We’re back on a Friday. Checked for links last night and there was nothing new so I just decided to go for a walk and listen to my new Sirius Stiletto radio. I was able to listen to the Cincinnati-Detroit and Indy-Dallas NFL exhibition games without any trouble. I do have to say it was nice to hear the reunion of Brad Shamm and Babe Laufenberg on the Cowboys radio network and also hear the Detroit announcers. For music, Howard Stern and the NFL, Sirius is perfect. I do hope that the XM-Sirius merger goes through so I can listen to MLB next summer. Very nice to listen to Sirius on my walk.
Ok, to the links.
Let’s start with the Boston Sports Media Watch’s David Scott who writes about the problems sports radio station WEEI is facing with the potential loss of powerhouse morning show Dennis & Callahan. First, Gerry Callahan has been out since April recovering from throat surgery. And it appears his partner, John Dennis may be holding out as their contract is set to expire. Reportedly, D & C are being wooed by two competing radio stations, FM talker, WTKK and CBS Radio-owned WBCN. Plus, ‘EEI’s parent company, Entercom is considering moving them down the dial to co-owned WRKO, but no matter what happens, top rated D & C can expect a bigger paycheck when the next contract rolls around.
The Boston Globe’s Susan Bickelhaupt writes about Red Sox announcer Dave O’Brien who’s been following Barry Bonds and David Beckham for ESPN.
USA Today’s Michael Hiestand has some suggestions for ESPN’s second year of airing Monday Night Football.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times compares the TV ratings for Hank Aaron’s 715th (broadcast on NBC in 1974) to Barry Bonds’ 756th (cablecast on ESPN2) and there’s really no comparison. Back in 1974, there was no cable, just the three major networks and a few UHF channels. Now, there’s cable, satellite, the internet, plus the Aaron home run was broadcast in primetime while Bonds’ home run came after midnight on Wednesday, Eastern Time.
It used to be that I couldn’t stand reading the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick, but lately, he’s been on fire and I find myself not only agreeing with him, but laughing with him, not at him like I did in the past. But this isn’t about me. Today, Phil says now is not the time to go soft on Bonds.
In the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman says former New York Giant Linebacker Carl Banks actually showed some constraint during his stint on WFAN this week.
Newsday’s Neil Best doesn’t have a column today, but he is blogging as usual. He has an entry on Tiki Barber’s appearance on the Leno show last night.
The Bucks County Courier Times’ Laura Nachman is back from vacation and she writes about the Emmy nominations for the local sports anchors/reporters including the extremely lovely Jade McCarthy of WCAU.
Doug Nye of The State (SC) reviews the week in which South Carolina ballcoach Steve Spurrier threatened to quit after two of his recruits were denied entry into school. And Nye has a quick hits sidebar.
In the Orlando Sentinel, Alan Schmadtke has a story on HBO’s Hard Knocks which is in its third incarnation this year. Dave Darling is back from vacation as well and he says the DVR is the best invention since sliced bread.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says Ron Jaworski is Jack’d Up for Monday Night Football.
Over to the Houston Chronicle and David Barron. He writes that Aeros hockey announcer Ken Double may have reached the end of the road with the team.
In the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, Judd Zulgad says the Twins have more reason to like the increased ratings for their radio broadcasts than flagship station, KSTP.
The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein will soon be moving to the College Football beat, but in the meantime, he’s been doing a great job writing about the media. Today’s column is about the possibilities for former WGN-TV Cub analyst Steve Stone.
Bob Wolfey in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says not too many people watched the Barry Bonds record breaking home run.
This is cool, the NFL will now use HDTV monitors for instant replay reviews. This story comes from the Biz of Football blog. Great stuff from Maury Brown.
In the San Diego Union-Tribune, Jay Posner talks with NBC’s John Madden who will call the Seahawks-Chargers game with Al Michaels on Sunday.
John Maffei of the North County Times is waiting for San Diego State University to make an announcement on its radio broacast team for football (expected to be Padres announcer Ted Leitner and Ted Tollner).
Tom Hoffarth of the LA Daily News has bunch of information today. His first story is about ESPN’s Pedro Gomez. Had Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run a day later, Gomez would not have been present to cover it. Story number two is on a new all-sports cable channel launching to cover the Santa Clarita area. And he expands on his media notes in today’s entry in his Farther Off the Wall blog.
In the Los Angeles Times, Larry Stewart writes that CBS’ Nick Faldo can drop names when he has to.
From the San Jose Mercury News, John Ryan tells us that Comcast in the Bay Area has moved the NFL Network to its digital sports tier.
Going to the sports columns in Canada, Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star interviews the new producer for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.
And the Globe and Mail’s William Houston talks about the changes on HNIC.
Those are your links for now. I should have an update later this afternoon. Enjoy your Friday.
