truTV
Mar
24
CBS/Turner Announces Tip Times for Elite 8 on Sunday, March 25
We now have the official tip times from CBS/Turner for the second half of the Regional Finals this weekend. As is the case for Saturday, CBS will handle the Midwest and South Regions as the Turner networks’ commitments are over.
So the South Regional Final between Baylor and overall Tournament #1 seed Kentucky with Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson will be on the call on CBS at 2:20 p.m.
And the Midwest Regional Final featuring two historic programs, Kansas and North Carolina will be scheduled for 5:05 p.m. to called by Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager.
First time in years that Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg won’t be calling the late Sunday game. But this is the correct scheduling.
The NCAA Tournament coverage on Sunday begins with NCAA Tip-Off on truTV at 1 p.m. ET and CBS begins at 2 p.m. with Road to the Final Four.
Here’s the CBS/Turner announcement on the Sunday tip times.
CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS ANNOUNCE TIP-TIMES FOR REGIONAL FINALS ON SUNDAY, MARCH 25 ON CBS
Turner Sports and CBS Sports announce tip-times and match-ups for the Regional Finals of the 2012 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 25 (2:00-7:00 PM, ET), on CBS. Kentucky will take on Baylor in the first game (2:20 PM, ET) followed by North Carolina playing Kansas (5:05 PM, ET).
Sunday’s coverage begins on truTV with NCAA Tip-Off (1:00-2:00 PM, ET) with Greg Gumbel along with analysts Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith and Kansas State head coach Frank Martin.
Below are the tip-times and announce/production assignments for the Regional Final games on Sunday. Tip times for the Final Four games on Saturday, March 31 will be announced after the conclusion of Sunday’s games.
Additionally, NCAA March Madness® Live provides a robust suite of products including live streaming video of all 67 games from the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship; personal channel lineup (MyChannel) features and schedule updates; social media integration; and real-time brackets, scores and stats across online and mobile platforms.
REGIONAL FINAL GAMES
SUNDAY, MARCH 25
Time (ET)
Network
Site
Game
Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
2:20 PM
CBS
Atlanta
Kentucky vs. Baylor
Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson 5:05 PM
CBS
St. Louis
North Carolina vs. Kansas
Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
And we’re done.
Mar
23
College Basketball Viewing Picks For 03/24 & 03/25/2012, All Times Eastern
Saturday, March 24
Men’s
NCAA Division II Championship
Bank of Kentucky Center, Highland Heights, KY
Montevallo vs. Western Washington — CBS, 1 p.m.
NCAA Division I Tournament
Elite 8
West Region
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller/Marty Snider (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Dave Sims/Bill Frieder
#4 Florida vs. #7 Louisville — CBS, 4:30 p.m.
East Region
TD Bank Garden, Boston, MA
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Kugler/Pete Gillen
#1 Syracuse vs. #2 Ohio State — CBS, 7:05 p.m.
College GameDay — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — truTV, noon
Road to the Final Four — CBS, 3 p.m.
Women’s
NCAA Tournament
Sweet 16
Des Moines, IA Region
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA
Announcers: Beth Mowins/Stephanie White/Samantha Steele (sidelines)
#2 Tennessee vs. #11 Kansas — ESPN, noon
#1 Baylor vs. #4 Georgia Tech — ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
Fresno, CA Region
Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA
Announcers: Dave Pasch/Debbie Antonelli/Heather Cox (sidelines)
#2 Duke vs. #3 St. John’s — ESPN, 9 p.m.
#1 Stanford vs. #5 South Carolina — ESPN, 11:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 25
Men’s
NCAA Division I Tournament
Elite 8
Midwest Region
Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Wayne Larrivee/Fran Fraschilla
CBS, 2:10 p.m.
South Region
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Ian Eagle/John Thompson
CBS, 4:55 p.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — truTV, 1 p.m.
The Best of College Basketball 2012 — CBS, 1 p.m.
Road to the Final Four — CBS, 2 p.m.
Women’s
NCAA Tournament
Sweet Sixteen
Raleigh, NC Region
PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
Announcers: Pam Ward/Rebecca Lobo/Allison Williams (sidelines)
#2 Maryland vs. #3 Texas A&M — ESPN, noon
#1 Notre Dame vs. #5 St. Bonaventure — ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.
Kingston, RI Region
Ryan Center, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
Announcers: Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke/Holly Rowe
#1 UConn vs. #4 Penn State — ESPN2, 4:30 p.m.
#2 Kentucky vs. #11 Gonzaga — ESPN2, 7 p.m.
Mar
23
CBS/Turner Announces Tip Times for Elite 8 on Saturday, March 24
Ok, CBS/Turner has announced the tip times for the Regional Finals on Saturday.
CBS will handle the rest of the basketball action from Saturday all the way to the Final Four in New Orleans next week. It’ll all begin with NCAA Tip-Off at noon ET on truTV, then it’ll be the NCAA Men’s Division II Championship at 1 p.m. on CBS.
The Road to the Final Four pregame show airs on CBS at 3 p.m., then the West Regional Finals between Florida and Louisville airs at 4:30 p.m. then the East Regional Final between Ohio State and Syracuse will tip off at 7:05 p.m.
We have the announcing assignments and official press release from CBS/Turner.
Turner Sports and CBS Sports announce tip-times and match-ups for the Regional Finals of the 2012 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 24 (4:30-9:00 PM, ET), on CBS. Louisville will take on Florida in the first game (4:30 PM, ET) followed by Syracuse playing Ohio State at (7:05 PM, ET).
Saturday’s coverage begins on truTv with NCAA Tip-Off (12:00 NOON-1:00 PM, ET) with Ernie Johnson, Seth Davis, Steve Smith and VCU head coach Shaka Smart. The NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship (1:00-3:00 PM, ET) tips-off the day’s action on CBS followed by THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR®, hosted by Greg Gumbel along with analysts Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith and Kansas State head coach Frank Martin (3:00-4:30 PM, ET).
Below are the tip-times and announce assignments for Saturday’s Regional Final games. Tip times for Sunday’s Regional Final games will be announced after the conclusion of Friday’s games.
Additionally, NCAA March Madness® Live provides a robust suite of products including live streaming video of all 67 games from the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship; personal channel lineup (MyChannel) features and schedule updates; social media integration; and real-time brackets, scores and stats across online and mobile platforms.
REGIONAL FINAL GAMES
SATURDAY, MARCH 24
Time (ET) Network Site Game Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
4:30 PM CBS Phoenix Louisville vs. Florida Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore//Marty Snider 7:05 PM CBS Boston Syracuse vs. Ohio State Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Lesley Visser
That will do it.
Mar
20
33rd Annual Sports Emmy Nominations Announced
We have the nominations, all 170 in 33 different categories, for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards. They just came out today. There are some surprises like massive hockey charlatan Pierre McGuire nominated in the Sports Reporter category and for some really strange reason, Skippy Bayless of ESPN2′s First Take was nominated for Best Studio Analyst. What analysis does he do besides yelling and having massive manlove for Tim Tebow?
There are some of the usual suspects are nominated, Bob Costas for Best Studio Host, Al Michaels in Play-by-Play, Cris Collinsworth for both Studio and Game Analyst.
Some of the nominations I agree with include Mike Mayock for Best Game Analyst, College GameDay and Football Night in America as Best Studio Shows and all of the movies in the Sports Documentary category. Sports documentaries were strong this year and I have trouble picking one although Catching Hell, the ESPN Films effort on Steve Bartman and the Chicago Cubs might be the weakest of the bunch, but the doc was still very good.
Ok, get ready to scroll, the entire list is below. We do need a page break so the list of nominees will after the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences press releases.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 33RD ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS
Winners to be Honored During the April 30th Ceremony At Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jack Whitaker to Receive Lifetime Achievement AwardNew York, NY – March 20, 2012 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy® Awards.
More than 170 nominees were announced in 33 categories including outstanding live sports special, live series, sports documentary, studio show, promotional announcements, play-by-play personality and studio analyst. The Awards will be given out at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center on April 30th, 2012 in New York City.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports will go to the Sports Commentator and Essayist, Jack Whitaker.
“This is an outstanding year for the sports community and for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” said Malachy Wienges, Chairman, NATAS. “The entries received in this year’s Sports Emmys resulted in a record 175 nominees, illustrating the quality of these entries. We are also honoring Jack Whitaker with our Lifetime Achievement Award. I had the pleasure of working with Jack for eighteen years at CBS, and Jack is a sports icon and a class act.”
In addition to Jack Whitaker, many of the today’s leading sports broadcasters, personalities and television professionals will be in attendance as presenters at the event.
The networks of ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D & espn.com) lead the nomination totals with 55, the NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel & nbcsports.com) garnered 32, CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) entries received 26 nominations, while Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com & truTV) have 22.
A complete list of all nominees is attached below.
33rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network Group
ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, ESPN 3D, espn.com) – 55
NBC Sports Group (NBC, Versus, Golf Channel, nbcsports.com) – 32
CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBSSports.com) – 26
Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NBA.com, truTV) – 22
HBO Sports – 19
FOX Sports Media Group (FOX, SPEED) – 16
NFL Network – 12
MLB Network – 8
DIRECTV – 2
MLB Advanced Media (MLB.com, MLBAM) – 2
NFL.com – 2
NCAA.com – 1
PGA.com – 133rd Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network
ESPN – 36
NBC – 22
HBO Sports – 19
CBS – 15
FOX – 15
TNT – 15
ESPN2 – 14
NFL NETWORK – 12
SHOWTIME – 10
MLB NETWORK – 8
VERSUS – 7
TBS – 3
ABC – 2
DIRECTV – 2
ESPN 3D – 2
GOLF CHANNEL – 2
NBA TV – 2
NFL.COM – 2
CBSSPORTS.COM – 1
ESPN.COM – 1
MLB.COM – 1
MLBAM – 1
NBA.COM – 1
NBCSPORTS.COM – 1
NCAA.COM – 1
PGA.COM – 1
SPEED – 1
truTV – 1BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM/SERIES NOMINATIONS
Program/Nominations/Network
24/7: 8 - HBO
E: 60: 7 – ESPN2
A Game of Honor: 5 – Showtime/CBSSports.com
MLB on FOX: 5 – FOX
NASCAR on FOX: 5 – FOX
NBA on TNT: 4 – TNT
NBC Sunday Night Football: 4 – NBC
FIFA Women’s World Cup: 3 – ESPN/ESPN2
Outside the Lines: 3 – ESPN
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: 3 – HBO
SportsCenter: 3 – ESPN
The Army/Navy Game: 3 – CBS
The Franchise: 3 – Showtime
Winter X Games 15: 3 – ESPN/ESPN3D
2011 Open Championship: 2 – ESPN
2011 Stanley Cup Final: 2 – NBC/Versus
ESPN Monday Night Football: 2 – ESPN
Football Night in America: 2 – NBC
Grand Slam Tennis on ESPN: 2 – ESPN2
Inside the NBA on TNT: 2 – TNT
Joplin: City of Hope: 2 – ESPN2
McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice: 2 – HBO
MLB Tonight: 2 – MLB Network
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: 2 – CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV
NFL Films Presents: 2 – NFL Network
NFL GameDay Morning: 2 – NFL Network
NFL on FOX: 2 – FOX
Sports Science: 2 – ESPN/ESPN.com
Sunday NFL Countdown: 2 – ESPN
Unguarded: 2 – ESPN
And after the page break, all of the nominees for the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards which will be handed out April 30 in New York City.
Mar
18
CBS/Turner Says 2012 NCAA Tournament is Most Watched Since 1994; Saturday’s Ratings Up Too
The news is good for CBS/Turner on two fronts. While there were no upsets on Saturday unlike Friday, ratings were up for the NCAA Tournament by 3% from last year. Yesterday’s rating registered a 6.1, up from a 5.9 last year. In addition, the Tournament averaged 9.3 million viewers which was even with last year.
And the tournament overall is averaging a 5.3 rating through Saturday, up from last year’s 5.1 average by 4%.
We have the press blurb from CBS/Turner.
Saturday’s 6.1 U.S. HH Rating +3% Over 2011
CBS Sports and Turners Sports’ exclusive coverage of the 2012 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV is the most-watched tournament in 18 years.
This year’s event is averaging a 5.3 U.S. HH rating through Saturday, up 4% compared with a 5.1 rating in 2011 and an increase of 15% over a 4.6 rating in 2010 (according to Nielsen Fast Nationals). The corresponding average of eight million viewers this year is +3% over last year’s 7.8 million viewers and +14% compared with seven million viewers in 2010.
Saturday’s coverage across the four networks delivered the highest-rated and most-watched first Saturday of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship since 2007. Yesterday’s coverage averaged a 6.1 U.S. HH rating, +3% over last year’s 5.9 rating and an increase of 13% over a 5.4 rating in 2010. The corresponding 9.3 million viewers were even with last year and +11% vs. 8.4 million viewers in 2010.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Fast National Data, Live +SD data stream. 3/13-3/17/12 vs 3-15-3/19/11. 2011 and 2012 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2012 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round.
That will do it.
Mar
17
Tip Times & Announcing Assignments For Sunday’s 3rd Round 2012 NCAA Tournament Action
The press release is in. We have the tip times, networks and announcing assignments for the NCAA Tournament for the third round action on Sunday.
CBS will have the first three games starting at 12:15 p.m. ET with Georgetown vs. North Carolina State from Columbus, OH. That will be followed by Michigan State-Saint Louis at 2:45 p.m. and North Carolina-Creighton at 5:15 p.m.
TNT will have two games starting at 6:10 p.m. TBS’ night begins at 7:10 p.m. and truTV will come in with its lone weekend game and last game of the tournament at 7:45 p.m. with Xavier-Lehigh. After the third round, both TNT and truTV’s NCAA Tournament duties will be finished for 2012.
CBS and TBS will combine for the Sweet 16 on Thursday and Friday.
Here’s the schedule for Sunday.
Exclusive Coverage Continues with Third-Round on Saturday, March 17
CBS Sports and Turner Sports announce tip-times and match-ups for third-round coverage of the 2012 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 18 (12:00 NOON-12:00 AM, ET) with all games available in their entirety across four national television networks: TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. Exclusive live coverage continues with third-round action on Saturday, March 17 (12:00 NOON-12:00 AM, ET).
Studio coverage continues with Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson sharing hosting duties each day. Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Kenny Smith provide analysis throughout the tournament alongside Gumbel or Johnson from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin joins the New York Studio on Saturday and Sunday. Matt Winer hosts the studio coverage from Turner’s Atlanta studio with analysts Seth Davis and Steve Smith on Saturday and Sunday.
Following are the tip-times for Sunday’s third-round games, as well as the announce team assignments. Tip-times for the Regional Semi-Final games on Thursday, March 22 and Friday, March 23 will be announced on Sunday after the conclusion of the day’s games. For a complete channel guide click on MyChannels at NCAA.com/MyChannels.
NCAA March Madness® Live provides a robust suite of products including live streaming video of all 67 games from the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship; personal channel lineup (MyChannel) features and schedule updates; social media integration; and real-time brackets, scores and stats across online and mobile platforms.
THIRD ROUND GAMES
SUNDAY, MARCH 18 (12:00 Noon-12:00 AM, ET)
Time Network Site Game Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter 12:15PM CBS Columbus I Georgetown vs. NC State Tim Brando/Mike Gminski// Otis Livingston 2:45 PM CBS Columbus II Michigan St. vs. Saint Louis Tim Brando/Mike Gminski// Otis Livingston 5:15 PM CBS Greensboro I North Carolina vs. Creighton Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg// Tracy Wolfson 6:10 PM TNT Omaha I Florida vs. Norfolk St. Marv Albert/Steve Kerr// Craig Sager 7:10 PM TBS Nashville I S. Florida vs. Ohio Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel// Lewis Johnson 7:45 PM truTV Greensboro II Xavier vs. Lehigh Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg// Tracy Wolfson 8:40 PM TNT Omaha II Kansas vs. Purdue Marv Albert/Steve Kerr// Craig Sager 9:40 PM TBS Nashville II Florida St. vs. Cincinnati Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel// Lewis Johnson
And we are done for the night. I’ll be back sporadically this weekend.
Mar
16
CBS/Turner Sees Highest Rated Opening Thursday of NCAA Tournament in 21 Years
The four games on four networks in one window is working for CBS/Turner. Thursday’s action saw a 5.3 rating and 7.7 million viewers on CBS/TBS/TNT and truTV. That’s up from a 5.0 and 7.4 million viewers last year.
Here’s the press release from CBS/Turner Sports.
Most-Watched First Thursday since 1991
Thursday’s Coverage Up 6% in Households; 4% in Total ViewersCBS Sports and Turner Sports’ exclusive second-round coverage of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday combined to deliver a 5.3 U.S. HH rating (+6% vs. 2011) and 7.7 million total viewers (+4% vs. 2011), according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.
Last night’s coverage across the four networks delivered the highest-rated and most-viewed Thursday of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows.
The second telecast window of the day combined to earn a 4.8 U.S. HH rating (+9% vs. last year) and 6,723,000 total viewers (+5% from last year).
The third telecast window of the day combined to earn a 6.4 U.S. HH rating (+10% vs. last year) and 9,664,000 total viewers (+8% from last year).
The final window combined to earn a 6.4 U.S. HH rating (+8% vs. last year) and 9,900,000 total viewers (+8% from last year).
Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Fast National Data, Live +SD data stream. 3/13-3/17/12 vs 3-15-3/17/11. 2011 and 2012 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2012 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round.
That’s it.
Mar
16
College Basketball Viewing Picks For 03/17 & 03/18/12, All Times Eastern
Saturday, March 17
Men’s
National Invitational Tournament
Second Round
UMass at Seton Hall — ESPN,11 a.m.
NCAA Tournament
Third Round
East Region
Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller/Marty Snider (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Scott Graham/Kevin Grevey
#1 Syracuse vs. Kansas State — CBS, 12:15 p.m.
#2 Ohio State vs. #7 Gonzaga — CBS, 2:45 p.m.
The Pit, Albuquerque, NM
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel/Jamie Maggio (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Dave Sims/Michael Cage
#4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Vanderbilt — TNT, 6:10 p.m.
South Region
Rose Garden, Portland, OR
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner/Jenn Hildreth (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Calabro/Bill Frieder
#4 Indiana vs. #12 VCU — TBS, 7:10 p.m.
KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Ted Robinson/Kyle Macy
#1 Kentucky vs. #8 Iowa State — CBS, 7:45 p.m.
The Pit, Albuquerque, NM
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel/Jamie Maggio (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Dave Sims/Michael Cage
#3 Baylor vs. #11 Colorado — TNT, 8:40 p.m.
West Region
KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Ted Robinson/Kyle Macy
#3 Marquette vs. #6 Murray State — CBS, 5:15 p.m.
Rose Garden, Portland, OR
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner/Jenn Hildreth (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Calabro/Bill Frieder
#4 Louisville vs. #5 New Mexico — TBS, 9:40 p.m.
Full Court Press — CBS Sports Network, 2 p.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — TNT, 5 p.m.
College GameDay Scoreboard — ESPN2, midnight
Inside March Madness — TBS, midnight
Women’s
NCAA Tournament
First Round
All Games on ESPN2
Kingston, RI Region
Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, CT
Announcers: Pam Ward/Rebecca Lobo
#8 Kansas State vs. #9 Princeton — ESPN2, 11:20 a.m.
#1 UConn vs. #16 Prairie View A&M — ESPN2, 1:50 p.m.
McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, WA
Announcers: Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham
#6 Rutgers vs. #11 Gonzaga — ESPN2, 4:15 p.m.
#3 Miami (FL) vs. #14 Idaho State — ESPN2, 6:45 p.m.
Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA
Announcers: Clay Matvick/Krista Blunk
#2 Kentucky vs. McNeese State — ESPN2, 4:20 p.m.
#7 Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. #10 Iowa State — ESPN2, 6:50 p.m.
Raleigh, NC Region
Comcast Center, College Park, MD
Announcers: Bob Wischusen/LaChina Robinson
#2 Maryland vs. #15 Navy — ESPN2, 11:15 a.m.
#7 Louisville vs. #10 Michigan State — ESPN, 1:45 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, TX
Announcers: Carter Blackburn/Tamika Raymond
#6 Arkansas vs. #11 Dayton — ESPN2, 4:05 p.m.
#3 Texas A&M vs. #14 Albany — ESPN2, 6:35 p.m.
Fresno, CA Region
Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VA
Announcers: Mark Jones/Mary Murphy
#8 West Virginia vs. #9 Texas — ESPN2, 11:10 a.m.
#1 Stanford vs. #16 Hampton — ESPN2, 1:40 p.m.
Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN
Announcers: Brenda VanLengen/Stephen Bardo
#5 South Carolina vs. #12 Eastern Michigan — ESPN2, 11:05 a.m.
#4 Purdue vs. #13 South Dakota State — ESPN2, 1:45 p.m.
Des Moines, IA Region
Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL
Announcers: Jon Sciambi/Brooke Weisbrod
#2 Tennessee vs. #15 Tennessee-Martin — ESPN2, 4:10 p.m.
#7 DePaul vs. #10 BYU — ESPN2, 6:40 p.m.
Sunday, March 18
Men’s
National Invitation Tournament
2nd Round
Northern Iowa at Drexel — ESPN, 11 a.m.
Bucknell at Nevada — ESPNU, 3 p.m.
Iowa at Oregon — ESPNU, 5 p.m.
NCAA Tournament
Third Round
East Region
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Lewis Johnson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Brad Sham/Pete Gillen
#3 Florida State vs. #6 Cincinnati — TBS, 9:40 p.m.
Midwest Region
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Otis Livingston (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Wayne Larrivee/John Thompson
#3 Georgetown vs. #11 North Carolina State — CBS, 12:15 p.m.
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Gary Cohen/Reid Gettys
#1 North Carolina vs. #8 Creighton — CBS, 5:15 p.m.
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Lewis Johnson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Brad Sham/Pete Gillen
#12 South Florida vs. #13 Ohio — TBS, 7:10 p.m.
CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Kugler/Tom Brennan
#2 Kansas vs. #10 Purdue — TNT, 8:40 p.m.
South Region
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Gary Cohen/Reid Gettys
#10 Xavier vs. #15 Lehigh — truTV, 7:45 p.m.
Midwest Region
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Otis Livingston (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Wayne Larrivee/John Thompson
#1 Michigan State vs. #9 Saint Louis — CBS, 2:45 p.m.
CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Kugler/Tom Brennan
#7 Florida vs. #15 Norfolk State — TNT, 6:10 p.m.
Full Court Press — CBS Sports Network, 4:30 p.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — TNT, 5 p.m.
Full Court Press — CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.
College GameDay Scoreboard– ESPN2, midnight
Inside March Madness — TBS, midnight
Women’s
NCAA Tournament
First Round
All Games on ESPN2
Kingston, RI Region
Maravich Center, Baton Rouge, LA
Announcers: Bob Picozzi/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude
#4 Penn State vs. #13 UTEP — ESPN2, 5:15 p.m.
#5 LSU vs. #12 San Diego State — ESPN2, 7:45 p.m.
Raleigh, NC Region
Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, FL
Announcers: Justin Kutcher/Nell Fortner
#4 Georgia vs. #13 Marist — ESPN2, 12:05 p.m.
#5 St. Bonaventure vs. #12 Florida Gulf Coast — ESPN2, 2:45 p.m.
Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, IN
Announcers: Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke
#8 Cal vs. #9 Iowa — ESPN2, 12:10 p.m.
#1 Notre Dame vs. Liberty — ESPN2, 2:40 p.m.
Fresno, CA Region
Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
Announcers: Marc Kestecher/Kayte Christensen
#3 St. John’s vs. #14 Creighton — ESPN2, 5:05 p.m.
#6 Oklahoma vs. #11 Michigan — ESPN2, 7:35 p.m.
Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, TN
Announcers: Dave Pasch/Debbie Antonelli
#7 Vanderbilt vs. #10 Middle Tennessee State — ESPN2, 5:10 p.m.
#2 Duke vs. #15 Samford — ESPN2, 7:40 p.m.
Des Moines, IA Region
Stroh Center, Bowling Green, OH
Announcers: Cara Capuano/Abby Waner
#8 Ohio State vs. #9 Florida State — ESPN2, 12:15 p.m.
#1 Baylor vs. #16 UC Santa Barbara — ESPN2, 2:45 p.m.
Carmichael Arena, Chapel Hill, NC
Announcers: Beth Mowins/Stephanie White
#5 Georgetown vs. #12 Fresno State — ESPN2, 12:20 p.m.
#4 Georgia Tech vs. #13 Sacred Heart — ESPN2, 2:50 p.m.
Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock, AR
Announcers: Holly Rowe/Fran Fraschilla
#3 Delaware vs. #14 Arkansas-Little Rock — ESPN2, 5:20 p.m.
#6 Nebraska vs. #11 Kansas — ESPN2, 7:50 p.m.
Mar
14
NCAA Tip Off Quotage For FIRST FOUR, 03/14/12
Because CBS/Turner got an interview with Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, we have this piece of quotage for you. Boeheim discussed Orangemen center Fab Melo being declared ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, however, he really didn’t shed much light into why. But we get quotage and that’s good for you as we see a portion of what was said in the NCAA Tip-Off interview and the reaction from the studio crew.
Check it all out below.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ interview with Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim
Click here for a replay of the one-on-one interview with Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim conducted by Marty Snider on truTV.
Boeheim on the impact from the loss of Fab Melo in the lineup: “The big difference is he’s the best shot blocker in the country, or one of the best, if not the best in the country. That’s where he really anchors our defense. What we have to do is play better defense in front of that spot. Our other guys have to play better defensively. On the offensive end, it doesn’t change much in terms of what we’re going to do.
“It does, obviously, change our defense but I think we’re a team that is well-equipped to…play this tournament without him. Most years I wouldn’t say that if we lost our starting center. We have guys that have played. They’re not as good as he is but they are good players and I’m very confident in what they can do.”
NCAA Tip Off pregame show
Matt Winer, Steve Smith, Seth Davis and Villanova head coach Jay Wright as guest analystWright on the impact of Melo’s absence on Syracuse’s offense: “It’s going to affect them offensively. [Melo’s] defense and shot blocking starts their [fast] break and they have the best break in college basketball.”
Smith on Melo’s absence: “Offensively, they don’t do a great job in the half court and the shots they miss, [Melo] could grab and [the opposition] needed two or three guys to box him out. So they are going to miss him on both ends.”
Davis on how Syracuse played without Melo earlier in the season: “When they did play without him [earlier in the season], it was striking how much they missed him.”
Davis on Syracuse’s chances in the tournament after the loss of Melo: “I think they go from a very short list of contenders for the national championship to a second tier team in a jumble of teams. Yes, if they get hot or if they get the right matchups, they could make it but I think this is a near-devastating blow for them.”
Wright on how Syracuse can still have a successful tournament: “They have a lot of great players and Boeheim is one of the smartest guys in basketball. They can figure out a way to play differently and still be successful.”
That will do it.
Mar
14
CBS/Turner, CBS Sports Network Add Coaches As Guest Analysts For NCAA Tournament Coverage
We have a couple of notes from CBS/Turner and CBS Sports Network on the guest analysts each entity will have on their sets.
CBS will bring in St. John’s coach and former ESPN analyst to its New York set to join Greg Gumbel, Ernie Johnson, Jr., Charles Barkley, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Greg Anthony. In Atlanta joining the Turner set of Matt Winer, Steve Smith and Seth Davis will be Villanova coach Jay Wright.
Take a look at the CBS/Turner press blurb.
THIS JUST IN…
…from CBS Sports and Turner Sports:
Wright will contribute to coverage of the First Four® on truTV from the Atlanta studio on Wednesday, March 14, along with second round action on Thursday, March 15, and Friday, March 16. Wright will appear alongside Steve Smith, Seth Davis and Matt Winer on truTV’s Inside March Madness to wrap up each day’s action at 12:30 a.m. ET.
Lavin will serve as a guest analyst in the New York studio for third round coverage on Saturday, March 17, and Sunday, March 18, joining analysts Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith and hosts Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson.
CBS Sports Network says a total of five, count ‘em, five current and former coaches joining its studio team. Check it out.
CBS Sports Network Adds College Coaches to 2012 NCAA Tournament Coverage
Rutgers coach Mike Rice, George Mason coach Paul Hewitt, DePaul coach Oliver Purnell, Penn coach Jerome Allen and former Illinois coach Bruce Weber join CBS Sports Network’s coverage of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Rice, Hewitt and Weber serve as guest analysts on Thursday, March 15. Hewitt and Weber return on Friday, March 16, along with Purnell and Allen.
The coaches join the studio team of analysts Wally Szczerbiak, Steve Lappas, Alaa Abdelnaby and Mateen Cleaves, insider Jon Rothstein, CBSSports.com writers Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish, and hosts Adam Zucker, Dave Ryan and Brent Stover from CBS Sports Network’s New York City studio. For more information and a full programming schedule, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
That’s it.
Mar
14
Overnight Ratings For FIRST FOUR NCAA Tournament Games Are In
Just received this notice from CBS/Turner on last night’s FIRST FOUR™ doubleheader involving Mississippi Valley State-Western Kentucky and BYU-Iona, both of which involved wild comebacks or collapses, whichever you prefer.
The ratings were an average 0.9 for both games on truTV. CBS/Turner says that’s in line with last year’s average for all FIRST FOUR™ games. Both games received a 0.9 rating. Last year’s ratings averaged a 0.85.
Here’s the press blurb from CBS/Turner for last night.
THIS JUST IN…
…from Turner Sports and CBS Sports
Both of last night’s truTV telecasts – Mississippi Valley State vs. Western Kentucky (6:30-9:15 p.m.) and BYU vs. Iona (9:45 p.m.-12 a.m.) – earned a 0.9 metered market household rating, according to Nielsen.
That will do it.
Mar
14
How To Avoid Paying The $3.99 Fee To Watch March Madness Online
There has been plenty of confusion over the $3.99 fee to watch the NCAA Tournament online, whether it be through NCAA.com or the March Madness Live app for Android, iPhone and the iPad. First, the original press release promoted the fee and did not clearly explain how you could avoid paying it.
Well after fiddling around with the app this week, I’ve finally figured this out. First download the app for free either from the Android Marketplace or the Apple App Store. Once you’ve downloaded the app, go to the settings button on upper left of the iPad app or hit “Settings” on the mobile app. Touch “My Channels” and put in your zip code, hit “go” and then choose your cable or satellite provider.
Then in “My Account” or “Login” put in your e-mail and set up your password, confirm it and you should be all set to watch all the games. One password will work for the online login at NCAA.com, the iPhone app as well as the iPad app.
You can also watch games through truTV.com, TNT.tv and TBS.com and all you have to do is put in your zip and choose your provider as well as putting in your password. Games at CBSSports.com can be viewed for free, no login is required.
And having seen the video on the March Madness Live mobile and iPad apps, the quality is excellent, however, video did not work for the early game between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State. It was up for the BYU-Iona game.
I also watched at truTV.com and again, the video stream was very good. The online ads are different from what’s shown on TV, but that’s expected.
I do expect the demand on Thursday to cause the video to lag on all online platforms, but should be rectified as the wears on.
So there is the way to watch games on the March Madness Live app without having to pay. As long as your cable or satellite company has an agreement with Turner for streaming, you should be all set.
UPDATE, 03/15/12 — 7:20 p.m.: Turner Sports says if you’re still having trouble authenticating, call 855-566-5483 and techies will walk you through it.
Mar
12
Some Quick Monday Night Linkage
Since we did our linkage this morning, there have been several stories worthy of links and they really should not wait until Tuesday. So I’ll do a set of links right now.
We start with Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead who reports on a fake tweet about ESPN’s Erin Andrews leaving the network (her contract is expiring) and the personalities at the Alleged Worldwide Leader who are negotiating new deals.
MediaRantz recaps how this tweet got circulated and had to be quickly debunked by ESPN.
Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing goes over an interesting Twitter feud between comedian Norm Macdonald and ESPN’s Rick Reilly.
Matt says Digger Phelps wasn’t on his “A” game during Sunday night’s Bracketology show on ESPN.
John Ourand and Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal has CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus talking about the new authentication and pay system for the March Madness mobile app.
Daniel B. Wood of the Christian Science Monitor notes that the ESPN Films documentary on Magic Johnson’s HIV-positive announcement 20 years ago shows how far we have come in our attitude on the disease.
Conor Nagle at Wei Under Par writes that NBC went into bizzaro world in attempting to cover Tiger Woods’ leg injury at the WGC Cadillac Championships.
At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore notes that the NHL on NBC hit a season low overnight rating on Sunday.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell goes inside the numbers with March Madness.
Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette writes that fans hoping to watch this weekend’s ECAC Hockey Championships will have to do so online (scroll down).
Katie Kramer of the Syracuse Post-Standard has ESPN’s Joe Lunardi saying that local fans give him the hardest time when it comes to his brackets.
The Washington Examiner’s Jim Williams has CBS/Turner’s Jim Nantz and Marv Albert both talking about the NCAA Tournament.
Dave Walker at the New Orleans Times-Picayune says social media has helped to popularize March Madness.
David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says the departure of Texans’ offensive lineman Eric Winston will leave a big hole at a local sports radio station.
John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has the networks, announcing assignments and tip times for games of local interest from the NCAA Tournament.
Writing in OnMilwaukee, departing local sports radio host Doug Russell has one wish for the market as he leaves town.
Aaron Morton of the Deseret (UT) News explains to BYU fans where they can find truTV.
Sports Media Watch says the NCAA Tournament Selection Show had its lowest overnight ratings since 1989!!!!
Carol Einarssen at Race Journal Online has Cheers and Jeers for Fox’s NASCAR coverage.
Sox & Dawgs has video of Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine speaking with former ESPN colleagues Karl Ravech and John Kruk during Monday’s exhibition game against Miami.
And that will complete the posts for Monday
Mar
12
Some Early Monday Morning Sports Media Thoughts
Another sports media thoughts post which means more original content and that’s good for you. And they’re in bullet form as always.
- CBS/Turner went back to basics for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show this year streamlining the set. Jettisoning Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Charles Barkley off the Selection Show and leaving Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis to analyze the 68 team field led to a more efficient show as compared to last year’s edition where Barkley was woefully miscast and seemed to be snake bitten. This year, Anthony and Davis gave some strong analysis on the field, although Seth freed from having to cede time to Barkley and Smith, seemed to be more forceful in jamming his opinions.
The Selection Show was much stronger this year and it gave the viewer more meat and potatoes. However, the satellite delays from various school viewing parties are still annoying and forced Gumbel to vamp until the reaction was given. Perhaps going fiber optic will help, but until we get to that point, we’ll have to endure the delays.
Overall, I was glad to see CBS/Turner return to a less crowded set for the Selection Show.
- CBS/Turner’s first foray into extended analysis of the Tournament field with NCAA Hardcore Brackets on truTV was more of a mixed bag. Barkley and Smith joined Gumbel, Anthony and Davis plus Selection Committee Chairman Jeff Hathaway and Vice Chair Mike Bobinski were interviewed extensively. Barkley’s questions to Hathaway and Bobinski came off more like statements and led to long awkward pauses. Plus, having Hathaway and Bobinski stay for a half hour actually slowed the pace, which was not their fault. Some tweaking is needed for Hardcore Brackets, but the show was a nice alternative to ESPN’s Bracketology.
- Speaking of Bracketology, ESPN kept mostly its tried-and-true formula of having Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis, the Perpetually Angry Doug Gottlieb, Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale analyze the field. While there was no extreme anger over omissions like Drexel as compared to Bilas going insane over VCU getting in last year. Vitale did go classic Vitale at the end of the show, but overall, the two hour show went off without too much controversy.
- One leftover thought from Sunday’s sports media post regarding ESPN’s coverage of Championship Week. If you watched the ACC, Big East and SEC Tournaments on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ABC, you may have noticed that the shot clock was superimposed on the floor, near each basket. For some reason, seeing this large clock on the floor distracted me from the action and creeped me out whenever someone stepped over it. I could understand if there was no shot clock, but ESPN had one on its scoreboard bar on the bottom of the screen. I don’t know if it was ESPN’s way of trying to be cute or just showing off, but the whole concept was annoying. Not a bad idea, but the execution was off.
- I know we won’t have Gus Johnson on the NCAA Tournament this year, but if I could suggest that radio rightsholder Dial Global hire him for next year. It would bring back the event’s signature voice to its rightful place and be a great PR move. Plus, it would bring an audience to the radio calls. Gus has called radio for the New York Knicks for MSG so why not have him do it for the NCAA Tournament? Just a thought. Let’s make this happen.
That will conclude the thoughts for this Monday.
Mar
11
2012 NCAA Tournament FIRST FOUR & 2nd Round Tip Times & Announcing Assignments
We’ve been waiting for the NCAA Tournament tip times and announcing assignments for the 2nd round and lo and behold, they’ve come.
Of course, Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg will be in Greensboro to call North Carolina and Duke. Uncle Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery will be in Louisville. Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore and Reggie Miller are assigned to Pittsburgh. Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel head to Nashville. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr will travel to Omaha.
So without further ado, we have the tip times and the announcing assignments for the FIRST FOUR™ and the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament.
Announce Teams Assigned for NCAA First Four® and Second Round Coverage
CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ exclusive coverage of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tips off with first round coverage of the NCAA First Four on Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 14 (6:00 PM, ET; both days) on truTV. Second-round coverage begins Thursday, March 15 and Friday, March 16 (11:00 AM-12:00 AM, ET; both days), with all games available live in their entirety across four national television networks: TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.
Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will call the action, with Tracy Wolfson courtside for the two First Four games on Tuesday. Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, along with courtside reporter Lewis Johnson, will handle the call for the games on Wednesday. The studio coverage for Tuesday’s First Four games will include Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith and Seth Davis. On Wednesday, Matt Winer, Steve Smith and Davis offer analysis in the studio (6:00 PM, ET; both days).
Following are the tip times for the First Four games, as well as the announce and production team assignments for the second round games. Tip times for the third round games on Saturday will be announced on Thursday after the conclusion of the day’s games. Sunday’s tip times will be released after the conclusion of play on Friday. For a complete channel guide click on MyChannels at NCAA.com/MyChannels.
NCAA March Madness Live will provide a robust suite of products including live streaming video of all 67 games from the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship; personal channel lineup (MyChannel) features and schedule updates; social media integration; and real-time brackets, scores and stats across online and mobile platforms.
FIRST ROUND GAMES
TUESDAY, MARCH 13Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
6:40 PM — truTV, Dayton I: Mississippi Valley St. vs. Western Kentucky, Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr//Tracy Wolfson
Approximately 9:10 PM — truTV, Dayton II: BYU vs. Iona, Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr//Tracy Wolfson
FIRST ROUND GAMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 146:40 PM — truTV, Dayton I: Lamar vs. Vermont, Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson
Approximately 9:10 PM — truTV, Dayton II: California vs. South Florida, Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson
SECOND ROUND GAMES
THURSDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 15 (12:00 NOON-5:00 PM, ET)Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
12:15 PM — CBS, Louisville I: Murray State vs. Colorado State, Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Lesley Visser
12:40 PM — truTV, Pittsburgh I: Kansas State vs. Southern Miss, Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Marty Snider
1:40 PM — TBS, Portland I: Louisville vs. Davidson, Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Jenn Hildreth
2:10 PM — TNT, Albuquerque I: Wisconsin vs. Montana, Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel//Jamie Maggio
Approximately 2:45 PM — CBS, Louisville II:Marquette vs. BYU/Iona, Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Lesley Visser
Approximately 3:10 PM — truTV, Pittsburgh II: Syracuse vs. UNC Asheville, Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Marty Snider
Approximately 4:10 PM — TBS, Portland II: New Mexico vs. Long Beach St., Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Jenn Hildreth
Approximately 4:40 PM — TNT, Albuquerque II: Vanderbilt vs. Harvard, Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel//Jamie Maggio
SECOND ROUND GAMES
THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 15 (6:30 PM-12:00 AM, ET)6:50 PM — TBS, Louisville III: Kentucky vs. Mississippi Valley State/Western Kentucky, Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Lesley Visser
7:15 PM — CBS, Portland III: Wichita State vs. VCU, Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Jenn Hildreth
7:20 PM — TNT, Pittsburgh III: Gonzaga vs. West Virginia, Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Marty Snider
7:27 PM — truTV, Albuquerque III: Baylor vs. South Dakota State, Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel//Jamie Maggio
Approximately 9:20 PM — TBS, Louisville IV: Iowa State vs. Connecticut, Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Lesley Visser
Approximately 9:45 PM — CBS, Portland IV: Indiana vs. New Mexico State, Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Jenn Hildreth
Approximately 9:50 PM — TNT, Pittsburgh IV: Ohio State vs. Loyola Maryland, Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Marty Snider
Approximately 9:57 PM — truTV, Albuquerque IV: UNLV vs. Colorado, Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Marty Snider
SECOND ROUND GAMES
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 16 (12:00 NOON-5:00 PM, ET)Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
12:15 PM — CBS, Nashville I: Cincinnati vs. Texas, Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson
12:40 PM — truTV, Columbus I: San Diego St. vs. NC State, Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
1:40 PM — TBS, Greensboro I: Creighton vs. Alabama, Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson
2:10 PM — TNT, Omaha I: Florida vs. Virginia, Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
Approximately 2:45 PM — CBS, Nashville II, Florida State vs. St. Bonaventure, Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson
Appoximately 3:10 PM — truTV, Columbus II: Georgetown vs. Belmont, Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
Approximately 4:10 PM — TBS, Greensboro II: North Carolina vs. Lamar/Vermont, Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson
Approximately 4:40 PM — TNT, Omaha II: Missouri vs. Norfolk St., Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager
SECOND ROUND GAMES
FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 16 (6:30 PM-12:00 AM, ET)6:50 PM — TBS, Columbus III: Memphis vs. Saint Louis, Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
7:15 PM — CBS, Greensboro III: Duke vs. Lehigh, Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson
7:20 PM — TNT, Nashville III: Michigan vs. Ohio, Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson
7:27 PM — truTV, Omaha III: St. Mary’s (CA) vs. Purdue, Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager
Approximately 9:20 PM — TBS, Columbus IV: Michigan State vs. LIU Brooklyn, Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
Approximately 9:45 PM — CBS, Greensboro IV: Notre Dame vs. Xavier, Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson
Approximately 9:50 PM — TNT, Nashville IV: Temple vs. California/South Florida, Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson
Approximately 9:57 PM — truTV, Omaha IV: Kansas vs. Detroit, Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager
Saturday’s tip times will be announced after Thursday’s games are completed. Once we get the release, it will be posted immediately.
Mar
11
Quotage From truTV’s NCAA Hardcore Brackets
The first-ever CBS/Turner Sports show post-NCAA Tournament Selection aired tonight. Hardcore Brackets was on truTV. Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Seth Davis, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Charles Barkley all talked about the selections for the NCAA Tournament with Selection Committee Chairman Jeff Hathaway and Vice Chair Mike Bobinski.
It was a pretty decent show and the interview with Hathaway and Bobinski for a half-hour kept them from ESPN until after 7:30 p.m. ET. I think that was the idea behind the show and ranking the entire NCAA Tournament field from 1-68.
We have quotage from Turner Sports from tonight’s show. Let’s take a look at what was said on Hardcore Brackets.
2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship begins Tuesday, March 13, and Wednesday, March 14, with NCAA First Four™ on truTV
**********
Talent: Host Greg Gumbel, Analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis and Division I Men’s Basketball Committee Chairman Jeff Hathaway and Mike Bobinski, who will become committee chair for the 2012-13 season
Barkley on any surprises tied to the No. 1 selections: “No, I thought Carolina was a lock the whole time. I didn’t think Ohio State was a No. 1. I thought it was between (University of) Missouri and Michigan State.”
Barkley on his sleeper in the West region: “Memphis is my sleeper in this region. They are terrific across the board.”
Hathaway on the strength of Missouri’s schedule earning them a No. 2 seed: “From the committee standpoint, that is a determining factor. We have tremendous respect for Missouri and what they did but the fact of the matter is that they didn’t stretch themselves very much on non-conference scheduling.”
Bobinski on Missouri’s seeding: “We talked about Missouri at great length, tremendous year, great team. We did not ever envision them as a No. 3 seed. They have clearly achieved at that level (of a No. 2 seed). At that point, strength of schedule becomes a distinguishing point.”
Bobinski on his criteria for selecting teams: “Road wins are a big thing for me. I like to see teams that are willing to challenge themselves away from home. Teams that would take a chance really make a difference.”
Bobinksi on what differentiated Iona from other teams: “At the end of the day, we felt Iona made a strong effort to schedule aggressively; they performed well against that schedule. In their league, they were a dominant team throughout, they were aggressive. In general, they were a very good team during the course of the year. I think they are going to hold up pretty well in the tournament.”
Hathaway on Seton Hall not being selected for this year’s tournament: “Seton Hall had a very solid year; they had a tough stretch at the end of the year. At the end of the day, they were a quality team but we knew some quality teams weren’t going to be a part of the 37.”
Bobinski on Western Kentucky being selected as No. 68: “When you talk about a team like Western Kentucky, we have a committee that takes a look at teams on that last seed line. We met Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning to make sure we had those teams [on the last seed line] as right as we possibly could. Getting the seed right is really a critical effort. We spend a lot of time and effort making sure to put those teams in the right place.”
Hathaway on selecting North Carolina State for the tournament: “They had some good wins, they beat Miami twice. They got better as the season went on and continued that into the (conference tournament).”
Hathaway on transitioning teams from the seed list to the brackets: “There is a lot to be said about the seed list. The first thing to keep in mind is that we operate off a true seed list. When we get to bracketing, particularly in the first four lines, there is movement in the seed list. We try to minimize it, but there are a wide range of bracket principles that affect how those teams go into the bracket.”
Hathaway on what teams seeded 17-33 could do to move up in the future: “You have to be more aggressive in the scheduling. A wide range of schools are reaching out and they schedule very aggressively. Keep in mind; coaches have to figure out what’s best for their program given the talent that they have and what they can face.”
Bobinski on how to schedule effectively: “There is a fine line between scheduling aggressively and scheduling over your head. You have to be smart and creative; finding your way into preseason events that you wouldn’t get on your campus. You will see a lot of schools have chosen that way to find quality games.”
That does it.
Mar
11
CBS/Turner’s Clark Kellogg To Interview President Obama & British Prime Minister David Cameron During First Four on Tuesday
This just announced on CBS’ NCAA Tournament Selection Show, analyst Clark Kellogg will conduct a joint interview of President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron during halftime of the the first game of the FIRST FOUR on Tuesday.
The FIRST FOUR games will be played in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday and Wednesday on truTV. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will call the games on Tuesday. Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel will be on the call on Wednesday.
It marks the third time that Kellogg will have interviewed President Obama. We have the joint press release from CBS/Turner Sports.
CBS Sports and Turner Sports combine for a live exclusive joint interview of United States President Barack Obama and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron on truTV, Tuesday, March 13 (6:30 PM, ET) during halftime of the first game from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship FIRST FOUR in Dayton, Ohio.
CBS Sports’ Clark Kellogg will conduct the interview in what will be the first and only joint interview of the two Heads of State during this visit. This will be Kellogg’s third time interviewing President Obama as the President joined him in broadcasting the Duke-Georgetown game in January 2010 and played one-on-one at the White House in an interview later that year in April during the NCAA Tournament.
Kellogg will join CBS Sports lead play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and Turner Sports’ Steve Kerr to call the first two games of the NCAA FIRST FOUR on truTV from the University of Dayton Arena.
CBS Sports and Turner Sports will once again have exclusive coverage of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, with all games available live in their entirety across four national television networks: TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.
We’ll continue to post CBS/Turner press releases as they come in tonight.
Mar
09
Let’s Do The Friday Megalinks Again
Linkage has been scarce around the site this week, but I should be able to get a good set of megalinks in today as we head into NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday. You deserve the links and I thank you for your patience around some server problems this week.
As usual, you can check the Weekend Viewing Picks for all weekend sports and entertainment recommendations.
Let’s get to the linkage.
National
Michael Hiestand of USA Today profiles ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Lunardi who got a big endorsement from Louisville’s Rick Pitino this week.
Erik Spanberg at Sports Business Journal looks at Major League Soccer hoping for big returns from its new contract with NBC Sports.
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch explores NBC’s new approach to airing soccer and reviews ESPN’s new documentary on Magic Johnson.
Karen Hogan at Sports Video Group looks at ESPN’s innovative plans for MLS games this season.
Lindsay Flans of the Hollywood Reporter says A-List celebrities have caught Linsanity fever.
And the Reporter provides a seating chart of where celebrities sit at Madison Square Garden to get a glimpse of Jeremy Lin.
At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley feels the mid-major conferences sacrifice regular season integrity in exchange for TV exposure with their post-season tournaments.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell is recovering after his alma mater, Northwestern, played its way out of the NCAA Tournament this week.
Joe Favorito says even in this day and age, the little guy can make a splash in sports marketing.
Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.
SMW notes that NBC Sports will replace the departed Wimbledon with the Tour de France this summer.
Ben Koo of Awful Announcing says ESPN Films is suffering from an identity crisis.
Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says NBC’s innovation in hockey production is now extending to the soccer pitch.
Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth isn’t a fan of speculation.
At Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie blog, Dan Devine says Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made a gay joke at Bill Simmons’ expense with him present.
Erik Malinowski of Deadspin says Cuban has apologized for making that remark.
East and Mid-Atlantic
The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn looks at CBS/Turner’s plans for the NCAA Tournament.
Chad notes that a prodigal son is returning to WEEI this weekend.
Boston Sports Media Watch’s Bruce Allen at SB Nation Boston says the Boston Herald will miss Patriots beat reporter Ian Rapoport as he departs for NFL Network.
George Cain at Sports of Boston compares and contrasts the two sports radio stations ratings.
Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette says different generations watch sports differently.
Paul Devlin of the New Canaan (CT) Patch talks with ESPN High Grand Poobah of News Vince Doria.
Newsday’s Neil Best talks with Magic Johnson about ESPN’s documentary on his HIV announcement 20 years ago.
Neil notes the opening of a new Broadway play on the rivalry between Magic and former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird.
Neil says it’s time for our annual search to find truTV for the NCAA Tournament.
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after the “gang mentality” in football.
The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger.
Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY notes that MSG Network is about to unveil a new baseball-centric show.
Chris Boyle at the Merrick (NY) Patch says two alumna of a local high school, now ESPN personalities, made a visit to their old stomping grounds.
Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union notes that Buffalo Sabres games are back on MSG after a technical glitch prevented fans from seeing their games for two weeks.
Pete talks with Uncle Verne Lundquist of CBS who’s going into his 49th year of broadcasting.
Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times-Herald Record says a local man has been chosen to take part in this year’s MLB Fan Cave.
Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks with ESPN’s Mike Tirico who says he’ll miss working with Ron Jaworski every Monday Night.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner speaks with tennis Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Chris Evert.
South
Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer says for the first time, viewers in the ACC footprint can see ESPN’s coverage of the ACC Tournament.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald likes watching the ESPN/ABC NBA studio show.
David Barron at the Houston Chronicle notes that Comcast SportsNet Houston is getting ready for its fall launch.
And David expands on his column on CSN Houston in his blog.
Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman has a few Sooner State sports media news and notes.
Midwest
Jeff Moss at Detroit Sports Rag has a field of 64 to decide the Worst Detroit Sports Media Personality.
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says CBS and Turner are enjoying their NCAA Tournament partnership.
Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business has his weekly winners and losers in sports business and media.
Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reviews the one week experiment of Joe Buck and Tim McKernan co-hosting a radio show that could turn into something bigger down the road.
Dan says don’t expect too many changes for this year’s NCAA Tournament coverage on CBS and Turner Sports.
West
John Maffei at the North County Times writes that if NCAA Tournament coverage ain’t broke, then CBS and Turner aren’t going to fix it.
John says Fox Sports San Diego is set to launch any day now, provided MLB approves the Padres’ deal to air games on the network.
Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star says the success of the CBS/Turner NCAA Tournament consortium surprised officials at both companies.
Jim says Peyton Manning’s former coach, Tony Dungy now of NBC, feels San Francisco would be a good fit for him.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at Magic Johnson’s life-changing announcement, 20 years later.
Tom explores how Time Warner Cable will present LA Galaxy games while it’s still in the process of launching its new SoCal regional sports network.
Tom has a few items that didn’t make his weekly media column.
Percy Allen of the Seattle Times notes that ESPN will air next year’s Pac-12 Basketball Championship Game.
Canada
Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star says CBC’s Don Cherry and Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke are acting like a couple of spoiled divas in their public spat.
And that’s going to do it for today. Enjoy your sports weekend.
Mar
07
The CBS/Turner Schedule for The 2012 NCAA Tournament
I tried posting this earlier yesterday and again last night, but thanks to web server problems, I could not. Plus stuff I had previously written on this exact subject was eaten by the server so I have no idea where it is. So let me retry this post and hopefully, the web gremlins that ate my first post will stay away while I do this all over again.
As we know, CBS and Turner will combine to air all 67 games of the NCAA Tournament. CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV will carry the games.
CBS will have 26 games including the second and third round during the first weekend of the tournament, the half of the Sweet 16, the regional finals, then the Final Four and National Championship Game in New Orleans.
The networks of Turner Sports will have the other 41 games with TBS taking 16 (2nd/3rd round and Sweet 16), TNT carrying 12 (2nd/3rd round) and truTV with 13 (FIRST FOUR, 2nd/one 3rd round game and the College All-Star Game).
The announcing teams for the CBS/Turner Sports consortium have been previously released and their assignments will be set after the matchups are unveiled on Sunday.
We’ll give you the CBS/Turner press release first, then the CBS/Turner NCAA Tournament schedule after a jump break.
ALL GAMES TO BE BROADCAST NATIONALLY ACROSS TBS, CBS, TNT AND truTV
Turner Sports and CBS Sports announced today their television schedule for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. All 67 games will again be available live in their entirety across four national television networks: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, allowing viewers to watch and switch between all of the game action across the four networks.
CBS Sports and Turner Sports will present fully integrated game and studio productions across all four networks as well as studio integration across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV with pregame, halftime and post-game shows from studios in New York City and Atlanta. Studio shows will include The Road to the Final Four ®, NCAA Tip-Off, At the Half and Inside March Madness®.
The 2012 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tips off in primetime with the NCAA First Four™ on truTV on Tuesday, March 13, and Wednesday, March 14. Coverage will conclude with the Final Four® games on Saturday, March 31, and for the 31st straight year, CBS Sports will broadcast the National Championship Game on Monday, April 2, at 9:00 PM, ET.
Additional highlights include (Complete telecast schedule attached):
- CBS will air the Final Four and National Championship Game for for a total of 26 games throughout the tournament, including the second round, third round, Sweet 16® and Elite 8®.
- Turner will air 41 games across its three television networks. TBS will air 16 contests, including games in the second round, third round and Sweet 16.
- TNT will air 12 games, including second round and third round match ups.
- truTV tips off the tournament’s coverage airing all First Four games, as well as a total of 13 games during the First Four™ and second and third round games. It also will air the College All-Star Game on Saturday, March 31, at 1:00 PM, ET.
Coverage of the 2012 NCAA tournament wraps up with extensive live coverage from New Orleans, La., with the Final Four games and National Championship Game. Saturday’s Final Four coverage begins on CBS at 4:00 PM, ET with a two-hour Road to the Final Four®, followed by the broadcast of the two national semifinal games beginning at 6:00 PM, ET. truTV wraps up the day’s Final Four coverage with Inside March Madness.
NCAA® March Madness® Live will provide live streaming video of every broadcast for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship starting with the NCAA Basketball Selection Show on Sunday, March 11, and continuing through the Men’s Final Four® and National Championship Game from New Orleans on March 31 and April 2.
After a jump break, the complete CBS/Turner schedule for the NCAA Tournament.
Mar
06
CBS/Turner Sports’ Coverage of the NCAA Tournament Begins With Selection Sunday
When the conference tournaments end on Sunday, CBS/Turner Sports pick up the coverage of the NCAA Tournament in the evening with the Selection Show and of the matchups in the 68 team field at 6 p.m. ET. Then truTV comes in with its own show, NCAA Hardcore Brackets at 7 p.m.
For the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show, Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis will be on the set while Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will comment from Indianapolis where they will call the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and championship over the weekend.
Then for NCAA Hardcore Brackets, the aforementioned will be joined by Turner Sports’ Charles Barkley and Kenny “The Jet” Smith.
We have details from CBS/Turner.
NCAA HARDCORE BRACKETS SHOW ON truTV FOLLOWS WITH FIRST-EVER REVEAL OF THE NCAA SELECTION COMMITTEE’S TEAM RANKINGS FROM 1 TO 68CBS Sports Broadcasts Exclusive, Live Announcement of 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Field of 68
CBS Sports and Turner Sports begin the ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR as CBS Sports broadcasts the exclusive, live first-time announcement of the pairings for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 11 (6:00-7:00 PM, ET) during the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW.
CBS Sports’ Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis host the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Turner Sports’ Steve Kerr join Gumbel, Anthony and Davis via satellite from the site of the Big Ten Championship at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. In addition, Jeff Hathaway, Chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, joins live from Indianapolis, Ind. to provide an in-depth look into the selection process.
Immediately following the Selection Show, truTV will air NCAA HARDCORE BRACKETS (7:00-8:00 PM, ET), a new one-hour show providing in-depth analysis, including the public release of the Selection Committee’s 1 to 68 team rankings for the first time in NCAA Championship history. Gumbel hosts and is joined by Turner Sports’ Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith as well as Anthony and Davis. Hathaway and Mike Bobinski, Vice Chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for the 2012-13 season, will join the show to discuss the bracket and provide exclusive details regarding the committee’s deliberations throughout the weekend. The show is part of the NCAA’s expanded educational initiative to enhance understanding of the championship selection process.
Additionally, the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW will be available online and mobile via NCAA® March Madness® Live, which can be launched from NCAA.com, CBSSports.com and SI.com.
Game coverage for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship begins on Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 14 with the NCAA FIRST FOUR™ on truTV, and the tournament concludes with the National Championship game Monday, April 2 on CBS.
That will do it.
Mar
06
truTV To Air New NCAA Tournament Brackets Show Following Selections on CBS
Announced today at the CBS/Turner NCAA Tournament media day in New York, truTV will have a companion show immediately following the NCAA Tournament announcements on Sunday night. As usual, CBS will air the official NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday. Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis will be on this year’s show. Unlike last year, Turner’s Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Charles Barkley will not be part of the CBS show.
This year, Barkley and Smith will join Greg G., Greg A., and Seth on truTV to talk about the seedings of the entire 68 team field, 1-68. That will be the first time that the NCAA Tournament Men’s Basketball Selection Committee will have unveiled the field in this manner.
This year’s committee chairman, Jeff Hathaway and vice chair Mike Bobinski will be guests on the program. This show will run opposite of ESPN’s Bracketology featuring Rece Davis, the angry Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale and a cast of thousands.
Here’s the Turner Sports/NCAA press release.
Groundbreaking analysis of tourney field to air after selection show
INDIANAPOLIS— In the NCAA’s continuing efforts to increase understanding of its processes, the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee will unveil the 68 team seed list for the first time.
Basketball Committee chair Jeff Hathaway and vice chair Mike Bobinski will appear on the Infiniti NCAA Hardcore Brackets show, which will air Selection Sunday at 7 p.m. EST on truTV.
The 2012 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will be revealed on the traditional NCAA Selection Show at 6 p.m. EST on CBS and will feature Hathaway, Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr from Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. They will be joined by Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis, who will be in the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.
What will take place after the Selection Show is unprecedented.
The Hardcore Brackets show will feature Hathaway, a consultant for the Big East Conference, and Bobinski, the director of athletics at Xavier University and next season’s chair of the men’s basketball committee, speaking with Gumbel, Anthony, Davis, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.
On the one-hour show, the committee members will discuss “inside the room” details never previously shared, including unveiling the overall seed list that features every tournament team ranked Nos. 1 through 68. Reasons behind teams’ movement on the seed list will be examined, and the committee members will discuss the pros and cons for teams that were, or were not, selected to receive at-large bids to the championship.
“This is a new day that has been years in the making,” said Hathaway, who is in his fifth and final year as a member of the committee. “We continue to add initiatives to increase understanding of the committee’s work during selection weekend. We want to explain why teams were selected and seeded as reflected in the bracket and elaborate on the procedures and real-life road blocks that arise during the course of the bracketing process.”
The show furthers NCAA championships’ other recent efforts to increase understanding of the selection seeding and bracketing processes, including:
• This week’s Super 10 Fan Selection Committee
• This year’s weekly, public release of team sheets and “nitty gritty reports” on Division I teams
• The media mock selection sessions, now in their sixth year.The initiative will ultimately incorporate all 89 NCAA championships throughout the year.
I expect an official press release of CBS/Turner’s coverage plans for the NCAA Tournament later today and I’ll post it as soon as it become available.
Sep
15
A Quickie Thursday Linkage
I’m going to post as many links as I can. It’s part of the day where I could be leaving at any time. Let’s do this.
From USA Today, Tom Weir writes that the National Hockey League has issued a new social media policy to take effect immediately.
Michael Malone of Broadcasting & Cable looks at Universal Sports moving from an over-the-air/cable multichannel to an all-cable network.
Multichannel News reports that Univision has renewed its rights with the NFL as the official Hispanic broadcaster of the league.
Self Magazine had ESPN’s Erin Andrews do a CrossFit photo shoot. As usual, she looks great.
Karen Hogan at Sports Video Group notes that the New York Football Giants have developed their own mobile app.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell says student road trips are going to be big losers if the college sports conference super shuffle continues.
Darren writes that the Interactive Fan Cam can become a big revenue stream for college sports.
At the Poynter Institute, Jason Fry says the rules for sports journalism in covering teams have changed dramatically in the last few years.
Newsday’s Neil Best talks with the head of programming for NBC Sports/Versus about upgrading the cable channel’s programming.
Neil says the New York Giants return to hosting Monday Night Football for the first time since ABC had the package.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the Week 3 college football TV schedule.
Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says Turner Sports has grabbed the Coaches vs. Cancer college basketball tournament for truTV.
Ken says NHL Network will air 32 preseason games starting next week. Hockey’s back!
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with an ESPN programming executive about how the WNBA is doing on the network.
Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times spends a couple of minutes with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.
Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman writes that ESPN college football analyst David Pollack might be on the fast track to getting more work with the network.
Mel asks David to preview Saturday’s Oklahoma-Florida State game which will be aired on ABC.
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel previews a new ESPN college football studio show.
Bob has Kirk Herbstreit talking about Wisconsin’s quarterback.
Bob notes that the Green Bay Packers will get the attention of the Sunday NFL pregame shows this week.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has this week’s NFL TV schedule for SoCal.
Tom previews tonight’s NFL Films doc on Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
And I’m told we’re shutting down for the day. I’ll be back later with more stuff.
Jul
04
Handicapping The Thursday Night Football Race
As we learned last week, the NFL is shopping around the first half of a Thursday Night Football package that would begin in time for the 2012 season. The games would come from the Sunday afternoon games from CBS and Fox and be aired during Weeks 2 — 9 of the regular season. NFL Network would continue carrying the second half of the package starting in Week 10. NBC has the traditional Season Opener at the home of the defending Super Bowl champion in Week 1 so that’s how Thursday Night Football would breakdown.
NFL owners feel the first half of Thursday Night Football would be worth an estimated $700 million a year and there are certainly interested networks interested in bidding for the package.
As John Ourand and Daniel Kaplan wrote in Sports Business Journal, the early frontrunners for the first half of Thursday Night Football are Turner Sports which could place the games either on TBS, TNT or truTV and NBC/Comcast which would air the games on Versus. Fox is a possible suitor and it could place the package on FX which the company is attempting to make a sports destination. And there’s always the possibility that ESPN could swoop in and take the package, although that looks rather distant right now as Thursday nights on the Alleged Worldwide Leader have been reserved for college football.
If you think it’s strange that the NFL would break up a package, there is precedence. Back in 1990, the NFL decided to expand its cable Sunday Night Football package from the second half of the regular season which had been awarded to ESPN to a full season. TNT was awarded the first half and kept the package until 1997 when ESPN decided it wanted the games all to itself and took Sunday Night Football until 2005.
So let’s take a look at the interested parties and how they might fare.
Turner Sports
As mentioned, Turner is a previous NFL TV rightsholder. Since losing Sunday Nitro in 1997, Turner has been yearning to get back into airing pro football. In the last negotiation in 2005, TNT went so far to look to hire potential analysts for games, only to see ESPN take Monday Night Football, Sunday Nitro go to NBC and a new Thursday Night package go to NFL Network. Turner would love nothing more to gain the rights once again and it could use the first half of the NFL regular season as a nice lead-in to its NBA Thursday night package. Where would the games air? Either TBS, TNT or tru TV, but with TBS airing MLB playoff games in October, I would think that would be out. truTV was found during the NCAA Tournament and Turner could increase its profile by putting games there, but the best destination would be TNT.
Who could we see on an NFL on Turner Sports package? Hosts could be either Ernie Johnson, Jr. who hosted from 1991 — 1994 or NBA TV host Matt Winer. For play-by-play, there’s Marv Albert, but he was just hired by CBS and I’m not sure if he would want to double up on games early in the season. Kevin Harlan is a possibility also, but again, he would have to double up early, but he does it for a full season on CBS and calling Monday Night Football on Westwood One Radio. Turner desperately wants to get the NFL back and this would be ideal for the company. Can you imagine TNT using “Thursday Nitro”?
Just for old times sake, here’s a Sunday Nitro promo from 1990.
I miss Sunday Nitro. Even though TNT used for just one season, it resonated with me.
Odds of Turner winning Thursday Nitro: 4-1.
NBC Sports Group/Comcast
In 2004, Comcast offered a reported $450 million to the NFL to put an 8 game Thursday night package on what was then known as OLN (Outdoor Life Network). Comcast was willing to give the NFL an equity stake in the channel, but the league rejected the offer and eventually placed the games on NFL Network. It led to a nasty dispute between the NFL and Comcast as the league wanted placement for NFL Network, but Comcast was only willing to put the channel on unpopular sports tier. After extensive bickering and rancorous negotiations, the two parties were finally able to settle their differences in May 2009. And with Comcast taking over NBC earlier this year, the relations between the two entities are now quite peaceful.
Here’s another chance for Comcast to purchase an 8 game NFL package to place on its flagship sports cable TV network and create even more clearance for Versus. Who would we see on a Thursday Night Football package on Versus? With NBC Sports Group running the channel, perhaps you’ll see NHL and Tour de France host Liam McHugh as the studio host. Maybe Tom Hammond who was passed over for NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football play-by-play could call the games on Versus. Bob Papa who lost the NFL Network play-by-play gig for no good reason could get a little revenge by calling the first half of the season for Versus. Heck, even throw in Mike Mayock as an analyst to give him a full season of calling the Thursday Night package on both Versus and NFL Network, but I doubt that would happen.
Odds of Versus winning Thursday Night Football: 3-1
Fox/FX
I would think Fox would be interested in a cable package for FX as an extension of its NFL on Fox brand. And this would be perfect for Gus Johnson who has become Fox Sports’ college football announcer. Imagine him back with the NFL in primetime! He and analyst Charles Davis could call an NFL game on Thursday night and do a Big 12, C-USA or Pac-12 game on Saturday for eight weeks. It would be a great combo. And Fox Sports could use Curt Menefee as host for Thursday Night Football and bring in the guys from Fox NFL Sunday to do the pregame. The only drawback is that Fox really can’t raise subscriber rates for FX according to Ourand and Kaplan from Sports Business Journal. If that’s the case, then FX won’t be able to get maximum monetization from the NFL, getting that double revenue stream from subscribers and ads that ESPN and NFL Network can take advantage of.
Even with this potential roadblock, expect Fox to at least take a look.
Odds of Fox/FX winning Thursday Night Football: 12-1
ESPN
Back in 2005, ESPN was negotiating for both Sunday and Monday Night Football. As was chronicled in “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN”, a combined bid for the two packages was seen as not reflecting fair market value at the time and that’s when the NFL went to NBC for Sunday Night Football. With ESPN successful on Thursday nights for college football, I’m not sure if the network would want to bid for another NFL package, but one cannot predict what the powers that be in Bristol are thinking. Thursday night college football games could be pushed to ESPN2. Would we see the Monday Night Football crew call games on Thursday night? I would say that’s unlikely. Maybe ESPN would bring Brad Nessler to the fold and have him call the first half of the package and not have him do NFL Network after this season. The network has plenty of analysts who could call games and yes, expect Chris Berman to host if ESPN wins the package.
I do see ESPN bidding on this just to see if it can force the others to raise their price. There’s an outside chance that it could win. As long as ESPN can see itself making money, then a Thursday Night Football package on the Alleged Worldwide Leader is not outside the realm of possibility.
Odds of ESPN winning Thursday Night Football: 15-1.
Viacom’s Spike TV could also put in a bid, but I think the NFL would want to have the games on a channel that has established sports properties.
My personal favorite is Turner Sports, but I can see Comcast being awarded the games as well. The others are outsiders at this point. Once the NFL lockout is resolved, this is a story I’ll be monitoring for you.
Apr
13
To The Wednesday Links!
Doing the linkage now after being all over the place this morning and tomorrow will be much worse as I’ll be out of the office for most of the day so don’t expect too many posts on Thursday. But before that, I can provide the linkage for today.
We’ll begin with Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand who tweets that Fox and the Big 12 Conference are expected to officially announce a long term rights deal today.
There’s plenty of outrage over a column written by Pittsburgh sports personality John Steigerwald in the Washington (PA) Observer Reporter, about the San Francisco Giants fan who was beaten into a coma by two Los Angeles gang members outside Dodger Stadium. Steigerwald said by wearing a Giants uniform into an opposing team’s stadium, 42 year old fan Bryan Stow was basically asking to get beaten up. I can link you to plenty of blogs and articles calling out Steigerwald from here to eternity. I was also outraged on Twitter yesterday. Yeah, the guy feels it’s not smart for a fan of a visiting team and a grown man to wear a baseball uniform, o.k., that’s understandable, but to say that Stow was asking for a beating is horrific.
To begin with, Steigerwald originally spelled the victim’s name wrong as Snow, not Stow and the headline originally had “Outgrow” instead of “Outgrown”, but that was not Steigerwald’s fault, but it only compounded the error and hate-filled column. And as outrage grew, the Again, I can link you to plenty of articles, but I’ll just do a couple here.
First, Art Spander at Real Clear Sports, a former San Francisco newspaperman and an outstanding one at that, has his response to Steigerwald.
Jerrod Morris of Midwest Sports Fans has a very good post on Steigerwald’s column.
At his own blog, Steigerwald attempts to defend his writing.
Again, plenty of reaction to Steigerwald. I don’t think the uproar is going to be dying down anytime soon.
The Big Lead breaks news on Josh Elliot’s replacement at ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Deadspin has apparently found the reason why former 49ers radio analyst Gary Plummer was fired from his job. Over a sexually charged podcast that had nothing to do with football, no less.
Michael Hiestand of USA Today says a group of sports television analysts have formed their own business group and will take part in an online webcast previewing the NFL Draft.
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch notes that ESPN is simplifying its NFL Draft coverage.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says some insurance salesmen are angry at New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s throwaway line in ESPN’s “The Brady 6″ documentary.
Brian Lowry of Fox Sports says golf and the NBA are particularly awash in foreign players.
Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News discusses ESPN’s big ratings for Sunday Night Baseball.
Mike Shields at Adweek says MSG Network will unveil a companion website for the New York Knicks run through the NBA Playoffs.
Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life says while the NHL Playoffs begin tonight, media watchers are keeping a close eye on who wins the league’s US TV contract.
Alex Weprin of SportsNewser notes that during its upfront presentation, truTV announced that it will keep up with its sports programming in the fall.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue model Kate Upton.
Tom Rotunno of CNBC notes that LeBron James has reclaimed the top spot in NBA jersey sales.
The Business Insider’s Sports Page notes that the new Editor-in-Chief of ESPN The Magazine might have been recruiting some new staffers via Twitter.
The always lovely Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald says sports topped the ratings in the Hub on Sunday.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union advises ESPN to put Baseball Tonight back in the studio on Sunday nights.
Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record talks with the radio host of Army football about the late football coach Homer Smith.
Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says it appears Capitals/Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is at war with the local ESPN Radio affiliate, owned by DC NFL Team owner Dan Snyder.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that it will be technical city galore at the Phone Booth in DC as four different networks will be at Verizon Center for the Capitals-New York Rangers NHL series.
Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News talks about the Big 12 TV deal.
Rich Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal writes about tonight being Joe Tait’s last game as Voice of the Cleveland Cavs.
Mike Popovich of the Canton Repository speaks with several broadcasters on their memories of Joe Tait.
The Ohio Media Watch also looks at Tait’s last call as Cavs voice tonight.
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says one Packers preseason game has been selected for national viewing in August.
Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says the Blackhawks need to some playoff success this season to build on last year’s championship.
Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune notes the new Editor-in-Chief of ESPN The Magazine is a Chicagoland native.
Blair Kerkhoff from the Kansas City Star says details have begun to leak out about the Fox/Big 12 TV deal.
Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times says CBS did not announce any alternative plans for two NFL preseason games in case of a lockout. It should be noted that ESPN and NBC did not either.
Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News says USC and Fox are trying to work out a deal on the school’s multimedia rights.
Daniel Brown from the San Jose Mercury News talks with former 49ers radio analyst Gary Plummer on why he thinks he lost his job.
Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail wants CBC’s Don Cherry to stick to the basics during the NHL Playoffs. Whatever, Bruce.
The Toronto Sports Media Blog says TSN Radio launched today.
Sports Media Watch notes that the NBA on TNT’s ratings remain strong.
The always hustling Steve Lepore at Puck The Media speaks with NHL Network Executive Producer Mark Preisler about the channel’s presentation of the game.
The Big Lead talks with ESPN’s NHL analyst Matthew Baranaby. That lucky dog, Barnaby.
Awful Announcing has part two of its interview with the great Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. In case you missed it, part one has plenty of good stuff too.
And that’s where we’ll leave things today.
Apr
05
CBS Garners 20.1 Million Viewers for NCAA Championship
On a night where Dancing with the Stars usually reigns supreme, CBS got a very solid average viewership of 20.1 million people. While the rating of 11.7 with an 18 share is down from last year’s monster 14.2/23, getting 20.1 million people is quite an accomplishment. CBS will take that audience every time.
In addition, the NCAA Tournament spread across four networks, CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV became the most watched tournament since 2005. The average rating was 6.4 with a 14 share, up 7% from last year’s 6.0/13 when the entire tournament was on CBS. And the average viewership this year was 10.2 million, up from last year’s 9.5 million.
So the tournament was a success for CBS/Turner and we look forward to having multiple platforms to watch the games again next year.
THE 2011 NCAA® DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ON TBS, CBS, TNT AND truTV IS MOST-WATCHED SINCE 2005 WITH MORE THAN 10.0 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS
NCAA® TOURNAMENT DELIVERS HIGHEST OVERALL TOURNAMENT RATINGS SINCE 2005
CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV is the most-watched tournament since 2005, averaging 10.2 million total viewers, +7% from 9.5 million total viewers for CBS Sports’ 2010 coverage and is the highest viewer average for the NCAA Tournament since 10.6 million in 2005.
The overall tournament average, including the FIRST FOUR®, is a 6.4/14 rating/share, +7% from a 6.0/13 for 2010, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals. The 6.4/14 is the highest average rating for the NCAA Tournament since a 6.9/15 in 2005.
“By every measure, the first year of Turner and CBS’s coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship was a success,” said David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. “It was a terrific start for our partnership, and it formed a great foundation for the next 13 years. The ratings increases this year also proved that the new television format is more fan friendly than ever. With four national television networks, viewers were able to enjoy more games, coverage and analysis.”
“The excitement that built during the entire tournament resulted in terrific ratings,” said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports. “The new television format has been appreciated and accepted by the viewers. Although we are only in the first year of our 14-year partnership with Turner Sports, the success we’ve achieved with the best overall tournament ratings since 2005 bodes very well for the future.”
The overall tournament average delivered growth in key adult and male demos (000’s) over 2010, including:
- A18-34 +21% (2,329 vs. 1,925)
- A18-49 +12% (4,693 vs. 4,207)
- A25-54 +7% (4,844 vs. 4,510)
- M18-34 +25% (1,601 vs. 1,280)
- M18-49 +14% (3,251 vs. 2,843)
- M25-54 +10% (3,344 vs. 3,031)
Last night’s National Championship game on CBS on Monday, April 4, which saw Connecticut defeat Butler, earned an average fast-national household rating/share of 11.7/18 and averaged 20.1 million viewers. Although down from last year, last night’s game was higher rated than two-out-of-the-last five Championship games (2009, 2006). It was the second year in a row that Butler lost the national championship after last year’s Cinderella team had a heart-stopping loss to powerhouse Duke.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Fast National Data, Live +SD data stream. 2011 NCAA Tournament Dates, include First Four telecast gross. Dates of NCAA Tournament: 2011 3/15/11 – 4/4/11 vs. 2010 3/18/10 – 4/3/10. 2011 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Dates of the NCAA Tournament historical audiences, CBS 1994 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2010 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round.
That will do it.
Apr
01
College Basketball Viewing Picks For 04/02 & 04/03/11, All Times Eastern
Saturday, April 2
College GameDay, live from Houston – ESPN, noon
NCAA Tip-Off – truTV, 3 p.m.
College Basketball SportsCenter – ESPN, 4 p.m.
The Final Four Show – CBS, 4 p.m.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX
National Semifinals
Butler vs. VCU – CBS, 6:09 p.m.
UConn vs. Kentucky – CBS, 8:49 p.m.
Inside March Madness – truTV, 11:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 3
NCAA Women’s Final Four Special – ESPN, 6:30 p.m.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
National Semifinals
Texas A&M vs. Stanford – ESPN, 7 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. UConn – ESPN, 9:30 p.m.
Mar
31
CBS/Turner Announce Coverage Plans for 2011 NCAA Final Four
Just received this from the CBS/Turner collaborative regarding this Saturday’s Final Four®. This is the first year that Turner will have a hand in the coverage and an extensive pregame show will be aired on truTV before CBS’ coverage starts at 4 p.m. Eastern. Then the games will air, Butler-VCU at 6:09 p.m. then Kentucky-UConn at 8:49 p.m. or 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will team up to call the Final Four®. Tracy Wolfson will work the sidelines.
Greg Gumbel will host from Reliant Stadium in Houston. He’ll be joined by Greg Anthony, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis and Kenny “The Jet” Smith.
We also have several features you’ll see on the Final Four Show which includes David Letterman which is always good to see. Your coverage plans in complete detail are below.
CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS’ “ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR” TRAVELS TO HOUSTON FOR CBS SPORTS’ 30th CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF NCAA® MEN’S FINAL FOUR ON SATURDAY, APRIL 2
Connecticut, Kentucky, Butler and VCU Vie for College Basketball’s National Championship
Connecticut, Kentucky, Butler and VCU are on the road to Houston as CBS Sports and Turner Sports provide exclusive coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and Final Four. For the 30th consecutive year, CBS Sports will broadcast live the national semi-final games on Saturday, April 2 (6:00-11:00 PM, ET) and the National Championship game on Monday, April 4 (9:00 PM, ET-conclusion) from Reliant Stadium.
Saturday’s Final Four features Butler versus VCU, with tip-off scheduled for 6:09 PM, ET. Forty minutes after the game concludes, Connecticut takes on Kentucky to determine the final participant in Monday night’s Championship game. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr call the games along with Tracy Wolfson serving as reporter. Nantz will be covering his 26th Final Four and National Championship, Kellogg will be working his third, and Kerr joins Nantz and Kellogg to call his first Final Four and National Championship.
On Saturday, April 2 (3:00-4:00 PM, ET) “Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off” starts the day’s coverage on truTV. Leading in to the semi-final games, THE FINAL FOUR SHOW (4:00-6:00 PM, ET) on CBS with Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Seth Davis features tournament highlights, analysis of the four participating teams and interviews with coaches and players. Included in the broadcast are features on:
* Matt Howard, Butler – Senior forward Matt Howard embodies Butler basketball. The three-time Academic All-America has been a leader in the Bulldogs Final Four runs the past two years. The values he exhibits on the court and within the Butler community were instilled in him growing up in rural Connersville, Indiana as the eighth of 10 children. The Final Four Show visits with Howard and those closest to him as he prepares for the culmination of his storied collegiate career. Alanna Campbell produces.
* Kemba Walker, Connecticut - A first-team All-America and native of the Bronx, N.Y., Kemba Walker is the heart and soul of the Connecticut Huskies. Walker has led his team to nine straight wins since the end of the regular-season, including five wins in five days to capture the Big East Conference Championship. The Final Four Show sits down with Walker and his mother, Andrea, and learns something special about this NCAA Tournament star. Jeff St. Arromand produces.
* Kentucky - It was only two years ago that Kentucky didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, and after reaching the Elite Eight last season, five Kentucky players left for the NBA, all first-round picks. Other teams might have had to rebuild, but head coach John Calipari has the Wildcats in their first Final Four since 1998, thanks to the leadership of senior Josh Harrelson, juniors DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller, along with a talented trio of freshmen. Sarah Rinaldi produces.
* VCU Confidential – From the first-ever FIRST FOUR to their first-ever Final Four, the VCU Rams are enjoying a historic tournament run. The feature captures Head Coach Shaka Smart and his team behind-the-scenes as the Rams prepare to take on Butler, and a chance to advance to the National Championship game.
* A Coaching Bond - While working together at Florida to build the Gators’ program into a national powerhouse, Head Coach Billy Donovan and his assistants, John Pelphrey and Anthony Grant, forged a bond as colleagues and close friends. Their relationship grew stronger as they supported each other while coping with shared grief through a series of personal tragedies. Sarah Rinaldi produces.
* John Wooden - Known as “The Wizard of Westwood,” legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden stands as one of the most revered and successful college basketball coaches in history. Wooden led his Bruins to 10 NCAA Championships in 12 years. Wooden was more than just a coach, as he projected a unique vision and perspective on life that transcended sports. As a special tribute to Coach Wooden, who passed away last June, this feature looks back at some of the timeless inspirational wisdom he passed on. Charlie Bloom produces.
* David Letterman Breaks down the Bracket with Bill Raftery - As anyone who filled out a bracket this tournament knows, there probably weren’t too many people who successfully chose the Final Four teams. David Letterman puts his unique spin on March Madness, and is joined by CBS Sports’ Bill Raftery. Deb Gelman produces.
Bob Dekas, coordinating producer of CBS Sports’ NCAA basketball coverage, produces the 2011 Final Four and Bob Fishman directs. Eric Mann produces the pre- and post-game and halftime programs, and Bob Matina directs. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS 2011 NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Sat., April 2
truTV: 3:00-4:00 PM – NCAA Tip-Off
CBS: 4:00-6:00 PM – THE FINAL FOUR SHOW
CBS: 6:00-11:00 PM – NCAA MEN’S FINAL FOUR, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
truTV: 11:30 PM-12:30 AM – Inside March Madness
Mon., April 4
truTV: 8:00-9:00 PM – NCAA Tip-Off
CBS: 9:00-11:30 PM – MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
truTV: 12:00-1:00 AM – Inside March Madness
And we’ll end it there.
Mar
30
Bringing Out the Wednesday Links
Ok, let’s do the Wednesday linkage. Quite a few things to get to.
We begin with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal who when we last saw him during the World Series last October, was wearing a bowtie despite his protests to management. Well, we find that Ken will continue wearing a bowtie this season, but rather willingly and for a very good cause.
Craig Calcaterra of NBC’s Hardball Talk applauds Ken for making this true fashion statement.
Now back to Ken, he writes at FoxSports.com that Major League Baseball has to do more to promote its game to a very tech-savvy fandom.
Michael Hiestand of USA Today has a few sports media observations in the Game On! blog.
Also in USA Today’s Game On! Steve Coogan writes that Jennifer Hudson is out from CBS’ One Shining Moment NCAA Tournament final montage.
One more from Game On! Mike McCarthy reviews Charles Barkley’s comments on truTV. It was a joke, people.
I had no idea that the former bassist for Guns ‘N Roses, Jane Addiction and Velvet Revolver, Duff McKagan had his own column at ESPN.com. Well, this is a very touching and well-written column on the late Seattle Mariners voice Dave Niehaus.
ESPN’s corporate blog, Front Row, has now launched and has been churning out pictures since midnight to show “A Day in the Life” at its various offices around the world. I have to say it’s quite fascinating. The pictures will continue to be published until late tonight.
Marisa Guthrie and Lindsay Powers at the Hollywood Reporter discuss ESPN’s Josh Elliot moving to ABC’s Good Morning America replacing the always lovely Juju Chang.
Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable writes about ESPN’s latest pickup for Baseball Tonight.
R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says ESPN Films will air a documentary on Jack Nicklaus’ iconic 1986 win at The Masters®.
The great Ryan Ballengee of NBC’s Pro Golf Talk says The Masters® iPad app will stream all four days of live TV golf coverage next week. That is very cool.
Jack Neff of Advertising Age says Vaseline Men will be unveiling an ad campaign for the NFL Draft.
In Mediaweek, Anthony Crupi says ad buyers are looking for alternatives as the NFL lockout goes longer.
Doron Levin at Fortune notes that Cadillac has quietly returned to sponsoring golf tournaments.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell examines whether the Chicago Cubs made the right call for their public address announcer.
Darren looks at the MLB Fan Cave that has two men watching every single regular season and playoff game this year.
And Darren goes inside the numbers of college football.
All Access says a Muncie, IN radio station is dropping ESPN in favor of Fox Sports Radio.
All Access also discusses Trenni Kusnierek joining a Milwaukee radio station full-time.
Richard Huff of the New York Daily News writes about ESPN’s Josh Elliot leaving SportsCenter to move to Good Morning America.
Newsday’s Neil Best takes a look at Yankees and Mets ticket prices on the resale market.
Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union looks at former Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer joining ESPN.
Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Fox’s Tim McCarver thoughts on the Mets and Yankees.
Conor Orr at the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger says ESPN’s Jay Bilas is a man of many talents.
Neal Zoren of the Delaware County Times notes that Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is ready to cover the Phillies this season.
Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog at the Washington Post is amused with a new Pimlico Raceway ad that acknowledges the infield debauchery during the Preakness Stakes.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that ESPN will be airing a prestigious high school basketball tournament live from the DC area.
Brandon Marcello of the Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger says Mississippi State University now has the announcers who will replace legendary voice Jack Cristil who retired after the basketball season.
Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman discusses ESPN shaking up its Sunday Night Baseball announcers and adding a new twist to Baseball Tonight.
Doug Zaleski of the Muncie (IN) Star Press notes that a Ball State-Indiana football matchup could end up on ESPN on Labor Day weekend.
Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox Sports Wisconsin will add some bells and whistles to its Brewers game productions.
Jon Nyatawa of the Omaha (NE) World-Journal says the Kansas City Royals won’t be heard on local radio this season.
Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post looks at FSN Rocky Mountain changing its name as of Friday.
Lya Wodraska in the Salt Lake Tribune says the University of Utah is open to moving its football games to Sunday in case of an NFL lockout.
Scott D. Pierce of the Tribune looks at FSN Rocky Mountain’s change of name.
Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times says FX’s plans to carry college football this fall might be part of a larger scheme to increase subscriber fees.
Mike DiGiovanna from the Times says while Fox Sports tested a new overhead camera during last night’s Dodgers-Angels exhibition game, players were concerned that it might be too intrusive.
Mark Hester from The Oregonian notes that ESPN is chock full of spring college football games.
Gretchen Holzang of the Portland Business Journal writes about FSN Northwest’s rebranding on Friday.
To the Toronto Globe and Mail where Bruce Dowbiggin talks with Rogers Sportsnet Blue Jays analyst Greg Zaun.
Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on Fox hit a ratings low for the first time this season.
The Big Lead critiques CBS/Turner’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament.
And we’ll end it there today.
Mar
30
truTV’s Last Live Game For The NCAA Tournament
truTV which has seen its profile raised tenfold during the NCAA Tournament will get one last live game and it’s just before the Final Four® in Houston. On Friday, it will carry the College All-Star Game. CBS/Turner will have Greg Gumbel host the studio show with the NCAA Tournament Atlanta crew of Seth Davis and Steve Smith. Arizona coach Seth Miller will be a guest analyst. And CBS brings in Dave Ryan from CBS College Sports to call the game and he’ll be joined by main studio analyst Greg Anthony.
Details and rosters are below.
truTV to Air College All-Star Game During Final Four Weekend in Houston
Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller will Join truTV’s Studio Coverage as Guest Analyst on Friday
truTV will air the 2011 College All-Star Game on Friday, April 1 during the 2011 MEN’s FINAL FOUR Weekend in Houston. The night will tip off with NCAA Tip-Off at 5 p.m. (ET), featuring Arizona head coach Sean Miller who will join the studio coverage as a guest analyst alongside host Greg Gumbel and analysts Seth Davis and Steve Smith. The Reese’s College All-Star Game will air at 5:30 p.m. (ET), with Dave Ryan calling play-by-play, Greg Anthony providing analysis and Tracy Wolfson serving as the sideline reporter. The network’s coverage will conclude with Inside March Madness, featuring Gumbel, Davis, Smith and Miller.
The game will feature two teams of the top collegiate senior student-athletes in the country, including Dwight Hardy (St. John’s), Jacob Pullen (Kansas State), Kenneth Faried (Morehead State), Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Tristan Thompson (North Texas), Gary Johnson (Texas), Brad Wanamaker (Pitt) and Gary McGhee (Pitt). The full rosters are below.
COLLEGE ALL-STAR GAME SCHEDULE:
DAY/DATE TIME (ET) EVENT Fri., April 1 5 p.m. NCAA Tip-Off Greg Gumbel (host), Seth Davis (analyst), Steve Smith (analyst) and Sean Miller (guest analyst) 5:30 p.m. College All-Star Game Dave Ryan (play-by-play) and Greg Anthony (analyst) with Tracy Wolfson (reporter) Post-game Inside March Madness Greg Gumbel (host), Seth Davis (analyst), Steve Smith (analyst) and Sean Miller (guest analyst)
WEST ALL-STARS ROSTER
Name Pos. Ht. Wt Hometown/College
Andrew Goudelock G 6-2 210 Stone Mtn., Ga./College of Charleston
Tai Wesley F 6-7 240 Provo, Utah/Utah State
Kenneth Faried F/C 6-8 228 Newark, N.J./Morehead State
Malcolm Thomas F 6-9 220 San Diego, Calif./San Diego State
Kalin Lucas G 6-1 195 Detroit, Mich./Michigan State
Tristan Thompson G 6-5 193 Angleton, Texas/North Texas
Alex Stepheson F 6-10 250 Los Angeles, Calif./USC
Mickey McConnell G 6-0 190 Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary’s
Cameron Jones G 6-4 185 Los Angeles, Calif./Northern Arizona
Gary Johnson F 6-6 238 Houston, Texas/Texas
Head Coach: Billy Tubbs Assistant Coach: Steve McClain
EAST ALL-STARS ROSTER
Name Pos. Ht. Wt Hometown/College
Dwight Hardy G 6-2 196 Bronx, N.Y./St. John’s
Lavoy Allen F 6-9 225 Morrisville, Pa./Temple
Brad Wanamaker G 6-4 210 Philadelphia, Pa./Pittsburgh
Chris Warren G 5-10 168 Orlando, Fla./Mississippi
Austin Freeman G 6-3 235 Mitchellville, Md./Georgetown
Mike Davis F 6-9 225 Alexandria, Va./Illinois
Gary McGhee C 6-11 250 Anderson, Ind./Pittsburgh
Jacob Pullen G 6-0 200 Maywood, Ill./Kansas State
Vlad Moldoveanu F 6-9 215 Bucharest, Romania/American
Jimmy Butler F 6-7 220 Tomball, Texas/Marquette
Head Coach: Bill Foster Assistant Coach: Jeff Jones
And that will do it for this post.
Mar
30
Nearly 100 Million People Have Watched Some or All of The NCAA Tournament
This just in from CBS/Turner, actually I got this on Tuesday, but due to the Denial of Service attack on the server that houses this blog (apparently, I was not the target, but this still affected me!), I wasn’t able to post this right away. Because the great people at CBS Sports and Turner Sports have been so diligent in sending me press releases regarding the NCAA Tournament, I don’t want to end my blogging for the night without posting the following information.
Almost 100 million people have watched part or all of the NCAA Tournament on the networks of CBS/Turner Sports. As you’re well aware by now, the Tournament has aired on CBS/TBS/TNT/tru TV. To be exact, 99.9 million represent an 11% increase from the viewership last year when the entire Tournament aired on CBS. It also blows away the previous high from 2005 when 95.6 million people had viewed the games through the regional finals.
Your press release.
An estimated 99.9 million viewers (Persons 2+) have watched all-or-part of CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship from the FIRST FOUR® on Tuesday, March 15 through the Regional Finals on Sunday, March 27, according to a Nielsen cume study. This year marked the first time that all of the games in the tournament were available nationally in their entirety on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.
The 99.9 million viewers represent an 11% increase over 89.6 million for CBS Sports’ coverage in 2010 and is higher than any of the all-or-part viewership that occurred in the past 10 years during the first two weeks of the NCAA Tournament on CBS.
The previous high in the past 10 years was in 2005 when 95.6 million viewers watched all-or-part of the coverage in which three of the four Regional Final games on Saturday and Sunday in the second week went to overtime.
The cume study is based on Total Viewers (Persons 2+) who have watched at least six minutes of the NCAA Tournament game coverage in the first two weeks of the event.
And we are done for the night. Back in the morning.
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