Fang's Bites

Bringing Back The Friday Megalinks

It’s been too long since I’ve done a links post and why not do this with a Friday megalink post.

Your Weekend Viewing Picks have all of my sports and entertainment suggestions.

Now to your linkage.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with Fox’s Erin Andrews about her being put under a bigger microscope now that she has higher profile gigs.

John Ourand & Michael Botta from Sports Business Daily handicap the bidding for the US rights to the English Premier League.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that the EPL bidding is going to a second round.

At Sports on Earth, Will Leitch makes no bones about being a Joe Buck apologist.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy looks at the ratings for three KHL airings on ESPN2.

To The Godfather, Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina who notes that in Hot Clicks, ESPN’s Samantha Steele is taken. Sorry, fanboys.

Jim Romenesko notices that ESPN.com is trying to play eye doctor.

Jane McManus of espnW looks at MLB’s new dress policy for reporters.

Sports Rantz explores the revamping of the 6 p.m. ET SportsCenter that could lead to more appearances for Lindsay Czarniak.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with CBS’ Doug Gottlieb about his first job in broadcasting.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Ronnie Ramos says reporters should throw objectivity out the window when it comes to social media.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group says YES Network is finding a TV-friendly environment at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

David Goetzl of MediaPost says ESPN is trying to expand the SportsCenter brand beyond television.,

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has today’s New York Post cover involving the Yankees.

Kristi Dosh as ESPN.com says GoDaddy’s hiring of a new ad agency could lead to the dropping of spokesperson Danica Patrick.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell says it’s good that the Chicago White Sox listened to their fans and dropped ticket prices for next season.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has the worst sports tweets of 2012 to date.

Leah Goldman of the Business Insider’s Sports Page has what you need to know about ESPN’s Samantha Steele.

Joe Favorito looks at the Battle for the Big Apple, NBA style.

Dave Kohl of The Broadcast Booth takes a look at Joe Buck’s rare NFL/MLB doubleheader on Sunday.

Bob’s Blitz talks about CBS Sports Radio giving writer John Feinstein a daily show when the network launches in 2013.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Lewiston (ME) Sun Journal and Maine Hockey Journal have formed a partnership on local sports coverage.

At the Boston Globe, Chad Finn reviews Comcast SportNet New England’s NFL Pregame Live show.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with a former WEEI morning show personality.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Time Inc. has tapped a Sports Illustrated web editor to head its entire sports portfolio.

In the New York Post, Phil Mushnick wants everyone to be like him.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY notes that the Yankees and Giants top the local TV ratings.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union compares and contrasts Fox and TBS in the MLB Postseason.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call notes that a local sports talk show host is no longer employed at his radio station.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com has Baltimore Ravens voice and local sports anchor Gerry Sandusky explaining why he won’t change his name.

Also in Press Box, Dave says the Washington Nationals are seeking a bigger rights fee from MASN.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the City Paper will not mention the DC NFL team by its regular name.

Dan says Fox was filming a spot regarding DC NFL team QB Robert Griffin III this week.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says the Nationals’ brand is seeing more attention after its regular season success.

South

Rick Stroud at the Tampa Bay Times says Sunday’s game involving the Saints and Bucs did sell out in time.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle has some college football announcer pairings and a few local news and notes.

In his media notebook, Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman looks at Bill Simmons making the dangerous move to television.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Time Warner Cable picks up three local high school football games this weekend.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has ESPN college basketball analyst Dan Dakich handicapping the Big Ten.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says the Cubs, WGN and Comcast SportsNet will quickly decide on a replacement for Bob Brenly who left and took his talents to the Southwest.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders why the Sun-Times would hire Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy to be a columnist.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the local Fox TV station had to juggle severe warning alerts while airing the Cardinals in the NLCS.

West

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the Diamondbacks have named their new TV broadcasting team.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes on a former San Diego Charger who’s deciding whether he wants to play in the CFL or pursue broadcasting full-time.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star explores the cast changes to ESPN’s NBA Countdown pregame show.

In his media notebook, Jim says the Pac-12 Network can be found online for subscribers of participating cable and satellite providers.

Jim has his Weekend Viewing Picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News is fed up of cable carriage disputes.

Tom has some stuff that didn’t make it into his column.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks with former NHL coach and TV analyst Mike Keenan on how to survive the lockout.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog has some of the local sports radio ratings.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says MLB got a rare ratings win over the CFL last Friday.

And that will conclude the megalinks. Enjoy the sports weekend.

College Football Viewing Picks For Week 8, 10/20/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule courtesy Matt’s College Sports

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Gainesville, FL — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
ACC Blitz — ACC Network, noon
College Football Today — CBS, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN, 6 p.m.
BTN Football Postgame — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 7:30 p.m.
The Final Drive — Big Ten Network, 11 p.m.
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Saturday)

noon
Purdue at Ohio State — ABC/ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Lewis Johnson)
Virginia Tech at Clemson — ABC/ESPN2 (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)

Rutgers at Temple — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/David Diaz-Infante/Paul Carcaterra)

New Hampshire at Maine — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Mid-Atlantic/New England/Philadelphia)

LSU at Texas A&M — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
Minnesota at Wisconsin — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)
Northern Arizona at Akron — ESPN Plus (Michael Reghi/Doug Graber)

Iowa State at Oklahoma State — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
Tennessee State at Jacksonville State — Fox College Sports Pacific (Bob Belvin/Kevin Ingram)

Penn at Yale — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Ross Tucker/Kelli Johnson)

Auburn at Vanderbilt — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. kickoff (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Wake Forest at Virginia — ACC Network

3 p.m.
Stanford at Cal — Fox (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)
Boston College at Georgia Tech — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Paul Kennedy/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)

3:30 p.m.
Nebraska at Northwestern — ABC/ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell/Maria Taylor)
South Florida at Louisville — ABC (Mark Neely/Ray Bentley)
Texas Tech at TCU — ABC/ESPN2 (Dave Lamont/Kelly Stouffer)

Michigan State at Michigan — Big Ten Network (Matt Devlin/Glen Mason/J Leman)

South Carolina at Florida — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson)
Indiana at Navy — CBS Sports Network (Grant Boone/Todd Christensen/Sheehan Stanwick Burch)

James Madison at Richmond — Comcast SportsNet (Chicago/Mid-Atlantic/Philadelphia)

NC State at Maryland — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)
Pittsburgh at Buffalo — ESPN Plus (Bob Picozzi/Chris Doering)

Rice at Tulsa — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central/WDCA/KICU (Mike Morgan/JC Pearson/Laura McKeenan)

BYU at Notre Dame — NBC (Tom Hammond/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan)
UNLV at Boise State — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Rod Woodson/Anthony Herron)

Montana at North Dakota — Audience Network (DirecTV)/Root Sports (Northwest/Rocky Mountain)

6 p.m.
Colorado at USC — Pac-12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Adam Archuleta/Yogi Roth)

7 p.m.
Marshall at Southern Mississippi — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Steve Beuerlein/Evan Washburn)

Alabama at Tennessee — ESPN (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)
Middle Tennessee at Mississippi State — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Jessica Mendoza)
North Carolina at Duke — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Allison Williams)
Idaho at Louisiana Tech — ESPN Plus (Trey Bender/Jay Taylor)

Kansas State at West Virginia — Fox/Fox Deportes (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)
Kansas at Oklahoma — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central (Joel Myers/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox)
Georgia at Kentucky — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Bob Rathbun/Tim Couch/Elizabeth Moreau)
East Carolina at UAB — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Steve Physioc/Ben Leber/Lesley McCann)

New Mexico at Air Force — Root Sports Rocky Mountain

8 p.m.
Baylor at Texas — ABC (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kessenich)
Florida State at Miami — ABC (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)

Penn State at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/Jon Jansen)

Central Florida at Memphis — CSS

10 p.m.
Washington at Arizona — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Glenn Parker/Ryan Nece)

10:30 p.m.
San Diego State at Nevada — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Aaron Taylor/Lauren Gardner)

Utah at Oregon State — ESPN2 (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Shannon Spake)
South Carolina State at Florida A&M — ESPNU (Joe Davis/Jay Walker) (same day coverage)

Wyoming at Fresno State — Time Warner SportsNet/Root Sports (Northwest/Rocky Mountain)/Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

College Viewing Picks For Week 7, 10/13/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from South Bend, IN — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
ACC Blitz — ACC Network, noon
College Football Uncut-Auburn — CBS, 2 p.m.
College Football Uncut-South Carolina — CBS, 2:30 p.m.
Fox College Saturday — Fox, 2:30 p.m.
Onward Notre Dame: South Bend to Soldier Field — NBC, 2:30 p.m.
BTN Football Postgame — Big Ten Network, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN/ESPN2, 3 p.m.
ESPN Goal Line — ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.
Fox College Saturday — Fox, 6;30 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN, 7 p.m.
College Football Central — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.
BTN Football Gamebreak 2012 — Big Ten Network, 7:30 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 8:30 p.m.
The Final Drive — Big Ten Network, 11 p.m.
Inside College Football — CBS Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.
College Football Final — ESPN2, midnight

11 a.m.
Louisville at Pittsburgh — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)

noon
Oklahoma vs. Texas at Dallas, TX — ABC (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)

Syracuse at Rutgers — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/David Diaz-Infante/Paul Carcaterra)

Wisconsin at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Chris Martin/Jon Jansen)

Kent State at Army — CBS Sports Network (Ben Holden/Randy Cross/Cadet Ally McKearn)

Richmond at New Hampshire — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/New England/Philadelphia)

Iowa at Michigan State — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
Northwestern at Minnesota — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Heather Mitts)

Kansas State at Iowa State — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
UAB at Houston — Fox Sports Net/Fox College Sports Central/WLVI/KICU (Ron Thulin/Shaun King/Desmond Purnell)

Brown at Princeton — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Ross Tucker/Carolyn Manno)

Auburn at Mississippi — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. kickoff (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Duke at Virginia Tech — ACC Network

1 p.m.
SMU at Tulane — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area Plus/Houston)

2 p.m.
Lindsey Wilson at Campbellsville — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Jim Tirey/Brian Rive)

2:30 p.m.
North Carolina at Miami (FL) — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)

3 p.m.
Utah at UCLA — Fox/Fox Deportes (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)
Maryland at Virginia — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Paul Kennedy/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)

3:30 p.m.
Illinois at Michigan — ABC/ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell/Lewis Johnson)
Oregon State at BYU — ABC (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)
West Virginia at Texas Tech — ABC/ESPN (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kussenich)

Alabama at Missouri — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson)
Bucknell at Harvard — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Todd Christensen/Evan Washburn)

William & Mary at James Madison — Comcast SportsNet (California/Mid-Atlantic Plus/The Comcast Network)

Oklahoma State at Kansas — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central/WDCA/KICU (Joel Myers/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox)
Texas-San Antonio at Rice — Fox College Sports Pacific (Adam Alexander/Dave Lapham/Lesley McCaslin)

Stanford at Notre Dame — NBC (Tom Hammond/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan)
Fresno State at Boise State — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Rod Woodson/Anthony Herron)

Eastern Washington at Montana State — Audience Network (DirecTV)/Root Sports (Northwest/Rocky Mountain)

4:30 p.m.
Memphis at East Carolina — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area Plus/Houston/Northwest)

5:30 p.m.
Boston College at Florida State — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Maria Taylor)

6 p.m.
Florida at Vanderbilt — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Tom Luginbill)

7 p.m.
USC at Washington — Fox (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)
TCU at Baylor — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central (Mike Morgan/JC Pearson/Laura McKeeman)
Kentucky at Arkansas — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Bob Rathbun/Tim Couch/Elizabeth Moreau)

Air Force at Wyoming — Root Sports (Northwest/Rocky Mountain)

8 p.m.
Ohio State at Indiana — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/J Leman)

Southern Mississippi at Central Florida — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Aaron Taylor/Lauren Gardner)

South Carolina at LSU — ESPN (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)

9 p.m.
Tennessee at Mississippi State — ESPN2 (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Allison Williams)
Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech at Shreveport, LA — ESPNU (Joe Davis/Kelly Stouffer)

10:30 p.m.
Cal at Washington State — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Glenn Parker/Ryan Nece)

midnight
New Mexico at Hawaii — Root Sports Rocky Mountain

College Football Viewing Picks For Week 6, 10/06/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Columbia, SC — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
Inside College Football — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
ACC Blitz — ACC Network, noon
College Football Countdown — ABC, 3 p.m.
College Football Today — CBS, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN/ESPN2, 3 p.m.
BTN Football Gamebreak — Big Ten Network, 3:30 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN/ESPN2, 6:30 p.m.
Fox College Saturday — Fox, 6:30 p.m.
BTN Football Postgame — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 7 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN, 10 p.m.
Inside College Football — CBS Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

11:30 a.m.
Navy at Air Force — CBS (Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein/Otis Livingston)

noon
South Florida at Temple — Big East Network (Eamon McEnaney/David Diaz-Infante/Paul Carcaterra)

Michigan State at Indiana — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Chris Martin/Jon Jansen)

Boston College at Army — CBS Sports Network (Ben Holden/Randy Cross/Cadet Tommy Busterud)

Northwestern at Penn State — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
Arkansas at Auburn — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Tom Luginbill)
UConn at Rutgers — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)
Buffalo at Ohio — ESPN Plus/ESPN3 (Michael Reghi/Doug Graber)

Kansas at Kansas State — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
Boise State at Southern Mississippi — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central/WLVI/KICU (Joel Myers/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox)
Albany at Bryant — Fox College Sports Atlantic/Cox Sports RI/Time Warner Cable Albany (Paul Dottino/Steve Levy)

Mississippi State at Kentucky — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. kickoff (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech at North Carolina — ACC Network

1 p.m.
Towson at James Madison — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Anthony Herron/Carolyn Manno)

3 p.m.
Arizona at Stanford — Fox/Fox Deportes (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)
Virginia at Duke — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Paul Kennedy/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)

3:30 p.m.
Illinois at Wisconsin — ABC/ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell/Maria Taylor)
Oklahoma at Texas Tech — ABC/ESPN2 (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kessenich)

LSU at Florida — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson)
Tulsa at Marshall — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/Doug Chapman/Tammy Blackburn)

Maine at Delaware — Comcast SportsNet (California/Chicago/Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England/Northwest/Philadelphia)

Georgia Tech at Clemson — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)
Wake Forest at Maryland — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)

Iowa State at TCU — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Pacific/WDCA/KICU (Mike Morgan/JC Morgan/Laura McKeeman)

Montana at Northern Colorado — Root Sports (Northwest/Rocky Mountain/Audience Network (DirecTV)

4 p.m.
Michigan at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/J Leman)

6 p.m.
Washington State at Oregon State — Pac-12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Adam Archuleta/Yogi Roth)

7 p.m.
North Texas at Houston — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area Plus/Chicago/Houston/Mid-Atlantic)

Georgia at South Carolina — ESPN (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)
Texas A&M at Mississippi — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Angela Mallen)
UNLV at Louisiana Tech — ESPN Plus/ESPN3 (Trey Bender/Jay Taylor)

West Virginia at Texas — Fox (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)
Vanderbilt at Missouri — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Bob Rathbun/Tim Couch/Elizabeth Moreau)
Rice at Memphis — Fox College Sports Central (Steve Physioc/Ben Leber/Lesley McCaslin)

Montana State at Cal Davis — Root Sports (Northwest/Pittsburgh/Rocky Mountain)/Audience Network (DirecTV)

7:30 p.m.
Miami (FL) vs. Notre Dame in Chicago, IL — NBC (Tom Hammond/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan)

8 p.m.
Nebraska at Ohio State — ABC (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)

Hawaii at San Diego State — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Todd Christensen/Lauren Gardner)

Florida State at North Carolina State — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Shelley Smith)

10 p.m.
UCLA at Cal — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Glenn Parker/Ryan Nece)

10:30 p.m.
Washington at Oregon — ESPN (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Lewis Johnson)
Southern at Alcorn State — ESPNU (Joe Davis/Jay Walker) (same day coverage)

College Football Viewing Picks For Week 5, 09/29/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from East Lansing, MI — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
ACC Blitz — ACC Network, noon
College Football Countdown — ABC, 3 p.m.
BTN Football Gamebreak 2012 — Big Ten Network, 3 p.m.
College Football Today — CBS, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 6;30 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
Inside College Football — CBS Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.
The Final Drive — Big Ten Network, midnight
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Saturday)

noon
Buffalo at UConn — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/David Diaz-Infante/Paul Carcaterra)

Indiana at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Chris Martin/Jon Janesen)

Stony Brook at Army — CBS Sports Network (Ben Holden/Randy Cross/Cadet Linc Bradham)

Penn State at Illinois — ESPN/ESPN3D (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
Minnesota at Iowa — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Lewis Johnson)
NC State at Miami (Florida) — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)
Ball State at Kent State — ESPN Plus/CSS (Michael Reghi/Doug Graber)

Baylor at West Virginia — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
Missouri at Central Florida — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central/WLVI/KICU (Ron Thulin/Shaun King/Desmond Purnell)
Middle Tennessee State at Georgia Tech — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Mike Hogewood/Riley Skinner/Elizabeth Moreau)
Central Connecticut Stat at Sacred Heart — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Paul Dottino/Steve Levy)
Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee-Martin — Fox College Sports Pacific (Kevin Ingram/Bob Belvin)

Penn at Dartmouth — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Ross Tucker/Carolyn Manno)

Arkansas at Texas A&M — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. kickoff (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Duke at Wake Forest — ACC Network

2 p.m.
Nevada at Texas State — Longhorn Network (Dave Armstrong/Kelly Stouffer)

3:15 p.m.
Marshall at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/J Leman)

3:30 p.m.
Ohio State at Michigan State — ABC (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)

Tennessee at Georgia — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson)
San Jose State at Navy — CBS Sports Network (Grant Boone/Todd Christensen/Sheehan Stanwick Burch)

Clemson at Boston College — ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell/Maria Taylor)
Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati at Landover, MD — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)
URI at Bowling Green — ESPN3 (Greg Franke/Tom Cole)

Houston vs. Rice (at Reliant Stadium) — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic/WMCN/WDCA/KICU (Mike Morgan/JC Pearson/Laura McKeeman)
Idaho at North Carolina — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Paul Kennedy/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)
West Chester at California (PA) — Fox College Sports Pacific (Stan Savern/John Sanders)

Atlanta Football Classic
Florida A&M vs. Southern — NBC Sports Network (James Verrett/Anthony Herron/Rashan Ali)

Montana State at Southern Utah — Root Sports (Northwest/Rocky Mountain)/Audience Network (DirecTV)

4 p.m.
Arizona State at Cal — FX (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)

6 p.m.
Florida State at South Florida — ESPN (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kessenich)

UCLA at Colorado — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Adam Archuleta/Yogi Roth)

7 p.m.
Georgia State at William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Chicago/Mid-Atlantic/Northwest)/CSS

South Carolina at Kentucky — ESPN2 (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)
Towson at LSU — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Allison Williams)

TCU at SMU — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Joel Myers/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox)
Texas Tech at Iowa State — Fox College Sports Central (Mike Gleason/Dave Lapham/Lesley McCaslin)

Montana at Eastern Washington — Root Sports (Northwest/Rocky Mountain)/Audience Network (DirecTV)

7:50 p.m.
Texas at Oklahoma State — Fox (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)

8 p.m.
Wisconsin at Nebraska — ABC (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)

Louisville at Southern Mississippi — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Aaron Taylor/Lauren Gardner)

9:15 p.m.
Mississippi at Alabama — ESPN (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Jessica Mendoza)

10 p.m.
Oregon State at Arizona — Pac-12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Glenn Parker/Ryan Nece)

10:30 p.m.
Oregon vs. Washington State at Seattle, WA — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Shelley Smith)
Grambling State at Alabama A&M — ESPNU (Joe Davis/Jay Walker) (same night coverage)

College Football Viewing Picks For Week 4, 09/22/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Tallahassee, FL — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
ACC Blitz — ACC Network, noon
College Football Countdown — ABC, 3 p.m.
College Football Today — CBS, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN/ESPN2, 3 p.m.
BTN Football Postgame — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 7 p.m.
BTN Football Postgame — Big Ten Network, 11 p.m.
Inside College Football — CBS Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.
The Final Drive — Big Ten Network, midnight
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

noon
Central Michigan at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Danan Hughes/Tom Helmer)
UAB at Ohio State — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/Lisa Byington)

Lafayette at Bucknell — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Ron Zook)

New Hampshire at Old Dominion — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/New England/Philadelphia)
Furman at Presbyterian — CSS

Virginia at TCU — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
UTEP at Wisconsin — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Lewis Johnson)
Bowling Green at Virginia Tech — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)
UMass at Miami (OH) — ESPN Plus (Michael Reghi/Doug Graber)

Maryland at West Virginia — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
Mississippi at Tulane — Fox Sports Net/Fox College Sports Central/WLVI/KICU (Ron Thulin/Shaun King/Desmond Purnell)

Kentucky at Florida — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. kickoff (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Army at Wake Forest — ACC Network

1 p.m.
Yale at Cornell — NBC Sports Network (Todd Harris/Blaine Fowler/Kelli Johnson)

3 p.m.
Miami at Georgia Tech — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Paul Kennedy/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)

3:30 p.m.
Oregon State at UCLA — ABC/ESPN2 (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kessenich)
Temple at Penn State — ABC/ESPN2 (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)

Eastern Michigan at Michigan State — Big Ten Network (Matt Devlin/Glen Mason/Rebecca Haarlow)
Idaho State at Nebraska — Big Ten Network (Tom Werme/Kelly Stouffer/Damon Benning)
South Dakota at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee/Jon Jansen/Evan Fitzgerald)

Missouri at South Carolina — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson)
VMI at Navy — CBS Sports Network (Grant Boone/Todd Christensen/Sheehan Stanwick Burch)

Villanova at Penn — Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
Marshall at Rice — CSS/Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Mid-Atlantic Plus)

East Carolina at North Carolina — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)

Indiana (PA) at California (PA) — Fox College Sports Pacific (Stan Savern/John Sanders)

4 p.m.
Colorado at Washington State — FX (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)

4:30 p.m.
Harvard at Brown — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Ross Tucker/Carolyn Manno)

South Florida at Ball State — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/David Diaz/Infante)

6 p.m.
Cal at USC — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Glenn Parker/Ryan Nece)

7 p.m.
Delaware at William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/Philadelphia)

LSU at Auburn — ESPN (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)
Rutgers at Arkansas — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Allison Williams)

Lehigh at Liberty — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Steve Degler/Mike Yadush)
Wagner at Central Connecticut State — Fox College Sports Pacific (Paul Dottino/Steve Levy)
South Carolina State at Texas A&M — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Bob Rathbun/Tim Couch/Elizabeth Moreau)

7:30 p.m.
Akron at Tennessee — CSS (Matt Stewart/Chris Doering/Angela Mallen)

Kansas State at Oklahoma — Fox (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)

Michigan at Notre Dame — NBC (Tom Hammond/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan)

7:45 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Georgia — ESPN2 (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Maria Taylor)

8 p.m.
Clemson at Florida State — ABC (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)

Louisiana Tech at Illinois — Big Ten Network (Chris Denari/J Leman/Tony Banks)
Syracuse at Minnesota — Big Ten Network (Matt Shephard/Chris Martin/Jay Wilson)

Fresno State at Tulsa — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Aaron Taylor/Lauren Gardner)

10 p.m.
Utah at Arizona State — Pac-12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Adam Archuleta/Yogi Roth)

10:30 p.m.
Arizona at Oregon State — ESPN (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Shelley Smith)

Nevada at Hawai’i — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Rod Woodson/Anthony Herron)

College Football Viewing Picks For Week 3, 09/16/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Pregame and Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Knoxville, TN — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
ACC Blitz — ACC Network, noon
College Football Today — CBS, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
BTN Football Postgame — Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1 a.m. (Sunday)

noon
Cal at Ohio State — ABC (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kessenich)

Charleston Southern at Illinois — Big Ten Network (Matt Shepard/J Leman/Tony Banks)
Eastern Michigan at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Chris Martin/Rebecca Haarlow)
Western Michigan at Minnesota — Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee/Justin Cozemius/Stacy Paetz)

Northern Illinois at Army — CBS Sports Network (Ben Holden/Randy Cross/Army Cadet Brad Strimel)

Wake Forest at Florida State — ESPN (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
Arkansas State at Nebraska — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Lewis Johnson)
Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)

TCU at Kansas — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
Louisiana-Lafayette at Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Net/Fox College Sports Central/WLVI/KICU (Joel Myers/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox)

William & Mary at Towson — NBC Sports Network (Todd Harris/Ross Tucker/Carolyn Manno)

Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
UConn at Maryland — ACC Network

Presbyterian at Vanderbilt — CSS (Dave Neal/Cole Cubelic)

3 p.m.
Tennessee Tech at Oregon — Pac 12 Netowrk (Kevin Calabro/Adam Archuleta/Yogi Roth)

3:30 p.m.
Navy at Penn State — ABC/ESPN2 (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)
North Carolina at Louisville — ABC/ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kannell/Maria Taylor)

Boston College at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (Josh Lewin/Josh Jansen/Evan Fitzgerald)
UMass at Michigan — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/Lisa Byington)
Northern Iowa at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Tom Werme/Danan Hughes/Damon Benning)

Alabama at Arkansas — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson)
East Carolina at Southern Mississippi — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Ron Zook/Evan Washburn)

URI at Villanova — Comcast SportsNet (California/Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England/Philadelphia)

Virginia at Georgia Tech — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)

Texas A&M at SMU — Fox Sports Net/Fox College Sports Atlantic/WDCA/WLVI/KICU (Ron Thulin/Shaun King/Desmond Purcell)

4 p.m.
Stony Brook at Syracuse — Big East Network

Portland State at Washington — FX (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)

Boise State at Miami (OH) — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Rod Woodson/Anthony Herron)

6 p.m.
Florida at Tennessee — ESPN (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)

7 p.m.
Arizona State at Missouri — ESPN (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Shelley Smith)
Western Kentucky at Kentucky — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Allison Williams)

North Texas at Kansas State — Fox Sports Net/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Mike Morgan/JC Pearson/Laura McKeeman)
UAB at South Carolina — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Bob Rathbun/Tim Couch/Elizabeth Moreau)
Sam Houston State at Baylor — Fox College Sports Central (Steve Physioc/Gary Reasons/Emily Jones)
New Mexico State at Texas Tech — Fox College Sports Pacific (Mike Gleason/Ben Leber/Lesley McCaslin)

7:30 p.m.
Florida Atlantic at Georgia — CSS (Matt Stewart/Chris Doering)

USC at Stanford — Fox, 7:50 p.m. (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)

8 p.m.
Notre Dame at Michigan State — ABC (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)

Ball State at Indiana — Big Ten Network (Chris Denari/Kelly Stouffer/Antwaan Randle El)
Utah State at Wisconsin — Big Ten Network (Matt Devlin/Glen Mason/Jay Wilson)

Colorado at Fresno State — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Aaron Taylor/Lauren Gardner)

9:15 p.m.
Texas at Mississippi — ESPN (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Jessica Mendoza)

10 p.m.
BYU at Utah — ESPN2 (Mark Neely/Ray Bentley/Paul Carcaterra)

10:30 p.m.
Howard at Norfolk State — ESPNU (Joe Davis/Jay Walker)

Houston at UCLA — Pac 12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Glenn Parker/Ryan Nece)
South Carolina State at Arizona — Pac 12 Network Arizona (Dave Flemming/Coy Wire/Brook Oldenzam)

Some Quick Monday Afternoon Linkage

Was out for a bit today so I’m behind in what I want to get done here. I’ll do some links for you to tie you over.

I’ll start with a couple of stories from Sports Business Daily which looks at some record overnight ratings for Fox and NBC for the first Sunday of the NFL regular season.

John Ourand at SBD notes that ESPN has officially scrapped the musical opens for Monday Night Football for good.

From NFL UK, Nicholas Pike writes that viewers can watch Monday Night Football through BBC’s red button or through its website.

Sam Laird at Mashable says NBC’s Michele Tafoya has been sending video tweets from the sidelines during the NFL Kickoff Game and on Sunday Night Football.

Michael O’Connell at the Hollywood Reporter says NBC is really crowing about its Sunday Night Football overnights.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable reports that NFL Network has hired a former DirecTV executive to join its NFL Total Access show.

Christopher Heine of Adweek says the New York Giants are on the forefront of social media.

Adweek’s Emma Bazilian discovers that CNN Situation Room host Wolf Blitzer loves watching ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Media Life Magazine reports that CBS has almost sold out its Super Bowl ad inventory.

Merrill Knox at TV Spy says Friend of Fang’s Bites Courtney Fallon has taken her talents to South Beach from Providence.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell writes that Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA becomes the latest NFL facility to offer free Wi-Fi to its fans.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report looks at what’s in store this season on ESPN’s Monday Night Fotoball.

Ed says the NFL can’t be pleased over the length of some of Sunday’s games due to replacement refs.

Rob Tobias from the ESPN Front Row PR blog talks to the man who composed the iconic SportsCenter theme.

Also from the Front Row blog, Allison Stoneberg writes about ESPN’s Monday Night Football production truck.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that NBC Sports Network will air World Team Tennis this weekend.

Pete says the Baseball Hall of Fame has narrowed the field for the Ford C. Frick broadcasters award.

Pete writes that the local CBS affiliate has opted not to show the US Open men’s final today. The same here in Providence. It’s been pushed to its co-owned Fox affiliate’s secondary digital channel. Ouch.

At the Baltimore Sun, David Zurawik talks with new Monday Night Football reporter Lisa Salters who got her start in TV news in the Charm City.

Rich Shopes of the Tampa Bay Times says the local blackout of the Buccaneers home opener is killing local sports bars.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a nice day plus a blowout lowered the Texans’ TV ratings.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the Reds’ radio ratings are truly amazing.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman took note of the replacement referees during yesterday’s San Francisco-Green Bay game.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post talks with NBC’s Al Michaels.

The Arizona Republic’s Paola Boivin doesn’t have good news in the DirecTV-Pac 12 Networks talks.

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

Tom has your sports calendar for the week.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail downplays CBC’s acquisition of the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Matt Sarzyniak of Matt’s College Sports has a couple of notes on the ESPN/Fox Big 12 deal.

Picking Out Some Sunday Links For You

Let’s do some Sunday linkage on this first NFL regular season Sunday of 2012.

We’ll begin with Pat Eaton-Robb of the Associated Press with an interesting story on how Connecticut is fast becoming home of major sports media companies.

Candace Jackson of the Wall Street talks about her visit to Rich Eisen and his wife, Suzy Shuster’s home in beautiful Beverly Hills.

Jon Gold from CBSSports.com has statements from Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott on getting the conference’s networks on Dish Network.

Also from CBSSports.com, Dennis Dodd says the SEC expects to have new TV deals in place including the super secret SEC Network, not the one run by ESPN.

Media Rantz solves the mystery of what happened to NFL Network’s Kara Henderson.

Liana Baker of Reuters reports that an NHL lockout could hurt ratings momentum for NBC Sports Network.

John Gaudiosi of Forbes.com tells us that Sony Playstation 3 gamers get a discounted price for  DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel says Dish Network has beaten DirecTV to the punch and made a deal with Pac 12 Networks in time for yesterday’s college football games.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter writes that movie director James Cameron will be assisting UK’s Sky Sports in producing a 3-D production of this month’s Ryder Cup.

Tim Nudd of Adweek looks at ESPN’s very funny SportsCenter promo featuring John Clayton that has already gone viral.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek notes that NBC broke even on the 2012 Olympics.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has your NFL Broadcasting Guide for the 2012 season.

Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times, writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center has a theory as to why some NFL teams fail to sell out their games.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report has former ESPN’er Charley Steiner recalling two of the funniest “This is SportsCenter” ads ever.

Ed also has some videos from the early days of Monday Night Football. Make that very early days.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell wonders if CBS is selling Super Bowl ads on the cheap.

Evan Weiner of Examiner.com says the late Art Modell deserves better from Cleveland fans. I hate to tell you, Evan, but as a Browns fan, Modell made his bed and has to lie in it.

On the other hand, Newsday’s Bob Glauber says he can’t reconcile Modell’s pulling the Browns from Cleveland with the other parts of his legacy.

Rachel Margolis at ESPN’s Front Row PR blog says College GameDay heads to Tennessee for Week 3.

Drew Drawbaugh of Engadget reports that Google Fiber subscribers will get access to NFL Network and NFL RedZone starting tomorrow.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says former Celtic and Chicago Bull Brian Scalabrine will join Comcast SportsNet New England as an analyst.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says two former American Basketball Association team owners who get to collect part of the NBA’s TV revenue in perpetuity, want even more and are suing to get it.

Tanzina Vega of the Times says ESPN Deportes Radio NY will be broadcasting Jets games in Spanish this season.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty has NFL Commish Roger Goodell disappointed that the league doesn’t have a deal with Time Warner Cable to carry NFL Network.

David Zurawik from the Baltimore Sun says ratings for the Grand Prix of Baltimore fell by almost 60% from the year before. However, last year’s race was on ABC while this year’s edition was on NBC Sports Network.

David speaks with Amber Theoharis who has left MASN for NFL Network and will replace the aforementioned Kara Henderson.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports college football analyst Charles Davis.

Coley Harvey at the Orlando Sentinel asks if ESPN’s College GameDay will pay a visit to Tallahassee later this month.

Jimmy Burch in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that the new Big 12 deal with ESPN and Fox will allow for more national broadcasts.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle has the college football media guide for this season.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman says yesterday’s PPV production of the Florida A&M-Oklahoma game was network quality.

Tim Feran of the Columbus (OH) Dispatch says NFL Network and Time Warner Cable are no closer to an agreement than when the channel debuted.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News wonders how long DirecTV can hold out not carrying the Pac 12 Networks.

Tom says Fox tapped the right man to lead its World Cup coverage.

Sports Media Watch notes that last week’s PGA Deutsche Bank Championship hit a five year ratings high.

Dann Stupp and John Morgan of MMA Junkie write that NBC Sports Network will hire some familiar names for an upcoming World Series of Fighting telecast.

And that will do it. The NFL pregame show quotage is coming up next.

College Football Viewing Picks for 09/08/12, All Times Eastern

Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Pregame & Studio Shows
College GameDay live from College Station, TX — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
Inside College Football — CBS Sports Network, 2:30 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN/ESPN2, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN2, 7 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
Fox College Saturday — Fox, 7 p.m.
The Final Drive — Big Ten Network, 11 p.m.
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

noon
Penn State at Virginia — ABC (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/George Smith)

NC State at UConn — Big East Network (Eamon McAnaney/David Diaz-Infante/Paul Carcaterra)

New Hampshire at Minnesota — Big Ten Network (Matt Devlin/Glen Mason/J Leman)

Auburn at Mississippi State — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown)
Central Florida at Ohio State — ESPN 2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Lewis Johnson)
Maryland at Temple — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)

Miami at Kansas State — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
Tulane at Tulsa — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic/WLVI/KICU (Rod Thulin/Shaun King/Desmond Purnell)

East Carolina at South Carolina — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Ball State at Clemson — ACC Network

3 p.m.
Weber State at BYU — BYU TV

North Carolina at Wake Forest — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Paul Kennedy/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)

Eastern Washington at Washington State — Pac 12 Network (Oregon & Washington) (Dwayne Ballen/Kelly Stouffer)
Sacramento State at Colorado — Pac 12 Network (Mountain) (Matt Smith/Jeremy Bloom)
Southern Utah at Cal — Pac 12 Network (National) (Rich Cellini/Gary Plummer/Erin Coscarelli)

3:30 p.m.
Air Force at Michigan — ABC/ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell/Maria Taylor)
USC vs. Syracuse at East Rutherford, NJ — ABC/ESPN (Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Shelley Smith)

Howard at Rutgers — Big East Network (Mike Corey/Rene Ingoglia)
Missouri State at Louisville — Big East Network

Iowa State at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Chris Martin/Chuck Long/Jon Jansen)

South Florida at Nevada — CBS Sports Network (James Bates/Aaron Taylor/Lauren Gardner)

Florida at Texas A&M — ESPN (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)
Michigan State at Central Michigan — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)

Rice at Kansas — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central/WLVI/KICU/WDCA (Joel Meyers/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox)
Carnegie Mellon at Allegheny College — Fox College Sports Atlantic (John Sanders/Ellis Cannon/Amanda McCall)

Purdue at Notre Dame — NBC (Tom Hammond/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan)
Delaware State at Delaware — NBC Sports Network (Todd Harris/Ross Tucker/Carolyn Manno)

Western Kentucky at Alabama — SEC Network (Mike Morgan/Chris Doering/Jill Montgomery)

4 p.m.
Wisconsin at Oregon State — FX (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)

6:30 p.m.
Fresno State at Oregon — Pac 12 Network (National) (Ted Robinson/Adam Archuleta/Yogi Roth)

7 p.m.
Washington at LSU — ESPN (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)
Louisiana-Monroe at Arkansas — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Allison Williams)

UTEP at Mississippi — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Bob Rathbun/Tim Couch/Elizabeth Moreau)
Western Carolina at Marshall — Fox College Sports Atlantic (Mike Gleason/Gary Reasons/Lesley McCaslin)
Grambling State at TCU — Fox Sports Southwest Plus/Fox College Sports Pacific (Mark Followill/JC Pearson/Emily Jones)

7:30 p.m.
Kent State at Kentucky — CSS (Matt Stewart/Cole Cubelic/Angela Mallen)

Nebraska at UCLA — Fox (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)

Army at San Diego State — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Rod Woodson/Anthony Herron)

7:45 p.m.
Georgia at Missouri — ESPN2 (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Quint Kussenich)

8 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Northwestern — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/Lisa Byington)

Louisiana Tech at Houston — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Ron Zook/Evan Washburn)

New Mexico at Texas — Longhorn Network (Mark Neely/Ray Bentley/Kaylee Hartung)

10:30 p.m.
Illinois at Arizona State — ESPN (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Jessica Mendoza)

Duke at Stanford — Pac 12 Network (Bay Area) (Dave Flemming/Coy Wire/Brooke Olzendam)
Oklahoma State at Arizona — Pac 12 Network (National) (Kevin Calabro/Glenn Parker/Ryan Nece)

A Rare Sunday Linkage Post!

I wanted to do a piece of site business before doing some rare Sunday linkage and rare linkage in general. Thanks to you, August was the best month ever as far as site visits are concerned. Whether it was due to you visiting over the Olympics schedules or wanting to see who Nicole Zaloumis was all about, Fang’s Bites had over 102,000 unique hits. While this is not in Deadspin or Big Lead range, both get way over 100,000 hits on a bad day, it’s a big deal for me. And this was even during a stretch when I couldn’t post due to the Office Move From Hell, so I thank you for visiting and returning during August. I hope you continue to visit during the fall months.

And because of that office move, I wasn’t able to do what is the bread and butter of this site, the links. I haven’t been able to provide them in several weeks. Let’s start September anew and provide good links to you as I used to.

Let’s begin.

One of the bigger stories from Saturday was the pre-emption in most of the country of the debut of the Fox College Saturday pregame show hosted by Erin Andrews, Joey Harrington and Eddie George. Because two Fox Saturday Baseball games ran long, it wiped out Erin’s Fox  debut. Only 10% of the country saw the pregame show in its entirety.

Media Rantz looks at why this happened.

Sports Media Watch says it wasn’t the start that Fox wanted in its first season of covering college football full-time.

Former USA Today sports media and business writer Mike McCarthy writes in his new $ports Biz USA site that Alabama coach Nick Saban came off as a jerk (what else is new?) in a halftime interview with ESPN’s Heather Cox.

Nicole Auerbach at USA Today at the Campus Rivalry blog asks readers about the debut of Samantha Steele on ESPN’s College GameDay.

Karl Taro Greenfeld at Bloomberg Businessweek takes a look at ESPN’s business model.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable says the embattled Longhorn Network got a big pickup before yesterday’s Texas season opener.

Multichannel News reports that the Athletic Director of the University of California-Berkeley ceremoniously dumped her DirecTV subscription over the satellite provider’s refusal to pick up Pac-12 Network.

Adweek looks at an unexpected shakeup at ESPN The Magazine.

Christopher Heine of Adweek notes that the Mohegan Sun casino has pulled ads from Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.

Adweek’s Anthony Crupi looks at this year’s crop of Nissan Heisman House spots that will air before each and every ABC Saturday Night Football game.

And Emma Bazilian of Adweek notes that USA Today is rolling out a new high school football magazine in 11 markets.

Dylan Murphy at SportsGrid noticed that ESPN’s Bottom Line obscured key sideline replays in two  college football games yesterday.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing says DirecTV is slashing prices of its UFC pay per views.

That will do us for now. I may add more links later.

College Football Viewing Picks for 09/01/2012, All Times Eastern

Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Pregame & Studio Shows: 
Inside College Football: Notre Dame-Navy Kickoff — CBS Sports Network, 7 a.m.
College GameDay live from Arlington, TX (season premiere) — ESPNU, 9 a.m./ESPN, 10 a.m.
BTN Football Pregame — Big Ten Network, 11 a.m.
College Football Countdown — ABC, 3 p.m.
College Football Scoreboard — ESPN, 6:30 p.m.
Inside College Football — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
SEC Tonight — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.
Fox College Saturday (series premiere) — Fox, 7 p.m.
College Football Final — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

9 a.m.
Notre Dame vs. Navy at Dublin, Ireland — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson/David Feherty)

noon
Miami (OH) at Ohio State — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Derek Rackley/Lisa Byington)

Ohio at Penn State — ESPN (Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Tom Rinaldi/Mark Schwartz)
Northwestern at Syracuse — ESPN2 (Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway/Jenn Brown)
Western Michigan at Illinois — ESPNU (Anish Shroff/Dan Hawkins)

Marshall at West Virginia — FX (Justin Kutcher/Eric Crouch/Darius Walker)
Appalachian State at East Carolina — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Central (Rod Thulin/Shaun King/Desmond Purnell)
Troy at UAB — Fox College Sports Pacific (Mike Gleason/Ben Leber/Lesley McCaslin)

Buffalo at Georgia — SEC Network, 12:21 p.m. (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano)

12:30 p.m.
Elon at North Carolina — ACC Network

3 p.m.
Richmond at Virginia — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Paul Kennedy/Keith Jones/Jenn Hildreth)

Nevada at Cal — Pac 12 Network (Dave Flemming/Coy Wire/Brooke Olzendam)

3:30 p.m.
Miami (FL) at Boston College — ABC/ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell/Maria Taylor)
Southern Mississippi at Nebraska — ABC/ESPN2 (Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham/Jeannine Edwards)

Eastern Kentucky at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Matt Devlin/Glen Mason/J Leman)
Northern Iowa at Wisconsin — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Chris Martin/Jay Wilson)

Bowling Green at Florida — ESPN (Mark Jones/Brock Huard/Jessica Mendoza)
Iowa vs. Northern Illinois at Chicago, IL — ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)

Tulsa at Iowa State — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Mark Followill/Gary Reasons)

4 p.m.
Furman at Samford — CSS

Colorado State vs. Colorado at Denver, CO — FX (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis)

7 p.m.
Clemson vs. Auburn at Atlanta, GA — ESPN (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe)
North Texas at LSU — ESPNU (Clay Matvick/Matt Stinchcomb/Allison Williams)

Jackson State at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net (regional) (Bob Rathbun/Tim Couch/Elizabeth Moreau)
Savannah State at Oklahoma State — Fox College Sports Central (Kevin Eschenfelder/ND Kalu/Erin Bajackson)
Northwestern State at Texas Tech — Fox College Sports Pacific (Bill Land/Dave Lapham/Emily Jones)

7:30 p.m.
Hawai’i at USC — Fox (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Julie Alexandria)

8 p.m.
Alabama vs. Michigan at Arlington, TX — ABC (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Heather Cox)

Indiana State at Indiana — Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee/Jon Jansen/Antwaan Randle El)

Rutgers at Tulane — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/Doug Chapman/Tammy Blackburn)

Texas State at Houston — CSS

Wyoming at Texas — Longhorn Network (Mark Neely/Ray Bentley/Kaylee Hartung)

10:30 p.m.
Arkansas State at Oregon — ESPN (Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/ Shelley Smith)
Toledo at Arizona — ESPNU (oe Davis/Mike Bellotti)

Oklahoma at UTEP — Fox Sports Net (national)/Fox College Sports Atlantic (Mike Morgan/JC Pearson/Laura McKeeman)

San Diego State at Washington — Pac 12 Network (Kevin Calabro/Adam Archuleta/Yogi Roth)

A Few Wednesday Sports Media Thoughts

I’ll provide a few thoughts as we hit midweek. They’ll be in bullet form, of course.

• First, here’s hoping the people of New Orleans will be ok in the midst of Hurricane Isaac. They’ve put up with way too much from Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Gustav and the BP oil spill, I pray they endure this without major damage.
• I’m going to be interested to see how Fox Sports’ new primetime college football package is going to fare against ESPN’s venerable lineup. Fox will focus on the Big 12 and Pac-12. ESPN/ABC can tap plenty of major conferences from the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC and place any big game it wants on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. We’ll see if Fox can hold its own.
• As both CBS and NBC attempt to get their sports radio networks off the ground, both are hoping to get that big name to anchor their lineup. CBS has Doug Gottlieb thus far. The rest of the dayparts have to be filled. NBC has Erik Kuselias plus a few other hires including Rodney Harrison for a weekend show. One of the X Factors for NBC is if it can land Dan Patrick and lure him away from DirecTV/Fox Sports Radio and get him for the 9 a.m. – noon ET slot. That would give NBC some credibility, stations and a big hole filled.
• Original MLB Network reporter Trenni Kusnierek, who’s been co-hosting an afternoon drive radio show in Milwaukee, is shipping up to  Boston where she will become an anchor/reporter for Comcast SportsNet New England. In effect, she replaces Nicole Zaloumis who is at NFL Network.
• While the Pac-12 Networks have launched up and down the West Coast, it has yet to sign satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network. Issues include the high price per subscriber and the seven networks under the Pac-12 umbrella. DirecTV just wants to carry the national network, but the league wants it to pick up everything. No sign of an agreement with either provider in the near future.
• And speaking of disputes, Time Warner Cable continues its holdout of NFL Network. While the network was able to pick up Cablevision this month, it still can’t get Time Warner in the fold. And it appears that there isn’t an agreement in sight. Time Warner can create its own Southern California regional sports network and attempt to get the Dodgers, but it remains steadfast in its refusal to provide NFL Network and also continues to be stubborn in not picking up MASN in North Carolina. It’s all about power and money in these disputes and who will blink first. Right now, neither Time Warner nor NFL Network are willing to talk. That’s too bad for the consumer.
• It’s unfortunate that none of NBCUniversal’s networks will carry the Paralympics live which begin this week in London. NBC Sports Network will air taped specials in September. Not good enough. Many of these athletes are quite courageous and it would be nice to get some live coverage to learn their stories. It’s not necessary for NBC to pick it up, but how about NBC Sports Network or Universal Sports? They need the inventory. C’mon, NBC.

And we’re done.

Former ESPN’er Mike Yam Joins Pac-12 Networks

Just announced by the Pac-12 Networks, former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Mike Yam will move out West to become a studio host and anchor. He’ll join the previously hired Ashley Adamson, Glenn Parker, Summer Sanders, Rick Neuheisel and Ronnie Lott.

According to Pac-12 Networks, Yam will be part of the channel’s debut when it launches on several cable providers on Wednesday, August 15. In addition to appearing on TV, Yam will make appearances on the Pac-12′s digital platforms.

The Pac-12 Networks press release states that Yam will be the main host for the network’s pre and postgame shows as well as halftime updates.

Here is the announcement from the Pac-12.

PAC-12 NETWORKS ADDS MIKE YAM TO ON-AIR TALENT ROSTER AS STUDIO HOST & ANCHOR

Yam Joins Ashley Adamson, Ronnie Lott, Rick Neuheisel, Glenn Parker and Summer Sanders to Kick Off Network Launch on ‘Pac-12 Live’ Wednesday, August 15 at 6:00 PM ET

With the countdown to launch in its final days, Pac-12 Networks has signed Mike Yam to an exclusive, long-term agreement as studio host and anchor, it was announced today. Yam joins co-host Ashley Adamson, analysts Rick Neuheisel, Ronnie Lott, Glenn Parker and contributor Summer Sanders to kick off the Networks’ debut on Pac-12 LIVE, Wednesday, August 15 at 6:00 PM PT.

“Mike is a rising star in the world of sports broadcasting and we’re thrilled to have him round out our core studio team for Pac-12 Networks,” said Lydia Murphy-Stephans, Pac-12 Networks Executive Vice President & General Manager. “Mike and Ashley bring the ideal combination of fresh talent and enthusiasm that has been a fundamental component of the growing Pac-12 Networks brand and we’re excited to have them on board, welcoming viewers to the new media home of the Pac-12 Conference from day one.”

As the Pac-12 Networks anchor team, Adamson and Yam will be a regular presence on both the linear and digital Networks, conducting interviews with Pac-12 coaches and student-athletes, providing news updates and lending their voice to edited programs. Yam will also be the regular host of Pac-12 Networks pre, half and postgame football studio shows.

Yam joins Pac-12 Networks after spending nearly four years at ESPN where he served as an anchor on SportsCenter and ESPNews, as well as being heavily involved in the Network’s NBA, college football and basketball coverage. Yam was also a regular voice on the radio as co-host of ESPN Fantasy Focus Basketball and a frequent fill-in on ESPN Radio 1050 in New York. Prior to ESPN, Yam had stints as anchor of NBA-TV’s Game Night and providing daily sports updates on the College Sports Television Network (CSTV). A graduate of Fordham University and winner of the Marty Glickman Play-by-Play award, Yam began his broadcasting career hosting One-on-One on WFUV radio in New York.

That’s all.

Doing Our Friday Megalinks

Haven’t been able to provide the Friday megalinks in a while. Let’s do an edition today.

Normally I include a link to the Weekend Viewing Picks, but I’ll be doing that tonight so you can find it on my site when it’s posted. If you follow me on Twitter or have an RSS feed, you’ll be updated as soon as it posts. If not, you can find it later.

Let’s do the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand wonders what effect the gold medal win by the US Women’s Soccer National Team will have on the sport in the long run.

Michael also live blogged Thursday’s Olympic Primetime on NBC.

Jeffrey Martin of USA Today looks at the grand experiment that’s known as the Pac-12 Networks.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus about the NBCUniversal’s handling of the 2012 Olympics.

At the Sports on Earth blog, Joe Posnanski chronicles his day in covering the Olympics.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily says with NFL preseason games airing in many local markets on Thursday, NBC Olympic overnight ratings took a hit.

Bill King of SBD says CBS Sports is forging ahead with a show featuring the professional debut of several US Olympic boxers despite their poor performance in London.

Ryan Baucom of SBD writes that several Olympic athletes are getting a boost in Twitter followers after their success in the London Games.

Tripp Mickle of SBD says Universal Sports broke out an ad on NBC Thursday trying to promote its Olympic sports programming. Good luck with that.

Eric Fisher of SBD says Yahoo is declaring victory over NBCOlympics.com for unique pageviews.

Sohrab Amari of the Wall Street Journal reviews an NBC News documentary fronted by Tom Brokaw which will air on NBC’s Olympic coverage on Saturday.

Sarah Kwak of Sports Illustrated talks with Lolo Jones about the media firestorm that swelled just before she ran her 100 meters hurdles race.

In the Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with outgoing Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan about his first job. Ryan will be missed in the pages of the Globe.

Sports Media Journal’s Keith Thibault and I have an Olympic-themed podcast with Richard Sandomir of the New York Times and Bruce Beck of WNBC-TV.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Today Show host Matt Lauer had an icy reunion with former co-host Ann Curry on NBC’s London Olympics set.

John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable writes that the FCC has already denied a Comcast request to stay its decision requiring the cable provider to give space to the Tennis Channel.

Christopher Heine of Adweek says Olympic marketers have failed to medal in their social media campaigns.

But Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age looks at the Olympic sponsors that managed to get a boost through social media.

Michael Learmonth of Advertising Age says NBC and the International Olympic Committee have to fix the Olympic business model before it breaks down.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life notes that NBC’s ratings for Wednesday Olympic Primetime show drew better viewership numbers than Atlanta in 1996.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says CBS Sports is preparing for all type of weather conditions for this weekend’s PGA Championship.

Karen Hogan of SVG looks at NBC New York Olympic operations.

Ken Kerschbaumer at SVG says Denmark TV has a floating barge studio for the London Olympics. Now that’s pretty cool.

And Birgit Heidsiek of SVG says Eurosport TV is producing the Olympics in 3-D.

Jason Fry of the Poynter Institute and writing as the ESPN Ombudsman investigates a plagiarism incident at the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that the Pac-12 Conference is readying an aggressive digital strategy that will go along with its television distribution.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead goes after former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol for being out of touch in defending the tape delayed Olympics.

The Big Lead looks at the Pac-12 being in the forefront of digital distribution after being marred for years of being behind the curve.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says the Miami Dolphins will take advantage of the NFL’s relaxed TV blackout policy this weekend.

Emmett Jones of Sports Business Digest notes that Buffalo Wild Wings has purchased naming rights for a college bowl game. Looks like it will be going to overtime every year.

Sports Media Watch says with NBC committed to the Olympics this year, the NFL Hall of Fame preseason game was aired on NFL Network and naturally suffered a big viewer dropoff.

SMW reports that NBC got another ratings increase for the Olympics.

TVNewsCheck says Gannett is declaring victory saying three of its stations are the top-rated local NBC affiliates in key demographics.

Alex Weprin of TVNewser looks at NBC’s Today Show operations in London.

At TVSpy, Alex tours NBC’s operation center for its local affiliates in London.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with Celtics TV voice Mike Gorman who’s been calling Olympic handball off a monitor for NBC.

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen discusses Golf Channel’s meteoric rise and its plans to cover the PGA Championship this weekend.

Jane L. Levere of the New York Times writes about ESPN’s new ad campaign for Monday Night Football.

Verne Gay at Newsday notes that a long-time NBC Sports director is retiring after the Olympics.

Newsday’s Chris Serico wonders if NBC’s Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera will be a bit more subdued during the Olympic Closing Ceremony on Sunday than their talkative performance during the Opening Ceremony two Fridays ago.

Neil Best of Newsday catches up with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski who’s filling a new role at the network after being in the Monday Night Football both.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is in another one of his moods today.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes a local radio station’s high school football schedule.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says Pac-12 Networks will be seen on Time Warner Cable locally.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says despite a lost season, the Philadelphia Phillies TV crew still has plenty to talk about during games.

Tim Richardson in Press Box looks at the business of fantasy football as leagues get ready to hold their drafts soon, if not already.

Sarah Kogod of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that more people were watching the DC NFL Team in area sports bars last night as compared to the Nationals.

Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog says the Nationals radio team tried to explain the term “ball bag”.

South

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald reviews HBO’s Hard Knocks on the Dolphins.

Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Dolphins have announced their TV blackout policy today.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says a local high school sports TV show expands to a new market.

Midwest

The Cincinnati Enquirer says ESPN’s College GameDay could be visiting the Queen City in February.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at Dick Ebersol’s latest comments on tape delaying Olympic events.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with a local sports radio host who’s perturbed at a former employer.

Dan notes that the Olympics and the St. Louis Cardinals ratings have been hurt by each other.

West

Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star says the Pac-12 Networks are ready to launch next week, but without a few major cable and satellite providers.

John Maffei of the North County Times talks with a former NBC Olympics analyst who was fired on the spot after calling a race.

To the Ventura County Star where Jim Carlisle talks about the increased spotlight on the Pac-12 through its new TV networks.

Jim says Twitter has become an Olympic event.

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times has the Irish radio call of boxer Katie Taylor’s victory giving the country its first gold medal of the Olympics.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says this is a critical time for beach volleyball as the sport is in transition now.

Tom has some Olympic TV notes in his blog.

And those are your supersized megalinks for today.

The Olympics Are Here; Let’s Do Some Links

Olympics start today with women’s soccer and there’s more soccer action tomorrow on the men’s side. Let’s bring you some linkage before I get distracted by the live streaming.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand reports that Erin Andrews will get some high profile NFL assignments working with the Fox Sports “A” announcing team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver on Thanksgiving and the postseason.

Roger Yu of USA Today looks at NBC’s Olympic online streaming plans.

Reid Cherner of USA Today says the Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies will not be streamed online by NBC. Both will be held for primetime broadcast. Grrrrr.

David Bauder of the Associated Press has your Olympics Viewing Guide.

I have my own Olympics Viewing Guide.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report wonders if NBC will force Bob Costas to back of his pledge to honor the slain Israeli athletes from the 1972 Munich Olympics during this year’s Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Jason Fry and Kelly McBride of the Poynter Review Project as the ESPN Ombudsman review ESPN’s coverage of the Penn State story on Monday.

Sports Business Daily Global notes that the Olympics are the second most valuable brand worldwide.

ESPN may not be the Olympics rightsholder in the US, but it does have the rights in Latin America and John Ourand at Sports Business Journal’s Olympic site looks at its sponsors for the Games.

UK Radio personality Polly James of Absolute Radio has started an Olympics blog and it’s quite good.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says Showtime and CBS will team up to show the professional debut of several Olympic boxers.

John Eggerton of Mulitchannel writes that Tennis Channel won a huge victory from the FCC in its carriage battle with Comcast.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel says Netflix feels that growth will be stunted in the current quarter due to the Olympics.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable notes that NBC News will use Storify to piece together certain stories of the Olympics.

Christopher Heine of Adweek reports that one Penn State sponsor has dropped the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY talks with former CBS News and WCBS anchor Dave Marash who covered the 1972 Munich tragedy.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that CBS Sports Network will air some US Open Tennis on Labor Day Weekend.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Fox Sports college football analyst Charles Davis talking about the Penn State sanctions.

Laura Nachman notes that ESPN SportsCenter anchor Ducis Rodgers will be joining the Philadelphia ABC affiliate.

Tim Richardson in Press Box writes that the military will continue its sports sponsorships in the mid-Atlantic region.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the DC NFL Team has already e-mailed the media on quarterback Robert Griffin III’s availability.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman talks about the Olympic streaming smorgasbord online.

Mel also looks at the local ratings from the weekend.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Bengals aren’t going to relax their requirements to ease TV blackouts.

Robert Feder of TimeOut Chicago says a popular Comcast SportsNet reporter is leaving the Windy City.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune has NBC’s Bob Costas lashing out at those who write about Olympic tape delays.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News has Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott optimistic about getting DirecTV on board for the Pac-12 Networks.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks with CTV Olympic Daytime host James Duthie.

Sports Media Watch looks at NBC Sports Network’s new highlight show.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing says the Olympics going digital.

AA’s Matt Yoder feels Fox should ditch the local announcers on its MLB broadcasts.

That’s going to do it.

The Pre-Olympic Linkage

The Olympics get started tomorrow with women’s soccer action and while the Games don’t officially begin until Friday with the Opening Ceremony (live in most countries except the United States), today is really the calm before the Olympic storm. Starting tomorrow and going through August 12, this site will be awash in Olympics sports media coverage as it was in 2008 for Beijing and 2010 in Vancouver. While I’ll be covering other sports media news, I’ll be focusing on NBC’s coverage, the business of the Olympics and other news out of London. I hope you’ll continue to visit.

Ok, let’s do the linkage. It’s time to bring it back. I was doing so well last week, six straight days of links, then last Friday, I got bogged down with family stuff and wasn’t able to do what I wanted to. Sometimes that happens. Time to take life back now.

Starting with the great Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, he has his Media Power List for July.

Ed Sherman of the Sherman Report talks with Big Ten Network’s President about doing an about-face and covering the Penn State story wall-to-wall on Monday.

Ed talks with NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell who takes the reins from his mentor, former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol, for London.

Sports Business Journal interviews the President of the Jacksonville Jaguars about stadium technology and the NFL Blackout policy.

Daniel Frankel of paidContent says the next sports network carriage dispute will be between the Pac-12 Networks and the two major satellite TV providers.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says NBC will provide an Olympics “Red Zone Channel” that will be online-only.

Shira Ovide of the Wall Street Journal says NBC will delay the Olympics Opening Ceremony and it won’t be seen live on cable or online.

The Big Lead says ESPN lured Brett McMurphy away from CBSSports.com to become one of its college football insiders.

Gabriel Beltone of Adweek looks at some of the best Olympic ads thus far.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says CBS Sports Network will piggyback on CBS’ coverage of the PGA Championship and US Open tennis.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age writes that the Penn State scandal could hurt the school’s marketability down the road.

David Goetzl at MediaPost says McDonald’s has begun its Olympic marketing campaign.

Steve McClellan at MediaPost writes that the Olympics help brand awareness.

Evan Weiner of Examiner.com says the International Olympic Committee should honor the Israeli athletes who were massacred during the 1972 Munich Games.

Sports Video Group notes that the MLB At Bat mobile and tablet app had its 5 millionth download.

Merrill Knox of TVSpy says a former Washington DC sports anchor returns home to the Bay Area.

Excellent story from Jason Schwartz of Boston Magazine on the hard fall of Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios. Nothing to do with sports media, but very good reporting.

The Boston Bruins announced Monday that it has signed an extension with radio flagship WBZ-FM.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says you’ll be able to see all of NBC’s live Olympics streams, provided you sign up.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about Sports Illustrated coming to TV.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says the Open Championship received its highest overnight rating in four years.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes that NBC’s Olympic specialty channels will be picked up locally.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Comcast will be all over the Olympics on its cable platforms.

David Selig of the Baltimore Sun says an Orioles pitching prospect will be featured on tonight’s premiere of Sports Illustrated on NBC Sports Network.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that the area’s sports radio stations are getting ready for the Robert Griffin III era in DC.

Dan notes that Maryland’s field hockey coach Missy Meharg who will be an Olympics analyst for NBC.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci who will be a part of the magazine’s TV premiere tonight.

KSAT-TV in San Antonio named Jessica Ghawi an honorary member of its sports department. She was one of the 12 victims killed in the Aurora, CO movie theater massacre.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News writes about the KSAT honor for Jessica.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says MLB Advanced Media is bad for baseball.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says NBC’s Olympic coverage begins and ends with the Holy Diminutive One, Bob Costas.

Ben Fong-Torres of the San Francisco Chronicle profiles Ron Barr and his Sports Byline USA network which keeps plugging along from the Bay Area in a world dominated by ESPN Radio.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing says Big Ten Network got the job done in covering the Penn State sanctions on Monday.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says ESPN should air TSN’s SportsCentre to gain street cred with hockey fans.

Tony Manfred of the Business Insider’s Sports page notes that the Olympics helped to transform one of London’s seedier neighborhoods into a showcase.

And that’s going to do it.

Pac-12 Networks Announce On-Air Talent

Some of this was announced over the weekend by Pac-12 Enterprises, but we now have the official press release which unveils some of the announcing and studio talent for the network. Some are familiar names with national experience. Others are not.

For instance, Ted Robinson who seems to be the ultimate free-lancer, picks up another gig and will be the main play-by-play man for college football. Ted is well-known for calling tennis on NBC, Tennis Channel and ESPN2. He’s called numerous Olympics for CBS and NBC and he’ll be in London calling diving and men’s tennis for NBC Olympics.

Kevin Calabro, the former Voice of the Seattle Supersonics will also call college football for the Pac-12 Networks. He’s worked nationally for ESPN Radio and NBA TV.

Dave Flemming, one of the radio voices of the San Francisco Giants will be a play-by-announcer for college football. He’s called West Coast college basketball games for ESPN.

The analysts include Glenn Parker who has worked for NBC on Arena Football, Versus on Pac-10 games and he’s also the radio analyst for the Arizona Cardinals.

Ashley Adamson will be studio host for college football. She joins Pac-12 Networks from WISH-TV in Indianapolis.

Other appointments and game announcing assignments are included in the press release that’s posted below.

PAC-12 NETWORKS ANNOUNCES ON-AIR FOOTBALL TALENT LINE-UP FOR INAUGURAL SEASON OF LIVE GAME & STUDIO COVERAGE

  Ted Robinson, Curtis Conway, Glenn Parker & Ryan Nece Among Impressive Line-Up of Former Pac-12 Players and Broadcasting Veterans to Anchor 2012 Football Programming Slate

Pac-12 Networks has expanded its on-air talent family with the addition of 12 personalities to anchor its live game and in-studio coverage of Pac-12 football. Former Conference standouts Adam Archuleta (Arizona State), Curtis Conway (USC), Ryan Nece (UCLA), Glenn Parker (Arizona) and Coy Wire (Stanford) join Rick Neuheisel and Ronnie Lott in the Networks’ arsenal of football experts for the 2012 season, contributing to both studio programming and live game telecasts.

The Networks have also tapped broadcasting veterans Ted Robinson, Kevin Calabro and Dave Flemming as the primary play-by-play voices of Pac-12 Networks football telecasts, while Ashley Adamson joins Pac-12 Networks, anchoring coverage from the Networks studios in San Francisco. Washington State grad Brooke Olzendam and Yogi Roth, a former USC coach, also join the team as sideline reporters for live football telecasts.

“We’ve worked hard to establish a team of on-air personalities that brings a wealth of broadcasting and playing credentials to our viewers while also establishing a voice unique to the Pac-12 Networks and our growing brand,” said Gary Stevenson, President of Pac-12 Enterprises.

For Pac-12 Networks football studio coverage, Adamson is joined by a rotation of Pac-12 analysts including Conway, Lott, Neuheisel and Parker for week-long analysis, commentary and highlights. All Pac-12 Networks game productions will consist of a two-man booth with a reporter stationed on the sidelines.

In June, Pac-12 Networks announced their first 15 football telecasts of the season, kicking off August 30. The football announcing teams and confirmed game assignments are as follows:

August 31 • San Jose State at Stanford • 7:00 pm PT
Ted Robinson – play-by-play
Glenn Parker – analyst
Ryan Nece – sideline

August 30 • Northern Colorado at Utah • 4:15 pm PT

September 1 • San Diego State at Washington • 7:30 pm PT
Kevin Calabro – play-by-play
Adam Archuleta – analyst
Yogi Roth – sideline

September 1 • Nevada at California • 12 Noon PT
Dave Fleming – play-by-play
Coy Wire – analyst
Brooke Olzendam – sideline

The Pac-12 Networks launch August 15 and will consist of one national and six regional networks devoted solely to the Pac-12. The new networks are scheduled to televise 850 live sporting events each year, including 35 football games, more than 130 men’s basketball games and hundreds of Olympic sports events in 2012-13. Announcing team assignments for other Pac-12 Networks football telecasts will be announced at a later date.

Pac-12 Networks Talent profiles

Ashley Adamson, studio host
Ashley Adamson joins Pac-12 Networks as a studio host for its football coverage shows. Previously, Adamson spent two years as a sports anchor and reporter for WISH-TV in Indianapolis where she covered a variety of sports leagues including the NBA, NFL, NCAA football, men’s basketball and NASCAR. Adamson began her broadcasting career in 2008 with Newschannel 9 WSYR in Syracuse, NY where she spent two years as the weekend sports anchor and reporter for the ABC affiliate. A native of Denver, CO, Adamson earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College followed by a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University.

Adam Archuleta, game analyst
Former NFL and Arizona State safety Adam Archuleta joins Pac-12 Networks as an analyst for the Networks live game production slate. He is joined in the booth by play-by-play voice Kevin Calabro with former USC coach Yogi Roth reporting from the sidelines. Archuleta played eight seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders where he combined for 530 tackles, four interceptions and three forced fumbles. Archuleta began his collegiate career at Arizona State as a walk-on before rising to a starting position at linebacker for three years recording 330 tackles, 14 sacks, six fumble recoveries and five forced fumbles in four seasons. As a senior, Archuleta earned Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors and was a First-team All-Pac-10 selection.

Kevin Calabro, game announcer
Seattle sports personality Kevin Calabro joins Pac-12 Networks as a game announcer alongside Adam Archuleta in the booth and Yogi Roth on the sidelines. Calabro spent 21 seasons as the radio and television announcer for the Seattle SuperSonics until the team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. The media broadcasting veteran has also served as a play-by-play contributor for TNT, TBS and ESPN Radio broadcasts of the NBA and in 2000 was the voice of the U.S. Men’s Basketball Olympic team for Westwood One. Calabro began his career as one of the youngest play-by-play announcers in NBA history, hired at age 26 by the Kansas City Kings during the 1983-84 season. In addition to his duties with Pac-12 Networks, Calabro is also host of ‘The Kevin Calabro Show’ airing weekdays on 710 ESPN Radio Seattle.

Curtis Conway, studio analyst
Former NFL and USC wide receiver Curtis Conway joins Pac-12 Networks as a football studio analyst. A native of Los Angeles, CA, Conway had a 12-year career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers, combining for 594 receptions for 8,230 yards and 52 touchdowns. While at USC, he was a first team All-American selection in 1992 and still holds the USC record for most kickoff return yards. In addition to his work with Pac-12 Networks, Conway also serves as a color analyst for Compass Media Networks’ college football and NFL radio broadcasts, as well as appearing regularly on FOX 11 Los Angeles’ NFL highlight show Overtime.

Dave Flemming, game announcer
Dave Flemming joins Pac-12 Networks as the play-by-play voice for Pac-12 Conference football matchups alongside color analyst Coy Wire and sideline reporter Brooke Olzendam. Flemming is a familiar name to Bay Area sports fans as the on-air radio voice for San Francisco Giants broadcasts on KNBR-AM for the past nine years, as well as handling radio play-by-play duties for Stanford football and serving as a substitute announcer on Golden State Warriors radio broadcasts.

Ryan Nece, sideline reporter/analyst
Former NFL and UCLA linebacker Ryan Nece is part of a broadcast trio that includes play-by-play voice Ted Robinson and color analyst Glenn Parker and will provide sideline reports during Pac-12 Networks live football game telecasts. He also joins his father, Hall of Fame linebacker Ronnie Lott, as part of the Pac-12 Networks football talent roster. Nece spent seven seasons in the NFL from 2002-2008 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions. During his rookie season with Tampa Bay, Nece was name the team’s Rookie of the Year and helped the Bucs to the franchise’s only Super Bowl title in 2002 (XXXVII). Prior to his NFL career, he enjoyed a standout collegiate career for the Bruins, combining for 281 tackles and 10 sacks as a four-year starter. In addition to his work for Pac-12 Networks, Nece also serves as a football analyst for Bright House Sports.

Brooke Olzendam, sideline reporter
Brooke Olzendam, current sideline reporter for the Indiana Pacers and FOX Sports Indiana, teams with play-by-play voice Dave Flemming and color analyst Coy Wire to provide sideline reports for Pac-12 Networks football game telecasts. Olzendam has served in similar roles with several networks including a two-year stint as the football sideline reporter for CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket. Olzendam also covered a broad spectrum of sports for Comcast SportsNet Northwest including the MLB and horse racing and hosted pre and postgame shows for the Portland Trail Blazers. A graduate of the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, Olzendam began her broadcasting career covering the University of Washington as host of “Huskies All-Access” and providing sideline reports for UW football and basketball games.

Glenn Parker, game/studio analyst
Veteran analyst Glenn Parker brings a wealth of broadcasting experience to his role as game and studio analyst for Pac-12 Networks football coverage. In 2011, Parker served as a college football game analyst for Versus’ slate of Pac-12 contests, as well as providing studio analysis for the network’s college football coverage. At the NFL level, Parker is currently an analyst for the Arizona Cardinals radio broadcasts and hosts the daily radio show “In the House” on 1290 AM The Source in Tucson. Prior to joining the Cardinals radio team, Glenn contributed to various shows on Fox Sports Arizona including the Cardinals postgame show and “Sound Off.” A graduate of the University of Arizona, Parker enjoyed a 12-year career in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chief and New York Giants, playing in five Super Bowls.

Ted Robinson, game announcer
Two-time Emmy winning announcer Ted Robinson comes to Pac-12 Networks with extensive broadcasting experience over the last 30 years covering a variety of sports. Robinson teams with analyst Glenn Parker and sideline reporter Ryan Nece for select Pac-12 football telecasts during the 2012 season. Since 2009, he has been the voice of the San Francisco 49ers radio broadcasts and also works NBC providing play-by-play for tennis, swimming, diving, college football and basketball. The 2012 Summer Olympic games in London marks his seventh Olympic Games assignment for the network where he will cover diving events. Robinson’s broadcasting career has included stints with several networks including CBS, TBS, FSN, USA Network, Versus and Westwood One, as well as game announcer roles for several teams including the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Charlotte Hornets and Stanford football.

Yogi Roth, sideline reporter/analyst
As a former USC football coach, collegiate student-athlete and media personality, Yogi Roth brings a multi-dimensional resume to his sideline reporter duties with the Pac-12 Networks this fall. Most recently, Roth served as an analyst and producer for ESPN, appearing on ‘College Football Live’ and the ‘Elite 11’ quarterback show, as well as producing the network documentary ‘3 for the Show.’ During a two-year coaching stint with the USC Trojans, Roth was part of former head coach Pete Carroll’s staff that developed Pac-10 championship-winning quarterbacks John David Booty and Mark Sanchez. A former wide receiver at the University of Pittsburgh, Roth co-authored Win Forever with Carroll which reached #7 on the New York Times best-sellers list.

Coy Wire, game analyst
Former Stanford Cardinal Coy Wire joins Pac-12 Networks following a nine-year NFL career at linebacker for the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons. Wire partners with play-by-play voice Dave Flemming and sideline reporter Brooke Olzendam for Pac-12 Networks football telecasts for the 2012 season. As a third round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2002 NFL Draft, Wire compiled 202 tackles, five sacks and one forced fumble in his professional playing career. At Stanford, Wire split time at linebacker and running back and stands as the only person in modern times to lead the Cardinal in rushing as a running back and follow up two years later leading the team in tackles as a linebacker.

That is all.

Doing Some Tuesday Linkage

I was expecting to be out of the office today, but with the temperatures over 90 in Southern New England, being inside with air conditioning is probably the way to go today. I hope wherever you are, you’re staying cool and away from the sun.

I have some links.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says the BBC is defending the size of its staff devoted to covering the London Olympics pointing out that NBC is bringing almost four times BBC’s number.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes that ESPN has hired an internationally-known soccer journalist to bolster its website.

Tim says Golf Channel has made a couple of hires.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable writes that the Pac-12 Networks have selected Cisco to distribute video throughout its systems.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says a US-based martial arts network is attempting to gain a foothold in Europe.

Gabriel Belton of Adweek looks at a new Olympics-themed ad from GlaxoSmithKline.

Rupal Parekh at Advertising Age says Ralph Lauren is taking a huge PR hit over its “Made in Communist China” US Olympic Opening Ceremony uniforms.

Michelle Smith of espnW profiles Lydia Murphy-Stephens who’s helping to launch the Pac-12 Networks.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin notes that NBC’s Today Show ran video of the wrong man during an interview with Philadelphia Eagles’  quarterback Michael Vick.

John Koblin of Deadspin says Sports Illustrated will not run an excerpt of Joe Posnanski’s upcoming book on Joe Paterno.

Ed Sherman in The Sherman Report says a promotional video for Posnanski’s book seems to be seriously outdated in the wake of the Freeh Report released last week.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing explores whether Baseball Night in America was a ratings success for Fox.

Matt Yoder of AA talks with ESPN tome author James Andrew Miller in a podcast.

And Matt speaks with Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel about Penn State and the BCS in a new podcast.

How about one more podcast? Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina interviews Fox’s Erin Andrews on why she left ESPN.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy explores whether the NHL’s new TV deals with NBC and HBO could prevent a prolonged lockout unlike the last one which wiped out an entire season.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says the Freeh Report shows that journalists cannot take a college football program at face value.

Also at the National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley blasts ESPN and Big Ten Network for their coverage of the Freeh Report.

Sports Video Group looks at a company that is streaming the Olympics to 70 countries worldwide.

Cork Gaines of the Business Insider Sports Page says ESPN actually censored its own Body Issue cover of New England  Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski this morning.

Newsday’s Neil Best ventures into NBC’s “Billion Dollar Lab” for the 2012 Olympics.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes that WFAN’s Mike Francesa tops the Talkers Magazine Heavy Hundred Sports Radio Talk Show Hosts.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty discusses Golf Channel’s new hires.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says the NFL is pricing out the regular fan.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning News says a former Eagles and Steelers offensive lineman is now working for NFL Films.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is telling readers that Taylor Teagarden’s inadvertent “S” bomb after the Orioles win over Detroit on Fox Saturday is not a big deal.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog looks at where the local sports radio talkers rank on Talkers Heavy Hundred List.

Dan has video of a new Robert Griffin III commercial.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner explores the Nationals’ TV and radio ratings.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that native Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be profiled on HBO’s Real Sports tonight.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has video of Charlie Sheen appearing with Joe Morgan (?) on Jay Leno’s Show of Hacks.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch says ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue included a local Olympic volleyballer.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Chris Scott says the site’s own online TV service will be live from the Del Mar Racetrack this week for Opening Day.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News notes that the White House had trouble transcribing ESPN’s Mark Jones’ interview of President Obama during last night’s USA vs. Brazil pre-Olympic basketball exhibition game.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says NHL fans may not see hockey until at least Thanksgiving at the earliest.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

That’s going to end the links for today.

Let’s Do The Friday Megalinks

Time for Friday linkage.

The Weekend Viewing Picks have your sports and entertainment suggestions. Let’s get cracking.

National

Michael Hiestand from USA Today looks at TNT’s plans to go mostly split-screen during breaks for Saturday’s NASCAR race.

Tom Perrotta of the Wall Street Journal reports that the one Wimbledon souvenir the players want is the towel.

Alex Sherman at Bloomberg Businessweek talks with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus about the Olympics.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says enhancing the NFL fan experience might bring more people to games.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report is happy to learn that Jeremy Schaap’s ESPN Radio show is now available as a podcast.

Bob Pockrass at The Sporting News says NASCAR hopes that NBC Sports will be a bidder for the sport’s TV rights.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says ESPN Deportes scored with the EURO 2012 Final last Sunday.

Mike says Golf Channel has selected the venue for the next season of “Big Break”.

Christopher Heine of Adweek says MLB’s allowing Twitter votes for the All-Star Game for the first time may have had a hand in deciding which league hosts the World Series.

Jason Del Ray of Advertising Age says the impending Turner Sports purchase of Bleacher Report makes sense.

Wayne Friedman at MediaPost says the NFL easing requirements on local TV blackouts shows the league wants to reach the casual fan.

Dan Daley at Sports Video Group says ESPN will be utilizing plenty of microphones at the MLB Home Run Derby.

Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder has a screengrab of a Canadian TV station messing up the Steve Nash trade to the Lakers.

And Matt has found an episode of Judge Sapp. Yes, that’s Warren Sapp.

The Big Lead soaked up the latest Twitter battle between ESPN’s Darren Rovell and Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch.

MediaRantz looks at the top 5 ESPN plagiarism scandals.

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo’s From the Marbles blog wonders what is the big deal with the TNT/truTV simulcast of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race on Saturday.

Joe Favorito likes how MLS has adopted “Food Week” to get fans to explore its markets’ restaurants.

East and Mid-Atlantic

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen says it was time for Erin Andrews to leave the ESPN Mothership.

Jerry Barmsah of Fishbowl NY says CBS Radio’s WFAN could be headed to FM and could take the Yankees with it.

Yes, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, we know you hate ESPN.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the MLB Extra Innings pay per view package will be free next week.

Don Laible of the Utica (NY) Observer-Dispatch talks with the NHL on NBC’s Dave Strader about calling Olympic basketball.

Ken says a local minor league baseball team has found a new radio home.

Dave Sottile of the Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News says there are no plans to bring Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic to the local area.

Tim Richardson in Press Box looks at the differences between the Washington Nationals and MASN over the team’s TV rights fee.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with MLB Network’s Chris Rose.

South

Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal says a popular local sports radio host is changing stations.

At the Houston Chronicle, David Barron writes that the new Comcast SportsNet Houston will air Conference USA football featuring the University of Houston.

Midwest

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says MLB feels it has restored integrity to the All-Star Game. It’s an exhibition game!

Paul M. Banks of the Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders who had the best mock NBA Draft?

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says the new TV voice of the Minnesota Wild will have an exciting team to call this season.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks about Erin Andrews making her Fox debut next week.

Dan writes that Blues analyst Darren Pang turned down a full-time offer from TSN and will remain in St. Louis.

West

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has this harsh takedown of Erin Andrews.

Here’s Tom’s column which has a little more on the last post.

Tom also links to reaction to his Erin Andrews column.

Matt Rudnitsky of SportsGrid replies point-by-point to Hoffarth.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes about Erin Andrews joining Fox.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star talks with Fox’s Joe Buck on the challenges of calling the MLB All-Star Game.

Jim has his Weekend Viewing Picks.

Matthew T. Hall at the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders where’s the fan outrage in the Fox Sports San Diego-Time Warner Cable dispute leaving Padres games off TV.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News tries to clear up some confusion over the Pac-12 Network.

And that will conclude our links for today.

The Thursday Linkage

So weird to have the 4th of July in the middle of the week. You get the holiday after two work days and then have two work days afterwards. Some of you have the entire week off which is good, but for me, there’s no such thing as a vacation. In fact, I haven’t had a vacation since August 2001. That’s true. Anyway, you don’t care about that. Let’s get to the links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today lists which sports media personality has donated money to which politician.

Michael says ESPN NASCAR pit reporter Jamie Little will work her last race for a few months this weekend.

The BBC reports that a single yellow cable that will carry the Olympics from London to Europe was almost cut in Belgium.

Trefis Team at Forbes says ESPN contributes heavily to Disney’s stock price, but that could be reduced over time.

Keach Hagey of the Wall Street Journal looks at the new NBC Sports/Sports Illustrated partnership.

Mike Barnes of the Hollywood Reporter says former mustachioed Oakland Raiders defensive lineman turned pitchman Ben Davidson has died at the age of 72.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that ESPN set a viewership record for the EURO 2012 final.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life reports that NBC is close to selling out its Olympic ad inventory.

The Associated Press says the ACC has signed a 12 year deal with the Orange Bowl.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo about his two decade long partnership with WFAN’s Mike Francesa.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing writes that ESPN’s Chris Fowler gave John McEnroe a lesson about Twitter parody accounts at Wimbledon this week.

Joe tells us about reporter-on-reporter Twitter crime between ESPN’s Buster Olney and CBS’ Jon Heyman.

Melissa Jacobs at the Football Girl agrees with Erin Andrews’ assessment that sideline reporters are a necessity when used correctly.

Speaking of Erin, she speaks with Adam Silverstein of the Only Gators blog about moving to Fox.

Dave Nagle in ESPN’s Front Row public relations blog notes the network’s new broadcast position at Wimbledon.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Barclays’ recent troubles are trickling down to the Brooklyn Nets as they prepare to occupy their new home.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reports that The Whistle, a sports media company geared towards kids, will have a programming block on NBC Sports Network starting in September.

Dan Steinberg in the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that DC NFL Team radio analyst Sam Huff will work a reduced schedule this season.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman says the U.S. Olympic Trials topped the local ratings this past weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that Annika Sorenstam joins the NBC golf team this weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch urges the White Sox to calm down in asking people to do last-minute voting for the All-Star Game.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says the Pac-12 Network will be a success in Utah knowing the failings of the mtn.

Bill Mooney of the Thoroughbred Times says Fox Sports Net will air the West Virginia Derby next month.

Media Rantz notes that the NBC President who was responsible for the “Heidi Game” and forever changed how sports was aired on TV has passed away.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says CTV will bring back a few features for this year’s Olympics that were used in 2010 for Vancouver.

EPL Talk has a partial list of English Premier League games that will be aired in the States on ESPN2 and Fox Soccer.

Sports Media Watch says TNT took a ratings hit for last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest notes that the US Olympic Committee will pass on bidding for the 2022 Games dashing hopes for a couple of cities. It means the earliest an Olympics will be held in the United States will be 2024.

And those are the links that I could manage to squeeze out of the internet today.

Jonesing For Tuesday Linkage

Ok, maybe you’re not jonesing for the linkage, but at least you can read them at your leisure. Sometimes I think way too long about the title of the post and this is the case today. Anyway, let’s get to the links.

Joel Schectman of the Wall Street Journal reports that NBC and Google are preparing for possible hacking or denial of service attacks of online Olympic streams next month.

Lindsay Rubino at Broadcasting & Cable writes that NBC with U.S. Olympic Trials coverage in Track & Field, Swimming and Gymnastics won primetime on Sunday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says ESPN and ESPN2 are seeing huge ratings gains from Wimbledon.

Mike writes that NBC Sports Group has expanded its commitment to its Fight Night.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek says Fox Sports has sold out its ad inventory for the MLB All-Star Game.

Crupi says NBC scored with the U.S. Olympic Trials over the last week and a half.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost says if Sunday is any indication, NBC should do really well with the Olympics later this month.

George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter notes that BBC’s sports broadcasts of EURO 2012 and Wimbledon are leaving rival ITV in the ratings dust.

Nat Ives from Advertising Age notes that NBC and Sports Illustrated are teaming up for a monthly show.

Sam Marmudi of Marketwatch.com says NBC is getting ready for an Olympic takeover.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! writes that MLB’s antiquated blackout policy is hurting the sport.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com says the media could be allowed to see the college football playoff selection process.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans from the Tampa Bay Times writes that Erin Andrews is another example of ESPN losing another big name star.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks about why it’s important for Fox to have Erin Andrews make her debut next week at the MLB All-Star Game.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says ESPN plans to change its production model of the X Games as it expands globally.

Darren Rovell bids farewell to CNBC.

At the ESPN PR Front Row blog, Mike Humes says the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest brings back memories for college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla.

Timothy Burke of Deadspin notes that Texas Rangers TV voice Dave Barnett who had a strange on-air moment last month, will be taking a medical leave for the rest of the season.

Andy Smith of the Providence Journal writes that almost a million people watched the America’s Cup World Series races on NBC over the weekend.

To Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, who looks at the on-going MLB TV rights negotiations. Some interesting news from Richard in the article.

Newsday’s Neil Best discusses MLB All-Star voting with Commissioner Bud Selig and Fox’s Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Bob’s Blitz has video of some of the WFAN gang with CBS Radio bigwigs ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange last week.

The Albany Times-Union’s Pete Dougherty says the PGA’s AT&T National on CBS set a six year ratings high.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record reports that NESN National is available to local Verizon Fios subscribers.

Ken says NBA TV is gearing up for Summer League games.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Bog has ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian predicting good things for the Nationals.

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

Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel recaps Erin Andrews’ appearance on the Dan Patrick Show today.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says Samantha Steele of the Longhorn Network could be the beneficiary of Erin Andrews’ departure from ESPN.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman talks about Dave Barnett’s decision to take a medical leave from calling the Texas Rangers.

Gregg Tunnicliff of the Flint (MI) Journal talks with a long-time racing commentator.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has MLB Commissioner Bud Selig not having a problem with the sudden surge of fan voting from the Bay Area for the All-Star Game.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says the Pac-12 Network is set to launch in 40 million homes next month.

Michael Gehiken of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the eased NFL blackout rules probably won’t affect the Chargers this coming season.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news on the U.S. Olympic Trials and Baseball Night in America.

SMW notes that Wimbledon as an all-cable event is performing on par with last year.

Jason Lisk at The Big Lead is happy to note that ESPN blowhard Skip Bayless is wrong about racial profiling American white players in the NBA Draft.

Matt Yoder has some thoughts on ESPN’s EURO 2012 coverage.

Joe Favorito wonders if brands can make their Olympic sponsorship gambles pay off despite not having a name athlete to cling to.

And we’ll wrap up with Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth who looks back at WFAN’s 25 years in operation.

And we’re done.

Cranking Out Some Friday Megalinks

Ok, linkage has been really scarce over the last month and a half and I apologize for that. My schedules have been quite busy and it’s been tough to sit down for the time it takes to gather the links. I hope that changes over the next month or so.

I have some National links for you right now. I’ll follow up with more stuff later.

Here are the Weekend Viewing Picks for you.

National

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch speaks with the people at the Poynter Institute who are the ESPN Ombudsman.

Nate Davis at USA Today’s The Huddle has the Miami Dolphins not so enthusiastic about being on Hard Knocks this season.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with ESPN’s Sean McDonough who will undergo brain surgery later this year.

Ira Boudwell of Bloomberg Businessweek says ESPN is getting out of the high school sports business saying it’s not broad enough.

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski says this week’s blowout between David Stern and Jim Rome proves that the NBA Commissioner needs to go.

John Ourand of Sports Business Daily says Fox Sports San Diego is launching an ad campaign against Time Warner Cable which has still not picked up the regional sports network.

Good Morning America’s and former ESPN SportsCenter host Robin Roberts says she will beat the rare blood disorder that will require a bone marrow transplant.

Michael O’Connell of the Hollywood Reporter notes that the NBA Finals are pacing ABC to good ratings this week.

At Broadcasting & Cable, Tim Baysinger writes that this week’s Dream Team documentary gave NBA TV its best viewership ever.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says GolTV scored with this week’s soccer international friendly match between Brazil and Argentina.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life reports that NBC will debut two new sitcoms right smack dab in the middle of the Olympics.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report looks at the geriatric broadcasting team calling the NBA Finals for ESPN Radio.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid notes that even after the winning the Stanley Cup this week, the Los Angeles Kings still aren’t getting respect from the local media.

Former Deadspin editor A.J. Daulerio returns to his former stomping grounds to do a massive takedown of Jay “The Rat” Mariotti.

Also from Deadspin, John Koblin writes that there doesn’t seem to be a clamoring for Erin Andrews beyond ESPN.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says NBA TV and NBA Entertainment are appealing to the hardcore basketball fan for their Finals coverage.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead says Sports Illustrated could be laying off part of its staff.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has tweets from people who hated Chris Berman on the U.S. Open yesterday.

Sports Media Watch notes that this year’s Stanley Cup Final did not resonate with viewers.

SMW also has some various ratings news and notes.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Brooklyn Nets gear is selling very well.

MediaRantz tells us that Sean Salisbury will be getting a new internet radio gig.

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Time for more linkage here.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reports that May was a very good month for sports radio station WEEI as it finished ahead of 98.5 The Sports Hub.

At SB Nation, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch writes about golfer David Duval taking a turn in the broadcast tower at the U.S. Open.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette discusses Johnny Miller holding court for NBC at the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco this week.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with ESPN college baseball analyst Kyle Petersen who will be introducing many Long Islanders to the College World Series today.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after the Yankees for pricing out fans from the “Beautiful People” seats at Yankee Stadium.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY notes that SNY will unveil the all-time Mets team at a gala event on Sunday.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says the US Women’s National Soccer Team will be on TV and the web this weekend.

Ken says local Time Warner Cable subscribers will have access to the new Pac-12 Networks this summer.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says NBC Sports Group has announced the 2012 Summer at Saratoga schedule.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union talks with Jim Rome who marks his 16th year in New York’s Capital Region.

Pete says one of harness racing’s famous races changes networks this year.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call profiles a local cable TV sports reporter who is filling a double role this summer.

Keith has more on her in his blog.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes that a decision on the Washington Nationals TV rights has been delayed.

South

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald has some NBA Finals Game 2 postgame reaction as well as Jon Barry saying he’s not a Miami Heat Hater.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Fox Sports Houston was well-prepared and staffed for Wednesday’s perfect game thrown against the Astros by Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman writes that ESPN on ABC was all over the non-foul call against the Thunder’s Kevin Durant during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The Oklahoman rounds up what sports reporters are saying on Twitter about the NBA Finals.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says an all-star high school football game will be shown locally this weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that ESPN is dropping its high school sports operation.

Bob criticizes Jim Rome for his questioning of NBA Communist China Sympathizer David Stern.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says Cubs announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly were silent when comedian Jeff Garlin brought up trading Alfonso Soriano.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin notes the rare occurrence of the U.S. Open and the NBA Finals going head-to-head on TV this Father’s Day.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that viewers of Fox Sports Midwest may need a scorecard to tell who’s in the Cardinals TV booth over the next few days.

Dan notes that next week will mark a decade since the passing of Jack Buck and Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile.

West

Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman says this fall’s Boise State-Southern Mississippi game will get the Fox treatment.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says Utahans are nervous about getting the Pac-12 Networkcomparing it to their experience with the ill-fated the mtn.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that Fox Sports San Diego has set its sights squarely on Time Warner Cable.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star says ESPN’s NBA Countdown show seems to work fine without a host.

Jim talks with NBC’s Johnny Miller about the U.S. Open.

Jim has his weekend viewing picks.

Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times says Game 2 of the NBA Finals drew a good overnight number for ABC.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with former Kings voices about the Stanley Cup victory.

Tom has some more in his blog.

Canada

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin blames both Jim Rome and David Stern for their ugly exchange this week.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog says the NBA and NHL Commissioners are taking it on their chins this week.

And that’s going to do it.

Pac-12 Networks Promo

This is the promo for the Pac-12 Networks which will launch in August. As with any new network, getting carriage on various cable and satellite providers will be an issue. Distribution may not be high at first, but Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott hopes that all seven networks, one national and six regional channels will be picked up by all. However, DirecTV has said it’s unlikely it will take all seven let along one. And other providers have been slow on the uptake.

But as we get closer to the launch date, we’ll probably hear about various pickups, but in the meantime, it will probably be a struggle for carriage until we approach the 2012 college football season.

Here’s the promo for the Pac-12 Networks.

That’s it.

Pac-12 Networks Announces First 15 Football Games on Its Schedule

This from the Pac-12, we have the first games that the new Pac-12 Networks will air. A total of seven networks, one main and six regional, Pac-12 Enterprises says in the first three weeks of the 2012 college football season, it will air 15 games.

In the opening week, a total of six games will be shown which means the Pac-12 Networks will be opening up with a vengeance. The very first games on the networks will occur on August 30, Northern Colorado at Utah and that will be followed by Northern Arizona at Arizona State.

Let’s take a look at what the Pac-12 is saying about its early schedule. Check it out below.

PAC-12 NETWORKS OPEN 2012 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE WITH 15 GAMES IN FIRST THREE WEEKS, INCLUDING SIX GAMES IN WEEK ONE

Initial TV Schedule Features Five Games with Top 25 Powers Oregon, Stanford, USC

The Pac-12 Networks will open its initial college football season by airing 15 games in the first three weeks of the 2012 season and, with the addition of the California at USC game in week 4, will televise at least one game from each Pac-12 team during the first four weeks, it was announced today.

With USC, Oregon and Stanford ranked in preseason top 25, four new head coaches joining the Conference and one newly renovated stadium, the Pac-12 Networks will showcase a variety of compelling storylines that will resonate with college football fans across the country.

“We are extremely excited about the upcoming football season and the slate of Pac-12 games that we will feature throughout the season,” Pac-12 Enterprises President Gary Stevenson said. “In the first four weeks, we will have at least one game from all 12 teams, will feature some very intriguing matchups like Oklahoma State at Arizona and Cal at USC, and will televise the home debuts of new coaches Todd Graham at Arizona State and Mike Leach at Washington State. It’s a great start to what we expect to be a very competitive Pac-12 season.”

The Pac-12 Networks will kick-off its 35-game football schedule with six games during the opening week (August 30-September 1), including two on Thursday, Stanford’s home opener on Friday and three more on Saturday.

The University of Utah will host the first football game on the Pac-12 Networks when Northern Colorado visits Rice-Eccles Stadium Thursday, August 30. Kickoff is set for 5:15 p.m. MT. The Pac-12 Networks targeted the Utes home opener as their historic first football game and requested a special start time to make it happen.

“Putting our first schedule together required a lot of flexibility and cooperation from all of our schools,” Stevenson said. “Utah was especially helpful by moving the start time of their home opener to give us a great doubleheader to launch our networks.”

Arizona State will be the second game of an opening night doubleheader when they kick-off the Todd Graham era at home against Northern Arizona at 7:30 p.m. PT. The first week will also feature the unveiling of Cal’s newly renovated Memorial Stadium Sept. 1 at 12:00 p.m. PT when the Bears host Nevada, as well as home openers for Oregon State and Washington.

The Pac-12 Networks will have six more games during week two, highlighted by three-time defending Conference champion Oregon hosting Fresno State, Oklahoma State’s visit to Tucson to face Rich Rodriguez’s Arizona Wildcats and the Pullman debut of head coach Mike Leach when Washington State hosts Eastern Washington.

In week 3, the Pac-12 Networks will have a triple-header on Saturday, September 15 with Oregon hosting Tennessee Tech, UCLA and new head coach Jim Mora at home against Houston and South Carolina State visiting Arizona.

The Pac-12 Networks have picked Cal at USC Saturday, Sept. 22 as its initial game selection in week four. The remainder of the week four television schedule will be determined 6-to-12 days prior to the games.

Arizona, Cal, Oregon and Stanford each have two appearances during the first three weeks, while ASU, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Washington State have one. USC makes its debut on the networks the following week.

The Pac-12 Networks launch August 15 and will consist of one national and six regional networks devoted solely to the Pac-12. In addition to the hundreds of live televised Pac-12 sporting events, Pac-12 Networks subscribers will have access to their carrier’s TV Everywhere platform, providing access to all Pac-12 Networks programming on any device through their broadband service.

Fans can learn more about the Pac-12 Networks by watching this video http://on.pac-12.org/LS1ALo, and can see if they will get Pac-12 Networks from your TV provider by visiting the Pac-12 Networks Channel Finder http://on.pac-12.org/LCGkvG. Questions that aren’t answered in the Pac-12 Networks FAQ http://on.pac-12.org/La10fX can be sent to support@pac12.zendesk.com.

2012 PAC-12 NETWORKS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Thur., Aug. 30
Northern Colorado at Utah — 4:15 pm PT/7:15 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Northern Arizona at Arizona State — 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks

Fri., Aug. 31
San Jose State at Stanford — 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks

Sat., Sept. 1
Nevada at California — 12 noon PT/3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Nicholls State at Oregon State — 12 noon PT/3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
San Diego State at Washington — 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks

Sat., Sept. 8
Southern Utah at California — 12 noon PT/3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Eastern Wash. at Washington State — 12 noon PT/3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Sacramento State at Colorado — 12 noon PT/3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Fresno State at Oregon — 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Oklahoma State at Arizona — 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Duke at Stanford — 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks

Sat., Sept. 15
Tennessee Tech at Oregon — 12 noon PT/3 p.m.ET, Pac-12 Networks
South Carolina State at Arizona — 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET,  Pac-12 Networks
Houston at UCLA — 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks

(12- or six-day selection for each of the remaining Pac-12 home games)

Sat., Sept. 22
California at USC — TBA, Pac-12 Networks

That’s all.

Pac-12 Announces Early Football Schedule

Announced today by the Pac-12 Conference, we have the early football schedule for all of the league’s network partners. Let’s push this out as I’ve been busy with lots of stuff on Thursday. My apologies for not updating the site at all.

Overall, the Pac-12 Networks will carry a total of 35 games from the league’s home sites. ESPN and Fox will combine for a total of 45 and that includes the Pac-12 Championship Game on Fox this year.

And with the Pac-12 Networks launching on August 15, the first live action it will carry will occur on August 30 with two non-conference games. In the first three weeks of the season, Pac-12 Networks will carry the bulk of the league’s home games including every team appearance at least twice.

While DirecTV has announced it will take the main network, the other six networks are an issue. This is also the case with other cable and satellite providers. We’ll see where this goes as we get closer to the launch later this summer.

In the meantime, here’s the official press release from the Pac-12 and the schedule.

PAC-12 EARLY FOOTBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED ALL 80 HOME GAMES TO BE TELEVISED

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.–The Pac-12 Networks, along with Pac-12 Conference television partners ESPN and FOX will provide complete coverage of the entire Pac-12 home football schedule during the 2012 season. The Pac-12 Networks will air 35 Pac-12 home games, while ESPN and FOX will combine to televise 45 games from Pac-12 sites, including the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The Pac-12 Networks coverage of Pac-12 football gets underway on Thursday, August 30, with a pair of non-conference games that feature Northern Colorado at UTAH, and Northern Arizona at ARIZONA STATE.

Pac-12 Networks will air 15 of the 25 Pac-12 home games during the first three weeks of the season. And over the course of the first four weeks of the season, each Pac-12 team will appear at least once on the Pac-12 Networks.

“This is a monumental day for Pac-12 fans and unprecedented exposure for Pac-12 football,” said Commissioner Larry Scott. “Through the Pac-12 Networks, and our partners ESPN and FOX, Pac-12 fans nationally will now be afforded a tremendous opportunity to watch their team in action each week.”

The new television arrangement with ESPN and FOX calls for Pac-12 football to receive full national distribution of each game for the first time in conference history.

ESPN and FOX each will air a pair of games on the opening weekend. In its first year of the new partnership, FOX picked the COLORADO vs. Colorado State game on Saturday, September 1, for its first full national broadcast on FX, and will follow up with Hawai’i at USC on FOX. ESPN will air Arkansas State taking on defending Pac-12 champion OREGON, while ESPNU will carry Toledo at ARIZONA in Wildcat coach Rich Rodriguez’s debut in Tucson.

While television selections for the first three weeks of the 2012 season have been made, all remaining television game selections and start times, starting with week four (Saturday, September 22) and running through the final week of the regular season (Saturday, November 24) will be made 12- or six-days in advance.

Additional road games will be televised as part of other conference television packages. Those conferences will release their 2012 television schedule in the coming weeks. In all, every Pac-12 football game is expected to be televised this season.

And after this jump break, the schedule for the Pac-12 as it stands now. As they say in the business, this is subject to change.

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Guest Column: Announcer Moves and League-owned College Networks

We continue with the guest columns. This one comes from reader Corneilus Green. Three columns in one for you.

Sports Broadcasting Talent Moves

The summer is definitely heating up with the speculation of who is staying or who is going to new networks.

Michelle Beadle is the most high profile talent to leave ESPN (which was mostly expected) and she gets to do more at NBC. It was definitely a shocker that Michelle Bonner left ESPN and the same for Dana Jacobson.

Scott Van Pelt whom I would have preferred leave for NBC/Comcast, remained at ESPN which is good for him, however, his radio partner, Ryen Russillo is near the end of this contract and who knows where he might go.

Doug Gottlieb, whose contract is up in September, could have a contract offer from CBS Sports according to SportsbyBrooks. Whatever CBS offers to Gottlieb has to be astronomical for him to leave the Worldwide Leader, though I think he should go if the opportunity was presented.

I feel Erin Andrews will stay at ESPN. Her stock has fallen since a few years ago and thus does not have value to another network should she still want to cover sports.

The lowest profile re-signing was John Buccigross. Buccigross stayed at ESPN mainly because he would the #1 voice for NCAA Frozen Four replacing Gary Thorne. Buccigross is one of the few at ESPN along with Linda Cohn and Steve Levy who trumpet hockey, which is amazing because as we know, it gives little to no coverage to the sport.

Had Buccigross not stayed with ESPN, it was expected that NHL Network would have offered him the chance to be its main anchor and be the face of the network. It will be interesting to see where all the sports talent lands.

NBA TV and MLB Network should utilize field reporters who can report from the various team’s headquarters instead relying on the insiders and the writers on the dot-com side.

I will be watching to see who the Pac-12 Network hires in addition to Summer Sanders, Ronnie Lott, and Rick Neuheisel. I would like for the Pac-12 Network to hire Tom Ramsey. I miss hearing him call college football. I fully expect Fox to elevate Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt, and Petros Papadakis as the main team for college football on FX, also make Gus Johnson its main voice for the Pac-12 on Fox and move Steve Physioc to part-time on Pac-12 football and become the main voice for college basketball for the Big Ten Network.

Fox should replace Kevin Frazier with Fran Charles on as college football studio host and also add another analyst to Marcus Allen.

Never has there been more interest in sports media and who’s staying or who’s going. This year has unofficially been the year of the media rights deals and sports talent moves. Do not expect that to change during the summer.

SEC Network

An SEC Network could become reality in 2014. The SEC has called this Project X. It’s one of a number of things that has come up during the renegotiation the conference’s media rights deals with CBS and ESPN. With the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC, it opened the league to an increase of its media rights fees.

An SEC Network was close to starting in 2009 but ESPN threw a boatload of money at the conference not to start one. It appears that the SEC added two schools just for the sake of addition. The conference was already recruiting Texas and Missouri which wanted more money though they should have gone to the Big Ten had an offer been extended to both, but they were wishy-washy while Nebraska was jumping to the Big Ten without any hesitation. Texas A&M kicked and screamed its way to the SEC, but I’ll save that for another day.

The SEC is close to agreeing to an increase its TV rights fees, but the holdup has been CBS. The Tiffany Network has balked at paying more because its game inventory will not change. CBS is justified in balking. Mizzou and Texas A&M do not have the same attraction as Nebraska.

ESPN, which has been trying to establish a monopoly on televised college athletics, will most likely try to buy CBS’ slate of SEC games if CBS does not change its stance. CBS should hold out to the very end and get more doubleheaders and more night games to justify paying more for SEC games.

It’s being speculated that ESPN will partner with the SEC to establish an SEC Network. This would be likely picked up within a year on all the cable, digital cable, and satellite companies in the conference’s footprint because of the league’s popularity. The SEC has a bigger footprint than all of the conferences and the most rabid fan bases.

An SEC Network would most likely be modeled after the Big Ten Network. Many observers thought the SEC should have started its own network instead of allowing ESPN to talk them out of it by dangling more money. This makes Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany look a lot smarter than SEC head honcho Mike Slive in that perspective.

If the conference agrees to establish a TV network, this would put more cash in the SEC membership’s coffers, surpassing the Big Ten in revenue. The conference has enjoyed six consecutive years of a school wining the BCS National Championship Game.

It’s high time the SEC gets its own network. In my opinion, NBC/Comcast would be a better equity partner for the league in establishing an SEC Network than ESPN.

 

Pac-12 Network

The Pac-12 Network was the crown jewel when it came to the historic media rights deal between the conference and ESPN/Fox. Even more historic was the creation of seven networks, the main Pac-12 Network and seven regional channels.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has proved himself to be a power broker in college athletics and he has grown the conference into a financial power. In addition, his experience in negotiating TV contracts brought four digital cable companies as partners to carry the networks when he announced their formation.

While this all sounds good in theory, the hard part will be trying to convince all of the cable and satellite companies to carry all seven networks. Most likely all will carry the main Pac-12 network, but not the other six. Thus, the challenge of starting a sports channel and ensuring most of the country can watch it.

The Mtn. went dark on May 31 because it could not get distribution beyond DirecTV and various smaller cable providers in the West. Longhorn Network is having difficulty gaining carriage in Texas.

Time Warner Cable will have a tough time convincing cable and satellite companies to pick up its two new regional networks it is starting with the Los Angeles Lakers. As reported by John Ourand from the Sports Business Journal, Time Warner is charging companies $3.95/subscriber fee. That’s insane.

DirecTV President and CEO Mike White said that the satellite provider will not carry the Longhorn Network. Another statement could potentially spell bad news for the Pac-12 Network. White said DirecTV will most likely not carry all seven Pac-12 Networks. If you’re Larry Scott, you should be concerned. It appears DirecTV will only carry the main network and not the regional channels. Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse are probably thinking the same thing.

While Larry Scott’s thinking was out of the box, it could be a bad move for now. The Big Ten Network has been largely successful, but it was just one network. The Pac-12 Networks will have major challenges in gaining carriage. As a U-verse customer, I would like to be able to watch all of the networks from their inception. The question is: Can the Pac-12 convince every digital and satellite company to carry all seven networks? Good luck, Larry Scott.

Corneilus Green resides in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Currently unemployed, but Corneilus is a sports enthusiast who once had a dream of being a sports broadcaster and commentator. He still might do it.

Thanks to Corneilus for the column. More guest columns will published throughout the week.

http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/30/sports/sp-tvcol30

Let’s Get Some Linkage Out

I’ve accumulated a lot of links. They’re slowing down my browser so let’s clear them so I can let my computer get back some memory. Lots of stuff going on.

Let’s start with ESPN stuff as it dominated the news today with its network upfront presentation to advertisers and also confirmed personnel moves.

First, Sports Media Watch talks about Scott Van Pelt reupping with ESPN.

The ESPN Front Row blog has a Q&A podcast with Van Pelt in which he explains why he decided to remain with the Bristolians.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today recaps today’s ESPN upfront presentation in New York.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today notes that with Michelle Beadle leaving ESPN, the network is now focusing on keeping Erin Andrews in the fold.

The Hollywood Reporter goes over some ESPN upfront news including its plans to bring back the 30 for 30 documentary series.

Stuart Levin from Variety also has a story on the new set of 30 for 30 docs.

Jeannie Poggi of Advertising Age also reviews ESPN’s upfronts.

Alex Weprin from TVNewser says ESPN and ABC News will co-produce an interview series to be fronted by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.

Mike Shields from Adweek says ESPN.com will now partner to sell ads.

ESPN’s Vice President of College Sports Programming, Burke Magnus responds to a Dan Wetzel/Yahoo Sports article on the new ACC TV contract.

Chad Scott at ChuckOliver.net explains how third tier media rights work in college sports.

Andy Fixmer and Alex Sherman at Bloomberg report on how ESPN may expand its WatchESPN app to Apple TV platforms.

Andy Fixmer of Bloomberg says CBS is ready to take the coveted 18-49 ratings title from perennial winner Fox with the airing of Super Bowl XLVII next season.

The great SportsbyBrooks tweets that Erik Kuselias’ move to NBC Sports Network from Golf Channel’s Morning Drive is being considered a demotion by network higher-ups. I had a feeling this was the case. Do you consider this tweet inane, Mike Francesa?

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report enjoyed watching Survival Sunday on the Fox Sports platforms, but wondered why the most important English Premier League game was on another network.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has four different calls of the same moment when Manchester City won the EPL title on Sunday.

John Ourand from Sports Business Journal writes about a now-defunct Twitter account that got under the skin of several sports network executives.

Earlier today, WFAN’s Mike Francesa

If you want to see Mike’s veins popping out during this rant, you can see it here on the YES Network website.

And while Francesa seemingly hates Twitter, Media Rantz points out that Francesa has an app where he does something similar to Twitter.

Bruce Jenkins from Sports Illustrated says Tennis Channel failed to serve the WTA Tour’s Madrid Open like it did with the ATP’s side of the same tournament.

Phil Allaway at Front Stretch looks at ESPN’s coverage of this past weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Race.

BBC Sport has announced it will have 24 live HD streams dedicated to the Olympics this summer.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says NBCUniversal has set the Olympics programming lineup for Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC.

John Eggerton at Multichannel News notes that a Federal Appeals Court has upheld an FCC ruling that Time Warner Cable did not discriminate against MASN when it refused to put the regional sports network on its North Carolina systems.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the college conference realignment game won’t be settled for at least another decade.

Matt Boutwell of Maine Sports Media looks at a case I wrote about three years ago, about the mysterious tweeter, BrianAdExec.

NESN goes behind the scenes with Jenny Dell and the network’s production team on what goes on during a typical Red Sox gameday.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post has SNY’s president talking about the regional sports network’s plans to air UConn Women’s basketball next season.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with NBC Sports’ Mike Emrick about calling his old team, the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

In the New York Times, Jay Schreiber talks about the last time the Devils and the New York Rangers met in the Eastern Conference Final and how he had to monitor the series without smartphones back then.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports on ESPN’s plans to bring back 30 for 30.

Jerry Barmash from Fishbowl NY writes that MSG Network will provide of wraparound coverage of the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says YES Network will air a Yankeeography on David Wells this week.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that MSG Network will begin airing the WNBA’s New York Liberty starting this weekend.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says two local global conglomerates including Comcast expect to make some big money from the London Olympics.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com Sports goes behind-the-scenes with ESPN’s MLS production.

Jeff Barker from the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles and the Washington Nationals are waiting word from MLB on a decision on how much MASN should pay the Nats.

Over to Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog who writes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is making a change in its DC NFL team beat reporter.

Dan talks about former Post columnist Howard Bryant ranting against Washington Nationals ownership.

Mike Finger at the Houston Chronicle says the Longhorn Network may offer more Texas football games in another attempt to get carriage from state cable providers.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman writes that the Oklahoma City Thunder on TNT set another local ratings record.

In Chicago Sports Media Watch, Paul M. Banks goes over some hate mail.

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune writes that Utahans should be able to see the Running Utes thanks to wider distribution of the Pac-12 Networks than the soon-to-be defunct the mtn.

Tuesday night, KNBC-TV did a story on the busy postseason in Los Angeles, but aired the wrong graphic for the Kings and showed the Sacramento Kings instead of the LA Kings. C’mon, man!

Martin Miller of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN upfront presentation showed the network was ready for some football.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media is telling everyone that a New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Final might not mean boffo ratings as some NHL observers are saying.

Jay Koot of Busted Coverage is disgusted by Erik Kuselias’ engagement to Morning Drive news reader Holly Sonders.

And that’s where we’ll end the links tonight.

Finally Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do some Friday megalinks. You’ve been owed some and I haven’t been able to do links for most of the week.

Of course, you have the Weekend Viewing Picks which provide plenty of college sports, soccer, baseball and the NBA and NHL postseason action.

Now let’s do your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today explores Jason La Canfora’s decision to leave NFL Network and bolt to CBS.

Media Rantz looks into the potential departure of Michelle Beadle from ESPN to NBC.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch says E! will produce a special on New York Jets QB Tim Tebow.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report hears from a Fox Soccer executive on why the Fox Sports Media Group chose to air so many English Premier League games on the final day of the season.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk writes that despite reports to the contrary, it appears that the New York Jets won’t make another appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer.

Eriq Gardner at the Hollywood Reporter says a group of fans have filed a class action lawsuit against MLB and its TV partners on the antiquated and silly blackout policy.

Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel says while the Minnesota Vikings will finally get their long-awaited stadium, one state legislator attempted to sneak a bill ending all local NFL blackouts. I think that was a great idea.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable writes the long-anticipated Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Lakers-centric regional sports network will launch in October.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that Fox has sold out its ad inventory for the UEFA Champions League Final.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says social media is changing the way we watch sports.

In the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says there are times when the N-word should to be published in full.

Eric Goldschein at SportsGrid says CBC Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean stretched his analogy too far in comparing the 9/11 First Responders to NHL players this week.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group looks at NBC/Golf Channel’s joint production of this week’s Players Championship.

Brandon Costa of SVG explores ESPN’s expanded multiplatform rights for NCAA Championships.

And SVG tells us about the Big East Conference’s in-house production of the league’s Baseball Tournament.

Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com looks into the dollars and cents of the major college sports TV rights contracts.

Patrick Rishe at Forbes says while the ACC signed a rich contract with ESPN, it still doesn’t compare to the Pac-12′s huge megadeal.

My Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff chronicles her day spent at the MLB Fan Cave for espnW.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch crunches the numbers behind the ratings rise for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and the lower for the NBA Playoffs.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing also looks into the ratings for the NBA and NHL Postseasons.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead notes the disturbing arrest of the PA Announcer for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth looks at some of the sports media stories that are irking him this week.

East and Mid-Atlantic

I haven’t been able to address the death of Carl Beane, the Red Sox public address announcer. Carl was a radio reporter in Western Massachusetts and also free-lanced for ESPN Radio, CBS Radio, Fox Sports Radio to report on various NFL and college games. He died this week when he suffered a heart attack and crashed his car. He was 59. It seemed everyone in New England had some connection to Beane. I’ll give you some of the stories that have been written about him this week.

David Scott at ESPN’s Front Row PR blog gets reaction from people at the network who knew him.

Gordon Edes at ESPN Boston says Beane felt he was born to be the Fenway Park public address announcer.

WEEI’s Mike Petraglia writes about his personal connection to Beane.

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox paid tribute to Beane at last night’s game by not having anyone do the PA.

Amanda Bruno of the Springfield Republican writes that Beane was a role model and mentor to her.

To other stories now, heading back to the Globe, Chad Finn says the ACC got its huge deal and it will affect member school Boston College in many ways.

Chad says former Red Sox voice Jerry Trupiano is getting some familial help in trying to get the Houston Astros radio gig.

Desmond Connor of the Hartford Courant says the Big East’s interim commissioner is hopeful his conference can cash in on the recent big spending by ESPN and other networks.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir talks with the legendary Vin Scully.

Richard profiles the person behind a fake Walt Frazier Twitter account.

Jack Bell of the Times interviews Fox Sports President Eric Shanks about Sunday’s unprecedented English Premier League coverage.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Times rails over player unions defending their membership for the wrong reasons.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with NBC’s Pierre McGuire.

Justin has five questions for TNT’s Kenny Smith.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says a former local sports reporter is returning to her roots with Time Warner Cable’s Southern California network.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says technical difficulties plagued a local radio broadcast of the Yankees.

Pete says many of NBC/Golf Channel’s cameras will be focused squarely on one hole at the Players Championship this week.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record explores the new SNY deal to air UConn women’s basketball games.

At the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner asks if high school football is doomed.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call watched the train wreck of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens appearing on Dr. Phil this week and being confronted by his multiple baby mommas.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post says MLB Network compared the swings of the late Mickey Mantle and the Nationals’ Bryce Harper.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a new local sports radio morning host comes with some baggage from his old job.

David says Comcast and ESPN cut a deal this week for subscribers to watch the network online.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that Fox Sports Oklahoma will air specials next week on the state’s two major college football programs.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds TV and Radio ratings are up this season.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch explores the Cubs’ Kerry Wood blowing up at the local media this week.

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin looks at NBC’s coverage of The Players Championship.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that a local sports anchor gets to talk news on the radio.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times says the local media plans to cover Junior Seau’s public memorial today.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star notes that outgoing flagship TV station KCAL gave another farewell to the Los Angeles Lakers this week.

Jim looks at the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass which will get plenty of attention on NBC/Golf Channel at the Players Championship.

Jim provides his weekend viewing picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at Time Warner Cable’s new sports channels.

Tom tries to give Kings fans missing their local TV voices a silver lining.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News goes over the latest developments at the Pac-12 Networks.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC’s Ron MacLean had to clarify his 9/11 remarks before Game 6 of the New York Rangers-Washington Capitals series.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the announcing assignments for both CBC and TSN in the NHL Conference Final round.

And we are done. Enjoy your sports weekend.

Pac-12 Networks Name Their First On-Air Hires

This coming directly from the headquarters of Pac-12 Enterprises, the company overseeing the formation of the Pac-12 Networks.

We now know the names of the first three on-air staffers who will be featured on the Pac-12 Networks. We knew former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel was going to be an analyst. He was officially named on Wednesday along with former Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders and former San Francisco 49er great Ronnie Lott.

All three have ties to the conference as Neuheisel played and coached at UCLA, Lott played at USC and Sanders attended Stanford before participating in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Lott and Sanders have ties to broadcasting since their athletic careers. Lott was an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday. Sanders was co-host of NBA Inside Stuff and The Sports List plus was a sideline reporter for the WNBA.

Lott will also be an analyst for football. Sanders will serve as a host.

Here’s the announcement from the Pac-12.

PAC-12 NETWORKS SIGN PROMINENT PAC-12 ALUMS RONNIE LOTT, RICK NEUHEISEL, SUMMER SANDERS AS INITIAL MEMBERS OF ITS ON AIR TEAM

New Networks to Launch in August and Will Televise Hundreds of Live Pac-12 Events

The Pac-12 Networks have taken the historic first step in building its on air team by turning to three of the most dynamic leaders the Pac-12 Conference has ever seen, signing Ronnie Lott, Rick Neuheisel and Summer Sanders as on air personalities and the initial faces of the Pac-12 Networks, it was announced Wednesday.

As former Pac-12 student-athletes at USC, UCLA and Stanford respectively, Lott, Neuheisel and Sanders combined to lead their teams to five Conference titles, three Rose Bowl crowns and two national championships. Sanders, who has enjoyed a successful broadcasting career for the last two decades, will have a multipurpose role as a host and expert analyst for a variety of shows and events, while Lott and Neuheisel will serve as football analysts.

“This is an exciting day for the Pac-12 Networks as we bring on three of the greatest leaders and personalities in Pac-12 history as the initial members of our on air broadcast team,” said Lydia Murphy-Stephans, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Pac-12 Networks. “Exceptional storytelling is going to be the foundation of the Pac-12 Networks and with the success of our universities and student-athletes the storylines are never-ending. With Ronnie, Rick and Summer, we have three professionals who have a passion and deep understanding for the history and excellence that exists in the Pac-12. Their skills, expertise and unique insights will help us elevate our coverage and deliver the most compelling stories to our fans.”

The Pac-12 Networks, which launch in August 2012, consist of one national and six regional networks that will provide 24/7 access to Pac-12 teams and universities. The networks will televise approximately 350 live events nationally, including 35 football games, more than 100 men’s basketball games, 40 women’s basketball games and hundreds of premier Pac-12 Olympic sports.

“When I first heard that the Pac-12 was planning to build seven networks to showcase all of the incredible student-athletes and programs throughout the Conference it was one of those WOW moments,” Lott said. “What is being created is truly remarkable and I’m excited to be part of it. If you are a fan or alum of the Pac-12 you have to have these networks.”

Lott played four years at USC (1977-80) and helped lead the Trojans to two Rose Bowl victories and the 1978 national championship. He was a consensus All-American as a senior before being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft. During his 14 years in the NFL, he developed the reputation as one of the most feared defensive players in league history, leading the 49ers to eight division titles and four Super Bowls. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and two years later was part of the 2002 I-A Class of the College Football Hall of Fame. Lott previously worked as an NFL analyst with FOX Sports from 1996-98.

Sanders is one of the most prolific swimmers in Pac-12 and U.S. history who has become a popular on air personality. In her two years competing at Stanford she compiled six NCAA individual titles and four relay championships. She became the first swimmer in Stanford history to win back-to-back NCAA Swimmer of the Year honors (1991-92) and helped lead the Cardinal to the national championship in 1992. Later, Sanders became a national sensation at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, winning four medals, including two golds in the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter medley relay. Following the Olympics, the Roseville, CA native launched a successful broadcasting career that brought her to all four major networks – ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC – covering the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, the NBA and WNBA and tennis, among other sports. She hosted NBC’s NBA Inside Stuff for seven years and has worked as a correspondent for the Today Show and Good Morning America. She also served as the host of Nickelodeon’s hit game show Figure It Out.

“I am thrilled to be a part of the Pac-12 Networks,” Sanders said. “It’s like coming home for me. Being a Stanford alum who was born and raised in Northern California, I truly believe there’s no greater Conference in the country. It puts a huge smile on my face to know that I am now going to be one of its voices in sports broadcasting.”

Neuheisel was a walk-on quarterback at UCLA, who became a starter as a senior in 1983. After a slow start, he rallied the Bruins to six wins in their last seven games, including a big one over cross-town rival USC to clinch the Conference title and a berth into the Rose Bowl. His four touchdowns led UCLA to a 45-9 win over No. 4 Illinois and earned him Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player honors. Following his playing career, which included two years in the USFL, Neuheisel went into coaching and he served as the head coach at three Pac-12 universities: Colorado (1995-98), Washington (1999-2002) and UCLA (2008-11). During his head coaching tenure, he posted an 87-59 record, went 4-3 in bowl games, including guiding Washington to a Rose Bowl title in 2000.

“This is an amazing opportunity. I have such a deep passion and respect for the Conference and for all of the schools,” Neuheisel said. “I have been affiliated with the Pac-12 since I was six years old when my dad taught at Arizona State. I never missed a Sun Devils game growing up. Then I got the chance to play at UCLA and went to law school at USC. I began a coaching career at UCLA that took me to Colorado then to Washington and back to UCLA. The launch of the Pac-12 Networks is very exciting and I am thrilled for this opportunity to help deliver unprecedented exposure to the Conference of Champions.”

And I’ll have more throughout the day. Back later with more.