Fang's Bites

2013 ESPN’s Monday Night Football Schedule

We have the ESPN Monday Night Football schedule for the 2013 season.

It begins on Monday, September 9 with its annual doubleheader, Philadelphia at Washington and Houston at San Diego.

Highlights of ESPN’s 17 game schedule include Pittsburgh at Cincinnati in Week 2, Indianapolis at San Diego in Week 6, Minnesota at the New York Football Giants in Week 7, Chicago at Green Bay in the NFL’s oldest rivalry in Week 9, San Francisco at Washington in Week 12 and Atlanta at San Francisco in ESPN’s final game of the season in Week 16.

Take a look at the ESPN MNF schedule.

ESPN’s 2013 Monday Night Football Schedule

Preseason

Thursday, August 8, 8 p.m. — Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons
Thursday, August 15, 8 p.m. — San Diego Chargers vs. Chicago Bears
Monday, August 19, 8 p.m. — Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins
Thursday, August 22, 8 p.m. — Carolina Panthers vs. Baltimore Ravens

Regular Season

Monday, September 9, 7 p.m. — Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins
Monday, September 9, 10:15 p.m. — Houston Texans vs. San Diego Chargers
Monday, September 16, 8:30 p.m. — Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Monday, September 23, 8:30 p.m.– Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos
Monday, September 30, 8:30 p.m. — Miami Dolphins vs. New Orleans Saints
Monday, October 7, 8:30 p.m. — New York Jets vs. Atlanta Falcons
Monday, October 14, 8:30 p.m. — Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers
Monday, October 21, 8:30 p.m. — Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Giants
Monday, October 28, 8:30 p.m. — Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams
Monday, November 4, 8:30 p.m. — Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
Monday, November 11, 8:30 p.m. — Miami Dolphins vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Monday, November 18, 8:30 p.m. — New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers
Monday, November 25, 8:30 p.m. — San Francisco 49ers vs. Washington Redskins
Monday, December 2, 8:30 p.m. — New Orleans Saints vs. Seattle Seahawks
Monday, December 9, 8:30 p.m. — Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears
Monday, December 16, 8:30 p.m. — Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions
Monday, December 23, 8:30 p.m. — Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers

And ESPN’s spin on its schedule comes after the break.
(continue reading…)

ESPN Announces its 2013 NFL Preseason Schedule

ESPN gets the most NFL preseason games between it, CBS, Fox and NBC. ESPN will carry four games and oddly enough, most of them are Thursday nights instead of the usual Monday.

As usual, the Monday Night Football crew of Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Lisa Salters will be at all of the games.

Here’s the ESPN schedule.

2013 Monday Night Football Preseason Schedule

ESPN will televise four NFL games as part of its 2013 Monday Night Football preseason schedule. Play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico and analyst Jon Gruden will call the games in anticipation of ESPN’s MNF regular-season opener on Monday, Sept. 9. All MNF preseason games will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be preceded by a one-hour Monday Night Countdown pregame.

The preseason kicks off Thursday, August 8, when Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals travel to Atlanta to face Matt Ryan and the Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Bengals were an AFC Wild Card team in 2012, while the Falcons won the NFC South and reached the Conference Championship game.

The ESPN crew then heads to The Windy City when Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears host Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers at Soldier Field on Thursday, Aug. 15. Both teams will have new offensive-minded head coaches in 2013 in Mike McCoy (Chargers) and Marc Trestman (Bears).

On Monday, Aug. 19, the NFC East champion Washington Redskins host Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedEx Field. The Redskins are hopeful that last year’s rookie quarterback sensation Robert Griffin III will be back in the lineup after he suffered a knee injury in the team’s final playoff game.

Just three days later up Interstate 95, ESPN will conclude its preseason schedule when Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers face Joe Flacco and the Super Bowl XLVII champion Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday, August 22.

ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s 24-hour Spanish-language domestic sports network, will once again offer a Spanish-language production of MNF preseason and regular season games in 2013. All games will also be available on tablets and computers via WatchESPN.

The 2013 ESPN MNF regular season schedule is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football 2013 NFL Preseason Schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Game
Thursday, Aug. 8	8 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons
Thursday, Aug. 15	8 p.m.	San Diego Chargers vs. Chicago Bears
Monday, Aug. 19	8 p.m.	Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins
Thursday, Aug. 22	8 p.m.	Carolina Panthers vs. Baltimore Ravens

That is all. Fox’s schedule is next.

ESPN, Inc. Pounds Its Chest Over 43 Sports Emmy Nominations

The ESPN Family of Networks received 43 Sports Emmy nominations. Some of the major nods include Mike Breen for Play-by-Play, Jon Gruden for Event Sports Analyst, College GameDay for Weekly Studio Show, Pardon the Interruption in Daily Studio Show, the Indy 500 for Live Sports Special, Monday Night Football in Live Sports Series, 30 for 30 in Edited Sports Series/Anthology, E:60 for Sports Journalism and even Grantland got three nominations giving Bill Simmons another ego blast.

Here’s what ESPN is saying about their Sports Emmy nominations.

ESPN, Inc. – 41 Sports Emmy Nominations

Outside the Lines, E:60 Lead the Way; First Three Nominations for Grantland.com

ESPN, Inc. received 41 Sports Emmy Award nominations for 2012 across its platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN 3D, ABC, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and Grantland.com), it was announced today by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  The winners will be announced Monday, May 6, in New York.

The company’s initiatives in enterprise journalism and storytelling led the way – five nods for E:60, four for Outside the Lines, ESPN Films earned four nominations including two for 30 for 30 documentaries, and three for Grantland.com, the site’s first nominations. OTL has won 14 Sports Emmy Awards in history, including three last year.  Grantland.com gained two nominations in New Approaches – Sports Programming with “The Arnold Palmer” and “Royce White Battles Anxiety on Draft Day” as well as one in New Approaches – Short Format for “Story Time with Jalen Rose.”

Monday Night Football, the most-watched series in cable television, was nominated in Live Series and its analyst Jon Gruden was nominated for the fourth consecutive year and reporter Lisa Salters received her first-ever nod.  In technical categories, ESPN 3D garnered a pair of nominations, including in Technical Team Remote for the Winter X Games for which the network won in 2012.  Also, last summer’s UEFA Euro 2012 month-long tournament received nominations in Technical Team Studio and in Graphic Design.

Overall, ESPN has won 148 Sports Emmy Awards in 25 years of eligibility.  ABC Sports won 160 from 1980 – 2008.

ESPN’s nominations by category (all are ESPN, except as noted):

Live Special                                   Indianapolis 500 (ABC)
Live Series                                     Monday Night Football
Edited Special                                Outside the Lines – Believe
Sports Documentary                      26 Years: The Dewey Bozella Story (ESPN2)
The Announcement
Edited Series                                 30 for 30
Studio Show/weekly                       College GameDay
Studio Show/daily                          NFL Live (ESPN2)
Pardon the Interruption
Journalism                                     E:60 – Beitar Jerusalem (ESPN2)
                                                      E:60 – Busted Coverage (ESPN2)
Short Feature                                 College GameDay – Fist Bump: A Brotherly Bond
E:60 – Perfect (ESPN2)
SportsCenter – Kick of Hope
SportsCenter – Run with Me
Long Feature                                  E:60 – Mike Powell: In Relentless Pursuit (ESPN2)
New Approaches –                         Unite (ESPNU)
Sports Programming                     Royce White Battles Anxiety on Draft Day (Grantland.com)
The Arnold Palmer (Grantland.com)
New Approaches – Short Format    ESPNU Unite Social Highlight (ESPNU)
Story Time with Jalen Rose (Grantland.com)
Numbers Never Lie Whiteboard (ESPN2)
Play by Play                                   Mike Breen (ABC)
Event Analyst                                 Jon Gruden
Reporter                                         Lisa Salters
Technical Team Remote                 The Masters (ESPN 3D with CBS)
Winter X Games (ESPN 3D)
Technical Team Studio                  UEFA Euro 2012
Camerawork                                   E:60 – Remember Bluffton (ESPN2)
Outside the Lines – Breaking the Silence
Editing                                           Grand Slam Tennis (ESPN2
Outside the Lines – Breaking the Silence
Writing                                           The Open Championship – Old
The Open Championship – Essays
30 for 30 – Ghosts of Ole Miss
Graphic Design                              UEFA Euro 2012
                                                      Sport Science (ESPN-ESPN2-ESPNEWS)
Prod.Design/Art Direction              Outside the Lines – Defiance: The Story of FC Start
Promo – Institutional                     “It’s not crazy, it’s sports.”
“Nothing Beats First Place”

That’s going to do it.

The 6th Annual Fang’s Bites NFL TV Awards

It’s now time to hand out the hardware for the 6th Annual Fang’s Bites NFL TV Awards. On Christmas Day, I listed the nominees for this season’s awards. Now, we have the winners for the 2012 regular season.

Best Play-by-Play: The nominees are Ian Eagle (CBS), Kevin Harlan (CBS), Al Michaels (NBC), Brad Nessler (NFL Network) and Mike Tirico (ESPN). The winner is Mike Tirico of ESPN. Mike has called Monday Night Football since 2007. He’s dealt with different combinations in the booth throughout his tenure, first Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser for one season. Then Ron Jaworski and Kornheiser for two more seasons, followed by Jaworski and Jon Gruden for two and now just Gruden. Tirico has been steady throughout. He’s not afraid to call out a player or a team and he’s always prepared. A much deserved award for Tirico. And if Gruden decides to go back into coaching, Tirico could have a totally new partner next season. No matter what, Mike will be ready.

Best Game Analyst: Your nominees are Troy Aikman (Fox), Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Dan Fouts (CBS), Rich Gannon (CBS) and Mike Mayock (NFL Network). This season’s award goes to Mike Mayock of Thursday Night Football, now a two-time winner. Mike won last year’s Game Analyst Award and will win it again for his work in 2012. There are times when Mike needs to take a breath, but he always brings something to the table and I always learn something new whenever I watch him.

Best Sunday NFL Pregame Show: This season’s nominees are First on the Field (NFL Network), Fox NFL Sunday (Fox), NFL Matchup (ESPN) and the NFL Today (CBS). The hands-down winner is ESPN’s NFL Matchup. This show has been airing since the 1980′s, but the show has mostly remained the same, showing looks not normally seen on TV. Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge explain their analysis in an intelligent manner without talking down to viewers. And Sal Paolantonio is perfect in the host’s chair. While some pregame shows are stuck in laughfests or lame attempts at comedy, NFL Matchup just sticks to basics and viewers are the beneficiaries.

Best Studio Show, Daily or Weekly: The nominees in this category are Around the League Live (NFL Network), Inside the NFL (Showtime), NFL Live (ESPN), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN) and NFL Turning Point (NBC Sports Network). I should have added Sound FX from NFL Network and I’ll make sure this will be nominated next season. All of the shows are done very well, but I’m going to go with the venerable Inside the NFL of Showtime. After moving to Showtime from HBO, the show adjusted from having Bob Costas as host to James Brown and bringing in new castmates Phil Simms, Warren Sapp (since dropped from the show) and insider Michael Lombardi to the only holdover Cris Collinsworth. NFL Films highlights remains a huge part of the show. Seeing the dynamic between Collinsworth and Simms has been fun and JB is one of the best hosts in sports television.

Best Highlight Show: The nominees are Football Night in America (NBC), NFL GameDay Final (NFL Network), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN) and The OT (Fox). It has to be NFL GameDay Final on NFL Network. While Chris Rose is an extremely weak host, the highlights are the star. In addition, an extreme weakness is having Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders are talking over each other, but again, no other show can provide three or four minutes of highlights. The NFL has placed restrictions on Football Night in America and NFL PrimeTime on the length of their highlights, but NFL GameDay Final has no such problem and can go for as long as it wants. The show has suffered since Rich Eisen left for GameDay Morning, but what matters are the highlights.

Best Studio Host: A strong category, it was tough to leave someone out and there is a glaring omission among these nominees: Rich Eisen (NFL Network), Curt Menefee (Fox), Dan Patrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network), Melissa Stark (NFL Network), Andrew Siciliano (DirecTV) and Trey Wingo (ESPN). Tough to leave out James Brown of CBS/Showtime, but I went with six nominees. This season’s winner is first time winner Trey Wingo of ESPN. Trey hosts NFL PrimeTime and NFL Live. The man knows his stuff and deserves a bigger platform. He’s done his time on ESPN and should be given the main host role on either Sunday NFL Countdown or the NFL Draft. Yes, Chris Berman hosts both, but Wingo is a much better nuts and bolts anchor. Wingo doesn’t rely on schtick or catchphrases, he gives you the facts and as a fan, that’s exactly what you want.

Best Studio Analyst: Your nominees are Tony Dungy (NBC), Boomer Esiason (CBS), Marshall Faulk (NFL Network), Rodney Harrison (NBC), Kurt Warner (NFL Network) and Steve Young (ESPN). The winner is Steve Young of ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown. There were times I would scratch my head at Young’s statements, but over the past couple of years, he’s grown on me. His work this season has been spectacular. He and Trent Dilfer had strong words during the first part of the season when the regular officials were locked out and bad calls influenced the results of games. As the season progressed, Young’s level-headed analysis was mostly on target, especially on Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets. Excellent work by Young and he would be a candidate to replace Jon Gruden if the former Tampa Bay coach took a job on the sidelines next season.

Most Valuable Network: The nominees are Fox, ESPN, NBC and NFL Network. Thanks to picking up the final two pieces in its cable provider puzzle, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable, this season’s winner is NFL Network. The network started a new morning show, NFL AM, that is gaining popularity among football fans. In addition, it launched an early morning Sunday pregame show in First on the Field that brought back Melissa Stark to sports television. And to top it all off, Thursday Night Football had its longest schedule ever in 13 games plus its best ratings ever. NFL Network is having its best season ever. Now if can right one wrong in Chris Rose, we’d be all set.

Best NFL Insider: Our nominees are John Clayton (ESPN), Jay Glazer (Fox), Peter King (NBC), Jason La Canfora (CBS) and Chris Mortensen (ESPN). I did omit Adam Schefter and he’s having a very good season, but I’ll go with Jay Glazer of Fox. I’m simply going with Glazer over his sourcing fight with ESPN in the last week. Plus, Jay laid the smackdown on your humble blogger over a mistake I made.

Best Sideline Reporter: The nominees are Alex Flanagan (NFL Network), Jennifer Hale (Fox), Jaime Maggio (Fox), Lisa Salters (ESPN) and Michele Tafoya (NBC). Bringing back this category after a year’s absence, our winner is Michele Tafoya of NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Michele won the initial Emmy Award for Sideline Reporting in 2012 and manages to provide solid information whenever she’s called upon. And her demonstration in Seattle in Week 16 on the crowd noise was one of the most original reports I’ve seen. Quite impressed.

Best Announcing Team: The nominees in this category are Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts (CBS), Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots (CBS), Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Brad Nessler/Mike Mayock (NFL Network) and Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden (ESPN). The winner this season is the team of the Bird and the Beard, Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts of CBS. I hope Ian and Dan are promoted to the “B” team and will get to call a Divisional Playoff game next season. They have very good chemistry and provide humor to games. Fouts is quite good in providing analysis and spotting trends. Ian has been with CBS since 1998 after one season with the New York Jets and is fast becoming one of the better all-around announcers on sports TV. Fouts has been around for many years calling both the NFL and college for CBS and ESPN/ABC. And Dan is versatile having called play-by-play on radio and TV. They are the winners in this category for 2012.

Best Game Production: Our nominees are Monday Night Football (ESPN), NFL on CBS (CBS), NFL on Fox (Fox), Sunday Night Football (NBC) and Thursday Night Football (NFL Network). We’re going with NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Last month, John Koblin of Deadspin chronicled the evolution of Sunday Night Football’s production and the article showed how SNF focuses on the field, the action and anything the fan wants to see. SNF is the number one primetime series on TV and the way it brings fans closer to the game is a reason why. In addition, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth carry on a conversation throughout that provides fans with a good understanding of the game.

Best Debut: The nominees are Carolyn Manno on Football Night in America (NBC), First on the Field (NFL Network), Amber Theoharis on NFL Total Access (NFL Network) and Hines Ward on Football Night in America (NBC). The winner is First on the Field from NFL Network. Airing at 7 a.m. ET on Sundays, this is America’s first live NFL pregame show. Melissa Stark has proven to be a fine host. While Sterling Sharpe talks over everyone, LaDanian Tomlinson and Michael Lombardi provide analysis and the latest information leading up to NFL GameDay Morning at 9 a.m. The show is done well and originates from the NFL Films studios in New Jersey. For early risers, it’s a decent show and gives viewers their NFL fix.

Worst Play-by-Play: These are the nominees as we have now reached our “Worst” Awards: Chris Berman (ESPN), Thom Brennaman (Fox), Chris Myers (Fox), Ron Pitts (Fox) and Dick Stockton (Fox). The “winner” is Chris Myers of Fox. Chris is a very good host. He’s also a decent interviewer. But as far as play-by-play is concerned, Myers is awful. He’s constantly misidentifying players and there were times when he was behind on the action. I’m not impressed.

Worst Game Analyst: The nominees are Dan Dierdorf (CBS), Daryl Johnston (Fox), John Lynch (Fox) and Mike Martz (Fox). Mike Martz is the “winner” of this category. There’s nothing of substance provided with Martz. He gets this award hands down.

Worst Studio Host: Just two nominees here: Chris Berman (ESPN) and Chris Rose (NFL Network). The winner of this award is Chris Rose of NFL Network. The first-ever employee of two league-owned network simultaneously, Chris Rose is proving the sucking sound you hear comes from two channel positions on your television. Rose is on the worst show on sports television, Intentional Talk on MLB Network, and now he’s trying to ruin NFL GameDay Final and the Total Access Thursday Night Football Postgame show. He can’t control his analysts (see Best Highlights Show) and there are times he tries to go into “Best Damned Sports Show” which he used to host on Fox Sports Net. Chris Rose takes the award this season.

Worst Studio Analyst: Originally two nominees, Michael Irvin (NFL Network) and Eric Mangini (ESPN), I’ll add Warren Sapp (NFL Network/Showtime) to the mix. The “winner” is Michael Irvin of NFL Network. The man yells, he doesn’t make any sense and why NFL Network continues to use him is beyond me. He’s on three shows, NFL GameDay Morning, Thursday Night Kickoff and NFL GameDay Final. All he does is yell, cackle and laugh. No need for this.

And those are your NFL TV Awards for 2012. Let me know what you think in the comments below or on my Twitter and Facebook pages.

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)

The Last Monday Night Football Game of 2012 is Tonight

With Christmas Eve falling on a Monday, the NFL decided to schedule ESPN’s final game of the 2012 season on a Saturday night which is tonight.

It’s like the old days when ESPN had the Sunday night package and used to air a Saturday night game in the final weeks of the NFL season. But back in the 1990′s, ESPN would air a Saturday night and a Sunday night game back-to-back and have its crew of Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire call both games.

Tonight, the Monday Night Football crew of Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will call the game. Lisa Salters will roam the sidelines for ESPN.

Monday Night Countdown airs at 7 p.m. ET with the game starting after 8:30 p.m.

Here’s the ESPN preview.

MNF Season Finale on Saturday: Matt Ryan and the Falcons Face Matthew Stafford and the Lions

In a special Saturday night edition of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons – tied for the best record in the NFL (12-2) – will face Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions on December 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET in the prime-time series’ season finale.

The Falcons hope to secure home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs, while Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson continues his quest to set the record for most receiving yards in a single season. To break the 17-year old record set by ESPN analyst Jerry Rice, Johnson needs 182 receiving yards in his next two games.

Mike Tiricowill call the game with analyst Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters. Airing on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, MNF will also be available on computers at WatchESPN.com and on tablets via the WatchESPN app for fans who receive their video subscriptions from an affiliated provider.

The 90-minute Saturday edition of Monday Night Countdown begins at 7 p.m. with host Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson and NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. The pre-game show will also include reports from Steve Young and Salters at Ford Field. Highlights:

• Soundtracks – Falcons Season:  ith a win Saturday night in Detroit, the Falcons will lock up home field advantage for the NFC playoffs. In this week’s Soundtracks, Countdown presents some of the season’s best Falcons in-game and sideline audio.
• Jerry Rice on Calvin Johnson’s Pursuit of Receiving Record: With 1,667 receiving yards in 14 games, Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is 181 yards removed from breaking Jerry Rice’s single-season receiving mark. As Johnson approaches his record, Rice reflects on the record and what makes Johnson such a dominant receiver.
• Best of “C’Mon Man!”: A review of the season’s best C’Mon Man! plays, ranging from the replacement referees faux pas to wardrobe malfunctions.

ESPN NFL studio programming continues throughout the holiday weekend into Christmas Day.

Date	Time (ET)	Show	Network(s)
Saturday, December 22	7 p.m.	Monday Night Countdown	ESPN
	8:30 p.m.	Monday Night Football: Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions	ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Watch ESPN
Sunday, December 23	3 a.m.	NFL Matchup	ESPN
	6:30 a.m.	NFL Matchup (re-air)	ESPN
	8:30 a.m.	NFL Matchup (re-air)	ESPN2
	10 a.m.	Sunday NFL Countdown	ESPN
	11 a.m.	Fantasy Football Now	ESPN2
	7:30 p.m.	SportsCenter* Highlights of Sunday’s NFL games	ESPN
Monday, December 24	3 p.m.	NFL Primetime	ESPN
	4 p.m.	NFL Live	ESPN
	5 p.m.	NFL32	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	NFL Live (re-air)	ESPN2
Tuesday, December 25	12:30 a.m.	NFL Primetime (re-air)	ESPN
	1:30 a.m.	NFL Films Presents	ESPN2
	3 p.m.	NFL Primetime (re-air)	ESPN
	3:30 p.m.	2012 Pop Warner Championship	ESPN2
	4 p.m.	NFL Live	ESPN
	4:30 p.m.	Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers at Cardinals (re-air)	ESPN2
	6 p.m.	NFL Live (re-air)	ESPN2

There you have it.

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 Radio Games For Week 15 of the 2012 Season

Sunday, December 16

12:30 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
Denver at Baltimore — Chris Carrino/Brian Baldinger
New York Giants at Atlanta — Matt Smith/Curtis Conaway

Dial Global Radio
Indianapolis at Houston — Tom McCarthy/Tony Boselli

Sports USA Radio Network
Green Bay at Chicago

3:45 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
Kansas City at Oakland — Greg Papa/Tom Flores
Pittsburgh at Dallas — Kevin Burkhardt/Danny White

Dial Global Radio
Carolina at San Diego — Kevin Kugler/Mark Malone

Sports USA Radio Network
Detroit at Arizona

7:30 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
San Francisco at New England — Dave Sims/James Lofton/Steve Tasker

Monday, December 17

8 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
New York Jets at Tennessee — Kevin Harlan/Dan Fouts/Tony Boselli

Monday Night Football Ratings For NY Giants-Washington Up Big From Last Year

The great game between the New York Football Giants and the DC Football Team definitely hooked viewers on Monday night. ESPN says the ratings for Monday Night Football in Week 13 ended at a 10.2 rating and 16.2 million viewers. That rating is up 40% from last year’s 6.1 for a weak San Diego-Jacksonville game. As far as viewership, it’s up 39% from Week 13 last year.

In the local markets, Washington led the nation with a combined 31.2 rating (20.9 on ESPN and 10.3 on over-the-air WDCA) while New York received a combined 18.8 number (11.9, ESPN and 6.9 on WWOR). Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News was the highest non-home market for the game.

Here’s the press release from ESPN.

ESPN and Monday Night Football Win the Night

Giants-Redskins Delivers 11.9 Rating and 16,209,000 Million Viewers

Last night’s ESPN Monday Night Football game – a Washington Redskins 17-16 win over the NFC East rival New York Giants – won the night among all television programs on broadcast or cable in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos. Similarly, ESPN led all television networks in those same categories.

The telecast delivered an 11.9 household coverage rating (10.2 US), representing an average of 11,701,000 households (16,209,000 million viewers – P2+), according to Nielsen, making it the fourth most-viewed program on cable television this year. The game peaked between 9:30–9:45 p.m. ET with a 13.4 coverage rating.

In Washington D.C., the game delivered a 20.9 rating on ESPN and a 10.3 rating on WDCA-IND, for a combined 31.2 rating in the market. In New York, the game delivered an 11.9 rating on ESPN and a 6.9 rating on WWOR-IND, for a combined 18.8 rating in the market. The top-10 metered markets (not including primary home team markets) include Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (23.5), Richmond (22.7), Las Vegas (19.7), Baltimore (18.6), New Orleans (17.6), Charlotte (14.6), Sacramento (13.5), Atlanta (13.5), Denver (13.1) and Hartford-New Haven (13.1).

Through the first 13 weeks of the NFL season (14 games), MNF is averaging a 9.7 household coverage rating (8.4 US), 9,559,000 households and 13,114,000 viewers, up slightly from the same point last season.

ESPN Digital Platforms
ESPN also saw significant traffic across its digital platforms on Sunday and Monday:

• ESPN.com NFL section – An average minute audience of 33,000, up 27 percent from last year, reaching 4.1 million unique visitors
• ESPN.com Fantasy Football section – An average minute audience of 50,000, a 38 percent gain from last year, reaching 2.5 million unique visitors
• ESPN mobile Web NFL section – An average minute audience of 48,000, up 67 percent, reaching 3.7 million unique visitors.

ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes’ Spanish language telecast of the Giants-Redskins game delivered a 0.5 Hispanic household coverage rating with 30,000 Hispanic household impressions (44,000 Hispanic viewers – P2+). For the season, MNF on ESPN Deportes (14 telecasts) is averaging a 0.7 Hispanic household coverage rating with 37,000 Hispanic household impressions (59,000 Hispanic viewers – P2+). Ratings are up 17 percent over 2011, while viewership (P2+) is up 36 percent.

AFC Showdown on MNF Next Week: Matt Schaub and Texans (11-1) vs. Tom Brady and Patriots (9-3)
ESPN’s MNF returns with another blockbuster matchup this week as three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (9-3) host Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans (11-1) in a battle of top AFC contenders on December 10 at 8:30 p.m

That’s all for this post.

Time For Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do some Tuesday links. Lots of stuff to get to.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that Bob Costas is receiving his share of criticism for his anti-gun commentary during halftime of Sunday Night Football.

Busted Coverage has video of Bob Costas telling Dan Patrick that he’s not backing off on his anti-gun comments.

Michael Katz of USA Today’s Game On blog recaps Vin Scully’s first and way too brief foray into Twitter on Monday.

From Yahoo’s Cagefighter, the great Maggie Hendricks tells us that Mixed Martial Arts viewing will be different in 2013.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Universal Sports will be moving its operations from Los Angeles to the Comcast Media Center in Denver.

From Advertising Age, Brian Steinberg writes that Mercedes-Benz plans to bring out some big guns for its Super Bowl ad in February.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell notes that Lincoln cars are looking to make a return to Super Bowl advertising.

Tom Conroy of Media Life Magazine reviews the new NFL Films-produced Travel Channel documentary series on the Cleveland Browns support staff.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report reviews two documentaries that debut this week.

The Nielsen Wire says the Los Angeles Lakers are the most marketable of all NBA teams.

Steve Burton of WBZ-TV in Boston is the only one reporting that the NHL Lockout is close to ending.

Bill Carter of the New York Times says Bob Costas put the spotlight on himself with his anti-gun Sunday Night Football halftime commentary.

The New York Daily News reports that the Jets have renewed their radio rights deal with ESPN Radio New York.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says YES Network had its best ratings ever for a Nets game.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says Monday night’s Giants-DC NFL Team contest hit the ratings jackpot for ESPN.

Chris Korman of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Orioles are denying yesterday’s Sports Business Journal report that Fox Sports attempted to buy MASN.

Sarah Kogod from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog tells us that many DC-area athletes stayed up to watch Robert Griffin III on Monday Night Football.

Erik Wemple at the WaPo talks about sports networks tackling political topics.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times reviews what happened on sports television over the weekend.

The Fort Pierce (FL) Tribune reports that the local ESPN Radio affiliate will continue to produce nightly sports report for the local NBC and Fox stations.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Jim Deshaies’ departure for Chicago is a big loss for the Astros.

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says Fox is close to purchasing Sports Time Ohio and gaining the rights to the city’s MLB team.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune talks about the Cubs hiring a new analyst.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the five things he learned from the weekend.

Joe Flint from the Los Angeles Times says NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football is eating into the ratings of the league’s other TV partners.

Sports Media Watch notes that the MLS Cup had a slight decline in its overnight ratings as the game moved from a Sunday night to late Saturday afternoon.

The Huffington Post has video of ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit giving Northern Illinois blackboard material by ripping the team’s invitation to the Orange Bowl.

That’s where I’ll end it today.

ESPN Previews Week 13 of the 2012 NFL Season

Let’s take a look at the NFL Week 13 previews for this weekend. We’ll begin with ESPN and its shows for Week 13.

Starting with NFL Matchup, ESPN will take a look at San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his skill set. The show airs Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET with Sal Paolantonio, Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge. Here’s what ESPN is saying about NFL Matchup.

NFL Matchup: Colin Kaepernick; Russell Wilson Throwing on the Move; Washington’s Rushing Attack; and More

NFL Matchup host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge will preview the weekend’s key matchups, taking viewers inside the film room with X’s and O’s analysis on Sunday, Dec. 2, on ESPN at 6:30 a.m. (ESPN2 at 8:30 a.m.). Highlights:

• Protection Plus – Vick Ballard and Pass Protection: Hoge explains a play which shows that Colts running back Vick Ballard is aware of his role in pass-protecting for the quarterback – abandoning a play-fake to pick up the unblocked defender.
• “Between the Lines” – Tom Brady to Shane Vereen: Jaworski uses the telestrator to show how the Patriots dictated a one-on-one matchup between running back Shane Vereen and a linebacker via pre-snap alignment and motion.
• “Inside the Matchup” – Lamar Woodley Sack: Hoge goes ‘Inside the Matchup’ to show how the Steelers matchup-zone concepts delay the speed a quarterback reads his progressions to force a sack.
• “Jaws Playbook” – Colin Kaepernick to Vernon Davis: Colin Kaepernick has the hot hand in San Francisco. Jaworski shows how the 49ers’ play design creates options for Kaepernick to make successful downfield throws.
• “Coaches Clicker” – Alfred Morris versus the Giants: While the Redskins did not win on the road in week 7, running back Alfred Morris gashed the Giants defense for 120 yards. Hoge shows how Washington’s use of multiple backfield personnel and blocking schemes produced a Morris 30-yard run against the Giants.
• “Let’s See it Hoge” – Russell Wilson to Sidney Rice: Hoge breaks down a play from the past week that shows Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s ability to escape pressure and make throws on the run.
• “Jaws Drop In” – Ahmad Bradshaw versus the Packers: With an injury-plagued defense, the Packers struggled to stop the Giants’ run game. To show how the Packers’ front seven struggled against basic blocking schemes, Jaworski uses a touchdown run by the Giants Ahmad Bradshaw from the past week.
• “Passing Thought” – Peyton Manning/Demaryius Thomas: Jaworski shows how Denver’s Peyton Manning draws a comparison between the press-coverage technique used by Tampa Bay cornerbacks and a technique used by Kansas City’s Jahlil Brown on a touchdown pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

We move to Sunday NFL Countdown which airs at 10 a.m. ET Sunday with Chris Berman and the usual cast of characters. On the show, Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh will sit down with the aforementioned Merril Hoge for an interview. And Frank Caliendo will impersonate Outside the Lines host Bob Ley for his comic relief segment.

Here’s what else you’ll see on the show.

Sunday NFL Countdown Presents One-on-One Interview with Ndamukong Suh

Sunday NFL Countdown will air a one-on-one television interview with Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh as part of the three-hour program’s preview of week 13 games on Sunday, December 2, beginning at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN. The program will feature Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski, with NFL Insider Adam Schefter and senior analyst Chris Mortensen reporting the day’s news. Comedian Frank Caliendo will contribute his recurring impressions of ESPN and NFL personalities.

Suh’s interview with Countdown’s Merril Hoge comes during the week Pro Bowl defensive tackle was fined $30,000 by the NFL for an on-field incident with Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub on their Thanksgiving Day matchup.

Correspondents Josina Anderson (Seattle at Chicago), Bob Holtzman (Minnesota at Green Bay), Sal Paolantonio (New England at Miami), Rachel Nichols (Pittsburgh at Baltimore) and Ed Werder (Philadelphia at Dallas) will report from game sites. Highlights:

• The 49ers Quarterback Controversy: After sitting out two games with a concussion, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith lost his starting role to Colin Kaepernick. Is the right guy starting for the 49ers?
• NFC Wild Card Spots: Which teams have the edge in the muddled chase for NFC Wild Card spots?
• The Packers Struggling: Coming off a stunning 38-10 loss last Sunday night at the New York Giants, what should fans expect from the Packers against division rival Minnesota?
• Your Choice Dallas or Philadelphia?: Both NFC East teams are struggling and performing below expectation as their head coaches are squarely on the hot seat. The Countdown crew discusses, where would you rather coach?
• 4^th and 29: In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Baltimore at San Diego game, the Ravens, down by three points, faced a fourth down 29 yards to go. Quarterback Joe Flacco passed the ball short to running back Ray Rice, who ran for more than 20 yards to continue the drive. Sal Paolantonio sits with Rice as he discusses what has become one of the greatest plays in recent memory.
• Frank Caliendo: The comedian will play the role of ESPN’s award-winning host Bob Ley interviewing Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones.

The program will include live look-ins at quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Jay Cutler, Tom Brady, and running backs Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson during their pre-game routines leading into the 1 p.m. games. Additional segments include Cris Carter’s “Where You At?, and Jaworski and Hoge’s Xs and Os “Eye in the Sky.”

And on Monday night, ESPN will air the NFC East battle between the New York Football Giants against the DC NFL Team live from Landover, MD. Of course, there will be Monday Night Countdown before the game hosted by the same crew on Sunday NFL Countdown. The pregame show starts at 7 p.m. ET with the game kicking off with Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden on the call and Lisa Salters on the field sometime after 8:30 p.m.

Here’s the ESPN preview.

Eli Manning and the Giants Face RG3 and the Redskins on ESPN’s Monday Night Football

Eli Manning and the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants will face Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football on December 3 at 8:30 p.m. With a win, the Giants would sweep the Redskins for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Under head coach Tom Coughlin, they are 7-3 on MNF. The first meeting between the NFC East rivals produced one of the most thrilling finishes of the season so far as Manning threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz with 1:13 to play in a 27-23 comeback win. Mike Tirico will call the game with analyst Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.

ESPN and ESPN Deportes will televise MNF. For those who receive video subscriptions from an affiliated provider, the game will also be available at WatchESPN.com (computers) and via the WatchESPN app (tablets).

Prior to the game, Chris Berman will anchor the two-hour studio show Monday Night Countdown (6:30 p.m., ESPN) with analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson and NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. The studio crew will be joined by on-site host Stuart Scott, analysts Trent Dilfer and Steve Young, columnist Rick Reilly and Salters, all of whom join the show from FedEx Field. Highlights:

• “Gruden Extra with Robert Griffin III:  Several months after visiting with former head coach Jon Gruden in his pre-2012 NFL Draft QB Camp, Robert Griffin III returns to share his experiences as a rookie quarterback.
• Rick Reilly Feature – Giants Fan and Hurricane Sandy: During the height of Hurricane Sandy, 28-year-old Giants fan Mike Iann was swept out of his grandparents’ flooded New Jersey home, into the raging waters of a nearby bay. Treading water for hours, Iann sought refuge in a neighbor’s vacant house, where he composed a goodbye letter to his father, fearing the worst. ESPN.com columnist and Countdown essayist Rick Reilly reports.
• “Soundtracks” – RG3: In Soundtracks, Countdown relives key in-game audio and goes inside the huddle and on the sidelines with the Redskins captain and first year quarterback.

That will do it. CBS’ previews of Week 13 are next.

It’s A Wednesday Link Thing

Let’s do some linkage for you as we hit mid-week.

Once again, a shameless plug. Here are some Quick Wednesday Sports Media Thoughts which were written very early this morning.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with former ESPN’er Dana Jacobsen who will be part of CBS Sports Radio’s morning show when the network launches in January.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN will donate $1 million to the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.

Brian Steinberg at Advertising Age looks at which marketers have bought time for Super Bowl XLVII on CBS.

E.J. Schultz of Ad Age says ad agency powerhouse Wieden & Kennedy has won the right to produce Oreo’s Super Bowl spot.

Michael Bradley in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says regional sports networks need to spend big money for rights to local teams otherwise they’re stuck without programming.

At Fangraphs, the always lovely Wendy Thurm looks at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ megadeal with Fox plus displays what all of the MLB teams generate in local rights fees.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report says the Dodgers’ contract with Fox proves that the rich just get richer.

Ed looks at this year’s National Sporscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame ballot.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has the disturbing news that ESPN2′s First Take will be expanding to Saturday mornings after college football season.

Matt has a look at Fox Sports 1.

Bob Kennedy of the Stamford (CT) Advocate says NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus will receive a local honor next week.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times delves into why the late Marvin Miller is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Keith Olbermann pays tribute to Miller.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com has his weekly Baltimore-DC media column.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes that while the Los Angeles Dodgers’ TV rights are about to be settled, the Nationals’ through MASN still remains up in the air.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks about Marvin Miller’s impact on baseball.

Ragan Robinson of the Gaston (NC) Gazette says local entrepreneurs got the seal of approval from ESPN for their golf gadget.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald has the comments from TNT’s Charles Barkley on the Heat.

Jacques Couret of the Atlanta Business Chronicle says Fox Sports South and its affiliated regional sports networks have hired a new Executive Producer.

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman has a look at the local weekend TV ratings.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that audio of Bengals QB Andy Dalton will be aired on two national mid-week NFL shows tonight.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers apologizing to fans on his weekly radio show.

Danny Ecker from Crain’s Chicago Business notes that the Bulls practice facility could get a lot of money for its naming rights.

The Peoria (IL) Journal Star reports that four Illinois State basketball games will be picked up by Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that one weekend late night sports TV show tops the local ratings.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football suffered a ratings decline for Panthers-Eagles earlier this week.

Adam Guillen, Jr. of SB Nation’s MMA Mania reports that Fox is hoping to sign a UFC event for Super Bowl XLVIII weekend in February 2014.

Tony Manfred at the Business Insider’s Sports Page has women’s soccer star Hope Solo blaming the media for reporting on her husband’s domestic violence issues. Hope is a nut.

And I managed to squeeze out some good linkage today. Enjoy your Wednesday.

Breaking Out The Monday Linkage

It’s been a while since I’ve done linkage. I’ll provide some on this Cyber Monday.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says having Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game will bring in some monster ratings for ESPN.

Chris Chase of USA Today’s Game On notes that the NFL had Rich Eisen and NFL Network pull an interview segment with actor Bradley Cooper due to NFL gambling references.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with Turner Sports’ Chris Webber and reviews the weekend in sports television.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life writes that Notre Dame is as close to a guaranteed ratings success for college football as anything.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter says the NHL’s TV partners are caught trying to fill programming holes due to the lockout.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report has the first of a two part interview with SiriusXM’s Dino Costa.

Brad Gagnon of Awful Announcing writes that the Sunday NFL pregame shows are dramatically losing viewers this season.

The Big Lead notes that ESPN college football analyst Jesse Palmer had to apologize for doing the “Hook ‘Em Horns” sign upside down.

Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch throws some cold water on some silly agendas by the Hub’s sports writers.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says don’t expect too many changes to YES with News Corp. buying a minority stake in the channel.

In the New York Post, Phil Mushnick says Rutgers’ move to the Big Ten is all about the money. Tell me something I don’t know, Phil.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with John Gilchrist who played Mikey in the iconic Life cereal commercials.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the college football TV schedule for Week 14.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks with Eastern PA native Lisa Salters about returning home for ESPN’s Monday Night Football tonight.

It’s official. David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun hates CBS.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner feels Maryland’s move to the Big Ten makes sense.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times has his review of the weekend in sports television.

Over to Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News who has a profile of ESPN’s Ed Werder and his daughter’s successful battle to beat a nasty brain tumor.

David Barron looks at a few items in his regular sports media column.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has ESPN’s Trent Dilfer commenting on the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line.

Paul M. Banks at the Chicago Sports Media Watch notes the high overnight rating for Notre Dame-USC.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says compares the current Broncos radio analyst to the very first one.

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

And Tom has the five things he learned from this weekend.

Sports Media Watch says the move of the Thanksgiving Night game from NFL Network to NBC paid off in spades this year.

SMW says the Thanksgiving afternoon game on Fox suffered a drop from the year before.

SMW notes that the early Thanksgiving Day game on CBS had the best ratings of the three games on Turkey Day.

Joe Favorito says Atlantis in the Bahamas is fast becoming the place for premiere college basketball teams.

Adam Herman at the New York Rangers Blog says the NHL instructed NBC Sports not to air a charity hockey game this past weekend.

That’s going to do it for now.

NFL Radio Games For Week 12 of the 2012 Season

Sunday, November 25

12:30 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
Atlanta at Tampa Bay
Oakland at Cincinnati — Greg Papa/Tom Flores

Dial Global Radio
Seattle at Miami — Tom McCarthy/Tony Boselli

SportsUSA Radio Network
Minnesota at Chicago

3:30 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
Baltimore at San Diego — Kevin Kugler/Mark Malone

3:45 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
St. Louis at Arizona

4 p.m.

SportsUSA Radio Networks
San Francisco at New Orleans

7:30 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
Green Bay at New York Giants — Dave Sims/James Lofton/Hub Arkush

Monday, November 26

8 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
Carolina at Philadelphia — Kevin Harlan/Boomer Esiason/Tony Boselli

Monday Night Football’s Bears-49ers Game Does Well

While the game was a 32-7 blowout and not as close as the score indicated, ESPN still received very good numbers for Monday Night’s Chicago-San Francisco matchup.

Overall, ESPN received a 7.9 final rating which is up slightly from last year’s Week 11 game between Kansas City and New England which had a 7.8 rating. Viewership was up also, 12.47 million viewers for Monday’s game as compared to 12.344 million last year.

And for the local markets, Chicago had a combined 24.4 rating and San Francisco saw a combined 21.1.

We have the official press release from ESPN.

ESPN and Monday Night Football Win the Night among All Key Male and Adult Demos

Bears-49ers Delivers 9.2 Rating and 12,472,000 Million Viewers

Last night’s ESPN Monday Night Football game – a San Francisco 49ers’ 32-7 win over the Chicago Bears – won the night among all television programs on broadcast or cable in all key male and adult demos. Similarly, ESPN led all television networks in those same categories.

The telecast delivered a 9.2 household coverage rating (7.9 US), representing an average of 9,067,000 households (12,472,000 million viewers – P2+), according to Nielsen.  It peaked between 9:45–10 p.m. ET with a 11.2 coverage rating.

In Chicago, the game delivered a 14.5 rating on ESPN and a 9.9 rating on WCIU-IND, for a combined 24.4 rating in the market. In San Francisco, the game delivered a 8.2 rating on ESPN and a 12.9 rating on KPIX-CBS, for a combined 21.1 rating in the market. The top-10 metered markets (not including primary home team markets): Sacramento (19.5), Las Vegas (19.5), Milwaukee (15.8), New Orleans (14.7), Phoenix (12.2), Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (12.1), Richmond (11.7), San Diego (11.5), Denver (11.2) and Baltimore (11.2).

Through the first 11 weeks of the NFL season (12 games), MNF is averaging a 9.7 household coverage rating (8.3 US), 9,505,000 households and 13,042,000 viewers, down slightly from the same point last season

ESPN Digital Platforms
ESPN also saw significant traffic across its digital platforms on Sunday and Monday:

• ESPN.com NFL section – An average minute audience of 29,000, a 26 percent increase from last year, reaching 3.4 million unique visitors
• ESPN.com Fantasy Football section – An average minute audience of 54,000, a 33 percent gain, reaching 2.6 million unique visitors
• ESPN mobile Web NFL section – An average minute audience of 44,000, up 72 percent, reaching 3.3 million unique visitors.

ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes’ Spanish language telecast of the Bears-49ers game delivered a 0.7 Hispanic household coverage rating with 38,000 Hispanic household impressions (58,000 Hispanic viewers – P2+). For the season, MNF on ESPN Deportes (12 telecasts) is averaging a 0.7 Hispanic household coverage rating with 38,000 Hispanic household impressions (59,000 Hispanic viewers – P2+). Ratings are up 17 percent over 2011, while viewership (P2+) is up 37 percent.

Panthers-Eagles on MNF Next Week
ESPN’s MNF returns with a matchup of NFC teams as the Philadelphia Eagles host Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on November 26 at 8:30 p.m.

That’s it.

Back For Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do some linkage. I need to do this more than twice a week.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch looks at the potential replacements for Jon Gruden in the Monday Night Football booth should he decide to leave as rumored.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal has a plethora of subjects in his latest media column.

Rachel Bachman of the Wall Street Journal says the expansion of the Big Ten to the Atlantic seaboard is purely for television.

Andy Fixmer and Scott Soshnick at Bloomberg report on a story that bears watching, YES Network will retain the media rights to the New York Yankees through 2042 which opens the door for News Corp. to buy a stake in the channel.

Andy and Alex Sherman from Bloomberg write about Fox opening the door for Fox Sports 1.

Alicia Jessop at Forbes writes that the NBA will stream D-League games on YouTube.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek tells us that NBC is garnering big ad rates for its Thanksgiving Night NFL game.

A story from the weekend, Awful Announcing’s Joe Lucia notes that CBS/Sports Illustrated/Turner’s Seth Davis apologized for calling UFC “homoerotic”.

Todd Spangler from Multichannel News notes that ESPN has rebooted its “Watch ESPN” Xbox 360 app.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life says NBC’s Sunday Night Football killed the competition in primetime.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report says the NFL game experience doesn’t compare to watching it on your TV.

Jordan Rabinowitz of SportsGrid has video of NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski drinking on SportsCenter after celebrating his win.

The lovely Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com says both Rutgers and Maryland are in desperate need of the TV money that both institutions will receive as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Ryan Hannable of Boston Sports Media Watch speaks with WEEI’s Glenn Ordway.

Tony LaRoce in the Providence Journal talks with Providence College basketball radio voice John Rooke about a book he’s written about Rhode Island radio.

Richard Sandomir and Amy Chozik of the New York Times write that News Corp.’s stake in YES could value the network as high as $3 billion.

Nate Silver of the New York Times looks at the geography of college football fans across the country and delves into the crazy conference realignment.

Newsday’s Neil Best checks on the progress of Madison Square Garden’s “transformation.”

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Time Warner Cable airs an AHL game on Friday.

David Zurawik in the Baltimore Sun writes that the Big Ten’s TV acumen will help Maryland in the long run.

In the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, a noted Maryland alum, weighing in on the Maryland to the Big Ten move.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner speaks with Jim Rome about his new Showtime series.

Stephen F. Holder of the Tampa Bay Times says the Bucs have a long way to go if the team wants to sell out its game against Atlanta and avoid a local TV blackout.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says former Astros analyst Jim Deshaies is a candidate for the Cubs TV job.

David says overtime helped push the Texans’ ratings upwards in Houston.

The Indianapolis Star transcribed some of the things ESPN’s Bob Knight said during last night’s Indiana-Georgia game. It marked the first time Knight had called an Indiana game for ESPN.

The Chicago Tribune has an infographic on how many TV viewers each school in the Big Ten can bring to the table.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says Altitude has had to make a programming adjustment without the Colorado Avalanche this season.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has five things he learned from the weekend.

SportsRantz looks at the reported morning show for CBS Sports Radio.

Classic Sports TV and Media explores when was the actual first college football primetime broadcast.

Tony Manfred at the Business Insider Sports Page notes that this week’s Sports Illustrated cover is basically an ad for adidas.

Sports Media Watch says CBS saw rating increases for its NFL windows on Sunday, but the late games are the second-lowest rated for this season.

SMW notes NBC’s Sunday Night Football wasn’t as big a draw with Ravens-Steelers.

And that will do it for today.

Your Week 11 NFL Viewing Guide For The 2012 Season

So where were you last week?
Sick. I went to bed early without doing any NFL previews.  I think you got by fine. In fact, no one asked me about them.

Who has the doubleheader?
CBS does for Week 11. In the first opportunity for the flex this season, Indianapolis-New England was moved from the early window to the 4:25 p.m. ET national spot. That’s added to San Diego-Denver which was originally the lone late game for CBS. In fact, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms who were originally slated to call Chargers-Broncos were reassigned to Colts-Pats last Monday. Kevin Harlan and Solmon Wilcots will now call the AFC West matchup.

Any blackouts this week?
Buffalo narrowly avoided one for Thursday and Oakland appears safe this week after both markets got help to ensure local fans could see their games. But for the Bills, the rest of the home schedule looks in danger for blackouts.

Byes? Who’s on the bye?
Houston, Minnesota, the New York Football Giants and Seattle are taking the week off. ]

What are your Games of the Week?
Overall, it’s actually the Monday Night game between Chicago and San Francisco. But for Sunday, it’ll be Green Bay at Detroit on Fox (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver), Cleveland at Dallas on CBS (Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf) and Indy-New England also on CBS.

So what else should we look for?
Well, for Week 12, instead of one Thursday game, we get three as Thanksgiving Day games kick in. And don’t forget NBC is back in the Thanksgiving picture this year after being out since 1997. But we’ll do a special Thanksgiving Day NFL Viewing Guide for Thursday. Let’s not jump ahead. Enjoy your Sunday.

NFL Radio Games For Week 11 of the 2012 Season

Sunday, November 18

12:30 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
Cleveland at Dallas
Philadelphia at Washington

Dial Global Radio
Green Bay at Detroit — Kevin Kugler/Mark Malone

Sports USA Radio Networks
Jacksonville at Houston

3:30 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
New Orleans at Oakland — Greg Papa/Tom Flores

3:45 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
Indianapolis at New England — Tom McCarthy/Tony Boselli

4 p.m.

Sports USA Radio Networks
San Diego at Denver

7:30 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
Baltimore at Pittsburgh — Dave Sims/James Lofton/Hub Arkush

Monday, November 19

8 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
Chicago at San Francisco — Kevin Harlan/Dan Fouts/Mark Malone

Breaking Out Some Monday Linkage

The last few days, I’ve been sick which limited the number of posts between Friday and Saturday. I’m still not feeling well, but I’ll be providing linkage and posts as long I’m physically able. To the links.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark about returning to sports television after leaving in 2008 to become a full-time mom.

Don Banks of SI looks at how NFL teams are adjusting to a full season of Thursday Night Football.

John Ourand & Michael Smith from Sports Business Journal report that ESPN is close to nabbing the college football playoff for many years to come.

John catches up with outgoing Fox Sports Media Group Vice Chairman Ed Goren who helped launch the company in 1994.

Eric Fisher at SBJ notes how MLB Advanced Media kept operating after Hurricane Sandy wiped out power in the company’s headquarters.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report looks at an unusual Comcast SportsNet Chicago documentary which went to Cambodia to tell a compelling story.

Kurt Badenhausen from Forbes explains how ESPN is the cash engine that drives Disney.

Joe Levine of SportsGrid tells us that Fox NFL Sunday had some technical issues during one of its halftime updates.

Brian Steinberg at Advertising Age says Century 21 will return to advertising in the Super Bowl in February.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post doesn’t understand the bubble screen.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union has NBC Sports Network’s college basketball announcing teams.

Don Laible talks with former WNBC-TV sports anchor Len Berman here and here.

Dave Zoren of the Delaware County Daily Times says Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and The Comcast Network team up for almost 70 college basketball games this season (scroll down).

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks about waking up with NFL AM.

The Charlotte Observer talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz.

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

Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel says a fourth sports radio station launches in the local market today.

Christine Lee of NBC Dallas says ESPN is teaming up with the Irving Chamber of Commerce to attract businesses to the local area.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle has DirecTV’s CEO complaining about Comcast SportsNet Houston’s subscriber fees.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman reviews the TV productions of the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State games from Saturday.

John Vomhof, Jr. of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal says a Fox Sports North reporter is leaving for a similar position at Root Sports Pittsburgh.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post feels Dick Vitale is key to any college basketball season.

Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star says the Pac-12 Conference will no longer have exposure issues now that with new TV contracts with ESPN, Fox, CBS and of course, the Pac-12 Network.

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

Tom has the five things he learned from watching sports over the weekend.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin notes that Minnesota Vikings QB Christan Ponder made a tongue-in-cheek comment about his girlfriend, ESPN’s Samantha Steele.

The Classic Sports TV and Media blog has a look at ABC’s Monday Night Football’s halftime highlights as narrated by the late, great Howard Cosell.

And that will do it for now.

NFL Radio Games For Week 10 of the 2012 Season

Sunday, November 11

12:30 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
Buffalo at New England
Oakland at Baltimore — Greg Papa/Tom Flores

Dial Global Radio
New York Giants at Cincinnati — Tom McCarthy/Tom Boselli

Sports USA Radio Network
Atlanta at New Orleans

3:45 p.m.

Compass Media Networks
Dallas at Philadelphia

Dial Global Sports
St. Louis at San Francisco — Kevin Kugler/Mark Malone

Sports USA Radio Network
New York Jets at Seattle

7:30 p.m.

Dial Global Radio
Houston at Chicago — Dave Sims/James Lofton/Hub Arkush

Monday, November 12

Dial Global Radio
Kansas City at Pittsburgh — Kevin Harlan/Boomer Esiason/Steve Tasker

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.

ESPN Previews Week 7 of the 2012 NFL Season

Now to ESPN which will provide previews of Week 7 in NFL Matchup and Sunday NFL Countdown, plus the NFC North Division blood rivalry game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football.

To the previews.

First, NFL Matchup that has multiple airings on Sunday.

NFL Matchup: Antrel Rolle’s Interception; Calvin Johnson vs. Charles Tillman; Ben Roethlisberger’s Pocket Movement; and More

NFL Matchup host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge will preview the weekend’s key matchups by taking viewers inside the film room with X’s and O’s analysis Sunday, Oct. 20, at 6:30 a.m. on ESPN (ESPN2 at 8:30 a.m.). Highlights:

• ‘Inside the Matchup’ – Ben Roethlisberger’s Pocket Movement: Hoge goes ‘Inside the Matchup’ to discuss how Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s mobility allows him to beat the Cincinnati defense by extending plays.
• Jaws’ Playbook – Antrel Rolle Interception: Jaworski breaks down a disguised coverage the N.Y. Giants used against the San Francisco 49ers that included a safety and linebacker exchanging responsibilities. This disguise led to Alex Smith’s third interception.
• ‘Coaches Clicker’ – Ravens Run Defense: Hoge pulls out the clicker to show how breakdowns on the Ravens’ defensive front have allowed their opponents to rush for over 400 yards in the last two weeks.
• ‘Tell Me Something I Don’t Know’ – Cowboys Center Phil Costa: Jaworski highlights the return of Cowboys  Phil Costa in Week 6, and how the center helped the Cowboys rush for over 200 yards in Baltimore.
• Ray Rice in Pass Protection: Despite being regarded as one of the top backs in the NFL, running back Ray Rice still struggles with certain aspects of his game which leads to breakdowns in Ravens pass protection, explains Jaworski.
• ‘Factor Back’ – Ahmad Bradshaw with Henry Hynoski: Hoge praises N.Y. Giants fullback Henry Hynoski and shows his importance in the run-blocking schemes that led to two straight 100-yard performances by running back Ahmad Bradshaw.
• ‘Game within the Game’ – Calvin Johnson vs. Charles Tillman:  The film from last year’s Lions-Bears games reveals how the Chicago Bears used safety coverage concepts with Charles Tillman defending man-to-man on Detroit’s wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
• ‘Between the Lines’ – Wes Welker Slot Touchdown:  Through six weeks, New England’s Wes Welker is the league’s leading slot receiver in every category, thanks to head coach Bill Belichick’s game-to-game coaching style.  Jaworski, who expects Belichick to challenge the Jets nickel corner Ellis Langster with Welker, goes to the telestrator to show the slot matchup.
• Tell Me Something I Don’t Know – Adrian Peterson on Draw Plays: Hoge showcases a Vikings’ rushing tendency that has accounted for 40 percent of running back Adrian Peterson’s yards this year.

Then we move to Sunday NFL Countdown.

Sunday NFL Countdown: Earl Campbell on the Evolution of the Workhorse Running Back; Steelers LaMarr Woodley and More

Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski will preview week seven on Sunday NFL Countdown on October 21 at 10 a.m. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and senior analyst Chris Mortensen will report the day’s news and updates.

Correspondents Sal Paolantonio (New York Jets at New England Patriots), Ed Werder (Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans), Bob Holtzman (Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers), and Josina Anderson (Washington Redskins at New York Giants) will report from game sites. Highlights:

• The Last of the Workhorse Running Back: With the NFL trending towards the use of running backs by committee, it appears the days teams used running backs who carry the ball 20 or 30 times per game are fast becoming history, except for Baltimore’s Ray Rice and Houston’s Arian Foster.  Leading up to Ravens-Texans matchup, Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell, the epitome of workhorse backs, narrates Countdown’s look at the evolution of the running back position.
• LaMarr Woodley: Pittsburgh Steelers’ LaMarr Woodley played football at Saginaw (Mich.) High School, one of the counties across the U.S. facing shortfalls in funding to sustain athletic programs in their districts. Last summer, Woodley paid the $60,000 to fund the Saginaw football program. Rachel Nichols reports how the Steelers linebacker is making it possible for student-athletes from his hometown to follow in his footsteps.
• DJ Porter Spin on the Jets: The New York Jets are going through another up-and-down season. DJ Steve Porter returns with his musical spin on Gang Green, mixing music and Jets sound from their roller coaster season ahead of their showdown with the New England Patriots on Sunday.

The program will also discuss key topics from the past week: the legacy of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis in the wake of his season-ending injury; with rookie quarterbacks going 4-1 last Sunday, NFL film room guru Ron Jaworski will grade the rookies; and keeping with the elections, the crew will debate the strengths and weaknesses of the AFC where only two teams have a winning record.

And finally, ESPN’s preview of Monday Night Football.

NFC North Battle on Monday Night Football: Bears vs. Lions

Jay Cutler and the division-leading Chicago Bears will host Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on October 22, at 8:30 p.m. ET. In his last six starts on MNF, Cutler has won five games. Stafford, who will make his second MNF appearance, led his team to a 24-13 victory over the Bears last year.  Play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico, analyst Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters will call the game.

Fans can watch MNF on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and also tune in on computers at WatchESPN.com or on tablets via the WatchESPN app if they receive their video subscriptions from an affiliated provider.

Chris Berman will host the two-hour pre-game show Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m. with analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson and NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. On-site host Stuart Scott, analysts Trent Dilfer and Steve Young, contributor Rick Reilly and Salters will add to the show.

• ‘Gruden Extra’ with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall: Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Brandon Marshall are now teammates for the second time and just like their stint in Denver, the duo has shown great chemistry. This week, Cutler and Marshall visit Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden in the MNF bus to discuss the Bears 4-1 start.
• Rick Reilly Feature – The many faces of Jay Cutler:  Cutler’s on-field demeanor has been a major topic in the media this season. In his weekly feature, ESPN.com columnist and Monday Night Countdown essayist Rick Reilly breaks down the many faces of Jay Cutler.
• Jim Schwartz Soundtracks: After reaching the playoffs in 2011, the Lions have had a slow start this season. During their week four loss to the NFC North rivals Vikings, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz was wired for sound. This week’s Soundtracks captures the best moments from a tough day for Schwartz.
• Matthew Stafford Conversation: After a 1-3 start and facing a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, Matthew Stafford led the Lions to an overtime win over the Eagles. Before a divisional road test on Monday Night Football, the Lions quarterback sits down with Lisa Salters.

Now to the broadcast networks following this post. We’ll begin with CBS next.

Chargers Implosion on Monday Night Football Does Well on ESPN

After going up 24-0 in the first half on the Denver Broncos, the San Diego Chargers did a massive implosion and allowed the Broncos to win 35-24 on Monday Night Football.

ESPN saw an 8.2 US rating which is up from last year’s Week 6 game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets that ended with a 7.8. Average viewership for Monday’s game was 12.84 million as compared to 12.062 million last year.

The alleged Worldwide Leader says Monday Night Football was the most watched program on cable or broadcast.

Locally, Denver had a combined 36.3 rating on both ESPN and local station KTVD. San Diego had a 35 number on both ESPN and KFMB.

Over the first six weeks of the season, ESPN is averaging an 8.9 rating up from last year’s 8.5 average through the same period.

Here’s the press release from ESPN.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football Wins the Night among All Key Male and Adult Demos

Broncos-Chargers Delivers 9.6 Rating and 12.8 Million Viewers

Last night’s ESPN Monday Night Football game – the Denver Broncos’ dramatic 35-24 come-from-behind road victory over the San Diego Chargers, tied for the fourth-biggest regular-season comeback in NFL history – won the night among all programs – broadcast or cable – in all key male and adult demos. As a network, ESPN won the night in all key male demos and adults 18-34 and 18-49.

The game earned a 9.6 household coverage rating (8.2 US), representing an average of 9,421,000 households (12,841,000 viewers – P2+) according to Nielsen. The game peaked between 11:15-11:45 p.m. ET at an 11.6 household coverage rating.

 

In Denver, the game delivered a 15.2 rating on ESPN and a 21.1 rating on KTVD-IND, for a combined 36.3 rating in the market. In San Diego, the game delivered a 14.0 rating on ESPN and a 21.1 rating on KFMB-CBS, for a combined 35.0 rating in the market. The top-10 rated metered markets (not including primary home team markets): Las Vegas (17.9), New Orleans (16.4), Indianapolis (14.3), Albuquerque, N.M. (13.7), Phoenix (13.0), Birmingham, Ala. (11.6), Charlotte (11.5), Kansas City (11.3), Norfolk/Portsmouth, Va. (11.2) and Seattle (11.0).

 

Through the first six weeks of the NFL season (seven games), ESPN’s MNF is averaging a 10.3 household coverage rating (8.9 US), 10,112,000 households and 13,819,000 viewers, increases of four percent, three percent and three percent, respectively, from the same point last season.

 

ESPN Digital Platforms

ESPN also saw significant traffic across its digital platforms on Sunday and Monday:

• ESPN.com NFL section – An average minute audience of 33,000 was up 24 percent from last year and 3.9 million unique visitors, down slightly compared to the same two days last season.
• ESPN.com Fantasy Football section – An average minute audience of 68,000, a 56 percent increase, and 3.1 million unique visitors (up one percent from last year).
• ESPN mobile Web NFL section – An average minute audience of 48,000, up 80 percent, reaching 3.5 million unique visitors, a 15 percent gain.

NFC North Showdown on MNF Next Week

Next week, ESPN’s MNF returns with an NFC North division showdown as Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions travel to Chicago on October 22 to face Jay Cutler and the first-place Bears at 8:30 p.m.

That’s all.

ESPN Previews NFL Week 6 of the 2012 Season

Between Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL Matchup and of course, Monday Night Football, ESPN has plenty of features you’ll see for Week 6.

Let’s begin with Sunday NFL Countdown and the features you’ll see at 10 a.m. Eastern if you choose to watch Chris Berman and his merry band of analysts.

Sunday NFL Countdown: Indy – Playing for Chuck Pagano; LeSean McCoy and his Football Role Model; Pete Carroll’s Celebrations; and More

Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski will preview the NFL’s week six games on Sunday NFL Countdown on October 14, at 10 a.m.  ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and senior analyst Chris Mortensen will report the day’s news and updates.

Correspondents Rachel Nichols (Indianapolis at New York Jets), Sal Paolantonio (Detroit at Philadelphia), Ed Werder (Dallas at Baltimore), Colleen Dominguez (New York Giants at San Francisco), and Josina Anderson (Green Bay at Houston) will report from games.  Highlights:

• Playing for Pagano:  Perhaps no Indianapolis Colts player had a better appreciation of the team’s dramatic, comeback win at home over the Packers last Sunday than wide receiver Reggie Wayne. The Colts dedicated the win to their head coach Chuck Pagano, who is fighting leukemia.   Wayne’s relationship with Pagano dates back to the mid-1990s when Pagano, then on the University of Miami’s coaching staff, recruited the young receiver. Wayne and Pagano have remained close since then.  Rachel Nichols explains how after one of the best performances of his career, Wayne is helping his coach and friend tackle the fight of his life.
• Stopping on a Dime:  Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy is easily the best cut-back runner in the League today.  McCoy’s inspiration and role model is the best cut-back rusher of all time, former Detroit running back Barry Sanders. McCoy shares the secret to stopping on a dime and explains how the Lions’ Hall of Fame running back impacts his game.  The admiration is mutual, reports MNF sideline reporter Lisa Salters.
• Pete Carroll’s Celebrations:  If you want to know how the Seattle Seahawks are doing, just watch head coach Pete Carroll on the sidelines.  Now in his third season with the Seahawks, the 61-year-old coach has not lost any of his enthusiasm or changed his sideline demeanor from his days as a college coach at USC.  Countdown talks to Seahawks players about their exuberant head coach and the impact he has on the young team.
• Eli Manning, Crash-Test Dummy:  On Sunday, the N.Y. Giants head back to San Francisco for the first time since the 2011 NFC Championship game where New York won but quarterback Eli Manning took a beating from the 49ers vaunted defense. Analyst Trent Dilfer examines how Manning’s body might hold up by going to a real crash-test dummy simulation.

The program will also include recurring segments such as Cris Carter’s ‘Where You At?’, where the former standout wide receiver calls out underperforming players and Ron Jaworski and Meril Hoge’s matchup. In addition to discussing hot topics in the League, including: Green Bay’s 2-3 start and whether quarterback Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys can begin to turn around their season vs. the Ravens.

Let’s move to NFL Matchup which will have plenty of things to preview.

NFL Matchup – Calvin Johnson in the Slot; Victor Cruz vs. Carlos Rogers; Aaron Rodgers Issues at QB; and More

NFL Matchup host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge will preview the weekend’s key matchups by taking viewers inside the film room with X’s and O’s analysis Sunday, Oct. 14, on ESPN at 6:30 a.m. (ESPN2 at 8:30 a.m.).  Highlights:

• Hoge’s Breakdown – Cowboys Pass Protection Issues: This week’s Hoge breakdown features a play that shows how the Cowboys’ inability to recognize and adjust to blitz pressure leads to breakdowns in protection and quarterback Tony Romo turnovers.
• ‘X and O Files’ – Calvin Johnson in the Slot:  In this week’s ‘X and O Files,’ Jaworski explains how the Lions’ alignment of Calvin Johnson in the slot has allowed the wide receiver to beat a coverage designed to defend him.
• Jaws’ Playbook – Aaron Rodgers Issues: Jaworski shows how Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has struggled to make routine throws by breaking down an incompletion on a third down play where wide receiver Jordy Nelson would have scored an easy touchdown.
• Coaches Clicker – Brady to Woodhead on Third and Long:  Hoge uses the Clicker to show how the Patriots’ backs and receivers are athletic enough to beat the coverage and stay open late in the down when quarterback Tom Brady is under heavy pressure.
• ‘Shot Play’- Andrew Luck Deep Ball to Donnie Avery:  Hoge breaks down one of the Colts’ shot plays that featured max-protection and a designed roll out for quarterback Andrew Luck, giving wide receiver Donnie Avery a chance to get open down field.
• ‘Game Within the Game’ – Victor Cruz vs. Carlos Rogers:  The film from last year’s games between the 49ers and the Giants shows the Giants favor the matchup of wide receiver Victor Cruz against corner back Carlos Rogers in the slot.  Jaworski breaks down two plays that show the different route combinations the Giants used to isolate Cruz on Rogers.
• ‘Between the Lines’ – Philip Rivers/Malcolm Floyd versus the Blitz:  In this week’s ‘Between the Lines,’ Jaworski uses the telestrator to break down a 32-yard completion that shows quarterback Philip Rivers’ aptitude to recognize blitz pressure and make pre-snap adjustments at the line of scrimmage.

And finally this is what’s on tap for Monday Night Football on ESPN.

AFC West Showdown on MNF: Peyton Manning and Broncos vs. Philip Rivers and Chargers

On ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos visit Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers in an AFC West battle for first place October 15, at 8:30 p.m. ET. Manning has won 11 of his 15 starts on MNF and has a 96.3 passer rating in those games, while Rivers is 7-3 on Monday nights with 17 touchdowns and a 105.2 passer rating. It is the third time in the past four seasons that the Broncos and Chargers are playing on MNF. Play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and analyst Jon Gruden will call the game with sideline reporter Lisa Salters.

MNF is available weekly on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Additionally, fans can watch MNF on computers at WatchESPN.com and on tablets via the WatchESPN app if they receive their video subscriptions from an affiliated provider.

Chris Berman hosts the two-hour pre-game show Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m. with analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson and NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. On-site host Stuart Scott, analysts Trent Dilfer and Steve Young, contributor Rick Reilly and Salters join the Countdown team from Qualcomm Stadium.

The two-hour Monday Night Countdown will include a live, on-set appearance at Qualcomm Stadium by four-time Major winner Phil Mickelson, who will attempt a $1 million shot udring halftime at the game.  Highlights:

• ‘Gruden Extra’ with Philip Rivers:  The Chargers Pro Bowl quarterback joins MNF’s Gruden for a one-on-one interview.
• Soundtracks – Peyton Manning:  Quarterback Peyton Manning has won 152 of the 232 NFL games and has thrown 439 touchdowns.  A collection of in-game audio over Manning’s career will be featured on Soundtracks.
• Rick Reilly Feature – Broncos Eric Decker: In his weekly feature, ESPN.com columnist and Monday Night Countdown essayist Rick Reilly profiles Denver wide receiver Eric Decker, and how the movie-theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., brought back difficult memories having lived through a similar tragedy in high school.

That’s all. We’ll move to CBS next.

Some Quick Wednesday Linkage

Let’s do some links now.

Austin Karp at Sports Business Daily says the MLB TV partners saw record low ratings this season.

Sports lllustrated’s Richard Deitsch reviews ESPN2′s first foray into pro hockey since losing the NHL in 2005.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that Bob Costas is back calling postseason baseball for the first time since 2000.

Chris Strauss at USA Today says Monday Night Football on ESPN easily beat the MLB League Division Series on TBS.

Gary Mihoces of USA Today writes that former NFL’er, Monday Night Football analyst and actor Alex Karras has died.

Len Pasquarelli writing for SI.com has this remembrance of Karras.

At Yahoo’s Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski recaps ESPN2′s telecast of Tuesday’s KHL game.

The Sherman Report’s Ed Sherman talks with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit about a resurgent Notre Dame program.

Ed says it appears that White Sox TV analyst Steve Stone won’t be splitting up with Ken Harrelson.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes that Andrea Kremer is joining NFL Network.

Diego Vasquez of Media Life Magazine looks at Philadelphia where there are a lot of radio and TV deals and where sports radio remains hot.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has video of an awkward CNBC interview of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in regards to …. Tim Tebow.

Michael Bradley from the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says the media has to appeal to fans to show compassion in the wake of Kansas City fans cheering the injury to Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel.

Ryan Hannable at Boston Sports Media Watch talks with NESN’s Jenny Dell about her first season as the regional sports network’s Red Sox on-field reporter.

Anthony Sulla-Heffinger, George King III and Mark Hale at the New York Post note that the Jets beat the Yankees head-to-head in the local ratings on Monday night.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times discusses WFAN’s move to the FM dial.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record also talks about WFAN going to FM.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says a local sports radio station will air selected AHL games.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post says Nationals fans are angry about the early start time for today’s NLDS Game 3 against the Cardinals and the fact that it’s on MLB Network.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle gets Milo Hamilton’s reaction to the Astros letting go of its radio team.

David has some local and national ratings.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman has the ratings of various events over the weekend.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that Hall of Fame Reds voice Marty Brennaman will be throwing out the first pitch before today’s NLDS game against San Francisco.

Charles E. Ramirez, Ted Kulfan and Lynn Henning at the Detroit News remember long-time Red Wings public address announcer Budd Lynch who passed away this week.

Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune has new Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco talking about the league’s TV rights and possibly creating its own in-house network.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notices the omissions for the Ford C. Frick Award for the Baseball Hall of Fame Broadcasters Wing.

Tom talks with Jennifer Allen, the daughter of the late Los Angeles Rams coach George Allen, who narrates tonight’s NFL Network “Fearsome Foursome: A Football Life” documenary.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says losing Hockey Night in Canada would create huge holes for CBC in more ways than one.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star says CBC is looking to fill NHL lockout holes with classic games as voted by viewers.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says CBC is hurt the most as the NHL lockout goes further into the regular season.

The Classic Sports TV and Media site gives us a fascinating look at how ABC filled college football and MLB Postseason conflicts with its #1 announcer for both packages, Keith Jackson.

Joe Favorito has some suggestions on how MLB teams could make money during rain delays.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing looks at the Boston Globe’s crusty curmudgeon Dan Shaughnessy blaming the internet for just about everything wrong in the world.

Sports Media Watch notes that taped delayed English Premier League action on Fox beat a live MLS game on NBC.

And that’s going to do it.

Former Detroit Lion, Actor & Monday Night Football Analyst Alex Karras Near Death

Sad story coming out from Southern California, Alex Karras, former defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, actor in movies and TV as well as the third-ever analyst on Monday Night Football is near death. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Karras suffered kidney failure two weeks ago and is being cared for at home. Karras is considered one of the best players in Lions history having played from 1958-1970.

In 1974, he joined ABC’s Monday Night Football hastily replacing Fred Williamson who was fired after the preseason. Karras stayed with MNF through the 1976 season.

Karras also had a number of movie and TV roles. Among his most famous roles was playing in “Blazing Saddles.” He played George Papadapolis in the sitcom “Webster” with his wife, Susan Clark. Some of his other movie roles included “Victor Victoria,” “Porky’s” and “Against All Odds.”

Karras has been inducted in the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. As he is in hospice care at home to be joined by his family for his final days, we have a few videos showcasing Alex Karras.

First, here’s Karras being introduced as Mongo in “Blazing Saddles”:

We have Alex in a Schlitz Malt Liquor ad.

Here’s the intro to the 1980′s ABC sitcom, “Webster”

From 1975, here’s a rare animated open for ABC’s Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Alex Karras.

Finally, this extended clip shows Karras interacting with Howard Cosell from a 1976 MNF game featuring the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Karras and Cosell were certainly having fun in the booth.

I certainly hope that Alex rests comfortably in his final days.

Bringing Out Your Monday Linkage

Ok, time for some links on this Columbus Day holiday for some of you.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today has a bunch of news and notes in his Monday sports media column including a recap of the NFL Today interview with scab NFL referee Lance Easley.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says the first-ever MLB Wild Card Games did well for TBS last Friday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Time Warner Cable SportsNet has signed its first affiliate for its Los Angeles Lakers-centric regional sports network.

Over to Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report. He talks with Steve Madden, the man in charge of Sports on Earth, the joint venture between USA Today and MLB Advanced Media. Disclaimer: Fang’s Bites is an independently-owned blog affiliated with USA Today Media Group.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has video of San Diego Super Chargers safety Atari Bigby’s creative introduction on Sunday Night Football.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing notes that NBC’s Cris Collinsworth called New Orleans’ game-ending strip sack of San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers just before it occurred.

Brandon Costa at Sports Video Group says MLB Network prepared to air its first postseason games not knowing where they would be.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell tells us that MLB teams don’t keep any of the playoff ticket money the games generate.

Jim Romenesko notes how ESPN edited a blogger’s KKK-Rod headline.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says the Mets are looking for ways to refinance its huge debts through its regional sports network, SNY.

As usual, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post hates everything on television.

Jerry Barmash of FishbowlNY notes that long-time New York Knicks analyst John Andariese is retiring.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun says TBS stepped up to the task for the New York Yankees-Orioles game on Sunday.

David says CBS’ Ian Eagle got the job done during yesterday’s Baltimore Ravens-Kansas City Chiefs game while his partner, Dan Fouts did not.

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

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Fox Sports Florida will air all 81 Magic games this season instead of splitting them between FS Florida and Sun Sports.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says the Astros are considering replacements to its radio team of Dave Raymond and Brett Dolan who were let go last week.

David says ESPN’s Jon Gruden brings his enthusiasm for the NFL to Monday Night Football.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviews the CBS NFL Today interview of former scab referee Lance Easley.

Missouri Sports Magazine notes that the Kansas City Royals have set a ratings record for the 2012 season.

Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post says Sunday gave sports fans plenty of action to watch.

Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic says there are a number of candidates to replace the Diamondbacks TV team of Daron Sutton and Mark Grace who were let go by the team after the season.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says the Lakers have become the least-viewed team in the NBA thanks to its deal with Time Warner Cable Sports.

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

Tom has the five things he learned from watching sports over the weekend.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News updates us on the Pac-12 Network and its dispute with DirecTV.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says fans are split over which side to support in the NHL lockout.

Ryan Lambert at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy looks at ESPN picking up KHL games in the wake of the NHL lockout.

Ty Duffy at the Big Lead says MLS is doing well at the gate, but not on TV.

Media Rantz informs us that former NFL Network original Kara Henderson left broadcasting to get married. Congrats to Kara.

That’s going to do it.

Monday Night Football’s Bears-Cowboys Crush Everything On Cable & Broadcast

ESPN is crowing about the ratings and viewership for Monday night’s Chicago Bears-Dallas Cowboys game. With two of the most popular franchises on Monday Night Football and the Cowboys laying an egg thanks to Tony Romo’s five interceptions, the ratings for the game reached a season-high 12.3 household rating with 16.6 million viewers, easily beating the numbers on cable and on broadcast.

The average audience is the third highest for a program on cable this year after the BCS National Championship Game and the Rose Bowl, both on ESPN as well.

Let’s take a look at what ESPN is saying about the numbers on Monday night.

ESPN and Monday Night Football Win the Night

Bears-Cowboys Delivers Season-Best 12.3 Rating and 16.6 Million Viewers

This week’s ESPN Monday Night Football game – the Chicago Bears’ 34-18 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys – helped ESPN win the night among all networks – broadcast or cable – for the fourth consecutive Monday night in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos. Similarly, MNF led all television programs.

The game earned a MNF season-high 12.3 household coverage rating (10.5 US), representing an average of 12,035,000 households (16,616,000 viewers – P2+), the third largest audience among viewers (second among households) for any program on cable television in 2012, according to Nielsen. The game peaked between 10:30-11 p.m. ET at a 12.8 household coverage rating.

ESPN’s BCS National Championship Game (Alabama-LSU, 1/9/12) ranks as the most-viewed program of Nielsen’s year (24,214,000 viewers), followed by the network’s 2012 Rose Bowl (17,558,000 – Wisconsin-Oregon, 1/2/12).

In Chicago, the game delivered a 17.3 rating on ESPN and a 15.2 rating on WGN-CW, for a combined 32.5 rating in the market. In Dallas, the game delivered a 13.8 rating on ESPN and a 12.3 rating on KTXA-IND, for a combined 26.1 rating in the market. The top-10 rated metered markets (not including primary home team markets): San Antonio (20.0), Las Vegas (19.6), Austin (19.4), New Orleans (17.5) and Norfolk/Portsmouth, Va. (16.3), Albuquerque, N.M. (16.3), Richmond, Va. (16.2), Denver (15.0), Memphis (14.8) and Indianapolis (14.2).

Through the first four weeks of the NFL season (five games), ESPN’s MNF is averaging a 10.4 household coverage rating (8.9 US), 10,217,000 households and 13,969,000 viewers, increases of eight percent, seven percent and seven percent, respectively, from the same point last season.

ESPN Digital Platforms
ESPN also saw significant traffic across its digital platforms on Sunday and Monday:

• ESPN.com NFL section – An average minute audience of 33,000 was up 24 percent from last year with an average 3.8 million unique visitors, down three percent compared to the same two days last season.
• ESPN.com Fantasy Football section – An average minute audience of 76,000 — up 51 percent, averaging 3.4 million unique visitors, a two percent increase from last year.
• ESPN mobile Web NFL section – An average minute audience of 47,000, up 69 percent, reaching 3.4 million unique visitors, up six percent.

Next Week on MNF
Next week, ESPN’s MNF returns with an AFC matchup as Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans (4-0) – one the NFL’s three remaining undefeated teams – travel to MetLife Stadium on October 8 to face Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets (2-2) at 8:30 p.m.

That’s all.

Quick Tuesday Linkage

Let’s do a few links on this Tuesday.

Edmund Lee of Bloomberg analyzes the new MLB TV deals with Fox and Turner.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says with some playoff spots decided, ESPN has dropped plans for a duel MLB doubleheaders on Wednesday.

Jacqueline Palank of the Wall Street Journal reviews ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary, “Broke” which premieres tonight.

Nat Ives from Advertising Age writes that one unexpected beneficiary of the NFL referees lockout was Buffalo Wild Wings.

At Forbes, the great Maury Brown writes about Time Warner Cable launching not one, but two regional sports networks in Southern California.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says NBC’s Sunday Night Football is expected to dominate the night, but media buyers say ABC’s lineup is a good alternative.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report looks at tonight’s 30 for 30 premiere.

Jordan Rabinowitz of SportsGrid has a sneak peek of tonight’s 30 for 30 doc.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says two regional sports networks made their debuts Monday with lots of fanfare, but a low viewership.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes that NBC Sports Network has signed its second NCAA Division I Conference to air its basketball games.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell wonders what’s keeping Mark Sanchez from losing his job as New York Jets starting quarterback.

Tim Burke at Deadspin has video of an ESPN raw feed of a motorsports event that really has to be seen to be believed.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that ESPN will focus on the American League East in its final day of MLB regular season coverage.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says Army makes a couple of appearances on CBS Sports Network’s college hockey coverage.

Kevin Cooney of the Bucks County (PA) Courier Times notes a milestone for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about CBS Sports Network making a new hire.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says MASN and a local radio station are bolstering their baseball coverage for the postseason.

Dan notes that ESPN The Magazine devoting an entire issue to DC sports.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal says two central Florida radio stations have switched to NBC Sports Radio.

The Orlando Sentinel looks at one sports radio station flipping to NBC Sports Radio from ESPN Radio.

Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that Georgia football coach Mark Richt makes an appearance in a College GameDay promo.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Fox Sports Ohio will air Xavier basketball games this season.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch recaps yesterday’s Bulls Media Day.

The Kansas City Star explains why it doesn’t put the DC NFL team’s name in its copy.

Joe Flint from the Los Angeles Times says MLB hit a home run by more than doubling its rights fees from Fox and Turner.

James Mirtle of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about ESPN getting the rights to the Russian KHL featuring locked out NHL players.

Matt Yoder from Awful Announcing notes former New York Knicks GM Isiah Thomas could be coming to ESPN.

Sports Media Watch says Bears-Cowboys gave ESPN some big overnight numbers for Monday Night Football.

That’s going to do it for today.

Doing Some Monday Linkage

I’m going to make a concerted effort to do linkage regularly again. It’s the reason why I started Fang’s Bites back in 2007 and I was able to do the links daily, even on weekends. But lately, my schedule has been so busy that the site has become a press release dump and I want that to stop.

So I hope to do the links every day for you this week unless I have to be off-site, but I’m going to do my best to bring you the linkage.

So without further delay, here’s the linkage.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks about the drama that was the Ryder Cup at Medinah.

In Sports Business Journal, John Ourand notes that NBC Sports Network’s ratings have really fallen after getting big ratings for the 2012 London Olympics.

John reports that Fox Sports is about to renew its deal with NASCAR.

Over to the ESPN Front Row PR blog where ESPN PR maven Bill Hofheimer tells us that tonight’s Monday Night Football game between Chicago and Dallas will be Mike Tirico’s 100th contest. Congrats, Mike!

Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal delves into which MLB announcer is the most biased and the results will probably confirm your suspicions.

Bloomberg’s John Helyar, Scott Church and Scott Soshnick report on MLB’s secret TV deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report says the European post-Ryder Cup press conference was an embarrassment to golf.

Ed explains how the Ryder Cup become a coveted property for NBC Sports after it was originally a sleepy event.

And Ed talks with NBC’s Roger Maltbie about his first job in television.

Mike Barnes of the Hollywood Reporter remembers former ABC and CBS motorsports voice Chris Economaki who died last week at the age of 91.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says the Pro Bowlers Tour is back on ESPN.

As part of a special section, Advertising Age’s Brian Steinberg notes that NBC’s Seth Winter is one of the publications Media Mavens.

Karen Hogan of Sports Video Group writes about the launch of Comcast SportsNet Houston which kicks off on participating cable and satellite systems (not DirecTV though) today.

Mike McCarthy at Sports Biz USA talks about how track athletes are attempting to unionize to combat the International Olympic Committee’s Rule 40 which prevents them from being in non-Olympic sponsor ads during the Games.

At the New York Post, Phil Mushnick wants NBC’s announcers to kick Tiger Woods to the curb.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Fox’s Michael Strahan and co-host of “Live with Kelly and Michael” says he got good practice for his latest gig by talking with reporters when he was a New York Football Giant.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union talks with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with MLB Network Radio co-host Jim Duquette about the Nationals.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle tells us about today’s launch of the latest Comcast SportsNet regional sports network.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel says the Green Bay Packers got screwed by the replacement and the real NFL referees.

Chicagoland Radio and Media says WGN in Chicago, not WGN America, will air tonight’s Bears-Cowboys Monday Night Football game plus a locally produced pregame show.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says former Comcast SportsNet reporter Sarah Kustok received an honor last week.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post notes that CBS’ Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will have called three consecutive Broncos games after next Sunday.

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

Tom has five things he learned from the weekend.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail says drunk tweets from an NHL player made the lockout hit home.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star previews this week’s Blogs with Balls 5 event which takes place in Canada for the first time.

At SB Nation’s Puck The Media, Steve Lepore notes that four sports networks will combine for 50 college hockey regular season games, none of them named “ESPN”.

Steve DelVecchio at Larry Brown Sports says comedian Norm MacDonald actually predicted the European Ryder Cup comeback on Twitter the night before Sunday’s matches.

EPL Talk says Fox Soccer needs its own English Premier League highlight show similar to what BBC has in its venerable “Match of the Day.”

Sports Media Watch says ESPN will shuffle an IndyCar race in primetime to ABC next year.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has ten minutes of bloopers from New York Yankees radio voice John Sterling.

Matt notes that NBC inserted salsa music for Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz after scoring a touchdown for the second time in as many seasons.

And that’s going to wrap up the links for today.