Fang's Bites

Time For Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do some Tuesday links. Lots of stuff to get to.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that Bob Costas is receiving his share of criticism for his anti-gun commentary during halftime of Sunday Night Football.

Busted Coverage has video of Bob Costas telling Dan Patrick that he’s not backing off on his anti-gun comments.

Michael Katz of USA Today’s Game On blog recaps Vin Scully’s first and way too brief foray into Twitter on Monday.

From Yahoo’s Cagefighter, the great Maggie Hendricks tells us that Mixed Martial Arts viewing will be different in 2013.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Universal Sports will be moving its operations from Los Angeles to the Comcast Media Center in Denver.

From Advertising Age, Brian Steinberg writes that Mercedes-Benz plans to bring out some big guns for its Super Bowl ad in February.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell notes that Lincoln cars are looking to make a return to Super Bowl advertising.

Tom Conroy of Media Life Magazine reviews the new NFL Films-produced Travel Channel documentary series on the Cleveland Browns support staff.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report reviews two documentaries that debut this week.

The Nielsen Wire says the Los Angeles Lakers are the most marketable of all NBA teams.

Steve Burton of WBZ-TV in Boston is the only one reporting that the NHL Lockout is close to ending.

Bill Carter of the New York Times says Bob Costas put the spotlight on himself with his anti-gun Sunday Night Football halftime commentary.

The New York Daily News reports that the Jets have renewed their radio rights deal with ESPN Radio New York.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says YES Network had its best ratings ever for a Nets game.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union says Monday night’s Giants-DC NFL Team contest hit the ratings jackpot for ESPN.

Chris Korman of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Orioles are denying yesterday’s Sports Business Journal report that Fox Sports attempted to buy MASN.

Sarah Kogod from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog tells us that many DC-area athletes stayed up to watch Robert Griffin III on Monday Night Football.

Erik Wemple at the WaPo talks about sports networks tackling political topics.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times reviews what happened on sports television over the weekend.

The Fort Pierce (FL) Tribune reports that the local ESPN Radio affiliate will continue to produce nightly sports report for the local NBC and Fox stations.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Jim Deshaies’ departure for Chicago is a big loss for the Astros.

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says Fox is close to purchasing Sports Time Ohio and gaining the rights to the city’s MLB team.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune talks about the Cubs hiring a new analyst.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the five things he learned from the weekend.

Joe Flint from the Los Angeles Times says NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football is eating into the ratings of the league’s other TV partners.

Sports Media Watch notes that the MLS Cup had a slight decline in its overnight ratings as the game moved from a Sunday night to late Saturday afternoon.

The Huffington Post has video of ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit giving Northern Illinois blackboard material by ripping the team’s invitation to the Orange Bowl.

That’s where I’ll end it today.

Cranking Out The Friday Megalinks

Wasn’t able to do any posts yesterday as I was away for most of the day. Tough to get anything done when you’re out of range for any internet or even 3G. First World Problems.

Anyway, time for some Friday megalinks. Been doing well with the links, except for Thursday, but let’s continue doing them today.

No Weekend Viewing Picks yet. When they’re done, I’ll insert them here.

Let’s get cracking on the linkage.

National

We begin with Michael Hiestand of USA Today who talks with CBS’ Gary Danielson about the SEC Championship.

Ed Sherman with The Sherman Report has AOL’s David Whitley’s response to criticisms about his column about 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s tattoos.

Ed has CBS’ Verne Lundquist discussing SEC fatigue.

Ed has Gary Danielson’s preview of the SEC Championship.

And Ed analyzes the local ratings for the NFL.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk has Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein baffled at the NFL’s censoring of an interview featuring Bradley Cooper over a movie Weinstein produced that referenced gambling and adds that some team owners actually liked the flick.

Lesley Goldberg of the Hollywood Reporter notes that U.S. Olympic diving gold medalist David Boudia will join a new ABC celebrity diving show as a judge. Yes, Greg Louganis will also be a judge.

Will Ashworth of Investor Place wonders if now is the time for Disney to sell ESPN.

Jordan Rabinowitz of SportsGrid has video of San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich shooting down TNT’s Charles Barkley during an in-game interview against the Miami Heat.

Matt Yoder from Awful Announcing says this weekend is a big test for Fox College Football.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth notes that CBS Sports Network and NBC Sports Network need to step up their games.

Sports Media Watch talks about the ratings for Notre Dame-USC.

Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com says Notre Dame’s resurgence is good news for its TV rights.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell feels NBA Communist Sympathizer David Stern is wrong for threatening to sanction the San Antonio Spurs for sending their major players home last night.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says traditional media is clashing with new rules surrounding live tweeting of games.

From earlier in the week, John Koblin of Deadspin writes about ESPN admonishing its staff for crediting a story to SportsbyBrooks.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe says some big name announcers got their start at Boston College’s student radio station.

Paul Doyle of the Hartford Courant writes that the Big East Conference has to recover from its latest blows while negotiating a new TV contract.

Charles McGrath of the New York Times profiles WFAN’s Steve Somers who’s been schmoozing s-p-o-r-t-s for 25 years on the nation’s first all-sports radio station.

Newsday’s Neil Best says SNY’s New York Jets postgame show does not pull any punches.

Neil has the Jets’ Tim Tebow being fine with the New York media.

Neil has an ESPN executive embracing debate.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick hates the Knicks’ style of play.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union has New York’s Capital Region’s Week 13 NFL TV schedule.

Pete says ESPN executives are doing backflips over Notre Dame playing in the BCS National Championship Game.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says next week’s Army-Navy game will be aired nationally on radio.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that Louisville made the right sales pitch to get invited to join the ACC.

South

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman notes that three local college football teams all get national telecasts at the same time on Saturday.

Midwest

Lynn Henning of the Detroit News says while the Tigers may not have a rights fee as high as major market teams, they are still happy with their relationship with Fox Sports.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recaps a GQ article that profiles some of the NFL replacement referees.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business discusses Groupon’s new relationship with MLB.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Missouri football and basketball games will remain on a Gateway City radio station for several years.

Dan wonders where a local sports radio talk show host will surface after losing his job for making racial comments.

Greg Palermo of the Creve Coeur (MO) Patch says a local sports radio host said goodbye to his listeners today.

West

The Idaho Statesman says ESPN Radio has picked up a new affiliate in Boise.

John Maffei of the North County Times is frustrated that most local fans can’t watch this weekend’s high school football championship games.

Jim Carlisle from the Ventura County Star says tonight’s Pac-12 Championship on Fox gives UCLA and Stanford a chance to wipe their slate clean for the postseason.

Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times catches up with Dodgers voice Vin Scully as he turns 85.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the Dodgers are about to hit the motherlode whether it’s with Fox or another company.

Tom has some items that didn’t make his newspaper media column.

And that’s going to do it for now.

Some Sunday Linkage

I have some time on this NFL Sunday to provide some rare weekend linkage. Let’s get to it.

Chris Chase at USA Today’s Game On blog notes that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder has confirmed that he’s dating ESPN College GameDay’s Samantha Steele.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News talks about the Pac-12 Networks being made available to Apple mobile devices as long as they’re subscribers of participating cable and satellite providers.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report reviews this week’s 30 for 30 documentary which has a Chicago slant.

Sports Media Watch says expect Fox to be a player for the rights to the second half of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season if ESPN and Turner falter in their negotiations next year.

SportsRantz says Jen Royle is owed an apology by Toronto Blue Jays fans after she correctly reported that John Farrell was a target of the Red Sox for its managerial opening.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group says Fox Sports is ready to launch its New Orleans channel with the rights to the Hornets in hand.

Ty Duffy at The Big Lead notes that actress Natalie Portman turned heads at the Baylor-Texas game last night.

Stephen Douglas of The Big Lead has video evidence of Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Ryan Lochte being dumber than you and me.

Tom Ley at Deadspin notes that ESPN’s Rick Reilly got fooled by web satire once again.

Once again, Phil Mushnick at the New York Post finds something to hate.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog recaps President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s comments on DC NFL team QB Robert Griffin III on Fox NFL Sunday.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with Doug Gottlieb about his new CBS Sports Network late night show.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times rates the commissioners‘ of MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL.

Nice to have Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News back in Fang’s Bites. He wonders where are the Cowboys fans as the team’s TV ratings have fallen like a rock this season.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle bids farewell to Big Tex, the huge statue that adorned the Texas State Fair outside Dallas that burned down on Friday and the voice of Big Tex.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman reviews Fox Sports Net’s production of last night’s Oklahoma blowout of Kansas.

The Oklahoman notes that ESPN’s College GameDay will be at the Notre Dame-Oklahoma game in Norman next Saturday.

The Cincinnati Enquirier’s John Kiesewetter talks with NBC’s Al Michaels who got his big break in the Queen City.

John has some outtakes with Al that didn’t make the newspaper story.

Joe Reedy of the Enquirer talks with Cris Collinsworth who will have a heavy heart working with Al Michaels tonight.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco has his work cut out for him in negotiating a new TV contract for the conference.

At TimeOut Chicago, Robert Feder discusses Jenny McCarthy joining the Sun-Times as a columnist, the Tribune going behind the dreaded paywall, and Bob Brenly’s replacement as Cubs analyst.

At the Los Angeles Daily News, Tom Hoffarth recalls the 31st Anniversary of “Blue Monday” for the Dodgers with Vin Scully.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog enjoys the MLB International productions over TBS and Fox in the postseason.

And that will do it.

A Few Back To Work Tuesday Sports Media Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day Weekend. Let’s do a few sports media thoughts for you on this back to work Tuesday. They’re in bullet form as always.

• In this week’s Sports Business Journal, John Ourand reports that both Fox and CBS/Turner are looking to combine packages to force the other out of the MLB TV business. As you know, ESPN renewed its rights deal with MLB keeping Sunday, Monday and Wednesday Night Baseball and getting one Wild Card Playoff Game.

  Now with one half of the MLB contract settled, it appears MLB is pitting Fox and Turner against each other. In the SBJ article which is currently behind the dreaded paywall, Ourand says Fox is proposing to take Turner’s playoff games which includes the Division Series and one League Championship Series and all of Turner’s regular season games. Fox would place the earlier playoffs plus most of its regular season inventory onto its current Speed channel which would be converted to all-sports and Ourand says it would called “Fox Sports 1″.

  For its part, Turner informed MLB that it would interested in not only keeping its current package, but also taking Fox’s package including the All-Star Game plus its half of the MLB Postseason. Turner would bring in CBS to air the All-Star Game, some LCS games and the World Series.

  It would be interesting if MLB decides to combine the two packages or just keep them separate. Plus it appears that ESPN won’t be receiving more than the one Wild Card Playoff unless MLB decides to throw the other bids out.

  And it also appears NBC is on the outside looking in for now.

  The MLB bidding is turning out to be quite intriguing. I would like to see NBC back in baseball, but it appears that MLB wants to keep at least two of its current partners.

• Last week’s announcement that Vin Scully was returning to call Los Angeles Dodgers games next season was welcomed on this end. The man is a national treasure and still is the best at calling baseball. Here’s hoping that he’ll at least one more World Series before he decides to retire.
• The NBC Sports Radio Network officially launches today with a nighttime lineup which includes Mr. Know It All, Erik Kuselias. While the dayparts from 7 p.m. — 5 a.m. ET have been filled and affiliates across the country have been signed up, the more important morning drive and midday slots have yet to be slotted. The big question is if NBC can bring in Dan Patrick for the 9 a.m. — noon slot.
• Nice to have college football back, although I’m not sure having Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech to end Week 1 on Labor Day was the best of ideas.
• Thanks to a horrid Red Sox season, I have not been more ready for the NFL than I am right now.
• I’ve enjoyed having CBS and CBS Sports Network combine coverage for the U.S. Open, although cutting off right at 6 p.m. on Sunday and giving way to Tennis Channel was a bit abrupt.

That’s going to do it for now.

Breaking Out Some Thursday Linkage

Let’s do the Thursday linkage. We’re doing well so far this week, knock on wood.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal reports NBC’s overnight rating for Wednesday’s Olympic Primetime was up from Beijing.

Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Journal says YouTube is looking to further strengthen its live sports portfolio after streaming Olympic content in Africa and Asia.

Austin Karp of SBJ says NBC’s Olympic ratings remain ahead of Beijing’s pace.

Michael Katz of USA Today notes that USA gold medal-winning gymnast McKayla Maroney taught NBC’s Jenna Bush how to do the Dougie. Can’t wait for Colin Cowherd to criticize both for their upbringings.

Speaking of McKayla, Erin Carlson of the Hollywood Reporter notes that one of the funniest internet memes has come Maroney’s reaction to winning the silver medal last week in the individual vault event. Here is the site, “McKayla Maroney is not Impressed” which is being updated quite frequently.

Major League Baseball has released the 2012 Postseason schedule with networks.

John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable says Comcast is still fighting an FCC decision requiring the cable provider to make room for Tennis Channel.

Dan Alexander at Forbes writes that the U.S. Fierce Five gymnasts stand to make a lot of money in endorsements.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age says the 2012 Olympics may be winding down, but NBCUniversal has already sold a portion of its ad time for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life says NBC’s strategy to put the Olympics on NBC Sports Network is paying off.

Steve Lepore at SB Nation provides his rankings for NBC’s Olympic announcers.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report is surprised to learn that CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus and golf producer Lance Barrow aren’t concerned with slow play in golf.

Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says critics of NBC’s tape delays should be focusing their anger at something else.

Steve Myers at the Poynter Institute says a new Gallup Poll finds viewers want their Olympics live in primetime.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead has video of Fox’s Erin Andrews and Eddie George dancing to “Call Me Maybe”.

NBC Sports provides a sneak peek at its new digs currently under construction in Connecticut.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group explores how the Olympics are being sent to Australia.

Bill Carter of the New York Times writes that female Olympic athletes are finding the spotlight and scrutiny rather harsh, especially Lolo Jones.

Arthur S. Brisbane, the Times’ public editor believes Jeré Longman’s article that began the public takedown of Jones was too harsh.

Sam Borden of the Times says viewers of women’s water polo are getting a bit more exposure than they anticipated.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette notes that ESPNU won’t airing any college hockey regular season games again.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that local radio stations will be picking up national college and NFL broadcasts this fall.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will be all over the Baltimore Ravens and DC NFL Team in the preseason.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun looks at a poll which shows a majority of Americans like how NBC is handling the Olympics.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says MLB Network’s Kevin Millar and ESPN’s Dick Vitale (?) are weighing in on the Nationals’ strategy to shut down pitcher Stephen Strasburg.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that NBC is setting viewership records both online and on TV for the Olympics.

At the Bleacher Report, Jim looks at Telemundo’s coverage of the 2012 London Games.

Back to Eric Deggans, this time in his home newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, says NBC’s syndicated Olympic Zone program blurs the line between real news and advertising.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds’ hot July pumped Fox Sports Ohio’s ratings.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Big Ten Network’s college football announcers have some local ties.

Danny Ecker of Crain’s Chicago Business writes that local TV ratings for the Olympics are good, but not at the top of the country.

David Brauer of the Minnesota Post looks at Minneapolis-St. Paul’s radio ratings including the sports radio wars.

Scott D. Pierce from the Salt Lake Tribune says Salt Lake has the highest ratings in the nation for the Olympics once again.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says it’s about time for the annual Vin Scully announcement on whether he’ll return for another season.

Sports Media Watch has some of the bottom feeders among the local ratings for the Olympics.

Joe Favorito says the soccer exhibition “friendlies” may now be over in the U.S., but they helped to grow the game.

The latest Awful Announcing podcast has ESPN’s Darren Rovell as the guest.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth looks at some teams making flagship radio station moves.

And that’s going to finish us for today.

Checking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Let’s provide some mid-week linkage before I get too busy later on.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily writes that NBC’s overnight rating for Tuesday’s Olympic primetime was up from the comparable night four years ago.

Tripp Mickle of SBJ says NBC is about to set up a set of exhibition beach volleyball matches between the US and China later this year.

In an SBJ podcast, Tripp meets with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch to talk about the media coverage of the 2012 Olympics.

Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter will not complain about NBC’s Olympic coverage.

Daniel Miller of the Reporter says swimmer Ryan Lochte is in discussions to star in his own reality TV show.

Also from the Reporter, Marisa Guthrie has five lessons NBC should learn from the 2012 Games.

Another from the Reporter, a majority of those polled think Ryan Seacrest is doing a good job at the Olympics? Who is being polled?

And finally from the Reporter, Eriq Gardner reports that the NCAA has been ordered to hand over TV licensing revenue documents in a case involving video game manufacturer Electronic Arts which is using likenesses of student-athletes without permission from the athletes themselves.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead has video of Lolo Jones breaking down on the Today Show this morning.

Meanwhile, Glenn Davis of SportsGrid has video of medal winners Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells being rather candid about their opinions on Lolo with Michelle Beadle this morning.

Jen Floyd Engel at FoxSports.com says despite what the media says, this is not the Olympics of the Woman as the media is stating.

Graeme McMillan of Time asks if NBC should offer the Olympics as reality TV or just straight sports?

Joe Posnanski talks with former NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol about working his last Olympics for American television, the 2012 London Games.

Reid Cherner of USA Today’s Game On has a look at the upcoming slate of 30 for 30 documentaries.

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated profiles ESPN’s Joe Tessitore who is getting a high profile college football assignment after years of taking on crazy schedules.

SI’s Richard Deitsch has a college football roundtable featuring writers Stewart Mandel, Andy Staples and Holly Anderson on what they expect from the TV side of the sport this season.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says NBC Sports Network is setting viewership records with Olympic programming.

Tim writes that AT&T U-Verse has signed a new agreement to carry NFL Network and RedZone.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says the 2012 Olympics are on pace to become the most-watched TV event in US history.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that online sports viewers can tolerate the bombardment of ads seen during the Olympics.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says the Olympics are topping social TV sites like GetGlue, but HBO’s True Blood is showing its reach.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life looks at the winners and losers from broadcasting the Olympics.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions says DirecTV may be adding five new channels including one sports network run by Al Jazeera.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report notes that a former Boston Globe college sports columnist is now on his own and got a big scoop this week.

Ed has a couple of NBC Sports-related announcements that have nothing to do with the Olympics.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at NBC’s operations at Olympic Stadium.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell notes that it’s better for sponsors that Michael Phelps remain retired instead of him being an active Olympian.

CBS Radio has officially announced that Scott Zolak will be the radio analyst for New England Patriots games starting this Thursday. He replaces Gino Cappeletti who retired last month.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that NBC is getting a mixed ratings bag for the Olympics from the last few days.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union tells readers where they can find this week’s New York Giants preseason opener.

Pete has ESPN’s schedule of MLB games for most of this month.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that former Jets and Giants coach Bill Parcells will appear on ESPN Radio NY opposite his buddy, WFAN’s Mike Francesa during NFL season.

Ken says NBC Sports Network will have Olympic reruns throughout August.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that ESPN Radio Hack Colin Cowherd is up to his old tricks again.

Eric Deggans from the Tampa Bay Times wonders if the Olympic promos for the NBC’s “Go On” might actually hurt the show in the long run.

Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald looks at last night’s Hard Knock premiere on HBO.

Izzy Gould at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that the Miami Dolphins put the team up for display on Hard Knocks.

Gould says Hard Knocks did not explore the Dolphins’ injuries.

Mel Bracht from The Oklahoman says the local NBC affiliate’s ratings are down from 4 years ago.

T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times talks with Vin Scully about calling Sandy Koufax’s perfect game back in 1965.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Scully made a great argument for using instant replay in baseball during an argument on the field Monday night.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says while viewers in the Great White North are complaining about Olympic coverage, the ratings are saying otherwise.

Ben Koo of Awful Announcing goes in-depth into the Turner Sports purchase of the Bleacher Report.

Matt Yoder of AA defends Lolo Jones against the very strange media backlash that began over the weekend in the New York Times.

John Koblin of Deadspin writes that even our troops stationed abroad are victims to NBC’s tape delays and can’t watch the Olympics live!

Sports Media Watch says UFC on Fox set yet another record low for mixed martial arts on network TV.

The Big Lead, in a sponsored post, speaks with CBS’ Clark Kellogg.

That is going to do it for today.

Bringing Out Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do some linkage for you on this Tuesday.

Earlier today, actually very early today, I wrote Some Tuesday Olympic Sports Media Thoughts. I hope it makes sense.

Austin Karp of the Sports Business Daily says NBC saw its second drop in the overnight ratings for the 2012 Olympics.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says a new poll finds that Americans want to watch their Olympics live. Well, well, NBC.

Reid Cherner of USA Today has video of someone on Fox News complaining that gold medal-winning gymnast Gabby Douglas and other US Olympic athletes aren’t being patriotic because they aren’t wearing red, white and blue. Did someone really think that was a serious complaint?

Etan Vlessing at the Hollywood Reporter says CTV received its biggest Olympic ratings to date with Usain Bolt’s gold medal-winning performance in the 100 meters dash.

Gary Holmes from MediaPost says Olympic viewers want to see the Games one way. On TV.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says a poll finds a majority pleased with NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. Really?

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News looks at NBC’s Olympic primetime ratings for Sunday.

Mike also delves into the online numbers visiting NBC’s Olympics website.

Jeannine Poggi of Advertising Age explains why Turner Broadcasting purchased the Bleacher Report.

Jeannine says people might be complaining about NBC’s tape delays, but the network and advertisers are benefiting the most.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says NBC’s viewership for the Olympics on Sunday was a triumph for the network.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid has video of Vin Scully carefully translating an argument during last night’s Colorado-Los Angeles Dodgers game.

Timothy Burke has a freeze frame of NBC’s Al Michaels. This is so funny.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times goes over the sale of the Bleacher Report to Turner Sports.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes about some of NBC’s Olympic operations being handled out of New York.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says local native Joe Tessitore gets a college football promotion from ESPN.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with local sports anchor Andrew Catalon who called tennis history during the Olympics.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun interviews NBC Olympics director Bucky Gunts.

Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald says the premiere of Hard Knocks with Dolphins is set for tonight.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman goes over ESPN’s college football announcing teams for 2012.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the Olympics continue to do well locally.

The San Diego Union-Tribune says the blackout has been lifted for the Chargers’ preseason opener on Thursday.

Sports Media Watch looks at the UFC on Fox ratings on Saturday.

Guyism notes that Kelly Tilghman created a new country on MSNBC today.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog looks at the media openly rooting during the Olympics.

That will be it for now.

Let’s Do Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for the links on this Wednesday. Let’s check out what we have.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter talks with NBC’s Bob Costas about the Olympics, Jerry Sandusky and being short. That’s right.

Daniel Kaplan from the Sports Business Journal writes that the NFL will not sign a telecommunications partner this season and will see how the Wi-Fi experience goes at five stadiums before deciding.

Owen Gibson of the London (UK) Guardian reports that BBC has scored the rights to the Olympics through 2020.

BBC Director-General Mark Thompson blogs about the Beeb keeping the UK rights to the Olympics.

I have the BBC press release on the new Olympics contract.

Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly says ESPNU will have its own late night entertainment/talk show premiering in late August.

Also from EW, Dan Snierson says disgraced former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose will get his own TLC reality show. The question is, who doesn’t have a TLC reality show?

Brian Moran at Broadcasting & Cable says World Team Tennis will get live national coverage this weekend on Tennis Channel and the Comcast SportsNet regional affiliates.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life writes that ratings for the Home Run Derby were up while the All-Star Game took a hit.

The SportsCasters

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report wonders why SI passed on printing an excerpt of Posnanski’s book.

Ed notices that the promotional video for the Paterno book has been removed from YouTube.

Ed talks with an ESPN executive on the network now using its own cameras instead of relying on the BBC to cover the Open Championship.

Reinhardt Krause of Investor’s Business Daily look at how cable providers are finding ways to drive up sports rights fees.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Eric Deggans in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center talks with Real Sports’ Frank Deford about his updated piece on marching band hazing at historically black colleges.

SportsGrid’s Eric Goldschein has video of Los Angeles Dodgers voice Vin Scully scolding the team for its failure to execute a rundown play.

Patrick Burns at Deadspin says the Joe Paterno story dominated ESPN’s news coverage last week.

Deadspin’s John Koblin notes that Sports Illustrated is beginning to use the photo sharing site, Instagram.

The London (UK) Mirror provides 100 bizarre facts about the Olympics.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN’s Paul Azinger about the Open Championship.

Brandon Marcello of the Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger says the SEC Storied documentary series will produce a film on a former Mississippi State football coach.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that with the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, USA basketball vs. Brazil on ESPN drew very well locally.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer wonders what exactly will the new TLC Pete Rose reality show be about?

John says a local internet service provider will add ESPN3 in August.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times looks at ESPN paying the Rose Bowl $80 million per year starting in 2015.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has a preview of tonight’s “The Franchise” episode on Showtime which will show the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton going under the knife.

Joe Flint of the Times has Comcast appealing to the government to butt out of its programming decisions i.e., Tennis Channel.

Sports Media Watch notes that TNT’s NASCAR season finale saw increased ratings.

SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Chinwe Nwadike at Chinwe’s Corner wonders why some in the media are angry at Fox’s Erin Andrews.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest says the WWE has established a social media hub for investors.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has a screengrab of the Longhorn Network taking one final shot at Texas A&M before it leaves the Big 12 for good.

Jason Boog at Galleycat says an NBC Sports producer has published a children’s book on the Olympics.

That will do it for today.

Finally Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do some Friday megalinks. You’ve been owed some and I haven’t been able to do links for most of the week.

Of course, you have the Weekend Viewing Picks which provide plenty of college sports, soccer, baseball and the NBA and NHL postseason action.

Now let’s do your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today explores Jason La Canfora’s decision to leave NFL Network and bolt to CBS.

Media Rantz looks into the potential departure of Michelle Beadle from ESPN to NBC.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch says E! will produce a special on New York Jets QB Tim Tebow.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report hears from a Fox Soccer executive on why the Fox Sports Media Group chose to air so many English Premier League games on the final day of the season.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk writes that despite reports to the contrary, it appears that the New York Jets won’t make another appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer.

Eriq Gardner at the Hollywood Reporter says a group of fans have filed a class action lawsuit against MLB and its TV partners on the antiquated and silly blackout policy.

Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel says while the Minnesota Vikings will finally get their long-awaited stadium, one state legislator attempted to sneak a bill ending all local NFL blackouts. I think that was a great idea.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable writes the long-anticipated Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Lakers-centric regional sports network will launch in October.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that Fox has sold out its ad inventory for the UEFA Champions League Final.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says social media is changing the way we watch sports.

In the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says there are times when the N-word should to be published in full.

Eric Goldschein at SportsGrid says CBC Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean stretched his analogy too far in comparing the 9/11 First Responders to NHL players this week.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group looks at NBC/Golf Channel’s joint production of this week’s Players Championship.

Brandon Costa of SVG explores ESPN’s expanded multiplatform rights for NCAA Championships.

And SVG tells us about the Big East Conference’s in-house production of the league’s Baseball Tournament.

Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com looks into the dollars and cents of the major college sports TV rights contracts.

Patrick Rishe at Forbes says while the ACC signed a rich contract with ESPN, it still doesn’t compare to the Pac-12′s huge megadeal.

My Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff chronicles her day spent at the MLB Fan Cave for espnW.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch crunches the numbers behind the ratings rise for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and the lower for the NBA Playoffs.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing also looks into the ratings for the NBA and NHL Postseasons.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead notes the disturbing arrest of the PA Announcer for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth looks at some of the sports media stories that are irking him this week.

East and Mid-Atlantic

I haven’t been able to address the death of Carl Beane, the Red Sox public address announcer. Carl was a radio reporter in Western Massachusetts and also free-lanced for ESPN Radio, CBS Radio, Fox Sports Radio to report on various NFL and college games. He died this week when he suffered a heart attack and crashed his car. He was 59. It seemed everyone in New England had some connection to Beane. I’ll give you some of the stories that have been written about him this week.

David Scott at ESPN’s Front Row PR blog gets reaction from people at the network who knew him.

Gordon Edes at ESPN Boston says Beane felt he was born to be the Fenway Park public address announcer.

WEEI’s Mike Petraglia writes about his personal connection to Beane.

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox paid tribute to Beane at last night’s game by not having anyone do the PA.

Amanda Bruno of the Springfield Republican writes that Beane was a role model and mentor to her.

To other stories now, heading back to the Globe, Chad Finn says the ACC got its huge deal and it will affect member school Boston College in many ways.

Chad says former Red Sox voice Jerry Trupiano is getting some familial help in trying to get the Houston Astros radio gig.

Desmond Connor of the Hartford Courant says the Big East’s interim commissioner is hopeful his conference can cash in on the recent big spending by ESPN and other networks.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir talks with the legendary Vin Scully.

Richard profiles the person behind a fake Walt Frazier Twitter account.

Jack Bell of the Times interviews Fox Sports President Eric Shanks about Sunday’s unprecedented English Premier League coverage.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Times rails over player unions defending their membership for the wrong reasons.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with NBC’s Pierre McGuire.

Justin has five questions for TNT’s Kenny Smith.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says a former local sports reporter is returning to her roots with Time Warner Cable’s Southern California network.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says technical difficulties plagued a local radio broadcast of the Yankees.

Pete says many of NBC/Golf Channel’s cameras will be focused squarely on one hole at the Players Championship this week.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record explores the new SNY deal to air UConn women’s basketball games.

At the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner asks if high school football is doomed.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call watched the train wreck of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens appearing on Dr. Phil this week and being confronted by his multiple baby mommas.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post says MLB Network compared the swings of the late Mickey Mantle and the Nationals’ Bryce Harper.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a new local sports radio morning host comes with some baggage from his old job.

David says Comcast and ESPN cut a deal this week for subscribers to watch the network online.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that Fox Sports Oklahoma will air specials next week on the state’s two major college football programs.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds TV and Radio ratings are up this season.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch explores the Cubs’ Kerry Wood blowing up at the local media this week.

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin looks at NBC’s coverage of The Players Championship.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that a local sports anchor gets to talk news on the radio.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times says the local media plans to cover Junior Seau’s public memorial today.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star notes that outgoing flagship TV station KCAL gave another farewell to the Los Angeles Lakers this week.

Jim looks at the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass which will get plenty of attention on NBC/Golf Channel at the Players Championship.

Jim provides his weekend viewing picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at Time Warner Cable’s new sports channels.

Tom tries to give Kings fans missing their local TV voices a silver lining.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News goes over the latest developments at the Pac-12 Networks.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC’s Ron MacLean had to clarify his 9/11 remarks before Game 6 of the New York Rangers-Washington Capitals series.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the announcing assignments for both CBC and TSN in the NHL Conference Final round.

And we are done. Enjoy your sports weekend.

Videos of the Week: The NFL Today on CBS

This is some amazing stuff. I don’t know who uploaded these to YouTube, but this is some pretty video showing entire editions of The NFL Today on CBS. This is from Week 13 in 1979. Brent Musburger is the host (why he has never won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Studio Host is beyond me), Irv Cross is the analyst, Jayne Kennedy plays role of feature reporter and Jimmy “The Greek” is there for prognostications.

You can see how different The NFL Today was from today’s NFL pregame shows. First, the 1979 show was a half-hour compared to the at least one hour editions seen on CBS and Fox. Second, college football highlights lead the show instead of going straight to NFL news. Third, you see some of the announcers CBS used in 1979. John Madden was on the “C” team for CBS back then working with Gary Bender. Frank Glieber was a former Dallas Cowboys announcer and yes, Vin Scully worked the NFL on CBS in the 1970′s into the early 1980′s. Fourth, only Irv was the analyst as compared to seeing as many as four analysts on the set today.

I love seeing the original commercials from the show as well. And you can see that Jayne was more of a novelty. There weren’t many women working in sports back then. Jayne replaced Phyllis George and both women had time for one feature before throwing it back to Brent.

And the features were longer back then as compared to the quick cuts you’ll see today. I love seeing the commentary from Jack Whitaker, something sorely missing from sports television today. Keep an ear for Pat Summerall voicing a True Value ad. And watch for the always entertaining segments between Brent and “The Greek.” I believe the actress singing in the Muriel Cigar commercial is former actress Susan Anton. Google her.

Check it out.

And let’s go back to Week 14 in 1977 and a very good quality video for the NFL Today. Phyllis George is in this edition. I love the NFL Films open for The NFL Today. Yes, you hear Brent saying Week 14 was the last weekend in the NFL. This was when the NFL actually had a 14 game season.

The remote report features the “A” team for CBS, Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier in Washington for the LOS ANGELES Rams against the DC NFL Team. There’s also Jack Whitaker’s commentary on the biggest sports moments of the year.

Hey gamers! Check out the Atari video game system commercial. Different, huh? And whatever happened to Tuborg Gold beer?

And again, Brent and “The Greek” are always entertaining, but what was the outfit “The Greek” wearing?

This is great stuff. And I hope to resume posting Videos of the Week again.

Back For Some Linkage

Yesterday, I focused on several press releases before heading out for errands. Today, it’s back to the links.

Daniel Kaplan at Sports Business Journal writes that the NFL wants to set up local zones in Super Bowl host cities similar to what Indianapolis did with a village and zip line this year.

Mike Ozanian of Forbes explores the sale of the San Diego Padres and how it contrasts greatly from the Dodgers sale.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch explores NBC’s plans for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and I liked what I saw during the first night of coverage on Wednesday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News feels NBC’s multiplatform coverage of the NHL postseason should increase ratings and open ad sale opportunities.

John Koblin at Deadspin looks at ESPN’s free agents and handicaps who stays and who goes.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable notes that one company will provide multiscreen coverage of the Olympics to computers.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing writes that HBO is interested in the Atlanta Falcons for the next season of Hard Knocks.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life explores how the NHL is expanding its brand by marketing a 21 foot tall replica of the Stanley Cup in New York’s Times Square.

Writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley says no media outlet is safe from the budget ax.

Karen Hogan at Sports Video Group looks at SNY’s studio renovations.

SVG’s Ken Kerschbaumer tells us how ESPN’s 3D production of The Masters^® has grown over the years.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Masters champion Bubba Watson is bound to be a marketing champion as well.

Ira Kantor at the Boston Herald writes that the Red Sox have chosen Comcast to provide computer networking services at their ballparks.

To Fishbowl NY and Jerry Barmash who says MSG Network saw excellent ratings for the New York Rangers this season.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says MLB Network is looking to gain “exclusive content” for the channel.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says CBS Sports Network airs a special on the Army Spring Football game this weekend.

Laura Nachman says a legendary Philadelphia sportscaster passed away over the weekend.

John F. Morrison of the Philadelphia has the obituary for late sports talk show host Steve Fredericks.

At Press Box, Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com says Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic plans to expand its Baltimore Ravens offseason coverage.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner has a couple of NHL on NBC analysts handicap the Capitals chances against the defending Stanley Cup Champions Boston Bruins.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that embattled Miami sports radio host Sid Rosenberg has been fired after his latest brush with the law.

And Radio-Info says another embattled sports talk show host takes Rosenberg’s place on his former station.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says a new sports talk show will debut in the market on Monday.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says ESPN’s Skippy Bayless had to backtrack from claims about his high school basketball career on First Take this week.

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says new royals TV analyst Rex “The Wonder Dog” Hudler is hoping to win over fans in his new gig.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that NHL fans will see more postseason games on TV than ever before.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at the Broadway play on Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times misses Dodgers voice Vin Scully as he’s had to miss broadcasts due to a cold.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a local sports talk show host who late last year acknowledged he has Parkinson’s Disease now finds himself without a job.

The Chronicle gets the host’s reaction to his firing.

Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News says the firing came as a surprise.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says NBC Sports Network’s NHL ratings are down from last year’s record ratings on Versus.

Martin Charles writes in the Sports PR blog says it’s important for athletes to get media training to understand how to properly handle reporters’ questions.

The Big Lead talks with multi-faceted Julie Alexandria.

And that’s going to do it for now.

Breaking Out The Monday Links

For the last few weeks, we’ve been having issues with the server and some of you have complained to me. Suffice to say that I hope to have this fixed very soon. I will keep you apprised of the situation. In the meantime, thanks for your patience on the matter.

To the links.

We begin with the passing of legendary Atlanta sportswriter Furman Bisher who died Sunday at the age of 93. Even though he had retired from full-time writing in 2009, he continued to write for his old newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as well as his own website. And he was planning to cover The Masters in April.

He covered practically every big sporting event in his 59 years at the AJC and was also instrumental in bringing professional sports to Georgia. Bisher also co-authored Hank Aaron’s autobiography. His career began in 1938 in his native North Carolina and he began with the Journal-Constitution in 1950.

Alexis Stevens of the AJC writes that Bisher passed in his sleep.

Bill King of the AJC says Bisher’s shadow looms large in Atlanta.

Bisher also wrote an occasional column for the Albany (GA) Herald for the last three years and the newspaper also mourns his passing.

He also wrote guest columns for the Newton (GA) Citizen.

The Augusta (GA) Chronicle picks up an Associated Press obituary on Bisher.

Bisher has been inducted into several Halls of Fame including the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame, the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame as well as the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame.

And yes, when news of Bisher’s passing hit, it even trended worldwide on Twitter.

Bisher was a prolific writer even during retirement and was revered by colleagues and athletes. To say he will be missed is an understatement.

To other links now.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says CBS/Turner’s Clark Kellogg had to miss seeing his son, Nick, playing in the NCAA Tournament in Ohio, and will do so again this weekend.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that regional sports networks are already raking in strong ad sales for the upcoming MLB season.

Stephen Williams from Advertising Age notes that Jeremy Lin has signed an endorsement deal with Volvo which could make him the focus of a campaign in Communist China.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life says the NCAA Tournament is off to a strong ratings start.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has video of CBS/Turner’s Charles Barkley making the obligatory Hardcore Pawn joke. I saw this last night and was in stitches.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is swinging the ax once again.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says CBS/Turner continue to see ratings increases for the NCAA Tournament.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg in the DC Sports Bog notes that the local ESPN Radio affiliate has found a replacement for John Thompson’s show.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times has his take on the weekend in sports television.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the city’s two NCAA Tournament team will be on CBS during the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.

Robert Feder at Time Out Chicago writes about Ed Sherman leaving Crain’s Chicago Business’ sports business and media and launching a new website of his own.

The Denver Post’s Dusty Saunders is enjoying Charles Barkley on the NCAA Tournament.

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune says two local sports radio hosts are switching stations.

Tony Jackson at ESPN LA writes about Vin Scully cutting back on broadcasting the Dodgers this season.

Raju Mudhar from the Toronto Star says sports is moving online, but at a snail’s pace.

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin says the Blue Jays’ Omar Vizquel is a natural fit for television.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog reviews TSN’s NCAA Tournament coverage.

Timothy Burke gets a screengrab of the Dan Patrick Show showing Oderus from the great band, GWAR, working as a temp today. I love the look on Fritzy’s face. Hilarious.

Jim Weber at Lost Letterman says it’s time to end the Kenny Smith/Charles Barkley experience on the NCAA Tournament.

And I’ll finish it there for now.

Quick Sunday Linkage

While I have a moment, let’s provide some rare Sunday links.

The lovely Nicole Auerbach of USA Today notes that ESPN’s Bob Knight won’t mention Kentucky by name on the air. ESPN allows Knight to wear sweaters on the air instead of a suit and tie and now this. I don’t understand it.

The Associated Press reports that Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers voice Vin Scully is cutting back on his schedule even further this upcoming season.

The Biz of Baseball’s Maury Brown writes that the Dodgers have released their 2012 radio and TV schedule with the news about Scully buried deep in the press release.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says Friday’s historic upsets in the NCAA Tournament gave CBS/Turner record ratings.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel notes that HBO has set the date for its next pay per view boxing event.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid wonders exactly what CBS/Turner’s Bill Raftery said during last night’s Iowa State-Kentucky game.

Brandon Costa of Sports Video Group writes that Ball State students are helping Turner Sports drive its social media engine for the NCAA Tournament.

Sox & Dawgs has the funny video of UConn’s Stefanie Dolson taking a knee to the groin, but what’s makes it funny is that ESPN2′s Rebecca Lobo is laughing when she sees the replay.

Phil Swann at TVPredictions says DirecTV aired last night’s launch of Fox Sports San Diego in HD.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick can’t stand ESPN’s Stephen A. “A is for Anti-Asian” Smith kissing up to certain New York Knicks players.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes the higher ratings for the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Greg Connors of the Buffalo News says the Bills’ courting of Mario Williams stretched the Western New York media to all corners of the region.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with Sirius XM NFL Radio host Ross Tucker about the DC NFL Team.

Tom Jones from the Tampa Bay Times profiles NBC/Golf Channel’s on-course reporter Dottie Pepper.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says ratings for the first true day of the NCAA Tournament were up.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has writers analyzing the Brewers by each position.

Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Padres got their official launch on Fox Sports last night.

Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times writes about Vin Scully cutting back on his schedule this season.

Sports Media Watch notes the increased ratings for the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

SMW says the NBA drew strong numbers for ESPN/ABC.

And that will complete the links for today.

Our Mid-Week Linkage

Time for some sports media links for today. Let’s get to them without further delay.

Let’s start with USA Today and Michael Hiestand who looks at the record online numbers for the first live legal stream of the Super Bowl.

Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated lists the best and worst NFL announcing teams.

Over to Mike Farrell of Multichannel News who writes that the MSG Network/Time Warner Cable dispute could last a long time and there’s no end in sight.

Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter says a magistrate judge has blocked an attempt by several former athletes wanting access to NCAA TV contracts in a dispute over EA Sports using their likenesses for video games.

Lacy Rose of the Reporter writes that actor/director Clint Eastwood is spearheading the launch of a new golf TV network.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable reports that the FCC has refused to reverse a decision against Comcast requiring it to carry Tennis Channel.

Tim Baysinger of B&C notes that Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowl received a lower viewership than last year.

Adweek has all of your Super Bowl ads in 2 minutes.

Andrew Gauthier of TVSpy says an Old Milwaukee Beer spot with Will Ferrell that ran on Super Bowl Sunday in the 2nd smallest market of the country, is getting some of the biggest buzz this week.

Erin Gloria Ryan at Jezebel notes that ESPN had a section for commentors to complain about female announcers. ESPN has taken it down and issued a statement.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says NBC missed obscuring the now-infamous M.I.A. middle finger in the Madonna Super Bowl halftime show by less than on second.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says USA Network will air an inspirational NFL Films documentary on Friday.

TVNews Check has WCBS-TV claiming an NYC ratings victory for its coverage of Tuesday’s New York Giants Super Bowl parade.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says WNBC-TV won the New York ratings for last week thanks to the Giants playing in Super Bowl XLVI.

Laura Nachman says the Philadelphia 76ers’ ratings on Comcast SportsNet are way up over last year.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle notes that Doritos and M&M’s were TiVO’s most watched Super Bowl ads for this year.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman writes about NBC’s ratings for Super Bowl XLVI.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says a Great American Ballpark scoreboard operator will represent the Reds in MLB Network’s Baseball IQ game show.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers pleased with his guest analyst stint on NBC Sunday.

Robert Feder from Time Out Chicago notes a local sportscaster who has a side gig with a podcast on science fiction and pop culture.

To Crain’s Chicago Business and Ed Sherman who says this year’s Super Bowl ratings in the Windy City were down significantly from last year.

Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune says a local sports radio talk show host was fired after calling a women’s college basketball analyst for the mtn. not just one but several derogatory terms.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Hall of Fame Dodgers voice Vin Scully won’t be calling Spring Training games until the team returns from Arizona.

Michael Passanisi of Fenway West is not a fan of the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy. Not many of us are.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes here and here.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog compares NFL to CFL ratings in the Great White North.

Mike Silva in Sports Media Watchdog looks at Mad Dog Radio’s Dino Costa ranting about teams removing media credentials.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has video of MSG Network host Al Trautwig pounding the table after the New York Rangers lost to the New Jersey Devils after a no goal call on Tuesday.

And Tim Ryan has a photo of NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posing with the dainty Zooey Deschanel? It’s not sports media, but I’ll take any excuse to post a link to a Zooey Deschanel pic.

Ok, we’re done. Enjoy your Wednesday and the college basketball games tonight.

Posting As Many Monday Links As I Can

Been busy again today, but I’ll try to post as many links here as possible. Don’t know if I can do a complete set, but I’ll see what I can do.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand hears from ESPN’s Brent Musburger who calls tonight’s BCS National Championship Game.

Tom Weir of USA Today says Tim Tebow mentions broke a Twitter record last night.

Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal says the winner of tonight’s BCS National Championship Game stands to cash in through licensing of its gear.

Eric Fisher and John Ourand of SBJ report that MLB has to make a decision very soon on an extra round of Wild Card playoff games and the TV network that would air them.

Sports Business Daily recaps the mixed reviews for Charles Barkley’s hosting of NBC’s Saturday Night Live this past weekend.

Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter says a lawsuit brought forth by basketball legends Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson over their likenesses used in video games now has the TV networks getting involved.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable says LG Smartphone users will gain access to a new ESPN ScoreCenter app that will include exclusive HD video.

John Eggerton at Multichannel News has a quick blurb on ESPN gaining rights for the NYC Marathon.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi looks at the NFL’s final regular season ratings for 2011.

Glen Davis of SportsGrid cannot believe the religious connotations behind last night’s ratings for Pittsburgh-Denver.

Dom Consentino of Deadspin says the NBC reporter arrested last month  on DUI charges after a party thrown by alleged child molester Jerry Sandusky’s attorney, tried to talk his way out of the arrest.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after Fox’s Charles Davis and NBC’s Mike Mayock for talking too much.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that Saturday’s NFL Divisional playoff action will be split among two local radio stations.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says MSG Network will be throwing a local viewing party to drum up support in its dispute with Time Warner Cable.

Ken McMillan with the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes about the NYC Marathon running to ESPN from NBC.

At the DC Sports Bog, the Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will begin airing a new live show modeled after NBC Sports Talk.

Tom Jones from the Tampa Bay Times reviews the weekend in sports TV.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle notes that the Texans had their best local ratings since their inaugural game back in 2002.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says on Saturday, the Bengals did not do as well locally as its regular season games.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that NFL Network will re-air two Giants-Packers games.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post writes that CBS stepped up for last night’s Pittsburgh-Denver game.

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

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail continues to go after CBC’s Don Cherry.

Raju Mudhar from the Toronto Star says Toronto is not the only hockey hotbed around.

I’ll try to add more stuff later.

UPDATE, 5:50 p.m.: I’ll add some more links now.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the top selling sports book of last year was not the ESPN book, but Tim Tebow’s autobiography.

Dave Zoren of the Delaware County Times notes that the NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game did well on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Scott Sloan from the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader says a Kentucky-based high school sports TV and online provider has filed for bankruptcy.

At the Austin American-Statesman, Kirk Bohls says despite a lack of carriage agreements and viewers, ESPN remains committed to the Longhorn Network.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that legendary Dodgers voice Vin Scully finally gets his own bobblehead this season.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says theScore has signed a deal to pick up a whole host of college sports.

Sports Media Watch tells us that the Sugar Bowl had its worst ratings in 18 years.

Sports Media Watch says the Orange Bowl had its worst ratings in the BCS era.

The Waiting for Next Year blog notes that ESPN’s Erin Andrews will replace Scott Van Pelt as host of the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. That’s a huge upgrade.

Awful Announcing has the Broncos radio call of last night’s overtime win over the Steelers.

Joe Favorito wonders if MMA fighter Gina Carano is about to crossover to become a mainstream star.

The Sports Business Digest notes that the Lingerie Bowl will be played in Las Vegas.

NBC will partner with Panasonic to air the London Olympics in 3-D which only 145 people across the country can watch.

And that will do it for the links today.

Friday Megalinks Just For You

Let’s do some linkage.

The Weekend Viewing Picks give you everything to you need for your viewing pleasure.

Let’s do this.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that primetime is the right time for college football.

Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Daily reports that ESPN has sold out its ad inventory for its new NASCAR non-stop initiative which will allow fans to see continuous race action while commercials run.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says NFL Network used some creative methods in Boston to promote its Bill Belichick documentary.

If you watched the Belichick documentary, then you probably know about the best scene which was the coach yelling at the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Mason who was trash talking. Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has the video.

Brandon Costa from Sports Video Group notes that Sports Illustrated has released a new Football Rivals mobile app.

Sports Media Watch says ABC is doing well with college football in its first two weeks of the season.

SMW notes that last Saturday’s Notre Dame-Michigan game on ESPN in primetime did better than the previous week’s Fighting Irish game on NBC.

SMW says last week’s NASCAR race in Richmond garnered a four year ratings high for ABC.

Tony Manfred of the Business Insider Sports Page says sports bars got hit the hardest by DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket technical difficulties last week.

Steve Lepore from Puck The Media has NHL Network’s preseason schedule that begins next week.

Joe Favorito says sports brands are now jumping into the corn field maze craze.

Awful Announcing has this week’s network TV on-screen typos.

Parade talks with ESPN’s Erin Andrews.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe writes about some ex-Patriots players who have made the transition to TV.

Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald talks about 98.5 The Sports Hub winning the prestigious Marconi for Best Sports Station in the country over a former winner, WEEI.

Bill Doyle at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette praises the NFL Films documentary on Bill Belichick.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir looks at a rare film that followed the late Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto and other ex-Pinstripers to Austria for an exhibition game in 1994.

Daniel E. Slotnick of the Times writes that former New York Jet and broadcaster Sam DeLuca has passed away.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with statistician Steve Hirdt about his career and getting to work a “home” game for this week’s edition of Monday Night Football.

Neil says SNY is fortunate to have the Jets as a partner to help viewers forget about the Mets.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is angry at everyone.

The Post’s Justin Terranova has five questions for YES analyst Ken Singleton.

Jerry Barmash in Fishbowl NY writes that MSG Network brings back its signature hockey studio show for another season.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that local sports anchor Andrew Catalon gets a call-up to the NFL on CBS in October.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record talks with MLB Network’s Brian Kenny about why he left ESPN after almost a decade and a half.

Ken has more with Brian Kenny in his column.

Ken is tired of NHL Network rerunning last season’s playoffs.

South

Serena Moyle of the Tallahassee (FL) Democrat profiles ESPN’s Erin Andrews as she’s in town for the Oklahoma-Florida State game.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says you watched the NFL in droves last week.

David says ESPN is treating Longhorn Network differently than its other entities.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman writes that Longhorn Network will pick up one Oklahoma State basketball game.

Mel has some news and notes.

Gina Mizell of the Oklahoman says ESPN is keeping a close eye on Oklahoma State and Texas A&M for a potential College GameDay visit.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Fox Sports Ohio expands its pregame show tomorrow to air highlights of Johnny Bench Night.

John says a local radio station has fired a long-time sports reporter and other parts of its staff.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press talks with a long-time Division II college football radio voice.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says some local Time Warner Cable subscribers will have access to this Saturday’s Wisconsin game.

Bob explains why the Wisconsin game isn’t on TV.

Bob says the Brewers’ Prince Fielder will be seen in a profile on TBS Sunday.

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

Dan Caesar in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says all of the Blues games will be televised for the first time ever.

West

Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that ESPN’s deal with BYU has now become a recruiting tool for the school.

Matt Solinsky of the Desert (CA) Sun says the NFL Network documentary on Patriots coach Bill Belichick is definitely “must see TV”.

John Maffei from the North County Times tries to discover what the holdup is for the San Diego Padres’ TV and radio rights.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star says Time Warner Cable has signed a long-term deal for California’s high school championships.

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times talks with the Fox NFL Sunday crew.

T.J. Simers of the Times writes that Vin Scully can cause trouble at home.

Also from the Times, Eric Sondheimer has details of the Time Warner deal with the California Interscholastic Federation.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Jay “The Rat” Mariotti is determined to get the last word on his tumultuous year.

Tom has some media moves that didn’t make his column.

Tom says MLB Network will air a special on statistics.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says an 8 year delay will help Steve Moore in his lawsuit against Todd Bertuzzi and the NHL stemming from an incident in Vancouver.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada has finally made some moves to fill some personnel holes.

And that’s going to conclude the links for this Friday.

Some Sunday Linkage

I wasn’t able to link yesterday due to some personal commitments. I’ll be doing some today.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today says ESPN yanked teams with anti-Semitic names from its fantasy football leagues.

Daniel Riley of GQ speaks with the best baseball announcer of all-time, Vin Scully about his greatest calls.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable notes that the American Cable Association is blasting ESPN for its huge rights contract for Monday Night Football.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that NBC and Universal Sports have begun to air coverage of the Rugby World Cup.

Mike writes that YES Network is coming in to air Fox NFL Sunday for Fox in New York for one week only.

Eric Deggans from the St. Petersburg Times writes in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center that fans will be footing the bill for the NFL’s recent megadeal with ESPN.

Brandon Costa at Sports Video Group says NFL Films will have a nationwide tribute to 9/11 before all games today.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid notes that TNT’s Charles Barkley wasn’t quite himself doing an interview on ESPN yesterday.

Timothy Burke of SportsGrid has the audio of Yankees broadcaster John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman using a cell phone to broadcast a game last week.

Former CNN correspondent Kelly Wallace, now of iVillage, speaks with NBC Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya about balancing motherhood with her job.

Rob Neyer at SBNation wonders if MASN handled Orioles analyst Mike Flanagan’s death properly.

Ian R. Rapoport of the Boston Herald has a look at the NFL Films documentary on Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with some of New York’s sports figures who remember 9/11.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reports that some cable providers are unhappy over ESPN’s megadeal for Monday Night Football and may fight back.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says the local CBS affiliate will be throwing Monday’s U.S. Open men’s final to another station.

John Brennan of the Bergen (NJ) Record writes that several NHL promos for the league’s TV partners are being shot in Newark, NJ.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a rainout prevented a local minor league baseball announcer from making a signature call.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with NBC/Versus’ programming chief about its new lineup.

Mike Madden of the Washington City Paper says DC NFL team Daniel Snyder has dropped his SLAPP lawsuit against the publication. If you’re wondering what a SLAPP lawsuit is, go here.

Lauren Bailey of the Charlotte Observer profiles an Emmy-award producer who has helped to shape the way ESPN does its features.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times has your NFL Viewing Guide for this season.

Norm Sanders of the Belleville (IL) News-Democrat remembers a local man who worked behind the scenes for both CBS and Fox Sports.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the NFL Films documentary on Patriots coach Bill Belichick lifts the curtain on some of his mysterious persona.

Dan Caesar in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals’ ratings are down compared to last year.

Dr. Michael Chung writes in the Kansas City Star that based on its TV ratings, baseball might be in trouble.

Jason Franchuk of the Provo (UT) Daily Herald compares how the Longhorn Network shapes up against BYUtv.

Marcus Vanderberg of Fishbowl LA says Kings on-air personality Heidi Androl won’t be returning to her duties with Fox Sports West this season.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that CTV and CBC will team up for the Canada’s Olympic Broadcasting Consortium’s bid for the 2014/16 Games. Rather shocking. That would be like NBC and CBS teaming up for a joint Olympic bid here.

And the CSM writes that former Hockey Night in Canada insider Scott Morrison has joined his on-air partner Jeff Marek at Rogers Sportsnet. In fact, Morrison now becomes Marek’s boss.

Sports Media Watch looks at the ratings for the NFL regular season opener on NBC.

SMW says ESPN’s college football Labor Day game did not do well in the ratings.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says the New Jersey Devils have chosen the man to replace Mike Emrick as lead play-by-play voice.

And that is going to be it. The Sunday NFL pregame quotage is in so I’ll be posting that in the next hour.

Vin Scully Announcing His Return To The Dodgers in 2012

I asked MLB.com and my request was granted. Here is the announcement Vin Scully made in the 6th inning of the Colorado Rockies-Los Angeles Dodgers game in which he made millions of fans happy by stating he was coming back for next season, his 63rd. It was great news.

Glad that I could embed this for you. Now I’ll go to bed.

BREAKING NEWS: Vin Scully Announces He’s Returning To Call His 63rd Season With the Los Angeles Dodgers

This just happening in the last half-hour, the Hall of Fame Voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Vin Scully, announced during the Colorado Rockies-Dodgers game that he will indeed return for his record 63rd season with the team. Just this week, the Dodgers asked season ticket holders to evaluate how Scully was doing as the voice of the team which is quite ridiculous because obviously, he still maintains his fastball even at age 83.

Right after he announced his return for the 2012 season, the Dodgers official Twitter account tweeted the good news.

Glad to see Vin returning in 2012. He’s truly an American treasure.

A Pre-Hurricane Friday Megalinks Edition

As the Northeast battens down the hatches for the impending hit of Hurricane Irene this weekend and it’s not a matter of if it’s coming, but when, I’ll probably won’t be blogging much over the next few days. I’ll do my best as long as I have power, but disaster preparation will be high on the priorities the next two days.

For those of you looking for a diversion from Hurricane Irene coverage either on the Weather Channel or local news, I do have the sports and entertainment listings in the Weekend Viewing Picks. If you’re in the projected path or far from it, this will help you find the program you’re looking for.

Let’s get to the links.

National

Bob Velin of USA Today says Floyd “Money” Mayweather is ready for his HBO close-up again as he takes part in another edition of 24/7.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy says ESPN golf analyst Paul Azinger took a jab at President Obama for playing golf on his vacation while people are out of work.

Mike McCarthy and Michael Hiestand debate the validity of the Longhorn Network.

Sean Gregory of Time says ESPN The Magazine’s story making Michael Vick a white man was wrong on several accounts.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic has secured the rights to ACC sports including football and basketball.

Multichannel News says soccer-centric Gol TV will air the start of Spain’s La Liga following the resolution of a player’s strike this week.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel writes that MSG Varsity will produce local editions of its High School SportsDesk program.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid reports that sports media site SportsNewser will be closing up shop at the end of this month. Sad to see. The site was a very good resource for Fang’s Bites. Marcus Vanderberg and Cam Martin from SportsNewser have become good friends and I hope they land on their feet soon.

Wayne Friedman at MediaPost says the New York Jets have become an innovator in their use of social media.

Joe Favorito looks at how sports marketing powerhouse IMG redefined itself into a marketer for college sports.

John Daly in his Daly Planet blog says Hurricane Irene coverage on several local ABC stations may put a crimp for fans who want to watch NASCAR on Saturday.

EPL Talk reports that Fox will air some English Premier League matches including the Chelsea-Manchester United rivalry game live on Super Bowl Sunday.

Sports Business Daily looks at the probability of EPL games airing on Fox.

The Big Lead takes a look at ESPN’s plans for its annual all-day and all-night College Basketball Marathon coming in November.

Brady Green at Awful Announcing notes that Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis did a stab at play-by-play in last night’s game against the DC NFL team.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe notes that fantasy sports can no longer be ignored by the mainstream media and he adds that Friend of Fang’s Bites Jen Royle is a candidate to fill one of three potential vacancies at NESN.

At SBNation Boston, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch wonders which reporter is apologizing for Patriots defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Entourage tapped New York Giants owner Steve Tisch for an appearance on the HBO show.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is back from a brief vacation to hate everything in his path.

Justin Terranova of the Post speaks with CBS’ Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason on what they expect from New York’s NFL quarterbacks this season.

Justin has five questions for ESPN2 tennis analyst Brad Gilbert on the U.S. Open.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says due to Hurricane Irene, the Jets and Giants have moved the starting time of their NFL exhibition game to Saturday afternoon.

Pete says Marv Albert is happy to be calling NFL games on television once again.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says Capital Region fans will have two opportunities to see the Jets-Giants on Saturday.

Ken talks with Versus horse racing host Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes about a former area high school athlete who’s doing overnight updates for WFAN in New York.

Richard Rys of Philadelphia Magazine blasts ESPN for airing every game ofthe Little League World Series.

Childs Walker, Jeff Zrebiec and Justin Fenton of the Baltimore Sun says Mike Flanagan’s friends including MASN’s Gary Thorne are still coming to grips with his death.

David Zurawik of the Sun writes that WBAL-TV is standing by its report as to why Flanagan took his own life.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that an original Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic personality said goodbye last night.

Dan has the debut Geico spot featuring DC NFL Team linebacker Brian Orakpo.

Dan says last night’s Washington-Baltimore NFL preseason game set a ratings record in the nation’s capital.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will split its feed to air pregame shows of both the Baltimore Ravens and DC NFL Team during weeks when they’re programmed simultaneously.

South

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that while Verizon FiOS signed to carry the Longhorn Network, it won’t have tonight’s launch on its system.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Longhorn Network is having less than an auspicious launch.

David says despite the low viewership numbers at the start, the Longhorn Network’s staff remains upbeat about its future.

Gary Dinges of the Austin American-Statesman says most Texas fans will probably miss tonight’s Longhorn Network launch barring some miracle cable and satellite pickups.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman also writes about the Longhorn Network’s launch.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Time Warner Cable will air a slate of high school football games this fall.

Kyle Neddenriep of the Indianapolis Star notes that ESPN is in town to air a couple of high school football games this weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says NBC is going all out for the NFL regular season opener between the Saints and the Packers.

Ed Sherman has his winners and losers in sports business and media.

Paul Christan at the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says don’t confuse NFL Network with DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package.

Paul says the Minnesota Vikings without Brett Favre this season won’t be primetime darlings this season.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says don’t confuse BYUtv with the Longhorn Network.

John Maffei of the North County Times says if the NFL wants a Los Angeles franchise, it shouldn’t poach the Chargers.

T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times tells fans to stay home and watch the games on TV.

T.J. can’t believe the Dodgers are asking fans to evaluate Vin Scully’s performance as a broadcaster.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that Fox Sports West will air one high school football game a week and stream a whole host of them online.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says buyer beware when it comes to Twitter.

That will do it for today. Be safe wherever you are this weekend.

Doing Some Megalinks

Today, I was all over the place going in between two offices, heading to see a client and running through Northern Rhode Island for no good reason. But I’m trying to do some megalinkage after not being able to do them last week so let’s not delay any further. Check out the Weekend Viewing Picks for sports and primetime recommendations.

Now to the linkage.

National

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy says ESPN’s Michelle Beadle has quickly become one of the network’s most popular personalities.

With this being the one year anniversary of the abortion known as “The Decision”, ESPN Ombudsman Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute wonders if the network has learned anything after running the program.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News notes that the new Time Warner Sports regional sports network has made two important hires.

Guest blogging for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Joe Gisondi tells aspiring writers that going for the offbeat can sometimes lead to some of the best stories.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group writes that ESPN continues to use the MLB Home Run Derby as a guinea pig for new innovations.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that a year after “The Decision”, LeBron James still remains a pariah among sports fans.

David Goetzl of MediaPost says ESPN is still dealing with the fallout from “The Decision.”

The Business Insider’s Sports Page provides the best and worst of the first 30 days of Captain Blowhard’s Grantland site.

Sports Media Watch tells us that the ratings for the Women’s World Cup are up significantly from the previous event from four years ago.

SMW also has some ratings news and notes.

Joe Favorito says Victor Martinez may not have been selected for the last American League All-Star Game roster spot, but it wasn’t due to his creative campaigning.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe compares and contrasts the Hub’s two regional sports networks, NESN and Comcast SportsNet New England.

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch looks at the fill-ins on local sports radio and he remembers the late Boston Herald columnist and celebrated boxing writer, George Kimball.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram talks with Fox Sports MLB analyst Eric Karros about the All-Star Game.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says the new season of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm broaches some painful baseball memories.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post lectures everyone who thinks the Roger Clemens perjury trial is a waste of time.

Justin Terranova of the Post writes about Bob Costas and Al Michaels calling tonight’s Mets-Giants game on MLB Network and SNY.

At Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com writes about some changes at a Baltimore sports radio station.

I hope this next story goes viral. From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg writes former quarterback Joe Theismann telling a local radio station how he got hoof and mouth disease playing in the CFL. Why does that seem appropriate for Theismann?

Jim Williams talks about Al Michaels and Bob Costas teaming up for MLB Network.

South

Barry Jackson in the Miami Herald has former Hurricane quarterback Gino Torretta calling out Ohio State fans for forcing ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit to move out of his native Columbus.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle discusses the Longhorn Network making some on-air hires.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes that Tulsa native Dari Nowkhah will be the main host on ESPNU for the upcoming college sports season.

Mel has his sports media news and notes.

Midwest

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal looks at “The Decision” one year later and where it leaves native LeBron James.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press has Joe Buck raving about the Detroit Tigers.

In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob Wolfley has Fox’s Tim McCarver discussing the Brewers’ All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder.

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

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with Fox’s Tim McCarver who will be at the mic for his record 20th All-Star Game on Tuesday.

West

John Maffei at the North County Times looks at the HBO Curt Flood documentary that airs the night after the All-Star Game.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star writes about Al Michaels accepting Bob Costas’ invitation to call a game on MLB Network.

In his notebook, Jim writes that the Home Run Derby is watched by the MLB All-Stars as well.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with Fox’s Joe Buck.

Tom has Joe willing to step aside to have Vin Scully call the World Series one more time.

Tom has his news and notes.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the doctor with a connection to Tiger Woods and pleaded guilty to drug smuggling charges raised the ire of ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd.

The Canadian Sports Media blog notes that IndyCar makes two stops this summer in the Great White North and TSN will take Versus’ coverage of both events.

And with that and it being early Saturday morning, I’ll end the megalinks here.

Some Thursday Linkage

Let’s provide a few links on this Thursday. Another rainy day in Southern New England. What joy.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News reports that HBO Pay Per View has signed Floyd Mayweather to his next fight in September.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek writes that the NBC Sports Group will make GolfChannnel.com into a more ad and social media-friendly site.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life says the NFL’s TV partners are hopeful in hearing that a new agreement is close between the league and its players association.

Ben Axelrod of SportsGrid has video of a Marine on Fox Sports Midwest playfully calling for the death of Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay. At least I hope so.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at what’s going on with the NFL collective bargaining talks.

All Access reports that a San Francisco radio station will flip to ESPN Deportes on Friday.

Michael Starr of the New York Post says there’s an online petition circulating appealing to Fox to have Vin Scully have a role at one last World Series. I can support that and will! You can go here to add your name to the petition.

Newsday’s Neil Best recaps the sometime contentious Mike Francesa-Tiki Barber interview that took place on WFAN on Wednesday.

Neil talks with ESPN Women’s World Cup analyst Mia Hamm.

Neil notes the influx of Fordham alums calling New York sports on TV and radio.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says get ready to see more of the CFL on NFL Network in the early part of the season.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers some thoughts after seeing a replay of Game 7 of the 1971 World Series on Root Sports.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post reports that popular DC sports anchor Lindsay Czarniak is leaving the local NBC affiliate to become an anchor for ESPN.

At the Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has video of some of the best moments in Lindsay’s time in DC.

Dan notes that DC is certainly an ESPN breeding ground.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says local and national media will be all over the first round picks for the Wizards during tonight’s NBA Draft.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer gives us inside look at how Yankees voice John Sterling does his “Yankees win!” catchphrase.

At the Milwaukee Sentinel, Bob Wolfley talks with a fired local sports talk show host.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business says Cubs TV voice Len Kasper received a much deserved contract extension.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has an e-mail interview with Captain Blowhard about Grantland.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that Fox will not support Dodgers owner Frank McCourt if he takes legal action to try to keep the team.

Sam Farmer of the Times says a former player with the USC Trojans and a later a Times writer admitted to taking money when he was in school.

Valerie Hauch of the Toronto Star says the Vancouver Riots Kissing Couple has hired an agent for possible endorsements.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog notes that a local sports talk radio host has been given the heave-ho.

Paul Lebowitz has several questions on Wednesday’s Mike Francesa-Tiki Barber interview.

Sports Media Watch has some news on some various personalities.

SMW says ratings for the NASCAR Nationwide Series on ESPN are up this season.

Now that the NHL’s 2011-12 schedule is out, Steve Lepore at Puck The Media speculates as to how next season’s NBC schedule will shape out.

And Steve does the same for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada schedule.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing wants you to sign the Vin Scully World Series petition.

Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball says Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is interested in buying the Dodgers.

Ryan Lambert at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy gives his best and worst of last night’s NHL Awards.

I guess I’ll end it there for today.

Cranking Out Some Friday Megalinks

Ok, it’s getting late and in the work day and I need to get these megalinks done. I’ve traveled to the MA office and now back in RI. Let’s get this done so I can watch the Bruins tonight.

All of your Weekend Viewing Picks are right here.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand reviews the HBO documentary on the Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe rivalry.

David Bauder of the Associated Press analyzes how new NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus got to keep the Olympics in the network fold.

At Forbes, Mike Ozanian goes inside Comcast’s numbers to see how it can profit from its Olympic bid.

Craig Wolff at the Wall Street Journal says maybe the time has come for sportswriters to abandon the locker room interview.

Sam Eifling of the Columbia Journalism Review looks at Grantland’s debut.

Jonathan Landreth at the Hollywood Reporter notes that a record audience in Communist China watched Li Na win the Women’s Final at the French Open.

Lindsay Rubino from Broadcasting & Cable says Game 5 of the NBA Finals took home a ratings win for ABC on Thursday.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News talks with TNT NASCAR analyst Kyle Petty about the network’s Summer Season of races.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life says the NBA Finals also pulled a win in key demographics on Thursday.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser says last month’s Manny Pacquaio-Shane Mosley fight drew the most buys for a Pacquaio pay per view bout.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid notes that the TD Garden in Boston quickly became enamored with actress and Bruins fan Rachel McAdams.

Joe Favorito looks at how the NBA is trying to engage social media throughout its platforms.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the Yankees might be losing money on Derek Jeter’s chase for 3,000 career hits.

Awful Announcing has Fox Sports’ MLB analyst Mark Grace’s mugshot taken shortly after being arrested for DUI on Memorial Day Weekend.

At Captain Blowhard’s site, we have this great article by Alex French and Howie Kahn on the late, great sports daily, The National, which was way ahead of its time.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs looks at the news of the week in sports media.

Chris Hadley at The Sports Tube reviews the ESPN on ABC production of Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the final ratings of Games 3 & 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final on Versus.

Sports Media Watch notes that Boston (which is more fixated on the Bruins) is not watching the NBA Finals.

SMW looks at how NBA Finals Game 5′s overnight ratings finished lower than last year.

Erik Malinowski of Wired writes how ESPN is trying to keep ESPN 3D in the forefront and not let it slip away.

The Big Lead says ESPN 3D is trying to break out from being a niche channel.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer misses listening to Chicago Cubs radio analyst Ron Santo.

Michael Zuidema at the Grand Rapids (MI) Press talks with MLB Network host Ahmed Fareed about growing up in Michigan and hitting the national stage.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hears from ESPN’s US Open analysts Andy North and Curtis Strange.

Bob reviews HBO’s McEnroe/Borg documentary.

And Bob looks at ESPN’s new logo for Monday Night Football.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business has his weekly winners and losers in sports business.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks about one local sports radio station that turns to a new program director.

And Dan has a few news and notes.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz who was in Utah when the Tiffany Network plucked him to be its college football host in 1985.

John Maffei in the North County Times reviews the McEnroe/Borg HBO doc.

The Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth writes that Vin Scully’s start on the Hollywood Walk of Fame needs fixing.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe notes that NBC/Versus analyst Mike Milbury isn’t making any friends on the Vancouver Canucks during the Stanley Cup Final.

Thomas Grillo of the Boston Herald says win or lose, several Bruins players could cash in as commercial pitchmen after the season.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette looks at Comcast SportsNet New England’s Bruins studio hosts.

The Springfield (MA) Republican notes that the Basketball Hall of Fame has named its print and broadcasting inductees for this year.

Newsday’s Neil Best chronicles his day in the MLB Man Fan Cave.

Neil has more on his day at the Fan Cave and the two men who are spending the entire MLB season inside.

Neil has his thoughts on NBC’s promise to go live at the Olympics.

Justin Terranova of the New York Post has five questions for ESPN’s Andy North on the upcoming US Open.

Bob’s Blitz recaps Jenn Sterger’s appearance on WFAN’s Boomer and Carton show today.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says the US Open will be missing a big storyline when ESPN opens its coverage next week.

Jeff DiVeronica of the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle says local soccer and Brazilian superstar Marta will be featured on an ESPN documentary.

Evan Weiner at the New Jersey Newsroom says the new Olympics deal with NBC/Comcast will help to increase your cable television bill.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun notes that former Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams will be an analyst on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s US Open coverage next week.

Dave Hughes in Press Box says the host of a University of Maryland sports-themed show hopes to expand it outside of the Baltimore area.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that Tony Kornheiser has reached his limit of shows for the local ESPN Radio affiliate.

In the Washington Examiner, Jim Williams notes that Dan Patrick will be joining NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Final for the rest of the series.

South

Jocelyn Syrstad of the Virginian-Pilot says ESPN is interested in a local beach soccer tournament.

Mark DeCotis of Florida Today profiles a local woman who will be working behind the scenes on TNT’s NASCAR coverage.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald talks about the health struggles of two ESPN personalities working the NBA Finals.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times reviews NBC’s big win in the Olympics bidding this week.

At the Houston Chronicle, David Barron notes that Astros broadcaster Bill Brown will be honored for his service to the team this weekend.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks about the McEnroe/Borg and the Olympics bidding.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says looks at the first ratings in city’s sports radio war.

And that’s going to do it.

Friday Night Into Saturday Morning Megalink Action

Didn’t have time to do megalinks during the day as I was trying to get some end of the month/beginning of the month stuff done at the office. Time to get linkage in while I can.

The Weekend Viewing Picks are chockful of sports action and some primetime programming. Now to the linkage.

National

Jessica E. Vascellaro and Matthew Futterman combine for a Wall Street Journal story on the US TV bidding for the Olympics. Bids are due next week.

The Around The Rings Olympic blog notes that the US Olympic Committee will be on hand to monitor the US TV bidding as well.

Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes handicaps the Olympic bidding.

Back to the Wall Street Journal, Tim Marchman reviews the ESPN book.

David Goetzl of MediaPost says DirecTV announcing that it won’t be charging customers for the NFL Sunday Ticket package during the lockout really should not be news.

Sean Leahy of USA Today writes about DirecTV’s announcement.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today has Fox Sports’ NASCAR analyst Daryl Waltrip complaining that the sport forgot its roots while trying to promote the cars over its personalities.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser notes that ESPN NHL analyst Matthew Barnaby has been slapped with two orders of protection stemming from the domestic disturbance he was arrested for last month.

Mohammed Rahman from SportsGrid writes that UFC personality Joe Rogan called noted and respected MMA writer Maggie Hendricks “cunty”. What is up with the UFC people?

Jason Dachman at Sports Video Group looks at some TV tennis news.

Sports Media Watch writes that last Saturday’s MLB on Fox primetime presentation saw its second straight ratings increase.

SMW notes that the Indy 500 saw its highest ratings in three years.

SMW says Game 2 of the NBA Finals had increased ratings, but lower viewership.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has CBC’s opening from Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and it reminds us how well the network covers hockey. Some nice use of Adele in the opening.

Awful Announcing has a podcast interview with ESPN book co-author James Andrew Miller.

AA also did a Q&A session with ESPN NBA voice Mike Breen to discuss the Finals and Bill from White Plains.

The Major League Programs blog has its usual review of sports media.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe can’t believe one local TV station did not send anyone to Vancouver to cover the Stanley Cup Final.

Chad also reviews the ESPN book.

Newsday’s Neil Best has the best of his blog in his latest column.

Nina Mandell of the New York Daily News says ESPN would love to have Shaquille O’Neal on its air.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick remembers the late NFL Hall of Famer Andy Robustelli.

Justin Terranova from the Post has five questions for Red Sox voice Dave O’Brien.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Jimmer Fredette now has his own YouTube channel.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says there will be plenty of coverage of the USA Track & Field Championships.

Evan Weiner of the New Jersey Newsroom goes over how Time Warner ruined sports in Atlanta.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says NBC is happy to have an Original Six team in the NHL Stanley Cup Final.

Rich Hofman at the Philadelphia Daily News is annoyed at how ESPN continually ignores the NHL.

Laura Nachman notes Philadelphia native John Kincaid will lose a gig now that the Atlanta Thrashers have left town.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says DC NFL team owner Dan Snyder’s lawsuit against the Washington City Paper is now the subject of Federal legislation.

Steven V. Roberts reviews the ESPN book in the Washington Post.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says the NBA Finals won primetime on Thursday.

South

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times says the Tampa Bay Lightning’s playoff run drew viewers in the local market.

Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Big 12 has changed its TV revenue distribution formula for all members. In essence, every school gets more money.

Barry Horn of the Morning News says ESPN/ABC seems to spend more time obsessing over the Miami Heat rather than the Dallas Mavericks.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle recaps his visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame which included browsing through the broadcasters and writers wings.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press reviews HBO’s documentary on the John McEnroe-Bjorn Borg rivalry.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel goes over some of his favorite quotes from the ESPN book.

Crain’s Chicago Business’ Ed Sherman goes over his winners and losers this week.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune talks with ESPN/ABC’s Mike Tirico about the Big Ten Football Championship.

West

Kyle Ringo of the Boulder Daily Camera reports that Colorado University is looking to sell local TV rights to some of its football games as it officially joins the Pac-12 Conference next month.

John Maffei at the North County Times says this round of Olympic TV bidding is very wide open.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star writes that people love to hate the Miami Heat as evidenced by the TV ratings.

Rhiannon Potkey of the Star talks with ESPN Women’s College World Series analyst Jessica Mendoza.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times profiles the new Chairman of the NBC Sports Group, Mark Lazarus who leads the network’s Olympic bid next week.

And Joe says Lazarus is not a stranger to making big bids on sports properties.

Flint is impressed with former ESPN and now NFL Network executive Steve Bornstein’s candor in the ESPN book.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says someone needs to investigate this whole Vin Scully Star Hollywood Walk of Fame mess.

Tom notes that Hollywood seems to be back on board with a new movie on the late Jackie Robinson.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final was a ratings hit in both Canada and the US.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog speculates on whether a local sports radio talk show host has a new contract.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog finds a noteworthy feature in CTV’s plans for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

And that is going to do it. Took longer than I thought.

Up For Thursday Links

Time for some linkage on this very warm Thursday. I hope you all take a moment and say a prayer for the people of Western Massachusetts who head to deal with tornadoes yesterday. Four people are confirmed dead. It was quite devastating to see last night. Let’s hope the area can recover quickly.

To your links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Shaquille O’Neal, who retired from the NBA after 19 seasons, would be a logical choice to become an NBA television analyst.

The Sporting News notes that ESPN is looking to hire O’Neal.

The great Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated has a profile on NBC’s NHL voice Mike “Doc” Emrick.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life says thanks to the NBA Playoffs, TNT had the best ratings month in cable TV history.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable says CBS News will not apologize and stands by its 60 Minutes report on cyclist Lance Armstrong.

Michael Malone of B&C says the NBC Sports Group will be all over rugby this weekend.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that ESPN3D plans to air The Championship Wimbledon in the third dimension.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser says NBC Sports gets an EPIC FAIL for airing a promo stating the Tampa Bay Lightning are in the Stanley Cup Final.

Noah Davis of The Business Insider Sports Page notes the national debut of a Wall Street Journal sports columnist.

Noah has the complete roster of writers who will staff Captain Blowhard’s Grantland.

Dan Fogarty in SportsGrid says Captain Blowhard has finally set an official launch date for the pretentiously-titled Grantland site.

Brandon Costa at Sports Video Group talks about 3-D TV stepping up at The Masters.

Ted Miller of ESPN.com says the Pac-12 has made announcements on seven nationally televised games.

Bill Hofhemier at ESPN’s Front Row discusses how ESPN’s award-winning World Cup production team is back together again for the Women’s World Cup.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that Shaquille O’Neal was one of the first athletes to embrace social media.

Darren says Shaq’s retirement video gave an internet start-up a huge boost in more ways than one.

Darren talks with the men who marketed Shaquille O’Neal.

Martin Pave of the Boston Globe profiles the the Emmy Award-winning director of ESPN’s “Fab Five” documentary who has local ties.

Jessica Van Sack of the Boston Herald says fans don’t have to watch TV to follow the NHL.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir feels NBC needs a better way to air the French Open men’s semifinals.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that WFAN’s Mike Francesa is not just doing well without partner Chris Russo, he’s flourishing.

Neil has his entire interview with Francesa in his blog.

Neil talks with ESPN Radio New York’s Michael Kay who one day hopes to beat Francesa in the ratings.

Neil also has the ratings breakdown between WFAN and ESPN Radio New York for afternoon drive.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says tennis great Chris Evert is returning to TV as an analyst for ESPN2′s Wimbledon coverage.

Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Rugby 7′s will get network TV exposure this weekend.

John George in the Philadelphia Business Journal says Comcast SportsNet will air a local bike race in HD.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that the UEFA Champions League Final outrated Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in DC.

Dan finds out why ESPN Radio DC slapped a 24 hour waiting period on publishing podcasts.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner explains that DC had the highest ratings for the Champions League finale.

Jim says NBC received the best NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 1 overnight ratings in a dozen years.

Barry Jackson in the Miami Herald says the NBA Finals are drawing viewers both nationally and locally.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says Magic star Gilbert Arenas has returned to Twitter with often humorous results.

Chuck Goldberg of the Alabama Newspapers notes that Auburn will get early starts for its first three football games of the season.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News notes that Miami outrated Dallas for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks with two-time Olympic softball player Michele Smith about the Women’s College World Series which begins on ESPN2 tonight.

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports that Fox Sports Indiana and the Pacers have dropped pregame show host Stacy Paetz effective immediately.

Kevin Kane of the Southside (IN) Times wonders when organizers will lift the local blackout on the Indianapolis 500.

Bob Wolfeley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Suds City topped all markets watching the Indianapolis 500.

At the Iowa City Gazette, Scott Dochterman writes that Fox plans to give the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game the Big Event treatment.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News gets the nitty gritty on why Vin Scully’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was covered and mistreated.

Dian Pucin of the Los Angeles Times instructs West Coast viewers on how to watch tomorrow’s French Open men’s semifinal live.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail explores the media’s handling of the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg story.

At Deadspin, A.J. Daulerio chronicles how ESPN.com’s Grantland site pursued and then later had misgivings about hiring site writer Tommy Craggs.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing tries to make sense of the whole thing.

Sports Media Watch says ABC had the most watched NBA Finals game since 2004.

And that will end the links for today.

A Friday Megalink Post

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

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

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sports Media Watch has various ratings news and notes.

And SMW has some sports media news as well.

East and Mid-Atlantic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jim says MASN is making a couple of programming changes.

South

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

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

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

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

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

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

Midwest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

West

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

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

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

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

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

Tom also handicaps the Pac 12 media rights negotiations.

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

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

Canada

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

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

And that is all for today.

Vin Scully & The Honky Tonk Man

During tonight’s Giants-Dodgers Opening Night game, ESPN showed a cutaway of the great Vin Scully calling a rare radio-only game. Whenever Vin calls a Dodger game, he does a TV-radio simulcast in the first three and last three innings. The middle innings are TV only. With ESPN doing tonight’s game, Vin is relegated to radio.

Well, the cutaway showed Vin in the booth calling the game, but in the background is a picture of the one and only Honky Tonk Man, a wrestler in the old WWF and WCW. That’s absolutely hilarious.

The picture is courtesy of Ryan Sharrow of the Baltimore Business Journal. I don’t know why or how the Honky Tonk Man crossed paths with Vin, but Scully’s legend grows even more with the picture in the background. And it’s as clear as day. I’ve been laughing hysterically since seeing the picture on Twitter. Classic. You’re an American treasure, Vin. And so is the Honky Tonk Man.

UPDATE, 9:52 p.m.: Unfortunately, we discover that the picture behind Vin Scully is not his. Jim Alexander of the Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise gives us the truth.

Normally, Scully sits in the TV booth at Dodger Stadium, but since ESPN is occupying it tonight, Vin is in the radio booth. Oh well. It was nice to think that Vin and the Honky Tonk Man had somehow crossed paths.

Thursday’s Links Are Here … Finally

Been doing some work and also keeping an eye on the Detroit-Yankees game online. It’s been a joy watching games online. It has been a lifesaver when I’ve been at work bogged down with stuff in the office. And MLB.TV is free for Apple iOS users via the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

Anyway, let’s do some links.

John Ourand at the Sports Business Daily mentions that ESPN has filed suit in court his week against Conference USA for not bargaining its TV rights in good faith and awarding them to Fox instead.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid is calling MLB’s “Always Epic” ad campaign an “Epic Fail”. I have yet to figure out what the ad with San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson is all about.

However, SportsGrid’s Glenn Davis is amused at the new SportsCenter ad also featuring Brian Wilson.

Sheldon Spencer at ESPN’s Front Row talks about the launch of the corporate blog.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News explains why ESPN is not included in the Time Warner Cable iPad app.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek notes that MSG Network has reupped with the MLS’ New York Red Bulls for another three years.

Kunur Patel at Advertising Age says a sponsor is coming through to allow Apple devices to have free access to MLB.TV for a month.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the NFL’s TV partners could stand to be the biggest loser of any prolonged lockout.

Alex Weprin at SportsNewser notes that SB Nation has launched a new baseball-only blogging site.

At TVNewser, Chris Ariens says ESPN was among those honored for a prestigious Peabody Award for its 30 for 30 documentary series. HBO also received a Peabody for Magic & Bird.

The Boston Herald’s Jessica Heslam notes that two local sports radio stations brought in good ad revenue from last year.

Brian Stelter of the New York Times discusses ESPN’s Josh Elliot’s move to Good Morning America.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that YES and DirecTV’s agreement runs out on Friday if a new carriage accord is not reached soon.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union also writes about the YES/DirecTV deadline.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that a local radio station is bumping the Yankees on Saturday in favor of the Final Four^®? What happened to Most Favored Nation status for baseball on the radio?

Ken says a local NBC sports anchor is heading to Augusta to call The Masters^® on DirecTV.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record talks about MSG Network bringing the New York Red Bulls back into the fold.

Cindy Boren at the Washington Post’s Early Lead blog says a federal appeals court ruled against the DC NFL Team stating it must provide captions of all song lyrics and text public service announcements at the Stadium formerly known as Jack Kent Cooke for its hearing-impaired fans.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner notes that it’s MLB Opening Day not only for the sport and its fans, but for TV as well.

Kristi E. Swartz, Larry Hartstein and Alexis Stevens of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution report on former Hawks star, current vice president and TV analyst Dominique Wilkins getting attacked by a former NBA referee following his broadcast spot last night.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that Fox’s MLB analysts are bullish on the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ed Sherman with Crain’s Chicago Business says the early start of the MLB season means a busy time at Wrigley Field and the Park formerly known as Comiskey.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with announcers, young and old, local and national, about what Dodgers voice Vin Scully means to them.

Sports Media Watch says ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose has apologized for getting arrested earlier this month on DUI charges.

At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore finds the tentative Stanley Cup Finals TV schedule for NBC/Versus.

The NFL Chick pays tribute to women in sportscasting.

Cee Angi at Aerys Sports’ Essence of Baseball site gets on the MLB Fan Cave for reaching to the lowest common denominator.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs likes seeing MLB Opening Day and the Final Four finally separated.

And that’s where we’ll end the links for today.

Doing Some Monday Linkage

Let’s provide some links on this holiday for some of you. For others like me, I’m at work. But instead of reading my complaints about working on a holiday, I’ll put my energy into finding links for you.

Starting with the Sports Business Journal, Terry Lefton looks at how TNT’s Charles Barkley has become a very effective ad spokesman. Perhaps on a future Videos of the Week, I’ll post some of his more memorable commercials.

Also from SBJ, John Ourand speaks with former Washington Post sports media columnist Leonard Shapiro who has joined Comcast SportsNet’s Baltimore and Washington, DC websites.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Fox Sports didn’t come through in the final laps of the Daytona 500.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that CBC has reupped the polarizing Don Cherry for another season on Hockey Night in Canada.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News discusses how the Los Angeles Lakers’ deal with Time Warner has changed the regional sports network game.

Mike says starting this week, the synergy and rebranding of Golf Channel’s coverage with NBC begins.

David Goetzl of MediaPost notes the one year extension of Fox Soccer Channel’s current deal with MLS.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell caught up with New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokorov who actually did meet with Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony over the weekend.

Bobby Cassidy of Newsday lists his favorite Daytona 500 commercials.

Neil Best of Newsday wonders if Comcast is going to be tightening NBC’s pursestrings especially when it comes to the bidding for Olympic TV rights.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post hates everything today.

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times reviews the sports weekend on TV.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says former Buck center Kent Benson recapped being punched by NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for a radio station interview.

I was interrupted and had to the leave the office for two hours. I’ll add more to this tonight.

UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: Let’s give you some more links now.

Bryan Alexander of the Hollywood Reporter talks about this year’s Daytona 500 attracting its biggest audience in three years.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that TNT received cable’s second biggest audience ever for an NBA All-Star Game.

From Adweek, Mike Shields says VEVO, the music video website owned by Universal, Sony and Abu Dhabi Media, is going to be branching into sports.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser gets reaction from Turner Sports’ David Aldridge to the negative reaction to his CNN.com story about “Black Thanksgiving“.

At Pro Football Talk, Michael David Smith notes that ESPN’s Mike Ditka criticized the NFL’s proposed 18 game schedule.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced that Vin Scully will call the season opener on radio. Usually, Vin does not call games that are on national television as is the case of this year’s season opener. Vin usually calls both TV and radio at home and West Coast road games, provided they’re not on national TV.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes about the ratings for Daytona and the NBA All-Star Game.

At the Delaware County Times, Neal Zoren talks about a Philly news anchor who has made the transition to sports.

Shannon J. Owens at the Orlando Sentinel says the brother of ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson died over the weekend.

Also from the Sentinel, Hal Boedeker notes the ratings for the Daytona 500.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post discusses the CBS sitcom to be based on ESPN’s Mark Schlereth.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News recaps a horrific interview between TNT’s Craig Sager and the Antichrist.

The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Bruce Dowbiggin is not happy that CBC renewed Don Cherry’s contract.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog reviews CBC’s production of the Heritage Classic.

Sports Media Watch talks about the Daytona 500′s ratings increase, but tempers it as well.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that Jeremy Roenick will be on Versus all this week.

Joe Favorito says the Washington Nationals are getting the most out of their mascots.

And we’ll end it there for the added links tonight.

Some Super Bowl Sunday Links

I’ve been trying to do linkage today since I haven’t done any since Wednesday. Work is crazy. Dealing with family is crazy. But since 9 a.m., I’ve been trying to do links, but haven’t been able to get to it as I get phone calls asking to do errands and then I get bogged down. I hope I can get this done without being interrupted.

By the way, I’ll be live blogging the Super Bowl ads and grading them just as I have for the last two years. I hope you’ll join me.

We’ll start with a very interesting story today. David Roth and Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal report that a tape of Super Bowl I has been found and been restored. It’s not a complete tape, but it’s the first known copy to be found as it’s been thought for years that the tape has been lost. If you don’t know, both CBS and NBC aired Super Bowl I, which wasn’t called the Super Bowl then. Neither network saved the tape, but apparently a private citizen did. Very good find.

A few stories from the Nielsen Ratings Wire blog. First, we find that most Americans will watch the Big Game at home.

The Nielsen Wire blog notes that most of the online buzz for the Super Bowl leans towards Green Bay.

And Nielsen looks at which advertiser will reap the rewards of not only buzz for its commercial, but also getting revenue from consumers.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age has the advertisers in today’s Super Bowl.

Brian says Chrysler is paying for a 2 minute Super Bowl spot.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News writes that the Cox Communications worker responsible for inserting a porn clip into Super Bowl XLIII on Comcast Tucson, AZ systems has been arrested and charged.

Jon Lafayette from Broadcasting & Cable says NBC Sports is putting its stamp on Golf Channel.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse says Fox is going for some more creativity in its Super Bowl pregame show.

Milton writes that Fox Sports’ Super Bowl statistician is hoping to remain anonymous during today’s game.

Milton tells us that the Super Bowl is just another game to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Marcus Vanderberg from SportsNewser notes that one of the men in the Visa ad who has attended every Super Bowl will not be at the game today.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says bad weather in Dallas definitely hurt the local economy during Super Bowl Week.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times takes a walk back in time to remember the “Playoff Bowl” which was played the week after the NFL Championship Game or the Super Bowl. Seriously.

To Bob Raissman from the New York Daily News who makes no sense today.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post makes even less sense than Raissman.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record offers the thoughts of Fox’s announcers on the Super Bowl quarterbacks.

Mark Kaboly in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review talks with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Teresa F. Lindman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says cell phone companies are increasing capacity around Cowboys Stadium as fans will be Tweeting and going on Facebook during the game.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports President Eric Shanks about today’s Super Bowl production.

Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says Fox’s Troy Aikman is expected to take a bigger role in the Metroplex’s bid for Super Bowl XLVI in 2016.

Gary West from the Star-Telegram says ESPN’s crew is deeming its visit to Sundance Square disappointing based on the weather and what could have been.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has your Super Bowl viewing guide today.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune explains why we’re seeing big name musical acts for Super Bowl halftime in recent years.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says KMOX is bringing back the Cardinals radio announcers for the long-term.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News continues his discourse with SoCal announcers on Vin Scully.

He talks with former Lakers announcer Paul Sunderland.

Tom has words with Cal State-Northridge announcer Dave Caldwell.

Tom gets advice from former USC announcer Larry Kahn.

Tom finds former Angels announcer and current Detroit Tigers TV voice Mario Impremba.

Tom gets to Dodger pregame host, Josh Suchon.

Tom hears from a minor league baseball and hockey play-by-play man.

Tom talks with former ESPN’er and Lakers announcer Larry Barnett.

Tom gets advice from current Lakers radio voice Spero Dedes.

And Tom speaks with a sportscasting professor on Vin Scully.

Finally, Tom writes about Vin Scully the man.

The Big Lead has three finalists to replace Rob Neyer at ESPN.com.

Sports Media Watch has its Weekend Ratings Predictions.