Let’s give you some more links today.
More reason to hate ESPN. They plan a huge New Year’s Eve special complete with motorcycle jumps, truck flips, fiery explosions, musical acts and plenty of hype. This will run for three hours so ESPN can mark the New Year on both coasts. I can’t make this up.
Dave Del Grande of the Oakland Tribune writes that Bay Area TV stations are preparing their slate of legal analysts for Barry Bonds coverage next month.
Buffalo Business First reports that Western New York has a regional sports network to finally call its own since the demise of the Empire Sports Network.
Neil Best of Newsday posted in his blog that WFAN’s Craig Carton made an anti-Newark, NJ remark during the Boomer and Carton in the Morning Show today. This is the second anti-Newark remark in a month after ESPN’s Barry Melrose had to apologize for making one on ESPN.com.
Larry Dobrow writes in Advertising Age magazine that ESPN SportsCenter is no longer “Must See TV”. I agree.
Darren Rovell of CNBC writes that the stronger Canadian dollar is helping the Toronto Blue Jays’ bottom line.
Peter Schwartz of Forbes magazine looks at the Top 20 Most Valuable College Football Teams and included on that list is Notre Dame for its contract with NBC. You can look at the rankings through this slideshow.
John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News says New York Jets fans are among the lowest of the low. It comes in the wake of the New York Times story I linked to last night in which the Jets fans conduct their own halftime show in Gate D of the Giants Stadium concourse.
Ted Hearn of Multichannel News reports that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is appealing to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin not to get involved in the NFL Network vs. cable dispute. And Linda Haugsted of Multichannel News writes that the NFL Network has the support of two North Carolina legislators in attempts to get the channel on cable systems in the Tobacco State. Fortune magazine talks with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts about the NFL Network among other topics.
In the wake of the Writers strike and the news writers at CBS calling to strike, there’s actually some good news out of Hollywood. Dave McNary of Variety reports that the Directors Guild of America has come to an agreement with the networks for news, sports and other operations.
The NFL says there will be no change in the Sunday Night Football game for Week 13, December 2, but there will be one change for the Fox doubleheader game:
The final Week 13 NFL schedule was announced today with the originally scheduled Cincinnati at Pittsburgh Sunday night game on NBC remaining in place. The only game time change is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints game on Sunday, December 2 moving from 1:00 PM ET to 4:15 PM ET on FOX.
CBS Sports’ Charley Casserly explains why Dallas and Detroit get the traditional Thanksgiving Day games.
Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post notices the migration of reporters leaving the print world for TV.
Rick Bird of the Cincinnati Post says a local TV station will air a series of interviews with the late Red pitcher and announcer Joe Nuxhall starting next Monday.
Elliot Harris of the Chicago Sun-Times would like to nominate the Big Ten Network’s and FSN’s Charissa Thompson to be in Playboy’s Sexiest Sportscaster poll (scroll down).
William Houston in the Toronto Globe and Mail laments the absence of big market teams in the CFL Grey Cup which will be CBC’s last for at least the next five years.
There you have it. Plenty of links for today. Primetime Viewing Picks coming up.
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