It’s Selection Sunday this weekend, as the NCAA fills out its tournament field for the College Basketball Championship.
CBS has the selection show starting at 6:00pm on Sunday. Between now and that time, there is plenty of championship basketball to be played.
Check the schedule at the bottom of this post for the games being played this weekend.
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This has been a very busy and reflective week here at BSMW. We started out the week with the plagiarism scandal surrounding the Boston Globe and Ron Borges, which resulted in the Globe suspending the sportswriter for two months without pay. Some other suspicious passages have emerged since that time, but the Globe is saying that these are not plagiarism.
Then, on Tuesday evening, the New England sports media received a shock when it was learned that Alan Greenberg, Patriots beat writer for the Hartford Courant, died suddenly of an apparent heart attack at the age of 55, leaving a wife and three young children.
The response to this tragedy was immediate, and evident on this page. Here are the posts from this week in which Greenberg’s colleagues and friends from around the country remembered him:
We also received a very touching email from Anne-Marie Greenberg.
All of these links are worth a review.
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Amidst all that, it might’ve been easy to miss Butch Stearns making a complete fool of himself on the Big Show this week as he attempted to (re)define the meaning of plagiarism and whether Borges had really committed the cardinal sin of writing. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Stearns insisted that Borges was getting a raw deal in the whole matter and that he had not really committed plagiarism as defined by Stearns. This took up a whole four hour Big Show, and Glenn Ordway and Steve Burton seemed incredulous at Stearns’ inability to grasp the concept.
It was a new low point in Boston sports radio, and that’s saying alot.
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Jon Heyman says Roger Clemens is seeking a contract worth $4 million. A month.
If you missed it, Bill Simmons did one of his patented running diaries for the Celtics/Rockets game.
Tom E Curran has a few video blog entries up on NBCSports.com. I haven’t yet decided if I agree with the guy who said they look like hostage videos.
The Media Circus bring their brand of weekly mayhem.
Richard Deitsch says that selection Sunday is must-see TV.
Dave Gladow reviews the first week of NFL free agency.
Paul Pierce for MVP? So sayeth Larry Brown Sports.
So Curt Schilling has a blog. Well, according to Surviving Grady, other Sox players have blogs, they’re just not as well known.
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Here’s your weekly roundup of media columns:
New England
Amalie Benjamin has a look at the shrinking sportscasts on the evening news. John Howell has several folks remembering Alan Greenberg, among them is Tony Kornheiser. Andrew Neff reports on Don Orsillo getting a three year extension from NESN. Bill Doyle has a look at former NBA player Tim McCormick getting ready to analyze the Patriot League championship game featuring Holy Cross for ESPN2 this afternoon. David Scott says the Globe needs to take further action against Ron Borges, or at least explain the situation with the seeming revelation that there were further incidents of plagiarism by the football writer.
New York
Phil Mushnick says that Showtime’s promotion of Elite Extreme Combat right after a boxer had been taken to the hospital for emergency brain surgery during a fight was tasteless. Richard Sandomir looks at MLB giving cable providers one last chance to get in on the Extra Innings package, but with what might be described as a “trojan horse” offer. Pat Reichart tells us the best ways to keep up with the NCAA tournament, both on TV and online. Reichart also has five questions with James Brown of CBS. Neil Best has more on the MLB Extra Innings deal. Bob Raissman has a look at YES leading the Yankee recruiting effort for Roger Clemens with a “Rocket recruiting video the bozos in Boston and Houston never will duplicate.”
More East Coast
Michael Hiestand has five ways that CBS could enhance the NCAA basketball tournament. Jim Williams looks at big names that still call games for individual teams. Laura Nachman has more on the MLB/DirecTV Extra Innings deal. Chris Zelkovich says that sometimes fans have legit complaints against TV networks.
South
Dave Darling looks at ESPN increasing their coverage and focus on fantasy sports. Barry Jackson notes that “FSN and Sun Sports have become a haven for several capable South Florida sportscasters who have revived careers after surprising setbacks.” David Barron and Rick Harmon have more on MLB throwing a bit of a curve on the Extra Innings package.
Midwest
Bob Wolfley has a look at a documentary on “Harvey’s Wallbangers: The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.” Teddy Greenstein says that the CBS selection show for the NCAA tournament is now an event in itself. Dan Caesar examined why Jim Nantz and Bill Backer went to Duke/North Carolina last weekend instead of to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title contest. Michael Russo has a piece on 25 year old Chris Snow, who went from Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Globe to director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild.
West Coast
Larry Stewart has Billy Packer creating his annual controversy just prior to the NCAA tournament. Stewart’s notebook has a look at “Black Magic” a 2008 ESPN production on interracial relations and the civil rights movement as it related to college basketball. Tom Hoffarth checks in with Dick Enberg, in his 51st year as a sportscaster, getting ready for another NCAA tournament and having to establish some “street cred” among the younger generation. Jim Carlisle has more on Enberg and the NCAA tournament. John Maffei has former Cubs broadcaster Andy Masur settling into his new job with the Padres. Joe Davidson looks at Ron Artest’s arrest sparking all sorts of commentary on the airwaves in Sacramento. Jay Posner has another look at the DirecTV/MLB deal.
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TV This Weekend
Friday March 9th
6:30pm, CN8 – A-10 semifinal
7:00pm, ESPN – Big East semifinal (HD)
7:00pm, TV38 – ACC quarterfinal (HD)
7:30pm, FSN – Sonics @ Celtics (HD)
7:30pm, NESN – Hockey East Quarterfinals (Vermont/BU)
9:00pm, ESPN – Big East semifinal (HD)
9:00pm, CN8 – A-10 seminfinal
9:30pm, TV38 – ACC Quarterfinal (HD)
11:30pm, FSN – Pac-10 seminfinal
Saturday, March 10th
11:30am, CBS – COnference USA Championship (HD)
12:00pm, ESPN2 – America East Championship
1:00pm, NESN – Bruins @ Flyers (HD)
1:30pm, TV38 – ACC Semifinal (HD)
1:40pm, CBS – Big Ten Semifinal (HD)
2:00pm, ESPN2 – Big 12 Semifinal (HD)
3:00pm, ABC – Busch Series Sam’s Town 300 (HD)
3:30pm, TV38 – ACC Semifinal (HD)
4:30pm, ESPN2 – Big 12 Semifinal (HD)
4:00pm, CBS – Big Ten Semifinal (HD)
6:00pm, CBS – Pac-10 Championship (HD)
6:00pm, ESPN – Atlantic 10 Championship
7:00pm, Versus – Mountain West Championship
9:00pm, ESPN – Big East Championship (HD)
9:00pm, ESPN2 – WAC Championship
11:00pm, ESPN2 – Big West Championship
Sunday March 11th
12:30pm, NBC – Bruins @ Red Wings (HD)
1:00pm, CBS SEC Championship (HD)
1:00pm, TV38 – ACC Championship (HD)
1:00pm, NESN – Red Sox/Orioles
2:00pm, ESPN2 – Southland Championship
3:00pm, ESPN – Big 12 Championship (HD)
3:30pm, CBS – Big Ten Championship (HD)
3:30pm, ABC – Nuggets @ Kings (HD)
4:30pm, FOX – Nextel Cup – UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (HD)
6:00pm, FSN – Bulls @ Celtics (HD)
9:00pm, ESPN – Mavs @ Lakers (HD)
Boston Sports Media Watch 