AM)                                    Kohler, WI

Aug. 14 (2:00-7:00 PM)

Aug. 15 (2:00-7:00 PM)

Aug. 21 (2:00-5:00 PM)   Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club

Aug. 22 (2:00-5:00 PM)                                             Greensboro, NC

Aug. 28 (3:00-6:00 PM)   The Barclays, Ridgewood Country Club

Aug. 29 (2:00-6:00 PM)                          Paramus, NJ

We’re done here.

Our Wednesday Linkage

Let’s do some links on this rainy Wednesday in the Northeast. By the way, last night I went to a great Japanese restaurant in Providence, Haruki East on Wayland Avenue. Highly recommend it. And on a rainy Tuesday night, there was a wait so that tells you it’s quite popular. Ate there with my parents and my cousin and his girlfriend. The food was definitely worth the wait. Sushi was great and so was the Tempura. Great food in a great city.

Ok, done with the restaurant review. To the links.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, he has TNT’s Marv Albert not having the slightest idea as a young announcer that Phil Jackson would end up being a successful NBA coach.

Bruce Jenkins of Sports Illustrated says the world media including Tennis Channel failed to properly describe Roger Federer’s whiff during match point of the Madrid Open on Sunday. 

David Tanklefsky of Broadcasting & Cable comes out of ESPN upfront presentation with the impression that the network is totally embracing social media and becoming more interactive with viewers.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Versus brought in the highest ratings for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs since Nielsen started measuring them in 1994.

Anthony Crupi at Mediaweek notes that TNT has won the cable primetime ratings for the third week in a row thanks to the NBA Playoffs. 

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says the NHL is red hot in the TV ratings.

Diego Vasquez of Media Life writes that sports has helped to raise broadcast TV viewing levels to even with last year.

Subbing for CNBC’s Darren Rovell, Chad Walters says teams can save money by eliminating some waste.

Phillip Michaels of Macworld reviews the ESPN SportsCenter XL app for the iPad.

Jon Friedman of Marketwatch.com says reporters covering the LeBron Watch have the toughest beat in the media.

I should not do this because this will probably get shut down, but we have a Neil Best sighting. Newsday’s Neil Best writes that Fox is looking at expanding its MLB offerings into primetime on Saturdays.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in Press Box that the Preakness Stakes saw a ratings downtick from last year.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says Nationals fans can listen to Stephen Strasburg’s next start tonight.

Tom Jones in the St. Petersburg Times says Peter Gammons had to correct a statement he made on the Dan Patrick Show yesterday.

Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News looks at what the new ESPN/ACC rights deal means for the Big 12.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that a local radio station is picking up high school football games for the fall.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press reports that former Fox NFL analyst Ray Bentley is joining a local radio station.

In the Indianapolis Business Journal, Anthony Schoettle says IndyCar is gaining more confidence in Versus. 

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune writes that viewers found Versus in droves for Game 2 of the Blackhawks-Sharks series last night.

Phil says Blackhawks fans have to make due without TV voice Pat Foley calling the NHL Western Conference Finals due to Versus and NBC having exclusivity.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says Big Ten conference commish Jim Delaney isn’t revealing much about the league’s expansion plans.

Curtis Zupke from the Orange County (CA) Register says NHL TV ratings continue to increase. 

Jon Wilmer of the San Jose Mercury News looks at what the ESPN/ACC deal will mean for the Pac 10′s TV negotiations.

Will Reisman in the San Francisco Examiner writes that Versus cut off the end of the third stage of the Tour of California on Tuesday.

Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times says the WNBA’s Storm had several glitches with its inaugural in-house telecast on FSN Northwest. 

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy explains why the NHL Conference Finals began on the same days for the first two games.

Sports Media Watch has the weekend overnight ratings.

SMW says Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals did well for TNT, but not as well as last year’s ratings aberration.

And SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that Jeremy Roenick who did a great job for NBC during the Olympics, will join NBC’s studio for its coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Matthew Coller at the Biz of Hockey writes that an exciting NHL postseason is paying dividends for the league besides TV ratings.

SportsbyBrooks looks into the tight-lipped investigation into the death of LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg.

And we’ll end our links there for now. Back later with breaking news and the return of the Sports Media Weekly podcast following a week’s absence.

Golf Channel Has Action From All Five Tours This Week

Golf Channel will be all over the sport this week with coverage of all five professional tours, PGA, PGA European Tour, LPGA, Champions and Nationwide. A lot of the coverage will be live as well so that’s a good thing. Here’s the release.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: May 13-16

All Five Golf Tours Featured on Golf Channel in Same Week for First Time in 2010

PGA TOUR Heads to the Lone Star State at Valero Texas Open,

 Golf Channel to Debut “Walk and Talk” on the LPGA Tour at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic, Celebrities Pair-Up with Professionals at BMW Charity Pro-Am 

Texas Open

Dates: May 13-16

Venue: TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Friday              3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Kelly Tilghman (Play by Play)

Peter Oosterhuis (Analyst)

Mark Lye (Tower)

Matt Gogel (Tower)

Billy Ray Brown (On Course)

Scott Walker (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

·         Aimpoint Featured at Texas Open: Aimpoint, Golf Channel’s Emmy-award winning technology that predicts the line of a putt and where a player must aim to hole out, will be featured on holes 9 and 16 at TPC San Antonio.

Bell Micro LPGA Classic

Dates: May 13-16

Venue: Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove, Mobile, Ala.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday                     6:30-8:30 p.m. (TD)

Saturday (Fri. Night)  12-2 a.m. (TD)

Saturday                      4-6 p.m. (Live)

Sunday                        4-6 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Tom Abbott (Play by Play)

Judy Rankin (Analyst)

Jane Crafter (Tower)

Charlie Rymer (Tower)

Val Skinner (On Course)

Stephanie Sparks (On Course, Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• Walk and Talk Debuts – Golf Channel will debut its “Walk and Talk” production feature on the LPGA Tour this week at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic. On-course reporters Val Skinner and Stephanie Sparks will interview players as they are walking the fairways.  Golf Channel currently features “Walk and Talk” during its Champions Tour coverage.
• Jane Crafter to Make Golf Channel Debut- Veteran LPGA Tour professional and NBC golf commentator Jane Crafter will make her Golf Channel debut this week as a tower analyst.  Crafter will work six events for Golf Channel in 2010.
• Karen Stupples Mic’d Up – LPGA Tour professional Karen Stupples will be mic’d up during Thursday’s round of play and will be the network’s “Spotlight Player” during Thursday’s live tournament coverage. 

BMW Charity Pro-Am

 Dates: May 13-16

Venue: Thornblade Club, Greer, S.C.

Bright’s Creek Golf Club, Mill Spring, N.C.

The Carolina Country Club, Spartanburg, S.C.

           

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live)

Friday              12:30-2:30 p.m.(Live)

Saturday          1-4 p.m. (Live)

Sunday            1-4 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Jerry Foltz (Play by Play)

John Maginnes (Analyst)

Phil Parkin (On Course)

Kay Cockerill (On Course)

Todd Lewis (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• The BMW Charity Pro-Am is the only Nationwide Tour event featuring amateurs and celebrities paired with Nationwide Tour Professionals in a four-day better-ball competition played on three courses. 
• Celebrities include Luke Wilson, Jim Rice, Kordell Stewart, Kurt Russell, Thomas Gibson, Kevin Sorbo and Catherine Bell.
• Future NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice will compete as a professional this week.

Regions Charity Classic

Dates: May 14-16

Venue: Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Ross Bridge, Hoover, Ala.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday              6:30-8:30 p.m. (TD)

Saturday          6:30-9:30 p.m. (TD)

Sunday            7-9:30 p.m. (TD)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Brian Hammons (Play by Play)

Curt Byrum (Analyst)

John Mahaffey (Tower)

Dave Marr (Tower)

Billy Andrade (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Scheduled to compete at the Regions Charity Classic: 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin, Bernhard Langer, Hale Irwin, Sandy Lyle, Tom Kite, Hal Sutton, Fred Funk and Ben Crenshaw.

Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca

Dates: May 13-16

Venue: Pula Golf Club, Majorca, Spain

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)

Friday              9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)

Saturday          8:30-11:30 a.m. (Live)

Sunday            8:30-11:30 a.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:

• The Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca will be produced and broadcast in high definition.
• Scheduled to compete: Paul McGinley, Chris Wood, Jose Maria Olazabal, Soren Hansen, Thomas Levet, Richie Ramsay, Louis Oosthuizen and Peter Hanson.

There you have it.

ESPN2 Airs 1st Three Rounds of Kraft Nabisco Championship

The first major for the LPGA Tour is the Kraft Nabisco Championship, formerly known as the Dinah Shore. Actually, Dinah Shore lives on for the Lesbian community with their Spring Break in Palm Springs this week. ESPN2 has the first three rounds of the tournament followed by CBS on Sunday. Here’s the plans for the network as the Kraft Nabisco starts today.

Kraft Nabisco Championship on ESPN2, ESPN Mobile TV and Live on ESPN360.com

The first three rounds of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major tournament of the year, will be live on ESPN2, ESPN Mobile TV and ESPN360.com. The first two rounds will air Thursday, April 1, from 5-7 p.m.; the third round from 7-9 p.m. In addition, ESPN360.com will provide an hour of live bonus coverage Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. The best female golfers in the world will compete, including Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa, and defending champion Brittany Lincicome, at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Mike Tirico will host, with Andy North, Judy Rankin, Paul Azinger, Curtis Strange, Scott Van Pelt, Bill Kratzert and Tom Rinaldi.

Date	Time (ET)	Event	Network
Thu, Apr 1	5 p.m	First round	ESPN2, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN360.com
	7 p.m.	First-round bonus coverage	ESPN360.com
Fri, Apr 2	5 p.m	Second round	ESPN2, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN360.com
	7 p.m.	Second-round bonus coverage	ESPN360.com
Sat, Apr 3	7 p.m.	Third Round	ESPN2, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN360.com

That’s it. Enjoy.

Golf Channel’s Tournament Schedule

Here is the stuff that will be seen on Golf Channel this week. I know that last sentence is poorly written. I’m tired.

This week, all four golf tours will be seen in one way or another.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: March 25-28

Live Tournament and News Coverage from the Arnold Palmer Invitational

2010 LPGA Tour Season Begins Domestically with Kia Classic Champions Tour Heads to the Dominican Republic 

Arnold Palmer Invitational

Dates: March 25-28

Venue: Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge, Orlando, Fla.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         3 – 6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30 – 11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Friday              3 – 6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30 – 11:30 p.m. (Replay)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Kelly Tilghman (Play by Play)

Frank Nobilo (Analyst)

Gary Koch (Tower)

Brad Faxon (On Course)

Mark Rolfing (On Course)

Roger Maltbie (On Course)

Dottie Pepper (On Course)

Steve Sands (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• Aimpoint, Golf Channel’s Emmy-award winning graphics technology that predicts the line of a putt and where players must aim to hole-out, will be on display at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
  ·         Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game will broadcast live and on-site at Bay Hill all week in front of live, studio audiences on-set.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (Live)

Friday              6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (Live)

Saturday          6:30 – 9:30 p.m. (Live)

Sunday            7 – 9:30 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Tom Abbott (Play by Play)

Judy Rankin (Analyst)

Kay Cockerill (Tower)

Charlie Rymer (Tower)

Val Skinner (On Course)

Stephanie Sparks (On Course, Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• The Kia Classic presented by J Golf is the first LPGA Tour event contested in the U.S. for 2010.
• Judy Rankin will make her 2010 debut as lead analyst for Golf Channel’s LPGA Tour coverage.
• Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott will make his play-by-play host debut.  Abbott will be Golf Channel’s lead play-by-play voice for the 2010 LPGA Tour season.
• 2009 Rookie of the Year Jiyai Shin will be the spotlight featured player during Thursday’s opening round of coverage.
• 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Amanda Blumenherst will be featured during Friday’s telecast.
• Golf Channel will conduct on-course interviews with players as they make the turn during the four rounds of play.

The Cap Cana Championship

Dates: March 26-28

Venue: Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, Punta Espada Golf Course, Cap Cana, Dominican Republic

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday              12:30 – 2:30 p.m. (Live)

Saturday          1 – 4 p.m. (Live)

Sunday            1 – 4 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Brian Hammons (Play by Play)

Curt Byrum (Analyst)

John Mahaffey (Tower)

Dave Marr (Tower)

Billy Ray Brown (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Scheduled to compete at The Cap Cana Championship: Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Nick Price, Corey Pavin, Loren Roberts, Jay Haas, Tom Kite, Tommy Armour III, Craig Stadler, Hal Sutton, John Cook and Peter Jacobsen

Open de Andalucia de Golf

Dates: March 25-28

Venue: Parador de Malaga Golf, Malaga, Spain

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live)

Friday              10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)

Saturday          9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Live)

Sunday            9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:

• ·  The Open de Andalucia de Golf will be produced and broadcast in high definition.

  ·         Scheduled to compete at the Open de Andalucia de Golf: Miguel A. Jimenez, Alvaro Quiros, Nick Dougherty, Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke.

There you go.

Golf Channel’s Tournaments For This Week

Golf season is ramping up as the PGA Tour heads into its first Match Play tournament of the year and the LPGA starts this weekend. As usual, Golf Channel is on top of it all and here’s the schedule for this week.

Golf Channel Live Tournament Coverage: Feb. 17-21

Nearly 20 hours of Live WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Coverage 

2010 LPGA Tour Season Debuts with Honda PTT LPGA Thailand

WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship

Dates: Feb. 17-21

Venue: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona

Airtimes (Eastern):

Wednesday      2-6 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-11:30 p.m. Replay

Thursday         2-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Replay

Friday              2-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Replay

Saturday          10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (CBS Replay)

Sunday            10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30-11:30 p.m. (CBS Replay)

Golf Central  Airtimes (Eastern):

Wednesday                 6-7:30 p.m. (Live)

Thursday – Saturday   6-6:30 p.m. (Live)

Sunday                        6-7 p.m. (Live)

Golf Central Pre Game Airtimes (Eastern)

Wednesday – Friday                           1:30-2 p.m. (Live)

Sunday                                                1:30-2 p.m. (Live)

*No Golf Central Pre Game on Saturday

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Kelly Tilghman (Play by Play)

Nick Faldo (Analyst)

Frank Nobilo (Tower)

Peter Oosterhuis (Tower)

Matt Gogel (On-Course)

Billy Ray Brown (On-Course)

Jim Gray (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes:

• ·         Golf Channel will have live, tournament coverage Saturday and Sunday starting at 10 a.m. ET, and will re-air CBS’ Saturday and Sunday coverage at 9:30 p.m. ET.
  ·         Golf Channel will unveil the network studio’s new touch-screen technology during its news coverage of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Honda PTT LPGA Thailand

Dates: Feb. 19-21

Venue: Plantation Course, Siam Country Club, Chonburi, Thailand

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday              10-11:30 a.m. (TD)

Saturday          4:30-6 p.m. (TD)

Sunday            4:30-6 p.m. (TD)

Broadcast Notes:

• The Honda PTT LPGA Thailand is the kickoff event for the LPGA Tour’s 2010 season.
• Scheduled to complete: Lorena Ochoa, Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Jiyai Shin, Cristie Kerr, Christina Kim, Natalie Gulbis, Karrie Webb, Ai Miyazato and Laura Davies.
• Golf Channel will carry international coverage, which begins with the second round on Friday.   

Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun

Dates: Feb. 18-21

Venue: El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Club, Riviera Maya, Mexico

 Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         6:30-8:30 p.m. (TD) / 1-3 a.m. (Replay)

Friday              6:30-8:30 p.m. (TD) / 3-5 a.m. (Replay)

Saturday          6:30-8:30 p.m. (TD) / 2-4 a.m. (Replay)

Sunday            7-9:30 p.m. (TD) / 2-4 a.m. (Replay) 

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team

Jerry Foltz (Play by Play)

Billy Andrade (Analyst)

Phil Parkin (Tower)

John Maginnes (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Headlining the field: John Daly, David Duval, Rickie Fowler, Fred Funk, Boo Weekley, Jerry Kelly, Jason Gore and Brad Faxon.

Allianz Championship

Dates: Feb. 19-21

Venue: Old Course, Broken Sound Club, Boca Raton, Fla.

Airtimes (Eastern):

Friday              11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Live)

Saturday          2-4:30 p.m. (Live)

Sunday            2-4:30 p.m. (Live)

Golf Channel Live Tournament Broadcast Team:

Brian Hammons (Play by Play)

Curt Byrum (Analyst)

David Marr (Tower)

John Mahaffey (Tower)

Mark Lye (On Course)

Broadcast Notes:

• Scheduled to compete at the Allianz Championship: Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Nick Price, Paul Azinger, Jay Haas, Loren Roberts, Mark O’Meara, Hale Irwin, Hal Sutton, Craig Stadler and Peter Jacobsen.

So your golf viewing is set for the week.

CBS Begins Another Season of Golf

This weekend, CBS Sports gets back into the PGA Tour. For as long as CBS has been broadcasting sports, it has aired golf. Other sports have come and gone, MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, College Basketball and Football, Olympics, but the one constant has been golf. And CBS has 23 golf tournaments including annual coverage of The Masters and the PGA Championship. Here is what CBS has in store for golf for 2010.

CBS SPORTS TEES OFF 60^th YEAR BROADCASTING GOLF WITH MOST EXTENSIVE SCHEDULE IN NETWORK TELEVISION HISTORY

JIM NANTZ AND SIR NICK FALDO ANCHOR CBS SPORTS’ GOLF COVERGE

CBS SPORTS’ 2010 PGA TOUR SCHEDULE BEGINS THIS WEEKEND IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AT “FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN” IN SAN DIEGO

The Masters Makes 55th Consecutive Appearance on CBS;

Network Broadcasts 20th Consecutive PGA Championship

CBS Sports begins its 60th year broadcasting golf in 2010, continuing to offer viewers the most comprehensive lineup in the history of network television.  CBS Sports will broadcast 23 golf tournaments, totaling more than 140 hours, including the Masters, PGA Championship, 19 PGA TOUR events, one LPGA TOUR event and one CHAMPIONS TOUR event. CBS Sports tees off the 2010 season at the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday, Jan. 30 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET) and Sunday, Jan. 31 (3:00-6:30 PM, ET), live from the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif.

Jim Nantz, now in his 25th year overall covering golf for CBS Sports, serves as anchor for the Networks’ golf coverage. Sir Nick Faldo, winner of six majors and more than 40 tournaments worldwide, returns for his fourth year as lead analyst alongside Nantz in the 18^th tower. Nantz and Faldo are complemented by CBS Sports’ award-winning golf announce team of Ian Baker-Finch, Gary McCord, David Feherty, Peter Kostis, Bill Macatee, Verne Lundquist, Peter Oosterhuis and Bobby Clampett.

In 2010, CBS Sports will broadcast all 19 PGA TOUR events in HDTV.  CBS Sports will continue to broadcast the Masters and the PGA Championship in HDTV. The 2000 Masters was the first golf tournament presented live in HDTV on network television.

Highlights of the 2010 schedule:

19 PGA TOUR events: Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Quail Hollow Championship, Valero Texas Open, HP Byron Nelson Championship, Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley, St. Jude Classic, Travelers Championship, AT&T National, John Deere Classic, RBC Canadian Open, The Greenbrier Classic, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Wyndham Championship and The Barclays.

The Masters, the most renowned golf tournament and the longest-running sports event on CBS Sports will be showcased for the 55th consecutive year from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Coverage includes a pair of 15-minute highlight shows recounting early-round action on Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9 (11:35-11:50 PM, ET, both nights).  Live coverage of the third round will be broadcast on Saturday, April 10 (3:30-7:00 PM, ET) and live 18-hole final-round coverage will be presented on Sunday, April 11 (2:00-7:00 PM, ET).

The 92nd PGA Championship, the season’s final major which annually hosts the strongest field in championship golf, will be broadcast by CBS Sports for the 20th consecutive year.  Coverage begins with highlights of early-round action on Thursday, Aug. 12 and Friday, Aug. 13 (12:37-1:07 AM, ET, both nights).  Live, 18-hole coverage of the third and final rounds will be broadcast on Saturday, Aug. 14 and Sunday, Aug. 15 (2:00-7:00 PM, ET, both days) from The Straits Course at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisc.

The final round of the LPGA’s first major of the year, the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship will be broadcast on CBS Sports on Sunday, April 4 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET).  The Champions TOUR will be featured on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25 (1:00-3:00 PM, ET, both days) with the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf at Savannah Harbor Golf Resort in Savannah, Ga.

CBS Sports also will broadcast three PGA TOUR Specials and two PGA of America Specials and a PGA Championship Preview Show in addition to other golf specials throughout the year. Once again, CBS Sports will present “Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta” on Sunday, April 11 (1:00-2:00 PM, ET).

Lance Barrow is coordinating producer and Steve Milton is director for CBS Sports’ golf coverage.

Sean McManus is President, CBS News and Sports. Rob Correa is Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

The complete CBS Sports 2010 golf broadcast schedule follows.

2010 CBS GOLF  SCHEDULE

Broadcast Dates And Times (PM, ET) Tournament Location

Jan. 30 (3:00-6:00 PM)                            Farmers Insurance Open Torrey Pines Golf Course,

Jan. 31 (3:00-6:30 PM)                                                                      South Course, La Jolla, CA

Feb. 13 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Pebble Beach Pebble Beach Golf Links

Feb. 14 (3:00-6:30 PM)                           National Pro-Am Spyglass Hill Golf Club

Monterey Peninsula CC

Pebble Beach, CA

Feb. 20 (2:00-6:00 PM) WGC Match Play Ritz-Carlton Golf Club

Feb. 21 (2:00-6:00 PM)                           Championship Dove Mountain, AZ

Apr. 4 (3:00-6:00 PM)                             LPGA Kraft Nabisco Mission Hills CC

Championship Rancho Mirage, CA

Apr. 8 (11:35-11:50 PM)                         The Masters Augusta National Golf Club

Apr. 9 (11:35-11:50 PM)                                                                    Augusta, GA

Apr. 10 (3:30-7:00 PM)

Apr. 11 (2:00-7:00 PM)

Apr. 17 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Heritage Harbour Town Golf Links

Apr. 18 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       Hilton Head Island, SC

Apr. 24 (1:00-3:00 PM)                           Legends of Golf Savannah Harbor Golf Resort

Apr. 25 (1:00-3:00 PM)                           (Champions TOUR) Savannah, GA

Apr. 24 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Zurich Classic TPC Louisiana

Apr. 25 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           of New Orleans Avondale, LA

May 1 (3:00-6:00 PM)                             Quail Hollow Quail Hollow Club

May 2 (3:00-6:00 PM)                             Championship Charlotte, NC

May 15 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Texas Open TPC San Antonio

May 16 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       San Antonio, TX

May 22 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Byron Nelson TPC Las Colinas

May 23 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Championship Irving, TX

May 29 (3:00-6:00 PM) Colonial Invitational Colonial CC

May 30 (3:00-6:00 PM)                        Fort Worth, TX

June 5 (3:00-6:00 PM)                             the Memorial Tournament Muirfield Village Golf Club

June 6 (2:30-6:00 PM)                          Dublin, OH

June 12 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           St. Jude Classic TPC Southwind

June 13 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       Memphis, TN

June 26 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Travelers TPC River Highlands

June 27 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Championship Cromwell, CT

July 3 (3:00-6:00 PM)                              AT&T National Aronimink Golf Club

July 4 (3:00-6:30 PM)                                                                           Newtown Square, PA

July 10 (3:00-6:00 PM)                            John Deere Classic TPC Deere Run

July 11 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                          Silvis, IL

July 24 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           Canadian Open St. Georges Golf and CC

July 25 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                         Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

July 31 (3:00-6:00 PM)                           The Greenbrier Classic The Old White Course

Aug. 1 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                         White Sulphur Springs, WV

Aug. 7 (2:00-6:00 PM)                            WGC-Bridgestone Firestone CC

Aug. 8 (2:00-6:00 PM)                            Invitational Akron, OH

Aug. 12 (12:37-1:07 AM)                        PGA Championship The Straits Course, Whistling Straits

Aug. 13 (12:37-1:07 AM)                                                                      Kohler, WI

Aug. 14 (2:00-7:00 PM)

Aug. 15 (2:00-7:00 PM)

Aug. 21 (2:00-5:00 PM)                          Wyndham Championship Sedgefield CC

Aug. 22 (2:00-5:00 PM)                                                                        Greensboro, NC

Aug. 28 (3:00-6:00 PM)                          The Barclays Ridgewood CC

Aug. 29 (2:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       Paramus, NJ

Lots of golf tournaments on CBS.

Catching Up On A Few Press Releases

I have some releases in the Fang’s Bites inbox that I need to post before they become outdated and to be honest, I want to clear up some room. So let’s put them up here and you can be up to date on what’s going on in the sports media.

First, Versus will be airing a series of NBA D-League games starting January 16.

VERSUS ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH NBA D-LEAGUE TO AIR 16 GAMES THIS SEASON

Schedule To Feature 10 Regular Season and Six Playoff Games

NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 4, 2010)-VERSUS today announced an agreement with the NBA Development League, the NBA's official minor league, to air 10 regular season and six playoff games throughout 2010.  

The NBA D-League regular season games will air on VERSUS on Saturday nights at 11 p.m. ET, beginning Jan. 16, when the Fort Wayne Mad Ants meet the Sioux Falls Skyforce. VERSUS will tip off NBA D-League playoff coverage on April 10. All regular season and postseason games will be presented in HD.  

"We are very excited to announce this new partnership with the NBA D-League and to have the opportunity to showcase the league's future stars to a national audience," said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for VERSUS. "As we do with all of our partners, we also look forward to super-serving basketball fans by surrounding the high-paced NBA D-League game action with many hours of complementary NBA programming."   

"Teaming up with VERSUS provides us with another great outlet to showcase the incredible talent of the NBA D-League throughout the season," said Dan Reed, President of the NBA D-League.  "Last season, 20 percent of NBA players had NBA D-League experience and, through this agreement with VERSUS, more fans than ever will have the opportunity to see many future NBA players in action." 

VERSUS' NBA D-League coverage will provide fans with even more access to the game and the players including micing players and coaches during the games, in game interviews, airing locker room and pre-game, halftime and post-game speeches, and increased camera angles.

In addition to VERSUS' 16 NBA D-League games in 2010, the network will air 25 hours of exciting NBA programming. Some of the programming will include profiles of the league's top players as well as former iconic players and coaches. Other additional specials will highlight historic moments from recent regular seasons and playoffs. The complete schedule for the additional programming will be made available on www.VERSUS.com  .         

VERSUS' COMPLETE REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE OF NBA D-LEAGUE GAMES INCLUDES:

DATE                           GAME

January 16                 Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Sioux Falls Skyforce

January 23                 Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Iowa Energy 

January 30                 Bakersfield Jam at Idaho Stampede

February 6                 Reno Bighorns at Rio Grande Valley Vipers 

February 20                Dakota Wizards at Sioux Falls Skyforce

February 27                Bakersfield Jam at Austin Toros 

March 13                   Tulsa 66ers at Rio Grande Valley Vipers

March 20                   Dakota Wizards at Erie BayHawks 

March 27                   LA D-Fenders at Rio Grande Valley Vipers

April 3                    Erie BayHawks at Maine Red Claws  

Schedule subject to change

This story broke yesterday. Tennis Channel has filed an FCC complaint against Comcast in regards to being on a sports tier.

TENNIS CHANNEL FILES FCC COMPLAINT AGAINST COMCAST

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6, 2010 – On Tuesday, January 5, Tennis Channel filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission demonstrating that Comcast Cable Communications is violating the FCC’s program carriage rules, which prohibit cable system operators from discriminating against unaffiliated cable programming services in favor of networks they own.  According to the complaint, Comcast isolates Tennis Channel on a premium sports tier received by a small fraction of Comcast subscribers while it carries Comcast-owned networks that compete with Tennis Channel on basic tiers available to far more subscribers at no additional charge.

“We did not want to file this complaint, but Comcast has left us with no choice,” said Ken Solomon, chairman and CEO of Tennis Channel.  “After steadily building the most comprehensive single-sport network in television over the past few years, in the first half of 2009 we had numerous discussions with Comcast.  We made offers with added incentives for it to move us to a competitive, broadly penetrated service tier, as it has done recently with the MLB, NHL and NBA channels, in which it has financial interests.  But Comcast declined to do so.”

According to evidence included in the complaint, Tennis Channel’s ratings performance is comparable in its service area to that of Comcast’s leading sports services, the Golf Channel and Versus; it offers coverage of all four of tennis’ Grand Slam events, while the Golf Channel and Versus offer little or no comparable coverage of the major events in the sports they cover; it charges a per-subscriber rate that is about half the rate charged by the Golf Channel and Versus, but broadcasts more than 2,700 hours per year of event coverage – compared to 2,400 hours on the Golf Channel and 1,350 hours on Versus; and it offers a full-time high-definition service.

Comcast’s Golf Channel and Versus are among the most broadly distributed channels on Comcast systems, reaching almost all of Comcast’s 23.8 million subscribers, according to the complaint, while Tennis Channel is limited to the added-cost premium sports tier that reaches only about 2.6 million homes.  “This ten-to-one disparity in carriage seriously impedes our ability to grow and compete in the sports cable marketplace,” said Solomon.  “It results solely from Comcast’s decision to protect the services it owns from legitimate competition.”

The complaint notes that Comcast executives have conceded that they give special carriage consideration to their owned services and that advertiser-supported services like Tennis Channel cannot succeed if they are carried on the Comcast sports tier.  The complaint also establishes that  only unaffiliated sports networks are carried on that tier and that all of the services in which Comcast has an interest enjoy considerably broader coverage.

“This case is truly the litmus test for unaffiliated programmers everywhere, and the future of the public’s interest in having a wide variety of voices and choice in the media marketplace,” said Solomon.  “Ultimately, we simply want to be treated comparably to the way Comcast treats the sports program services it owns.”

ESPN’s Friday Night Fights series returns this Friday on ESPN2.

ESPN Friday Night Fights Returns for 12^th Season

ESPN Friday Night Fights will kick off the first of 29 boxing cards in 2010 on Friday, Jan. 8.  In its 12^th season, Friday Night Fights will feature a consistent high-definition telecast on ESPN2 in addition to complimentary coverage on ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com.

As in 2009, this year’s studio portion of the telecast will feature a rotating quartet of analysts. The four are Bernard Hopkins, ESPN.com columnist Dan Rafael, Bernardo Osuna and BJ Flores. Brian Kenny will primarily serve as host from the studio.

In the booth ringside, Joe Tessitore will host while Teddy Atlas will continue to offer his unique insight and perspective.

“We look forward to showcasing some entertaining matches in the 2010 season and are pleased to offer fans a number of ways to be able to enjoy Friday Night Fights content,” said Doug Loughrey, ESPN’s boxing programming director.

The ESPN2 studio portion will focus on hot topics in the industry with the guest analysts offering their opinions. Hopkins added an entertaining element to FNF telecasts in 2009. The future Hall of Fame middleweight is best known for his 10-year reign as Middleweight World Champion, during which time he defended his title a record 20 times. He is the oldest man to have held the Middleweight Championship in professional boxing.

Rafael began writing for ESPN.com in March 2005 after working for five years as the boxing writer for USA Today. Rafael will continue to cover boxing for ESPN.com in addition to his television role.

In line with Friday Night Fights’ continued focus on the U.S. Hispanic sports fan, the panel will include two accomplished Hispanic personalities: Former WBF Cruiserweight champion Flores, who is undefeated, will add cache as an active boxer.

Additionally, Osuna is one of the most respected boxing journalists to appear on Spanish-language television. His professional achievements include the prestigious Sam Taub Award for excellence in broadcast journalism presented by the Boxing Writer’s Association of America and three Emmy awards. 

Friday Night Fights will air throughout the year on select Fridays, showcasing some of the best bouts in the industry, beginning at times ranging from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. ET. 

The Jan. 8 season-opening fight, which will begin at 10 p.m. ET, will feature former junior middleweight titlist Roman Karmazin (39-3-1, 25 KOs) of Russia squaring off against Colombia‘s Dionisio Miranda (20-4-2, 18 KOs) in Glendale, Calif., in a middleweight title elimination bout. The winner will receive a mandatory title shot against Sebastian Sylvester of Germany.

Other fighters featured in the opening weeks of FNF include Jesse Brinkley (34-5, 22 KOs), formerly of “The Contender,” on Jan. 29 and Guillermo Rigondeaux (3-0, 3 KOs), a two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist and top-notch prospect, on Feb. 5. 

And Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia will be all over the Eagles-Dallas Cowboys NFL Wild Card playoff game.

COMCAST SPORTSNET PROVIDES FANS WITH THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE EAGLES PLAYOFF COVERAGE

Daily Reports, Live Specials, Pre and Postgame Shows Plus Web-Only Exclusives Highlight Weeklong Coverage

PHILADELPHIA (January 6, 2010) – Comcast SportsNet, the leader in local sports coverage, is providing Eagles fans with the  most comprehensive playoff coverage anywhere, including daily “Believe in Green” playoff reports, exclusive interviews and insider access to players and coaches during Daily News Live and within special “Believe In Green” editions of SportsNite.

For in-depth daily coverage of the Eagles, fans can tune into Comcast SportsNet beginning at 5 p.m. each weekday with Daily News Live, as well as SportsNite every evening at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., plus SportsRise every morning for complete team coverage. 

For up-to-the-minute information about the Eagles, fans can log onto www.CSNPhilly.com where Comcast SportsNet’s talented team of writers provide extensive coverage of the team via exclusive feature stories, video exclusives and live chats. Fans can also download and print “Believe in Green” cheer cards from the site.  

Saturday’s game day coverage kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on The Comcast Network with Eagles Pregame Live with Michael Barkann, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, NFL Hall of Fame writer Ray Didinger and former Eagle Vaughn Hebron. Kathy Romano will cover the fans’ perspective leading up to game time, while Derrick Gunn reports live from Cowboys Stadium.

At halftime, Barkann, Didinger and Gunn join fans online at CSNPhilly.com to discuss the Eagles’ first half performance and answer fan questions about the game.  

Immediately following the game, Eagles Postgame Live will air on Comcast SportsNet.

On Monday, January 11, Comcast SportsNet will air Eagles Extra at 11 p.m., featuring the latest news from the team, plus exclusive player interviews. Eagles Locker Room, which recaps the Eagles’ player and coaches’ press conferences, will air on Wednesday, January 13 at 4:30 p.m.

Finally, Golf Channel has released its LPGA Tournament schedule for 2010. Much of the coverage will be live.

Golf Channel and LPGA Announce 2010 Tournament Schedule

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 6, 2010 – Today Golf Channel and the LPGA unveiled their current event broadcast schedule for the 2010 season – the first as part of a landmark agreement signed in early 2009.

Of the 12 tournaments scheduled to be played in North America that will air on Golf Channel, nine will have live coverage, with seven tournaments entirely live. Event coverage will consist of two to three hours per telecast, with same-night replays scheduled for 10 events. International events will be televised on tape delay and will air on Saturdays and Sundays.

“As we do with all our tour partners, we have worked hard to maximize airtimes and drive ratings for the LPGA Tour,” said Page Thompson, President, Golf Channel. “We are excited to be the exclusive cable partner of the LPGA and look forward to a great 2010 season and beyond.”

The 2010 LPGA Tour season marks the first year of a 10-year partnership between the LPGA and Golf Channel, the new exclusive cable home of the Tour. In addition to typical tournament coverage, Golf Channel will utilize a variety of production elements to showcase the individual personalities of LPGA Tour players, helping to introduce and familiarize its viewers to the stars of the women’s Tour. Popular elements include player profiles, the “At the Turn” feature and fitting players with microphones during competition.

Golf Channel will also provide enhanced news coverage of the LPGA Tour and will produce several programs with LPGA stars throughout the year, which will be announced at a later time.

“We are looking forward to a year of strong coverage on the Golf Channel – both in-telecast and in the news. Showcasing the talent and diverse personalities of our Tour players is our goal, and Golf Channel will be the ideal partner with which to realize this goal,” said Mike Whan, LPGA Commissioner.

 

DATE               EVENT                                      ROUNDS    BROADCAST

2/18-21   Honda PTT LPGA Thailand              TBD

2/25-28   HSBC Women’s Champions            3-4                    TD*

3/25-28   LPGA Classic                                    ALL                  LIVE

5/13-16   Bell Micro LPGA Classic                  ALL                  LIVE/TD

6/10-13   LPGA State Farm Classic                ALL                  TD

6/18-20   ShopRite LPGA Classic                   ALL                  LIVE

6/24-27   LPGA Championship                       ALL                  LIVE

7/22-25   Evian Masters                                   TBD

8/20-22   Safeway Classic                               ALL                  LIVE

8/26-29   CN Canadian Women’s Open         TBD

9/10-12   P&G NW Arkansas Championship ALL                  LIVE

10/7-10   Navistar LPGA Classic                    ALL                  TD

10/14-17 CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge   ALL                  LIVE

10/29-31 LPGA China                                     3-4                    TD

11/11-14 Lorena Ochoa Invitational               ALL                  LIVE/TD

11/18-21 LPGA Tour Championship             ALL                  LIVE

Number of events, schedule and times subject to change

*Tape Delay

That’s it. I have more to post later.

Michelle Wie Drives Golf Channel to Good Ratings

Michelle Wie’s win in the LPGA’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational, her first career Tour win, sent Golf Channel to new ratings heights for women’s golf. Wie’s win on Sunday gave Golf Channel its second highest ratings for an LPGA round this year.

Wie’s Win Pulls Top Rating for

GOLF CHANNEL and LPGA Tour

ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 19, 2009) – Michelle Wie’s first victory at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational garnered one of the year’s best LPGA Tour ratings for GOLF CHANNEL.

Sunday’s 0.72 final-round rating represents the second-highest-rated LPGA Tour round on GOLF CHANNEL and second-most-watched LPGA Tour telecast on any cable network this year. Day 3 of the 2009 Solheim Cup owns the top spot.

The number also represents a 60 percent increase over the tournament’s final round in 2008 and is double the typical final-round ratings for LPGA Tour events on GOLF CHANNEL in 2009 (excluding the SBS Open at Turtle Bay and McDonald’s LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola).

Also noted over the weekend, the 0.36 final round rating for the PGA TOUR’s Children’s Miracle Network Classic represented an 18 percent increase over 2008.

Additionally, GOLF CHANNEL’s heavily promoted “Tiger World Tour,” which began with the World Golf Championship-HSBC Champions event in China and concluded with a Woods’ victory in Australia at the JBWere Masters, achieved the highest-rated Saturday/Sunday tournament rounds for all European Tour telecasts in 2009.

It goes to show how important Wie is to the LPGA and if she continues to win, perhaps we’ll be talking about a “Michelle Wie Effect” on Golf Channel’s ratings. Next year, Golf Channel begins a new TV contract with the LPGA Tour.

This Is Monday’s Linkage

On this day when New England sports fans are talking about the Bill Belichick decision that cost the Patriots a win against the Colts, I’m enjoying the agony. Being a Browns fan, I need something to help me endure the season. And the Indianapolis Star has a picture of one of Belichick’s henchman shoving an NBC photographer after the game. Thanks to the Big Lead for the pic.

Let’s do the links for you.

We start with the Sports Business Journal and a few stories for you.

John Ourand writes that Comcast is set to compete with ESPN at the local level.

Tripp Mickle says not as many U.S. newspapers will be staffing the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February.

Terry Lefton reports that with the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl being held at the same venue in 2010, the NFL plans to offer some different events.

In today’s Sports Business Daily, Eric Fisher writes that ESPN.com is now featuring a new section for commentary including the ESPN Ombudsman.

To the Sporting News and Dan Levy of On The DL writes about Jon Gruden’s decision to sign a multi-year contract with ESPN.

Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk says ESPN isn’t saying much about Gruden’s staying to call Monday Night Football for next season and possibly beyond.

Writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Jason Fry says it’s time to blow up the current standard for the game story and invent a new one.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says now that Michelle Wie has won a golf tournament, what’s next for her?

Noam Cohen of the New York Times says ESPN’s Bill Simmons is the future of columnists. If he is, then I find that very sad. One of these days, I’ll explain why Simmons is one of the worst things to happen to sports and is a massive charlatan.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post loves to point at college football players who have arrest records and not properly mentioned on the networks.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union also looks at Jon Gruden’s new contract with ESPN.

Pete wonders if Sunday Night Football shouldn’t start earlier.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says this means that Gruden won’t be moving to the Bills.

John Rowe of the Bergen (NJ) Record says believe it or not, one school wanted to play in the 6 a.m. ET slot in tomorrow’s 24 hour college basketball marathon on ESPN.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes about Jon Gruden’s staying with ESPN.

Jim provides the best quotage from the Sunday NFL pregame and postgame shows.

To Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times who reviews the weekend in televised sports and feels there are too many college football games on TV.

And Tom also has a story on Gruden’s new contract at ESPN. Apparently this is a big story today.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has the postmortem on the Cowboys’ loss to Green Bay yesterday.

Barry notes a former Dallas radio sports director who has been honored as a Minor League Baseball broadcaster of the year.

Barry also has his take on the Gruden/ESPN signing.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Fox Sports South in HD has been added to local cable systems.

John writes the Bengals-Steelers game set a local ratings record on Sunday for the local CBS affiliate.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says noted local sports personality Mike North is doing a guest spot on one of the news/talk stations this week.

Ed looks at the economics of firing three noted coaches.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says there was plenty of Rx from the TV football doctors for what ailed the Packers.

Dusty Sanders of the Denver Post says Northern Colorado takes an early role in ESPN’s 24 hour college basketball marathon on Tuesday.

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

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail says a TSN CFL analyst is getting the job done.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star reviews ESPN’s 30 for 30 Wayne Gretzky documentary which has its Canadian premiere on Wednesday.

William Houston in the Truth & Rumours blog looks at the NHL’s record on head shots and the media’s passive attitude towards the league’s head of discipline, Colin Campbell.

The great Amanda Bruno of Batter-up with Bruno is joining a new website called BostonSportsWoman. Best of luck on the new venture, Amanda!

Also joining the site is a Twitter friend, Kayla Chadwick of the Off The Monster blog.

My best wishes to Amanda and Kayla and I wish nothing but success for Boston Sports Woman.

The Sports Media Watch says Cowboys-Packers steered Fox to big ratings yesterday.

And SMW notes that Pats-Colts did very well for NBC last night.

Chris Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media takes us inside the production truck as he worked a women’s volleyball game yesterday. I love these features and I hope you do too.

Chris notes how one network creatively marketed its brand when it was using an outsourced production truck.

Chris lets us know the enormity of the production crew that regularly work a college football game.

And we end with The Five from WEEI.com hosted by Kristine Leahy.

That’s it for the day.

Golf Channel’s Tournament Sked

This is what Golf Channel is airing from the various golf associations over the next few days.

GOLF CHANNEL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE

Nov. 9 – 15, 2009

Children’s Miracle Network Classic

Dates: 11/12 – 11/15

Venue: Walt Disney World Resort’s Magnolia and Palm Courses

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday – Sunday 1 – 4 p.m. (Live) / 7 – 10 p.m. (Replay)

GOLF CHANNEL On-Air Talent:

Rich Lerner (Play by Play)

Frank Nobilo (Analyst)

Curt Byrum (Tower)

Jerry Foltz (On Course)

Billy Ray Brown (On Course)

Todd Lewis (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes: Thursday – Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, PGA TOUR Primetime will re-air each round of the Children’s Miracle Network Classic…GOLF CHANNEL will broadcast all four rounds in high definition…Haymes Snedeker, older brother of PGA TOUR professional Brandt, will compete together this week at the CMN Classic. Haymes won last year’s Big Break X: Michigan reality series on GOLF CHANNEL, and received a sponsor exemption into this week’s tournament as a result of winning the series. Haymes and Brandt will tee-off together at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday and noon on Friday…During live tournament coverage of the Children’s Miracle Network Classic and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Inga Hammond and Tim Rosaforte will provide updates on the top storylines from the various tours and updates on the season-ending Kodak Challenge this week live from the 17^th hole at Disney’s Magnolia Course, site of the finale of the Kodak Challenge where $1 million is up for grabs…Current Big Break Disney Golf competitors Gipper and Tony Finau will compete in a special Children’s Miracle Network Prize Challenge Wednesday afternoon (4 p.m. ET, approx) on the 17^th hole at Disney’s Magnolia Course for the opportunity to earn an all expenses paid VIP trip to the 2010 Children’s Miracle Network Classic. The challenge will be featured on Thursday’s Golf Central Pre Game at 12:30 p.m. ET and during live tournament coverage. The Finaus qualified for the challenge by winning a challenge on Tuesday’s episode of Big Break Disney Golf.

Lorena Ochoa Invitational

Dates: 11/12 – 11/15

Venue: Guadalajara Country Club, Guadalajara, Mexico

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday 4 – 6:30 p.m. (Live)

Friday 4 – 6:30 p.m. (Live)

Saturday 4 – 6:30 p.m. (Live)

Sunday 4 – 6:30 p.m. (TD)

GOLF CHANNEL On-Air Talent:

Brian Hammons (Play by Play)

Dottie Pepper (Analyst)

Kay Cockerill (Tower)

Val Skinner (On Course)

Charlie Rymer (On Course)

Stephanie Sparks (Interviews)

Broadcast Notes: Lorena Ochoa hosts a field of 36 players for the 2009 edition of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, including Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel, Karrie Webb, Suzann Pettersen, Natalie Gulbis, Kristy McPherson, Jiyai Shin, Yani Tseng and Ai Miyazato. Miyazato will be the featured “Spotlight Player” during Thursday’s telecast.

JBWere Masters

Dates: 11/11 – 11/14

Venue: Kingston Heath Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia

Airtimes (Eastern):

Wednesday 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. (Live)

Thursday 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. (Live)

Friday 10:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. (Live)

Saturday 10:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. (Live)

Thursday – Sunday 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Replay)

Broadcast Notes: Tiger Woods headlines the field that also features Geoff Ogilvy, John Daly, Adam Scott, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby and Aaron Baddeley. The 2009 edition of the JBWere Masters sees the tournament contested for the first time at Kingston Heath Golf Club as the first venue of the new rotation policy among the famous sandbelt courses of Victoria.

Sunday 9:00 a.m. – Noon (Live)

UBS Hong Kong Open

Dates: 11/12 – 11/15

Venue: Hong Kong Golf Club, New Territories, Hong Kong

Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday 1 – 4 a.m. (Live)

Friday 1 – 4 a.m. (Live)

Saturday 1:30 – 5:30 a.m. (TD)

Sunday 1:30 – 5:30 a.m. (TD)

Broadcast Notes: This year’s UBS Hong Kong Open is the penultimate event on the 2009 European Tour schedule, taking place a week before the season-ending Dubai World Championship. The top 60 players in The Race to Dubai after this week’s event are eligible to play in the Dubai World Championship. Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Y.E. Yang, Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie, Angel Cabrera, Darren Clarke, Rory Sabbatini, Mark O’Meara and Danny Lee headline the field.

I have another press release post before giving you Primetime and Late Night Viewing Picks and the links.

Let’s Do Some Thursday Linkage

I’m going to give you some links today. If I get motivated later today, I’ll give you my 1st Ever Baseball TV and Radio Awards. It’s my way of giving you more content besides the links and press releases. In fact, I’m hoping to give you more original articles as more and more newspapers close off free access.

But here are some links for you.

The great Amanda Bruno from Batter-up with Bruno talks about the new look at Boston.com.

For some reason, Neil Best’s story at Newsday is available today. I’m not questioning it. Let’s run with it. Neil writes about Yankees radio announcer Suzyn Waldman being the first woman to call a World Series.

In his blog, Neil says NBA League Pass, the pay per view out-of-market cable package is open for a free preview for the first week of the season.

To Richard Sandomir of the New York Times who says the Jets are cutting prices of certain tickets.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman says World Series Game 1 was vintage Suzyn Waldman.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Daily News says Game 1 was quite a strong night for Fox’s Tim McCarver. I’ll disagree, but Phil is on his own island.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred finds some disturbing news about a large number of sportswriters.

Katie Baker of Mediaite is asking where is ESPN’s Ombudsman on the Steve Phillips affair?

Covers.com reports that a planned book authored by disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy has been canceled over potential liability concerns.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette has the high school basketball schedule for a local radio station.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record with contributions from Jess Krycio of the Pocono (PA) Record says there are plenty of outlets to follow the World Series.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Jerry Milani writes that the new LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan might be mean good news for New Jersey golf.

Keith Groller from the Allentown (PA) Morning Call gets a World Series prediction from an MLB Network reporter.

Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia announces that NFL on Fox sideline reporter Jaime Maggio joins the network for its Sixers coverage.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says radio voice of the the Wizards is one of the busiest men in broadcasting.

The lovely Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun Sentinel took a look at the new Marlins Stadium that’s currently under construction.

The Rome (GA) News-Tribune says CBS College Sports will be in town in December for the NAIA Football National Championship.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News wonders if the Cowboys can handle their smallest TV audience of the season.

Barry has the college football TV schedule in the Metroplex.

Barry is feeling melancholy hearing the 42 year old Troy Aikman talk about the 40 year old Brett Favre.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle has some sports programming updates.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is all over ESPN and late night TV tonight.

Elton Alexander of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer writes that the Mid-American Conference has an extensive basketball TV schedule this season.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has conflicting opinions on how the Packer faithful should treat prodigal son Brett Favre upon his return to Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Scott Dochterman of the Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette says even with the good ratings, baseball is still getting beat by the NFL

Chad Cripe and Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman write that ESPNU will air the Boise State-Idaho game in November.

To the Los Angeles Times and Diane Pucin who writes that the Lakers’ season opener steered TNT to a record rating for an NBA doubleheader.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News watch two World Series games, played 41 years apart, but aired at the same time and noticed a similarity.

Tom also notes a different type of billboard campaign for the NFL on Fox.

Jeff Smith of The Oregonian says the site for College Gameday on the Oregon campus has been selected for this Saturday.

Robert Cribb of the Toronto Globe and Mail says HDTV is turning Americans into the NHL and its translating into higher ratings for the sport.

William Houston in the Truth & Rumours blog says tomorrow, the first Canadian journalist will take part in the Olympic torch relay to Vancouver as conflict of interest criticisms continue to fly.

The Sports Media Watch has the weekend overnight ratings.

SMW researched the World Series TV ratings going all the way back to 1972.

And SMW says the MLS’ ratings are up by 15%.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says Monday Night Football helped to steer ESPN to a very good October.

Diego Vasquez of Media Life Magazine looks at the record ratings for TNT’s season opening NBA doubleheader on Tuesday.

Stuart Levine of Variety writes that Fox dominated last night’s ratings just like the Phillies did the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.

Joe Favorito writes that Hebrew National hot dogs is striking while the iron is hot after Jets QB Mark Sanchez was caught on camera sneaking a hot dog last Sunday.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media has a look at CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada’s ratings to date.

Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski says Tuesday’s Flyers-Caps game led to record ratings on Versus.

And as Steve points out, that record rating is not leading into record viewership for Versus.

To conclude, we leave you with Kristine Leahy of WEEI.com with today’s edition of The Five.

That does it for today.

Giving You The Monday Links

Time to do the links today. Once again, I ask if you could be so kind to donate to the Fang’s Bites TV fund. Trying to get two HD sets in time for the NFL season. Even if I can get half of the $1,200 target, that would be fine. So far, I’ve raised $66 so I have a ways to go. I’m only asking you to give $5, but if you wish to give more, that’s fine as well. The widget is under my profile to the left.

Ok to the links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes about Michael Irvin joining the NFL Network this season.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has his Media Power Rankings for August.

Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal says as many as 12 NFL teams could have local blackouts of at least one home game this season.

Jon Show of the SBJ says the LPGA is shopping around an umbrella naming rights deal for the next three seasons.

Terry Lefton of the SBJ writes that even with a new owner, Anheuser-Busch is still spending plenty on sports sponsorships.

Liz Mullen reports in Sports Business Daily that NHL Players Association Executive Director Paul Kelly has been voted out by the player reps.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Yankees season ticket holders won’t see that much of a price increase for the postseason.

Darren says the top selling NFL jersey, believe it or not, is Brett Favre’s Minnesota Vikings #4.

Darren got to play the world’s number two tennis player in the world, Andy Murray last week.

Mary Ellen Fillo of the Hartford Courant followed the brothers McEnroe as they made their way through ESPN last week.

Jackie Majerus of the Bristol (CT) Press covered an event on Friday that celebrated ESPN’s 30 anniversary and featured founder Bill Rasmussen.

Dave Phillips of the Shore Line (CT) Times says a local sports radio talk show host is beginning to make the move to TV.

Lynn Zinser of the New York Times says the ESPNization of the US Open has already begun.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick feels TV directors too often miss key action.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has your opening weekend TV schedule of college football action.

Pete says the Mets are being bumped off their local radio affiliate five times in September due to NFL conflicts.

Pete writes that Fox Sports has signed a new four year deal to keep the Cotton Bowl.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record writes that ESPN will make visits to two of the service academies in November.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says get ready for round the clock coverage of the US Open.

Jim adds that for the third year in a row, TBS will use a Bon Jovi song as the theme music for its postseason MLB coverage.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times feels there’s too many NFL exhibition games on TV.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News wonders if ESPN will play favorites with the SEC.

Paul Gattis of the Huntsville (AL) Times asks if the SEC made a deal with the Devil.

Mike Tankersley of the Montgomery (AL) Advertiser says a local station will be picking up SEC Network games.

Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says the ESPN/SEC 15 year contract will put the conference into many more homes across the country than its previous TV deal.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has a local sports radio tidbit.

Barry says the Cowboys once again won the ratings on Saturday night.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says former White Sox pitcher Jack McDowell is throwing barbs at his former team in his Chicago Tribune blog.

The Denver Post’s Dusty Saunders says a former Colorado University QB makes his national TV debut on Fox Sports Net this week.

Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star says the new University Arizona TV network will be shown outside of Phoenix and Tucson on Fox Sports Arizona.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks about a feature that Bob Costas will narrate on MLB Network tonight.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star writes about TSN celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says veteran Canadian TV host Brian Williams (not the one from NBC News) looks forward to hosting another Olympic games.

Gareth Davies of the London Telegraph says ESPN UK plans to show British UFC fighters who normally would not be seen anywhere else.

Mike Reynolds of Mutlichannel News writes that Tennis Channel will not be on Cablevision for the US Open after all.

The Sports Media Watch looks back at last week.

The Sports Media Journal has two more videos from last week’s ESPN Media Workshop. Here’s one and it’s rather long, but it’s worthwhile to watch, regarding ESPN’s 30th anniversary and it starts with a demonstration of its new virtual technology.

And the SMJ’s Keith Thibeault got to shadow an ESPN Production Assistant as he prepared for a Baseball Tonight segment.

Keith gives his thoughts on attending the Media Workshop.

And Ray Frager writing in the SMJ is happy to hear that Monday Night Football will focus on the game instead of on everything else.

Michael David Smith of Fanhouse (whom I had the pleasure to meet last week at the ESPN Media Workshop) looks at some of the more prolific ESPN tweeters.

Andrew Hampp of Advertising Age has a review of the ESPN Media Workshop.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says there was a schism at ESPN over an ESPN report about a Vikings schism.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media looks at some of the local NHL TV schedules.

Kristine Leahy of WEEI.com has today’s version of The Five.

Jan Ozer of Streaming Media.com finds out why NBCSports.com is using Microsoft’s Silverlight technology to stream Sunday Night Football.

That’s going to conclude the links for today.

Leftover Thursday Press Releases

I’m running behind today so Megalinks might be up tonight. I still have a couple of things to do before I get cracking on other stuff.

Here are releases from Thursday that I didn’t post last night. Let’s get cracking.

This is from NBC Sports which will have live coverage of the concluding weekend of the IAAF World Track & Field Championships from Berlin.

NBC SPORTS LIVE COVERAGE OF WORLD TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM BERLIN CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND

Bolt and Gay Lead Their Teams in 4X100m Final, Live on Saturday

Live Streaming Webcasts on UniversalSports.com

NEW YORK – August 20, 2009 – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and the USA’s Tyson Gay, who placed No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the 100m Final, will square off again live in the 4x100m as NBC Sports’ coverage of the World Track & Field Championships from Berlin continues this weekend. Bolt, who set the world record with an amazing 9.54 seconds in the 100m final, will lead the Jamaican team against Gay and Team USA. Gay placed second in the 100m with a new American record of 9.71 seconds.

COVERAGE ON NBC SPORTS: NBC Sports will air four hours of competition this weekend beginning this Saturday from 1-3 p.m. ET (LIVE) and continuing this Sunday from 2-4 p.m. ET (Same Day Tape). Coverage highlights include:

Saturday: Men’s 4x100m Relay Final
Women’s 4x100m Relay Final
Women’s 5,000m Final
Men’s Long Jump Final
Men’s Pole Vault Final
Women’s Hammer Throw Final
Men’s Marathon

Sunday: Men’s 4x400m Relay Final
Women’s 4x400m Relay Final
Men’s 800m Final
Women’s 1,500m Final
Woman’s Marathon
Women’s Long Jump Final
Men’s Javelin Final

COVERAGE ON UNIVERSALSPORTS.COM: UniversalSports.com is providing a live webcast of the morning and evening sessions from Berlin each day of the Championships. UniversalSports.com’s Alan Abrahamson will provide daily blog posts and news updates from Berlin. The full webcast schedule, highlights, full-length videos, photos, breaking news and more is available at UniversalSports.com/trackandfield.

TEAM USA RETURNS TO BERLIN: These World Championships mark the first time that the USA Track and Field team will return to Berlin for a major international competition since the 1936 Olympic Games where Jesse Owens won four gold medals.

ANNOUNCERS: Calling the action from Berlin is NBC Sports Olympic Track and Field broadcast team of: Tom Hammond, Ato Bolden, Lewis Johnson, Dwight Stones and Bob Neumeier.

LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP, SATURDAY, 3 PM ET

NBC Sports and Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports, present live coverage of the 10th stop of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Budds Creek in Mechanicsville, Md., part of the Monster Energy Triple Crown Series. Chad Reed will attempt to maintain his lead in the standings over Andrew Short and Ivan Tedesco.

Commentary is provided by Jason Weigandt, David Bailey, Jamie Bestwick and Tiffany Simons.

JELD-WEN TRADITION, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 4 PM ET Greg Norman leads the field as NBC Sports presents live coverage of the JELD-WEN Tradition from Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore., Saturday and Sunday, 4 p.m. ET. Fred Funk is the defending champion. The JELD-WEN Tradition is one of five major events on the Champions Tour.

Other marquee names competing include Tom Watson, Gary Player, Hale Irwin and Peter Jacobsen.

Dan Hicks, Gary Koch, Roger Maltbie and Mark Rolfing provide the commentary.

To CBS Sports and this release stating that it will cover the W&S Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati and the great Ian Eagle will be calling the tournament with Mary Carillo.

CBS SPORTS TO BROADCAST MEN’S FINAL OF U.S. OPEN SERIES

“WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS”

LIVE FROM CINCINNATI ON SUNDAY, AUG. 23

CBS Sports broadcasts the men’s final of the U.S. OPEN SERIES “western and southern financial group masters” on Sunday, Aug. 23 (12:30-3:00 PM, ET).

The U.S. Open Series, which leads up to the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, was launched in 2004 in order to create a cohesive, six-week summer tennis season for ATP and WTA Tour professional tournaments in North America. The winner of the series will be vying for bonus prize money at the U.S. Open.

CBS Sports’ coverage of the 2009 U.S. OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS begins on Saturday, Sept. 5 (11:00 AM-6:00 PM, ET) with men’s and women’s third-round action and concludes with the men’s singles final on Sunday, Sept. 13 (4:00 PM, ET).

CBS Sports’ Ian Eagle and Mary Carillo call the final live from Cincinnati. Bob Mansbach produces and Bob Fishman directs.

CBS will also be all over the PGA Wyndham Championship.

CBS SPORTS BROADCASTS PGA TOUR’S FINAL REGULAR-SEASON EVENT AT WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP ON AUGUST 22-23

The final run to the PGA TOUR playoffs for the FedExCup is this weekend at the WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP, the last event of the PGA TOUR’s regular-season, as CBS Sports broadcasts third- and final-round coverage of the Wyndham Championship from Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., on Saturday, Aug. 22 (2:00-5:00 PM, ET) and Sunday, Aug. 23 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET), live on the CBS Television Network.

Bill Macatee and Ian Baker-Finch provide commentary from the 18^th tower. Peter Oosterhuis calls the action at the 17^th hole, Peter Kostis at the 16^th, and David Feherty and Bobby Clampett serve as on-course reporters.

After the 2008 season the PGA TOUR made changes made to the FedEx Cup and reduced the field size for The Barclays from 144 to 125, placing a premium on a top finish at the Wyndam Championship for players on the bubble looking to earn a spot in The Barclays. The 70^th playing of the Wyndham Championship has a strong field of 156 players looking to boost their Playoff position for the FedExCup including Lucas Glover, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Davis Love III and Fred Couples. Scott (No. 111) and Garcia (No. 115) will play in the Wyndam Championship for the first time since 2005 as they hope to end their season with strong runs to the Playoffs. Notables outside the top 125 include Carl Pettersson (No. 151, who is defending his title this week, Stuart Appleby (No.138), Ricky Barnes (No. 141), Rocco Mediate (No. 143) and David Duval (No. 149). In addition Tim Clark, K.J. Choi, Rich Beem, Justin Rose, Chris DiMarco, Scott McCarron, Charley Hoffman, Charles Howell III, Brian Davis, Steve Elkington, Bubba Watson, Kirk Triplett, Tom Pernice, Jr., Brandt Snedeker, Mark Calcavecchia and John Daly are among those competing at the Wyndam Championship.

After the Wyndam Championship, the top 125 point earners will make the field at THE BARCLAYS, the first of the four PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoff tournaments. CBS Sports will broadcast the third- and final rounds of The Barclays on Saturday, Aug. 29 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET) and Sunday, Aug. 30 (2:00-6:00 PM, ET), live from Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J.

Lance Barrow is Coordinating Producer and Steve Milton is Director of CBS Sports’ golf coverage. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

Golf Channel says ESPN/ABC golf analyst Judy Rankin joins the network for Solheim Cup coverage this weekend.

Rankin Makes GOLF CHANNEL Debut at Solheim Cup

SUGAR GROVE, Ill., (Aug. 20, 2009) – When she makes her debut tomorrow, Judy Rankin will bring her vast Solheim Cup experience and one of the most respected voices in the game to GOLF CHANNEL’s marathon telecast.

Captaining two victorious U.S. teams (1996, ’98) Rankin will serve as lead analyst for the Solheim Cup, joining play-by-play commentator Rich Lerner to kick-off the network’s coverage Friday at 9 a.m. ET for the morning matches. Dottie Pepper will join play-by-play commentator Brian Hammons to call the afternoon matches.

“It’s an honor for us at GOLF CHANNEL to add Judy and her impressive resume to our great group of announcers at this week’s Solheim Cup,” said Jack Graham, GOLF CHANNEL’s executive producer for live tournaments.

“Judy is simply one of the best in the business, one of the best analysts and one of the best human beings,” said Lerner.

The broadcast team also includes Hall-of-Famer Donna Caponi-Byrnes, LPGA veteran Kay Cockerill and multiple LPGA tournament winner and ’96 U.S. Solheim Cup team member Val Skinner reporting from the course. Tom Abbott will report from a tower position and conduct post-round interviews and Lerner, as show host, will set the stage for the telecasts each day and conduct post-round interviews in addition to rotating as play-by-play commentator with Hammons.

GOLF CHANNEL will take viewers inside the ropes this week at Rich Harvest Farms with 26 hours of live match-play coverage of The Solheim Cup – produced for the first time in high definition and coupled with 14 hours of wrap-around news coverage. Live From the Solheim Cup will surround GOLF CHANNEL’s tournament coverage with all of the news from the first tee-shot to the last putt.

Friday

· The Solheim Cup (Day 1), 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

· GolfChannel.com live stream of The Solheim Cup, 2 – 4 p.m.

· The Solheim Cup (Day 1), 4 – 7:30 p.m.

· Live From The Solheim Cup, 7:30 – 8 p.m.

· The Solheim Cup (Day 1 re-air), 10:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.

Saturday

· The Solheim Cup (Day 2), 9 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

· Live From The Solheim Cup, 7:30 – 9 p.m.

· The Solheim Cup (Day 2 re-air), 9 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Sunday

· Live From The Solheim Cup, 10:30 – 11 a.m.

· The Solheim Cup (Day 3), 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

· Live From The Solheim Cup, 4:30 – 6 p.m.

· The Solheim Cup (Day 3 re-air), 9 p.m. – 12 a.m.

On Sunday, MLB Network will air the latest edition of Studio 42 with Bob Costas.

MLB NETWORK’S BOB COSTAS TO HOST Q&A WITH FORMER MLB PITCHER & BALL FOUR AUTHOR JIM BOUTON ON AUGUST 23

Interview to discuss Bouton’s MLB career and his memoir Ball Four

August 20, 2009 – MLB Network’s Studio 42 with Bob Costas will host a conversation with former Major League pitcher and author Jim Bouton on Sunday, August 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET on MLB Network. Throughout the interview, Bouton discusses his MLB career as well as his relationship with Mickey Mantle, his reason for writing the controversial memoir Ball Four, the reception the book received and what led to his return to Yankee Stadium for Old Timers’ Day in 1998.

Highlights of the interview include:

ON WHY BOUTON WROTE BALL FOUR

I really wanted to share the fun in baseball. That was my purpose for writing it. It wasn’t really a tell-all book. I didn’t have racial comments, all the sexy stories are anonymous. It really was a great environment to be part of, a Major League Baseball team. I got lucky, I was with the right bunch of guys and I kept good notes.

ON WHY BALL FOUR CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE IN 1970

It was a time in our history where people were questioning things, questioning authority, doing things in different ways. You had the Vietnam War, you had men landing on the moon that year, and it [the Seattle Pilots] was a wonderful team. It was an expansion team, the Seattle Pilots. These guys were getting to know each other because they haven’t played with each other. They were always telling stories about their careers and I was sitting there with my notepad.

ON THE WAY MICKEY MANTLE IS DEPICTED IN BALL FOUR

I don’t think it makes Mickey Mantle look bad at all. He hit a home run with a hangover. It was more a story about what a great ball player he was than about what an awful thing it was.

ON RETURNING TO YANKEE STADIUM FOR OLD TIMERS’ DAY IN 1998

I got into the clubhouse and the players were great. It was a really good feeling. I spent so much time in the clubhouse that I got onto the field late. I didn’t get a chance to run around the field and get that feeling. But it was some day.

Prior to the interview, MLB Network will re-air episodes of Studio 42 with Bob Costas featuring Major League Baseball umpires Don Denkinger, Bruce Froemming and Steve Palermo at 3:00 p.m. ET and Cal Ripken Jr. at 4:00 p.m.

And CBC will use the legendary Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto as the locale for its “Battle of the Blades” competition.

CBC’S BATTLE OF THE BLADES TO BE BROADCAST FROM MAPLE LEAF GARDENS IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE

Four-time Stanley Cup Champion Claude Lemieux added to the men’s roster

Beginning Sunday, October 4, CBC Television’s BATTLE OF THE BLADES will open the doors to historic Maple Leaf Gardens for the first time to former world class female figure skaters and NHL players in a fierce pairs competition of athleticism, drama and intrigue.

Hosts Ron MacLean and Kurt Browning will welcome a live studio audience and viewers from across the country to the legendary ice surface for this seven-week ground breaking event. Information on obtaining tickets will be available shortly.

In addition to the announced venue, former Conn Smythe trophy winner and agitator Claude Lemieux has signed on to compete in BATTE OF THE BLADES. Over the course of his 20-year career Lemieux played for Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado, Phoenix, Dallas and San Jose collecting 786 points and 1,777 penalty minutes. The Buckingham, Que. native replaces Sean Burke who was unable to participate due to professional obligations.

BATTLE OF THE BLADES is the brainchild of Kevin Albrecht with development by Sandra Bezic. BATTLE OF THE BLADES executive producers are John Brunton, Barbara Bowlby and Kevin Albrecht. It is produced by Insight Productions in association with CBC Television.

That’s going to do it for now. I’m so far behind today, it’s not funny.

A Couple of Things for You

I have a leftover press release from last night plus a viewing reminder for tonight.

First, ESPN2 carries the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday.

2009 MLS All-Star Game Wednesday on ESPN2

Landon Donovan and MLS’s Best vs. English Premier League’s Everton FC

First MLS All-Star Event at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah

ESPN2 will present live coverage of the 2009 MLS All-Star Game Wednesday, July 29, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET from Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. The special presentation of MLS Game of the Week series will feature the MLS All-Stars versus Everton FC of the English Premier League. The match will be aired in high definition and will be available on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile.

Seattle Sounders’ Freddie Ljungberg, making his MLS All-Star debut, will join Chicago Fire midfielder and former Mexican National Team star Cuauhtemoc Blanco, and Los Angeles Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, as the roster of 18 top-tier MLS players faces 2009 FA Cup finalists Everton FC, which features U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard. Other international stars on Everton’s roster include Tim Cahill (Australia), Louis Saha (France), Marouane Fellaini (Belgium) and Steven Pienaar (South Africa).

JP Dellacamera and John Harkes, ESPN and ABC’s lead soccer play-by-play and analyst team for the U.S. National Team and MLS, will call the action, with sideline reporter Allen Hopkins. Rob Stone, Alexi Lalas and Julie Foudy will host the studio coverage including pre-game, halftime and post-game segments live from Rio Tinto Stadium. Coverage will also include live, in-game interviews with select coaches and/or players.

Golfer Anna Rawson who’s been getting some buzz on the sports blogosphere is going to be on ESPN’s E:60 tonight.

Anna Rawson on E:60

Tune in to see Anna Rawson on E:60 this Tuesday at 7 pm EST on ESPN. Tom Farrey interviews Rawson about her unique career, controversial comments, and the state of the LPGA. See commentary by LPGA players Annika Sorenstam, Morgan Pressel, and Jan Stephenson.

Also, join Anna live on ESPN SportsNation to chat about her first year on tour, the financial future of the tour, and her modeling career.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/27633/lpga-anna-rawson

See Anna Rawson play in the 2009 British Open this week. July 30-31 on TNT and August 1-2 on ABC.

Here’s a preview of the E:60 feature tonight:

That’s it before I start doing the links.

An All-Star Break Linkfest

Let’s give you some linkage today.

Adam Reilly of the Boston Phoenix tells us that CBS Radio is moving Mix 98.5 to heritage rock station WBCN’s 104.1 FM frequency and that a new FM sports radio station will be on the 98.5 frequency. Thanks to Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch for the link.

I’ve also written a story on this late breaking news at the Fang’s Bites page at Boston Sports Media Watch.

Lance Venta from Radio Insight also has a look at the Boston sports radio flip.

The lovely Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald says the Boston Bruins will be joining the new CBS Radio sports station.

Major props to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated for breaking the story on Twitter that ESPN has hired former NBC Sports Executive Producer and Monday Night Football producer Don Ohlmeyer to be its new Ombudsman. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link. I don’t like this selection seeing that Ohlmeyer really doesn’t have a journalism background, he comes from TV production. I liked Le Anne Schreiber who was not afraid to be critical and question ESPN’s policies. We’ll see how this works out.

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

CNBC’s Darren Rovell tells the LPGA players who ousted commissioner Carolyn Bivens that the right players need to win for the tour to get sponsors.

Darren looks at General Motors cutting its sports spending in order to get out of bankruptcy.

Darren writes that you can bet on whether President Obama’s first pitch at the All-Star Game will bounce before it crosses home plate.

Darren also looks at MLB attendance.

Wayne Friedman of Mediapost’s TV Watch blog looks into NBC’s problem with the US Olympic Network.

Boston Globe Olympics reporter John Powers feels the announcement of the USON was bad timing for the Chicago 2016 Olympics bid.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says TV is what helped to make the MLB All-Star Game special.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette tells us that HBO will honor the late boxer Arturo Gatti by replaying his trilogy with Irish Mickey Ward starting this Friday.

Keith Groller in the Allentown Morning Call says NBC and ESPN focused more on Saucon instead of the Saucon Valley during the U.S. Women’s Open.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with St. Louis native Joe Buck of Fox Sports on why the Gateway City is such a great baseball town. Jim gives us his All-Star Game viewing and listening planner.

From the Washington Times, Tim Lemke has official word on WJFK-FM’s flipping to all-sports.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News looks at the final four of 4th and Long.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says being at the Home Run Derby was better in person than watching on TV. Ed says he wasn’t surprised at the firing of Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon last night.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviews the HBO documentary on Ted Williams.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times talks about ESPN and YouTube forging an alliance.

The Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the U.S. Women’s Open were down from last year.

The University of Arkansas’ Steve Dittmore looks at a study that concludes bloggers are not sports journalists.

Maury Brown from the Biz of Baseball says the MLB All-Star Game is suffering from an identity crisis.

The Right Field Bleachers blog has evidence of Erin Andrews’ bruise from getting hit with a line drive on the chin last week.

That will do it for now. Back later with press release stuff. Because of the CBS Radio Boston and DC announcements and ESPN Ombudsman release, this post was delayed several hours. I’m happy to have it up now.

Some Tuesday Linkage

Let’s give you links for today.

Starting with USA Today’s Michael Hiestand who looks at the ratings of Wimbledon, MLB and the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Here’s a story that bears watching. Beth Ann Baldry of Golfweek reports that a group of top LPGA players are calling for commissioner Carolyn Bivens to resign.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Staples will see a lot of exposure during the Michael Jackson funeral today.

I wrote a story for the Fang’s Bites at Boston Sports Media Watch page about Boston Globe Celtics beat writer Marc Spears leaving for Yahoo! Sports.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes that NBC is setting up at the nearby Saucon Valley Country Club for this week’s U.S. Women’s Open.

A couple of stories from Tim Lemke of the Washington Times. He writes that Tiger Woods was a big draw to the AT&T National both in person and on TV. Tim also looks at the temporary stadium built for the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis.

Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post is amazed at the subject matter on commercials that run on sports television.

Dan Steinberg of the WaPo’s DC Sports Bog talks about Wizards TV voice Steve Buckhantz’s signature call.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business tells us what the Cubs sale means for the team’s fans.

George Castle of the Northwest Indiana Times profiles MLB Network analyst Dan Plesac.

Tim Ellerbee of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the SEC’s new contract with ESPN will put many of the conference’s football games into primetime.

Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman says CBS is going into the vaults to replay a 1963 golf duel between Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes about a local sports radio station juggling its lineup. Barry also looks at the latest person ousted from 4th and Long.

Penny Parker of the Denver Post talks with outgoing Fox Sports Net President Bob Thompson.

The Toronto Star’s Chris Zelkovich says a regular season CFL game beat out the Wimbledon men’s final in the ratings.

Kate Holton of Reuters says ESPN is going to launch a new channel in the UK to carry English Premier League games as well as some of its US programming.

A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin gets on the Kansas City Star’s Jason Whitlock for the character assassination of Serena Williams.

A bunch of links to the Sports Media Watch now. The ratings for the Wimbledon men’s final were down from last year, but still strong. The AT&T National beat Wimbledon in the ratings. A boring Wimbledon’s ladies final trailed last year’s all-Williams affairs. Manny Ramirez’s return to the Dodgers failed to bring any juice to Fox’s MLB ratings. SMW has some more ratings news and notes.

Joe Favorito talks about the mixing of summer sports to help build a brand.

That’s going to do it for now.

Late Night Sunday Links

Let’s give you a few more links before shutting things down for the night.

USA Today’s Michael McCarthy says the BCS’ transition to cable is complete with the Rose Bowl going to ESPN in 2011.

My new best friend, Neil Best of Newsday writes that Brett Favre will be one of the first guests on Joe Buck’s new HBO show on Monday. Neil is amazed at the new partnership between NBC and Pro Football Talk.

Ben Grossman of Broadcasting & Cable says Favre was on top of Buck’s wishlist for the first show.

The Arena blog had the patience to transcribe the normally boring Bill Simmons podcast which this past week had an interview with the very stunning Erin Andrews.

Another new friend, Jerod Morris of Midwest Sports Fans has a very good post on what he learned over the Raul Ibanez controversy. By the way, my best to Jerod. His dog is at vet this weekend for an obstruction of the gall bladder. He should be ok. The dog, that is. Jerod is fine.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com has the first of two parts on recapping the Blogs With Balls conference.

David Carr of the New York Times looks at what the Boston Globe sale could fetch for the NYT.

Jeff Z. Klein of the Times looks at NBC’s ratings for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Hockey says Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Friday garnered good viewership numbers.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says both the Yankees and Mets broadcasts of Friday’s choke by the Metropolitans missed something at the end.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune says the FBI searched the offices of a local sports web radio station over accusations of faulty business practices.

Becky Yerak of the Tribune says the fate of that internet station is totally up in the air.

Rick Brown of the Des Moines Register was on hand to watch ESPN’s taping of Homecoming with Kurt Warner.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News previews Monday’s 4th and Long episode on Spike.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that Universal Sports has seen gigantic growth in one year under the NBC Universal umbrella. Let’s bring it over to DirecTV, ok?

Michael Bamberger of Sports Illustrated writes in Golf.com that putting the LPGA Championship on Golf Channel at the expense of CBS and NBC was the right move.

I’m beginning to see some stories I can give you for Monday’s links so I’ll end this here for tonight.

Sunday Press Releases

Wow, this is like NFL season when we have pregame quotage. Today, we have some releases to post. I like it.

From TNT, quotage from today’s NASCAR coverage.

Notes from TNT’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coverage – Sunday, June 14, 2009

TNT’s coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues on Sunday, June 21 from Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Infineon Raceway. NASCAR on TNT Live! begins at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by Countdown to Green at 4:30 p.m. ET. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing begins at 5 p.m. ET.

NASCAR on TNT Live! from Michigan International Speedway

Marc Fein (host), Larry McReynolds (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst)

McReynolds on the first week of double-file restarts and how it will impact racing at Michigan: “When it dawned on me how exciting it is, I watched the Nationwide race in Kentucky last night and remember, they don’t have (double-file restarts). At the end of the race when all of them lined up in single file, I thought there’s no excitement in this. I think what’s going to be different here versus Pocono is for those wave by cars. At Pocono, once you took the green flag you could easily come to pit road and make a four tire green flag stop and still stay on the lead lap. It’s a little different here, I think maybe you can go to pit road and change right side tires, but if you change four tires you’re going to defeat what you just gained right back.”

Petty following Lindsay Czarniak’s Lindsay on Location behind-the-scenes piece on NASCAR Race Control: “It’s like air traffic control. you’ve got 43 planes in a pattern all wanting to land, but all wanting to land where they want to, when they want to do it and how they want to do it and any way to get to the lead is the whole deal. These men and women up there, it’s their job to control what goes on on pit road and what goes on on the race track. There’s a lot of pressure, but we can’t race without them.”

Dallenbach on the racetrack at Michigan International Speedway: “This is a racer’s racetrack. There is so much room to race on this track, you can run high, low, in the middle. You can run four wide in the corners and not worry about losing it. It’s a smooth track, there’s a lot of grip, everyone loves coming here and this is always one of the racetracks I could not wait to come to.”

Grammy-nominated artist Kid Rock, who is serving as Grand Marshall for the race, joined the NASCAR on TNT Live! show.

Kid Rock on being the Grand Marshall of the race: “Yeah, I never thought I’d be called grand. I love NASCAR, I love racing and it’s my son’s birthday; perfect.”

Kid Rock on the impact of the auto industry in Detroit on his life: “Huge, my dad sold Ford, Lincoln, Mercurys. My guitar player is here with his dad who worked on the auto line his whole life. Pretty much everyone I know I know is in a tool and dye company somewhere building something. It’s tough times right now, but it’s not our first time down, we’ll be back.”

Petty on Pride of NASCAR featured driver Darrell Waltrip: “(Waltrip) was a great racecar driver and he is still to this day incredibly passionate. But let me be clear, because I lived in a house with Richard Petty – he was a loud mouth punk kid when he came along. I heard it from Richard Petty every night about how loud-mouthed he was. But the deal was, he’s like someone else here on the racetrack, he backs it up and you can’t argue that point. Then there was a turning point and became an incredible ambassador for the sport and he still is.”

No. 33 Clint Bowyer and owner Richard Childress joined the TNT set.

Bowyer on his No. 33 team trying to improve their performance: “Everyone has been working really hard at RCR to get things turned around. About two months ago when we hit these bigger racetracks we hit a bit of a hurdle. Everyone regrouped, went back to the shop, Richard (Childress) had one of his legendary Monday morning meetings and we all went back to the work. Everyone brought us better equipment to the track and I think all of us as a whole is running a lot better. Everyone has a smile on their face and we’re ready for a great afternoon.”

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******

Countdown to Green

Bill Weber (host) and Wally Dallenbach (analyst)

NASCAR CEO Brian France on General Motors pulling back their support of NASCAR due to their financial situation: “We are never satisfied when someone reduces their support to the sport. We understand why they will have to do it and why all of their partners will be affected. Our job is to figure out how to work with them on the other side and help them build this company they want to build and be a part of that.”

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan at Michigan International Speedway

Announcers: Bill Weber (play-by-play), Wally Dallenbach (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst); Larry McReynolds (analyst) contributes from the in-field at the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car (TORC)

Pit reporters: Lindsay Czarniak, Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum

Petty on some of the drivers positioned up front to start the race being competitive from the outset: “We mentioned A.J. Allmendinger, John Andretti and Bill Elliott earlier, they are maintaining, they have not fallen back in the first five or six laps of the race. A lot of times that’s indicative that they are on the race set up and they have come to race, they didn’t just come to qualify.”

Petty on Tony Stewart getting into a couple of cars: “The No. 20 (Tony Stewart) comes off the turn and decides to stop by Krispy Kreme and get a couple of donuts there.”

Petty on No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya finishing in the top 10 at Pocono after struggling all day: “That’s depressing. You leave and you think we had a good finish, we stole one right there, but you can’t figure out why you ran bad.”

Petty on No. 48 Jimmie Johnson running extremely well in this stage of the season: “That No. 48 Jimmie Johnson and Chad (Knaus, crew chief), they are hard to beat. You want to do a 15 or 20 lap shootout? They are your guys right now because they would kill you.”

Dallenbach on No. 12 David Stremme spinning out: “The car just busted loose and he hung on for the ride.”

Dallenbach, answering an “Ask the Booth” question from TNT RaceBuddy on NASCAR.COM, on why drivers spin off pit road when they need to save their tires: “I don’t think you take any rubber off the tire when they are cold and you leave pit lane. If they were hot and you spun the tires you’re going to be taking off a lot of rubber. But when they’re cold, they’re hard and you can light them up and nothing really comes off.”

Petty: “That’s a good answer. I was just going to say because they can. It’s ungodly cool to spin off pit lane.”

Petty on crew chiefs distorting the facts during the final stage of the race: “This is the Larry McReynolds stage of the race, when all our pit reporters for TNT are down there and asking questions and not getting told the truth. Last week, how far can you go? ‘Oh I can only go 38 laps’ and they go 75 laps, it’s the same thing. You guys sitting at home know just as much about this as what we’re knowing. What we’re being told is not always the truth, we’re just relaying it.”

TNT’s Matt Yocum interviewed race winner No. 5 Mark Martin.

Martin on his final lap victory: “This team deserves to be in the chase and we were on the outside looking in with all the trouble we had. I went for the points, I thought those guys were running too hard for us to save gas. I couldn’t do both, save gas and run with them. When Jimmie (Johnson) ran out and we got over here I said if we’re this close I’m going to run hard and I thought we could make it.”

Martin on worrying about his future with Hendrick Motorsports: “I told Rick (Hendrick), ‘please don’t fire me.’ On Friday night I was laying in bed just worrying about it. I love this stuff, I want to drive this car forever.”

TNT’s Lindsay Czarniak interviewed No. 11 Denny Hamlin who finished the race in third place.

Hamlin on finishing the race in third place: “It’s a relief that we finally get a finish where we belong. We had a good car all day. I’m just proud of this whole FedEx Express team. We were definitely a car that could contend for a top two or three spot all day and it feels good to finally come out of here with a finish we deserve.”

Hamlin on having to conserve fuel in order to finish the end of the race: “It’s tough as a driver to go out there and not run as hard as you what you want to, but these races seem to come down to fuel mileage a lot. We’ve worked on it with our race team and I worked on it as a driver and got a little better. I felt like I’m running a little too hard at the end and I let the No. 24 go and turns out the front two both ran out of gas.”

Unofficial LifeLock 400 Results:

1.No. 5 Mark Martin
2.No. 24 Jeff Gordon
3.No. 11 Denny Hamlin
4.No. 99 Carl Edwards
5.No. 16 Greg Biffle
6.No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
7.No. 14 Tony Stewart
8.No. 2 Kurt Busch
9.No. 83 Brian Vickers
10.No. 33 Clint Bowyer

Then CNBC will have a documentary hosted by Darren Rovell on the business of NASCAR.

CNBC’s “Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR” Will Premiere on July 9th (ALL TIMES ARE ET)

“Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR” will premiere on Thursday, July 9th at 9PM, 10PM and 1AM.

The documentary will re-air on the following dates:

Sunday, July 12th at 10PM
Monday, July 13th at 10PM

CNBC's "Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR" hosted by Emmy-Nominated CNBC Sports Business Reporter, Darren Rovell, examines a sport that was once seemingly unstoppable. Infamous for its ties to southern bootleggers and famous for filling some of the largest venues in the world - 200,000 fans at some speedways – a decade of growth made it the fastest growing sport in America.

But the rise of the 90s has given way to a new century recession. An imploding car business and shrinking sponsorship budgets are threatening the corporate dollars that are the sport's very lifeblood. NASCAR is now feeling the pressure of the economic implosion as the companies whose names are decaled on the cars are reconsidering their investments.  Owned and controlled by the France family, NASCAR is looking at ways to weather the storm. 

"Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR" takes you inside the garage of driver turned owner Tony Stewart and a never before seen look at how NASCAR sponsors are looking for business...from each other. CNBC's Rovell goes one-on-one with NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France as well as NASCAR's biggest fan. CNBC takes viewers under the hood for a look at the people behind the iconic American companies that have stuck with this sport, which was born more than five decades ago.

The Golf Channel gives us some links to videos from its “At The Turn” feature at the LPGA Championship.

GOLF CHANNEL’s Rich Lerner interviewed Anna Nordqvist (Saturday), Kristy McPherson and Lindsey Wright (Sunday) after nine holes of play in a new feature during the LPGA Championship coverage titled, “At the Turn,” giving viewers a glimpse into the players’ strategies heading into their back nine.

Thursday and Friday, GOLF CHANNEL rolled out another new feature during its LPGA coverage, mic’ing up Christina Kim, where she was paired with Michelle Wie the first two rounds. The network first introduced both features during its LPGA Corning Classic coverage in May.

Below is a link to Lerner’s “At the Turn” interview with Nordqvist on Saturday. Also included is a link to the segment from Thursday’s telecast featuring Kim’s entertaining post-round interview with host Brian Hammons and analyst Dottie Pepper, and a funny exchange with Wie.

Anna Nordqvist at the Turn

Christina Kim Mic’d Up

And that’s it for now.

More Friday Press Release Action

I have a few more press releases for you tonight.

ESPN will air an interview with “VY” Vince Young this Sunday.

Exclusive Interview with Tennessee’s Vince Young on SportsCenter Sunday at 10 a.m. ET

Sunday, June 14, on the 10 a.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, in an exclusive E:60 interview, talks in detail with correspondent Michael Smith about the Monday night in September 2009 when team members feared he was missing and contemplating suicide. Young had played poorly against Jacksonville the previous Sunday, was heavily booed by the fans, and left the game with a knee injury.

Young left his cell phone at home, and family members, knowing he carried a gun with him, grew concerned. He was eventually located at an uncle’s home. Later in the evening, he met with the police, who were searching for him, and Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher. In the interview, Young maintains, as he has from the start, that he was upset at how fans had reacted and concerned with his injury, but he never considered suicide. He says he carried the gun with him, as he typically did, for protection.

In the E:60 interview (part of an in-depth profile on the Titans’ quarterback that will air when the ESPN primetime newsmagazine returns July 28 at 7 p.m.), the Tennessee quarterback speaks at length about the details of that night, and the conflicting emotions – his thoughts of staying away from the playing field for the remainder of the season, the pressure he felt to deliver on his large contract, his frustration with the public’s reaction, and his confusion about how the situation was handled.

· “I had to sit down in Coach (Fisher’s) office, and I had to sit there until the lady came, the psychiatrist lady, for her to verify that I’m fine. All that type of stuff — it was embarrassing…I can’t stand when somebody jeopardizes my image and does…things that are unnecessary. Especially if I’ve told you, out of my mouth like a man, that I’m fine. Can I please go home? For all the stuff that happened that night…It was a sight to see.” – Young on the meeting with Fisher at the Titans’ practice facility

About E:60

E:60 is ESPN’s first multi-subject, prime-time newsmagazine that offers a combination of investigative reporting, exclusive interviews with newsmakers, in-depth profiles of intriguing sports personalities, and features on emerging star athletes. These stories are presented in a fresh and innovative format that incorporates producer/correspondent meetings.

The award-winning and critically acclaimed series, on hiatus since May 12, will return with five weekly, original episodes Tuesday, July 28. The program was launched in October 2007.

Golf Channel plans to interview golfers as they make the turn from the 9th to the 10th hole at the LPGA Championship.

During Saturday and Sunday’s live coverage of the LPGA Championship, Rich Lerner is scheduled to interview at least one player from the final four groups after completion of nine holes in a new feature titled, “At the Turn.” The new feature was first introduced during GOLF CHANNEL’s coverage of the LPGA Corning Classic in May.

GOLF CHANNEL/LPGA Championship TV Times

Saturday – Sunday 4 – 7 p.m. ET (Live)

7:30 – 10:30 p.m. ET (Live)

Golf Channel will also have extensive coverage from the Bethpage Black course during the U.S. Open.

GOLF CHANNEL has the U.S. Open Covered

25 Hours of Coverage from Bethpage Black

ORLANDO, Fla. (June 12, 2009) – GOLF CHANNEL’s Live From the U.S. Open, produced in high definition, will take viewers inside the ropes at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in New York with 25 hours of live news reports, inside analysis and compelling features in delivering comprehensive, wrap-around live news coverage of the men’s second major championship of 2009.

Live From the U.S. Open coverage kicks off Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET with pre-tournament news conferences from Bethpage Black. Host Kelly Tilghman will be joined by the network’s team of reporters and analysts on-site at Bethpage from 6 – 8 p.m. ET. Wednesday’s Live From the U.S. Open coverage will feature news conferences from 2-4 p.m. ET, followed by a two-hour preview show from 6-8 p.m. ET.

Thursday and Friday, beginning at 8 a.m. ET and Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET, Live From the U.S. Open will preview each round, featuring player interviews, analysis, and up-to-the-minute leader board updates.

Prime time coverage will air at 8 p.m. ET Thursday – Saturday, and 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, with a break down of each round. Each prime-time Live From the U.S. Open show will re-air throughout the night all week.

The Live From the U.S. Open team will include Vince Cellini, Kraig Kann, Rich Lerner, Steve Sands, Kelly Tilghman, Frank Nobilo, Brandel Chamblee, Charlie Rymer, Alex Miceli, John Feinstein, Jim Gray, John Hawkins, Tim Rosaforte and Rex Hoggard. Kann and Rymer will host the early Live From shows Thursday and Friday from the network studios in Orlando. Peter Jacobsen will join Friday’s early Live From coverage, and 1986 U.S. Open champion Raymond Floyd will appear on Saturday’s early Live From the U.S. Open show.

In addition, GolfChannel.com’s team of writers will contribute to the popular Shag Bag blog with entries and posts throughout the week, along with daily columns, news articles features and breaking news. Hoggard, Jay Coffin, Randall Mell and David Allen will report on-site from Bethpage Black throughout the week.

Live From the U.S. Open TV Times (all times ET)

Tuesday, June 16: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

6 – 8 p.m.

Wednesday, June 17: 2 – 4 p.m.

6 – 8 p.m.

Thursday, June 18: 8 – 10 a.m.

8 – 10 p.m.

Friday, June 19: 8 – 10 a.m.

8 – 10 p.m.

Saturday, June 20: 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

8 – 10 p.m.

Sunday, June 21: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

CBS Sports’ main golf analyst Nick Faldo has been knighted.

OH WHAT A KNIGHT!

CBS SPORTS’ NICK FALDO KNIGHTED

CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst Nick Faldo will be honored with Knighthood as announced on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list released in Britain this morning.

Faldo, once the number one ranked golfer in the world, is the winner of six Major Championships; including three Masters Tournaments and three British Open titles, and more than 40 tournaments worldwide. Born on July 18, 1957 in Welwyn Garden City, England, he was awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 1988. .

Tim Finchem, Commissioner, PGA TOUR

“On behalf of the PGA TOUR, I would like to extend congratulations to Nick Faldo on the announcement of his knighthood. This is a truly deserved honor in recognition of years of representing his country at the highest levels of international competition and for his helping grow the game worldwide as a broadcaster, golf course designer and for indentifying the next generation of champions through the Faldo Series of tournaments worldwide.”

Sean McManus, President, CBS News & Sports

“Today’s announcement is a well deserved honor for a great champion. We at CBS Sports are pleased and proud of our friend Nick Faldo, who continues to make significant contributions to his sport around the world. He now also holds the distinction of being the only employee at CBS Sports who I will occasionally refer to as Sir.”

Phil Mickelson

“Nick is the preeminent English golfer of the modern era. His skill in controlling the golf ball is legendary. No one was tougher coming down the stretch of a major championship.”

Jim Nantz

How does it get any bigger than this? Sir Nick? I can hardly wait to introduce him on the air that way. Of course we always considered Nick to be royalty over here stateside. I’m just happy the Queen saw fit to finally confirm!”

Nick Faldo

“I was delighted to hear the news that I will be receiving a knighthood and am more than a little bit humbled to have been afforded this great honour. It has come as a real surprise and the reaction from my children, family and friends has made this a very special moment for me. I’ve been playing golf at the highest level for some thirty-five years or more now; it has always been my intention to do my utmost to develop this game both in Britain and abroad and I am also delighted that my efforts through the Faldo Series have been recognised in this way.”

Faldo is only the second professional golfer to receive a knighthood. The first was Sir Henry Cotton who was knighted in 1988.

That’s it. Good night.

Making the Friday Megalinks Count, Part I

Let’s get to the Friday megalinks. I want to get this done and leave my Friday free so I can rest up for the drive to NYC for the Blogs With Balls conference tomorrow. Don’t expect any blog posts, but I will be Tweeting from there so if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll get some impressions and perhaps a pic or two. I’ll be there with a few of the bloggers that have been linked here regularly so be on the lookout for that all day tomorrow.

As usual, let’s do the Weekend Viewing Picks.

The NHL Stanley Cup Finals will conclude tonight with Game 7 of Pittsburgh and Detroit at the Joe. CBC and NBC will have coverage starting at 8. NHL Network has a pregame at 6. CBC’s Scotiabank Hockey Tonight will start at 7:30. Following the game CBC.ca has a postgame show and NHL Network has theirs at 11 p.m. or immediately following the trophy ceremony.

Game 5 of the NBA Finals is on Sunday at 8. ABC has the game from Orlando as the Lakers try to close out the Magic.

Interleague baseball returns this weekend. Fox has three games on Saturday at 4 p.m. including Mets-Yankees. ESPN has Cleveland hosting St. Louis Sunday night at 8 and TBS also has Mets-Yankees on Sunday afternoon. For the Fox and ESPN schedules, click here. WGN will have the Cubs hosting Minnesota, Sunday at 2.

ESPN and ESPN2 have extensive and exclusive coverage of the College World Series this weekend from Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, NE. Four games over the weekend will be played starting Saturday at 2 on ESPN.

For NASCAR, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan for the LifeLock 400. TNT has that Sunday at 2 p.m.

Golf is busy as well. Golf Channel and CBS combine for weekend coverage of the St. Jude Classic.

Golf Channel also has the LPGA Championship, the second major on the tour, Saturday and Sunday at 4.

Soccer fans will be particularly interested in the Confederations Cup which will be hosted by South Africa, the site of the 2010 World Cup. Two games kick off the event on Sunday, host South Africa vs. Iraq and New Zealand vs. Spain.

Mixed Martial Arts fans have UFC 99 to watch this Saturday on PPV at 3 p.m.

Check out the entire Weekend Viewing Picks here.

To the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with Fox Sports’ NFL insder Jay Glazer about his love for mixed martial arts.

The Game On! blog from USA Today looks at the Rose Bowl moving from ABC to ESPN starting in 2011.

Ray Frager of the Sports Media Journal says a three man booth at the NBA Finals is too much.

The Sports Media Watch wonders how high can the ratings for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals reach? SMW says Game 4 of the NBA Finals did well in the overnight ratings last night.

Jon Weisman of Variety says ABC has set the lineup for the new edition of The Superstars which premieres later this month.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes ABC scored in the ratings with the NBA Finals on Thursday.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes that after a slow start, NESN’s ratings for Red Sox baseball are rising to their normal high levels.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Bill Doyle says NESN’s Don Orsillo has had to deal with an ever-changing analyst lineup due to Jerry Remy’s absence.

Newsday’s Neil Best gives his impressions of today’s WFAN morning show simulcast on SNY. Neil says WFAN made some personnel moves for football season. Neil talks about Showtime making famed MMA fighter Gina Carano a headliner for its upcoming Strikeforce card. Neil also talks with Joe Buck about his upcoming HBO show.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News writes that even the Mets and Yankees announcers are getting involved in the Subway City rivalry.

A week’s vacation has not softened Phil Mushnick’s hate in the New York Post today.

The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for ESPN’s Andy North about next weekend’s U.S. Open.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks to the person behind local sports talk show.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette has some baseball TV news and notes.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner says the LPGA Championship’s new home will be the perfect place to hold that event starting next year.

Jim looks forward to watching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight.

I’ll have the rest of the Megalinks tonight.

Friday’s Press Releases and Then Some

Ok, we have quite a few press releases for a Friday. Lots of stuff going on. Let’s get to them without any delay. I hope to get to the megalinks before the afternoon ends.

ESPN says viewership for the NBA Finals continues strong through Game 4.

NBA Finals Continue to Deliver for ABC in Primetime

Game 4 Earns 10.9 Overnight

The NBA Finals – exclusively broadcast on ABC – delivered a 10.9 overnight rating, the highest yet for the series, for a thrilling overtime game in which the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-91. The 2009 Finals continue to provide the highest-rated and most-viewed programs of the night in primetime. If the 10.9 overnight rating holds, it will propel the 2009 Finals to outpace the 2008 Finals in viewership.

The 10.9 overnight rating (9 p.m. ET-12:30 a.m.) was up five percent over last year’s Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers (10.4 overnight rating). This year’s Game 4 was the second overtime game of this year’s Finals; the first time a Finals has seen two overtime games since 1984.

The game registered a 27.3 rating in Los Angeles, the highest-rated NBA broadcast locally since Game 5 of the 2008 Finals. In Orlando, the game earned a 26.7 rating.

The Lakers hold a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 of The Finals, an elimination game for the Magic, will be broadcast Sunday, June 14, at 8 p.m. on ABC, ABC HD and ESPN Radio.

However, the Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand tweets: “Good NBA Game 4 overnights. But it’s the 2nd lowest rated Lakers’ Finals Game 4 in the last decade, after 00, 01, 02, 04, but above 08.” Nice to have some numbers crunching to go with the release.

Here’s quotage from the TNT Inside the NBA guys on NBA TV.

Notes from NBA TV’s Pre and Postgame Coverage of the NBA Finals Game #4 – Thursday, June 11, 2009

NBA TV’s coverage of the NBA Finals continues on Sunday, June 14 with pre-game coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Post-game coverage will follow Game #4 between the Los Angeles Lakers @ Orlando Magic.

**** **** **** **** *****

NBA Tip-off

Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith

Barkley on claims that Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is fatigues following Game #3: “Kobe Bryant just had a bad second half. He’s human. He’s not going to dominate the game every night.”

Barkley on the importance of Orlando winning Game #4: “This is the biggest game of the series. Orlando has a good chance of being back in the series after tonight. If Orlando wins tonight, I think this series is up for grabs.”

**** **** **** **** *****

Inside the NBA

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley and Smith

Barkley on the Magic’s loss in Game #4: “Orlando gave this game away.”

Smith on Magic center Dwight Howard’s performance in Game #4: “A superstar needs to dominate in three areas. Dwight (Howard) was only able to dominate in two; defense and rebounding. He couldn’t get the third thing in this game and that was scoring.”

Barkley on Magic guard Mickael Pietrus: “Mickael Pietrus is becoming one of my favorite players.”

Smith’s response to Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy saying experience doesn’t play a role in the Finals: “I disagree (with Stan Van Gundy) about experience. There is a reason not many rookies have led their team to an NBA Championship. Experience is a big part in playing a basketball game. It’s composure, not panicking, belief, and trust.”

Barkley: “I disagree. Missing free throws and leaving a player open to make a three-pointer doesn’t have anything to do with experience. The bottom line is the Orlando Magic blew this game.”

Barkley on Stan Van Gundy’s decision not to foul late in the game, which led to overtime: “I think Stan Van Gundy missed it. (Lakers head coach) Phil Jackson was right and Van Gundy was wrong. Phil Jackson was right when he said they (the Magic) had a foul to give.”

TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Magic guard Mickael Pietrus following the game

Pietrus on his thoughts going into Game #5: “It’s going to be tough. The Lakers are going to play hard. I think we just need to relax and play basketball the way we’ve been playing.”

TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Magic guard Jameer Nelson following the game

Nelson on losing to the Lakers in Game #4: “We played well enough to win the game, but we made some mistakes.”

To Jimmy Kimmel Live and what transpired on its Game Night show before the NBA Finals last night.

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night #4

Thursday night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night,” Jimmy’s guests included Jack Black and Michael Cera, (who got stuck in the elevator and spent the whole show talking to Jimmy via security camera), a cameo appearance from Paula Abdul and a hidden camera segment with Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade conspiring with Jimmy’s Cousin Sal to torture unknowing autograph seekers.

Here is the link to Dwyane Wade and Cousin Sal’s hidden camera segment:

Additional clips from tonight’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night:”

Guillermo Interviews Kobe Bryant

Stan Van Gundy as a Greek Restaurant Manager

Be sure to join Jimmy throughout the NBA Finals as he delivers primetime specials airing every night of the NBA Finals at 8 pm ET/MT and following the NBA Finals PT/MT on ABC. In each 30 minute episode, Kimmel welcomes celebrity guests such as Denzel Washington, Magic Johnson and 50 Cent, in addition to signature comedy pieces including a Jimmy’s parking lot security guard Guillermo interviewing such NBA Finals 2009 notables as Phil Jackson, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton of the L.A. Lakers, and Hedo Turkoglu, Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis of the Orlando Magic.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night” primetime specials to air:

Sunday, June 14 at 7pm ET/CT and following the game PT/MT

Tuesday, June 16 at 8pm ET/CT (if necessary) and following the game PT/MT

Tuesday, June 18 at 8pm ET/CT (if necessary) and following the game PT/MT

Over to TBS and its coverage of the Mets-Yankees this Sunday.

“Sunday MLB on TBS” Features a Battle in the Big Apple

Mets @ Yankees face off in interleague play starting at 1 p.m. ET

“Sunday MLB on TBS” continues on Sunday, June 14th at 1 p.m. ET with an interleague showdown featuring David Wright and the New York Mets of the National League heading across town to battle Mark Teixeira and the New York Yankees of the American League at the new Yankee Stadium. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana is scheduled to take the mound for the Mets against Yankees probable starter A.J. Burnett. Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Buck Martinez (analyst) will call the action from the broadcast booth.

“Sunday MLB on TBS” includes match-ups on TBS every Sunday afternoon throughout the regular season. The network will also exclusively televise the MLB All-Star Selection Show on Sunday, July 5. Additionally, beginning in October TBS will once again provide exclusive coverage of the Division Series and the National League Championship Series (NLCS).

TBS has broadcast MLB coverage for more than 30 years serving as the exclusive home of the MLB Division Series (DS) and one League Championship Series (LCS) since 2007 and home of Atlanta Braves coverage from 1977 to 2007.

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS SCHEDULE:

Sun., June 14

1 p.m. New York Mets @ New York Yankees

Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Buck Martinez (analyst)

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Sun., June 21

1:30 p.m. Atlanta Braves @ Boston Red Sox

Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst)

Sun., June 28

1:30 p.m. Boston Red Sox @ Atlanta Braves

Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Buck Martinez (analyst)

MLB Network brings back “Studio 42 with Bob Costas” for a talk with former St. Louis Cardinals Bob Gibson and batterymate Tim McCarver about their teaming up for great success in the 1960′s. Plus MLB Network will re-air the original broadcast of Game 1 of the 1968 World Series following the Costas interview.

MLB NETWORK’S BOB COSTAS TO HOST Q&A WITH HALL OF FAMER BOB GIBSON AND TIM MCCARVER ON JUNE 15

Interview to discuss ’64, ’67, ’68 World Series and feature interviews with Jim Bouton, Willie Horton, Al Kaline & Jim Lonborg

Following the interview, MLB Network will air Game One of the 1968 World Series, featuring Gibson’s record-setting 17 strikeouts

June 12, 2009 – MLB Network’s Studio 42 with Bob Costas will host a conversation with former St. Louis Cardinals teammates Hall of Famer Bob Gibson and Tim McCarver that will air on June 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET on MLB Network. The conversation includes interviews with players from the 1964, 1967 and 1968 World Series, including former New York Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton, former Detroit Tigers left fielder Willie Horton, former Detroit Tigers right fielder Al Kaline and former Boston Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg.

Following the interview, MLB Network will air Game One of the 1968 World Series at 8:00 p.m. ET, in which Gibson threw a record-setting 17 strikeouts. NBC’s TV announcers for the original game were Harry Caray, Curt Gowdy and George Kell.

Highlights of the interview include:

GIBSON ON SEGREGATION DURING SPRING TRAINING IN 1958:

“I went up to the desk and I said ‘My name is Bob Gibson, I’m with the Cardinals and you’re supposed to have a place for me.’ And the guy looks at me and says, ‘Yeah, we have a place for you, just go through that door there.’ I went through the door and I opened the door and it was outside and there was a cab sitting out there. I got in the cab, took me to a house where the black players stayed.”

MCCARVER ON TRYING TO SLOW DOWN GIBSON ON THE MOUND:

“When I went out to the mound, Bob looked at me in that Gibsonian glare that we came to love and admire over the years. He looked at me and he said, ‘What are you doing out here?’ He tilts his head to the side, ‘What are you doing out here?’ he said, ‘Get on back behind the plate, the only thing that you know about pitching is that it’s hard to hit.’”

MCCARVER ON GAME ONE OF THE 1967 WORLD SERIES:

“At Fenway Park, for Game One, the one thing that I remember more than anything was all the white shirts in center field. And I thought, going out there I said, ‘Man, you know, if they think Gibson is tough from a hitting standpoint with a dark background, think about trying to hit him with white shirts in centerfield,’ because they didn’t have a batters eye at the time. Well not only was Bob tough to hit that first day, but so was Jose Santiago. You couldn’t see the ball. And that made him doubly, doubly tough.”

To view the on-air promo for this episode of Studio 42 with Bob Costas, please click here.

One more note from MLB Network.

MLB NETWORK TO AIR SPECIAL DON DRYSDALE SEGMENT ON MONDAY, JUNE 15

Bob Costas to voice special segment on Drysdale’s sixth straight shutout game on the night of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination

June 12, 2009 – MLB Network will air on Monday, June 15 a special feature narrated by Bob Costas about Don Drysdale’s sixth straight shutout game, pitched in 1968. The game, held on June 4, 1968 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, coincided with Robert F. Kennedy’s victory in the 1968 California primary. In the first words of his acceptance speech, Kennedy congratulated Drysdale; moments after the speech, Kennedy was assassinated. Four days later, on June 8, Drysdale broke a 55-year old record for consecutive scoreless innings and wore a black arm band to honor Kennedy’s memory.

The piece includes original interviews with Drysdale’s former teammates former Dodgers first baseman Wes Parker and Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, Drysdale’s widow Anne Myers and Kennedy’s speechwriter Jeff Greenfield.

“Baseball’s past is incredibly important to today’s fans and this feature shows how baseball intersects with all aspects of our country’s history,” said Tony Petitti, President and Chief Executive Officer of MLB Network. “We feel a responsibility to baseball fans to describe and relive these key moments.”

The piece will first air between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. ET and re-air throughout the night on MLB Tonight and Quick Pitch.

MLB.com set a record for hits during the MLB Draft.

DRAFT TRAFFIC ON MLB.COM SETS NEW STANDARDS

NEW YORK, June 12, 2009 – MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, announced today that its live coverage of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft drew 332.5 million page views and 29.8 million visitors over the three-day event, shattering traffic records for the comparable draft time period. The total page views represents a 75 percent increase over the 2008 mark of 189.5 million, while visitors were up more than 30 percent year-to-year.

In addition to the live broadcast of the first round on MLB Network and MLB.com, this year’s round-the-clock coverage on MLB.com included the integration of Twitter into the live interactive media application, Draft Caster, and the real-time searchable database of every draft-eligible player, Draft Tracker. Fans embraced being part of a Draft-related online conversation while following the Draft live on MLB.com as the designated hashtag “#mlbdraft” consistently ranked among the most popular ‘Trending Topics’ on Twitter.com.

The complete recap of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, searchable by round, player name, position, MLB Club, school, home state and country, can be found here.

A quick note from NESN on its ratings for the just-completed Yankees-Red Sox series.

The Red Sox swept the Yankees at Fenway Park this week and Red Sox fans were watching on NESN in near record numbers. NESN averaged a 16.7 HH rating in the Boston DMA for the three games, the network’s best 3 game series since August of 2007 (16.8). NESN’s season average continues to rise (9.4 HH) as the Red Sox travel to Philadelphia to take on the defending World Series Champion Phillies this weekend.

Golf Channel will have Christina Kim miked once again during its coverage of the LPGA Championship today.

Gregarious LPGA professional Christina Kim, who entertained GOLF CHANNEL viewers Thursday mic’d for sound during the network’s Round 1 telecast of the LPGA Championship, wants to repeat the experience and has agreed to be mic’d up for Friday’s second round, including her preparation. Live coverage of the second round of the LPGA Championship will air on GOLF CHANNEL Friday beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. Kim, paired with Michelle Wie and Shanshan Feng, will tee-off at 1:20 p.m. ET.

Below is a link to the segment from Thursday’s telecast featuring Kim’s entertaining post-round interview with host Brian Hammons and analyst Dottie Pepper, and a funny exchange with Wie:

Christina Kim Mic’d Up

Universal Sports which is still not on DirecTV will have coverage of Michael Phelps in the pool this weekend.

MICHAEL PHELPS HEADLINES AS UNIVERSAL SPORTS PRESENTS LAST STOP OF USA SWIMMING GRAND PRIX

Live Coverage of Finals Begins this Friday at 8 p.m. ET

Series Concludes With the Swimnetwork.com Santa Clara International Grand Prix Featuring Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and More

LOS ANGELES – June 11, 2009 – Fourteen time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps joins Olympians Ryan Lochte, Katie Hoff and Aaron Peirsol as Universal Sports, in cooperation with USA Swimming and SwimNetwork.com, presents live television and online coverage of the final stop of the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series, the Swimnetwork.com Santa Clara International Grand Prix. Live television and online coverage of the Santa Clara International Grand Prix finals begins this Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist and NBC Sports Olympic swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines and NBC Sports’ Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Ted Robinson will provide commentary for the event, with Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders reporting live from Santa Clara.

COVERAGE ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, available in 45 million homes, presents live coverage of the Santa Clara International Grand Prix Finals. In addition, UniversalSports.com will live stream each event. More information, as well as highlights, full-length videos, photos, breaking news and more available at Universal Sports’ swimming channel at UniversalSports.com/swimming.

June 12 SANTA CLARA DAY 1 (LIVE) 8 – 10 p.m.
June 13 SANTA CLARA DAY 2 (LIVE) 8 – 10 p.m.
June 14 SANTA CLARA DAY 3 (LIVE) 8 – 10 p.m.

ABOUT THE EVENT: The Santa Clara International Grand Prix is the final stop on the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series and the last major competition before the 2009 USA Swimming National Championships next month. The swimmer with the most points at the end of the series will be the winner of the $20,000 grand prize. Michael Phelps was the winner of the 2007-2008 Grand Prix Series and received the first-ever $20,000 grand prize offered for the event.

Phelps made his return to the pool this year at the Charlotte UltraSwim event, where he won the gold medal in the 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke events. Going into the final competition, swimmer Mary Descenza is in first place with 19 gold medals, Ryan Lochte is in second with 10, and Chloe Sutton is in third place with nine gold medals.

And here’s an upcoming program of interest from National Geographic Channel on “Iran and The West”. There are videos for you to preview as well.

IRAN AND THE WEST

Monday, June 22 at 9PM ET/PT

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/iran-and-the-west-3337/Overview

Called “documentary-making at its best” by The Economist, this landmark special takes viewers inside the top-secret meetings and public declarations that shaped the last three decades of the complex relationship. What were the forces at play that led to the current volatile state of affairs? How did this nuclear-seeking Middle East nation evolve into a strong supporter of Islamic terrorists in the region? And why is Iran so crucial to Western interests and world stability today? Using first-person testimonials to present comprehensive and compelling perspectives on Iran’s turbulent relationship with the West and what may lie ahead, the two-hour special includes fascinating historical footage and more than 40 rare, thought-provoking interviews. Viewers will hear directly from the key officials on both sides, including former Iranian Presidents Rafsanjani and Khatami; former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; former Vice President Walter Mondale; former Secretaries of State George Shultz, Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell; other high-level U.S., European and Iranian officials; and notable Iran experts and foreign policy specialists.

“Birth of Hezbollah” – A look at the circumstances surrounding the founding of Hezbollah.

Video “Confusion Over Iran” – In 1978, the shah of Iran receives an ambiguous message from the United States on how to respond to the revolution.

Video “Iran and Diplomacy” – European leaders attempt to negotiate a compromise with Iran that the U.S. won’t support.

Video “Albright in the U.N.” – Madeline Albright tells of sitting face-to-face with a representative of Iran’s government at the U.N. — but who is he?

Certainly looks like an interesting program. I hope to review this program for you before it airs.

Back later with the megalinks.

General Sports Press Release Post

Ok, this press release post will deal with various sports, not just one as the last three have. Let’s get right to it.

Starting with TNT which discusses its NASCAR coverage this weekend.

TNT Continues its Coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing in Michigan on Sunday, June 14^th

Pre-race coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET; LifeLock 400 begins at 2 p.m. ET

TNT gears up for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan on Sunday, June 14^th live from Michigan International Speedway. The network will air exclusive coverage of the LifeLock 400 beginning at 2 p.m. ET with play-by-play announcer Bill Weber calling the race alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach in the booth. In addition, analyst Larry McReynolds will make frequent contributions from the in-field as he breaks down crew strategy and analyzes car adjustments.

The network will rev up its pre-race coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR on TNT Live! with Marc Fein (host), Petty and McReynolds. No. 33 Clint Bowyer and owner Richard Childress will join TNT’s infield rig for an interview prior to the race.

Grammy-nominated artist and Detroit native Kid Rock will also join TNT’s pre-race coverage, stopping by the set to speak to the NASCAR on TNT Live! announcers.

TNT’s acclaimed Pride of NASCAR series will feature racing legend Darrell Waltrip who is a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and 1989 Daytona 500 winner.

Dallenbach will once again breaks down race strategy during Wally’s World, as he is superimposed into live race footage from last season’s race in Michigan. He will virtually walk along the track to discuss its nuances, with the ability to stop the race footage.

In addition, Lindsay on Location with will go behind the scenes of NASCAR’s Race Control for a Lindsay Czarniak piece to explain how NASCAR officials assess penalties and determine car positions, particularly with the implementation of double-file restarts.

Ralph Sheheen will take viewers on a private tour of Jack Roush’s personal garage in Lavonia, Mich. where Roush will put on display his private collection of rare cars.

The show will be followed by Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ET with Weber (host), Dallenbach (analyst) and Petty (analyst) with reports from pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Sheheen and Czarniak.

Countdown to Green leads into coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing in Michigan at 2 p.m. ET with Weber, Dallenbach and Petty calling the action with frequent interaction with McReynolds (analyst) who will man the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car.

Throughout this year’s NASCAR on TNT Summer Series, the network will join forces with NASCAR.COM, the official site of NASCAR, to provide TNT RaceBuddy a multiplatform experience for race fans which features live feeds from the racetrack including pit road and in-car cameras, as well as live chats and polls.

REMAINING 2009 NASCAR ON TNT SCHEDULE:

(All times ET)

SUNDAY, JUNE 14

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

1:30 – 2 p.m. Countdown to Green

2:00 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan (from Michigan Intl. Speedway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 21

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live! and

4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Countdown to Green

5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Toyota/Save Mart 350 (from Infineon Raceway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 28

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

1:30 – 2:00 p.m. Countdown to Green

2:00 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Loudon (from New Hampshire Intl. Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 4

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

7:30 – 8:00 p.m. Countdown to Green

8:00 – 11:15 p.m. Coke Zero 400 at Daytona (from Daytona Intl. Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 11

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

7:30 – 8:00 p.m. Countdown to Green

8:00 – 11:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Chicago (from Chicago Speedway)