Ok, lots of links to give you on this Friday. Let’s get to them.
First, in Boston, David Scott from the excellent Boston Sports Media Watch site has his latest entry which includes the Line of the Week from Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, a recap of a busy week in the Beantown media and the transition of turning FSN New England into Comcast SportsNet New England.
The NBA schedule is out and the Boston Celtics get some national exposure on ESPN and TNT, but not ABC. Susan Bickelhaupt of the Boston Globe has that story. The Sports Media Watch blog has a couple of notes on the sked, first the number of appearances per team and of course, the Los Angeles Lakers lead the pack. And second, here’s the ABC schedule which is shrunken even further from last season (if the ratings for the NBA go down again next season on network television, NBA Commish David Stern can point to this fact as a major factor).
USA Today’s Michael Hiestand also talks about the NBA schedule and interestingly enough if you scroll to the bottom, he has a tidbit on Suzy Shuster, wife of the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen, but no updates on the swimsuit pictures accidentally sent to her by KYW’s Alycia Lane. We still need to see those pics!
Neil Best of Newsday filed a story from Washington, DC where he spent time with the ESPN Monday Night Football crew. Best and Newsday Business reporter Kat O’Brien worked on a story broken by Fortune magazine concerning the proposed sale of the YES Network, and that has been flatley denied by the Yankees.
In the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman also goes over the possible sale of YES, but states that the Yankees most likely won’t allow Cablevision and the Dolan family to get involved.
And Richard Sandomir in today’s New York Times reports that the Yankees are saying “no” to selling YES.
The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick feels ESPN is finally getting wise to Joe Morgan’s twisted logic.
Jim Williams in his Watch This! blog in the DC/Baltimore Examiner gives the weekend sports viewing menu.
In the State newspaper, Doug Nye says July wasn’t a good month for soccer or cyling fans.
Down to the Orlando Sentinel where Matt Murschel writes about the HBO Sports series, “Hard Knocks” looks at the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp this year.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Charles Elmore has his own take on ESPN’s silly “Who’s Now” calling it, “Who’s Not Now.”
Barry Jackson in the Miami Herald talks about Comcast putting the NFL?Network on a sports tier.
David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes about Rich Lord who finally makes it as a sideline reporter for Houston Texans broadcasts after 20 years in the broadcasting business.
In the Chicago Tribune, Teddy Greenstein talks with Joe Buck of Fox Sports about the Cubs’ chances this season.
George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal tells readers that they won’t be able to see the NFL Network’s coverage of the annual Hall of Fame game this Sunday.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune which by the way has done a tremendous job in its coverage of the I-35W bridge collapse this week, has a story from Judd Zulgad talking to the Twins’ broadcasters trying to do the game that night while keeping an eye on the collapse.
Jerry Magee is covering the USTA’s Acura Classic for the San Diego Union-Tribune and he says TV coverage for the tennis tournament on ESPN2 is being revised so the network can also cover the San Francisco-San Diego game tonight. Jay Posner talks to the Padres broadcasters who are hoping that they don’t have to call Barry Bonds’ record-tying and/or breaking home runs.
And John Maffei of the North County Times has a similar story with Ted Leitner of the Padres radio team.
In the Ventura County Star, Jim Carlisle has two stories, one on the release of the NBA TV schedule. His other story is on ESPN changing its schedules to chase Barry Bonds and David Beckham.
In the LA Daily News, Tom Hoffarth has a bunch of stories. His blog entry expands on his weekly media column which is humorouly titled, “The Summer of Beckham Drags On”. Lots of stuff today from Hoffarth as he also talks with ESPN’s Paul Page who works the X Games this week.
The LA Times’ Larry Stewart talks with Sal Masekela who hosts ESPN’s X Games. And Stewart looks over the NBA schedule which is Laker-heavy.
Heading up to Canada, Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star writes that there’s a little more competition in sports talk radio these days.
And finally from the Toronto Globe and Mail, Willliam Houston discusses CBC’s coverage of David Beckham who will make his MLS debut this Sunday in Toronto.
That’s it for now. If updates warrant, you’ll see them here.
