Back to work for many of you and there’s a new look on the blog as well. I’m trying a new layout just to experiment. This may not stay and I might even change it back, but I’m just checking this out for now. I kind of like it. For regular visitors, you’ll notice the blogroll, tags and archives are now on the left instead of the right. Let me know what you think by either commenting below or e-mailing me.
To the links.
Neil Best is officially back from vacation with a column and some blog entries. His Newsday column focuses on Bryant Gumbel assessing his performance on the NFL Network last season and how the New York Giants might be rethinking putting players on WFAN. And in his Watchdog blog, Best goes in-depth to the WFAN/Giants issue with Craig Carton’s painful interviews with the Jets’ Thomas Jones.
Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News wonders why Tiki Barber is gunshy on Football Night in America.
Richard Sandomir in today’s New York Times reviews two documentaries that will premiere tonight. Also from the New York Times’ Fifth Down blog, there’s an entry about Gumbel as well.
Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News previews tonight’s ESPN Classic documentary on the Ray Mancini-Deuk-Koo Kim fight.
Two things from the Sports Media Watch blog. First is a look into the NFL ratings which were very good for Fox, especially for the Cowboys-Giants game. And then, we have a look into the ratings for NASCAR which are sinking by the minute.
From the Orbitcast blog on satellite radio, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Eric Byrnes will have a show on XM’s Home Plate channel. And NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will have an weekly show on XM.
Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune writes that the ratings from the Blackhawks home debut on Comcast SportsNet did not garner the ratings the channel had hoped for.
Jim Moore of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer profiles ESPN Monday Night Football sideline reportes Michelle Tafoya and Suzy Kolber.
From Editor & Publisher, we find that ESPN has hired one of the two reporters that broke the BALCO story for the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Press-Register’s Evan Woodbury reports that ESPN will pick up the Auburn-Alabama clash on November 24 in primetime. Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News writes that ESPN got the Iron Bowl after CBS passed on it.
In the Spartanburg (SC) Herald Journal, we find that ESPN2 will get the Clemson-South Carolina game on the same date. The Roanoke (VA) Times says on November 24, the Virginia-Virginia Tech game will be on at noon either on ESPN or ESPN2.
Antoine Pitts of the Ann Arbor News says ESPN’s College Gameday will be on the Michigan campus this Saturday (scroll down).
Ryan Wood of the Ball State Daily News talks about the school getting some national exposure on ESPN2 tonight.
Carl DiOrio of the Hollywood Reporter says the Directors Guild of America is negotiating a new contract with the networks for sports and news.
Michael Malone in Broadcasting & Cable writes that the YES Network has signed a new contract with WWOR-TV to broadcast a number of Yankees games.
RADAR Online wonders if Friday Night Lights will move from NBC to ESPN.
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail has TSN’s James Duthie suggesting a slight change to NHL All Star Weekend.
That will do us for now.
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