Sorry for the long delay in getting you links. I was out at two job sites during the day, then I had to drive my mother to several locations and got home late when I thought I would get home early. Nonetheless, I’m here now and I’ll give you big megadose of links tonight.
Let’s start with USA Today where Michael Hiestand says ESPN has bought the rights to the Florida-San Francisco games both on Friday and Saturday nights to cover the Barry Bonds home run record chase.
In the Boston Globe, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell writes that the Bristol, CT-based network will have a yellow line similar to the 1 and 10 line in football coverage to cover drafting in NASCAR.
David Scott from Boston Sports Media Watch reports that former Boston Herald columnist and soon-to-be former Washington Post sports writer Howard Bryant will be moving to ESPN.
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says there’s a silver lining to the NBA referee gambling scandal.
Neil Best from his weekly Friday Newsday column writes that former Boston Bruin and New Island GM Mike Milbury will join NBC for its NHL coverage.
From the New York Daily News, Bob Raissman says it’s getting tougher and tougher to watch baseball on TV based on his experiences with Mets games on SNY.
From the Bucks County Courier Times outside Philadelphia, Laura Nachman profiles former Eagle Mike Golic who’s been busy with ESPN Radio.
Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun says some residents of the city and surrounding areas may not be able to see Cal Ripken’s Hall of Fame induction this Sunday because it’s on ESPN Classic.
Jim Williams in the DC/Baltimore Examiner also has a blurb in his Watch This! blog that ESPN picks up two SF Giants games this weekend to chronicle Barry Bonds and that move has already paid off as Bonds hit his 754th homer in the first inning of tonight’s game.
Doug Nye in The State newspaper of Columbia, SC writes that a 30 minute local sports show on TV is practically out of the question.
From the CNBC.com Sports Biz blog, Darren Rovell says Nike has suspended Michael Vick’s endorsements and most likely has kicked him out of its thinking for good.
Barry Jackson in the Miami Herald writes that Jim Mandich is happy to be back on Miami Dolphin radio broadcasts. You may have heard his signature “Awwwright, Miami!” whenever the ‘fins score a touchdown. Mandich had been off the broadcasts for the past two seasons because he was working on a rival radio station. Now that the rights have returned to WQAM, Mandich will be back in the booth.
In the Houston Chronicle, David Barron reports that the excellent ESPN college football announcer Ron Franklin has fully recovered from a car accident back in April.
The Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn writes extensively about the NFL Network maturing into an influential sports channel.
Let’s go to the Akron Beacon Journal where George M. Thomas writes that FSN Ohio will have two shows devoted to my beloved Cleveland Browns.
In St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dan Caesar has a story on the war of words between Barry Bonds and Gateway City resident Bob Costas.
It’s not a real update if I don’t have something on the Big Ten Network and Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune comes through with another “BTN vs. Comcast” story.
Judd Zulgad in the Friday edition of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune writes that Twins fans are having trouble finding new flagship station KSTP at night.
Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Mel Proctor is the only announcer to have done play-by-play of the more significant portions of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn, both of whom will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this Sunday.
In the North County Times, John Maffei writes that San Diegans will also have trouble just like this in Baltimore watching the HOF ceremonies on ESPN Classic. If the channel isn’t widely available, you would think that the idiots at the Alleged Worldwide Leader would put the inductions on a more widely viewed channel like, oh say, ESPN or ESPN2?
Larry Stewart has his usual two stories in the LA Times. First is about Jon Miller who could call Barry Bonds’ 756th home run. The other is a news and notes column which includes Dan Patrick’s move from ESPN Radio to the Content Factory.
Over to the LA Daily News where Tom Hoffarth is skeptical of ESPN’s new Draft Track which will be unveiled this weekend at the Brickyard 400. And in his Farther Off the Wall blog, Hoffarth does an extensive media notes column.
In the Ventura County Star, Jim Carlisle writes about Draft Track as well.
Those are your links for tonight. I’ll give weekend viewing picks soon.
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