Fang's Bites

You Need Linkage On That Wall….

Yes you do. It’s overdue. I thought being on unemployment would give me more time for doing the site. Instead, I have less. I don’t know how that’s happened.

Anyway, here are some links for you.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand has soon-to-be NBC’s Michelle Beadle saying even she’s sick of the coverage on where she’s going next.

Michael takes a look at the Weekend TV ratings.

Nicole Auerbach of USA Today says Laurie Fine, wife of ex-Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, has officially filed her libel lawsuit against ESPN.

At Sports Business Journal, John Ourand and Michael Smith report that the Southeastern Conference, in the midst of restructuring its media rights deal with CBS and ESPN, could be resurrecting its plans to start an SEC Channel.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News goes over the “trade” between TBS and MLB Network giving the young network its first postseason action this season.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN 3D will air the last five days of Wimbledon later this summer.

David Mercer of the Associated Press says citing low ratings, the Big Ten Network will drop academic non-sports programming in order to air higher rated sports.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek talks about GM pulling out of advertising in Super Bowl XLVII.

Brian Clapp at Sports TV Jobs tells aspiring sports TV anchors how to thrive in local markets despite the shrinking amount of time in newscasts.

Dan Fogarty from SportsGrid has video of TNT’s Charles Barkley admitting to America that he waxes his eyebrows.

Eric Goldschein of SportsGrid has this funny video of Saturday Night Live’s Jay Pharoah getting Stephen A. “A is for Acrimonious” Smith down pat.

From the New Haven Register, David Borges talks with long-time Red Sox radio voice and Connecticut native Joe Castiglione about his career and his new book.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette talks about CBS Sports sublicensing some college basketball games from ESPN.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union has the French Open TV schedule.

Pete says the overnight ratings for the Preakness Stakes dropped double digits from last year.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com says NBC Sports Network will tap some familiar names to call MLS action this weekend.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun says NBC got the job done in its Preakness Stakes production.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is on the RGIII train.

The increasingly bitter Thomas Boswell of the WaPo feels MASN should pony up for the Washington Nationals media rights.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner writes that outgoing NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora is looking forward to working and writing for CBS.

Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says two writers from the newspaper including sports media writer Tom Jones will co-host a new morning show for the local sports radio station. Jones will now stop covering sports radio to avoid a conflict of interest.

Iliana Limón Romero of the Orlando Sentinel says the Big East is hopeful of finding a suitable TV suitor for the league.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle has some sports media observations.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman writes that TNT’s Charles Barkley is looking forward to visiting Oklahoma City for the NBA Western Conference Finals.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the Reds gave local radio station WLW a big ratings win last month.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at the local weekend ratings.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a technical glitch forced Cardinals fans to watch Fox Sports San Diego’s feed of last night’s Redbirds-Padres game and listen to Dick Enberg which is not a bad thing at all.

Bryce Miller of the Des Moines Reigster says Iowan and Olympics hurdler Lolo Jones is on a media blitz.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the Dodgers will honor long-time Spanish radio voice Jaime Jarrin next month.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has video of NBC Sports Network’s Doc Emrick ripping diving in soccer.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says ratings for the NHL Conference Finals on the NBC Sports Group are down.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has some of Pam Ward’s “Greatest” hits over her years calling college football.

That will do it for now.

Let’s Do Some Thursday Linkage

Why not do some links while I can?

We begin with USA Today and the national NFL TV schedule for this upcoming season.

Carolyn Giardana with the Hollywood Reporter writes that NBC will utilize Avid Technology systems to develop video feeds for the London Summer Olympics.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable says NESN has selected Sony to manage its video content.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes that NBC is utilizing the “TV Everywhere” initiative to stream the Olympics live to mobiles, tablets and computers.

Mike talks with MLB Network President and CEO Tony Petitti about the new “Strike Zone” feature and what the network has in store for the next 12 months.

MediaRantz looks at the reaction from sports broadcasters upon learning that American Bandstand and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve host Dick Clark had died.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that a baseball panel will settle a dispute between the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals over how much MASN should pay the Nats for their media rights. The Nats’ rights are undervalued compared to what other teams are currently being paid.

A.J. Perez of Fox Sports talks with sports documentarian Sean Pamphilon whose audio of former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is front-and-center of the New Orleans Saints Bountygate scandal.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report feels sportswriters are unappreciated by the Pulitzer Prize committee. I agree.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing gets together with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch, Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, Dan Patrick Show Executive Producer Paul Pabst to hold the first ever NFL Media Fantasy Draft. Great stuff from AA.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid says the NFL wants ESPN and the NFL Network to stop spoiling draft picks.

Andrew Gauthier of TVSpy notes that a long-time sports anchor in Sioux City, IA is moving a seat to the right to become his TV station’s news anchor.

Gavin O’Malley at MediaPost says even though it’s not an Olympics rightsholder, Fox is making a commitment to cover the Olympics online.

David Goetzl of MediaPost writes that in this increasingly DVR timeshifting world, viewers still want to see their sports live and not delayed.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin noticed that a Miami TV station showed the wrong logo when reporting on the Florida Panthers win over the New Jersey Devils the other night.

Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy finds that Hockey Night in Canada’s PJ Stock is endorsing Depends adult diapers in Canada????

The great Judy Battista of the New York Times talks with the NFL schedule maker Howard Katz who can’t please everyone.

Steven Silver at Philadelphia Magazine’s Philly Post blog wonders if national announcers are biased against the city as some fans perceive.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com profiles one Baltimore sports radio host who has changed stations, but vows to continue doing what he’s been doing.

Chris Korman of the Baltimore Sun says the Washington Nationals are looking to get more money from the Baltimore Orioles majority-owned MASN.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Capitals TV voice Joe Beninati about the team’s series with the Boston Bruins.

Chuck Carroll at CBS Washington looks at Britt McHenry’s decision to stay at WJLA-TV instead of taking a job with Fox Sports San Diego. Britt was also a candidate to replace Heidi Watney on NESN and Kim Jones on YES.

Tom Jones in the Tampa Bay Times talks with hockey charlatan Pierre McGuire about the perceived increased disrespect in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says ESPN’s Skippy Bayless was ripping the Oklahoma City Thunder this week.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that NFL Network has another Top 100 show.

Howard Sinker of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gave ESPN a try to get a different perspective on the Minnesota Twins.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says Utah Jazz broadcasters Craig Bolerjack and Matt Harpring make no bones about rooting for their team, but don’t call them homers.

Rob Katowski of the Las Vegas Review-Journal says a proposed merger between the Mountain West and Conference USA could still happen as long as the two leagues agree on sharing TV rights.

Tim Sullivan with the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the impasse between Fox Sports San Diego and Time Warner Cable is preventing Padres fans from seeing their team.

Sports Media Watch says ESPN has a tapped a man no one has ever heard of to host The ESPY’s.

SMW notes that former Portland Trail Blazer and NBA analyst Steve “Snapper” Jones has been plagued by massive health issues.

SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Game 2 of the Florida Panthers-New Jersey Devils series did very well for NBC Sports Network last Sunday.

Steven Morocco and John Morgan of MMA Junkie write that UFC wants a similar TV deal in the UK as it has with Fox in the States.

EPL Talk looks at Fox going all out for the English Premier League’s final day of the season next month.

Guyism notes that twice this week, MASN Nationals reporter Kristina Akra got soaked with Gatorade.

And that’s going to do it. Found more links than I thought I would and that’s very good for you.

Knocking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for some linkage again.

Starting with Sports Business Daily which gauges media reaction to last night’s extravagant NFL regular season schedule release on both ESPN and NFL Network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reviews both the Monday Night and expanded Thursday Night Football schedules.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report has your potential hits and misses in the 2012 NFL regular season schedule for all of the league’s TV partners.

Dan Levy of the Bleacher Report talks with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch about Skippy Bayless, ESPN’s free agents and Twitter.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that NBC is now going all in to provide a live online Olympic experience.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today says the NFL Schedule Release Shows on ESPN and NFL Network filled fans’ thirst for football news.

Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press says thanks to a NASCAR-less Sunday, IndyCar’s race on NBC Sports Network got a ratings bump.

Stuart Kemp and George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says London is hoping to build buzz for the XXX Olympic Summer Games in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable notes the FCC is appealing to the Supreme Court, the ruling from a lower court throwing out its decency complaint over CBS’ airing of Janet Jackson’s nekkid boob during Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Sarah Mahoney of MediaPost’s Marketing Daily says advertisers are jumping on the Olympics 100 Day Countdown.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that cable provider Comcast is proving to be a very good broadcast competitor.

Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead says a lawsuit brought forth by a former ESPN.com writer against New York Post NBA big mouth Peter Vescey has been settled out of court.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid talks with ESPN’s Michelle Beadle about what her next move is.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group notes that NBCOlympics has tapped AT&T to manage private networking systems for the London Summer Games.

Zac Wassink in Yahoo! says MLS on NBC Sports Network is doing decently in the ratings.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe has the local sports radio ratings and CBS Radio continues to be on top.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC will stream all Olympic events live online, but there’s a bit of a catch.

Richard says the NBA is looking at allowing jersey sponsorships.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes the passing of a former Yankees, Islanders and Nets radio announcer.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette notes the good ratings for the NHL on NBC.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has a viewing primer for the upcoming NFL season.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call discusses and dissects NBC’s Sunday Night Football schedule.

Keith says the NHL’s Battle of Pennsylvania is drawing big ratings in the Keystone State.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com’s Goalkeeper blog says a Spanish League soccer game on ESPN2 beat MLS on NBC Sports Network in the ratings last weekend.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has pictorial proof of the Space Shuttle Discovery passing various local sports venues on its last flight to the Smithsonian yesterday.

Tom Robinson at the Virginian-Pilot reports that the United Football League could have a TV contract with CBS Sports Network.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the Texas Rangers’ ratings on Fox Sports Southwest are way up this season.

Mike Bailey of the Houston Chronicle talks with a local golfer who took part in the upcoming season of Golf Channel’s Big Break reality show.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman says a local sports radio show moves from middays to afternoon drive.

Mel has the local weekend TV ratings.

Berry Tremel of The Oklahoman writes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football is the NFL’s premier TV package.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer remembers a former NBA announcer.

Bill Shea at Crain’s Detroit Business says the Tigers are looking at a big payday for their TV rights.

Robert Channick in the Chicago Tribune profiles Comcast SportsNet Chicago head man Jim Corno.

Eric Goodman at Mile High Sports feels he wasted three hours of his life watching ESPN’s NFL regular season schedule release special.

Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic says Phoenix Coyotes TV analyst Tyson Nash is feeling the wrath of Chicago Blackhawks fans for comments he made about a hit on ‘Hawks star Marian Hossa.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News mourns the passing of a former Kings radio voice.

Tom Cheredar of Venture Beat talks about NBC’s extensive plans to stream the Olympics online.

Sports Media Watch notes the rise of NHL ratings for a couple of regional sports networks.

SMW talks about CBS passing on broadcasting this upcoming season’s Pro Bowl.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says NBC may air both Bruins-Capitals NHL Playoffs games this weekend.

Joe Favorito says sometimes, it’s a little idea at a major network that could catch fire elsewhere.

And that is all for now.

Grinding Out Some Monday Links

Let’s do some links on this Monday.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game has become a showcase for upcoming NBA talent.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that NBC Sports Network will get a lion’s share of coverage for the London Summer Olympics.

Brian Stelter of the New York Times reports that no-talent hack Ryan Seacrest has signed a new contract with NBCUniversal that also gives him a role on NBC’s Olympic coverage. I shudder at the thought.

Chris Ariens at TVNewser says NBC is putting former Today Show co-host Meredith Viera on the Olympics Opening Ceremony with Bob Costas and Matt Lauer.

Joe Posnanski talks about leaving Sports Illustrated for a new venture with MLB Advanced Media and the USA Today Sports Group. Disclosure: Fang’s Bites is an independently-owned site affiliated with USA Today Sports Group and had no prior knowledge of Posnanski’s move nor of the joint venture with MLBAM.

ESPN.com’s Kristi Dosh, a.k.a. The Sports Biz Miss handicaps the upcoming MLB TV rights deal negotiations.

King Kaufman at the Bleacher Report explains why the site will never do April Fools’ parodies.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has some readers’ suggestions for CBS’ Jim Nantz to close out tonight’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship including one from yours truly.

The great Maggie Hendricks of Yahoo’s Cagewriter has some suggestions on how FX and the UFC can improve the new Ultimate Fighter reality show.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. You may know a parent, a friend, a relative or a neighbor who is affected by Autism in one way or another. Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball writes in his SportsBash site on how he has been personally affected.

My good friend (despite her being a Yankees fan) Alison Faye in Tales of a Rocket Scientist also writes about her experience with her son who has Autism.

And Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets that he’ll be wearing a bowtie to benefit Autism Speaks.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group notes that CBS’ courtside cameras give the network some signature shots for the Men’s Final Four.

Brandon also looks at CBS’ studio set and Super Slo-Mo cameras at the Superdome for the Final Four.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the new Broadway play focusing on Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post mourns the passing of New York Cosmos great Giorgio Chinaglia.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that the Final Four received its best ratings on CBS in a decade.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that the local cable news network will cover Union in the NCAA Frozen Four this week.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says a local radio station will cover high school sports.

Jim Wiliams of the Washington Examiner talks with Jim Nantz about his unique double of calling the Final Four and The Masters^® in successive weeks.

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

Tom also talks with the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball crew.

Sam Pennington of Suthern Gameday remembers the late Hall of Fame voice of the Kentucky Wildcats, Caewood Ledford.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle notes two personnel moves at one local sports radio station.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explores the average age of those watching various sporting events.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says the first week in April is a literal smorgasbord for the sports fan.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News explores the reasons why MLB clubs are so gung-ho on regional sports network rights fees.

Tom has your sports calendar for this week.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star has what writers outside of Canada are saying about the Blue Jays.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail was amused by a verbal sparring match aired in Canada over the weekend.

Barry Petchesky at Deadspin looks at one April Fools newspaper column that went published without being properly vetted.

Sports Media Watch says ratings for the NBA on ABC saw big increases.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says the NHL on NBC also had a good number.

And Joe Favorito says Fenway Park is ready to celebrate its Centennial.

We’re done.

Attempting A Friday Megalink Post

This week has been hellish for me and I apologize for not being able to post as much as I would like. I’ve been away from my computer for most of the day and by the time I get home, I’m tired and don’t want to update the blog.

Well, with me already done my errands for today, I’ll give you some linkage that has been seriously lacking this week.

Of course, there’s the Weekend Viewing Picks which you can peruse.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Jim Rome is hoping to make a splash as he prepares to launch his new daily show on CBS Sports Network.

Reid Cherner of USA Today’s Game On! blog says perpetually angry ESPN college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb is throwing his hat into the Kansas State coaching ring.

The Associated Press was on hand to witness Root Sports Northwest’s production of the Seattle Mariners-Oakland A’s regular season openers in Japan without actually traveling to the Far East.

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim has more thoughts on the numerous conflicts of interest in tennis broadcasting.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has Fox Sports’ statement on its carriage dispute with Time Warner Cable over Fox Sports San Diego.

John profiles legendary sports television producer Don Ohlmeyer.

Around the Rings has the press release regarding the European Broadcasting Union obtaining the rights to the World Cups in 2018 and 2022.

ESPN Ombudsman Jason Fry of the Poynter Institute says college basketball analyst Bob Knight should not be allowed to live by his own rules when he’s on TV.

Scott Soshnick and Steven Church of Bloomberg Businessweek says the Los Angeles Dodgers sale was sparked by media rights.

Alex Ben Block of the Hollywood Reporter says former Sony Pictures head Peter Gruber who’s part of the new Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group could bring a new attitude towards marketing the team.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable has Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott calling rights fees for college football are undervalued.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NESN National is being launched in Indianapolis.

Tim Nudd at Adweek says Chrysler is unveiling four new follow ups to its “Halftime in America” Super Bowl spots during various events this weekend including the NCAA Final Four and Mad Men.

Adweek’s Mike Shields writes ESPN.com is partaking in Facebook’s Open Graph, but with some restrictions.

Jason Del Ray at Advertising Age notes that CBS/Turner brought in its highest sales revenue ever for March Madness Live.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says March Madness has been enhanced by social media and the digital experience.

The Brothers Yoder at Awful Announcing cast the upcoming Anchorman sequel using ESPN’ers. This is good.

Ben Koo at AA is not a huge fan of the overhead shots employed by CBS/Turner for the NCAA Tournament.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid says the Los Angeles Times feels there’s one person who could spoil the new ownership for the Dodgers.

Ahmed Yussuf at EPL Talk gives a first-hand account of following the English Premier League from Australia.

Sports Media Watch says last weekend’s rain-shortened NASCAR on Fox event did not do well in the ratings.

Joe Favorito asks if ‘The Hunger Games” could give archery a boost in time for this summer’s Olympics.

Jason McIntyre at The Big Lead reports that Joe Posnanski is leaving Sports Illustrated.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead says the potential Fox cable sports network may not knock down ESPN, but could give it a run for its money.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about two rival Hollywood agencies representing Tim Tebow simultaneously.

Bob’s Blitz says WFAN’s Craig Carton browbeat former Tiger Woods swing coach Hank Haney to the point where he hung up.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says CBS returns to New Orleans where it began its Final Four journey 30 years ago.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says ESPN MLB analyst Curt Schilling is facing hypocrisy calls after he criticized his former Red Sox team this week.

Chad adds some thoughts on Schilling and on NESN’s Jenny Dell that didn’t make his column.

Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch writes in SB Nation that a Tiger Woods in contention is good for The Masters^® and its TV partners.

Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times reviews this year’s edition of the MLB At-Bat app.

Richard Sandomir from the Times examines the Dodgers sale.

Anthony Riemer of Newsday looks at Jeremy Lin’s lunch with the sacked ESPN.com editor who unwittingly made a racial slur last month.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels Fox Sports’ Jimmy Johnson should not be advocating violence. I don’t think he did, Phil, but continue to hate everything, ok?

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for former Tennessee and current Sirius XM analyst Bruce Pearl on the Final Four.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty has the ESPN MAC football schedule.

Pete has CBS excited about this year’s Final Four.

Jane Kwiatkowski of the Buffalo News says this is a tough time for the local TV sportscast.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call looks at a local PBS documentary on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Laura Nachman says Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is ready for Phillies baseball.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the Fox sitcom “Raising Hope” gave another of many Capitals references.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with MLB Network’s Mitch “Wildi Thing” Williams.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle writes that the Houston Open should be helped by a lot of interesting storylines.

David says Jim Rome is getting ready for his CBS Sports Network closeup.

David writes that Texans running back Arian Foster is taking his show to the team’s radio flagship station.

In The Oklahoman, Mel Bracht has ESPN’s MLB analysts predicting the upcoming season.

Mel says there will be plenty of baseball available in the Oklahoma City market.

Mel reports a local radio station has flipped to being a full-time ESPN Radio affiliate.

Mel writes that a local radio sports director has been laid off thanks to Clear Channel.

Midwest

Elton Alexander of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer says New Orleans has provided CBS with plenty of Final Four excitement.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says a local TV station plans to ride the Kentucky train for as long as possible.

John says a couple of long-time local radio veterans got the ax due to Clear Channel cost cutting.

John writes that a radio documentary on late Cincinnati Reds voice Waite Hoyt airs this weekend.

The Indianapolis Star says Butler coach Brad Stevens will be a guest analyst for CBS on the Final Four.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes the Brewers have extended their radio rights deal with their long-time flagship station.

Bob says a local sportscaster is back to work after a long illness.

Bob tells us that Marquette coach Buzz Williams will also be a guest analyst on CBS this weekend.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes that CBS loves New Orleans at Final Four time.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says 20 Cardinals games won’t be seen by AT&T U-Verse subscribers this season.

Dan writes that the defending champions Cardinals will be in the national spotlight quite a few times this season.

West

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Fox Sports San Diego is not optimistic of getting a deal with two cable providers in time for Padres opening day.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star has ESPN’s MLB analysts praising Magic Johnson’s presence with the Dodgers.

Jim was surprised that Kentucky-Louisville wasn’t the nightcap for the Final Four.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Lakers fans are enjoying having guest analysts on radio broadcasts this season.

Tom talks with Jim Rome about his CBS Sports Network show.

Tom has more on Rome in his blog.

Canada

The usually uninformed Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC Sports appears to be rudderless as it heads into a new NHL negotiation.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the viewership numbers for Canadian sports television from last week.

And that will conclude the megalinks.

Sports Media Rights Fees Along With Contract Expirations

This chart comes from Sports Business Journal and John Ourand from a story on media rights fees. I’ll link to the story when I do the Monday Linkage, but this is quite interesting to see how much sports properties for their networks and when the contracts end.

We’re going to be seeing quite a few major sports properties come up for bid between now and2013 including the PGA Tour, MLB, NFL, BCS, MLS and NASCAR. Take a look. Thanks to the Sports Business Journal.

Note: ESPN contracts may share rights with ABC; CBS may share rights with USA Network.
* Excluding Rose Bowl
Source: SportsBusiness Journal research

And this is how the college contracts shape up. Again thanks to Sports Business Journal.

There you have it.