Boston Sports Media Watch

Let’s do the megalinks for you. Time to give them to you now.

As always, you get the Weekend Viewing Picks which this weekend has the skinny on the college basketball conference tournaments and other sports.

Now to your links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand looks at ESPN providing ABC with some sports programming starting in April.

Writing for SI.com, Kevin Armstrong profiles popular ESPN/CBS college basketball analyst Bill Raftery.

The Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center recognizes the winners of the Associated Press Sports Editors Awards.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News says the ESPN Mobile TV service is being picked up by Sprint cell phones.

Multichannel News looks at Speed’s changes to its Formula 1 announcing crew. 

The Sports Media Watch notes that last Sunday’s NHL Game of the Week did not get a post-Olympics bump, but still did well for NBC.

SMW says last week’s NASCAR ratings dropped yet again.

SMW informs us that TNT’s Inside the NBA crew will be heading courtside to call its first game since 2001.

Joe Favorito can’t wait to see the new movie on Vince Lombardi which would star Robert De Niro.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says HBO Sports will focus its next documentary on the Philadelphia Flyers of the 1970’s.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe talks with long-time WBZ-TV sports reporter Alice Cook who was given the pink slip.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram interviews local native J.P. Ricciardi who goes from being Blue Jays General Manger to ESPN analyst.

Joe Haggerty from Comcast SportsNet writes about a new ESPN ad starring Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz and Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher.

A rare Neil Best sighting! The Boston Herald picks up a story from Newsday which continues to hide behind pay wall. In this story, Neil writes about CBS being poised to keep the NCAA Tournament. 

From the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman looks at the possibility of the NCAA opting out of its current contract with CBS.

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post is nitpicking over a dunk highlight.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union talks with CBS/Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis about Siena’s experience as an NCAA player.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record has an appreciation of the late Merlin Olsen.

Tim Lemke explains why he is now a fan of the college basketball conference tournaments.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner says NBC begins its Paralympics coverage this weekend.

Jim transcribes an interview Billy Packer did with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Jim talks about a Baltimore radio host who’s conducting a contest to give Orioles Opening Day tickets to several families.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald talks with sports radio host Sid Rosenberg about his new book.

Sarah Talalay from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says JetBlue will unveil a Florida Panthers tailfin on Tuesday.

Ray Buck in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes that HBO has some big plans for tomorrow’s Manny Pacquaio-Joshua Clottey championship fight at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

To David Barron of the Houston Chronicle who discusses the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on Reggie Miller’s rivalry with the New York Knicks.

David catches up on some ratings news and notes since returning home from the Olympics.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer remembers an interesting story regarding the late Merlin Olsen and former NBC NFL analyst Bob Trumpy.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes that the White Sox have shot down manager Ozzie Guillen’s request for a website.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his usual Friday winners and losers.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Time Warner Cable gave subscribers frozen pictures that hampered fans from viewing of the Big East Tournament.

Paul Christian of the Rochester Post-Bulletin writes that hockey fans in the Gopher State will have plenty of action to watch this weekend.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says not everyone in the Gateway City will be able to see the Atlantic 10 Tournament this weekend.

West

Scott D. Pierce in the Deseret (UT) News says DirecTV subscribers won’t be able to see the Mountain West Conference men’s and women’s basketball championship games as they will be carried on Versus.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune speaks with Padres voice Dick Enberg who won’t be calling his first game until the season opener in April.

John Maffei in the North County Times says the San Diego State men’s basketball team might get some national love if they keep winning in the Mountain West Tournament.

Over to the Ventura County Star where Jim Carlisle says Hall of Fame defensive lineman Merlin Olsen was also a great broadcaster.

Jim is not a fan of the NCAA Tournament expanding to 96 teams.

Diane Pucin in the Los Angeles Times says both CBS and ESPN will be all over the NCAA Tournament selections.

In the Los Angeles Daily News, Kevin Modesti with help from Tom Hoffarth, has a remembrance of Merlin Olsen.

Tom has his usual media notes.

Tom has Dick Enberg’s thoughts on his former broadcast partner, Olsen.

Tom also looks back at the week in sports media.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the NHL knocking out head shots was the right thing to do.

The Toronto Star says CTV has relented and will show the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics live, but only in British Columbia.

Chris Zelkovich of the Star says the Paralympics are not a huge money maker, but are worthy of TV coverage for the Canadian Olympics Broadcast Media Consortium.

William Houston in Truth & Rumours says the head of the Media Consortium may be leaving.

Popularity: 7% [?]

I’m watching curling as we get ready to close the Olympics and get back to watching college basketball and prepare for baseball. To be honest, I never thought I would enjoy curling, but I’ve really gotten into the sport this year. Plus, it’s been on at some convenient times to watch so I’ll NBC some credit for scheduling curling live.

In the meantime, let’s provide you with some media linkage. As usual, you have your Weekend Viewing Picks which include college basketball viewing picks, Olympics viewing and English Premier League games.

To the links.

National

The Sports Business Daily/Sports Business Journal Winter Olympics site notes that NBC beat Fox’s American Idol for the second time on Thursday.

Eric Fisher of the SBD/SBJ says NBCOlympics.com and Yahoo! Sports are both claiming victory for online visitors.

The Nielsen ratings Wire blog says gold medal winners are not only on top of the podium, but also in online searches in both the US and Canada.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand and Michael McCarthy debate the validity of having NHL players in the Olympics.

Writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred says he likes covering the Olympics for the education factor. 

Etan Vlessing of Hollywood Reporter writes that the Olympic ratings in Canada have been wiping out the competition.

Glen Dickson of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN will use its Wide World of Sports complex in Florida as its testing lab for 3-D television.

Katy Bachman from Mediaweek says Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl isn’t a fan of NBC’s online Olympics strategy.

Toni Fitzgerald in Media Life Magazine writes that the Olympics lost some momentum on NBC on Wednesday.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Tiger Woods’ camp acknowledges the arranging of the now-famous photo of the golfer jogging just days before his apology last week.

In other Tiger news, Darren broke the story that Gatorade is the third sponsor to drop him.

Darren has a slideshow of the 25 Most Marketable Winter Olympians from Vancouver.

And Darren notes that the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game is the hottest ticket in Canada right now.

The Big Lead reports that the sports editor of the New York Daily News is leaving for a huge gig with ESPN.

The Sports Media Watch has a good interview with ESPN Dictator George Bodenheimer about the migration of sports from ABC to the Mothership.

SMW also has an interview with ESPN Vice President of Communications Mike Soltys about the Tony Kornheiser suspension.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that the USA-Switzerland Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinal drew almost 6 million viewers on Wednesday afternoon.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy says MSNBC got punked by a fake USA goalie Ryan Miller.

Sports Radio Interviews links you to a talk that Atlanta radio station, 790 The Zone conducted with ESPN’s Linda Cohn regarding Tony Kornheiser and Erin Andrews.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald reports that a WEEI producer has been suspended for sending vulgar text messages to rival sports station, WBZ-FM.

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe talks with NBC’s Al Michaels about his Miracle On Ice call.

The Worcester Telegram’s Bill Doyle writes about the new HBO documentary on Magic Johnson and Larry Bird that premieres next week.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir says ESPN will take a different approach with the Olympics if it wins the rights for the 2014/2016 Games.

Lynn Zinser of the Times notes that NBC identified the wrong man as Joannie Rochette’s father during her short program during the ladies’ figure skating competition.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News feels the media has helped to make Alex Rodriguez a sympathetic figure. Another stretch by the old, tired media critic.

Phil Mushnick in the New Yok Post waxes poetic on NBC’s Mike Emrick.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in the Baltimore-centric Press Box that Joe Angel returns this season to become the main radio voice of the Orioles.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner speaks with an NBC Sports official about the increase in traffic for NBCOlympics.com.

Jim also speaks with NBC figure skating analyst Dick Button.

Tim Lemke tries to understand the complicated figure skating scoring system.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says South Florida is at the bottom of the Olympic TV ratings.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wishes ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike a happy 10th anniversary on the air.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News has the radio ratings for January in the Metroplex.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle profiles a Texan who’s helping to produce the in-house radio feed at the Vancouver Olympics.

David says the Astros will have a record amount of games on Fox Sports Houston.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman has comments from NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says a local TV station is using its news anchors to do the late sports reports.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Fox Sports Ohio will air 145 Reds games this season. 

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some observations on NBC’s coverage of the Olympics.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business says in just one day, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen became a Twitter sensation.

Jim O’Donnell of the Chicago Sun-Times feels the NHL has to do something to capitalize on the popularity of Olympic hockey on the networks of NBC.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at the Gateway City’s sports radio ratings.

Dan says the newest sports radio station in town has made a significant impact in just one short year. 

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret (UT) News says despite the tape delays, the Olympic TV ratings in Salt Lake City have been among the highest in the nation.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jay Posner finally joins the chorus of Americans complaining about NBC’s tape delayed Olympics coverage.

John Maffei of the North County Times feels NBC made some bad decisions when it came to Olympic hockey.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star says the hardly-seen Universal Sports carved out a good niche for itself during the Olympics.

Jim has some various news and notes.

Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times says the Anaheim Angels have yet to name a replacement for TV play-by-play man Rory Markas who died during the offseason.

Diane Pucin of the Times looks at how people are discussing sports on Twitter and other social networks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the 2010 Dodgers TV schedule.

Tom says you can buy a new 3D TV at Sears.

Tom notes that the locally-based Universal Sports is churning out Olympics-centric programming.

Tom has his weekly news and notes.

Tom reviews the week in Olympics TV.

Canada

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says Canada’s athletes are producing compelling TV during the Olympics.

Chris is amazed at the ratings for the Olympics on CTV.

William Houston in Truth & Rumours has CBC’s Don Cherry predicting gold for Canada.

That’s going to conclude our links for Friday.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Let’s give you some linkage this evening. I’m going to weed out the Tiger Woods previews so this may not be as extensive as past editions. Your Weekend Viewing Picks has your sports viewing including college basketball and Olympic viewing guide.

Let’s get to the links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand tells NBC it’s time to go live with Olympic events.

Seth Livingstone of USA Today says NBC will not be showing the USA-Canada men’s hockey game on the main network relegating it to MSNBC instead. 

Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Daily/Journal says NBCOlympics.com and Yahoo! Sports are battling it out for online traffic this month.

Tripp Mickle of SBD/SBJ writes that NBC Sports Emperor Dick Ebersol sent a letter to his staff Thursday congratulating his employees for beating American Idol in the ratings this week.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says NBC is averaging almost 25 million viewers a night for the first seven days of the Olympics.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says as Americans win gold medals in the Olympics, ratings for NBC keep going up.

Amanda Rykoff in the OCD Chick compares Dick Ebersol’s production of the Olympics to American Idol.

Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter says it appears that after initially expecting losses, the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Consortium will break even on the Vancouver Games.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that multiple medal-winning skier Julia Mancuso could turn out to be a marketing gold medal winner.

Darren says for sponsors, Tiger Woods’ refusal to set a timetable to return to golf is most troubling.

Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated has the very funny video of Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer crying after Tiger Woods make his robotic apology in the Friday afternoon edition of Hot Clicks (scroll down).

Marisa Guthrie of Broadcasting & Cable has various golf analysts reactions to Tiger Woods’ wooden apology.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes that the PGA Tour’s TV partners will just have to wait for Tiger Woods’ return. 

Gail Sideman writing in the Sports Networker blog says Tiger’s announcement was bad timing as far as public relations are concerned.

The Sports Media Watch looks at how the networks covered the Tiger Woods announcement today.

SMW also has some idle notes.

SportsbyBrooks says Tony Kornheiser has apologized to Hannah Storm for saying she dresses like a harlot.

AJ Daulerio at Deadspin says ESPN has actually banned some of Hannah’s wardrobe.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe defends NBC’s handling of the Olympics.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram also compares the Olympics to American Idol.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, a frequent critic of NBC’s tape delayed Olympic coverage, is begrudgingly learning to live with the delays in the Vancouver Games.

Bob Raissman in the New York Daily News feels Mets manager Jerry Manuel is helpful in feeding the media beast with soundbites.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty critiques some of NBC’s announcers at the Olympics.

Ken McMillan of the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record has some spring training TV schedules. First, the Yankees, the Mets, MLB Network, ESPN and WGN America.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says the first network analysis was kind to Tiger Woods. 

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is not happy how NBC has stopped mentioning the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during its coverage.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in Press Box that advertisers were sad to see Baltimore sports radio host Anita Marks leave last month.

Tim Lemke doesn’t quite understand NBC’s Olympic philosophy.

South

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike will be back in town next month.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman says Oklahoma University baseball games will be seen on local cable TV.

Mel says two Australian TV commentators are in trouble for making homophobic comments about US figure skater Johnny Weir.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press wants the tape delayed Olympics coverage on NBC to stop.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is puzzled why Milwaukee is on top of the nation’s ratings for the Olympics.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his weekly winners and losers.

Ed notes that the White Sox will be part of a new reality show on MLB Network.

Ed also analyzes Tiger Woods’ apology.

Charles F. Rouse of the Kansas City Examiner says Big 12 fans want Brent Musberger and Bob Knight removed from the conference’s basketball games.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the Cardinals could be heading to the FM dial this season.

Dan writes that part-time Redbirds analyst Jack Clark will return for another season on Fox Sports Midwest.

West

Scott D. Pierce from the Deseret (UT) News says the reconstructed arena football Utah Pride have a TV deal in place.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune doesn’t like how the local NBC affiliate is playing coy about the Olympic delays.

Jay writes that Padres voice Jerry Coleman will be working less this season, but be doing more.

John Maffei of the North County Times says the West Coast is to blame for the Olympic delays.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star writes about the Olympics finally beating American Idol in the ratings.

Jim says the Olympics are bringing down the ratings for the Daytona 500 and the NBA.

Over to Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times who reports on Tiger Woods’ apology.

Diane adds that NBC’s Cris Collinsworth was critical of Woods. 

Phil Rosenthal writes in the Times that MSNBC will put the politics aside on Sunday and air the anticipated USA- Canada men’s hockey game which will be seen live in all time zones.

The Times publishes several readers’ complaints about the Olympic delays to the West Coast even though the Vancouver Games are taking place in their time zone.

Canada

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says it’s no surprise that hockey is tops in CTV’s Olympic coverage.

In Yahoo! Canada, William Houston critiques CTV’s coverage to date.

In his Truth & Rumours blog, William has a few columns in one.

Bill Brioux of the Canadian Press wonders if CTV’s all-out approach for the Olympics is too much of a good thing.

And that will complete the links.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Work has been crazy the last few weeks which is why you haven’t seen the megalinks since the beginning of the New Year. I’m hoping next week will be easier.

You have your Weekend Viewing Picks, of course. 

National

Starting with the Sports Business Daily, we have the full roster of spots for Super Bowl XLIV on CBS.

Also from Sports Business Daily, the final ratings from last weekend including the Pro Bowl which was the highest rated sporting event.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost discusses how CBS is trying to sell even more spots for the Super Bowl.

SportsbyBrooks explores ESPN Radio firing Michael Irvin from his Dallas radio show after three year old rape allegations surfaced this week.

And apparently, Irvin is firing back filing a countersuit against the accuser.

Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi is critical of Lindsey Vonn’s pose on this week’s Sports Illustrated cover.

Erin Whiteside at the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State University says women lose when sports stars become authority figures.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NCAA’s expansion of its men’s tournament is a money grab.

Dave Kindred writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says Super Bowl week can be the best week and the worst week for a sportswriter.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says the ratings for Super Bowl XLIV actually might match the media hype.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram writes that CBS’ Jim Nantz has an affinity for the New Orleans Saints.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman writes a regular New York sports radio caller was saved thanks to football.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post mourns the late Tom Brookshier.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says even the broadcast team has pregame jitters.

Laura Nachman says the Philadelphia CBS affiliate will have a Super Bowl special this weekend.

Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post talks with former CBS Sports producer Frank Chirkinian about the early days of the NFL.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner writes that producing the Super Bowl for TV is a team effort.

Tim Lemke looks at Bloomberg Sports’ fantasy baseball package.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes that his CBS Sports colleagues are surprised that Bill Cowher is still on television.

Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the furor over the Tim Tebow Super Bowl advocacy ad shows why athletes rarely take controversial stands.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times talks with ESPN’s Dick Vitale about South Florida’s basketball program.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News looks at the Michael Irvin firing from ESPN Radio in the Metroplex.

Barry has more on the firing.

Ray Buck in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram also delves into the Irvin dismissal.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle says watching the Super Bowl in Canada is definitely a different experience.

In the Daily Oklahoman, Mel Bracht writes that CBS’ analysts are leaning towards the Indianapolis Colts.

Mel has the Super Bowl Sunday viewing lineup.

And in his media notebook, Mel writes that the Oklahoma City Thunder are setting ratings records.

Midwest

In the Cincinnati Enquirer, John Kiesewetter says Pete Rose will be Andy Furman’s first guest on Monday. 

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel feels the Super Bowl could surpass 100 million viewers for the first time.

Ed Sherman has this week’s winners and losers.

Jim O’Donnell of the Chicago Tribune writes that the success of “The Blind Side” came unexpectedly to Memphis Grizzlies TV analyst Sean Tuohy.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says CBS is expecting monster viewership if Super Bowl XLIV is close.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also notes that CBS could reach record numbers on Sunday.

West

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News says last Saturday’s BYU-Utah game had one of the most surreal moments caught on camera.

Jay Posner in the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the NFL is riding a big momentum wave heading into the Super Bowl.

John Maffei from the North County Times says CBS is bringing back sideline reporters for the Super Bowl.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star tells us that there’s plenty of other sports to watch on Sunday other than the Super Bowl.

Jim writes as CBS’ Jim Nantz prepares to call the New Orleans Saints’ penultimate game on Sunday, he recalls seeing their first.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN is all over the Super Bowl and it doesn’t even have the game.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News speaks with former ESPN’er Larry Burnett who has made a name for himself in SoCal as a play-by-play man.

Tom has more with Larry in his blog.

Tom also has everything you need to know about Super Bowl Sunday.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail writes that Canadians won’t be able to watch the US Super Bowl ads.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says the Super Bowl might match the hype.

Gary Mason of the Canadian Press says despite heavy financial losses, NBC expects record ratings for the Winter Olympics.

William Houston of Truth & Rumours writes that after a four year absence, CTV’s Brian Williams looks forward to hosting the Olympics once again.

William notes that one of Canada’s greatest Olympians was snubbed for the Olympic Torch Relay.

And William has one more post on the snub.

And that will do it. Enjoy your Super Bowl Weekend.

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Let’s finish up our links from earlier today. We’ll finish up the West and Canadian links. But we do have some national links to add.

National

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News reports that Fox Soccer Channel is very close to purchasing either key cable rights or the owner outright of Setanta Sports US.

Glen Dickson of Broadcasting & Cable writes that Cisco will deliver video for multiple platforms for NBC’s online streaming of the Winter Olympics.

Tom Ziller of Fanhouse writes about Turner Sports luring ESPN’er Matt Winer to NBA TV. 

Also from Fanhouse, Milton Kent laments the death of the Washington Times sports section.

Amanda Bruno of Batter-up with Bruno notes that Twitter took down a fake Jackie MacMullen account after it put up a phony Red Sox trade.

Jeff Levine at the Biz of Football says everything is pointing to a work stoppage in the NFL come 2011.

The Thoroughbred Times reports that NBC and ESPN Radio received Eclipse Awards for their coverage of horse racing. 

From the UK, Campaign looks at an ESPN World Cup marketing campaign surrounding “The Group of Death”.

Midwest

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Rams’ TV ratings remained steady despite their losing record this season. 

West

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says the Colorado Rockies have a new radio voice.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jay Posner didn’t like Brent Musburger’s call of the BCS National Championship Game.

John Maffei of the North County Times is happy to see Joe Theismann back calling an NFL game.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star mourns the passing of Angels TV voice Rory Markas.

Jim looks at the NFL Wild Card Playoff games this weekend.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times says Clippers analyst Michael Smith is in a whole heap of trouble.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News discusses the impact of Rory Markas on his friends.

Tom hears from more of Rory’s friends in the wake of his passing.

Tom looks back at an eventful week in SoCal sports media.

Ryan Vaillancourt of the Los Angeles Downtown News says ESPN’s LA site looks to challenge local newspaper sports coverage.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times says those in bordering US towns used to watching the Olympics live through CBC will be out of luck this year when CTV airs the Games. 

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail has an issue with the Baseball Hall of Fame voting.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star notes the retirement of a Canadian radio legend.

William Houston of Truth & Rumours says the Maple Leafs are under fire on local sports radio.

And we’re finished with the megalinks.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I’m currently at the home office and it’s been quite difficult to blog with the boss constantly over your shoulder, but I’m doing my best. In between reports, phone calls and meetings, I’m trying to bring you some links. I may have to do this in two parts, but I’ll try to get this completed in one shot. Let’s do it.

First, you can check out your Weekend Viewing Picks for the college basketball, NFL, golf and other sports going on plus primetime TV.

Now to your links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says the All-American Bowl gives fans the opportunity to see where the next generation of college football stars will play.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily says this just-completed NFL regular season was the most watched since 1990, almost 20 years, which is rather impressive. 

Glen Dickson of Broadcasting & Cable looks at ESPN’s plans for ESPN 3D’s productions which start in earnest later this year.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News writes about the cancellation of the highly anticipated Manny Pacquaio-Floyd Mayweather fight which many observers felt would have broken all pay per view records.

Rick Porter of zap2it.com says the BCS Championship Game on Thursday ruled the network primetime ratings.

Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina talks with Baltimore Ravens fan Stacy Keibler and Patriots fan Maria Menounos about this Sunday’s Wild Card playoff game.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that “The Blind Side” should give actress Sandra Bullock her biggest payday ever.

Matt Ginella of Golf Digest talks with ESPN’s Jon Gruden about his excitement for golf and wish to win golf’s Grand Slam.

The Sports Media Watch is not happy with sportswriters who stereotype the NBA and other leagues.

SMW notes that ESPN’s Dick Vitale will be back calling the NBA for one game this season.

Maury Brown in the Biz of Baseball gives his predictions for MLB and its TV partners in 2010. 

Joe Favorito says pro soccer is hoping Philadelphia can give the sport a shot in the arm in both the men’s and women’s game.

Russell Scibetti in the Business of Sports has ten sports business stories to watch in 2010.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media writes the real star of the NHL Winter Classic was the NHL Network.

Steve lists the regional sports networks and cable stations carrying the AHL All-Star Game later this month.

Len Berman provides his top five stories of the day. 

East and Mid-Atlantic

From the Boston Globe, Chad Finn looks at ESPN’s ESPN 3D channel which launches in June.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram writes about NESN’s Tom Caron who will be calling the two outdoor college hockey games at Fenway Park today.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News isn’t thrilled to have Joe Theismann on NBC’s Wild Card playoff coverage.

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post is coming out guns ablazin’ today.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union raises an excellent point about one issue ESPN/ABC missed during the late stages of the BCS Championship Game.

Pete also looks at whether we should run out and buy a 3-D TV after we just purchased an HDTV.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner says the national sports spotlight fell on DC this week.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that NBC will use some new, but quite familiar voices for the first NFL Wild Card playoff game this Saturday.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News was happy to have ESPN/ABC producing the BCS National Championship Game instead of Fox.

Ray Buck in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says the Fiesta Bowl involvingTCU-Boise State was a ratings winner in the Metroplex and nationally as well.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says Brent Musburger misjudged the severity of Colt McCoy’s injury during last night’s BCS Championship Game.

Barry and Cowboys radio analyst Babe Laufenberg held a live chat today.

Barry says ESPN/ABC’s Kirk Herbstreit helped to curse the Texas Longhorns during last night’s BCS National Championship Game.

The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron says when ESPN takes over the BCS next year, viewership could be hurt as not as many homes have cable.

David also has the national and local ratings for the BCS National Championship Game.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman looks at NBC’s “B” team for the NFL Wild Card playoffs tomorrow.

Mel says the Big 12 kicks off conference play in a big way on Saturday.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer recaps Cris Collinsworth’s appearance on what appears to be one of the last Jay Leno Shows in primetime.

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press talks to a former local sports anchor who’s looking for a job out of the market.

Trenni Kusnierek of MLB Network lists her new decade resolutions in OnMilwaukee.com.

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

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin writes that the Green Bay-Arizona NFL Wild Card playoff game will provide some intrigue for viewers.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dan Caesar writes that a former local sports radio talk show host left the Gateway City without taking shots at his former employer.

I’ll end it there for now. I will complete the megalinks tonight.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Let’s do the megalinks on this Friday. And as usual, you can find your weekend viewing with the Weekend Viewing Picks.

Now we go the links.

National

We begin with a story that could get quite interesting. Fox is negotiating with Time Warner Cable to get a transmission fee, but the talks have gotten so contentious that Fox is threatening to pull all of its channels. Franklin Paul and Yinka Adegoke of Reuters have the story.

Reed Albergotti, Vanessa O’Connell and Russell Adams of the Wall Street Journal investigate how Tiger Woods gave Men’s Fitness an interview in 2007 in order to squelch a story about one of his affairs in sister publication, the National Enquirer. 

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes the absence of Tiger Woods from the PGA Tour will affect CBS the most.

Diego Vasquez from Media Life Magazine says Tiger is losing credibility with the public.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell asks if Tiger Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, would really make a good endorser.

Darren says a former Survivor winner is trying his hand at selling Russian hats with a sports twist.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says Fox Soccer Channel got its highest ratings in a key demographic last week.

The Sports Media Watch says Ernie Johnson, Jr. will call his first NBA game since 2001.

Chris Byrne in the Eye on Sports Media gives you a primer on calling an NFL game in Spanish.

The Big Lead says when ESPN Los Angeles’ website launches on Monday, it will have assembled a pretty good lineup to challenge the Times and Daily News.

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says MLB Network has made quite the impression in its first year.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette writes that NBC is looking forward to airing the NHL Winter Classic from Fenway Park on New Year’s Day.

Kristine Leahy of WEEI.com has today’s version of The Five.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says this isn’t a good week for those who don’t have NFL Network.

Richard says Russian Mikhail Prokhorov is one step closer to owning the New Jersey Nets.

In the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman writes that the Mets losing is hurting their ticket sales and SNY ads.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick says there could be a change coming at the YES Network.

Laura Nachman says Fox is sending a familiar trio for this Sunday’s 49ers-Eagles game.

Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com writes in Press Box that Orioles fans have to get used to watching the games without Buck Martinez next season.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner ranks the first set of bowl games on whether they’re worth viewing.

Jason Reid of the Washington Post talks with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about his on-air partner, Jon Gruden. 

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says former Dolphins running back Mercury Morris loves talking to the media when an undefeated NFL team goes deep into the season.

Sarah Talalay in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel explores a new cell phone ad starring Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley.

And Sarah discusses a new line of personalized sports jersey photos.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes that the Cowboys continue to show confidence publicly.

Ray Buck in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram talks with NBA TV’s Kevin McHale about the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki.

To the Houston Chronicle, David Barron says high school football championship games will be all over local TV this weekend.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks with ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla.

Mel also has his weekly media notebook.

Barry Tramel of the Oklahoman writes that he broke down and signed up for the NFL Network.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer says a former sports talk show host would like to return to the radio soon. 

Josh Slagter in the Grand Rapids (MI) Press looks at the fights HBO will re-air next week.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says there will be plenty of NBA action to watch on Christmas Day.

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

Jim O’Donnell of the Chicago Sun-Times writes about HLN’s Sunday special featuring TNT’s Charles Barkley. 

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals Fox Sports Midwest team will return for next season.

Dan says despite not being able to show the Calgary-Blues game, Fox Sports Midwest scored in the ratings for the pregame Brent Hull retirement ceremony.

West

Scott D. Pierce in the Deseret (UT) News talks about the mtn. owning the rights to BYU home games.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune has CBS’ Boomer Esiason being high on the Chargers.

In the North County Times, John Maffei says one community won’t be able to see tonight’s high school football championship game.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star writes that local Time Warner Cable customers won’t be able to watch Saturday’s Cowboys-Saints game on NFL Network.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times previews Sunday’s HLN special featuring three of Turner Sports’ analysts.

From the Los Angeles Daily News, Tom Hoffarth notes that Lakers radio voice Spero Dedes has been missing games of late.

Tom talks with former Utah Jazz announcer “Hot Rod” Hundley who’s filling in for Stu Lantz on Lakers TV broadcasts.

Tom has more with Hot Rod in his blog plus his usual extensive media notebook.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail says the diagnosis of one hockey player will send shockwaves about concussions to the media.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says Don Cherry will never admit that he promotes hockey violence.

William Houston in Truth & Rumours reports that the Canadian Olympic Broadcasting Consortium will fall well short of its sales goal for the Vancouver games.

That’s going to do it for the megalinks.

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We’re back after a two week absence. Nice to be doing the megalinks once again.

For all of your sports and entertainment viewing, check out the Weekend Viewing Picks.

Let’s get to your links.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand feels Tiger Woods would be best served talking to David Letterman.

Reid Cherner and Tom Weir of USA Today’s Game On blog say Erin Andrews and her father, investigative reporter Steve Andrews are expected to be at Michael Barrett’s hearing on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Peter Gammons bids adieu to ESPN.

Daniel Lyons of Newsweek explains the real reason behind Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal.

Sports Illustrated is looking back at the last ten years in sports.

Richard Deitsch looks at the best and worst in sports broadcasting.

Bryan Armen Graham reviews the last ten years in sports movies, TV shows and blogs.

Gene Menez lists the best quotes.

And Pablo S. Torre looks at some of the sports personalities who left a big impression over the last ten years.

The Nielsen Wire blog says sports and reality TV topped the ratings this year.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell gives us a preview of the next giant minor league concession item.

Darren says an Irish bookmaker is actually taking bets on which endorsement Tiger Woods will lose next.

Evan Weiner in Examiner.com examines some of the problems facing the NFL and the BCS.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News says DirecTV avoided arbitration at the last minute and came to an agreement to carry Comcast SportsNet New England.

Mike writes that Comcast’s Versus lost 9 million subscribers on December 1 when a three month free preview on several providers ended.

Mike adds that YES Network will carry a college-pro basketball doubleheader on December 19 from the Izod Center in Newark.

Amanda Rykoff recaps last week’s Princeton Sports Symposium.

The Sports Media Watch notes that last week’s SEC Championship drew excellent ratings on CBS.

Chris Byrne from the Eye on Sports Media says Army-Navy will get the big game treatment on CBS Saturday.

Milton Kent of Fanhouse talks with Joe Theismann who’s looking forward to being back in the broadcast booth for NBC.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reviews first week of Comcast SportsNet New England’s SportsNet Central.

Bill Doyle from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with Worcester Sharks radio voice Eric Lindquist.

Kristine Leahy has The Five on WEEI.com.

Also from WEEI.com, Dan Rowinski transcribes an interview conducted with Peter Gammons. The story also has a link to the audio.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC may lose money on Notre Dame football, but it still values the property.

Alan Schwarz of the Times says the NFL TV partners are now toning down the emphasis on big hits and increasing the discussion on concussions.

Ira Boudway in New York Magazine wants to know why Rick Reilly is anchoring SportsCenter.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the Baseball winter meetings keeps the sport in the forefront in the middle of football season.

Phil Mushnick in the New York Post says if Fuzzy Zoeller didn’t get a second chance, then why should Tiger Woods? Phil’s logic makes no sense.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says former newspaperman Peter Gammons is changing with the times.

Ken McMillan from the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record has the TV schedule for Indy Car Racing.

Ken says Nets fans watched while the team was in midst of its winless streak.

Ken hopes CBS gets a ratings boost by moving Army-Navy to the last game of the college football season.

John Pittaresi of the Utica (NY) Observer-Dispatch says ESPN Radio will be coming to a local radio station in March.

The Washington Business Journal picks up a story from Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand that ESPN plans to produce daily afternoon shows, “Around the Horn” and “Pardon The Interruption” in HD starting next year.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson about calling his first Army-Navy game.

Jim reviews ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on “The U”, the University of Miami’s football program that airs Saturday night.

South

Jeff Elliot of the Florida Times-Union says the SEC Championship Game was a ratings boom for CBS.

Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has some Friday sports business links.

Jorge Milan of the Palm Beach Post reviews ESPN’s documentary on the University of Miami.

Ray Buck in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki reveals his fun side on a new Fox Sports Southwest documentary.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says a local sports TV reporter asked the right question to Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.

Barry reports that the Texas Rangers have re-signed TV announcer Josh Lewin.

To the Houston Chronicle and David Barron who writes that the media is bashing the Bowl Championship Series.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman talks with ESPN NBA analyst Hubie Brown.

Mel also has his media notebook.

Midwest

Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the NBA is looking into allowing legalized gambling on games. Where is Tim Donaghy?

Bob Wolfley of the Journal Sentinel praises ESPN for majoring in journalism.

From Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman lists his winners and losers in sports business and media.

Fox Sports Midwest will carry next Tuesday’s Brett Hull retirement ceremony.

West

Jody Genessy of the Deseret (UT) News interviews TNT’s Craig Sager about his loud wardrobe.

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News says Fox Sports gave the Mountain West Conference a little more respect in the BCS Selection Show, but not much.

Jay Posner from the San Diego Union-Tribune talks with Chargers voice Josh Lewin who has a “home” game this weekend.

John Maffei of the North County Times writes about the local cable TV production of four high school football championship games.

Jim Carlisle in the Ventura County Star notes that the Lakers are using replacement announcers for their radio broadcasts this month.

Jim writes that Peter Gammons gives MLB Network some added credibility.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times says MLB Network made a big splash this week by hiring Peter Gammons.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at some of the biggest trends that hit the sports media over the last ten year.

Tom has some media notes in his blog today.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail looks at the increased ratings for sports radio in Canada.

In the Toronto Star, Chris Zelkovich writes about Buck Martinez becoming the TV play-by-play man for the Blue Jays.

William Houston in Truth & Rumours feels Martinez going to the Blue Jays booth is the right move.

And that will conclude the Friday megalinks. I’ll have links on Saturday and Sunday at the Fang’s Bites at BSMW page so visit there often.

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Just mere hours after we learned that Peter Gammons was leaving ESPN, we learn that he joined MLB Network. That was expected. But was not expected was the announcement this evening that Gammons was joining NESN and NESN.com. This is a big coup for NESN which gets him from ESPN and the ESPN Boston site. Peter will not only be seen on NESN and MLB Network, he’ll write for NESN.com and MLB.com.

Here’s part of the press release that was issued by NESN this evening:

Gammons will serve as a studio analyst, reporter and offer commentary for over 50 of the network’s hour-long pre and post game shows and as co-host of Red Sox Hot Stove and Red Sox Spring Break LIVE. He will also make regular contributions to NESN.com.

“I’m a New Englander who wanted to be Jackie Jensen,” said Peter Gammons. “I started out at the Boston Globe and wrote about Jerry Remy when he was at Somerset High School. I was lucky enough to be there for the Munson-Fisk fight in 1973 and The Sixth Game and the ’78 playoff, and when my local cable company wouldn’t put NESN on our system I signed the override petitions.”

“NESN has given me the opportunity to come back to my roots and once again be part of my neighborhood, and I am truly excited about it. During the 2007 World Series, Matt Holliday said that what differentiated Fenway Park from any other stadium is that fans don’t react, they anticipated, and that creates a tension unlike any other audience in sports. It is a great feeling to be back with that audience.”

And not to be outdone, MLB Network and MLB.com had a release of its own:

MLB Network and MLB Advanced Media today announced that Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons has joined MLB Network and MLB.com as an on-air and online analyst. As part of a multi-year deal, Gammons will offer analysis and commentary on MLB Network for breaking news and special events like the Trade Deadline, First-Year Player Draft, Winter Meetings and Postseason. Gammons will also serve as a signature and regularly featured writer for MLB.com’s new columnist initiative, writing commentary on breaking news and posting several articles online each week.

During the 2009-2010 offseason, Gammons will appear on Hot Stove, MLB Network’s nightly offseason studio show featuring updates and analysis of the moves all 30 clubs are making and planning in preparation for the upcoming season. He will also contribute to MLB Network’s Spring Training program 30 Clubs in 30 Days and do studio work on short documentary-style pieces and other select programming. Gammons will also be a regular analyst on MLB Tonight, MLB Network’s signature nightly studio show.

So the baseball winter meetings have gone from very quiet to very busy with this news about Peter Gammons.

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In a story that is just breaking, ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys has tweeted that Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons has announced that he will leave ESPN after the Winter Meetings this week.

Gammons joined ESPN back in 1989 becoming along with fellow Boston Globe writer Will McDonough, one of the first newspaper reporters to join a TV network. McDonough was hired by CBS Sports around the same time. Here’s the release.

Gammons Ends Hall of Fame Run with ESPN

Baseball Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons has decided to pursue new endeavors and will no longer be a contributor to ESPN after this week’s winter meetings.

Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production:

“As a print journalist moving to television, Peter was a pioneer who became a Hall of Famer. His contributions to ESPN will never be forgotten. We’re sad to see Peter go, but understand his desire for new challenges and a less demanding schedule.”

Peter Gammons:

“My decision to leave ESPN and move on at this point in my life has been conflicted. I owe a great deal of my professional life to ESPN, having spent more than half of my 40 years in journalism working for the network, and the choice to move on was made with nothing but the strongest feelings for the people with whom I worked. ESPN gave me a great deal more than I gave it, and will always be a huge part of who I am.

“I will forever be joined at the hip with John Walsh, who hired me as an ink-stained wretch, plunked me on TV and has always been a guiding spirit. Understand how the people who run ESPN treat people: when I was felled by a severe aneurysm in 2006, George Bodenheimer, John Skipper, Norby Williamson, my former Boston Globe boss Vince Doria and everyone made certain that my family and I had the best care and support, far, far beyond any reasonable expectation. My ESPN life has been lined with foxhole people whom I’ll never forget.

“I’ve been able to work with my closest and oldest friends, like Jayson Stark, Tim Kurkjian, Buster Olney, Peter Pascarelli, Jerry Crasnick and Charlie Moynihan. I spent three seasons doing games with a producer, Tom Archer, who is among the most revered leaders I’ve ever met. I told everyone last October that the team baseball coordinating producer Jay Levy put together with Mark Preisler and Marc Carman was the most creative in my 20 years on the show. I apologize to hundreds of people I owe for all these years for not mentioning their names.

“You would have had to be there for 20 years to know how hard so many good people sweated in anonymity to make all of us look as if we knew what we were doing.

“My friend Tom Rush – who taught James Taylor and me our first guitar chords – once wrote how strange it seems to walk away alone. With no regrets.”

John Walsh, ESPN executive vice president and executive editor:

“Peter was the best and the brightest in making the transition from print to video. For ESPN, he contributed 21 Hall of Fame years as a journalist and, throughout, set the standard for others to reach for.”

Gammons bio

Peter Gammons, a highly respected Major League Baseball journalist, was an ESPN reporter/analyst for 20 seasons (1989-2009). He regularly provided analysis on ESPN’s Sports Emmy Award-winning Baseball Tonight. From 2006-08, he reported during ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecasts from the ballpark, generally from field level. Gammons also provided “Diamond Notes” and other reports for SportsCenter. Amongst his multimedia role, Gammons also wrote a column and a blog for ESPN.com.

Gammons, 64, was honored as the recipient of the 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing during the 2005 Hall of Fame induction ceremony July 31 in Cooperstown, N.Y. He was selected in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

He began his career as a reporter for the Boston Globe in 1969 and wrote a very popular weekly Sunday baseball column for many years. He has also worked for Sports Illustrated covering the National Hockey League, college basketball and Major League Baseball (1976-78, 1986-90).

In 1986, upon his return to Sports Illustrated as a senior writer following a second stay at the Globe, he wrote numerous stories covering some of baseball’s most important news events, as well as authoring “Inside Baseball,” Sports Illustrated’s weekly baseball notebook.

Peter is one of the most respected writers in baseball and his induction into the writers wing at the Baseball Hall of Fame is very much deserved.

It is not known where Peter is going, but speculation has it that he could join MLB Network.

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