Time to do our megalinks. Kind of difficult as I watch the tributes to Walter Cronkite who passed away at the age of 92 tonight. He was one of the reasons why I went into broadcast journalism.
I’ll press on with the links tonight.
As usual, I’ll begin with the Weekend Viewing Picks.
We’re officially in the dog days of summer as we don’t have too much sports viewing other than the Open Championship and baseball for the weekend.
TNT and ABC share the Open Championship this weekend without Tiger Woods. At least there’s the story of a 59 year old Tom Watson that could bring viewers, but when Greg Norman was in the hunt last year, the ratings without Tiger for the Open were down considerably from the year before. TNT and ABC start coverage on Saturday at 7 a.m. and on Sunday morning at 6.
Nationally, Fox, TBS and ESPN are forcefeeding the New York teams down our throats. We get a double dose of Mets-Braves on Fox and ESPN. Then TBS has Tigers-Yankees on Sunday afternoon. The only respite we get is from MLB Network and WGN America. Your baseball viewing for the weekend is right here.
The Tour de France continues and Versus has full coverage starting at 8:30 Saturday morning and 7:30 Sunday morning.
Check out the full viewing picks here.
Let’s get to the links.
National
Michael Hiestand of USA Today writes that the man known as Batting Stance Guy is getting more national recognition thanks to his spot on the Late Show with David Letterman.
The Hollywood Reporter picks up a story from John Consoli of sister publication Mediaweek that ad sales for upcoming sporting events are slow including the once recession-proof NFL.
Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that Versus’ ratings for the Tour de France are up 77% from last year.
Chris Byrne at the Eye on Sports Media may have pieced together the SEC on CBS schedule for this fall.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports that the Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade has become a Nike convert. Darren adds that NFL teams are seeing their ticket waiting lists go up in smoke.
The Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.
The Big Lead says a St. Louis newspaper published the home addresses of several present and past Cardinals and got its credentials yanked as a result.
Deadspin says Erin Andrews is ready to file a lawsuit and for a very good reason. I hope she gets millions of dollars for this.
East and Mid-Atlantic
Chad Finn of the Boston Globe says WBZ-FM/The Sports Hub is ready to take on WEEI.
Speaking of WBZ-FM vs. WEEI, I have an interview with Chuck Wilson, formerly of ESPN Radio, about the upcoming battle between the two stations.
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Bill Doyle talks with WHDH sports reporter Larry Ridley.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times took a tour of the new Cowboys Stadium.
Newsday’s Neil Best says SNY will show a Mets Classic game in which the team actually loses. In his blog, Neil writes that WFAN is a ratings powerhouse on Long Island. Neil has WFAN’s Operations Manager Mark Chernoff saying Craig Carton doesn’t cross the proverbial line. Neil toured Dodger Stadium during his vacation. Neil writes that Reggie Jackson is not happy with how ESPN portrayed him in “The Bronx is Burning”.
Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News says people are watching the Mets on TV while refusing to go the games in person. That’s a bit of a stretch.
Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is pleasantly surprised that Mad Dog Radio apologized for pulling shenanigans on the listeners last week.
Justin Terranova of the Post talks with Sirius XM MLB Home Plate co-host Jim Duquette about the Yankees.
Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says this weekend’s ESPN on ABC production of the Open Championship will not be pleasant to the viewing eye.
Tim Lemke of the Washington Times writes that the Capitals remain red hot with their fans.
South
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says a new ratings system has produced some surprising results for the city’s sports radio stations.
Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Batting Stance Guy makes his Fox Sports Southwest debut this weekend.
Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News breaks down the sports radio ratings hour by hour. Barry is amazed that a Wal-Mart is located so close to the Cowboys’ new stadium.
David Barron of the Houston Chronicle talks with the new program director of a local sports radio station.
Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman writes that ESPN’s Ron Franklin plans on retiring when his contract expires early next year. Ron has been a class
act and will be missed.
Midwest
Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says a second sports radio station is about to hit the local area.
Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel chronicles former Buck Richard Jefferson’s interview with Howard Stern regarding him calling off his wedding.
From Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman has his winners and losers in sports business and media.
Paul Christian in the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says Tom Watson rather be playing on Sunday than broadcasting the Open Championship on ABC.
Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says there’s a feud brewing between Cardinals TV analyst Al Hrabosky and manager Tony LaRussa.
Dan adds an urban sports radio station makes its debut next week in the Gateway City.
West
Scott D. Pierce in the Deseret (UT) News tells us that the mtn. will be offering more events in HD this season.
John Maffei in the North County Times gives new Padres TV voice Mark Neely good grades.
Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star criticizes Fox for missing the Presidential first pitch at the All-Star Game on Tuesday. And Jim talks with the TNT/ABC broadcast crew for the Open Championship.
Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times is bewildered that we can’t watch the Open Championship in HD. That will change next year.
Friend of Fang’s Bites Tom Hoffarth profiles popular TVG host and trackside reporter Christina Olivares. In his blog, Tom has some more with Ms. Olivares. Tom has his usual extensive media notes. And Tom looks back at the week in blogging.
John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News writes about Communist China’s delegation boycotting the Opening Ceremonies of the World Games being held in the democratically-elected country of Taiwan.
That’s going to do it for the megalinks. Thanks for reading.
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