Fang's Bites

A Couple of Mid-Week Sports Media Thoughts

I haven’t done a sports media thoughts post in quite some time. You’re owed some, so lets not waste any time. Two thoughts today with a promise I’ll provide more with some regularity down the road. They’re in bullet form as always.

• Bizarre story that broke on Tuesday through Boston Sports Media Watch that Red Sox Radio Network host and fill-in announcer Jon Rish is leaving later this month. It’s a sad story that Rish has to leave a dream job over a proposed 30% pay cut by flagship station WEEI. As Rish told the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn, he could see the writing on the wall and started preparing for the future. Rish has four children and wants to plan for the future so he’s getting out of the radio business and becoming a software developer.

  It’s too bad that Rish had to make that decision, but with WEEI in dire straights, I can understand his thinking. As someone who has worked in radio and seen all types of cost cutting through personnel, salaries, benefits and other measures, it’s the rank and file who suffer, not the executives. Rish leaves just as the season begins, but as I wrote on Tuesday, the behind-the-scenes jockeying by management can be taxing on the workers, no matter what the job is. Rish says he had to think of his family and he’s at peace with his decision. Not many people have the opportunity to leave radio on their own terms. It seems Rish has done exactly that. Here’s wishing him nothing but the best as he goes on a new career path.

• The NCAA Tournament is over and as CBS/Turner Sports crow over a successful three week period that brought the highest viewership in almost two decades, there are some items upon which the CBS/Turner consortium can improve.

  First, cut down on the clutter in the studio. Charles Barkley told the New York Daily News that he’s overexposed during the Tournament and would like to cut his workload especially during the Second Round games. I wholeheartedly endorse this. In fact, let’s jettison Chuck out of the Tournament altogether. The Charles Barkley-Kenny Smith experiment on the NCAA Tournament just isn’t working. Keep Ernie Johnson, Jr. in the Atlanta studio and have him work with coaches and Steve Smith. In New York, reunite Greg Gumbel with Greg Anthony and Seth Davis. That trio works well together.

  Do not, do not, do not, do not bring Doug Gottlieb back to the studio. If he has to have a role, keep him on game analysis. It’s the lesser of two evils for the American people. If the viewing public has to be subjected to Gottlieb, then keep him at game sites where he can do less damage.

  If TBS is going to air the Final Four in 2014 as reported, let’s hope Turner won’t place Reggie Miller at courtside with Marv Albert and Steve Kerr. And I wouldn’t mind having Craig Sager and Rachel Nichols as reporters if Turner plans to put its stamp on the event.

  And why not bring Bill Walton over from Dial Global as a studio analyst?

That’s it.

The Fang’s Bites College Basketball TV Awards: NCAA Tournament Edition

Last month, I gave you my College Basketball TV Awards for the 2012-13 regular season. As promised, I’ll provide you with the NCAA Tournament Edition featuring my picks for Final Four, Regional Final and First Week levels. Those not worthy and there will be a couple, will get the infamous Carton of Chinese Cigarettes handed out from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Communist China.

I’ll provide the awards first for play-by-play, then game analysts, reporters and finally the studio.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

Final Four Level

Marv Albert, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan – Marv is Marvelous. The man is a Hall of Fame announcer and during the Michigan-Kansas game, was able to pick up on the Wolverines’ comeback late in the second half and his call of Trey Burke’s three pointer to tie the game was perfectly understated.

Ian Eagle showed his versatility in calling NCAA Tournament games on both TV and radio. Does both well and allows the action to come to him. Ian had a very good call of the Davidson-Marquette game that went down to the wire.

Kevin Harlan was outstanding especially as Ohio State’s Aaron Craft hit a jumper with :02 in its Sweet Sixteen game against Arizona.

Regional Final Level

Brian Anderson, Verne Lundquist, Jim Nantz – Having this trio in the Tournament shows some very good depth on the CBS/Turner Consortium. Brian Anderson is a rising star. Calls games on Big Ten Network during the winters, then moves to his best sport, baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers and TBS Sunday Afternoon games. Could easily be on a Regional Final team down the line.

What can you say about Uncle Verne Lundquist that hasn’t already been said? He and Bill Raftery form one of the fun broadcast teams and you know that Verne plays the perfect straight man to Raft. He’s perfect at the Regional Final level.

Jim Nantz is perfect here. He would go higher except that he calls only one to two regular season games a season, yet he’s on the “A” team that goes to the Final Four. Nantz calls a good game, but I think there are several announcers who are better.

First Week Level

Tim Brando – Tim is good, but sometimes falls back on cliches. He’s perfect on the ACC Tournament on the Raycom-produced ACC Network. A nice fit with long-time partner Mike Gminski.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Spero Dedes – Dedes provided some real lackluster and sleep-inducing calls. When Harvard upset New Mexico, Dedes failed to rise to the occasion and when the game ended, he gave us quite a forgettable call. His partner, Doug Gottlieb overpowered him at times.

ANALYSTS

Final Four Level

Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr, Bill Raftery – Clark Kellogg knows his stuff and provides good analysis of the action. He’s able to spot trends and finds the right words. He also stepped up during the Louisville-Duke game when Kevin Ware broke his leg in a horrific sequence. And as Jim Nantz tried to collect himself in the minutes following the injury, Kellogg did his best to describe the emotions on the court.

When Steve Kerr found out that he was going to call the NCAA Tournament three years ago, he found work with Fox Sports to call Sunday night Pac-10 games and quickly got re-immersed in the college game. It was that preparation that puts him on the Final Four Level. And teamed with Marv Albert for the first two weeks of the Tournament, Kerr provides some really good tidbits especially during Michigan-Kansas.

Bill Raftery is the Mayor of College Basketball. Perfectly teamed with Uncle Verne Lundquist, Raft provides great anecdotes, one-liners and always knows when to use his signature “ONIONS!” call. I’d love for Raft to call a Final Four on TV, but you can always hear him on radio for the event.

Regional Final Level

Len Elmore and Jim Spanarkel – Len was the last ESPN exclusive holdover to remain on the Tournament after Turner came on board. Jay Bilas wasn’t kept and while Bill Raftery also works for ESPN, he does games for CBS during the regular season, pulling a rare network double. Elmore when Reggie Miller doesn’t step all over him, provides some salient points. He really could work solo with Kevin Harlan and doesn’t need Miller along side.

Jim Spanarkel works very well with Ian Eagle. It’s hard to believe that they’ve worked 17 previous tournaments together and they’re a very good team. Spanarkel was on top of trends especially when Marquette was coming back on Davidson in the second round.

First Week Level

Dan Bonner and Mike Gminski – Both ACC Network veterans, Bonner and Gminski are perfect analysts for the first weekend of games.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Doug Gottlieb and Reggie Miller – Gottlieb will harp on points to where you want him to shut up. Reggie Miller must have pictures on a network executive somewhere as he’s a terrible analyst. I understand calling NCAA Tournament games was a dream for Gottlieb, but CBS/Turner should pull the plug on him working games next year. As for Miller, he’s basketball’s version of Marcelo Balboa, a person who makes statements just to hear himself talk and makes ridiculous points.

REPORTERS

Final Four Level

Jamie Maggio, Rachel Nichols, Craig Sager

Regional Final Level

Lewis Johnson, Marty Snider, Tracy “The Wolf” Wolfson

First Week Level

Allie LaForce, Otis Livingston

STUDIO HOSTS

Final Four Level

Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson, Jr.

Regional Final Level

Matt Winer

STUDIO ANALYSTS

Final Four Level

Greg Anthony

Regional Final Level

Seth Davis and Steve Smith

First Week Level

Charles Barkley and Kenny “The Jet” Smith – I understand why Barkley and Smith are there, but they’re much better on the NBA than college basketball. Charles’ candor on the NBA works against him on the Tournament as in the case where he harped against the Big Ten.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Doug Gottlieb — Who else? Failed joke aside, Gottlieb has not differentiated himself from the pack. He overpowers people on the set. He comes off as abrasive as sandpaper.

So there you have the Awards for the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

College Basketball Viewing Picks for 03/30 & 03/31/2013, All Times Eastern

Saturday, March 30

Men’s

Pregame & Studio Shows
Road to the Final Four — CBS, 2:30 p.m.
NCAA Basketball Tournament Press Conference — Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
NCAA March Madness 360 — CBS Sports Network, 4:30 p.m.
Big Ten Basketball & Beyond: Tournament Edition — Big Ten Network, 9 p.m.
NCAA March Madness Bracket Breakdown — CBS Sports Network, 12:30 a.m. (Sunday)
College GameDay Scoreboard — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

NCAA Tournament
Regional Finals

East Region, Washington, DC
Syracuse vs. Marquette — CBS, 4:30 p.m. (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols)

West Region, Los Angeles, CA
Wichita State vs. Ohio State — CBS, 7:05 p.m. (Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson)

NCAA Division II Tournament, Louisville, KY
Semifinals
Metro State vs. West Liberty — CBS Sports Network, noon (Brad Johansen/Dan Bonner)
Western Washington vs. Drury — CBS Sports Network, 2:30 p.m. (Brad Johansen/Dan Bonner)

Women’s

NCAA Tournament
Regional Semifinals

Bridgeport Region, Bridgeport, CT
Delaware vs. Kentucky — ESPN, noon (Beth Mowins/Doris Burke//Holly Rowe)
Maryland vs. UConn — ESPN, 2:30 p.m. (Beth Mowins/Doris Burke//Holly Rowe)

Spokane Region, Spokane, WA
Georgia vs. Stanford — ESPN, 9 p.m. (Dave Pasch/Debbie Antonelli//LaChina Robinson)
LSU vs. Cal — ESPN, 11:30 p.m. (Dave Pasch/Debbie Antonelli//LaChina Robinson)

Sunday, March 31

Men’s

Pregame & Studio Shows
Knight and Auriemma: A Coaches Conversation — ESPNU, 10:30 a.m.
Road to the Final Four — CBS, 2 p.m.
NCAA March Madness 360 — CBS Sports Network, 2:30 p.m.
NCAA Basketball Tournament Press Conference: Elite Eight Postgame — Big Ten Network, 5 p.m.
Big Ten Basketball & Beyond: Tournament Edition — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
NCAA March Madness Bracket Breakdown — CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.
College GameDay Scoreboard — ESPN2, 9 p.m.

NCAA Tournament
Regional Finals

South Regional, Arlington, TX
CBS, 2:20 p.m. (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager)

Midwest Regional, Indianapolis, IN
CBS, 4:55 p.m. (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson)

Women’s

NCAA Tournament
Regional Semifinals

Norfolk Regional, Norfolk, VA
Kansas vs. Notre Dame — ESPN, noon (Dave O’Brien/Stephanie White//Jeannine Edwards)
Nebraska vs. Duke — ESPN, 2:30 p.m. (Dave O’Brien/Stephanie White//Jeannine Edwards)

Oklahoma City Regional, Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma vs. Tennessee — ESPN, 4:30 p.m. (Pam Ward/Rebecca Lobo//Maria Taylor)
Louisville vs. Baylor — ESPN, 7 p.m. (Pam Ward/Rebecca Lobo//Maria Taylor)

CBS/ Turner Unveil 2013 NCAA Tournament Announcing Teams

Announced today by the CBS/Turner Sports consortium for the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the 75th incarnation of college basketball’s national championship, will be the men and women who will be in front of the camera this year. As usual, Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will work the Final Four™ from Atlanta.

Some changes from last year, first Doug Gottlieb who came to CBS from ESPN late last year will call 2nd and 3rd round games with Spero Dedes replacing Bob Wenzel. Lesley Visser becomes a special contributor to the studio shows, leaving the sidelines. Rachel Nichols of Turner Sports takes her place on the team of Uncle Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. And Allie LaForce, co-host of CBS Sports Network’s Lead Off with the aforementioned Gottlieb will work the sidelines as well with Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel.

Your regional final teams will be Nantz/Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson, Marv Albert/Steve Kerr /Craig Sager, Lundquist/Raftery/Nichols and Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore/Lewis Johnson.

Calling the one half of the First Four™ games in Dayton, OH will be Albert and Kerr on March 19.

And the studio will be manned by hosts Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson in New York with Matt Winer in Atlanta. Studio analysts will be Greg Anthony, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Steve Smith. Doug Gottlieb joins the New York crew for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.

Here’s the CBS/Turner announcement.

CBS Sports and Turner Sports Return All-Star Line-up of Broadcast Teams for Coverage of 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship

?Turner Sports and CBS Sports today announces its lineup of broadcast teams for the third year of combined coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Once again, CBS Sports and Turner Sports provide live, full national coverage of the tournament’s 67 games across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV – as well as across multiple platforms including NCAA March Madness Live®.

The tournament tips off on Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20 with the NCAA FIRST FOUR™ on truTV Presented by Northwestern Mutual. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr will be courtside calling the action from Dayton, Ohio on March 19, with Craig Sager reporting. Wednesday’s FIRST FOUR broadcast team, which will also call the second and third round games from the Dayton site, will be announced on Selection Sunday.

For the third consecutive year Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr and reporter Tracy Wolfson will team up for the Final Four® and National Championship game live from Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday, April 6 and Monday, April 8.

Joining this year’s announcer line-up are Doug Gottlieb, who will serve as a game and studio analyst, and courtside reporters Rachel Nichols and Allie LaForce.

Following are the announcer pairings for the second and third rounds (Thursday, March 21-Sunday, March 24):

Play-By-Play / Analyst // Reporter
*Regional Announce Teams

Jim Nantz / Clark Kellogg // Tracy Wolfson*
Marv Albert / Steve Kerr // Craig Sager*
Verne Lundquist / Bill Raftery // Rachel Nichols*
Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Len Elmore // Lewis Johnson*
Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Allie LaForce
Brian Anderson / Dan Bonner // Marty Snider
Tim Brando / Mike Gminski // Otis Livingston
Spero Dedes / Doug Gottlieb // Jaime Maggio

Studio Coverage

For the third consecutive year, Turner Sports and CBS Sports will utilize two studios, based in New York and Atlanta, to cover all the tournament action. Studio coverage again will be anchored by Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson with Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Kenny Smith providing analysis throughout the tournament from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Matt Winer anchors the coverage from Turner Studios in Atlanta and will be joined by Seth Davis and Steve Smith. In addition, Lesley Visser will serve as a contributor.

During the Regional Semi-finals and Finals, Gottlieb will join the New York studio team. Gumbel will remain in New York alongside Barkley, Anthony, Gottlieb and Kenny Smith, while Johnson will shift to the Atlanta studio to join Davis and Steve Smith.

Studio coverage for the FIRST FOUR originates from Atlanta and will feature Johnson, Barkley, Kenny Smith and Steve Smith on Tuesday with Winer, Davis and Steve Smith providing analysis on Wednesday.

There you have it.

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 17, 12/30/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
The OT — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Baltimore at Cincinnati — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Cleveland at Pittsburgh — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
Houston at Indianapolis — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Jacksonville at Tennessee — Don Criqui/Randy Cross
New York Jets at Buffalo — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon

FOX
Carolina at New Orleans — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Krista Voda
Chicago at Detroit — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Philadelphia at New York Giants — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Tampa Bay at Atlanta — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale

4:25 p.m.

CBS
Kansas City at Denver — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Miami at New England — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Oakland at San Diego — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker

FOX
Arizona at San Francisco — Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Kristina Pink
Green Bay at Minnesota — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
St. Louis at Seattle — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Dallas at Washington — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

Nominees for 6th Annual Fang’s Bites NFL TV Awards

Merry Christmas! Happy to provide you with the nominees for this year’s NFL TV Awards. Last year’s nominees ended up this way.

And later, this was the result for the 2011 season.

Let’s take a look at the nominees in each category.

Best Play-by-Play: Ian Eagle (CBS), Kevin Harlan (CBS), Al Michaels (NBC), Brad Nessler (NFL Network), Mike Tirico (ESPN)

Best Game Analyst: Troy Aikman (Fox), Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Dan Fouts (CBS), Rich Gannon (CBS), Mike Mayock (NFL Network)

Best Sunday NFL Pregame Show: First on the Field (NFL Network), Fox NFL Sunday (Fox), NFL Matchup (ESPN), NFL Today (CBS)

Best Studio Show, Daily or Weekly: Around the League Live (NFL Network), Inside the NFL (Showtime), NFL Live (ESPN), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), NFL Turning Point (NBC Sports Network)

Best Highlights: Football Night in America (NBC), NFL GameDay Final (NFL Network), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), The OT (Fox)

Best Studio Host: Rich Eisen (NFL Network), Curt Menefee (Fox), Dan Patrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network), Melissa Stark (NFL Network), Andrew Siciliano (DirecTV), Trey Wingo (ESPN)

Best Studio Analyst: Tony Dungy (NBC), Boomer Esiason (CBS), Marshall Faulk (NFL Network), Rodney Harrison (NBC), Kurt Warner (NFL Network), Steve Young (ESPN)

Most Valuable Network: Fox, ESPN, NBC, NFL Network

Best NFL Insider: John Clayton (ESPN), Jay Glazer (Fox), Peter King (NBC),  Jason La Canfora (CBS), Chris Mortensen (ESPN)

Best Sideline Reporter: Alex Flanagan (NFL Network), Jennifer Hale (Fox), Jaime Maggio (Fox), Lisa Salters (ESPN), Michele Tafoya (NBC)

Best Announcing Team: Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts (CBS), Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots (CBS), Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Brad Nessler/Mike Mayock (NFL Network), Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden (ESPN)

Best Game Production: Monday Night Football (ESPN), NFL on CBS (CBS), NFL on Fox (Fox), Sunday Night Football (NBC), Thursday Night Football (NFL Network)

Best Debut: Carolyn Manno on Football Night in America (NBC), First on the Field (NFL Network), Amber Theoharis on NFL Total Access (NFL Network), Hines Ward on Football Night in America (NBC)

Worst Play-by-Play: Chris Berman (ESPN), Thom Brennaman (Fox), Chris Myers (Fox), Ron Pitts (Fox), Dick Stockton (Fox)

Worst Game Analyst: Dan Dierdorf (CBS), Daryl Johnston (Fox), John Lynch (Fox), Mike Martz (Fox)

Worst Studio Host: Chris Berman (ESPN), Chris Rose (NFL Network)

Worst Studio Analyst: Michael Irvin (NFL Network), Eric Mangini (ESPN)

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 16, 12/22 & 12/23/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Saturday, December 22

Studio & Pregame Shows
Monday Night Countdown — ESPN, 7 p.m.
NFL Total Access — NFL Network, 7 p.m.
NFL Total Access: Postgame — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

ESPN
Atlanta at Detroit — Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden/Lisa Salters

Sunday, December 23

Studio & Pregame Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check Your Local Listings, 1 p.m.
NFL Today Postgame Show — CBS, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
The OT — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Buffalo at Miami — Don Criqui/Randy Cross
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Indianapolis at Kansas City — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
New England at Jacksonville — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Oakland at Carolina — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
San Diego at New York Jets — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Tennessee at Green Bay — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf

FOX
Minnesota at Houston — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
New Orleans at Dallas — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
St. Louis at Tampa Bay — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink
Washington at Philadelphia — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin

4:05 p.m.

CBS
Cleveland at Denver — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts

4:25 p.m.

FOX
Chicago at Arizona — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
New York Giants at Baltimore — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver

8:30 p.m.

NBC
San Francisco at Seattle — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 15, 12/16/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the 506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Denver at Baltimore — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Indianapolis at Houston — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Jacksonville at Miami — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon

FOX
Green Bay at Chicago — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
Minnesota at St. Louis — Gus Johnston/Charles Davis/Kristina Pink
New York Giants at Atlanta — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Tampa Bay at New Orleans — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Washington at Cleveland — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Krista Voda

4:05 p.m.

FOX
Carolina at San Diego — Sam Rosen/Heath Evans/Jill Savage
Detroit at Arizona — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jamie Maggio!!!
Seattle vs. Buffalo at Toronto, Ontario, Canada — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale

4:25 p.m.

CBS
Kansas City at Oakland — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Pittsburgh at Dallas — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

8:30 p.m.

NBC
San Francisco at New England — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

It’s Another NBA on TNT Thursday Doubleheader; Charles Barkley is Courtside in New York

Tonight, it’s another NBA doubleheader on TNT, the network that should be allowed to air the NBA Finals in the next TV contract. Here’s a partner that has been loyal to the NBA since the mid-1980′s, put the games on TBS then TNT, took over the operations of what was a totally boring NBA TV and turned it into a decent channel and has cash to air the Finals if it’s allowed to. I know ESPN loves having the Finals on ABC, but if Turner can convince the league to put the games on cable, then this is a no-brainer and Turner can alternate with ESPN just like it will do with the NCAA Final Four with CBS starting in 2015.

Anyway, TNT will have its regular two Thursday night games with the Lakers taking on the Knicks in a bi-coastal matchup. Charles Barkley makes another appearance out of the studio and at a game site, this time at Madison Square Garden, joining Marv Albert and Steve Kerr at the broadcast table. David Aldridge gets the sideline assignment.

In the nightcap, it will be David Stern’s least favorite team, the San Antonio Spurs taking on the Portland Trail Blazers. Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller will be courtside with Craig Sager and his loud wardrobe roaming the arena.

Here’s the TNT press release.

NBA on TNT Exclusive Doubleheader: L.A. Lakers vs. New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers Tonight Beginning at 8 ET

TNT’s Charles Barkley to Provide Game Analysis for Lakers vs. Knicks at 8 p.m. ET;
Chris Webber Joins Studio Crew for this Week’s Action

The NBA on TNT will continue tonight with exclusive coverage of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant taking on the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony from Madison Square Garden at 8 ET. Marv Albert will call the game with analysts Charles Barkley and Steve Kerr and reporter David Aldridge. TNT’s exclusive coverage will continue with the San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan visiting the Portland Trail Blazers and standout rookie Damian Lillard at 10:30 p.m. Kevin Harlan will provide play-by-play with analyst Reggie Miller and reporter Craig Sager. Chris Webber will join the Inside the NBA studio team with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.  

Exclusive NBA content, analysis from TNT announcers and replays of Inside the NBA are available on NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/insidethenba/). The broadband channel gives fans the inside scoop on players and storylines taking place around the league seven days a week. Additionally, check out the NBA on TNT pages on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NBAonTNT) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/nbaontnt) to see the latest NBA on TNT schedule, news and special features.

NBA on TNT Upcoming Schedule:

DAY/DATE
TIME (ET)	EVENT
Thursday, December 13
8 p.m. ET	TNT NBA Tip-Off
	Ernie Johnson (host),  Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber (analysts)
	Los Angeles Lakers @ New York Knicks
	Marv Albert (play-by-play), Charles Barkley and Steve Kerr (analysts) and David Aldridge (reporter)
10:30 p.m.	San Antonio Spurs @ Portland Trail Blazers
	Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter)
Post-game	Inside the NBA
	Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber
Thursday, December 20
7 p.m.	TNT NBA Tip-Off
	Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith
	Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves
	Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller and Chris Webber (analysts) and Marty Snider (reporter)
9:30 p.m.	Miami Heat @ Dallas Mavericks
	Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr and Mike Fratello (analysts), and Craig Sager (reporter)
Post-game	Inside the NBA
	Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith

That’s it.

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 13, 12/02/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, noon

1 p.m.

CBS
Houston at Tennessee — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Indianapolis at Detroit — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Jacksonville at Buffalo — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
New England at Miami — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf

FOX
Arizona at New York Jets — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Carolina at Kansas City — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink
Minnesota at Green Bay — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
San Francisco at St. Louis — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Seattle at Chicago — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!

4:05 p.m.

FOX
Tampa Bay at Denver — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale

4:25 p.m.

CBS
Cincinnati at San Diego — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Cleveland at Oakland — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
Pittsburgh at Baltimore — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Philadelphia at Dallas — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

TNT Airs Knicks-Nets on Monday

After their original season-opening game was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy, the contest between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets at the new Barclays Center will be played Monday, November 26. TNT will air the game with Marv Albert and Steve Kerr with Craig Sager and his loud suits on the sidelines.

TNT begins its coverage with NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET with the game tipping off after 7:30.

Turner Sports has this press release for us.

TNT to Exclusively Televise Intra-City Showdown:
New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets on Monday, November 26, at 7 p.m. ET

The NBA on TNT will exclusively showcase the intra-city rivalry game between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets on Monday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. ET from Barclays Center. The game will mark the first meeting between New York and Brooklyn since the Nets moved to its new home this season. Marv Albert will call the action alongside analyst Steve Kerr and reporter Craig Sager. Monday’s telecast is the rescheduled opening week game which was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.

Exclusive content, analysis from TNT announcers and replays of Inside the NBA are available on NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/insidethenba/). The broadband channel gives fans the inside scoop on players and storylines taking place around the league seven days a week. Additionally, check out the NBA on TNT pages on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NBAonTNT) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/nbaontnt) to see the latest NBA on TNT schedule, news and special features.

NBA on TNT Upcoming Schedule:

DAY/DATE
TIME (ET)	EVENT
Monday, November 26
7 p.m. ET	TNT NBA Tip-Off
	Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal (analysts)
	New York Knicks @ Brooklyn Nets
	Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter)

That’s all from here.

Doing Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do some Friday megalinks. Haven’t done any in a couple of weeks.

The Weekend Viewing Picks have all of your sports and entertainment TV needs.

Time for the linkage.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes the rising rights fees for the college football postseason.

Michael writes about Today show Executive Producer Jim Bell coming home to NBC Sports to oversee all Olympic broadcasts.

Chris Chase from USA Today has 60 Minutes responding to Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’ complaints about a recent profile.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the Outdoor and Sportsman Channels plan to merge.

Will Leitch at Sports on Earth says the Rick Reilly experiment at ESPN has not worked.

Bryan Curtis of Grantland notes that last night’s Celtics-Nets game was the first game that Brooklyn native Marv Albert got to call in the borough.

Alex Weprin of TV Newser reports that Keith Olbermann will be back on sports television next week by doing a guest stint on a league-owned network.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing feels ESPN has lost its viewers trust.

The Big Lead speculates whether Sports Illustrated’s Peter King will remain with the magazine or leave when his contract expires.

Sports Media Watch says despite a fight, ESPN’s ratings for the next-to-last Sprint Cup race of the season finished down from last year.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz who’s back on the Patriots beat this week.

Chad has five questions with Nantz.

Boston Sports Media Watch Fearless Leader Bruce Allen speculates in SB Nation on who might become the Flash Boy or Girl for WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan show.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has NESN’s Jack Edwards becoming increasingly skeptical about playing hockey this season.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir notes that a new Broadway play will delve into the history of the Yankees.

Amy Chozick and Michael Cieply of the Times write about Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. buying a stake into the YES Network.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about Mike Emrick calling college hockey tonight.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick conducts a character assassination on ESPN’s Dick Vitale.

The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for New York Knicks radio voice Spero Dedes.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with Dottie Pepper who’s leaving NBC Sports for a position with the PGA of America.

Ken McMillen of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Darrelle Revis’ comments to NFL Network’s Andrea Kremer about his season-ending injury for the New York Jets.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in Press Box that the ratings increases for the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals reflect their successes on the field.

In the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has some thoughts on the NFL Network’s documentary on John Riggins.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN’s NASCAR voice Allen Bestwick about the last race of the season.

South

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle notes that most CBS stations across the country and even in Texas have chosen to air the Dallas Cowboys over the Texans.

David has a few viewing picks for the weekend.

Midwest

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn’t agree with Aaron Rodgers’ complaints about 60 Minutes.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch notes that the NCAA has removed one-third of the media’s courtside seats at the Final Four™.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about a local sports radio host who lost his job after making remarks about African Americans.

West

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star has his Weekend Viewing Picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at a new documentary on the UCLA-USC rivalry.

Tom wonders why it took so long for DirecTV and Time Warner Cable SportsNet to make an agreement.

Tom has stuff that didn’t make it into today’s sports column.

And that’s going to do it.

NFL Viewing Picks for Week 11, 11/18/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check Your Local Listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Cincinnati at Kansas City — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Cleveland at Dallas — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Jacksonville at Houston — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
New York Jets at St. Louis — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts

FOX
Arizona at Atlanta — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Green Bay at Detroit — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
Philadelphia at Washington — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Tampa Bay at Carolina — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!

4:05 p.m.

FOX
New Orleans at Oakland — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale

4:25 p.m.

CBS
Indianapolis at New England — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
San Diego at Denver — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Baltimore at Pittsburgh — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

NBA on TNT Returns With Another Doubleheader

This Thursday, the NBA on TNT is back with another doubleheader. TNT finally gets its first game in Brooklyn after its season opener was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. The Boston Celtics will take on the Nets live from Barclays Center with  Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Mike Fratello with the call. Craig Sager’s loud suit will be roaming the building for stories.

The nightcap will involve the defending NBA Champions Miami Heat taking on the Denver Nuggets. Kevin Harlan will be teamed with Reggie Miller. David Aldridge will be the reporter.

Here are the details from TNT on what will be seen this Thursday.

TNT’s NBA Coverage Continues with Doubleheader November 15: Celtics vs. Nets & Heat vs. Nuggets

The NBA on TNT continues Thursday, Nov. 15, with an exclusive telecast featuring Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics taking on Deron Williams and the Brooklyn Nets at 8 p.m. ET. Marv Albert will make his return to Brooklyn to call the game alongside analysts Steve Kerr and Mike Fratello and reporter Craig Sager. The second game of the night will feature LeBron James and the Miami Heat visiting Andre Iguodala and the Denver Nuggets at 10:30 p.m. Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play with analyst Reggie Miller and reporter David Aldridge. Following the second game, Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith (analysts) and will recap the night’s action.

Exclusive content, analysis from TNT announcers and replays of Inside the NBA are available on NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/insidethenba/). The broadband channel gives fans the inside scoop on players and storylines taking place around the league seven days a week. Additionally, check out the NBA on TNT pages on Twitter (http://twitter.com/NBAonTNT) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/nbaontnt) to see the latest NBA on TNT schedule, news and special features.

NBA on TNT Upcoming Schedule:

DAY/DATE
TIME (ET)	EVENT
Thursday, November 15
8 p.m.	TNT NBA Tip-Off
	Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith (analysts)
	Boston Celtics @ Brooklyn Nets
	Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr and Mike Fratello (analysts) with Craig Sager (reporter)
10:30 p.m.	Miami Heat @ Denver Nuggets
	Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Reggie Miller (analyst) with David Aldridge (reporter)
Post-game	Inside the NBA
	Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith
Monday, November 26
7 p.m.	TNT NBA Tip-Off
	Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith
	New York Knicks @ Brooklyn Nets
	Marv Albert and Steve Kerr with Craig Sager
Post-game	Inside the NBA
	Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith

That’s all.

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 10, 11/11/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 7:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
NFL Today Postgame Show — CBS, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
The O.T. — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Buffalo at New England — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Denver at Carolina — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Oakland at Baltimore — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
San Diego at Tampa Bay — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Tennessee at Miami — Spero Dedes/Steve Tasker

FOX
Atlanta at New Orleans — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Detroit at Minnesota — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
New York Giants at Cincinnati — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin

4:05 p.m.

CBS
New York Jets at Seattle — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon

4:25 p.m.

FOX
Dallas at Philadelphia — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
St. Louis at San Francisco — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Houston at Chicago — Al Michael/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

Some Thursday Linkage

Let me try to squeeze some linkage into the site today. It’s been crazy the last few days here.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has your 2012-13 college basketball viewing guide.

Michael Hiestand from USA Today talks with former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl who will work for the ESPN family this season.

Sports Business Daily recaps one of the sessions at its Sports Media & Technology Conference in New York. This included ESPN Junta Chief John Skipper.

From the ESPN Ombudsman, the lovely Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute explores how ESPN handles rumors and how it reports them.

At The Sherman Report, Ed Sherman notes TNT’s Charles Barkley’s comments on sideline reporters.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says the NFL is marketing a $60 USB computer plug-in.

Media Life Magazine has CBS crowing about being close to selling out Super Bowl XLVII.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin goes over why NBA League Pass is a massive ripoff.

Dylan Murphy of SportsGrid notes that Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has for all intents and purposes, lost the women’s vote. Good job, Mike.

Dylan has a frightening story on the man stalking Michelle Beadle.

Speaking of Pro Football Talk, Josh Alper from PFT has the sensitive Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers unhappy about his puff 60 Minutes profile.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell says the Los Angeles Dodgers are finding plenty of suitors for their TV rights.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY talks with Marv Albert about Brooklyn’s return to professional sports.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes an area native getting a promotion at ESPN.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says the NFL won’t flex in Week 12.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks with a local radio personality who used to pick high school football games.

Erik Spanberg from the Charlotte Business Journal has former NFL GM Bill Polian smiling about his ESPN NFL gig.

Michael Casagrande at the Orlando Sentinel talks with ESPN’s Samantha Steele.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says the viewing for the late ESPN on NBA Radio voice Jim Durham is this Sunday.

The Oklahoman’s Mel Bracht talks with TNT’s Reggie Miller.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Time Warner Cable will air Marquette basketball games this season.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune tells us that we’re paying more and more to watch sports on television.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the entries for this year’s All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival.

Sports Media Watch has some on-air personnel news.

Snap, Crackle Pop has some edgy MSG Network New York Knicks ads that had to be taken down.

Cork Gaines at the Business Insider’s Sports Page has screengrabs of some funny ESPN mustaches.

We have this week’s column from Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead notes that ESPN has transformed NFL insider John Clayton into a cartoon metalhead.

Matt Yoder from Awful Announcing has video of former San Francisco Giants whiner Jeff Kent angry at everything after being booted from Survivor.

And that’s it for now.

Various Monday Links

Let’s do some linkage on this Monday.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with TNT’s Charles Barkley about the next phase of his career.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that Saturday nights are becoming a sports TV bastion.

Chris Chase at USA Today’s Game On blog has video of an NFL referee cursing which surprised CBS’ Kevin Harlan.

Liana B. Baker and Lisa Richwine of Reuters says US cable sports networks are in a scrum for ad dollars.

Kimberly Nordyke of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Time Warner SportsNet has signed Cox, but Comcast, DirecTV and Dish still remain holdouts.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable says Travel Channel has signed a deal with the NFL to produce a show on the Cleveland Browns traveling to road games.

E.J. Schultz of Advertising Age says despite the NHL lockout, hockey marketers are finding ways to find their target audience.

Media Life Magazine says CBS scored with Alabama-LSU in primetime on Saturday.

Chuck Ross at TV Week explains why baseball remains the greatest game despite its ratings.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with CBS/TNT’s Marv Albert about calling games at the age of 71.

Ed wonders where Michelle Beadle will fit in NBC Sports Network’s plans.

CBS Sports reports that Dallas Mavericks announcer Mark Followill got into a bike accident over the weekend.

Radio Ink notes that former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy has joined NBC Sports Radio as an analyst.

Digital TV Europe reports that Al Jazeera’s beIN Sport in France has obtained the rights to air NBA games along with the NFL it previously signed.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes that NBC is going all in with soccer.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post says Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Road Runners should have admitted fault in attempting to run the NYC Marathon this past weekend.

Sarah Kogod of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that a Wizards beer ad featured an underaged 19 year old Bradley Beal.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner looks at the NBC deal to air English Premier League games starting in 2013.

Jodie Wagner of the Palm Beach Post talks with a local sports radio personality about working in the local market.

Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas says the Texas Rangers have announced their broadcast teams for next season.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports on the local sports radio ratings.

Jeff Balke of the Houston Press provides fans with ways to watch the Rockets for those who don’t have access to Comcast SportsNet Houston.

Neal Rubin at the Detroit News says a group hopes to land ESPN’s X Games for Motown.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox’s crew found a lot to praise about the Green Bay Packers.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business writes that the Big Ten Network continues to air the so-called non-revenue sports.

Paul M. Banks at the Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders why the Illinois Sports Facility Authority would hire a former TV reporter to run the agency.

John Vomhof, Jr. of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal provides a look at Fox Sports North’s new studios.

The Denver Post’s Dusty Saunders feels some sports broadcasters make predictions that can’t possibly come true.

Dusty says MLB is trying to spin the World Series ratings.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News writes about the last two holdouts for Time Warner SportsNet.

Tom has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Tom has the five things he learned over the weekend.

Sports Media Watch notes that while Alabama-LSU’s overnights were way down from last year, it still had impressive numbers for CBS.

That’s going to do it for now. Squeezed as many links as I could today.

NFL Viewing Picks for Week 9, 11/04/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPNews, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL Red Zone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Baltimore at Cleveland — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Buffalo at Houston — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Denver at Cincinnati — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Miami at Indianapolis — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots

FOX
Arizona at Green Bay — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
Carolina at Washington — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Chicago at Tennessee — Thom Brennman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Detroit at Jacksonville — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink

4:05 p.m.

FOX
Minnesota at Seattle — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
Tampa Bay at Oakland — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale

4:25 p.m.

CBS
Pittsburgh at New York Giants — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Dallas at Atlanta — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

Some Tuesday Links

I hope those of you in the Mid-Atlantic states are ok after Hurricane Sandy. I’m lucky to still have power after yesterday’s gusts in Southern New England. I know many are not. Hopefully you’re ok after Sandy and you can start getting back to normal. Let’s do some linkage for you.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks about the World Series’ ratings.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report wonders why the World Series ratings continue to decline.

Ed goes behind the scenes with ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

Ed has an interview with Jay “The Rat” Mariotti.

Michael O’Connell from the Hollywood Reporter says the World Series ratings fell from last year, but still won their respective nights.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes the 2012 World Series fell way below its previous record low.

Tim looks at NBC’s deal with the English Premier League.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News talks with MLB Network head honcho Tony Petitti about obtaining the rights to the next two World Baseball Classics.

Mike says Univision has signed the rights to the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age talks about the World Series’ low ratings.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life says Fox won Sunday night with an NFL overrun and the World Series.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that WFAN begins its FM simulcast on Friday.

NBA on TNT voice Marv Albert writes in the New York Times about welcoming the Nets to Brooklyn.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says Fox has changed the NFL game being sent to the Capital Region for the second consecutive week.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the college football TV schedule for Week 10.

Pete has the NFL TV schedule for Weeks 9 and 10.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes the MLS Playoffs start this Wednesday.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with NBA TV’s Chris Webber about the Wizards.

Tom Jones in the Tampa Bay Times reviews the weekend in sports television.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle looks at the weekend ratings.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says a former Sooner basketball player will be the analyst for several Oklahoma games this season.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post is a fan of NBC’s Tony Dungy.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News notes that the West Coast Conference gets a TV deal.

EPL Talk looks at the new NBC Sports-English Premier League deal.

Matt Yoder from Awful Announcing analyzes what airing English Premier League games means for NBC and NBC Sports Network.

The EPL also made a new rights deal in Canada.

Sports Rantz looks at some radio and sports broadcasts affected by Hurricane Sandy.

And that will be it for now.

NBA on TNT Kicks Off The 2012-13 Season With A Doubleheader

On Tuesday, TNT will have the season opening games for the new season. It begins with the Boston Celtics taking on the Miami Heat. Included in the coverage will be the Ring Ceremony as the Heat celebrates its championship from last season.

Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and the Czar of the Telestrator, Mike Fratello will be on hand to call all of the action for TNT. David Aldridge will be the courtside reporter. Game coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. ET.

TNT has pregame coverage with the Inside the NBA crew starting at 7 p.m.

And the nightcap will have the Dallas Mavericks taking on the Los Angeles Lakers live from Staples Center at 10:30 p.m. Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller will be there to call the action and Craig Sager’s loud wardrobe will roam the sidelines.

Here’s the TNT press release.

2012-13 NBA Season Tips Off October 30 Exclusively on TNT withDefending NBA Champion Heat vs. Celtics & New-Look Lakers Hosting Mavericks

Miami Heat Ring Ceremony to Precede Game Action During TNT NBA Tip-Off Pre-game Show at 7 p.m. ET
Inside the NBA Studio Team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith On Site in Brooklyn Nov. 1

Turner Broadcasting tips off its 29^th year of NBA coverage with TNT featuring two nights of doubleheaders beginning Tuesday, Oct. 30, with the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat hosting the Boston Celtics at 8 p.m. ET. Marv Albert will call the game with analyst Steve Kerr and reporter Craig Sager. In the nightcap, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Dallas Mavericks at 10:30 p.m. Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play with analyst Reggie Miller and reporter David Aldridge.

The network’s opening night coverage will include the Miami Heat Ring Ceremony during the one-hour TNT NBA Tip-Off pregame show – with TNT’s Emmy® Award-winning studio show team of host Ernie Johnson and analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal – at 7 p.m. ET.  Johnson, Barkley, Smith and O’Neal will return following the doubleheader for the Inside the NBA post-game show.

TNT’s opening week action will continue Thursday, Nov. 1, with the home debut of the Brooklyn Nets against the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. Albert will call the game with Kerr and Sager. Additionally, TNT’s studio team of Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith will be live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the game. The studio crew will contribute to a special one-hour pre-game show at 6 p.m. on NBA TV. Matt Winer will also anchor NBA TV’s pre-game coverage from Turner Studios in Atlanta with analysts Chris Webber and Rick Fox, along with Inside the NBA on TNT. The Nov. 1 doubleheader will conclude with a Western Conference Finals rematch between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs at 9:30 p.m. Harlan will be courtside along with Miller and Aldridge.

NBA on TNT Opening Week Schedule:

DAY/DATE
TIME (ET)	EVENT
Tuesday, October 30
7 p.m.	TNT NBA Tip-Off ’12 (including Miami Heat Ring Ceremony)
	Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith (analysts)
8 p.m.	Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat
	Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr and Mike Fratello (analysts) with David Aldridge (reporter)
10:30 p.m.	Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers
	Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Reggie Miller (analyst) with Craig Sager (reporter)
Post-game	Inside the NBA
	Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley, Shaquile O’Neal and Kenny Smith (analysts)
Thursday, November 1
6 p.m.	Special NBA TV Pre-Game Show (NBA TV telecast)
	Matt Winer (host), Chris Webber and Rick Fox (analysts) from Atlanta
	Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith (analysts) from Brooklyn
7 p.m.	New York Knicks @ New Jersey Nets
	Marv Albert and Steve Kerr with Craig Sager
9:30 p.m.	Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs
	Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller with David Aldridge
Post-game	Inside the NBA (live from Turner Studios in Atlanta)
	Matt Winer (host), Chris Webber and Rick Fox (analysts)

That will do it.

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 7, 10/21/2012

All Times Eastern

Week 7 NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Baltimore at Houston — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Cleveland at Indianapolis — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Tennessee at Buffalo — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon

FOX
Arizona at Minnesota — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
Dallas at Carolina — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Green Bay at St. Louis — Sam Rosen/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
New Orleans at Tampa Bay — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
Washington at New York Giants — Thom Brennaman/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver

4:25 p.m.

CBS
Jacksonville at Oakland — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
New York Jets at New England — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 6, 10/14/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check Your Local Listings, 1 p.m.
NFL Today Postgame Show — CBS, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
The OT — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1:00 p.m.

CBS
Cincinnati at Cleveland — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Indianapolis at New York Jets — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Kansas City at Tampa Bay — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Oakland at Atlanta — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf

FOX
Dallas at Baltimore — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Detroit at Philadelphia — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
St. Louis at Miami — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!

4:05 p.m.

CBS
Buffalo at Arizona — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
New England at Seattle — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts

4:25 p.m.

FOX
Minnesota at Washington — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
New York Giants at San Francisco — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Green Bay at Houston — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 5, 10/07/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Baltimore at Kansas City — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Cleveland at New York Giants — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Miami at Cincinnati — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon

FOX
Atlanta at Washington — Sam Rosen/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
Green Bay at Indianapolis — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver

4:05 p.m.

FOX
Chicago at Jacksonville — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Seattle at Carolina — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Kristina Pink

4:25 p.m.

CBS
Buffalo at San Francisco — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Denver at New England — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Tennessee at Minnesota — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker

8:30 p.m.

NBC
San Diego at New Orleans — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 4, 09/30/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (the 506.com)

Byes: Indianapolis, Pittsburgh

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 12:55 p.m.
The NFL Today Postgame Show — CBS, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
New England at Buffalo — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
San Diego at Kansas City — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Tennessee at Houston — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts

FOX
Carolina at Atlanta — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
Minnesota at Detroit — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
San Francisco at New York Jets — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Seattle at St. Louis — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink

4:05 p.m.

CBS
Cincinnati at Jacksonville — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Miami at Arizona — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
Oakland at Denver — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

4:25 p.m.

FOX
New Orleans at Green Bay — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
Washington at Tampa Bay — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Krista Voda

8:30 p.m.

NBC
New York Giants at Philadelphia — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 3, 09/23/2012

All Times Eastern

NFL Viewing Maps (from the506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN, 7:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL RedZone — NFL Network (check your local listings), 1 p.m.
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Buffalo at Cleveland — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
Cincinnati at Washington — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Jacksonville at Indianapolis — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
Kansas City at New Orleans — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
New York Jets at Miami — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon

FOX
Detroit at Tennessee — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink
San Francisco at Minnesota — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
St. Louis at Chicago — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
Tampa Bay at Dallas — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver

4:05 p.m.

FOX
Atlanta at San Diego — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
Philadelphia at Arizona — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin

4:15 p.m.

CBS
Houston at Denver — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Pittsburgh at Oakland — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts

8:30 p.m.

NBC
New England at Baltimore — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments 

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 2, 09/17/2012

All Times Eastern

Week 2 NFL Coverage Maps (The506.com)

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN, 7:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone – Check Your Local Listings, 1 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight

1 p.m.

CBS
Baltimore at Philadelphia — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Cleveland at Cincinnati — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
Houston at Jacksonville — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Kansas City at Buffalo — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
Oakland at Miami — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots

FOX
Arizona at New England — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
Minnesota at Indianapolis — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
New Orleans at Carolina — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink
Tampa Bay at New York Giants — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver

4:05 p.m.

FOX
Dallas at Seattle — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Washington at St. Louis — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!

4:25 p.m.

New York Jets at Pittsburgh — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Tennessee at San Diego — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Detroit at San Francisco — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments

NFL Viewing Picks For Week 1, 09/09/12

All Times Eastern

Week 1 Coverage Maps Courtesy of the506.com

Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field (series premiere) — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 pm.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network,  11:30 p.m.

1 p.m.

CBS
Buffalo at New York Jets — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Indianapolis at Chicago — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Jacksonville at Minnesota — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Miami at Houston — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
New England at Tennessee — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms

FOX
Atlanta at Kansas City — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Philadelphia at Cleveland — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
St. Louis at Detroit — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
Washington at New Orleans — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa

4:25 p.m.

FOX
Carolina at Tampa Bay — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink
San Francisco at Green Bay — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
Seattle at Arizona — Sam Rosen/Heath Evans/Heidi Androl

8:30 p.m.

NBC
Pittsburgh at Denver — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya

NFL Sunday Ticket DirecTV Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Channel Assignments
NFL RedZone

Some Back To Work Tuesday Linkage

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

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

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

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

Tim Nudd of Adweek reviews the latest WatchESPN spot.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Favorito says things are looking good at NBC Sports.

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

That’s going to do it for now.

CBS Sports is Proud of Its 26 Sports Emmy Award Nominations

CBS Sports is that organization that just keeps chugging along. It was in a very bleak period from 1994-1998 when it lost the NFL, no NBA, was outbid for the NHL and seemed to heading in downward spiral. But since Sean McManus came on board as its President and now Chairman, the division not only re-obtained the NFL, became a player in college football, kept its PGA Tour commitments, kept the NCAA Tournament thanks to its partnership with Turner Sports, added Showtime Sports to its arsenal and now has CBS Sports Network.

For the 33rd Sports Emmy Awards, CBS and its affiliated networks, Showime and CBSSports.com have received 26 Sports Emmy Award nods, third among the sports network groups behind ESPN and the NBC Sports Group.

Some of CBS’ nominations include Live Sports Special (The Masters), Playoff Coverage (SEC Championship), Studio Host (James Brown), Play-by-Play (Jim Nantz and Marv Albert), Game Analyst (Gary Danielson), Sports Reporter (Tracy Wolfson), Weekly Studio Show (with Showtime for Inside the NFL) and Sports Documentary (again with Showtime for Game of Honor).

In addition, the Army-Navy game received multiple technical nominations.

Here’s the CBS Sports press release.

JIM NANTZ, JAMES BROWN, GARY DANIELSON AND TRACY WOLFSON LEAD CBS’s 26 NOMINATIONS FOR 2011 SPORTS EMMY AWARDS

SHOWTIME/CBS Sports Garner Five Nominations for Epic Army-Navy Documentary A GAME OF HONOR”
CBS Sports’ Coverage of NCAA Tournament, Masters^®, SEC Football and Army-Navy Game Also Receive Nods to Highlight Network’s Other Nominations

Jim Nantz, James Brown, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson lead the list of CBS’s 26 nominations for the 2011 Sports Emmy Awards to be presented on April 30 in New York City.  Nantz, who won the 2008 and 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality -– PLAY-BY-PLAY, once again earned a nomination in that category. Brown’s nomination also is in the category in which he won in 2007, Outstanding Sports Personality -– STUDIO HOST, for THE NFL TODAY and INSIDE THE NFL on Showtime, while Danielson earned a nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality -– SPORTS EVENT ANALYST and Wolfson gained a nod for Outstanding Sports Personality -– SPORTS REPORTER. In addition, Marv Albert (CBS/TBS/TNT) earned a nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality – PLAY-BY-PLAY.

Among the other nominations for CBS Sports include multiple nods for its collaboration with Showtime on the epic Army-Navy documentary A GAME OF HONOR. The documentary garnered five nominations:

CBS Sports, teaming up with Turner Sports, also gained multiple nominations for its coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship for Outstanding SHORT FEATURE (Human Highlight Reel – Manny Ohonme: The Great Samaritan); Outstanding LONG FEATURE (NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Amongst Friends: A Story of Loss and Healing); Outstanding TECHNICAL TEAM STUDIO (NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Road to the Final Four) and Outstanding NEW APPROACHES SPORTS EVENT COVERAGE (March Madness on Demand –- NCAA.com/CBS Sports/Turner Sports).

In addition, CBS Sports’ coverage of the Masters® earned multiple nominations for Outstanding LIVE SPORTS SPECIAL and The George Wensel TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (The Masters 3D Coverage –- CBS Sports/ESPN3D). And the Network’s coverage of the Army-Navy football game received three nominations for Outstanding OPEN/TEASE; Outstanding Post Produced AUDIO/SOUND and Outstanding MUSIC COMPOSITION/DIRECTION/LYRICS.

Rounding out CBS Sports’ nominations are Outstanding PLAYOFF COVERAGE – SEC Football Championship Game (Georgia vs. LSU); Outstanding STUDIO SHOW – WEEKLY – INSIDE THE NFL (Showtime/CBS Sports); and OUTSTANDING LIVE EVENT TURNAROUND (Tour de France -– CBS Sports/Versus).

CBS’ Showtime, along with MLB Productions, earned three nominations for its series The Franchise: A Season with the San Francisco Giants for Outstanding Post Produced AUDIO/SOUND; Outstanding MUSIC COMPOSITION/DIRECTION/LYRICS and Outstanding EDITED SPORTS SERIES/Anthology.

33rd Annual Sports Emmy Nominations Announced

We have the nominations, all 170 in 33 different categories, for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards. They just came out today. There are some surprises like massive hockey charlatan Pierre McGuire nominated in the Sports Reporter category and for some really strange reason, Skippy Bayless of ESPN2′s First Take was nominated for Best Studio Analyst. What analysis does he do besides yelling and having massive manlove for Tim Tebow?

There are some of the usual suspects are nominated, Bob Costas for Best Studio Host, Al Michaels in Play-by-Play, Cris Collinsworth for both Studio and Game Analyst.

Some of the nominations I agree with include Mike Mayock for Best Game Analyst, College GameDay and Football Night in America as Best Studio Shows and all of the movies in the Sports Documentary category. Sports documentaries were strong this year and I have trouble picking one although Catching Hell, the ESPN Films effort on Steve Bartman and the Chicago Cubs might be the weakest of the bunch, but the doc was still very good.

Ok, get ready to scroll, the entire list is below. We do need a page break so the list of nominees will after the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences press releases.

THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 33^RD ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS

Winners to be Honored During the April 30^th Ceremony At Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jack Whitaker to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

New York, NY – March 20, 2012 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 33^rd Annual Sports Emmy® Awards.

More than 170 nominees were announced in 33 categories including outstanding live sports special, live series, sports documentary, studio show, promotional announcements, play-by-play personality and studio analyst.  The Awards will be given out at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center on April 30^th, 2012 in New York City.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports will go to the Sports Commentator and Essayist, Jack Whitaker.

“This is an outstanding year for the sports community and for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” said Malachy Wienges, Chairman, NATAS. “The entries received in this year’s Sports Emmys resulted in a record 175 nominees, illustrating the quality of these entries.  We are also honoring Jack Whitaker with our Lifetime Achievement Award.  I had the pleasure of working with Jack for eighteen years at CBS, and Jack is a sports icon and a class act.”

In addition to Jack Whitaker, many of the today’s leading sports broadcasters, personalities and television professionals will be in attendance as presenters at the event.

The networks of ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D & espn.com) lead the nomination totals with 55, the NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel & nbcsports.com) garnered 32, CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) entries received 26 nominations, while Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com & truTV) have 22.

A complete list of all nominees is attached below.

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network Group

ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D, espn.com) – 55
NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel, nbcsports.com) – 32
CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) – 26
Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com, truTV) – 22
HBO Sports – 19
FOX Sports Media Group (FOX, SPEED) – 16
NFL Network – 12
MLB Network – 8
DIRECTV – 2
MLB Advanced Media (MLB.com, MLBAM) – 2
NFL.com – 2
NCAA.com – 1
PGA.com – 1

33^rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network

ESPN – 36
NBC – 22
HBO Sports – 19
CBS – 15
FOX – 15
TNT – 15
ESPN2 – 14
NFL NETWORK – 12
SHOWTIME – 10
MLB NETWORK – 8
VERSUS – 7  
TBS – 3
ABC – 2   
DIRECTV – 2
ESPN 3D – 2
GOLF CHANNEL – 2
NBA TV – 2
NFL.COM – 2
CBSSPORTS.COM – 1
ESPN.COM – 1
MLB.COM – 1
MLBAM – 1
NBA.COM – 1
NBCSPORTS.COM – 1
NCAA.COM – 1
PGA.COM – 1
SPEED – 1
truTV – 1

BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM/SERIES NOMINATIONS

Program/Nominations/Network

24/7: 8 -  HBO
E: 60: 7 – ESPN2
A Game of Honor: 5 – Showtime/CBSSports.com
MLB on FOX: 5 – FOX
NASCAR on FOX: 5 – FOX
NBA on TNT: 4 – TNT
NBC Sunday Night Football: 4 – NBC
FIFA Women’s World Cup: 3 – ESPN/ESPN2
Outside the Lines: 3 – ESPN
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: 3 – HBO
SportsCenter: 3 – ESPN
The Army/Navy Game: 3 – CBS
The Franchise: 3 – Showtime
Winter X Games 15: 3 – ESPN/ESPN3D
2011 Open Championship: 2 – ESPN
2011 Stanley Cup Final: 2 – NBC/Versus
ESPN Monday Night Football: 2 – ESPN
Football Night in America: 2 – NBC
Grand Slam Tennis on ESPN: 2 – ESPN2
Inside the NBA on TNT: 2 – TNT
Joplin: City of Hope: 2 – ESPN2
McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice: 2 – HBO
MLB Tonight: 2 – MLB Network
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: 2 – CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV
NFL Films Presents: 2 – NFL Network
NFL GameDay Morning: 2 – NFL Network
NFL on FOX: 2 – FOX
Sports Science: 2 – ESPN/ESPN.com
Sunday NFL Countdown: 2 – ESPN
Unguarded: 2 – ESPN

And after the page break, all of the nominees for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards which will be handed out April 30 in New York City.

(continue reading…)