It’s Tuesday

Time for some more links. Checking around to see what’s going on for you.

Newsday’s Neil Best says ESPN has picked up two more San Francisco Giants games tonight and tomorrow. And Best writes that Craig Carton who’s proposed to be Boomer Esiason’s sidekick on WFAN (when he’s hired) may not be a good choice.

Yesterday, I gave you a story where the NFL Network put the kybosh on a column Deion Sanders wrote about Michael Vick for the News-Press in Florida. The NFL Network says it “owns ” Sanders’ opinions. That’s a copout if you ask me. Today, Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says the NFL Network is in a sense “muzzling” Sanders.

In Jim Williams’ DC/Baltimore Examiner Watch This! blog, he says the Ravens and Redskins are back in training camp and there will be extensive coverage on various media outlets. And in his regular column, Williams says it was Baltimore’s day during the Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies.

In the Sports Media Watch blog, there’s an analysis of the Kevin Garnett trade from Minnesota to the Celtics, two markets where the NBA has not done well in the last three seasons.

Let’s get the latest links on the The Big Ten Nework. Tim Cronin of the Daily Southtown paper from Chicago says don’t be fooled by the Big Ten Network, that their publicity blitz is really a money grab. Mark Tupper of the Lee News Service recaps what the whole thing is about. Brian Hedger of the Gary (IN) Post-Tribune got a behind-the-scenes look at BTN’s studios. Tom Kubat of the Lafayette Journal & Courier says BTN sees the financial benefit for adding a 12th team to the Big Ten. But hold on! Jim Carty of the Ann Arbor News says Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney is putting the kybosh on expansion talk.

David Pratt of the Vancouver Province writes that NBC’s relationship with the NHL is just about over. But Ray Slover of the Sporting News says ESPN may come to pick up where NBC will leave off. We linked to the Sports Media Watch blog yesterday which reported this story.

Diane Bell of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that former ABC and NBC play-by-play man Charlie Jones was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame last week (scroll down).

Jonathan Okanes of the Oakland Tribune says Comcast will be exapnding local programming on FSN Bay Area. It officially took over ownership on June 30.

Erika Engle of the Honolulu Star Bulletin writes that Oahu now has four sports radio stations. This joins Houston as the other city that has four sports radio stations. Is this a trend?

Up to Canada, CBC continues its winning streak. Last week, it signed a contract with Skate Canada to televise figure skating events for the next four years.

The Toronto Star’s William Houston writes that Setanta Sports which has a channel here in the States to air English Premier League soccer games is setting up a channel in Canada to do the same.

That’s it for now. Back later if the links warrant.