My computer has been slow as molasses this afternoon and this is despite rebooting it several times. So this update may be short and I’ll give a full-fledged update tonight.
Let’s start with some press releases from CBS Sports. First, the network televises its final NFL exhibition game tonight (New England at Carolina) and in the release, CBS gives its announcer assignments for Weeks 1 and 2 of the NFL regular season. And CBS hypes televising the US Open for the 40th consecutive year.
XM Satellite Radio will have coverage of the US Open with Bud Collins and Virginia Wade. Play-by-play begins with the women’s semis and concludes with the men’s finals.
NBC Universal tells us that USA Network will provide 107 hours of coverage of the US Open starting Monday at 11 a.m. ET. And the last press release from NBC, it will cover both beach volleyball and the World Track & Field Championships this weekend.
Speaking of the World Track & Field Championships, it will be seen on both NBC and Versus, but if you want to see the event on your own pace and schedule, they can be seen online at WCSN.com. You will have to sign up and pay, but you can watch the events uninterrupted and with a minimum of commercials. I have watched track & field, swimming and cycling on WCSN and the quality of the webcast is pretty decent.
This story was reported by Richard Sandomir in today’s New York Times, but Paulsen in the Sports Media Watch expands on it. Faith Hill replaces Pink as the performer to sing NBC’s “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” theme for Sunday Night Football. It’s not an earth-shattering story, but in the duel between Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football, NBC wants people to sing its theme rather than the well-established “All My Rowdy Friends” theme done for MNF. And Paulsen gives you his predictions for this weekend’s sports viewing.
In his Watch This! blog, the Examiner’s Jim Williams says the Fox Saturday Baseball matchups are the highlight of the sports weekend.
Darren Rovell of CNBC goes over the Comcast vs. Big Ten Network battle which seems to be really heating up. In the Michigan State insider blog, Steve Grinczel says the Big Ten Network is proceeding without Comcast. BTN has cut a deal with Dish Network. John Pozenel of the Saginaw (MI) News urges fans to call Charter Communications to get BTN. Dave Goetzl of the Media Daily News writes that cable will lose subscribers if the dispute with BTN continues (scroll down to the 4th story on the page). Mark Alesia of the Indianapolis Star says fans of many Big Ten schools will be in the dark for their season openers. Steve Donohue of Multichannel News has more on the BTN-Comcast debacle. Also from Multichannel News, Linda Haugsted says Comcast took a hit for using sneaky PR tactics in posting on internet message boards. In the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin, Paul Christian says BTN will launch with few viewers.
By the way, here’s the schedule for the Big Ten Network for the first three weeks of the season.
BIG TEN NETWORK FOOTBALL SCHEDULE: WEEKS 1-3
Saturday, September 1
Appalachian State at Michigan, Noon EDT (HD)
Youngstown State at Ohio State, Noon EDT (HD)
Florida International at Penn State, Noon EDT (HD)
Northeastern at Northwestern, Noon EDT
Bowling Green at Minnesota, 8 p.m. EDT (HD)
Indiana State at Indiana, 8 p.m. EDT (HD)
Saturday, September 8
Akron at Ohio State, Noon EDT (HD)
Nevada at Northwestern, Noon EDT (HD)
Bowling Green at Michigan State, Noon EDT (HD)
Miami (Ohio) at Minnesota, Noon EDT
Eastern Illinois at Purdue, Noon EDT
Western Illinois at Illinois, 7 p.m. EDT (HD)
Syracuse at Iowa, 8 p.m. EDT (HD)
Saturday, September 15
The Citadel at Wisconsin, Noon EDT (HD)
Buffalo at Penn State, Noon EDT (HD)
Akron at Indiana, Noon EDT (HD)
Duke at Northwestern, 8 p.m. EDT (HD)
As usual, we’ll keep an eye on this as the launch approaches next Thursday.
John Ryan in his Morning Buzz blog in the San Jose Mercury News makes a correction from an earlier post. NBC in fact, made it for West Coast writers. The special edition of Countdown on Sunday will be seen after the NFL exhibition game at 10 p.m. PT. Ryan also replies to posters who snapped at him and rightly so.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes about the upcoming Canada-Russia junior hockey series which will be aired on both TSN and rival Rogers Sportsnet. This would be like ESPN and TBS sharing the NBA playoffs … oh wait! They do that already! LOL.
In the crosstown Toronto Star, Chris Zelvovich says Mixed Martial Arts fighting isn’t going away any time soon.
Well, my computer held up well enough to make this the full-fledged update for today. Nice. I’ll have primetime and late night viewing choices coming up.
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