Time for some linkage finally. For the 4th of July holiday weekend, the posting may be sparse. It depends on the schedule. Friday will have your usual posts, Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks, Weekend Viewing Picks, Follow Friday and the megalinks. I know Saturday will be busy so I may not be able to provide links. I hope that Sunday will be a lazy day so I can do the Videos of the Week and other features for you. Keep your RSS feeds updated and if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll certainly know what is posted.
Let’s get to the links.
USA Today’s Michael Hiestand has TBS’ baseball analysts talking about the All-Star Game.
Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal talks with new NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith.
Tom Van Riper of Forbes says attendance and TV ratings are proof that two teams in the Baltimore-Washington area cannot work.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes what many of you have been saying regarding NBC’s coverage of Wimbledon. It’s time to end the tape delays.
The Sports Business Daily has a roundup of columns denouncing NBC Sports for its Wimbledon coverage.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes an open letter to Lance Armstrong urging him not to participate in this month’s Tour de France.
The Nielsen Ratings Wire blog tells us that NASCAR fans are very loyal to buying American brand cars.
Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette reports that a local sports radio show is taking the Friday holiday off.
Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News has a dozen TV picks for the holiday weekend and Wimbledon, MLB and the NFL Network are included.
Ed Barkowitz of the Philadelphia Daily News says Eagles QB Donovan McNabb will star in a new IHOP commercial.
Ray Frager of the Sports Media Journal has highlights of a conference call no-talent hack Colin Cowherd and Michelle Beadle conducted in advance of their new ESPN2 show. Ray also has some “reflections” on the MASN simulcast of the Scott Garceau/Anita Marks radio show.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner has a look at ESPN The Magazine’s Ultimate Franchise ratings.
Tim Lemke from the Washington Times says the NBA’s long relationship with McDonald’s is over.
Tim writes that NBC’s coverage of Wimbledon is angering tennis fans across the country.
Angela Henderson of the Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch is happy that NBC is reuniting volleyball announcing team Chris Marlowe and Paul Sunderland this weekend.
Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes that a local sports radio host is resurfacing on the airwaves this week.
Mike Leggett of the Austin American-Statesman went fishing with ESPN college football and basketball announcer Ron Franklin.
John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Fox Sports Ohio starts its University of Cincinnati sports coverage on Monday.
The Cherry Creek (CO) News says Dish Network abruptly pulled Tennis Channel as of June 30.
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that ESPN Classic is bringing back reruns of the old “Sports Challenge” game shows hosted by Dick Enberg.
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times talks with the Sparks’ Lisa Leslie about her participation in “The Superstars”.
Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle writes NBC’s coverage of Wimbledon has been inadequate and dreads ESPN2’s covering this year’s U.S. Open.
The Toronto Star’s Chris Zelkovich says Canadian TV won’t be part of the Toronto Indy IRL race.
Brian Bennett of ESPN.com says the Big East Football Confernce and ESPN Regional Television have announced the schedule for this season’s syndicated package.
Multichannel News says Speed is ready to launch what it calls “Big Block Thursday” later this month.
Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes that just under 4 million viewers watched the Confederations Cup final between the U.S. and Brazil on ESPN.
Joe Favorito says despite the hard economic times, NASCAR continues to build its brand and its fan base. Joe adds that during the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong will be all over social media.
Deadspin says Jay “The Rat” Mariotti is being rumored to join the Chicago Tribune.
Friend of Fang’s Bites Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball looks at the new MLB.com app for the Palm Pre.
Steve Donohue of the Contentinople blog chronicles how the Yankees in-market online streaming deal came about. And Steve talks with YES President Tracy Dolgin about the deal.
That’s it for tonight. Don’t forget the usual features on Friday. And actually, I do have one more press release post for tonight.
