Fang's Bites

Coming Out With Thursday Links

I’ve been out of the office for most of the day as this week has been a bear for some reason. I’ll do some linkage and do as much as I can before being booted out for the day.

Mike McCarthy of the USA Today says the MLB All-Star Game on Fox received its lowest ratings ever.

Mike says Shaquille O’Neal has officially joined Turner Sports as an NBA studio analyst.

Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter also writes about Shaq joining Turner.

Etan Vlessing of the Reporter says Canadian French language network TVA Sports has signed a deal to become the official broadcaster of Montreal Impact MLS games.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says ratings for the 18-49 demographic for the MLB All-Star Game fell precipitously from last year.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch writes about Shaquille O’Neal shuffling to Turner Sports.

On this 5th anniversary of Twitter, SI lists its 100 must follow Sports Twitter accounts. I discount it because I wasn’t listed. I’m joking. Maybe. Maybe not.

SI’s Jon Wertheim writes about Twitter’s huge impact on sports.

Terry Lefton of Sports Business Journal reports that an Under Armour executive died suddenly last night.

Brian Lowry from Fox Sports has some thoughts on how Fox handled the All-Star Game.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center provides a review of Showtime’s “The Franchise”.

Big news from the IU National Sports Journalism Center, the man who help found the center and also establish its journalism focus, Tim Franklin is leaving for Bloomberg News in Washington.

Ben Axelrod of SportsGrid has a funny video showing the BBC misidentifying and then interviewing the wrong writer.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser writes that Fox Sports President Eric Shanks has been named to the board of a sports statistics company.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says Sony has extended its sponsorship of ESPN 3D which about 35 people across the country have access to.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has 100 Twitter rules to live by. I admit, I don’t follow all of them which is probably why he doesn’t follow me. He used to.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes about the city’s sports radio ratings.

Chad has a story on Shaquille O’Neal going to TNT.

Earlier this week, Newsday’s Neil Best reported that WFAN’s Mike Francesa was dropping his WNBC-TV Sunday night show effective immediately.

Neil says the show will have a new host, but keep the same name.

And Neil writes about Shaquille O’Neal heading to TNT.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun looks at the incredible shrinking TV sportscasts during the late local news.

David talks with former sports TV anchor Scott Garceau about whether Baltimore is as passionate about sports as other cities.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says All-Star Game viewership has hit its nadir.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has video of Lindsay Czarniak’s emotional farewell to DC market.

Dan says the extremely bitter John Feinstein is changing radio stations.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that the Open Championship presents logistical challenges to ESPN.

Jim says DC and Baltimore pace the country in the ratings for the Women’s World Cup.

Jim notes that TNT’s NASCAR ratings are up this year.

John Kieswetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks about Fox Sports Ohio’s high school football schedule.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Suds City loves the long ball.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business shares his thoughts on the All-Star Game.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has parts one, two, three, four, five, six and an epilogue from his interview with CBS/Golf Channel golf analyst David Feherty.

Tom also talks with ESPN Women’s World Cup analysts Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy about having the 2011 USA team being compared to their 1999 champion squad.

The incredibly uninformed Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about Rogers Sportsnet looking to bring in additional talent and not fire its staff.

But then Toronto Sports Media reports that Rogers fired Calgary Flames voice Peter Loubardias.

The Canadian Sports media blog reacts to the Rogers move as well as looking at the Winnipeg Jets broadcast rights.

The Big Lead talks with The Extra 2% author and baseball writer extraordinaire Jonah Keri.

Joe Favorito says the sport that wins on the movie screen is NASCAR.

Sports Media Watch says the USA-France Women’s World Cup semifinal set another high mark for this year’s games.

SMW looks at the top 100 most viewed sporting events on broadcast and cable TV to the halfway point of 2011.

That will do it.

Strong Overnights For Women’s World Cup

As I’m outside the office and at remote location, I can still provide some ratings news. This comes from the fine people at ESPN’s public relations department.

Yesterday’s Women’s World Cup semifinal between USA and France which propelled the Americans to the Final garnered a strong 2.6 rating. Keep in mind that the game started at noon in the East while many people were at work.

And the second semi between Japan and Sweden got a 1,7 overnight rating. Again, quite good. Don’t have a press release yet, but I do expect one. I’ll post it when I’m back at my computer.

I’ll be back with you later. You don’t get this type of dedication from anyone else.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

USA-Brazil on Sunday Most Watched Women’s World Cup Game Since 1999

In proving the theory that Americans love watching Americans do well no matter what the sport, ESPN’s ratings for the USA-Brazil Women’s World Cup quarterfinal game were the highest for the event since 1999 when Team USA won the whole kit and caboodle. In fact, Sunday’s game is the third highest-rated Women’s World Cup contest in history. Sunday’s game garnered a 2.3 rating with an audience of just below 4 million viewers. Now, I don’t think the record of and 11.4 rating and 17.975 million viewers for the 1999 Final on ABC will ever be reached, but perhaps this year’s final could beat 1999′s semifinal game vs. Brazil if the US advances against France today.

Let’s take a look at the ratings in the press release put forth by ESPN this week.

ESPN Grows Audience for FIFA Women’s World Cup

USA – Brazil: Third Most-Viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup Match Ever
U.S. Ratings for 28 Matches on ESPN Networks up 150% vs. 2007 in China

The FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match between the U.S. Women’s National Team and Brazil – a thrilling 2-2 tie, won by the USA in a penalty shootout in Dresden, Germany, on Sunday, July 10 – was seen by 3.89 million people according to the Nielsen Company, based on a 2.3 U.S. HH rating on ESPN (2.70 million household impressions), making it the third most-viewed Women’s World Cup match ever in the U.S.

Sunday’s quarterfinal also delivered ESPN’s largest audience for Women’s World Cup since 1999.  The previous audience high was USA vs. Colombia in a Women’s World Cup 2011 group stage match in Sinsheim on Saturday, July 2, seen by 1.87 million people, based on a 1.2 U.S. HH rating (1.38 million household impressions).

Top-five most-viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup matches:

Date	Match	Network	U.S. HH RTG/HH IMPS/P2+
Saturday, July 10, 1999	USA vs. China – Title Match	ABC	11.4/11,307,000/17,975,000
Sunday, July 4, 1999	Brazil vs. USA – Semifinal	ESPN	2.9/2,879,000/4,924,000
Sunday, July 10, 2011	Brazil vs. USA – Quarterfinal	ESPN	2.3/2,704,000/3,890,000
Thursday, July 1, 1999	USA vs. Germany – Quarterfinal	ESPN	1.7/1,667,000/2,627,000
Saturday, July 16, 1999	USA vs. Denmark – Group Stage	ABC	1.7/1,717,000/2,457,000

Washington, D.C., was the top market for Sunday’s U.S. Women’s National Team match, delivering a 4.4 HH rating.  Rounding out the top five were: San Diego (4.2), Baltimore (4.0), Cincinnati (3.8), and Albuquerque (3.8).

Through Sunday, July 10 (28 matches), the Women’s World Cup 2011 is averaging a 0.5 US rating on ESPN and ESPN2 – up 150% from 2007 (0.2) in China.  Household impressions are up 148% (from 249,000 to 617,000) and P2+ impressions are up 200% (from 268,000 to 804,000).

Through 28 matches, the top five local markets for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup are: Baltimore (1.1), Washington, D.C. (1.0), San Diego (1.0), Cincinnati (1.0) and Greensboro, N.C. (1.0).

ESPN3.com
In addition, ESPN3.com delivered the most unique viewers ever for a women’s sporting event on the broadband sports network with USA vs. Brazil on Sunday, logging 220,000 unique viewers for nearly an hour of time spent watching the match per unique viewer.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Semifinals: U.S. vs. France and Japan vs. Sweden; Finals on Sunday
The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany continues on ESPN and ESPN3.com with two semifinal matches on Wednesday, July 13, with the No. 1-ranked USA vs. France at 11:30 a.m. ET, in Moenchengladbach, followed Japan vs. Sweden in the second match in Frankfurt at 2:15 p.m. France and Japan are both appearing in the World Cup semifinals for the first time.

The winners of Wednesday’s matches will play in the Women’s World Cup Finals in Frankfurt on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m.  The Third Place match will be played in Sinsheim on Saturday, July 16, at 11 a.m.  The schedule and commentators:

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Match	Site
Wed.,  July 13	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	France vs. USA Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Moenchengladbach
	2:15 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Japan vs. Sweden Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Frankfurt
Sat., July 16	11 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	3rd Place Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Sinsheim
Sun., July 17	2 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Finals Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Frankfurt

espnW.com Continues Extensive Coverage of Germany 2011
www.espnW.com, ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital hub designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans, will continue its Women’s World Cup coverage with stories, analysis and insight, leading up to the semifinal and final matches.  Highlights:

• Writers Michelle Smith and Jacqueline Purdy will analyze the top five most important goals in US Women’s World Cup history
• Video blogs from Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, both two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winners and former teammates on the U.S. Women’s National Team
• Top storylines to watch for during the semifinals – USA vs. France and Sweden vs. Japan
• An examination of why U.S. and France teams are the best conditioned in the Women’s World Cup
• With most French players currently in the Women’s Professional Soccer league, playing alongside their club teammates from the United States, espnW reviews the connections, familiarity and friendships that could loom large in the semifinals.

That’s all.

A Few Tuesday Links

Got bogged down with a bunch of paperwork so I can’t do a full set of links. I’ll do my best to give you what I can plus catch up with any press release posts. To be honest, I really haven’t seen any releases come in today, but I’ll do some posting for you tonight during the All-Star Game.

Steve Gardner of USA Today spends some time with ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst John Kruk.

Great story from the Wall Street Journal’s Reed Albergotti and Cameron McWhirter on how Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium has become a huge tax burden for the city and its residents.

A couple of things from Awful Announcing. First, it has the video of ESPN’s Bobby Valentine saying “fagged out” on Baseball Tonight and then backtracking.

Then Matt Yoder from AA has angry tweets targeted at Chris Berman’s performance at the Home Run Derby.

The Big Lead also found people who just could not stand Berman’s play-by-play and frankly, I could not either.

Crossing Broad had the patience to live blog the Home Run Derby.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin notes that ESPN photoshopped Hope Solo’s nipple out of a shot. Don’t go crazy, guys, it’s not what you think.

Tom Scocca of Deadspin fires a shot at Captain Blowhard’s Deadspin site for some questionable quotes in an article written by noted plagiarist Mike Barnicle.

At the Business of College Sports, Kristi Dosh explains why the NCAA doesn’t go after a school’s bowl or TV money when it imposes sanctions.

The Lost Lettermen explore the lawsuit filed by ESPN against Ohio State for the school’s failure to release records pertaining to the NCAA’s investigation into the Jim Tressel era.

Elizabeth Haldane at ESPN Front Row talks with Women’s World Cup analyst Julie Foudy about the people she follows on Twitter.

Sports Media Watch says the NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at the Kentucky Speedway received solid numbers on TNT.

SportsbyBrooks looks at the new book by former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach who claims ESPN was part of a conspiracy to force him out from the school.

And that will tie you over for links for now.

Women’s World Cup Semifinal Announcing Assignments Set

ESPN has set the announcing assignments for the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup on Wednesday as well as Sunday’s Final. Ian Darke & Julie Foudy will call USA-France starting at 11:30 a.m. ET and then the final on Sunday. Adrian Healey & Kate Markgraf have the call of the other semifinal on Wednesday, Japan vs. Sweden in the afternoon as well as the third place match.

Here are the details.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Semifinals: U.S. vs. France and Japan vs. Sweden; Finals on Sunday

The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany continues on ESPN and ESPN3.com with two semifinal matches on Wednesday, July 13. Led by goalkeeper Hope Solo and forward Abby Wambach, the No. 1-ranked U.S. team — coming off its dramatic quarterfinal win on Sunday over Brazil on penalty kicks — returns to the field against France at 11:30 a.m. ET, in Moenchengladbach. After its stunning overtime win over two-time defending champion and host Germany, Japan plays Sweden in the second match in Frankfurt at 2:15 p.m. France and Japan are both appearing in the World Cup semifinals for the first time.

The winners of Wednesday’s matches will play in the Women’s World Cup Finals in Frankfurt on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN3.com. The Third Place match will be played in Sinsheim on Saturday, July 16, at 11 a.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Commentators Ian Darke and Julie Foudy will call both the U.S.-France semifinal and the Finals, while Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf will call Japan-Sweden and the Third Place match. The schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Match	Site
Wed, July 13	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	France vs. USA Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Moenchengladbach
	2:15 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Japan vs. Sweden Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Frankfurt
Sat, July 16	11 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	3rd place Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	Sinsheim
Sun,July 17	2 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Finals Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	Frankfurt

That will do it.

It’s A Monday Linkfest

For some reason, I’ve been out of the office a couple of times today and it’s pissing me off. Anyway, I’m back in the office now and barring an unforeseen interruption, I should be able to give you linkage here.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has the local MLB TV ratings for the first half of the regular season and notes that the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are in trouble.

This next story from Sports Business Daily is behind the dreaded paywall, but you can still get the gist of it as yesterday’s compelling Brazil-USA game at the Women’s World Cup received a 2.6 overnight rating for ESPN. CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the rating is better than this year’s NBA Draft!

Eben Novy-Williams of Bloomberg reports that Brazil-USA was the most watched Women’s World Cup Soccer game since the 1999 Final which the USA won over Communist China.

Lacey Rose of the Hollywood Reporter confirms what The Wrap reported over the weekend, that ESPN Classic will pick up the entire Friday Night Lights series.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek writes that the NFL could see as much as a $600 million rights fee for a new 8-game Thursday Night Football package.

Adweek’s Rebecca Cullers has a story on sports apparel outfitter K-Swiss continuing its storyline of utilizing HBO’s Eastbound & Down’s Kenny Powers character in its ad campaign.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy talks with Fox Sports’ Joe Buck about his vocal cord troubles that have plagued his voice this year.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News says cable providers could be crowing this year with some big name boxing pay per view fights.

Jon Lafayette at Broadcasting & Cable writes that Golf Channel has relaunched its website.

My good friends at SportsGrid have just launched a redesign of their excellent sports media website. Dan Fogarty explains.

SportsGrid has brought on Timothy Burke of the Mocksession site which provides vidcaps and videos. He’s been providing videos to the under the byline “SportsGrid Video”, but now can reveal himself publicly as of today. Tim has this funny post of the WGN Cubs announcers exposing their cameramen as pervs.

One more from SportsGrid. A look at how it would cast the movie based on the ESPN tome, “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside The World of ESPN.” The choices are pretty much dead on.

Cam Martin at SportsNewser has video of one of the media cars getting too close to one of the cyclists in the Tour de France and causing a horrific crash.

Also from SportsNewser, Marcus Vanderberg tells us that an estimated one billion people watched last year’s World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands. That’s a lot of people.

The London Telegraph has ESPN UK’s English Premier League schedule for the upcoming season.

Chris Fedor from Sports Radio Interviews has a link to Dan Patrick’s interview with reporting bulldog Jim Gray about “The Decision”, one year later.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about Tiger Woods “special announcement” that he made on Golf Channel, that he’ll be following his agent, Mark Steinberg to a new agency.

Paul Devlin at the New Canaan (CT) Patch talks with CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz.

Newsday’s Neil Best notes that YES cleaned up in the ratings with Saturday’s Rays-Yankees game during which Derek Jeter got his 3,000th career hit.

Neil talks with women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm who’s doing work for espnW and ESPN for the Women’s World Cup about USA-Brazil.

Neil has a review of the HBO doc on Curt Flood that airs Wednesday.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun loves baseball, but can no longer stand watching the Orioles on MASN.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg looks at the Nationals’ attendance and TV ratings at the halfway point of the regular season.

Dan has Wizards’ TV analyst Phil Chenier explaining why he shaved off his trademark mustache.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver about calling the MLB All-Star Game for the last 20 years.

In the St. Petersburg Times, Tom Jones lists some of the things in sports and sports TV that he has missed.

The Tampa Tribune notes that Rays outfielder Sam Fuld will be working for ESPN tonight during the MLB Home Run Derby.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers local ratings are amongst the highest in MLB.

Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gives praise to former Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly who pinch-hit for regular Fox Sports North analyst Bert Blyeven last week.

Jeff Korbelik of the Lincoln (NE) Journal Star says former local sports anchor Dari Nowkhah heads over to ESPNU full-time.

The Dickinson (ND) Press picks up a story from Brad Schlossman on the new college hockey superconference talking with Versus about a TV contract.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post reviews the HBO documentary on Curt Flood.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has your SoCal sports calendar.

Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle says Showtime is hoping that “The Franchise” will become a sports franchise for the network.

Cathall Kelly of the Toronto Star is an asshole.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says a CFL on TSN analyst gave a compelling interview on his post-concussion syndrome.

Matt Hartley in the Financial Post says NBC will be handling all US ad sales for the NHL.

Wayne Friedman in MediaPost also writes about the NBC Sports Group/NHL ad sales joint venture.

Sports Media Watch has some news and notes on various sports media personalities.

SMW also has some local MLB ratings news.

That’s going to do it for today.

Bringing You Sunday Linkage

I’m at work again, but I’m trying to cope by flicking on the Watch ESPN for the Women’s World Cup game against Brazil. I’ll give you what linkage I can find today.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today says Turner Sports has reportedly hired Shaquille O’Neal for its NBA coverage. Still no official comment from Turner.

John Eggerton of Multichannel News reports on an FCC Enforcement Bureau recommendation to an administrative law judge about carriage for Tennis Channel.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel recaps YES’ special postgame show on Yankees shortshop Derek Jeter after he achieved baseball immortality on Saturday.

Mike writes that YES saw a ratings season high for the Jeter 3,000th hit game.

From Advertising Age, Brian Steinberg asks if Wimbledon is willing to put its matches all under one TV roof, will other sporting events follow its lead?

Yahoo Sports’ Michael Silver talks with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen about how the channel is handling the lockout.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead wonders if the LPGA should be selling sex to help market its stars.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser says Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has issued a statement about berating a caller with a gay slur late last month.

Marcus points out that CNN is no longer into sports.

Jesse Sawyer from the Avon (CT) Patch notes that ESPN’s Kenny Mayne will be hosting a football skills clinic this week. Before ESPN, Kenny was the starting quarterback at UNLV. The story also reveals that Kenny is moving back to Seattle, WA where he lived before hitting it big with ESPN.

Newsday’s Neil Best has the transcripts of both the radio and TV calls of the Jeter 3,000th hit.

Neil talks about a new era of TV coming into Wimbledon for next year.

George Vescey of the New York Times says the best way to view the Tour de France is from your TV.

Karen Crouse of the Times talks with an LPGA Tour rookie Ryan O’Toole who prepared for life on the tour through Golf Channel’s Big Break reality show.

Brent Briggeman of the Colorado Springs Gazette also spoke with O’Toole about her time on Big Break.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says ESPN2 will have the replay of today’s dramatic USA-Brazil Women’s World Cup game which had a lot of twists and turns.

Adam Sichko of the Albany (NY) Business Review notes that a local company will help produce live horse racing from nearby Saratoga for NBC.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks about Showtime getting into the sports reality TV realm with the new MLB TV series, “The Franchise”.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks with ESPN’s Nomar Garciaparra about the Home Run Derby.

From the Dallas Morning News, Barry Horn discusses the Longhorn Network making some on-air hires.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle tries to reassure readers about the availability of the Longhorn Network.

Kevin Benz at Culture Map Houston wonders if ESPN is making the Longhorn Network all about ESPN instead of University of Texas sports.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Bengals talks with ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden about the NFL lockout.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says TBS and MLB Network analyst John Smoltz still has a dream to be a professional golfer.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with Fox’s Joe Buck about his recovery from an ailment that affected his voice. And many of you have either tweeted or e-mailed me about this and have noticed how he has sounded since the Super Bowl. Dan’s story pretty much explains what happened.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Joe Buck didn’t mince words when it came to the Dodgers ownership debacle.

That’s going to do it for today.

Two Great Calls By Ian Darke Involving USA Soccer

People are still buzzing over the USA’s dramatic come from behind win over Brazil in the Women’s World Cup that puts the Americans in the semifinals against France on Wednesday. Some questionable officiating put the game into extra time tied at 1-1. Brazil on a Marta goal went ahead 2-1 early in the first extra session. But with time running out in the second session and in stoppage time, Megan Rapinoe made a brilliant cross to Abby Wambach who headed the ball into the back of the net. It sent the game to penalty kicks where the brilliant goaltender Hope Solo managed to save one Brazilian PK while the USA was perfect on all five of theirs putting the Americans into the semis.

Ian Darke was on the call with analyst Julie Foudy. This is his great call of the Abby Wambach goal on ESPN.

It brings to mind the Landon Donovan goal (“Go go, USA!”) against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa which made Ian a household name in this country. He already was quite popular in the UK in soccer and boxing circles.

If these dramatic goals continue with Ian Darke at the mic, we’ll soon have the Rules of Ian Darke just as we do with the Rules of Gus Johnson.

For good measure, here’s the shootout in its entirety.

Just a great day for USA Soccer.

Bringing Out Some Saturday Linkage

While I’m at work on this Saturday, I’ll do some linkage for you.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser notes that Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson used a gay slur to berate a caller on a Sirius XM radio show last week.

At The Grio, Marcus looks at the legacy of the train wreck that’s known as “The Decision” a year later.

According to The Wrap, ESPN Classic will become the home of the recently wrapped “Friday Night Lights” series.

Newsday’s Neil Best looks at the record viewership for the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN.

At the Buffalo News, Greg Connors reviews HBO’s documentary on Curt Flood.

In the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner has written a FAQ on the NBA and NFL lockouts.

From the Baltimore Sun, Matt Vensel writes that a local sports radio talk show host is on the streets looking for a new gig.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that Capitals voice Joe Beninati and John Feinstein will call Kastles World Team Tennis matches this summer.

The St. Petersburg Times tells readers not to expect the NFL Network on Bright House cable systems anytime soon.

The Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn says the incident from Thursday’s Oakland-Texas game where a fan died trying to catch a ball tossed into the stands by Josh Hamilton was greatly mishandled by both of the networks covering the contest.

Andrew Ferraro of the Houston Chronicle writes that an exhibition NHL game scheduled for Reliant Stadium in September has been canceled and Fox Sports Southwest is now looking for another way to get the Dallas Stars into the Houston market.

Berry Tremel at the Daily Oklahoman says the Longhorn Network taking a Big 12 Conference game from Fox Sports Net is opening a can of worms for fans.

Rick Noland from the Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram says we should forget about celebrating any anniversary of “The Decision.”

Steve Watkins of the Cincinnati Business Courier says the ratings for the Reds on Fox Sports Ohio are up significantly from last season.

Dave Lubach of the Sheboygan (WI) Press recaps an appearance by CBS/Golf Channel personality David Feherty at a charity golf event.

Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says Fox Sports North will be airing a Minnesota Wild reality show over the next few months.

Tavis Govindjie of the Marin (CA) Independent Journal gives us this profile of a Comcast SportsNet Bay Area graphic designer.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Oakland A’s TV voices Glen Kuiper and Ray Fosse have come under fire for being insensitive during the incident in Arlington that killed a fan. In their defense, they did not know how far the fan fell nor did they know his condition. It’s easy to sit here and criticize, but at the time, they did not know how serious the situation was.

Cam Inman of the Oakland Tribune talks with former ABC/CBS/NBC NFL analyst John Madden about the lockout and the Madden NFL ’11 video game.

The Hamilton Spectator in Canada notes that some recently found CFL footage discovered in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame has been digitized and put online.

Derek Zona of SB Nation ranks all of the NHL TV broadcasters from top to bottom.

Mike Silva’s New York Baseball Digest didn’t think the Bob Costas-Al Michaels mashup for last night’s Mets-Giants game was anything special. I disagree.

Dave Kohl in Major League Programs explains why ESPN went all in for its Wimbledon bid.

World Cup Buzz says ESPN is doing the Women’s World Cup right this year.

EPL Talk has the US TV schedules for the English Premier League “friendlies” that will take place this month.

Quite a few links today which is good to see after working into the wee hours of this morning on the Megalinks. I’ll be back tomorrow with more linkage.

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.

Unveiling The Thursday Links

Been a busy day at work once again. Doing these late and I’ll try to put forth as many links as I can before being told to leave the office.

Sports Business Daily takes a look at the one year anniversary of the infamous “The Decision” that made LeBron James a pariah in Cleveland and most of the country.

Patrick Kemp at the Buffalo News reports that ESPN NHL analyst Matthew Barnaby will perform 500 hours of community service as he was sentenced Wednesday for a domestic disturbance case involving his estranged wife and her boyfriend. I asked ESPN for a statement on this matter and received this response: “Now that its (sic) gotten to the point in the process, we need to regroup and have follow up conversations.” This means that ESPN is evaluating Barnaby’s employment for the upcoming NHL season.

At The Sweet Science, boxing writer Thomas Hauser remembers fellow colleague and former Boston Herald columnist George Kimball who has passed at the age of 69.

Michael Woods of The Sweet Science also pauses to reflect on Kimball.

Another former Kimball colleague, Michael Gee gives his thoughts on his friend’s passing in the Boston Herald.

Lesley Goldberg of the Hollywood Reporter has a preview of Showtime’s MLB reality show, “The Franchise” focusing on the San Francisco Giants.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable looks at CBS’ Jim Nantz getting an award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times says ESPN winning the Wimbledon media rights is just a small part of a big battle between ESPN/Disney and Comcast/NBC.

Sheldon Spencer at ESPN Front Row talks with original ESPN’er Bob Ley on who he follows on Twitter. I’m honored to be one of those to be followed by Mr. Ley.

Last night, comedian Artie Lange made his first radio appearance since his suicide attempt and subsequent departure from the Howard Stern Show. Dylan P. Gadino of Punchline live blogged the guest spot Artie did with fellow comic Nick DiPaolo on Fox Sports Radio. Reading Gadino’s writing, it’s apparent he is not a sports fan.

Fox Sports Radio host Ben Maller writing in Yahoo’s The Post Game chronicles how he lost 200 pounds.

Dan Fogarty has audio of ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd blaming Canada for its health care system and insinuating Tiger Woods takes steroids.

CTV has finally relaunched its Olympics site for the 2012 London Games.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell marvels at how 2018 Olympics host Pyeongchang, Sout Korea is already halfway finished in building venues and it was just awarded the Games on Wednesday.

Marc Berman at the New York Post writes that Spero Dedes’ deal to become the radio voice could be in limbo stemming from his DWI arrest over the weekend.

Newsday’s Neil Best says ticket prices remain high for upcoming Yankees games as fans try to see the contest where Derek Jeter gets his 3,000th career hit.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that a Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic anchor gave a tongue-in-cheek motivational speech to interns.

Writer John Feinstein explains why he quit doing Navy football radio broadcasts effective immediately.

Gary Dinges of the Austin American-Statesman says the ESPN-owned Longhorn Network has chosen the site for its studios and named three of its on-air staffers.

Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Bengals writes that former radio voice Brad Johansen will call the team’s preseason games on TV starting this season, provided there is a preseason.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Pro Football Hall of Fame is ready to say hello to CBS’ Jim Nantz.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News feels the Pro Football Hall of Fame redeemed itself with Jim Nantz after selecting Chris Berman as its TV-Radio Award recipient last year.

Tom transcribes what Colin Cowherd said about the Dodgers today.

The Toronto Sports Media Blog notes that former CBC Hockey Night in Canada Radio host Jeff Marek has officially joined Rogers Sportsnet.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog writes about Jeff Marek’s role with Sportsnet.

Canadian Sports Media Blog notes that TSN has picked up the Canadian rights to Wimbledon starting next year.

And Canadian Sports Media tells us that TSN’s arrangement to air The Championships, Wimbledon is similar to ESPN’s.

Barry Pachesky of Deadspin says ESPN’s deal with Wimbledon is the future of sports television.

Deadspin’s Brian Hickey notes that Versus had a big, blue phallic symbol creep into its Tour de France coverage.

SportsbyBrooks has word on some college football network TV on-air hires.

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

SMW notes that the ratings for last weekend’s NASCAR Daytona 400 on TNT fell from last year.

EPL Talk notices that FIFA is considering to break up the 2022 World Cup in Qatar into three 30-minute periods due to the oppressive heat and humidity.

The latest Awful Announcing podcast has the great Darren Rovell of CNBC.

That’s going to do it for today.

Some Quick Thursday Links

Trying to squeeze linkage in while I can. This won’t be a full set of links. I will do the megalinks tomorrow, but today will be a quickie links day.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today reports that the ratings for the USA-North Korea game in the Women’s World Cup drew decently for ESPN.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News says industry analysts expect 3-D TV sales to be very slow this year, but eventually ramp up by mid-decade.

Edmund Lee of Advertising Age talks with the publisher and co-founder of The Awl, Bill Cho, who’s leaving to go to join Captain Blowhard’s Grantland site.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions explains why the sales of TV’s in the 3rd dimension are tanking.

David Goetzl from MediaPost says NBC Sports is raising its profile for the Tour de France which begins this weekend.

The St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deggans writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says David Tyree’s anti-gay stance brings some strong challenges for journalists.

This story has been burning up the sports blogosphere since Wednesday afternoon. A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin says Hollywood movie producers are thinking of making a movie from the tome, “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside The World of ESPN”.

Alexandra Kuczynski-Brown of SportsGrid says the BBC has developed a product that will reduce the grunting and shrieking at Centre Court in Wimbledon.

Andy Blesser at Beet TV talks about the Watch ESPN mobile app.

Brandon Costa of the Sports Video Group discusses ESPN 3D going live from Wimbledon this week.

Dave Nagle of ESPN’s Front Row PR blog talks with ESPN2′s Chris Evert on her return to TV at SW19 for the fortnight.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at what lies ahead of NBA Communist China Sympathizer David Stern as the lockout is now in full effect.

Kurt Helin of NBC’s Pro Basketball Talk has the organizers of last year’s “The Decision” starring LeBron James and his talents, surprised by the backlash against the made-for-TV event. Really? C’mon, man.

All Access reports that personalities from Philadelphia’s sports radio WIP will guest host Comcast SportsNet’s Daily News Live starting next week.

The Around the Rings blog says BBC Sport has been named as the UK rightsholder for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir writes about General Electric’s increased sponsorship of the Olympics.

Newsday’s Neil Best wonders why NBC did not air today’s Maria Sharapova-Sabine Lisicki Wimbledon semifinal match live.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the MLB Network live game schedule for July.

The Centre Daily (PA) Times previews tonight’s ESPN presentation of Penn State coach Joe Paterno and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

From Capitol File magazine, ESPN’s Erin Andrews answers a few questions.

KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa says a local cable company will pick up 16 extra Minnesota Twins games ending a dispute with Fox Sports North.

Jay Heater of the Idaho State Journal says a Pocatello radio station is changing its affiliation from ESPN Radio to Fox Sports.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News previews tonight’s ESPN program with Penn State’s JoePa and Duke’s Coach K.

Comcast SportsNet Bay Area notes that Bob Costas and Al Michaels will make a guest appearance on its local broadcast of July 8th’s New York Mets-San Francisco Giants game. The pair will call most of the game on MLB Network, but will slide over to CSN Bay Area for a half inning.

The Maui News says NBC golf reporter Mark Rolfing will no longer be the organizer for a PGA Tour event.

Marty McGee of the Daily Racing Form talks with NBC’s horse racing reporter Donna Brothers.

Noel Murray at the A.V. Club looks at the ESPN book.

The Football Girl is not a fan of a full NFL Thursday Night Football schedule.

Stars Entertainment speaks with Tennis Channel anchor Angela Sun. The story mentions that she worked for ESPN, but I have never seen her on ESPN. Yahoo, yes. Tennis Channel, yes. ESPN? No. I’ve never seen her there. Maybe you have.

Sports Media Watch notes that the U.S. Open’s ratings were down for all four rounds.

SMW has some various ratings news and notes.

And SMW has some news and notes on some coming attractions.

Barry Janoff from The Big Lead speaks with prolific reality TV producer Mark Burnett.

Dave Kohl at Major League Programs reviews the latest in sports media.

And I found more links than I thought and that’s a bonus for you. Back later tonight.

Getting The Wednesday Linkage In

Let’s do the Wednesday links while I can. It’s going to get busy the next couple of days as I try to wrap things up for the 4th of July weekend so blogging may get sparse through the weekend. Just giving you a heads up.

Here are the links for this Wednesday.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN is going all out for the Women’s World Cup whether we like it or not.

Karolos Grohmann of Reuters reports that General Electric has pledged to sponsor the Olympic Games through 2020 as part of the deal that kept the US media rights with NBC.

Lindsay Powers of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Tiger Woods has signed his first endorsement deal since his marital troubles began in November 2009.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable says the NFL wants Congress to leave the silly TV blackout rules in place.

Tim Baysinger of B&C notes that Fox Soccer received its highest audience ever for last Saturday’s Gold Cup Final between the US and Mexico.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News notes the improved ratings for TNT halfway through its NASCAR season.

Mike also recaps the ESPN/espnW Women’s World Cup viewing party in New York’s Times Square on Tuesday.

Mike discusses NBC Sports Group providing full coverage of the Tour de France.

Adweek’s Anthony Crupi says the NBA playoffs steered TNT to a cable ratings win in the 2nd quarter of this year.

Tim Nudd of Adweek really likes DirecTV’s Football Cops ad starring Peyton and Eli Manning.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred provides a lesson on just who Grantland Rice was and why he’s so revered.

Robert Niles of the Online Journalism Review at USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism looks at the limits of free speech citing ESPN’s Jemele Hill defending David Tyree’s anti-gay marriage stance.

SportsGrid has video of Charles Barkley visiting the Sportsnet One booth during last night’s Pittsburgh-Toronto game.

SportsGrid’s Glenn Davis wonders if ESPN’s Robert Flores was caught napping on the job today.

SportsNewser’s Cam Martin writes that video game producer EA Sports plans to build a new studio in Texas.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell speaks with Nike’s CEO and President Charlie Denson on a myriad of sports business topics.

SportsbyBrooks is reporting that former Indiana and Texas A&M coach Bob Knight is preventing ESPN from hiring former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl as an analyst. I didn’t know coach Knight wielded that much power.

Andrew Gauthier of TV Spy notes the return of Len Berman to the Today Show this morning. And no one got hurt!

The lovely Kristi Dosh of the Business of College Sports explains how she got into the sports blogging business.

Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times reviews USA Network’s new football-based series.

Newsday’s Neil Best says Derek Jeter haters will like one new internet product that allows them to ignore the Yankees shortstop.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says tonight’s Red Sox-Phillies game originally scheduled for ESPN2 will now be seen on the ESPN mothership.

Ken says New York’s Capital Region will be blacked out on July 8 when Bob Costas and Al Michaels team up to call their first baseball game ever.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that NBC golf reporter Dottie Pepper reaches out to the community when she’s back home.

Evan Weiner in the New Jersey Newsroom says handouts to sports owners are not a good thing.

John George of the Philadelphia Business Journal says MLB Network’s Mitch Williams will be seen on a DIY Network show.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog recaps a visit from consumer advocate Ralph Nader to the WaPo offices to discuss sports coverage and a new venture he’s helping to organize.

Graham Cawthorn of the Shelby (NC) Star looks at ESPN wanting to stream the American Legion World Series.

Danny Aller of the Albany (GA) Herald says Braves fans will finally be able to watch Peachtree TV games through the Fox Sports South affiliate.

Joel Hammond of Crain’s Cleveland Business says the Browns will launch a nightly radio show on the market’s dominant sports radio station.

Steve Brandt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says local officials are denying that there’s a potential bid for the 2020 Olympics in the works.

The Syracuse (NE) Journal-Democrat reports that ESPN3 will stream all games of the American Legion World Series under a new four year contract.

Andrew Blankstein of the Los Angeles Times says former Chicago Sun-Times writer Jay Mariotti must stand trial on stalking and assault charges.

The Elk Grove (CA) Citizen notes that a local high school rejected ESPN’s request to air a football game this season.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail talks about HBO hitting the ice once again next season.

Sports Media Watch says NASCAR on TNT’s ratings were up again this past weekend.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says viewership for the NHL Draft was up from last year.

The Big Lead wonders if NASCAR fired an in-house blogger for mentioning Kyle Busch’s marital problems.

That’s all for now.

Providing Your Tuesday Linkage

Let’s go for your links today.

Starting with Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, he explores whether the Women’s World Cup can find an audience and he also scolds Pierre McGuire.

Steve Weiberg of USA Today says a group of former college athletes is suing ESPN and CBS plus other networks for using their likenesses on commercials, promos and classic programming without their permission. This is going to be a very interesting case.

Sergio Non of USA Today says Spike’s replay of an old UFC event beat a new UFC card airing on Versus in the ratings on Sunday.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost looks at the NFL seeking yet another TV package to help drive up revenue.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable writes that NBA Digital saw record traffic for the Draft last week.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says the Sportsman Channel continues to gain HD access on Comcast systems in the South.

Mike says a couple of presenting sponsors of ESPN’s self-aggrandizing ESPY Awards are back for another year.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek tells us that TNT still has a few spots open for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Daytona this Saturday.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life says the Women’s World Cup is a top draw on TV this week.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser says Fang’s Bites fave Bethanie Mattek-Sands has issued a challenge to the Larry Brown Sports blog.

Chris Ariens at TVSpy notes that there’s a baby boom among female sportscasters in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex including my Twitter friend, Gina Miller of KTVT/KTXA .

Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN’s True Hoop NBA blog network notes that the league’s techies and social media gurus are possibly looking at websites without the likenesses of any of its players in case a lockout becomes reality. Thanks to Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser for the link.

Dan Fogarty from SportsGrid notes that ESPN is stocking up on attractive blond female sportscasters.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with DirecTV Football Cop C.J. Hunter a.k.a. Eli Manning.

Dave Seminara of the New York Times’ Straight Sets blog isn’t a big fan of having to shuffle around NBC and ESPN2 to find the Wimbledon match he wants to watch.

Newsday’s Neil Best looks at Tiki Barber’s attempted NFL comeback.

And Neil has more with Tiki in his blog.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg in the DC Sports Bog has the results of a local magazine’s sports media poll.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business notes that former Cubs and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman will be a guest analyst for the Cubs-White Sox series on Comcast SportsNet.

The Idaho Press-Tribune notes that CBS Sports Network gets an important pickup in Big Sky country and for fans looking to watch Boise State football.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman says CBS Sports Network will be added to a digital tier which means customers will have to pay extra to see it.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times says the NFL is going full speed ahead with a new TV package.

Tony Manfred of the Business Insider Sports Page says Comcast hopes to use a Thursday Night NFL Football package to challenge ESPN.

Jim Barthold of Fierce Cable talks about Comcast desperately wanting to pick up the NFL for Versus.

Barry Janoff of The Big Lead says when athletes tweet, they engage their fans.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says the Pierre McGuire-to-NBC story is just about official.

Sports Media Watch notes that the USA-Mexico Gold Cup Final captured plenty of viewers on Univision.

SMW says the NBC Sports Group has yet to settle on a new name for Versus.

SMW has some announcing recommendations for MLB’s TV partners.

Joe Favorito says it’s time for the Yankees Old Timers Game to shuffle into a new era and bring in a “new generation” of old timers.

Awful Announcing’s Bob Bender is not a fan of ESPN’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup or of women’s soccer in general. And the USA played North Korea today, not China.

And I’ll end it there for today.

A Monday Link Thing

Let’s do the Monday linkage. Some interesting stories out there already.

I’ll start with some housekeeping from the weekend in regards to Saturday’s passing of Nick Charles.

Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski who wrote a wonderful and poignant article in March on Nick’s coming to peace with his cancer and how he attempted to make every day count, has another wonderful and poignant article on Nick’s passing.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun remembers Nick’s time in Baltimore.

Matt Schudel of the Washington Post has an obituary for Nick from another market where he worked before hitting it big with CNN.

Michael Marley at Examiner.com notes how boxer Mike Tyson made up with Nick before Charles’ passing.

Jason Levine of the Delaware News-Journal mourns Nick’s passing as well as USA Today baseball writer Rod Beaton.

Becky Schlikerman of the Chicago Tribune writes about Charles never forgetting his Windy City roots.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News also has a remembrance of Charles and calling his last fight earlier this year for HBO.

At Fight News, Nick’s Showtime partner, Steve Farhood, also gives his thoughts on Charles’ passing.

Now to other sports media and business news of the day and there’s quite a bit on this Monday.

One big story surfacing today is the potential bidding for the first half of a Thursday Night Football package that would begin in 2012. John Ourand and Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal write about it. I add some thoughts as well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have filed for bankruptcy after MLB Commissioner Bud Selig rejected the team’s 17 year deal with Fox for media rights. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on owner Frank McCourt’s filing in bankruptcy court.

The Times has the Dodgers’ statement on the bankruptcy filing.

Chris Dufrense of the Times has a good story on how the Dodgers lost their toehold on Los Angeles to the Lakers.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports on some of the biggest Dodgers creditors.

Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal writes that McCourt’s filing sets up a battle with Selig.

David McLaughlin of Bloomberg News also has a story on this latest Dodgers development.

Craig Calcaterra of NBC’s Pro Hardball Talk tells us what bankruptcy means for the Dodgers.

From Sports Business Journal, we have a couple of stories from this week’s issue.

First, Terry Lefton breaks news that the new Meadowlands Stadium, home to the Giants and Jets,  is close to having a new sponsor for naming rights.

Tripp Mickle reports that Sprint is about to roll out a new promotion with NASCAR that will benefit both fans and drivers.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today explains how NBC’s tape delayed shenanigans at Wimbledon will work this week. This is the last year of NBC’s contract with Wimbledon. Let’s hope the shenanigans end in 2011.

Mike writes that ESPN college football analyst Craig James could be starting a political career.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reviews ESPN’s NBA Draft coverage.

Mick Mulvenney from Reuters says the International Olympic Committee says athletes can go on Twitter during competition during the 2012 Olympics so long as they don’t do it for commercial purposes.

Jason Fry writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center discusses some of the comparisons Grantland faces with the late, great The National.

SportsGrid notes some nutty behavior by some baseball announcers over the weekend.

SportsGrid has video from Wendi Nix’s subbing for Karl Ravech on Baseball Tonight from Sunday and it apparently didn’t go over well.

Fox Sports in Australia has announced that tennis analyst John McEnroe will be part of its Australian Open coverage in 2012. He had previously called matches for 7 Network, but had not been in Australia since 2004.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels WFAN’s Craig Carton can be a good listen when he wants to be.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY has ESPN Radio New York’s Jared Max reaction to the New York State Senate passing the same sex marriage bill last Friday.

At the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg notes that the Nationals’ TV ratings are beginning to surpass other teams in the market.

Dan has some observations from the news conference involving Wizards top draft pick Jan Vesely who made a big splash last week with a kiss from her girlfriend at the NBA Draft.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times shares his thoughts on the sports weekend on TV.

Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel says the local NBC station won’t be airing Wimbledon this week due to its wall-to-wall coverage of the Casey Anthony trial.

Jeff Korbelik of the Lincoln (NE) Journal-Star says a new local sports radio station will pick up programming from Fox Sports and Premiere Radio Networks in addition to having some local shows.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says soccer’s popularity is rising.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has your Southern California sports calendar for the week.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News writes that the Pac-12 Conference is consideration all distribution options on both TV and the internet for its in-house channel.

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail writes about the NHL delaying a decision about participating in the Olympics and the media rights for the new Winnipeg Jets.

The Toronto Sports Media blog says expect to hear some changes at the local Rogers Sportsnet’s radio station.

With some upheaval expected for next season, Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has some announcing suggestions for the NBA’s TV partners.

At Puck The Media, Steve Lepore notes that the NHL Awards saw increased ratings on both Versus and CBC last week.

And Steve says NHL Network will pick up TSN’s coverage of the first day of the league’s free agent signing period.

Doug Farrar at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner wonders if NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens injured himself during the taping of a VH1 reality show.

EPL Talk looks at ESPN’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup.

The Big Lead notes that Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban shot a new Transformers 3 movie ad.

Jack Dickey at Deadspin says it seems Marv Albert’s conviction on sexual assault charges has been long forgotten.

And that’s where we’re going to leave it.

Bringing Out The Friday Megalinks

Yup, time for the Friday megalinks. As long as I don’t get interrupted, I should be able to do this all in one shot for you.

Your Weekend Viewing Picks have a whole lot of sports and entertainment programs so take a gander and see what suits your fancy.

To the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks about ex-Florida coach Urban Meyer diving headfirst into being a college football TV analyst for ESPN.

Nate Davis at USA Today’s The Huddle blog notes that ex-NFLer’s and current TV analysts Michael Strahan and Warren Sapp don’t take much stock in Tiki Barber’s comeback.

Also in USA Today, Devra Maza talks with Hall of Fame baseball announcer Bob Wolff about his memories calling Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest is seeking to change his name to “Metta World Peace” while his wife, Kimsha is being cast for the new edition of VH1′s “Basketball Wives”.

Jon Weisman of Variety says David Feherty’s new show gave Golf Channel its most watched premiere in the history of the network.

Marcus Vanderberg at SportsNewser notes that Wednesday’s Mexico-Honduras Gold Cup semifinal match was the highest rated primetime sporting event ever on Univision.

Sports Media Watch has some various news and notes.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has the new DirecTV Football Cops ad featuring the Manning brothers.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with WEEI’s Dale Arnold who had to watch the Bruins championship run while being mostly on the sidelines.

Rich Fahey of the Globe says former Bruins TV host Tom Larson followed through on a 30 year promise to shave his beard.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says with a lockout looming, the NBA Players Association is standing firmly behind its leadership.

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post has praise for ESPN’s Bobby Valentine and Orel Hershiser, but has to somehow temper it.

The Post’s Brett Cyrgalis has four questions for Mets radio voice Howie Rose.

Newsday’s John Jeansonne looks at how John McEnroe was perceived as a player and perceived now as an analyst.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty says two local TV reporters were able to catch up with Jimmer Fredette after the NBA Draft.

Pete says Jimmermania kept fans watching the NBA Draft for about an hour.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call looks at the new CBS Sports Network contract with the Patriot League.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes talks about the programming changes at one Baltimore sports radio station.

Dave says the Washington City Paper is firing back at DC NFL Team owner Daniel Snyder in his efforts to sue the publication.

South

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times feels ESPN should not be leading the charge to move the Rays out of Tampa Bay.

William Brethertont of the Marietta (GA) Daily Journal says an Atlanta Beat Women’s Professional Soccer star will be on ESPN’s Women’s World Cup coverage.

Dan Murtaugh of the Mobile (AL) Press-Register says Tennis Channel will focus on a local program that benefits young women and weaves in a tennis exhibition to help raise funds.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle recognizes one sports anchor’s longevity in the market.

Berry Tremel at the Daily Oklahoman says FX’s early college football schedule is all-Oklahoma, all the time.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that Thom and Marty Brennaman don’t seem to have time to work together in the Reds broadcast booth.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk will be swinging a golf club on NBC’s celebrity golf tournament next month.

Bob says local overnight ratings for the NBA Draft on ESPN were strong.

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

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a local sports anchor is pinch hitting on the news side this month.

And Dan has a few news and notes.

West

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune looks at Urban Meyer moving to the TV booth on college football Saturdays for ESPN.

Richard Eng of the Las Vegas Journal-Review explores the decision of former Triple Crown caller Tom Durkin to step down this year.

John Maffei of the North County Times says this weekend is a big one for soccer fans.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star notes that the Los Angeles Lakers will have different voices for next season.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Lenny Dykstra is now tweeting.

Tom also has a column on Captain Blowhard’s Grantland site.

Jack Humphreville of City Watch LA takes a look at Frank McCourt’s embattled ownership of the Dodgers and the collapse of his rich rights deal with Fox.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail has yet another mediocre media column this week. I’m close to dropping him from the megalinks.

The Toronto Sports Media blog notes the one year anniversary of a huge lineup change on one local sports radio station.

And that’s going to do it for today.

ESPN’s Women’s World Cup Announcing Assignments

This just coming in from ESPN, the announcing assignments for the Women’s World Cup. We know that Ian Darke and Julie Foudy are the top team and will call games through the championship game on July 20 in Frankfurt, Germany. We have the rest of the teams and games they’ll call through Group Play.

ESPN Commentator Assignments for 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany

ESPN’s comprehensive coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup (June 26 – July 17) from Germany will include all 32 matches televised live and in high definition on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3.com, as well as extensive coverage on ESPN’s digital media platforms, including ESPNnetworks.com, the WatchESPN App, and ESPN Mobile TV.  Today, executive producer Jed Drake announced the opening round match assignments for the three ESPN commentator teams. Highlights:

• The lead team of Ian Darke and former U.S. Women’s National Team captain Julie Foudy will call the Germany vs. Canada opening match in Berlin on Sunday, June 26, at 11:30 a.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN3.com), all United States team matches in Group C, and the final in Frankfurt on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3.com);
• Adrian Healey will pair with former U.S. National Team defender Kate Markgraf, beginning Sunday (June 26) with Nigeria vs. France in Sinsheim on the opening day of the World Cup. Healey will also call a pair of matches with former U.S. Women’s National Team coach Tony DiCicco – Brazil vs. Australia (June 29) and Canada vs. France (June 30) next week.
• Beth Mowins will work with former U.S. National Team player Cat Whitehill, beginning with the Japan-New Zealand match Monday, June 27, in Bochum.

Assignments for the knockout round will be announced as the tournament progresses.

2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Groupings

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
1  Germany	1  Japan	1  USA	1  Brazil
2  Canada	2  New Zealand	2  Korea DPR	2  Australia
3  Nigeria	3  Mexico	3  Colombia	3  Norway
4  France	4  England	4  Sweden	4  Equatorial Guinea

2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup TV Schedule – ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com

uAll times EASTERNu Schedule is subject to change u All matches in high definition
uFIFA match #s

Date	Time	Network	Match	Group	Site
Su 6/26	8:45 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Nigeria vs. France Adrian Healey and Kate Markgraf	A	Sinsheim
	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Germany vs. Canada Ian Darke and Julie Foudy	A	Berlin
Mo 6/27	8:45 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Japan vs. New Zealand Beth Mowins and Cat Whitehill	B	Bochum
	11:45 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Mexico vs. England Healey and Markgraf	B	Wolfsburg
Tu 6/28	8:45 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Colombia vs. Sweden Mowins and Whitehill	C	Leverkusen
	11:45 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	USA vs. Korea DPR Darke and Foudy	C	Dresden
We 6/29	8:45 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Norway vs. Equa. Guinea |Mowins and Whitehill	D	Augsburg
	12 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Brazil vs. Australia Healey and Tony DiCicco	D	Moenchengladbach
Th 6/30	11:45 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Canada vs. France Healey and DiCicco	A	Bochum
	2:30 p.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Germany vs. Nigeria Darke and Foudy	A	Frankfurt
Fr 7/1	8:45 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Japan vs. Mexico Mowins and Whitehill	B	Leverkusen
	12 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	New Zealand vs. England Healey and Markgraf	B	Dresden

Sa 7/2	7:45 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Korea DPR vs. Sweden Mowins and Whitehill	C	Augsburg
	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	USA vs. Colombia Darke and Foudy	C	Sinsheim
Su 7/3	7:45 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Australia vs. Equa. Guinea Healey and Markgraf	D	Bochum
	12 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Brazil vs. Norway Darke and Foudy	D	Wolfsburg
Tu 7/5	12 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	England vs. Japan Healey and Markgraf	B	Augsburg
	12 p.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	New Zealand vs. Mexico Mowins and Whitehill	B	Sinsheim
	2:30 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	France vs. Germany Darke and Foudy	A	Moenchengladbach
	2:30 p.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Canada vs. Nigeria Mowins and Whitehill	A	Dresden
We 7/6	11:45 a.m	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Equa. Guinea vs. Brazil Mowins and Whitehill	D	Frankfurt
	11:45 a.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Australia vs. Norway Healey and Markgraf	D	Leverkusen
	2:30 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Sweden vs. USA Darke and Foudy	C	Wolfsburg
	2:30 p.m.	ESPN2/ESPN3.com	Korea DPR vs. Colombia Mowins and Whitehill	C	Bochum

2^nd Stage – Quarterfinals

Date	Time	Network	Match	Site	Match #
Sa 7/9	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	1st B vs. 2ndA	Leverkusen	26
	2:15 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	1st A vs. 2nd B	Wolfsburg	25
Su 7/10	6:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	1st C vs. 2nd D	Augsburg	27
	11 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	1st D vs. 2nd C	Dresden	28

2^nd Stage – Semifinals

Date	Time	Network	Match	Site	Match #
We 7/13	11:30 a.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Winners: Match 26 vs. 28	Moenchengladbach	30
	2:15 p.m.	ESPN/ESPN3.com	Winners: Match 25 vs. 27	Frankfurt	29

Third Place Match

Sa 7/16

11 a.m.

ESPN2/ESPN3.com

Losers – 29 vs. 30

Sinsheim

31

2010 FIFA World Cup Title Match

Su 7/17

2 p.m.

ESPN/ESPN3.com

Winners – 29 vs. 30

Frankfurt

32

 

That will do it.

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.

Let’s Do Some Wednesday Linkage

On this rainy Wednesday in Southern New England, let me do some links. I hope the weather where you are is dry and sunny.

I’ll start today off with John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal who says Comcast may have appeared to have overbid for the Olympics, but it may pay off in the long run.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand talks with Dick Enberg who’s calling his final Wimbledon this year.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid has video of Dick Enberg discussing “bloody blue balls” at Wimbledon and his on-air partner, Chris Evert making the perfect response.

SportsGrid also has the HBO Real Sports segment with Tiki Barber that was quite compelling TV.

Patrick Rishe of Forbes says Mark Cuban owning the Los Angeles Dodgers needs to happen soon.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans from the St. Petersburg Times writes that Barber is on a media redemption tour while David Feherty is learning the ropes in another manner.

Kirk Honeycutt of Reuters reviews the ESPN Films documentary on transsexual tennis player Renee Richards. The film was shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival and will premiere on ESPN in the fall.

Lacey Rose at the Hollywood Reporter writes that HBO has assembled some All-Star production talent to develop a new drama based on the early life of Mike Tyson.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable says CBS Sports Network has signed a multiyear deal with the Patriot League for various sports.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek says the NFL’s TV partners are hopeful after hearing negotiations to end the league’s lockout are making substantial progress.

One thing to come out of the talks between the NFL and the Players Association is a full 16 week Thursday Night Football schedule that could begin in 2012. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains what that means for the players and fans.

Jeff Fedotin at the National Football Post claims this guy, Jon Gruden of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, has the potential to be this generation’s John Madden. That remains to be seen.

Eric Spanberg of the Christian Science Monitor reviews the ESPN book.

The Lost Letterman blog has video of ESPN’s Erin Andrews confronting a fan at last year’s College World Series. I like Erin’s spirit in this and the guy was being an asshole.

Congratulations to ESPN.com baseball writer Jonah Keri who will be writing the quintessential history of the Montreal Expos.

Richard Sandomir from the New York Times says there are plenty of marketing opportunities surrounding the 3,000th hit of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

Jack Bell of the Times talks about legendary women’s soccer star Mia Hamm joining espnW to provide analysis on the Women’s World Cup.

At the New York Observer, Kat Stoeffel talks with ESPN Radio New York’s Jared Max about his decision to come out.

Matthew Margolis from the East Hampton (NY) Patch writes that a young actor got to do some voiceover work for ESPN’s Little League World Series coverage.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that Jimmer Fredette’s YouTube channel has a big following.

Mark Wogenrich at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call explores the new deal between CBS Sports Network and the Patriot League for four sports.

Jack Bogaczyk of the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail feels it was smart of the Big East to turn down ESPN’s $1 billion offer to get a feel for the marketplace.

The Naples (FL) Daily News reports that locally, the U.S. Open scored well in the ratings.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that a local sports radio morning drive host has been let go.

Doug Moe at the Wisconsin State Journal speaks with Randall Mell of the Golf Channel.

Sandra Guy in the Chicago Sun-Times looks at the new street-level studios for ESPN Radio Chicago.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks about Dick Enberg’s final fortnight at Wimbledon.

Matthew Fleischer of Fishbowl LA writes that ESPN WNBA analyst Rebecca Lobo tweeted about her plane’s emergency landing while heading to SoCal this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that Americans will get a nice dose of the CFL on the NFL Network.

George Dickie of zap2it talks with David Feherty about his new Golf Channel show.

Sports Media Watch says the CONCACAF Gold Cup has been a ratings hit for Univision and its sister network, Galavision.

SMW says the NHL Winter Classic goes back to primetime on January 2.

The Big Lead says Friend of Friend’s Bites Michelle Beadle is single once again. Sorry, Michelle, I had to put this one in.

The Sports Tube has an appreciation of Dick Enberg who’s making his final rounds at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.

That will do it.

ESPN Unveils The “Big Blue” Mobile Studio At The Women’s World Cup

I’m a geek for these type of things so when I get press releases on production, I eat them up. Throughout the Women’s World Cup in Germany, ESPN will utilize a mobile studio called “Big Blue” at various sites and it was built specifically for this event. It will be sent to the stadiums that will be home to the Women’s World Cup matches and will be able to hold a studio set, three analyst positions and a control room all in the same facility. ESPN Front Row has a slide show and I’ll post that here as well.

Check out the press release first.

ESPN to Use Traveling Studio for FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany

ESPN will utilize a unique mobile studio throughout the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany (June 26 – July 17) that will travel to six different cities and historic locations throughout the country.  The set will be used for pre-match, halftime and post-match shows live, as well as World Cup-branded segments on SportsCenter, First Take and ESPNEWS.

The mobile studio unit, a more dynamic and updated version of the acclaimed pit studio used for ESPN’s NASCAR Countdown, was built specifically for Women’s World Cup.  It has two levels with the studio set – including host and three analyst positions – on the top floor, and a fully-functional control room on the lower level with its own audio mixer and video switcher.  The mobile unit expands to 25 feet high and up to 16 feet sideways.  In transit, it travels as a compact 18-wheel truck.  A hydraulic lift and an electric motor expand and contract the dimensions of the unit, making it possible to navigate the narrow streets of historic German city centers.

The studio unit is outfitted with special lighting, adaptable to filming on dense or bright, sunny days, three cameras, and a Jib camera.  The studio background offers an open-air setting or an encased 360 degrees with a glass window which can be used in inclement weather; both will allow viewers to see the pageantry and scenic backdrops from the historic German cities. The truck’s exterior is also wrapped with a sweeping image of a diving goalkeeper.

The mobile unit, named “Big Blue,” was assembled in Holland over the past six months.

The planned route during Germany 2011 (subject to change):

• June 25-26:  Berlin “Olympiastadion” – Site of the Germany 2011 opening match between host and defending champion Germany and Canada.  The historic stadium hosted the 1936 Olympics, and the 1974 and 2006 FIFA World Cup matches, including the Italy-France final in 2006.
• June 28-29:  Dresden, overlooking “Church of Our Lady” – The Lutheran church built from 1726-1743 was heavily damaged in World War II. The church’s restoration, which started in 1994 and was completed in 2005, is now a symbol of reconciliation in Germany.
• July 1-3: Heidelberg “Marktplatz” (Market Place) – One of the main squares and a popular destination at the Heidelberg city center, adjacent to the historic Town Hall and Neptune Fountain. The U.S. Army has had a military base in Heidelberg since 1951.
• July 5-6: Wolfsburg’s “Phaeno Science Center” – A unique architectural achievement, the interactive science center in downtown Wolfsburg illuminates at night. The city is also known as the home and headquarters of Volkswagen.
• July 9-10: Dresden, outside the Opera House – For the quarterfinals, the mobile unit will return to Dresden, originating from outside the opera house of the Saxon State Opera, built in 1841, beside the River Elbe.
• July 13-17: Frankfurt, outside “Women’s World Cup Stadium” – The site of the final match and the International Broadcast Center for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Now the slideshow showing the construction in Holland, then the finished product.

All pretty interesting. The Women’s World Cup begins Sunday morning on ESPN2 and ESPN.

Women’s Soccer Star Mia Hamm Joins espnW’s Women’s World Cup Coverage

ESPN has announced that legendary women’s soccer star Mia Hamm will be joining espnW as an analyst for the Women’s World Cup and she will appear on selected ESPN telecasts. Her main duties will be writing blog posts and conducting interviews for ESPN’s women’s sports website. She becomes the 3rd member of the 1999 Women’s World Cup champion team on ESPN joining Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain and Brianna Scurry. Coach Tony DiCicco is also part of ESPN’s commentary team.

We have more from ESPN and espnW.

Mia Hamm Joins espnW as Analyst for 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup

espnW to Provide Comprehensive Coverage from Germany

Mia Hamm will bring her years of international soccer playing expertise to espnW during the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.  Throughout the three-week tournament, Hamm will provide blog postings, insights and interviews for espnw.com along with select appearances on ESPN telecasts as a special contributor for espnW which is ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital business designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans.

One of the best female soccer players to ever play the game and one of the most capped players in history, Hamm led the 1999 US Women’s National Team to victory in the FIFA Women’s World Cup that year.  Hamm joins fellow US Women’s National team teammates Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain and Brianna Scurry as well as former head coach Tony DiCicco, providing analysis during ESPN’s multiplatform coverage of the tournament.

“Mia Hamm is the one of the most decorated female soccer players in history, and we couldn’t think of a better analyst to join espnW for the 2011 FIFA World Cup.,” said Laura Gentile, vice president, espnW.  “Mia brings a wealth of knowledge about international soccer play as well as what it takes to win at any level.  Her expertise will be invaluable for our fans as they watch the tournament proceed.”

espnW Coverage Plans:
Throughout the 2011 FIFA World Cup, espnW will provide comprehensive coverage from Germany, including:

• Focused international coverage featuring stories by Joanne Gerstner, Michelle Smith, Beau Dure and Jacqueline Purdy
• Daily player blogs from the United States’ Heather Mitts, Canada’s captain Christine Sinclair, New Zealand’s Ali Riley and Sweden’s Caroline Seger
• espnW embeds with Team England to chronicle their tournament run
• Feature stories on Equatorial Guinea’s run to its first World Cup, the history of women’s soccer in Germany, and the Top 10 Women’s World Cup Moments
• The espnW HERoics documentary film series will also be available on the site in its entirety

Mia Hamm
Hamm is widely recognized as the world’s best all-around women’s soccer player of all-time.  She was the youngest player ever to play for the US Women’s National Team  at age 15 and went on to play for 17 years, retiring in 2004.  She won two FIFA World Cup titles as part of the national team (1991 and 1999) as well as two Olympic gold medals (1996 and 2004). She is the first-ever three-time US Soccer athlete of the year (1994-1996) and was named the women’s FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002).  She is also listed as one of FIFA’s 125 best living players.

Hamm played collegiately at the University of North Carolina where she led her team to four consecutive NCAA championships.  She was an All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year for her last three years.  She graduated with a degree in political science.

Currently, Hamm devotes her time to the Mia Hamm Foundation which focuses on providing support for raising funds and awareness for families needing marrow or cord blood transplants and continuing the growth in opportunities for young women in sports.

ESPN & the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 (June 26 – July 17) will be ESPN’s fifth straight, having televised the quadrennial event since 1995.  ESPN and ESPN2 will air all 32 matches live and in high definition. ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network in 70 million homes, will offer simulcasts of all matches, and ESPN’s mobile platforms will also provide coverage of 26 matches.  All programming on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be available online through ESPNnetworks.com which is accessible to fans who receive their video service from an affiliated provider.

For the first time, ESPN will present all of its’ FIFA Women’s World Cup studio programming from host nation Germany.  The comprehensive news, highlights and information coverage of the quadrennial tournament featuring the top-16 women’s national teams in the world will include, for the first time, pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, as well as World Cup-branded segments on SportsCenter, First Take and ESPNEWS.

That does it.

Meet Rebecca Lowe, Co-Host of ESPN’s Women’s World Cup Coverage

When the Women’s World Cup kicks off on the networks of ESPN on Sunday, June 26, you will see some familiar faces and hear familiar voices like Bob Ley, Ian Darke, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain. One person whom you may not have seen is Rebecca Lowe who works for ESPN UK on its English Premier League coverage as well as hosting one of its weekly studio shows. She joined ESPN UK in 2009 from Setanta Sports and she previously worked for BBC Sport. We have a short bio and pic.

Rebecca Lowe

Rebecca Lowe joined ESPN in 2009 as co-host of ESPN UK’s live coverage of the Barclays Premier League, working alongside Ray Stubbs.  She and Stubbs are also co-anchors of Between the Lines, ESPN UK’s weekly, hard-hitting debate and opinion program on all aspects of football.

Prior to joining ESPN, Lowe was a studio host for Setanta Sports where she worked as a football presenter and reporter (2007-09).  She hosted Setanta’s coverage of the Football Conference and was reporter for Premier League matches on the network.  She also was co-host of Football Matters, Setanta’s Premier League studio program.  Lowe began her sports television career after winning the 2002 BBC Talent Search for a football reporter, from a field of 650 candidates.

At BBC (2002-07), Lowe was a critical contributor to the network’s key soccer programs – reporting from a top Premiership match every Saturday for Final Score; regularly interviewing and reporting features for Football Focus; and presenting a “Football in the Community” feature every Sunday morning on Match of the Day.  She has also been a regular contributor to BBC Television’s Match of the Day 2.

Lowe was a reporter for BBC Two at the 2004 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia.  In 2005 she worked as BBC One’s England team reporter at the Women’s European Championship in Manchester.  She covered the FA Women’s Cup Final from 2003 to 2007 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany as a reporter for BBC One.

If I find more Women’s World Cup announcer bios, I’ll post them here.

ESPN Unveils Commentators For Women’s World Cup

Having already announced its main commentating team for the Women’s World Cup in Germany later this month, ESPN has now unveiled the rest of its play-by-play callers and analysts for the matches. The games begin Sunday, June 26 and the networks of ESPN will have all of the contests throughout the month-long event.

Already announced have been Ian Darke and Julie Foudy as the main announcing team. Bob Ley and ESPN UK’s Rebecca Lowe will be the studio hosts. Brandi Chastain, Brianna Scurry and Tony DiCicco will be the main studio analysts. We now have the full lineup of announcers plus brief bios. Adrian Healey who has called World Cup matches before will be in Germany and so will Beth Mowins who called the Women’s World Cup in 2003 on ESPN.

ESPN 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Commentators

TV Analysts Have Played in 88 Women’s World Cup Matches

Five former FIFA Women’s World Cup players from four countries – USA’s Kate Markgraf and Cat Whitehill, Mexico’s Mónica González, Australia’s Alicia Ferguson and Viola Odebrecht from Germany – will join ESPN as match and studio analysts for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, June 26 – July 17.  The five analysts will be joined by play-by-play commentators Adrian Healey and Beth Mowins to round out ESPN’s commentary team for the quadrennial event.

In all, the analysts on ESPN’s FIFA Women’s World Cup roster, including lead match analyst Julie Foudy and studio analysts Brandi Chastain, Tony DiCicco and Briana Scurry, have played or coached in 88 World Cup matches combined, winning seven titles. (Click here for previous ESPN commentator announcements.)

ESPN will use three commentator teams for the 32 matches, led by Ian Darke and former U.S. Women’s National Team captain Foudy, who will call the Germany vs. Canada opening match on Sunday, June 26, at 11 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN3.com), and the title match on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3.com).

• Healey, a 2010 FIFA World Cup match commentator and the lead voice for MLS on ESPN, will pair with analyst Markgraf on the second team.  Former U.S. Women’s National Team coach DiCicco will also serve as analyst on select matches, working with Healey.
• Mowins, one of the most versatile play-by-play commentators on ESPN, will work with analyst Whitehill as the third commentator team.

In the studio, award winning ESPN journalist and news anchor Bob Ley and ESPN UK’s soccer presenter Rebecca Lowe will share host duties.  Ley and Lowe will be joined by Chastain, Scurry and DiCicco as primary studio analysts.  Ferguson, who played in the 1999 and 2007 Women’s World Cups, will combine studio appearances with insider reports on teams from the Asian Football Confederation (Australia, North Korea and Japan).  Gonzalez, a founding member of the Mexican women’s national team who played in the 1999 Women’s World Cup, will provide a fresh and current analysis of Mexico’s team, having been among the last cuts for the team’s Women’s World Cup roster.  Odebrecht, a member of Germany’s 2003 Women’s World Cup winning team, will provide insight on Union of European Football Association (UEFA) teams – Germany, England, Sweden, Norway and France.

Brief biographical background:

• Alicia Ferguson: One of Australia’s fiercest women’s soccer competitors, Ferguson played for the Matildas in the 1999 and 2007 Women’s World Cups.  Her tenacity earned her the dubious distinction as the player who received the fastest red card in Women’s World Cup history – in the second minute of a group stage match vs. China in 1999.
• Mónica González:  A founding member of the Mexican national team in 1998, González was one of the leaders in the last team to represent Mexico in the Women’s World Cup.  She was among the last players cut from Mexico’s 2011 World Cup roster.
• Kate Markgraf: One of the best defenders in U.S. Women’s National Team history.  Though she was the least experienced starter in 1999, having joined the team a year earlier, Markgraf helped anchor the defense for the United States’ 1999 Women’s World Cup winning team.  Markgraf played in 201 international matches from 1998 – 2008, the seventh most in the U.S. women’s team history.
• Viola Oderbrecht:  Former Florida State University player and graduate, Oderbrecht played 29 matches for Germany’s women’s national team.  She was on Germany’s 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup winning team.  She currently lives in the
• Cat Whitehill: Played 12 matches in two World Cups (2003 and 2007) for the U.S. Women’s National Team and made 134 international match appearances in a career that spanned 10 years (2000 – 2010).  Whitehill won the 2003 Herman Trophy (best U.S. college player) and led the University of North Carolina to two NCAA titles in 2000 and 2003.

Play-by-play commentators:

• Adrian Healey: The voice of Major League Soccer on ESPN, Healey will be calling his third FIFA World Cup after working on Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010.  His credits include providing play-by-play commentaries for ESPN during the UEFA European Football Championship 2008 (EURO 2008) and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
• Beth Mowins:  One of ESPN’s leading play-by-play commentators for college sports, Mowins returns to the FIFA Women’s World Cup after calling matches for ESPN in 2003.  She currently calls NCAA Championships in softball, soccer, tennis and volleyball.  She also works college football and basketball games on ESPNU.

That is all.

Providing You With Tuesday Linkage

For some of you, it’s a back to work Tuesday after a three day weekend. Not for me as I was at the office until late on Memorial Day. But you don’t want to read my complaining, you want linkage so I’ll get it to right away.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek says expect LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki to draw viewers to the NBA Finals starting tonight.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes about TNT’s record NBA ratings and the potential for a blockbuster NBA Finals for ABC.

Jeff Neff and E.J. Schultz of Advertising Age say NFL advertisers are getting nervous as the lockout is starting to effect grocery in-store displays.

Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell gives readers an introduction to investigative reporter George Dohrmann who wrote the expose on former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.

Sergio Non of USA Today says UFC’s Dana White is looking to put more cards on over the air TV.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says soccer-centric Gol TV will air another edition of its signature reality show.

Carolyn Braff of Sports Video Group writes that Versus had to overcome massive mud puddles in order to bring the Tour of California to viewers.

Paul Meehan at ESPN Front Row says the network’s NBA Marketing team is spending a lot of late nights creating TV and radio promos for the Finals.

Over at Mocksession, a very interesting post on how Fox Sports Net and ABC deceived viewers in various ways.

Maggie Hendricks at Yahoo’s Cagewriter blog wishes the media would stop giving MMA fighter Quintin “Rampage” Jackson the time of day. It’s all over this video as Jackson pretends to motorboat reporter Karyn Bryant’s breasts.

The Big Lead goes into why Jackson is such a lightning rod with reporters.

MMA reporter Karyn Bryant who was the subject of Jackson’s attention last weekend tweets that she wasn’t offended.

I’ve now been told I have to run an errand. More later.

Some more links now.

Tripp Mickle and John Ourand from the Sports Business Journal report on the latest on the bidding for the US Olympic TV rights now that NBC’s Dick Ebersol is out of the picture.

Tripp teams with Terry Lefton on a story about sports marketers who plan to stay in Brazil after the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics are finished there.

And Kevin Sullivan of SBJ instructs athletes on how to tweet the right way.

Cam Martin of SportsNewser notes that ESPN/ABC NBA analyst Mark Jackson is a finalist for the Golden State Warriors coaching job.

Cam says the Sports Illustrated story on Jim Tressel caused a Twitter spat among sportswriters.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports says the NBA’s TV partners should send thanks to LeBron James and the Miami Heat for increased ratings this season.

Gordon Cox of Variety notes that ESPN and the Tribeca Film Festival are teaming up to put three movies on Video on Demand.

Tony Barnhart of CBS Sports talks with SEC Commissioner Mike Slive about the BCS, college football TV contracts and his contract.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell cautions fans who think college football will change with Jim Tressel’s resignation.

Bill Gorman at zap2it’s TVbytheNumbers notes that Fox’s NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 zoomed past all network competition on Sunday.

Newsday’s Neil Best says former Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill will now double his workload for YES.

Neil says NBC/Versus NHL host Liam McHugh appears to be on a fast track to stardom.

Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at the ESPN book.

Former ESPN Radio host Mark Madden in the Beaver County Times feels the ESPN book doesn’t cover any new ground. How about bringing up your firing, Mark?

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has his take on DC NFL team owner Dan Snyder making the local media rounds last week.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says ABC expects to garner good ratings with the NBA Finals.

Shannon J. Owens at the Orlando Sentinel wonders why Urban Meyer would leave ESPN for Ohio State, especially at this juncture.

Ben Thomas of the Mobile (AL) Press-Register says a local station is dropping ESPN Radio programming in favor of Sporting News Radio.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says national announcers have to deal with fans who feel they root against their teams.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman says ESPN/ABC’s NBA crew denies that it was rooting against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.

WLWT-TV in Cincinnati notes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth has taken a job coaching high school football until the NFL lockout ends.

And at his website, Football Pros Live, Cris explains why he took the job.

The Big Lead says it appears that ESPN2 First Take buffoon Skip Bayless was forced to apologize to Chris Broussard after yelling at him on Monday.

EPL Talk says the UEFA Champions League Final drew a 1.8 overnight rating for Fox, a 64% increase from the year before.

EPL Talk notes that Fox dumbed down its Champions League pregame show.

Sports Media Watch notes that Charles Barkley will be back in Miami for the NBA Finals working the games for NBA TV.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media looks at how Boston and Vancouver have fared in the ratings throughout the NHL Postseason.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin notes that MLB.com is actually allowing some videos to be embedded! Hallelujah!!!

And we’re going to end it there for today.

Time For Some Tuesday Links

As the temps reach the high 70′s in Southern New England, it’s time to bring you the linkage on this Tuesday.

In Sports Business Journal, John Ourand takes away ESPN’s arch-rivalry with NBC from the new book “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside The World of ESPN.”

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy notes a couple of book tidbits which discuss Hitler references either on the air or on ESPN.com.

Also from USA Today, Michael Hiestand says ESPN’er Kevin Negandhi partied like a rock star when he learned he was hired by the Alleged Worldwide Leaer.

Rob Brunner of Entertainment Weekly has a review of the new ESPN book.

Bruce Jenkins of Sports Illustrated likes Tennis Channel’s coverage of the French Open thus far.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter notes that HBO will pick up a new reality series devoted to boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

Tim Baysinger at Multichannel News says Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals scored for TNT.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek tells us that the NBA Conference Finals have been averaging just about 11 million viewers for the first three games.

At MediaPost, Barry Janoff reviews last week’s ESPN Upfront presentations.

Marcus Vanderberg of SportsNewser reports that Big Lead Sports has hired a new CEO/CFO. Fang’s Bites is an independently-owned blog that is part of the Big Lead Sports network.

Phil Swann at TV Predictions wonders if DirecTV and Dish Network will merge?

Neal E. Boudette of the Wall Street Journal profiles USA Olympic Women’s Hockey player Angela Ruggiero who is working as an IOC member to bring the Games back to US soil.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at Fred Wilpon’s quotes about his New York Mets that were published in a New Yorker Magazine article.

Darren says the battle over the Mike Tyson tattoo in “Hangover 2″ is not over yet, despite a court ruling in Warner Bros. favor today.

Jason Dachman at Sports Video Group writes that the Miami Heat are providing their own postseason programming online.

Steve Collins of the Bristol (CT) Press talks with the mayor of the town to discuss some of the not-so-kind things said about Bristol in the new book about ESPN that was released to the public today.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about the new mixed martial arts channel that launches on Cablevision systems today. Cablevision also owns Newsday.

In Fishbowl NY, Jerry Barmash talks with ESPN Radio New York’s Jared Max who came out on the air last week.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has two potential NBA Finals scenarios.

Pete talks about TNT moving the Inside the NBA show from outside AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami after an incident involving Charles Barkley.

Greg Auman at the St. Petersburg Times says the Big East is looking for a big payday when its TV rights go up for bid.

The University of Texas Athletics site has an interview with the Vice President of ESPN’s Longhorn Network, Dave Brown.

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes about the new “This is SportsCenter” ad featuring the Reds’ Joey Votto.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says ESPN has named its studio analysts for the Women’s World Cup.

Bob notes that five Brewers games have been selected for MLB Network’s June schedule.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times says Dick Ebersol’s resignation from NBC should serve as a warning shot to long-time network executives about Comcast.

The Toronto Sports Media blog wonders if the Toronto Globe and Mail spiked a story from media critic Bruce Dowbiggin about colleague Stephen Brunt’s jumping the gun on the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg.

Bob Bender of Awful Announcing notes that ESPN ripped off TNT during last night’s Oklahoma City-Dallas NBA Western Conference Final game.

Sports Media Watch notes that NBC saw ratings declines for the NHL Conference Finals this past weekend.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference Final on Versus did not do well.

Joe Favorito says sports is coming together on Celiac Disease and raising awareness about gluten-free diets.

I think I’ll end it there.

ESPN Announces Studio Analysts For Women’s World Cup

If you saw ESPN2′s coverage of the US-Japan women’s soccer friendly match last week, then you saw a dress rehearsal for what you’ll see when the Women’s World Cup gets underway late next month in Germany. Bob Ley hosted the studio along with analysts Brandi Chastain and Brianna Scurry. Both women were key members of the 1999 World Cup Champion team for the US. They’ll be joined by former coach Tony DiCicco. Announcing the US games and the Final will be Ian Darke and Julie Foudy.

Here’s the announcement from ESPN.

ESPN Names Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry and Tony DiCicco Studio Analysts for FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011

Three key members of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup winning U.S. team – Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry and head coach Tony DiCicco – will join ESPN as studio analysts for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 (June 26 – July 17).  Chastain, Scurry and DiCicco will contribute to ESPN and ESPN2’s studio coverage of the three-week tournament, providing analysis on pre-match, halftime and post-match shows from Germany, including studio segments on the company’s news and information programming such as SportsCenter, First Take and ESPNEWS.

Chastain’s 16-year career on the U.S. Women’s National Team was highlighted by scoring the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup winning penalty kick vs. China in front of 90,185 fans at the Rose Bowl – the most-attended stand-alone women’s sport event in history. Scurry’s save on China’s third shot in the penalty kick shootout helped secure the Women’s World Cup title for the U.S. team.  Under DiCicco (1994 – ’99), the U.S. Women’s National Team enjoyed its most successful five years, winning the 1996 Olympic gold medal and the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

Chastain, Scurry and DiCicco will join ESPN’s award-winning host Bob Ley and ESPN UK’s Barclays Premier League co-host Rebecca Lowe to serve as the tournament’s primary studio commentator team – hosting the network’s most comprehensive coverage of this quadrennial event to-date.

Brandi, Briana and Tony are among the best minds and most recognizable faces for women’s soccer anywhere in the world,” said Jed Drake, ESPN senior vice and executive producer, production.  “Their ability to draw from past experiences will give our viewers the best insight on what these exceptional athletes are going through on the biggest stage of their careers.”

The Women’s World Cup 2011 will mark Chastain’s return to ESPN after serving as sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC’s Major League Soccer coverage in 2005 and 2006.  Germany 2011 will be Scurry’s first international event for ESPN.  DiCicco, who will also provide match analysis, has worked with ESPN since 2000, including the last two Women’s World Cups.  Biographical highlights:

Brandi Chastain
Chastain is one of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s most accomplished players, having won two FIFA World Cups (1991 and ’99) and two Olympics gold medals (1996 and 2004).  She played for the U.S. Women’s National Team from 1988 to 2004.  Chastain, along with teammates Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Kristine Lilly and goalkeeper Briana Scurry, anchored the golden era of U.S. women’s soccer beginning with the 1996 Olympics and capped by the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

She played for the U.S. in 192 international matches, scoring 30 goals.  On Sunday, July 10, 1999 in a sold-out Rose Bowl at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup title match, Chastain provided one of the greatest moments in sports with the World Cup-clinching penalty kick.  Her “thrill-of-victory” moment after the kick – removing her shirt to celebrate in her sports bra – remains one of the seminal images in sports.  That moment thrust Chastain and her teammates into international spotlight.  It is also the most-watched soccer event in U.S. television history – seen by 18 million people on ABC.

A 1990 television and communications graduate of Santa Clara, Chastain in 2004 co-authored It’s Not About the Bra – How to Play Hard, Play Fair, and Put the Fun Back Into Competitive Sports, addressing the issues of sportsmanship, gamesmanship, and excessive parental involvement.  In the book and in off-the-field endeavors, she teaches young athletes how to develop leadership skills, find and become role models, and give something back to their team and community.

Chastain worked with NBC Sports as a soccer analyst during the 2008 Olympics.

Brianna Scurry
Scurry was U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper from 1994 to 2008.  Called into to the U.S. team by then coach Tony DiCicco, Scurry played 173 matches, the most-ever by a U.S. goalkeeper, and anchored the backline in the team’s most successful stretch bookended by the 1996 Olympics gold medal and the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

As the starting goalkeeper, Scurry helped lead the team to a third place finish in the 1995 Women’s World Cup, barely a year after joining the team.  Other key results include a third place showing in the 2003 Women’s World Cup and the Olympic gold medal in 2004.  Scurry’s best career moment was in the U.S. team’s overtime victory over China in front of more than 90,000 fans at the Rose Bowl during the 1999 Women’s World Cup title match when she saved one of the penalty kicks to ensure the win.  The save and the impact of the match catapulted her and her teammates into the consciousness of sports fans everywhere.

Building on the success and popularity of women’s soccer from the World Cup, Scurry and her teammates became founding members of the WUSA (Women’s United Soccer Association) in 2001, the world’s first women’s league where the players were paid as professionals.  She played three seasons as starting goalkeeper for the Atlanta Beat.

Scurry was a high school multi-sport athlete in Minnesota.  She excelled in soccer and basketball.  Upon graduation, Scurry attended the University of Massachusetts, where she led the team to the NCAA Women’s College Cup.  She is currently general manager of South Florida’s magicJack FC, a Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) team.

Tony DiCicco
DiCicco is a former U.S. Women’s National Team head coach and one of the most recognizable names in women’s soccer.  From 1994 through 1999, he guided the U.S. team to the 1996 Olympic gold medal and the historic 1999 World Cup championship.  He has a record of 103 wins, eight losses and eight ties – making him the all-time wins leader and most successful coach in U.S. National Team soccer history.

Under his leadership, the 1999 Women’s World Cup U.S. squad changed the face of women’s athletics forever, winning the championship over China in front of the largest crowd in women’s sports history (90,185 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on July 10, 1999) and a worldwide television audience. His team and their accomplishments became a symbol for the aspirations of women in sports everywhere in the world.

After the Women’s World Cup triumph, DiCicco served as the WUSA’s COO (2001), Commissioner (2002 and 2003), and the Chairman of the re-launch committee (2004). DiCicco is currently coach of the Boston Breakers of the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), the top level professional women’s soccer league in the United States. In 2008, DiCicco returned to international soccer and guided the USA U20 Women to the FIFA U20 World Cup Championship in Chile.

He served as an ESPN analyst for the 2003 and 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cups.  He has also worked for NBC during the Olympics.

ESPN & the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 (June 26 – July 17) will be ESPN’s fifth straight, having televised the quadrennial event since 1995.  ESPN and ESPN2 will air all 32 matches live and in high definition.  ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network in 70 million homes, will offer simulcasts of all matches, and ESPN’s mobile platforms will also provide coverage of 26 matches.  All programming on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be available online through ESPNnetworks.com, which is accessible to fans who receive their video service from an affiliated provider.

For the first time, ESPN will present all of its FIFA Women’s World Cup studio programming from host nation Germany.  The comprehensive news, highlights and information coverage of the quadrennial tournament featuring the top-16 women’s national teams in the world will include, for the first time, pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, as well as World Cup-branded segments on SportsCenter, First Take and ESPNEWS.

That’s all.

ESPN Presents HERoics; 6 Short Films on Women & Soccer

Debuting on both ESPN2 and espnW, the network that brought us the critically acclaimed 30 for 30 series, will do it again with six short films on women and how soccer shaped their lives. HERoics will be a series of six documentaries from six different directors. It will premiere on ESPN2 on June 25 on the eve of the Women’s World Cup and also air on ABC a week later on July 2. The series will also air on ESPN’s International networks around the globe. We have a look at the stories you’ll see on HERoics and the directors.

ESPN to Present HERoics Documentaries

Six Short Films on Women and Soccer During the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011

ESPN will present HERoics, a series of six short documentaries chronicling women’s courage, perseverance, breaking through barriers, failure and redemption, as part of its unprecedented coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011, it was announced today.  The series, an ESPN global content development project, will live on www.espnW.com, the company’s first dedicated content and digital hub designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans, beginning Saturday, June 25 – the eve of the Women’s World Cup.

The short films will offer in-depth profiles of FIFA Women’s World Cup players Marta (Brazil), Kelly Smith (England), and Lisa De Vanna (Australia); and highlight unique stories about a group of grandmothers and senior citizens on a team in Jerez, Spain, who continue to play into their 70s and 80s; a woman referee in the Republic of Congo who earned accolades from FIFA while working through the stress of abuse from fans; and a probation officer who uses soccer to steer troubled teens away from gangs in a Central California town.

In the United States, HERoics will debut on television as a one-hour program on ESPN2 on Saturday, June 25, at 7 p.m. ET, the same day it goes live on espnW.  The series will air on ABC in the middle of the Women’s World Cup on Saturday, July 2, at 4 p.m.  Hannah Storm, award-winning sportscaster and director of the HERoics profile of England’s Kelly Smith, will host both one-hour programs.  (Air dates on ESPN International networks are TBD.)

Much like the award-winning ESPN “30 for 30” documentary series, each short film will feature a different director.  ESPN is collaborating with six different documentary filmmakers – all women – from diverse cultural backgrounds and countries, and from various genres of television and film storytelling.

HERoics will mirror the 2010 FIFA World Cup series “I Scored a Goal,” the ambitious, critically acclaimed project by ESPN that featured interviews with all but three of the living players who scored a goal in a World Cup final.

The Stories:
Dois Riachos to Umeå (Director: Adriana Yanez)

Born in the small town of Dois Riachos in the Brazilian State of Alagoas (population 11,000), Marta Vieira da Silva, simply known as Marta, has transcended her humble beginnings to become one of her country’s legendary one-name soccer stars.  Hers is the newest set of feet (97^th) immortalized in cement outside the famed Maracana Stadium, along with the likes of Pele, Garrincha, Zico and Ronaldo.  But in 2004, at the age of 18, Marta moved from Dois Riachos to Umeå, Sweden, on a professional contract with Umeå IK.  She left her mother and siblings behind in Brazil to begin a journey into a world so different from the place of her birth and a world where she could play women’s soccer as a profession.  Through Marta’s eyes and words, and through the family members she left behind, HERoics explores the social milieu between the two countries that helped Marta become the current and record five-time FIFA Player of the Year, a distinction no other male or female player has ever achieved.

El Chiquitín Fútbol Club (Sara Lozano)
In Spain, home of the reigning FIFA World Cup and European champions, arcane laws and old mores still pose strong barriers against women who seek to play the sport.  But the El Chiquitín Fútbol Club deviates from the norm.  Since 1995, the players, grandmothers and senior citizens in the old town of Jerez, suit up in the locker room, talk trash and play hard for their coach.  The oldest player, an 85-year-old known by friends and teammates as La Trini, and her teammates share the love of playing soccer.

Kelly Smith (Hannah Storm)
At 32, Smith is undoubtedly the greatest female soccer player ever in the country that invented the sport.  At Seton Hall University, Smith shattered numerous records and her number was retired, the first non-basketball athlete to have a number retired.  She missed the 2003 season due to a torn ACL.  When the WUSA women’s pro soccer league ceased operations in 2004, frustrations mounted for Smith.  She returned home to Watford, England, and began “numbing [herself] with alcohol.”  Smith has returned to her old goal-scoring and is poised to lead England’s to the Women’s World Cup.

The Save (Amanda Micheli)
Gina Castañeda, a deputy probation officer in Watsonville, Calif., is best known for coaching youth soccer to steer her players away from the rising gang turf wars among the largely Hispanic, immigrant population in her community.  Castañeda was abandoned by her mother.  Soccer saved her life, providing her some normalcy as she parlayed a high school career into an athletic scholarship at San Francisco State University.  Through her work with the Aztecas, a team of mostly 20 teenage boys on probation, Castañeda seeks to make a difference in her community.

L’ Arbitre (Ruhi Hamid)
Marie Agnès Makengi Kapinga, otherwise known as Mere Malou, was the first international female soccer referee in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Her career began in 1997 when her then husband and professional soccer player, Pierre Mtumbula Mulamba Ndaye (former player for The Leopards of Zaire), abandoned her and their four children to pursue his career in South Africa.  In a 15-year refereeing career with numerous accolades from FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and CAF (the Confederation of African Football), Marie Agnès endured physical and verbal abuse from fans, but remains dedicated to passing the torch on to present and future generations of female referees in her country.

Lisa De Vanna (Safina Oberoi)
Lisa De Vanna is an explosive player.  Coaches refer to her as “the kind of player who changes the game.”  Arguably one of Australia’s best female players, she is also the Matildas most troublesome – known to get into fights with her teammates and opposing players.  While many question why she’s still with the team, others contend the mercurial striker evokes both hostility and compassion.  As the Matildas prepare for the Women’s World Cup, the tempestuous but generous player is set for a showcase on the sport’s biggest stage.

I hope to get an advance DVD to review this series. We have a preview of the series right here.

That’s it.

ESPN SportsCenter To Unveil U.S. National Soccer Team For 2011 Women’s World Cup

This Monday, ESPN which is the rightsholder for the 2011 Women’s World Cup this summer, will carry the announcement of the roster for Team USA. The announcement will come in the 10 a.m. Eastern hour and will be co-hosted by Kevin Negandhi and Sage Steele. Former U.S. team captain and main Women’s World Cup analyst Julie Foudy will be on hand to discuss the selection. Current U.S. captain Christie Rampone and the lone holdover from the 1999 World Champion, Abby Wambaugh will be live on SportsCenter, FirstTake and espnW for interviews.

Here’s the press release from ESPN.

U.S. FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 Roster to be Announced Live on SportsCenter

Guests U.S. Captain Christie Rampone and Striker Abby Wambach in Bristol

On Monday, May 9, SportsCenter will announce the U.S. Women’s National Team roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 (June 26 – July 17). The exclusive announcement on ESPN’s flagship news and information program will air in the 10 a.m. ET hour of the show, hosted by Kevin Negandhi and Sage Steele. During the 1 p.m. hour of SportsCenter later in the day, ESPN’s lead FIFA Women’s World Cup analyst Julie Foudy, a two-time World Cup champion and former U.S. team captain, will discuss the roster.

Following the roster announcement, Christie Rampone, U.S. team captain and the only player remaining from the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup winning team, and Abby Wambach, the team’s leading goal-scorer and emotional leader, will be interviewed live on the show. Rampone and Wambach will also be featured on several ESPN television and digital platforms during the day.

Highlights:

10 a.m. – SportsCenter (live)
11 a.m. – First Take on ESPN2 (live)
11:45 a.m. – ESPN Mobile TV
12:30 p.m. – espnW LiveStream hosted by Foudy, a contributor to espnW: http://www.livestream.com/espnW
1 p.m. – espnW Podcast

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com will combine to televise live the U.S. teams’ two final matches before the Women’s World Cup – vs. Japan on Wednesday, May 18, at 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN3.com from Cary, N.C.; and vs. Mexico on Sunday, June 5, at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com from Red Bulls Arena in Harrison, N.J.

The U.S. Women’s National Team will compete in Group C of the FIFA Women’s World Cup with North Korea, Colombia and Sweden. The U.S. will face North Korea in its face match of the tournament on June 28 (ESPN, 11:45 a.m.) in Dresden, and will play the other two matches against Colombia on July 2 (ESPN, 11:30 a.m.) in Sinsheim and Sweden on July 6 (ESPN, 2:30 p.m.) in Wolfsburg.

ESPN & the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 (June 26 – July 17) will be ESPN’s fifth straight, having televised the quadrennial event since 1995. ESPN and ESPN2 will air all 32 matches live and in high definition. ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network in 70 million homes, will offer simulcasts of all matches, and ESPN’s mobile platforms will also provide coverage of 26 matches. All programming on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be available online through ESPNnetworks.com, which is accessible to fans who receive their video service from an affiliated provider.

For the first time, ESPN will present all of its 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup studio programming from host nation Germany. The comprehensive news, highlights and information coverage of the quadrennial tournament featuring the top-16 women’s national teams in the world will include, for the first time, pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, as well as World Cup-branded segments on SportsCenter, First Take and ESPNEWS.

And that will do it.

Some Thursday Links

Ok starting the linkage off late again today, but I hope get a full set in before leaving work later.

Sports Business Daily notes some shuffling of personnel with the NFL TV partners.

Preston Bounds of Sports Business Daily talks about Brad Nessler saying his college football schedule with ESPN/ABC won’t be affected by his new gig with NFL Network.

Sports Business Daily discusses the machinations behind the ESPN-owned Longhorn Network.

Michael Hiestand from USA Today has some of the ratings from the weekend.

At Variety, Cynthia Littleton talks about ABC Studios developing a sitcom based on a book written by ESPN Radio morning drive co-host Mike Greenburg.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News notes that ESPN has been honored for its World Cup programming.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek says NBCUniversal’s networks are all over the promotion of the Kentucky Derby.

Wayne Friedman at MediaPost notes that Time Warner saw additional ad revenues in the 1st quarter of this year thanks to the NCAA  Tournament.

Wayne says Fox is reporting good ad revenues from the NFL in its fiscal year 2nd quarter.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy has the video of a cameraman getting a little too close to the action before Game 3 of the Vancouver-Nashville game.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center notes that sports journalism is greatly lacking in diversity.

Kristi Dosh of the Business of College Sports has an excellent look at the TV contracts for all of the BCS conferences.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times notes that embattled Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is blaming MLB Walking, Talking Conflict of Interest Bud Selig for his financial troubles. Way to help your cause, Frank.

Newsday’s Neil Best says former NFL Network play-by-play man Bob Papa is taking the high road.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that thoroughbred racing from Saratoga Race Course is heading back to national television after a year’s absence.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette says Time Warner Cable will air some local high school baseball.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call writes that Matt Millen had a feeling he was going to be blown out of the NFL Network booth.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner feels the big Pac-12 contracts with ESPN and Fox could lead the Big East to a huge windfall.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News says the Mavericks saw their biggest ratings in more than 2 years.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that Pawtucket Red Sox and Cincinnati Bearcats voice Dan Hoard will become the voice of the Bengals this season.

John goes into some of the reasons why Brad Johansen will no longer be the voice of the Bengals.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at Mike Mayock becoming the new analyst for NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business notes that WGN will have a special on Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Paola Boivin from the Arizona Republic takes a look at the Pac-12 media rights agreements and what it means for member schools.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times writes about Brad Nessler coming in to call NFL Network Thursday Night Football.

SportsbyBrooks profiles the US Assistant Attorney General whose looking into the BCS.

Sports Media Watch notes that in Boston this week, the Bruins beat the Celtics in the ratings, but not head-to-head.

SMW says Lakers losses are leading to lofty ratings.

Steve Lepore, the hardest working blogger in the business, says NBC saw a double digit ratings jump last Sunday.

Steve also has the ratings for Night 21 of the NHL Playoffs.

Awful Announcing notes that announcers Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza understandably went a little goofy as the Angels-Red Sox game went form Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

Keggs ‘n Eggs notes the irony of Urban Meyer’s daughter complaining about him working for ESPN as he was supposed to spend retirement from Florida with his family.

I’ll end the links there. Finally finish these at 9:50 p.m. Thursday. Lots of things to do on the blog.

ESPN Crows About Its Emmy Awards

As a network, ESPN won five Sports Emmys, but as an organization combined with ESPN2 and ABC, it took home seven tying with NBC and HBO for most won. Anyway, its semantics. I’ve been meaning to post the Sports Emmy Award releases for a while, but work has been getting in the way. Here’s ESPN’s press release.

ESPN Wins Seven Sports Emmy Awards

ESPN won seven Sports Emmy Awards, presented for the 32nd year by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Monday in New York.  The honorees represent a wide range of disciplines, including event coverage, studio programming, enterprise reporting and technical excellence.

ESPN’s unprecedented commitment of resources to an event, for the FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa, was rewarded with three Sports Emmy Awards, highlighted by honors in the Live Special category for the championship match, Spain vs. the Netherlands on ABC.  The month-long presentation was also cited for outstanding Music and Writing.

College GameDay was named the best among Weekly Studio Shows for the second straight year and the third time in four years for the Saturday morning college football pregame program.  The show’s Kirk Herbstreit was honored as top Studio Analyst, also for a second consecutive year.

The prime-time news magazine show, E:60, was cited in the Long Feature category for a “Survival 1,” a profile of the Liberian Amputee Soccer Team.  Everyone on the roster was injured in their nation’s civil war.  It was the 10th consecutive year ESPN received a Sports Emmy in one of the two categories for Features.

Sports Science received the Sports Emmy for Graphic Design. ESPN took the category a year ago for SportsNation.

ESPN has now won 142 Sports Emmy Awards in 24 years of eligibility.

ESPN’s Sports Emmy Awards (all are ESPN, except as noted):

Live Special - 2010 FIFA World Cup (ABC)

Studio Show/weekly – College GameDay

Long Feature – E:60 – “Survival 1” (ESPN2)

Studio Analyst – Kirk Herbstreit

Writing – 2010 FIFA World Cup (ESPN/ABC)

Music – 2010 FIFA World Cup: U2 & Soweto Gospel Choir (ESPN/ESPN2/ABC)

Graphic Design - Sports Science

NBC Sports’ press release on the Sports Emmys is next.