Fang's Bites

Some Thursday Linkage

Yesterday ended up being quite busy and I think today will as well, but at least I can provide you with the linkage that was lacking on Wednesday.

Here we go.

Sean Leahy at USA Today notes that the NFL’s skyrocketing ratings are putting pressure on the league in its collecting bargaining with the Players Association.

In the USA Today’s The Huddle blog, Sean writes that the NFL is facing multiple local blackouts this weekend.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has your NBA viewing guide for 2010-11 including interviews with ESPN and Turner Sports execs. 

We’re getting word that the overnight ratings for Game 1 of the World Series were quite good and high for a Fall Classic not involving the Red Sox and Yankees. Last night’s overnight rating was 10.4, lower than last year’s 13.8 for Yankees/Phillies, but higher than the 10.3 pulled by Phillies/Rays in 2008.

Locally, the San Francisco-Oakland market pulled a 35.9 rating and the Metroplex, Dallas-Fort Worth had a 33.9 for Game 1. Those are very good numbers. We’ll see how the rating does tonight against a very strong CBS Thursday lineup.

James Hibberd of the Hollywood Reporter says Game 1 beat all primetime programming. 

And we now have the final rating, 8.9 with 15 million viewers, down from last year.

The Hollywood Reporter has this story on a group of Cablevision subscribers filing a class action lawsuit over the loss of Fox.

Mike Farrell of Broadcasting & Cable says Cablevision will reimburse subscribers who have to watch the World Series online through MLB.TV due to its ongoing dispute with Fox.

Jon Lafayette of B&C reports that long-time CBS Sports spokesperson LeslieAnne Wade is leaving the network.

Ben Grossman of B&C has CBS Tyrant Leslie Moonves saying the network won’t be bidding on sports properties that lose money i.e., the Olympics.

Back to Mike Farrell, this time writing for Multichannel News telling us that Cablevision offered Fox to pay what Time Warner Cable was compensating the network. 

Katy Bachman from Mediaweek says Cablevision’s reimbursement offer could backfire on the company.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the NBA season openers on TNT delivered record ratings.

Austin Karp at Sports Business Daily writes that MLS saw its ratings go down on ESPN2 this season.

David Goetzl of MediaPost has CBS Sports declaring it won’t produce a 3-D sports broadcast unless it gets a sponsor. Well, ok! 

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes that the Dallas Cowboys and LeBron James are helping to pace the cable primetime ratings.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions feels Fox doesn’t deserve to broadcast the World Series or other big ticket sports events.

Phil says forget about HDTV or 3-D TV, get ready for ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION TV!

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser has the funny video of a Dallas sports anchor smelling something fishy along McCovey Cove at AT&T Park before Game 1 of the World Series.

Kevin Baumer at SportsGrid notes that the World Series has helped the San Francisco Giants turn a profit this season.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if he has actually found the 1988 World Series Kirk Gibson home run ball.

Reuters picks up a story from Tanya Roth of FindLaw.com regarding a group of former ESPNZone workers suing over the lack of notice before losing their jobs.

Brian Lowry at Fox Sports compares the approaches radio hosts Jim Rome and Dan Patrick take to TV.

David B. Wilkerson of Marketwatch says the recent find of a pristine copy of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series is leading to a new hunt for lost baseball footage. 

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with beloved Celtics TV analyst Tommy Heinsohn who can certainly get worked up during games. 

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Cablevision subscribers have had to resort to the old school outdoor antennae and indoor rabbit ears to pick up Fox.

Newsday’s Neil Best took a gander at MLB.com’s Postseason TV which some Cablevision subscribers have had to access to watch the World Series.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says the University of Albany will have some of its games aired on local cable.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says TNT received record ratings for its NBA season opening twinbill.

Ken McMillan at the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record has the MLS postseason TV schedule.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says area native Meredith Marakovits gets the call up to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Keith also notes another area native who works for NFL Films and is gaining a YouTube following for recapping each NFL week through song parodies.

Peter Van Allen at the Philadelphia Business Journal says Comcast SportsNet has tweaked its 76ers broadcast team.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says MLB will host a gala showing of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, a month before MLB Network airs the footage.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says TNT and the local DC media will provide extensive coverage of rookie guard John Wall as he makes his first NBA rounds with the Wizards.

Larry Vaught of the Danville (KY) Advocate talks with ESPN’s college basketball analyst Mark Gottfried about the SEC.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal, we learn that horse racing network TVG will begin to air Breeders’ Cup daily programming starting this weekend.

Dave Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune says NBC will attempt to set a Guiness World Record during the Sunday Night Football game between the Steelers and Saints. 

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News notes that the Cowboys’ season is sinking fast in both the standings and the ratings.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Giants-Cowboys Monday night game received high ratings locally.

At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley notes that Suds City loves watching Sunday Night Football.

Chicago Tribune media writer Phil Rosenthal says Bears fans are in risk of losing out on watching their team as Fox may be pulled from Dish Network as of Monday.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says five Kings games will be seen on over the air TV meaning all of the team’s regular season contests will be televised.

Cecil Conley of the Rocklin (CA) Placer Herald profiles Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/California program director Ky Bell who got her start as a volleyball player in town.

Sports Media Watch says there’s no need to panic, the World Series ratings will be fine.

Dave Kohl at the Major League Programs blog says legendary Cleveland Cavs radio announcer Joe Tait is missed as a new NBA seaon starts.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest writes that TNT is way ahead of last year’s NBA ad sales pace thanks to increased interest from social media.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann remembers a sportswriting colleague who was a fixture at New York City’s baseball stadiums.

And this is where I’ll end it for today. This took way too long.

Our Friday Megalinks

Time to do our megalinks. Kind of difficult as I watch the tributes to Walter Cronkite who passed away at the age of 92 tonight. He was one of the reasons why I went into broadcast journalism.

I’ll press on with the links tonight.

As usual, I’ll begin with the Weekend Viewing Picks.

We’re officially in the dog days of summer as we don’t have too much sports viewing other than the Open Championship and baseball for the weekend.

TNT and ABC share the Open Championship this weekend without Tiger Woods. At least there’s the story of a 59 year old Tom Watson that could bring viewers, but when Greg Norman was in the hunt last year, the ratings without Tiger for the Open were down considerably from the year before. TNT and ABC start coverage on Saturday at 7 a.m. and on Sunday morning at 6.

Nationally, Fox, TBS and ESPN are forcefeeding the New York teams down our throats. We get a double dose of Mets-Braves on Fox and ESPN. Then TBS has Tigers-Yankees on Sunday afternoon. The only respite we get is from MLB Network and WGN America. Your baseball viewing for the weekend is right here.

The Tour de France continues and Versus has full coverage starting at 8:30 Saturday morning and 7:30 Sunday morning.

Check out the full viewing picks here.

Let’s get to the links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that the man known as Batting Stance Guy is getting more national recognition thanks to his spot on the Late Show with David Letterman.

The Hollywood Reporter picks up a story from John Consoli of sister publication Mediaweek that ad sales for upcoming sporting events are slow including the once recession-proof NFL.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that Versus’ ratings for the Tour de France are up 77% from last year.

Chris Byrne at the Eye on Sports Media may have pieced together the SEC on CBS schedule for this fall.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports that the Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade has become a Nike convert. Darren adds that NFL teams are seeing their ticket waiting lists go up in smoke.

The Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

The Big Lead says a St. Louis newspaper published the home addresses of several present and past Cardinals and got its credentials yanked as a result.

Deadspin says Erin Andrews is ready to file a lawsuit and for a very good reason. I hope she gets millions of dollars for this.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says WBZ-FM/The Sports Hub is ready to take on WEEI.

Speaking of WBZ-FM vs. WEEI, I have an interview with Chuck Wilson, formerly of ESPN Radio, about the upcoming battle between the two stations.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Bill Doyle talks with WHDH sports reporter Larry Ridley.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times took a tour of the new Cowboys Stadium.

Newsday’s Neil Best says SNY will show a Mets Classic game in which the team actually loses. In his blog, Neil writes that WFAN is a ratings powerhouse on Long Island. Neil has WFAN’s Operations Manager Mark Chernoff saying Craig Carton doesn’t cross the proverbial line. Neil toured Dodger Stadium during his vacation. Neil writes that Reggie Jackson is not happy with how ESPN portrayed him in “The Bronx is Burning”.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says people are watching the Mets on TV while refusing to go the games in person. That’s a bit of a stretch.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is pleasantly surprised that Mad Dog Radio apologized for pulling shenanigans on the listeners last week.

Justin Terranova of the Post talks with Sirius XM MLB Home Plate co-host Jim Duquette about the Yankees.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says this weekend’s ESPN on ABC production of the Open Championship will not be pleasant to the viewing eye.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times writes that the Capitals remain red hot with their fans.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says a new ratings system has produced some surprising results for the city’s sports radio stations.

Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Batting Stance Guy makes his Fox Sports Southwest debut this weekend.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News breaks down the sports radio ratings hour by hour. Barry is amazed that a Wal-Mart is located so close to the Cowboys’ new stadium.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks with the new program director of a local sports radio station.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman writes that ESPN’s Ron Franklin plans on retiring when his contract expires early next year. Ron has been a class act and will be missed.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says a second sports radio station is about to hit the local area.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel chronicles former Buck Richard Jefferson’s interview with Howard Stern regarding him calling off his wedding.

From Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman has his winners and losers in sports business and media.

Paul Christian in the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says Tom Watson rather be playing on Sunday than broadcasting the Open Championship on ABC.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says there’s a feud brewing between Cardinals TV analyst Al Hrabosky and manager Tony LaRussa.

Dan adds an urban sports radio station makes its debut next week in the Gateway City.

West

Scott D. Pierce in the Deseret (UT) News tells us that the mtn. will be offering more events in HD this season.

John Maffei in the North County Times gives new Padres TV voice Mark Neely good grades.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star criticizes Fox for missing the Presidential first pitch at the All-Star Game on Tuesday. And Jim talks with the TNT/ABC broadcast crew for the Open Championship.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times is bewildered that we can’t watch the Open Championship in HD. That will change next year.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Tom Hoffarth profiles popular TVG host and trackside reporter Christina Olivares. In his blog, Tom has some more with Ms. Olivares. Tom has his usual extensive media notes. And Tom looks back at the week in blogging.

John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News writes about Communist China’s delegation boycotting the Opening Ceremonies of the World Games being held in the democratically-elected country of Taiwan.

That’s going to do it for the megalinks. Thanks for reading.

Some Late Night Linkage

Time for some links on this Thursday.

Starting with the Associated Press which states that the American Sportscasters Association has named Lesley Visser as the top female sportscaster.

Here’s the release from the American Sportscasters Association and those who are ranked after Lesley.

Based on her career, I would agree with this. Lesley was the first female sideline reporter for Monday Night Football and was the first woman to host the Super Bowl trophy presentation. Lesley is also an excellent writer, worked for the Boston Globe and was taught by one of the best NFL reporters, Will McDonough. I cannot disagree with the ASA’s choice at all.

Comparing Lesley to Erin Andrews, Erin is more of a personality and I would not even begin to consider her as a journalist. In fact, she is becoming bigger than the event she covers which is a danger to any sports broadcaster. That’s when you start losing credibility and while I love looking at Erin and love posting and linking to her pictures, as a journalist, she hardly measures up to Lesley, Andrea Kremer or any of the pioneering women who are on the ASA list. In fact, she’s not even considered which would be correct in my mind. Putting on my journalist hat which I did wear in the 1980′s through the early 21st Century, I would consider Lesley, Andrea, Bonnie Bernstein, Andrea Joyce and Linda Cohn (misspelled on the ASA website!) fellow journalists. Erin who says TMZ.com is her favorite website cannot even be considered in the same league as the other women.

Off my soapbox now. To the other links

ESPN’s Ron Franklin tells Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman that he’ll retire after the 2010 NIT.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Phil Ivey in the World Series of Poker’s last table will bring the ratings for ESPN.

Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch says Comcast is pleased over the preliminary numbers for Red Sox on Demand.

Over to Neil Best of Newsday says WFAN remains the sports king in New York. Neil writes about the whole shenanigans at Mad Dog Radio. And Neil says YES and SNY are grabbing ratings for their baseball coverage.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says a local sports talk show will replaced with national programming next week as the host will be on vacation.

Ray Frager of the Sports Media Journal feels that Twitter is not for everyone.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that it’s Tom Watson’s wish to be playing at the Open Championship on Sunday instead of working for ESPN.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times reports that Australia is looking to ban alcohol sponsorship of sporting events.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News previews a Friday column on TVG trackside reporter and host Christina Olivares.

The Pacific Business News reports that Hawaiian Airlines has been named the sponsor of the inaugural Diamond Head Classic, a college basketball tournament owned by ESPN Regional Television.

Last night, I linked to a story in Mediapost which stated ESPN is using clips of SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt to sell upfront spots. It just so happens I have found the site that contains those clips.

Tonight, Wayne Friedman of Mediapost says Versus continues to rack up good ratings for the Tour de France.

Sports business writer Evan Weiner writes that network TV contracts could be responsible for labor actions by the NFL and the NBA in 2011.

John Consoli of Mediaweek says it was Cartoon Network that helped TNT cement its long-term contract for the PGA Championship.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says St. Louis supported the All-Star Game with high viewership.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media suggests 10 NHL games Versus should air.

A couple of programming notes.

On Friday, Jessie Karangu, a 16 year old internet radio talk show host will speak with UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghe and Jessie has asked me to plug his show which I will do. The show starts at 7 p.m. (I believe that is Eastern time) and you can call in and ask questions of the UFL Commish.

Also on Friday, ESPN’s Outside the Lines has obtained some interesting tape in regards to the Pacman Jones case:

ESPN has obtained never-before-released documents, as well as video of Adam “Pacman” Jones “making it rain” in a Las Vegas strip club, which precipitated a melee that ended in a triple shooting outside the club. The video, evidence jurors are likely to see when Jones takes the stand as a witness, will run Friday on ESPN.com, live SportsCenters, 3 p.m. Outside the Lines and ESPNEWS

I do respect the work of Outside the Lines, so I’ll give that a plug as well.

See you Friday.