Fang's Bites

Championship Week Conference Tournament TV Schedules

Ok, let’s provide the college basketball tournament conference tournament schedules plus TV networks that will air the games.

You’ll see each of the games included in the Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks, but this is also a one stop shopping post for you as well.

Bookmark this and I’ll also update this as the days progress. All times are Eastern.

ACC TOURNAMENT, PHILIPS ARENA, ATLANTA, GA

First Round — Thursday, March 8

#8 Maryland vs. #9 Wake Forest– ACC Network/ESPNU, noon
#5 North Carolina State vs. #12 Boston College — ACC Network/ESPNU, 2:30 p.m.
#7 Clemson vs. #10 Virginia Tech — ACC Network/ESPNU, 7 p.m.
#6 Miami (FL) vs. #11 Georgia Tech — ACC Network/ESPNU, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 North Carolina vs. #8 Maryland — ACC Network/ESPN2, noon
#4 Virginia vs. #5 North Carolina State — ACC Network/ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.
#2 Duke vs. # 10 Virginia Tech — ACC Network/ESPN2, 7 p.m.
#3 Florida State vs. #6 Miami (FL) — ACC Network/ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#1 North Carolina vs. #5 North Carolina State — ACC Network/ESPN, 1 p.m.
#2 Duke vs #3 Florida State — ACC Network/ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#1 North Carolina vs. #3 Florida State — ACC Network/ESPN, 1 p.m.

AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP, STONY BROOK ARENA, STONY BROOK, NY

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#2 Vermont at #1 Stony Brook — ESPN2, 11 a.m.

ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT, BOARDWALK HALL, ATLANTIC CITY, NJ

First Round — Tuesday, March 6

#9 Duquense at #8 UMass– Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.
#12 Charlotte at #5 St. Joseph’s — Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.
#10 Richmond at #7 LaSalle — Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.
#11 George Washington at #6 Dayton — Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Temple vs. #8 UMass — A10 Network, noon
#4 St. Bonaventure vs. #5 St. Joseph’s– A10 Network, 2:30 p.m.
#2 St. Louis vs. #7 LaSalle — A10 Network, 6:30 p.m.
#3 Xavier vs. #6 Dayton — A10 Network, 9 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#8 UMass vs. #4 St. Bonaventure — CBS Sports Network, 1 p.m.
#2 St. Louis vs. #3 Dayton — CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#3 Xavier vs. #4 St. Bonaventure — CBS, 1 p.m.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK, NY

First Round — Tuesday, March 6

#16 DePaul vs. #9 UConn — ESPN2, noon
#13 Pittsburgh vs. #12 St. John — ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.
#15 Providence vs. #10 Seton Hall — ESPNU, 7 p.m.
#14 Villanova vs. #11 Rutgers — ESPNU, 9:30 p.m.

Second Round — Wednesday, March 7

#8 West Virginia vs. #9 UConn — ESPN, noon
#5 Georgetown vs. #13 Pittsburgh — ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
#7 Louisville vs. #10 Seton Hall — ESPN, 7 p.m.
#6 South Florida vs. #14 Villanova — ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#1 Syracuse vs. #9 UConn — ESPN, noon
#4 Cincinnati vs. #5 Georgetown — ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
#2 Marquette vs. #7 Louisville — ESPN, 7 p.m.
#3 Notre Dame vs. #6 South Florida — ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Syracuse vs. #4 Cincinnati — ESPN, 7 p.m.
#7 Louisville vs. #3 Notre Dame — ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, March 10

#4 Cincinnati vs. #7 Louisville — ESPN, 9 p.m.

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT, DAHLBERG ARENA, MISSOULA, MONTANA

Semifinals — Tuesday, March 6

#2 Weber State vs. #3 Portland State — Altitude, 7:30 p.m.
#1 Montana vs. #4 Eastern Washington — Altitude, 10 p.m.

Championship — Wednesday, March 7

#2 Weber State vs. #1 Montana — ESPN2, 9 p.m.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT, BANKERS LIFE FIELDHOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS, IN

First Round — Thursday, March 8

#8 Iowa vs. #9 Illinois — Big Ten Network, 11:30 a.m.
#5 Indiana vs. #12 Penn State — Big Ten Network, 2 p.m.
#7 Northwestern vs. #10 Minnesota — ESPN2, 7 p.m.
#6 Purdue vs. #11 Nebraska — ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Michigan State vs. #8 Iowa — ESPN, noon
#4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Indiana — ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
#2 Michigan vs. #10 Minnesota — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
#3 Ohio State vs. #6 Purdue — Big Ten Network, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#1Michigan State vs. #4 Wisconsin — CBS, 1:30 p.m.
#2 Michigan vs. #3 Ohio State — CBS, 4 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#1 Michigan State vs. #3 Ohio State — CBS, 3:30 p.m.

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT, SPRINT CENTER, KANSAS CITY, MO

First Round — Wednesday, March 7

#8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Texas A&M — Big 12 Network, 7 p.m.
#7 Oklahoma State vs. #10 Texas Tech — Big 12 Network, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#4 Baylor vs. #5 Kansas State — ESPN2, 12:30 p.m.
#1 Kansas vs. #9 Texas A&M — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
#2 Missouri vs. #7 Oklahoma State– Big 12 Network, 7 p.m.
#3 Iowa State vs. #6 Texas — Big 12 Network, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#4 Baylor vs. #1 Kansas — Big 12 Network/ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.
#2 Missouri vs. #6 Texas — Big 12 Network/ESPNU, 10 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, March 10

#4 Baylor vs. #2 Missouri — ESPN, 6 p.m.

BIG WEST TOURNAMENT, HONDA CENTER, ANAHEIM, CA

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#3 UC-Santa Barbara vs. #6 Pacific — Big West.TV, 3 p.m.
#2 Cal State Fullerton vs. #7 UC-Irvine — Big West.TV, 5:30 p.m.
#1 Long Beach State vs. #8 UC-Davis — Big West.TV, 9 p.m.
#4 Cal Poly vs. No. 5 UC-Riverside — Big West.TV, 11:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Long Beach State vs. #7 UC-Irvine — ESPN3.com, 9:30 p.m.
#3 UC-Santa Barbara vs. #4 Cal Poly — ESPNU, midnight

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 Long Beach State vs. #3 UC-Santa Barbara — ESPN2, 10 p.m.

COLONIAL ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, RICHMOND COLISEUM, RICHMOND, VA

Championship — Monday, March 5

Drexel vs. VCU — ESPN, 7 p.m.

CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT, FEDEX FORUM, MEMPHIS, TN

First Round — Wednesday, March 7

#7 Rice vs. #10 East Carolina — CSS, 1 p.m.
#6 Marshall vs. #11 SMU — CSS, 3:30 p.m.
#8 UTEP vs. #9 Houston — CSS, 7:30 p.m.
#5 UAB vs. #12 Tulane – CSS, 10 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#2 Southern Mississippi vs. #10 East Carolina — CBS Sports Network, 1 p.m.
#3 Tulsa vs. #6 Marshall– CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.
#1 Memphis vs. #8 UTEP– CBS Sports Network, 7:30 p.m.
#4 Central Florida vs. #5 UAB– CBS Sports Network, 10 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#2 Southern Mississippi vs. #6 Marshall — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m.
#1 Memphis vs. #4 Central Florida — CBS Sports Network, 6:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#6 Marshall vs. #1 Memphis — CBS, 11:30 a.m.

HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP, ATHLETICS-RECREATION CENTER, VALPARAISO, IN

Championship — Tuesday, March 6

Detroit at Valparaiso — ESPN, 9 p.m.

METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, MASSMUTUAL CENTER, SPRINGFIELD, MA

Championship — Monday, March 5

#2 Fairfield vs. #4 Loyola (MD) — ESPN2, 7 p.m.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, QUICKEN LOANS ARENA, CLEVELAND, OH

Second Round — Wednesday, March 7

#12 Northern Illinois vs. #8 Western Michigan — STO, 7 p.m.
#11 Central Michigan vs. #7 Toledo — STO, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#4 Kent State vs. #8 Western Michigan — STO, 7 p.m.
#3 Ohio vs. #11 Central Michigan — STO, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Akron vs. #4 Kent State — STO, 7 p.m.
#2 Buffalo vs. #3 Ohio — STO, 9:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 Akron vs. #3 Ohio — ESPN2, 8 p.m.

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, JOEL COLISEUM, WINSTON-SALEM, NC

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#4 Bethune-Cookman vs. #2 Norfolk State — ESPNU, 1 p.m.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, THOMAS & MACK CENTER, LAS VEGAS, NV

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#1 San Diego State vs. Boise State — the mtn., 3 p.m.
#4 Colorado State vs. #5 TCU — the mtn., 5:30 p.m.
#2 New Mexico vs. #7 Air Force — the mtn., 9 p.m.
#3 UNLV vs. #6 Wyoming — the mtn., 11:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 San Diego State vs. #4 Colorado State — CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m.
#2 New Mexico vs. #3 UNLV — CBS Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 San Diego State vs. #2 New Mexico — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, WELLNESS CENTER, BROOKLYN, NY

Championship — Wednesday, March 7

#3 Robert Morris vs. #1 LIU — ESPN2, 7 p.m.

PAC-12 TOURNAMENT, STAPLES CENTER, LOS ANGELES, CA

First Round — Wednesday, March 7

#8 Washington State vs. #9 Oregon State — Fox Sports Net, 3 p.m.
#5 UCLA vs. #12 USC — Fox Sports Net, 5:30 p.m.
#7 Stanford vs. #10 Arizona State — Fox Sports Net, 9 p.m.
#6 Colorado vs. #11 Utah — Fox Sports Net, 11:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#1 Washington vs. #9 Oregon State — Fox Sports Net, 3 p.m.
#4 Arizona vs. #12 UCLA — Fox Sports Net, 5:30 p.m.
#2 Cal vs. #7 Stanford — Fox Sports Net, 9 p.m.
#3 Oregon vs. #6 Colorado — Fox Sports Net, 11:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#9 Oregon State vs. #4 Arizona — Fox Sports Net, 9 p.m.
#2 Cal vs. #6 Colorado — Fox Sports Net, 11:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#4 Arizona vs. #6 Colorado — CBS, 6 p.m.

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP, SOJKA PAVILION, LEWISBERG, PA

Championship — Wednesday, March 7

#1 Bucknell vs. #2 Lehigh — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, NEW ORLEANS ARENA, NEW ORLEANS, LA

First Round — Thursday, March 8

#8 LSU vs. #9 Arkansas — SEC Network, 1 p.m.
#5 Alabama vs. #12 South Carolina — SEC Network, 3:30 p.m.
#7 Mississippi vs. #10 Auburn — SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.
#6 Mississippi State vs. #11 Georgia — SEC Network, 10 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Kentucky vs. #8 LSU — SEC Network, 1 p.m.
#4 Florida vs. #5 Alabama — SEC Network, 3:30 p.m.
#2 Tennessee vs. #7 Mississippi — SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.
#3 Vanderbilt vs. #11 Georgia — SEC Network, 10 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#1 Kentucky vs. #4 Florida — ABC, 1 p.m.
#7 Mississippi vs. #3 Vanderbilt — ABC, 3:30 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#1 Kentucky vs. #3 Vanderbilt — ABC, 1 p.m.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, U.S. CELLULAR CENTER, ASHEVILLE, NC

Championship — Monday, March 5

Davidson vs. Western Carolina — ESPN2, 9 p.m.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, LEONARD E. MERRILL CENTER, KATY, TX

Semifinals — Thursday, March 8

#2 Stephen F. Austin vs. #3 Lamar — Southland TV, 7 p.m.
#1 Texas-Arlington vs. #4 McNeese State — Southland TV, 9:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#3 Lamar vs. #4 McNeese State — ESPN2, 3 p.m.

SOUTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, THE SPECIAL EVENTS CENTER, GARLAND, TX

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 Mississippi Valley State vs. #2 Texas Southern — ESPNU, 8 p.m.

SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT, SIOUX FALLS ARENA, SIOUX FALLS, SD

Semifinals — Monday, March 5

#1 Oral Roberts vs. #4 Western Illinois — Fox College Sports Central/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.
#2 South Dakota State vs. #6 Southern Utah — Fox College Sports Central/Fox Sports Detroit, 9:30 p.m

Championship — Tuesday, March 6

#4 Western Illinois vs. #2 South Dakota State — ESPN2, 9 p.m.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, THE SUMMIT ARENA, HOT SPRINGS, AR

Semifinals — Monday, March 5

#5 North Texas State vs. #9 Arkansas State — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 7 p.m.
#3 Denver vs. #7 Western Kentucky — CSS, 9:30 p.m.

Championship — Tuesday, March 6

#5 North Texas State vs. #7 Western Kentucky — ESPN2, 7 p.m.

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS, NV

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#6 Hawaii vs. #2 New Mexico State — WAC Sports Network, 9 p.m.
#1 Nevada vs. #5 Louisiana Tech — WAC Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#2 New Mexico State vs. #5 Louisiana Tech — ESPN2, 11:59 p.m.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS, NV

Championship — Monday, March 5

#1 St. Mary’s vs. #2 Gonzaga — ESPN, 9 p.m.

Some Sunday Linkage

Ok, I have some free time to do some linkage now. I was hoping to get this posted in the morning, but recently, weekends have become busier than my workweek. I really don’t understand how this happened. However, with the next few hours free, I should be able to give you some good posts here.

Edvard Pettersson of Bloomberg notes that Fox Sports has objected to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ hiring of a firm to help the team  gain a new cable TV rights deal. Fox agreed to a long term deal with the Dodgers and lent money to the team which has led to MLB taking over the operations.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News notes that the Pac-12 will be adding channels to your cable and satellite universe in 2012.

Mike says NFL Network and NFL.com received record numbers for free agent frenzy last week.

Craig Harris at the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism talks about the importance of sports business reporting.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser says universally hated Mike Lupica will now target 8-12 year olds as he will write books for that age group.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post sets his hate on in-game reporters Kim Jones of YES and Kevin Burkhardt of SNY.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that the Buffalo Bills won’t be heard on local radio this season.

Pete discusses Curt Smith’s new tome on baseball announcers.

Pete wonders why NFL Network dumped live Arena Football and CFL action for free agent frenzy programming.

David Walsh of the Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch talks with Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman about her visit to the Greenbrier Classic this week.

Jim Kleinpeter of the New Orleans Times-Picayune talks with ESPN’s Desmond Howard about the season opening LSU-Oregon game.

The Cleveland-centric Waiting For Next Year blog says Sportstime Ohio, the home of the Indians and Browns could be sold to one of two potential suitors.

Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times writes about Fox Sports attempting to block the Dodgers of hiring a firm to help secure a new cable TV rights deal.

John Daly at The Daly Planet writes about Allen Bestwick’s return to the NASCAR broadcast booth this weekend after being screwed over by NBC seven years ago.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing looks at some of the grammatical and typographical errors on ESPN last week.

Sports Media Watch looks at the big ratings increase for last week’s Canadian Open on CBS.

SMW has some various ratings news and notes.

SMW has a few more notes.

That will do it.

Trying To Squeeze In Wednesday Links

I couldn’t get to the Tuesday links as it got quite busy at work and at night, my boss gave me so many things to do that I didn’t finish until late. I’m trying to squeeze in some linkage here for you while I can.

From USA Today, J. Michael Falgoust talks about what the NBA and its players are doing during the lockout and how it all affects NBA TV’s programming.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at Bob Costas and Al Michaels teaming up to call a baseball game for MLB Network this week.

The lovely Kristi Dosh at Forbes says an NFL labor settlement would definitely help the NBA owners in its labor dispute.

Kristi adds that the NFL players are under the gun to resolve the lockout.

Brian Clapp at TV Sports Jobs says the NBA lockout is giving the NHL an opportunity to have a stage all by itself.

At SportsGrid, Dan Fogarty notes that during Michelle Beadle’s ESPN podcast, Linda Cohn could not understand why anyone could think the acquitted Casey Anthony is hot.

Mike Barnes at the Hollywood Reporter notes that Pyeongyang, South Korea will be the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Marisa Guthrie at the Reporter writes that ESPN is hopeful in adding analyst John McEnroe to its Wimbledon coverage next year.

R. Thomas Umstead with Multichannel News looks at HBO and MLB Productions co-producing a new documentary focusing Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel says the new Longhorn Network will air two Texas football games this fall.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life writes that Fox is planning to use the MLB All-Star Game next week to hype its new X-Factor show starring Simon Cowell.

Alan Abrahamson at USA Olympics Committee site says one man was the deciding factor in bringing the Olympics to South Korea again.

ESPN Front Row’s Sheldon Spencer talks with network executive John Wildhack about bringing the full Wimbledon tournament to the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

Joe Yerdon of the great Pro Hockey Talk site notes that Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke is angry at a local columnist for criticizing him for taking a trip to Afghanistan to visit Canadian troops.

CNBC Darren Rovell says Nathan’s gets a lot of out of its sponsorship of the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Darren notes that former UConn men’s basketball star Kemba Walker has signed a lucrative shoe contract with Under Armour.

Darren also talks with Walker and an Under Armour exec about the new deal.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times explains why the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club chose to take Wimbledon away from NBC and hightail it to ESPN.

Newsday’s Neil Best says ESPN has made the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest into Must See TV.

Neil also has the breakdown of which innings Bob Costas and Al Michaels will call on Friday on MLB Network for the New York Mets-San Francisco Giants game.

Jessica DiNapoli of the Southampton (NY) Patch report that incoming New York Knicks radio announcer Spero Dedes was arrested for driving while intoxicated over the holiday weekend.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner looks at ESPN’s winning bid for Wimbledon.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says a veteran local sports personality returns to the radio later this month.

Kyle Swenson of Clevescene notes that the Cleveland baseball team-owned STO may be up for sale.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has Bob Costas talking about baseball on the radio.

Bob also talks about ESPN breaking NBC’s serve on Wimbledon.

Scott Collins of the Los Angeles Times has a story on the local public television station making due without PBS and notes that former ESPN host Roy Firestone will be hosting a show there.

At the Toronto Globe and Mail, Bruce Dowbiggin says TSN will be looking into violence in sports.

I’ll hold it there for now. I’ll add more links later.

A Friday Megalink Post

I’m going to try to post some of the Friday megalinks. This won’t be an entire post. Unless something happens, I should be able to get most of them in.

Of course, you can find the Weekend Viewing Picks for your sports and primetime programs.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand and Mike McCarthy debate whether ESPN’s harsh criticism over VCU’s selection to the NCAA Tournament was sour grapes over losing the games to CBS/Turner.

Mike McCarthy says ESPN has pulled NBA analyst Jalen Rose off the air following last month’s arrest on DUI charges.

Bob Velin of USA Today notes that boxing returns to network television on Saturday in the form of a new Showtime reality series on the Manny Pacquaio-Sugar Shane Mosley fight.

This being April Fools’ Day, we hearken back to 1985 and one of the greatest April 1 sports media pranks, The Curious Case of Sidd Finch, written by George Plimpton of Sports Illustrated which fooled many fans back in the day.

And Christopher Borelli of the Chicago Tribune has found the man who posed as Sidd Finch for SI, a retired Chicago-area schoolteacher.

Phil Orlins, coordinating producer of ESPN 3D, writes in ESPN Front Row about how watching The Masters^® in the third dimension is an experience unlike any other.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that SNY has been pulled by Dish Network in the latest dispute among regional sports networks and a content provider.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser says ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd has set his target again on Washington Wizards rookie guard John Wall.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if nutrition chain GNC is a good stock buy as it went public today.

Darren has an extensive look at how going paperless could change the ticket industry.

At Digital Spy UK, Andrew Laughlin says ESPN Classic has obtained the BBC Sport archives.

The Big Lead speculates on the replacement for Josh Elliot at the morning SportsCenter anchor desk.

The metgrrl blog is the latest to take MLB to task for catering to the lowest common denominator at its Fan Cave.

The Sports Media Watch has various ratings news and notes.

And SMW has some sports media news as well.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn talks with Red Sox radio announcer Dave O’Brien about signing a new multiyear contract extension.

At the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Bill Doyle interviews NESN Red Sox voice Don Orsillo.

ESPN Boston says it will be launching an internet radio show next Friday.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post for all intents and purposes calls Kentucky’s John Calipari and UConn’s Jim Calhoun crooks.

George Willis of the Post remembers former boxing trainer and CBS/MSG/HBO analyst Gil Glancy who died this week.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says YES and DirecTV have a midnight deadline to keep the regional sports network on the satellite provider.

Pete says baseball should embrace technology to help make calls and speed up the game.

Tim Schooley of the Pittsburgh Business Times looks at FSN Pittsburgh making the transition to a new name.

Gary Haber of the Baltimore Business Journal says radio host Jen Royle is suing a competing radio station for defamation.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com also looks at Royle’s lawsuit as well as other DC-Baltimore sports media news.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says the Nationals were the butt of Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue last night.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus about this year’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

Jim says MASN is making a couple of programming changes.

South

Mitch Vingle of the Charleston (WV) Gazette says the ESPN lawsuit against Conference USA bears watching.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recaps the Sports Business Journal’s World Congress of Sports that took place in South Florida this week.

Laken Litman at the Dallas Morning News says ESPN will air Texas’ spring football game this weekend.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle talks with CBS Sports director Bob Fishman about the Final Four’s he called from the production truck.

David has a story on ESPN’s lawsuit against Conference USA.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks about the expanded announcing crews at the Final Four thanks to CBS/Turner collaboration for the NCAA Tournament.

Midwest

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal says STO is ready to air the Cleveland MLB team’s season opener today.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press has CBS/Turner’s crew surprised about the VCU run during the NCAA Tournament.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says this year’s Final Four will be called by a three man booth as opposed to two over the last 29 on CBS.

Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel says MLB has unveiled an unconventional epic ad campaign.

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes about the Twins going all-cable this season and for the foreseeable future.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Fox Sports Midwest screwed up the Cardinals’ Opening Day ceremonies for the second year in a row.

Evan Binns from the St. Louis Business Journal says the Cardinals season opener was the most watched ever on Fox Sports Midwest.

West

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune has CBS/Turner’s Steve Kerr excited about calling his first Final Four tomorrow.

John Maffei of the North County Times says MLB’s national TV partners aren’t giving the Padres any respect.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star writes that this year’s NCAA Tournament has been a different viewing experience.

Jim has his sports media notebook which includes news about ESPN’s Josh Elliot’s departure for Good Morning America.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News gets comments from other announcers on the great Vin Scully.

Tom also handicaps the Pac 12 media rights negotiations.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News says the Pac 12′s rights are now up for grabs as the conference let its exclusive window to negotiate with Fox expire last night.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times says FSN Northwest may have changed to Root Sports, but will be found on the same place on the cable dial.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says TSN has fired its first shots in its new sports radio war with Rogers.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog also talks about the TSN/Rogers Sportsnet radio war.

And that is all for today.

MLB Spring Training TV Schedules: American League Central

Here are the Spring Training TV schedules for the American League Central Division. Again, all times are Eastern.

Chicago White Sox (Comcast SportsNet Chicago unless indicated)
Saturday, March 13 – Chicago Cubs vs. White Sox at Las Vegas, NV, 4 p.m.
Monday, March 15 – Kansas City Royals vs. White Sox at Glendale, AZ, 10 p.m.
Friday, March 19 – Chicago Cubs vs. White Sox at Glendale, AZ, 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 20 – San Diego Padres vs. White Sox at Glendale, AZ, 4 p.m. (WGN)
Wednesday, March 24 – Arizona Diamondbacks vs. White Sox at Glendale, AZ, 4 p.m.
Monday, March 29 – Anaheim Angels vs. White Sox at Glendale, AZ, 10 p.m.

Cleveland Indians (Sports Time Ohio)
Wednesday, March 10 – San Diego Padres vs. Indians at Goodyear, AZ, 3 p.m.
Friday, March 12 – Anaheim Angels vs. Indians at Goodyear, AZ, 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 14 – Indians vs. San Diego Padres, 4 p.m. at Peoria, AZ, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16 – San Francisco Giants vs. Indians at Goodyear, AZ, 4 p.m.
Thursday, March 18 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Indians at Goodyear, AZ, 4 p.m.
Friday, March 19 – Indians vs. San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale, AZ, 4 p.m.

Detroit Tigers (Fox Sports Detroit)
Monday, March 15 – Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tigers at Lakeland, FL, 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 18 – Houston Astros vs. Tigers at Lakeland, FL, 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 – Tigers vs. New York Yankees at Tampa, FL, 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 25 – Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tigers at Lakeland, FL, 1 p.m.

Kansas City Royals (Fox Sports Kansas City)
Tuesday, March 23 – Chicago Cubs vs. Royals at Surprise, AZ, 4 p.m.

Minnesota Twins (Fox Sports North unless indicated)
Saturday, March 13 – Twins vs. Philadelphia Phillies at Clearwater, FL, 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 – Tampa Bay Rays vs. Twins at Fort Myers, FL, 1 p.m. (WFTC)
Tuesday, March 23 – Boston Red Sox vs. Twins at Fort Myers, FL, 7 p.m.

A Saturday Link Day

As I’m in the home office today and also keeping track of Wimbledon thanks to the BBC, I’ll do some links for you.

Newsday’s Neil Best says his newspaper’s website was all over the U.S. Open as well as the NBA and NHL Drafts this week.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette feels the NBA Draft dragged on too long on Thursday.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News laments the disappearing local TV sports report.

Daniel Rubin of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes about a 94 year old Phillies fan who can’t watch her team because her senior citizens residence has DirecTV which is not allowed to pick up Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says FSN Pittsburgh has set its high school football schedule.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writing in the Baltimore-centric Press Box website says Comcast is going to strengthen its web presence for its Mid-Atlantic channel.

Les Carpenter of the Washington Post looks at this year’s crop of players in the NFL Broadcast Boot Camp.

Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe says New England Patriot Matt Light was one of those involved in the Boot Camps.

The Gamecocks on TV blog has done a great job keeping up with the changing affiliates for SEC football and basketball due to the change in TV contracts to ESPN. It has news on another station change in the SEC footprint.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News talks with ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla about the Mavericks’ top draft pick.

Ameet Sachdev of the Chicago Tribune says the negotiations between the Tribune Company and the Ricketts family for the sale of the Cubs is now gaining momentum.

The INDenver Times spoke with Colorado Rockies TV voice Drew Goodman.

The Los Angeles Times has removed a blog post on The Superstars due to a similarity with a post on the same subject at ESPN.com.

The Sporting News picks up an article from Tripp Mickle of sister publication Sports Business Journal stating that the NHL made huge strides in the national TV ratings this past season.

The London Daily Mail reports John McEnroe, doing commentary at Wimbledon for NBC and the BBC, is perturbed at not being allowed access to the men’s locker room.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says Fox Sports Ohio and STO will be locked in a fantasy baseball battle during tonight’s Reds-Indians game.

Mike also speaks with a departing FSN executive about his long career running a regional sports network.

Two Tweets from sports figures making news.

Red Sox owner John W. Henry said, “Beautiful day for a wedding!” Today is his wedding to Ms. Linda Puzzuti. Congratulations, Mr. Henry and Ms. Puzzuti.

Jerry Remy said about his potential return to NESN, “I appreciate all your support-doing well-going to gym-gained weight back-no issues-have not set return date yet-anxious to get back-Jerry“. Apparently, no rush to bring Jerry back at this time.

Those are the links for today. I’ll be back tomorrow.

It’s Back! The Friday Megalinks are Here!

After a week’s absence and the start of my massive computer problems, I give you the Friday megalinks. I appreciate your patience during this tough stretch for me. About another week and I should be back on track.

Let’s go over the viewing weekend before we get into the megalinks.

Weekend Viewing Picks

There are plenty of sporting events to watch to avoid taking your significant other to “Sex and the City”.

As far as major events are concerned, the Stanley Cup Finals are in full swing. NBC and the CBC have Game 4 of the Detroit-Pittsburgh series Saturday at 8 p.m.

Tennis fans can watch the French Open on Tennis Channel and NBC this weekend. Tennis Channel has coverage starting at 5 a.m. with NBC starting up at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

The NBA Playoffs potentially have the weekend off if the Celtics win at Detroit in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight. ESPN has tonight’s game at 8:30 p.m. If the Pistons win at home tonight, then Game 7 would be played Sunday night on ABC at 8:30.

Fox has its usual slate of three MLB games on Saturday with Joe Torre returning to New York as his Dodgers take on the Mets, Atlanta travels to Cincinnati and the Detroit Tigers travel out west to take on Seattle. All games begin at 3:55 p.m. On Sunday, TBS carries Florida at Phialdelphia (1 p.m.), WGN has the Cubs hosting Colorado (2:10 p.m.) and the ESPN Sunday night game will be the Dodgers at the Mets (8 p.m.).

NASCAR heads over to the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware and the Nationwide Series race, the Heluva Good! 200 will be on ESPN2 this Saturday at 3. Fox has its last race of the NASCAR season, the Sprint Cup Best Buy 400, Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The Indy Car Series is in Wisconsin on ABC, Sunday at 4.

The PGA Tour continues without Tiger Woods as the Memorial Tournament will be on both the Golf Channel and CBS throughout the weekend.

NBC has the LPGA’s Ginn Tribute hosted by Annika Sorenstam at 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

If you’re a softball fan, the Women’s College World Series is on the ESPN family of networks from Oklahoma City.

ESPN 2 will have the Reebok Grand Prix track & field meet Saturday night at 8.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the primetime network TV debut of Mixed Martial Arts as Screamin’ Gus Johnson will call the Elite XC Xtreme Combat bout which will include Kimbo Slice on CBS, Saturday at 8 p.m.

Now to our links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand profiles Mary Carillo who is doing the French Open for ESPN and NBC as well as working for HBO and CBS.

Now, I’ll start our links in the South, go up the East Coast, then move across the country and into Canada. It’ll make sense when all is done.

South

From The State in Columbia, SC, Doug Nye says baseball fans won’t be able to watch the University of South Carolina’s quest to go to the College World Series this weekend.

Barry Jackson in the Miami Herald says CBS officials are having mixed emotions about showing Mixed Martial Arts.

Dave Darling of the Orlando Sentinel also writes about CBS’ first venture in the MMA arena.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times says the local NBC affiliate will be pre-empting tennis and LPGA action on Sunday because of a telethon.

David Barron in today’s Houston Chronicle writes that FSN Houston is ready to move to new headquarters in the downtown area.

Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram talks about some announcing musical chairs in the Texas Rangers’ TV and Radio booths as analyst Tom Grieve leaves temporarily due to medical reasons.

Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman talks with ESPN’s John Kruk who is saying he lobbied for the assignment to call the Women’s College World Series. Mel writes that ESPN is bullish about softball’s ratings. In his notebook, Mel discusses MMA moving to CBS. And Mel has his weekend viewing picks.

East and Mid-Atlantic

In the Boston Globe, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell writes about the annual Hot Dog Safari hosted by long-time talk show host Eddie Andelman.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times talks with CBS’ Gus Johnson who will call Saturday’s Mixed Martial Arts event. And Sandomir says the NHL outrated the NBA in Detroit on Wednesday.

From the New York Post, Phil Mushnick says it took ESPN too long to fire Pittsburgh talk show host Mark Madden for his comments about Senator Ted Kennedy.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman did not like the Mets’ dog and pony show on Monday.

Newsday’s Neil Best also discusses the Mixed Martial Arts event on CBS. In his blog, Neil says the NBA’s ratings are soaring in this postseason. And Neil talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver who’s enjoying doing a schedule of national MLB games.

The Baltimore Sun’s Ray Frager talks with Orioles’ radio voice Joe Angel.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) Morning News says CBS is wrong to pick up MMA.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Padres are not concerned that their TV ratings have slipped this season. And Jay has the ratings from last week in San Diego.

John Maffei of the North County Times also discusses the CBS/MMA telecast.

Over to the Ventura County Star where Jim Carlisle wonders what CBS was thinking when it signed to carry four MMA events.

In the Los Angeles Times, John Scheibe in the Sound and Vision column talks about TV covering Joe Torre’s return to New York with the Dodgers.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks about CBS and MMA. Tom also has his extensive media news and notes in his Farther Off the Wall blog. And just to make you sick, Tom has pictures of various celebrities attending the Spurs-Lakers game on Thursday.

John Ryan in the San Jose Mercury News says the MMA event on CBS could get ugly.

Midwest

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that Browns left tackle Joe Thomas will be co-hosting a fishing show on STO.

Mike Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says MMA has hit the primetime.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that NBC is hoping for a star-studded French Open this year.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune says former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly is ready to hit ESPN with a big bang starting Sunday.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Judd Zulgad says the Timberwolves’ return to KFAN also means the return an adversarial relationship between the two parties.

Canada

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says Hockey Night in Canada’s dislike of Sidney Crosby is now bordering on the ridiculous.

Crash Cameron of the Edmonton Sun says legendary CBC NHL voice Bob Cole still has got game.

And Don Brennan of SLAM! Sports says despite his advanced age, Cole is not ready to leave the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast booth.

Blogs

From the Women’s Tennis Blog, there’s a great spread of Ana Ivanovic in Hello! Magazine.

Maury Brown from the Biz of Hockey blog says NBC saw a huge increase in the ratings for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals from last year.

In his sports marketing and public relations blog, Joe Favorito liked the way the Reebok Grand Prix track & field meet tried to get some pub.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if a meaningless last second shot in last night’s Spurs-Lakers game cost bettors some money.

The Sports Media Watch now with the Lakers in the NBA Finals, the league can be assured of good TV ratings.

That will do it.

If It’s Friday, It Must Be The Megalinks

Yes, it’s Friday, I have a dentist appointment and it’s time for me to do some links. Let’s get started.

This weekend, the NCAA Tournament continues as the Sweet Sixteen will be reduced to the Elite Eight tonight. And after Sunday, we’ll have the Final Four. CBS has your coverage of the Mens’ NCAA Tournament throughout the weekend.

The NCAA Women’s Tournament is also in its Sweet Sixteen and the ESPN family of networks will have coverage starting on Saturday.

The PGA Tour is in New Orleans for the Zurich Classic. The Golf Channel will conclude its early round coverage today, then NBC Sports picks up on Saturday at 3 p.m.

NASCAR’s Sprint Cup took the Easter holiday off and is back with a vengeance on Sunday with the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 (just how does NASCAR come up with these names?) on Fox at 1:30 p.m.

The NBA continues with the Bulls taking on Milwaukee on WGN Saturday night and a Texas two step of Houston facing San Antonio on ABC Sunday at 1 p.m.

And the NHL has its playoff push, NBC showing the Rangers and Pittsburgh for the umpteenth time this season on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

As always, we begin with Michael Hiestand of USA Today. He says NBC Sports should ignore Tibet and other political issues when covering the Olympics in Communist China. Here’s your sports on TV for the weekend.

This week we’ll go East to West. No time for playing around.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe talks with ESPN’s John Buccigross who realizes a dream as he gets to call the NCAA Hockey Tournament this weekend for ESPNU.

From the New York Post, Phil Mushnick predicts that the Mets’ Billy Wagner will say something he will regret during his weekly interviews on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. Also from the Post, Justin Terranova talks with SNY’s Ron Darling about the Mets’ chances this season. And Justin has five questions for the Shark, Jerry Tarkanian about the NCAA Tournament.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman is a bit leery about SNY’s plans to take phone calls during Mets games. That’s right, during Mets games.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times doesn’t like SNY’s new late afternoon lineup of talk shows. And Sandomir has a blurb on TBS Sports’ announcing lineup for its Sunday MLB games.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the tip times for Saturday’s NCAA Tournament games.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun says MASN’s Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez will be doing double duty this season for other networks.

South

Doug Nye of The State writes that Time Warner Cable is confident that it will pick up 45 Atlanta Braves games that will be on Peachtree TV.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says a local sports radio station is shuffling its lineup.

Dave Darling of the Orlando Sentinel wonders why the WWE is still popular.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says CBS’ Jim Nantz and Billy Packer will be looking up at the court tonight at Reliant Stadium.

Ray Buck in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes about an experimental 3-D HD telecast.

Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman says baseball fans will have plenty of viewing options this season. Mel has his media notebook which includes a blurb on ESPN interviewing coaching buddies Bill Parcells, Bob Knight and Tony La Russa this Sunday. And Mel has his viewing picks for the weekend.

Midwest

The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein talks with ESPN’s Brent Musberger who will call the Cubs season opener on Monday. And Teddy has his top five viewing picks.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal says AT&T U-Verse customers won’t get Sports Time Ohio in HD.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks about ESPN2 picking up the Brewers opener against the Cubs.

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Judd Zulgad writes that FSN North will be able to interview Minnesota Twins players immediately following a loss.

Paul Christian in the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says it’s time for baseball to take over your TV and radio.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star says CBS’ Kevin Harlan was not being a homer for the University of Kansas during the NCAA Tournament last weekend.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) Morning News likes CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jay Posner talks with the new producer of Padres games on Cox 4. Posner for some reason is not credited for his media notebook this week, but believe me, it’s his and he writes about ESPN’s Jamele Hill laughing at Chargers’ Shawne Merriman for having his car stolen and torched. And here are the ratings from San Diego from last weekend.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes that an affiliate switch in San Diego will cause confusion for viewers looking for Fox Sports programming.

Christine Daniels from the Los Angeles Times has her weekly Sound and Vision column.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has Hall of Fame Dodgers announcer Vin Scully recalling his broadcast perch at the Coliseum where the Red Sox and Dodgers will play an exhibition game this weekend. In his Farther Off the Wall blog, Hoffarth has his extensive media notes and he has a picture of where Scully used to broadcast games from the LA Coliseum.

Canada

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star talks with Blue Jays TV analyst Rance Mulliniks who picks his team to win the World Series. Ok.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail has Don Cherry condemning the incident in which former goalie Patrick Roy cheered his son to fight during a Junior League game last week.

Blogs

Awful Announcing has the video of a switching glitch during last night’s NCAA Tournament action.

And in that technical glitch, Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog noticed someone familiar.

Joe Favorito talks about social networking and Gillette reaching for the stars in his Sports Marketing and Public Relations blog.

The Sports Media Journal is now in the Final Four of its Sports Radio Madness contest.

That should do it for now. I’ll be back later with an update.

Late Wednesday/Early Thursday Update

Some links for you on this late Wednesday night heading into early Thursday morning.

Larry Barrett of Multichannel News says NESN pulled primetime numbers in the early morning for the Red Sox opener on Tuesday against the A’s. Also from Multichannel, Mike Reynolds writes that Sports Time Ohio has added four cable systems to its HD lineup. And Reynolds says Golf Channel will offer a new reality series this summer.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says the NCAA Tournament saw lower ratings on CBS due to the early Easter holidays this year. Diego Vasquez of Media Life says the NHL on Versus is suddenly red hot.

Some network press releases for you.

NBC Sports talks about this Sunday’s NHL featured game, the New York Rangers taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins. And the NBC Golf Tour heads to New Orleans this weekend.

CBS Sports says it will run its third “Jim Nantz Remembers” special on April 13, just before the final round of The Masters. CBS says March Madness on Demand traffic is up 129% from last year and has surpassed all of last year’s totals.

ESPN says coaching buddies Bob Knight, Tony La Russa and Bill Parcells will take part on the Sunday Conversation on SportsCenter, March 30.

Westwood One Radio says it will have exclusive coverage of the NCAA Frozen Four coming up, April 10-13.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette gives us some TV and radio hockey (both pro and college) notes in his blog.

Rick Bentley of the Fresno Bee say both ESPN and Comcast equally share in the blame for not having the Fresno State women’s basketball team on this past Saturday.

David Clemons of the Sand Mountain (AL) Reporter says the 45 Atlanta Braves games slated for Peachtree TV have been placed on Charter Communications locally.

That’s it until the morning.

Post Holiday Links

Back to work for some of you. For those of us who have worked yesterday, it’s just another day of the grind.

Some FYI. I’m working on a feature story that I’ll be bringing to you in the next day or two. You can look for that here either later tonight or first thing tomorrow.

Let’s get to the links now.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with new New York Mets announcer Wayne Hagin who replaces Tom McCarthy. Hagin has a long, distinguished career, well into his third decade of calling baseball games. In his blog, Neil talks about the challenges Wayne faces as a newcomer to the Mets. And Neil posts a picture of the lovely Stacy Kiebler in discussing the new cast of “Dancing with the Stars.” And Newsday’s Bob Glauber gets on Neil’s case for posting that pic of Stacy.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir writes about the new movie, Semi-Pro, a fictional movie about the old American Basketball Association, and its commercial tie-ins.

The angry Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the saga isn’t over for Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times gives his thoughts on the last weekend of televised sports in his Two Cents blog.

Geoff Larcom of the Ann Arbor News writes about his mother-in-law’s difficult experience trying to get ESPN on her cable system.

The Jossip blog says ESPN is pretending that ESPN the Magazine is its own entity.

Jim Alexander of the Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise says we should be thankful for having so many choices for sports on TV.

Dave Del Grande of the Oakland Tribune says it’s not good when sports announcers become part of the action either on the field or the court.

Brian VanOchten of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press writes in his Two Minute Drill blog that the NFL Network will be all over the NFL Scouting Combines this week.

The Kansas City Star’s Jeffrey Flanagan says football writer Bob Gretz is puzzled over the choice of his fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame voters for the Class of 2008.

George Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal says two Cleveland Cavs shined during NBA All Star Weekend on TNT. He also mentions at the bottom of the article that regional sports network Sports Time Ohio will be aired entirely in HD.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune posts the final interview ever conducted with the late Cubs announcer Harry Caray.

From Sunday’s Boston Herald, the Inside Track girls say NESN’s Bruins studio host, Kathryn Tappen is the leader in the clubhouse for the Red Sox field reporter gig that Tina Cervasio had for the last two seasons.

I’ll have more later.

Here Are The Tuesday Links

The links are up late as I had to be in another location this morning and someone came to my office. I hate when routines are thrown off, but I give you the links now.

Neil Best of Newsday chronicles his time spent Sunday at NBC with the Football Night in America studio crew. In his blog, Best follows up his column with some comments made by NBC’s Tiki Barber about his former teammate, Giants QB Eli Manning. Best tells us that CSTV cut corners for its broadcast of last Saturday’s Cornell-Boston University game at Madison Square Garden. And Best links to an article done by College Hockey News about CSTV.

From the Sports Media Watch blog, Paulsen has a couple of entries including one on the ratings of the college football games during the Thanksgiving Day weekend. And the other is on the record overnight ratings for Sunday Night Football.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at the ratings for some of the weekend sporting events.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner says the biggest game of the NFC is this Thursday on the NFL Network, but won’t be seen in most homes.

In the Los Angeles Times, Larry Stewart in the Morning Briefing goes over a few things like Sunday’s Eagles-Pats game and a faux pas committed by CBS’ Steve Beuerlein.

For those who have Sirius Satellite Radio and are fans of NASCAR, the Orbitcast blog has the schedule for live broadcasts during Champions Week.

Jessica Kerman of the Anderson (IN) Herald-Bulletin writes that an Indiana legislator wants the NFL Network and the cable companies to cut a deal. Kerman writes incorrectly that the NFL Network is owned by ESPN. Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) writes in the Milwaukee Small Business Times that the FCC should get involved in the NFL Network-cable dispute. Dennis Grall of the Escanaba (MI) says the NFL Network dispute has even hit the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Sinead Carew of Reuters says NFL Network games will be made available on Sprint cell phones. Nick Dettman in the Michigan City (IN) News-Dispatch says the NFL Network dispute is going nowhere. Darnell Mayberry of the Daily Oklahoman says the Green Bay-Dallas game will be the best game no one ever sees. Mike Copeland in the Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald says local fans are scrambling to see Thursday’s Packers-Cowboys game. And Evan Mohl of the Killeen (TX) Daily Herald writes that local cable won’t be picking up the NFL Network in time for Thursday’s game.

LaMond Pope of the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette says there’s little progress in getting the Big Ten Network on state cable systems. Also in the Journal Gazette, Mark Schultz says Comcast is greedy by shutting out its subscribers from the Big Ten Network.

Continuing on with another sports channel-cable dispute, the Orlando Sentinel says in an editorial that Bright House cable and Fox Sports Net Florida should resolve its battle.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that FSN Ohio and Sports Time Ohio have expressed interest in airing the Cleveland Arena Football League team’s games.

The Daily Oklahoman notes that the ratings for the annual Bedlam rivalry game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were down again.

Eric Fisher of the Business First of Buffalo newspaper says the NHL has struck a deal with Verizon Wireless to put highlights on its cell phones for a monthly fee.

In his Baltimore Sun blog, columnist David Steele is saddened by the speculation of sports radio talk show hosts in regards to the tragic Sean Taylor story.

CBS Sports will air a one hour special on some celebrity ski event that only those participating care about.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the Grey Cup on CBC drew big ratings despite having small markets teams. CBC Sports says 3.3 million people watched part or all of the Grey Cup.

We’ve always been intrigued by Philadelphia news anchor Alycia Lane ever since she wrote that saucy e-mail to NFL Network host Rich Eisen that was intercepted by his wife, Suzy Shuster. She had been going out with WCBS news anchor Chris Wragge. Now she’s apparently going out with Friend of Howard Stern, Chris Booker, morning DJ for Q102. I’m still hoping someone leaks those swimsuit pics she sent to Rich back in May.

Those are the links for now.

Tuesday Morning Links

Listening to Scott Baio on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius Satellite Radio. The women he’s banged. If I only had half of his number, I’d be a very happy man. I started watching “Scott Baio is 45 … and Single” on VH-1 and it’s actually very good. Instead of him being crazy, he’s quite grounded and the people around him are crazy. Very well produced. I actually do recommend the show.

On to the links this morning.

Let’s start with USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at the TV ratings from the sporting weekend.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has a story on the NBA TV partners not being worried about the referee gambling scandal. Bob Raissman in today’s New York Daily News says the NBA TV partners were snookered by Commissioner David Stern.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about Vin Scully’s call of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run back in 1974.

Let’s go to a couple of links concerning the Big Ten Network. Tom Kubat of the Journal & Courier of Lafayette, Indiana writes that the Big Ten Network and Comcast are at an impasse. Variety’s John Dempsey has another story on Echostar wanting BTN classified as a Regional Sports Network.

From Pittsburgh, there’s a story about an anchor for ESPN Radio in Pittsburgh, John Duffy, has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges.

To Ohio, Akron to be exact, where George M. Thomas of the Beacon Journal writes that Sports Time Ohio, the cable TV home of the Cleveland Indians, has turned a profit in a short 15 months since it launched and allowed the team to make deals with players.

Darrell Moody of the Nevada Appeal writes about the Western Athletic Conference media day where Commissioner Karl Benson discusses the WAC’s TV schedule and negotiations with ESPN.

Over to the Mountain West Conference which is still having problems getting its network, the mtn., picked up by cable companies.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has a story on the city’s “Fantastic Four” in sports.

Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press writes about the passing of Bill Flemming who was one of the original announcers along with Jim McKay at ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

Pat Summerall has signed up to host an internet talk show to premiere in November.

Jacques Steinberg of the New York Times writes about Campbell Brown moving to CNN to host a primetime show.

Breaking news – Lindsay Lohan was arrested early this morning for DUI and police found cocaine in her car. Good job, Lindsay. Here’s a link to TMZ.com which already has her mugshot.

Finally, NBA Commish David Stern will have a press conference to talk about the referee gambling scandal. We’ll monitor.

More later.