Fang's Bites

Bringing Out Some Wednesday Links For You

Time for some linkage in this mid-week and last day of the 2012 MLB regular season. Lots of things to get to.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand analyzes the new MLB TV deals with Fox and Turner.

Nate Davis of USA Today’s Game On blog previews tonight’s NFL Network “A Football Life” documentary.

John Ourand and David Broughton of Sports Business Journal report on this season’s local MLB TV ratings.

Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter has a Fox Sports executive being very bullish on soccer.

Alex Ben Block of the Reporter goes over the MLB contracts with Fox and Turner.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable writes that the American Cable Association, which hates everything, is railing against the MLB TV deals.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News also delves into the new MLB deals.

Mike says Monday night’s Chicago Bears-Dallas Cowboys game garnered cable’s third biggest audience of the year.

Kristian Dyer at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner blog notes that Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones has apologized for an unintentional insensitive tweet responding to the paralyzed Eric LeGrand.

Spiracle Media through Storify harnessed some tweets from athletes who watched the extremely fascinating 30 for 30 documentary, “Broke” on ESPN.

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report anticipates Fox’s next move to create an all-sports cable channel.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at PGA.com’s video coverage of the Ryder Cup.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell explores the NFL financial advisory program in hopes of preventing athletes from going broke.

NFL referee Ed Hochuli is on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe explores the latest Arbitron ratings for the city’s sports radio stations.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the new MLB TV deals.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Week 6 college football TV schedule.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that ESPN’s and former DC sports reporter Lindsay Czarniak celebrated the Nationals on SportsCenter.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes about the new MLB TV deals.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says last Saturday’s Texas-Oklahoma State game registered huge local ratings.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mark Dawidziak tells us that former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel will be joining a local TV station as a weekly contributor. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says a local sports anchor will not face charges stemming from a domestic violence case.

Howie Magner of Milwaukee Magazine profiles Trenni Kusnierek, now of Comcast SportsNet New England, on her battle with depression.

Robert Feder of TimeOut Chicago writes that the Bulls have renewed their Spanish radio rights (scroll down).

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch has a full story on the Bulls’ renewal.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the new TV deals with Fox and Turner gives MLB plenty of stability into the next decade.

James Mirtle of the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that CBC’s Don Cherry is blasting the Maple Leafs for their treatment of one of their players.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Globe and Mail notes that the MLB Postseason will have teams from both small and big markets.

Cork Gaines at the Business Insider Sports Page has some memorable quotes from last night’s 30 for 30 “Broke” documentary.

John Daly at the Daly Planet explores the possibilities for the much discussed, but unconfirmed Fox Sports 1.

Joe Favorito says College Radio Day is a very good thing for aspiring broadcasters.

The legend of Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke is growing thanks to a new animated gif showing her warming up in the rain. This has nothing to do with sports media. Just me linking to Michelle Jenneke.

And that is all.

A Few Monday Links

I’m going to be away from a computer for most of the day so I’ll provide a few links for you now. If I can, I’ll provide more later when I’m back.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that Floyd Mayweather vs. Larry Merchant II did not materialize after Saturday’s Mayweather-Cotto fight on pay per view.

Mike says TNT is denying that Charles Barkley used a gay slur during its NBA pregame show on Sunday.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report notes that Phil Mushnick’s Sunday column was not A) posted on the New York Post’s main sports webpage, and B) did not reference the brouhaha over his Friday piece.

Sophie A. Schillaci of the Hollywood Reporter talks about Hollywood’s love affair with hockey.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable says CBS is receiving increased ad revenues for its SEC college football package due to a price increase.

R. Thomas Umstead writes that a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquaio pay per view fight could reap millions of dollars for both fighters when it finally becomes reality.

Noreen O’Leary of Adweek says a new Olympic ad is causing a firestorm in the UK for renewing old wounds from the 1982 Falklands War between the UK and Argentina.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing notes that ESPN’s Karl Ravech got his DC monuments mixed up during last night’s edition of Baseball Tonight.

Do you want to see ESPN Erin Andrews in her Kentucky Derby hat from Saturday? I think you do. It’s at The Big Lead.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post still doesn’t address his controversial Friday column today, but has time to criticize SNY for one of its graphics.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY says Mushie is still feeling the heat today.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times pays tribute to former CBS and ABC wordsmith Jack Whitaker who received a Lifetime Achievement Sports Emmy Award last week.

To David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun who reports that WJZ-TV actually cut away from yesterday’s marathon Red Sox-Orioles game in favor of 60 Minutes and a feature on local Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

John-John Williams IV of the Sun says O’s fans took to Twitter to express their anger at the move. The game was also shown on MASN in the local area, however, there are still parts of Baltimore that are still not wired for cable so you can imagine the anger.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times enjoyed NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby.

However, Sports Media Watch says the overnight ratings for the Derby dropped 7% from last year and hit a six year low.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch can’t believe White Sox TV voice Hawk Harrelson remained silent for over a minute apparently despondent over a loss on Friday.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post feels ESPN’s Doris Burke gets the job done on NBA games.

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

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC’s Bob Cole remains a polarizing figure among hockey fans.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star writes that the sale of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment to Canadian media giants Rogers and Bell is a home run.

And that’s it for now. I’ll try to do more when I return.

It’s The Linkage! At Long Last and It’s Back!

I think it’s about a week and a half since I’ve been able to do links. Been crazy with me, but you’ve still been visiting and I appreciate that. Time to provide you with sports media news links which is what the site depends on to begin with.

Thanks for your patience during this trying time for me. Onward and let’s do the links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that NBA analysts aren’t holding back as they get ready for a new truncated season.

Mike Foss of USA Today talks with the new ESPN main soccer analyst Taylor Twellman about tweeting while commentating and concussions.

From earlier this week, Tom Weir of USA Today’s Game On blog notes that “Tebowing” has been officially recognized as a word.

This week’s Sports Business Journal lists the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business for 2011. I’m not in this year’s list (I’m joking).

Terry Lefton of SBJ says the Stadium Formerly Known as San Diego Jack Murphy will have a temporary name for the holiday season.

Dan Shanoff’s Quickish site lists the Best Sportswriting in 2011. Some good choices and good reading throughout.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine says three of the five NFL TV partners are experiencing lower ratings from last season.

From MediaPost, Wayne Friedman writes that smaller market TV revenues played a huge role in the NBA’s nixing of the Chris Paul from New Orleans-to-Los Angeles Lakers trade.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age says hoping to tap into a more health-conscious audience, Dannon Yogurt becomes the first of its kind to advertise on the Super Bowl.

At Adweek, Lucia Moses says Rolling Stone magazine will host its first-ever Super Bowl party in Indianapolis come February.

All Access notes that Milwaukee Brewers radio voice Bob Uecker will be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Chris Chase at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner has a video that has gone viral in which a Washington, DC news anchor said that if Tom Brady had died, the DC NFL Team might have had a chance to beat the New England Patriots last Sunday.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says don’t expect journalism from local MLB TV partners as they increasingly fund team’s payrolls.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid wonders if Shaquille O’Neal will upset the apple cart that is TNT’s Inside the NBA postgame studio show.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor is setting the world afire with his Superman socks.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing lists the site’s Top 10 Pammies of the Year.

Gabriel Sherman of The New Yorker magazine writes about sports journalism getting into some hard reporting in the wake of various scandals.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes about tonight’s premiere of HBO’s 24/7 Flyers/Rangers.

The New York Daily News’ Dr. Gloom and Doom reports that YES may hire former MLB manager Lou Piniella as an analyst for next season.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says while CBS won the right to keep Patriots-Broncos in Week 15, viewers in the Capital Region won’t see it.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that DirecTV will air a local college hockey game through Fox College Sports.

Ken McMillen from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says WGN America will pick up 10 Chicago Bulls games this season.

Laura Nachman has a couple of Philadelphia 76ers announcements.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has gotten a hold of Tony Kornheiser’s high school yearbook picture and yes, he had hair.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Golf Channel Morning Drive co-host Gary Williams.

Dwain Price at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram speaks with new Dallas Maverick Lamar Odom about his trade from the Lakers and whether he’ll continue to do the Kardashian television abortion.

The Houston Chronicle reports that ESPN college football analyst Craig James is expected to announce a run for the U.S. Senate, a move that would thrill many fans who can’t stand him on television.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that the NFL topped the local ratings in the Sooner State.

Mel says the local CBS affiliate will pick up the rest of the Denver Broncos schedule and air plenty of Tim Tebow.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says a local sports talk show host has resigned leaving his station in the lurch.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business talks with “NHL 36″ Executive Producer Ross Greenburg about tonight’s series premiere.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail asks if lightning can strike twice with HBO’s 24/7.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog looks at the effect of media giants Bell Canada and Rogers combining to purchase Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment which would be like ESPN and NBC teaming up to buy the New York Yankees, that’s how big the news is in Canada.

John Daly at The Daly Planet explores the continuing dispute between Sirius XM and Turner Sports over streaming NASCAR on the internet.

Sports Media Watch looks at the final ratings for the SEC on CBS.

And SMW also notes the final ratings of college football on ABC.

SMW says the Heisman Trophy Presentation on ESPN last Saturday did well.

And SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says today is a pretty big day for hockey fans.

And the Big Lead notes that Tim Tebow is on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.

That will conclude our linkage today and I hope that the next set of linkage will come tomorrow instead of another 10 days.

Some Wednesday Linkage

I’m dragging this morning after writing my Amazing Race Asia, Episode 2 recap well into the wee morning hours. I’ve trapped myself into a corner writing them knowing that there’s a loyal audience from both Asia and the U.S. for them. I think because the last episode was 90 minutes, it was particularly hard to write. The next one should be easier and of course, The Amazing Race 13 premieres on Sunday and I’ll be writing recaps for that as well. I’ll definitely be sleep deprived by the end of the season.

Anyway to your links.

From Friend of Fang’s Bites, David Scott of the Boston Sports Media Watch, he tells us that noted plagiarist Ron Borges is leaving WEEI.com after a short few weeks and going to the Boston Herald full-time.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says ESPN will give college basketball lovers a huge cornucopia of games starting at midnight on November 18.

Dayton Morinaga of the Honolulu Advertiser says Hawaii will be involved in the ESPN college basketball tip-off marathon.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Kentucky-North Carolina will be the primetime showcase of the marathon on ESPN.

Newsday’s Neil Best says New York Giants radio analyst Dick Lynch has passed away after a long illness. I used to make fun of Lynch for whining on the air, but after he lost a son in 9/11 which took a lot out of him, I stopped. From what I understand, Lynch was a very nice man.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the love for Brett Favre in the local area appears to be waning.

Tierney Plumb of the Washington Business Journal says former Redskins linebacker LeVar Arrington will join Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic as an on-air studio analyst.

The Sports Media Watch has the final weekend ratings. SMW says despite not having Brett Favre, the Packers are still a national draw. And here are some various ratings notes.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media takes the NBC hyping of its ratings for Sunday Night Football with a grain of salt. And Chris wonders why a Georgia Tech game program had to take a shot at Barry Bonds.

Subscribers to Time Warner Cable in North Carolina may not be able to watch MASN, but according to the Raleigh News & Observer, they will be able to watch the Big Ten Network. The Greensboro News-Record says BTN will be available on Time Warner tomorrow.

Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says despite ties to both Minnesota and Ohio State, Big Ten Network analyst Glen Mason will be objective during Saturday’s game.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the college football TV viewing for the New York State Capital Region.

Over to Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star, he writes that Time Warner/Metro Sports is investigating the leak of some raw unaired footage of George Brett on YouTube.

The Sox & Dawgs blog has the video of Johnny Bench doing his best Harry Caray impression on NESN last night.

The great 38 Cliches blog has a link to the early days of Red Sox voice Joe Castiglione when he was in Cleveland.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun wonders why the tournament director of the PGA Senior Players Championship did not inform a sports radio talk show host that Tom Watson will not participate despite even with him being mentioned twice.

Joe Favorito says some intended goodwill by the Toronto Maple Leafs ended up being lost by the media.

Sam Schechner of the Wall Street Journal says Barack Obama and John McCain are advertising heavily on regional sports networks.

The Orlando Business Journal says Disney is adding a new event as part of renaming its Wide World of Sports complex this week.

That’s it for now. Look for an update later today on TBS’ online coverage of the MLB postseason.

A Megalink Friday

It’s time for the megalinks. Let’s get into them, but first, let’s look at the viewing menu for this weekend.

The NFL Draft is the Viewing Pick of the weekend. Both ESPN and the NFL Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of the Draft starting Saturday at 3 p.m. and continuing through Sunday. This year’s draft is starting later, but there will be less time in-between picks so the first round should go quicker than the unbelievably long six hours of last year. Both ESPN and the NFL Network will have a four hour pre-draft show at 11 a.m. Chris Berman, Mel Kiper, Jr., Todd McShay and Steve Young will be among the hundreds of analysts who will be seen on the Alleged Worldwide Leader. Rich Eisen anchors the coverage for the NFL Network.

Both the NBA and NHL Playoffs are in full swing. The NHL has just begun the Conference Semifinals while the NBA is still in the midst of the first round. NBC will have Game 2 of the Detroit-Colorado series on Saturday with the New York Rangers visiting Pittsburgh on Sunday. Versus will carry Philadelphia at Montreal on Saturday night and Dallas at San Jose on Sunday.

ABC, ESPN and TNT will all have coverage of the NBA playoffs this weekend.

Fox has its usual regionalized coverage of Major League Baseball on Saturday featuring the Yankees at Cleveland. WGN carries the White Sox hosting Baltimore, Saturday night and the Cubs at Washington on Sunday afternoon. TBS’ Sunday Afternoon Baseball will cover the Yankees-Cleveland and ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball will be in Detroit to cover the Angels-Tigers at 8:05 p.m.

Motor racing fans will have plenty of stuff to watch this weekend. The Formula 1 circuit will be in Spain for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Speed Channel will pick up that race at 7:30 a.m., Sunday.

The Indy Racing League will be in Kansas City for the Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m Sunday.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention NASCAR. The Nationwide Series’ Aaron’s 312 airs on ABC Saturday at 3 p.m. The Sprint Cup Series’ Aaron’s 499 airs on Fox Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The PGA Tour is in Irving, TX for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Golf Channel has the 2nd round coverage at 3 p.m. today. CBS picks up coverage on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The entire sports TV listings can be seen at USA Today.

Now let’s get to your links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks about the NFL Draft having its own language.

Now I’ll start in the East, then go west, then fill in the country in the middle.

East and Mid-Atlantic

David Scott of the Boston Sports Media Watch reports that the Boston Globe is playing hardball with Gordon Edes’ buyout application.

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe has a column remembering legendary sports anchor Don Gillis who called play-by-play for just about every sports team in Boston during his career. Gillis died this week at the age of 85. Martin Pave of the Globe looks back at Gillis’ long career.

Also from the Globe, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell talks with Boston Celtics’ TV voice Mike Gorman about calling the playoffs.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says Harold Reynolds gets to reunite with his old college roommate, Mets’ GM Omar Minaya. H.R. was hired yesterday to work as a studio analyst during selected Mets games on SNY.

Newsday’s Neil Best also writes about Reynolds going to SNY and briefly goes into HR’s wrongful termination lawsuit against ESPN that was settled last week. In his blog, Neil talks more about Harold. Neil also expands on another item in his Friday column which was about the increased ratings for Versus for the NHL playoffs.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post reviews some of the things that irritated him on TV and Radio this week. Mushnick reports that Harold Reynolds will start his new gig at SNY tonight. The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with YES Network’s David Cone about the Yankees’ struggling starting pitcher Ian Kennedy. And Terranova has five questions for ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about the NFL Draft.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun says the NFL Draft will be covered gavel-to-gavel this weekend.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner talks with ESPN’s Floyd Reese about what goes on in an NFL Draft War Room.

West

From the Deseret (UT) Morning News, Scott D. Pierce says if the Utah Jazz reach the NBA’s Western Conference semifinals, fans will have to be prepared not to watch the games on KJZZ-TV.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jay Posner says less will be more in the NFL Draft telecasts on ESPN and the NFL Network this year. Posner has two recommendations for sports viewing this weekend. And Jay has the ratings from San Diego last weekend.

Interesting that the North County Times’ John Maffei also goes into the “less is more” theme in his column about the NFL Draft on ESPN.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star writes about a new NBC Sports special which will show some of its archival material on Sunday. It’s probably worth TiVoing.

John Scheibe of the Los Angeles Times also does the “less is more” thing talking about the NFL Draft coverage in the Sound and Vision column.

From the Los Angeles Daily News, Tom Hoffarth also discusses the NFL Draft on ESPN. Hoffarth also has his media notes in his Farther Off the Wall blog.

Midwest

Over to the Akron Beacon Journal, George M. Thomas says the NFL Draft rules the viewing weekend.

Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks with ESPN’s Merril Hoge who will be involved in the NFL Draft coverage for the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley says once the NFL Draft is over, look out for Snap Judgment Monday.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press writes that the NFL Draft may be shorter, but there will still be plenty of time for analysis.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is happy to see less talk at the NFL Draft.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes that the NFL Draft has become a made-for-TV event.

Heading over to the Chicago Tribune, Teddy Greenstein talks to the reporters who were on hand for the infamous meltdown by Cubs manager Lee Elia some 25 years ago. And Teddy has his weekend viewing picks.

The Kansas City Star’s Jeffrey Flanagan talks with former Royals second baseman Frank White who will make his FSN debut tonight.

South

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN plans faster coverage for the NFL Draft. Mel’s notebook includes the discussion of Bob Costas’ live show next Tuesday on HBO. And Mel tells us what to watch this weekend.

Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hopes that mental illness will not scare NFL teams from drafting Texas Christian Defensive End Tommy Blake whose story has been the subject of an E:60 profile.

Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle talks with Rockets broadcasters Jim Foley and Gene Peterson who will both retire at the end of the season.

Dave Darling of the Orlando Sentinel writes about the live Town Hall meeting Bob Costas will conduct on HBO next Tuesday.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the NFL Draft plans to pick up the pace this year.

But despite the NFL Draft dominating the weekend, Doug Nye of The State says the NBA playoffs provide more excitement.

Canada

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment wants to expand its programming.

Blogs

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at some of his favorite college football trading cards.

The Big Lead has the video of WFAN’s Mike Francesca’s non-reaction to David Letterman’s comments about him when partner Chris Russo appeared on the Late Show earlier this week.

Awful Announcing says Tom Hammond and Chris Collinsworth are the voices of the new Madden ’09 video game which the blog says pretty much confirms them as the new NFL Network announcing team.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Basketball blog reports on the excellent ratings for TNT during the NBA playoffs.

And that will do it for today. Primetime and Late Night Viewing picks coming up later.

Double Yoi! The Monday Links

I’m dragging as I worked into the wee hours of the morning. I’m even dozing off as I write so I’ve got to finish the links and do some work. Let’s get started.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that Bob Knight’s first appearance on the ESPN family of networks was just like his press conferences.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the MAAC Tournament TV schedule in his Best Seat in My House blog

Tom Jones in the St. Petersburg Times has a look back at the weekend in TV sports in his Two Cents blog.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes in his Four DVRs, no waiting blog that the 2008 Astros will debut on FSN Houston today.

Laura Nachman says anchor Phil Andrews is no longer working for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Maury Brown in the Biz of Baseball has a Q&A on TBS’ new package of Sunday afternoon games and the local blackout policy.

Dusty Saunders from the Rocky Mountain News reports that FSN will premiere a new special on the Colorado Rockies run to the 2007 postseason this Saturday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if it’s time for Roger Clemens’ embattled attorney, Rusty Hardin, to retire.

Wayne Friedman of TV Watch says weekend nights are becoming a bastion for sports on TV.

There’s NFL Films, and now, ESPN has announced a new venture called ESPN Films. Just read the press release to find out what it’s all about. Brooks Barnes of the New York Times has more on the story as ESPN will team with the powerhouse Creative Artists Agency and Walt Disney Studios on this venture.

Brian Davis of the Dallas Morning News writes in his blog that ESPN Classic will air the five overtime thriller between Baylor and Texas A&M from earlier this season will some extra scenes and Baylor’s radio call this Wednesday.

Eli Kaberon of the Chicago Sports Review says the Big Ten Network is isolating itself from its fans.

Mike Tankersley of the Montgomery Advertiser writes that WAKA TV is looking to replace one its sports anchors.

Steve Bornfeld from the Las Vegas Review-Journal tells us that two local sports radio stations are changing their formats.

Chris Zelkovich in the Toronto Star says the expunging of ads for a sports talk radio host in the Air Canada Centre shows pettiness on the part of the Maple Leafs.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News reports Fox Soccer Channel has obtained the rights to air an Olympics qualifying tournament.

That will do it for now.

Saturday Links

Giving you your Saturday links on this blustery and rainy Saturday (in Rhode Island, at least).

Starting with Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News, he writes that Bob Knight is not a good fit for ESPN. David Knox of the Birmingham (AL) News wonders if Knight can even act properly in front of a camera. However, Chuck Carlton, Horn’s colleague at the Morning News, feels Knight will do just fine. I agree with Carlton. Knight is a professional, he’s not going to spout profanities on ESPN.

Jerry Garcia in the San Antonio Express-News says the new Will Farrell movie, Semi-Pro, has some Alamo City connections.

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dan Caesar wonders why TV stations have to do a live shot at Busch Stadium on a story that started in California and ended in Florida, but did not occur in the Gateway City.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that the Maple Leafs have expunged all ads in the Air Canada Centre referencing one particular sports radio talk show host. Houston also mentions that while NBC’s ratings for the NHL remain stagnant overall, it’s seeing an increase in key demographics.

Tom Keegan of the Lawrence Journal-World News says ESPN’s College Gameday crew is preparing to broadcast live from the fabled Allen Fieldhouse this morning.

Dewayne Bevil of the Orlando Sentinel tells us what’s in store for ESPN The Weekend at Disney World.

“Mulligan Stu” from the Waggle Room blog talks about the poor LPGA TV deals that leave the tour fighting for air time.

Christopher Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media blog gets an answer from ESPN about a graphics error from last week’s UConn-USF game.

CBS Sports previews its Saturday and Sunday college basketball tripleheaders.

Fox Sports is busy in Las Vegas this weekend.

NBC Sports gets ready for the Summer Olympics in Communist China with coverage of the American Cup gymnastics meet at Madison Square Garden today.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines will look at the steroid “enablers” of Major League Baseball this Sunday.

That’s all for now.

Tuesday Afternoon Update

Some links for you this afternoon.

This weekend, NBC will be airing the Players Championship, also known as golf’s Fifth Major. It means that the network will not show any NHL Playoff games. The Buffalo News’ Alan Pergament wonders why NBC chooses not to bring any of the Conference Championship games. I’ll tell you why. NBC does not pay a rights fee to the NHL while it does to the PGA Tour, plus it goes all out to cover the Players like a major. On Saturday and Sunday, the coverage will run from 2 – 6 p.m. Eastern Time. If NBC chose to run the coverage from 3 – 7 p.m., it’s conceivable that hockey games could be aired from 12:30 – 3 p.m., but that’s not going to happen.

The ratings for the Kentucky Derby for NBC rose to its highest levels since 1992 when ABC had the rights. According to the story from the Hollywood Reporter, the ratings went up 12% from last year when Barbaro won.

Over in Pittsburgh, Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about Pittsburgh Penguins legendary announcer Mike Lange looking at other opportunities after he was dropped from Fox Sports Net and forced to sign a one year contract to do games on the radio. Smizik says Lange is looking at the possibility of doing TV work out west. It would be too bad, but Lange admits that he took a large monetary hit by doing radio this year.

I forgot to link to this yesterday, but the last of the four major leagues not to televise its draft will now join the 21st Century. Major League Baseball announced yesterday that ESPN2 will televise this year’s draft from the Disney Wide World of Sports complex on June 7th from 2 – 6 p.m. ET. This means the alleged Worldwide Leader in Sports will have the NFL, NBA and MLB drafts in the fold.

If you watch ESPN or ESPN2 in the mornings, you may have noticed a new format for SportsCenter. To the right of the TV screen, ESPN SportsCenter has a rundown of upcoming stories. That’s reduced the size of the picture and Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune is not happy with the change.

In Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs are like the New York Yankees. The Leafs command the most money for TV rights fees. The Yankees on YES pull in plenty of revenue for the team. Similarly, LeafsTV rakes in the cash for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail breaks down the number of Maple Leafs games on the various carriers like TSN, Leafs TV and Rogers Sportsnet.

Finally today, as the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place in the National League Central, it appears this is translating into more people at Miller Park and increased ratings for Fox Sports Wisconsin. Bob Wolfey of the Journal-Sentinel says the Brew Crew’s ratings for Friday night were the highest primetime show for the evening.

Primetime Viewing for Tuesday

Red Sox at Toronto – 7 p.m., NESN
New Jersey at Cleveland – 8 p.m., TNT
San Antonio at Phoenix – 10:30, TNT